NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is ADITI LOOMBA bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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THE HEADLINES:

·  First cross border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh to be inaugurated by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

·  India's financial sector remains stable despite crisis in US banking system, says RBI Governor.

·  Meeting of Heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Tourism Administrations under Chairmanship of India held in Varanasi.

·  Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav elected as Vice President of Nepal.

·  In Badminton, Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand enter semifinals of All England Open in Birmingham.

·  And, in Cricket, India beat Australia by five wickets in first ODI at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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INDO-B'DESH-FRIENDSHIP PIPELINE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, will inaugurate the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline via video-conferencing on Saturday. More from our Dhaka correspondent: 

"The 130 kilometre long India Bangladesh Friendship pipeline is the first cross border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh. The pipeline will carry High Speed Diesel from Siliguri based marketing terminal of the Numaligarh Refinery  to Bangladesh’s Parbatipur.

It has been built at an estimated cost of Rupees 377 crore. Govt of India has provided Rupees 285 crore as Grant assistance for building the Bangladesh portion of the pipeline.

 The Pipeline has a capacity to transport 1 Million Metric Ton Per Annum (MMTPA) of High-Speed Diesel (HSD). It will supply High Speed Diesel initially to seven districts in northern Bangladesh.

The operation of India- Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline will put in place a sustainable, reliable, cost-effective and environment friendly mode of transporting HSD from India to Bangladesh. It will further enhance cooperation in energy security between the two countries. Rajesh Jha,  for  World News,  AIR News, Dhaka."

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PM- GLOBAL MILLETS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference in New Delhi on Saturday  at 11 AM. The Prime Minister will also address the gathering on the occasion. The two-day Conference will have sessions on a wide range of issues related to millets including promotion and awareness of millets among producers, consumers and other stakeholders; millets’ value chain development, health and market linkages.

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PM MITRA TEXTILE PARKS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that PM MITRA mega textile parks will be set up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said PM MITRA mega textile parks will boost the textiles sector in line with the 5F vision, which is, Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign. He added that these textile parks will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for the textiles sector, attract investment and create lakhs of jobs. He pointed out that it will be a great example of 'Make in India' and 'Make For the World.'

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PREZ MURMU-NEPAL PREZ 

President Droupadi Murmu spoke to President of Nepal Ram Chandra Paudel over telephone on Friday evening. The President, who is presently on tour in Kerala, called up President Paudel and congratulated him on assuming the office of the President of Nepal. Both Presidents noted the unique and multifaceted relations between India and Nepal. They also discussed ways to further advance bilateral cooperation and strengthen the strong bonds of friendship between the peoples of two countries. President Droupadi Murmu expressed confidence that under the guidance of President Paudel, India-Nepal bilateral relations would reach even greater heights.

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NEPAL-VICE PREZ

In Nepal, Janata  Samajwadi Party leader Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav has been elected as the country's Vice President. In Friday's voting, Mr Yadav defeated Astalaxmi Shakya of CPN (UML) and Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party. He had received support from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), and the CPN (Unified Socialist) including the ruling alliance.

A total of 311 federal lawmakers and 518 Provincial Assembly members took part in the poll. The polling centre for the election was set up at the New Baneshwor-based Federal Parliament Building in Kathmandu.

The term of the Vice President is five years, from the date on which he or she is elected. Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav was the former Minister for Forests and Environment and a member of the first Federal Parliament of Nepal. In the 2017 Nepalese general election, he was elected from the Bara 2 constituency.

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MUMBAI-RBI

Amid the ongoing crises in the US banking system after the fall of Silicon Valley Bank, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has assured that India’s financial sector remains stable. 

Delivering the annual KP Hormis lecture at Kochi on Friday, Mr. Das said the crisis however, reinforces the importance of robust regulations and supervision. Mr. Das said it is important for banks to ensure prudent asset liability management, robust risk management and sustainable growth in liabilities and assets. He added that the ongoing crisis also clearly shows the risks of private cryptocurrencies to the financial system.

Assuring that RBI has taken all necessary steps for risk management and stress tests, the governor asked banks to avoid any excessive build-up of asset-liability mismatch as they are detrimental to financial stability

The RBI governor said that the worst of inflation is behind us and that the Indian rupee has exhibited least volatility among its peers.

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SVB-BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION

SVB Financial Group said that it has filed for a court-supervised reorganization for bankruptcy protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code, to seek buyers for its assets. The move comes days after SVB Financial Group's former unit Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by U.S. regulators. The plan to seek bankruptcy protection comes after the company said on March 13 that it was planning to explore strategic alternatives for its businesses, including the holding company, SVB Capital and SVB Securities. California banking regulators have closed SVB and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver for disposition of its assets. The collapse of SVB has crippled banks stocks and triggered concerns of a contagion throughout global markets.

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SCO MEET KASHI

The Meeting of Heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Tourism Administrations under the Chairmanship of India was held in Varanasi on Friday. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy. ‘Kashi’ has been declared as the First Tourism and Cultural Capital of SCO. This recognition will bring the city to a greater prominence in the global tourist map.

The SCO Tourism Ministers finalised and approved the Joint Action Plan prepared for implementing the Agreement between the Governments of the SCO Member States on the Development of Cooperation in Tourism. As per the agreed Joint Action Plan, the member countries will undertake various activities such as SCO tourism exhibition, SCO Food Festival, Webinar and Seminar on tourism, conference and expert session on promotion and development of tourism in the region.

The meeting also adopted the Action Plan for 'Year of Tourism Development in the SCO Space in 2023'. This document identified a list of activities and events aim to promote and showcase Tourism products of SCO member States. A Joint Statement by the Head of the Tourism Administrations of the SCO member countries was also issued post the meeting.  The next meeting of the SCO Heads of Tourism Administrations will be held in Kazakhstan in 2024.

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HOTSPOT

In today's hotspot section we bring you a news commentary on "India’s commitment for self-reliance in energy".

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GANGTOK-STARTUP20

The Startup20 Sikkim Sabha will begin in Gangtok on Saturday. The meeting will invite delegates from G20 member and invitee countries, representatives from multilateral organisations, and stakeholders from the Indian startup ecosystem. The Sikkim Sabha will forward the agenda finalised during the inception meeting held in Hyderabad on 28th and 29th January 2023. Around 200 participants are expected to attend the two-day event, which will offer a platform for young startup leaders to exchange ideas. Minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash has reached Sikkim to attend the event.

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UTTARAKHAND-AYURVET CONCLAVE

In Uttarakhand, International Ayurvet conclave on the theme 'Veterinary and Ayurveda', was inaugurated at Rishikul campus of Ayurvedic University at Haridwar on Friday. The event will conclude on March 19.

Addressing the seminar, Union Minister of State for Animal husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Sanjiv Baliyan said, Ayurveda is being used for treatment of animals from times immemorial. He said that government has taken initiative to validate use of Ayurveda in the treatment of animals. He said that attempt will be made to include this subject in the syllabus of various universities.

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CCEA-IREDA

Government of India has approved for listing of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on the Stock Exchanges. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to approve an Initial Public Offer (IPO) by part sale of Government’s stake in the CPSE to raise funds through issue of fresh equity shares. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will drive the listing process. The IPO will help in unlocking the value of Government’s investment on one hand and provide an opportunity to the public to acquire stake in the national asset and draw benefits therefrom. Besides, it will help IREDA in raising a part of its capital requirement for meeting growth plans without depending on the public exchequer. The step will improve governance through greater market discipline and transparency arising from listing requirements and disclosures.

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CCEA-NTPC

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) granted exemption to NTPC Limited from the extant guidelines of delegation of power to Maharatna CPSEs for making investment in NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a Subsidiary Company of NTPC Ltd.  The exemption given to NTPC will aid in improving India’s global image as a green economy.  It will also decrease India’s dependency on conventional sources of energy by diversifying India’s energy generation and will also decrease the country’s coal import bills. Further, it will also help in ensuring 24x7 power supply to each and every corner of the country. The Renewable Energy project will also generate direct and indirect employment opportunities to the local people at construction stage as well as during operations and maintenance Stage.

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CISF- AGNIVEERS

Union Home Ministry has announced a 10 per cent reservation for former Agniveers in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Former Agniveers would get relaxation in the upper age limit and will also be exempted from Physical Efficiency Test. This announcement comes a few days after the Ministry had announced a similar 10 percent reservation for former Agniveers in the Border Security Force (BSF). As per the notification, the upper age limit for candidates of the first batch of Agniveers shall be relaxed by up to five years, whereas the other batches shall get age relaxation by up to three years. The central government launched the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Armed Forces. The scheme aims to induct youth between 17-and-a-half years of age and 21 years of age on a four-year short-term contractual basis. It has been designed to ensure a youthful profile of the Armed Forces.

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PARLIAMENT ADJOURNED

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Indian democracy and the Adani Group issue continued to rock the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament for the fifth consecutive day today. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till Monday following protest by the opposition and treasury benches.

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XI JINPING RUSSIA VISIT

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from 20th to 22nd March, at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. This will be Xi’s first visit to Moscow since the beginning of Russia-Ukraine war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at the daily briefing in Beijing on Friday that Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with President Putin on bilateral relations, and, major international and regional issues of common concern. The deliberations would aim at promoting strategic cooperation and inject new impetus into the development of bilateral relations.

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EU-UNHRC IRAN

The European lawmakers called on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an independent investigation into a wave of poisonings that have hit schoolgirls in Iran. In a resolution, the European Parliament urged the EU member states to facilitate the issuance of visas, asylum and emergency grants to those who need to leave Iran, particularly women and girls. According to state media and officials in Iran, around 13,000 pupils, mostly girls, have fallen ill after suspected poisonings. Some activists have blamed religious groups opposed to girls’ education for these poisonings.

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FRANCE-PROTESTS

In France, Police clashed with protesters on Thursday  after President Emmanuel Macron decided to force through his controversial pension reform without calling a vote in France's lower house of parliament. Thousands of people protested the move on the streets of Paris and other French cities. In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon to clear protesters who demonstrated outside of parliament. Local media reported that at least 120 people were detained. President Emmanuel Macron used a constitutional power enabling the government to bypass lawmakers. The decision was made just a few minutes before the vote was scheduled.

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US - AUSTRALIA

The US State Department approved the sale of 220 cruise missiles to Australia in a deal valued at 895 million dollars. The proposed sale that still requires sign-off from Congress includes Tomahawk missiles and technical support. According to media reports, the missiles will be used by the Virginia-class submarines that Australia will acquire from the United States under the AUKUS defence pact.

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NEW ZEALAND- TIKTOK BAN

New Zealand will ban TikTok on devices with access to the parliamentary network because of cybersecurity concerns. New Zealand's Parliamentary Service Chief Executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero informed that TikTok will be banned on all devices by the end of this month.  Britain, United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app from official devices.

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SRI LANKA-JICA

The Sri Lankan government has said that it will consider restarting the 2.2 billion dollar Light Rail Transit project, stretching from Colombo Fort to Malabe. The Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, funded-project was abruptly terminated by the previous regime in 2020. Urban Development and housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said the government is ready to renew the project contract with JICA. He said the loan has favourable conditions including low interest rates, and a grace period of 12 years.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

The Key domestic share markets today witnessed gains of more than half a percent. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty, both indices gained amid positive global cues. The rupee also appreciates around 19 paise. A report from the business desk- 

The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange climbed 355 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 57,990. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange advanced 114 points, or 0.67 per cent, to end at around 17,100.

Asian stocks closed higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.6 per cent, Japan's Nikkei-225 climbed 1.2 per cent and Singapore's Straits Times gained 0.9 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Kospi, both rose 0.7 per cent each. The People's Bank of China reduced the reserved requirement ratio for almost all banks by 0.25 percent, effective from March 27. European markets were down in intra-day trade.

Oil prices fell to its lowest since last December. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at around 74 dollars and 85 cents per barrel.

Back home, Gold price at Multi Commodity Exchange for April contracts was trading at around 58,370 rupees per 10 gram. Silver was trading at around 67,250 rupees per kilogram for May Contracts, when reports last came in.

In the forex market, the rupee appreciated around 19 paise to close at 82 rupees and 55 paise against the US dollar. Lalima Aneja Diang, for World News, All India Radio.

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2230 WN-BADMINTON

In Badminton, Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semifinals of the All England Open Championships in Birmingham. The Indian team defeated their Chinese opponents, Li Wen Mei and Liu Xuan Xuan, with a final score tally of 21-14, 18-21, 21-12.

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REV IND-AUS-ODI

In Men's Cricket, India defeated Australia by 5 wickets in the 1st ODI of the three match series at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. With the help of KL Rahul's 75 runs, the hosts achieved the target in 39.5 overs.

Earlier, India won the toss and put Australia to bat first. Australia were all out on 188 runs in 35.4 overs. Mitchell Marsh scored 81 runs for the visitors. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj scalped 3 wickets each for the Indian side.

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FPR 

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

·  The Guardian writes, French anger spreads after Macron forces pension age rise. 

· The Washington Post reports, China’s Xi will meet Putin in Moscow on Monday, in first visit since war began.

·  The Globe and Mail reports  Slovakia approves a plan to give Ukraine a fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.

·  Le Monde writes, Despite the banking crisis, the European Central Bank raises interest rates. 

·  The Financial Times writes  European bank stock rally fades as Credit Suisse shares fall.

·  The New York Times writes Search Intensifies for Radioactive Canister Missing for Weeks in Thailand.

·  South China Morning Post says  China, Cambodia to hold joint military drill as Beijing restarts exchanges.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• First cross border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh to be inaugurated by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

• India's financial sector remains stable despite crisis in US banking system, says RBI Governor.

• Meeting of Heads of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Tourism Administrations under Chairmanship of India held in Varanasi.

• Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav elected as Vice President of Nepal.

• In Badminton, Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand enter semifinals of All England Open in Birmingham.

• And, in Cricket, India beat Australia by five wickets in first ODI at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from IRELAND.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME RROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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