Category Archives: Business & Economy

NATIONAL: MEDICAL RESEARCH : The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) completes Clinical Trials of World’s First Injectable Male Contraceptive; study claims it’s safe

The findings of the phase-III clinical trial, which involved 303 candidates aged 25-40 years, were published in the international open-access Andrology journal last month.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has completed the clinical trials of the world’s first injectable male contraceptive which showed that it is safe and highly efficacious without any serious side effects.

The findings of the phase-III clinical trial, which involved 303 candidates aged 25-40 years, were published in the international open-access Andrology journal last month.

The open-labeled and non-randomized, multi-centre hospital-based phase-III clinical trials were carried out at five different centres (New Delhi, Udhampur, Ludhiana, Jaipur and Kharagpur) and coordinated by the ICMR, New Delhi.

Permission to conduct phase-III clinical trial was granted by the Drugs Controller General India (DCGI) and approved by the institutional ethical committees of the respective centres.

As part of the study, 303 healthy, sexually active and married men and their healthy and sexually active wives who came to the family planning clinic and department of urology or surgery for vasectomy or No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) were identified.

The men were injected with 60 mg of Reversible Inhibition of Sperm under Guidance (RISUG).

“The overall efficacy of RISUG with respect to achieving azoospermia was 97.3 per cent and based on pregnancy prevention was 99.02 per cent without any serious side effect,” the study stated.

“In the history of contraceptive development, RISUG presents the highest effectiveness compared to all other contraceptives both male and female as they were at the threshold of induction into a mass contraception program,” it said.

According to the study, with an ever-increasing world population, there is an urgent need to develop modern methods of male contraception for population control.

Even though vasectomy is quite effective as a contraceptive measure, some major limitations of this method call for the development of improved techniques.

An ideal male contraceptive approach should have minimally invasive drug delivery system with a one-time injection, long-term effectiveness with negligible side-effects and the option of reversal.

“To achieve these goals, a novel male contraceptive approach of Reversible Inhibition of Sperm under Guidance (RISUG) has been developed, which has the potential to become for mass use as once injectable and reversible male contraceptive method. Significant features of this method include localized injection and no detectable interaction with other body parts unlike the hormonal injectable contraceptives,” the study said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AGRICULTURE / VEGETABLES : ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) helps Grow Multiple Vegetables in One Plant

 Imagine planting one plant and getting multiple vegetables from it for your kitchen needs.

Scientists at ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), Varanasi are now working on a new single plant that will yield three vegetables simultaneously- brinjal, tomato and chilli.

The new plant is yet to be named.

The scientists had earlier developed ‘Pomato’ that yields potatoes and tomatoes on a single plant and ‘Brimato’ that yields brinjal and tomatoes together.

Using the grafting technique, the scientists at ICAR-IIVR, first developed ‘Pomato’.

Under the guidance of IIVR director Dr T.K. Behera, Dr Anant Bahadur, principal scientist (vegetable) and head division of crop production at ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi is now working on developing this unique single plant to yield three veggies.

“The grafting of chilli and tomato plants has been done on the brinjal rootstock and the plant is growing well. We are quite hopeful that it will start yielding chilli, brinjal and tomatoes by the end of January 2024,” said Dr Bahadur.

He said that he would analyse the feasibility of its cultivation.

Speaking about ‘Pomato’, Dr Bahadur said, “Potato tubers were germinated. Then grafting of tomato plants was done on the germinated potato tubers. As per the need, the plant was irrigated from time to time. It grew well and bore tomatoes above ground and potatoes below the ground.”

‘Pomato’, as a single plate, yielded around three kg of tomatoes and around 1.25 kg of potatoes, he added.

Thereafter, in 2019, Dr Anant Bahadur with his team grafted both the brinjal and tomato hybrids on the Brinjal root stock tolerant to waterlogging and salinity.

In 2019, his team succeeded in getting the desired result. He said the ‘Brimato’ is capable of surviving in waterlogged conditions for four days, whereas a normal plant wilts and gets destroyed in such conditions within 24 hours.

In October, the plant was transplanted, and brinjals and tomatoes were harvested till March.

A single plant yields around 3 kg of tomatoes and 2.5 kgs of brinjals, said Dr Bahadur.

Dr Bahadur said, “The special plant, ‘Brimato’, yields tomatoes and brinjals. It can be grown in kitchen gardens, backyards and also in small fields.”

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES: IIT Madras develops Steam-based method to Sterilise Medical Equipment

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a solar-thermal steam-based system that can help sterilise medical equipment in remote and rural areas, where access to electricity and water could be an issue.

The project, funded by the Department of Science and Technology, uses portable steam cylinders charged by renewable energy-based stations (like solar energy) that are placed strategically in rural areas for power generation, steam generation and other uses.

The team also designed special sterilisation chambers to utilise such portably stored steam and effectively sterilise the tools.

“A portable steam storage canister can be a great contribution by facilitating minor medical interventions in the developing world by sterilising surgical instruments and combating infections in rural areas,” said Prof. Sathyan Subbiah, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, in a statement.

“The portable canister is developed with multi-layer insulation, which can retain useful heat of steam, generated via solar plants for longer duration thus making it a viable option to sterilise equipment in remote areas. The steam that is produced in the solar plant or any other means can be stored in the portable canister which can be transported to remote locations to carry out the sterilisation activities,” he added.

Safe sterilisation of surgical instruments and other medical tools are important aspects in the health care sector. It involves cleaning and disinfecting the previously-used contaminated surgical tools before subsequent use. Steam sterilisation is one of the best disinfecting methods.

Currently, doctors carry with them a set of sterilised tools, which limits the number of patients they can see at the camp.

The project was demonstrated during a medical camp at IIT Madras campus on October 14, and is all set for further trials, following which it is intended to be deployed in the field.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE & AVIATION: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) hands over First LCA Tejas Twin Seater Aircraft to Indian Air Force (IAF)

HAL said the twin seater variant has all the capabilities to support the training requirements of the IAF and augments itself to the role of fighter as well in case of necessity.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first LCA Tejas twin seater to the Indian Air Force in the presence of Union Minister of State for Defence & Tourism Ajay Bhatt at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 4.

The LCA Tejas Twin Seater is a lightweight, all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft. It is designed to support the training requirements of the IAF and augment itself to the role of a fighter in case of necessity.

It is a huge boost to self-reliance, said the minister in his address to the audience. “I am proud to be part of this historic occasion and salute the spirit of HAL which has been spearheading Swadeshi manufacturing in defence,” he said.

Mr. Bhatt unveiled the twin seater LCA. “In all, the development of LCA Tejas has also brought about a shift in our approach to defence procurement. It has demonstrated that India has the talent, knowledge and capability to design, develop and manufacture world-class fighters,” he added.

More LCAs to be procured

Speaking on the occasion, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said that IAF would be going ahead to procure 97 more LCAs, and with this it will have 220 LCAs in its inventory.

C.B. Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Addl. Charge), HAL said that the company is committed to deliver all the twin-seater aircraft pertaining to Initial Operational Configuration (IOC) and Final Operational Configuration (FOC) contract to IAF in the current financial year.

“With this, we are moving one step closer towards achieving self-sufficiency on the fixed wing segment. These trainers also ensure smooth transition for the pilots from trainer to fighter aircraft in this class,” he added.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, HAL CMD (Addl. Charge) C.B. Ananthakrishnan, Director General, ADA, Girish S. Deodhare, A.P.V.S Prasad, CE (A), CEMILAC, officials from IAF, MoD, DGAQA, DRDO, HAL and production partners attended the event.

The Release to Service Document (RSD) and the Signalling out Certificate (SOC) were also handed over during the event.

Entering the elite club

The LCA Tejas twin seater boasts of technologies such as relaxed static-stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe.

The production of the LCA twin seater variant adds India to the list of very few elite countries who have created such a capability and have them operational in their Defence Forces.

IAF had earlier placed orders for 20 IOC standard aircraft and 20 FOC standard aircraft, including eight twin seater trainers. Thirty two Mk-1 single seater aircrafts have already been inducted by the IAF.

In 2021, the Defence Ministry had signed a ₹48,000 crore deal with HAL to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A, a more capable fighter than the current LCA-MK1 in service.

As per contract, three LCA-MK1A are scheduled to be delivered to the IAF in February 2024 and 16 aircraft per year for the subsequent five years.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: AMAZING INNOVATION IN AI: Indian engineering student builds AI model for real-time ASL sign language translation into English words

An Indian engineering student has developed an innovative AI model that can translate American Sign Language (ASL) into English words.

An Indian engineering student has developed an innovative AI model that can translate American Sign Language (ASL) into English words.

The model can recognize and translate six fundamental ASL signs like ‘Hello’, ‘I Love You’, ‘Thank You’, ‘Please’, ‘Yes’, and ‘No’.

The AI model, developed by Priyanjali Gupta, a student of Vellore Institute of Technology, was built using TensorFlow Object Detection API, utilizing transfer learning with the ssd_mobilenet model.

Gupta captured ASL gestures through a webcam that formed the basis for her AI model. In response to inquiries, Gupta acknowledged the complexity of building a dedicated deep learning model for sign detection. 

As part of a comment on a LinkedIn post, Gupta stated “You are absolutely right there’s a long long way to go to make a perfect model which can be implemented in real life. Hopefully this happens in our lifetime”.

Gupta’s AI model helps people communicate across barriers, providing a more accessible way to connect with the world. In her GitHub post, she has shared her project and code.

source/comments: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL RECORDS: WORLD RECORD FOR AN INDIAN ARTIST: Amrita Sher-Gil’s ‘The Story Teller’ sets Record for Highest Price of Rs.61.8 crore, Achieved by an Indian Artist on September 16th, 2023 by-passing the Previous Record held by S H Raza’s ‘Gestation’ of Rs. 51.7 crore

Amrita Sher-Gil “sought inspiration in Pahari paintings” to paint The Story Teller.

Painted during an important period in her oeuvre, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 canvas The Story Teller sold for a whopping Rs 61.8 crore ($7.44 million) on September 16, setting a world record for the highest price achieved by an Indian artist.

The iconic work led Saffronart’s Evening Sale: Modern Art, which featured more than 70 artworks from prominent artists, including significant works by modern masters V S Gaitonde and S H Raza, and early works by Tyeb Mehta, M F Husain, F N Souza, and Akbar Padamsee.

Before this sale, the most expensive Indian artwork sold at an auction was S H Raza’s Gestation, which had fetched ₹51.75 crore.

Describing the significance of the Sher-Gil artwork, a note released by Saffronart before the auction had pointed out it was executed “during an important formative period in the artist’s oeuvre that saw her European and Indian influences merge into a unique artistic language”.

In one of the “few works that she painted en plein air”, the release added, “The dominant subjects are women—who feature in many of her works—depicted as close-knit figures, crafting an inherent intimacy within the canvas. The work is an example of the artist’s most honest and expressive compositions, one that Sher-Gil herself was especially fond of as evidenced by the numerous mentions of this work in her letters.”

A note on The Story Teller on the Saffronart website quotes art connoisseur Karl Khandalavala suggesting that “it sought inspiration in Pahari paintings”. “The cows, the women folk, and the setting, though all far removed in technique from those of Basohli miniature, are pregnant with its lyricism and vivid colour,” states Khandalavala.

Born in 1913 in Budapest to an Indian Sikh aristocrat father and Hungarian-Jewish opera singer mother, Sher-Gil was eight when she moved to Shimla. Though she was already painting, her uncle Ervin Baktay encouraged her to develop her own vocabulary and pursue formal training.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL & NATIONAL: INFORMATION TECHNOLGY: Infosys Only Indian Firm in TIME Magazine’s World’s Best 100 Companies list

The list, curated by TIME and Statista, is dominated by global Big Tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Meta Platforms which were the top four companies on the list.

IT major Infosys is the only Indian company featured in TIME Magazine’s top 100 ‘World’s Best Companies 2023’ list, dominated by Big Tech.

The Bengaluru-based professional services firm has been ranked 64th spot in the top 100 list.

“Infosys has been featured in TIME World’s Best Companies 2023 list. We are among the top 3 global professional services firms and the only brand from India in the Top 100 global rankings,” the company said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The list, curated by TIME and Statista, is dominated by global Big Tech companies like Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Meta Platforms which were the top four companies on the list.

Other top companies in the coveted list are Accenture, Pfizer, American Express, BMW Group, Dell Technologies, Louis Vuitton, Delta Air Lines, Starbucks, Volkswagen Group, General Motors, Ford and others.

The list is based on a formula of revenue growth, employee-satisfaction surveys, and rigorous environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG, or sustainability) data. Big Tech had a tough year, laying off tens of thousands of workers since January.

But the world’s biggest tech companies are also the ones doing best for investors, employees, and the planet.

“Microsoft, for example, the top company in the global rankings, made $72 billion in its most recent fiscal year, a 63 per cent increase from 2020, while also reducing overall emissions by 0.5 per cent,” said TIME.

Accenture, based in Dublin, had the highest ESG ranking of any company on the list.

“The rankings show just who dominates the world economic order, with fast-moving tech and business-services companies unseating the manufacturers and consumer-goods companies that once drove the global economy,” the magazine said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam joins growing list of Indian-origin global leaders

Shanmugaratnam, 66, was declared the winner of the September 1 election after he received 70.4 per cent of the votes polled in the predominantly Chinese and economically prosperous country.

With Tharman Shanmugaratnam taking oath as Singapore’s ninth president on Thursday, he joins a long list of Indian-origin leaders who are dominating politics at important world capitals.

Shanmugaratnam, 66, was declared the winner of the September 1 election after he received 70.4 per cent of the votes polled in the predominantly Chinese and economically prosperous country.

His victory signifies the rising influence of Indians across the globe.

In the US, the growing influence of the Indian-American community can be seen in the success of Kamala Harris, who became the first woman and the first coloured Vice President of the country.

She was a senator for California from 2017 to 2021.

Harris, a Democrat, also served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.

She was born to Indian and Jamaican parents in California.

In the crucial midterm elections in November, a record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party — Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera and Shri Thanedar — were elected to the US House of Representatives.

Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent politician in California, recently contested the election for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Indian-origin leaders like Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy have launched their bid for the White House in 2024.

Rishi Sunak became Britain’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister last year.

He is the youngest British prime minister in 210 years.

He is also Britain’s first Hindu Prime Minister.

Goan-origin Suella Braverman is serving as his Home Secretary.

Claire Coutinho is the second Goan-origin minister after Braverman in the Sunak Cabinet.

She recently got a big promotion as his new Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary.

Under Sunak’s predecessor, Boris Johnson’s Cabinet, Priti Patel was the Home Secretary.

Alok Sharma was the International Development Secretary in the Johnson Cabinet.

Ireland’s Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Eric Varadkar is also of Indian origin.

Varadkar is the third child and only son of Ashok and Miriam Varadkar.

His father, a doctor, was born in Mumbai and moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

Antonio Costa has been the Prime Minister of Portugal since 2015.

He is half Indian and half Portuguese.

Anita Anand is the first Hindu to become a federal minister in Canada.

Anand assumed the role of President of the Treasury Board on July 26, 2023, as part of a major cabinet shuffle.

Anand’s parents were Indians.

Her father was from Tamil Nadu and her mother was from Punjab.

Apart from Anand, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet has two more Indian-origin members– Harjit Sajjan and Kamal Khera.

Priyanca Radhakrishnan is the first person of Indian origin to become a Minister in New Zealand.

Born in Chennai to Malayali parents, she is currently the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector.

Christine Carla Kangaloo, the president-elect of Trinidad and Tobago, was born into an Indo-Trinidadian family.

Pritam Singh, an Indian-origin lawyer, and author, has been serving as Leader of the Opposition in Singapore since 2020.

Devanand “Dave” Sharma became the first person of Indian origin to become a Member of the Australian Parliament in 2019.

Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana, was born into a Muslim Indo-Guyanese family in Leonora.

Pravind Jugnauth has been serving as the prime minister of Mauritius since January 2017.

He was born into a Hindu Yaduvanshi family in 1961.

His great-grandfather migrated to Mauritius from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1870s.

Prithvirajsing Roopun, the president of Mauritius since 2019, was born in an Indian Arya Samaj Hindu family.

Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi has been the president of Suriname since 2020.

Santokhi was born in 1959 into an Indo-Surinamese Hindu family in Lelydorp.

Wavel Ramkalawan has been serving as the president of Seychelles since October 2020.

His grandfather was from Bihar.

According to the 2021 Indiaspora Government Leaders List, more than 200 leaders of Indian heritage have ascended to the highest echelons of public service in 15 countries across the globe, with over 60 of them holding Cabinet positions.

With more than 32 million people of Indian origin (PIOs) globally, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Indians are the largest community population in the world.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: DEFENCE / INDIAN AIR FORCE / MAKE IN INDIA : Airbus Defence & Space hands over First of the 56, C-295 Transport Aircraft to IAF at a ceremony in Spanish city of Seville. The 1st Make in India C-295 will roll out from Vadodara in 2026.

The final assembly line for the C295 aircraft in Vadodara is set to be operational in November next year.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Wednesday received the first of the 56 C295 transport aircraft two years after India sealed a Rs 21,935-crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure the jets to replace its ageing Avro–748 fleet.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari, receiving the aircraft at the aerospace major’s production facility in the southern Spanish city of Seville, described it as a “momentous day” for the IAF and India as 40 C-295 out of the total fleet will be manufactured in Vadodara.

“It is a momentous day for us, for the Indian Air Force in particular, and a nation as a whole to receive the first aircraft which marks the beginning of a new era, wherein we will be manufacturing 40 of these aircraft in India,” he said.

Under the deal, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville by 2025 and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.

“It gives a tremendous boost to the capability of moving our forces to the frontline when required,” Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said.

The Chief of Air Staff also took a sortie on the new aircraft.

The C295, in transport configuration and with an indigenous electronic warfare suite, will leave Airbus’ production site in Seville for Delhi on September 15. It will be piloted by a joint IAF-Airbus crew.

“While the first aircraft was rolled out from Spain, the 17th aircraft will be assembled at the final assembly line in Baroda in 2026. It will mark a historic moment as the first time a military transport aircraft will be fully manufactured in India,” Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari told PTI.

The first ‘Make in India’ C295 will roll out of the Vadodara final assembly line in September 2026 in what will be a milestone for the Indian aerospace industry. The final aircraft is expected to be delivered to the IAF by August 2031.

“It was only two years ago that we signed this contract with India, the largest order in the history of the C295,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus’ Head of Military Air Systems.

“Today, we are enhancing the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and modernising its transport fleet by delivering the first aircraft on schedule. This is the beginning of an exciting and long-term journey with the Indian Air Force,” he said.

The production of components of these aircraft has already started in the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad, southern India. These parts will be shipped to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara which is expected to be operational by November 2024.

In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the manufacturing facility for C295 planes in Vadodara. It will be the first military aircraft to be manufactured in India by a private consortium.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is procuring the C295 aircraft to replace its fleet of ageing Avro-748 planes that entered the service over six decades back.

The global C295 programme comprises a total of 280 orders from 39 operators, making it an unmatched aircraft in its weight and mission class, the plane maker said.

The C295 is known to be a superior aircraft used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft.

The aircraft can airdrop paratroops and loads, and also be used for casualty or medical evacuation.

The aircraft is capable of performing special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

After the mega deal was finalised last year, Airbus said the C295 programme will see the company bring its complete bouquet of world-class aircraft manufacturing and servicing to India in collaboration with its industrial partners.

In May, the first C295 aircraft built for India successfully completed its maiden flight in Seville. The second one is in the final assembly at the Seville facility and is scheduled to be delivered to the IAF in May next year.

Six pilots from the IAF and 20 technicians have already undergone extensive training at the Seville facility.

The final assembly line for the C295 aircraft in Vadodara is set to be operational in November next year.

Officials said the IAF will be the world’s largest operator of the C295.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: G20 Summit: An Undisputed Success for India’s Presidency

India managed to hammer out an unexpected consensus among the G20 countries on the contentious Ukraine conflict through a series of hectic negotiations.

“Modi ki guarantee” and “Modi ka magic” helped in bringing about the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, said a source who witnessed the deliberations at the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi.

India managed to hammer out an unexpected consensus among the G20 countries on the contentious Ukraine conflict through a series of hectic negotiations. The consensus document had 10 broad themes and 37 sub-heads. But nearly all of this was accepted by the leaders of the G20 nations.

The text relating to the Ukraine conflict saw “a convergent consensus and not a divisive consensus. The sentiment in the room was buoyant,” the source said, adding that the Prime Minister was “a junction box of democratic values”. Refusing to draw any comparison with the Bali Declaration, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at a media briefing, “Bali was Bali and New Delhi is New Delhi. I mean, Bali was a year ago.” It was wrong to draw any inferences, he said.

The declaration issued at the G20’s Bali Summit last November had deplored in the strongest terms the Russian aggression against Ukraine while most members strongly condemned the war. The New Delhi declaration does not feature these formulations. Meanwhile, Russia is rather happy with the declaration.
“The summit is an unconditional success for the Indian Presidency and for all of us. The G20 is undergoing internal reform. This was reflected in the significant activation of G20 members representing the Global South,” said Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov also spoke of Moscow’s growing economic ties with Delhi and that the two countries were making efforts to come up with an alternative mechanism to the SWIFT financial system. On the UN resolutions on Ukraine, 16 members of the G20 voted for all the resolutions condemning Russia, while three members abstained and one voted against it.

“There was a consensus on the language of the document that was put up for the declaration. At the same time, I would like to reiterate that G20 is a forum that talks about economic reforms and development, and should not be used for geopolitics,” said French President Emmanuel Macron in response to a query from this newspaper.

Similar views were expressed by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I would like to compliment Prime Minister Modi on the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. There was consensus on it and we are happy to see this document,” said Erdogan, adding that he would be happy if there was a way for the conflict in Ukraine to come to an end.

And they take time off to

British PM Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murthy visited the Akshardham temple in the capital on Sunday. Despite the rain, the couple walked barefoot and spent close to an hour in the premises, admiring its history and architecture, offering prayers and performing aartis and puja. “This is not only a place of worship but a landmark that also portrays India’s culture,” Sunak said. The temple authorities gifted them a marble elephant, a marble peacock and a special replica of the Akshardham temple.

Sukhu only Cong CM at Prez dinner 

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was the only CM from the Congress-ruled states to attend the dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for G20 leaders on Saturday. He took the opportunity to request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the rain-caused calamity in the hill state a “national disaster”. An official statement said Sukhu has conveyed the gravity of the damage suffered by Himachal Pradesh during the monsoon to the PM and also told him that the state requires substantial assistance in the form of a special relief package from the Union government to chart a path towards recovery. Sukhu had earlier said that Himachal Pradesh had suffered losses to the tune of `12,000 crore due to rain-related incidents.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)