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Category: India

  • US proposes 60-day ceasefire for Gaza; hostage-prisoner swap, plan shows

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.

    The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.

    The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels.

    On Thursday, the White House said Israel had agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.

    Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

    The Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters it was reviewing the plan and would respond on Friday or Saturday.

    The U.S. plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows.

    The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages.

    Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

    Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.

    Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

    Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

    The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.

    MOUNTING PRESSURE

    Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries usually reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort.

    Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to “sending out a new term sheet” about a ceasefire by the two sides in the conflict.

    “I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict,” Witkoff said at the time.

    The 60-day ceasefire, according to the plan, may be extended if negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are not concluded within the set period.

    Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Thursday the terms of the proposal echoed Israel’s position and did not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded.

    The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site in Gaza on Thursday.

    Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group began its operation this week in Gaza, where the U.N. has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave.

    The launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians rushed to distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.

    The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in coming weeks.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand and India: A broad-based, enduring partnership

    Source: New Zealand Government

    [Speech to the Ananta Aspen Centre, New Delhi, India]
    Namaste, good afternoon. 
    Ms Indrani Bagchi, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for the chance to speak with you today. Over the past 18 months, New Zealand and India have been working hard to deepen the excellent relations developing between us.
    It’s great to be back in New Delhi, just over year since our last visit. Last night, we were able to take stock with Minister Jaishankar of the progress New Zealand and India have made in strengthening relations in recent times, while discussing a broad range of challenging issues facing our region and our world. 
    We must, at the outset, pay tribute to Minister Jaishankar. He is one of the world’s leading statesmen, and it is an absolute pleasure to be working with him on this important project of cementing New Zealand-India relations. 
    This afternoon, we would like to outline for you why and how New Zealand seeks stronger relations with India, in the context of our broader approach to foreign policy in these uncertain, disordered times. 
    We will describe New Zealand’s outward face: how our small state of 5.2 million people sees its place in, and interacts with, the rest of the world. We will outline New Zealand’s foreign policy, which was reset after the new Coalition Government came into office in late 2023. We wish you to understand our priorities as well as our national values. And we will describe our determination to do more in, and with South and South East Asia, and especially with the great nation that is India. 
    Who we are
    First and foremost, New Zealand is a small collection of islands in the Southwest Pacific, just north of the penguins. The original discovery and settlement of the Pacific Islands, including New Zealand, is one of the most remarkable stories of exploration in human history. 
    Historians have compared it with space exploration as both were journeys into the unknown. But Pacific navigation is arguably even more remarkable because the canoes that set out from the Asian landmass knew not where they would land, nor when, nor indeed if they would find any new territory.
    But find land they did, as they forged new identities and societies on atolls and islands that today stand as a testament to their imagination, endurance and a resilience to overcome the formidable challenges of distance, geography, and resource scarcity.
    So, New Zealand is a Pacific Island country – we just sailed and paddled further – and we are linked with our Pacific family by geography, history, culture, politics, demography and indeed DNA. 
    We are also, self-evidently, a maritime nation. The Pacific Ocean represents 31 percent of the world’s surface. The Indian Ocean accounts for another 20 percent, so the Indo-Pacific accounts for about half the world’s surface, meaning protecting sea lanes and freedom of navigation is crucial for both India and New Zealand.
    New Zealand is also a migrant nation, one of the most multicultural countries anywhere. Seventeen percent of our people trace their origins to Asia, including six percent who have Indian ancestry. That diversity strengthens us at home – and connects us to the region that shapes our prosperity. Seven of our ten largest export destinations are in Asia. That is no coincidence. It is the reality of a deeply interconnected future. 
    We are also a deeply democratic people, with New Zealand being one of only nine countries who have enjoyed democracy continuously since 1854. 
    We are proud to have granted our earliest people, the Māori, the franchise all the way back in 1867, and to have been the first nation on earth to give women the vote, in 1893. We were also proud, when visiting your new parliament last year, to see New Zealand-made carpet adorning India’s magnificent new chamber in the world’s largest democracy. 
    New Zealanders, as an artefact of our geographical isolation from the world’s great populations centres, have always been outward-looking people, curious about the world around them. Indeed, many of our most iconic New Zealanders have done their best work outside our shores. 
    Lord Ernest Rutherford, who split the atom. Mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, who first climbed Mount Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, and whose legacy we were able to honour in Nepal this week. And, more latterly, cricketer John Wright, who coached India’s national team between 2000-2005; and, lest we forget, while on the subject of cricket, the New Zealand team which stunned the cricketing world in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai last year, are just a few of our peak Kiwi performers overseas.
    But, as our cricket team showed, the New Zealand character is forged not by a never-ending pipeline of natural talent – something India is blessed with – but by working very hard to hone the skills needed to compete on the global stage and to make the most of limited resources, whatever the endeavour.
    We push ourselves to work harder because New Zealand has understood these past 80 years, as a small state geographically isolated from the great landmasses of Asia, Europe and the Americas, that only through the conduct of a highly active foreign policy can we advance our national interests, defend our region, and make it more prosperous.
    Foreign Policy Reset
    Distinguished guests, in February 2024 Cabinet endorsed a significant foreign policy reset. 
    The six pillars of our foreign policy reset are as follows:
    First, we are significantly increasing our focus and resources applied to South and Southeast Asia. 
    Second, we have renewed and reinvigorated meaningful engagement with our traditional and likeminded partners. Beginning, as always, with our one formal ally and indispensable partner, Australia, which we visited again just late last week. 
    Third, we are actively sustaining a deeper focus on the Pacific Islands region, bolstering development and security collaboration in response to regional needs and crises.
    Fourth, we are carefully targeting our multilateral engagement to global and transboundary issues, working with close partners to defend and preserve core principles of international law that underpin our security and prosperity. 
    Fifth, we are supporting new groupings that advance and defend our interests and capabilities. The IP4, where we work closely with Australia, South Korea, Japan and NATO, is an example of this new support. 
    Sixth, we are working hard promoting our goal of seriously lifting New Zealand’s export value over the next decade. 
    The six pillars of the Government’s Foreign Policy Reset are underpinned by three key concepts:

    The realism that informs the Government’s foreign policy.
    Our view of the crucial role that diplomacy needs to play in our troubled world.
    And our unshakeable belief that small states matter and that all states are equal.

    In fashioning foreign policy responses the realist tendency is to err on the side of prudence. That is, we are careful in what we say, and when and how we say it. In conditions of great uncertainty and disorder, such as we are currently experiencing, prudence is a both a logical and necessary guiding principle for a small state like New Zealand.
    We see our responsibility to the New Zealand people, in conducting foreign policy, as making cool-headed calculations of the country’s own strengths and weaknesses as we fashion our responses to events large or small that impact upon New Zealand’s interests.
    For a small state like New Zealand, the role of diplomacy is a crucial instrument of our foreign policy. In our complex geostrategic environment never has effective diplomacy been more needed. In the 18 months since returning for a third time as Foreign Minister we’ve spoken widely with colleagues across the globe. We’ve visited 45 countries, several more than once, met with well over 100 Presidents, Prime Ministers, Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, and had over 400 political engagements.

    Summing up those discussions in our National Statement to the United Nations last year, we said it has never been more apparent just how much diplomacy and the tools of statecraft matter in our troubled world. 
    Since war and instability is everyone’s calamity, diplomacy is the business of us all. We have observed that at this moment in time the ability to talk with, rather than at, each other has never been more needed. 
    Those who share our values, and even those who do not, gain from understanding each other’s position, even when we cannot agree. From understanding comes opportunity and from diplomacy comes compromise, the building block of better relations between nations. We said we need more diplomacy, more engagement, more compromise. 
    As Winston Churchill also said in his later years, “meeting jaw-to-jaw is better than war.”

    The inherent tensions and imbalances in the global order – between the desire for a rules-based order that protects small states against aggression, and the unjustified exercise of power by certain Great Powers – have only grown over the last past eight decades. 

    Yet small states matter now as much as they did then. New Zealand holds the foundational belief that all states are equal and that our voices matter as much as more powerful states. 
    Adopting a prudential approach to our diplomacy also means not reacting to everything that happens around you. We are more interested in understanding and anticipating the trend lines that are apparent over much longer periods and how they manifest during our time at the wheel.
    The broadening India-New Zealand relationship
    Which brings us to the India-New Zealand relationship.  India’s trendlines are nothing short of stunning. India’s growth story is well known to us, and it is breathtaking: the fastest-growing economy in the G20 and on track to be the world’s third-largest economy in the coming years. 
    India’s middle class is now almost half a billion strong. In the last decade alone, 250 million Indians have been lifted out of poverty. India’s aviation industry has soared, with the number of airports more than doubling to 157, and a new highway network covering 95,000 kilometres – enough to drive between New Zealand and India eight times. These are not mere statistics; they represent an extraordinary economic transformation. 
    Globally, India has cemented itself as a key player. Hosting the G20 summit in 2023 and landing a spacecraft on the moon’s South Pole two years ago, are testaments to its growing influence. 
    For New Zealand, India presents immense untapped potential. Despite India’s economic scale, it remains only our 12th largest trading partner, accounting for just 1.5 percent of our exports. 
    We are determined to change that. Our strengths – from food and beverage products to agriculture, forestry, horticulture, education, and tourism – are world-class. And our innovation in areas like outer space and renewable energy will find a welcoming partner in India.
    Early in this term we clearly expressed our intent to build a deeper and broader relationship with India. But, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” So we have followed through with practical action to broaden our relationship.
    We have sought to increase the tempo and seniority of engagements between our politicians. Our first overseas visit outside our home region of Australia and Pacific was to India, where we visited both Gujarat and New Delhi in March 2024. The Trade Minister has visited India five times. 
    In March his year, Prime Minister Luxon visited India on one of New Zealand’s largest-ever Prime Ministerial missions. And we enthusiastically welcomed India’s President in August 2024, and, just recently, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Pabitra Margherita.
    Since the Foreign Policy Reset, we’ve made concrete strides. We’ve launched negotiations on a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement – a breakthrough in our economic relationship. But even before that milestone we had put in place measures to deepen the economic relationship, with new arrangements on horticulture, forestry, and education also recently finalised.
    Additionally, we have seen a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Air New Zealand and Air India to explore a codeshare agreement on 16 routes across India, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. This will make travel between our nations easier, boosting tourism, education, and business connections. 
    But our relationship with India goes well beyond economic ties. It extends to defence and security – a priority for New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific. In an emerging multipolar world, India is evolving into a geopolitical giant, an indispensable security actor in both regional and global spheres. 
    During a time of great uncertainty, instability and disorder, we have taken steps to work more closely on matters of defence and security with India. A recently signed Defence Cooperation Arrangement will facilitate closer links between our militaries. 
    Meanwhile, we have taken practical steps to work together more closely. The New Zealand Navy is leading Combined Task Force 150, charged with securing trade routes and countering terrorism, smuggling, and piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. 
    India’s involvement in this mission, as the Deputy Command of the Task Force, underscores the growing closeness of our defence ties. The taskforce has already had very real impact, disrupting the trade of $600 million worth of illegal drugs so far. 
    With tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, it is crucial for New Zealand to work hand-in-hand with India and other like-minded partners to ensure the region remains free and open, with all nations respecting the rules that underpin peace and stability.
    India makes a significant contribution to upholding the rules-based international system on which we rely, via its growing influence in multilateral forums. 
    In addition, India has been a leader in promoting solar energy worldwide. We were pleased to sign up to the India and France-led International Solar Alliance, which now has over 100 member countries. And New Zealand has endorsed India’s candidature for permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council.
    Turning to our growing people-to-people links, Prime Minister Modi has spoken often of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, calling it a “living bridge” between our countries. 
    That is certainly true – the vibrant Indian community in New Zealand is contributing immeasurably to our society. 
    Their economic contribution is enormous, with estimates from six years ago suggesting it was worth around NZ$10 billion. We have no doubt it has grown since. 
    Of course, our partnership is also about more than economics and politics. It’s about people, and there’s no greater expression of that than sport. Cricket, of course, is a key element of our relationship – we will soon mark 100 years of sporting ties with India.
    But our sporting connections go beyond cricket. New Zealand and India have recently signed a Sports Memorandum of Cooperation, paving the way for new collaborations in high-performance sports, technology, research, and people exchanges.
    When you consider the range of measures outlined today across these key areas, it becomes clear that India and New Zealand are building a truly broad-based relationship.

    Concluding Remarks
    In concluding this speech on New Zealand’s foreign policy and our approach to India, and before taking your questions, let us briefly reinforce our key messages here this afternoon.
    First, while we are operating under severe conditions of uncertainty and the world faces extremely difficult economic and security challenges, New Zealand is pursuing a Foreign Policy Reset to help secure our place in the world.
    Second, the foreign policy of this New Zealand Government is unashamedly realist because in conditions of uncertainty prudence is preferable to pious platitudes when it comes to protecting New Zealand’s and the Indo-Pacific’s immediate and longer-term economic and security interests.
    Third, our broadening bilateral relations with India are very important to us. New Zealand is deeply committed to South and South East Asia in general, and India in particular. We are taking concrete actions to make good on our commitment to India and the region, across political engagement, defence and security, trade and economics, people and cultural, and multilateral connections. 
    Ultimately, there’s plenty in our relationship to benefit both New Zealand and India, as we work more closely together on defence and security, on sharing technology and human capital and in cooperating economically. India can rely upon New Zealand’s word and the actions that support them. And we are in it for the long haul. 
    Thank you.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • Flood risk threatens Swiss valley after village destroyed by glacier

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Water trapped behind a mass of glacial debris that this week buried a village and blocked a river in southern Switzerland has sparked warnings that further evacuations may be needed amid the risk of flooding in the Alpine valley.

    A deluge of millions of cubic meters of ice, mud and rock crashed down a mountain on Wednesday, engulfing the village of Blatten, and the few houses that remained later flooded. Its 300 residents had been evacuated earlier in May after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble.

    Flooding increased on Thursday as the mound of debris almost 2 km (1.2 miles) across clogged the path of the River Lonza, causing a lake to form amid the wreckage, raising fears that the morass could dislodge and trigger more evacuations.

    Late on Thursday, local authorities urged residents in Gampel and Steg, villages several kilometres further along the Lonza Valley, to prepare for possible evacuation in case of emergency.

    The army is standing by with water pumps, diggers and other heavy equipment to provide relief when conditions allow.

    Rescue teams have been looking for a 64-year-old man missing since the landslide. Local authorities suspended the search on Thursday afternoon, saying the debris mounds were too unstable for now, and warning of further rockfalls.

    Residents have struggled to absorb the scale of destruction caused by the deluge, an event that scientists suspect is a dramatic example of the impact of climate change in the Alps.

    (Reuters)

  • Day not far when Maoist violence will be eradicated, says PM Modi in Bihar

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for infrastructure and development projects worth over ₹48,520 crore in Bihar’s Karakat. Addressing a massive public rally, he affirmed the government’s strong resolve against Maoist violence and hailed the reduction in Naxal-affected districts across the country.

    “The day is not far when Maoist violence will be completely eradicated from the country,” the Prime Minister declared, crediting the government’s consistent efforts over the last decade. He stated that the number of Naxal-affected districts has reduced significantly — from over 75 before 2014 to just 18 now.

    Lauding Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s role in steering the state towards growth, PM Modi said, “When the ‘Jungle Raj’ was removed under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, Bihar began to move forward on the path of development.”

    He cited advancements in road and rail infrastructure, asserting that Bihar’s broken highways, poor railway facilities, and limited air connectivity were now a thing of the past. “A web of four-lane highways is being built, and bridges are coming up across all major rivers in Bihar,” he noted.

    Referring to the legacy of red terror in regions like Sasaram, the Prime Minister said, “The people of Bihar are witnesses to how those who spread violence and unrest have been eliminated. Naxalism was once dominant in these areas.”

    In a veiled criticism of those who supported extremist ideologies, PM Modi remarked that the groups promoting Naxalism had “no faith in Babasaheb Ambedkar,” yet Bihar continued to pursue development under difficult conditions.

    His remarks come in the wake of a major anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur, where Indian forces eliminated 27 Maoists, including top CPI (Maoist) commander Basavaraju. Active in Naxalite operations for nearly five decades, Basavaraju was reportedly involved in over 200 attacks.

  • Hazlewood’s return fuels Bengaluru’s IPL title dream

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Questions about Josh Hazlewood’s fitness were posed repeatedly at Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s press conferences ahead of their Indian Premier League playoff and the Australian showed on Thursday why there was so much interest in his availability.

    Returning to action after spending a month on the sidelines recovering from a shoulder injury, Hazlewood helped put Bengaluru on the cusp of a first IPL title with figures of 3-21 against Punjab Kings.

    Three-times runners-up Bengaluru bundled out Punjab for 101 and then chased down the target in 10 overs to book their place in Tuesday’s final.

    On a pitch that offered swing and bounce, Hazlewood took the key wickets of fellow Australian Josh Inglis and rival captain Shreyas Iyer, blows which Punjab never really recovered from.

    “The bowling unit was obviously back to the unit that bowled for most of the tournament, and again, we knew our roles really well,” Hazlewood told reporters after their eight-wicket win.

    “There was a little bit of seam movement, the bounce was probably a little bit inconsistent, so we sort of utilised that as best as we could.”

    Hazlewood’s 21 wickets from 11 games make him the third highest wicket-taker this season behind Noor Ahmed (24) and Prasidh Krishna (23), both of whom have played three games more than the Australian.

    On Mullanpur’s spicy wicket, a target of around 150 could have proved tricky, said Hazlewood.

    “They probably just had to pull back a little bit and try and get a score on the board, you know, 150-160 would have been a difficult chase potentially,” he added.

    “But I think we only let them bat as well as they could have, through our bowling.”

    The lively wicket also meant Hazlewood did not have to push his body to the limit on his return from injury.

    “The wicket helped obviously, I didn’t have to bowl any fast yorkers or anything like that, so yeah, it’s feeling not too bad.”

    (Reuters)

  • Caste-Based Enumeration In The Upcoming Decadal Census Will Be A Transformative Step; Will Bring About Social Justice: Vice-President

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    lign=”center”>Thoughtfully Collected Caste Data Will Be An Instrument Of Integration, Like An MRI Of The Body, Says VP
    Effective Policy Planning Without Robust Statistics Can Be Compared To Surgery In The Dark, Stresses VP
    The Future Belongs To Those Who Master The Art Of Reading Societies And Statistical Signatures, Urges VP
    The Path To A Developed India Is Built With Statistical Insights Marked By Evidence-Based Milestones, Highlights VP
    Understanding Statistics From The Perspective Of Demographic Variation Will Help Policymakers Address The Security Of The Nation, Says VP
    We Must Create A Nation That Thinks Empirically, Says VP
    Our Languages Can Never Be A Source Of Divisiveness; Our Languages Are A Unifying Force, Says VP
    Vice-President Addresses The Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers Of the 2024 and 2025 Batches in New Delhi

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said, “The Government has made a great decision. And the decision is to include caste-based enumeration in the upcoming decadal census. It will be a transformative step, game-changing. It will help bring about social justice. It will be an eye-opener. It will satisfy people’s aspirations. It’s a very broad decision of the government. There was a caste-based census earlier. Last time, I think it was conducted in 1931. I looked up to that census many times to know about my caste. I therefore realise the importance of caste-based enumeration.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928028421285642516

    Addressing the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers of the 2024 and 2025 batches in New Delhi today, Shri Dhankhar said, “Far from being divisive,  thoughtfully collected caste data will be an instrument of integration. Some people are debating it. We are mature minds. How can information collected by itself be a source of the problem? It is like getting your body MRI. You will know about it when you stand. People will realise. And this mechanism will transform abstract constitutional commitments to equality into measurable,  accountable policy outcomes.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928012739328311432

    The Vice-President drew a vivid analogy to highlight the value of precise and current data in governance, saying, “Effective policy planning without robust statistics you can compare it like a surgery in the dark. You can imagine how relevant your work is. Every digit in our national database represents a human story. Every trend line charts the trajectory of things. Let me give you a small illustration.”

    “And what it portends for our future, you will have rich experiences every moment of your service career. What you took for granted, you will find, is on a fragile premise. It’s a mirage, because data does not lie”, he noted.

    The Vice-President reiterated that India’s aspirations for becoming a developed nation are firmly rooted in evidence-based planning. He said, “We, as a nation, are looking for ‘Viksit Bharat,’ which is not our dream. It is our objective, defined destination, our goal. Bharat is no longer a nation with potential. It’s a nation on the rise, and the rise is unstoppable. And therefore, the path to a developed India is built with statistical insights marked by evidence-based milestones. In togetherness, we must create a nation that thinks empirically, as I indicated earlier, but is driven by hardcore evidence.”

    He urged timely and relevant data collection and usage for informed policymaking, saying, “Statistics is not merely about numbers. It is much more than numbers. It is about identifying patterns and drawing insights that inform wise policy decisions. Now, there is always urgency. If your data, data must be in sync with contemporaneous situations. Otherwise, it has a tendency to be stale. How detailed? It is about identifying patterns and growing insights. Have informed policy decisions based on data that is currently acceptable. A delayed or misguided policy can have serious consequences, and a timely intervention. Well-informed decisions can yield results that are exponential, not just incremental.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928026458213208084

    Affirming the human-centric nature of statistics, he stated, “Numbers are not cold abstractions; they are warm testimonies to our collective aspirations. These are the numbers. The future belongs to those who master the art of reading societies,  statistical signatures. And only you make those signatures available. In the convergence of statistical science and democratic values lies the secret to India’s continued rise.”

    The Vice-President emphasized that statistical accuracy empowers governments to shift from reactive measures to strategic foresight, saying, “This diagnostic precision transforms reactive governance into proactive stewardship. Otherwise, we will always be in reaction mode. Reaction mode is a weakness of policy—it reveals a void in foresight. But proactive stewardship is fundamental.”

    He further said, “We are also required to use data to address demographic trends. Demographic trends are beyond statistics. They are dependent on the analysis of statistics. In several ways, these variations define the pulse of the nation’s transformation. And therefore, understanding statistics from the perspective of demographic variation will help policymakers address the security of the nation. Preserve our sovereignty also. Analyse the threat perception. Help us devise policies. You come to know more about demography only from statistical analysis of raw figures. It’s a compass that will guide the nation’s journey for sustainable development.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928027482726486049

    Encouraging the young officers to see themselves as agents of equality, he reflected on their role in democratizing access and opportunities. Shri Dhankhar said, “You are probationers. Statistical cartography reveals the hidden geometries of inequality. I stressed—I reiterated on a number of occasions—democracy has meaning only if those who cannot help themselves are helped. They don’t have to question others that I need help, which means you must bring about equality and sublimity. Your cartography helps. Governance is enabled by your efforts to craft targeted interventions, where interventions are most needed.”

    He then reflected on the vital role of civil servants in India’s journey, saying, “In the vast canvas of India’s progress, civil servants functioned as the silent yet formidable architects contributing to the socio-economic development and progress of our dynamic nation. Thanks to the vision of the Prime Minister, his mission, that execution has been place by the bureaucracy. The performance of our bureaucracy will always be optimal if the political leadership is in the right framework. With the right policies, we are living in those times where the political framework is indicating hope and optimism. We are on the right path.  And that is why India is a nation at the moment with an unprecedented economic upsurge, phenomenal infrastructure growth. This is a mix of political vision and bureaucratic execution. I therefore say that India takes pride in its bureaucracy. It is the finest in the world. And that is why our aspirations get fructified.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928021046009155729

    Concluding his address, the Vice-President touched upon India’s linguistic diversity and its role in national unity, “India is uniquely positioned in the world when it comes to languages. We have multiple languages that make us proud — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Sanskrit, Hindi, several others (I may forget some), all of them, including Odia and other languages. Eight of them are classical languages. Our languages generate unity. Some of them have a global impact; their literature is a goldmine of knowledge. Our inclusivity is reflected in our languages, and if you go to the constitutional scheme of things, it is provided in the Constitution that for official work, there will be a progressive decline in the use of the English language and, similarly, an incremental trajectory for Hindi. Our National Education Policy stands out for giving primacy to the mother tongue. Technical subjects like medicine and engineering, the education is now being imparted in the vernacular. Our languages are our spinal strength. Our languages can never be a source of divisiveness. Our languages are a unifying force. I appeal to everyone in the country to have a soothing approach with wholesome motivation toward this fundamental cultural aspect of our nation.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1928021786941345885

    Dr. Saurabh Garg,  Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri. P. R. Meshram, Director General, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation And other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

  • PM Modi to launch development projects worth Rs 1,300 crore in Madhya Pradesh

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Madhya Pradesh on Saturday to commemorate the 300th birth anniversary of Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Holkar and unveil a series of development projects across the state, cumulatively valued at over Rs 1,300 crore.

    As part of the visit, the Prime Minister will attend the Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Mahila Sashaktikaran Mahasammelan in Bhopal, where he will release a commemorative postage stamp and a special Rs 300 coin in honor of Devi Ahilyabai .

    During the event, PM Modi will also present the National Devi Ahilyabai Award to a woman artist for her outstanding contribution to tribal, folk, and traditional arts.

    As part of the Simhastha Mahakumbh 2028 preparations, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for the construction of ghats along the Kshipra River in Ujjain. The Rs 860-crore project includes barrages, stop dams, and vented causeways to improve water regulation.

    The Prime Minister will also inaugurate newly built airports in Datia and Satna, which are expected to significantly enhance regional connectivity, stimulate tourism, and improve access to education and healthcare in surrounding areas.

    In Indore, PM Modi will flag off passenger services on the Yellow Line of the Indore Metro’s Super Priority Corridor, a move aimed at easing urban traffic congestion and reducing pollution, while offering modern and efficient public transport.

    Additionally, the Prime Minister will transfer the first installment for the construction of 1,271 Atal Gram Sushasan Bhawans. With an estimated cost of over Rs 480 crore, these buildings will strengthen infrastructure at the gram panchayat level and improve administrative efficiency in rural areas.

  • Saudi warned Iran to reach nuclear deal with Trump or risk Israeli strike

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Saudi Arabia’s defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump’s offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.

    Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the region, Saudi Arabia’s 89-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz dispatched his son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, with the warning destined for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to two Gulf sources close to government circles and two Iranian officials.

    Present at the closed-door meeting in Tehran, which took place on April 17 in the presidential compound, were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the sources said.

    While media covered the 37-year-old prince’s visit, the content of the King Salman’s covert message has not been previously reported.

    Prince Khalid, who was Saudi ambassador to Washington during Trump’s first term, warned Iranian officials that the U.S. leader has little patience for drawn-out negotiations, according to the four sources.

    Trump had unexpectedly announced just over a week earlier that direct talks were taking place with Tehran, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. He did so in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had travelled to Washington hoping instead to win support for attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

    In Tehran, Prince Khalid told the group of senior Iranian officials that Trump’s team would want to reach a deal quickly, and the window for diplomacy would close fast, according to the four sources.

    The Saudi minister said it would be better to reach a deal with the U.S. than face the possibility of an Israeli attack if the talks broke down, according to the two Gulf sources.

    He argued that the region – already riven by recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon – could not withstand a further escalation in tensions, said the two Gulf sources and one senior foreign diplomat familiar with the discussions.

    Authorities in Saudi Arabia and Iran did not respond to requests for comment.

    The visit by Prince Khalid – the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman – was the first by a senior member of the Saudi royal family to Iran in more than two decades. Riyadh and Tehran had long been bitter rivals, often backing opposing sides in proxy wars, until a rapprochement brokered by China in 2023 helped to ease the tensions and restored diplomatic ties.

    Over the past two years, Iran’s regional position has been undermined by heavy military blows inflicted by Israel on its allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and toppling of its close ally, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Western sanctions, meanwhile, have hit its oil-dependent economy hard.

    Mohanad Hage Ali, an expert on Iran at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank in Beirut, said that Tehran’s weakness had offered Saudi Arabia the opportunity to exert its diplomatic influence, seeking to avoid a regional conflagration.

    “They want to avoid war because war and confrontation with Iran will have negative implications on them and their economic vision and ambitions,” he told Reuters.

    IRAN WANTS A DEAL

    Reuters was unable to determine the impact of the prince’s message on Iran’s leadership.

    In the meeting, Pezeshkian responded that Iran wanted a deal to ease economic pressure through the lifting of Western sanctions, the four sources said.

    However, the Iranian officials, the sources added, expressed concerns over the Trump administration’s “unpredictable” approach to negotiations — which have veered from allowing limited uranium enrichment to demanding the complete dismantling of Tehran’s enrichment program.

    Trump also has threatened to use military force if diplomacy fails to rein in the clerical establishment’s nuclear ambitions.

    One of the Iranian sources said that Pezeshkian emphasized Tehran’s eagerness to reach a deal but that Iran was not willing to sacrifice its enrichment program just because Trump wanted an agreement.

    The ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran have already been through five rounds to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, but multiple stumbling blocks remain, including the key issue of enrichment.

    Reuters reported on Wednesday that Iran might pause uranium enrichment if the U.S. releases its frozen funds and recognises its right to refine uranium for civilian use under a “political deal” that could lead to a broader nuclear accord, according to two Iranian sources familiar with the talks. The semi-official Fars news agency in Iran quoted a foreign ministry spokesman denying the report.

    The White House did not directly address Reuters’ questions about whether it was aware of the Saudi warning to Iran.

    “President Trump has made it clear: make a deal, or face grave consequences, and the whole world is clearly taking him seriously, as they should,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

    Trump said on Wednesday he warned Netanyahu last week not to take any actions that could disrupt nuclear talks with Iran, and said the two sides were “very close to a solution now”.

    Israeli authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

    HIGH STAKES

    A four-day visit by Trump to the Gulf this month annointed Saudi Arabia as the most prominent member of a new axis of Sunni states in the Middle East, filling the void left by Iran’s shattered alliance. During the trip, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman mediated a reconciliation between Trump and Syria’s new Sunni leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

    Tehran’s regional sway, meanwhile, has been diminished by military setbacks suffered by Iran and its allies in the Shi’ite-dominated Axis of Resistance, which include Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iraqi militias

    In the meeting, Prince Khalid urged Iran to rethink its regional policy, noting such a shift would be welcomed, especially by Riyadh, the sources said.

    Although he stopped short of directly blaming Iran, the Saudi minister voiced concern over a possible repeat of the 2019 drone attacks on the facilities of state oil company Aramco – attacks the kingdom attributed to Iran and its Houthi allies, despite Tehran’s denial.

    Iranian officials maintained that while Tehran holds some influence over the Houthis, it does not fully control their actions, the Iranian sources said.

    Decades of hostility between the Shi’ite Iran and Saudi Arabia destabilised the Gulf and fuelled regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria. The 2023 detente was driven in part by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed’s economic ambitions and desire for stability, and has led to increased contacts between the governments.

    However, neither Saudi Arabia nor other regional powers see Iran as a dependable partner for peace and they fear its actions could jeopardize their ambitions for economic development, diplomats and regional experts say.

    Prince Khalid implored the Iranians to avoid actions by them and their allies that might provoke Washington, stressing that Trump’s response would likely be more strident than his predecessors, presidents Joe Biden and Barak Obama.

    In turn, he assured Tehran that Riyadh would not let its territory or airspace to be used by the United States or Israel for any potential military action against Iran, the sources said.

    (Reuters)

  • India to be fastest-growing economy for next 30 years: Piyush Goyal

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    India is poised to remain the fastest-growing large economy for the next three decades, with a sustained annual growth rate of 6–7%, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

    Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit 2025, Goyal said the government is aiming to push growth to 8% at constant prices.

    “Even amidst international upheavals, we are among the better-performing emerging markets,” he said. “Today, India holds the world’s fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves in the world at about $690 billion. Our inflation has remained below 4% for the last three months. The Reserve Bank has done a commendable job balancing liquidity and currency management.”

    Goyal emphasized that India remains an attractive investment destination. Over the past two decades, Indian companies have delivered nearly 20% CAGR returns, he noted, adding that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows continue to break records. “We are back on track on the growth trajectory, working through international trading relations,” he said.

    On trade agreements, Goyal pointed to major progress on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the UAE, Australia, the UK, and the four EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). “We are well on track with our bilateral trade agreement with the USA and making fast progress with the European Union’s 27-nation bloc. We have also launched negotiations with New Zealand,” he said.

    Goyal said the EFTA countries have committed $100 billion in FDI over the next 15 years, potentially catalyzing a total investment of $500 billion. “This ecosystem could attract an additional $500 billion,” he added. The investment clause in the EFTA deal is the first of its kind globally, and the figures exclude contributions from Norway’s sovereign wealth fund.

    Despite global volatility, Goyal said India continues to be a pillar of global growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that India will become the world’s third-largest economy by GDP by 2027.

    Highlighting government’s sustained push for ease of doing business, the Goyal said that over 40,000 compliances have been reduced, several laws have been decriminalised, and nearly 2,000 obsolete laws have been removed from the statute book. He noted that the Jan Vishwas Bill reflects the trust between the government and people.

    “The Act promotes self-certification, encourages businesses to offer suggestions to improve ease of doing business, and simplifies people’s lives. It reflects a government that trusts its stakeholders,” he said.

    On the sustainability front, he pointed out that renewable energy coupled with storage is now available at ₹3.30 per kilowatt hour—among the lowest globally. “Solar and wind plus storage make a compelling case for data centres to come to India. We have a large interconnected grid with low-cost clean energy to power these centres. This is not just about sustainability – it is an economic case,” he said.

    Reaffirming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for inclusive development, Goyal said the government is working to ensure that every citizen has access to quality healthcare, education, and basic needs. “Free healthcare, quality education and basic needs are being addressed. We are now seeing employment growth, and skill development centres are playing a key role. No child should be deprived, and no man should be left behind,” he said.

  • Operation Sindoor outreach: Tharoor-led delegation reaffirms India’s anti-terror stand in Colombia

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An all-party Indian parliamentary delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor arrived in Colombia on Thursday, continuing its diplomatic outreach in Latin America to highlight India’s zero-tolerance stance on terrorism and strengthen bilateral ties with key regional partners.

    Sharing an update from Bogotá, Tharoor posted on X: “Our Colombia visit got under way today with a briefing to the delegation from our Ambassador, Vanlalhuma, followed by a well-attended press interaction with more than a dozen local media outlets. I then did an interview with Colombian journalist Juan Camillo Ramirez. Getting the message out where it needs to be heard!”

    The visit, which runs from May 29 to 31, includes meetings with Colombian lawmakers, government ministers, policy think tanks, and media representatives. The discussions are focused on promoting counterterrorism cooperation and expanding strategic and economic engagement between the two democracies.

    The Colombia leg follows a high-profile visit to Panama, where the Indian delegation was hosted by Ambassador Sumit Seth.

    “Our trip ended with a spectacular reception hosted by Ambassador Seth for the diplomatic corps and influential Panamanian personalities. The Foreign Minister spoke, as did his Vice-Minister, Carlos Hoyos, in strong sympathy for India, expressing support for our fight against terrorism and for enhancing the close cooperation between our two countries,” Tharoor said

    The delegation comprises MPs Sarfraz Ahmad, Ganti Harish Madhur, Shashank Mani Tripathi, Milind Murli Deora, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Tejasvi Surya, and Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

    (With inputs from IANS)

  • Trump envoy says Russian concern over NATO enlargement is fair

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia’s concern over the eastward enlargement of NATO was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the U.S.-led military alliance.

    Asked by U.S. network ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge over NATO not enlarging eastwards to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg said: “It’s a fair concern.”

    “We’ve said that to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we’re not the only country that says that – you know I could probably give you four other countries in NATO and it takes 32 of the 32 to allow you to come in to NATO,” he told ABC late on Thursday. “That’s one of the issues that Russia will bring up.”

    “They’re not just talking Ukraine, they’re talking the country of Georgia, they’re talking Moldova,” Kellogg said, adding that a decision on U.S. views of NATO enlargement was for Trump to make.

    Kellogg said the sequencing of the peace talks would include an attempt to merge the two memorandums drafted by Ukraine and Russia into one single document with talks in Turkey on Monday.

    “When we get into Istanbul next week we’ll sit down and talk,” Kellogg said, adding that the national security advisers from Germany, France and Britain would join discussions on the memorandum with the United States.

    Kellogg said Trump was “frustrated” with Russia because he had seen “a level of unreasonableness” from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He scolded Russia for striking Ukrainian cities and said he had told Ukraine to turn up to talks.

    A conservative estimate of dead and injured in the Ukraine war – from both sides combined – totals 1.2 million, Kellogg said.

    “That is a stunning number – this is war on an industrial scale,” Kellogg told ABC.

    (Reuters)

  • India’s All-Party Delegation concludes anti-terror mission in Saudi Arabia

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    An All-Party Parliamentary delegation from India concluded its three-day diplomatic mission to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, emphasizing India’s unwavering stance against terrorism in the wake of recent cross-border attacks. Led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, the delegation held extensive interactions with Saudi think tanks and the Indian diaspora as part of a broader global outreach initiative following India’s military response to the devastating April terrorist attack.

    The delegation’s visit comes in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, where five armed terrorists killed 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local resident, in one of the deadliest attacks in Kashmir in decades. The incident prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor, which the delegation described as establishing “a new benchmark in India’s fight against terrorism.”

    During their Saudi visit, the Indian representatives met with Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Centre in Riyadh, and Dr. Abdulmajeed Albanyan, President of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences. The discussions focused on India’s three-decade struggle with cross-border terrorism and explored potential collaboration in emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing for counter-terrorism efforts

    .The delegation emphasized that the Pahalgam attack was designed to undermine economic progress in Jammu and Kashmir and incite communal tensions across India. They highlighted how the nation’s unified response demonstrated India’s collective resolve against such threats, noting that all attempts to divide the country were met with popular resistance.

    This Saudi Arabia mission represents part of a comprehensive diplomatic offensive, with seven All-Party delegations comprising 59 members visiting 32 countries to convey India’s zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. The initiative aims to build international support for India’s position while countering narratives that might justify terrorist activities.

    The delegation’s engagement with the Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia underscored the community’s role in India’s development and acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s consistent support in condemning terrorism. The visit reinforced the growing security cooperation between the two nations, particularly in areas of counter-terrorism and regional stability.The broader diplomatic campaign follows India’s military strikes against alleged terrorist camps across the border, marking what officials describe as a shift toward a ‘new normal policy’ in addressing cross-border terrorism threats.

  • Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri meets business leaders in US, focuses on tech and trade cooperation

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor met with leading U.S. business executives during a roundtable hosted by the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on Thursday, focusing on bolstering bilateral cooperation in key sectors.

    The Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., described the discussions as “engaging.”

    “They emphasized the importance of G2G, academia, and industry collaboration to advance critical and emerging technologies in defence and strategic domains — key to transforming the partnership for the 21st century,” the embassy said in a post on X.

    USISPF, in a statement, said the dialogue focused on expanding cooperation under the TRUST initiative—an effort to build a secure, transparent, and resilient innovation ecosystem through stronger public-private-academic engagement.

    Misri’s three-day visit to the U.S. (May 27–29) focused on strategic and economic ties with Washington. His agenda included meetings with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Under Secretary of Commerce Jeffrey Kessler.

    According to the U.S. Department of State, Landau reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-India partnership.

    “He underscored the importance of fair and reciprocal market access to fostering economic growth and prosperity in both countries. The Deputy Secretary emphasised the importance of enhanced cooperation on migration and counternarcotics,” the State Department said in a statement.

    “The Deputy Secretary and the Foreign Secretary also reaffirmed their shared desire to maintain regional stability and peace,” the statement added

    (With inputs from IANS)

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Result of the Daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction held on May 30, 2025

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    Tenor 3-day
    Notified Amount (in ₹ crore) 25,000
    Total amount of bids received (in ₹ crore) 8,721
    Amount allotted (in ₹ crore) 8,721
    Cut off Rate (%) 6.01
    Weighted Average Rate (%) 6.01
    Partial Allotment Percentage of bids received at cut off rate (%) NA

    Ajit Prasad          
    Deputy General Manager
    (Communications)   

    Press Release: 2025-2026/435

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI China: Sinner sends Gasquet into retirement, Djokovic marches on

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    World No. 1 Jannik Sinner advanced with a commanding straight-sets victory over French veteran Richard Gasquet, bringing an emotional close to the 38-year-old’s career, while Novak Djokovic progressed smoothly in his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open on Thursday.

    The day held special significance for Gasquet, who was making his 22nd and final appearance at Roland Garros, as he had announced he would retire after the tournament. Facing the formidable Sinner, Gasquet battled valiantly but was ultimately overcome 6-3, 6-0, 6-4, ending his run in the second round.

    “Thank you for being very fair with me today, I know what was at stake. It’s your [Gasquet’s] moment. Congrats on an amazing career,” Sinner said post-match.

    Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return during the men’s singles second round match against Corentin Moutet of France at French Open tennis tournament 2025 in Paris, France, May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

    Djokovic also booked his spot in the last-32 with a straight-sets win over Frenchman Corentin Moutet, triumphing 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

    Although the 38-year-old Serbian required a medical timeout for a blister on his foot during the match, he displayed characteristic composure and stability. Djokovic will next play Austrian qualifier Filip Misolic.

    “I came to Roland Garros with more confidence, good feelings. Hopefully I can continue like that,” he said.

    Women’s second seed Coco Gauff of the United States delivered a solid performance to beat last year’s junior champion Tereza Valentova 6-2, 6-4.

    Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva, who made a remarkable run to the semifinals here last year, continued her good form. Having already captured two WTA 1000 titles earlier this season in Dubai and Indian Wells, the 18-year-old defeated American Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-4.

    Elsewhere, reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova suffered an early exit, falling 6-0, 6-3 to Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • Nepal’s royalists demand restoration of monarchy dumped 17 years ago

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Thousands of supporters of Nepal’s former king rallied in the capital Kathmandu on Thursday, calling for the restoration of the constitutional monarchy that was abolished 17 years ago, amid rising unhappiness with successive elected governments.

    Flag-waving protesters marched into the city centre from different directions shouting: “Our king is dearer than lives … king come back and save the country,” as riot police stood guard but did not intervene.

    At a similar rally in March, two people were killed and several injured.

    The 239-year-old monarchy was voted out in 2008 following weeks of bloody street protests. The last king of the Himalayan nation, 77-year-old Gyanendra, has lived with his family in a private house in Kathmandu as a commoner since being toppled.

    He has not commented on Thursday’s demonstration but expressed sorrow at the violence that killed two people in March.

    Demonstrators are also calling for the country of 30 million people, wedged between China and India, to become a Hindu state again, a status it lost with the monarchy.

    “Governments formed in the last 17 years have failed to deliver on their promises of development, creation of jobs and improvement of the living conditions of people,” said 35-year-old street vendor Rajendra Tamang.

    “Thousands of young people are forced to leave the country in search of work as they see no hope here,” he said.

    Millions of young Nepalis are working in the Middle East, South Korea and Malaysia, mainly at construction sites, and the money they send home is a key source of income for Nepal.

    Supporters of the government staged a separate but smaller rally nearby in support of the republican system that replaced the monarchy.

    The three major political parties that jointly control nearly 200 of the 275 seats in parliament say the monarchy was consigned to history and cannot be restored.

    All three jointly campaigned against the monarchy and voted it out in 2008 and say their faith in the republican system was unshakeable.

    The Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which is campaigning for the monarchy, holds only 13 seats in parliament.

    A two-thirds majority or 184 lawmakers is needed to change the constitution, which was adopted in 2015, turning Nepal into a federal democratic republic.

    The royalists say their protests will continue until the monarchy is restored.

    (Reuters)

  • PM Modi to launch ₹48,500 crore development projects in Bihar today

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil development projects worth ₹48,500 crore during his visit to Bikramganj in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Friday. His address at a large public rally will mark the launch and foundation laying of key infrastructure and welfare initiatives aimed at accelerating Bihar’s growth across sectors like transportation, energy, and connectivity.

    Ahead of the Prime Minister’s arrival, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan are expected to reach the venue. The rally site, sprawling across 444 acres, has been extensively prepared with a large stage, massive canopy, and elaborate floral decorations, with flowers sourced from Kolkata and Patna. Local artisans worked through Thursday to complete the arrangements.

    Security has been tightened with over 5,000 personnel deployed at the venue. The force includes 10 Superintendents of Police, 50 Deputy SPs, and over 1,000 inspectors and sub-inspectors. A total of 250 checkpoints have been established, and temporary police stations, ambulances, and fire engines are also stationed on-site. The District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police are personally overseeing the arrangements.

    From the rally platform, PM Modi will inaugurate or lay the foundation stone for several big-ticket projects. These include key road and railway upgrades such as the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi four-lane road, a four-lane elevated corridor in Gopalganj, and third railway lines between Sonnagar-Muhammadganj and Kajart Nawadih-Sonnagar. He will also inaugurate three 800 MW power units under Phase II of the Navinagar thermal plant and major national highways including the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata six-lane expressway.

    Additional projects include the automatic block signalling system from Sasaram to Anugrah Narayan Road, a new Ganga bridge between Buxar and Bharauli on NH-92, and the extension of NH-119D from Ramnagar to Kachchi Dargah. PM Modi will also inaugurate the new five-platform railway terminal at Harding Park in Patna, as well as facilities like hostels and staff quarters in Jehanabad.

    With thousands of supporters expected to attend, the rally is not only a platform for announcing development projects but also carries political significance. The visit is seen as a key moment for strengthening the BJP’s organisational base in the state ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. 

    -IANS

  • Musk aiming to send uncrewed Starship to Mars by end of 2026

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Two days after the latest in a string of test-flight setbacks for his big new Mars spacecraft, Starship, Elon Musk said on Thursday he foresees the futuristic vehicle making its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of next year.

    Musk presented a detailed Starship development timeline in a video posted online by his Los Angeles area-based rocket company, SpaceX, a day after saying he was departing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as head of a tumultuous campaign to slash government bureaucracy.

    The billionaire entrepreneur had said earlier that he was planning to scale back his role in government to focus greater attention on his various businesses, including SpaceX and electric car and battery maker Tesla.

    Musk acknowledged that his latest timeline for reaching Mars hinged on whether Starship can accomplish a number of challenging technical feats during its flight-test development, particularly a post-launch refueling maneuver in Earth orbit.

    The end of 2026 would coincide with a slim window that occurs once every two years when Mars and Earth align around the sun for the closest trip between the two planets, which would take seven to nine months to transit by spacecraft.

    Musk gave his company a 50-50 chance of meeting that deadline. If Starship were not ready by that time, SpaceX would wait another two years before trying again, Musk suggested in the video.

    The first flight to Mars would carry a simulated crew consisting of one or more robots of the Tesla-built humanoid Optimus design, with the first human crews following in the second or third landings. Musk said he envisioned eventually launching 1,000 to 2,000 ships to Mars every two years to quickly establish a self-sustaining permanent human settlement.

    NASA is currently aiming to return humans to the surface of the moon aboard Starship as early as 2027 – more than 50 years after its last manned lunar landings of the Apollo era – as a stepping stone toward ultimately launching astronauts to Mars sometime in the 2030s.

    Musk, who has advocated for a more Mars-focused human spaceflight program, has previously said he was aiming to send an unmanned SpaceX vehicle to the red planet as early as 2018 and was targeting 2024 to launch a first crewed mission there.

    The SpaceX founder was scheduled to deliver a livestream presentation billed as “The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary” from the company’s Starbase, Texas, launch site on Tuesday night, following a ninth test flight of Starship that evening.

    But the webcast was canceled without notice after Starship spun out of control and disintegrated in a fireball about 30 minutes after launch and roughly halfway through its flight path without achieving some of its most important test goals.

    Two preceding test flights in January and March failed in more spectacular fashion, with the spacecraft blowing to pieces on ascent moments after liftoff, raining debris over parts of the Caribbean and forcing scores of commercial jetliners to change course as a precaution.

    Musk shrugged off the latest mishap on Tuesday with a brief post on X, saying it produced a lot of “good data to review” and promising a faster launch “cadence” for the next several test flights.

    (Reuters)

  • Indian stock market opens flat amid stable institutional investments

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Indian benchmark indices opened on a flat note on Friday, tracking weak cues from Asian markets and early pressure in IT and auto stocks. Analysts suggest the market is likely to remain in a consolidation phase in the near term due to the absence of strong positive triggers.

    At 9:29 a.m., the Sensex was marginally up by 11.77 points at 81,644.79, while the Nifty gained 13.20 points to trade at 24,846.80.

    The Nifty Bank index rose by 81.20 points (0.15%) to 55,627.25, and the Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.44% to 57,707.65. The Nifty Smallcap 100 also edged higher by 0.21% to 17,927.15.

    Despite subdued trade in early hours, analysts noted a positive technical signal from Thursday’s session, where the Nifty staged a smart rebound towards the end. Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, “Yesterday’s recovery showed a bullish lower shadow and small real body close to the day’s high, suggesting potential upward momentum.” He identified 24,677 and 25,000 as immediate support and resistance levels, respectively.

    In the Sensex pack, top losers included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, and Hindustan Unilever. On the gaining side were Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and Sun Pharma.

    Weakness persisted across Asian markets, with indices in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, China, and Japan trading in the red.

    Meanwhile, US markets closed higher in the previous session. The Dow Jones added 117.03 points to settle at 42,215.73, the S&P 500 rose by 23.62 points to 5,912.17, and the Nasdaq gained 74.93 points to close at 19,175.87.

    Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, highlighted a key reason for the market’s range-bound nature. “India’s macroeconomic fundamentals are strong and improving, but this is not yet being reflected in corporate earnings,” he said.

    On the institutional front, FIIs were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹884.03 crore on May 29. DIIs were also strong buyers, investing ₹4,286.50 crore.

    -IANS

  • US proposes 60-day ceasefire for Gaza, plan shows

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    A U.S. plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week and the release of 125 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.

    The plan, which says it is guaranteed by U.S. President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.

    The plan stipulates that Hamas will release the last 30 hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place.

    The White House said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to the U.S. ceasefire proposal.

    The Palestinian militant group Hamas told media it was reviewing the plan and will respond on Friday or Saturday.

    Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

    Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war.

    Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

    Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

    The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.

    (Reuters)

  • Without Musk, DOGE likely to fizzle out, says ex-staffer

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Without billionaire Elon Musk in the Trump administration, his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency project is likely to sputter out, a former DOGE staffer said in his first interview since leaving the team.

    Tesla CEO Musk announced on Wednesday evening that he was ending his time as a special government employee but vowed that DOGE would continue without him. Administration media representatives also said in statements to Reuters that DOGE would continue its work.

    DOGE has overseen job cuts at nearly every federal agency as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempts to shake up the federal bureaucracy.

    However, software engineer Sahil Lavingia, who spent almost two months working for the group of pro-Musk technologists, said he expects DOGE to quickly “fizzle out.”

    “It’ll just die a whimper,” Lavingia, who was fired from DOGE earlier this month, told Reuters. “So much of the appeal and allure was Elon.” He said he expected DOGE staffers to “just stop showing up to work. It’s like kids joining a startup that will go out of business in four months.”

    That would cap a remarkable undoing for DOGE, which Musk initially vowed would cut $2 trillion in federal spending. Instead, DOGE estimates its efforts have saved around $175 billion so far and the group’s tallies have been riddled with errors.

    “DOGE is integral to the federal government’s operations, and its mission, as established by the President’s executive order, will continue under the direction of agency and department heads in the Trump administration,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.

    Lavingia, the 32-year-old founder and CEO of creator platform Gumroad, said he was recruited by DOGE through a personal contact and joined the team in March.

    While he said he was proud of certain achievements at the Department of Veterans Affairs, including modernizing the agency’s internal artificial-intelligence chatbot, he said he was often at a loss about what work he was expected to do.

    “I got dropped into the VA with an HP laptop. What are we supposed to do? What is the road map?” Lavingia said he asked, to no avail. “I felt like I was being pranked.”

    Veterans Affairs press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in a statement to Reuters: “VA looks forward to continuing to work with its DOGE liaisons to help the department improve its performance, customer service, and convenience to Veterans.”

    Lavingia said Steve Davis, the president of Musk’s tunneling enterprise the Boring Company, ran day-to-day operations while Turkish-born venture capitalist Baris Akis helped with DOGE recruitment and DOGE logistics.

    When instructions did come through, they were usually communicated through phone calls or small chats on the encrypted Signal messaging app that would typically auto-delete in one day, Lavingia said.

    Lavingia said instructions included moving faster to increase mass layoffs at the VA, the federal government’s second-largest agency.

    The only time he met Musk, Lavingia said, was at an all-hands meeting in March with what he estimated was between 40 and 60 fellow DOGE staffers.

    Lavingia said he asked to open-source, or make freely available, some of his computer code, which Musk approved.

    He then asked if they could livestream DOGE meetings to increase transparency.

    “Elon said: ‘That’s a great idea. We’ll do it next week.’ He then caught himself and said: ‘Maybe we pre-record it because of security risks.’”

    Lavingia said he never heard back.

    In early May, after he spoke to media outlet Fast Company about working at DOGE, Lavingia said his computer access was revoked in what amounted to a firing. He said Musk and team leaders never explicitly told him he should not talk to journalists.

    “My DOGE days were over,” Lavingia wrote in a blog about his experience.

    (Reuters)

  • Trump aims to exceed first term’s weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The United States plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taipei to a level exceeding President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the democratic island, according to two U.S. officials.

    If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to the island. It would also add new friction to the tense U.S.-China relationship.

    The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they expect U.S. approvals for weapons sales to Taipei over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of the officials saying arms sales notifications to Taiwan could “easily exceed” that earlier period.

    They also said the United States is pressing members of Taiwan’s opposition parties not to oppose the government’s efforts to increase defense spending to 3% of the island’s budget.

    The first Trump administration approved sales of approximately $18.3 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, compared with around $8.4 billion during Joe Biden’s term, according to Reuters calculations.

    The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei.

    Even so, many in Taiwan, which China claims as its own, worry that Trump may not be as committed to the island as past U.S. presidents.

    On the election campaign trail, Trump suggested Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the island of stealing American semiconductor business, causing alarm in Taipei.

    China has vowed to “reunify” with the separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

    The U.S. officials said administration officials and Trump himself were committed to “enhancing hard deterrence” for Taiwan.

    “That’s where the president is. That’s where all of us are,” one U.S. official said, adding that they were working closely with Taiwan on an arms procurement package to be rolled out when Taiwan secured domestic funding.

    Taiwan’s Presidential Office told Reuters the government is determined to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and pointed to its proposals to increase defense spending.

    “Taiwan aims to enhance military deterrence while continuing to deepen its security cooperation with the United States,” Presidential Office spokesperson Wen Lii said.

    Taiwan’s defense ministry declined to comment on any new arms sales, but reiterated previous remarks by the island’s defense minister, Wellington Koo, about the importance of “solidarity and cooperation of democratic allies.”

    -Reuters

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: McClay to champion NZ’s trade interests at OECD and in Brussels

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Europe this weekend to advance New Zealand’s trade and investment interests 

    Minister McClay will visit Switzerland, Paris and Brussels for high level ministerial and business meetings.  

    In Switzerland he will attend the first in person meeting of a new pro-trade group with ministers from UAE, Singapore and Switzerland where he will focus on removing trade barriers and the promotion of paperless trade. 

    In Paris he will attend the annual OECD Trade Ministers, a CPTPP ministers discussion, ACCTs Ministers meeting, and a WTO Mini Ministerial meeting. He will also hold discussions with ministers from Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, USA.

    He will also undertake a bilateral French programme and meet the French Minister responsible for Trade.

    In Brussels Mr McClay will hold talks with EU Commissioner for Trade, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, and EU Vice President responsible for sustainability.  He will also speak at an event to mark the first year of the NZ EU FTA. 

    “One in four Kiwi jobs depend on Trade, and strong trade relationships mean more opportunities for New Zealander.

    The Government’s is committed to the ambitious goal of doubling exports by value in the next ten years to deliver higher paying jobs for all New Zealanders,” Mr McClay says.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • Judge blocks Trump ban on Harvard’s international students

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    A federal judge said on Thursday she would extend an order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from immediately revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a victory for the Ivy League school that is entangled in multiple battles with the administration.

    U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston announced her intention to issue a preliminary injunction, six days after she first granted Harvard a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s move.

    As the court hearing unfolded on Thursday morning, thousands of Harvard students were receiving their degrees at the school’s commencement ceremony on campus about 5 miles (8 km) away.

    University President Alan Garber, who received a standing ovation, welcomed graduating students “from down the street, across the country and around the world,” drawing applause for the last words.

    “Around the world – just as it should be,” he added.

    The Trump administration has launched a multifront attack on the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding, proposing to end its tax-exempt status and opening an investigation into whether it discriminated against white, Asian, male or straight employees or job applicants.

    Revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students would be damaging, the school says. More than a quarter of the student body is international; nearly 60% of the graduate students at the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School hail from other countries.

    The attack on Harvard is part of the administration’s broader effort to pressure higher education institutions to align with its policy agenda.

    On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would start “aggressively” revoking visas issued to Chinese students attending U.S. schools, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and those studying in critical fields, which he did not specify.

    More than 275,000 Chinese students are enrolled in hundreds of U.S. colleges, providing a major source of revenue for the schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies. The decision prompted despair and frustration among students who have offers to attend next year.

    Prior to Rubio’s announcement, the offensive against U.S. colleges had largely been confined to Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania, which it has accused of left-wing bias and antisemitism.

    Lynn Pasquerella, president of the advocacy group American Association of Colleges and Universities, said the Trump administration’s targeting of international students would have negative consequences for schools and the U.S.

    “Chinese students, in particular, now that they’re being faced with hyper-scrutiny, are looking elsewhere,” she said. “That is a huge loss for us. It’s a brain drain.”

    JUDGE SKEPTICAL

    The court hearing before Burroughs took place shortly after the administration softened its stance in an apparent effort to refute Harvard’s legal arguments in advance.

    Late Wednesday night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a notice to Harvard saying it would now give the university 30 days to submit evidence contesting the administration’s plan to revoke Harvard’s right to enroll non-U.S. students.

    The notice signaled a change in course for DHS, which had said last week that the revocation was effective immediately. In its lawsuit challenging the move, Harvard argued that DHS had violated federal administrative procedure.

    During the court hearing, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Tiberius Davis argued there was now no need for a court order blocking the administration’s actions, since Harvard could challenge them via an administrative process.

    But Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, said she believed a broad preliminary injunction protecting Harvard and students was necessary while that process played out.

    She expressed skepticism that Harvard’s fate would be any different at its conclusion, saying, “Aren’t we still going to end up back here at the same place?”

    She also questioned whether the administration had fully complied with her temporary restraining order, pointing to a declaration Harvard submitted on Wednesday that said visas for incoming students had been recently revoked.

    Burroughs said the temporary order would remain in effect while lawyers for both sides negotiate over the terms of the injunction.

    Harvard has called DHS’s action part of an “unprecedented and retaliatory attack on academic freedom.” The school is pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to terminate nearly $3 billion in federal research funding.

    Harvard argues the Trump administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to its demands to control the school’s governance, curriculum and the ideology of its faculty and students.

    In announcing the initial decision to revoke Harvard’s certification, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, without providing evidence, accused the university of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”

    She accused the school of refusing to comply with wide-ranging requests for information on its student visa holders, including whether they engaged in any activity that was illegal, violent or subjected them to discipline.

    The department’s move would prevent Harvard from enrolling new international students and require existing ones to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status.

    (Reuters)

  • Delhi-NCR braces for rain, thunderstorms today as IMD issues orange alert

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Delhi-NCR is set to witness more rain and stormy weather on Friday, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for the region, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds reaching speeds of 50-60 km/h. 

    According to the IMD forecast, partly cloudy skies will persist throughout the day, with light to moderate rainfall expected across various parts of the city. Maximum temperatures are likely to hover between 36 and 38 degrees Celsius, while the minimum may range from 26 to 28 degrees Celsius.

    The alert was upgraded from yellow to orange following observations of intensified weather activity. On Thursday, parts of Delhi had already experienced light showers and gusty winds reaching up to 60 km/h.

    Friday could see stronger winds of up to 70 km/h, the IMD said, increasing the likelihood of waterlogging, traffic disruptions, and minor damage to infrastructure.

    The orange alert signifies potentially severe weather conditions that could disrupt normal life, prompting the public to remain cautious and take necessary precautions. The alert is issued when heavy rainfall is anticipated, typically exceeding 115.6 mm and up to 204.4 mm within 24 hours.

    Delhi has already witnessed an unprecedented 186.4 mm of rainfall so far this May, making it the wettest May on record for the city. This irregular precipitation pattern is linked to the early advancement of the southwest monsoon, which reached Kerala on May 24, a week ahead of schedule, and Mumbai on May 26, significantly earlier than its usual onset date of June 11.

    While the monsoon typically hits Delhi around June 27, the IMD has yet to specify when it will arrive in the capital this year. “We are closely monitoring the progress,” an IMD official said.

    Meanwhile, Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘moderate’ category on Thursday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 151 at 4 p.m., slightly worse than the 133 measured at the same time a day earlier.

    Evening showers on Thursday brought temporary relief. However, the rainfall was not intense enough to significantly offset the prevailing humidity and heat. The IMD advises residents to stay indoors during stormy periods, avoid sheltering under trees, and secure loose outdoor items to prevent accidents or damage. (IANS)

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Money Market Operations as on May 29, 2025

    Source: Reserve Bank of India
    (Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)
      Volume
    (One Leg)    		 Weighted
    Average Rate    		 Range
    A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV) 5,77,073.30 5.71 2.00-6.80
         I. Call Money 15,981.90 5.78 4.85-5.82
         II. Triparty Repo 3,88,926.60 5.72 5.66-5.80
         III. Market Repo 1,71,005.60 5.69 2.00-6.80
         IV. Repo in Corporate Bond 1,159.20 5.91 5.90-6.00
    B. Term Segment      
         I. Notice Money** 70.00 5.67 5.45-5.85
         II. Term Money@@ 405.00 – 6.05-6.15
         III. Triparty Repo 4,265.00 5.84 5.80-5.90
         IV. Market Repo 0.00 – –
         V. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – –
      Auction Date Tenor (Days) Maturity Date Amount Current Rate /
    Cut off Rate
    C. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)
    I. Today’s Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo Thu, 29/05/2025 1 Fri, 30/05/2025 3,335.00 6.01
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (III) Long Term Operations^          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
    3. MSF# Thu, 29/05/2025 1 Fri, 30/05/2025 1,062.00 6.25
    4. SDFΔ# Thu, 29/05/2025 1 Fri, 30/05/2025 2,18,709.00 5.75
    5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*       -2,14,312.00  
    II. Outstanding Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (III) Long Term Operations^          
         (a) Repo Thu, 17/04/2025 43 Fri, 30/05/2025 25,731.00 6.01
         (b) Reverse Repo          
    3. MSF#          
    4. SDFΔ#          
    D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI$       8,594.62  
    E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     34,325.62  
    F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     -1,79,986.38  
    G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks
         (i) Cash balances with RBI as on May 29, 2025 9,51,404.27  
         (ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending May 30, 2025 9,48,817.00  
    H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on¥ May 29, 2025 3,335.00  
    I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on May 02, 2025 2,34,873.00  
    @ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
    – Not Applicable / No Transaction.
    ** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor.
    @@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor.
    $ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI.
    & As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020.
    Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022.
    * Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF.
    ¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015.
    # As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023.
    ^ As per the Press Release No. 2025-2026/91 dated April 11, 2025.
    Ajit Prasad          
    Deputy General Manager
    (Communications)    
    Press Release: 2025-2026/433

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Elon Musk promises more risky launches after sixth Starship failure

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology

    What goes up must come down, and earlier this week yet another of SpaceX’s Starships, the biggest and most powerful type of rocket ever built, came back down to Earth in spectacular fashion. In the sky above the Indian Ocean, it exploded.

    This was the ninth test flight for the rocket, and the third catastrophic failure in a row, just this year.

    Is this what we should expect from the very ship some are counting on to take humans further than we’ve ever been in the solar system? Or does this failure point to deeper concerns within the broader program?

    A decade of development

    The Starship program from Elon Musk’s space technology company, SpaceX, has been in development for more than a decade now and has undergone many iterations in its overall design and goals.

    The Starship concept is based upon the SpaceX Raptor engines to be used in a multistage system. In a multistage rocket system, there are often two or three separate blocks with their own engine and fuel reserves. These are particularly important for leaving Earth’s orbit and travelling to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

    With Starship, the key factor is the ability to land and reuse vast amounts of the rocket stages again and again. The company’s Falcon 9 vehicles, which used this model, were fantastically successful.

    Initial tests of Starship began in 2018 with two low-altitude flights showing early success. Subsequent flights have faced numerous challenges with now four complete failures, two partial failures and three successes overall.

    Just two days ago, during the latest failed attempt, I watched alongside over 200 other space industry experts at the Australian Space Summit in Sydney. Broadcast live on a giant screen, the launch generated an excited buzz – which soon turned to reserved murmurs.

    Of course, designing and launching rockets is hard, and failures are to be expected. However, a third catastrophic failure within six months demands a pause for reflection.

    On this particular test flight, as Starship positioned itself for atmospheric re-entry, one of its 13 engines failed to ignite. Shortly after, a booster appeared to explode, leading to a complete loss of control. The rocket ultimately broke apart over the Indian Ocean, which tonnes of debris will now call home.

    Polluting Earth in pursuit of space

    We don’t know the exact financial cost of each test flight. But Musk has previously said it is about US$50–100 million.

    The exact environmental cost of the Starship program – and its repeated failures – is even harder to quantify.

    For example, a failed test flight in 2023 left the town of Port Isabel, Texas, which is located beside the launch site, shaking and covered in a thick cloud of dirt. Debris from the exploded rocket smashed cars. Residents told the New York Times they were terrified. They also had to clean up the mess from the flight.

    Then, in September 2024, SpaceX was fined by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for 14 separate incidents since 2022 where the launch facilities discharged polluted water into Texas waterways. Musk denied these claims.

    That same month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a fine of US$633,009 in civil penalties should be issued to SpaceX. This was on the grounds of using an unapproved launch control room and other violations during 2023. Musk denied these claims too and threatened to countersue the FAA for “regulatory overreach”.

    It’s unclear if this suit was ever filed.

    Two other failed launches in January and March this year also rained rocket debris over the Caribbean, and disrupted hundreds of commercial flights, including 80 which needed to be diverted and more than 400 requiring delayed takeoff to ensure they were entering safe air space.

    Success of different space programs

    Until last year, the FAA allowed SpaceX to try up to five Starship launches a year. This month, the figure was increased to 25.

    A lot can go wrong during a launch of a vehicle to space. And there is a long way to go until we can properly judge whether Starship successfully meets its mission goals.

    We can, however, look at past programs to understand typical success rates seen across different rocketry programs.

    The Saturn V rocket, the workhorse of the Apollo era, had a total of 13 launches, with only one partial failure. It underwent three full ground tests before flight.

    SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 rocket, has had more than 478 successful launches, only two in flight failures, one partial failure and one pre-flight destruction.

    The Antares rocket, by Orbital Sciences Corporation (later Orbital ATK and Northrop Grumman) launched a total of 18 times, with one failure.

    The Soyuz rocket, originally a Soviet expendable carrier rocket designed in the 1960s, launched a total of 32 times, with two failures.

    No sign of caution

    Of course, we can’t fairly compare all other rockets with the Starship. Its goals are certainly novel as a reusable heavy-class rocket.

    But this latest failure does raise some questions. Will the Starship program ever see success – and if so when? And what are the limits of our tolerance as a society to the pollution of Earth in the pursuit of the goal to space?

    For a rocketry program that’s moving so fast, developing novel and complex technology, and experiencing several repeated failures, many people might expect caution from now on. Musk, however, has other plans.

    Shortly after the most recent Starship failure, he announced on X (formerly Twitter, that the next test flights would occur at a faster pace: one every three to four weeks.

    Sara Webb does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Elon Musk promises more risky launches after sixth Starship failure – https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-promises-more-risky-launches-after-sixth-starship-failure-257726

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Summer EBT for school-aged children returns for second year

    Source: US State of Oregon

    regon Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) is a food benefits program that helps shrink the hunger gap when children are on summer break and don’t have easy access to healthy meals at school. Summer EBT provides $120 per eligible child to buy food.

    This is the second year of Oregon’s Summer EBT program. On May 22, 2025, about 336,000 children got the benefit on an Oregon EBT card. Families should check their EBT card balance at www.ebtedge.com to confirm receipt.

    Families who didn’t automatically get Summer EBT on May 22, 2025 should check program requirements before applying. Families can check requirements at sebt.oregon.gov or by contacting the Summer EBT Call Center at 833-673-7328. The Call Center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., PDT. Apply online in English and Spanish or with a paper application in multiple languages at sebt.oregon.gov.

    “When school doors close for the summer, the need for regular, healthy meals doesn’t disappear. Last year, the summer EBT program bridged a critical gap for thousands of Oregon families, helping to replace those essential 10 meals per child, per week, that they receive when school is in session,” said Dr. Charlene Williams, Director of the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). “We are proud to continue this partnership with ODHS to not only feed children, but to nurture their potential during crucial developmental months. Our continued commitment ensures that summer can be a season of growth and opportunity for all children, regardless of their economic circumstances.”

    In 2024, about 362,000 children participated and received $43 million in Summer EBT food benefits their families spent in their local grocery stores, farmers markets, and other places.

    “Summer EBT is one more way we can prevent kids from going hungry when school is out. Summer EBT is an evidence-based program proven to reduce child hunger and support healthier diets,” said Fariborz Pakseresht, ODHS Director. “Child hunger can have lasting impacts on health and academic achievement. Getting every eligible child connected to Summer EBT will help Oregon’s children thrive year-round and as they grow up.”

    Who is eligible for Summer EBT food benefits?

    Families can find details about Summer EBT at sebt.oregon.gov.

    Your school-age child may be automatically eligible if:

    • Your family received Summer EBT benefits through an approved application in 2024.
    • Your family gets SNAP, TANF or Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) and meets income rules.
    • Your child gets free or reduced-price school meals and meets income rules.
    • Your child is in foster care, in migrant education, in a qualified Head Start, experiencing homelessness, or part of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).

    Children who are automatically eligible received Summer EBT on May 22, 2025.

    Your school-age child may be eligible by application if:

    • Your family meets the federal income requirements for free or reduced-price meals at school, and
    • Your child attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP).

    Families must apply by Sept. 3, 2025.

    Receiving Summer EBT does not impact participation in other summer meal programs.

    Summer EBT benefits are not considered in a public charge test and are available to children regardless of immigration status.

    How will families receive Summer EBT food benefits?

    The benefits will be placed on an Oregon EBT card and can be used at most grocery stores, farmers markets, and more.

    Families that need a new card should call 855-328-6715, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PDT).

    Families that think their children may be eligible and didn’t get benefits on May 22 must apply by September 3. If approved, they will receive an Oregon EBT card by mail.

    Stolen Summer EBT benefits can’t be replaced.

    You can protect your Oregon EBT card and benefits from electronic theft by following a few simple tips.

    Where can families get more information?

    To learn more, or to apply, visit sebt.oregon.gov.

    Call the Oregon Summer EBT Call Center at 1-833-673-7328 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PDT) on weekdays. All relay calls accepted.

    More about Summer EBT

    Summer EBT became a permanent program for states and certain Indian Tribal Organizations through the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Most states began providing Summer EBT in June 2024. Oregon’s participation was made possible through an investment from the Oregon State Legislature of $12 million. That investment will draw $83 million in federal funding to Oregon, mostly in the form of food benefits families will spend in their communities.

    Additional resources to help meet basic needs

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Collins Announces More Than $6.4 Million to Support Affordable Housing in Tribal Communities

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

    Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that five tribal communities in Maine have been awarded a total of $6,456,253 through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG). These grants support the development and maintenance of affordable housing.

    “This funding will help address critical housing needs, improve quality of life, and strengthen tribal communities across our state,” said Senator Collins. “As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I remain committed to working to ensure that tribal communities in Maine have the resources needed to provide safe, affordable housing.”

    The funding is allocated as follows:

    1. Penobscot Nation: $2,284,938
    1. Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township: $1,135,316
    1. Mi’kmaq Nation: $1,129,607
    1. Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point: $1,112,321
    1. Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians: $794,071

    The IHBG program provides funding for a various affordable housing activities, including construction, rehabilitation, and housing services tailored to the unique needs of tribal communities.

    MIL OSI USA News –