1. PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurate rail, power projects between India, Bangladesh
2. Maharashtra: All-party meeting on Maratha reservation gets underway in Mumbai
3. Blinken to Visit India Next Week for 2+2 Ministerial After Middle East Crisis Trip
4. India to fund solar energy projects in Africa, $25-mn infusion ‘gets in-principle nod’
5. India plans to open CBSE office in Dubai: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

What Else

6. “Trade and investment a strong driving force”: EAM Jaishankar on India-Portugal relations
7. India, 27 other nations and EU sign first international declaration to address AI risks
8. ED attaches Jet Airways properties worth Rs 538 cr, 17 flats & bungalows included
9. Bangladesh’s Saima Wazed to lead WHO’s South-East Asia Region
10. Pakistan: Six terrorists killed in Balochistan’s Zhob
11. Pakistan: Govt initiates nationwide operation to deport illegal foreign nationals
12. Nepal and India may sign long-term power trade agreement later this month

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PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurate rail, power projects between India, Bangladesh

• PM Modi and his B’desh counterpart Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated 3 India-assisted development projects virtually on Wed.
• The projects are the Akhaura-Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link, Khulna – Mongla Port Rail Line, and Unit – II of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Rampal, B’desh.
• The inauguration of rail and power sector projects between India and Bangladesh lay focus on strengthened ties and partnership between the two countries.
• The Akhaura-Agartala project has been executed under a GoI grant of Rs 392.52 cr for a length of 12.24 km with a 6.78 km Dual Gauge in B’desh and 5.46 km in India
• The Khulna-Mongla Project has been implemented under the GoI’s concessional Line of Credit with a total project cost of $388.92 million.
• The project entails the construction of approx 65 km of the broad gauge rail route between Mongla Port and the existing rail network in Khulna.
• The Maitree Project, under an Indian Concessional Financing Scheme loan of $1.6 billion, is a 1320 MW Super Thermal Power Plant located in Bangladesh. (here)

Maharashtra: All-party meeting on Maratha reservation gets underway in Mumbai

• Chief Minister Eknath Shinde chaired an all-party meeting on the Maratha reservation here on Wed.
• State Dy CM, NCP supremo, former CM, and ministers are present at the meeting at Sahyadri Guest House.
• Apart from them, the Leaders of the Opposition and several leaders from their respective parties attended the all-party meeting.
• Earlier on Tue, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that his party MPs and MLAs were not sent an invitation to the all-party meeting. (here) [see previous letters]

Blinken to Visit India Next Week for 2+2 Ministerial After Middle East Crisis Trip

• US State Secy Antony Blinken is set to visit India next week for the annual 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue to discuss both bilateral and global concerns and developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
• This visit will take place after a trip to Japan, and South Korea, and another crisis visit to the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
• During his visit to New Delhi, he will be accompanied by Defense Secy Lloyd Austin and they will meet with their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar, and Rajnath Singh
• The trip will come after his latest trip on Fri to Israel, which has been pounding Hamas after the militants launched a massive Oct 7 assault inside Israel.
• Blinken will also travel to Jordan, the 2^nd Arab state to make peace with the Jewish state, which on Wed withdrew its envoy from its neighbor in protest over the war. (here)

India to fund solar energy projects in Africa, $25-mn infusion ‘gets in-principle nod’

• India has decided to fund solar energy projects in Africa as part of the International Solar Alliance led by New Delhi and Paris.
• (sources)- an in-principle decision has been made to pump in $25 million, but a formal clearance from the Union Cabinet is awaited.
• The funding will be part of the Global Solar Facility, announced on the sidelines of the COP of the UNFCCC convention held at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, in Nov 2022.
• India has been keen on initiating projects in Africa as part of New Delhi’s diplomatic outreach to the Global South.
• Africa is seen as a market but also for critical natural resources. (here)

India plans to open CBSE office in Dubai: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said India plans to open an office of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in Dubai.
• The Pradhan on Wed met UAE’s Minister of State for Early Education and Chairperson Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge Sara Musallam in Abu Dhabi.
• He said discussions with Musallam centered around support required from the Indian side to further facilitate the progress of the IIT Delhi-Abu Dhabi campus, ADEK’s support to CBSE-affiliated Indian schools functioning in the UAE, and our plans to set up an office of CBSE in Dubai.
• Pradhan on Wed also met UAE’s Minister of Education Ahmad Al Falasi in Abu Dhabi.
• During the meeting, a significant MoU was signed by the ministers to strengthen the existing cooperation in the field of educational institutions (here)

“Trade and investment a strong driving force”: EAM Jaishankar on India-Portugal relations

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wed stressed that Indo-Portugal relations had seen a lot of new energy and activities for several sectors, noting that trade and asset are a strong driving force.
• He, along with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Cravinho, delivered a joint statement during a press briefing in Portugal and discussed various aspects of the relationship.
• He further emphasized that Indian IT companies have made their mark in Portugal.
• Moreover, Jaishankar highlighted that they also discussed how they can work trilaterally in third countries.
• Meanwhile, Portuguese Cravinho stressed that India is a country that is very close to our hearts, further noting that “it is extremely useful to exchange views on some of the considerable difficulties of the international system.”
• EAM Jaishankar also called on Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa to discuss the furthering of ties. (here)

India, 27 other nations and EU sign first international declaration to address AI risks

• India, along with 27 other countries and the EU signed a declaration at a meeting in the UK pledging to work together to assess the risks associated with AI.
• The countries represented: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Saudi, Arabia, Nigeria, Korea, Rwanda, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, UK and N Ireland, the US, and the EU.
• Taking to social media platform X, the official page for PM Rishi Sunak’s office said, “Leading AI nations have reached a world-first agreement on AI Safety.”
• As per the UK govt, the summit’s objectives are for participants to “work towards a shared understanding of risks” posed by AI and organize a global effort to mitigate them. (here)

ED attaches Jet Airways properties worth Rs 538 cr, 17 flats & bungalows included

• The Enforcement Directorate Wed provisionally seized assets worth Rs 538.05 crore from grounded airline Jet Airways, in connection with a money-laundering case.
• The central agency said the properties in London, Dubai, and India, included 17 residential flats and bungalows, etc.
• These belonged to Jetair Private Limited, Jet Enterprises Private Limited, founder chairman of Jet Airways (India) Limited (JIL) Naresh Goyal, and his family. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Bangladesh’s Saima Wazed to lead WHO’s South-East Asia Region

• Bangladesh’s Saima Wazed has been nominated to lead the WHO South-East Asia.
• Member countries on Wed voted to nominate her as the next Regional Director of the WHO.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Democratic DPRK, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste participated in the voting in New Delhi on Wed.
• The member states voted to nominate Wazed during a closed meeting on the 3^rd day of the 76^th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia. (here)

Pakistan: Six terrorists killed in Balochistan’s Zhob

• At least 6 terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Sambaza area in Balochistan’s Zhob district, the military’s media wing ISPR on Wed.
• During the operation, “Intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists” and six terrorists were killed, the ISPR said.
• It added that a cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered.
• It added that sanitization of the area was being carried out to eliminate other militants.
• Earlier on Sun, 2 soldiers were killed and 2 terrorists were killed in a heavy exchange of fire during an operation in the Khoro area of the Awaran district. (here)

Pakistan: Govt initiates nationwide operation to deport illegal foreign nationals

• The govt has initiated a nationwide operation to deport illegal nationals, the majority, after the deadline to voluntarily leave the country expired, it emerged on Wed.
• Earlier this month, the caretaker govt gave an ultimatum to all undocumented immigrants to leave Pakistan by Oct 31 or else, risk imprisonment and deportation.
• Of the more than four million Afghans living in Pakistan, the govt estimates 1.7m are undocumented.
• While the decision had prompted criticism from Afghanistan and several other quarters, the caretakers refused to budge from the deadline
• The govt has decided to keep foreign nationals residing in the country without identity documents in detention centers before deporting them to their respective countries.
• Similarly, 52,000 illegal residents have been identified and mapped in KP for a crackdown.
• Taliban govt calls for more time for Afghans: Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Taliban govt urged Pakistan to give undocumented Afghans in the country more time to leave as pressure mounts at border posts swarmed by thousands of returnees fleeing the threat of deportation. (here)

Nepal and India may sign long-term power trade agreement later this month

• Nepal and India are likely to sign the long-term power trade agreement initiated during PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s May-June visit to New Delhi within this month.
• Once signed, the 25-year agreement is expected to pave the way for trading of power under medium- and long-term power sales agreements between the two sides.
• PM Modi had announced during a joint presser with Dahal on Jun 2 that the southern neighbor would buy 10K MW of electricity in 10 years from Nepal under the long-term power trade agreement.
• Officials at the time said the agreement could not officially be signed during Dahal’s Delhi visit because the Indian Cabinet had yet to endorse the agreement.
• Currently, India allows Nepal to sell 632MW of electricity in its market.
• As much as 522MW has been cleared for sale in India’s exchange market—both day-ahead and real-time markets.
• But Delhi has been allowed to sell only 110MW of electricity under a relatively longer-term deal. (here)