It was Indian-origin women techies' turn to take the centre-stage as Apple unveiled its next line-up of products, including an all-powerful MacBook Pro with new M1 chips, next-generation AirPods and other products and services.

After Apple CEO Tim Cook set the tone late on Monday, Susmita Dutta who is the engineering programme manager for SoC (system-on-chip) for audio products, introduced the next-generation AirPods, featuring spatial audio, industry-leading sound, longer battery life and an all-new design during the 'Unleashed' event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Dutta joined Apple nearly four years ago as system test design lead, before being elevated as audio engineering programme manager.

She earlier worked at GE Healthcare for more than seven years as lead system designer (ABUS Ultrasound) in California.

A Madras University graduate in engineering, Dutta now has more than 16 years of system and hardware engineering experience, specifically in systems engineering methodology, test design and mass production of low and high-volume products.

After next-gen AirPods was the turn of new and all-powerful MacBook Pro with next-gen M1 chips, and Shruti Haldea from the Mac team joined the stage with top company executives, taking the audience through the machine meant for developers, filmmakers, creators and innovators.

Working at Apple for more than 12 years, Haldea joined the tech giant as a global supply manager and became product line manager for Pro Mac in 2019.

An MBA from Harvard Business School, she introduced the world to game-changing MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max that deliver extraordinary performance and battery life and feature the world's best notebook display.

The new MacBook Pro features a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display, a wide range of ports for advanced connectivity, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera and the best audio system in a notebook.

Combined with macOS Monterey, which is engineered down to its core to take full advantage of M1 Pro and M1 Max, the user experience is simply unrivaled for developers, photographers, filmmakers, 3D artists, scientists and music producers.

In April 2021, Apple's 'Spring Loaded' event saw Navpreet Kaloty, a dashing Sikh, who mesmerised the audience with his iMac presentation.

A Bachelor of Applied Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo in the US, Kaloty looks after Mac architecture as an engineering programme manager at Apple's Cupertino headquarters.

He interned for some time with the product management team for operational excellence at electric car maker Tesla.

The Central intelligence agencies have, according to sources, tipped-off Tamil Nadu intelligence units about the concerns raised by Sri Lankan Tamil groups over the excessive Chinese investments in the island nation.

These groups are worried that the government of India is not proactively involved in the affairs of Sri Lankan Tamils and that the Chinese are using this opportunity to increase their investments in Sri Lanka whose government has strongly opposed any Chinese involvement in their administration other than investments in some projects, said the Tamil diaspora.

A conclave of the diaspora was held in London recently. Intelligence reports they were concerned over India not being involved in the affairs of Sri Lankan Tamils and that the inaction of India has led to China gaining prominence in the island nation.

Intelligence sleuths have also tipped off that the Sri Lankan Tamil groups are trying to create a global think tank to engage with intellectuals, academics and journalists to create awareness about Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka. However, a section of the Sri Lankan groups was supportive of China and was of the opinion to establish contact with the Chinese government which was stoutly opposed by the majority in the recent conclave.

Those who are against establishing contact with the Chinese are of the opinion that if they enter into an engagement with the Chinese government, it would lead to Tamils in India opposing the move.

The central agencies have also tipped off the Tamil Nadu intelligence wings of LTTE sympathizers holding regular meetings in certain pockets of Chennai.

The Tamil Nadu police had in a recent crackdown arrested a former LTTE intelligence operative, Satkunam (47) on charges of smuggling drugs and arms using international contacts. He was also alleged to have used the funds generated by smuggling drugs to revive the LTTE operations in Sri Lanka. He was arrested from Valsaravakkam in Chennai and the police recovered incriminating material including details of huge money transfers to Sri Lanka.

While there has been resentment in Tamil Nadu over the overindulgence of China in Sri Lankan affairs, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, a DMK leader, has come out openly on disposing off the Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) as there was heavy Chinese presence in the island nation which was not good for the KKNPP plant.

C. Rajeev, Director, Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a think tank based in Chennai, told IANS, "The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora would definitely try for such moves and to garner global support for themselves as they know that excessive Chinese presence would not be in the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday received his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, who is on a two-day visit to India, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

After meeting Modi, Frederiksen termed India as a "closed partner", saying this visit will be a milestone for bilateral relations between the two nations.

Frederiksen's trip to India marks the first visit by a head of state or government since the Covid-19 restrictions were imposed early last year since the onset of the pandemic.

Minister of State or External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi received the Danish Prime Minister at the airport on Friday.

As part of her agenda, Frederiksen will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind.

The Ministry of External Affairs had said the Danish Prime Minister's visit is very important, stating it will give an opportunity to review the green strategic partnership, which aims to create a framework to solve the environmental crisis.

This will engage in areas including renewable energy, environment, economy, climate change and science and technology.

The relations between India and Denmark have historically remained cordial as the Nordic country is the only nation with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership which leads to green Danish solutions in India's climate crisis battle.

(Courtesy: IANS)

India has called on the UN committee dealing with disarmament to condemn Pakistan for its "nefarious and vicious" attempts to disrupt its work.

"This Committee should not only categorically reject Pakistan's nefarious and vicious designs but collectively condemn Pakistan for its repeated efforts to politicise its work and hijack its mandate," an Indian delegate said on Monday at the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) First Committee, which deals with disarmament.

He was replying to Pakistan's Permanent Representative Munir Akram's attack on India that went outside the committee's framework by raising the Kashmir issue.

The Indian delegate said: "As the epicentre of global terrorism, Pakistan is the biggest destabilising force in the world and has repeatedly indulged in cross-border terrorism. They have no regard for UN principles."

"While Pakistan's Permanent Representative speaks about peace and security here, his Prime Minister (Imran Khan) glorifies global terrorists like Osama Bin Ladin as 'martyrs'. What more could be a better proof of the utter duplicity that this country is infamous for."

Earlier, India's Geneva-based Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, Pankaj Sharma, warned the committee about the dangers of "terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction" and called on UN members to "work together to address this grave danger".

"Through its annual consensus resolution at the UNGA, titled 'Measures to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction,' India has been drawing the attention of the world towards these threats and the need to strengthen international cooperation to address them," Sharma said.

He also drew attention to the havoc caused by terrorists getting small arms and light weapons (SALW).

"Weapons in the hands of terrorists are the most threatening form of illicit SALWs. Therefore, India values the full and effective implementation of the UN PoA (Programme of Action) as a means to combat terrorism and transnational crime."

Sharma reiterated India's commitment to "universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament".

This would require all countries, including the five permanent members of the Security Council which take cover behind the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treay (NPT), to give up their nuclear weapons.

Laying out India's nuclear doctrine that has been stated at the UN in previous years, Sharma said that "as a responsible nuclear weapon State and is committed as per its nuclear doctrine, to maintain credible minimum deterrence with the posture of no-first use and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states".

He did not elaborate on it, but a close reading of the statement, unchanged from previous years, leaves open the option of preemptive action against a nuclear-armed state.

But Sharma said that it was important "to commence negotiations to reach agreement on an international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and urgent steps to reduce the risks of unintentional and accidental use of nuclear weapons, respectively".

This has been highlighted in the annual resolutions introduced by India at the Assembly, Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons and Reducing Nuclear Danger, he said.

Akram held out an implied nuclear threat to India saying, "Pakistan will do whatever it takes to preserve full spectrum deterrence to prevent and defeat any potential Indian aggression."

In keeping up with Pakistan's policy of raising Kashmir and what it calls "Hindutva" in all UN forums regardless of their area of work or the topic of discussion, Akram representing the non-secular, officially Islamic state that works with Islamist extremists, alleged that the threat to South Asia came from "Hindutva".

He went on to rekindle Islamabad's criticism of India over Kashmir.

Akram also brought up the Indo-Pacific and Islamabad's patron China, which he called "the rising Asian great power."

He asserted that "70 per cent of India's weaponry and forces are deployed against Pakistan, not to serve its promised role as a counter to the rising Asian great power in the so-called 'Indo-Pacific' region".

Exercising the right of reply, the Indian delegate said: "In contrast to India's constructive approach on disarmament matters, Pakistan has only been disruptive. It is 25 years now, that the world is paying the price of Pakistan's obstructionist tactics" in the Conference on Disarmament preventing it from adopting a programme of work.

The Indian delegate said that Islamabad "has the dubious distinction of having single-handedly blocked the negotiations" on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty that would prohibit the production of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium that used in nuclear weapons.

"The First Committee has a vast agenda dealing with global issues relating to disarmament and international security. This is not the forum to address bilateral or regional issues. We wish to reiterate that regional security issues have no place in the First Committee's considerations."

(Courtesy: IANS)

India's Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat has met with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and discussed expanding multilateral cooperation with regional partners, according to Defence Department Spokesperson John Kirby.

He said at their meeting on Thursday, Austin underscored the US commitment to supporting the Indian Armed Forces' "transition toward greater institutional integration and operational jointness".

That refers to the ability of the armed forces and their equipment to operate together.

While discussing increasing military cooperation between their countries, they considered priorities in new defence areas like space, cyber, and emerging technologies, he said.

"They also discussed opportunities for expanding multilateral cooperation with regional partners," he said.

"This historic meeting highlights the enduring strength of the US-India Major Defence Partnership as the two countries work in concert with like-minded partners to sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific," Kirby said.

Rawat's first visit to the Pentagon came a week after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden and the Quad summit of Modi, Biden and Prime Ministers Scott Morrison of Australia and Yoshihide Suga, of Japan in Washington.

In a joint statement, Modi and Biden "reaffirmed the strength of the defence relationship between the United States and Idia and the unwavering commitment to India as a Major Defence Partner."

They listed "defence information sharing, sharing of logistics and military-to-military interactions, strengthening cooperation in advanced military technologies, and expanding engagements in a multilateral framework including with regional partners" among areas they would work together.

At the summit held under the shadow of growing aggressive stance by China in the India-Pacific region, the leaders said, "Wea-recommit to promotinga-the free, open,a-rules-based order, rooted ina-international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperitya-in the Indo-Pacific and beyond."

Although the four countries have shied away from a formal military alliance, they have been holding joint naval exercises.

The US, Australia and the United Kingdom formed a defence pact last month.

Biden and Modi said that they looked forward to the inaugural meeting of the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) summit for high-end defence industrial collaboration drawing on the "innovation and entrepreneurship in defence industries for co-development, co-production and expanding mutual defence trade".

The weeklong ISA summit concluded in New Delhi on Friday with an agreement to establish the Indo-US Industrial Security Joint Working Group.

India's Press Information Bureau said, "This group will meet periodically to align the policies and procedures expeditiously that will allow the defence industries to collaborate on cutting edge defence technologies."

Anurag Bajpai, joint secretary in the Department of Defence Production, and David Bagnati, the assistant director at the Defence Technology Security Administration, led their sides at the summit.

In the series of visits high-level by defence officials after Biden took office that began with a trip to India by Austin, Vice-Admiral G. Ashok Kumar, India's Vice Chief of Naval Staff, came to the US in June.

He met with Vice Admiral Steve Koehler, the commander of the US 3rd Fleet that operates in the Indo-Pacific.

The US Navy quoted Koehler as saying, "The US-India strategic partnership is one of our most critical relationships in the Indo-Pacific. Open discussion of shared and complementary capabilities not only strengthens our relationship, it increases our naval effectiveness as we work together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific."

(Courtesy: IANS)

US Vice President Kamala Harris has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she was asking Pakistan to act on terrorism and ensure that terror groups do not target New Delhi or Washington, according to India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

He said that when the issues of terrorism came up during their meeting on Thursday, "the Vice President suo moto referred to Pakistan's role in that regard. She said that they were terror groups that were working there. She asked Pakistan to take action so that these groups do not impact on US security and that of India".

Shringla asserted that "she agreed with the Prime Minister's briefing on the fact of cross border terrorism, and the fact that India had been a victim of terrorism for several decades now, and on the need to rein in and closely monitor Pakistan's support for such terrorism".

Briefing reporters in Washington after the meeting between the two leaders, he said that the encounter, the first in-person meeting, "reflected warmth and cordiality".

The discussions were "substantive" and also covered the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, cooperation in the technology sector, cybersecurity and space, he said.

A White House readout of the meeting said that Modi and Harris "supported expanding bilateral security cooperation in the face of modern threats, including terrorism and cybercrime".

Harris, who is the chair of the National Space Council, "encouraged expanded US-India space cooperation, and she and Prime Minister Modi explored ways to build on existing, robust bilateral collaboration on space", the readout added.

Some of the supporters of Harris and her Democratic Party have accused Modi of eroding democracy.

The readout pointedly said: "They each emphasised a commitment to democratic values and discussed the need to strengthen democracy at home and abroad."

The Indian External Affairs Ministry's readout did not mention any discussion of democracy.

When the topic of the pandemic came up, they discussed collaborating on vaccine production under the Quad Vaccine Partnership, the White House readout said, adding: "The Vice President welcomed India's commitment to resume vaccine exports and the progress of its domestic vaccination campaign."

The White House's account of the meeting made no mention of Pakistan's role in terrorism or asking it to take action against terrorists.

The Indian readout said that Modi told her "about India's push for increasing renewable energy and the recently launched National Hydrogen Mission".

"He also emphasised the importance of lifestyle changes to promote environmental sustainability.

"Both leaders acknowledged the vibrant people-to-people linkages as the bedrock of the mutually beneficial education linkages and the flow of knowledge, innovation and talent between our two countries," it added.

(Courtesy: IANS)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus gamble to seek a majority by calling a snap election has not paid off even as 17 Indo-Canadians were elected as MPs.

In the elections held on Monday, Trudeau's ruling Liberal Party again ended up 14 seats short of the 170-mark in the 338-member House of Commons.

The Jagmeet Singh-led New Democratic Party (NDP) will again hold the balance of power as it increased its tally from 24 to 27.

The main opposition Conservative Party ended up with a tally of 122 seats ? one up from the dissolved House.

Among the 17 Indo-Canadian winners are Jagmeet Singh, former Minister Tim Uppal and three current Cabinet Ministers Harjit Singh Sajjan, Bardish Chagger and Anita Anand.

Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan again won from Vancouver South by beating Sukhbir Gill of the Conservative Party.

Chagger, Minister of Diversity, too retained her Waterloo seat as did Public Service Minister Anand her Oakville seat.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also retained his Burnaby South seat in British Columbia.

In British Columbia, three-time Liberal Party MP Sukh Dhaliwal retained his Surrey-Newton seat by beating fellow Punjabi Avneet Johal of the NDP.

Two-time Liberal Party MP Randeep Singh Sarai also won the Surrey Centre seat by beating Sonia Andhi of the NDP.

In Quebec, the sitting Indo-Canadian Anju Dhillon retained her Dorval?Lachine?LaSalle seat.

In Alberta, Jasraj Singh Hallan retained the Calgary Forest Lawn seat, but his fellow Conservative MP Jag Sahota lost to fellow Sikh George Chahal of the Liberal Party.

Uppal is back once again after retaining the Edmonton Mill Woods seat for the Conservative party.

He is the brother-in-law of Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantt, Pargat Singh.

In Ontario, the Punjabi-dominated city of Brampton again re-elected all the four sitting Indo-Canadian MPs ? Maninder Sidhu, Ruby Sahota, Sonia Sidhu and Kamal Khera ? against fellow Indo-Canadians Naval Bajaj, Medha Joshi, Ramandeep Brar and Gurprit Gill, respectively.

The winners belong to Trudeau's Liberal Party.

Chandra Arya too retained the Napean seat in Ontario.

Lawyer Iqwinder Gaheer, who won the Mississauga-Malton seat for the Liberal Party, will be one of the youngest MPs to go the House of Commons in Ottawa.

Sitting Conservative Party MP Bob Saroya was another known Indo-Canadian face to lose on Monday.

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has raised with the UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss her country's rules that require vaccinated Indian travellers to be quarantined and urged an early resolution of the issue.

"Urged early resolution of quarantine issue in mutual interest," he tweeted after meeting Truss in New York on Monday as he began holding bilateral meetings with leaders from around the world.

Under new British rules unveiled last week, Indians who have received two shots of the Covishield jab will be treated as unvaccinated and have to quarantine themselves for 10 days, even though the vaccine is the same as the AstraZeneca vaccine developed by Oxford University but manufactured in India and in use many Western countries like Canada.

Travellers from several countries who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine are allowed into the UK without having to quarantine if they meet certain conditions, but not Indians in a move that is seen as discriminatory.

The British side is yet to comment on the meeting between Jaishankar and Truss.

This was Jaishankar's first meeting with Truss after she took over as Foreign Secretary from Dominic Raab last week.

Jaishankar tweeted that they had discussed the progress of Roadmap 2030, an ambitious, decade-long plan to strengthen India-UK ties in areas ranging from defence cooperation and technology to climate change and investment.

He said that they exchanged views on Afghanistan, which has been taken over by the Taliban upsetting the security situation in the region, and the Indo-Pacific.

Last week Australia, the UK and the US announced a security pact, AUKUS, that would impact the Indo-Pacific region where India, the US, Australia and Japan are coordinating their strategies to counter China.

Truss was the UK's International Trade Secretary before moving to the Foreign Office and Jainhankar said in his tweet that he "appreciated" her efforts in the trade sector.

In her previous post, Truss had overseen consultation on a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Jaishankar arrived in New York on Monday for a heavy round of diplomacy during the High Level Week of the UN General Assembly when leaders from around the world gather.

He started off his round of bilateral meetings with Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide, whose country is on the Security Council alongside India as an elected member.

"Appreciated our working together in the Security Council," he tweeted after the meeting.

He also said in his tweet that they had a comprehensive discussion on the situation in Afghanistan where it was "important for the international community to take a unified approach".

Iraq Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was another leader Jaishankar met.

"Discussed our historical ties, economic, energy and development cooperation linkages" and "exchanged views on regional and global issues" during their meeting, Jaishankar said.

(Courtesy: IANS)

The United States, Japan, India and Australia are likely to sign an agreement to take steps to build secure semiconductor chip supply chains when they meet in Washington for the Indo-Pacific Quad summit next week, according to a report Japans Nikkei newspaper.

The move is aimed at reducing the dependence for semiconductor chips on an increasingly assertive China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the first in-person Quad summit to be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.

The Nikkei report is based on a draft of the joint statement that is expected to be issued at the summit. The draft says that in order to create robust supply chains, the four countries will ascertain their semiconductor supply capacities and identify vulnerability.

The statement also says the use of advanced technologies should be based on the rule of respecting human rights, the newspaper said on its website.

The chip shortage is worldwide and even Indian auto and smartphone manufacturing companies have been affected.

The U.S. Senate has already approved by an overwhelming majority the legislation to provide a staggering $190 billion package to beef up the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.

The bill authorises the largest ever funding in American history for technology research, semiconductor development and manufacturing, as well as subsidies for robot makers and chipmakers. The computer chip shortage has hit automobile production in major US companies such as GM at a time when global demand is reviving.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said the funding is on a scale that could enable the setting up of as many as seven to 10 new U.S. semiconductor plants.

US President Joe Biden is continuing with his predecessor Donald Trump's hard line as far as China is concerned. He has blacklisted over 50 Chinese companies because of their links to Beijing's "military-industrial complex." US companies and investors are barred from entering into any deals with these companies.

These companies are suspected to be stealing US technology and using it to strengthen China's military and fuel its belligerent foreign policy which has emerged as a worrying factor in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

Dozens of Chinese companies such as telecom giant Huawei, top chipmaker SMIC and drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology were put on a trade blacklist by the Trump administration.

(Courtesy: IANS)

Warning that terrorism continues to threaten Afghanistan, India has demanded the Taliban to keep its commitment to not allow the country to be used by terrorists.

Citing last month's "deplorable" attack on the Kabul Airport that killed 13 American soldiers and more than 170 Afghans, India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti said on Thursday that "terrorism continues to pose a serious threat to Afghanistan".

He said that the resolution adopted last month when India presided over the Council "noted the commitment of the Taliban not to allow the use of the Afghan soil for terrorism, including from terrorists and terrorist groups designated" by the UN.

The resolution took into account the "collective concerns" on terrorism and "underlined that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts", he said at the Council meeting on Afghanistan.

"It is therefore important that commitments made in this regard (by the Taliban) are respected and adhered to."

Tirumurti said that he hoped that the Taliban will also respect its commitment to allow Afghans to travel abroad and ensure secure departure for them and all foreign nationals.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, raised the issue of Taliban's leadership being on the UN's list of terrorists.

Of the 33 members of the interim government announced by the Taliban, many are on the UN sanctions list, including Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the two deputy prime ministers, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, she said.

"All of you will need to decide which steps to take regarding the sanctions list, and the impact on future engagement," she told the Council.

Lyons added that the protest around the country "show that the Taliban have won power, but not yet the confidence of all Afghan people".

Afghanistan's Permanent Representative Ghulam Isaczi, who has defied the Taliban regime, said that the Security Council should reevaluate exempting the insurgent leaders from UN sanctions since they have failed to resolve the conflicts through peaceful means.

"The Council must use all its diplomatic tools, including the full implementation of existing multilateral sanctions to ensure that the Taliban is sincere and genuine in finding a comprehensive settlement," he said.

He urged all countries to withhold recognition of any government in Afghanistan "unless it's truly and formed on the basis of free will".

"I further urge you to draw a red line, regarding Taliban treatment of women and girls, and respect for the rights of all."

He said that the protests in his country, which the Taliban is brutally suppressing, are a sign that that the people will not accept a totalitarian system imposed upon them and will demand their freedom.

Isaczi added that the Taliban was committing atrocities, and possible war crimes, in the Panjshir Valley with the support of foreign terrorist fighters and foreign intelligence and military.

Malala Yousafzai, who was attacked by extremists in Pakistan for advocating girls' education, reminded the Security Council of its commitment to protect the rights and dignity of women and girls.

"We must support education for Afghan girls, because it is a human right and because it is vital to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

"So today I'm here to call on the Security Council to protect Afghan girls and women," and "send a clear and unequivocal message to the Taliban" that a fundamental condition for a working relationship is giving girls their right to education, she added.

Tirumurti appealed to the international community "to come together, rising above any partisan interests, to stand together with the people of Afghanistan in their desire for peace, stability and security in the country".

"We reiterate the need for the voices of Afghan women to be heard, aspirations of Afghan children to be realised and the rights of minorities to be protected. We call on humanitarian assistance to be provided urgently and underline the need to provide unhindered access to the UN and other agencies in this regard."

He said that India has contributed significantly to the development of Afghanistan through more than 500 development projects in each of the 34 provinces of the country in critical areas of power, water supply, road connectivity, healthcare, education, agriculture and capacity building.

India also sent 75,000 metric tonnes of wheat last year to Afghanistan as humanitarian aid, he said.

"We hope that these developments projects and the education and human resource development imparted by India over the years will help in contributing to the development of an inclusive and progressive polity."

(Courtesy: IANS)

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Former Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam was flown to the national capital in a special medical evacuation flight operated by SpiceJet.

The flight operated on Wednesday brought the ex-Mauritius PM to New Delhi for urgent medical treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

"SpiceJet used its B737 aircraft to operate the flight (SG-9116) from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, Port Louis, Mauritius, to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. For the return leg, the flight was operated via Thiruvananthapuram," SpiceJet said in a statement on Thursday.

"In order to meet the critical medical requirements, SpiceJet facilitated complete medical facilities and special equipment on-board, including a team of three doctors, one paramedic and ventilator, oxygen cylinders, and medicines to cater for any emergency situation. The aircraft also carried a special isolation pod to shift the patient," the company added.