Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that she has seen the wives of BNP ministers selling sarees after bringing them from India. She made this remarks during a discussion at the Dhaka District Awami League office in Tejgaon on Wednesday (March 27th) on the occasion of the great Independence and National Day. Speaking as the chief guest, the Prime Minister said this while talking about the call of BNP leaders to boycott Indian products. Pointing at the BNP leaders, Sheikh Hasina said, "I saw a BNP leader to burn a shawl on the street. I will now say that if the BNP leaders burn Indian sarees of their wives only then I will believe that they have really boycotted Indian products.  "Before Eid, I used to see that the wives of BNP ministers used to bring sarees from India and sell them," PM added. 

Land is getting hard to find in a sprawling industrial park in southern India where workers are scrambling to build modern new warehouses and factories for companies betting on the country's economic boom or diversifying their supply chains beyond China. "It is one of the most wanted places in India for European and American companies," said S Raghuraman, an official of the Greenbase industrial park, near plants run by Apple supplier Foxconn and truckmaker Daimler, Reuters reports. Inquiries for leasing space in the park, run by Blackstone and real estate tycoon Niranjan Hiranandani, have gone through the roof, he added. "We are in talks with at least three clients looking to shift their base from China." To meet the burgeoning demand, Greenbase aims to invest $800 million to quadruple its industrial park space to 20 million sq ft (1.9 million sq m), a target it revealed for the first time. That is just the latest sign of a rush for leased warehouse space that peaked in the last quarter of 2023 at its highest in two years, says real estate firm Colliers, as India's economic growth of more than 8% outstrips advanced nations. Businesses in India have traditionally relied on dingy, stuffy low-rise sheds known as godowns for their storage needs, but these are unsuited to the needs of foreign industrial giants whose investment Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to lure. So developers such as Greenbase are scouting for land nationwide, grappling with thorny acquisition issues, as they line up millions of dollars in new investment. Prime targets are firms looking to expand manufacturing facilities beyond China as tension with the United States and other countries takes off some of its shine.Companies in the booming e-commerce and manufacturing industries also see India as a hub for exports while looking to boost sales to industries and domestic consumers amid a population of 1.4 billion.

High Commission of India hosted an Iftar in Dhaka on 19 March 2024. The event was attended by over 400 distinguished guests from all walks of life including the government, legislature, judiciary, political parties, armed forces, civil society, academia, business, media and culture. In his welcome remarks, High Commissioner Pranay Verma highlighted the significance of Iftar in promoting the spirit of brotherhood and humanity. He underlined the deep bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Bangladesh and reaffirmed commitment to further enrich the special and multifaceted ties, which are rooted in the shared sacrifices of 1971. High Commissioner noted that the Iftar gathering  also symbolized the deep bonds of people-to-people ties that form the very foundation of India-Bangladesh relations. Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament, Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Minister of Religious Affairs of Bangladesh Md. Faridul Haque Khan was the guest of honour.

Around 970 million voters, over 10% of the world's population, are eligible to cast their ballots. To ease the logistical burden, voting is staggered over six weeks. The election authority of India announced on Saturday that the country will start a phased voting process beginning on April 19 to select a new parliament. "Date of polling would be 19th of April" for the first phase of the vote, which is staged over several weeks, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. The election will be held in seven phases over six weeks, with different states voting at different times.  Voting in the final phase will take place on June 1, and nationwide ballots will be counted on June 4. Results are normally announced on the same day.  It is considered the world's biggest election, with almost a billion people eligible to vote.

High Commissioner Pranay Verma and Principal Staff Officer of Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, Lt. Gen. Shameem addressed the Seminar on Indian Defence Equipment - SIDE 2024 - hosted by the High Commission of India in Dhaka on 20 February 2024.  High Commissioner highlighted the advances made by the Indian defence industry over the last decade driven by Prime Minister Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and “Make for the World”, which has spurred unprecedented investments into the Indian defence manufacturing sector and has led to rising Indian defence exports. He described SIDE 2024 as a reflection of Indian defence industry’s interest in partnering with Bangladesh and to taking India-Bangladesh defence cooperation forward to the next level, including by utilizing the Defence Line of Credit of US$500 million extended by Government of India to Government of Bangladesh. He also noted that India is willing to share with Bangladesh wide-spectrum capabilities in defence manufacturing, including the most sophisticated technologies. He also proposed graduating the bilateral defence cooperation to the next level by building joint ventures in defence manufacturing.   A number of premier defence manufacturing companies of India, from both public and private sectors, participated in the event and made presentations showcasing a range of ‘Made in India’  defence equipment, technology and platforms. The seminar  was attended by representatives from Bangladesh Armed Forces as well as paramilitary and police forces.

Ministry of External Affairs of India has decided to allow onion export on a limited scale to five more countries, including Bangladesh.  Earlier, Bangladesh had sent a formal letter to the Indian government to allow the export of sugar and onions in a certain quantity to reduce the price of onion in the country during the holy month of Ramadan. However, India is the world's second largest onion exporter. The Indian government banned onion exports on December 8, 2023. The ban was later extended till March this year. Because the country wanted to control the rising prices in the domestic market by ensuring adequate supply.   

Yashasvi Jaiswal hit an unbeaten double century to help India to its biggest-ever win Sunday, crushing England by 434 runs in the third Test to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Chasing 557 for victory, England's batting fell like a pack of cards with the loss of eight wickets in the final session to be dismissed for 122 on day four in Rajkot. "In Test cricket... when you're playing well you have to make it big," Jaiswal told broadcasters after the stunning win. "Test cricket is hard, but I thought that when I'm in there, I need to give my 100 percent," he said. Ravindra Jadeja got Mark Wood out for 33 as the final wicket -- and his fifth -- and he kissed the pitch as India registered their greatest win in terms of runs. It was England's second-biggest Test loss since their 562-run defeat to Australia in 1934. England lost their openers, including first-innings centurion Ben Duckett run out on four, before tea and Jadeja then rattled the middle-order with his left-arm spin. Jadeja was named player of the match for his seven wickets in the Test and 112 with the bat in the first innings. Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root extended their poor run in the five-match series, out for four and seven respectively. Skipper Ben Stokes attempted to resist the Indian bowling but fell lbw to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav for 15 in his 100th Test. "We're 2-1 down in the series but still have two games left," Stokes said. "We leave this game behind -- know we've got to win the next two to win the series." 'Bat till the end' The left-handed Jaiswal stood out with his 214 off 236 balls to flay the opposition attack before India declared their second innings on 430-4. The opener returned to bat in the morning session after he retired hurt on 104 late on day three due to back pain. "Today when I came, I wanted to make sure that I take the game forward and bat till the end," Jaiswal said. He raised his second double ton in consecutive matches with a single off Root and jumped for joy. Jaiswal hit a record-equalling 12 sixes in his knock, which included three straight hits over the fence off James Anderson -- a first for the veteran quick who has 696 wickets in 185 Tests. Jaiswal now stands level with former Pakistan great Wasim Akram, who also hit 12 sixes in an innings against Zimbabwe in 1996. He put on marathon stands that included an unbeaten 172-run partnership with debutant Sarfaraz Khan, who made 68 for his second half-century of the match. The 22-year-old Jaiswal, who hit a match-winning 209 in the second Test, remains the leading batsman in the series with 545 runs. Indian bowlers set up victory after they bowled England out for 319 in the first innings, after the tourists' batting collapsed from 299-5 despite the absence of star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday. Ashwin, who left the Test midway on day two due to a family emergency hours after taking his 500th Test wicket, returned to the field and got his 501st wicket on the fourth day. Off-spinner Ashwin, 37, became only the ninth bowler in Test history and the second Indian after fellow spinner Anil Kumble (619) to reach 500 wickets. Skipper Rohit Sharma's 131 and his 204-run stand with the left-handed Jadeja steered India to 445 in the first innings after they elected to bat. England won the opener by 28 runs but India bounced back in the second match. The fourth Test starts on Friday in Ranchi. Source: BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasized the necessity to expand trade between Bangladesh and India through their own currencies. "Bangladesh and India have excellent bilateral relations. The bilateral relationship between the two countries is getting stronger day by day. We have to expand our business through exchanges of Bangladeshi Taka and Indian Rupee in order to increase our businesses," she added.   PM  said this while a meeting was held with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2024 in Germany on Saturday(Feb 17) at Hotel Bayerischer Hof.  

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said that there was a discussion with the president India, Droupadi Murmu,  about the import of 50 thousand tons of onion and 100 thousand tons of sugar from India before Ramadan.  The foreign minister met the president of India, Droupadi Murmu, on Friday (February 9) afternoon. Later he told reporters about the matter. He said that we discussed about the products which are imported from India. We have discussed in detail about the import of 50 thousand tons of onions and 1 lakh tons of sugar before Ramadan.   We have discussed other issues as well. We discussed on various important areas of mutual interest as well as pledged to strengthen cooperation between two nations in various fields, Hasan Mahmud added.  

The recommendations were given by Indian diplomat Guarav Kumar Thakur during the 45th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations. ndia has called on China to steadfastly uphold its commitment to human rights and gender equality, while asking it to play a constructive role in the realisation of aspirations of developing countries. The recommendations were given by Indian diplomat Guarav Kumar Thakur during the 45th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations. India gave China three recommendations during the UPR which included, "Continue taking steps to ensure fullest enjoyment of basic human rights by its people through inclusive and sustainable development." Secondly, India told China to "continue taking measures to promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls." Lastly, India urged China to "continue to play a constructive role in the realisation of aspirations of developing countries including through reform of mulitateral institutions." China's human rights record is facing international scrutiny during the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, taking place from January 22 to February 2. This review is a unique opportunity for member states to hold China accountable for its human rights obligations, according to analysts and rights advocates. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-review process under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council, where UN Member States assess each other's human rights records, their fulfilment of human rights obligations and commitments, and provide recommendations to the State under review. This is China's fourth appearance before this mechanism. The last one was in November 2018. At the time, countries called out the existence of mass detention camps for Uyghurs a few months after they were revealed by a UN committee. During China's 3rd UPR in November 2018, China received 346 recommendations from 150 countries, and accepted 284 of them, with many questionably noted as 'accepted and already implemented.' Despite a seemingly high acceptance rate, China broadly rejected recommendations on the rights of Uyghurs and Tibetans, cooperation with the UN and unrestricted UN access to all regions of the country, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, the death penalty and the ratification of international treaties. Since 2018, mounting human rights abuses have been largely documented by a range of UN human rights bodies. After the narrow defeat of a resolution calling for a debate on the situation in Xinjiang at the Human Rights Council, in September 2022, the UPR is one of the few spaces left where China's record can be openly discussed, challenged and scrutinised on the basis of UN information. This is also the first UPR session since the publication in 2022 of the UN 'Xinjiang Report', which found that Beijing's actions against Uyghurs and other minorities could amount to 'crimes against humanity', and which Chinese diplomacy has worked hard to suppress. In the absence of a UN Human Rights Council debate on the human rights situation in China, the UPR is a rare moment of global scrutiny of the country's human rights crisis.  Source: ANI