National team batsman Liton Kumar Das ruled out from Asia Cup mission due to fever. Anamul Haque Bijoy took his place. Rabid Imam, Media Manager of Bangladesh Cricket Board confirm the matter.

Foreign Secretary (Senior Secretary) of Bangladesh Ambassador Masud Bin Momen held discussions on BIMSTEC issues with Secretary (East) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Saurabh Kumar today at the state guest house, Padma. Mr. Kumar arrived Dhaka today in the morning.  Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Mr. Pranay Kumar Verma was also present during the meeting. Foreign Secretary Momen noted that as a founding member of BIMSTEC, Bangladesh is committed to deepening relations with the member states of BIMSTEC in all aspects and moving forward in materializing the objectives of this regional organization.  He also noted that Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is an ardent proponent of the BIMSTEC process, which is manifested in hosting the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka.  He reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to strengthening the BIMSTEC Secretariat by all possible means. Secretary (East) of MEA thanked the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh for receiving him and generous hospitality extended to the Indian delegation by the Government of Bangladesh.  He expressed India’s willingness to work together with Bangladesh to make BIMSTEC a most effective and dynamic organization.  Both sides agreed to intensify their efforts in achieving tangible progress in the field of trade and investment, connectivity, energy security, and climate change for ensuring shared peace and prosperity in the Bay of Bengal region.  Both sides also discussed the ways and means of moving forward the BIMSTEC Process and make it a vibrant and successful organization. After the meeting, the Foreign Secretary hosted a luncheon in honour of the Indian MEA’s Secretary (East). He will depart tomorrow morning.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta on Saturday said that the success of the G20 event is a collective responsibility of every official in the government. "In a run-up to the upcoming G-20 Tourism Working Group meeting scheduled to be held here, Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today impressed upon the officers that the success of the international event is the collective responsibility of all of us and each of us should fulfil our responsibility fully," the press release said. During the meeting, J-K's Chief Secretary said that all the management plans for the event should be amenable to the general public. "Dr Mehta enjoined upon the officers that all the management plans for the event should be amenable to the general public. He urged the Divisional and District Administration to keep the concerns of people in mind while giving final shape to the traffic, boarding, lodging and other logistic plans," the press release mentioned. The Chief Secretary directed the officials that the upcoming G20 event shall impart necessary impetus to trade and tourism. "The Chief Secretary directed the involvement of the local population in the event. He maintained that the event shall impart necessary impetus to the trade and tourism. He asked them to having joint meeting with the local trade, tourism, transport and industrial organizations and seek their suggestions and factor in their views in sectoral plans. He made out that no inconvenience should be created for public or tourists on visit to the city," the release mentioned. "Taking a review of the works taken in hand and still in progress he asked the Divisional Administration to make sure that these are completed before the 15th of this month. He inquired about the status of these works and said that all of these should be dedicated to the public within the deadline," it added. The meeting was attended by all the high-ranking officers from the Civil and Police administration either virtually or in person.

In order to explore opportunities for expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries on election matters, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday (today) held productive discussions with the Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan Dasho Sonam Topgay in Bhutan. The discussions took place at Democracy House, Thimphu, Bhutan today. According to an official press release by the Election Commission of India, the visit to Bhutan by CEC Rajiv Kumar happened almost after a decade, on the invitation of the CEC of Bhutan to further strengthen the cooperation between the two EMBs. During the visit, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar also called on the Prime Minister of Bhutan H.E. Lyonchhen Dr Lotay Tshering and discussed the excellent collaboration & partnership between the two Election Commissions, and commitment to strengthening it further, in keeping with warm bonds of friendship India shares with Bhutan. Prime Minister of Bhutan in a tweet thanked CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar for ECIs support and cooperation to the Election Commission of Bhutan and mentioned the importance accorded to EC Bhutan which is critical to strengthen their democracy. CEC Shri Kumar updated the Prime Minister of Bhutan on the collaboration between the two ECs on research, ICT and training in the field of election management. During the interaction, the CEC of India and Bhutan discussed further collaboration on Human resource development, research & training and leveraging technological advancements to further strengthen election management. Election Commissioners from the Election Commission of Bhutan, Dawa Tenzin and Mr Ugyen Chewang, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI Shri Nitesh Vyas were also present during the discussions, the official press release read. CEC Rajiv Kumar also interacted with members of the Indian community in Thimphu. Indian Embassy in Bhutan in a tweet mentioned that CEC during the interaction underlined the strength & vibrancy of Indian democracy, ECIs focus on enhancing voter participation in the electoral process and leveraging technology for free and fair conduct of elections. He also explained to members of the Indian community about NRIs’ rights and processes available under electoral laws and explained in detail Indian election systems including various technological initiatives for citizens, political parties, and candidates and election machinery. During the meeting, the NRI Community in Thimpu requested ECI to consider providing the facility of voting through the Indian embassy in Bhutan, during the elections in India. The Election Commission of India has an active collaboration with the Election Commission of Bhutan in the field of election management. According to the official release, the election officials from Bhutan have regularly attended training programmes organised by the India International Institute of Democracy & Election Management (IIIDEM) from time to time. On a request from EC of Bhutan, IIIDEM organised a special training programme on the ‘Role of Media in Elections’ for Media officials from Bhutan from July 9-13, 2018. Bhutanese election officials also participated in ECI’s International Election Visitors Programme. Following numerous rounds of consultations with the ECI, the Bhutanese Election Commission has likewise decided to deploy Indian-style EVMs. The institutional cooperation between the Election Commission of India and Bhutan was formalised through an MoU in 2006, which was renewed in September 2011 for a period of five years. A fresh MoU was signed in New Delhi on January 24, 2019, for a period of five years. ECI also has an active association and collaboration with the EC of Bhutan through regional & global organisations like the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA), the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA), the press release said.  Source: alwaysfirst.in

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Friday launched three online services offered by the Department of Science and Technology of the state, said an official statement. Saurabh Bhagat, Commissioner Secretary, Science and Technology was also present for the launch. The services include Sponsored Research & Extension Programme, Support for Innovation & Patent Filing scheme, and Science Talent Promotion Scholarship Scheme. "All these schemes are offered by the J&K Science, Technology and Innovation Council (JKST&IC) and are primarily meant for inculcating the scientific culture among students/scientific community in particular and common masses in general", reads the statement. Chief Secretary stressed the need for scientific solutions to various issues of local importance such as waste management, biomass energy, plastic to fuel stressing need to run a waste to wealth campaign. He complimented the Science & Technology Department for establishing Industrial Biotechnology Parks, Sub Regional Science Centre, and instructed for establishment of various Centre of Excellences across UT of Jammu & Kashmir. He enjoined upon the Department to collaborate with other departments for innovative solutions to problems faced by people in their day to day life. "Science and Technology should contribute to ease of living. Our focus should be on innovations for larger public interest so that the knowledge actually gets transferred from lab to land", he said. The chief secretary also took stock of various schemes of Science & Technology Department including Jammu Smart City Mission, Jammu Solar City Mission, PM-KUSUM, Rooftop Solar Power Plant Mission and focused on the need to increase the demand of solar energy within the UT of J&K. On the occasion it was given out that the Sponsored Research & Extension Programme envisages that the research proposals/scientific surveys should be invited through open advertisement from the Scientists/professors/ academicians/scholars/research etc, get it evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Committee(SAC)/ Technical Committee (TC) constituted by the Government for furnishing of recommendations and then should be provided with the financial support for carrying out the research on the local specific issues. Later the outcome/recommendation of these research projects/surveys are forwarded to the line departments for implementation. Regarding the Support for Innovation & Patent Filing scheme it was said that the JKST&IC provides financial support (seed money) to the innovator/ institution working on novel ideas for development of prototype. The scheme is aimed at the promotion of Innovations and encouragement of local youth for their pursuits in different fields of Science & Technology. As far as Science Talent Promotion Scholarship Scheme is concerned it aims at encouraging the students to pursue Science subjects in their higher classes. The scholarships are provided to the meritorious students at 10+2 up to PG levels for a period of 2, 3 and 2 years respectively at each level. The three online schemes/services detailed above being implemented in the online mode now are also RAS integrated therefore open for public feedback. Post launch of these services, the Department of Science & Technology will be e-Governance Complaint as envisaged under the 'Digital J&K' mission of the UT. Giving details about the performance of the Department it was said that a total of 2169 works have been completed under different schemes during 2022-23 out of 2400 works taken in hand. Moreover, the ST & IC has registered an expenditure of nearly 99.8% of its funds released for the previous financial year. Commissioner Secretary IT and other senior officers of IT department were also present during the inaugural function.

    A hallmark of some new businesses today is that they seek to use the brute force of capital, combined with smart technology and operations, to create new needs that you didn’t even know existed, the chairman of Aditya Birla group said in a blog post on the trends for the new year. As the valuations of start-ups reach record high, key financial metrics such as healthy cash flows and gross margins will guide future behaviour and trends, chairman of Aditya Birla group, Kumar Mangalam Birla said on Friday. Birla said the world is awash in capital and there has perhaps rarely been a better time to be an entrepreneur, as everyone from angel investors to public markets line up to back ideas. “The competition for investment opportunities and the fear of missing out (FOMO) have driven up valuations of many fledgeling companies to stratospheric levels,” he said. “Historically, the key question for any new business was whether it fulfilled an unmet consumer need. A hallmark of some new businesses today is that they seek to use the brute force of capital, combined with smart technology and operations, to create new needs that you didn’t even know existed,” he said. For example, Birla said a customer is nowadays receiving groceries at his doorstep in less than 10 minutes and whether it is a service that one cannot live without?  “Clearly many consumers think so. Ultimately, my own view is that at some stage unit economics will have to matter. And trusty old concepts like cash flows and gross margins will guide behaviour and actions. The only sustainable moat is the one based on intellect. Large waves of cheap capital will eventually erode all other entry barriers,” Birla said. “From Aditya Birla Group’s experience in multiple businesses, across multiple geographies, I can say that in the long run sustainable and successful businesses are those that generate tangible profits, prosperity, livelihoods quarter after quarter. Valuation and business longevity will automatically follow,” said Birla. On capex, Birla said with the twin-balance sheet problem of stressed loans and over-leveraged corporates behind India, the coming decade will see an upsurge in capital expenditure across many sectors.  “I believe, we have upon us a forthcoming decade of Capex Mahotsav in India. The private sector is also firing on two-engines, the conventional and the new economy. I call it the ‘double-engine growth’. Investors are excited about growth prospects in core sectors as well as sunrise sectors. In my view, though, the word sunrise sector applies to the entire landscape in India, which includes both conventional sectors such as cement, steel, power and auto and emerging areas like digital and renewables,” Birla said in a web post on the trends for the new year. On global economy, Birla said the speed and magnitude of the global bounce back has surprised everyone but also left some constituents unprepared.  “From being the invisible wheels that oiled the global economy, the nuances of supply chains and the intricacies of multi-modal optimisation have now become central to our discourse,” he said. “Whiplash effects have come into force, with shortages in humble $1 semiconductors in Taiwan, and a fire in a lithography factory in Berlin, lengthening the queues for eager buyers of new cars in India. In messages reminiscent of the license era, hopeful car aspirants are being put in long waiting lists as companies scramble to crank up production,” Birla said. “On the one hand, container shortages in some parts of the world, combined with port pile-ups elsewhere, reinforce the point that the physical world still matters. Despite all triumphant proclamations of software eating the world, the absence of sufficient truck drivers can bring sophisticated operations to a grinding halt. These whiplash effects have called into question a decade-long shift towards increasing efficiency and finely tuned precision operations that optimised operating costs but took away room for margins of error,” Birla said. Source: rediff.com

Bollywood’s veteran actor Dilip Kumar passed away at 7.30 am today (Wednesday) at PD Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai due to prolonged illness. He was 98.   Dilip Kumar, who is popularly called as “tragedy king” left behind a legacy of films that spanned six decades, and gave Hindi movie some of its most enduring classics. His funeral will be held later today.  Dr Jalil Parkar, the pulmonologist treating Dilip Kumar at the hospital confirmed the news to media saying "with a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago." The veteran actor had been admitted to the hospital after experiencing breathlessness on June 30, media reports said quoting family sources. On June 6, Dilip Kumar was hospitalised after a similar complaint when he was diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion. He was discharged from the hospital after five days when his condition was improving.   Born as Yusuf Khan in Peshawar on December 11, 1922, the young Dilip Kumar went to school in Deolali, Maharashtra, where his fruit merchant father owned orchards.  In 1940, Dilip Kumar moved to Pune and set up shop supplying dry fruits and running a canteen. Three years later, actress Devika Rani and her husband actor-director Himanshu Rai spotted him in a military canteen and cast him as the lead in 1944's Jwar Bhata. Author Bhagwati Charan Varma changed his name from Yusuf Khan to Dilip Kumar and the young actor took his first tentative steps towards stardom. Dilip Kumar debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata (1944). In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in over 65 films. He is known for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the social drama Daag (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the epic historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960), the social dacoit crime drama Gunga Jamuna (1961), and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam (1967). Described by Satyajit Ray as "the ultimate method actor," Dilip Kumar's resume contains many of Indian cinema's landmark, genre-defining roles. His performances as the drunken, doomed lover in Devdas and the rebellious royal son in Mughal-e-Azam have been endlessly referenced by his successors on-screen.  The legendary actor lost his two brothers due to Covid-19 over the course of just two weeks last year. He is survived by his wife, Saira Banu. President of India Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Dilip Kumar, the Bollywood legend.   In a message, the President said “Dilip Kumar summarised in himself a history of emerging India. The thespian’s charm transcended all boundaries, and he was loved across the subcontinent.” “With his demise, an era ends. Dilip Saab will live forever in the heart of India. Condolences to family and countless fans”. In separate message,  the Prime Minister said, “Dilip Kumar Ji will be remembered as a cinematic legend. He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled”. “His passing away is a loss to our cultural world. Condolences to his family, friends and innumerable admirers. RIP. (sic)," PM Modi tweeted. Besides, condolences are pouring in at the death of the legendary actor who would remain alive in the hearts of millions of cinema loving people across the border. Source: BSS AH

Ranajit Kumar Roy, the Member of Parliament of Jashore-4 constituency, was diagnosed with coronavirus on Monday night.   Confirming the information around 12:30am, Jashore Civil Surgeon Dr Sheikh Abu Shahin said the sample was collected on Monday morning and tested at Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST).   Rajib Roy, son of Ranajit Kumar, told UNB that his father was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Jashore at around 1:30am.   MP Ranajit Kumar, also the president of Bagharpara Upazila unit of Awami League, was living at his residence in Rail Road area in Jashore town.   He had been suffering from fever for the last few days, and health workers collected samples of eight people of the MP’s family on Monday, said the Civil Surgeon.   Earlier on June 2, AL leader Mohammad Nasim tested positive for coronavirus.   Health authorities have so far confirmed 68,504 coronavirus cases and 930 deaths in the country.   Source: UNB AH

Tripura’s newly elected Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb phoned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday and sought Bangladesh's cooperation for the development of the state. PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said, "The newly-elected Tripura Chief Minister phoned the prime minister before his swearing-in this morning."   During the telephonic conversation, he said, Biplab Deb sought cooperation of the Bangladesh government for the development of the Indian northeastern state. In reply, the prime minister assured the Tripura CM of continued cooperation from Bangladesh. "The mutual cooperation from Bangladesh will continue for the development of Tripura," she said. Sheikh Hasina also greeted the Tripura government and the people. The Prime Minister recalled with profound gratitude the cooperation and assistance the Tripura government and people rendered during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971. The 48-year-old Biplab Dev was elected the Chief Minister of Tripura as his party BJP secured a landslide victory in the recently held election in the state.   Source: BSS   FU