Bhubaneswar: Odisha Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI), through its payment aggregator service SBIePay, to strengthen digital payment infrastructure and facilitate seamless, secure and citizen-centric payment services across Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state through the SUJOG platform. According to an official...

New Delhi: FMCG major Nestle India Friday said its infant nutrition products are "fully compliant" with all applicable regulations and that the labels of NAN Excella Pro and Lactogen Pro were approved by an expert committee of the food safety regulator FSSAI. "The said products (i.e., NAN EXCELLA PRO & LACTOGEN PRO) and their labels were approved...

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government Friday revised the schedule for ward delimitation and seat reservation for elections to municipalities, NACs and municipal corporations scheduled early next year, an official said. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department informed district collectors about the revised schedule, making partial changes to the earlier timeline, an official statement said. According to the...

New Delhi: Reiterating its serious concern over the deteriorating security situation in the Red Sea region and the attempted attack on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca, India Friday said that the developments threaten regional stability as well as freedom of navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Addressing a bi-weekly press briefing in New Delhi, the Ministry...

Bhubaneswar: The additional secretary of Odisha's transport and commerce department, Arun Kumar Biswal, was arrested Friday for allegedly "sexually harassing and attempting to murder" a woman employee, police said. Biswal was arrested following a written complaint lodged by the woman at Kharvelnagar police station. According to police, the 55-year-old Odisha Administrative Service officer visited the woman's residence...

United Nations: Navigational rights must not be subject to coercion, threats, unlawful restrictions or arbitrary interference, India has said at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, emphasising that maritime insecurity has consequences well beyond the immediate risks. Recent disruptions to significant global maritime routes have underpinned a fundamental reality the security of maritime routes are vital...

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed leaders and representatives from seven regional countries for talks on deepening cooperation Friday, as overnight Russian strikes in multiple regions sparked fires and caused several deaths and injuries. The inaugural summit of the so-called Carpathian Eight brings together Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with the...

New Delhi: India, Canada reaffirm commitment to expedite CEPA negotiations The issues that figured in the five-day talks included trade in goods, services, rules of origin, and technical trade barriers. The round followed the third round, which was held in Ottawa in July. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney set a year-end target to...

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday suggested a series of measures for states and Union territories to prevent hooch tragedies, calling for a coordinated, multi-department approach to curb the illegal manufacture, transportation and sale of spurious liquor. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran issued a slew of suggestions while quashing Rules 18A...

Kathmandu: Nepal's Council of Ministers Friday recommended ambassadors for 13 countries, including India, China, the US and the UK, to fill several posts that had remained vacant for some time. The recommendations were made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, according to the secretariat of Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal. Nishchal Nath Pandey has...