New Delhi, Nov 6 : Defence Minister A. K. Antony has asked defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to be more competitive and modernize with the changing times.

Addressing the meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his ministry held in New Delhi today, the Minister expressed the hope that with vast experience behind it, there is no doubt that the company will rise to the occasion in meeting the future needs of the services.

New Delhi, Nov 6 : Australian Minister for Resources and Tourism Martin Ferguson today called on Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni.

During an hour long meeting here both the leaders discussed matters relating to bilateral cooperation in tourism sector. Both sides stressed on the importance of interaction within the tourism stakeholders in the two countries for better understanding of the tourism products in each other’s country.

Referring to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries both the leaders felt that India and Australia are important tourism markets for each other.

New Delhi, Nov 6 : A delegation led by Australian Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism Martin Ferguson called on Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel here today.

From Indian side senior officials of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas including R. S. Pandey, Secretary (P&NG) and concerned PSUs viz., GAIL, OVL, BPCL and PLL were also present during the meeting.

New Delhi, Nov 6 : Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora has returned this morning from a successful visit of Russia.

During his meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Deora referred to India’s desire for formation of joint venture between ONGC Videsh Limited
(OVL) and Rosneft for taking up exploration and development projects in east Siberia.

The meeting of SAARC Agriculture Ministers, called on the directive of the 15th SAARC Summit and the Colombo statement on Food Security, concluded in New Delhi with a consensus to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas.

The extraordinary meeting, chaired by Minister of Agriculture, Shri Sharad Pawar, underlined the tremendous goodwill existing between SAARC member states in using the multilateral dialogue process to realize the South Asian people desire for economic development and food security.

New Delhi, Nasik, Nov 6 : Deputy Army Chief on Thursday, termed the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel in connection with bomb blasts in two western towns as an aberration on the army.

Lieutenant-Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit was arrested by the police on Wednesday in connection to the Malegaon blasts that killed five people and were blamed on a Hindu militant group.

Addressing the reporters in New Delhi, Lieutenant General S. P. S. Dhillon said the accused, if found guilty, will be dealt with accordingly.