The government has postponed the strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans Ltd, after the member of the successful bidder – Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd – which is a consortium of three companies, was disqualified, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said.

As per DIPAM, Almas Global Opportunity Fund (AGOF), one of the consortium members, had received adverse orders from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). 

A complaint was made by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) in the special court against it in another case of resolution. In view of this, the Centre has announced the annulment of the expression of interest (EoI) process for the strategic disinvestment of Pawan Hans.

The government on April 29 last year had approved the highest bidder, Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd, (a consortium of Maharaja Aviation, Big Charter and AGOF) as the successful bidder for sale of 100% equity shareholding of the government in Pawan Hans for Rs 211 crore. 

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as the deputy chief minister. He will share the post with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.

Eight NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers: Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.

Out of the total 53 NCP MLAs in the state, 40 are with Pawar, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed.

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who was present in the Raj Bhawan, said Ajit Pawar has resigned as the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lower House and that he has accepted it.

Around 70 per cent of construction work on the ambitious India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway has been completed, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on about 1,400-km-long highway that would link the country with Southeast Asia by land and give a boost to trade, business, health, education and tourism ties among the three countries.

The highway will connect Moreh in Manipur, India with Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar.

The minister did not provide details on the timeline for completion and operationalisation of the trilateral highway.

The strategic highway project has been delayed.

Earlier, the government was aiming to make the highway operational by December 2019.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane paid an official visit to Myanmar from June 30, 2023 to July 01, 2023.

He called on Chairman, State Administrative Council (SAC) Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in the country's Capital city Nay Pyi Taw.

Giridhar Aramane also called on the Defence Minister of Myanmar Gen (Retd.) Mya Tun Oo and held meetings with Commander-in-Chief, Myanmar Navy Admiral Moe Aung and Chief of Defence Industries Lt Gen Khan Myint Than.

The 11-member SAC under Senior General Hlaing is governing Myanmar currently.

India shares an approximately 1,700-km-long border with Myanmar. Any developments in that country have a direct impact on India’s bordering regions. Peace and stability in Myanmar and the well-being of its people, therefore, remain of utmost importance to India. The Indian state of Manipur, sharing around 390 km long borders with Myanmar, is facing violence at present.

While maintaining that the cause of battling the dangerous genetic disease (mostly common among tribals) was close to his heart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Eradication Mission from tribal dominated Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh – targeting to eradicate the genetic disorder by 2047.

On the occasion, Modi started the distribution of more than 3 crore digital Ayushman cards in the country and one crore PVC Ayushman Bharat cards in MP. He announced that Rani Durgavati's 500th birth anniversary will be celebrated across India and stamps will be released.

The prime minister distributed Sickle Cell colour-coded counselling cards to a few beneficiaries. He also handed over Ayushman cards and PVC Ayushman Bharat cards physically to some beneficiaries.

The National Sickle Cell Anemia Eradication Mission (NSCAEM), which aims to address the pressing health challenges posed by sickle cell disease, particularly among the tribal population, was announced in the Union Budget 2023.

Modi said that Ayushman Card is a guarantee of Rs 5 lakh treatment in hospitals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government is spending Rs 6.5 lakh crore annually for the agriculture sector and farmers' welfare, and called upon cooperatives to help in making the country self-reliant in cooking oils.

Speaking at an event on the occasion of International Day of Cooperatives, the prime minister also highlighted the work done by his government, like PM Kisan scheme, MSP operations, and fertiliser subsidy since coming to power in 2014.

In the last nine years, Modi said, more than Rs 15 lakh crore had been given to farmers by procuring their produce on the MSP. The government, he said, spent Rs 10 lakh crore towards fertiliser subsidy last year.

In other words, the government is spending around Rs 6.5 lakh crore per year on agriculture and farmers, the prime minister said.

In the last 4 years, the prime minister said, Rs 2.5 lakh crore had been sent directly to bank accounts of farmers under PM KISAN scheme.

One of the world's oldest newspapers, the Vienna-based Wiener Zeitung, ended its daily print run  on June 30  after more than three centuries.

First published under the name Wiennerisches Diarium, the paper set out to provide a sober account of the news "without any oratory or poetic gloss" when it was launched on Aug. 8, 1703.

The Wiener Zeitung, which is owned by the Austrian government but editorially independent, suffered a sharp decrease in revenue after a recent law dropped a requirement for companies to pay to publish changes to the commercial registry in the print edition.

It will continue to operate online and plans a monthly print edition.

Finland's new economic affairs minister Vilhelm Junnila, a member of the far-right Finns Party, announced his resignation after only 10 days in office following an uproar over past alleged pro-Nazi remarks.

The resignation came just two days after Junnila, 41, survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on the issue, garnering 95 votes in favour and 86 against.

The vote was called by three opposition parties -- the Left Alliance, the Greens and the Social Democrats -- because of Junnila's previous controversial statements and links to far-right movements.

Junnila has spoken at least at one event organised in 2019 by Kansallismielisten liittouma (Coalition of Nationalists), a far-right group with links to the anti-immigration group Soldiers of Odin.

He also joked during this year's parliamentary elections about the election candidate number 88 being a reference to "Heil Hitler".

In the 2015 legislative election, he campaigned under a "Gas!" slogan, which many interpreted as a reference to World War II gas chambers.

On June 22, Junnila tweeted an apology for his earlier statements: "I hope it is clear to everyone that I strongly and absolutely condemn the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and all anti-Semitic acts."