New Delhi, Oct 20: Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh, scion of the Dogra Royal Family of Jammu and Kashmir and former MLC, paid a courtesy visit to Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.

During the meeting, Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh, as per a statement, appreciated the Defence Minister’s leadership and his continued efforts towards strengthening India’s defence preparedness, modernising the Armed Forces and safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty and security.

He also lauded the dedication and valour of the Indian Armed Forces in protecting the country’s borders and upholding national interests.

The meeting provided an opportunity for an exchange of pleasantries, with Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh conveying his regards to the Defence Minister and appreciating his commitment to national service.

New Delhi, Oct 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called upon citizens to adopt a ‘Nation First’ pledge to jointly identify and defeat the enemies of ‘Maa Bharati’, especially forces that harm national honour, divide society and harbour hatred toward Indian culture.

Participating in the Vijaya Dashami celebrations in the national capital, Modi also highlighted India’s tradition of keeping Lord Ram’s ideals alive, proclaiming the end of tyranny and terror, and upholding the victory of eternal truth over falsehood.

The prime minister’s comments came as his government faces protests led by the opposition and the Cockroach Janta Party seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls.

The BJP has alleged that the protests, which were held in the national capital and several other places in different states, were staged at the behest of foreign forces that do not want the country’s progress.

“Everyone should adopt a ‘Nation First’ pledge to jointly identify and defeat the enemies of Maa Bharati, specifically forces that harm national honour, divide society, and harbour hatred toward Indian culture. “When we stand with truth and humanity, then in the end, victory is ours,” he said.

The prime minister also recalled the immense hardships that Lord Ram faced without ever forsaking truth and morality.

Quoting Sanskrit verses to illustrate Lord Ram’s equanimity during both his royal coronation and his exile, the prime minister highlighted how Lord Ram upheld righteousness through every crisis and established truth.

“Lord Ram established benchmarks of mercy, compassion, love, and harmony,” he said.

Modi said India is maintaining “the tradition of keeping Lord Ram’s ideals alive”, proclaiming the end of tyranny and terror, and upholding the victory of eternal truth over falsehood”.

“The tradition of keeping the ideals of Lord Ram alive, the proclamation of the end of tyranny and terror, and the firm belief in the victory of eternal truth over falsehood — these are not merely festivals for us; they are the very life energy of India,” he said

The prime minister said Lord Ram taught everyone that the obstacles on the path cannot stop the journey. “The ocean lay ahead and Lanka was far, but the resolve was firm,” he said.

Therefore, he said, Lord Ram awakened the collective strength of the people, made public participation his support, and brought together the available resources, making an apparently impossible goal possible.

Modi said this is the fundamental formula for success: trust in one’s own power, confidence in one’s capability, proper utilisation of resources, and an unwavering commitment to the goal.

“We must fulfil every aspiration of the people through public welfare powered by people’s strength, and for this too, we must draw inspiration from Lord Ram himself,” he said.

Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 20: The situation in West Asia remains a matter of “deep concern” and India will support all efforts to promote peace through dialogue and diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday during talks with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Al Nahyan, who is also the deputy prime minister of the UAE, landed in Mumbai on Monday night on a two-day visit. His trip to India comes amid a fresh wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia reportedly by the Houthi militants.

In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar also backed efforts for free, safe and unimpeded flow of trade, energy and fertilisers.

The external affairs minister made a mention of how the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE has significantly enhanced bilateral trade and economic ties.

“The situation in the Gulf remains a matter of deep concern. We will continue to work together and support all efforts to promote dialogue and diplomacy,” he said.

“We continue to support free, safe and unimpeded flow of trade, energy and fertiliser. I would also like to thank you and, through you, the UAE leadership for ensuring the well-being of the Indian community in the UAE,” he said.

Jaishankar also noted that despite global headwinds and regional challenges, the economic partnership between the two countries continues to set “new benchmarks”.

“The bilateral trade has crossed the USD 100 billion mark since the signing of the CEPA and two-way investments continue to grow, reflecting the confidence of our businesses in each other’s economies,” he said.

“Cooperation in defence, energy and technology are acquiring a strategic character. Our people-to-people ties continue to enrich the lives of our communities. Our cultural partnership is also gaining strong momentum,” he said.

After the talks, Jaishankar said on social media that the India-UAE relationship is “living up to its promise as a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.

He also described his talks with the UAE leader as “productive”.

“The breadth and ambition of our cooperation is visible across the domains of trade, investments, energy, technology, logistics, defence, education and people-to-people ties,” he said.

Al Nahyan said the UAE wanted to further enhance bilateral cooperation with India.

The UAE is honoured to be one of India’s largest trading partners, and the aim of the Emirati leadership is to have a closer, stronger and diverse relationship, he said.

“We are very close, but we want to be closer,” Sheikh Abdullah said. The UAE wants to do more with India in areas such as people-to-people ties, culture and education,” he said.

There has been a significant upswing in bilateral trade and people-to-people ties after New Delhi and Abu Dhabi inked the CEPA in 2022.

The two countries are among each other’s top trading and investment partners, bolstered by the CEPA, a local currency settlement system and the bilateral investment treaty.

Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 20: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks largely focusing on cooperation in the energy and defence sectors against the backdrop of continuing friction in bilateral ties.

The Jaishankar-Rubio meeting took place shortly after the top US diplomat landed in Mumbai on a three-day India visit that came nearly five months after his first trip to the country as the Secretary of State.

Before his talks with Jaishankar, Rubio visited the Taj memorial and laid a wreath in honour of the victims of the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that included six American citizens.

“In Mumbai, Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar and I discussed energy security and defense cooperation while reaffirming the importance of advancing the U.S.-India strategic partnership,” the US Secretary of State said on social media.

The top diplomat also answered questions from the media on the India-US energy ties as well as his trip to Reliance Industries Ltd’s refinery in Jamnagar on Wednesday.

“In order for energy to become usable, you have to refine it. You have a company with a massive amount of refining capability. I think I should go talk to them, especially when it involves nation-states,” he said.

“We’re going to go see a company that has a tremendous amount of refining capability. It makes all the sense in the world to talk to them about it. It’s very difficult to understand something or see what the possibilities are if you’re not going to speak to them,” he noted.

The US Secretary of State also responded to a query on India’s procurement of Russian crude oil.

“India has expressed repeatedly its desire to diversify its energy portfolio, which is a smart thing to do. It’s not easy to do that from one day to the next,” he said.

“I think they’ve made some substantial progress in that regard, and we’re happy to see that. But in the end, it’s not just about Russian oil; it’s about India’s desire to diversify, and we think we can be a source of some of its energy inputs.”

“We have discussed Venezuela and other countries, and I think it’s in our interest to have strong allies with diverse energy portfolios,” he noted.

It is not immediately known whether the proposed trade deal between India and the US figured in the Rubio-Jaishankar talks.

Ahead of his visit, Rubio said in Uzbekistan that the US is “very close” to finalising the trade deal with India. He also suggested that the US waiver on tariffs for buying Russian oil was linked to the decision.

Last week, US President Donald Trump suspended certain sanctions against Russia and five of the biggest buyers of Russian oil including India.

“We’re trying to finalise the trade deal with India right now. We’re very close to doing that. So that’s one of the things we take into consideration when the President makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature,” Rubio said on Monday.

India and the US have been engaged in talks since early 2025 on the proposed trade pact to address tariff friction, eliminate non-tariff barriers and boost bilateral market access. India is seeking better tariffs than its competitors for its goods in the US market.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said a few days back that the trade talks between the two sides are nearing a “landing point”.

The India-US relations witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India last year and President Trump made assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes of May 2025 that drew sharp reaction from Indian officials.

Washington’s new immigration policy and its decision to increase H1B visa fees also contributed to the slide in India-US ties.

The ties came under fresh strain after the US decided to restrict a key green-card processing programme for major global and Indian IT firms, including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.

Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 20: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kick-started a three-day visit to India on Tuesday to advance bilateral ties in energy, trade and investment, defence and critical technologies, and exchange views on the West Asia crisis.

Rubio’s second India visit this year comes amid persistent friction in bilateral ties. During his earlier trip in May, he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, besides attending a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting.

The visit of the US Secretary of State, who is accompanied by a large business delegation, is likely to focus largely on boosting India-US economic engagement.

In their meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon, Jaishankar and Rubio are expected to deliberate on ways to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

“Welcome to Mumbai, US Secretary of State, on your second visit to India!” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on social media shortly after the top American diplomat landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in India’s financial capital.

Rubio was received by Ashish Shelar, Maharashtra’s Minister of Culture, Electronics, IT and AI, at the airport.

“The visit provides an opportunity to further advance cooperation across the various pillars of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” Jaiswal said.

In addition to his meeting with Jaishankar, Rubio’s engagements in Mumbai included laying a wreath at the Taj memorial to honour the victims of the 26/11 terror attack, which claimed the lives of over 160 people, including six US nationals.

The top American diplomat will also attend a reception to mark the 250th anniversary of the US’ independence.

“Discussions are expected to cover key areas of bilateral cooperation, including energy, trade and investment, defence, critical and emerging technologies, and other areas of mutual interest,” Jaiswal said last week.

The two sides are also likely to delve into the proposed bilateral trade deal as well as the situation in West Asia.

“The visit will provide an opportunity to sustain the high-level engagement between the two countries and advance our shared priorities,” Jaiswal had said.

Rubio will travel to Jamnagar in Gujarat on Wednesday.

Ahead of his visit, Rubio said in Uzbekistan that the US is “very close” to finalising the trade deal with India. He also suggested that the US waiver on tariffs for buying Russian oil was linked to the decision.

Last week, US President Donald Trump suspended certain sanctions against Russia and five of the biggest buyers of Russian oil, including India.

“We’re trying to finalise the trade deal with India right now. We’re very close to doing that. So that’s one of the things we take into consideration when the President makes a decision about national security waivers and things of that nature,” Rubio said.

India and the US have been engaged in talks since early 2025 on the proposed trade pact to address tariff friction, eliminate non-tariff barriers, and boost bilateral market access.

India is seeking better tariffs than its competitors for its goods in the US market.

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said a few days back that the trade talks between the two sides are nearing a “landing point”.

The India-US relations witnessed a major downturn after Washington imposed punitive tariffs on India last year and President Trump made assertions regarding his role in de-escalating the India-Pakistan military clashes of May 2025 that drew sharp reaction from Indian officials.

Washington’s new immigration policy and its decision to increase the H1B visa fee also contributed to the slide in India-US ties.

The ties came under fresh strain after the US decided to restrict a key green-card processing programme for major global and Indian IT firms, including Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.