
EAM Jaishankar interacts with Indian community in Belgium, Luxembourg
Brussels [Belgium], June 10 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar interacted with members of the Indian community in Belgium and Luxembourg, discussing the steady progress of India-Belgium ties and its engagement with the European Union.
During the interaction, Jaishankar apprised the community of India's efforts to counter terrorism and promote the country's progress and prosperity.
https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1932124554144465148
Sharing the pictures of the interaction, Jaishankar wrote, 'Great to interact with members of the Indian community of Belgium and Luxembourg. Discussed with them the steady progress of India-Belgium ties and engagement with the EU. Also apprised them of our efforts at countering terrorism and ensuring the progress & prosperity of India.'
Notably, Jaishankar began his visit to Belgium on Monday by meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot. The discussions focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation and combating terrorism.
He appreciated Belgium's support in combating terrorism, welcomed their solidarity, and emphasised the strong momentum in the India-EU partnership, highlighting the potential for collaboration in clean energy, mobility, and pharmaceuticals.
Jaishankar's visit to Brussels comes three months after Princess Astrid of Belgium led a 300-member economic mission to India. The recent visit by Princess Astrid, who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar, discussed key areas such as labor migration, pharmaceuticals, defense, diamonds, space exploration, and green energy.
Interestingly, Jaishankar's visit coincides with the detention of fugitive Indian diamantaire Mehul Choksi in a jail in Belgium. Choksi, accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,850 crore, was arrested in mid-April on India's extradition request. India has an extradition treaty with Belgium, and the government is likely to pursue Choksi's extradition during the EAM's visit.
Jaishankar is on an official visit to France, the European Union (EU), and Belgium from June 8 to 14, 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs announced in a press release on Sunday. (ANI)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
IITMS pilot project nears completion at key traffic junctions
Nagpur: The Rs 197-crore Integrated Intelligent Traffic Management System (IITMS) pilot project neared completion at ten critical traffic intersections across the city, confirmed additional municipal commissioner Vaishnavi B. The initiative represents a significant step towards modernising urban traffic management. The project involved installing advanced CCTVs, sensors, and UPS batteries and reached its final stages. Sources indicated that installation work was completed at all 10 locations, and the focus shifted to rigorous testing and connection checks. This phase ensured that all components, including wiring and footage connectivity, functioned optimally. At Kachipura intersection, land development and cable pooling work commenced, paving the way for implementing automated traffic signals (ATS). Although integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the system will take additional time, most junctions were anticipated to be AI-enabled within the next few days. The command and control centre (COC) expected to display all junctions shortly, although minor network issues related to the smart city infrastructure were being addressed. "The pilot project is not merely a test but a comprehensive evaluation of the system's functionality. Once all components are verified, the project will be presented to the commissioner for approval. This demonstration will ensure that the system meets the required standards before full-scale implementation, which is projected to be completed by December 2026," said Vaishnavi.


Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sonam paid Rs 50,000 to Raj for his, killer trio's trip to Shillong
Lucknow: Sonam Raghuvanshi paid Rs 50,000 to her alleged lover, Raj Kushwaha, to facilitate his and the three other accused people's travel to Shillong and monitor her movements along with her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, police said, quoting the confession of two of the arrested accused. Raj Kushwaha, along with Vishal Singh, Anand Kurmi, and Akash Rajput, first boarded a train from Indore to Delhi between May 17 and 18 and then took Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Guwahati. Their travel preceded Raja and Sonam's honeymoon to Shillong for which they took a flight from Indore on May 20. Throughout this duration, Raj stayed in direct and discreet contact with Sonam, who used different mobile apps to communicate with him, and shared her live locations which allowed the alleged conspirators to track her and Raja's movement. However, as Raj continues to claim that he was in Indore during the period, police are gathering more evidence to ascertain whether Raj was in Indore or was one of the killers of Raja and to corroborate the confessions of the accused regarding the involvement of each one in the crime. After killing Raja on either May 23 or 24, the accused were back in Indore on May 25, police said.


Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
MCG plans 20% hike in water tariff to bridge revenue gap, seeks uniform billing
Gurgaon: Metered water supply rates for residential plotted areas may go up by 20%, while unmetered water connections may see a 50% hike if an MCG proposal submitted to urban local bodies (ULB) department goes through. The corporation's proposal stems from the substantial difference between the amount MCG pays to GMDA for bulk water supply and the charges collected from residents for water services. MCG chief engineer Vijay Dhaka says the steep hike of rates for the unmetered connections "is to encourage people to have metered water connections" — hence the proposal to increase the water and sewerage charges by 20% for the metered connections in the residential areas and 50% for the unmetered connections". MCG suggests implementing uniform rates citywide by adopting the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) notice of Jan 12, 2018, with slight modifications to reduce the revenue-expenditure gap. MCG currently follows two different charging mechanisms: one for areas transferred from HSVP builder areas and another for old Gurgaon and villages. In HSVP sectors, certain private developers have established townships and colonies. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo These private builders were responsible for maintaining and operating water supply and sewerage services. It is mentioned in the MCG's proposal that GMDA supplied bulk water to these colonies at a rate of Rs 10 per kilolitre, in accordance with govt policy. Following this, five colonies, namely Palam Vihar, Suncity, Sushant Lok-1, South City-1 and South City-2, were transferred to MCG in 2019. Currently, MCG collects user charges for water supply and sewerage services in both HSVP sectors and these townships, based on Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) notification dated Jan 12, 2018. For residential plotted colonies, water charges are Rs 2.5 per KL for initial 10 KL usage, followed by Rs 5 per KL for subsequent 10 KL as per this notification. Rural areas pay Rs 2 per kilolitre for water and sewerage services, as per PHED notification of April 3, 2017. This rate is double what MCG charges from old Gurgaon and incorporated villages, based on ULB department rates from March 9, 2011 notification. The corporation has identified rate inconsistencies between the two notifications that determine charges across different city areas under MCG jurisdiction. This variation in revenue collection could potentially cause legal issues, the civic body has noted in its proposal. The MCG's submission to ULB department indicates that it receives approximately 80 lakh kilolitres of drinking water monthly through 148 bulk connections at Rs 10 per kilolitre, distributing to old town, villages, HSVP sectors and private builder areas. The corporation pays about Rs 10 crore monthly to GMDA for bulk supply and sewerage maintenance, plus additional maintenance and leakage costs. However, monthly revenue collection remains at Rs 5 crore, creating financial strain. The corporation suggests increasing institutional metered connection charges from Rs 10 per KL to Rs 12 per KL and industrial and commercial metered connection charges from Rs 15 per KL to Rs 18 per KL. Chaitali Mandhotra, a resident of Ardee City, said, "Water and sewerage charges are a complete mess in Ardee City. There are people who have not installed metres and they are getting bills amounting to a flat rate of Rs 550 plus taxes." "Then, people are getting bills for the metered connection as per the HUDA notification. Moreover, there is a third category of people like me, who have already installed a water meter. However, I am still getting a flat bill like those with unmetered water connections. Moreover, in our colony, a majority of the houses are ground-plus-two floors. In these residential buildings, some units are getting one bill only for all three floors. However, some are getting three separate bills. So, this billing system needs to be regulated."