US President Joe Biden has pledged America's full support for India in fighting the COVID pandemic.

US President said on Monday, "Today, I spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pledged America's full support to provide emergency assistance and resources in the fight against COVID-19. India was there for us, and we will be there for them."

He said, "Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need."

During the telephonic conversation, President Biden conveyed solidarity with India and affirmed that the United States was determined to support India's efforts by quickly deploying resources such as therapeutics, ventilators and identifying sources of raw materials to be made available for the manufacture of Covishield vaccines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his heartfelt appreciation for the offer of assistance and support from the Government of the United States of America. The Prime Minister underscored the need to ensure smooth and open supply chains of raw materials and inputs required for the manufacture of vaccines, medicines, and therapeutics related to COVID-19. 

Both leaders underlined the potential of the India-US partnership in vaccine development and supply to address the COVID-19 pandemic and directed their respective officials to maintain close coordination and cooperation in their efforts in this domain.

India is the fastest country in the world to administer 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

India achieved the feat in 85 days, whereas the USA took 89 days and China reached the milestone in 102 days.

The Prime Minister Office tweeted,

"Strengthening the efforts to ensure a healthy and COVID-19 free India."

The total number of people vaccinated till 8 am today stand at 10,15,95,147.

The 11th round India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on 9th April 2021, a release issued by the Ministry of Defence informed.

The two sides had a detailed exchange of views for the resolution of the remaining issues related to disengagement along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. The two sides agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols. In this context it was highlighted also that completion of disengagement in other areas would pave the way for two sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquility and enable progress in bilateral relations, the release stated.

The two sides agreed that it was important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest. They also agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and jointly maintain peace in the border areas, the release added.

The 21st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was held today.

The Indian delegation was led by the Additional Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs. The Director-General of the Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the Chinese delegation.

• The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector and had in-depth discussions on the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. They agreed that the completion of the disengagement in North and South Bank of the Pangong Lake provided a good basis for the two sides to work towards early resolution of these remaining issues.
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• They decided that the agreement reached between the two Foreign Ministers in Moscow in September last year as also their recent phone conversation last month, should continue to guide the work of the two sides. The two sides should continue their dialogue to reach a mutually acceptable solution for complete disengagement from all friction points at the earliest. This would enable two sides to look at broader de-escalation of troops in the area and work towards the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. They also decided that in the interim two sides should continue to maintain stability at ground level and prevent any untoward incident.
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• The two sides agreed to maintain close communication and dialogue through both diplomatic and military channels. In this regard, they decided to convene the 11th round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date so that two sides could work towards complete disengagement from the remaining friction areas.

India won the 4th test match against England in Ahmedabad by an innings and 25 runs. With this win, India has sealed the series victory against the visitors by 3-1. 

Score Card

India - 365
England - 205 & 135 (54.5)

Man of the Match - Rishab Pant

Man of the Series - Ravichandran Ashwin

By securing this series victory, India has qualifed for the Test Champioship finals which is scheduled later this year.

The Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan held discussions over the established mechanism of hotline contact. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Control and all other sectors in a free, frank and cordial atmosphere, a joint statement issued by both the sides informed.

In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGsMO agreed to address each other's core issues and concerns which have the propensity to disturb the peace and lead to violence. Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021, the statement said.

Both sides reiterated that existing mechanisms of hotline contact and border flag meetings will be utilised to resolve any unforeseen situation or misunderstanding, the statement added.

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• India and China held bilateral consultations on UNSC issues today using the VTC platform.
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• The Chinese delegation was led by Mr Yang Tao, Director General of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
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• Mr Prakash Gupta, Joint Secretary (UNP & Summits) led the Indian delegation along with officials from East Asia (EA) and UN Economic and Social (UNES) Divisions of MEA and from the Permanent Mission of India New York and Embassy of India in Beijing.
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• Both sides discussed a wide range of issues on the UNSC agenda. The Indian delegation briefed the Chinese side on India's priorities during its UNSC tenure. Both sides agreed to continue their engagement on key issues on the UNSC agenda.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) members and the Government of India signed a Framework for Strategic Partnership today in a bid to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation and enhance global energy security, stability and sustainability.

This partnership is aimed to conduct an extensive exchange of knowledge and would be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of the IEA.

The MoU was signed by Mr Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary (Power) from the Indian side and Dr Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director from the IEA side.

The contents of the Strategic partnership will be jointly decided by the IEA Members and India, including a phased increase in benefits and responsibilities for India as an IEA Strategic partner, and building on existing areas of work within Association and the Clean Energy Transitions Programme (CETP), such as Energy Security, Clean and Sustainable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Enhancing petroleum storage capacity in India, Expansion of gas-based economy in India etc.

The IEA Secretariat will be responsible for the implementation of the cooperative activities in India and for facilitating discussion between the IEA Members and India to further develop the Strategic Partnership.

The Government of India endeavours to take necessary steps to encourage and promote strategic and technical co-operation in the energy sector in the identified areas noted above, through the Framework Agreement.

US President Joe Biden looks forward to a continuation of the long, bipartisan and successful relationship between leaders in India and the United States, which he respects and values, stated Jen Psaki, Press Secretary to the US President.

Ms Psaki made the above statement when asked about Mr Biden's vision on the relationship between India and US - the world's largest and the world's oldest democracy, during a press briefing.

Ms Psaki said that Mr Biden, who has visited India many times, "selected the first Indian American to serve as President or Vice President, which is certainly a historic moment for all of us in this country, but a further cementing of the importance of our relationship."

The Foreign Minister of Nepal Mr Pradeep Kumar Gyawali called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi today. 

Highlights of the meeting:

1. The Foreign Minister has come to India for the 6th India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting. 
2. During his interaction with the Raksha Mantri, the Foreign Minister conveyed his greetings from the leadership of Nepal, and expressed his desire to deepen the bilateral relations. 
3. He also expressed gratitude for all the assistance provided by India. Mr Singh reciprocated the sentiment and emphasised that India-Nepal relations are underpinned by unique people-to-people linkages.
4. The Defence Minister conveyed his personal connect, long association with leadership and special regard for the people of Nepal. 
5. Both the dignitaries expressed their satisfaction at the excellent military-to-military cooperation. 
6. Mr Singh stated that India is ready to provide Humanitarian assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) training & capacity building of Nepal.
7. Nepal Foreign Minister congratulated India on success in developing the COVID-19 vaccine and expressed confidence that the pandemic will be soon overcome.
8. Mr Singh stated that India is looking forward for further deepening and strengthening the special relationship between India and Nepal.