1 JUNE 2015: Govt works to protect $220billion Jharia coalfield

Ø   Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Israel, making him the first Indian Premier to visit the country. the visit could happen this year itself, with a high-level Indian team travelling to Tel Aviv in July for discussions on several bilateral issues.

Ø  Ms. Swaraj also said she would visit Israel, Palestine and Jordan later this year, and will travel to Tehran in June for the Non-Aligned Ministerial meet.

Ø  President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday arrived here on the first leg of his five-day state visit to Sweden and Belarus, the first ever by any Indian head of State, during which a number of key agreements on sustainable development, scientific research are likely to be signed. On his arrival, Mr. Mukherjee was received by Crown Princess Victoria at the Arland airport. Later, he was received at the Royal Mews by the King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia from where he was taken on a horse-drawn cortege to the Royal Palace, where the traditional welcoming ceremony took place. Earlier in New Delhi, he was given a ceremonial send-off at Rashtrapati Bhavan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the three Service Chiefs. During his three-day State visit in Sweden, the President will meet Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, and the Leader of Opposition, Anna Kinberg Batra besides number of meetings with the King and the Queen. The visit will focus on innovation, sustainable development, urban development and scientific research with both countries exploring ways to enhance mutual exchange in the areas of trade and science.

Ø  As the government readies to formally launch the ‘Digital India Program’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting on Monday of ministers, including Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, entrusted with creating a road map for the weeklong campaign. The launch of Digital India, one of the pet projects of the government, that just completed its one year in power, is expected to be a big-ticket event.

Ø  Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to move more than 1,00,000 people living near coalfields in eastern India to new homes, making it easier to douse underground fires that have burned for a century, and mine huge reserves of premium coal. Reviving output from India's nationalised coal sector has been one of Mr. Modi's most tangible achievements during his first year in office, one that he hopes will secure continuous power to all and eat into an annual coal import bill of $15 billion. The burning deposits of Jharia, in Jharkhand, are particularly prized because they are the only source of top quality steelmaking coal in the country. India spends $4 billion a year on importing that grade alone. Mr. Modi travelled to Jharkhand in February and urged the Chief Minister to speed up work on putting out the fires and shifting the people living there.