Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Wednesday announced the launch of direct flights connecting Mumbai and Vijayawada from August 16.

These daily flights aim to facilitate seamless travel between the capital of Maharashtra, Mumbai, and Andhra Pradesh’s business capital, Vijayawada, according to an IndiGo statement.

With the induction of this flight, IndiGo will now operate 130 weekly flights from Vijayawada to eight cities in India.

These new flights will serve as a gateway connecting western India to Vijayawada, which is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, and provide access to international destinations for passengers from the East Coast, via Mumbai, the statement added.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Nearly half (46 per cent) of Indian IT and security professionals reported that all corporate data stored in the Cloud is sensitive, a new report said on Wednesday.

According to the IT company Thales, Cloud security spending has now topped all other security spending categories.

About 37 per cent of organisations have experienced a Cloud data breach in India, with 14 per cent having had one in the past year.

“The scalability and flexibility that the Cloud offers are highly compelling for organisations, so it’s no surprise it is central to their security strategies,” said Ashish Saraf, VP and Country Director, Thales in India.

“With India continuously progressing in the field of digital technology and data sovereignty and privacy emerging as top concerns in this year’s research, it is vital to solve these challenges of Cloud security now to ensure a secured and trusted future for all,” he added.

The report surveyed nearly 3,000 IT and security professionals across 18 countries in 37 industries.

Moreover, the report said that Cloud resources have become the biggest targets for cyberattacks, with Cloud storage (30 per cent), SaaS applications (30 per cent), and Cloud management infrastructure (28 per cent) cited as the leading categories of attack in India.

Human error and misconfiguration continued to be the top root cause for data breaches (34 per cent), followed by exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities (32 per cent), exploiting known vulnerabilities (21 per cent) and failure to use Multi-Factor Authentication (11 per cent).

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) There is a need to mobilise additional resources for the North-Eastern Region (NER) and an infusion of private funding is likely to accelerate development, experts said on Wednesday.

At the CSR Connect, launched by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to infuse corporate investment into social development in North East, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region said that the initiative aims to bridge the gap between the corporate sector and the North East’s socio-economic development, through impactful initiatives in partnership with the government.

The minister highlighted that the Rs 10,000 crore ‘UNNATI Scheme’ introduced for the North East will bring in investments into the region.

“The Central Ministries are spending 10 per cent of their Gross Budgetary Support in the NER not only through their ongoing schemes but also through dedicated schemes for the region. This shows the focus towards the region,” he added.

Over the eight-year period (2014-15 to 2022-23), the region has been growing at a CAGR of 6.77 per cent which is higher than the national average of 5.43 per cent.

The region contributed to 2.95 per cent of the national GDP (2022-23 at constant prices), CII mentioned.

Chanchal Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region said that the CSR contribution in NER is limited and needs to be addressed at the policy level.

“The state government should develop a repository of investible projects for each state for attracting CSR investments,” he added.

In addition, R Mukundan, VP, CII and MD, Tata Chemicals Limited said that over the last 10 years, the journey of CSR moved from a “2 per cent compliance-oriented approach to an increased focus on transparency and impact orientation.”

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The Finance Ministry on Wednesday announced the sale of Government bonds worth Rs 28,000 crore in three lots through auctions to be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai on Friday (July 5).

The first lot comprises “7.02 per cent Government Security 2027” for a notified amount of Rs 6,000 crore.

The second set of “7.23 per cent Government Security 2039” are valued at Rs 12,000 crore while the third lot of “7.30 per cent Government Security 2053” are for a notified amount of Rs 10,000 crore.

The three lots will be sold through a price-based auction using the multiple price method.

The government will have the option to retain additional subscriptions up to Rs 2,000 crore against each of the three securities.

Up to 5 per cent of the notified amount of the sale of the securities will be allotted to eligible individuals and institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.

Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on July 5.

The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.

The result of the auctions will be announced on July 5, 2024 (Friday) and payment by successful bidders will be on June 8 (Monday).

The Securities will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the RBI guidelines.

–IANS

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Islamabad, July 3 (IANS) Pakistani Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan has called for an early conclusion of a preferential trade agreement and bilateral transit trade agreement with Azerbaijan.

“Pakistan attaches great importance to its relationship with Azerbaijan, and we must continue to advance our cooperation in various sectors, including tourism, transport, energy security, and defence, though this requires additional efforts,” Jam Kamal Khan said in his meeting with Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Samir Sharifov, reported Xinhua news agency.

He pointed out that the Chinese and Saudi investments in Pakistan are encouraging Azerbaijani investors to seize the opportunities available in Pakistan.

During the meeting, Sharifov highlighted the ease of travel between the two countries, noting that Azerbaijan received 55,000 Pakistani visitors last year due to its favorable visa policy.

Azerbaijan is the first Central Asian country to initiate direct flights to Pakistan, facilitating greater connectivity, the deputy foreign minister quoted in a statement.

–IANS

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