Apart from showcasing its rich culture, varied crafts and diverse cuisine at the G20 summit, India will also display its progress in the digital sector, a senior official said on Wednesday while noting that experience panels will be created for delegates to experience how UPI payments are made and how India has been leading in digital payments.

Muktesh K Pardeshi, Special Secretary, G20 Operations, told ANI in an interview that He also informed that the catering at the Convention Centre is being handled by the ITC and there is a lot of focus on cuisine, menu planning as well and service aspects.

He said not everybody is able to understand how India has been able to leapfrog in the sector of digital payment and delegates will also get to know how the CoWin app was developed and how over a billion people were connected with Aadhar.

“…the G20 meetings focusing on three Cs. But there is one unmistakable aspect of our approach. We are going to showcase progress in the field of the digital sector. So there'll be an experience zone created to showcase the progress we have achieved in the field of technological transformation, particularly digital transformation,” he said.

“There will be some experience panels created for delegates to experience, for instance how UPI payment is done. People will get to know how biometric enrolment was done and one billion people were connected through Aadhar. How the CoWin app was developed. Not everybody is able to understand how India has been able to leapfrog in the sector of digital payment. So we want to showcase the modern face of India as well.”

G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

“The catering at the Convention Centre is to be done by the ITC which is a leading hotel chain. They have created a large team comprising of chefs and other associates to not only have the menu ready, but also the service experience should be impeccable. So there's a lot of focus on both the cuisine, the menu planning as well as the service aspect. And we have selected one of the best hotel chains for the purpose you want them to explore the street food of India,” Pardeshi said.

He said an exhibition named ‘Bharat, the Mother of Democracy’ is being organised to show the roots of democracy in India.

“There is another aspect of showcasing India. Not many people know that the democratic roots or democracy …as a concept of participatory governance. The roots are here and thousands of years back there were concepts of Sabha and Samiti. So democracy has not come from outside. It has evolved over a period of time in Indian soil. So there is going to be an exhibition called Bharat, the Mother of Democracy,” the senior official said.

He said there is ample parking place at New Delhi airport.

"We have been in touch with the Dial and GMR. The arrangements have been made both at the Palam Technical Area and at Indira Gandhi International Airport. So far as taking care of the logistical aspects is concerned we are a big country, we are resourceful and what we have gained over the last 8-10 months is a sense of organizational excellence,” he said.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 have been organized in 60 cities across the country.

He referred to directions of political leadership about reflecting the country’s organisational skills.

“We have to excel not only in promoting the G20 substantive agenda, we have to also showcase to the world that India is not behind any country in terms of organizational skills and logistical strengths. And I think it has been now recognized by all visiting delegations. We have done extremely well to offer our hospitality. All the meetings 200 so far have been error-free. There has been no incident,” he said.

“So we expect the forthcoming G20 summit to also be excellent, in terms of no glitches. We would like to conduct the meeting with a very high sense of warmth, and hospitality, taking care of our guests and at the same time showcasing what India has to offer in terms of civilizational and cultural space as well as an India that is technologically advancing and which has the capacity to make as a developed nation in another 25 years,” Pardeshi said.

The Special Secretary further said that there will also be separate programmes for the spouses accompanying the leaders.

“They will be taken to Rajghat, Pusa Institute, and as part of the programme, they are also likely to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art, where they will see exhibitions, and also have some kind of shopping experience, which is being specially curated for spouses,” he added.

Pardeshi further informed that a variety of different dishes are being prepared to showcase the regional cuisine of the country, and street foods of India.

“From the Government of India, it will be offering meals at the Convention Centre. So, you see a variety of dishes being served. Millet will find a prominent place on the menu. The chefs are working to develop different kinds of regional cuisine. They are experimenting and some menus are being developed at some point in time the decision will be taken,” he said.

“But the overall philosophy is that we should have exposure to street foods of India. We should have exposure to millet. And the delegates should also experience different regional cuisines of India. And also our chefs are experimenting with different kinds of grains, different kinds of vegetables and different kinds of dairy products to come up with very innovative dishes…Delhi itself is a leader in street food. What is being served in Chandni Chowk around some of the things the gol gappe or chat”.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. (ANI)

India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the South Pole of the Moon for the first time in its history on August 23 evening. But, the Chinese scientist Wang Xiaoyuan made an explosive comment on such information. He claimed that India's Chandrayaan-3 did not land on the moon. His comments caused uproar. Criticism and controversy have started.

The country's scientist Wang Xiaoyuan gave this information in an interview with the Chinese language newspaper Science Times. The Indian magazine Business Today gave such news citing Science Times.

Wang Xiaoyuan said the place where the rover landed was at 69 degrees south latitude, not near the South Pole. The South Pole is defined between 88.5 degrees and 90 degrees.

In that interview, he also said that the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is not at the south pole of the moon and it is not near the south pole of the moon. The information about Moon landing at the South Pole is incorrect, as the distance from the Chandrayaan-3 landing site to the Moon's South Pole region is 619 km.

Xiaoyuan is not the first Chinese scientist to question Chandrayaan-3's achievements.

Earlier, Beijing-based space expert Pang Zhihao told state media Global Times that China is far more advanced in many fields. Since the launch of Chang-2 in 2010, China has been able to send orbiters and landers directly into Earth-Moon transition orbits.

Pang Zhihao also said that the engine used by China is also very advanced. India's lander Pragyan has a lifespan of one lunar day and cannot withstand lunar nights, but China's nuclear-powered UTU-2 rover holds the record for longest operation on the lunar surface.

We all know that 24 hours day and night. After the tiredness of the whole day, we sleep at night, waiting for a new dawn. But think once, where the sun does not set, how will the new dawn come? Or where there is no night, when the people will sleep to remove the tiredness of the day? Do you think there is a place? Not unreal, there are places on earth where the sun never sets. After a long sleep where people do not see the dawn.

In today's discussion, we will know some places in the world, where the sun does not set even at night!

Norway: Norway is called the land of the shining sun. The country's geographical location makes it different from other countries in the world. From May until the end of July, the sun does not set in the Norwegian sky. As a result, Norwegian people do not see the night for two and a half months! Another specialty of the country is that the sun can be seen on the horizon even at night from the port of Hammerfest, Norway, as it is located in the Arctic region.

Nunavut, Canada: The Canadian territory of Nunavut is located 2 degrees above the Arctic Circle. The sun does not set here for about two months of the year. Not only that, the sun cannot be seen for 30 consecutive days in this place during winter. That is, the people here live under the shadow of the sun for two months on the one hand, in the same way they have to live in a long night for a month.

Iceland: Iceland is famous for its absence of snakes and mosquitoes. After Great Britain, Iceland is the largest island in Europe. The sun can be seen in this island even at night in June.

Barrow, Alaska: The sun is visible in the night sky from late May to late July (summer) in this area of Alaska. There is the reverse side of the coin! Not only does the sun never set, there are continuous nights here from early November to early December. That's why this place is also known as 'Polar Nights'.

Finland: Finland is called the land of thousand lakes and islands. The sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer in this European country. Similarly, the sun does not appear here for 32 consecutive days in winter. Because of this strange natural disparity, most people in that country believe that people sleep more in winter and less in summer.

Sweden: We all know that 365 days make up a year. But Sweden's year ends in one day! Because half of the year is day here, the other half is night. Even pulled again! So taking the day and night as the sun, it can be said that the year in Sweden is spent in one day! And people here spend half of the year in the dark and the other half in the light.

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada are on the verge of ending over the death of Indian pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Both countries have expelled each other's diplomats.

In this situation, the New York Times report claimed that the United States had provided information to Canada about the killing of Nijjar. Through that information, Canada found India's link in Nijjar's murder.

The New York Times report, quoting an official from the 'Five Eyes Partners', an alliance of intelligence agencies from the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, claimed that US intelligence provided information to Canada immediately after the assassination. However, at that time the US was not aware of the possibility of India's involvement in the killings.

Meanwhile, Trudeau claimed on Saturday that Canada had sent information to New Delhi about the killing of Nijjar a few weeks ago. However, India said that Canada could not provide India with any evidence against the information.

On the other hand, Canadian intelligence claimed that Nijjar was a cleric. In response, New Delhi said Nijjar was not a religious guru, but a murderer.

According to India, Nijjar became the head of the Gurdwara by scaring his brother Raghbir.

Hindustan Times reported that pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead inside the Gurdwara on June 18. Hardeep was shot more than 20 times.

According to reports, Nijjar lived in the Punjabi-dominated Sari region of British Columbia, Canada. Hardeep was behind the Khalistani protests in front of the Indian High Commission in Vancouver, Canada in the past few years.

The Russian government has allowed the country's banks and financial institutions to transact in Russian currency.

This information was reported on the official Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh on Saturday (September 23).

According to the information given on the Facebook page, Russia has allowed 30 other countries to trade in ruble currency except Bangladesh. The countries are - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Algeria and Bahrain.

Also included are Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Qatar, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam are also allowed to trade in ruble. However, Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico and Moldova have been excluded from the list.

Recently, before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said that the discussions on commercial transactions in the country's single currency have been going on for quite some time.