Politics
PM Narendra Modi Strikes Another Strategic Partnership, This Time With Greece

PM Modi has struck yet another strategic partnership – this time with Greece. He has elevated ties with Greece during his maiden visit; interestingly, this is the first official visit by an Indian prime minister to Greece in 40 years. Indira Gandhi, then premier, visited Greece in 1983, at the invitation of her counterpart, Andreas Papandreou.
The focus of their expanding partnership is initially on defence. The Indian Air Force took part in a European military exercise staged in Greece this spring, while India and Greece held a combined naval exercise in Crete. Furthermore, Greek fighter jets are expected to take part in an Indian Air Force drill for the first time in September.
India keen on accessing Greek ports
There is further convergence of interests with India keen on accessing Greek ports for boosting its European exports while Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his government want to cast Greece as India’s “bridge” to the EU.
During the visit, the two countries have acknowledged the need to double bilateral trade by 2030 in infrastructure, agriculture, education and new and emerging technologies. Going beyond, the two sides also agreed to have an institutional dialogue framework at the level of national security advisors.
Both sides have excellent coordination
Flanked by Mitsotakis, Modi said in his media statement that both sides have “excellent coordination” on geopolitical, international and regional issues, including that of the Indo-Pacific.
On his part, Mitsotakis said both sides are ready to move forward to deal with various challenges, “especially in a period of upheaval and war in Ukraine”. The two sides also discussed mutual cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism and cyber security. An agreement on agricultural cooperation was also signed following the talks.
The discussions covered digital payments, shipping, pharma, tourism, culture, education and people to people ties. Describing India and Greece as a “natural match”, Modi said a migration and mobility partnership agreement will be inked “soon” to facilitate skilled migration between the two countries.
Grand Cross of the Order of Honour award
Modi also thanked people of Greece and the country’s President Katerina N Sakellaropoulou for awarding him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour award. The MEA said Mitsotakis congratulated Modi on the success of the Chandrayaan mission, terming it as a success for humanity.
National News
Fight for rights of Delhiites will continue: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Feb 8: Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, reacting to the election results, said on Saturday that he humbly accepts the mandate of Delhi, asserting that the “fight for the rights of Delhiites will continue”.
Taking to X, the Congress leader wrote, “We humbly accept the mandate of Delhi. Heartfelt thanks to all the Congress workers of the state for their dedication and all the voters for their support. This fight for the progress of Delhi and the rights of Delhiites – against pollution, inflation and corruption – will continue.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also responded to the Delhi results.
He said in a post on X, “The meltdown of a section of so-called liberals is completely bizarre. They didn’t give these lectures on opposition unity to AAP when the party went to Goa, Gujarat, Haryana etc to fight elections and weaken anti-communal, secular vote.”
He stated that the Delhi election result was a rejection of the Trojan horse that attempted to damage the liberal cause across the country.
“Majority of liberals are rightly cheering the fall of the facade so that the real champion of liberal values — the Indian National Congress — can emerge stronger to take the BJP on and defeat it,” he added.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav also took to X reacting to the election results.
“The results of the Delhi Assembly elections are a clear indication that the people of Delhi have rejected Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of lies and deceit.”
“All the soldiers of the Congress organisation fought the battle for justice very strongly but the results did not come in our favour. We will review our shortcomings and mistakes and will continue to serve the people of Delhi and will stand with the people of Delhi at every moment. The mandate of the people is supreme,” he added.
As per the Delhi election results, BJP is heading for a huge victory in Delhi after 26 years.
After several hours of vote count, the BJP was ahead in 47 out of 70 seats and AAP was leading in 23. The Congress appeared set for another blank show.
National News
Chandrayaan-3’s landing region is about 3.7 bn years old: Scientists

New Delhi, Feb 8: The landing site of Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 near the south pole of the Moon in 2023, is about 3.7 billion years old, according to scientists.
Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft carrying lunar lander Vikram, and Pragyan rover became the first to land near the South Pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023.
With Chandrayaan-3’s success, India also became the fourth nation after the erstwhile USSR (now Russia), the US, and China to make a soft landing on the Moon.
Using high-resolution remote sensing datasets, a team of scientists including from the ISRO, Bengaluru, and Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad mapped the landing site of Chandrayaan-3.
“The geological map reveals the spatial distribution of three distinct terrain types within the landing area that includes high-relief rugged terrain and smooth plains, and low-relief smooth plains,” said the team in the paper, published in the Science Direct journal.
The team determined that “the region is approximately 3.7 billion years old”. “It dates back to the same era when the earliest microscopic life forms began emerging on Earth,” said scientists in an article published in Nature.
The Chandrayaan-3 landing site is situated within the low-relief smooth plains. Offering new insights into the Moon’s history, the geological map of the site reveals that debris from the nearby Schomberger crater covers the area.
Further, the analysis revealed the landscape is scattered with boulders, some of which exceed five metres in size. “Most of them originate from a fresh, 540-metre crater located 14 kilometres south of the landing site,” the scientists report.
To the west side are smaller, centimetre-sized rock fragments, which likely came “from a nearby 10-metre-wide crater”, the team said.
The findings showcase valuable context for the interpretation of Chandrayaan-3 mission data and contribute to understanding the geological history of the Moon’s southern high-latitude region.
Maharashtra
Mega Block On Sunday, Feb 9: Services To Remain Suspended On Harbour, Central & Western Lines; Check Details

Mumbai: Central Railway’s Mumbai Division will operate a mega block on its suburban sections on Sunday, February 9, as well as on western and harbour routes, to carry out various engineering and maintenance works. On central, mainly UP and DOWN fast services will be affected, which will use the slow track between a few stations below. In western, some trains will be cancelled.
Down Fast Line (CSMT to Mulund):
From 10:58 am to 3:10 pm, DN fast line trains departing from CSMT Mumbai will be diverted on DN slow at Matunga halting in line with their respective halts between Matunga and Mulund station. The train is expected to be delayed by 15 minutes. At Mulund station, fast trains heading beyond Thane will be diverted onto the DN fast line.
Fast Trains Services:
UP fast line services leaving Thane From 11:25 am to 3:27 pm, diverted on a slow line at Mulund, arriving 15 minutes late.
Harbour Line Services:
DOWN Harbour line services to CSMT to Vashi/Belapur/Panvel (11:16 am – 4:47 pm) and CSMT to Bandra/Goregaon (10:48 am – 4:43 pm) are cancelled.
UP Harbour line services from Panvel/Belapur/Vashi to CSMT (9:53 am – 3:20 pm) and Goregaon/Bandra to CSMT (10:45 am – 5:13 pm) are also cancelled.
Special Panvel-Kurla-Panvel services will run during the block. Passengers can travel via Main/Western Lines from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Transharbour Line
No Block
Uran Line
No Block
Western line services:
From 10:00 pm on February 8 to 11:00 am on February 9 all UP/DN Fast line trains between Grant Road and Mumbai Central will run on slow lines.
Some trains will be cancelled or short-terminated at Bandra/Dadar.
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