Ahmedabad, June 30: Adani Ports on Tuesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement with MSC Group under which MSC’s container terminal operating and investing arm Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) will invest for 49 per cent interest in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), the concessionaire for Vizhinjam port.

The strategic collaboration represents the single largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure and cements Vizhinjam’s emergence as a dominant transshipment gateway in the Indian Ocean region.

TiL will invest $1.397 billion, equivalent to its proportionate 49 per cent share in Vizhinjam port in total deal value of $2.85 billion.

“Vizhinjam port has emerged as a premier transshipment hub and ramped up at an unprecedented pace, becoming the first Indian port to earn the unique distinction of crossing two million TEUs within 18 months of operations,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ.

“I am delighted to expand APSEZ’s long-standing partnership with MSC to Vizhinjam, as we prepare for the port’s next leg of journey. I am confident that our association will deliver enhanced supply chain efficiencies at a global scale and improve India’s access to key global mature and developing markets,” Gupta said.

The transaction is subject to customary approvals, including regulatory ones.

The strategic collaboration between APSEZ and MSC Group will deliver significant advantages for APSEZ, including enhanced volume visibility and accelerated ramp-up ahead of plan, driven by additional cargo volumes; a higher share of Bangladesh cargo, largely dependent on competing Southeast Asian transshipment hubs; strengthen presence on East Africa trade routes; and elevated relay cargo volumes.

TiL is one of the world’s largest container terminal operators and part of the MSC Group comprising a portfolio of more than 100 container terminals across five continents and a throughput of more than 70 million TEUs per annum.

Commissioned in December 2024, Vizhinjam port is India’s first deep-draft mega transshipment port with 1.6 million TEU capacity. The port is undergoing expansion that will increase capacity 3.5x to 5.7 million TEUs by December 2028, according to the company.

Vizhinjam port is strategically located just 10 nautical miles from the East-West shipping route connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East.

During FY26, Vizhinjam port handled 1.3 million TEUs. In its first year, Vizhinjam port handled 1.3 million TEUs and 615 vessels, becoming the fastest Indian port to cross the one million TEU milestone.

New Delhi, June 29: A Delhi court on Monday extended till July 11 the judicial custody of 10 accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The accused were produced before the Rouse Avenue Court through video conferencing on the expiry of their earlier judicial custody.

The court extended the judicial custody of Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dhananjay Lokhande, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar and Dr Manoj Shirure till July 11.

Earlier, on June 15, the Rouse Avenue Court had extended the judicial custody of the 10 accused till June 29. The court had also permitted the CBI to interrogate accused Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare and Dhananjay Lokhande inside jail on June 17, 18 and 19, respectively, for one hour each as part of the ongoing investigation.

The CBI has so far arrested 13 accused in the case and is investigating an alleged network involved in procuring and circulating NEET-UG question papers ahead of the examination.

According to the probe agency, Latur-based doctor Manoj Shirure played a key role in facilitating three students, including the son of an accused coaching centre owner, in obtaining Chemistry questions from alleged kingpin P.V. Kulkarni before the examination.

Tejas Harshad Shah, a Physics faculty member at Pune-based Abhang Prabhu Medical Academy (APMA), is alleged to have received leaked Physics questions from co-accused Manisha Sanjay Havaldar.

The CBI has further alleged that Pune-based education consultant Manisha Waghmare acted as an intermediary in mobilising students who allegedly paid lakhs of rupees to attend special coaching sessions where questions that later appeared in the NEET-UG 2026 examination were dictated and discussed.

According to the probe agency, Waghmare facilitated prospective candidates for special coaching classes conducted by NTA-appointed senior Botany teacher Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, who is suspected to be the co-mastermind behind the Biology paper leak, while Chemistry professor P.V. Kulkarni has been identified as the alleged kingpin of the paper leak network.

The CBI registered the case on May 12 based on a written complaint received from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education.

Following registration of the FIR, special teams were constituted and searches were carried out at multiple locations across the country. Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) successfully conducted the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21 after the original examination was cancelled amid concerns over alleged irregularities.

More than 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared for the re-examination at 5,440 centres across India and 14 centres abroad.

Nearly 7 lakh personnel, including examination staff, police personnel, observers and administrative officials, were deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the examination.

More than 95,000 examination rooms were monitored through over 1.38 lakh CCTV cameras, while over 51,000 signal jammers were installed to prevent electronic malpractice.

The re-examination was conducted under extensive security measures, including Aadhaar-based biometric verification, facial authentication, two-layer frisking, real-time surveillance and command-and-control centre monitoring, aimed at ensuring transparency and preserving the integrity of one of the country’s largest entrance examinations.

New Delhi, June 28: More than 75 per cent of Delhi government work is now done through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday as the electronic file system approaches its first anniversary on July 1.

The Chief Minister said the reach of the e-Office system has expanded since April 13, with 120 of the 132 government departments, about 91 per cent, using it regularly.

Similarly, 36 of the 55 public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous and local bodies, or about 65.5 per cent, are using the system, she said in a statement.

Among universities, colleges and other educational institutions, 21 out of 48 institutions, or about 43.8 per cent, have adopted e-Office. Overall, 177 of the 235 departments and offices, about 75.3 per cent, are now regularly carrying out official work through the e-Office system, said Chief Minister Gupta.

She said, earlier, most official work was carried out through paper files. Today, file movement, correspondence and approvals are handled online.

This has accelerated file disposal, improved transparency and accountability in government functioning, and helped ensure the timely delivery of public services, she said.

The Chief Minister said the e-Office system now makes it easy to identify which official is handling a particular file and what action has been taken on it. The system has also made record-keeping more secure, reduced unnecessary delays and enabled smoother coordination among departments.

This is why the Delhi government is steadily expanding the system to cover more departments and institutions.

She said by June 27, a total of 15,748 officers and employees across 235 departments and offices were using e-Office for online file processing and official work.

Chief Minister Gupta said that since the functioning of all departments and institutions is not the same, the Delhi government has developed the e-Office system under three separate categories.

The first is meant exclusively for government departments; the second for public sector undertakings, boards, corporations, commissions, committees, autonomous bodies and local bodies; and the third for universities, colleges and other educational institutions.

This has enabled each category to function more effectively according to its specific requirements. Accordingly, the use of e-Office was made mandatory across all Delhi government departments from July 1, 2025.