1) Amid ongoing tensions at the India-China border, The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has almost finished work on the third road, also known as the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha road which will reportedly give strategic connectivity to security forces as it will be untraceable for the neighbouring countries. This road will also save a lot of time as the older ones took almost 12-14 hours to reach Leh from Manali, but on the new road, it will take only 6 to 7 hours.
2) The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mr Prahlad Singh Patel attended the 5th BRICS Culture Ministers Meet. It was held under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation. Foreign ministers of BRICS countries , Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, expressed concern at violence and conflict in different parts of the world.
3) The 12th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting has reviewed the progress made in the areas of cooperation. The MGC is an initiative for cooperation in the areas of tourism, culture, education, transport and communication among the 6 member countries, which include 5 ASEAN members and India.
4) 11th edition of INDRA NAVY exercise began on 5th of September. INDRA NAVY is a biennial bilateral maritime exercise between Indian and Russian Navy that is being held in the Bay of Bengal. It was initiated in 2003 to ensure long-time strategic relationship between the two countries. The last edition of this exercise was conducted off Visakhapatnam in December 2018.
5) Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counter part in Moscow. The Defence Minister is on a three day visit to Russia to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He had earlier met the Russian Defence Minster and signed a deal to acquire AK-203 rifles.
6) Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police SS Deswal has decorated 291 jawans for their gallantry during the June standoff with the Chinese PLA in eastern Ladakh.