Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city of Ufa on Friday morning. Modi was warmly received by Sharif before their much-anticipated meeting. The two leaders shook hands and posed for photographers before settling down for delegation-level talks This was the first structured meeting between the two leaders since Sharif attended Modi’s inauguration last May.They exchanged pleasantries and chatted briefly when they came face-to-face at a dinner hosted for leaders of five BRICS countries and 10 SCO nations on Thursday night.Issuing a statement before the Modi-Sharif meet, a White House official said: "We want to see the tensions (between India and Pakistan) reduce. It's in nobody's interest for the tensions to rise... An awful lot of are kids living in that part of the world and everybody would want them to have a better future."

ISRO set for PSLV-XL launch form Sriharikota today
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL variant) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, with five British satellites onboard. According to ISRO, the total weight of five satellites is around 1,440kg, which is the heaviest undertaken by ISRO and its commercial wing ANTRIX. The launch is scheduled to take place at 9.58pm. The 62.5 hour countdown for the launch had begun on Wednesday at 07.28 am.

BSF jawan killed in sniper fire by Pakistani troops
In the second killing of a BSF jawan in Pakistani firing in the last four days, constable Krishna Kumar Dubey lost his life when Pakistani snipers opened fire at a post located in Nowgam area of Baramulla on Thursday. Dubey hailed from Jharkhand, The firing occurred at around 3.30 PM when the jawan, posted in Karam post in Nowgam area of Baramulla sector, collapsed after being hit in his right eye by a bullet from across the border, the officials said. There was also an exchange of small arms fire in the evening

Sensex up over 150 points
Tracking firm cues from Asian markets, the domestic benchmark indices opened in the positive mode today.The BSE barometer Sensex was up 150 points, or 0.54 per cent, at 27,723 in morning trades. Nifty reclaimed the psychological mark of 8,350. The 50-pack index was up 42.35 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 8370.90

India, US sign agreement to share info on tax evasion
India and the US on Thursday signed a tax information sharing agreement under a new US law, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), that will bolster efforts towards automatic exchange of financial information between the two nations about tax evaders. From September 30, banks, mutual funds, insurance, pension and stock-broking firms will report their Indian client details to the United States which will be shared with the Indian authorities.

New BRICS bank to look at local, international borrowing: Kamath
The New Development Bank being launched by the BRICS group of emerging economies plans to raise money both on local markets and internationally, its president KV Kamath has said. The bank, with an initial capital of $50 billion, is being introduced at an organisational summit of the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in the Russian city of Ufa.Kamath was appointed president of NDB in May this year. The bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

RBI introduces pre-paid instrument to ease commuter woes
The Reserve Bank on Thursday introduced a new type of pre-paid instrument of up to Rs 2,000 for mass transit systems to facilitate migration from cash-based payments to electronic ones. This will allow operators, such as Mumbai Metro, Delhi Metro and Indian Railways to issue pre-paid cards.It can also be used for buying other stuff as long as it is used within the transit system area.

Dress code for AIPMT re-test, no rings or shoes
The Central Board of Secondary Education has asked students appearing for the AIPMT re-test on July 25 to come in light clothes without big buttons and in open slippers only as it has barred rings, bracelet, earrings, nose pins, pendants and even watches at the examination centres.It asked the students to appear at the exam centres well in advance for compulsory physical frisking. "Wear light clothes with half sleeves shirts, T-Shirts, kurta not having big buttons, brooch or any badge, flower and trousers and salwars. Wear open slippers and not the shoes," CBSE said. The barred items also include mobile phones, bluetooth, earphones, hair band, belts, cap and scarf, it said warning that failing to observe the instructions would lead to disallowing students from appearing in the exam.

Banks to take possession of Kingfisher Airlines assets at Mumbai airport
A consortium of banks under SBI Cap will soon take over the custody of about 40 vehicles and a personal jet of Vijay Mallya among other abandoned support system assets lying on the premises of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), freeing about 26,000 sqft of space for other usage. Kingfisher Airlines, grounded since October 2012, owes over Rs 7,000 crore to bankers who have been trying to recover their money by selling securities pledged by the firm.

Man booked under IT Act for defamatory tweet against Maha CM Fadnavis
A man has been booked under the Section 67 (A) of the IT Act by the Oshiwara police for posting defamatory tweet about the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with a picture of him with his family on a yacht., reports an English daily. The photo is from 2012-2013 when Fadnavis was on a family vacation trip to the US. The man has been identified as Ajay Hatewar and he is believed to be from Nagpur. The tweet was sent from the Twitter handle Twitter handle (@AjayHatewar at 8.36 am on July 2.

Nitish Kumar promises to ban liquor
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday promised to impose a ban on liquor when he forms the government next time. Kumar's promise came in response to demands made by some women in the midst of his address at a Village Dialogue Programme of the Social Welfare department here. "When I form government next time, a ban would be imposed on liquor," Kumar said much to the glee of the gathered women. The Chief Minister in his speech highlighted his government's efforts for empowerment of women.