New Delhi (PTI): Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday said Kabul will send diplomats to India as part of step-by-step efforts to improve bilateral relations.

Muttaqi made the significant announcement at a media briefing hours after holding extensive talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

He also assured New Delhi that Afghan soil will not be allowed to carry out any activities that could be detrimental to its interests.

Muttaqi said Kabul will soon send its diplomats to India. Till now, the Afghan missions in India have officials who were largely appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government.

India has not yet recognised the Taliban set up and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul.

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Amaravati (PTI): The Andhra Pradesh government has issued a conditional 'No Objection Certificate' to Vedanta Ltd (Cairn Oil & Gas Division) for drilling 20 onshore wells in Krishna district.

According to a recent Government Order, Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil & Gas Division) has submitted a representation, stating that their firm was awarded the work of development of the Onshore Oil and Gas Field under the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, 2018.

Further, they requested to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for drilling wells at 35 locations in the block located in various village limits for Onshore Oil and Gas Development and Production, from the Water Resources Department of Andhra Pradesh, as the Bandar Canal passes through the centre of the proposed block.

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“After careful examination of the matter, the government hereby issues ‘No Objection Certificate’ to M/s Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil & Gas Division), Mumbai, for drilling 20 Nos. of wells at the locations mentioned at para (2) above subject to the terms & conditions as mentioned at para (3) above,” the order said.

The Engineer-in-Chief (Irrigation), Water Resources Department, Vijayawada, the Chief Engineer, Krishna Delta System, Vijayawada, and the Collector of Krishna District shall take necessary action accordingly, it added.

According to the order, the NoC can be issued only from the irrigation point of view and is purely temporary in nature. The applicant shall obtain all required permissions from the departments concerned before commencing operations, as per norms.

No water shall be drawn from irrigation canal sources such as the Bandar Canal, KDS canal network, drainage network, ponds, reservoirs, or any other surface-water source, it said.

Cairn Oil & Gas, a division of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest private oil and gas exploration production company, contributing approximately a quarter of the country’s domestic crude production, with a vision to increase this contribution to 50 per cent through sustainable and responsible practices.