India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations
New Delhi, Jan 1: Continuing with an over three-decade practice, India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral pact that prohibits the two sides from attacking each other's atomic facilities.
The exchange of the list took place under the provisions of an agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
It was done simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.
"India and Pakistan today exchanged, through diplomatic channels simultaneously at New Delhi and Islamabad, the list of nuclear installations and facilities, covered under the agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities between India and Pakistan," the MEA said.
The agreement was signed on December 31, 1988 and entered into force on January 27, 1991. It mandates the two countries to inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year.
The exchange of the list came amid frosty ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism.
"This is the 33rd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992," the MEA said in a statement.
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Nitish Kumar's son Nishant among 32 to take oath as Bihar ministers
Patna (PTI): In a major expansion of the Cabinet of Bihar's first BJP-led government, JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar and 31 others took oath as ministers on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Altogether 32 leaders, drawn from all constituents of the five-party NDA in the state, were administered the oath of office by Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain at a grand ceremony that was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister J P Nadda and BJP president Nitin Nabin.
Prominent inductees included Nishant Kumar, the son of JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who stepped down as chief minister last month to enter the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP, which is the single largest party in the 243-member assembly with 89 MLAs, has 15 ministers, who took oath on Thursday.
Most of the inductees were those who were part of the Nitish Kumar cabinet formed in November last year after the NDA stormed back to power in the assembly polls.
The JD(U) is represented by a total of 15 ministers, 13 of whom took the oath at the Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had taken oath in April along with Samrat Choudhary and were designated as deputy chief ministers.
Sanjay Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar Paswan, both from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, are back as ministers, and so are Santosh Kumar Suman and Deepak Prakash, sons of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, respectively.
