Mongolian President gifts horse to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
Ulaanbaatar, Sep 7: Rajnath Singh, the first Indian Defence Minister to visit Mongolia, was gifted a majestic horse by President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Wednesday, seven years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a similar gift from the leadership of this country.
"A special gift from our special friends in Mongolia. I have named this magnificent beauty, Tejas'. Thank you, President Khurelsukh. Thank you Mongolia," Singh tweeted on Wednesday along with pictures of the white horse.
In one of the pictures, Singh is seen admiring the seven-year-old horse of Mongol breed while in another he is holding a framed picture of the equine gift.
An official source in Delhi said that the horse will not be brought to India. "It's a symbolic gift. The horse will remain in Mongolia," the source told PTI.
On Tuesday, Singh called on President Khurelsukh and reviewed the strategic bilateral ties.
"Excellent meeting with the President of Mongolia, H.E. U. Khurelsukh in Ulaanbaatar. Recalled my last meeting with him in 2018, when he was the Prime Minister of the country. We are fully committed to further deepening our multifaceted Strategic Partnership with Mongolia," Singh said in a tweet.
The Mongolian President expressed satisfaction with the expansion of relations and cooperation with India, Mongolia's important third neighbour while pointing out that the official visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mongolia in 2015, and the ongoing visit of the Defence Minister Singh are the important impetus for further development.
Khurelsukh also said that there is a full possibility of elevating the strategic partnership between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Mongolia's Montsame national news agency reported.
In 2015, Prime Minister Modi received a special gift a brown racehorse from his then Mongolian counterpart Chimed Saikhanbileg during his historic visit to this country.
The horse was named Kanthaka'.
Mongolia is known as the land of the horse, according to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
Mongolia is home to more than 3 million horses, making the horse population almost equal to the human population in the vast nation.
Even in the 21st century, Mongolia remains a horse-based culture and retains its pastoral traditions.
Meanwhile, Singh also visited the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia on Wednesday.
"Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh visited the Gandan Monastery in Mongolia today and interacted with the highest Buddhist monk of the country," the Defence Minister of India tweeted.
Defence Minister Singh is on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan from Monday with an aim to expand India's strategic and defence ties with the two countries in the backdrop of evolving regional security matrix and geo-political turmoil.
Singh's visit to Mongolia from September 5 to 7 is the first-ever tour to the East Asian country by an Indian defence minister.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
