# Pakistan

• Prime minister Narendra Modi wished Pakistan’s new PM Shahbaz sharif on Monday, with a message of peace in the region ‘free of terror’.
• Earlier, in a speech in Pakistan’s parliament Shahbaz sharif had said that Pakistan desires good ties with India, which is not possible without the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
• Shahbaz sharif was elected unopposed in the national assembly as prime Minister on Monday.
• US President Joe Biden had not held any conversation with the Imran Khan since he took office, and Biden’s engagement with the new government will be watched closely.

# Modi-Biden talks

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden met virtually on Monday morning.
• Also, external affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence minister Rajnath Singh were in Washington for the fourth foreign and Defence ministry dialogue with their US counterparts.
• The war between Russia and Ukraine featured prominently in the opening remarks of both the leaders.

# NITI aayog

• Gujarat has topped the list for larger states in the NITI aayog’s state energy and climate index – round 1 that has ranked states and Union territories.
• States and Union territories are ranked on six parameters including discoms’ performance, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
• The States have been categorized based on size and geographical differences as large and small states and UTs.
• Gujarat, Kerela and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of large states.
• Jharkhand, Madhya and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three states.

# Fuel demand

• The country’s fuel demand soared 4.2% to three year high in March as petrol and diesel consumption rose to pre pandemic level.
• Total petroleum product consumption in March stood at 19.41 million tonnes, the highest since March 2019.