# India France UAE

• India, France and the UAE on Saturday announced a formal trilateral cooperation initiative with the aim of expanding cooperation in several areas of mutual interest including solar and nuclear energy.
• In a joint statement, they said efforts will be undertaken to promote compatibility and joint development in the defense sector.
• The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on phone with UAE president Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

# US visa

• The US has started allowing Indian applicants for B1(business) and B2(tourists) visas who are not eligible for interview waiver, mainly first time applicants and those whose earlier visas expired over four years ago – to apply at some of its embassies abroad.
• There is a long waiting period for visas at embassies abroad.
• Thailand, Vietnam and singapore are some of the places where visas can be applied.
• Due to these measures, the waiting period is dropping significantly for interview required B1/B2 applicants.

# Agniveer

• The army has announced a change in the agnipath recruitment process this year.
• The new process will see the computer based online common entrance exam being conducted before the physical test and medical exam during the recruitment rallies.
• The recruitment rallies were held before the CEE last year, which led to large crowds and major administrative hassles.
• Now, only those who qualify in the CEE will come for rallies.

# Vani Jayaram

• Iconic playback singer Vani Jayaram, who had crossed over 10000 songs in 19 languages including the very popular Hindi number ‘Bole re papihara’ and who was named for the Padma bhushan award recently, died on Saturday.
• She was 78 and had no children.