Sitharaman launches Electronic Data Interchange facility for Customs stations for NE states

New Delhi [India], February 29 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday virtually inaugurated the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) facility at Land Customs Stations of North-Eastern Regions for enhancing ease of doing business and facilitating regional trade from New Delhi.
She also presided over the handing over ceremony of Customs-seized antiquities to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
According to an official release, a total of 101 antiquity items were handed over to the ASI at seven locations across the country--Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai and Pune.
The items were handed over during a ceremony conducted by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in the presence of Sitharaman.

Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman delivers keynote address during the handing-over ceremony of 101 antiquities at seven Customs locations across India to Archaeological Survey of India @ASIGoI, in New Delhi, today.#IndianCustomsAtWork#PuravsheshKePrahari pic.twitter.com/7UeJlYREoV

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) February 29, 2024

In her keynote address during the handing-over ceremony, the Union Finance Minister said, "In the last ten years, we've seen precious coins or antiques and many such things returned to our country."
"Now what you have done today, is being careful about not allowing them to go away. Even if it means you are going to be, at the last minute, called along with ASI to check the veracity of what is being taken away. These are not immediately appreciated efforts, but every time you do it, you are adding to this country's rich history by making sure they are not hollowed out," the Finance Minister told officials at the event.
"They need to be in this country for us to respect them and value them. So continue being alert," she added. (ANI)