Page 112 - India

India adds 10,753 fresh Covid-19 cases, active infections at 53,720

India recorded 10,753 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the number of active infections to 53,720, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The toll has climbed to 5,31,091 with 27 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. Six deaths were recorded in Delhi, followed by four in Maharashtra, three in Rajasthan and one each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The figure also includes six deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 6.78 while the weekly positivity rate was pegged at 4.49. The total tally of Covid cases is at 4.48 crore (4,48,08,022). The active cases now comprise 0.12 per cent of the total infections while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.69, according to the ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4.42 crore (4,42,23,211) while the case fatalit

Iran may consider extension of natural gas pipeline from Oman to India

Iran may consider an extension of the sub-sea natural gas pipeline from Oman to India, its Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Relation Mehdi Safari said in a statement on Friday. "Already, Iran is building this natural gas pipeline to Oman, which can be extended to India up to Porbandhar," Safari said while speaking at an interactive meeting organised by MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai on Thursday evening, it added. The deputy foreign minister was in Mumbai to promote the 'Iran Expo 2023' to be held from May 7-10 this year in Tehran and explore trade and investment collaborations across 11 major categories, MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai said in the release. Despite economic sanctions, India is among the top five trade partners of Iran, and both countries are strategic partners, the statement quoted the deputy foreign minister as saying. "Our export to India has grown 60 per cent in 2022, and in the last two months, it has grown 90 per cent. This implies diversification of tra

LIVE: Arvind Kejriwal's fight against corruption won't stop, says AAP

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Ready to take 'time-tested' relationship with Mozambique to new level: EAM

India is ready to take its "time-tested" relationship with Mozambique to a new level, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, underscoring that New Delhi's policies will be guided by the priorities and interests of its partners in their quest for development. Addressing the Indian community here on Thursday, Jaishanakar, said the bilateral relationship in the past seven years has changed profoundly. "This is a very time-tested relationship. It is a historic relationship. It is a relationship that goes back to the time when Mozambique was fighting for its freedom. For many decades, our leaders, our people, and our societies have shared a lot, we have bonded very deeply," the minister, who arrived here on his maiden official visit, said. And even today as the two nations pursue their developmental paths there is a lot that the two can do for each other, he said. The strong sense of solidarity between the two nations is the defining characteristic of the bilateral relationshi

India-EU free trade agreement to promote economic ties: Sanjiv Puri

Signing of free trade agreement between India and the European Union would help promote economic ties between the region and New Delhi. Vice President CII and Chairman and Managing Director, ITC Ltd, Sanjiv Puri, emphasised that signing of India-EU free trade agreement could be a catalyst for further enhancing India-Italy relationship, the commerce ministry said in a statement. He was speaking at the CEOs Business Interactive session organised here in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Confindustria on April 13. He was accompanying commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal here. Goyal had meetings with CEOs of some prominent Italian companies like SOL, SpA, Piaggio, CIBJO, Nayara Energy and Enel Green Power. The minister explained to them the investment climate in India, the policy reforms and the potential of investing and expanding in India. The CEOs informed the minister that they were looking at expanding operations in India for catering to the

'Declare Bay of Bengal as Zone of Peace to keep geopolitical issues aside'

The Bay of Bengal has witnessed numerous non-traditional security threats, such as human trafficking, narcotics trade, tsunamis and cyclones. However, thus far, it was never a geopolitical hotspots

World Bank President David Malpass praises India for empowering women

The world is leapfrogging in women's empowerment, World Bank President David Malpass has said and praised India's efforts, especially that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is deeply interested and concerned." Participating in a panel discussion on Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders organised by the World Bank on the sidelines of its spring meetings here on Thursday, Malpass and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with other panelists, discussed the development and empowerment of women in India and the world. We should continue all that we are doing now for women, Sitharaman said in response to a question as she explained in detail the steps the Modi Government has undertaken for the economic empowerment of women in India. Malpass commended the efforts of Prime Minister Modi in India, where the World Bank has a massive programme. The prime minister, he said, is deeply interested and concerned and pushing on this issue. The world is leapfrogging in ...

India, Japan can work together for greater synergy between G7-G20: FM

India and Japan can work together to achieve greater coordination and synergy between G7 and G20 member countries, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. India holds the annual revolving presidency of G20 countries and Japan is the current president of G7 countries. Sitharaman said Japan has invited her to the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in May and she is considering attending it. We are certainly looking forward to having greater interaction with the Japanese government and because in its capacity as G7 president, we are exploring all the possible areas of cooperation and areas of mutual interest so that we are able to stand together and serve the global requirements as time demands, she said. Sitharaman said the two countries continue to have engagement in areas of food security, development finance, climate and energy, environment, digitalisation, disaster risk reduction and health. "These are topics on which we are specifically engag

Covid variant XBB.1.16 driving up cases in India, know its symptoms

Amid the spike in cases, the Union Health Ministry has alerted all the state governments to be prepared for rise in Covid cases

India non-committal on Zelenskyy's participation at G20 summit in Sept

India on Thursday was non-committal on participation of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G20 summit in September, days after Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova said that he will be happy to address it. In an address at a think-tank in Delhi, Dzhaparova on Tuesday said Zelenskyy would be happy to speak at the summit just like he did during the Bali summit of the grouping last November. The Ukranian President had addressed the Bali summit through video conference. India is holding the current presidency of the G20 and will host the summit of the grouping in September in Delhi. When asked about Dzhaparova's comments, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi referred to remarks by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on the invitations. "As far as Ukraine's invitation is concerned, see, during the presser that we did at the time of launch of the G20 presidency, it was made clear as to which nations are invited as guests, including obviously, t

LIVE: Delhi records 1,527 fresh Covid-19 cases, two deaths reported

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India can meet security challenges posed by Pakistan, China: Jaishankar

Forces who indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for decades now know this is a "different India" which will give them a reply, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, emphasising that today the country can meet its national security challenges posed by Pakistan and China. Addressing the Indian community in Uganda on Wednesday, Jaishankar spoke about the transformation of the country into a new India. Speaking about the challenges India faces on its borders, Jaishankar said: "Today, people see a different India that is willing to stand up and India which will meet its national security challenges whether it is Uri or whether it is Balakot." He was referring to the 2016 Uri attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed insurgents from Pakistan against an Indian Army brigade headquarters and the 2019 Balakot airstrike conducted by Indian warplanes in Balakot, Pakistan against a terrorist training camp. "Today, the forces which indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for ...

India reports more than 10,000 new Covid cases, highest in nearly 8 months

India recorded a single-day rise of 10,158 coronavirus cases, highest in nearly eight months, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The number of active cases has increased to 44,998, the data updated on Thursday showed. India had reported 7,830 coronavirus infections on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.42 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 4.02 per cent. The active cases now constitute 0.10 per cent of the total infections. The nationwide COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.71 per cent,according to the health ministry website. The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 4,42,10,127. According to the ministry's website, 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country.

Top global firms approaching Indian toy makers for sourcing goods: Official

Top global retailers from the US and Europe have shown keen interest in sourcing goods from Indian toy manufacturers and hand-hold them to meet their compliance requirements, a government official said. The official said these retail giants are looking to procure toys from India at a good scale. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which is taking a series of steps to promote domestic manufacturing of toys, is also helping the Indian manufacturers tie up with the global players to meet their compliance provisions and increase exports from India. When asked about the issue, Manu Gupta, promotor of Playgro Toys India and Chairman of Toy Association of India, said a US-based retailer has approached the industry to procure toys in three main categories including ride-on and outdoor toys and mechanical and electrical toys - worth USD 400 million. He said DPIIT officials are helping the industry engage with these world players and get orders. These firms

India likely to have stable debt-to-GDP ratio going forward: IMF official

India is expected to have a stable debt-to-GDP ratio going forward, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday and recommended rationalization and simplification of Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department, there will be a gradual resumption of the rise in the global public debt-to-GDP ratio in the medium-term. "Our baseline projection is for the global public debt-to-GDP ratio to reach 100 per cent again by 2028. It is going to take a few years, but that seems to be the direction of travel," Mauro told PTI in an interview. In 2020 there were massive interventions on the part of governments around the world to support people and firms. That implied a lot of spending and a big rise in government debts. "We reached the peak at the end of 2020 of a 100 per cent when it comes to the ratio of public debt-to-GDP. In subsequent years there was a recovery and globally at the end of 2022, the .

India, France's trade ministers discuss progress on India-EU trade pact

Trade ministers of India and France have held discussions related to the ongoing talks for a free trade agreement between India and the European Union, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was here to attend India-France Business Summit and CEOs roundtable meet. He held bilateral meetings with several CEOs and French minister for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad Olivier Becht. The ministers discussed priority areas related to India - EU FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations where issues related to market access were deliberated," it said. Goyal also said India is looking to buy 2,000 commercial aircraft in the next 10 years and there is a huge opportunity to make commercial aircraft in India to meet domestic and international demand. With the purchase of Rafale and the recent Airbus order, more value has been added to this partnership, he added. In January last year, India and the EU resumed ...

Covid entering endemic stage in India, cases to subside after 10-12 days

Covid in India is moving towards the endemic stage, so the cases may keep rising for the next 10-12 days after which they will subside, official sources said on Wednesday. The sources said even though the cases are increasing, hospitalisation is low and expected to remain low. The current rise in Covid cases is being driven by XBB.1.16, which is a sub variant of Omicron, they added. While Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the dominant variant, most of the assigned variants have little or no significant transmissibility, disease severity or immune escape. The prevalence of XBB.1.16 increased from 21.6 per cent in February this year to 35.8 per cent in March. However, no evidence of an increase in hospitalisation or mortality has been reported, official sources said.

Sitharaman, Japanese counterpart to announce Sri Lanka debt restructuring

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will join her Japanese counterpart and a senior French finance ministry official in Washington on Thursday to announce Sri Lanka's debt restructuring negotiations process, the IMF has announced. The finance ministers of the three creditor countries will hold a press briefing on the margins of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington. "Japan, India, and France on Thursday will hold a press briefing on the margins of the Spring meetings to announce the launch of the debt restructuring negotiations process on Sri Lanka," IMF said on Tuesday, quoting a Japanese Finance Ministry statement. The three creditor countries have been working closely for a coordinated debt restructuring for Sri Lanka, the statement said. Japanese finance minister Shunichi Suzuki and France's Director General of the Treasury Emmanuel Moulin will join Sitharaman during the press briefing. Sri Lankan President R

India to put across concerns of Global South at G20: EAM Jaishankar

India is making efforts to include concerns of the Global South in the G20 framework under its presidency, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said

India offers predictable, stable & business-like environment: Industrialist

India offers a predictable, stable and business-like environment which is one of the major factors for foreign companies to invest in the country, a top Indian industrialist has said as he underscored the need for labour reforms. Alok B Shriram, CEO of manufacturing company DCM Shriram Industries, who is in the US as part of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) business delegation, said he sensed great deal of enthusiasm about India and the investment climate in the country in his interactions with his American counterparts. "On the whole, everyone is looking forward to working on investing in India. That difference coming in now, (is) not just transferring technology or something, but it's actually investing, Shriram told PTI on Tuesday. He observed that the first reason for it is that India has a very young and very well-trained workforce that, at least, is well educated. "It's a good environment. I think in the last decade, this government has prove