Page 130 - India

India making significant contribution to global peace: LS Speaker Om Birla

He emphasized that modernization of defence capabilities is needed to tackle challenges like cyber warfare, drugs, weapons, and money laundering through innovation

It is an embarrassment not to have a US Ambassador to India, says Senator

The absence of a US Ambassador to India for more than two years now is an embarrassment, a top Democratic Senator said Thursday, floating the idea of an "equally qualified" candidate if the current nominee Eric Garcetti is not able to get enough votes for a Senatorial confirmation. Garcetti, 52, a former Mayor of Los Angeles, was nominated by President Joe Biden for US Ambassador to India in July 2021. His nomination was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote as the ruling Democratic Party did not have enough support to get him through. "It is an embarrassment that we say this is one of the most valuable relationships in the world, and yet we've not appointed an ambassador," Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told PTI when asked about the issue. Warner, who was part of a Congressional delegation to India last week, said that Indians also raised the issues of the absence of an ambassador at this important time. "I think that the message

India, now a great power, has to choose side in Ukraine war: Senator Warner

Describing India as a "great power" and a country that prides itself in moral values, powerful American Senator Mark Warner, a long-time advocate of a strong India-US relationship, on Thursday said New Delhi has to choose a side in the Ukrainian war at some point. Commending India for standing up to the Chinese aggression and its challenge, Senator Warner, the Chairman of the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told PTI in an interview that the steps being taken by India vis-a-vis the Ukraine conflict so far are not enough and New Delhi can do more. "I commend Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi for making that comment in front of (Russian President) Mr. (Vladimir) Putin in Uzbekistan. But one statement in a war that's now over a year old, I think there's more that can be done," Warner said, referring to the PM' this is "not an era of war" assertion. India has maintained that it stands on the side of peace on the Ukrainian and has expressed willingness to contribute to any

India, Italy share conviction in rule of law, human-centric vision: Meloni

Giorgia Meloni highlighted the growing connectivity between Europe and the Indo-Pacific and its positive implications for trade and strategic partnerships

India is off to very promising start with its stewardship of G20: US

Ned Price said that US' partnership with India is one of the most "consequential relationships" and they can work closely with India on everything that is a priority for both nations

LIVE: Blinken asks for 'contact' with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

Get all the latest updates on G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting here

Giorgia Meloni visit: India, Italy open new chapter of defence ties

Italy and India have also decided to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership

LIVE: Country, citizens are priority for BJP, says PM Modi

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

India, Australia sign framework for mutual recognition of qualifications

India and Australia on Thursday signed a Framework Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Qualifications that will help ease the mobility of students and professionals between the two countries. While the two countries will recognise the degrees, professional registrations of engineering, medicine and law pass outs will remain outside the framework's ambit. The agreement was signed following a bilateral meeting here between Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Australian counterpart Jason Clare, who is on a five-day visit to India. At least 11 institutional-level memorandums were also exchanged between India and Australia's university sectors, which will promote research and academic collaborations between the two countries in several key sectors. The Australian government will also be contributing 1.89 million dollars for running skill development programmes in India in the area of agriculture which is a critical sector for the country. "Australia and India are aligne

Manufacturing companies record lower sales growth in Q3: RBI data

Listed manufacturing companies recorded lower sales growth of 10.6 per cent in the December quarter of the current fiscal compared to 20.9 per cent in the previous quarter, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday. The moderation in the manufacturing companies was broad-based across the industries, except for cement. Over all, sales growth of listed private non-financial companies moderated to 12.7 per cent in third quarter of 2022-23 from 22.6 per cent in the previous July-September period. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released data on the performance of the private corporate sector during the third quarter of 2022-23 drawn from abridged quarterly financial results of 2,779 listed non-government non-financial companies. However, Information technology (IT) companies remained on high growth trajectory and recorded 19.4 per cent rise in sales. Also, revenue growth for non-IT services companies was supported by steady performance in trade, ...

Lavrov hails India's highly responsible stance on matters of global agenda

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday hailed India's "highly responsible" and "worthy of a great power" stance on key matters of global agenda. The remarks come amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India's diplomatic tightrope walk on the issue. Addressing a press conference here, Lavrov said, "Our relationship with India can be described as privileged strategic partnership. This reflects the special character of the relationship starting with India's independence up until today." "We appreciate the highly responsible and worthy of a great power stance India is taking on key matters of global agenda," Lavrov said. He also asserted called for a reform of the UN Security Council.

Japanese auto major Honda to focus on premium products to grow India biz

Japanese auto major Honda plans to launch at least one new model every year in India with a focus on premium products as it looks to get its business on track in the country. The company, which on Thursday introduced an updated version of its mid-size sedan -- City, plans to focus on products which are over Rs 10 lakh price tag powered by petrol and hybrid powertrains. The company, which is present in India through a wholly-owned subsidiary, plans to do away with diesel models in the country. In a press briefing, Honda Cars India President and CEO Takuya Tsumura said the company would focus on the Rs 10 lakh and above segment over the next few years. "In the passenger vehicle segment more than 40 per cent sales are coming from models priced over Rs 10 lakh. We expect this to grow more. Our focus would be on model introductions in over Rs 10 lakh segment," he noted. Tsumura said that for Honda models like Amaze and City, top trims currently contribute over 60 per cent of the sales.

G20 foreign ministers' meet: Jaishankar stresses need to find common ground

Flags crises haunting an increasingly polarised world, says all eyes on G20 nations

G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Guests welcomed with dance performance

The G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting will be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre and nearly 40 delegations are expected to participate

India logs 268 Covid cases, active tally at 2,439; recovery rate at 98.8%

India logged 268 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 2,439, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll stands at 5,30,772, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,86,879) and the national recovery rate has been recorded at 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,53,668, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.63 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

Top headlines: Philanthropy by India's rich falls, airlines step up hiring

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G20 meet: Foreign Ministers of Spain, China, other nations arrive in India

Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia, Spain and Croatia on Thursday arrived in India to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting being held in New Delhi from March 1-2.Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman on Thursday arrived in India for the meeting.The Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, also arrived for the foreign minister' meeting on Thursday."Greetings to FM Qin Gang of China, FM @Menlu_RI of Indonesia @Kemlu_RI, FM @FaisalbinFarhan of Saudi Arabia @KSAmofaEN and DG @wto @NOIweala on their arrival in India for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. FMs of Indonesia & Saudi Arabia will also join #Raisina2023," Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Thursday.UAE's

UPI, PayNow tie-up: In payments, like geopolitics, India seeks a third way

Indian policy makers believe that the UPI and allied elements of what it calls "digital public infrastructure" are one of their biggest recent innovations

India-UK FTA can deliver practical biz benefits in both countries: Cleverly

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that UK and India, must work closely together to contribute to the world's economic security and prosperity

India feeling 'little challenged' about EU's carbon tax: Official

India on Wednesday said it is concerned about the European Union's announcement of imposing carbon tax, saying such measures require New Delhi to recalibrate its approach towards a free trade agreement. In January last year, India and the EU resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, investment protection and Geographical Indications (GI). "Apart from the sustainability and all other issues, we are also a bit, I would not say perturbed but we are feeling little challenged with the announcement of CBAM recently and it is going to cover 5-6 sectors which are key to Indian industry and supply chains," Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Nidhi Mani Tripathi said. The EU is introducing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from October 1 this year. CBAM will translate into a 20-35 per cent tax on select imports into the EU starting January 1, 2026. Speaking at an event organised by industry body CII, she said there is also another regulation which is to come up -