Page 132 - India

India reports 185 new Covid cases, one death; active tally rises to 2,229

India recorded 185 new coronavirus infections, pushing the tally to 4.46 crore, while the active cases increased to 2,229, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. The death toll stands at 5,30,770 with one death reconciled by Kerala, data updated by the ministry at 8 am stated. The national COVID-19 recovery was recorded at 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,53,203, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent, it said. The country has so far recorded a total of 4.46 crore (4,46,86,202) cases. According to the ministry's website, 220.63 crore doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India, UK finance ministers agree to make further progress on FTA

India and the UK have agreed to make further progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and also to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon, the British government said on Saturday. At the conclusion of UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's India visit for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held under India's 2023 Presidency, the UK's Treasury department said the finance minister held talks with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on deepening bilateral economic and financial ties. At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties, the Treasury department said in a statement. They agreed to make swift progress on setting up the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue, it said. Hunt, on his first international visit as UK Chancellor, also met with

India reports 218 Covid-19 cases, 5 deaths; active tally climbs to 2,149

India logged 218 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases rose to 2,149, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll stands at 5,30,769 with five new deaths reported. While four deaths were reconciled by Kerala, one fatality was reported by Sikkim in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The virus case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,86,017), while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.80 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,53,099 and 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.

Danish Crown Prince Frederik Andr Henrik Christian in India for 4-day visit

Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik Andr Henrik Christian and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth arrived in India on Sunday on a four-day visit. It is the first visit to India from the Danish Royal family in two decades. The two are visiting India at the invitation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet that the visit will further strengthen and enhance the close and friendly ties between the two countries. The royal couple will also travel to Agra and Chennai. They will depart from Chennai on March 2. The royal couple is learnt to be accompanied by Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen, Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke and Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard. "During the visit, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will meet the Vice President and will address the opening session of the India-Denmark: Partners for Green and Sustainable Progress, ...

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Traditions of India can't be defined without Karnataka's contributions: PM

The Prime Minister said that one can witness the immortal soul of India when we analyse the circumstances from 75 years ago

India, Sri Lanka review security cooperation at annual defence dialogue

Top defence officials of India and Sri Lanka have held the seventh edition of their annual dialogue during which the two sides reviewed the bilateral defence and security cooperation and identified new avenues for engagement. The two-day meeting of the 7th edition of the Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) between India and Sri Lanka, which began in New Delhi on Thursday was chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Armane and his Sri Lankan counterpart General Kamal Gunaratne. During the meeting which ended on Saturday, the two sides reviewed the defence and security cooperation, the Indian High Commission said here. Various ongoing defence cooperation initiatives were jointly reviewed and new avenues for engagement were identified during the ADD, it said. Sri Lanka's delegation included Air Marshal SK Pathirana, Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force along with senior officers from the Sri Lanka Army and the Navy. The Indian delegation included officials from the Ministry of Defence, Headquarte

I will get personally involved: German Chancellor on India-EU FTA

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday underlined the importance of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union for boosting two-way trade and said he will personally get involved to see its early fruition. After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scholz said the finalisation of the FTA and the investment protection pacts will contribute significantly to expand India-Germany trade as well. The German Chancellor said he and the Indian prime minister are committed to finalising the deal. "We want to further deepen trade relations between the European Union and India and this is why we speak strongly for the free trade agreement. It is an important topic and I will get personally involved to ensure that this does not drag on," he said. Scholz said over 1,800 German companies are operating in India and have provided thousands of jobs. "India has so much talent to offer and we want to benefit from that cooperation. We want

India should lead in adopting AI technology with open arms: Ola Cabs CEO

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a massive technology tool for increasing productivity and India should take a lead in adopting such technologies, Bhavish Aggarwal, the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ola Cabs, said on Saturday. Speaking at the ABP Network's Idea of India Summit here, Aggarwal also discounted the notion that embracing such technology would result in job losses. Technology trends like AI are so disruptive. While one can think that it (the adoption of AI) threatens jobs, "I see it as a massive technology tool for increasing productivity", he said. "And we in India, as an economy and as stakeholders of the economy, should all adopt AI with open arms," Aggarwal said. He emphasised that the use of this technology could enhance productivity by 10 times, he said, "We should be the first adopter of AI and become the most productive in the world." It will have a significant impact on economic growth, he asserted. Noting that software development will be the fir

India set to become 3rd largest economy in 5 years, says Piyush Goyal

India would become the third largest economy in the world in the next five years and by 2047 could be at the level the United States of America is at present, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. He also called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal as a "disaster in the making" and it "was music to my ears" when Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country would not be joining it. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry was speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue 2023 event here. "I think in the next four to five years, India will be the third largest economy in the world (from fifth position at present). By 2047, we will be at the level that the United States of America is today. The 1.4 billion people of India are going to make our economy a USD 30-40 trillion one," he said. On India not joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal, Goyal said, "It was disaster in the making as we were entering a free trade agreement without

India pressing for resolving Ukraine conflict through diplomacy: PM Modi

India has been pressing for resolving the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy and dialogue and it is ready to contribute to any peace process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday after holding wide-ranging talks with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The talks between the two leaders covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as key regional and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict. In his media statement, Scholz said the world is suffering as a consequence of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and asserted that no one can change borders through the use of violence. The war in Ukraine has led to immense loss and destruction, he said, adding "it is a catastrophe". The German Chancellor's visit to India came a day after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "We have to make sure that countries in Asia, Africa and America are not strongly and negatively impacted by the terrible war of aggression," Scholz said. In his statement, Mo

India asks IMF, FSB to prepare technical paper on regulating crypto

India, which is currently holding G20 Presidency, has asked the IMF and Financial Stability Board (FSB) to jointly prepare a technical paper on crypto assets, which could be used in formulating a coordinated and comprehensive policy to regulate them. The international organisations are expected to present their joint paper during the 4th Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in October 2023, said a finance ministry release. "To complement the ongoing dialogue on the need for a policy framework, the Indian Presidency has proposed a joint technical paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the FSB, which would synthesise the macroeconomic and regulatory perspectives of crypto-assets. This would help in the formulation of a coordinated and comprehensive policy approach to crypto assets," it said. In their entirety, the IMF's discussion paper, the policy seminar and the joint IMF-FSB paper are expected to integrate the policy questions pertaining to macro-financi

New tea auction process to be introduced in March in north India

The Bharat Auction model for tea, which is already functional in south India, will be introduced in north India from end of March, an official in the industry said on Saturday. The pilot project will be conducted on March one so that all the features get tested by the stakeholders, following which the Bharat Auction model will be introduced in Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri from March 22, 2023. "The auction system will shift from the existing English system to the Bharat Auction model from March 22. The pilot auction will be done on March one so that all the features are tested by the stakeholders", secretary of Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) J KalyanaSundaram said. CTTA conducts the auctions in Kolkata, while Tea Auction Committee does both in Siliguri and Guwahati. He said the new auction has been already functioning in south India, adding that the volume of tea transacted there is much lower than in north India. "Out of odd 600 million kg sold in the country through the

US to do everything to support India to make its G20 presidency a success

The US is looking forward to doing everything it can to support India's work to make its G20 presidency a success and Secretary of State Antony Blinken would attend the crucial meeting of the foreign ministers of the grouping next week in New Delhi, a senior official has said. Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi. India assumed the Presidency of the G20 on December 1 last year. The top American diplomat is travelling to New Delhi on a three-day official visit from March 1 to 3. Blinken looks forward to going to Delhi as part of India's G20 presidency year. We look forward to doing everything we can to support India's work to make its G20 presidency a success," Ramin Toloui, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, told reporters here. "There is no shortage of common challenges, and we want to deepen our partnership with other G20 countr

Why India must put lithium reserves to commercial production soon

The country imports about 70 per cent of its battery-cell requirements from China and Hong Kong, according to the international management consulting firm Arthur D. Little

India's G20 Presidency comes at incredibly important time: UK Foreign Secy

India's G20 Presidency comes at an incredibly important time when the world confronts challenges like the Ukraine conflict, global food supply disruptions and China's increasingly assertive actions" on the world stage, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said. He also announced that he will travel to New Delhi next week for the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting and engage with partners from across the globe. India assumed the Presidency of the G20 on December 1, last year. India is an incredibly important global player of increased, not only economic prosperity but diplomatic influence. We're very very pleased with that. We're very proud of the longstanding relationship the UK has of course with India, Cleverly told PTI in an exclusive interview here on Friday. Cleverly, the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, addressed the high-level UN Security Council debate on Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine' here Friday, held on the one-year

India records 180 new Covid-19 infections in a day, active tally at 2,090

India reported 180 new cases of coronavirus infections while the active caseload increased to 2,090, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll stands at 5,30,764, the data updated at 8 am showed. The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,85,799). The national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.80 per cent, according to the Union Health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated surged to 4.41 crore (4,41,52,945) while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry website, 220.63 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Rising heat across parts of India raises alarm on another energy crunch

Peak demand for electricity touched 211 gigawatts in January, close to an all-time high last summer when heavy industry roared back from pandemic curbs

India ranks 42 in 55 countries on International IP Index, shows data

India ranks 42nd among 55 leading global economies on the International IP Index released by the US Chambers of Commerce, according to which India is ripe to become a leader for emerging markets seeking to transform their economy through IP-driven innovation. As India's size and economic influence grows on the world stage, India is ripe to become a leader for emerging markets seeking to transform their economy through IP-driven innovation, Patrick Kilbride, senior vice president of the US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center who publishes the annual report said Friday. According to the report, which covers everything from patent and copyright laws to the ability to monetize IP assets and the ratification of international agreements, India has maintained continued strong efforts in copyright piracy through the issuing of dynamic injunction orders. India not only has generous R&D and IP-based tax incentives, but also has a strong awareness-raising efforts regarding ...

We remain committed to multilateralism: Envoy to UN after India abstains

In her address, Kamboj reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that this cannot be an era of war