Page 141 - India

Supreme Court dismisses PIL seeking complete ban on BBC operations in India

UK's British Broadcasting Corporation's two-part series attacking PM Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002 sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms

Prez Droupadi Murmu to begin 2-day visit to her home state Odisha today

President Droupadi Murmu will arrive in Odisha, her home state, on Friday on a two-day visit to attend official functions. After reaching Bhubaneswar at around 11.45 am, the President will attend the foundation day programme of Jnanaprabha Mission, a charitable organisation. Later, she will be present at the convocation of Rama Devi Women's University, her alma mater. She completed her BA from the then college in 1979. On Saturday, Murmu will first pay a visit to the Lord Lingaraj temple and then inaugurate the second Indian Rice Congress at the National Rice Research Institute in Cuttack. This will be Murmu's second visit to her home state after assuming the highest constitutional position in the country in July last year.

Investing in defence ties with India for balance in Indo-Pacific: Pentagon

The US is making investments in defence ties with India to uphold a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Thursday indicating that strengthening ties with New Delhi is one of the key factors to address the pacing challenge from China. "Earlier this month, the US Government launched the inaugural technology initiative with India, including in-depth discussions about opportunities for co-production of major defence platforms," Ely Ratner, the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on China. "We are making significant investments in our defence ties with India to uphold a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region," he said. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the US has invested in the Quad partnership with India, Australia, and Japan. "We are aligning with like-minded partners around the world to strength

US needs to address India's ties with Russia, says Senatorial report

As the US focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its "downward trend of democratic values and institutions", said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. The report has called for supporting a strong and democratic India. Senate Foreign Affairs Chairman Senator Robert Menendez Thursday said the US needs to approach the Indo-Pacific with a well-resourced, whole-of-government approach that synchronizes the military-security elements with diplomatic, economic, and civil society elements to ensure the greatest chance of success. The "Strategic Alignment: The Imperative of Resourcing the Indo-Pacific Strategy", a Majority Staff Report, was released by Menendez on Thursday. "I believe that President Biden's Indo-Pacific Strategy, released one year ago, adopts this whole-of-government approach. If fully equipped with the tools that it needs to be successful, this strategy

India's green bonds show policy focus on climate mitigation: Fitch Ratings

The sovereign green bonds issued by India reflects the growing policy focus to scale up domestic financing capacity on climate mitigation and adaptation, said credit rating agency Fitch Ratings.

As China battles crises, HSBC bets big on India's $400 bn pile of wealth

It also plans to launch an onshore private banking service in the South Asian country this year

India rated among top 5 accreditation systems in world: GQII Index

India has been placed at the fifth position out of 184 countries in terms of its accreditation system, according to the recently released Global Quality Infrastructure Index (GQII) 2021. The GQII ranks 184 economies on the basis of their quality infrastructure (QI). India's overall QI system ranking continues to be tenth. According to the index, India was ranked 21st in terms of metrology and ninth in standardisation. The report was released in December 2022. "We are proud that India is rated among the top five accrediting systems in the world...We anticipate that India will pave the way for more collaborations aimed at creating resilient systems of high-quality infrastructure," the Quality Council of India (QCI) said in a tweet. The report said geographically, the top 25 are mainly located in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, with some exceptions, such as India (10th), Brazil (13th), Australia (14th), and Turkey (16th). While QCI is the national body for accreditation, B

Trafigura faces $577 million loss after uncovering nickel fraud in India

The missing nickel is a blow for the company that has grown rapidly in the past decade to become one of the world's largest trading houses

WhatsApp leads digital accessibility in India among top 10 apps: Report

Other apps audited in the report by The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, along with I-Stem and Mission Accessibility, include PhonePe, Paytm, Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, Flipkart, Telegram, Uber and Ola

G20: First Environment and Climate Sustainability meeting begins today

The first Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting, under India's G20 presidency, will be held here from February 9 to 11. Hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the conference will be chaired by Secretary in the ministry, Leena Nandan. With the goal of adopting an integrated, comprehensive and consensus-driven approach to tackling the challenges of climate change, several delegates from G20 countries along with representatives of international organisations will participate in this meeting. As a matter of priority, the working group will be focusing on arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration, and enriching biodiversity; promoting a sustainable and climate-resilient blue economy; and encouraging resource efficiency and circular economy. LiFE is an "important and cross cutting" theme across all three priorities, officials said, adding that the three-day meeting includes an event on ecosystem restoration an

Operation Dost shows friendship between India and Turkey: Turkish Envoy

Turkey's Ambassador to India Firat Sunel has said that 'Operation Dost' is a "very important operation" and demonstrates the friendship between the two nations

Chinese spy balloons have targeted several countries, including India: Rpt

China has operated a fleet of spy balloons targeting several countries including India and Japan, a media report has said, days after the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance craft floating over sensitive installations in the country. US officials have briefed its friends and allies including India on the finds of the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. On Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed officials from about 40 embassies here about it. The surveillance balloon effort, which has operated for several years partly out of Hainan province off China's south coast, has collected information on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The Post's report was based on interviews with several anonymous defence and intelligence ...

India should aim for 4-0 win in Border-Gavaskar Trophy, says Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes the Rohit Sharma-led side should have the mindset to win 4-0 over top-ranked Test team Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India hands over six tonnes of relief materials to quake-hit Syria

India on Wednesday handed over six tonnes of relief materials, including essential medicines and medical equipment, to earthquake-hit Syria. The consignments were sent on a C-130J military transport aircraft on Tuesday night and were handed over to the Syrian authorities by India's Charge'd Affaires S K Yadav this morning. India has already sent to Turkiye relief materials, a mobile hospital and specialised search and rescue teams in four C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft on Tuesday to support the country's rescue efforts following the massive earthquake that has killed thousands of people. In the wake of tragic earthquake that struck North-Western Syria on February 6, causing massive destruction and loss of precious lives, the government of India has despatched six tonnes of emergency relief assistance through a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force to Syria, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It said the consignments were handed over by Yadav to the Deput

India highest attacked country by hackers in Asia, 2nd globally in 2022

India was the highest attacked country by hackers in Asia and the second-most attacked country globally (after the US) in 2022, a report showed on Wednesday.

Three million people in India at risk of flooding by glacial lakes: Study

Three million people in India are at risk of flooding caused by glacial lakes, the highest number of those exposed in the world, according to new study. The study by an international team led by scientists at UK's Newcastle University, UK is the first global assessment of areas at greatest risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF). Published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, it estimates that 15 million people around the world are at risk from flooding caused by glacial lakes. The researchers, which also identified priority areas for mitigation, said more than half the globally exposed populations are found in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru, and China. India and Pakistan contain the highest number of exposed people -- nearly three million and two million people respectively, or one-third of the global total combined -- while Iceland contains the least (260 people), they said. As the climate gets warmer, glaciers retreat and meltwater collects at the fr

India is Sri Lanka's biggest friend in time of crisis, says Sri Lanka PM

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has said that India is the biggest friend of the island nation in times of crisis. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy last year and defaulted on its USD 51 billion foreign loans for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948. India has played a significant role in aiding the island nation over the last year to tide over the economic crisis. Addressing the Tata Tiscon Dealer Convention 2023 in Colombo, Prime Minister Gunawardena called on Indian companies to invest further in Sri Lanka. He further said that India is the biggest friend of Sri Lanka in times of crisis, the Colombo Gazette portal reported. Outlining the benefits of Indian investments in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Gunawardena highlighted that 90 per cent of components used by Lanka Ashok Leyland were indigenous, it said. Speaking at the event, High Commissioner Gopal Baglay said that both Government of India and Indian corporates are working to build relationships tha

Big Russia presence in India Energy Summit indicates stronger ties

The European Union ban on seaborne Russian fuel shipments, coupled with earlier restrictions on the bloc's crude purchases, give more impetus for Moscow to ramp up the flows to India

Meritocracy and Indian society

The testing and examination system of ordering society in a chronological order of talent and skill is deeply flawed, argues a new book

Coal import cannot be zero as thermal power projects designed for dry fuels

Coal imports cannot be reduced to zero as several thermal power projects in India are designed to utilise the imported dry fuel for its high calorific value and blending it with domestic coal is also needed to maintain fuel stocks, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. "The power plants designed for utilizing high Gross Calorific Value (GCV) non-coking coal, and cement, sponge iron, aluminum customers are utilizing high-ranked low ash coal. The coal requirement for such category of consumers cannot be substituted by domestic coal. Thus, import of coal cannot be reduced to zero," Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. Singh said thermal power plants have been importing coal for blending since 2009. During 2022-23 (till January 2023), Coal India Ltd despatched 485.99 million tonne (provisional) coal to the power sector as compared to 440.05 MT during the same period a year ago, registering a growth of about 10 per cent. However, he stated that with the ris