Page 28 - India

India to take quantum jump in current period: PM at Viksit Bharat launch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exuded confidence on Monday that India will take a quantum jump during the current period and said the young generation has to be prepared in such a way that it provides leadership to the country and prioritises national interest over everything else. Launching "Viksit Bharat @2047: Voice of Youth", an initiative that aims to provide a platform to the country's youngsters for contributing ideas to the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the prime minister said India's youth power is both the "agent of change" and the "beneficiary of change". Modi will also address vice-chancellors of universities, heads of institutes and faculty members at workshops organised at Raj Bhawans across the country, which will symbolise the start of the initiative. "This is the period in India's history when it is going to take a quantum jump. We have to prepare the young generation in such a way that it gives the country leadership and prioritises national interest over everything

Can't compare India & nations with high per capita emissions: European Parl

Clubbing India with emitters like China and the US is completely unacceptable as its per capita emissions are "very low", a senior official of the European Parliament said on Saturday. Talking to PTI at the UN climate talks here, Peter Liese, a German politician and a member of the European Parliament, emphasised: "Indian people should be able to own a car when people in Germany own two cars." There have been concerted attempts to club India with major emitters like the US at climate negotiations despite its low per capita emissions. "It is very important to acknowledge for everybody that per capita emissions of the UAE, China and the US... they are very different from India. "Many people in Europe put China and India in the same basket and sometimes even with the Gulf states which is completely unacceptable. India has very low per capita emissions compared to these countries," he said. India's per capita carbon dioxide emissions rose by around five per cent last year to reach 2 .

Tata Group plans new iPhone factory to hasten Apple's India expansion

Tata wants to construct the factory in Hosur in the southern Tamil Nadu state, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

India has a 2-3 yrs window to attract cos moving out of China: Subrahmanyam

India has a two-to-three-year window to capitalise on the global strategy of de-risking from China and the government needs to be very alert to come up with a set of policies that make the shift of businesses to India attractive and easier, NITI Aayog CEO Subrahmanyam said on Friday. Addressing CII Global Economic Policy Forum 2023, Subrahmanyam further said India is in a sweet spot due to the outcome of geopolitics and the fact that the country has a young working-age population. "So I think, in the next 15 to 20 years time span, India has an opportunity in manufacturing. But the opportunity and the window for India is at best two to three years, because supply chains are unwinding, they're becoming shorter, and they're looking for new geographies. "This is going to be a two-three year phenomenon, and then supply chains will get frozen," he said. Subrahmanyam pointed out that it is not just non-Chinese companies but even Chinese companies which want to move out of China because of

India set to become most exciting civil aviation market, says IATA director

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that airline revenues globally will rise in 2024 as the sector is witnessing continued growth in post-pandemic travel

China effectively tackling air pollution while India continues to choke

China has made strides in scrubbing the once-foul air that had become a fact of life each year in major cities like Beijing and industrial towns across the country

Italy road and airport operator Mundys explores India, Australia expansion

It has just acquired Autovia del Camino in northern Spain and won a tender to operate four new toll roads in Puerto Rico with a $2.85 billion bid

COP28 secures $83 bn in climate pledges; India skips energy, health pledges

The first week of the COP28 global climate talks concluded with a significant milestone with the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, pledges of over USD 83 billion and the draft text for Global Stocktake mentioning phasing out of all fossil fuels for the first time in years. However, even as over USD 83 billion was mobilised in pledges questions persist about the voluntary nature of these commitments and the actual fulfilment by the participating nations. Amidst the discussions, the issue of fossil fuels emerged as a focal point, with a new draft text of the Global Stocktake proposing options for the phase-out of unabated coal and an orderly and just transition away from fossil fuels which might be a contentious point for India. India has repeatedly stressed that phasing out or phasing down coal language is something that it can't support. India even skipped signing the pledge to commit to tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030 over this. Over the reducti

India, Kenya ink 5 pacts, govt announces $250 mn LoC for Kenyan agri sector

India on Tuesday announced a USD 250 million line of credit to Kenya for modernisation of its agricultural sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto agreed to shore up bilateral ties in areas of defence, trade, energy, digital public infrastructure and healthcare. Following the Modi-Ruto talks, the two sides signed five pacts providing for cooperation in a range of areas including sports, education and digital solution, and unveiled a joint vision document to scale up maritime engagement in the Indian Ocean region. The Kenyan side offered, in line with Kenyan laws, to provide land to Indian companies and institutions for cultivation of crops, including millets. In order to enhance bilateral economic engagement as well as to finance projects under development partnership, the two leaders also discussed the need to use local currencies for trade. In his media statement, Modi said India has been a "reliable and committed" development partner for .

Apple warns India's EU-style charger rules will hit local production target

Apple asked officials to exempt existing iPhone models from the rules, warning it will otherwise struggle to meet production targets set under PLI scheme

China to hold 2nd Indian Ocean Region Forum to firm up influence in India

China this week will hold the second conference of its Indian Ocean Region Forum, an initiative to bring together several countries in the region in an attempt to solidify its influence in the strategic waters adjacent to India's backyard. Last year the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), an organisation part of the ruling Communist Party of China's Leadership Group, held a meeting of the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation (CIORFDC) in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China. CIDCA is headed by Luo Zhaohui, the former Vice Foreign Minister and ex-Ambassador to India. The CIDCA claimed 19 countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, Australia took part in the conference. Australia and Maldives subsequently denied their participation. India was not invited to the

India to provide $250 mn LoC to Kenya for modernisation of its agri sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced India's decision to provide USD 250 million to Kenya for modernisation of its agriculture sector following his wide-ranging talks with visiting Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto. Ruto arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit with an aim to expand overall ties between the two countries. In its foreign policy, India has always given high priority to Africa and has expanded its overall ties with the continent on a mission mode in the last nearly one decade, Modi said in his media statement after the talks. "I am confident that President Ruto's visit to India will not only strengthen bilateral ties but will give a new momentum to our engagement with Africa," he added. The prime minister said India will provide USD 250 million as Line of Credit to Kenya for modernisation of its agriculture sector. Referring to the Indo-Pacific, Modi said closer cooperation between India and Kenya in the region will advance common efforts. India

India's leadership, thought processes driven by people rooted in India: EAM

The world will find it difficult to grasp what is happening in India if it tries to "force feed" the country into certain constructs, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday. Addressing an event, Jaishankar said that society in the country is "deeply democratised today" and a lot of its leadership and its thought processes are being driven by people and forces that are deeply Indian, grounded and rooted in India. "If we have a situation where other parts of the world are trying to force-feed India into their constructs, then it is going to be difficult for them to really grasp what is happening in our country," he said. The external affairs minister also explained what building a "Bharat narrative" means. "People sometimes see it as politics, sometimes they look at the word-play and think that this is some kind of linguistic message... I am not getting into the origins of the word or the history of the concept," he said. "It today has multiple symbolisms in different

Hillary advocates climate resilience in India, calls for local solutions

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highlighted the critical need for gender-responsive climate policies, with a particular emphasis on the challenges faced by women in India. Addressing a session on Empowering Communities: Women at the Heart of Climate Resilience at global climate talks COP28 on Sunday, Clinton pointed out that extreme heat, largely driven by climate change, is a powerful and accelerating threat to livelihoods, human health, and our social fabric, and its impacts are disproportionately harmful and costly to women. She highlighted the critical need for gender-responsive climate policies, with a particular emphasis on the challenges faced by women in India. "So extreme heat has to be viewed as one of the most dangerous results of changing climate, especially in India. It is happening, and we know it's happening. And while we race to find big changes and transitions, we have to worry about what's happening on the ground with so many millions of people, ...

India refrains from signing the COP28 Health and Climate Declaration

India on Sunday refrained from signing the COP28 Declaration on Climate and Health, with sources pointing out that curbing greenhouse gas use for cooling in the health sector, which is one of the points in the document, may not be practical or achievable within the country's healthcare infrastructure in the short term. The declaration calls for climate action to achieve benefits for health from deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including from just transitions, lower air pollution, active mobility, and shifts to sustainable healthy diets. On the occasion of the first Health Day at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) on Sunday, the declaration expressed grave concern about the negative impacts of climate change on health. The declaration is signed by 124 countries till now with the US and India, which are among the top greenhouse gas emitters, absent from the list of signatories. The declaration, aimed at addressing the critical intersection

India will grow at nearly 7% in 2023-24: Member of EAC to PM Modi

India's economy will grow at close to 7 per cent during the ongoing fiscal, Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of EAC to PM, said on Friday. Addressing a programme at the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, he said there is a need to counter global narratives built on "absurd and irrelevant" data points, and India's second-largest rating agency CareEdge will soon start publishing sovereign ratings. He said that backed by manufacturing, the economy grew by 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter, well above expectations. "We will be growing at somewhat close to 7 per cent for the year, and that would easily make us the world's fastest-growing," he said. Sanyal, a member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister, said that for too long, India's growth has been defined by others. "It's time we start taking control of our own narrative and defining ourselves on our own terms," he said. "We need to create our own indices and do our own sovereign ratings. CareEdge will begin ...

India re-elected to Int'l Maritime Organisation Council with highest tally

India was re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council with the highest tally at elections held at its assembly here on Friday for the 2024-25 biennium. India's re-election falls under the Category of 10 states with "the largest interest in international seaborne trade", alongside Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, said the vote reflects the government's commitment to enhancing India's diverse contributions to global maritime operations. We are delighted and humbled by the support of the international community at the International Maritime Organisation for India to continue to serve the global maritime domain, said Doraiswami, soon after the election. Our re-election today in London, with the highest tally in the election, to the IMO Council in Category B, sustained a proud and unbroken record of India's continuous service at

PM Modi proposes to host COP33 in 2028; launches Green Credit Initiative

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday proposed to host the UN climate conference in 2028 or COP33 in India and launched the Green Credit Initiative focused on creating carbon sinks through people's participation. Addressing the high-level segment for heads of states and governments during the UN climate conference in Dubai, he said India has presented a great example to the world of striking balance between development and environment conservation. India is one among only few countries in the world on track to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions or national plans to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the guardrail to avoid worsening of climate change impacts. Modi was the only leader to join the opening plenary along with COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber and UN Climate Change President Simon Steill. The prime minister called for maintaining a balance between mitigation and adaptation and said that energy transition across the world must be "just and ...

40% wealth and pension funds prefer India over China, shows study

Almost 40% of investors chose India as the most attractive emerging market, while less than a quarter selected China in a survey

US, India play down Sikh murder plot with wider Asia strategy at risk

The US sees India as key to its strategy of countering China's growing assertiveness in Asia, one of its top global priorities