Saarc

Akasa Air to launch direct Mumbai-Phuket flights from September 20

Akasa Air will launch direct flights connecting Mumbai with Phuket from September 20 as the three-year-old airline expands its international network with the foray into Southeast Asia. With a fleet of 30 planes, the airline currently flies to 23 domestic and 5 international destinations. Starting September 20, 2025, Akasa Air will operate daily direct flights connecting Mumbai with Phuket (Thailand), a release said on Tuesday. Phuket will be 6th overseas destination for the carrier, which started flying on August 7, 2022. Presently, the airline flies to five overseas destinations -- Doha (Qatar), Jeddah, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Kuwait City (Kuwait). Last week, the airline said it will start flights to the SAARC and ASEAN regions in the next few years, in addition to leveraging the upcoming Navi Mumbai and Noida International Airports to develop a comprehensive network. Eight countries, including India, are part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooper

Dhoni trademarks 'Captain Cool', Telangana factory blast, SAARC replacement talks & more

At least 12 people were killed and several injured in a massive reactor blast at the Sigachi Chemical Industry unit in Telangana’s Pashamylaram on Monday.

China, Pakistan lead bid to replace SAARC with new regional bloc: Report

The proposed bloc, discussed at a Kunming trilateral, aims to boost trade and connectivity among willing SAARC members

RBI launches 'RBIDATA' app to offer access to economic, financial data

Reserve Bank on Tuesday launched mobile application 'RBIDATA' which will provide access to more than 11,000 different series of economic data related to the Indian economy. The mobile app offers macroeconomic and financial statistics relating to the Indian economy in a user-friendly and visually engaging format, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a release. Users will be able to view time series data in graphs/charts and download data for analysis. There will also be details such as data source, unit of measurement, frequency and recent updates. Further, the app's 'Banking Outlet' section will help users find banking facilities within 20 kilometres of their location and they can also access data about SAARC countries through the 'SAARC Finance'. According to the release, the app will offer access to over 11,000 different series of economic data to give a comprehensive view of the Indian economy. "This app offers quick access to the Database on the Indian Economy (DBIE '? ...

Saarc not moving forward, 1 member spreading cross-border terror: EAM

The SAARC is "not moving forward" and meetings of the regional grouping have not happened in the last few years as one of its members is practising "cross-border terrorism", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. The EAM's remarks on the stalling of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), without naming any country, comes ahead of his scheduled visit to Pakistan mid-October to attend a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad. The SAARC has not been very effective since 2016 as its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one at Kathmandu in 2014. "At the moment, SAARC is not moving forward. We have not had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason, there is one member of SAARC who is practising cross-border terrorism, at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more," Jaishankar said in response to a query on revival of the grouping at an event here. "If you are all sitting together and ...

Revival of SAARC spirit can solve many regional problems: Muhammad Yunus

There should be a revival of the spirit of SAARC, Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government has said, underlining that the eight-member bloc can solve many of the region's problems. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Chief Adviser Yunus said that although the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was formed with a great cause, it now exists only on paper and is not functioning. The regional grouping comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Yunus mentioned that he would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session scheduled to be held later this month. He also mentioned that he will try to get the heads of state of SAARC nations together for a photo op. Obviously, we will try to meet (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). I will try if all the heads of state of SAARC nations come together and take a photo. SAARC was formed for

Sri Lanka President recalls crisis help from SAARC nations including India

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday recalled the assistance received from India and Bangladesh during the early days of the worst economic crisis and said the island nation would not have been able to recover from the turmoil had these countries not helped. Expressing gratitude to the government and Reserve Bank of India, as well as the government and Central Bank of Bangladesh, for their financial support, which he described as lifesaving, the president in his keynote address at the inaugural session of the 45th SAARCFINANCE Governors' Meeting and Symposium here said the assistance, along with aid from the United States Agency For International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, was pivotal in stabilising the country's economy. I must thank the government and the Reserve Bank of India and the government and the Central Bank of Bangladesh. That USD three and a half billion and that USD 200 million were lifesavers. Without that, we wouldn't be here today; there

Will roll out products from Chennai plant by H2CY24: Cisco's Chittilapilly

India is among the top ten markets for Cisco globally and with the new manufacturing plant in Chennai, the country is gaining even more prominence

India rules out revival of Saarc in view of one country's terrorism toolkit

Ahead of the formation of a new government in Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday ruled out any immediate possibility of revival of regional grouping SAARC in view of Islamabad's "toolkit" of using terrorism in different ways, including against other members of the bloc. In an interactive session at a think-tank, Jaishankar, without directly naming Pakistan, said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is in trouble as one of its member nations has been relentlessly backing terrorism. "If you ask me whether I see a future for SAARC, in some ways, actually you are asking me if I see a future for that country. Because if that country does not really let go of those kinds of options in its armoury or its toolkit, then it is not just SAARC which is in danger. I mean, very frankly, you are looking at the state of that country as well," he said. To a question on whether India is perceived by its neighbours as a bully, Jaishankar countered, ...

Companies cautious about GenAI over data privacy, security: Report

92% companies in India recognise customers want adequate protection of their data: Cisco survey

International flights see 88% jump in passenger numbers in first quarter

The number of international passengers had been affected adversely due to Covid-19

Bangladesh diplomat Golam Sarwar appointed next SAARC secretary general

Bangladesh on Thursday announced the appointment of career diplomat Mohammad Golam Sarwar as the Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). "He (Sarwar) will be the fifteenth in the list of succession and third Bangladeshi to assume this position of the regional organisation, Bangladesh's foreign ministry said in a statement. A career diplomat, Sarwar is currently serving as Bangladesh's ambassador to Malaysia. His appointment came in line with the SAARC charter's rotating system for the position from among the eight member countries with India and Pakistan being the major ones. He previously served as Bangladesh's ambassador to Oman and Sweden. SAARC was founded in 1985 largely under Bangladesh's initiative for regional cooperation in the economic, technological, social, and cultural arena while heads of governments of the member states are scheduled to meet annually. The SAARC has not been very effective since 2016 as its biennial summits

Making efforts to activate eight-member regional group SAARC: Nepal

Nepal on Sunday said it was making efforts to activate the eight-member regional grouping SAARC, which has not been very effective since 2016. Speaking at a meeting of the National Concern and Coordination Committee under the National Assembly, Secretary and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bharat Raj Paudel said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) could not be made effective due to the lack of consensus among all member states. Nepal is trying to make it active, he was quoted as saying by My Republica newspaper. "We are chairing the SAARC. However, there are places where processes have not progressed. This multilateralism and regionalism have certain constants. One of them is that when we formed SAARC, we agreed on a fundamental principle while defining the charter of SAARC. That means nothing moves forward until everyone agrees on a topic. Basically, it cannot be the same. The role of the chair of SAARC is nothing special. We are only one

BIMSTEC secretary-general to pay four-day visit to India next week

Tenzin Lekphell, the secretary general of the seven-nation grouping BIMSTEC, will pay a four-day visit to India beginning Monday to explore ways to take forward the bloc's cooperative agenda. India has been making concerted efforts to make BIMSTEC a vibrant forum for regional cooperation as initiatives under SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) were not moving forward for a variety of reasons. Announcing Lekphell's visit from August 22 to 25, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said he will hold discussions with senior Indian officials on how to take forward cooperation in sync with the mandate of its leaders. Besides India, the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) comprises Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. At the 5th BIMSTEC Summit held in Sri Lanka on March 30, the leaders of the member nations adopted a charter and a connectivity roadmap to make the grouping a vibrant platform f

We must rejuvenate SAARC, says former Bhutan PM Tsering Tobgay

Tobgay's lecture was moderated by former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran, and part of a monthly series organised by the Centre for Policy Research, to mark Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav

Sri Lankan president calls for unity govt to resolve economic crisis

The developments come after Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency on Friday, following protests over the economic hardship faced by the people of the country

Sri Lanka to return Indian inmates under SAARC prisoner exchange deal

Sri Lanka will hand over two Indian prisoners, who have been serving life imprisonment in the island nation, to India on Wednesday and Thursday under the SAARC prisoners exchange agreement

Pak ready to host SAARC Summit, India can join virtually: FM Qureshi

SAARC - a regional grouping comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - has not been very effective since 2016

Pak PM Khan hopes to host SAARC Summit after removal of artificial obstacle

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday expressed hope that his country would host the SAARC Summit after the removal of artificial obstacle in its way. Khan made the remarks during his meeting with Secretary-General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Esala Ruwan Weerakoon, who paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister here, according to Foreign Office. The Prime Minister expressed hope to host the SAARC Summit in Pakistan when artificial obstacle created in its way would be removed, said FO. The SAARC - a regional grouping comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - has not been very effective since 2016 as its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014. The 2016 SAARC Summit was originally planned to be held in Islamabad on November 15-19, 2016. But after a terror attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed

We are poised at the cusp of tremendous opportunity: Cisco's Chittilapilly

Cisco's president for India and Saarc sees big scope in the digitisation of multiple industry sectors that have been poor adopters of technology