Page 4 - Singapore

Piyush Gupta appointed alternate member of Singapore presidential council

Indian-origin banker Piyush Gupta has been appointed as an Alternate Member of the Council of Presidential Advisers in Singapore for four years. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam made the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, the President's Office said in a media release on Thursday. Now a Singapore citizen, the 65-year-old has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM, Ahmedabad. Gupta, from Meerut, was awarded the Public Service Star by the Singapore President for his meritorious services to the nation in 2020. He is a recipient of the 2023 Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest honour conferred by the Indian government on the country's diaspora. Gupta was the Chief Executive Officer and Director of the DBS Group from November 2009 to March 2025. Under his leadership, the DBS Group underwent a significant and successful transformation, and had set up

India, Singapore can set global benchmarks in arbitration: MoS Meghwal

India and Singapore can set global benchmarks in fair, transparent and efficient dispute resolution, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said here on Wednesday. Addressing an Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) Symposium cum Roundtable, Meghwal said, The significant reforms in India's arbitration laws and the establishment of the India International Arbitration Centre mark a decisive step towards creating a world-class dispute resolution framework. These initiatives ensure that arbitration in India is faster, more efficient, and more trustworthy, he told some 150 delegates at the symposium on Bridging Markets, Resolving Disputes via ADR in the India-Singapore Corridor. By working together, India and Singapore, two dynamic democracies with rapidly growing economies, can set global benchmarks in fair, transparent, and efficient dispute resolution, reinforcing our shared commitment to prosperity, stability and sustainable development, he said. This progress ...

Singapore sees 5.4% increase in physical crime in first half of 2025

Physical crime in Singapore rose in the first half of 2025, with 10,341 cases reported from January to June as compared to 9,809 cases recorded in the same period last year, a 5.4 per cent increase, police said on Tuesday. The first six months of the year saw an increase in knife crimes, rape, molestation and theft cases compared to the same period in 2024 in the multi-city state of over six million people. In their mid-year crime brief released on Tuesday, the Singapore police said two murders were reported in the first half of 2025, compared with three during the same period in 2024. The number of rape cases also rose in the first half of 2025 to 233, from the 188 cases during the same period in 2024, The Straits Times reported, citing police data. There were 401 rape cases for the whole of 2024. Molestation cases have gone up, with 807 cases reported in the first half of 2025, an increase of 21.2 per cent compared with the 666 cases during the same period in 2024. Police said .

Singapore to sell Hermes bags, gold bars seized from money launderers

The local unit of consulting firm Deloitte has been appointed to manage the process of selling the non-cash assets

Singapore PM Lawrence Wong likely to visit India next month to sign MoUs

India and Singapore are looking at finalising nearly 10 memorandums of understanding in areas such as advanced technology, connectivity, skilling and digitisation during a meeting of their top ministers on Wednesday, people familiar with the matter said. The two sides are also in the process of finalising an ambitious proposal to lay an undersea cable to carry solar energy from India to Singapore that will also provide data connectivity, they said. The new initiatives are set to be firmed up at the third India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) to be held here on Wednesday. The ISMR is also expected to make preparations for Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's likely visit to India next month, the people said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will hold the ISMR with six Singaporean ministers. The Singaporean delegation will be led

Navies of India, Singapore conclude maritime bilateral exercise SIMBEX

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Indian Navy have completed their annual Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) that was held from July 28 to August 1. This year's exercise comprised a shore phase held at RSS Singapura-Changi Naval Base, followed by a sea phase held in the southern reaches of the South China Sea. The sea phase involved ships from both navies and aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the Defence Ministry here said. The RSN deployed a Formidable-class frigate, RSS Supreme, and a Victory-class missile corvette, RSS Vigilance, supported by MV Mentor. The Indian Navy participated with a Shivalik-class frigate, INS Satpura. An S70B naval helicopter, two Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft and two F-15SG fighter aircraft from the RSAF also participated in the exercise. During the shore phase, both navies participated in joint planning, simulator training, professional exchanges and sports. At the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges,

IPV launches $110 mn angel fund in GIFT City to tap global startup capital

IPV International, the new CAT I fund by Inflection Point Ventures, aims to invest $100,000-$1 mn in early-stage startups and has already backed Singapore's Cellivate

Singapore tourism board partners with IndiGo to boost India travel

The Singapore Tourism Board has signed an initial pact with domestic carrier IndiGo to boost tourism and travel between the two countries, a statement said on Thursday. Under the year-long strategic pact, the two partners will promote the island-city nation as a leading leisure and business destination for Indian travellers and boost bookings through the airline's extensive network, it said. India, according to STB, remains one of Singapore's top three tourism source markets, building on its strong performance in 2024. The collaboration is the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Indian airline, and IndiGo's first with a national tourism board. In the first half of 2025, Indian visitor arrivals exceeded 5,00,000, supported by excellent air connectivity, as per STB. More than 270 weekly flights connect Singapore to 15 Indian cities via Changi Airport. "As we celebrate 60 years of India-Singapore diplomatic relations in 2025, our expanded collaboration with IndiGo and

Ports, cities, sports on agenda of Andhra CM's day two of Singapore tour

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on the second day of his five-day Singapore tour, will focus on port-led development, urban planning and international sports collaboration. According to a press release, Naidu is slated to hold a meeting with Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on Monday morning, discussing energy, science, technology, and industrial cooperation between Singapore and Andhra Pradesh. "On the second day of his five-day visit to Singapore, Naidu will hold meetings with several organisational heads, including representatives of the Singapore government. The discussions will centre around urban development, sports, and port-led industrial growth," said the release. The chief minister is scheduled to meet Airbus representatives, followed by an interaction with Honeywell officials to discuss industrial technology collaborations. Naidu will participate in a Business Round Table titled 'From Skills to Competencies, accelerating Workfor

Development over politics: Singapore's model and Naidu's vision for growth

Singapore today wields significant clout in the world order as a model for urban development and social harmony, and as one of the leading sovereign investors

DRI busts racket involved in duty evasion in branded furniture imports

DRI officers have busted a racket involved in undervaluation of imports of branded luxury furniture and arrested three persons for customs duty evasion of Rs 30 crore, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Investigation conducted thus far revealed that branded luxury furniture was being directly sourced by a beneficial importer from reputed Italian and other European suppliers, and invoicing was being done in the names of shell companies based in jurisdictions such as Dubai. In parallel, fabricated invoices were obtained through a Singapore-based intermediary in the names of dummy importers falsely declaring the goods as unbranded furniture at significantly undervalued rates to Customs. Once cleared through Customs, the goods were transferred on paper to the intended beneficial owner via a local intermediary created for this purpose, while the goods were directly sent to the customer on the instructions of beneficial owner. "Preliminary findings indicate a gross undervaluation of 7

Scientists develop AI system that can predict liver cancer recurrence

AI tool predicts liver cancer relapse with 82% accuracy, tackling a disease causing third-highest cancer-related deaths globally

Indian Navy to participate in 32nd edition of SIMBEX exercise in Singapore

The Indian Navy will participate in the 32nd edition of exercise SIMBEX as part of its engagement with the Singapore Navy. It is one of the longest uninterrupted maritime exercises for India, High Commissioner to Singapore Shilpak Ambule has said. The Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) is conducted annually by the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). It will be held in Singapore later this month. It was previously known as Exercise Lion King. "The Indian Navy's engagement with the navies in the region, particularly Singapore, has been an upward trajectory, which, without doubt, has gained from a very well-founded construct established well over three decades ago, and has kept evolving in the past years," Ambule said while addressing over 200 guests on board INS Shakti, part of Eastern Fleet that is visiting Singapore from July 16-19, on Thursday. On the Indian Navy's participation in exercises in the Southeast Asian region, he said, "The growing .

Singapore-based CapitaLand Group eyes podium finish in data centre race

Earmarks nearly $1 billion to build three new data centres in India over the next three to four years

Singapore is at the heart of India's act east policy: EAM Jaishankar

India will play an increasingly important role globally as the world "inexorably" transitions into multipolarity, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said after holding talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Sunday. Jaishankar, who was in this city-state as part of his two-nation trip, also met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. Singapore is at the "heart" of India's Act East Policy, Jaishankar said after his meeting with Balakrishnan. From Singapore, he travels to China. India-Singapore relations were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country in September last year. "As the world inexorably transitions into multipolarity, India will play an increasingly important role as one of these major poles of opportunity," Balakrishnan said in a social media post. The two sides also decided to hold the third India-Singapore ministerial roundtable in New Delhi ...

Happy with progress in bilateral initiatives: EAM to Singapore Deputy PM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said he was glad to note the steady progress" in various bilateral initiatives with Singapore as he met Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong here. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Singapore and China. Good to catch-up with Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Jaishankar said in a social media post, and added that he was glad to note the steady progress in various bilateral initiatives. The external affairs minister also said that he looked forward to the 3rd India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR). Earlier in the day, Jaishankar met his counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan and said, Singapore is at the heart of our Act East Policy. Always insightful to exchange views there. Posting about the meeting on X, Balakrishnan said, "As the world inexorably transitions into multipolarity, India will play an increasingly important role as one of these major poles of opportunity." He also said he looked forward to seeing Jaishanakar in Ne

Singapore's top students fight for elite college club spots amid job crunch

As hiring gets tighter, the number of graduates from popular business and administration courses has climbed for most of the past decade

Singapore increases security posture in wake of recent Israel-Iran conflict

Multinational Singapore, which maintains a strict check on extremist activities among its six million people, has increased its security posture in the wake of the Israel-Iran conflict, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday. Arising from (the situation) there, you can expect that people in this region, or even others, from extremist organisations, might want to make a point against Israeli, American, or other Western assets, and there could also be attacks from the far right on Muslim assets," a Chinese-language daily, Lianhe Zaobao, quoted the minister as saying. Singapore increased its security levels after the recent Israeli attacks on Iran and the counterattacks, with police and other agencies stepping up patrols and checks, Shanmugam said at a community function, adding that while there is a ceasefire between the two countries, "we don't know exactly what will happen after this". "Singapore, as I have said many times, if we get attacked, you will get international

Debris from burning Singapore flagged cargo ship washes ashore in Kerala

A container and a lifeboat from the Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire off the Kerala coast a week ago, washed ashore in Alappuzha district on Monday, raising concerns that more debris may reach the coast in the coming days. Officials said the container, believed to be empty, and the lifeboat were found near the Kakkazhom area. Alappuzha District Collector Alex Varghese, who visited the site, said the State Disaster Management Authority and the shipping company had been informed. The items will be removed by a salvage team. Customs authorities have been alerted and will carry out the necessary formalities, officials added. The development has sparked fears that additional containers could drift ashore along the Alappuzha and Ernakulam coasts on June 17 and 18. Meanwhile, defence sources said that the cargo vessel is currently being towed by professional salvors appointed by the ship's owner. The MV Wan Hai 503 is now about 45 nautical miles off the coa

Singapore ship on fire towed further out to sea as firefighting continues

Amidst the firefighting operation aboard the Singapore-flagged cargo ship, which caught fire earlier this week off the Kerala coast en route to Mumbai from Colombo, it was towed farther away from the coastline on Saturday morning, defence sources said. The vessel -- MV Wan Hai 503 -- has been towed 40 nautical miles away from land. Earlier, the ship was 27 nautical miles from land, they said. According to a defence statement, the towing operation was initiated with a Seaking helicopter from the Southern Naval Command winching down salvors to shift the tow cables from the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships to the tug vessels. "The towing operations have commenced. Due to heavy weather, towing speed is restricted to 1.5 knots," it said. "ICG Ships Saksham, Samarth, Vikram, and IN Ship Sharda, OSV Triton Liberty are escorting the towing vessels. Towing is being undertaken by Tug Offshore Warrior, Garnett and Water Lily," a defence statement, on social media platform X, said. "Fire fighti