Switzerland

Switzerland says 'no' to 50% inheritance tax targeting wealth above $62 mn

he proposal from the youth wing of the leftist Social Democrats, or JUSOs, aimed to fund projects to reduce the impact of climate change.

Swiss voters overwhelmingly reject proposed 50% tax on super rich

Switzerland is home to some of the world's most expensive cities and anxiety about the cost of living has been gaining currency in local politics

Swiss wealth tax proposal to test public appetite for redistribution

Around 2,500 taxpayers in Switzerland have assets worth more than 50 million francs, according to Swiss tax authorities, with a total wealth of about 500 billion francs

Facing Trump's tariffs, Swiss farmers find themselves with too much milk

The country's dairy farmers produced a bumper harvest of milk, but higher US duties have forced them to consider ways to cut back, including slaughtering cows

Swiss glaciers shrink 3% this year, fourth-biggest retreat on record

Switzerland's glaciers have faced enormous melting this year with a 3 per cent drop in total volume the fourth-largest annual drop on record due to the effects of global warming, top Swiss glaciologists have reported. The shrinkage this year means that ice mass in Switzerland home to the most glaciers in Europe has declined by one-quarter over the last decade, the Swiss glacier monitoring group GLAMOS and the Swiss Academy of Sciences said in their report Wednesday. Glacial melting in Switzerland was once again enormous in 2025, the scientists said. A winter with low snow depth combined with heat waves in June and August led to a loss of 3 per cent of the glacier volume. Switzerland is home to nearly 1,400 glaciers, the most of any country in Europe, and the ice mass and its gradual melting have implications for hydropower, tourism, farming and water resources in many European countries. More than 1,000 small glaciers in Switzerland have already disappeared, the experts said.

Rudraksha seeds gain popularity in Switzerland among diaspora and locals

Once largely confined to spiritual use among Indians, Rudraksha seeds are now gaining popularity in Switzerland, with rising demand from both the diaspora and local Swiss, an official said. "It is a niche market now, set to be solidified by the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which comes into force from October 1," an official said. India and the four European nations bloc, EFTA (European Free Trade Association), signed the agreement on March 10, 2024. In 2024-25, India exported the commodity worth Rs 0.97 crore. "While Switzerland's Indian diaspora of over 27,000 people provides a foundational market for these seeds, the primary driver is a burgeoning wellness and mindfulness movement among the broader Swiss population," the official said. Swiss online retailers and yoga shops now market Rudraksha malas (prayer beads) not just as religious items, but as tools for a secular kind of spirituality. A Zurich-based online yoga store sells a simple Rudraksha

Infosys expands partnership with Sunrise to modernise IT, boost AI adoption

Infosys will help Sunrise build a more flexible and secure technology base, aimed at improving operations and customer services

Watch: India rebukes Switzerland over call to protect minorities, offers to help 'deal with racism'

At the 5th Meeting- 60th Session of Human Rights Council, Indian Diplomat Kshitij Tyagi says, "We would also like to respond to the surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks made by Switzerland,

Swiss govt calls emergency meeting as Trump hits goods with 39% tariff

An urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council - Switzerland's governing cabinet - would take place in Bern in the early afternoon, the government said a post on X

This developed country hit with highest tariffs by Trump administration

Luxury watches, coffee capsules, and high-value exports from this EU nation were hit with a steep 39% US tariff on Thursday. A last-ditch effort by the country's president to stop the move also failed

Switzerland Schengen visa: New doc rules for Indian applicants from August

Indian tourists heading to Switzerland must follow the updated Schengen visa checklist-no additional documents will be considered

Swiss scramble to avert Trump's 39% tariff ahead of looming deadline

Trump administration justified Friday's move by claiming that Switzerland had in essence stolen money from the US and should therefore be hit with a tariff rate commensurate with the trade deficit

Worldline turmoil hands Swiss bourse a $300 mn blow on strategic stake

The bourse's current stake of roughly 10 per cent in Worldline was valued in its accounts at just under €400 million ($467 million) at the end of 2024

Active negotiations under way with over a dozen countries to finalise BIT

India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said. Besides these nations, talks are underway with Tajikistan, Cambodia, Uruguay, Maldives, Switzerland, and Kuwait. These investment treaties help in protecting and promoting investments in each other's countries. With India approaching to become the third-largest economy and a hub for global manufacturing, the government is taking a series of measures to further improve its investment regime that encourages investors. "It is expected that in the next 3-6 months, BIT with some of these countries will be finalised and announced," the official added. The government in the last Budget has announced revamping the current model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it more investor-friendly and attract foreign players. The country signed BITs with two countries in 2024. La

2 killed in Spanish wildfire as extreme heat wave hits parts of Europe

Europe's continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures. The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that rose 14,000 metres into the sky, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain. Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to flee in a vehicle, local authorities said Wednesday. Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one point as it consumed 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) mostly of grain fields. Wildfires today are not like they were before, Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said. These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possib

Riddled with holes, Switzerland's glaciers starting to resemble cheese

Climate change appears to be making some of Switzerland's vaunted glaciers look like Swiss cheese: Full of holes. Matthias Huss of the glacier monitoring group GLAMOS offered a glimpse of the Rhone Glacier which feeds the eponymous river that flows through Switzerland and France to the Mediterranean shared the observation with The Associated Press this month as he trekked up to the icy expanse for a first maintenance mission" of the summer to monitor its health. The state of Switzerland's glaciers came into stark and dramatic view of the international community last month when a mudslide from an Alpine mountain submerged the southwestern village of Blatten. The Birch Glacier on the mountain, which had been holding back a mass of rock near the peak, gave way sending an avalanche into the valley village below. Fortunately, the town had been evacuated beforehand. Experts say geological shifts and, to a lesser extent global warming, played a role. The Alps and Switzerland home to

Indian deposits in Swiss banks fall 18% over 10 years, shows SNB data

Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell 18 per cent over the last decade, but 2024 saw a sharp rebound, with total funds surging over threefold to 3.5 billion Swiss francs, SNB data shows

Indian money in Swiss banks triples in 2024, reaches nearly ₹37,600 cr

Indian money parked in Swiss banks tripled in 2024 to CHF 3.5 billion, mainly via financial institutions; however, customer deposits rose modestly even as India climbed to 48th in global rankings

UP govt to use Swiss technology to enhance ride quality on expressways

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said it will use cutting-edge Swiss technology to improve ride quality on expressways in the state. Building on the "world-class ride comfort" already validated on the Gorakhpur Link Expressway through advanced testing by ETH Zurich, the state will now deploy the same AI-based systems on the Ganga, Bundelkhand, Agra-Lucknow, and Purvanchal expressways, it said in a statement. "In a pioneering move, the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has initiated a comprehensive assessment and improvement drive for expressway riding comfort. This involves cutting-edge vibration and AI-based technologies developed by ETH Zurich and its independent spin-off company, RTDT Laboratory AG," the government said. "For this purpose, seven high-precision sensors -- four for assessing riding quality and three for monitoring motion -- were installed in an Innova vehicle. These include accelerometer-based and S-motion sensors, as well

Switzerland to exchange crypto info with India, 73 other countries

Switzerland on Friday proposed an automatic exchange of information on crypto assets with India and 73 other countries, a move likely to help track funds stashed by Indians abroad in virtual currencies. India and Switzerland already have an automatic exchange of information framework in place for bank accounts and other financial assets held by Indians in Switzerland, and vice versa. The two countries exchange this information yearly, and it has helped Indian authorities unearth many cases of undisclosed funds stashed abroad by Indians. While there are no clear-cut regulations as yet in India on cryptocurrencies, they are regulated from the perspective of anti-money laundering laws. The Reserve Bank of India has consistently maintained that it is concerned about cryptocurrencies as they can hamper financial stability, but these virtual currencies are considered legal tender in various other countries. While there are no official estimates, it is suspected that a large number of ..