Underlining that global commons are getting "contested", top admirals from the UK, France and the US on Friday pitched for forging partnership between like-minded nations to respond to ongoing crises in the world, provide stability, reduce risks and restore confidence. Navy Chief Adm R Hari Kumar; Adm Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the UK; Adm John C Aquilino, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command; Adm Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of the Naval Staff, France; and Air Marshal Robert Chipman, Chief of the Air Force, Australia took part in a panel discussion titled 'From the Aegean Sea to the South China Sea: Responding to Maritime Sieges', held at the Raisina Dialogue here. "If you can see what is happening in the South China Sea, and Red Sea where people are seeking to impose their will on the global commons... then that ripple will be felt far and wide, and not just in that point. And, this is what separates the maritime environment from the land environment," Adm Key ..

India needs a multi-pronged approach for the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector to leverage the momentum for value chain resilience, as the window of opportunity created by the current geopolitical context is very small, according to a report. "Decisive policy action is the need of the hour," said PwC India's report on 'The India Opportunity: Developing Resilient Electronics Supply Chains'. It noted that India is uniquely placed among global economies, having garnered goodwill as a reliable partner for countries across the world. "The country must now leverage this momentum to ensure that its internal strategy and operations enable it to become future ready. A multi-pronged approach is essential to ensure that the centre of the ESDM sector in India holds firm," the report said. Emphasising that the next decade will be crucial for this, given the window of opportunity for India to be a part of the value chain -- created by the geopolitical context -- is very .

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Friday said the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project will prove to be a corridor of economic prosperity, transforming towns and cities along the route and becoming a learning experience for future initiatives. Vaishnaw triggered a blast to build a shaft at Vikhroli to lower tunnel boring machines (TBM) for the construction of the 21-km underground tunnel, which is considered to be a technological marvel of India's first bullet train project. "Trains will zip through the tunnel at a maximum speed of up to 320 km. Constructing it without disturbing the tall buildings in the area is a challenge," the railway minister said. The shaft at the Vikhroli site of the National High Speed Rail Corridor is one among the four to be built for the entire 21-km-long underground stretch of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project. The shaft-2 will be used to launch two TBMs -- one towards the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) station's east end and the other towards Sawl

India's forex reserves declined USD 5.24 billion to USD 617.23 billion for the week ending February 9, according to weekly data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. The forex kitty stood at USD 622.5 billion for the week ended February 2. However, in the current fiscal, the forex reserves have increased USD 50.28 billion, the RBI data showed. Foreign currency assets, which constitute the largest component of the reserves, dropped USD 4.07 billion to USD 546.52 billion during the week under review, as per the latest data. The reserves had peaked in October 2021, when kitty had reached USD 645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank sold dollars to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year. As a result, the rupee has been the best Asian currency so far this fiscal. The sharp fall in the overall reserves was due to a sharp decline in foreign currency assets, which are the single largest component of the ...

The corporate component of the scheme is voluntary in nature and includes people working in public sector organisations, private limited companies or public sector banks, among others

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has moved up to the fifth position from the 10th spot in the world in terms of economy. "In the next year and a half, we will be at the third position," she said, adding that the standard of living of the citizens is better in a country that has a strong economy and everyone benefits from it. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said this is the first government in the country that listens to people, then makes schemes and works to deliver the benefits of such schemes to people. "The BJP is such a party in which even the smallest worker can reach the highest position by working for the party," she said. Claiming that the INDIA opposition bloc has disintegrated, Sitharaman said nothing is achieved by taking photographs. "They (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav) have nothing left to say to the public. Prime Minister Modi has a

Road Secretary Anurag Jain says capacity augmentation, lane widening will touch a record high in FY24

The industrial sector, after registering a 13.2 per cent growth in the second quarter, is expected to grow at 8 per cent in Q3FY24, the report said

India's oil imports hit 5.24 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 17% from December and 3.5% higher than in the corresponding month a year earlier, according to the data

The minister was responding to a question on India's trade negotiations with the UK and the European Union (EU) becoming more complicated

India on Friday expressed hope that other countries will come to the WTO meet in Abu Dhabi with a positive attitude and listen to the concerns of developing nations for providing free and fair solutions to their problems. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also said that though the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has played an important role in setting robust rules for global trade, there are significant problems in the organisation. Trade ministers of 164 countries will gather in Abu Dhabi, UAE from February 26 to discuss a range of issues pertaining to areas such as agriculture, fisheries subsidies, and a moratorium on imposing customs duty on e-commerce trade. "I do hope that other countries will also come to the table with a positive attitude as does India...(I do hope that) other countries are also willing to listen to us and other less developed and developing countries' concerns and give free and fair solutions to the problems," Goyal said at the Raisina Dialogue ...

Successful conclusion of India's proposed trade agreements with the UK, Oman and four European nation bloc EFTA will reflect its commitment to trade liberalisation and economic integration at a time when the whole world is turning protectionist, according to a report. Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said the free trade agreements (FTAs) have become pivotal instruments for India's economic expansion and integration into the world market. These nations and the bloc are eager to finalize these agreements before the upcoming general elections, GTRI said, adding the talks are on the verge of conclusion. Signing of these three agreements will take India's FTA tally from 13 to 16. Number of countries with comprehensive FTAs will go up from 22 to 28. In addition India has six small scope PTAs (preferential trade agreements). Last pact was signed with Australia in March 2022. "Everyone wants to do an FTA with India. The main reason for this is India's high impo

The US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma has met with senior Indian ministers and officials in New Delhi to advance the US-India global strategic partnership and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region, according to his spokesperson. Verma, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, is the highest-ranking Indian American in the State Department. The former US Ambassador to India was on an official visit to India from February 19 to 21. He met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, and Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri in New Delhi, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said here on Thursday. Verma's meetings explored opportunities to strengthen US-India cooperation and people-to-people ties to ensure a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, Miller said. He also met with Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal to discuss further expanding t

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters. He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said. For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the ..

Addressing at the 'Raisina Dialogue 2024', Kant said today's challenge is climate change and the World Bank needs to become a climate bank

The nation's market, currently the world's fifth largest at $4.5 trillion, briefly overtook Hong Kong last month. Still, its weight in global stock indexes is below 2%

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday expressed confidence that India will continue to have 6-8 per cent consistent growth rate over the next 10 years, as he invited global players to innovate in the country for the domestic and world markets. India is open to the world, and to new ideas, Vaishnaw, the Minister of Railways, Communications and IT, said while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2024. He nudged the global community to "come here, innovate here for India... for the world." "The Indian economy is growing at a consistent clip at a very good rate. In the next 10 years, India will continue to see a 6-8 per cent consistent growth rate... I can say that with a high level of confidence," Vaishnaw said. The building blocks for this are already in place and the results are visible, he said, outlining various initiatives taken by the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Improvement in physical and digital infrastructure, education and skilling, as well as innovation

The scheme, inaugurated on April 1, 2015, was originally slated for a five-year duration until March 31, 2020

On the consumption side, India Ratings expects private final consumption expenditure to grow by 6.1 per cent in FY25, up from 4.4 per cent in FY24

Hasani, who is in the national capital to attend the Raisina Dialogue, said the India Middle-East Economic Corridor (IMEC) has the potential to create more market opportunities