Budget 2018-19

  After making its mark as a trusted source in pharmaceuticals, IT, among others, Modi said India is now ready to play a role in the supply chain for clean technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined three critical aspects ‘3Ts — Trusted Source, Transparency and Time frame for improving global supply chains at the Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience’ on the sidelines of the  G20 Summit  at Rome. After making its mark as a trusted source in pharmaceuticals, IT, among others, Modi said India is now ready to play a role in the supply chain for clean technology. The Summit on ‘Global Supply Chain Resilience’ was convened by US President Joe Biden to discuss the ways in which governments can alleviate pressure points in the global supply chain ecosystem. Recalling the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic when all countries faced paucity of medicines, health equipment and raw materials for preparing vaccines, Modi said, “Now when the world is on path to economic...

  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Rome summit was not all he hoped for Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies agreed on a final statement on Sunday that urged “meaningful and effective” action to limit global warming, but offered few concrete commitments, angering climate activists. The result of days of tough negotiation among diplomats leaves huge work to be done at the broader United Nations COP26 climate summit in Scotland, which starts this week. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi hailed the Rome gathering, saying for the first time all G20 states had agreed on the importance of capping global warming at the 1.5 degrees Celsius level that scientists say is vital to avoid disaster. “We made sure that our dreams are not only alive but they are progressing,” Draghi told a closing news conference, brushing off criticism from environmentalists that the G20 had not gone nearly far enough to resolve the crisis UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who warned on F...

  India’s focus at the  COP26  Summit will be on the country’s “ambitious” NDC goals for the post-2020 period under the Paris Agreement Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Glasgow on Sunday for the COP26 climate summit and bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) meet. “Leaving for Glasgow after a fruitful G20 Summit in Rome. During the Summit, we were able to have elaborate deliberations on issues of global importance such as fighting the pandemic, improving health infrastructure, boosting economic cooperation and furthering innovation,” Modi said on Twitter. The Prime Minister, who flew into Glasgow from the  G20 Summit  in Italy, is scheduled to begin the UK leg of his European tour with a meeting with community leaders and Indologists based in Scotland on Monday morning. He will then proceed for the opening ceremony of the World Leaders’ Summit (WLS) at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to...

  Rawat said history is witness to the fact that whenever a country neglects its armed forces, the external powers are quick to exploit it. The territorial ambitions of China and Pakistan require the Indian armed forces to remain alert and deployed along disputed borders and coastal areas round the year, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat said on Sunday. The CDS stated this while delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture at All India Radio. “The quintessential visionary that  Sardar Patel  was, he had assertively voiced the need of an independent Tibet as a buffer state between India and China, as can be found in his correspondence with the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,” he said. Rawat said history is witness to the fact that whenever a country neglects its armed forces, the external powers are quick to exploit it. In the 1950s, India overlooked this important lesson of history and allowed the security apparatus to drift and the Chinese shook the c...

  While regretting the incidents of violence, the minister informed that the Sheikh Hasina government took immediate action against the perpetrators. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said the law-enforcing authorities are investigating the recent communal violence in the country which happened during the  Durga puja  celebrations. “Contrary to all the ongoing propaganda, only 6 people died during recent violence of which 4 were Muslims, killed during the encounters with law enforcing authorities, and 2 were Hindus, one of whom had normal death and another when he jumped in a pond. None was raped and not a single Mandir was destroyed. However, deities or goddesses were vandalized,” Bangladesh FM said in a statement. “The law enforcing authorities are investigating into the matter. The government is committed to hand out justice to every wrongdoer and to save all its citizens irrespective of their faiths,” he added. While regretting the incidents of v...

  The former chief minister alleged that the investigation agencies are trying to safeguard those involved in the scam Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that politicians and officials were involved in a  Bitcoin scam  in the state and that the investigation agencies are trying to safeguard them. “My point is.. As per my information, many powerful people are involved in it (bitcoin scam) and investigating agencies trying to close this, No one should be safeguarded no one should be saved culprits must be punished, whoever it may be,” Siddaramaiah told ANI. “Now they’re saying they (CM) have referred it to Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). That means there must be something hidden. I don’t know more about it, I’m gathering information,” he added. Taking to Twitter, Siddaramaiah had earlier said, “There is information about the involvement of influential politicians of Karnataka in  ...

  The new name reflected its ambitions to build the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg Facebook Inc is now called Meta, the company said on Thursday, in a rebrand that focuses on its ambitions building the “metaverse,” a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the next big computing platform. The name change comes as the world’s largest social media company battles criticisms from lawmakers and regulators over its market power, algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its platforms. CEO  Mark Zuckerberg , speaking at the company’s live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, said the new name reflected its ambitions to build the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service. The metaverse, a term first coined in a dystopian novel three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley, refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual environment which can be accessed by people using diff...

  Sharing started in 2014 in the ratio of 80:20 between IRCTC and the Indian Railways Monday onwards, half the revenue that accrues to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) through the convenience fee on train tickets will go to the Ministry of Railways. Officials in the know told Business Standard IRCTC’s management would meet on Friday to figure out a strategy to safeguard revenues. According to IRCTC’s Annual Report, it earned Rs 299.13 crore from the convenience fee (also called service charge) during 2020-21. These gains were lower owing to the fall in railway ticket bookings after the pandemic came. IRCTC had earned Rs 349.64 crore in 2019-20. “The ministry of railways has conveyed its decision to share the revenue earned from the convenience fee collected by IRCTC in the ratio of 50:50 with effect from November 1,” IRCTC said in a notice to the stock exchanges. Before 2014, there was no sharing of service charge between IRCTC and the Railways though the lat...

  The Pentagon official said Indians want to work with the US on this issue, by sharing intelligence and cooperating India is concerned about the current situation in  Afghanistan , a top Pentagon official has told US lawmakers here. “As I’m sure you’re aware, they (Indians) are concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. They’re concerned about the intersection between instability there and their counterterrorism concerns,” Colin H Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Afghanistan, South and Central Asia Security. “They (Indians) want to work with us on those issues, sharing intelligence, cooperating where we can,” he said, adding that there is a tremendous convergence between US and Indian national interests right now “It provides a lot of opportunity for us to cooperate with India, not just on Afghanistan and counterterrorism, but on broader regional security questions, in the Indian Ocean and ...

  The Saudi money will help Pakistan shore up its foreign reserves, which have been shrinking. Pakistan’s currency bounced back on Wednesday to gain 2.48 rupees against the US dollar in intra-day trading, after long-time ally  Saudi Arabia  announced a support package of $4.2 billion, traders and bankers said. The Saudi money will help  Pakistan  shore up its foreign reserves, which have been shrinking. The rupee closed the previous session at 175.60 against the dollar. It had depreciated around 13.6 per cent since May. “The rupee appreciation is result of the Saudi funding announcement, widely seen as a positive surprise much needed to bolster the external account,” Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital, said. Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday $3 billion to support Pakistan’s foreign reserves, as well as extending financing of oil derivatives trade for a total of $1.2 billion during the year, Pakistan’s Information Min­ister Fawad Chaudhry s...

  Mumbai Police has deputed police officers for enquiry into complaints of alleged extortion against NCB officers including zonal director   Sameer Wankhede   in the drugs bust case involving Aryan Khan Mumbai Police has deputed police officers for enquiry into complaints of alleged extortion against NCB officers including zonal director Sameer Wankhede in the drugs bust case involving  Aryan Khan , a senior police official said on Wednesday. Police are conducting inquiry into four complaints, filed by independent witness in the NCB case Prabhakar Sail, lawyers Sudha Dwivedi and Kanishka Jain, and Nitin Deshmukh, he said. All the complaints have been clubbed together. On Tuesday and Wednesday, police recorded Sail’s statement. Dilip Sawant, Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) will supervise the enquiry and DCP Hemrajsingh Bagul will assist him as supervisory officer. Assistant Commissioner of Police Milind Khetle, Police Inspector Ajay Sawant, Assistant ...

  The combined net worth of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos approached $500 billion on Wednesday The combined net worth of  Elon Musk  and Jeff Bezos approached $500 billion on Wednesday, fueled by the unrelenting rally in Tesla Inc. shares and a broad surge in tech stocks that sent the Nasdaq 100 to an intraday record. The value of the two fortunes — a sum bigger than the market value of Johnson & Johnson and about equal to that of America’s biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. — is yet another watershed moment in what’s shaping up to be a historic week for billionaires. A groundbreaking proposal from Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden to tax billionaires on unrealized gains was released in detailed form Wednesday morning only to be dropped in negotiations hours later. Wyden insists the billionaires’ tax plan isn’t dead, but talks have instead moved on to a possible 3% surcharge — on top of the highest income tax rate — for those earning more than $10 million. The combined ne...

  Out of the 202 notices, the highest violations were seen in case of   electronic products The central consumer protection authority (CCPA) has slapped over 200 notices to sellers on e-commerce platforms for putting out incorrect details related to the country of origin on products. CCPA, which is a consumer protection regulator, has asked such entities to explain what tangible steps have been taken by them on this matter. Out of the 202 notices, highest violations were seen in case of electronic products, with 47 notices, followed by apparel, home, beauty products, among others.

  Eclipsing the value of an old-economy bellwether like Exxon may seem like an inevitable milestone in Musk’s trajectory It’s just one more arresting data point amid a flurry of superlatives, but Elon Musk’s soaring net worth now makes him more valuable than  Exxon Mobil . The wealth of the world’s richest person jumped to $288.6 billion Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The $36.2 billion gain followed a surge in Tesla Inc.’s stock price after Hertz Global Holdings Inc ordered 100,000 cars. Eclipsing the value of an old-economy bellwether like Exxon may seem like an inevitable milestone in Musk’s trajectory. But the oil company’s own share price has been no laggard this year. Despite being overtaken by Musk at the start of 2021, Exxon has been on a tear since then. It outpaced the Tesla chief executive this year as oil and natural gas prices advanced. Still, that fossil-fuel rally, should it continue, may help spur even more sales of EVs. $1 trillion valua...

  Lanzhou, with about four million people, reported six new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, and a total of 39 over the past week The Chinese government ordered the northwestern city of Lanzhou locked down on Tuesday as officials carried out widespread testing to quash a small Covid-19 outbreak. Lanzhou, a city of about four million people, reported six new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, and a total of 39 over the past week. China, where the coronavirus first emerged in late 2019, has been battling a recent flare-up of new cases largely in the northwest of the country that were spread by domestic travel. The country enforces a strict “zero Covid” policy, carrying out widespread lockdowns and testing to eliminate even small-scale outbreaks. By Monday evening, medical workers had tested nearly 12 million people in Gansu Province, including more than 2.8 million in Lanzhou, its capital. The testing in Lanzhou continued on Tuesday. Nationwide, China announced 29 new domestic coronavirus ca...

  The technical advisory group will now meet on November 3 for a final assessment. The World Health Organisation’s technical advisory group on Tuesday sought “additional clarifications” from  Bharat Biotech  for its Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin to conduct a final “risk-benefit assessment” for Emergency Use Listing of the vaccine. The technical advisory group will now meet on November 3 for a final assessment. Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which has developed Covaxin, had submitted EOI (Expression of Interest) to the WHO on April 19 for the vaccine’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL). The technical advisory group met on Tuesday to review data on Covaxin for the emergency use listing of India’s indigenously-made vaccine. “The TAG met today (26 October 2021) and decided that additional clarifications from the manufacturer are needed to conduct a final EUL risk-benefit assessment for global use of the vaccine,” the WHO said in an email response to a question by PTI on the decision re...

  The first ever initiative of   Hindu groups   in the country has been welcomed by elected representatives who have issued proclamations and notifications to acknowledge the contributions of this minority Americans across the country are observing October as the Hindu Heritage Month, with more that 20 of the 50 states and over 40 cities issuing proclamations about it, community leaders said Monday. The first ever initiative of Hindu groups in the country has been welcomed by elected representatives who have issued proclamations and notifications to acknowledge the contributions of this minority community in the US. Hindus worldwide celebrate Navratri, Dussehra, Durga Puja, and Diwali around October. Hence, this month was considered by several US-based Hindu organisations to celebrate as the Hindu Heritage Month, a media release said. From Yoga to food, festivities to charity, dances to music, and non-violence to profound philosophy, a Hindu way has touched all walks of l...

  The lockdown comes a day after a warning from National Health Commission officials that the outbreak would continue to worsen after spreading to 11 provinces in about a week China locked down a county that has seen the most Covid-19 cases in the nation’s latest delta outbreak, as an initial flareup in the northwest quickly spirals into a nationwide surge. Ejin, a county in China’s Inner Mongolia region, asked its 35,700 residents to stay home from Monday and warned of civil and criminal liabilities should anyone disobey the order, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a local government statement. The small county bordering Mongolia is the current outbreak’s hotspot, home to nearly one-third of the more than 150 infections found over the past week in the mainland. The lockdown comes a day after a warning from National Health Commission officials that the outbreak would continue to worsen after spreading to 11 provinces in about a week. China reported 38 Covid infections on Mond...

  India is on cusp of complete   Capital Account Convertibility.   While this may lead to rise in FPI inflows, there are a few red flags the govt and RBI need to address. Let’s look at those in this report RBI deputy governor T Rabi Shankar recently stirred the policy corridors with a debate around Capital Account Convertibility. Speaking at an industry event, he said there was an effort to liberalise FPI debt flows further with the introduction of the Fully Accessible Route, which places no limit on non-resident investment in specified benchmark securities. But what does  Capital Account  Convertibility mean? In simple terms, a capital account keeps a record of all the transactions related to assets between India and other countries. This includes all kinds of investment assets like shares, debt, and property, or even corporate assets. Currently, India has a partially convertible capital account policy. This is because an individual or high net-worth investor w...

  After signing the deal, Conditions Precedent (CP), which includes terms and conditions, will be completed in eight weeks, as per the plan shared by govt The Centre has signed the share purchase agreement (SPA) with Tata Sons for the privatisation of national carrier Air India. The wholly-owned subsidiary of  Tata Sons , Talace Pvt Ltd, earlier this month had emerged as the successful bidder to buyout government’s shareholding in Air India. The share purchase agreement (SPA) with Tata Sons was signed today, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet. Talace had placed a bid to acquire  Air India  for Rs 18,000 crore, which involved retaining debt of Rs 15,300 crore of the national carrier, and a cash component of Rs 2,700 crore. Only two bids were placed to acquire the national carrier, with another one by Spicejet Chairman Ajay Singh in his personal capacity. After signing of the SPA, Conditions Precede...

  Superstar Rajinikanth, chosen for the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Centre for the year 2020, said that Monday will be “an important occasion for him” when he will receive the prestigious honour Superstar Rajinikanth, chosen for the 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Centre for the year 2020, said that Monday will be “an important occasion for him” when he will receive the prestigious honour. The day will also be important for him as his daughter Soundarya Vishagan will launch a voice-based social media platform, saying it will be a “useful app” for the people. “Tomorrow is an important occasion for me with two special landmarks. One,  Dadasaheb Phalke Award  being conferred upon me by the Government of India because of the love and support of the people,” Rajinikanth, who left for Delhi on Sunday, said in a statement here. The day will be equally important to him because Soundarya, who by “her independent efforts has pioneered the making of a very useful app for p...

  A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint US counterterrorism efforts made the claims in an interview A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint US counterterrorism efforts claimed in an interview with “60 Minutes” that the kingdom’s crown prince once spoke of killing a sitting Saudi monarch before his own father was crowned king.  Saad al-Jabri  did not provide evidence to the CBS News program, which aired Sunday. The ex-intelligence official, who resides in exile in Canada, claimed that in 2014, Prince Mohammed boasted that he could kill King Abdullah. At the time, Prince Mohammed held no senior role in government but was serving as gatekeeper to his father’s royal court when his father was still heir to the throne. King Salman ascended to the throne in January 2015 after his half-brother,   King Abdullah, died of stated natural causes. Al-Jabri used the interview to warn  Prince Mohammed bin Salman  that he’...

  Around 50,000 small and medium traders have lost their jobs due to the closing of the border Around 50,000 small and medium traders have lost their jobs due to the closing of the Chaman border crossing at the  Pakistan-Afghanistan border . Former president of Chaman Chamber of Commerce Jamaluddin Achakzai said the closure of the crossing is costing local traders Rs100 million each day, according to Express Tribune. Chaman is one of two main border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the second crossing present in the north at Torkha As a result of the closure, 1,450 Pakistani trucks — some loaded with dry fruits while others empty — are parked near the other side of the border, Express Tribune reported. Meanwhile, Pakistani trucks on this side of the border were also parked whereas the crew of these trucks have nowhere to go. “Some of them don’t even have money for food and other basic essentials,” he added. Haji Jalat Khan, another former president of the Chama...

  Bid price for IPL's media and digital rights expected to double to Rs 32,694 crore in 2023 It will be raining money for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the country’s apex cricketing body, as two new team franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) go under the hammer on Monday. The new owners will be declared in Dubai by the end of day. According to estimates, BCCI is expected to rake in an additional Rs 5,000-7,000 crore from the sale of the two new IPL teams , apart from an additional Rs 450 crore plus from its share of broadcasting and sponsorship revenues in 2022. That’s because the number of matches in the tournament will go up from 60 to 74 next year (due to the number of teams going up from eight to 10). Disney+Hotstar has to fork out Rs 54.5 core per match for beaming and streaming the live matches. But the big bonanza for both BCCI as well as the franchisees – both new and old – will come from 2023, when the media and digital rights o...

  A 30-year-old man succumbed to injuries in a fire that broke out at a multi-story building in Mumbai’s Parel area on Friday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said A 30-year-old man succumbed to injuries in a fire that broke out at a multi-story building in Mumbai’s Parel area on Friday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said. As per the Mumbai Fire Department, the man jumped from the 19th floor of the building. The deceased has been identified as Arun Tiwari. Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar and other officials arrived at the spot. The Level Three fire broke out at  Avighna park apartment , Curry Road around 12 noon the Mumbai Fire Department. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. More details are awaited.

  Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of Afghanistan, General M M Naravane said Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of  Afghanistan  is going to come and bite it in the future, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Thursday. Without naming Pakistan, he said the infiltration bids and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have increased during the last two and half months and these “activities” are being sponsored by “our western neighbour”. When asked at a defence conclave if Pakistan can now concentrate more of its assets towards India as it sees its western front with Afghanistan under its control, Naravane replied: “I think it is too early to draw that conclusion.” “I think their western front is equally if not more unstable. I think it is going to come and bite them, whatever they have been fishing in the troubled waters. It is going to bite them and they will rea...

  The Supreme Court on Friday expressed displeasure over delay in appointments in the Districts and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission The Supreme Court on Friday expressed displeasure over delay in appointments in the Districts and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, saying if the government does not want the tribunals then it should abolish the Act. A bench comprising Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh said it is unfortunate that the top court is being called upon to examine and fill up vacancies in tribunals. “If the government does not want the tribunals then abolish the Act. We are stretching our jurisdictions to see the vacancies are filled in. It is unfortunate that the judiciary is called upon to look into this issue.This is not a very happy situation,” the bench said. The top court was hearing a suo motu case on inaction of the governments in appointing president and members/staff of Districts and State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and inadequ...