Page 12 - India

Ukraine war: Is India complying with the Russian crude oil price cap?

Uncertainty about how much India pays is part of the murkiness around Russian oil flows more generally, as the trade shifts from the Atlantic basin to Asia and from large traders to smaller entities

US Senate to vote on nomination of Eric Garcetti as envoy to India

The United States Senate will vote on the nomination of Eric Garcetti as the country's next ambassador to India on Wednesday. Such a move by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer came amidst fresh round of campaign against Garcetti by his distractors on allegations of sexual assault against one of his staffers when he was the mayor of Los Angeles. If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti would soon head to India as US Ambassador, a position that has remained vacant for more than two years. The confirmation vote on his nomination is scheduled at 2.15 pm local Washington time. This would be preceded by a vote on the cloture motion on his nomination, which indicated that Schumer is confident of having enough votes to get Garcetti confirmed as the US Ambassador to India. Garcetti's nomination has been pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by President Joe Biden. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at its

Searing summer on the cards, all eyes on reservoirs, grain storage

Reservoir levels lower than last year but higher than 10-yr average; ample elbow room in grain storage for now

India exports wheat worth Rs 11,728 cr during Apr-Jan of this fiscal: Govt

The country has exported wheat worth Rs 11,728.36 crore during the April-January period of this fiscal year, the government said on Tuesday. In May last year, the government had banned exports of wheat to boost domestic availability and control prices In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, "At present, there is no proposal for lifting restriction on export of wheat before the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare". "During the current fiscal year (up to January 2023), Rs 11,728.36 crore worth of wheat has been exported," he added. Although the export was banned, the government had said wheat export will be allowed in case of shipments where the Irrevocable Letter Of Credit (ILOC) has been issued on or before May 13. Tomar said, as per second advance estimates for the agriculture year 2022-23, the wheat production in the country is estimated at 112.18 million tonnes which is higher by 4.44 million tonnes than the production ..

Eyva: Smart non-invasive device to measure six body vitals without a prick

Can be used by four family members; provides 350,000 blood readings and counts; BlueSemi, which has developed the device, has taken a conscious decision not to enter cluttered wearables market

India to continue with rate hikes despite global cenbank rethink: Analysts

India's headline and core inflation has been unrelenting, with data post market close showing annual retail inflation remained above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper limit, easing only slightly

India logs 402 new Covid infections in a single day, active cases at 3,903

India reported a single-day rise of 402 coronavirus cases while the active cases have increased to 3,903 in the country, according to the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday. Two fresh deaths one each in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh due to the virus have been reported, taking the overall death toll to 5,30,784, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed. The total number of Covid cases in the country stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,91,338). The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate is 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recovered from the disease was 4,41,56,651 and the case fatality rate was 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.64 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India now has 600 mn open Internet users, 62 mn more than walled gardens

Based on the research, half (52 per cent) of the 307 hours that the average consumer spends on digital media per month is on the open internet

US must treat India's G20 presidency as wake-up for its secure future

If Washington is keen on a secure future at home and in Asia, it must treat India's G20 presidency as a wake-up call, writes Georgia Leatherdale-Gilholy in The National Interest.India is the world's largest democracy, and although its strain of nationalism may be at odds with many Western sensibilities, the foundations for a mutually beneficial relationship are far more plentiful than with China, the state the West has tiptoed into trade reliance on for decades.The G20 includes several Asian countries, and India's presidency will of course provide a platform for regional cooperation and collaboration with US-aligned states such as Japan and South Korea, said Gilholy.But while there is constant establishment fanfare over established alliances in East Asia, the reality is that the opportunity of such states pales in comparison to what India can offer going forward. It is time the United States looked toward better building new bridges than simply preserving old ones.With its recently ...

Some forces conspiring to create mutual distrust in society, says RSS

Some forces in the world are not accepting "Bharatiya" resurgence and are opposing Hindutva thought within and outside the country, devising new conspiracies for creating mutual distrust and anarchy in society, and there is a need to defeat their designs, the RSS' top decision making body said on Monday. Passing a resolution at its meeting here, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) urged the people to be vigilant against the forces that are instigating divisiveness. The ABPS wishes to underscore the fact that while many countries have respect and goodwill for Bharat, some forces in the world are not accepting this Bharatiya resurgence based on its 'Swa' or selfhood, the resolution passed at the annual meeting read. These forces opposing Hindutva thought within and outside the country are devising new conspiracies for creating mutual distrust in society, systemic alienation and anarchy by instigating selfish interests and divisiveness,

Will Vladimir Putin attend India G20 summit? Russia clears diary

Kremlin defiance is growing as efforts by the US and its allies to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are stalling in the face of reluctance among other countries to join

BrightNight, ACEN ink $250 mn pact for India renewables buildout

Renewable power producer BrightNight on Monday announced its partnership with ACEN Corporation and plan to deploy USD 250 million equity for the development and operation of BrightNight's 1.2 GW renewable energy portfolio. BrightNight and ACEN will partner to develop and build differentiated hybrid wind-solar projects, with a calibrated use of energy storage, that operate around the clock, with a focus to serve the specific demand from high credit rated central and state utilities as well as commercial and industrial offtakers, a statement said. "BrightNight, the next generation and global renewable power producer built to deliver clean and dispatchable solutions, today announced that it has formed a partnership with ACEN Corporation, through ACEN Renewables International Pte Ltd and ACEN International, Inc. (collectively, ACEN), to accelerate the development, construction, and operation of BrightNight's initial 1.2 GW, multi-technology renewable power portfolio in India," it ...

Strong macroeconomic trends improve credit quality of finance cos: S&P

The credit quality of Indian finance companies will continue to improve owing to the country's strong macroeconomic trends, said S&P Global Ratings.

India reports 444 new Covid-19 infections, active cases rise to 3,809

India logged 444 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases increased to 3,809, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll increased to 5,30,782 with one death reported by Tamil Nadu, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,90,936). The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,56,345, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.64 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India, Aus to conclude talks for comprehensive free trade agreement soon

India and Australia have agreed to conclude the negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement "as soon as possible" as there is huge potential to enhance bilateral commerce in the next five years, according to a joint statement issued on Sunday. The statement was released after the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell here on March 11. Both countries have already implemented an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) in December 2022 and are now negotiating to widen the scope of that pact into a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). "Ministers look forward to concluding CECA as soon as possible," the statement said. The CECA will create new employment opportunities, raise living standards and improve the general welfare in both countries, it added. The ministers also highlighted the importance of a smooth and timely clean energy transition as both countries work towards ...

India to ensure no breach on Russia oil purchase sanctions

Western countries led by the US had put a price cap of $60 per barrel on exports of Russian oil in a bid to crimp revenues to the Kremlin and keep some oil on the market

India, France conduct maritime partnership exercise in Arabian Sea

The seamless conduct of the exercise reaffirmed the interoperability and high level of cooperation between the two navies

India agrees to Russia operating more flights connecting 2 countries

India and Russia have "in principle" agreed to revise their bilateral air services agreement whereby Russian carriers will be allowed to operate as many as 64 weekly flights to various Indian cities, according to a senior official. Under the existing agreement, Russia can operate up to 52 weekly civilian flights to India. India has "in principle" agreed to increase the number of weekly flights that Russian carriers can operate to India to 64 from 52. In this regard, the bilateral air services agreement will be amended in due course, the official told PTI. Currently, Aeroflot is operating seven weekly flights to India while no Indian airline is flying to Russia. Earlier, Air India used to operate flights to Moscow. On the condition of anonymity, the official also said it will take some time before Russian carriers will be able to fully utilise the quota of the total number of weekly flights permitted to operate to India. Last month, an Indian delegation led by Civil Aviation Secret

India's chemical demand likely to jump to $1,000 billion by 2040: Report

India is likely to account for more than a fifth of incremental global consumption for chemicals over the next two decades as domestic demand is projected to rise to USD 1,000 billion by 2040, McKinsey said in a report. In the report titled 'India: The next chemicals manufacturing hub', McKinsey said the country's chemical industry has been a global outperformer in demand growth and shareholder wealth creation over the last decade. "It now stands poised to play an increasingly dominant role across both consumption and manufacturing in the global arena," it said. The sector is projected to grow at 11-12 per cent during 2021-27 and 7-10 per cent during 2027-40 -- tripling its global market share by 2040. "India is expected to account for more than 20 per cent of incremental global consumption for chemicals over the next two decades. Domestic consumption and demand is expected to rise from USD 170-180 billion in 2021 to USD 850-1000 billion by 2040," it said. Chemicals find wide usag

Indian soft drink market likely to see significant growth: Varun Beverages

The Indian soft drink market is expected to see "significant growth" as consumption is anticipated to increase steadily, which will deliver sustainable and healthy volume growth across all product categories, said Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), PepsiCo's largest franchise bottler. This would be driven by factors such as shifting population demographics, the rising spending power of young consumers, accelerated urbanisation, and growing rural consumption. The company is in the process of further expanding its capacities to meet the higher demand expectations, said VBL in its latest annual report. Its distribution model and on-the-ground end-to-end infrastructure facilities continue to be the key growth drivers and VBL remains committed to extending it to newer areas and under-penetrated regions to further boost its market presence," it added. While from an operational standpoint, VBL continues to focus on new product categories and evolving customer preferences. Launch of new products