The government may look at areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility. If successful, this would be one of the few sites of Sputnik V owned by Russian firms outside that country. Shine Jacob and Sohini Das report.
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
ISRO hopes to put a crew on the moon, but it has to learn how to keep people alive and healthy in space first.
The new season of The Crown is a bit of a dreary watch, observes Deepa Gehlot.
The flawed Indian policy toward Afghanistan is missing the woods for the trees. The Modi government doesn't have a 'big picture', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
At present, in Myanmar, GAIL and IndianOil have a minority stake in a gas pipeline which goes to China, through South East Asia Gas Pipeline Company.
The confirmed cases climbed to 571 mostly from the city of Wuhan with 17 deaths so far. The Wuhan government required all people in public places such as hotels, restaurants, cinemas, parks, shopping centres and public transports to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus, according to an announcement on Wednesday night. The rule took effect immediately.
India, Taiwan and countries with large numbers of Tibetans, Uyghurs and overseas Chinese will be prominent among those that witness elevated United Front activity, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RAW officer.
However, that could only be for sectors where 100 per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route and pose no risk to national security.
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
It will not be to India's advantage to create misperceptions that it is bandwagoning with some Anglo-American project for regime change in Myanmar, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The world is finally recognising that China is pushing a form of government that many only now are beginning to recognise as problematic'
'Belgian Malinois' dogs have been extensively used by central security forces and police units in anti-Naxal operations and counter-terrorist tasks.
The ruble has recouped most of its losses and become the top-performing currency globally. It continues to gain and is up 60 per cent against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. The ruble appreciated to 83 to the dollar intraday on Tuesday against a record low of 139 on March 7.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The SJB has begun to collect signatures from MPs for the no-confidence motion, according to media reports.
The Pakistani military may shortly give Imran Khan the boot, substituting him with another puppet, predicts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
On Sunday, India airlifted a second batch of 323 stranded Indians and seven Maldivian citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan city, taking the total number of people evacuated to 654.
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Modi government must push reforms at a fast pace to restore growth.
Some international markets offer interest rates as low as one per cent, which could reduce the government's interest cost significantly.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year.
India has announced suspension of all tourist visas till April 15 in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.
The employment situation remains dire. Whatever can be done to promote greater low-skill employment should be pursued aggressively, advises former chief economic adviser Shankar Acharya.
Wary of being identified, some said they had been reassured by their friends but were still apprehensive for themselves and their families. Adding to their anxiety was news of protests.
A meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba reviewed India's preparedness to deal with the virus amid mounting global concern over increasing number of cases in China and several other countries.
India's fertiliser subsidy bill is likely to shoot up by 55 per cent to record Rs 2.5 lakh crore this fiscal as the government will provide additional funds to make up for the spike in cost from higher import price, top sources said on Thursday. The government will ensure that there is no shortage of fertilisers in the country during the kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) season and it is already in talks with major global producers to import key soil nutrients, they added. According to the sources, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is likely to visit many countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco, soon to secure imports on both short and long term basis.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
Eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Maharashtra -- seven of them in Mumbai -- and none of the patients had a history of international travel, the state health department said on Tuesday.
Norway nabbed the first gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday
Govt has already approached World Bank seeking termination of contract. The progress of the project was just 20 per cent though the contract was awarded in 2016.
A six-member Indian team is participating in the international judo championship named after Jigoro Kano, a Japanese educator and athlete who founded judo.
A series of steps taken by the government to promote ease of doing business and liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms have helped India receive record FDI inflows so far this year, and implementation of measures like PM Gati Shakti, single window clearance and GIS-mapped land bank are expected to further push investments in 2022. Notwithstanding the global slowdown and the COVID-19 pandemic, total foreign direct investments into India rose to a record $81.72 billion in 2020-21. During April-July this fiscal, FDI (foreign direct investment) into the country increased by 62 per cent to $27.37 billion.
The Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 8,000 crores in next two months as Hong Kong, which is a major export destination, has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, say experts. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat diamond industry, but schools and colleges have been closed there till the first week of March and even businesses are seeing a dip in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
'By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself.' 'A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Since the US and India broadly share similar interests in Sri Lanka, they should coordinate closely to ensure that the country preserves its democratic institutions, says Lisa Curtis
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move, saying he was carrying out President Donald Trump's orders. "Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong," Pompeo said.
'I do not agree that the intent was to send a political message to China that the US treats friends and foes alike.' 'In any case, such acts do not ruffle a feather in China,' observes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
A new Congress leader may make an electoral impact by his very presence. Congress voters who had moved away from the party, after being influenced by the BJP's 'family rule' campaign, can now return with a certain moral satisfaction, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Three business houses are likely to be in the final race to strike a deal with Germany's Metro AG for investing in its India unit -- Metro Cash & Carry. Industry sources in the know named Reliance, Adani Group, and Thailand's conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) as potential frontrunners to acquire a partial or full stake in the Gurugram-headquartered Metro Cash & Carry, which has 31 stores and 5,000 direct employees. Around 20 companies, including strategic and private equity investors, were approached by the German chain, inviting them to bid for the Indian wholesale business, according to a source aware of the M&A developments.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that decision on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) should have been taken during 1971 war between India and the neighbouring country.
