She also took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over its defeat in the just-concluded Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, saying the ruling party's president could not hold on to his home state. "Who is the Pappu now?" she asked.
Nepal's decision to ban the import of non-essential items amid depleting forex reserves may hit Indian exports. The country's central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank - last week instructed commercial banks not to open letters of credit (LCs) for importing non-essential items. This is to prevent further decline of the country's foreign exchange reserves. However, it has not issued any formal communication yet.
India's projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over two per cent to 4.6% by the United Nations, a decrease attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine, with New Delhi expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability, according to a UN report released on Thursday. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report downgraded its global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6 per cent from 3.6 per cent due to shocks from the Ukraine war and changes in macroeconomic policies that put developing countries particularly at risk. The report said while Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia.
Mayank Goyal, founder and CEO, moneyHOP, will answer queries related to how to best manage your money while travelling internationally.
The future of cryptocurrencies in India appears uncertain but that has not deterred young Indians from embracing the so-called 'fourth industrial revolution' world, where interconnectivity and smart automation, much of it relying on blockchain technology, drive human civilisation. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has repeatedly warned of macroeconomic instability and even "serious consequences" if cryptocurrencies turn mainstream. The country's monetary authority wants a China-like total ban on crypto, not even allowing these currencies to be treated as investments. Though Parliament's website had listed the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill as one seeking a total ban of cryptocurrencies in the country, it was not presented in the Winter Session. India now has the highest number of cryptocurrency investors in the world.
The competent authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has approved an order of seizure of over Rs 5,551 crore worth of deposits of Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Xiaomi -- the highest amount frozen till date in India -- the ED said Friday. The agency charged the popular Chinese phone maker with remitting foreign currency equivalent to Rs 5,551.27 crore to three entities -- one Xiaomi Group company and two US-based unrelated entities -- in the guise of royalty. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had first issued the order of seizure of these bank deposits on April 29 under the FEMA and later sent it for approval of the competent authority, as required under the law that regulates foreign exchange violations in the country.
The 73-year-old United National Party was appointed as the prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after they held closed-door discussions on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka's ministry of defence on Tuesday ordered the army, air force and navy personnel to open fire on anyone looting public property or causing harm to others amidst violent protests in the island nation over the unprecedented economic crisis.
Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said cryptocurrencies are akin to 'a world of Caribbean pirates' in the absence of a centralised regulatory authority and are yet to pass the test of a fiat currency. He said that the government is pursuing a 'high-wire balancing act' to ensure that the gains in growth, inflation, and rupee stability of the last four years are not frittered away. He said the recent development in Terra-Luna cryptocurrency, which witnessed a massive meltdown last month, is a 'very important cautionary tale'.
The WB CM visited three banks and several ATMs at Sarat Bose Road, Bhawanipore and Chowringhee and spoke to the people there. "These are all common people. Let the government nab the real culprits," Banerjee said.
Party leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Union Budget as a 'zero-sum budget', saying it has nothing for the salaried, middle class and the poor.
The sudden movement of the rupee - post the monetary policy - is not a reason to panic, said currency dealers. According to them, a correction was overdue for the rupee that remained the best performing currency in the region for well over a month. The rupee closed at 74.72 a dollar on Friday from its previous close of 74.60. It had dropped 1.52 per cent against the dollar on April 7 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its monetary policy, committing to buy Rs 1 trillion of bonds in the June quarter. A weak rupee goes well with the export narrative of the government, and is consistent with the RBI's intervention strategy that prevented an appreciation.
Fitch on Tuesday affirmed India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-' with a stable outlook, on robust growth and resilient external finances, but said weak public finances remain a challenge. India's rating has been unchanged at 'BBB-', which is the lowest investment grade, since August 2006. "Fitch Ratings has affirmed India's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook," it said in a statement, adding strong growth potential is a key supporting factor for the sovereign rating.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had formed this government and taken oath as prime minister on October 21, 1943."
The Supreme Court on Monday asked a crypto-currency scam accused to disclose the username and password of his bitcoin wallet to the Enforcement Directorate and cooperate with the investigation in the money laundering case against him.
A Sri Lankan parliamentarian of the ruling party of the Rajapaksas and his personal security officer were killed on Monday in clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country.
Moody's and Fitch on Thursday downgraded Russia's sovereign rating to 'junk' grade following severe sanctions by western countries. While Moody's Investors Service downgraded Russia's long-term issuer and senior unsecured (local-and foreign-currency) debt ratings to 'B3' from 'Baa3', Fitch pulled down the rating on the country to 'B' from 'BBB', putting it on 'Rating Watch Negative'. The downgraded rating is in speculative or junk category reflecting default risk. It signifies that even through financial commitments are currently being met, the sovereign is vulnerable to high credit risk.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
'It is building the country's infrastructure, and delivering it very efficiently.'
The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $563 million to reach $590.028 billion in the week ended May 14, RBI data showed on Friday. The reserves had touched a lifetime high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021. In the previous week ended May 7, 2021, the reserves had increased by $1.444 billion to $589.465 billion.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $7.541 billion to $572.712 billion in the week ended July 15 as the Reserve Bank continued to intervene in the market to curb the fall of the rupee. In the previous week ended July 8, the reserves shrunk by $8.06 billion to $580.25 billion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. On Friday, the rupee fell by 5 paise to close at 79.90 against the US dollar.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is precariously balancing two opposing objectives - maintaining easy financial condition in the domestic market, while ensuring external stability - and economists have started taking note. They say India is going through the classic trilemma of the 'Impossible Trinity'. The RBI cannot have an independent monetary policy (setting domestic interest rates) in an environment of an open capital account and flexible exchange rates. What is even more complicated for the central bank now is that financial market stability overlays all the other three objectives.
Banks and companies in India are taking a cautious approach towards Sri Lanka, which, reeling from a financial crisis, has sought a $1-billion loan from the country to import essential commodities. A senior State Bank of India (SBI) executive said the bank was committed (to Sri Lanka) for the long term. "As far as exposures (are concerned), the bank will be cautious on its dollar exposure to Sri Lankan entities till the situation improves," he said.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $2.19 billion to $631.95 billion in the week ended February 4, RBI data showed. In the previous week ended January 28, the reserves had declined by $4.53 billion to $629.76 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
Google has said that it is pausing enforcement of Google Play billing system (GPBS) for developers in India. This comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 2,275 crore in two cases and an immediate cease-and-desist order of its policies of running the Android Mobile device and Play Store ecosystem. In a statement, the company said, "Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to use Google Play's billing system for the purchase of digital goods and services for transactions by users in India.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said India and China will account for half of the global economic growth in 2023, as the multilateral agency retained its growth forecast for Asia's third-largest economy for 2023-24 (FY24). "India remains a bright spot. Together with China, it will account for half of global growth this year, versus just a tenth for the US and euro area combined," the IMF said in its latest update to the biannual World Economic Outlook. Growth in India is set to decline from 6.8 per cent in 2022 (FY23) to 6.1 per cent in 2023 (FY24) before picking up to 6.8 per cent in 2024 (FY25), the global lender said while citing "resilient domestic demand despite external headwinds".
Thousands of irate anti-government protesters in Sri Lanka on Saturday stormed into embattled President Rajapaksa's official residence in central Colombo's high-security Fort area after breaking the barricades, as they demanded his resignation over the island nation's worst economic crisis in recent memory.
A group of protesters on Saturday entered the private residence of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and set it on fire, hours after he offered to resign to make way for an all-party government amid unprecedented protests in the country for the resignation of the government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.701 billion to $584.107 billion in the week ended April 23, 2021, RBI data showed. In the previous week ended April 16, 2021, the reserves had risen by $1.193 billion to $582.406 billion. The reserves had touched a lifetime high of $590.185 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.
Pompeo explains how the Donald Trump administration succeeded in bringing India on board the Quad grouping.
China will not be allowed to use the southern port of Hambantota for military purposes, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, apparently attempting to allay fears in India and the United States about China's increasing maritime presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
A spokesman of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) said a video released by Ajith Dharmapala, a former police officer, claimed that President Rajapaksa was staying at the house belonging to Pathirana.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday exuded confidence that inflation would further decline and the government is on track to meet its budgetary target for deficit and said that there is no fear of stagflation in India. Replying to the debate on first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants 2022-23 in Lok Sabha, the finance minister said inflation has come down and it is now in the tolerable band of the RBI. Inflation has been declining since April 2022 and it is declining further, she said.
"President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, I made a mistake in the (BBC) interview," Speaker Abeywardena told ANI in a telephone call.
Even as the bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries remains hostile, there is growing coordination between India and Pakistan on one multilateral forum - the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both countries have made two joint submissions at the WTO as co-sponsors in the past two months. In June, Pakistan joined India, Cuba, and 44 African countries, seeking sufficient flexibility in intellectual property rights for developing countries to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $678 million to $634.29 billion in the week ended January 21, according to RBI data. In the previous week ended January 14, the reserves had increased by $2.23 billion to $634.96 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka has decided to temporarily shut its embassies in Norway and Iraq, as well as the country's consulate general in Sydney, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Tuesday.
The country's foreign exchange reserves surged by $5.271 billion to touch a record high of $598.165 billion in the week ended May 28, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended May 21, 2021, the reserves had increased by $2.865 billion to $592.894 billion. While announcing the second bi-monthly monetary policy review earlier on Friday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the country's forex reserves may have crossed $600 billion currently.
The eternal question remains unanswered, what price security and what cost liberty, says Vikram Sood.
Russia on Wednesday said there will be no impact of the Western sanctions against it on the supply of S-400 missile systems to India.