As a nationwide strike of trade unions hit banking and other services on Wednesday, business chambers pegged the loss to the economy at a staggering Rs 25,000 crore and said such "disruptive" actions can hit India's image as an attractive business destination.
Top Congress sources said the meeting took place a little after noon at Rahul Gandhi's residence and a 'positive outcome' was expected.
The agreement will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two countries.
The two-plus-two dialogue will be held on Tuesday. A host of crucial bilateral, regional and global issues including China's efforts to expand influence in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh is likely to figure in the talks.
Foreign Secretary F Jaishankar rushed to Seoul ahead of the crucial plenary meet even as China said that India's bid was not on the agenda.
Leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday said after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi's all-party meeting that they will 'continue to struggle' against the abrogation of Article 370 and urged the PM to restore the statehood of J-K at the earliest.
India, Jaishankar said, is a "prisoner of its past image" and must get over it.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi will have limited choice other than stressing upon a request for more time to decide on tariff rates, especially with elections in 2019.
An Indian American has been appointed the chief agriculture negotiator of the United States, who would carry out all critical negotiations for the country in the crucial Doha round and other bilateral discussions.
On the eve of the crucial Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Seoul over India and Pakistan's membership in the elite group, Pakistan's former permanent representative at the United Nations in Geneva Zamir Akram has said that Islamabad was only opposed to the "exclusive membership" of India.
The government believes that WTO's push for initiating negotiations on substantive obligations related to e-commerce will oblige India to permanently accept the current moratorium on imposing customs duties on products traded electronically.
'At any point did you find out why Sheena had not disclosed her true relationship with Indrani?' Rahul: 'Sheena had told me as her grandparents were dependent on Indrani financially (and if she told the truth) her grandparents would suffer.' 'She had slapped Sheena the night before which she was very not happy about.'
The WEF meeting is crucial because of its theme encompassing globalisation at the time of rising nationalism and trade war, and the fourth industrial revolution due to rapid strides being made in robotics and artificial intelligence.
Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may sell a part of its stake in Petronet LNG and Indraprastha Gas (IGL) to shed its promoter status to obviate the need for its new owner to make open offers for the two gas companies, sources said. BPCL holds 12.5 per cent of shareholding in India's largest liquefied natural gas importer, Petronet, and a 22.5 per cent stake in city gas retailer, IGL. It is a promoter of both the listed companies and holds board positions. As per the legal position evaluated by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) - the department running the process for sale of government's entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL - the acquirer of BPCL will have to make an open offer to the minority shareholders of Petronet and IGL for acquisition of 26 per cent shares, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
All along, Rahul, right till today 10 years later, hung onto his gut feeling that something surely had happened to Sheena.
Modi is also scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi on Tuesday.
What did Narendra Modi tell former Utah governor Jon M Huntsman when he met him? Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
'The blockbusters are unlikely to be launched in 2020.' 'They will move into the 2021 cycle when confidence level among people will be higher.'
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Retention of Murthy within the promoter group was crucial for Infosys as the company believed the promoters' relationship would help the company in difficult times.
The Congress leadership has become stunted, it does not understand agriculture and the party is trying to mislead farmers for its own vested interests, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
How you can save time and work with maximum efficiency on April 8.
Welcoming Jaishankar, Foreign Minister Wang referred to the Indo-Pak tensions without directly mentioning about India scrapping the Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Agreement 'endorsed' by members and being legally vetted but will be part of the main Doha agenda only after a tenuous process.
Swaraj said India was hopeful that it will be able to convince China to give its backing.
The US Navy aims at stationing 60 per cent of its surface ships in Indo-Asia Pacific region by 2019, catering to various missions including counter-terrorism, a senior naval official said on Monday.
The NSG plenary meeting is due to be held next week in the Swiss capital of Bern.
What could have been an extraordinary movie fails to hit the mark, notes Urvi Parikh.
The US agreed to India's proposal on food security issues at WTO on Thursday.
Modi's visit to Brussels comes eight days after the deadly attacks on the city in which at least 35 people, including an Indian, died and over 300 were wounded.
Though General Naravane's visit will not deal with 'impermanent' issues like the changing stands of politicians, it will certainly reinforce the deeper 'permanent' links between the people of Nepal and India. Time will hopefully tackle the present impermanence of the Sino-Nepalese romance, notes Claude Arpi.
Though there was no clear roadmap, the farmers, belonging to multiple groups, including 30 from Punjab, appeared clear in their resolve, some saying that they would not disperse till the laws were repealed and others that would ensure their voices are heard.
Seeking to minimise the impact of the recent headline-grabbing moves, he said there had only been one instance of compulsory licensing.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said if 'you look at the totality of our ties and we will look at where we have strong economic synergies, where we have strong technology promptings, these are really based on the flow of talent.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama on Sunday held talks on a range of crucial issues, including removing hurdles in operationalising the long-stalled civil nuclear agreement and enhancing ties in defence, trade and commerce and climate change.
Severely critical of China, Pompeo, cited killing of Indian Army personnel in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in a clash with the Chinese military, and asserted that both India and the US are taking steps to strengthen cooperation against all threats and not just those posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr Prabhu has a big challenge ahead in implementing trade reforms to regain the lost export momentum, says Jayanta Roy.
Ahead of the G-20 summit in Osaka this week, Xi has reasserted China's role as a global player, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
