'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
The prime minister said he would hold bilateral meetings, among others, with Philippines President Gloria Macpagal Arroyo, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The health ministry sources said even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low.
The number of new COVID-19 cases increased exponentially by 71 per cent globally during the week December 27-January 2 as compared to the previous week, while the number of new deaths decreased by 10 per cent, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, as the new Omicron variant led the spike.
FMCG major HUL on Friday announced the appointment of Rohit Jawa as the managing director & chief executive officer to succeed Sanjiv Mehta who will retire from the company after leading it for a decade. Jawa, presently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever, would take over the leadership role for a term of five consecutive years with effect from June 27, 2023, the company said in a statement. "The appointment of Rohit Jawa as a whole-time director and MD & CEO will be subject to approval of Shareholders and other statutory approvals as may be applicable," it added.
Adani Green Energy Ltd, the renewable energy arm of billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, plans to raise $409 million through US dollar-denominated bonds to repay a debt obligation falling this year. In a regulatory filing, the company said the bond will have a door-to-door tenor of 18 years. The proceeds will be used to redeem the $500 million 6.25 per cent senior secured notes due 2024, it said adding these notes were issued on June 10, 2019.
The objective of the study was to determine the genetic diversity among Indian SARS-CoV-2 viral isolates in comparison to the strains that are occurring worldwide.
India is awaiting a written confirmation from China on President Xi's participation in the G20 Leaders Summit, Muktesh Pardeshi, Special Secretary for G20, said on Friday.
India's position on accession to the 1976 treaty has been consistently positive and would demonstrate its determination to cooperate in the maintenance of peace and stability in South East Asia, a spokesman said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council that 'we have to prepare' the second peace summit to end the Russia-Ukraine war 'altogether' and he has invited India and other countries to join the peace process.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Quad is not against anyone, but for a rules-based international order and respect for sovereignty, in a veiled reference to China.
State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), which operates India's strategic crude oil storage, will make awards by December to lease around 1 million tons of crude oil storage space (7.3 million barrels) at two of the country's three existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs), around a fifth of the total SPR capacity. This will enable the refilling of crude caverns even as escalating hostilities in the Gulf threaten disruptions in crude supplies, two industry sources said.
AirAsia's India plans may not be hit with the current crisis that the airline is going through
Foreign Direct Investment to Asia reached record heights in 2011, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2012.
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 percent of the total military budget in 2023, the SIPRI report claimed.
The Centre should focus on achieving peace either through long-term ceasefire agreements or sustained military operations. Military operations which are just intermittent responses to particular incidents won't lead anywhere, says Devanik Saha.
Modi will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including United States Vice President Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.
India's services sector growth quickened in June from May's five-month low, amid a stronger rise in new orders and an unprecedented expansion in international sales, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services Business Activity Index rose from 60.2 in May to 60.5 in June, pointing to a sharp expansion in output. In the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
'As we enter 2025, it must be acknowledged that there is a convergence of capital, influential people (from business and politics) and technology deciding the destiny of others in the name of pride, patriotism, nationalism, nation building, all of it thinly veiled disguises for personal profit and glory,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Top government officials in New Delhi have started discussions with stakeholders ranging from shipping and container companies to export promotion councils to understand the impact of the Iran-Israel tensions and plan ahead. Inter-ministerial talks are also being lined up amid the crisis situation in West Asia, sources confirmed. While the crude flows are not directly under any threat, elevated oil prices remain a concern, according to officials.
India is likely to play a bigger role when the 10-member ASEAN and six other Asian nations meet in the backdrop of differences between China and Japan.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has met United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and held a productive conversation with him on deepening bilateral defence cooperation, including in the co-production of defence articles, and exchanged perspectives on a variety of security issues.
The World Health Organisation said in its latest update that the XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2) was first detected in the UK on January 19 and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since then.
'China is India's primary strategic challenge, which will not go away.
The agenda prepared by ministers will be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other RCEP leaders in Nonthaburi, a city north of Bangkok, on November 4, the official deadline to close talks.
Japan's record fourth Asian Cup title demonstrated that the east of the continent remains the region's dominant force on the field even if the power in the boardroom has switched to the west.
Russia continued as India's main arms supplier, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.
He also reiterated India's strong support in the fight against terrorism with Sri Lanka, which saw the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday.
More than 8,000 women, a vast majority of them from overseas, including South East Asia, are working as prostitutes in flats, saunas and massage parlours in London and many of them are operating through escort agencies, a study indicated on Friday.
Terrorism, trade and South China Sea dispute are expected to dominate discussions at the 13th ASEAN-India Summit likely to begin later today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Southeast Asian leaders reviewing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India cooperation and charting out its future direction.
India has not yet received any confirmation on Chinese President Xi Jinping's in-person participation at the upcoming G20 summit, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday amid reports that he is likely skip the conclave.
Cleartrip acquired Saudi travel firm Flyin last July and it provides bilingual ground support service and itineraries for inbound tourists.
About 150 terrorist entities and individuals, either based or with links to Pakistan have been blacklisted by the United Nations, with the latest addition being of Abdul Rehman Makki, the Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief designated by the Security Council's Al Qaeda sanctions committee.
'While on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, maritime and space, are emerging as new theatres of conflict'
