Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy to deepen India's bilateral ties amid geopolitical changes.
India has reiterated its commitment to human rights and democracy following criticism from a Norwegian newspaper commentator during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Norway.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sweden to hold talks on trade, technology, defence and other key sectors with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a six-day tour of the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy to strengthen bilateral relations amid geopolitical challenges. The trip will focus on energy security, trade, and technological cooperation.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlights the growing demand for AI-related jobs in India and the transformation needed in the IT industry. He also mentions significant investments in data centres and subsea cable networks to boost digital infrastructure.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks come ahead of a high-level summit where India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement.
Over the years, India-EU ties have grown, and covered trade, investment, climate change, science and technology, space, digital, mobility, and connectivity.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that two more semiconductor chip packaging units, part of the India Semiconductor Mission, are expected to be operational by July and December, respectively. He also highlighted India's focus on becoming a beneficiary of AI technology, expanding data centre infrastructure with significant investments, and developing new subsea cable networks for global connectivity.
India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says India and the EU are close to a 'historic trade agreement' that could create a market of two billion people and account for almost a quarter of the global GDP.
In the wake of the FTA between India and the European Union, the United States has described the Europeans as 'very disappointing', saying they were unwilling to join Washington, DC in putting tariffs on New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil because of this trade deal.
India and the European Union have finalized a comprehensive mobility pact that will create new opportunities for Indian students and professionals in Europe. The agreement was reached during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top EU officials.
The question is whether the clocks allow enough time for two deeply mistrustful sides to get there, and whether the surface calm holds long enough for the paddling to produce something before the ceasefire ends on April 22, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher in highly volatile trade on Tuesday, buoyed by heavy buying in bank and metal stocks, a firm trend in global markets and optimism over India-EU FTA. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 319.78 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 81,857.48.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'It is too early to conclude that there will be a bloodbath, that there will be no jobs, and that there will be civil unrest.' 'Let's calm down.' 'AI is a tool, it is not a weapon, it is not a virus.'
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
In their talks, Modi and Merz are likely to deliberate on trade and investment ties as New Delhi is looking at deepening economic engagement with Europe against the backdrop of Washington's 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, people familiar with the matter said.
'India is giving selective traffic rights wherever it makes sense to allocate those traffic rights.'
Guterres emphasised that global structures and institutions must reflect the complexity and the opportunity of the "new times and realities"
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
On President Putin's two-day trip to India, Jaishankar said for a "big" and "rising" country like India, it is important to maintain good cooperation with as many important players as possible in the world in line with freedom of choice.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the Trump administration hopes it can fix the "measures" it has taken with regard to India for its purchases of Russian oil.
China has made serious inroads into Latin America, which the US may now be hinting is simply not ok: Stay in your lane, Xi! In simple terms, China will no longer have access to Venezuelan oil, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
India and Russia have solidified a five-year plan to enhance their economic and trade partnership, while also addressing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the threat of terrorism.
India should simultaneously prioritise domestic exploration and production of more oil and gas in the country, and ensure we retain diversified suppliers for imports, points out former foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.
The government is working to make India's automobile industry number one in the world within five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday. Inaugurating the 'International Value Summit 2025', Gadkari said the automobile sector pays maximum GST revenue to the government and generates employment opportunities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims President Donald Trump was instrumental in bringing about the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, a claim India has consistently denied.
Sullivan remarks come amid the rising friction between Washington and New Delhi due to the 50 percent tariffs imposed on Indian goods, which include a 25 percent penalty for buying Russian oil.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Navarro's remarks came after the public display of bonhomie by the three leaders on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on Monday.
'What's currently underway is not a 'reset'.' 'What needs to be arrived at is a new balance.'
'Will he be on Europe and Ukraine's side? Or will he decide that Russia is more important for America?'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged that NATO is blatantly trying to lure India into anti-China intrigues.
'Modi's a great leader... But I don't understand why he's getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping...'
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India and the US have collaborated through the past one month on launching a powerful satellite; are commencing joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 jet engines in India; India is participating in a massive three week-long military exercise in the Western Pacific, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Indian airports' push to become global hubs will depend on reducing passenger leakage to rival airports abroad, scaling up direct long-haul connectivity, and offering transfer experiences that are faster, smoother, and more attractive than those of regional competitors, said panellists at the Business Standard Infrastructure Summit on Thursday.
Modi said today "we all have reached an important and historic partnership".
Trump has played throughout his career as a deal-maker who could deliver where others could not, and Ukraine represents the ultimate test of that image, notes Manish Dabhade.
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