Every day at 11 am, T Rooban performs a special Abhisheka Aradhana for Kamala Harris' success, pouring liquid offerings over the deity's image while chanting sacred Sanskrit mantras.
Xi Jinping's recent actions in South Asia have amply demonstrated the disastrous impact of China's embrace, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
The government on Tuesday indicated that forthcoming Foreign Trade Policy may grant some sops for the ailing textile sector especially exporters, who were disappointed over the Budget proposals.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
Since 2014, many of Mohan Bhagwat's speeches have acted as cues for government policy.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
The recent Foreign Trade Policy announcement to waive service tax for exporters had the backing of the Prime Minister, Commerce Ministry sources said on Tuesday.
It appears that the focus of commerce minister Anand Sharma, when he unveils the new foreign trade policy, will be to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and thereby help reduce transaction costs for exporters, while retaining the basic framework of the present FTP.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
Many industry executives have said the draft e-commerce policy is being perceived as nationalistic but not overly protectionist and it is providing preference to Indian players against foreign companies. This might have an impact on investment by large players such as Walmart and Amazon in the country, said the executives. They said e-commerce was a very small portion of the retail industry and at a nascent stage and did not require heavy hammer regulations. Though the policy talks about being equally applicable to foreign and domestic players, it mentions that foreign direct investment (FDI) takes precedence over the e-commerce policy in any area of overlap.
Pakistan's deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is in China on a four-day visit, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi co-chaired the fifth round of the foreign minister-level China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue.
Foreigners cannot rent a womb in India, the central government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
"Exports of $150 billion are certain this year. If there is a surge, they could even go up to $155 billion," Commerce Secretary GK Pillai told reporters on the sidelines of a CII meeting on Foreign Trade Policy.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
India is all set to achieve the target of one per cent share of the world trade in exports well ahead of schedule, Director General of Foreign Trade L Mansingh asserted on Tuesday.
From the Sensex basket, Sun Pharma, Maruti, Power Grid, Titan, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were the major laggards. Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services and Nestle were the gainers.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be on a two-day official visit to India from Thursday, his first trip to the country since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last month.
The government on Friday put on hold the preferential market access (PMA) policy that provided for sourcing of sensitive telecom and electronic equipments and technology from domestic manufacturers over security concerns.
The government has notified a list of 57 countries in Africa and South America that would get duty benefits under the Focus Market scheme, announced in the Foreign Trade Policy early this year, to boost exports.
In order to make India a major refuelling stop for airlines, the government on Friday announced that supplies, such as food and beverages, to international flights will be treated as exports.
The government is planning to tweak its procurement policy to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing. The industry department has floated a proposal to raise the minimum local content requirement for public procurement for Class-I and -II suppliers from 50 per cent currently to 70 per cent, and 20 per cent as of now to 50 per cent, respectively.
Financial subsidies that are not WTO-compatible will have to be phased out and GSP benefits will not be available for long. Things have just got tougher.
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Saturday that India now must gear up for agricultural exports apart from export of manufactured goods and services.
India has set a target of $160 billion for merchandise exports during 2007-08.
Worries related to the Iran-Israel conflict, quarterly earnings and foreign investors' trading activity are the key factors that would dictate stock markets this week, analysts said. Besides, trends in Brent crude oil and movement of the rupee against the dollar will also be crucial factors. This week will be crucial for the market amid ongoing worries about the conflict between Iran and Israel, said Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
Exports to Greece from India are $360 million a year.
The commerce ministry is currently firming up the annual supplement to the FTP, which is likely to be unveiled in April. Referring to the export performance during 2007-08, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said, actual export was likely to remain short of the target of $160 billion. The exports during the year were likely to reach a level of $152-155 billion, he added.
Madhabi Puri Buch, the first female chairperson of Sebi, doesn't plan to rest on her laurels in her third and final year in office and has set out an ambitious goal, such as moving towards a same-day and instantaneous settlement cycle for the secondary market.
From early indications, the Modi government's foreign policy seems to be pragmatic and reciprocal, says K G Suresh.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
The change in the Foreign Trade Policy means that jet fuel sold in India to international flights will be treated as physical exports and not attract most of the domestic tariffs.
India's exports on Friday crossed the $100 billion mark to reach $101 billion in 2005-06
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