Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
As India's tea exports reach their highest in years, a sharp rise in imports is raising concerns among producers. In 2024, India took the third spot in tea exports, pipping Sri Lanka after exporting 254.67 million kg (mkg) of tea, up from 231.69 mkg in 2023.
The share of the Hindu population declined by 7.8% to 78.06%.
In contrast, the share of the Muslim and Christian populations increased by 43.15% to 14.09%, and by 5.4% to 2.36%.
Jayant Narlikar wrote alternative what-if histories, explained difficult scientific theories with funny analogies, and leavened his lectures with jokes and humorous asides.
Enhertu currently costs around Rs 1.6 lakh per 100-milligram injection.
During his inauguration on Monday, President Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border.
The IISER Aptitude Test is conducted for students who wish to get admission to IISER.
Hours after being dismissed from service for 'concealing' his marriage with a Pakistani woman, Central Reserve Police Force trooper Munir Ahmed said he solemnised his marriage nearly a month after getting permission from the force's headquarters last year.
While MBBS continues to be the most sought-after stream for medical aspirants, post pandemic, the demand for skilled nurses and physiotherapists are on the rise, notes Nayagam PP, career counsellor and founder of EduJob360.
A strong dust storm and gusty winds followed by rain hit Delhi-NCR on Friday evening, causing trees to be uprooted in several parts and leading to traffic congestion. Thunderstorms caused power disruptions in several parts of the city, primarily due to trees and branches falling on electricity cables. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert, recommending people stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
India has reported 59 cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) and two deaths due to co-morbidities between January 6 and 29, according to Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav. The virus primarily affects young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals, leading to respiratory illnesses. The government has taken measures to monitor and control the spread of HMPV cases and create public awareness.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for a global framework for artificial intelligence (AI) based on open source, emphasizing the need for trust, transparency, and the elimination of biases. Co-chairing the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi highlighted the transformative potential of AI across various domains, including politics, economics, security, and society. He stressed the importance of democratizing technology, addressing concerns about cyber security and disinformation, and developing quality data sets free from biases. Modi also acknowledged the need for open-source AI ecosystems to foster trust and transparency, while emphasizing the importance of localized technology for effectiveness and usefulness. Recognizing the potential of AI to improve health, education, and agriculture, Modi proposed pooling resources and talent to leverage the technology for sustainable development goals. Addressing concerns about job displacement, he emphasized that while the nature of work may evolve, technology creates new opportunities. Modi highlighted India's leadership in AI adoption and data privacy solutions, emphasizing the nation's readiness to share its expertise and contribute to an AI future that benefits all.
'Obesity, especially central obesity and increased visceral fat due to physical inactivity, along with the consumption of high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar diets, are major contributing factors.'
I'...additional concessions, such as opening government procurement, reducing agricultural subsidies, weakening patent protections, and allowing unrestricted data flows -- demands India has resisted for decades.'
Gold buying by central banks surged to 60 tonnes in October, mainly led by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which added 27 tonnes of the precious metal to its reserves, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday. India added 27 tonnes of gold in October, bringing its total gold purchases to 77 tonnes from January to October, according WGC data based on reported monthly data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 25 per cent rise in net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, owing to higher revenues and an exceptional gain. For the quarter under review, L&T posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,497.3 crore, while revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 74,392.28 crore.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
The Madras High Court has asserted that press freedom and privacy are intertwined and that surveillance constitutes an attack on the press, which is considered the fourth pillar of democracy. The court made this observation while addressing petitions filed by the Chennai Press Club and three reporters seeking protection from harassment by a police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the leak of an FIR concerning a sexual assault case at Anna University. The court highlighted the importance of protecting journalists' sources and criticized the SIT for seizing reporters' mobile phones without justification and for failing to adequately investigate the source of the leaked FIR.
Snapping the two months slide, the country's merchandise exports rose marginally by 0.5 per cent to $34.58 billion in September while trade deficit narrowed to $20.78 billion. According to official data released on Wednesday, imports increased by 1.6 per cent to $55.36 billion in September compared to $54.49 billion in the year-ago period. The trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, was $20.8 billion during the same month last year.
Taxing capital less may not lead to more investments but taxing more will drive capital away, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Friday said during a discussion on Inequality, Economic Growth and Inclusion. While it is easy to drive capital out, bringing it back is a lot harder, said Nageswaran.
Why has the shift from ICE to electric slowed down despite initial enthusiasm?
The gross GST collection rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December. The Central GST collection stood at Rs 32,836 crore, State GST at Rs 40,499 crore, Integrated IGST at Rs 47,783 crore and Cess at Rs 11,471 crore, according to government data released on Wednesday.
It is important to note that neither of the patients have any history of international travel, the ministry underlined.
Health insurance premium growth has slowed after touching record highs during the Covid-19 pandemic due to tapering demand from retail consumers amid affordability issues. According to General Insurance Council data, health insurance premiums grew by 10.44 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the Apr-Jan period of FY25 in comparison with 20.79 per cent in the year-ago period. It was around 23.57 per cent in FY23, and 25.89 per cent in FY22.
AI-driven and deepfake-enabled cyberattacks are anticipated to become increasingly prevalent in 2025 with sectors like healthcare and finance most prone targets, according to a recent report. The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and Seqrite, spotlighted the evolving tactics of cybercriminals and the rise of AI-driven attacks as a major concern. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to develop highly sophisticated phishing campaigns utilising deepfake technology and personalised attack vectors, making them harder to detect.
India is pushing for greater disclosures by credit card companies, fintech firms, and payment aggregators (PAs) at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), so that the sender and recipient in a cross-border financial transaction can be easily identified and the information shared with law enforcement agencies. Separately, the inter-governmental group, which sets standards to curb money laundering, will release the fourth round of its mutual evaluation report on India on September 19. FATF in June had adopted the mutual evaluation report on India and placed the country in the "regular follow-up" category - the highest rating given by the global watchdog and a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries.
India is closely monitoring cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), but the Union Health Minister has assured the public there is no cause for worry. The virus, which is not new and has been circulating globally since 2001, has been detected in several states, including Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. The Health Ministry, ICMR, and NCDC are keeping a close watch on the situation in China and neighboring countries, and the WHO is expected to share a report on the matter shortly.
The Supreme Court of India has announced its intention to establish an effective mechanism to address caste-based discrimination in educational institutions throughout the country. The court directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to draft regulations to prevent such discrimination and to provide data on institutions that have implemented equal opportunity cells as mandated by the 2012 UGC equity regulations. The court's decision stems from a public interest litigation filed in 2019 highlighting the prevalence of caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions and its tragic consequences, including the suicides of students like Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi.
'Christians, for example, make up 2 per cent of India's population but an estimated 16 per cent of those who were born in India now reside elsewhere,' said Pew.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has initiated the process of registration of all MBBS doctors eligible to practice in India on a recently launched portal, as a part of which all medical practitioners will have a unique ID.
In a serious data breach, personally identifiable information of 815 million Indians has been up on the dark web for sale, according to a report by US-based cybersecurity firm Resecurity. Details such as Aadhaar and passport information along with names, phone numbers and addresses are available for sale online, it has said.
Gross GST collection grew 9 per cent to over Rs 1.87 lakh crore in October on higher revenues from domestic transactions. The Central GST collection stood at Rs 33,821 crore, State GST at Rs 41,864 crore, Integrated IGST at Rs 99,111 crore and cess at Rs 12,550 crore.
India's merchandise exports in October rose by 17.25 per cent to $39.2 billion against $33.43 billion a year ago, according to government data released on Thursday. Imports increased by 3.9 per cent to $66.34 billion in October compared to $63.86 billion in the year-ago period.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said there is no need to panic over two cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) detected in the state, as the infections are caused by old virus strains and are not life-threatening. The minister said that the two infected infants are doing "normal" and advised people to follow general precautionary measures. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has detected the two cases through routine surveillance for multiple respiratory viral pathogens.
Gold price outlook 2025: Gold prices that have climbed over 30 per cent so far in 2024 to Rs 7,300 per gram in the Indian markets (up 28 per cent in dollar terms till November-end), are set for their best calendar year performance in 10 years, suggests a recent report by World Gold Council (WGC). However, this stellar run, analysts believe, may not carry through till the end of 2025 in the backdrop of economic and geopolitical headwinds.
Bibek Debroy was one of the very few economists not bound by any single area of expertise and was simultaneously curious about economics and politics, myths and maths, chess and chemistry, and what not, remembers Laveesh Bhandari.
The growing decline of MTech applicants in Indian colleges is due to multiple factors, including outdated curricula, poor return on investment and lucrative non-engineering alternatives, say experts.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in September, in gross terms, were at Rs 1.73 lakh crore, with a yearly jump of 6.5 per cent, according to data from finance ministry released on Tuesday. In September 2023, the total collection was to the tune of Rs 1.62 lakh crore. CGST, SGST, IGST, and cess all increased year-on-year in September, official data made available on Tuesday showed.
'In the earlier waves, doubling of cases was happening at an interval of 4-6 days.' 'But in the case of omicron the doubling time we are seeing is in the range of 2-4 days.'