Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during rallies in Bihar, accusing him of prioritizing votes over genuine governance and alleging that the BJP is controlling the state government through remote control.
'We kept importing educational models from outside that had no connection to our cultural and intellectual strengths.'
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday met with Mauritian Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam at the latter's official house, Clarisse House (but which he doesn't stay in, choosing to reside in his private home instead). The meeting, which lasted over 45 minutes, saw the two sides reinforce and re-establish their close ties.
'It's the first time in my life that I've met people who are so kind and generous.'
Eyewear retailer Lenskart plans to add 450 stores in the current financial year, its fastest expansion in three years, as the company prepares for a public listing that could value it at up to $10 billion. The addition would take Lenskart's store count to more than 3,150 across 14 countries, representing a 34 per cent rise from the 334 stores opened last year.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) who invest from Mauritius into Indian companies that dole out bonus debentures will get impacted by the tax avoidance provisions on bonus stripping. The FY23 Budget has extended these provisions - applicable only to MFs, so far - to shares and units of REITs, InvITs and AIFs. The move will especially affect large institutional investors who sell original units within nine months after the record date because the loss arising from sale of original units would have to be ignored for the purposes of computing taxable income and cannot be set off against any other capital gain.
A court in Antwerp on Friday cleared the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, noting that his arrest by the Belgian authorities on India's request was valid, officials in the know of the development said.
'... had gone to South Africa from India over a hundred years ago.'
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
India told Mauritius that it will not take any decisions that will "adversely impact" bilateral relations while reassuring the country that amendments to the bilateral tax treaty would be made only after considering the legitimate interests of both sides.
The Indian Navy will conduct a large-scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African countries in April, aiming to enhance interoperability with African navies and further strengthen maritime security cooperation. The exercise, titled "AIKEYME" (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement), will see the participation of several African nations, including Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa. The exercise is part of India's growing engagement with the Global South, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "MAHASAGAR" vision for mutual and holistic advancement in the region.
Market observers also said the approvals depended a lot on the funds themselves, and the extent to which they followed the new norms introduced last year.
The bail plea of fugitive diamonds trader Mehul Choksi, wanted in India in connection with over Rs 6300-crore fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB), has again been turned down by a court of appeal in Belgium, just ahead of his extradition hearing before a court in that country, officials said. The court rejected the appeal on strong reasons conveyed by the CBI to the Belgian prosecution that Choksi had escaped from many jurisdictions earlier as well to evade legal proceedings and may flee to another country if let out on bail, they said.
The maiden Africa India Key Maritime Engagement exercise will be held from April 13 to 18 off the coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Modi said the two countries should resume their discussions on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
Mauritius is also promising a host of other benefits to Indian companies routing their investments to African nations.
In May, India and Mauritius signed a protocol to introduce in-principle taxation of capital gains in India in a phased manner.
Absconding diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi has been detained in Belgium following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his alleged involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore PNB bank loan 'fraud' case, official sources said Monday. The action against the diamantaire was taken on Saturday.
Amid tax treaty uncertainties, India's share of the number of investments made by global companies through Mauritius has almost halved in the past two years even as Africa's share has surged significantly.
Mauritius is biggest route for investment into India.
The US replaced Mauritius as the second largest source of foreign direct investment into India during 2020-21 with inflows of $13.82 billion, according to government data. Singapore remained the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country for the third consecutive fiscal at $17.41 billion. During the last financial year, India attracted $5.64 billion in FDI from Mauritius, according to the data by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has asked why SEBI has not yet got to the bottom of ownership of the four Mauritius-based funds who are said to have parked 90 per cent of their $6.9 billion in Adani group stocks, saying does the market regulator need help of investigating agencies for this? The funds -- Elara India Opportunities Fund, Cresta Fund, Albula Investment Fund and APMS Investment Fund -- have been under cloud for last couple of years after allegations that they may be shell companies. They came into focus once again in January when a US short seller alleged that Adani Group used offshore shell companies to inflate stock price.
From the Sensex basket, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Power Grid, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were the major laggards.
This is Modi's first visit to the country as prime minister and the first Indian bilateral visit at the prime ministerial level to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India have crossed the $1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-September 2024 period, firmly establishing the country's reputation as a safe and key investment destination globally. According to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the cumulative amount of FDI, including equity, reinvested earnings and other capital, stood at $1,033.40 billion during the said period.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked fintech startups to come out with solutions to deal with the rising incidence of digital arrests, cheating by fly-by-night operators, and other kinds of cyber frauds. Speaking at the Digital Payments Awards 2025 ceremony here, the minister credited fintechs with helping speed up financial inclusion and taking the payment system to even the far-flung areas of the country.
The Centre is in talks with Mauritius with regard to the long-pending revision of the bilateral tax treaty.
The people of Indian descent account for a vast majority (about 70 per cent) of Mauritius population.
Travellers are keen to explore traditional Indian arts and crafts like Madhubani painting in Bihar, pottery and weaving workshops in Rajasthan, or Kathakali and Kalaripayattu training in Kerala.
Mauritius FDI source for India during Apr-Dec.
India had won the title in 2018 and 2023, while it was the first trophy for Syria who had finished third in 2019.
The visiting minister said that trade and economic relations between the two countries are constantly gaining momentum.
After registering a positive growth for two months, India's exports slipped into negative territory again, contracting 2.17 per cent year-on-year to $38.73 billion in May due to a fall in global petroleum prices, while trade deficit narrowed at $21.88 billion during the month.
The RBI is of the view that it cannot carry out satisfactory due diligence for granting registration because the funding is from a jurisdiction that has been identified by FATF as having weak measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
It is believed that a large majority of them are third country investors which use the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention with Mauritius for saving capital gains tax.
Now, funds from Mauritius interested in India will have to weigh paying capital gains taxes that could range from zero to as much as 20 per cent
Mauritius and Singapore account for the bulk of the $278 billion in foreign equity investments since 2000
