India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
The conclave drew valuable insights from former athletes and Olympians, including celebrated ones such as Anju Bobby George, Mary Kom, and Tarundeep Rai, all of whom shared their personal experiences and perspectives on what it takes to excel at the highest levels of sports.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will arrange identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal to assist 1 crore gig workers. Presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, the finance minister also said a scheme for the socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented.
Prospects of a bumper kharif harvest are expected to lower food inflation in the coming months, making the country's inflation outlook benign, the Union Ministry of Finance (FinMin) said in its monthly economic report for October released on Monday.
Their implementation is expected to create investment owing to improving ease of doing business as well as initiating pro-worker measures.
Retirement fund body EPFO added 16.26 lakh subscribers on a net basis in November 2022, which is 16.5 per cent higher compared to a year ago, the labour ministry said on Friday. The provisional payroll data of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released on Friday by the ministry highlighted that the EPFO has added 16.26 lakh net members in the month of November 2022. The data indicate a 25.67 per cent increase in net additions compared to the previous month in October 2022, a labour ministry statement said.
Following the lacklustre growth numbers in the second quarter (Q2FY25), economists believe the upcoming Union Budget for 2025-26 should focus on reforms that will stimulate consumption, manufacturing and spur employment. India's growth unexpectedly slowed to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, due to low capital formation, weak consumption, besides adverse weather impact.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe met Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Primer Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday and discussed India's intent to host the 2036 Olympics and development of athletics in the country.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concerns about the long-term sustainability of providing free rations to migrant workers, emphasizing the need for job creation and capacity building instead. The court's remarks came during a hearing on the ongoing issue of providing relief to migrant workers, a matter that gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court questioned the government's reliance on freebies and stressed the importance of creating opportunities for migrant workers to become self-sufficient. The debate highlighted the challenges of balancing immediate relief with long-term economic solutions for vulnerable populations.
The Punjab Police chief, Gaurav Yadav, and a senior officer from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mayank Mishra, visited fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana. They enquired about his health and heard his demands. Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death since November 26 to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. The visit came after the Supreme Court directed the Centre and Punjab government representatives to meet Dallewal and provide him medical help.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday deprecated the practice of announcing freebies prior to elections, and said people were not willing to work as they were getting free ration and money.
'Parents are forced to provide their children to Russian re-education camps in occupied territories and in different parts of Russia, for example, in Chechnya, where Ukrainian children wearing military uniform are taught to use weapons.'
Facing criticism from the government over the central bank prioritising inflation over growth, the new RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Monday said that prospects of the Indian economy are expected to improve on the back of high consumer and business confidence in 2025. "As we strive to preserve financial stability to support a higher growth path for the Indian economy, our focus remains steadfast on maintaining stability of financial institutions and, more broadly, systemic stability," Malhotra said in foreword to the Financial Stability Report.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led central government will use the unorganised workers database - e-Shram portal - to provide the benefits of various government programmes to the nearly 300 million workers over the next five years, if it is voted to power for the third consecutive term in the upcoming general elections. "We have registered unorganised workers on the e-Shram platform. "We will reach out to the e-Shram registered 'shramik bandhu' and help them avail the benefits of various government programmes that they are eligible for," the manifesto of the party read.
India and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership and double bilateral trade to USD 28 billion over the next five years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani signed agreements and MoUs to strengthen economic cooperation, including a revised double taxation avoidance agreement. The strategic partnership will cover the "entire spectrum" of the bilateral relationship, including trade, energy security, and regional and international cooperation. Both leaders also discussed ways to further strengthen and broaden the energy partnership, including "exploring mutual investments." The Amir's visit provided an "excellent opportunity" for the top leadership of the two countries to discuss and "cement a strategic partnership for enhanced future cooperation."
It will be interesting to see what shifts have been recorded in the last decade-and-a-half -- from the effects of demonetisation and Covid's second wave to the drop in fertility and increase in farm workers -- but we will only know this if and when the Census is conducted, points out Aakar Patel.
Recent documents by NITI Aayog and periodic labour force surveys on employment show that the importance of agriculture is rising in the Indian economy.
'Our Constitution as well as the Right to Education Act do not make any distinction between Indian or foreigner; it only talks about 'child'.' 'It says that every child has the right to get education.'
'Why has this turned out to be one of the greatest humanitarian crisis that has caught the Centre and the states in a bind with no answers to this unexpected tsunami?' asks Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Retirement fund body EPFO has extended the date for filing applications to opt for a higher pension till June 26, 2023. In order to provide a larger window of opportunity and in order to enable all eligible persons to file their applications, the timeline for filing applications would now be till 26th June, 2023, according to a statement. "The EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) has made arrangements for obtaining applications for validation of option/joint option from pensioners/members as per the Supreme Court order on November 4, 2022," labour ministry said in a statement.
Retirement fund body EPFO recorded a net addition of 17.21 lakh members in September, according to payroll data released on Monday. Month-on-month comparison of payroll data shows an increase of 21,475 net members over August 2023, a labour ministry statement said. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflects an increase of 38,262 net members over September 2022.
Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen for the alleged murder of a Yemeni national, faces imminent execution despite the payment of blood money. Despite the lack of bilateral ties between India and war-torn Yemen, family members and human rights activists are clinging to hope for a last-minute pardon. The family has raised funds through a crowdfunding campaign to cover legal fees and negotiations, and is prepared to pay any additional amount required. However, the execution order received presidential approval despite ongoing proceedings, leaving little time for intervention. Priya's family is burdened by debt and seeks urgent support from the Indian government to save her life.
This decision would pave the way for crediting Rs 54,000 crore as 8.65 per cent interest for 2018-19, into the accounts of more than 6 crore EPFO subscribers.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) is looking at a proposal to generate 1.5-2 direct jobs for every Rs 1 crore invested by companies under the proposed electronic components production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. If this plan fructifies, a Rs 10,000 crore investment under the proposed PLI scheme would bring with it the expectation of creating 15,000-20,000 direct jobs in electronic components sector.
Senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for the petitioner on whose plea the verdict was delivered, said a prayer in the application sought non-hinderance to the exercise of the NCRB data collection by the direction of caste reference removal from the registers.
'India has the maths talent, academic institutions, and research institutions to do the next big thing.'
Industrial disputes dropped 89.3 per cent to 34 in 2022 compared to 318 a decade ago, shows central and state data.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh has indicated that offers given to freshers will be honoured by the company and followed with joining, although there has been some change in dates. The comments of Infosys top honcho assumes significance amid reports that the company has delayed onboarding of 2,000 fresh engineering graduates from 2022-batch.
The court emphasised that all parties must comply with Section 16 of the POSH Act, ensuring confidentiality of the identities involved.
Amazon India has decided to shut down 'Amazon Distribution', according to sources. This follows its recent decision to shut its food delivery and edtech offerings. The moves are part of the annual operating planning review process amid global macroeconomic uncertainty. The e-commerce giant is looking to focus on its core businesses, sources said.
'If the BJP detoxifies the nuclear liability law, it will bring economic, environmental and, most of all, strategic benefits.' 'Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that this Budget promise is met soon -- ideally, before Mr Modi heads to his first meeting with Trump 2.0,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
A senior finance ministry source said making the use of debit cards and e-wallets compulsory across the board is legally untenable, but banks have been asked to insist their account holders use these instruments
The report highlights that India's population in 2036 is expected to be more feminine compared to the 2011 population, as reflected in the sex ratio which is projected to increase from 943 in 2011 to 952 by 2036, highlighting a positive trend in gender equality.
The Centre has, however, retained its proposal to curb flash strikes as workers in all factories will be required to give employers a strike notice of at least two weeks after the Bill becomes a law.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
At the 47th ILC, scheduled for February 26 and 27 in Delhi, trade unions and employers were to discuss key issues related to employment and social security coverage to workers
The proposed changes to the child labour law to allow children and adolescents to work for their families would be most retrograde and regressive, say Shinzani Jain and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
'If it doesn't, it will continue with measures to infuse liquidity, signalling a new cycle,' predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The 44-year-old politician, who was among the final three contestants in the Labour Party's leadership contest against her boss in January 2020, has been serving in his shadow cabinet ever since.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
