Global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, Christopher Wood, has cut his exposure to Indian equities by one percentage point in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, and Australia and Malaysia by half a percentage point each in favour of China, which has seen a hike in exposure by two percentage points. The rally in China has been fast-forwarded by the approach of a seven-day holiday with the CSI 300 Index up 8.5 per cent on Monday, and 25.1 per cent in five trading days, he said.
Challenging the decision of the Biden Administration to investigate the activities of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, an influential Republican lawmaker on Tuesday said such selective actions risk damaging critical alliance partners.
Most global as well as domestic brokerages are upbeat on India's largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), despite its performance during the December quarter of FY25, when it missed Street estimates. On the bourses, the TCS share price rallied as much as 6.44 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 4,296.80 apiece, before settling 5.67 per cent higher at Rs 4,265.55.
The opposition INDIA bloc is considering submitting a notice to move a resolution to remove Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar from office, sources said. The opposition had previously considered this in August but decided to give Dhankhar "another chance." The Congress is leading the charge, and the TMC and the Samajwadi Party are supportive. The decision comes after a contentious session in Rajya Sabha where BJP members protested alleged links between Congress leaders and George Soros.
Leaders from around the world extended their greetings to India on its 76th Republic Day, emphasizing the importance of bilateral relations and expressing hope for a stronger future. The Indian diaspora across the globe celebrated the occasion with enthusiasm at Indian missions abroad, where the national tri-colour was unfurled, accompanied by cultural performances and patriotic fervour. The celebrations highlighted the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and its global partners.
The Fujian was launched at a brief ceremony held at the Shanghai shipyard, the official media reported from the eastern metropolis.
New initiatives to boost cooperation to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific, ways to find peaceful solutions to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and addressing concerns of the global South will be the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-day visit to the US beginning Saturday.
The White House readout of the call had no reference to Bangladesh, which was mentioned in an 'X' post by PM Modi.
On Thursday, the Chinese military published its ICBM launch photos, shedding its secrecy.
Gender equality might have improved over the years but India's working women still contend with the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries, says a report. According to the LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021, more women in India have experienced the impact of gender on career development when compared to the APAC region. "In India, more than 4 in 5 working women (85 per cent) claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60 per cent," the report said.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders fulfilling campaign promises, including declaring an emergency at the southern border, addressing a national energy crisis, and defining sex-related policies. The orders aim to address immigration, national security, and energy independence, with a focus on reversing policies implemented by the previous administration.
'Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region.' 'It's crucial for the USA to continue its support in countering these malicious tactics.' 'India, along with other nations in the region, is not alone.'
'The message that we intend to leave with at the end of this trip is one of real gratitude for the friendship and the close partnership that President Biden and Prime Minister Modi have enjoyed over the last four years, but also one of tremendous optimism because we see a lot of opportunity in the future.'
Bleary-eyed New Zealanders celebrated a weekend of sporting triumphs around the world on Monday and for once there was not a rugby ball in sight.
India is poised to be the third largest global economy by 2030 but rising population presents mounting challenges in basic service coverage and growing investment needs to maintain productivity, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. It said emerging economies have high ambitions for the next decade and beyond with India aiming to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, from the current $3.6 trillion. India is currently the fifth largest economy.
'While criticising India's high tariffs, Mr Trump stated he would impose reciprocal taxes on Indian products if re-elected.' 'However, since India's tariffs follow WTO rules, Mr Trump's actions would violate these rules,' Ajay Srivastava points out.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has links to an organisation financed by the George Soros Foundation, which has reportedly supported the idea of an independent Kashmir. The party claims this connection demonstrates foreign influence in Indian internal affairs. This comes after BJP's claims of US involvement in destabilizing India, which the US has denied. The BJP also accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of collaborating with the Soros-funded OCCRP to damage India's economy and reputation. The allegations have drawn criticism from the US embassy and the opposition Congress.
Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term will be held around June next year.
India has recorded the second-highest increase in domestic airfares in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and West Asian regions, climbing by 43 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, second only to Vietnam (63 per cent). India ranks third in fare increases during the same period in international skies, behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia. The airfare study conducted by Airports Council International (ACI), which represents 617 airports in this region, was done in partnership with Flare Aviation Consulting.
Telcos in Asia's emerging markets will face higher spectrum liabilities, but these essential costs are not subject to refinancing and have limited immediate impact on cash flows and liquidity, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. The ratings of Asia-Pacific (APAC) telecom companies in emerging markets can tolerate the increased deferred spectrum liabilities at current levels, if these essential costs are the main driver of high debt or weaker leverage, Moody's Investors Service said in a new report. For emerging markets -- China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines -- spectrum liabilities to gross debt will increase to more than 16 per cent in 2021 and 2022, from 11.6 per cent in 2020 and 9.3 per cent in 2018, assuming India completes its 5G spectrum auction in 2022, it added.
Indian motorcycle maker Royal Enfield on Tuesday announced starting a manufacturing unit and a showroom in Bangladesh, marking a major industrial development in the neighbouring country where the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled in August after weeks-long protests against her. The manufacturing facility in Chauddagram in Cumilla district is Royal Enfield's sixth outside India and besides the one in Tamil Nadu. Royal Enfield, the global leader in the mid-size motorcycle segment, has set up the facility in collaboration with IFAD Motors.
It would be a challenge to India's policy makers how to deal with Trump so that mutual economic growth remains sustained and mutual understanding on global issues are not hampered, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The Indian armed forces, especially the Navy, are building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and security, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he said.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Bari during which they discussed defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration.
iPhone maker Apple has set an all-time revenue record in India and observed a double-digit growth in iPad sales in the country in the September 2024 quarter, senior officials of the company said on Friday. The company reported an over 6 per cent growth in total net sales to $94.93 billion during the reported period from $89.49 billion a year ago.
India will be the most consequential partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific this century, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries next week. Esper on Tuesday told a Washington audience that he and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be travelling to New Delhi next week for the 2+2 ministerial with their respective Indian counterparts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The study was published in the journal Science.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday retained India's growth forecast at 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal and said it expects the RBI to start cutting interest rates in its October monetary policy review. In the economic outlook of Asia Pacific, S&P Global Ratings also retained its GDP growth forecast for the 2025-26 fiscal at 6.9 per cent and said solid growth in India will allow the Reserve Bank to focus on bringing inflation in line with its target.
India will next take on Chinese Taipei on Thursday.
Addressing the Indian diaspora at Nassau Coliseum in New York, PM Modi said that people will witness the Summer Olympics taking place in India as well. Last year, PM Modi said that India will make efforts to host these big sporting events.
The government has approved the construction of two indigenously designed nuclear attack submarines and is expected to ink contracts next month to procure 26 naval variant of Rafale jets and three Scorpene submarines, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said on Monday.
The Transparency International survey found 69 per cent in India as saying they had to pay a bribe, followed by 65 per cent in Vietnam. China was much lower at 26 per cent while the same for Pakistan was 40 per cent.
India topped the APAC region with 227 transactions in the first eight months of CY24. The US was second with 133 deals while China ranked third with 69 transactions.
PC maker Lenovo India will start manufacturing 50,000 GPU-based AI servers in India next year, the company said on Tuesday. Besides this, Lenovo announced setting up its fourth largest research and development centre in Bengaluru. Lenovo India managing director Shailendra Katyal said that the company will make servers locally and also export them from its manufacturing unit in Puducherry.
The Prime Minister said India was ready to support the setting up of a Trade Office in New Delhi to promote trade between India and Pacific Island countries.
Rutuja Bhosale won the singles rubber while the duo of Prarthana Thombare and Ankita Raina prevailed in the doubles contest as the Indian women's team defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in a Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group-1 tie in Changsha, China, on Thursday.
A release issued by the MEA said the meeting was attended by the heads of delegations of Fiji, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Nauru, Republic of Palau, Independent State of Papua New Guinea, The Independent State of Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and Republic of Vanuatu.
The urban population of the Asia-Pacific region has been growing at the fastest rate in the world over the past 15 years, according to the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific" released yesterday by the UN Economic and Social Commission. "This growth is having a knock-on effect," said Pietro Gennari, chief of ESCAP's Statistics Division. "We're seeing more and more people living in slums and also a negative effect on people's ability to access clean water.
