The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that aid received from other countries has been distributed in different states to help deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, urged India to use 'all its capacities' to end the Israeli actions in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict.
As the United States focuses on the Indo-Pacific, in particular the Quad, the Biden administration needs to address India's ties with Russia and its 'downward trend of democratic values and institutions', said a report by the Democratic Party of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
'Modigate is snowballing into a huge thing with the electorate. The BJP is in for huge punishment by the electorate.'
Russian oil supplies to India will continue to flow unhindered and suppliers will come up with ways to sidestep secondary sanctions, a Russian official told Business Standard.
The declaration said the SCO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful settlement of disagreements and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultations.
'The message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent. It is important to prevent escalation to ensure continued delivery of humanitarian aid and to work towards an early restoration of peace and stability. A peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward'
Banks have raised concerns over the new international trade settlement in rupee, fearing that facilitation of such a mechanism could result in them facing the ire of economic sanctions by the West, people aware of the matter said. Large banks with overseas operations have sought clarity and assurance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that they will not be targeted with sanctions for facilitating rupee trade with a sanction-hit country such as Russia. The present payment mechanism is a shift from earlier such arrangements, like the one with sanction-hit Iran, which involved banks facilitating settlement of international trade that did not have business in the sanctioned nation.
Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis said Russia would be asked to join the peace plan discussions at some point in time but to bring Russia on the table would require mediation by some countries.
The NHRC said that it has received several complaints regarding the ongoing farmers' protest.
Without making big-ticket changes in the economic ministries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday shifted Law Minister M Veerappa Moily to the ministry of corporate affairs and inducted young Milind Deora in his council of ministers.
Vouching for preserving its independence and sovereignty, Muizzu made a firm commitment to ensure that the Maldives remains "free of any foreign military presence."
India and Saudi Arabia on Monday decided to expedite implementation of the $50 billion West Coast refinery project, and identified energy, defence, semiconductor and space as areas for intensified cooperation during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
The demand for extension of the GST cess regime among others was made by several state finance ministers at a pre-budget consultation called by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. Besides, many states also demanded raising the share of the Union government in the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). Currently, the central government and state government share in some CSS is 60:40 while in others it is 75:25.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov focusing on the Ukraine conflict, bilateral ties and issues relating to the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
India on Thursday described the strikes by Hamas on Israeli cities as "terror attacks" but at the same time reaffirmed its long-standing position, advocating negotiations towards establishing a "sovereign, independent and viable" State of Palestine living side-by-side at peace with Israel.
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.
After the GST Council's meeting in March, the Centre had sought views from Attorney General K K Venugopal -- who is the chief legal officer of the government -- on the legality of market borrowing by the council to make good any shortfall in the compensation fund. The AG in his view said there is no obligation on the central government to pay the GST compensation shortfall, according to the sources.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will travel to India to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers on March 2, during which he is expected to hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pipped Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure the top rank in handling domestic and international affairs in a global survey conducted by a Chinese firm.
As part of the ritual, ''halwa'' is prepared in a big ''kadhai'' (large frying pot) and served to the entire staff involved in the Budget making exercise of the ministry. Halwa was served while maintaining COVID protocol with all present in mask and those distributing sweets were wearing gloves.
Modi's visit to the US will commence in New York, where he will lead the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga at the headquarters of the United Nations on June 21.
What the INDIA alliance needs is neither a counter to Modi's tall personality and undiminished charisma nor a counter-narrative to his Hindutva agenda, now centred on the Ayodhya temple consecration on January 22, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There is merit in keeping the central bank's balance sheet strong if the government's fiscal balance sheet is weak.'
Pakistan on Thursday said that the country's air force struck terrorist hideouts in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province, a day after Islamabad recalled its ambassador from Tehran in the wake of Iranian missile and drone strikes in Balochistan.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
Only 80.6 per cent of the Rs 6-trillion allocation has been spent by February, data from the Controller General of Accounts shows.
Owing to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman being new to her role, a number of crucial announcements in the Budget bore Garg's imprint, especially the decision to borrow in overseas markets, reduce the fiscal deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product, and resort to off-Budget borrowing to meet that target, says Arup Roychoudury.
Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said at a conference in Jeddah on the crisis while underlining the need for upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity by all states without 'exception'.
Seeking an expansion of the UN Security Council, he said India, Japan and Germany should be included in the Security Council as permanent members but without veto power.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China believes that state-to-state interactions should be in line with the trend of the time which is peace and development rather than exclusivity.
The government on Monday projected a 16.67 per cent growth in gross tax revenue in the next fiscal beginning April 1, at over Rs 22.17 lakh crore. The revised estimates of gross tax revenue for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 19 lakh crore, lower than the Rs 24.23 lakh crore budgeted earlier. Economic Affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj said, "Our revenue figure is under-stated not overstated.
According to sources, Gandhi himself is taking stock of poll preparedness by talking to leaders and listening to their views for poll strategy.
'The future of BRICS is under stress as Chinese attempts to expand the platform are being resisted by India and Brazil.' 'Beijing is focused on a quick expansion with the aim of giving the platform a distinctly anti-Western orientation, which New Delhi and Brasilia seem to have no interest in,' notes Harsh V Pant.
As India's stock rises, the resolution of the border row may become even more difficult, warn Harsh V Pant and Kalpit Mankikar.
...close to the 2024 general election. The BJP calling the Congress 'seasonal Hindu' is as laughable as the saffron party sparing itself the title of 'seasonal extreme Hindu.'
How else should one describe its election campaigns of the past years?
It was typically obsessive religion and personality cult with economic development for fig leaf, asserts Shyam G Menon.
Once the iconic red-brick building of British India Corporation (BICL), which manufactured the popular "Lal-Imli" brand of woollen products, made Cawnpore (now Kanpur) the Manchester of the East. In the 75th year of independence, the government may finally pull the curtains on the century-old, now defunct public sector enterprise. "The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has floated a draft cabinet note for closure of British India Corporation (BICL) along with National Textiles Corporation (NTC). "The Cabinet may soon tak
The Supreme Court on Friday said lawyers and professionals with 10 years of experience will be eligible for appointment as president and member of the state consumer commission and district forums.
Though affected by the current global economic meltdown, India has fared much better than other countries of the world, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said on Friday.