A team of senior officials from India will again visit Washington this month to hold discussions with their US counterparts on the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), government sources said on Thursday. To give impetus to the talks, India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary in the Department of Commerce, and Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch had last month held three-day talks in Washington.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
The income tax department has notified all seven income tax return forms for assessment year 2025-26. While ITR forms 1 and 4, which are filed by small and medium taxpayers, were notified on April 29; ITR-7, filed by trusts and charitable institutions, was notified on May 11.
In the clip of about 40 seconds, a man is seen pouring water from a can into a pan, following which five cheetahs sitting under the shadow in the vicinity walk up to the utensil and start drinking the water.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, has broken his fast after the Punjab government intervened and dispersed protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders. The Supreme Court lauded Dallewal's efforts and acknowledged the government's action, while also asking for a status report on the situation. Contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court's order of providing medical aid to Dallewal were dropped.
The return filed could be treated as defective, invalid, or even be considered as not filed at all.
Following a high-level meeting in New Delhi on February 2 between the two sides, India agreed to replace its military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10. The first batch left the island nation well before March 10.
China on Tuesday called for a 'comprehensive and lasting ceasefire' between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to properly handle their differences through dialogue.
Indian and US officials will begin deliberations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement in Washington from Wednesday with an aim to iron out issues and give an impetus to the negotiations.
Several leading scientists, academicians, and agriculturalists have called for raising government support for research and development to make Indian agriculture future-ready.
Emotional scenes were witnessed across the country as the last rites of those killed in shelling by Pakistan during the recent military conflict with India were performed on Sunday.
As in-person negotiations between India and the US kickstarted on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected India to strike the first bilateral trade deal to avert President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
The Finance Ministry's annual report has revealed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in India during the 2023-24 fiscal year. The projects, implemented in partnership with the Indian government, cover areas like agriculture and food security, water and sanitation, renewable energy, disaster management, health, sustainable forests, and climate adaptation. This disclosure comes amidst controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, with claims that the agency allocated USD 21 million to India for 'voter turnout'. However, the report clarifies that no funds were dedicated to enhancing voter turnout.
The bank made a Rs 67 crore net profit, up 21% from the previous year. Its deposits grew 8%, the loan book 10%. Net bad loans dropped from 7.53% to 6.07%. So why was the banker, who headed the bank, not promoted?
A 37-year-old man accused of raping a woman inside a bus at Swargate bus station in Pune was arrested after a days-long manhunt. The accused, Dattaray Ramdas Gade, was hiding in a paddy field in his native Shirur tehsil. Police used drones and sniffer dogs to track him down.
An Indian official team is likely to visit Washington next week to iron out differences on certain issues before formally launching negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), an official said. The visit, which comes within weeks of a high-level US team visiting India, indicates that the talks for the BTA are gaining momentum.
The latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24.
'Many of these issues will be resolved within 6 months because the US economy has started unravelling.'
Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, while they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation in Chandigarh. The police also began evicting protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, which have been closed for over a year. The action comes amid concerns from industrialists in Punjab over the prolonged closure of the border points, which they say has resulted in heavy losses. The meeting between the farmer leaders and the central delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was inconclusive, but the next meeting is scheduled for May 4.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
The Indian industry is paranoid about the USA's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs and wants early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement, sources said on Wednesday. They said that the talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement are going well.
'The intensity and frequency of heatwaves will be much higher than in previous years over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.'
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has distributed portfolios among the new ministers, keeping key departments such as Home, Personnel, and several others to himself. The Congress' Radhakrishna Kishore was given Finance, Commercial Tax, Planning and Development Department, and Parliamentary Affairs departments. JMM's Deepak Biruwa was allotted the departments of Revenue, Registration and Land Reforms (non-registration), and Transport. Chamra Linda, another JMM leader, was allotted the departments of Schedule Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes (except Minority Welfare). RJD's Sanjay Prasad Yadav was given the departments of Industries, and Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development. The Congress' Irfan Ansari got Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, besides Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, and Disaster Management departments. The chief minister also kept to himself the departments of Cabinet Secretariat, Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language, Road Construction, Building Construction, and those departments yet to be distributed to anyone. Among the other ministers, JMM's Ramdas Soren was given the School Education and Literacy, and Registration departments. Party colleague Hafizul Hasan was allotted the departments of Water Resources, and Minority Welfare Department. Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, and Rural Development departments were given to Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh. The CM gave Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Excise and Prohibition departments to JMM's Yogendra Prasad. JMM legislator Sudhivya Kumar became the minister for Urban Development and Housing, Higher and Technical Education, and Tourism, Art Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs departments. Shilpi Neha Tirkey of the Congress was allotted Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperative Department. A total of 11 MLAs took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand on Thursday.
'The cooperation in technology is one of the most important aspects of the visit.' 'It will have a long-lasting impact because it will shift the entire paradigm in the context of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.'
Senior officials of India and the US will begin three-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement in New Delhi on Wednesday amid threats of reciprocal tariffs from the Trump-administration, an official said. To formally start the negotiations on the pact, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, along with a team of officials, is in New Delhi.
A 26-year-old woman, who works in the health sector, was allegedly raped by a history-sheeter, Dattatray Gade (37), inside a stationary state transport bus at Swargate terminus in the early hours of Tuesday (February 25), according to the police.
'The US has agreed to negotiate with us a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement, which will go for reduction of tariffs on both sides so that our trade can grow.'
The United States has temporarily suspended foreign assistance to Pakistan for re-evaluation following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, according to a media report on Tuesday.
The minister, whose recent utterances on corruption in his own department had made headlines, was not immediately available for comment.
Wheat production during the current season is expected to be better than last year provided the weather remains favourable over the next few weeks, said senior industry executives. The weather had turned uncharacteristically hot in the latter half of last month, but owing to strong winds, the chill has returned in the last few days.
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.'
Even as the rescuers are braving hostile weather and difficult terrain for the third day to look for signs of life under the mound of debris at Malin village in Pune, Suresh Talekar, a Pune-based activist has charged the agriculture department officials of culpable homicide, and has filed a complaint at the Ghodegaon police station.
The state government has directed a joint assessment of crop loss due to the cyclone by officials of the agriculture and revenue departments, he said.
During his inauguration on Monday, President Trump declared a national emergency at the US southern border.
'The true measure of Project Tiger's success is not just rising tiger numbers, but our ability to ensure harmonious human-wildlife coexistence'
Universities and immigration authorities take student conduct seriously. Behaviour that is deemed unacceptable or dangerous can lead to legal consequences, including deportation, warns Dr Pananjay Tiwari, founder and director, Impel Overseas Education.
'We have to be prepared for the larger disruption that is likely to take place.'
Following the eviction of protesting farmers from the Shambhu border, Haryana security personnel began removing cemented barricades erected to prevent Punjab farmers from reaching Delhi. The Shambhu-Ambala road, closed for over a year, is being cleared with JCBs and other machinery. Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced dharnas outside deputy commissioners' offices in protest against the Punjab Police crackdown. The groups criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for evicting the protesters and detaining farmer leaders on Wednesday. The police action was justified by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who said industries and businesses were hit hard due to the prolonged closure of the highways. The protesting farmers, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, had been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, 2022.
Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two major schemes -- PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Krishonnati Yojana -- with an expenditure of over Rs 1 lakh crore to promote sustainable agriculture and ensure food security.
ISRO is part of an exclusive league which has forayed into the Moon and Sun.
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