News for 'United States Agency for International Development'

After Google muddle, poll panel lands in soup with UNDP!

After Google muddle, poll panel lands in soup with UNDP!

Rediff.com10 Jan 2014

Security agencies are not too thrilled about the Election Commission's decision to share its data with interns from the United Nations

The 2 Raj Shahs America is talking about

The 2 Raj Shahs America is talking about

Rediff.com6 Jan 2017

One Raj Shah has been the top Indian American in the Obama administration; the other Raj Shah is poised to play a key role in the Trump administration.

All eyes on PM Modi's first international summit

All eyes on PM Modi's first international summit

Rediff.com12 Jul 2014

Narendra Modi's engagement at the upcoming BRICS Summit in Brazil will be keenly watched as the prime minister will interact with some of the world's most powerful leaders. The summit to be held in Fortaleza will also see the launch of the significant BRICS bank whose idea was mooted by India. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt gives a lowdown on Modi's first major international rendezvous.

CIL floats maiden tender to import 2.416 MT coal for power sector

CIL floats maiden tender to import 2.416 MT coal for power sector

Rediff.com9 Jun 2022

State-owned CIL on Thursday said that it has floated its maiden tender to import 2.416 million tonnes of coal to ensure adequate supply of the fuel to power plants in the country. The development assumes significance in the wake of the government making all efforts to build up stock of coal to avoid the reoccurrence of power outages which happened in April on account of shortage of the fossil fuel. "In a first ever, Coal India Limited (CIL) on Wednesday floated an international competitive bidding e-tender, seeking bids for import of 2.416 million tonnes (MTs) of coal," the company said in a statement.

China hikes defence budget to $179 bn, nearly 3 times that of India

China hikes defence budget to $179 bn, nearly 3 times that of India

Rediff.com22 May 2020

The hike in the budget is the lowest increment in recent years apparently due to the heavy disruption caused to its economy by the COVID-19, according to the official media.

Football Briefs: Rested Ronaldo ready for United in European Super Cup

Football Briefs: Rested Ronaldo ready for United in European Super Cup

Rediff.com8 Aug 2017

News of all that's transpired on and off the football field

'Public Sector Banks Don't Like To Loan To MSMEs'

'Public Sector Banks Don't Like To Loan To MSMEs'

Rediff.com21 Jul 2022

'The approach today is, instead of giving loans to 100 MSMEs, let us give one loan to a big-ticket corporate.' 'And so many of these big fish deceived the banks and the banks are in the doldrums now with high NPAs.'

US intel says Covid not a bio-weapon, unsure about its origins

US intel says Covid not a bio-weapon, unsure about its origins

Rediff.com28 Aug 2021

The United States intelligence community has failed to reach any firm conclusion on the exact origin of COVID-19 and is split on whether it leaked from a lab in China or emerged in nature, even though it does not believe the virus was developed as a biological weapon, according to results of a detailed review ordered by President Joe Biden.

India abstains from UN vote condemning Russia's annexations

India abstains from UN vote condemning Russia's annexations

Rediff.com13 Oct 2022

The 193-member general assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, following the organisation of the above-mentioned referendums".

Indian-American astronaut in NASA's manned Moon mission

Indian-American astronaut in NASA's manned Moon mission

Rediff.com11 Dec 2020

Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari, 43, a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, MIT and US Naval Test Pilot School, is the only Indian-American in the list.

India must embrace Biden's B3W initiative

India must embrace Biden's B3W initiative

Rediff.com1 Jul 2021

Joe Biden's B3W proposal aims to bring democracies together. India should come up with its own plans to contribute to the initiative, states Rahul Mishra.

Travel restrictions imposed after 1st coronavirus death in US

Travel restrictions imposed after 1st coronavirus death in US

Rediff.com1 Mar 2020

Vice President Mike Pence said Trump had authorised a ban on entry of foreign nationals who travelled to Iran in the last 14 days. The United States also advised its citizens not to travel to parts of South Korea and Italy, from where reports of coronavirus have appeared.

Arunachal Pradesh has ALWAYS been part of India

Arunachal Pradesh has ALWAYS been part of India

Rediff.com15 Dec 2021

China has long coveted Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Southern Tibet. But, as Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan explains, in 1947, the present state of Arunachal Pradesh constituted the North East Frontier Tract of Assam. When India adopted its Constitution on 26 January 1950, NEFT became 'a separate politico-administrative entity' although it was constitutionally still a part of Assam. Its administration was brought directly under the President of India with the Governor of Assam acting as his agent. A revealing excerpt from his book The Origin Story of India's States.

Modi, Xi capable of solving issues without outside help: Putin

Modi, Xi capable of solving issues without outside help: Putin

Rediff.com5 Jun 2021

Asserting that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are 'responsible' leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said they both are capable of solving issues between the two countries, and that it was important that no 'extra-regional power' should interfere in the process.

NASA to launch satellite in collaboration with ISRO

NASA to launch satellite in collaboration with ISRO

Rediff.com26 Feb 2014

United States space agency NASA said it would launch a water-related satellite in collaboration with India's ISRO.

'Strategic considerations behind frequent Modi-Obama meetings'

'Strategic considerations behind frequent Modi-Obama meetings'

Rediff.com8 Jun 2016

Strategic consideration were the reasons behind frequent meetings between United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese state-run media said on Wednesday and cautioned India that it cannot rise by "containing" China or picking one side against the other.

'Identity politics responsible for Manipur situation'

'Identity politics responsible for Manipur situation'

Rediff.com20 Jun 2023

'The State uses identity politics as part of divide and rule; the militant groups too use identity politics and civil society groups are also divided along ethnic groups.'

Jinping visits Xinjiang, says Islam in China must be Chinese in orientation

Jinping visits Xinjiang, says Islam in China must be Chinese in orientation

Rediff.com16 Jul 2022

During his four-day tour of the region which started on July 12, Xi met with officials.

Nuclear power is the way forward for India: IAEA

Nuclear power is the way forward for India: IAEA

Rediff.com16 Oct 2007

Amid increasing uncertainty over the India-United States civilian nuclear agreement, a senior International Atomic Energy Agency official has said that nuclear energy is the way forward for the booming economies of India and China. The growth of nuclear power in China and India over the next two decades will outpace other countries, said Yury Sokolov, deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, IAEA.

Pak Army Chief Is In No Mood To Forgive Imran Khan

Pak Army Chief Is In No Mood To Forgive Imran Khan

Rediff.com6 Mar 2023

The military establishment is in no mood to forgive or forget Imran's anti-military utterances, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RAW, India's external intelligence agency.

IMF cuts India's FY22 growth forecast to 9%

IMF cuts India's FY22 growth forecast to 9%

Rediff.com26 Jan 2022

The IMF on Tuesday cut India's economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year, with its chief economist Gita Gopinath saying that the slight downgrade is mainly due to the impact of the spread of the Omicron variant. "If you look at the 2021-22 fiscal year, we have a slight downgrade of -0.5 percentage points and for the next fiscal year 2022-23 we have a slight upgrade of 0.5 percentage points. So, growth for the previous fiscal year is now nine per cent and for this year now is at nine per cent. We moved it up slightly," Gopinath told reporters during a news conference in Washington. In its latest update of World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund has cut India's economic growth forecast to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year ending March 31, joining a host of agencies which have downgraded their projections on concerns over the impact of the spread of Omicron on business activity and mobility.

Xi offers help to Trump to combat COVID-19

Xi offers help to Trump to combat COVID-19

Rediff.com27 Mar 2020

Trump spoke to Xi over telephone, days after the US president angered Beijing by referring to the coronavirus as "Chinese virus" and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China's ruling Communist Party poses a substantial threat" to Americans' health and their way of life.

PFI, 8 other outfits banned under UAPA for 5 years for terror links

PFI, 8 other outfits banned under UAPA for 5 years for terror links

Rediff.com28 Sep 2022

The Centre has imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates for their alleged terror activities.

'US-India ties allow us to capture the strength of both nations'

'US-India ties allow us to capture the strength of both nations'

Rediff.com28 Mar 2014

'When the United States and India make common cause there's really no challenge that we can't tackle, there's no mission that we can't overcome,' believes senior US official Nisha Desai Biswal

China goes on offensive against US at bilateral talks

China goes on offensive against US at bilateral talks

Rediff.com26 Jul 2021

Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy".

Global vaccine supply hit due to Covid surge in India:

Global vaccine supply hit due to Covid surge in India:

Rediff.com28 May 2021

The 'terrible' surge of the coronavirus cases in India has severely impacted COVAX's vaccine supply in the second quarter of this year to the extent that there will be a shortfall of 190 million doses by the end of June, according to a joint statement by the WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and CEPI.

Panama papers: Govt sets up multi-agency probe team on money stashed abroad

Panama papers: Govt sets up multi-agency probe team on money stashed abroad

Rediff.com4 Apr 2016

Government on Monday formed a multi-agency group to monitor exposes in this regard and vowed to take action against all "unlawful" accounts held abroad.

Bharat Biotech has two more Covid vaccines in pipeline

Bharat Biotech has two more Covid vaccines in pipeline

Rediff.com16 Jan 2021

First a scientist and then a businessman, founder chairman Krishna Ella quit his faculty position at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, United States, in 1996 to return to India.

AUKUS And The Militarization Of Indo Pacific

AUKUS And The Militarization Of Indo Pacific

Rediff.com20 Mar 2023

Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).

North Korea threatens to hit US military base after Trump's 'fire and fury' warning

North Korea threatens to hit US military base after Trump's 'fire and fury' warning

Rediff.com9 Aug 2017

Media reports said North Korea has successfully miniaturised a nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.

In MP, RSS internal report warns of unhappiness at ground level

In MP, RSS internal report warns of unhappiness at ground level

Rediff.com13 Nov 2018

Despite his ministers on shaky ground, Chouhan -- at the helm for three consecutive terms -- is holding the fort. He is being aided by a capable team for public relations and the RSS, which has deployed its workers to bolster the BJP's campaign, reports Sandeep Kumar.

White House says Iran has clandestine nuke programme

White House says Iran has clandestine nuke programme

Rediff.com1 May 2018

Information released by Israel provided new and compelling details about Iran's efforts to develop missile-deliverable nuclear weapons, says WH.

When Santa Wore A Red Sari

When Santa Wore A Red Sari

Rediff.com1 Feb 2023

The Budget oration of the finance minister and the confidence with which she delivered it, along with the measures and the recent upsurge in the economy would all contribute to unleashing the storied 'animal spirits' and help the economy run on the growth path quite smoothly. Or so the government hopes, notes Shreekant Sambrani.

Modi-Biden talks: A call on Taliban to end terror

Modi-Biden talks: A call on Taliban to end terror

Rediff.com25 Sep 2021

In a US-India Joint Leaders' Statement issued after the first in-person bilateral meeting between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Friday, the two leaders underscored the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan.

Government Cracks Down On FCI Racket

Government Cracks Down On FCI Racket

Rediff.com14 Feb 2023

'The corruption charges in FCI are not the first and won't be the last.'

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Rediff.com29 Jul 2021

The government may look at areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility. If successful, this would be one of the few sites of Sputnik V owned by Russian firms outside that country. Shine Jacob and Sohini Das report.

India's auto revolution is driving global oil demand

India's auto revolution is driving global oil demand

Rediff.com16 May 2016

India is currently the world's fourth-largest oil consumer after the United States, China and Japan

South Korea allows mango exports from India

South Korea allows mango exports from India

Rediff.com20 Mar 2017

Mangoes from India are popular in the Middle East, the Far East, the United States and European countries.