India's exports rose 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion in April, the highest in six months, driven by healthy growth in sectors such as electronics and engineering goods, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $26.42 billion. According to the commerce ministry data released on Thursday, imports increased by 19.12 per cent year-on-year to $64.91 billion in April due to a rise in shipments of crude oil and fertiliser.
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4 per cent in December 2024, as against 5.1 per cent growth registered a year ago, according to official data released on Friday. On a monthly basis, the growth rate in the production of these sectors was lower than the 4.4 per cent expansion recorded in November 2024.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
Enthused by rising potato prices after a prolonged slump, Pradeep Sharma was planning to sow the crop on his 15-acre farm near Agra slightly earlier than usual. The delayed departure of the southwest monsoon also prompted his decision, since the good soil moisture would have saved at least one initial irrigation. But the acute shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a crucial nutrient ahead of the sowing season for potatoes, nipped those hopes in the bud. DAP is the second-most used fertiliser in the country after urea.
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.3 per cent in November 2024 against 7.9 per cent growth registered a year ago, according to official data released on Tuesday. On a monthly basis, the production growth of these sectors was higher than the 3.7 per cent expansion recorded in October 2024.
There are challenges galore before him, and it is not going to be easy. In the next four years, he has to conjure a system that changes the optics about him and the BJP both nationally and internationally so that he can ride back on his own, claim the top slot, and not have to lean on a coalition, asserts Ramesh Menon as Modi 3.0 completes a year in power.
As the kharif season is setting in, India is scrambling to source fertilisers from the international market. It is set to sign long-term contracts - especially with Morocco and Latin American countries - to ensure steady flow of supplies. "We have to source fertilisers wherever it is available because crops have to be secured.
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors expanded by 3.1 per cent in October 2024, sharply down from a 12.7 per cent growth registered in the same month last year, according to official data released on Friday.
India's fertiliser subsidy bill is likely to shoot up by 55 per cent to record Rs 2.5 lakh crore this fiscal as the government will provide additional funds to make up for the spike in cost from higher import price, top sources said on Thursday. The government will ensure that there is no shortage of fertilisers in the country during the kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) season and it is already in talks with major global producers to import key soil nutrients, they added. According to the sources, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is likely to visit many countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco, soon to secure imports on both short and long term basis.
'Rainfall does not appear to have a statistically significant impact on foodgrain production since the last few years, which contrasts with the traditional view of India's heavy reliance on monsoon rains for agriculture.'
Dr Nandita Palshetkar, IVF expert and medical director, Bloom IVF, explains how certain behaviour can lead to poor quality of sperm.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday met families of four deceased farmers, who had allegedly faced shortage of fertilisers in Lalitpur, and charged that the fertiliser distribution system of Uttar Pradesh has failed due to collusion among black marketers, officials and leaders.
In a significant change to regulations, oil and gas regulator PNGRB has proposed a new policy of how tariffs for pipelines carrying gas to users will be determined, and proposed charging city gas entities selling CNG and piped cooking gas to households at the lowest rates.
Dr Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, had to literally face a trial-by-fire to ensure widespread acceptance of his path-breaking Union Budget of 1991 that saw the nation rise from its darkest financial crises.
Ongoing strategic investment into assets abroad, alongside gas purchases being made by India, will soon allow the country to access as much gas as it needs, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on the sidelines of India Energy Week (IEW 2025).
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors expanded by 2 per cent in September, though the growth was slower than the 9.5 per cent registered in the same month last year, according to official data released on Wednesday. The output of these sectors had contracted by 1.6 per cent in August. Out of the eight key sectors, three -- crude oil, natural gas and electricity -- recorded negative growth in September.
Non-banking entities such as fintech firms will have to tap into use cases beyond peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions to scale up the presence of the retail version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is also known as the e, said industry players. These use cases will enable programmable transactions across domains, including the government's direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes, with subsidies restricted to specific purposes such as food coupons, hospital bills, fertilisers, pesticides, and cross-border remittances.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Due to this sudden phenomenon, guests stopped visiting the homes of these villages, girls and boys from these villages were not getting proposals; students were reluctant to attend schools and colleges for fear of being shamed.'
'I always cook from my heart,' says New York Chef Vijaya Kumar who won his third Michelin Star recently.
Edamame + truffle oil + basmati rice = an exquisite combo.
The Assam government has banned the serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels, and public places. The decision was made at a meeting of the state cabinet to amend the existing law on beef consumption. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the current law is strong but there has been no prohibition on beef consumption at restaurants, hotels, and religious or social gatherings. The new law aims to put a complete ban on consumption of beef in public places in Assam.
The director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, V Kamakoti, has sparked controversy after making a remark about the "medicinal value" of cow urine, or "gomutra." Kamakoti, while speaking at an event celebrating Maatu Pongal (a festival dedicated to cows and bulls), cited an anecdote about a sanyasi who was cured of a fever by consuming gomutra. He also claimed that gomutra has "anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and digestive properties." The remark has been widely condemned by rationalist organizations, political leaders, and medical professionals who have criticized Kamakoti's statements as "pseudoscience" and "regressive." The controversy highlights the ongoing debate in India around traditional beliefs and scientific evidence.
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders urged the government to provide cheaper long-term credit, implement lower taxes, and double the PM-KISAN income support during a comprehensive pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. The two-hour meeting saw a detailed discussion of proposals, aimed at addressing multiple challenges in the agricultural sector, with key demands focusing on financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investments.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors entered a negative zone after three-and-a-half years, contracting 1.8 per cent in August 2024 due to decline in output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, cement and electricity, according to official data released on Monday. The growth rate was 6.1 per cent in July. The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 13.4 per cent in August 2023.
The CBI has registered a case related to the alleged diversion of fertilisers meant for farmers against Agrasen Gehlot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's brother, and 14 others, and carried out searches at his Jodhpur home and 16 other locations in three states, officials said.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
The world is in a state of crisis and it is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday referring to various global challenges arising out of conflict, war and terrorism among others. In his opening remarks at the Voice of Global South virtual summit, Modi flagged concerns over rising prices of food, fuel and fertilisers, economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as natural disasters driven by climate change. "We are meeting as a new year dawns and brings new hopes and new energy," Modi said.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 6.1 per cent in July this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and natural gas, according to official data released on Friday. The growth rate, however, is up from 5.1 per cent in June.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to a 20-month low of 4 per cent in June this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and refinery products, according to official data released on Wednesday. The core sectors' production grew by 6.4 per cent in May 2024. The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 8.4 per cent in June 2023.
Several leading scientists, academicians, and agriculturalists have called for raising government support for research and development to make Indian agriculture future-ready.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday promised to enact an-anti conversion law with stringent provisions in Maharashtra, and also assured a skill census for training as per industry needs as well as free ration to low-income families.
The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.6 per cent in April 2023.
The government's main rate setting panel suggested that this be done in two tranches of Rs 2,500 each in the kharif and rabi seasons.
Experts said the rate hike would improve working capital position of the manufactures as it would correct the inverted duty structure but may lead to increase in price of the finished goods.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.7 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2023, on account of poor performance of some sectors like fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday. However, the growth rate is higher than January this year.
Jackfruit season heralds the arrival of its tasty stirfry on our tables or better as part of banana leaf meals
In a terse note to the prime minister, Union Minister of Fertilisers M K Alagiri has opposed the UPA-2 government's move to decontrol urea that was left out from the 2010 policy enforced on the phosphatic and potassic fertilisers known as NPK, pointing out the disaster of allowing the manufacturers and importers instead of the government to fix the maximum retail price of these fertilisers.
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