The US Trade Representative noted that India's average applied tariff rate stood at 17% per cent, the highest of any major world economy.
In what could come as a piece of good news, hunger in India - as measured by the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) - has come down from 16.6 per cent of the population in the 2020-2022 to 13.7 per cent in 2021-23, the latest report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2024) showed. This means that around 39.3 million people have come out of undernourishment between the two periods, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said on Tuesday.
The state health department teams are conducting door-to-door surveillance in Badhal village, and the medical teams present in the district are monitoring the situation closely. The Medical experts have advised residents not to panic.
So far, over 30 people have died across Northeastern states due to heavy rainfalls, floods and landslides, according to media reports.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has begun questioning Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the deadly strikes. Rana, who was extradited from the US, is being held at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi. The interrogation is focused on his possible connection with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his suspected links with the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Kazan, Russia on Wednesday, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.
A day after the Congress reached out to Mulayam Singh Yadav seeking support for passage of the Food Security Bill, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday decided to support the legislation but will move amendments seeking to give farmers their due for crops and giving more grains per person.
He referred to the Modi government scheme providing five kilograms of ration to the poor every month and said, "The Congress brought the Food Security Act, you did nothing."
Supporting the food security ordinance, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government is taking steps for its implementation but felt bringing it after discussion in Parliament would have been a better option.
A day before the Cabinet considers issuing an ordinance to implement government's ambitious National Food Security Bill, Food Minister K V Thomas said all UPA allies, including Nationalist Congress Party, are on board and there was a consensus on issuing an ordinance.
The bill, considered by many in the Congress as a gamechanger which could boost its prospects in the Lok Sabha election, was tabled in the Budget Session but could not be taken up for discussion as Opposition stalled Parliament over a rash of scams under United Progressive Alliance.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi feels the prime minister should not be bothered about the consequences of an ordinance, as the food security legislation is important for the party's electoral future. Renu Mittal reports.
West Bengal government has expressed surprise at the way the UPA government was rushing through legislation on the Food Security Bill when the general election was "knocking at the door" and without a full-fledged implementation mechanism.
Thousands of devotees traveling to the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, were stranded on the border between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh due to massive crowds. The Madhya Pradesh government provided food and accommodation for the stranded devotees in Rewa district. The situation arose due to the influx of pilgrims for the Mauni Amavasya holy bath.
"The initial plan was to dispose of the body parts in a secluded location, but the duo eventually decided to keep it inside a large blue drum, filling it with cement and sand," said SP Singh.
The much-touted Food Security Bill was taken up in Rajya Sabha, with opposition terming it as a "gimmick" with an eye on elections and accusing government of violating constitutional norms by issuing an ordinance when Parliament session was less than a month away.
Lehecka struck eight aces and converted four of eight break chances to secure the first Top 3 win of his career.
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Monday sought to blame the opposition for disruption in Parliament, saying they were "bursting debates" and "killing arguments" in the House as he backed the Food Security Bill in its present form.
MS had written that seeds of the green revolution were first sown in the fields of CRRI through the indica-japonica rice crosses, and decided that the plant type should be tailored to be functionally responsive to external application of fertilisers.
'We were told by fellow travellers that if we ask too many questions, we could be shot'
Stock exchanges NSE and BSE have freezed shares of promoters of Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali group firm Patanjali Foods, but the company said the decision will not have any impact on its functioning. Patanjali Foods Ltd, erstwhile Ruchi Soya Industries, on Thursday said the freezing of its promoters' shareholding in the company "will not have any impact" on its financial position and functioning of the company. On Thursday, Patanjali Foods Ltd (PFL) informed that leading bourses BSE and NSE had frozen shares of its 21 promoter entities, including Patanjali Ayurved for failing to meet minimum public shareholding norms.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union and the Mahila Aghadi have also opposed.
Physics Wallah has filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a precursor to hitting the primary market from where the edtech Unicorn reportedly plans to raise around Rs 4,500 crore through IPO.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the premises of Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Punjab AAP MLA Kulwant Singh as part of a money laundering probe linked to the Rs 48,000-crore PACL Ponzi scam. Khachariyawas, who served as a minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, claimed the ED action was politically motivated due to his criticism of the government. Singh, a real estate promoter, is reported to be Punjab's richest MLA with assets worth Rs 1,000 crore. The ED has been investigating the PACL scam since 2015, alleging that the company defrauded investors of Rs 48,000 crore through fraudulent investment schemes.
The US hopes India will "reconsider" its decision to ban wheat exports, with Washington "encouraging" countries not to restrict exports as that will exacerbate food shortages, amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, has banned wheat exports in a bid to check high domestic prices amid concerns of wheat output being hit by scorching heat waves. The decision would help control retail prices of wheat and wheat flour, which have risen by an average 14-20 per cent in the last one year, besides meeting the foodgrain requirement of neighbouring and vulnerable countries.
"These latest so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are reckless and self-destructive, inflicting financial pain on Illinois at a time when people are already struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and put food on the table."
Initially, the additional free benefit under the PMGKAY was provided for a period of three months (April-June 2020) to ameliorate distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the crisis continuing, the programme was extended for another five months (July-November 2020).
The October-December quarter (Q3FY25) results of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) indicated weak demand, with urban growth muted and rural showing recovery. Consolidated revenue grew by 1.6 per cent (volume was flat) to Rs 15,818 crore, due to price hikes. Prices of key raw materials such as palm oil and tea remained elevated, leading to compression of gross margin.
PVR Inox shares hit a 44-month low of Rs 1,154, declining 8 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade in an otherwise firm market, driven by growth concerns. The stock has slipped 23 per cent from its December high of Rs 1,620, touched on December 5, 2024. It has fallen below its previous low of Rs 1,203.7 from June 4, 2024, and is trading at its lowest level since May 2021.
Social media influencer Orhan Awatramani, known as Orry, and seven others were booked for allegedly consuming alcohol at a hotel in Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The FIR was registered for violating the law and hurting religious sentiments. The hotel reportedly prohibits alcohol and non-vegetarian food due to its proximity to the shrine.
Rohit, a young man from Punjab, India, was deported from the United States after a perilous journey that cost him his life savings and left his family in financial ruin. He had been promised legal entry to the U.S. by a travel agent in Amritsar, but his hopes were dashed when he was apprehended for illegally crossing the border. The ordeal highlights the risks associated with illegal migration and the exploitation faced by vulnerable individuals seeking a better life.
The government on Wednesday reached out to opposition Janata Dal-United as continued disruptions in Parliament blocked passage of the United Progressive Alliance's 'game changer' Food Security Bill that aims to provide foodgrains at cheap rates to 67 per cent of the population.
India is among the three least-favoured Asian stock markets, according to BofA Securities whose survey found that 10 per cent of fund managers are underweight on Indian equities from a 12-month perspective.
Sanjay Malhotra takes charge as the 26th RBI governor at a time when headline retail inflation has shot up to 6.2%.
The two major changes include: keeping an option open for supplying more than 3 kg of subsidised foodgrains to general households and widening its reach to include lactating women, destitute and aged people and providing nutritious food to children.
Making it clear that he was not opposed to the National Food Security Bill, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday said he would prefer it to be approved by Parliament after a debate.
'Nobody wants to run an exploitation factory.'
How did the thug access Saif Ali Khan's home?
The agreement has ended a wartime standoff that had threatened food security in several countries and cleared the way for exporting tons of Ukrainian grains.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought down the budgetary allocation for the fertiliser subsidy for FY21 to Rs 71,309 crore, from the RE of Rs 79,998 crore for FY20, while increasing food subsidy to FCI through "ways and means advance" to Rs 50,000 crore for FY21, from Rs 36,000 crore in RE for FY20, and under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to Rs 77,982 crore, from Rs 75,000 crore.
