After recording positive growth in September, India's exports declined 5.4 per cent to $24.82 billion in October on account of dip in shipments of petroleum products, gems and jewellery, leather, and engineering goods. Trade deficit in October narrowed to $8.78 billion as against $11.76 billion, as imports also fell 11.56 per cent to $33.6 billion during the month under review.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he regrets not being able to learn the world's oldest language Tamil during his long political innings as a chief minister and prime minister.
The growth in the contact-intensive portion of the economy trailed our expectation, highlighting how imperative it is for confidence to improve, either through accelerated vaccinations or otherwise, to drive a sustainable recovery in these sectors, asserts Aditi Nayar.
India Ratings and Research on Friday revised down India's FY22 real GDP growth forecast to 10.1 per cent, from earlier projection of 10.4 per cent, citing the second wave of COVID-19 infections and slower pace of vaccination. At a time when large parts of the country are experiencing tremendous pressure on medical infrastructure, the agency said it expects the second wave to start subsiding by mid-May. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank maintained its 10.5 per cent GDP growth estimate, but Governor Shaktikanta Das has flagged the rising cases as the biggest impediment to recovery.
Here are eight images that prove we live in a odd, odd world.
Increase in kharif sowing area, good monsoon, rural cash flows and base effect among factors that have driven volumes.
Draped in a saree matching the colour of her background, the actor was seen lending a hand to women working in a wheat field, carrying bundles of freshly harvested crop.
The economy is expected to throw up better numbers in the September quarter with GDP contraction of 9.9 per cent, as against 24 per cent in Q1 at the onset of the pandemic, says a report. The government will release the Q2 GDP numbers later this month. In the first contraction since 1980, the economy shrank a full 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal after the whole nation was put under a strict lockdown.
Despite onion prices hitting Rs 130 a kg in the wholesale market, farmers have not gained enough to make a profit this season. Farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain estimate that 30 per cent crop damage this kharif season would result in a decline of about 2 million tonnes in output from Lasalgaon district alone. Similar crop damage across the country could lead to an onion shortage of nearly 7 million tonnes this year.
In a coordinated effort by hospitals and the Delhi traffic police, a heart harvested from a 57-year-old brain dead patient was transported from Karol Bagh to Saket, a distance of about 20 km, in a record 16 minutes for transplantation.
The government has made its flagship crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers with existing crop loans or those willing to take new ones, as it seeks to address the concerns raised by farmers' body and states in implementation of these programmes. "The Union Cabinet has approved the revamping of 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)' and 'Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)' to address the existing challenges in implementation of crop insurance schemes," an official statement said.
During his meeting with Bolsonaro, Prime Minister Modi invited the President of Brazil to be the chief guest at the Republic Day 2020. Bolsonaro accepted the invitation with pleasure.
The crop is currently trading at Rs 22 a kg compared to Rs 12.50 one month ago.
From Covid to climate change, Shankar Acharya's look at some of the trends and events that might shape 2022.
A likely easing in inflationary pressures in the forthcoming months will reopen the window for the RBI to once again prioritise growth and ease its interest rates.
The sharp drop in prices couldn't have come at a more difficult time, particularly for the two big producing states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, and also neighbouring Chhattisgarh as the states go to polls in the next few months.
To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.
The area-based income compensation scheme says that farmers should be paid the difference between the actual price they get and the state-mandated MSP. The compensation will be determined on a per acre basis by using district-level estimates of marketable surplus and prices in the harvest season.
Paine's batting lineup has been rated the worst Australia has ever, so the bowlers could well be under pressure
'Happy Onam to all Malayali friends .. specially to my friend @sreesanth36'
Investors say they see large companies going through the grind, as their promoters struggle with liquidity because they are levered up at the holding company level and are starting to get margin calls thanks to the crashes in the stock market, and in the next six months, the targets that will come up for PE companies will make for a harvest season like never before.
Noida SEZ has 400 units and around 100,000 workers, and was shut down on March 23.
How about topping your meal with a sweet wine? Here is a beginner's guide to dessert wines.
Setting up a system is not very complicated and costs can be Rs 2-3 lakh for a 100-apartment society
The CJI also said the ancient Indian text "Nyayshastra" is "not a bit" inferior to Aristotle and the Persian system of logic, and "there is no reason why we should forsake, overlook, and not benefit from the geniuses of our ancestors".
The Centre has announced an extension for two more weeks in the nationwide lockdown. However, several relaxations will be allowed as per zones.
This crisis requires political sophistication and governance skills. This BJP has neither, observes Shekhar Gupta.
It is likely the government will divide the country into different zones during the proposed extended period of lockdown and might permit a few services to function in safe zones.
The production in Maharashtra is pegged higher at 11-11.5 million tonnes against 10.71 million tonnes
Asian Development Bank on Wednesday lowered India's economic growth forecast for FY2019 to 5.1 per cent on slowing job prospects, rural distress exacerbated by poor harvest and credit crunch. Growth in FY2020 is likely to recover thanks to this support, low oil prices, and a weakening rupee, but risks to the projections remain tilted to the downside, it said on India.
Aerial photography has an uncanny ability to literally offer a fresh perspective on subjects that have been photographed to death, and this ability is on full display in the winners gallery of the first annual Aerial Photography Awards. The grand prize winner was Belgium's Sebastien Nagy, who was declared Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020. Scroll down to view some of the best images from the contest.
What we have in the Congress is a useful glue to hold a non-cultural, unified Opposition together. That is the sacrifice the Congress must be willing to live with if showing the BJP the door is what the collective Opposition wants, observes Shyam G Menon.
Lauding the farm sector for demonstrating resilience during the pandemic, the Economic Survey on Friday suggested the government to see farm sector as a "modern business enterprise" for which "urgent reforms" are required to enable sustainable and consistent growth. India's agricultural sector has shown its resilience amid the adversities of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the Survey noted. The agriculture and allied activities were the sole bright spot amid the slide in GDP performance of other sectors, clocking a growth rate of 3.4 per cent at constant prices during 2020-21, it added. According to the Survey, the farm sector has got "renewed thrust" due to various measures on credit, market reforms and food processing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat announcements.
A Ganesh Nadar speaks to onion farmers in Nashik, India's largest wholesale onion market, about the high prices.
Besides, the government would also undertake and promote steps for water conservation and curbing extraction of underground water, which is depleting the water table and is a matter of concern, the minister said.
Cries of 'Jai Hind' rent the air as a large number of people bid a final adieu to Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and five-year-old son, who were killed in a terrorist attack in Manipur two days ago, in their hometown Raigarh in Chhattisgarh on Monday.
Here are the best images from across the world from the previous week.
Far from the metros and big cities, the coronavirus crisis in the country's districts, towns and villages is being led by district magistrates.
The responsibility of keeping the pandemic under control lies with the DM or collector.
Subrat Kumar Sen, the young district magistrate of Saran, north Bihar, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how he and his staff are combating a crisis that no one has confronted before.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
Not only primary vegetables, but also additives like garlic, ginger and chilly have recorded a sharp increase in prices
