India is primarily focusing on evacuating its nationals from conflict zones in eastern Ukraine including Kharkiv and Sumy, and that the total number of Indians still stuck in the battle-scarred nation is roughly in the range of 2,000 to 3,000.
By driving a hard bargain with Russia in procuring crude oil at the lowest price possible, India is furthering the policy of G7 and Washington is "comfortable" with New Delhi over its approach in addressing issues relating to energy security, a top Biden administration official said.
US envoy Eric Garcetti on Thursday said he respects that India likes its "strategic autonomy", but in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy, even as he pitched for forging a stronger partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and China's President Xi Jinping expressed their concerns about the war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the SCO summit in Samarkhand, the tyrant of the Kremlin has raised the military stakes in the conflict.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of his first state visit to the United States, Modi also talked about the Ukraine conflict, saying some people say that India is neutral but it is on the side of peace.
Ukraine has rejected Putin's demand and termed it a 'complete sham' and 'offensive to common sense'.
Companies are not able to pass on the pressure from rising input costs to buyers, and this is likely to result in a compression in corporate profit margins for the March quarter, a report said on Monday. Operating profit margins for companies are set to fall by as much as 3 percentage points compared to the year-ago period, and up to 0.60 per cent as compared to the preceding December quarter, the research wing of rating agency Crisil said in a report. The report comes ahead of the earnings season when major companies start reporting their profits.
Zelenskyy gave a message of hope for the Ukrainian people during his address to the Congress, saying the Russians "use everything" against cities such as Bakhmut but Ukraine "never surrenders".
Ukraine's Paralympic chief said on Friday his team would quit the Winter Paralympic Games if Russia invaded his home country, adding that he hoped the competition would be able to spread peace instead.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's top oil firm, has bought as much as 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at steep discount to prevailing international rates, sources said. The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine that brought international pressure for isolating Putin administration. Sources aware of the matter said IOC bought Urals crude for May delivery at a discount of $20-25 a barrel to dated Brent.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has also approached the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva and requested it to be cognizant of the security interests of the Indian citizens and escort them out, wherever possible, when it starts its operation in Ukraine.
World Taekwondo condemned the Russian military action in Ukraine
American brokerage firm Morgan Stanley on Thursday sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. Analysts at the brokerage also raised their inflation forecast to 6 per cent - the upper end of the tolerance band for the RBI - and flagged stagflation risks because of the ongoing events. "We believe that the ongoing geopolitical tensions exacerbate external risks and impart a stagflationary impulse to the economy," they said. It can be noted that stagflation involves a stagnancy in output or growth, coupled with high inflation.
Trump said Zelenskyy disrespected the United States in its cherished Oval Office.
Automobile dispatches from factories to dealerships across the country declined 23 per cent in February, as various supply-side challenges, including semiconductor shortage, and rise in vehicle prices due to the implementation of new regulations continued to impact demand scenario, industry body SIAM said on Friday. Wholesales of domestic passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers declined 23 per cent to 13,28,027 units last month, compared with 17,35,909 units in February 2021. Overall, passenger vehicle dispatches in February 2022 declined six per cent to 262,984 units, compared with 281,380 units in the same month of last year.
The countries voting in favour included France, Germany, Japan, Nepal, The United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday during which he reiterated India's long-standing position on the Ukraine situation, favouring dialogue and diplomacy.
'Trump's desire to withdraw the US from some arenas on the global stage will result in ceding space to China.'
"Given the catastrophic humanitarian situation and its sharp aggravation in the cities of Kiev, Kharkiv, Sumy and Mariupol, as well as at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the Russian armed forces announce ceasefire for humanitarian purposes from 10;00 March 7, 2022, and open humanitarian corridors," the response center said in a statement.
On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations."
Modi also invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha to urge the delegates to draw inspiration from India's civilisational ethos and "focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us."
'Large-caps are better placed to withstand the impact of higher input cost inflation, rising rates and withdrawal of excess global liquidity.'
The two leaders discussed the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from the conflict areas.
An India-Japan joint statement said the two leaders expressed serious concern over the conflict and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
'What would we feel if we found the world behaving the way it has?' 'Forced to fight our own prolonged battle; nobody from outside really demanding that the war end or actively working to make it end, and above all, a completely toothless United Nations reduced to pleading for a halt to the violence,' notes Shyam G Menon, exactly a month after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
A day after suffering their worst session in about two years, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded up to 2.5 per cent on Friday, in line with higher global markets as the US and allies put up a united front to punish Russia with harsher sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Snapping their seven-day losing streak, the BSE Sensex climbed 1,328.61 points or 2.44 per cent to settle at 55,858.52, while the NSE Nifty went soared 410.45 points or 2.53 per cent to 16,658.40. Barring HUL and Nestle, all Sensex shares closed with gains -- with Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Tech Mahindra surging as much as 6.54 per cent.
This might help explain why our global outreach has received such a tepid response. We have chosen to be transactional with the world, as our UN votes reveal, points out Aakar Patel.
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
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.
Sheikh Hasina, who was elected for a record fourth consecutive term and fifth overall term this year, was always admired by her supporters as "Iron Lady", before the dramatic development that abruptly ended her 15-year-rule in Bangladesh.
Andrey Rublev received a large round of applause from the audience after he wrote the message.
Geopolitical tensions simmered at the US Open on Thursday as Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk refused the customary handshake at the net when Belarusian Victoria Azarenka defeated her 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
Mariupol City Council, who shared an image of the destroyed building, said Russian forces had 'purposefully and cynically destroyed the Drama Theater in the heart of Mariupol', CNN reported.
Units of the Russian armed forces are moving forward with the special operation, having advanced up to 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) over the past 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.
China has signalled that it will prevent India from assuming leadership of the Global South, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The rising dependence on discounted crude oil has resulted in India's trade deficit with Russia hitting the second-highest place last year, after China, reveals Department of Commerce data. From April through January 2022-23 (FY23), India's maximum trade deficit was with China, at $71.58 billion. This was followed by Russia, where the deficit expanded sevenfold - from $4.86 billion in April-January of 2021-22 (FY22) to $34.79 billion during the same period in FY23.
Moody's Ratings on Tuesday cut India's GDP growth projections for 2025 to 6.3 per cent, from 6.5 per cent, saying economies globally will see a slowdown on account of heightened US policy uncertainty and trade restrictions.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to "predict" any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the "unexpected".
Investors' wealth eroded by over Rs 4.90 lakh crore on Friday amid a sharp fall in equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 1,020.80 points or 1.73 per cent to settle at 58,098.92. During the day, it tumbled 1,137.77 points or 1.92 per cent to 57,981.95. The market capitalisation of the BSE-listed firms plummeted by Rs 4,90,162.55 crore to Rs 2,76,64,566.79 crore on Friday.
