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NEW DELHI : India has the mechanisms to tweak bilateral investment treaties for quick resolution of disputes with “strategically important countries", an official aware of the development said, outlining what would mark a significant moderation of New Delhi’s long-held suspicion of such treaties as weighted against it. The official’s remarks come as India parallelly negotiates bilateral investment treaties (BIT)—along with free trade agreements—with the UK and EU, which seek better investment protection and faster resolution of disputes.

GST Council concluded on Tuesday with the goods and services tax rate trimmed down to 5% in four items. Also, the council exempted GST on several imported pharma products. However, one of the biggest highlights was the 28% tax rate imposed on the full value of online gaming which is likely a setback for Indian players.

NEW DELHI : As many as 415 million Indians moved out of poverty in the 15-year period between 2005/2006 and 2019/2021, the UN said in a report on Tuesday. The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford. The report analysed trends from 2000 to 2022, focusing on 81 countries with comparable data over time.

New Delhi: Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has warned that the credit impact of water management risks is set to escalate due to rising demand and the effects of climate change. In a report, Moody’s highlighted the increasing credit risk associated with water management as the demand for water continues to surge and climate change exacerbates challenges. Moody’s pointed out that sectors such as extractive industries, agriculture, utilities, and emerging market local governments are particularly exposed to these risks.

New Delhi: The Indian Meteorological Department's Agromet division has advised farmers in several northern states to delay sowing key crops amid extremely heavy rainfall. Farmers in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, facing a deluge, have been advised to postpone sowing of maize, soybean, Kharif pulses, and vegetables. The past day has seen Himachal Pradesh, the hardest hit, witness a staggering 446% above-normal rainfall, measuring 48.1 mm.

New Delhi: India recorded 20 fresh covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, the lowest since the pandmic hit the country in early 2020. According to an update from the health ministry on Tuesday, active cases have declined to 1,420 following a steady fall in infections over the past few months. Total reported cases stand at over 4.50 crore, with death toll at 531,913.

Lethal flooding has simultaneously hit India, Japan, China, Turkey and the U.S. Northeast

New Delhi: The market for critical minerals, essential for powering clean energy technologies, has experienced a remarkable surge, doubling in size over the past five years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report on Tuesday. The IEA’s inaugural Critical Minerals Market Review, released today along with a new online data explorer, highlights the soaring demand for minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper driven by the increasing deployment of clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels.

New Delhi: Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon Group has bagged order for a 47.6 MW wind power project from KP Group in Gujarat, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The project, located at Vagra in Bharuch district in Gujarat, is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

New Delhi: Actor and entrepreneur Suniel Shetty has invested in a new healthcare venture The Biohacker, a full-service integrative health and wellness clinic founded by Lalit Dharmani. “I’m excited about ‘The Biohacker’ as it is definitely my wisest collaboration till date since it explores the impact of the approach of biohacking on our personal health and society. There is rapid growth in the healthcare and fitness sector to improve the lifestyle of people, and, ‘The Biohacker’ interests me because of their approach towards wellness, starting right from the diagnosis to therapeutic treatments by using high-end technology," Shetty said in a statement.

New Delhi: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday said it has signed a master ship repair agreement (MSRA) with the United States Navy. In a statement to stock exchanges, the engineering behemoth said that the agreement follows an elaborate assessment of the company’s state-of-the-art Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai, undertaken by the US Navy and the Military Sealift Command. The shipyard is also qualified by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard for warship refits.

Vedanta declined almost three per cent in morning trade on BSE on Tuesday, a day after Taiwan-based firm Foxconn said it had decided to pull out of a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture (JV) with Vedanta. The stock opened at ₹275 against the previous close of ₹282.25 and fell 2.6 per cent to ₹274.90 soon.

Check all the latest updates on the GST Council meeting at Mint's LIVE blog:Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday will chair the 50th GST meeting in New Delhi. The 49th meeting of the Council was held on 18 February 2023.

New Delhi: A Delhi High Court division bench on Monday heard the appeal filed by the resolution professional (RP) of Go First, challenging an interim order issued by a single bench on 5 July, allowing the lessors to inspect the airline’s fleet, as it would be disastrous for Go First in its efforts to resume operations. Neeraj Kishan Kaul, counsel appearing for the RP, said the order disregarded a proposed resolution approved by Committee of Creditors, and submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Spain's Navantia and Larsen & Toubro on Monday signed a Teaming Agreement (TA) in the premises of the Spanish Embassy here, with the purpose of submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy's prestigious P75 (India) submarine program. The agreement was signed in the presence of SN Subrahmanyan, L&T CEO & MD and Augustin Alvarez Blanco, Naval Construction Vice President, and Member of the Board- Navantia. Larsen & Toubro and Navantia, Spain signed a Teaming Agreement (TA) for the purpose of submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

NEW DELHI : The corporate affairs ministry will examine the need for a new regulatory regime for large startups that have grown beyond a certain size to ensure their governance systems become more robust without compromising on ease of doing business, a person familiar with the development said. A panel of experts advising the ministry—company law committee—will examine this shortly, the person said on the condition of anonymity. The move comes at a time many Indian startups have achieved scale, have become hugely valuable and have raised large amounts of private capital, but their management capability to handle the governance and compliance obligations in line with their size has raised concerns.

New Delhi: SJVN CMD Nand Lal Sharma on Monday reviewed the preparations at 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station and 412 Rampur Hydro Power Station for ensuring the safety of men and material.  Sharma, through video conferences, also reviewed the status of under construction 210 MW Luhri Stage-I HEP, 382 MW Sunni Dam HEP, 66 MW Dhaulasidh HEP in Himachal Pradesh and 60 MW Naitwar Mori HEP in Uttarakhand. The level of rivers on which these projects are located has increased manifold. According to a company statement, the CMD said that the company’s priority is to ensure the safety of the people.

New Delhi: Foxconn Technology Group has pulled out of its joint venture with Vedanta Ltd that had planned to invest $20 billion in India for setting up a semiconductor fabrication unit, display unit and semiconductor assembly and testing unit.   The 60:40 partnership could have set up the country’s first semiconductor manufacturing unit under the $10 billion government-backed financial incentive scheme, and was once estimated to be ahead of two other consortia in the fray for getting the sops.   The government however downplayed the development saying that the differences between the two companies did not impact India’s plans to become a semiconductor manufacturing destination.   “Both the companies are fully committed to developing India’s semiconductor industry and they’re fully committed to Make in India," minister of electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told Mint, noting that the announcements will not have an impact on India’s semiconductor mission.  Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and information technology said in a Twitter post following the announcements that it was well known that both companies had no prior experience or technology and were expected to source fab technology from a technology partner.  "While their JV VFSL had originally submitted a proposal for 28nm fab, they could not source appropriate tech partner for that proposal.

NEW DELHI : India’s entertainment industry is poised to witness the gradual integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations, with growing anticipation regarding its potential impact on various aspects of the industry, like in other sectors. Currently, tools are already being utilized to generate songs in the voices of artistes who did not originally sing them, as well as creating posters featuring actors in different roles. However, experts predict that AI will aid scripting, casting, shooting, post-production, marketing, and even the generation of melodies and lyrics.

New Delhi: The Central government has collected Rs. 4.75 trillion in direct taxes after adjusting for refunds, so far this financial year, up to 9 July, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Monday.   This is a jump of 15.87% compared to the net direct tax receipts for the corresponding period of last year.

BENGALURU / NEW DELHI : NatWest Group Plc., a Scotland-headquartered banking and insurance holding company, has two engineering hubs, in Poland and India. They house about one-third of NatWest’s global employees. While half of the company’s India workforce works on technology and data analytics, it is also increasing its focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI applications.