Country Financial News

power capacity over the 49 GW already planned or under construction to meet future requirements, power minister RK Singh said on Friday.

NEW DELHI : The negotiations between India and Canada on the free trade agreement (FTA), which resumed after a decade, have come to a halt due to political concerns, said a senior government official on Friday. Without citing the Khalistan issue, which created differences between the two countries, the official said negotiations will resume once the “political issues" are resolved. The announcement comes after Canada recently said the negotiations were on hold.

NEW DELHI : The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Raghuvanshi has granted permission to three National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)- accredited private labs to conduct tests on cough syrups for exports. The private labs are: Bee Pharma Labs (Mumbai), Oasis Test House (Ahmedabad) and Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (Delhi). Prior to this, only government labs were authorised to test cough syrups for export.

NEW DELHI : The Pokémon Co. and its American partner, software developer Niantic Inc., have launched the popular mobile game Pokémon GO in Hindi. As part of the expansion plans, the companies have allocated ₹125 crore over five years for activities like advertising and marketing.

Sunny Deol's Gadar 2, Akshay Kumar's OMG 2 and Chiranjeevi's Bhola Shankar did exceptional business across languages, multiplexes and single-screen halls. And Atlee's SRK- starring Jawan, of course, reinforced the trend with first-day collections of ₹74.5 crore. With generative AI becoming pervasive, will deepfakes replace actors? Or bring deceased actors back to life? The current turmoil in Hollywood could well be the trigger.

DUBAI : The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the host of the UN climate change conference (COP28) this year, will circulate a draft landmark declaration for food security transition to member countries in a few days, UAE’s climate change and environment minister Mariam Al Mehairi said in an interview. COP28, under the UAE presidency, aims to transform food systems to ensure that it is part of national climate efforts and secure the annual $100 billion in climate finance owed to developing nations. She also highlighted the challenges in importing fertilizers and wheat from Russia because of the war and the COP28 presidency’s focus on improving lives and livelihoods in Africa, helping unlock Africa’s green energy potential and ensuring food security.

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi had visited Chhattisgarh on Thursday, the state that is slated to go into Assembly elections later this year. The Congress had accused PM Modi of misinformation, alleging that he misled the public attending the elections meet, and claimed a G20 meeting was held in Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh Congress's social media handle wrote, “The Prime Minister of the country came to Chhattisgarh and lied and went away," along with a clip from Modi's address.

NEW DELHI : India’s merchandise trade gap swelled to the highest in 10 months in August as exports continued to slow due to weak demand in the West and China, even as sustained geo-political tensions keep inflation and interest rates elevated. Commerce ministry data showed on Friday that exports slipped nearly 7% to $34.48 billion in August from $37.02 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile, imports declined to $58.64 billion from $61.88 billion last year, leaving the trade balance at $24.16 billion.

NEW DELHI : Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd, the country’s largest luxury carmaker, will follow a top-down strategy with its electric vehicles (EVs) in alignment with its global plan to exit the “volume segment" play, and hopes to benefit from the fact that its rivals are launching EVs in more affordable price brackets, competing with mass-market players, a top company executive said.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that Lebanon is still facing enormous economic challenges, four years after the country's historic meltdown began

The European Union has decided not to renew a ban on Ukrainian food imports heading to nearby countries

Britain, France and Germany have announced that they will keep their sanctions on Iran related to the Mideast country’s atomic program and its development of ballistic missiles

The United States Soccer Federation is planning to build a national training center in Atlanta with financial support from Arthur Blank

Thousand of migrants reached the Italian island of Lampedusa on more than 100 boats this week

Commercial casinos in the U.S. had their best July ever this year, winning nearly $5.4 billion from gamblers, according to a national gambling industry group

The leaders of China and Zambia have announced an upgrading of their ties as the world’s second-largest economy forges deeper ties with the Global South

U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug

Apple has agreed to install updates for iPhone 12 smartphones in France after French regulators ordered the company to stop selling the model

Germany’s city of Munich is getting ready to tap the kegs for Oktoberfest

Nebraska authorities don't expect any lingering problems related to Thursday's explosion of a railroad shipping container carrying an acid used to make explosives because the chemical largely burned off and any residue was contained