Country Financial News

Officials said that the utilisation of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) is as high as 90% in around 113 products especially labour intensive items where duties were reduced to nil from 5% under the pact. “90% of the exports of these products to Australia are happening through the FTA (free trade agreement) route,” said an official.

FOX Business’ Lydia Hu discusses the Reshoring Initiatives efforts to encourage companies to return manufacturing to the U.S. 

barf ka gola (snow cones). Though currency was used at the time, the ancient barter system dominated. When I told this story to my village’s third-generation youngsters, they laughed in disbelief.

Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort on August 15. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in marking the occasion.

Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to change the display picture of their social media accounts to the tricolour in the spirit of the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign. Modi also changed the display picture of his social media accounts to the national flag.

World Health Organisation (WHO) will organise the Traditional Medicine Global Summit on August 17 and 18 in Gujarat's Gandhinagar to explore the role of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges, a statement said. Co-hosted by the government of India, the summit will also explore ways to realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people's health and well-being around the world, the statement issued by the WHO said. WHO director-general and regional directors, G20 health ministers and high-level invitees from countries across the WHO's six regions will participate in the summit. Scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine, health workers and members of civil society organisations will also take part in it. The summit will explore ways to scale up scientific advances and realise the potential of evidence-based knowledge in the use of traditional medicine for people's health and well-being around the world, the statement said.

Unacademy, an online learning platform found itself in a soup after one of their educator asked his students to ‘next time vote for someone who is well-educated’. A video which has now gone viral on microblogging site ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, shows one Karan Sangwan lamenting that he had to change his notes, and work owing to the three bills recently tabled by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which aims to revamp the criminal justice system in India. Sangwan, an LLM in Criminal Laws, was seen suggesting his students that they ‘should not vote for those (politicians) who only focus on changing names’.

Tamang on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the Sikkim Organic Agriculture University (SOAU) at Mondegaon in Soreng district. Stating that Sikkim has established itself as the country's first organic state, Tamang said SOAU will be a centre of excellence where subjects related to organic farming will be taught. Hundreds of students from the state go outside to study agriculture, horticulture and forestry, he said, adding that he had met over 500 students in Dehradun itself who were doing urndergraduate and post-graduate courses in these subjects. With the SOAU coming up in Sikkim, the students of the state will no longer have to travel outside for studying these subjects, Tamang said. He directed officials to identify temporary spaces for the commencement of courses at the earliest.

«Vessels are being advised to transit as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible» to minimise the risk of seizure, US Fifth Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP. The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), led by Washington, is «notifying regional mariners of appropriate precautions to minimize the risk of seizure based on current regional tensions, which we seek to de-escalate,» he added. The alliance, established in 2019, is made up of 11 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its mission, according to its website, is to «provide reassurance to merchant shipping in the Middle East region». The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said late Saturday in a statement that it had been «made aware of an increased threat within the vicinity of Strait Of Hormuz», through which one-third of the world's oil transported by sea passes.

Ukraine crisis, visiting US Congressman Shri Thanedar said here on Sunday. Thanedar told PTI in an interview that there is a general view in the US Congress that Washington's relationship with New Delhi is very important for the national security of the US. The Indian-origin Congressman is part of a bipartisan group of US lawmakers who are in India to take part in several events including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the historic Red Fort on August 15.

Droupadi Murmu at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited in Kolkata this Thursday, the Ministry of Defence said in a release today. Vindhyagiri, named after the mountain range in Karnataka, is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates. These warships are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

Netflix in June. Offering a prime chance to delve into legal intricacies, the show struck gold for two key reasons: its adept portrayal of the high-stakes lives of elite New York lawyers and the presence of Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, essaying the role of Rachel Zane. Reports by Country Living underscored the show's resounding success, with it reigning as a top-charting series for over a month, marking its place as the 13th most-watched show on Netflix in a single week.

COVID pandemic has slow down due to weak export demand from key trade partners and ongoing turmoil in its property market.

Narendra Modi has reiterated that India has a strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption. Singh also called for wider cooperation between the two countries in sharing Information and communication technology (ICT) innovations, promoting cross-sector cooperation, and forging partnerships to prevent and combat corruption. Tugendhat renewed the UK’s offer that India, being a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), also implement Article 16 of UNCAC that deals with bribery of foreign public officials (foreign bribery).

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Robert Vadra sparked buzz on Sunday after asserting that his wife would be ‘very good in Parliament’. The remarks come mere weeks after reports quoting party sources suggested that Gandhi may be sent to the Rajya Sabha in the coming months.

Lok Sabha Elections draw close, so does the hitting at, taking a jibe between the two camps , INDIA and BJP-led NDA, intensify. Both camps have left no stones unturned to oppose policies, moves within and without the parliament ahead of the biggest democratic festival India witnesses. Latest in the jibe fest was Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that they have a habit of twisting the work done by Congress.

APJ Abdul Kalam is known for his work in the field of science. Kalam, who was India's President from 2002 to 2007, is also one of the most popular presidents of India. Recently, an IAS officer revealed an incident that speaks volumes about Kalam's honesty and principles.

India and the United Kingdom are striving to create a more transparent and corruption-free society, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said. He also called for wider cooperation between the two countries in sharing information and communication technology (ICT) innovations, promoting cross-sector cooperation and forging partnerships to prevent and combat corruption, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.

Bill as «unconstitutional», former law minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday alleged that the government talks about ending colonial-era laws but their thinking is that they want to «bring dictatorship» through such legislations. The Rajya Sabha MP called on the government to take back the three bills it has brought to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872, alleging that if such laws become a reality, they would «imperil the future» of the country. «They (NDA government) talk about ending colonial era laws, but their thinking is that they want to bring dictatorship in the country through laws.

Ashok Leyland and JCB. Sondhi added, "It is imperative for India to not only strengthen the national battery raw materials and manufacturing set-up but also to become a globally trusted supplier of high-quality, innovative battery materials to counter the Chinese supremacy in the domain." The CII report recommended development of domestic mines as several raw minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and copper have a negligible reserve, production, and refining capacity in the country.

Every year, in August, staff at DMG Partners, a modest accounting firm in Gippsland, Victoria, bake cupcakes and cookies for their colleagues.