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Swiss voters have cast the final ballots on a proposal to increase protections for the Alpine country's cherished plant and animal life

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Viksit Bharat 2047 and institutional capacity building would play a key role in that, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Sunday. Viksit Bharat 2047 is the NDA government's roadmap to make the country a developed nation by 2047, when India celebrates its centenary of achieving independence. The FM said the Centre has left no stone unturned towards enhancing self-sufficiency in defence capabilities. «We will also need to look after our banks, overall infrastructure, health of the companies in the market and prioritising the digitisation of the Indian economy,» she said at the Pondy Lit Fest.

Coldplay returning to perform in India after almost 10 years has led to a mad rush to get their tickets. Demand for their tickets was so phenomenal that BookMyShow’s website and app crashed right after the booking for the concert started. Feel the odds of bagging a ticket for the Mumbai Cold Play concert are not in your favour? There’s some good news for you. India is not the only country the rock band is touring for their ‘Music Of The Spheres World Tour’. Here’s all you need to know about the other countries they will be touring!

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. From bolstering its India leadership, which includes shedding the image of the company’s Paris office being the nerve centre, to prioritising operating margins, Srinivas Pallia has embarked on an array of changes to script a turnaround for Wipro since he took over as the company’s chief executive about six months ago. Pallia took over as Wipro CEO on 6 April, replacing Frenchman Thierry Delaporte before the culmination of his term.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to introduce a Vande Bharat train between Ayodhya and Sitamarhi so that pilgrims get better rail connectivity between the two holy towns. The state government has been developing Punaura Dham Janki Mandir, a Hindu pilgrimage site, in Sitamarhi district that is considered the birthplace of the goddess Sita. «Better rail connectivity between Ayodhya and Sitamarhi will make things easy for the pilgrims who visit both temples (Ram Mandir and Punaura Dham Janki Mandir) in large numbers every day. The Centre recently introduced several Vande Bharat trains from different cities in Bihar to other places in the country. »I extend my gratitude to the PM for introducing these Vande Bharat trains. I request you for the introduction of another Vande Bharat train between Ayodhya and Sitamarhi. The Ministry of Railways should be duly instructed in this regard," Kumar wrote in his letter to the PM.

Modi on Sunday said that the Indian diaspora in the US is the strongest brand ambassadors of the country, terming them 'Rashtra Dhoot'. He said that the Indian diaspora has connected India with America and vice versa. «Your skills, talent, commitment has no competition,» said Modi.

Quad unveiled major steps to expand maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and called for lasting peace in Ukraine with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that the grouping is for a rules-based global order that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations. In the annual Quad summit hosted by outgoing US President Joe Biden at his home state of Delaware, the leaders, without directly naming China, expressed serious concern over the situation in the South China Sea and nearby waters and condemned the «dangerous» use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in that region. Besides Modi and Biden, the fourth in-person summit on Saturday was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that he would move out of his official residence during the upcoming Navratri festival that begins on October 3. In his first public address after tendering his resignation on September 17, the AAP chief also hit out at the BJP for allegedly implicating him in a false case and asserted that he cannot live with the «stain of dishonesty». «I cannot even live, let alone work, with the stigma of being dishonest. If I were dishonest, would I have made electricity and bus travel free for women? Would I have improved government schools and hospitals?» he asked the gathering. Released on bail from Tihar jail on September 13 after over five months in prison in connection with the excise policy case, Kejriwal said that he joined politics to serve the country and not for any greed for power or post.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SHANGHAI : The chairman of drugmaker Roche denounced the recent boom in industrial subsidies by the U.S. and European governments and called them a “waste of money." Roche’s Severin Schwan used a visit to Shanghai for a business forum to criticize support that Western nations have increasingly offered to give their manufacturing industries a boost against competition from China and other nations.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will meet Indian and Australian CEOs this week to discuss investment opportunities, an official statement said on Sunday. At the invitation of Don Farrell, the Minister of Trade and Tourism of Australia, Goyal will undertake a visit to Australia from September 23-25. The minister will co-chair the 19th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission meeting to be held in Adelaide on September 25, during which both sides will discuss ways to further elevate the bilateral economic engagement. «Commerce minister will interact with leading Australian and Indian CEOs and industry leaders and representatives from Australian pension funds to highlight the vast opportunities for investment in India,» the commerce ministry said.

Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) said on Sunday that passengers across some airports in the country are facing disruptions in lounge access due to DreamFolks Services Ltd suspending its services. DreamFolks, the lounge access provider, acknowledged the disruption but said it is not related to any contractual issues and that they are working to resolve the problem quickly. AAHL, which runs seven airports in India—Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangaluru—said the problem is affecting services at four of these airports.

Piyush Goyal on Sunday said there are plans to open offices in different countries in the coming months to hand-hold foreign investors looking at opportunities to invest in India. The first such office of Invest India — the national agency to promote investments into the country — was inaugurated by the minister in Singapore. It will act as a dedicated point of contact for companies from the region looking to invest here. This move reinforces India's commitment to deepening investment partnerships and making it easier for global investors to engage with India.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotirmath, Uttarakhand refrained from paying obeisance at the Ram temple here on Sunday, asserting that prayers cannot be offered in a partially-constructed shrine. He said he would offer worship at the Ram temple only when the «shikhar» (topmost part) of the structure is fully constructed. Asked about not visiting the Ram temple, Saraswati told reporters, «Prayers cannot be offered in a partially-constructed temple. It is incomplete. I will offer worship at the Ram temple only when the shikhar of the temple is fully constructed.» He conducted a special prayer service at the Chineshwarnath temple and performed the circumambulation of the Ram Janmabhoomi complex along the Ramkot locality in Ayodhya.

Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) negotiations have mostly been conducted in secrecy with limited public input and it raises concerns whether the member countries, including India, were able to protect their key interests, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said Sunday. It cautioned that the commitments related to the effective administration of tax policy might curtail the ability to raise tax revenue. It said in the supply chain pillar, a major issue is whether the agreement might restrict members from trading critical materials, particularly with China as this could pose challenges for Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (Asean) countries, whose largest trading partner is China. “It is hoped that India has negotiated enough flexibility to avoid strict clauses, such as the not to use export restrictions. These are critical during emergencies, as no country can be expected to supply essential goods when facing its own crisis,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

bathing sheds for women have been created by a BSF battalion deployed in this frontier area of West Bengal to guard the India-Bangaldesh international boundary. The facilities were created following the Union home ministry's directive to the border forces to engage with the local population, with Home Minister Amit Shah saying these remote locations on the front are not the last but the first villages of the country, and organisations like the Border Security Force (BSF) should take all measures for the betterment of the lives of the citizens residing in these security-sensitive areas, a senior officer told PTI. The 32nd battalion of the BSF has created the open-air gyms near its border outposts of Gede, Kadipur and Tungi in West Bengal's Nadia district. Equipment like parallel bars, waist stretchers, chest press, fun rider, lateral pull down, sit-up trainer, two-sided rotator and «tai chi spinner» have been installed in these gyms, the officer said.

India, were able to protect their key interests, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The 14-member IPEF bloc was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo. Together, they account for 40 per cent of the world's economic output and 28 per cent of trade. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy. India has joined all the pillars except the trade. Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam are members of the bloc.

National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has facilitated a refund of Rs 1 crore in enrolment fees to students and aspirants of various competitive exams, including UPSC Civil Services and IIT entrance, the government said on Sunday. The refunds were processed at a pre-litigation stage following intervention by the Consumer Affairs Ministry after students from across the country raised grievances against coaching centres offering classes for various competitive exams. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said, «This action reaffirms our commitment to ensure that coaching institutions adhere to fair practices and honour the rights of consumers.»

Deloitte South Asia CEO Romal Shetty has said. Shetty, who is the youngest chief executive of a Big Four accounting and consultancy firm in India, said inflation is reasonably under control, there has been a pick-up in rural demand and vehicle sales are improving. «We believe that we would be in the 7-7.1 per cent range in terms of the growth (this fiscal year). You have got the headwinds, the tailwinds… But the fact is, still India is in a better position, in spite of whatever is happening globally but we can't say we're decoupled from the world,» he said, adding that the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and Ukraine and the slowdown in the western world will impact GDP growth. According to Deloitte projections, growth is likely to be 6.7 per cent in the next fiscal year (2025-26). The Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the previous fiscal year — 2023-24.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Hark back to the heady mid-1990s. Jim Wolfensohn, a former Olympic fencer turned banker and cellist was US President Bill Clinton’s pick as World Bank president.