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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen to visit Singapore so early in his third term," The Straits Times quoted Jaishankar as saying in an interview. He said that India and Singapore's bilateral ties «have been extremely strong in the last two decades». Just like Singapore had an opportunity in 1992 and then again in 2006, it should seize the moment and fully utilise the new landscape, the minister said.

Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old's papacy. The head of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics touched down in Jakarta for a three-day visit devoted to inter-religious ties, and will then travel to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. The 12-day tour will test the pontiff's increasingly fragile health, but he is often energised by being among his flock and he emerged from the 13-hour flight smiling and waving.

Indian High Commissioner to Brunei, Alok Amitabh Dimri termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the nation «historic» and said the two nations have been civilizational neighbours. PM Modi embarked on the visit to Brunei on Tuesday. Notably, this is the first visit by an Indian PM to the nation. He is expected to hold high-level engagements with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other members of the Royal Family.

Kim Jong Un supervised a demonstration of new exploding drones designed to crash into targets, state media said Monday, as the U.S. and South Korea engage in joint military drills. North Korean test photos showed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings supposedly crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea's main K-2 battle tank. Most combat drones stand off from targets and fire missiles. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday's test involved various types of drones built to fly different ranges to attack enemy targets on land and sea and flew along various routes before accurately hitting test targets. After the test, Kim pledged to spur the development of drones that explode on impact, conduct reconnaissance or attack targets underwater to boost his country's war readiness, saying the North's military should be equipped with advanced drones «as early as possible,» KCNA said.

oil prices slid in Asian trade on Tuesday as concern about a sluggish economy in China bringing down demand outweighed the impact of a blockade of oil production facilities in Libya. Brent crude futures were down 37 cents, or 0.48%, to $77.15 a barrel by 0156 GMT.

China is currently in a major economic fix, and the biggest problem in their kitbag is youth unemployment, which needs to be addresses at the earliest in order to combat any other related pressing issue around the Chinese economy. New unproductive forces play a major role in the unemployment rise of the country, that has the potential to push the country on the brink of recession, feel experts.

Kazakhstan’s commitment to progress, urging the nation to look beyond provocations and rely on the rule of law in his Monday’s 2 state-of-the-nation address, “Law and order must reign in our society. This is a fundamental condition for ensuring both public and individual security. Only by adhering to this principle can we build a Just, Clean, and Safe Kazakhstan,” he said. Tokayev emphasized the need for a peaceful and balanced foreign policy, stressing that diplomacy is essential in strengthening Kazakhstan’s sovereignty, protecting the rights of its citizens abroad, promoting national interests and attracting investment.

Orkla India, which owns MTR and Eastern spices, has started initial talks with bankers to raise around $300 million (about ₹2,500 crore) by selling 10-15% stake through an initial public offering (IPO), at a valuation of around $2 billion, said people familiar with the matter. The company is in the process of hiring bankers, and the listing could happen between June and November 2025, they said.

SJVN Ltd. According to one of the three people cited above, older renewable projects, largely solar, have found it harder to find buyers. "For the projects which have come up in the past one year, the agreements have largely been signed," the person said on the condition of anonymity.

Mint earlier reported about India considering imposing retaliatory tariffs on EU exports in response to the bloc’s proposed carbon tax that could disrupt over $8 billion worth of Indian metal exports to the EU. As the EU’s CBAM has been in discussion, Yadav said, “until a proposal comes, we cannot take a call. Our stand on this will be protecting the larger interests of all developing nations." “Before COP29, pre-consultations are taking place.

₹98,924 crore in FY23. China’s electronics conglomerate BBK Group, which operates five gadget brands in the country, maintained steady revenue at ₹81,870 crore in FY23 despite sales volumes falling significantly. Apple India clocked ₹49,321 crore in revenue in FY23.

Oil activities on the shores of Uganda’s Lake Albert have triggered widespread suffering among locals facing forced displacement and other violent abuses, a U.S. climate watchdog said Monday

Maruti Suzuki's workhorse SUV Brezza raced past Hyundai Motor India's Creta to occupy the top slot on the sales chart last month. Maruti Suzuki sold 19,190 units of the Brezza in August, ahead of Hyundai's flagship SUV, Creta which sold around 16,760 units. While Creta slipped to the third spot in the best-selling list last month, Tata Motors' popular model Punch fell to the fifth position with sales of about 15,640 units.

Volkswagen says it's not getting the cost reductions that it needs — and won't rule out plant closings in its home country Germany

ministry of labour and employment has reached out to several ministries including the ministry of panchayati raj (MoPR), ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) and the ministry of rural development (MoRD) among others to register the unorganised workers under their ambit on eShram portal, at the earliest. The drive to fast-track onboarding of unorganised workers on the portal is being done as the ministry develops the e-Shram portal as a one-stop solution to extend all scheme benefits to these workers. The portal has over 300 million unorganized workers registered till date since its launch in 2021. The ministry had initially estimated 370 million unorganised workers in the country.

The project will generate direct employment for about 102 lakh man-days, or what Vaishnaw described as «human days», during the construction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, «Today's Cabinet decision will improve connectivity between Mumbai and Indore. In addition to boosting commerce, it will also provide employment opportunities to several people.»

₹51 crore from the previous quarter, while write-offs themselves rose by ₹105 crore over the same period. Abhijit Chakravorty, chief executive of SBI Cards, told analysts in a conference call: “The primary reasons for the increase in credit cost…is that customers obtained multiple trade lines from other lenders after taking a card, and this over-leveraging has impacted their repayment capacity." The credit card business is a tough one and can be highly cyclical. Importantly, the business in general is the canary in a coal mine for economic conditions.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said 97.96 per cent of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes have returned to the banking system, and only Rs 7,261 crore worth of the withdrawn notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes was announced, has declined to Rs 7,261 crore at the close of business on August 30, 2024, the RBI said. «Thus, 97.96 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned,» it said in a statement.

Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India, is awash with anti-India sentiment. That's because Hasina, who has been friendly with India, has taken shelter in India and an Islamist opposition including the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Jamaat-e-Islami feel empowered after Hasina's ouster. In fact, the BNP, which used to provide launch pads to anti-India terrorists during its rule, had started an «India Out» campaign months before Hasina's ouster. The BNP was understood to have taken a cue from Maldives ruling party that launched the “India-Out” campaign to win presidential polls last year. While Maldives President Md Muizzu’s “India Out” campaign was allegedly backed by China, the BNP is seen to be backed by Pakistan and many Western countries. While the interim government has said it will cooperate with India, anti-India sentiment has only increased along with attacks on the Hindu minority. Recently, one of the advisers to the interim govt, Mohammad Nahid Islam, blamed India for floods in Bangladesh. Islam alleged that flooding of districts on the eastern borders of Bangladesh had been caused by the opening of Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti river in Tripura. India refuted his allegations.

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). «Pendency of cases against CBI officers reflects on the reputation and image of the country's premier investigation agency,» it said. As on December 31, 2023, 54 departmental cases against Group A officers and 28 cases against Group B and C officials of CBI were pending at various stages, said the CVC's annual report. Of the total pending departmental action cases against Group A officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), 25 were pending for more than four years, four between three and four years, 16 between one and three years and nine for less than a year, it said.

A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return hostages held in Gaza led to closures and other disruptions around the country, including at its main international airport