Country Financial News

GTRI) has suggested suspension of quality control orders (QCO) on polyester and viscose staple fibre for a few years to allow domestic manufacturers to become competitive, expansion of products covered and criteria relaxation in the textile production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, overhaul of Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Customs procedures, and addressing monopolistic practices of domestic suppliers, to boost India’s garment exports. Highlighting complex procedures, import restrictions and domestic vested interests are hindering the export growth of the Indian garment sector, it said that sourcing quality raw fabric, particularly synthetic fabric being the root causes of exporters’ problem. The report assumes significant in the wake of India losing to other countries even as garment and textile imports rise steadily.

Kate and Leopold, or for darkness and danger, as in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series of books. In an outstanding feat of restraint, Kaliane Bradley’s time-travel romance/spy thriller The Ministry of Time uses this trope extremely sparingly—although very effectively—in a few short scenes that don’t belabour the point and only add layers to her characters.

: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu has said Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived and the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) is taking advantage of new technologies in improving the quality of public expenditure. «As it develops, we will develop ourselves accordingly. Whatever challenges are there we will try and overcome. We will follow global experiences and practices related to this and share our own to them,» Murmu told PTI. Recently, he said, «We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi for leveraging AI and other emerging technologies for the advancement of audit practices.» With the rapid advancement of AI, machine learning, and data analytics, traditional methodologies are being redefined, offering unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency, he said.

chicken for himself but told the waiter to bill it as a vegetarian dish. This was treated as quite routine. I was reminded of this while reading Avay Shukla’s memoir of IAS life, 'The Deputy Commissioner’s Dog and Other Colleagues'. Since liquor is not allowed at government dinners, it is simply billed as chicken, he wrote: “A peg of single malt is worth a whole chicken, a Scotch two legs, a shot of rum is equivalent to a wing…” This kind of creativity comes up whenever people find consumption habits constrained. Yes Minister, the British TV serial, depicted this with an episode set in a Middle Eastern country with strict prohibitions on alcohol. So, at an official reception, the British set up a secure communications room where the booze is stored and periodically, the minister and bureaucrats visit it for a ‘message’ from “Mr Johnny Walker from the Scotch Office”, “Mr Smirnoff from the Russian embassy” or “a delegation of Teachers”.

free trade agreement negotiations are set to be defined this week as UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected in India on Tuesday, the first high-profile visit under the newly elected Labour government in Britain. The free trade agreement (FTA) talks began in January 2022, under the then Conservative government, with a target to significantly boost the GBP 38.1 billion a year bilateral trading partnership but hit a block in the fourteenth round of negotiations to make way for general elections in both countries. A report in 'The Daily Telegraph' on Sunday quotes a New Delhi source to claim the Indian side would seek clarity on whether the Labour government intends to pick things up from where they were left off or start afresh in some way. «India is keen to resume talks on a positive note, but the date needs clarity,» the source told the newspaper.

mortality data from the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 and concluded that nearly 12 lakh additional deaths occurred in 2020, which is eight times higher than the official Covid-19 death toll reported in India for that year. The Health Ministry has rejected this estimate, calling it «exaggerated and misleading,» and has criticized the study for its flawed methodology. According to the study published in open access journal Sciences Advances, the authors found that in the subsample they studied, there was a reduction in life expectancy at birth of 2.6 years between 2019 and 2020, larger than reductions documented in any high-income country. This reduction was substantial even relative to trends in India: overall life expectancy at birth in 2020 was equivalent to all-India levels over a decade earlier. Relative to the 1.3-year life expectancy loss among high-caste Hindus, the loss for Muslims was 5.4 years.

This is the main budget for the third term of the Modi government. Firstly, the exemption limit for long-term capital gains, currently set at one lakh rupees per person since 2018, should be revisited. Given market valuations and inflation, it should be increased to two lakhs. Secondly, debt-linked saving schemes should be introduced. Currently, only equity-linked saving schemes get an exemption under Section 80C, while other instruments like post office schemes, EPF, and PPF are included. Mutual funds are not just equity platforms; they also encompass debt platforms. Including debt-linked saving schemes in the 80C one-and-a-half lakh limit would be beneficial. <div data-placement=«Mid Article Thumbnails» data-target_type=«mix» data-mode=«thumbnails-mid» style=«min-height:400px; margin-bottom:12px;» class=«wdt-tabool

population dynamics, potentially leading to an ageing crisis, Dr Ajay Murdia, the man behind India's one of the largest fertility chain, Indira IVF, has said. Talking to PTI ahead of the World IVF Day on July 25, Dr Murdia said that India stands at a critical crossroads, facing an unprecedented infertility crisis that threatens not only millions of families but the country's future demographic balance. «According to some estimates, about 27.5 million married couples are actively trying to conceive and are suffering from infertility. But only about 275,000 IVF cycles are performed every year,» he said. «This silent epidemic, affecting one in six couples, is rapidly evolving into a national emergency with far-reaching consequences for India's societal structure and economic prospects,» Murdia, Founder and Chairman of Indira IVF, said.

Union Budget for 2024-25, expectations are high for measures that will stimulate economic growth and attract foreign investment. Businesses are waiting with bated breath to see what reforms and reliefs are introduced for the financial year ahead. It is expected that Union Budget would be an agent of change in ushering India towards the long-enumerated feat of realizing $5 trillion economy by the government.

Science Advances journal on 19 July, says that life expectancy at birth was 2.6 years lower and mortality 17% higher in 2020 compared to 2019. This is for a subsample of 14 states and Union territories, but the authors said that if other states followed the same trends, it would add up to 1.19 million excess deaths across India in 2020. The study found that life expectancy declined more for women than for men, and also more for children and for marginalized groups.

India’s 7,600 km-long coastline presents an enormous opportunity to ramp up the country’s offshore wind power capacity, thereby increasing clean electricity supply for the country’s growing economy, and creating sustainable jobs. The government last month approved a ₹7,453 crore (~USD 900 million) offshore wind funding scheme, a welcome move to kickstart the industry —but a considerably larger financial support will be required to ensure the sector’s sustainable growth and promote manufacturing of offshore wind turbines.

violence-hit Bangladesh through integrated check posts in Tripura, a Border Security Force official said here on Sunday. Of the total returnees, 365 crossed over the international border on Saturday and four on Friday, he said. The returnees include three Nepalese students. «A total of 379 students entered India in the past 48 hours from violence-hit Bangladesh through check posts at Srimantapur in Sepahijala and Agartala (Akhaura) in West Tripura, and more are expected to return on Sunday,» the BSF official said.

Airbus will launch its first assembly line for the single-engine H 125 helicopter in India, Sunny Guglani, head of Airbus Helicopters in India and South Asia said. «The plan is to have the first Made-in-India H125 rollout of the assembly line in 2026 that's the plan we're working with TATA,» Gugltold ANI. Guglani further stated, «This Final Assembly Line (FAL) will actually produce the H125, which will already be EASA-certified quality assurance, and the airworthy assurance is being taken care of by experts from airbus helicopters that will be located at the FAL site in India.»

The nationwide demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups — began weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971. Violence erupted Tuesday, with the Daily Prothom Alo newspaper on Saturday reporting the death of at least 103 people so far. Bangladeshi authorities haven't shared any official numbers of those killed and injured.

rainfall distribution during June and July has been uneven, resulting in significant rain deficits ranging from 20-49% in nine states, including Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, and Bihar. Six states, predominantly in the south peninsula, have reported excess rainfall from June 1 to July 20, reported The Times of India. Jharkhand has faced the highest deficit at 49%, while Tamil Nadu has seen an 83% surplus compared to their normal rainfall levels.

Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest oil firm, is targeting to become a USD 1 trillion company by 2047, combining growth in traditional oil refining and fuel marketing with clean energy avenues like green hydrogen and EV charging, its chairman said. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) posted a record net profit of Rs 39,619 crore (USD 4.7 billion) on a revenue of Rs 8.66 lakh crore (USD 104.6 billion) in the 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal. The company will continue to invest in fossil fuels and new energy avenues to have a balanced portfolio that will help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2046, company chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said in its latest annual report. It will expand oil refining capacity, and invest in petrochemical units that will convert crude oil into value-added chemicals directly, while also increasing its focus on gas, biofuels and clean mobility.

inflation in its services sector last month, retail sales weakened and the budget deficit exceeded estimates — highlighting a host of challenges for UK policymakers. Money markets see about a 40% chance that the Bank of England will lower interest rates next month, as officials balance signs of a weakening labor market with stubborn price pressures. The European Central Bank, meanwhile, left interest rates unchanged after last month’s landmark cut. The ECB is weighing whether euro-zone inflation is cooling sufficiently to allow further monetary loosening.

South Korean public was advised to keep an eye out for falling objects and to notify police and military authorities if any balloons fell to the ground.North Korea's latest balloon launch threatens to increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea previously warned that if North Korea continued its provocations, such as balloon launches, it would conduct more extensive loudspeaker broadcasts and take other tougher measures.Since late May, North Korea has flown several balloons in a series of launch ceremonies, dropping bits of cloth, cigarette butts, waste batteries, and even manure over South Korea, causing no substantial damage.North Korea said the initial balloons were flown in reaction to South Korean activists conveying political leaflets to the North using their own balloons.

bullet for democracy," former US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, addressing a first rally after he was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt on his life last week, The Hill reported. Trump returned to the campaign trail in Michigan's Grand Rapids, days after accepting the Republican nomination for president at the Republican National Convention. «I don't want to know anything about it. But what they do is misinformation and disinformation, and they keep saying he's a threat to democracy,» Trump continued, referring to Democrats. 'I'm saying, 'What the hell did I do for democracy? Last week, I took a bullet for democracy," Trump said.

JD Vance said he had served in the United States Marine Corps but «what the hell Kamala Harris has done other than collect a check?» In his address at the rally in Michigan's Grand Rapids on Saturday (local time), Vance said, «There's some bad news actually, Vice President Kamala Harris, she doesn't like me.» «Kamala Harris said something to the effect that… I have no loyalty to this country. Well, I don't know, Kamala, I did serve in the United States Marine Corps and build a business. What the hell have you done other than collect a check?» Vance said.

Usha Vance, stood to become a vice-presidential spouse. That cemented a remarkable reality: At the moment, a woman of Indian descent will either serve another term in the White House or be the second lady. It was the latest milestone for an Indian American community that has emerged as a political powerhouse over the past decade. Kamala Harris in 2021 became the first person of Indian descent, as well as the first woman and Black person, to be vice president. The 2024 presidential cycle is the first one to have featured two Indian American candidates in Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.