Country Financial News

The Adani Group said it will invest $24 billion in Gujarat over the next five years creating 100,000 jobs. 100 countries participating Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) proposed India's first carbon fibre facility at Hazira together with a green energy giga complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar in 2024. Addressing a packed Mahatma Mandir convention centre in Gandhinagar on Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would be one of the top three global economies in the coming years. “The world looks at (India) as an important pillar of stability, a trusted friend, and an engine of growth in the global economy,” Modi told an elite gathering of corporate leaders and heads of state, including United Arab Emirates (UAE) president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Timor-Leste president José Ramos-Horta and Mozambique president Filipe Nyusi. “In the rapidly changing world order, India is moving ahead as Vishwa Mitra (friend of the world),” Modi said.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area. The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, says at least two dozen Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce «and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security.»

Passport Index, offering their citizens visa-free access to a record-breaking number of destinations. According to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Singapore now boast the most powerful passports globally, enabling their citizens to visit an impressive 194 destinations out of 227 worldwide without the need for a visa. Are you immigration ready? Find out Four EU member states—France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—have now joined them at the top. Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the originator of the passport index concept, highlighted the widening global mobility gap. «The average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free has almost doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. However, the top-ranked countries now have a staggering 166 more visa-free destinations than Afghanistan, which ranks at the bottom with access to just 28 countries without a visa,» he said. South Korea takes the second spot alongside Finland and Sweden, enjoying visa-free access to 193 destinations. In the third spot, four EU nations—Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands—share access to 192 destinations.

derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maldives Deputy Youth Ministers Mariyam Shiuna, Mahzoom Majid and Malsha Shareef have been suspended indefinitely, but all three will continue to receive their salaries, the President's Office has said, Maldives local media Adhadhu reported. Providing further information about the suspensions, Maldives President's Office Communications Minister Ibrahim Khaleel told Adhadhu that the three deputy ministers were suspended indefinitely as a measure taken to look into the matter.

Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Beijing's perspective has altered drastically with the emergence of New Delhi as a 'strategic power'. «A columnist for the Global Times, which, in a way, is a mouthpiece for China, published an article with the headline 'What I see about Bharat narrative in India'. This article is a ringing affirmation of the changing Chinese perspective on India.

Prem Watsa, who helms the $84 billion Toronto-based investment giant Fairfax, reiterated his commitment to India, hailing the country's economic prospects. Fairfax's investment plans for India are on track despite macroeconomic headwinds, he said. «India has got one big advantage — two-thirds of the economy is consumer-oriented,» Fairfax Financial Holdings chairman Watsa told ET.

Xi Jinping told Maldivian counterpart Mohamed Muizzu that he supported the strategically located archipelago in protecting its "sovereignty", state media reported, after the two countries signed a number of infrastructure and other agreements. Muizzu was elected in September as a proxy for a pro-China predecessor jailed on corruption charges, vowing to cultivate «strong ties» with Beijing.

Revanth Reddy hosted representatives of 13 countries for dinner at Qutub Shahi Tombs in Hyderabad on Wednesday evening. «Representatives of America, Iran, Turkey, UAE, UK, Japan, Thailand, Germany, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, France and Finland attended the event,» read a press note issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar on Wednesday condemned the recent attacks on Hindu temples in the US, saying such incidents should not be tolerated. «We should not tolerate any kind of phobia, Hindu phobia. The religions are about love, helping each other and doing good things for each other. And these attacks on Hindu temples--I strongly condemn them and we must not tolerate that. I serve on the Homeland Security Committee and I am speaking with my committee members about helping religious organisations do better ability. Provide them the funds and resources they need to protect the religious organisations and help them fight any kind of Hindu phobia, any kind of hatred that we see,» Thanedar said.

Noboa said on Wednesday his country was «at war» with drug gangs who are holding prison guards hostage, amid a dramatic surge in violence that saw gunmen briefly take over a TV live broadcast and explosions in multiple cities. Noboa on Tuesday named 22 gangs as terrorist organizations, making them official military targets. The president took power in November pledging to tackle a growing security problem caused by a rise in drug-trafficking gangs transporting cocaine through Ecuador.

BabyBus, US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr told ET. The chief of FCC – an independent agency of the US government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the nation – also said he found the work India is doing to provide access to the internet and telecommunication services to every citizen “very admirable”.

Krafton, publisher of one of India’s most popular esports titles, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), made a number of pledges to the government to get the ban on it lifted. This has emerged from ET’s conversations with senior government officials and Indian gaming industry executives.

Health Minister Mark Holland reiterated on Wednesday that there is “no way” Florida, or any other foreign jurisdiction, will be allowed to threaten Canada’s drug supply.

₹50,000). Unsecured personal loans, however, are not necessarily unproductive. Consider consumer durable loans.

By Jorge Otaola

Advisors searching forinvesting themes in 2024 may want to try AI, health care innovation and new supply chains, a BlackRock strategist says.

FreedomWorks chief economist Steve Moore joins The Bottom Line to weigh in on the Biden White house blaming the GOP for 90% of the national debt increase.

(Reuters) -SAP, the German software company, agreed to pay about $222 million to resolve two investigations into bribery schemes in seven countries, U.S. authorities said on Wednesday.

By Luc Cohen

Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu has proposed to revive the free trade agreement with Beijing, but the move could push Male towards a debt trap. China's current share of Maldives total debt is 37% and there are fears that FTA will further increase debt share, pushing Maldives into a Sri Lanka-type crisis, ET has learnt. The Covid pandemic, notwithstanding India's generous assistance to the island nation, has dented Maldivian economy, according to observers.

Congress on Wednesday «respectfully declined» the invitation to attend the 'pran pratishthan' (consecration) ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya and said that RSS and BJP had made the temple a «political project» for «electoral gains». In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the motive behind the inauguration of the «incomplete» temple by BJP and RSS leaders. Last month, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had received the invitation to attend the ceremony on January 22. «Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter.