India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) India on Tuesday said it has called for initiating discussion at the WTO on its proposal on the transfer of modern technologies to emerging and least developed economies to help enhance their share in global trade, while pushing for negotiations through "possible new approaches" to move agriculture talks forward. The commerce ministry said the country has also extended its support for robust work at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on digital divide, digital infrastructure and skills and regulatory frameworks to ensure benefits for developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). These issues came up during the recently concluded 14th ministerial conference of the WTO in Yaounde, Cameroon. "Calling for members' constructive engagement on India's proposal on the transfer of relevant and advanced technologies for trade, India highlighted that transfer of technology supports the greater global economic good, by increasing efficiency and productivity, and would particularly help developing and LDC members enhance their participation in international trade," the ministry said. India engaged constructively towards members' efforts at reaching a convergence on the issue of extension of the moratorium on customs duty on electronic transmissions, but no consensus could be reached amongst the membership on the matter. The issue of moratorium and the work program on e-commerce will now be taken up for decision at the next meeting of the General Council in Geneva. On the issue of agriculture, India emphasised that the current impasse in agricultural negotiations stems from a trust deficit, which can only be addressed by delivering on commitments agreed in past ministerial conferences. "In this context, India called on constructive engagement from members India's submission on Possible New Approaches for taking the agriculture negotiation forward," the ministry said adding it needs to be ensured that the focus of negotiations is not diverted and remains consistent with delivering priority outcomes on long-pending issues on public stock holding, and special safeguard mechanisms. Further, the country has extended its support for the proposal for extension of the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints (NVSC) in the TRIPS agreement. On special and differential treatment, India has stated that it must not be amended, diluted, or re-conceived in the guise of reform and called for strengthening the implementation of this measure for developing and LDCs by making it more precise, effective and operational. Opposing the China-led investment facilitation and development agreement, India has cautioned the WTO members that the incorporation of this proposal risks eroding the foundational principles and functional limits of the WTO. "India indicated that as part of WTO reform discussion, members are seeking guardrails and legal safeguards for plurilaterals before integration of any specific plurilateral outcome. Hence, India did not agree to incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFD) into the WTO framework as an Annex 4 agreement," it said. US ON E-COMMERCE MORATORIUM: --------------------------------------- In a statement, the US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer has expressed disappointment that because of few WTO members, no decision was reached on extending customs duty moratorium on e-commerce. "If the WTO cannot achieve this commonsense aim, the United States will work outside of the WTO with all interested partners to get it done. To that end, the United States invites all trading partners to commit to a plurilateral, e-commerce moratorium agreement," Greer has said. The WTO's MC14 ended in impasse on March 30, after an agreement among WTO Members to extend the moratorium was blocked by Brazil and Turkiye. "It is particularly frustrating that the WTO could not achieve consensus to make the e-commerce moratorium permanent or even to extend it for longer than two years. Unfortunately, and despite revised US offers regarding the duration and format for an extension of the moratorium, two members would rather let it lapse after 28 years than do the right thing for innovation and the digital economy," he added. PTI RR ANU ANU
Mumbai, Feb 10: The rupee on Monday plunged 45 paise and moved closer to the 88 per US dollar-level, weighed down by the strength of the American currency tariff concerns, but eventually settled at 87.45, up 5 paise, following RBI intervention. The American currency gained in the overseas market after US President Donald Trump's plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, along with reciprocal tariffs targeting countries taxing US exports. The move has added jitters over the global trade war with China's reciprocal duties coming into effect, they said. At the interban ...Read More >
New Delhi, May 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the continuation of the interest subvention component under the modified interest subvention scheme (MISS) for loans to farmers during the financial year 2025-26, and approved the required fund arrangements, according to an official statement issued after the meeting. MISS is a Central sector scheme aimed at ensuring the availability of short-term credit to farmers at an affordable interest rate through Kisan credit cards (KCC). Under the scheme, farmers receive short-term loa ...Read More >
Pointing to the increase in the country's stature in the world forum, he asked how, under these circumstances, the promises made to farmers cannot be fulfilled. "Policy-making is not on right track," he added.. Jagdeep Dhankhar's comments come amid a spike in farmer protests. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar took up the farmers' issue and questioned the government on their behalf today, directing most of his queries at the Union agriculture minister. Pointing to the increase in the country's sta ...Read More >
Jharkhand supplementary budget: The Jharkhand Assembly on Thursday (December 12) passed the second supplementary budget of Rs 11,697.45 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Following the budget's passage, Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato adjourned the four-day session of the assembly sine die. Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore tabled the second supplementary budget, with the largest allocation of Rs 6,390.55 crore directed to the Women, Child Development, and Social Security Department. This significant funding aims to enhance the government's flagship initiative, the Maiyan Samman Yojana. Und ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Dec 17 (UNI) Coromandel International Limited, India's leading agri-solutions provider, and Mahindra & Mahindra Limited Farm Equipment Sector (FES) business vertical, Krish-e, on Tuesday announced a partnership to extend Coromandel's drone spraying services, Gromor Drive, to Indian farmers. Currently, it is operational in seven key states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Gromor Drive's operations are supported by RPTO-tra ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) Wheat sowing increased by 1.38 per cent year-on-year to 320 lakh hectare so far in the ongoing 2024-25 rabi season, according to the agriculture ministry data released on Tuesday. Wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, was sown in 315.63 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Sowing of most rabi crops is nearing end. Harvesting will begin from April. According to the data, pulses' acreage remained flat at 139.81 lakh hectare as on January 14, compared to 139.11 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Gram was covered in 96.65 lakh hectare and lentil in 17.43 lakh hectare. ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the continuation of the interest subvention component under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for farmers for the financial year 2025-26, and approved required fund arrangements. It is a Central Sector Scheme aimed at ensuring the availability of short-term credit to farmers at an affordable interest rate through Kisan Credit card (KCC). Also Read | Parcel Bomb Case: Odisha Court Convicts Accused Punjilal Meher, Sentences Him to Life Imprisonment. Under the Scheme: Farmers received short-term loans of up t ...Read More >
ess than 24 hours after he asserted in Nigeria's Abuja that stepping out of the comfort zone, innovating and creating new paths has now become the very essence of today's India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told the gathering of world's most influential leaders converged in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit that the main reason for India's success lies in his government's 'back to basics' and 'march to the future' approach. Addressing the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty' at the bayside museum of modern art during the two-day 19th G20 Summit, ...Read More >
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia and Canada on Monday signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that aims to strengthen economic ties between the two G20 members, three years after negotiations began. The agreement will take effect in 2026 and was signed in Jakarta by trade ministers of both countries. Indonesia's trade minister, Budi Santoso, said Indonesia appreciated Canada's support for its plan to prioritise its critical minerals sector, which was vital for its sustainable growth. "Together, we advance sustainable critical mineral management, supporting Indonesia's net ...Read More >
As per Moneycontrol's calculations, a 7 per cent growth in the remaining two quarters will put India's GDP at 6.5 per cent. The Indian economy would find it challenging to achieve over 7 per cent growth for the fourth consecutive year, economists said. They pointed out that the second-quarter (Q2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which was announced on November 29, has made the task even more daunting for the government. "A sharper than expected growth slowdown in Q2 has tilted risks to our outlook of 6.8 per cent for the current fiscal downwards," said DK Joshi, chief economist, Crisil. ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will commence customary pre-Budget consultations with various stakeholders beginning Friday. As part of the process, she will meet eminent economists on December 6 to seek their inputs regarding upcoming Budget amid seven-quarter low GDP print of 5.4 per cent recorded in the second quarter of the current financial year. It will be followed by a meeting with farmer associations and agriculture economists and stakeholders in MSME sector scheduled for December 7, sources said. Union Budget 2025-26 is likely to be tabled in Parliament o ...Read More >
The overall development of the country is not possible without the development of agriculture and farmers. The nation's economy can be strengthened by the development of agriculture, fishery production, and livestock, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday. Gracing the convocation ceremony of the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology at Bhubaneswar, she said agriculture is facing new challenges such as natural disasters, adverse effects of climate change, decreasing per capita farm ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Rashtrapati Nilayam, one of the two presidential retreats, in Telangana's Secunderabad will host a 15-day flower and horticulture festival, 'Udyan Utsav', from December 29. People could make themselves aware about the innovation and technological development in agriculture and horticulture by visiting thematic stalls and participating in the workshops, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. The Udyan Utsav, organised in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management ...Read More >
Trump warns BRICS nations against replacing US dollar Dec 2 (Reuters) - A gauge of emerging market stocks rose on Monday, driven by positive manufacturing data from China and expectations of continued policy support from Beijing, while India's rupee hit a record low because of weaker-than-expected economic data. As of 0932 GMT, the MSCI's index for emerging market stocks had risen by 0.7%, on track for its biggest percentage gain in over three weeks. China's blue-chip CSI 300 climbed 0.8%, and the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.1% after a private survey indicated that Chinese factory act ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Terming the 5.4 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter as a "temporary phenomena", FICCI President Harsha Vardhan Agarwal on Thursday said the industry body expects India to achieve 6.5-7 per cent economic growth in the current financial year, while projecting a pick up in private investment. In an interview to PTI, Agarwal, who is also the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Emami Ltd, said the RBI needs to manoeuvre a "tight-rope balancing act" between inflation and economic growth, as he opined that the central bank has been doing a prudent job. Notably, the FI ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) Agri-solutions provider Coromandel International and Mahindra and Mahindra's farm equipment sector business vertical, Krish-e, on Tuesday announced a partnership to extend Coromandel's drone spraying services, Gromor Drive. Currently operational in seven key states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Gromor Drive's operations are supported by RPTO-trained pilots, according to a joint statement. Coromandel's drone services are positioned in the market through the support of its subsidiary, Dhaksha Unmanned Sy ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jan 2 (PTI) Stakeholders from the electric vehicle (EV) sector will hold a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal here on January 3 on issues, including infrastructure related to charging and battery swapping, sources said. They said that officials from the Department of Heavy Industries are expected to attend the meeting. Also Read | SOF NSO Results 2024-25 Out at sofworld.org: National Science Olympiad Exam Result Released, Get Direct Link and Know Steps To Download. Representatives from Tata, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz India, Hero MotoCorp, and other companies h ...Read More >
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) The country's overall goods and services exports are expected to reach USD 1 trillion during 2025-26, according to apex exporters' body FIEO. In 2024-25, the exports were aggregated at USD 825 billion. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S C Ralhan said merchandise exports will increase from USD 437 billion to USD 525-535 billion in 2025-26. He said that services exports may rise from USD 387 billion to USD 465-475 billion this fiscal. The main sectors which can help push the exports include electrical and electronics (USD 60 billion), machine ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 2 (PTI) Global automobile makers including Mercedes Benz, Skoda-Volkswagen, Hyundai and Kia have shown interest in manufacturing electric cars in India, Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday. The said companies have expressed interest during the stakeholder discussions between the government and the industry regarding the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India', the detailed guidelines for which were unveiled by the minister. While the scheme was notified on March 15 last year, its guidelines were issued on Monday. Offici ...Read More >
Since our last publication, the higher risk-sensitive EUR/CHF cross pair has wobbled as it grappled with the Eurozone's economic weakness and a looming unfavorable external trade environment due to further global supply chain disruptions due to incoming US President-elect Trump's 10% to 20% tariffs threat on other countries' exports to the US, inclusive of the Eurozone. The EUR/CHF inched lower in the week of 18 November (ex-post US Presidential election outcome on 6 November) and retested a key intermediate support of 0.9255, a key swing low made almost a year ago on 29 December 2023. Fig 1 ...Read More >
Ranchi, Dec 12 (PTI)The Jharkhand Assembly on Thursday passed the second supplementary budget of Rs 11,697.45 crore for the 2024-25 fiscal. After this, the four-day session of the assembly was adjourned sine die by Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato. Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore tabled the second supplementary budget, allocating a maximum outlay of Rs 6,390.55 crore to the women, child development and social security department to boost the government's flagship scheme Maiyan Samman Yojana. Under this scheme, the state government initially provided Rs 1,000 per month to women between the ...Read More >
Mumbai, Dec 18 (PTI) Private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) funds invested USD 4 billion in November, which was 156 per cent higher than the year-ago period but lower about 15 per cent compared with the preceding month, a report said on Wednesday. The month saw 87 deals -- 47 per cent higher than the 59 transactions in November 2023, as per the report by industry lobby grouping IVCA and consultancy firm EY. "While 2024 had started off on a strong note, geopolitical tensions, uncertainty over US elections outcome, and inflation weighed on the markets, as did the bid-ask spread between sel ...Read More >
New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Tuesday said the government has taken measures to lower fiscal deficit and delivered a non-inflationary Budget, and hoped that the RBI's monetary policy will work in tandem with fiscal policy to support growth. He also said that although rupee depreciation increases inflation on imported inputs, it also adds to export competitiveness. Pandey said that the government has bettered its fiscal deficit projections for the current fiscal as well as the next. The fiscal deficit for FY'25 has been pegged lower at 4.8 per cent of GDP, low ...Read More >
Nagpur, May 23 (PTI) India's indigenously developed 'Akashteer' air defence system performed "exceedingly well" during 'Operation Sindoor', said Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Samir V Kamat, who expressed confidence that its success will draw international interest. India had deployed the indigenously developed and fully automated 'Akashteer' air defence control and reporting system, which emerged as the invisible force of new war capabilities during Operation Sindoor, launched against nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Definitely, our a ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], May 29 (ANI): After a federal court of the United States struck down a reciprocal tariff announced by US President Donald Trump, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that India should proceed cautiously in its ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the US. A Manhattan-based federal court on May 28 struck down Trump's move to impose reciprocal tariffs on the trading partners of the US and ruled that he can't use emergency power to impose tariffs on foreign countries; it has to come from Congress. The order of the court determined that the tariffs, ...Read More >
Still, the ongoing U.N. climate talks have thrown a spotlight on their efforts to tackle global warming. While the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is tasked with agreeing a goal to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars for climate, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies half a world away in Rio are holding the purse strings. G20 countries account for 85% of the world's economy and are the largest contributors to multilateral development banks helping to steer climate finance. "The spotlight is naturally on the G20. They account for 80 percent of global emissions," U.N. Secretary Ge ...Read More >
Beijing: China has expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States following recent threats by former President Donald Trump to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods. The statement comes amid growing tensions between the two economic giants over trade practices, technology policies, and geopolitical issues. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said that China was open to "constructive dialogue" with the U.S., emphasizing the importance of cooperation to ensure global economic stability. "China believes that both countries should seek common ground and manag ...Read More >
Chandigarh, Jan 2 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday claimed that the Centre was trying to"bring back" the now-repealed farm laws, referring to the newly announced draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing. The AAP-led Punjab government has termed the newly announced draft policy as an attempt to reintroduce the three central agricultural laws passed in 2020 "through backdoor." After a yearlong protest by farmers, the Centre had repealed the laws. Speaking to reporters here, Mann also stated that the demands of the protesting farmers pertain to the c ...Read More >
New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) As the Delhi Assembly polls draw closer, AAP leader Satyendar Jain has said the people must decide whether they want to follow the governance model of developed nations like Sweden and France or end up like "failed states" such as Pakistan and Uganda. In an interview with PTI ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Jain defended the AAP's welfare-driven policies, arguing that free healthcare, education and basic utilities are essential for national progress. "If we are wrong in providing free welfare schemes, then developed countries like Sweden, France and Denmark are ...Read More >
Hyderabad: With the early onset of pre-monsoon showers, farmers across Telangana have started their agricultural activities ahead of schedule. However, the agriculture department is facing strong criticism for failing to provide adequate fertilizers and seeds necessary for the current season. According to officials, there is a significant shortfall in the availability of essential inputs like urea and cotton seeds, which may negatively impact crop planning and productivity across the state. Also Read: Madhuri Dixit Recalls 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun' Magic with Salman Khan as Monsoon Arrives For ...Read More >