Import, Trade, Export

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Princeand Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in New Delhi, on Monday.PTI Photo

India's trade with the Arab world has already surpassed an all-time high of $240 billion a year

Unprecedented rise in India-Saudi strategic relations

Business Standard

India-US Trade: Since 2013-14, Indo-US bilateral merchandise trade doubled to $131 billion in 2022

Rising significance of Indo-US trade ties

The US is also the biggest FDI investor in India in terms of equity, as per the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) latest FDI data, with Rs 8.1 crore, accounting for 16.9 per cent share in 2022

India-US Trade Policy Forum to boost bilateral trade and investment

Union Minister Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the National Workshop on 'Good Governance' practices tomorrow in New Delhi.The workshop will take place at Bhim Auditorium, Ambedkar International Centre.According to a statement from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances  &  Pensions, the minister will also inaugurate an exhibition showcasing the best practices of the Swachhata Campaign 4.0, curated by various ministries, and release the assessment report.The technical sessions will feature addresses by the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), Secretary of Posts, Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Secretary of the Railway Board, Director General of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Director General of the National Archives of India (NAI).The workshop will see participation from 750 officials representing all ministries. This marks the fourth National Workshop on Good Governance Practices organised by the Department of ...

Jitendra Singh

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has exported electricity worth Nepalese rupees 13 billion (INR 8.15 billion approximately) during the first five months of the current fiscal year.
According to NEA officials, about 1.76 billion units of electricity worth Nepalese Rs 13.04 billion have been exported to India from mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year 2024-25.
Nepal has been exporting surplus electricity to India during the rainy season for the last few years, NEA spokesperson Chandan Ghosh said.
The average rate of electricity exported to India in the five months is Nepalese Rs 7.39 (INR 4.63 approximately) per unit.
The authority is selling the surplus electricity at competitive rates in the day-ahead and real-time markets of the Indian Energy Exchange and to the states of Haryana and Bihar as per the bilateral medium-term power sales agreement.
As a result, the authority has earned INR 8.15 billion by selling electricity during the review period as the trading 

India Nepal, PM Narendra Modi, KP Sharma Oli

The PCS prelims, hit by large-scale protests at the beginning, were concluded on Sunday, with only about 42 per cent of the candidates appearing.
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) Secretary Ashok Kumar said the exams were conducted peacefully under the watch of police and other agencies.
"The PCS Pre exam was completed peacefully on Sunday. For the fairness of the exam, a double-layer system was put in place in which the police and the agency were conducting separate investigations," he told PTI.
He said all exams were conducted under the watch of CCTV and live streamed and candidates' iris and other biometrics were screened to filter out proxies.
"Every candidate of every centre was monitored from the control room set up in the commission. This monitoring was done through CCTV cameras installed in 1,331 centres across the state. As soon as any candidate was seen roaming around, we immediately alerted the concerned centre about what the particular candidate was doing,

Exam, National exam

Punjab has sought Rs 1,000 crore Central assistance to strengthen its police infrastructure and security efforts in the border districts, among a slew of other demands, at a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held in Jaisalmer, an official statement said on Sunday.
Industrial incentives similar to those provided to Jammu and Kashmir and the neighbouring hill states were also sought to support the MSMEs in Punjab's border and sub-mountainous regions, a Punjab government statement said on Sunday.
Quoting Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, the statement said the state has strongly raised the demand to restore NABARD's Short-Term Seasonal Agricultural Operations (ST-SAO) limit to Rs 3,041 crore, from the reduced limit of Rs 1,100 crore, for FY 2024-25.
Cheema said this restoration is vital to prevent farmers from turning to moneylenders, aligning with the 'Sahakar se Samriddhi' principle.
Several states raised this issue which was discussed at .

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala

The Haryana government has notified the procurement of 24 crops at a minimum support price (MSP), extending the list of 14 farm produces that were earlier eligible for guaranteed rates under public procurement system.
The state cabinet of the previous government, which was also headed by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, already approved the proposal of buying 10 additional crops at MSP.
The decision on MSP for additional crops was announced on August 5, months before the assembly polls in October. Till August, government agencies used to procure 14 crops at MSP.
According the latest notification dated December 19, the then Council of Ministers, in its meeting held on August 5, decided to purchase ragi, soybean, nigerseed, safflower, barley, maize, jowar, jute, copra and summer moong at the minimum support price.
The notification said, this was in addition to the crops that were already being procured, including paddy, bajra, kharif moong, urd, arhar, wheat and mustard.
While ...

Nayab Singh Saini, Nayab Singh, Nayab

After two weeks of buying, FPIs turned net sellers in Indian equities this week, with a net withdrawal of Rs 976 crore amid a strengthening US dollar and steady rise in US 10-year bond yields, impacting investor sentiment.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) began the week on a positive note, investing Rs 3,126 crore in equities during the first two trading sessions (December 16-20).
However, the trend reversed in the latter half of the week, with FPIs offloading equities worth over Rs 4,102 crore in the subsequent three sessions. This resulted in an overall net outflow of Rs 976 crore during the week, data from National Securities Depository Limited showed.
Despite this short-term reversal, the broader December trend remains positive. FPIs have infused Rs 21,789 crore into Indian equities so far this month, reflecting continued confidence in India's economic growth potential and its resilient markets.
FPIs adopted a cautious approach due to the US Fed meeting and uncertainty about 

Foreign portfolio investor exodus: Financial sector bears the brunt, FPI

Fundraising via IPOs in India hit another landmark as economic growth, favourable market conditions and improvements in the regulatory framework helped companies raise a record Rs 1.6 lakh crore in 2024, while the pipeline for the next year holds out bigger promise.
This exceptional year not only reflected the confidence of issuers but also highlighted investors' eagerness to seize listing-day gains or back companies with strong long-term growth potential.
The year was marked by Hyundai Motor India's historic IPO, the largest in the country's history, which raised Rs 27,870 crore.
Companies of varying market capitalisations -- large, mid, and small -- tapped into the IPO route in 2024, with the average issue size rising significantly from Rs 867 crore in 2023 to over Rs 1,700 crore in 2024.
The exceptional vibrancy of the IPO market was evident, with December alone seeing at least 15 launches.
"Rising retail participation, strong domestic inflows and active participation by FPIs (

ipo market listing share market

A 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, who has been living in Germany since 2006, is the prime suspect in the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, which killed five people

Germany police

Record fundraising surpasses the previous high of Rs 9,370 cr in 2023

IPO rush, market

The accumulated losses of state public sector enterprises (PSEs) rose from Rs 3,953.70 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 4,778.70 crore in 2022-23, while the profit earned by 13 SPSEs stood at Rs 20.21 crore as on September 30, 2023, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on finances tabled in the Assembly on Saturday.
The net worth of nine out of these 14 PSEs has been completely eroded by losses and their worth was (-) Rs 1,932 crore against an equity investment of Rs 2,085.59 crore, while three PSEs have outstanding government loans amounting Rs 3,132 crore, the report said.
Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board topped the list of loss making enterprises with accumulated losses of Rs 1,809.61 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh Road Corporation at Rs 1707.12 crore, HP Power Corporation at Rs 552 crore, Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation at Rs 395.91 crore, HP Financial Corporation at Rs 180.97 crore, State Forest Corporation at Rs 113.04 crore, HPM

The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government officia

India's charging infrastructure lags behind EV demand despite policy incentives

Electric vehicles, EVs, Electric car

The Supreme Court on Thursday said the strict provisions of law were for the welfare of women and not means to "chastise, threaten, domineer or extort" their husbands.
Justices B V Nagarathna and Pankaj Mithal observed a Hindu marriage was considered to be a sacred institution, as a foundation for a family and not a "commercial venture".
Notably, the bench observed the invocation of IPC sections including rape, criminal intimidation and subjecting a married woman to cruelty -- as a "combined package" in most of the complaints related to matrimonial disputes -- was condemned by the top court on several occasions.
"The women need to be careful about the fact that these strict provisions of law in their hands are beneficial legislations for their welfare and not means to chastise, threaten, domineer or extort from their husbands," it said.
The observations came when the bench dissolved the marriage between an estranged couple on the ground of its irretrievable breakdown.
"The provisi

Supreme Court, SC

Company plans six Helios Luxe stores in FY25, grow them to 35 in two stores

Titan

Can writers, artists, or citizens exist in a political vacuum? This collection of conversations by Githa Hariharan delves into culture, democracy, and dissent

Book Review

Bharti Airtel, data centre company CtrlS, and personal computer maker Holoware have submitted their proposals for investments in Bihar under the state's new IT Policy, 2024, senior government officials said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Bihar Business Connect 2024 here, IT Secretary Abhay Kumar said that the incentives under the state's IT Policy 2024 are the best compared to the policies of any other state.
He said the state has received tremendous response from investors.
"Airtel and Ctrls are in a very advance stage. They have already taken stage 1 clearance. They are submitting financial proposals and very soon you will see their actual investment happening," Kumar said.
He said Chennai-based Holoware is also investing in the state for manufacturing of IT hardwares.
"They (Holoware) are putting up their factory for laptop PCs. One of their proposals of Rs 30 crore is already cleared, and in time to come they are supposed to make an investment of Rs 300 crore," Kumar said.
He .

Nitish Kumar, Nitish

The I-T department probes Rs 7,500 crore spent on lavish weddings, targeting Jaipur planners and fake billing networks linked to foreign destination events and cash transactions

weddings, marriage

Congress calls FIR against Rahul Gandhi over Parliament scuffle a 'badge of honour', alleging BJP's vendetta and diversionary tactics to counter his protest against Amit Shah's Ambedkar remarks

Rahul Gandhi, Rahul, congress leader

The latest Economic Survey said, India has to find the right balance between importing goods from China and importing capital (FDI) from China

How policymakers are split over attracting Chinese investment into India