Business Standard

Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 11:52 AM ISTEN Hindi

Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

Gulf

GCC region 2024: India deepens ties with first PM visit to Kuwait in 40 yrs

India has deepened its diplomatic and economic ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council region this year with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting three of the six GCC countries including Kuwait where no Indian PM had been after Indira Gandhi. As 2024 unfolded, a renewed focus on strategic partnerships in the region took centre stage, with Abu Dhabi serving as the pivotal gateway to this robust alliance. From high-profile visits to pivotal agreements, the story of India and the GCC, an influential grouping comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, is a dynamic one. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, became Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first GCC destination in 2024. The India-UAE bonhomie has been an ongoing story in recent years, and some layers were added this year. PM Modi's Abu Dhabi visit may have hogged the limelight due to the much-talked-about inauguration of BAPS Hindu Mandir; it also gathered momentum on substantive bilateral ..

GCC region 2024: India deepens ties with first PM visit to Kuwait in 40 yrs
Updated On : 30 Dec 2024 | 2:26 PM IST

India to award leases to top up strategic oil reserves amid Gulf tensions

India must expedite the award because its strategic petroleum reserves, which hold a fraction of the crude storage capacities in Western nations and China, are highly inadequate in an emergency

India to award leases to top up strategic oil reserves amid Gulf tensions
Updated On : 09 Oct 2024 | 12:02 AM IST

India, UAE ink agreement on operating nuclear plants in Gulf nation

India and the UAE have inked a pact that provides a framework for giving services for operation and maintenance of nuclear plants in the emirate. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Bhuwan Chandra Pathak, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), and Mohamed Al Hammadi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) of the UAE. The MoU was inked during the ongoing visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India. Al Nahyan held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. "The MoU provides a general framework for the possible collaboration between the NPCIL & ENEC in the relevant fields, which inter alia include developing supply chains, sharing experience and providing services for Operation & Maintenance of Nuclear Energy Plants, providing nuclear consulting services, human resources development & training, research ...

India, UAE ink agreement on operating nuclear plants in Gulf nation
Updated On : 10 Sep 2024 | 9:20 PM IST

Aster DM Healthcare concludes separation of biz in India, Gulf region

Aster DM Healthcare on Wednesday said it has completed the separation of its India and GCC businesses. Under the separation plan, a consortium of investors led by Fajr Capital, a sovereign-backed private equity firm, has acquired a 65 per cent stake in Aster GCC, the company said in a statement. The Moopen family has retained a 35 per cent stake alongside management and operational rights, it added. In the Indian operations, the Moopen family continues to hold 41.88 per cent stake, the healthcare firm stated. "The transaction has now concluded, pursuant to which Affinity Holdings Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company) has received a cash consideration of USD 907.6 million," the healthcare firm said. In November 2023, Aster DM Healthcare had obtained board approvals to separate its Gulf and India businesses.

Aster DM Healthcare concludes separation of biz in India, Gulf region
Updated On : 03 Apr 2024 | 10:13 PM IST

Petrobras in talks for projects with Gulf, Indian, Chinese firms, CEO says

"We have two groups of Asian countries that we're interacting very much right now and we're building relationships right now - Gulf countries, India and China," he said

Petrobras in talks for projects with Gulf, Indian, Chinese firms, CEO says
Updated On : 07 Feb 2024 | 5:05 PM IST

Interim Budget evokes mixed response from Indian business community in Gulf

India's interim Budget for 2024-25 received mixed reactions from the Indian business community in the Gulf with some hailing it as forward-looking and a vision statement for the journey from developing to a developed country by 2047 while others voiced disappointment over the absence of tax reliefs for individuals. Presenting a vote on account for 2024-25 in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed no changes in income tax rates for individuals and corporations, as well as customs duty. She hiked capital expenditure to Rs 11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25 while trimming the fiscal deficit for this financial year to 5.8 per cent, from the budgeted 5.9 per cent of GDP, and further lowering to 5.1 per cent in the next fiscal. In the interim Budget 2024, there is a need to enhance digitalisation of tax return filing-linked procedures such as changing residency status, assessments and even alternative tax return verification systems linked to NRIs," said Deepak Bhatia, Managin

Interim Budget evokes mixed response from Indian business community in Gulf
Updated On : 01 Feb 2024 | 4:43 PM IST

APEDA inks pact with Lulu Hypermarket for export promotion of agri-products

Commerce ministry's arm APEDA has inked a pact with UAE-based global retail major Lulu Hypermarket to promote Indian agri-products in the Gulf countries, an official statement said on Monday. With this memorandum of understanding (MoU), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) would promote Indian agricultural products, including millets across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) member countries as the LuLu Group has its presence across these nations besides in Egypt and the Far East. The Group is the fastest-growing retail chain in the Middle East and Asia. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the members of the GCC. "To boost exports of agricultural products to the GCC, the APEDA has signed an MoU with global retail major Lulu Hypermarket LLC," it said. As per the MoU document, the group will promote and showcase a wide range of products in APEDA basket of agricultural and processed food products in thei

APEDA inks pact with Lulu Hypermarket for export promotion of agri-products
Updated On : 06 Nov 2023 | 8:39 PM IST

At G20 India, US, Saudi, UAE may join hands to connect West Asia with rail

The deal will also connect the rail network to India through shipping lanes from ports in the Gulf region

At G20 India, US, Saudi, UAE may join hands to connect West Asia with rail
Updated On : 08 Sep 2023 | 10:49 AM IST

US sending jets to Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizures

The U.S. is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security in the wake of Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships there. The Pentagon said Monday that the USS Thomas Hudner, a destroyer, and a number of F-35 fighter jets will be heading to the area. The Hudner had been in the Red Sea. Defense officials last week announced the deployment of F-16s to the area over the past weekend, and there have been A-10 attack aircraft there for nearly two weeks in response to the Iranian activity. The latest deployments come after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait early this month, opening fire on one of them. The aircraft are intended to give air cover for the commercial ships moving through the waterway and increase the military's visibility in the area, as a deterrent to Iran. The U.S. Navy said in both instances the Iranian naval vessels backed off when the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived on the

US sending jets to Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizures
Updated On : 18 Jul 2023 | 8:07 AM IST

Oil drilling in Gulf safer, but safety issues linger, says report

Thirteen years after the massive Deepwater Horizons spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico, regulators and industry have reduced some risks in deep water exploration in the gulf but some troublesome safety issues persist, a new study by the National Academy of Sciences said. The creation of a specific federal agency for offshore oil drilling safety, an industrywide safety centre and new technology have all helped reduce risks, Tuesday's report said. But federal inspectors remain relatively powerless over contractors on rigs, which are 80 per cent of the workers. The report also worried about the lack of an industrywide safety culture that integrates accident prevention into everyday work. "There are a lot of things that are happening that are really good, but the industry is not at a place'' where it should be, said panel chairman Richard Sears. He was a longtime Shell executive who was the chief technical adviser to the federal panel that initially investigated the 2010 explosion on the B

Oil drilling in Gulf safer, but safety issues linger, says report
Updated On : 04 Apr 2023 | 10:12 PM IST

Top Headlines: PM Modi cautions against Covid, GAIL's LNG hunt, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Top Headlines: PM Modi cautions against Covid, GAIL's LNG hunt, and more
Updated On : 23 Dec 2022 | 9:08 AM IST

India's crude oil supplies to come mostly from Gulf: Hardeep Singh Puri

Indian refiners have been snapping up relatively cheap Russian oil, shunned by Western companies and countries since sanctions were imposed against Moscow.

India's crude oil supplies to come mostly from Gulf: Hardeep Singh Puri
Updated On : 06 Sep 2022 | 7:45 AM IST

Ashok Leyland bags order for supplying 1,400 school buses in UAE

Indian company says deal win by distribution partners 'reaffirms faith' in its buses

Ashok Leyland bags order for supplying 1,400 school buses in UAE
Updated On : 01 Sep 2022 | 3:46 PM IST

Gulf states to gain $1.3 trillion in additional oil revenue by 2026: IMF

The gains, due to high oil prices, are expected to provide 'firepower' to the region's sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), one of the largest in the world

Gulf states to gain $1.3 trillion in additional oil revenue by 2026: IMF
Updated On : 19 Aug 2022 | 1:06 PM IST

Is cricket sustainable amid climate change?

The warming of the earth, combined with the exhausting nature of the game, is raising questions about the future of the second most popular sport in the world

Is cricket sustainable amid climate change?
Updated On : 08 Aug 2022 | 4:32 PM IST

Oil slips to $75 as threat to US Gulf production from storm wanes

Oil slipped to about $75 a barrel on Thursday, falling from a multi-week high a day earlier, as the threat to US Gulf production from Hurricane Nicholas receded

Oil slips to $75 as threat to US Gulf production from storm wanes
Updated On : 16 Sep 2021 | 8:06 PM IST

Oil prices rise as storm forms in Gulf, doubts emerge on Iran deal

Brent crude oil futures for July rose 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.76 a barrel by 0143 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate for July was at $63.93 a barrel, up 35 cents, or 0.6%

Oil prices rise as storm forms in Gulf, doubts emerge on Iran deal
Updated On : 24 May 2021 | 9:35 AM IST

Easing dispute, UAE announces reopening of borders, airspace to Qatar

The United Arab Emirates announced on Friday that it would reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar after boycotting the tiny energy-rich country alongside its Gulf allies since 2017

Easing dispute, UAE announces reopening of borders, airspace to Qatar
Updated On : 08 Jan 2021 | 5:58 PM IST

IndiGo, GoAir to expand in Gulf

Unfazed by the slowdown in West Asia, Indian carriers are expanding their network in the region. IndiGo is launching flights to Sharjah later this month and plans to launch a service to Doha its seventh international destination in April. GoAir is likely to begin its international operations with flights from Kochi to Doha and Dammam in the second half of the year.Around 22 million passengers travelled between India and countries in the West Asia accounting for nearly 40 per cent of all international air traffic from India in 2016. This does not include passengers who travelled onward to other destinations from hubs such as Dubai or Doha. This makes the region an attractive bet for Indian airlines.However business was impacted last year and demand growth did not match the growth in capacity. Airline yields which are revenue charged per passenger came under pressure as low crude oil price impacted local economies. Both Air India Express and Jet Airways have said their financial ..

IndiGo, GoAir to expand in Gulf
Updated On : 08 Mar 2017 | 1:20 AM IST

Gulf jobs shrink for Indian workers, a blow to remittances

Despite difficult working conditions, Indians are still seeking jobs in Gulf countries

Gulf jobs shrink for Indian workers, a blow to remittances
Updated On : 21 May 2016 | 11:28 PM IST