German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the upcoming G20 summit in India remains important despite the absence of Russia and China. Speaking to German radio station Deutschlandfunk on September 1, he said that the forum still has an important contribution to make and a “big damn obligation” to fulfil, particularly as BRICS - a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - grows in significance. India, the President of the G20, will host global leaders for the Summit on September 9 and 10 in New Delhi. US President Joe Biden will travel to India on Septem
Bilateral trade between India and Kuwait has touched an all-time-high of $12.5 billion, Indian Ambassador to Kuwait Adarsh Swaika said in an interview. Trade between the two countries has seen a 90% yearly jump. While currently the trade is skewed towards hydrocarbon exports from Kuwait and exports of mainly food products from India, bilateral trade has the potential for diversification, the envoy added. Swaika underlined the excellent possibilities available between the two countries across sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, automobiles and related spares, electronic
The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – the world’s largest financial inclusion mission – crossed the 500 million mark on August 28 in nine years of its launch, with over ₹2 lakh crore deposits and over 55.5% of the bank accounts belonging to women, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In a statement, the union minister said the last nine years of PMJDY-led interventions and digital transformation revolutionised financial inclusion in the country. She added it is heartening to note that over 500 million people have been brought into the formal banking system. She un
The Government of India collected Rs 6.53 lakh crore as gross direct tax up to August 10, up 15.73% than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year, the Ministry of Finance said. The Centre also issued refunds amounting to Rs. 0.69 lakh crore during April 1, 2023 to August 10, 2023, which were 3.73% higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year. Direct Tax collection, net of refunds, stands at Rs 5.84 lakh crore, which is 17.33% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year. This collection is 32.03 percent of the t
Singapore is open to the possibility of importing electricity from countries in the region, including India, said a report quoting the Energy Market Authority (EMA) on August 13. The EMA, a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, has welcomed proposals to import as much as 4 GW of electricity, added the news report. The body is seeking bids till December 29 and will choose and appoint companies to import the electricity. Previously, India and Singapore had accelerated plans to set up a connection between their power grids through an undersea cable via the And
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that the tourists who were forced to leave the island of Rhodes after recent wildfires will be given a free one-week holiday there. In a TV interview on August 2, Mitsotakis said the tourists could take up the offer in the spring or autumn of 2024. Not a single human life was lost in Rhodes, and no injuries were reported in the wildfires, he added. Local people and travellers were forced to flee their homes and hotels during the wildfires that destroyed the island in July. About 20,000 tourists were rescued from the wildfires, makin
Inflation in Sri Lanka dropped to 6.3% in July from 12% in June, said the Census and Statistics Office of the Sri Lankan government on July 31. The country saw a single-digit figure for the first time in two years. The drop in headline inflation is according to the disinflation path predicted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in July 2023. A statement from the Census and Statistics Office said that the decrease in the cost of food commodities led to the decline in inflation. Based on the Colombo Consumer Price Index, food prices fell by 1.4% over the past 12 months in the island coun
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has released its media rights tender for the Indian team’s bilateral matches in the country. The tender document is available for purchase until August 25. The Invitation To Tender (ITT) can be purchased upon submission of a non-refundable fee of Rs 15 lakh. In the ITT, BCCI has reduced the overall base price to Rs 45 crore per match for the forthcoming media rights cycle. In the recent cycle, the base price stood at Rs 61 crore per match for Disney-Star. The base price is for TV and digital, and for all the formats of international cricke
The Government of India is in talks with the Bhutanese regime over the rail link between Bhutan and Assam, informed External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on August 7. The union minister added that Bhutan is keen to open up more places for tourists and that the rail link is advantageous for Assam as well. To be completed by 2026, the 57-km railway line will be the first railway connection between India and Bhutan. The Indian government will fund the project. Bhutan’s Foreign Minister Dr Tandi Dorji said in April that the Bhutan government will first work on this project, and later loo
Israel will build a 100 billion shekel ($27 billion) rail expansion that will connect its remote areas to the city of Tel Aviv and could provide overland links to Saudi Arabia in years to come, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 30. The announcement came after a visit of top US officials to Saudi Arabia in July to advance a possible forging of formal relations between the Kingdom and Israel. In a weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Netanyahu promoted infrastructure initiatives, including the “One Israel Project.” The Prime Minister of Israel said the project is designed t