Author: Chanda Vaikar

India’s total exports, including merchandise and services, stood at 770.18 billion U.S. dollars, in fiscal 2023, up around 13.84 percent over the previous financial year (April 2021-March 2022), said official data released on Thursday. According to the data by the federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, merchandise exports registered the highest figure of 447.46 billion dollars, with a 6.03 percent growth during the 2022-23 financial year (April 2022-March 2023). Services exports led the overall export growth and are projected to set a new record annual value of 322.72 billion dollars with a growth rate of 26.79 percent during the current…

China and India are “two exceptions to the slowdown” that the global economy is expected to experience this year, World Bank Group President David Malpass has said. Malpass made the remarks in a media call ahead of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings week, according to a press release posted at the worldbank.org on Monday. “Global growth is expected to be weak this year, slowing to 2 percent from 3.1 percent in 2022. For the U.S., we’re expecting a slowdown to 1.2 percent from 2.1 percent in 2022,” said Malpass. “Several factors are weighing on the second…

At least 20 people were killed and several others ill Saturday after allegedly consuming toxic liquor in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, local media reports said. The deaths were reported from several areas of East Champaran (Motihari) district, about 151 km north of Patna, the capital city of Bihar. Local media reported that a tank carrying spurious liquor was brought to Motihari and distributed among local traders, leading to the tragedy.

The state government on Friday told the Legislative Council that kabutarkhanas at various locations in Mumbai like Gateway of India, GPO, August Kranti Maidan, Girgaon Chowpatty and Dadar don’t have protection as they lack heritage status, and the BMC’s Development Plan (DP) 2034 also does not have any reservation for them. MUMBAI: The state government on Friday told the Legislative Council that kabutarkhanas at various locations in Mumbai like Gateway of India, GPO, August Kranti Maidan, Girgaon Chowpatty and Dadar don’t have protection as they lack heritage status, and the BMC’s Development Plan (DP) 2034 also does not have any…

According to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines, the United States plans to erect four new military installations “scattered” throughout the nation. According to RT, he stated that at least one plant would be situated close to a disputed island chain that China and numerous other countries have claimed. The Filipino president provided more information about the new sites, which were first announced as part of the Expanded Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with Washington, in a statement to the media on Wednesday, as reported by RT. Yet he insisted that he would withhold their precise location until the…

Shashikant Midha learned to swim as a child in the river near his village in Dhanbad, one of India’s largest coal-mining hubs, but he hasn’t yet found time to dip in the pool at the apartment complex where he lives nowadays, far away in south India. Working long hours on a car-assembly line in Tamil Nadu state, more than 1,700 km (1,056 miles) from home, Midha belongs to a trend of Indians migrating out of coal regions, triggered by dwindling and low-paying jobs in a changing industry. At least 13 million Indians in the poorest regions depend on the country’s…

Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani urged the international community on Wednesday to pressure Serbia into implementing a EU-backed deal to normalize ties. “All the pressure should be directed at Serbia to make it implement the obligations it accepted. The International community should focus on (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic,” Osmani told Radio TV Kosovo. The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo agreed on how to implement the EU-backed deal in the last round of talks March 18 in North Macedonia. The agreement came after 12 hours of talks between Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and EU officials. ”What he…

Diyarbakir, Turkey – Volunteers at a three-storey office block in Diyarbakir sit amid a fog of cigarette smoke, sipping cups of black tea as they plan the logistics of delivering aid to victims of Turkey’s earthquake disaster. Dozens of helpers, working from offices borrowed from the city’s Chamber of Commerce, are coordinating cargoes of supplies for millions of people affected by the catastrophe last week. They are just a small cog in a machine of many aid operations set up by ordinary citizens across Turkey. “Our motivation comes from wanting to support our people, and that’s what we’re working for,”…

Slovenia’s economy outpaced most predictions by forecasters as it expanded by 5.7% last year, driven by robust consumption and investment spending, the latest statistics show. Growth was brisk in the first half of the year and was widely expected to slow significantly towards the end of the year, but in the last quarter, it expanded by 0.8% on the quarter before on the back of a 5.9% expansion on investment spending. The Slovenian central bank said the figures were “an encouraging signal” but warned that this year’s growth rate would be significantly lower. Most forecasters find that households and businesses…

The Patriarch of Serbia Mr. Porfirios met today, with the mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Sapic, at the church of Saint Savva in Vracar, Belgrade . His Beatitude and the mayor of Belgrade discussed issues related to life in the capital, and especially the promotion of the institution of the family. The mayor presented to the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church his current and future plans for the progress and development of the capital. In his remarks, His Beatitude said, among other things, that he is grateful for the time the mayor took to discuss several important issues concerning the Church in Serbia, the people and citizens of…