India willing to talk to Pakistan on pilgrim flights
India is “positive” and “willing to engage” in talks with Pakistan on upgrading the 1974 joint protocol on religious pilgrimages to allow air travel as well as increase the number of shrines pilgrims from both countries could visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.
FTA dialogue productive: U.K. and India
India and the United Kingdom concluded the first round of discussion for the ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Friday. The discussion was conducted over two weeks and included 32 sessions that dealt with 26 policy areas, including trade in goods, services, telecommunications, investment and intellectual property.
Maharashtra has highest number of SC entrepreneurs
Maharashtra tops India’s list in the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owned by entrepreneurs from the Scheduled Castes with as many as 96,805 enterprises. Tamil Nadu with 42,997 enterprises and Rajasthan with 38,517 units occupy the second and third slots, according to the data furnished by the Office of the Development Commissioner in the Union Ministry of MSME exclusively to The Hindu.
T.N. not helping in inquiry into schoolgirl’s death, says NCPCR
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Friday alleged that the Tamil Nadu Government, citing the model code of conduct for urban civic polls, is not extending necessary support for the commission to inquire into the Thanjavur schoolgirl’s death by suicide.
Congress to work with like-minded parties
Ahead of the Budget session, the Parliamentary Strategy Group of the Congress virtually met on Friday and decided to work with like-minded parties to raise important issues such as the Omicron variant, alleged Chinese intrusion, inflation, the recent incidents of hate speeches and targeted violence against religious minorities.
Left parties protest against SBI’s recruitment guidelines
The Left parties have objected to the latest recruitment guidelines of the State Bank of India which allegedly discriminate against pregnant women. A recent circular issued by the bank on December 31 prevents women who are more than three-month pregnant from joining service, despite having been selected through due process.
Self-governed social, religious trusts can’t be subjected to overarching state control: Supreme Court
Self-governed social and religious trusts cannot be subjected to “overarching state control” as it would undermine the principle of autonomy and democratic decision-making and would reduce the fundamental right of freedom of association “an empty husk”, the Supreme Court said on January 28.
Good vaccination coverage must for breaking transmission, say experts
No faith in vaccine, mistrust in the fast roll-out of vaccines and the possibility of governments hiding adverse reaction data were among the top reasons why some in the eligible India population the The Hindu spoke to have refused to take even the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine so far. The country’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage exceeded 161.92 crore currently, stated a release issued by the Ministry on Sunday.
Don’t want wars, but won’t let interests be ignored: Russia
Russia on Friday sent its strongest signal so far that it is willing to engage with U.S. security proposals and reiterated that it does not want war over Ukraine. “If it depends on Russia, then there will be no war. We don’t want wars. But we also won’t allow our interests to be rudely trampled, to be ignored,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian radio stations in an interview.
Economic crisis tightens grip on Sri Lanka’s hinterland
The country’s fast-depleting foreign reserves — $3.1 billion at the end of 2021 — have pushed the Rajapaksa administration into a corner. The government needs dollars to import basic food items, fuel, and medicines, which have frequently been in shortage in recent months.
Putin to attend Winter Olympics, meet Xi
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, and five Presidents from Central Asia will be among the around two dozen world leaders heading to Beijing next week for the opening of the Winter Olympics, China announced on Friday.
SC gives SpiceJet 3 weeks to resolve payment claim
The Supreme Court on Friday gave air carrier SpiceJet three weeks to resolve its dispute over the non-payment of more than $24 million to a Swiss company towards maintenance, repairs and overhaul of aircraft engines and components.
Government urges SEBI to fast track LIC IPO
The Indian government has asked regulators for a swift review of Life Insurance Corporation’s draft prospectus, two government sources with knowledge of the matter said — as it pulls out all stops to have the country’s biggest IPO completed by the end of March.
Under-19 WC | India’s virus-hit warriors return for quarterfinal
COVID-hit India will be bolstered by the return of key players, including skipper Yash Dhull, when the record four-time champion meets holder Bangladesh in the third quarterfinal of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Saturday.
