Many participants in the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings had a sense that Trump's administration was still conflicted in its demands from trading partners hit with his sweeping tariffs

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that while the Modi government is presenting the World Bank report as a success story, it raises serious concerns about persistent inequality

India is likely to ask the US to ease export controls and grant it access to critical technologies on par with key American allies like Australia, the UK, and Japan under the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA), sources said. They added that India may seek these easing for sectors like telecom equipment, biotechnology, AI (artificial intelligence), pharmaceuticals, quantum computing and semiconductors. The country is also seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes and bananas in the proposed pact with America. On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles particularly), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, agriculture items such as apples, and tree nuts, they said. As part of the proposed BTA, one of the sources said, India may request the US to place it on par with other ke

India and European nation Netherlands have discussed ways to boost trade and investments ties during the visit of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to Hague. The visit assumes significance as India's exports to Netherlands are recording healthy growth despite global economic uncertainties. "Commerce Secretary Mr. Sunil Barthwal & Ambassador @ktuhinv met DG Foreign Economic Relations Mr. Michiel Sweers in The Hague to discuss strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties. Discussions focused on enhancing collaboration through the joint trade and investment committee (JTIC) and advancing strategic economic cooperation," the department of commerce said in a post on X. In 2024-25, India's exports to the Netherlands rose by 1.75 per cent to USD 22.76 billion as against USD 22.36 billion in 2023-24. The imports during the period stood at over USD 5 billion. During this visit, the commerce ministry's Joint Secretary Saket Kumar also met senior officials in Hague to discuss advancing ...

Indian goods worth over USD 10 billion are reaching Pakistan every year indirectly through ports such as Dubai, Singapore, and Colombo, bypassing trade restrictions, according to estimates of economic think tank GTRI. Explaining the system, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that Indian firms send goods to these ports, where an independent company offloads the consignment and keeps the products in bonded warehouses, where goods can be stored without paying duties while in transit. "In the bonded warehouse, the labels and documents are modified to show a different country of origin. For example, Indian-made goods may be relabelled as 'Made in UAE'. After this change, they are shipped to countries like Pakistan, where direct trade with India is not allowed," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. This method, he said, helps firms to bypass India-Pakistan trade restrictions; sell goods at higher prices, using the third country route; and avoid scrutiny, since the trade appears to

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw rolled out guidelines for the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme to boost domestic manufacturing, attract investments, and build a strong electronics ecosystem

India needs stronger veterinary infrastructure and skills to support its rural economy, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying S P Singh Baghel said on Saturday. Speaking at a national workshop marking World Veterinary Day, Baghel called veterinarians "the backbone of the rural economy" and stressed the need for collaboration among veterinary professionals, scientists and public health experts to ensure integrated health approaches, an official statement said. India houses over 536 million livestock, the world's largest population, with nearly 70 per cent of rural households depending on animals for income, food and security, he said. Baghel highlighted the importance of indigenous livestock breeds, which are adapted to local climate conditions and crucial for sustainable production systems. He advocated for advanced reproductive technologies, particularly sex-sorted semen and in vitro fertilization (IVF), to enhance productivity. The minister praised

Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev on Saturday said works on 13 projects with a total investment of Rs 4,410 crore through the Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS 2025) will commence in May. Noting that these projects were submitted through Expressions of Interest (EoIs) at the IKGS held in February, Rajeev, who also holds Law and Coir portfolios, added in April alone, four projects worth Rs 1670 crore have started. Speaking after launching the web portals--- ikgseoi.kerala.gov.in and industrialland.kerala.gov.in-- he said: "From February to April, 76 projects worth Rs 1,385 crore as part of the reinvestment in ongoing and scaling up of projects related to IKGS are underway." The websites are launched for following up on the EoIs received during IKGS and creating a database of land parcels available in the state for industrial purposes, respectively. IKGS 2025 had received EoIs worth Rs 1.96 lakh crore,according to an official release. The Minister informed that a monthly progress

India has lifted 171 million people from extreme poverty in the decade between 2011-12 and 2022-23, the World Bank said. "Over the past decade, India has significantly reduced poverty. Extreme poverty (living on less than USD 2.15 per day) fell from 16.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.3 per cent in 2022-23, lifting 171 million people above this line, the World Bank said in its Poverty & Equity Brief' on India. It added that rural extreme poverty dropped from 18.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent, and urban from 10.7 per cent to 1.1 per cent, narrowing the rural-urban gap from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points a 16 per cent annual decline. The brief said that India also transitioned into the lower-middle-income category. Using the USD 3.65 per day LMIC poverty line, poverty fell from 61.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent, lifting 378 million people out of poverty. Rural poverty dropped from 69 per cent to 32.5 per cent, and urban poverty from 43.5 per cent to 17.2 per cent, reducing the rural-urban gap ...

Union Minister Harsh Malhotra handed over appointment letters to 258 candidates during Rozgar Mela here on Saturday. This fair is part of PM Narendra Modi's nationwide initiative, where similar events across 47 locations benefited over 51,000 youths. Speaking on the occasion, Malhotra, the Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Road Transport and Highways, said the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided 1.5 times more jobs to youths than the previous UPA government. "Prime Minister Modi has distributed more than 51,000 appointment letters to newly appointed youth in various government departments and organisations through video conferencing," Malhotra said. Malhotra participated in the Rozgar Mela' organised at the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IIMT). The Rozgar Mela, which started in 2012, today marks its 15th edition. "So far, more than 10 lakh youths have been provided employment through the job fairs," he added.

India and the US have a continuous dialogue and communication on the bilateral trade deal and the first tranche is set to roll out by fall this year, Minister of State for the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Jitin Prasada said. Prasada made these remarks while addressing members of the Indian-American community at an interactive session organised by the Consulate General of India in New York on Friday. India and the US share a great relationship, and there is continuous dialogue and communication between both countries. The last dialogue that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Donald) Trump had, the formalities and modalities of the bilateral trade agreement have been worked out, and by September, this fall, you will see the first tranche of our programme and policies, Prasada said. At the beginning of the event, a moment of silence was observed to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in ..

This was marginally short of revised target; highest-ever refunds issued

The provisional net direct tax collection for the 2024-25 financial year has met the set target, growing 13.57 per cent to over Rs 22.26 lakh crore with the income tax department issuing the highest-ever amount of refunds ever delivered, official data showed Friday. The government set a target of Rs 22,07,000 crore for the direct tax administration as per the budget receipt of July 2024 and revised it to Rs 22,37,000 crore during the budget presented this February. Direct taxes include revenue collected by the Union government under the corporate taxes and non-corporate taxes category (earlier personal income tax). The non-corporate taxes category includes taxes paid by individuals, firms, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), local authorities, artificial juridical persons etc. According to official data, the provisional gross (before adjusting for refunds) direct tax collection for the 2024-25 fiscal that ended March 31 stood at Rs 27.02 lakh crore, a growth of 15.59 per cent, when ...

Pharmaceutical products have long been spared from trade wars due to the potential harms, but he has repeatedly threatened a 25 per cent tariff on pharmaceutical imports

The minister further said that India is seeking greater market access for its steel sector through the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations that India is engaged with

Using the $3.65 per day poverty line for lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC), poverty fell from 61.8 per cent to 28.1 per cent, lifting 378 million people out of poverty in India

India's forex reserves jumped USD 8.31 billion to USD 686.145 billion for the week ended April 18, the RBI said on Friday. This is the seventh consecutive week of a rise in the kitty, which had jumped by USD 1.567 billion to USD 677.835 billion in the previous reporting week ended April 11. The forex reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion in end-September 2024. For the week ended April 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 3.516 billion to USD 578.495 billion, the data released on Friday showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves increased by USD 4.575 billion to USD 84.572 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 212 million to USD 18.568 billion, the apex bank said. India's reserve position with the IM

US reciprocal tariffs may cause friction in the short term for the maritime sector but over the long term, India's fundamentals remain strong, says Synergy Marine Group CEO. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed reciprocal tariffs on around 60 countries, including India, disrupting global trade. The US later suspended reciprocal tariffs until July 9 but has imposed base import tariffs of 10 per cent on all countries. On the likely impact of US reciprocal tariffs and trade uncertainty on the Indian shipping industry, Synergy Marine Group CEO Jesper Kristensen said, In the short term, they (tariff actions) may cause friction. Over the long term, India's fundamentals remain strong. The country's expanding port capacity, growing export base, and skilled workforce make it a resilient and adaptive player in global shipping, Kristensen added. Synergy Marine Group is a global ship management company. When asked about the impact of trade uncertainty on jobs in the shipping sector, .

The fear of deflection of Chinese exports to third markets is giving a major scare to the policymakers in developing nations

Indian economy could grow at 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal as lower prices of crude oil are expected to ease inflationary pressure and support domestic growth, despite intensifying global trade tensions, EY said on Friday. The 'EY Economy Watch' report for April identifies four key interlinked effects which would have a bearing on India's growth reduced exports, global slowdown, falling crude oil prices, and the impact of global excess production capacities. "With suitable fiscal and monetary policies, India may be able to sustain a real GDP growth at about 6.5 per cent in FY26 as also in the medium term, while maintaining a CPI inflation below 4 per cent. "We also expect global crude prices to remain in the range of USD 60-65/bbl in FY26, which may be to India's advantage," EY India Chief Policy Advisor D K Srivastava said. It said exports may slow due to higher tariffs and weakening global demand, but the overall GDP impact may be limited, given the subdued role of net expo