PM Modi addresses media on the first day of the special session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist Lav)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Sunday that the India-Middle East-Europe corridor will become a basis of world trade for the coming centuries and history will remember that it was envisioned in India.
In his monthly Mann ki Baat broadcast, Modi recalled the "Silk route", an ancient trade corridor used by India when it was a prosperous and great trading power, and said the country suggested the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor at the recent G20 Summit.
The successful summit after the success of India's Chandrayaan-3 mission doubled every citizen's happiness, he said while noting that the two accomplishments have figured most in the messages he has received from people.
India's leadership was acknowledged by the world as it succeeded in making the African Union a member of the G20, he said.
Bharat Mandapam, the venue which hosted the G20 Summit, has become a "celebrity", the prime minister said, noting that people have been clicking selfies with the state-of-the-ar

World Trade Organisation, WTO

The WTO estimates that the cost of splitting the world trade system into separate blocs would be about 5 per cent of real income at the global level

Probe

The US has also proposed possible business-academia tie-ups to increase the availability of skilled workers and consultations with business and worker associations to develop policies

chart

The transformation that some are calling "reglobalization" will take years, and trade data is only beginning to offer clues about the scope of the changes, and who's winning and losing

exports, imports, trade

Foreign trade policy must engage with realities of world trade

graph

It must push exports of 18 items to developing nations, says report

WTO, World Trade Organisation

The World Trade Organisation is predicting global trade volumes will grow a lackluster 1% next year as crises and challenges weigh on markets, including high energy prices, rising interest rates and uncertainties about Chinese manufacturing output amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.
The Geneva-based trade body said Wednesday that the amount of goods shipped between countries are expected to rise 3.5% this year, up from the 3% that WTO anticipated in its first forecast for the year in April.
In 2023, the prediction is for such trade volumes to grow just 1%, down from the 3.4% expected previously.
The risks are certainly to the downside next year, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters at its headquarters.
This year, the higher predicted increase in trade volumes stems from better data that arrived in the middle of the year, contributing to a clearer forecast, and a boom in trade volumes from oil- and gas-producing countries in the Middle East as supplies from Russ

trade, import, export

India will make a pitch for finding a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security in the WTO meet in Geneva starting June 12, an official said.
Besides, issues including agri subsidies and World Food Programme will be on the agenda of the 12th ministerial conference, the highest decision making body of the 164-member World Trade Organization (WTO), the official said.
For the meeting, the Indian team will be led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
"Finding permanent solution to public stockholding will be our key demand," the official added.
Under global trade norms, a WTO member country's food subsidy bill should not breach the limit of 10 per cent of the value of production based on the reference price of 1986-88.
As part of permanent solution, India has asked for things like amendments in the formula to calculate the food subsidy cap and inclusion of programmes implemented after 2013 under the ambit of 'Peace Clause'.
As an interim measu

Globalisation is morphing as new agendas come into focus. These now drive action on climate change, taxation of global companies, tackling terrorism, sharing vaccines and the like, writes T N Ninan

suez canal, ships, shipping, evergreen, container, transport

The traffic congestion caused by a cargo ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week continued to ease on Friday

Port

Countries that have signed the RCEP agreement can start negotiations with India for joining the pact once New Delhi submits a written request stating its intention for the same

Suresh Prabhu

"WTO's reforms have to take into account the interests of all members. It has to come out with a forward-looking agenda in an inclusive manner," Prabhu said

trade

Situation to worsen as estimates don't take into account coronavirus outbreak

Donald Trump

The governments called on the World Trade Organization to beef up existing regulations, which they said in a statement are "insufficient to tackle market and trade distorting subsidisation

25 years on, WTO on its shakiest ground as confidence of members plummets

As confidence of member nations plummets, reforming the global body itself forms the core agenda for many countries

Doanld Trump

Part of the concern is that Trump's actions will give other governments cover to do the things that America has spent decades telling them not to do

World trade to grow by 2.4% in 2017, uncertainty weighs: WTO

The range for growth this year has been adjusted to between 1.8 and 3.6%, WTO said

The six units being planned to be listed are Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals and Vedanta Limited

Vedanta

To push their products in the Indian market, Apple Inc has not passed on to customers the cost of the hefty dealer margins offered to iPhone resellers and distributors

Apple Store Saket

How three men passionate about 'cool' motorcycles are trying to make India fall in love again with Jawa and Yezdi, with a leaf out of Royal Enfield's book

Jawa

The profitability of Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Apple (MAMAA), twice the S&P 500 average of 10 per cent, has come to be seen as flowing from the abuse of market power, writes T N Ninan

Big Tech

The government is also likely to have sweeping powers to track, monitor, intercept, moderate and take down online content under the new law

aadhaar

Renewable solutions provider Suzlon Energy on Wednesday said Crisil upgraded its ratings by two notches to BBB+/A2 with a positive outlook.
"Suzlon Group today announced that Crisil has upgraded the ratings of Suzlon Energy Ltd to CRISIL BBB+/A2 from CRISIL BBB-/A3' with a Positive Outlook for long-term and short-term facilities, reflecting the company's strengthened financial  position, operational excellence and favourable sectoral tailwinds," a company statement said.
According to the statement, the rating upgrade is a result of Suzlon's successful reduction of debt by repaying the entire term debt through the proceeds of a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
The reduction in fund-based borrowings, steady cash flows from the operations and maintenance (O&M) services business, and improved business profile in the wind turbine segment have contributed to this upgrade.
Suzlon Group Chief Financial Officer Himanshu Mody said, "This upgrade is a .

suzlon

Internet major Google will roll out an earthquake alert service in India that works using sensors in Android smartphones to detect and estimate the intensity of earthquakes, the company said on Wednesday.
Google has introduced "Android Earthquake Alerts System" in India in consultation with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Seismology Centre (NSC).
"Today, in consultation with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Seismology Center (NSC), we're introducing the Android Earthquake Alerts System in India. Through this launch, we strive to provide Android users automatic early warning alerts when there is an earthquake in their area," Google said in a blog.
The alert service will be available in Android 5 and later versions of the operating system.
"The Android Earthquake Alerts System is rolling out to all Android 5+ users in India during the coming week," the blog said.
The system takes the help of tiny accelerometers pre

Earthquake

The Indian team of Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Gurjoat Khangura and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka bagged the team bronze medal in the men's skeet event of the Asian Games here on Wednesday.
The trio shot a total of 355 to settle for the third position as India continued their dominance at the range.
Hosts China won the gold medal while Qatar claimed the silver.
The Indian women's team, however, crashed out of the shotgun skeet event by finishing in the fourth position behind Kazakhstan, China and Thailand.

Indian shooting contingent for Asian Games 2023: Photo: NRAI

Indian shooting contingent

Japanese business solutions provider Fujifilm Business Innovation on Wednesday announced its foray into the office printer business in India to tap the high growth potential.
India will be the 15th operation for the company in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for the office printer business and is targetting government offices as one of the main customers, Fujifilm Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte Ltd President Masatsugu Naito said.
The global office printing market is around 3.3 million units a year, while that of APAC is about 0.5 million.
India accounts for about 25 per cent of the APAC market, he said here at the launch of the company's A3 multifunction printer Apeos Series for the Indian market.
While China remains the bigger market, Naito said in the APAC region, India has a huge potential considering how the country's economy has grown and is an "attractive location for all industries".
To establish its foothold in the market, the company is first launching products in th

printer, print outs

The quarter saw five funding rounds cross the $100 million mark, including the likes of Perfios, Zepto, Ola Electric, Ather Energy and Zyber 365

startups, funding, business

Indus Towers and IOC Phinergy (IOP) have inked a pact for the deployment of 300 zero-emission energy systems to optimise diesel consumption at Indus' telecom tower sites.
This move accelerates Indus Towers' progress towards its sustainability priorities, according to a release.
"Indus Towers Limited and IOC Phinergy Private Limited (IOP) have signed an agreement for deployment of 300 zero-emission energy systems based on aluminium-air technology, to optimise diesel consumption at Indus' telecom tower sites," the release said.
Indus Towers' CEO Prachur Sah said as part of the company's ESG vision, Indus Towers believes in nurturing environmental stewardship, being socially responsible and having robust governance.
"Indus Tower's agreement with IOP is a testimony of the company's commitment to build eco-friendly telecom tower sites by investing in solutions for resource optimisation," Sah added.
IOP is a joint venture company formed by IOCL and Phinergy Ltd, Israel to manufacture, s

The ways in which Covid-19 has restructured the geopolitical landscape are therefore relevant to the future of energy

sustainable energy, clean energy

India will host the 46th edition of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart at Pragati Maidan in Delhi from October 4-6, the Union Ministry of Tourism said on Saturday.
The physical version of the event is being held after a hiatus of three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said, adding that the PATA Travel Mart 2023 will be held at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC).
The IECC complex was also the venue for the G20 Summit held from September 9-10.
Headquartered in Bangkok, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), which was founded in 1951, is a renowned not-for-profit association recognised internationally for its role as a catalyst in the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, the ministry said in a statement.
The event in Delhi will bring together tourism professionals and business stakeholders from across the world, offering a unique platform for networking, learning and collaboration, the officials

trade fair

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said if his party comes to power at the Centre, it would conduct a caste-based census to know the exact number of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) people in the country.
He was addressing a public meeting in Kalapipal assembly constituency in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh.
"Soon after coming to power, the first thing we will do is to go for a caste-based census to know the exact number of OBCs in the country as no one knows their exact number," Gandhi said.  He claimed that the country was being run by only 90 officers, including the cabinet secretary and secretaries, while the BJP MPs and MLAs had no role in framing policies and laws in the country.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and bureaucrats are framing laws instead of elected BJP members, Gandhi alleged.
Terming Madhya Pradesh as the "epicentre" of corruption in the country, Gandhi said, "Scams like Vyapam have rocked the state. MBBS degrees are being sold, exam papers are be

Rahul Gandhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Bhalswa landfill site on Saturday and said about 45 lakh tonnes of waste from it is expected to be processed and reduced by May next year.
Interacting with reporters at the site, Kejriwal said once 45 lakh tonnes of waste gets reduced, 35 acres of land will be reclaimed, which can be reused in multiple ways.
There are three landfill sites in Delhi, located at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur.
Kejriwal said Bhalswa landfill site has about 60-65 lakh tonnes of municipal waste spread over 72 acres, and besides legacy waste, 2,000 tonnes of fresh waste is getting added daily to the massive dump.
The target till today was to reduce 14 lakh tonnes of waste (from it), but it is being done speedily and the target has been exceeded, with the figure being 18 lakh tonnes, he said.
The chief minister said the target for the agency working on the waste processing at Bhalswa landfill site is to reduce waste by 30 lakh tonnes by May 15, 2024.
But, given t

Arvind Kejriwal

The India Meteorological Department said on Saturday said that the southwest monsoon has receded from Delhi, with the city receiving above normal rains during the season.
According to IMD data, the Safdarjung Observatory, the primary weather station of Delhi, received 660.8 mm of precipitation against a normal of 653.6 mm during the monsoon season (June to September).
Normally, the monsoon begins in the national capital by June 27 and recedes by September 25. This year, the rain-bearing system embraced the city on June 25.
"The southwest monsoon has further withdrawn from some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; entire Punjab and Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi; some parts of west Uttar Pradesh, west Madhya Pradesh and east Rajasthan and some more parts of west Rajasthan today," the IMD said in a statement.
The weather office said conditions are becoming favourable for further withdrawal of the monsoon from remaining parts of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, ...

World trade

India-Middle East corridor to be basis of world trade: PM in Mann Ki Baat

WTO in survival mode pushes back on splintering the global trade

US seeks enterprise-based probe into errant firms under IPEF deal

World trade data shows early signs of 'reglobalisation' across countries

Work in progress

Amid poor world demand, India has opportunities in developing countries

WTO warns 'darkened' trade outlook could deteriorate further in 2023

India pitching permanent solution to food stockholding at WTO meet

Globalisation, old and new: What changing world order means for India

Traffic congestion eases further in Suez Canal after ship unblocked

RCEP signatories ready for talks once India gives written request to join

WTO reforms have to factor in interests of all, says Suresh Prabhu

Decline in global merchandise trade volumes to continue for now: WTO

US, Japan and European Union seek stronger global rules on subsidies

25 years on, WTO on its shakiest ground as confidence of members plummets

Not just economic taboos, Trump's moves are also shattering US' credibility

World trade to grow by 2.4% in 2017, uncertainty weighs: WTO