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[1/3] Sales representatives stand outside their kiosks inside a luxury residential project by Indian property developer DLF in Gurugram, India, February 28, 2023. Many people want to upgrade their homes after the COVID-19 pandemic confined them indoors, industry executives say. "I haven't seen such a mad rush in a decade," said Prashant Thakur, head of research at real estate consultant Anarock. Mercedes sold a record number of high-end cars in India last year and luxury goods are in high demand too. So far, around 160 people were invited for a viewing and 17 of 46 flats sold in the eight-storey project.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end the war and urged Moscow to reverse its suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, a senior U.S. official said. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes at the end of the closed-door session, and did not engage in any negotiations, Russian news agencies reported. Blinken later told a news conference he had told Lavrov to engage in diplomacy during the unscheduled encounter. [1/6] U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken (top L) walks past Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (lower) during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi on March 2, 2023. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the war in Ukraine had hurt "almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation".

☆ India says its infrastructure boost could create much-needed jobs. Economists aren't so sure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

High unemployment remains a challenge for India, and has been one of the biggest criticisms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesIndia is pumping up its infrastructure spending, a move the government says will create much-needed jobs. On the other hand, 94% of jobs are in the unorganized sector — with half the jobs in agriculture. watch nowAs India's infrastructure sector becomes more reliant on technology and automation, the upcoming boom in projects will create jobs for the organized sector, Kumar said. A lack of investments in the unorganized sector hence leaves many stuck with unstable jobs without a fixed income.

[1/3] FILE PHOTO-Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a meeting with heads of foreign media outlets in Moscow, Russia, February 15, 2023. Last July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, also in Bali, after the West strongly denounced the war. The G20 bloc includes the wealthy G7 democracies, as well as Russia, China, India, Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia among other countries. The foreign ministers' meeting will also be watched for how tensions between Washington and Beijing play out, including over the Ukraine war. "It is unlikely that G20 foreign ministers can agree on common language suggesting ways and mechanisms to deal with the situation in Ukraine," he said.

☆ Top Delhi minister arrested in India liquor probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency arrested a top local minister in the capital territory of New Delhi late on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in a liquor policy, the most high-profile arrest in the case so far. Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister in the Delhi government was arrested by India's federal crime agency, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) late Sunday night and will be produced in a local court on Monday. Sisodia was arrested in an ongoing investigation in "a case related to alleged irregularities in framing & implementation of the excise policy", the CBI said in a release. His arrest is dirty politics," Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister and head of the Aam Aadmi Party said in a tweet hours after Sisodia's arrest. India's financial crime-fighting agency, the Enforcement Directorate is separately investigating French liquor major Pernod Ricard for allegedly violating the same liquor policy.

☆ Germany's Scholz committed for Free Trade deal between India, EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the only G-7 leader to do so. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that he and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi were committed to sealing a free trade deal between India and the European Union (EU). The EU and India revived negotiations to forge a free trade agreement last year with the aim of completing talks by the end of 2023. For the EU, a free trade agreement with India would fit its strategy of increasing engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, where the bloc is targeting bilateral deals to take advantage of expected higher economic growth. Modi said India and Germany were committed to realizing their untapped potential in sectors such as security and defense cooperation.

☆ Uber says Delhi's plans to allow only electric bike taxis to impact millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Uber Technologies Inc FollowBENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) said on Friday plans by the local government in India's Delhi city to only allow electric vehicles to function as bike taxis would risk "finishing off the sector" and impact the mobility needs of millions. Uber, in a blogpost, said any such move would put at risk the livelihood of over 100,000 drivers in the city. Uber has set a 2040 target for 100% of its rides to be in zero-emission vehicles, public transport or with micro-mobility, including in India. Earlier this month, Uber announced plans to introduce 25,000 EVs over three years in India. Uber, which offers bike rides in Delhi and many other states in India, did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment on the advertisement.

☆ Germany's Scholz says want to deepen relations with India, meets Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Adnan AbidiNEW DELHI/BERLIN, Feb 25 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday said he wanted to deepen his nation's relationship with India ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. "India and Germany have very good relations and want to deepen them. That will be the topic of our talks and, importantly, peace in the world," Scholz said on Twitter. India has also sharply raised its purchases of oil from Russia, its biggest supplier of defence hardware, although prices have fallen. Scholz is travelling with a business delegation in a hope of growing that number, with a focus on investment in green technology.

☆ A first-of-its-kind fighter jet landing shows India's big ambitions for its growing aircraft carrier fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Two fighter jets landed on and took off from India's new aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, this month. The continued growth of India's carrier fleet reflects New Delhi's ambitions in the region. Indian carriersA naval variant of India's Tejas fighter jet lands on INS Vikrant on February 6. Indian navyThough Vikrant is India's first domestically built carrier, it is actually the fourth to enter service with the Indian Navy. The third carrier, INS Vikramaditya, is a modified Kiev-class carrier India purchased from Russia in 2004.

☆ India finance minister and U.S. Treasury's Yellen discuss debt, crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks during a side event on the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 14 July 2022. Made Nagi/Pool via REUTERSBENGALURU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed strengthening multilateral development banks, global debt vulnerabilities and crypto assets on the sidelines of the G20 finance chiefs meeting on Thursday, the finance ministry said. India is hosting the first major G20 event under its year-long presidency at the summer retreat of Nandi Hills near tech hub Bengaluru. "The two leaders discussed their perspectives on strengthening MDB (multilateral development banks), global debt vulnerabilities, crypto assets besides the Just Energy Transition Partnership," New Delhi's finance ministry said in a tweet. Under the partnership, the United States and its allies, as well as multilateral development banks and agencies, provide funding to developing economies to move away from coal production and consumption.

[1/2] The Gateway of India monument in Mumbai is lit up to mark India's G20 presidency on December 13, 2022. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File PhotoBENGALURU, Feb 22 (Reuters) - India does not want the Group of 20 nations to discuss additional sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine during New Delhi's one-year presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian government officials told Reuters. "India is not keen to discuss or back any additional sanctions on Russia during the G20," said one of the officials. "The existing sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world." India has also sharply raised purchases of oil from Russia, its biggest supplier of defence hardware.

☆ U.S. tries to woo India away from Russia with display of F-35s, bombers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Krishn Kaushik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Feb 17 - The United States brought its most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, to India for the first time this week alongside F-16s, Super Hornets and B-1B bombers as Washington looks to woo New Delhi away from its traditional military supplier, Russia. The American delegation to the week-long Aero India show in Bengaluru, which ends on Friday, is the biggest in the 27-year history of the show and underlines the growing strategic relationship between the United States and India. Its state-owned weapons exporter Rosoboronexport had a joint stall with United Aircraft and Almaz-Antey, displaying miniature models of aircraft, trucks, radars and tanks. "Even if weapons sales aren't the cornerstone of the relationship, there is a cooperation and collaboration at the military level between India and the U.S.," he added. The United States is selective about which countries it allows to buy the F-35.

☆ RBI to hike repo rate by 25 bps in Feb, ending tightening cycle: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Like many other major central banks, the RBI is expected to then pause, waiting for inflation to fall before considering a shift toward a stimulative stance as Asia's third-largest economy slows. More than three-quarters of economists, 40 of 52, expected the RBI to raise its key repo rate (INREPO=ECI) by 25 basis points to 6.50%, according to a Jan. 13-27 Reuters poll. "They (the RBI) need to pause at some point to see what exactly is the impact of the previous monetary tightening overall on growth and inflation. That is why I believe it is not premature for them to pause after 6.50%," said Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank. A deteriorating global economic outlook also suggests downgrades to India's outlook are likely in coming months.

☆ Indian university warns students not to screen BBC documentary on Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A top Indian university has threatened strict disciplinary action if its students' union carries out plans on Tuesday to screen a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the move might disturb peace and harmony on campus. The students' union of New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, long seen as a bastion of left-wing politics, said on Twitter it would screen the documentary, "India: The Modi Question", at a cafeteria at 9 p.m. (1530 GMT). "The concerned students/individuals are firmly advised to cancel the proposed programme immediately, failing which a strict disciplinary action may be initiated as per the university rules." She declined to comment on the university's threat of disciplinary action, however. The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the threat of disciplinary action.

☆ Indian university warns against screening of BBC documentary on Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - A top Indian university has warned its students' union of strict disciplinary action if it goes ahead with a planned screening of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, saying it might disturb peace and harmony of the campus. Modi was chief minister of Gujarat during the violence in which more than 2,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims. The university administration said on its website it had not given permission for the documentary to be shown. "This is to emphasise that such an unauthorised activity may disturb peace and harmony of the university campus," the university said. The documentary is also scheduled to be screened at various campuses in the southern state of Kerala on Tuesday.

Food and fertiliser subsidies that help two-thirds of India's 1.4 billion people will also be scaled back, according to the survey. But private investment has lagged New Delhi's lead for about a decade. Capex is set to increase in fiscal 2023/24 by about 17% to 8.85 trillion Indian rupees ($109 billion), from an estimated 7.50 trillion rupees in the current fiscal year, itself up roughly 35% on a year before. Reuters Poll: Indian budget projections - 1The total of public and private investment as a proportion of the economy has declined since 2014, when Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power. The poll also found the government would cut food and fertiliser subsidies by 26% to 3.7 trillion rupees from almost 5.0 trillion rupees expected during the current fiscal year.

☆ Despite India's economic growth, few jobs and meagre pay for urban youth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

He has since remained unemployed, unable to pay back a 100,000 rupee ($1,224) loan he took to buy a two-wheeler scooter. The rising unemployment in India belies other indicators suggesting the economy is undergoing a healthy rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the surge in people looking for work, many of them rural migrants, raises concerns about consumption and longer term growth prospects. The urban unemployment rate swelled to 10.1% in December, although the total number of jobs in India touched a pre-pandemic level of 410 million, data compiled by Mumbai-based think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed. Urban unemployment spiked during the pandemic years, largely because of lockdowns, but before that it hovered between 6%-7%, according to CMIE data.

Pernod Ricard India said it strongly denies the allegations of the directorate, adding that it "will continue to fully cooperate with the Indian authorities in this matter." Benoy Babu, head for international brands for Pernod India, was arrested in November and remains in jail over the case. He faces allegations of money laundering under Indian laws and violating Delhi's liquor policy rules, but has denied wrongdoing. Under the 2021 Delhi liquor policy, hundreds of store licences were awarded to private players as the city government exited the retail business in a move to liberalise trade and boost local government revenue. One Enforcement Directorate document dated Nov. 10 says: "The main motive of Pernod Ricard in cartel creation was to ensure that the retail shops of the cartel partners purchased higher quantity of Pernod Ricard brands ... in lieu of the financial assistance provided."

[1/3] Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy petrol from a fuel station amid Sri Lanka's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 29, 2022. India's foreign ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters on its plans and strategic aims in Sri Lanka. New Delhi has long been concerned about China's clout in its neighbourhood, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "And as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, we don't want to contribute to any escalation of tension between any countries." "Sri Lanka has clearly benefited from being the closest neighbour to the most powerful country in the region.

☆ Air quality plummets in Indian capital as temperature falls
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Adnan AbidiNEW DELHI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Air pollution worsened in New Delhi on Monday to the "very poor" category after a few days of clear skies, as lower temperatures and calmer winds trapped pollutants. The air quality in the city of 20 million was "very poor" overall and sank to "severe" in some areas, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. The air quality index hit 457 in the Anand Vihar locality - nine times the "good" level. The government's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research blamed the foul air on a drop in temperatures and reduced wind speeds. Delhi's temperature has been hovering around a low of 6 degrees Celsius (42.8 Fahrenheit) for the past few days, lower than the normal minimum of 8 degrees Celsius for this time of year.

☆ Explainer: India G20 presidency 2023: what does it mean and what can we expect
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

During and after the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20's coordinated efforts helped tamp down panic and restore economic growth. WHAT DOES G20 PRESIDENCY ENTAIL? After India, Brazil will take over the presidency of the G20, followed by South Africa in 2025. WHAT DOES THE G20 MEAN FOR INDIA AND MODI? "The country has not invested much in multilateral rule-making institutions like the G20, but it is never too late to start."

☆ Smog engulfs Indian capital as winter pollution worsens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Thick smog engulfed India's capital New Delhi on Tuesday as air pollution worsened with the setting in of winter, shooting up concentrations of fine particles in the air three times above the acceptable limits. The world's most polluted capital city struggles to breathe easy every winter as cold temperatures and calm winds trap pollutants closer to the ground. "As the minimum temperature is dropping, gradual fog occurrence during early morning hours is likely to increase, leading to deterioration of air quality index (AQI)," said the federal government's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) in a daily bulletin. The AQI in parts of the city shot up above 400 on Tuesday, which is classified as the 'severe' category of air pollution, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). But experts have said these measures need to be applied across northern India and in cities and towns around New Delhi that form the wider National Capital Region, which also suffer from poor air quality, to effectively control pollution.

☆ New Delhi wrestles with 'hazardous' air pollution, primary schools shut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Tanvi Mehta | Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Authorities in New Delhi ordered primary schools to shut from Saturday, and told schools to stop outdoor activities for older children as air in the world's most polluted capital had become a severe risk to health. The chart below shows the daily maximum PM 2.5 concentration at the U.S. Embassy New Delhi since 2015. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said going forward 50% of Delhi government employees would be told to work from home, and he urged private firms to take similar steps. School girls walk towards a school as they reopened after remaining closed for nearly 15 days due to a spike in air pollution, on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, November 29, 2021. According to data compiled by the Swiss group IQAir, New Delhi has been the world's most polluted capital for the past four years.

☆ Delhi's air branded 'hazardous', spurs calls to close schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Delhi's 20 million residents were effectively breathing smoke on Thursday as the air quality index (AQI) breached the "severe" and "hazardous" categories in nearly all monitoring stations of the Indian capital, spurring calls to close schools. The AQI exceeded 450 in many places early in the day, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. The index exceeded 800 in some pockets of the city, according Delhi Pollution Control Committee findings. Alarmed by abnormally high levels of air pollution in Delhi, India's federal pollution control board on Thursday evening banned the entry of diesel trucks carrying non-essential goods into the capital. "What is happening with air pollution in Delhi is nothing short of a crime against humanity!"

☆ Delhi's air a 'crime against humanity', spurs calls to close schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Delhi's 20 million residents were effectively breathing smoke on Thursday as the air quality index (AQI) breached the "severe" and "hazardous" categories in nearly all monitoring stations of the Indian capital, raising calls to close schools. The AQI exceeded 450 at many places early in the day, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board. The index was over 800 in some pockets of the city, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. "What is happening with air pollution in Delhi is nothing short of a crime against humanity!" "I know children don’t vote for you, but still, requesting all the chief ministers of Delhi (capital region) to immediately SHUTDOWN all the schools," environmental activist Vimlendu Jha wrote on Twitter.

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