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☆ Indian court denies Rahul Gandhi's appeal to stay defamation conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AHMEDABAD, India, April 20 (Reuters) - A court in India's western state of Gujarat on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's petition seeking a stay of conviction in a defamation case, fuelling uncertainty over whether he will be able to contest an election due next year. "The Surat district court has not granted a stay on Rahul Gandhi's conviction," Naishadh Desai, a local Congress leader and lawyer, told reporters outside the court room. While Thursday's ruling was a setback for Gandhi, his jail sentence remained suspended until he exhausts all legal challenges. Senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Jairam Ramesh said the party would use every legal option to overturn Gandhi's conviction. The defamation case against Gandhi was brought by Purnesh Modi, a BJP legislator in the Gujarat state assembly.

☆ India monetary tightening cycle not over, inflation remains a concern -MPC minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Swati Bhat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 20 (Reuters) - India's current rate tightening cycle may not be over as more hikes could be warranted to align inflation towards the central bank's medium term target of 4%, minutes of this month's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting showed on Thursday. "It is clear that the war against inflation has not yet been won, and it would be premature to declare an end to this tightening cycle," MPC member Jayant Varma wrote. Most members appeared more concerned about inflation than in their commentary after the previous policy meeting in February when the bank raised rates by 25 bps. The decision by OPEC+ to cut crude output and the possibility of weak monsoon rains could both push up inflation in India and necessitate a monetary policy response, Varma said. In the current situation of high inflation, monetary policy does not have the luxury of responding to these growth headwinds."

The external financing is needed to fully fund the balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that ends in June. Last week Saudi Arabia also told the IMF it would provide financing of $2 billion to Pakistan. Dar has said Pakistan has given details of the scheme to the IMF, which has asked how it would it find the resources needed. The IMF program will disburse another tranche of $1.4 billion to Pakistan before it concludes in June. Reporting by Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, writing by by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India asks states to ramp up testing as COVID-19 cases climb
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, April 7 (Reuters) - India's federal government asked states to identify emergency hotspots and ramp up-testing for COVID-19, after the country recorded its highest daily case count since September, a Reuters tally showed on Friday. There were 6,050 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the federal health ministry said on Friday, continuing a sharp upward trend since a lull last year. At a meeting to review the degree to which the states are prepared, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya asked them to ramp up genome testing and conduct mock drills in hospitals, a government statement said. Active cases totalled more than 28,300 with 14 deaths during the last 24 hours, taking the country's official death toll from the disease to 530,943. India has recorded more than 44.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic three years ago, the third-highest tally after the United States and China.

[1/2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the G20 leaders summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. The amendments to the country's IT rules make it obligatory on platforms "not to publish, share or host fake, false or misleading information" about the government. The Guild again urges the ministry to withdraw this notification and conduct consultations with media organisations and press bodies." Digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said undefined terms such as "fake", "false" and "misleading" in the amendment make them susceptible to misuse by authorities. Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly and Shivam Patel Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The central bank said its policy stance remains focused on "withdrawal of accommodation", signalling it could consider further rate hikes if necessary. The monetary policy committee (MPC), comprising three members from the central bank and three external members, retained the key lending rate or the repo rate (INREPO=ECI) at 6.50%. Most analysts had expected one final 25 basis point hike in the RBI's current tightening cycle, which has seen it raise the repo rate by a total 250 bps since May last year. The central bank sees inflation at 5.2% in 2023-24, and GDP growth is seen at 6.5% in the financial year beginning April 1. Reuters GraphicsFinancial stability concerns appear to have prompted the pause in rate hikes, said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at rating agency ICRA.

☆ Nadal, Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime to miss Monte Carlo Masters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Monte Carlo is and has been a key event in my career, but unfortunately I will have to miss it again since I am still not ready to compete without the risk of getting injured. The Spaniard, who has won Monte Carlo 11 times in his career still hopes to be fit for the French Open in May, a clay court tournament he has dominated for years, having won there 14 times. World number two Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season, was last in action at last week's Miami Open, where he was beaten in the semi-final by Italian Jannik Sinner. loading"After visiting my doctor today ... and being evaluated, I won't be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the clay court tour. "(I) decided it was the smartest decision to take some time off so I'm able to fully heal and recover before my next tournament at the Madrid Open," Auger-Aliassime wrote on Instagram.

☆ India slashes current account deficit in Dec-qtr as trade gap narrows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Swati Bhat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, March 31 (Reuters) - India's current account deficit shrank more than expected in the October-December quarter on the back of a narrower goods trade deficit alongside robust services exports and remittances, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. In absolute terms, the current account deficit (INCURA=ECI) was $18.2 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022/23 compared with $22.2 billion last year. The goods trade deficit in the December quarter narrowed to $72.7 billion compared with $78.3 billion in the preceding quarter, the central bank said. The country's balance of payments (INBOP=ECI) recorded a surplus of $11.1 billion compared to a $0.5 billion surplus in the same quarter a year earlier. Reporting by Swati Bhat Additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/5] A general view of a main market is seen, after The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved a $3 billion, in Colombo, Sri Lanka March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dinuka LiyanawatteCOLOMBO, March 21 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will receive the first tranche of about $330 million from the International Monetary Fund in the next two days, and, going forward, disbursements would be tied to reviews that take place every six months, an IMF official said on Tuesday. Peter Breuer, Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Asia and Pacific Department at IMF, said debt sustainability was one of the key criteria for the IMF to approve a bailout for any economy. International dollar bonds issued by the country soared following the IMF package approval. The biggest bilateral creditors, including China, India and Japan, have guaranteed support to Sri Lanka in its efforts to put the economy back on track.

☆ Myanmar team in Bangladesh camps for Rohingya repatriation pilot project
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ruma Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DHAKA, March 15 (Reuters) - A Myanmar delegation is visiting Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh this week to verify a few hundred potential returnees for a pilot repatriation project, though a Bangladeshi official said it was unclear when they would be going home. Nearly one million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. "The international community are playing ping pong with the Rohingya," Tun Khin, president of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, told Reuters. "Rohingya refugees face an impossible choice. Stay in terrible conditions in refugee camps where rations are being cut, or return to their home country where genocidal policies continue.

☆ Nepal seeks easier trade access to Chinese markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Beijing accounts for 14% of Nepal's international trade while India holds nearly two-thirds of it, trade officials said. Beijing will also help Nepal construct a trans-Himalayan railway network linking Kathmandu with the Tibet region of China. He had requested China to give access to "some 512 tradable Nepali products" to the country's duty-free and quota-free market, he said. "Trade is the engine of growth and our future prosperity lies in our capacity to produce and trade more," Dahal added. China allows duty and quota free entry to 8,030 items from least-developed countries including Nepal, officials said.

☆ India's top court rejects govt plea seeking more compensation for Bhopal gas disaster victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Arpan Chaturvedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view of the Indian Supreme Court building is seen in New Delhi December 7, 2010. REUTERS/B MathurNEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the government's plea seeking more compensation from Union Carbide Corporation for victims of a gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal that resulted in one of the world's worst industrial disasters. Following the disaster, the government sued Union Carbide and the company agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement of $470 million in damages in 1989. The government approached the country's top court in 2010 seeking enhanced compensation for the victims. Dow Chemical, which now owns Union Carbide, denied liability, saying it bought the company a decade after Union Carbide settled its liabilities with the Indian government.

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Friday it would set up a facility in India to convert 737 passenger planes into dedicated freighters to tap into regional and global demand for the service. The investment, which adds to the U.S. manufacturer's expansion into India on top of a record plane order by flag carrier Air India, comes despite a global economic slowdown that has weakened the global air cargo market. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said global cargo demand in January fell almost 15% year-on-year. He did provide any details about when the facility would be set up or the size of the investment. The planned facility comes amid a push by Boeing to expand in India, including a $24 million investment to set up a logistics centre for aircraft parts.

☆ Australia, India agree on strengthening economic, defence ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Krishn Kaushik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Altaf HussainNEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - Australia and India have agreed to accelerate a broader economic partnership and to boost their defence ties, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in New Delhi on Friday. Last year the two countries signed a free trade deal called the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), the first signed by India with a developed country in a decade. However, a much larger Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been stuck in negotiations for over a decade. India and Australia are security partners through the Quad group, which also includes the United States and Japan. Australia and India made "significant and ambitious" progress in strengthening defence and security ties and also discussed climate change issues, Albanese said.

DHAKA, March 5 (Reuters) - A "major" fire that broke out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on Sunday, destroying several homes, is now under control, police officials told Reuters, adding that there were no casualties. The blaze hit Camp 11 in Cox's Bazar, a border district where more than a million Rohingya refugees live, with most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, Rafiqul Islam, additional police superintendent at Cox's Bazar told Reuters. Faruque Ahmed, a local police official, said the cause of the fire was not clear. The refugee camps in Cox's Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh are prone to such blazes. While the fire in 2022 only damaged homes, the massive blaze in 2021 killed at least 15 refugees and destroyed over 10,000 homes.

The bank raised its standing deposit facility rate and standing lending facility rate by 100 basis points each to 15.50% and 16.50%, respectively, it said in a statement. The country is awaiting approval of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout package as it endures its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The central bank raised rates by a record 950 basis points last year to tame inflation and then kept them steady until Friday's 100 basis point increase. "There have been some differences between the CBSL and IMF staff on the inflation outlook," the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said in its statement. But depends on whether the market reads this as positive for getting IMF (bailout) in March."

☆ Blinken says G20 meeting in India marred by Russia-Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

This year’s host India has declined to blame Russia for the war, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil. The G20 should repeat calls – agreed upon by most G20 nations’ leaders in Bali in November - for Russia to end the war and withdraw for the sake of international peace and economic stability, Blinken said. Blinken said Russia has yet to agree to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which facilitates the export of Ukraine's agricultural products, before it expires on March 18. "It is imperative the G20 speak up on behalf of extending and expanding the (Black Sea) grain initiative to strengthen food security for the most vulnerable," Blinken added. Reporting by Simon Lewis and Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China urges global lenders' involvement in developing nations' debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shake hands before the start of G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, India, March 2, 2023. India's Ministry of External Affairs/Handout via REUTERSNEW DELHI, March 2 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang called on global financial institutions on Thursday to play an active role in restructuring the debt of developing countries. "China has put forth relevant initiatives under the G20," Qin said. "China has suspended more debt service payments than any other G20 member, and participated in the debt treatment under the Common Framework." Last week, China urged G20 nations to conduct a fair, objective and in-depth analysis of the causes of global debt issues and to "resolve the problem in a comprehensive and effective manner".

☆ Blinken has 'no plans' to meet Russian, Chinese counterparts at Delhi G20 meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Hyatt Regency in Tashkent, Uzbekistan March 1, 2023. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERSTASHKENT, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang are attending the meeting. A Russian foreign ministry official said Lavrov was aiming to meet at least seven foreign ministers before India hosts a welcome dinner on Wednesday for delegates from 40 countries. During his trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Blinken met with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries that used to be ruled from Moscow and have strong trade links with Beijing, ahead of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.

☆ Pakistan central bank may hike rates another 200 bps to unlock IMF funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ariba Shahid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KARACHI, PAKISTAN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan’s central bank is widely expected to raise its key policy rate by 200 basis points in an off-cycle meeting on Thursday as it struggles to unlock critical funding from the IMF, a Reuters poll showed. All sixteen economists and market watchers surveyed said there would be a hike -- 14 of them predicted 200 basis points (bps), while two expected 250 bps. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has raised rates by 725 bps since January 2022. In its last policy meeting in January, the bank raised the key rate by 100 bps to 17%, citing inflationary pressure. He said the market had already incorporated a 200 bps hike in the last treasury bill auction where the government accepted bids with yields more than 200 bps higher than the policy rate.

☆ India to get heat waves this year after hottest February on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Enhanced probability of occurrence of heat wave during March to May season is likely over many regions of Central and adjoining Northwest India," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement. In March, the crucial month for the maturity of winter-sown crops, above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of the country except peninsular India, it said. India grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and November, and harvesting from March. A heat wave curtailed India's wheat production in 2022 and forced the world's second largest producer to ban exports. Average maximum temperature in February was 29.54 degrees Celsius, the highest since 1901, when the IMD started keeping weather records.

☆ Communist rift plunges Nepal's ruling coalition into crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KATHMANDU, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Splits within Nepal's communist-dominated ruling coalition plunged the Himalayan nation into crisis on Monday as a Marxist-Leninist party said it would withdraw support after the Maoist prime minister backed an opposition candidate for the presidency. Current prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla leader in the mountainous nation sandwiched between China and India, has held the post three times. Last week, Prachanda infuriated the UML by pledging support for the opposition Nepali Congress party's presidential candidate, Ram Chandra Paudel. Prachanda had earlier agreed to support a UML candidate for the presidency, according to politicians in the coalition. Four ministers, including a deputy prime minister from another party, also quit the government over the weekend due to the same issue.

☆ World Bank's IFC to provide Sri Lanka with $400 mln financing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COLOMBO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, said it will provide Sri Lanka a $400 million cross-currency swap facility to help fund essential imports. Three private banks, which together deal with over 30% of Sri Lanka's remittances and exports, will receive the facility to fund essential imports, including medicine, food and fertiliser, the IFC said in a statement on Monday. The funds will provide a much needed foreign exchange cushion for Sri Lanka, which is grappling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades partly triggered by a severe shortage of dollars. IFC is also working on further plans to support client banks with other long-term funding and advisory services in the future, the statement added. Sri Lanka signed a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $2.9 billion bailout last September but has to put its debt on a sustainable repayment track before the funds can be disbursed.

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - There are some disagreements over restructuring debt for distressed economies, the chief of the International Monetary Fund said on Saturday on the sidelines of a G20 meeting, adding that banning private cryptocurrencies should be an option. "On debt restructuring, while there are still some disagreements, we now have the global sovereign debt roundtable with consideration of all public and private creditors," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters after the roundtable she co-chaired with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Apart from restructuring debt, regulating cryptocurrencies is another priority area for India, which Georgieva agreed with. "We have to differentiate between central bank digital currencies that are backed by the state and stable coins, and crypto assets that are privately issued," Georgieva said. "There has to be very strong push for regulation... if regulation fails, if you're slow to do it, then we should not take off the table banning those assets, because they may create financial stability risk."

☆ Indian PM Modi urges G20 to focus on unsustainable debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The financial viability of many countries is being threatened by unsustainable debt, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, as he called for the Group of 20 (G20) to focus on the world's most vulnerable citizens. Even the financial viability of many countries is threatened by unsustainable debt levels," Modi said. Many societies are suffering due to rising prices," Modi said in his address to delegates. Reuters reported last week that India is drafting a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking lenders, including China, the world's largest sovereign creditor, to take a large haircut, or accept losses, on loans. Reporting by Swati Bhat and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto Ganguly, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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