DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ India, Russia in talks on free trade deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attends a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, November 8, 2022. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERSNEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement, ministers said on Monday, a move that would further deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. Russia, a traditional defence equipment supplier, also displaced Iraq last month to become India's top supplier of crude oil. Moscow was looking to increase machinery imports from India to improve the trade balance, Manturov said. India too aims to narrow its growing trade deficit with Russia, which has been India's largest supplier of military equipment for decades and is the fourth-biggest market for Indian pharmaceuticals.

☆ India's forex reserves jump to 9-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MUMBAI, April 14 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) jumped to $584.76 billion for the week ended April 7, the highest in nine months, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. The central bank intervenes in the spot and forwards markets to prevent runaway moves in the rupee . Changes in forex reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses. For the reported week, the rupee ended 0.3% higher against the U.S. dollar. The rupee closed at 81.85 on Thursday and clocked its fourth consecutive weekly rise for the holiday-shortened week ending April 14.

☆ India opens new investigation into BBC in widening crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Aftab Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, April 13 (Reuters) - India's financial crime-fighting agency has opened an investigation into alleged violations of foreign exchange rules by the BBC, a source told Reuters on Thursday, months after tax officials searched the broadcaster's Mumbai and Delhi offices. The latest investigation is being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under India's Foreign Exchange Management Act. British Foreign Minister James Cleverly, during a visit to New Delhi in March, raised the BBC tax searches with his Indian counterpart. The British government said this week they were working to "review security and make changes to ensure the safety of its staff". Reporting by Aftab Ahmed, writing by Sakshi Dayal Editing by Krishna N. DasOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pakistan condemns India's decision to hold G20 meetings in Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Danish Ismail/File PhotoISLAMABAD, April 11 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Tuesday condemned India's decision to hold Group of 20 meetings in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir next month, calling the move "irresponsible". India currently holds the rotating year-long presidency of the G20 and is set to host a leaders' summit in New Delhi in early September. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment on the statement from Pakistan. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of stoking a decades-long separatist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the only Muslim-majority region in India. Pakistan also accuses India of human rights violations in the parts of Kashmir under its control, a charge New Delhi rejects.

☆ India has not suspended trade talks with UK, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, April 10 (Reuters) - Trade talks between India and Britain have not been suspended and will continue this year, three officials said on Monday, responding to a British newspaper report that said India had "disengaged" from the talks after London failed to condemn Sikh separatists. An official in India's foreign ministry said progress in the trade talks and New Delhi's concerns around Sikh separatist activities in Britain should not be interlinked. A diplomatic official in the British High Commission in New Delhi said trade talks will continue in a scheduled manner and security officials in London were addressing India's concerns about Sikh separatist activities in Britain. "Both the UK and India are committed to delivering an ambitious and mutually beneficial FTA and concluded the latest round of trade talks last month," a spokesperson for Britain's Department for Business and Trade said. A second Indian foreign ministry source said that trade talks with Britain had not been suspended, and described the media report to be "baseless".

☆ Ukrainian deputy foreign minister due to seek Indian aid - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, April 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova is due to visit India on Monday and will seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia's invasion, the Hindu newspaper reported on Saturday. Dzhaparova is expected to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kyiv, the newspaper said. Ukraine is keen to get an invitation to participate in G20 meetings and for Zelenskiy to be invited to speak to G20 leaders during the summit, the newspaper said. The Indian Council of World Affairs, a New Delhi-based think tank, said on Twitter it would host a talk with Dzhaparova on Tuesday. Writing by Neha Arora; Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik in NEW DELHI; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One of the government officials directly involved in the matter said New Delhi is "not comfortable" with foreign trade settled in yuan but said settlement in "dirham is okay." The second official said that India cannot allow settlement in yuan till the relations between the two countries improve. The five officials did not say whether there were also economic reasons behind India's reluctance to accept yuan settlement. Two banking officials, aware of the matter, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not keen on foreign trade settlement in yuan, and confirmed that the government has discouraged them from using the currency. They also said Russia was keen on yuan settlement as it helps them in purchases of goods from China.

Sri Lanka's finance ministry and India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. He said China, Sri Lanka's biggest lender, extended support for the IMF programme on Monday, clearing the way for the loan. The IMF said its board would meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed with Sri Lanka in September. It said Sri Lanka had secured financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors. China and India are Sri Lanka's biggest lenders and both seek influence on the island located on a busy shipping route on the Indian Ocean.

☆ 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".

☆ UK foreign minister raises BBC tax searches, India says laws are for all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Krishn Kaushik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly gestures during an interview with Reuters after a bilateral meeting with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, India, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Sunil KatariaNEW DELHI, March 1 (Reuters) - British Foreign Minister James Cleverly raised the issue of tax searches at the BBC's offices in India during a meeting with his counterpart in New Delhi on Wednesday, the minister told Reuters. In response, Cleverly was "firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations", an Indian government source said. Cleverly did not share details about the conversation with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar ahead of a G20 foreign ministers' meeting on Thursday. Asked if there were concerns about civil liberties in India, Cleverly said: "We want to ensure that values that both our countries feel strongly about are upheld.

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - G20 finance chiefs have been unable to reach a consensus on describing the war in Ukraine and are likely to end a meeting in India on Saturday without a joint communique, delegates said. Russia, which is a member of the G20, refers to its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation", and avoids calling it an invasion or war. Host India is also pressing the meeting to avoid using the word "war" in any communique, G20 officials have told Reuters. "We need absolute clarity, this is a war initiated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," he said. A senior G20 source said negotiations over the communique were difficult, with Russia and China blocking proposals made by Western countries.

☆ India's forex reserves at 11-week low, down for third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) fell for the third straight week to hit an eleven-week low of $561.27 billion as of the week ended Feb. 17, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. The reserves fell by $5.68 billion at the end of last week, data showed. The reserves stood at $566.95 billion in the week to Feb. 10, down $8.3 billion from the previous week. The RBI has said in the past that changes in reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses. Last week, the rupee fell 0.4% against the dollar, logging its fourth consecutive weekly decline, but outperformed its Asian peers.

☆ India hits back after George Soros says Adani troubles will greatly weaken Modi's grip on power
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NDIA - JANUARY 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Gautam Adani, chairman and founder of the Adani Group, and other delegates at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, at Mahatma Mandir Exhibition cum Convention Centre, on January 18, 2019 in Gandhinagar, India. India slammed billionaire investor George Soros after he alleged the Adani turmoil will weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's grip on power and lead to a "democratic revival" in the country. The Adani Group has denied those allegations, calling the report a "calculated attack on India." Last week, Soros criticized the prime minister saying India was a democracy but Modi "is no democrat." Over the weekend, India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, told a conference in Sydney that Soros' comments were typical of a "Euro-Atlantic view" and rejected his accusations.

☆ India blocks BBC documentary on PM Modi from airing in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he leaves in a car after attending the funeral of his mother Heeraben, in Gandhinagar, India, December 30, 2022. REUTERS/Amit DaveMUMBAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - India has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips via social media is barred. While the BBC has not aired the documentary in India, the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta said. The government has issued orders to Twitter to block over 50 tweets linking to the video of the documentary and YouTube has been instructed to block any uploads of the video, Gupta said. Last week, a spokesperson for India's foreign ministry termed the BBC documentary a "propaganda piece" meant to push a "discredited narrative".

☆ India's foreign exchange reserves rise to 5-month high
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) rose to $572 billion in the week through Jan. 13, their highest level since early August last year, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. That is higher than the country's reserves of $561.58 billion for the week ended Jan. 6, and the more-than-two-year low of $524.52 billion hit in October 2022. The central bank has, in the past, said that changes in reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses. The rupee marked its best trading week in two months in the week ended Jan. 13 as it appreciated sharply on breaking out of a tight range. It continued to gain, albeit at a slower pace, in the current week ending Jan. 20.

☆ India foreign minister visits Sri Lanka with stronger ties, China in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

During his two-day visit, his third to Sri Lanka since 2021, minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will look to strengthen India's ties with its debt-ridden neighbour and sign several key deals. The two countries are also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a renewable power project covering three islands in Sri Lanka's north during Jaishankar's visit, two sources at Sri Lanka's power and energy ministry said. Jaishankar will meet Sri Lanka's president on Friday morning, his office confirmed. He will also hold discussions with Sri Lanka's prime minister and foreign minister, according to a statement from India's foreign ministry. "The U.S. stands ready to assist Sri Lanka to unlock IMF assistance when all creditors agree to fair and equitable treatment," Julie Chung, the U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka, said in a tweet on Thursday.

☆ India says BBC documentary on India PM Modi is "propaganda"
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to his supporters as he arrives to cast his vote during the second and last phase of Gujarat state assembly elections in Ahmedabad, India, December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File PhotoNEW DELHI, Jan 19 (Reuters) - India's foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which questioned his leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots as "propaganda". Accused of failing to stop the rioting, Modi denied the accusations and was exonerated in 2012 following an inquiry by India's top court. Terming the BBC documentary a "propaganda piece" meant to push a "discredited narrative", foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said a "bias", "lack of objectivity", and "continuing colonial mindset" is "blatantly visible" in it. "We offered the Indian Government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series – it declined to respond," a BBC spokesperson said.

☆ India's forex reserves slip for second week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 30 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) fell to $562.81 billion in the week through Dec. 23, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. For the week ended Dec. 16, the country's reserves were at $563.50 billion. The rupee has been calmer over the past couple of weeks, trading on the weaker side of 82.50 in a narrow range for the week ended Dec. 23. Traders have said state-run banks were likely offering dollars on behalf of the RBI to keep the rupee from breaching 83 per dollar. For the current week, rupee traded in an even tighter range in thin volumes and ended at 82.72 on Friday.

[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.

☆ Former Maldives president Yameen to appeal 11-year jail term
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Mohamed Junayd | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MALE, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Former Maldives president Abdulla Yameen will appeal as soon as possible against his conviction and jailing for 11 years on corruption and money laundering charges, said his lawyer. Yameen, the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate for the next election due in 2023, was sent to a prison on Maafushi island on Sunday to start his sentence following the order from the Maldives criminal court. Former Maldives vice president Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who is leading Yameen's legal team, said they will appeal against the criminal court's verdict without delay. Yameen, who lost power in 2018, will remain the party's presidential candidate for the 2023 election, it said. The PPM also alleged that India had "directly interfered" with the judicial process during the trial of Yameen.

☆ India's forex reserves snap 5-week rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's foreign exchange reserves (INFXR=ECI) snapped a five-week rising streak and fell to $563.5 billion in the week through Dec. 16, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday. For the week ended Dec. 9, the country's reserves were at $564.07 billion. In the week to Dec. 16, the Indian unit fell 0.7% and traded in a 82.3975 to 82.8900 range. The RBI had wound down much of its forward dollar holdings by the end of October, according to data released in the central bank's monthly bulletin. The RBI said its net forward dollar holdings stood at $241 million at the end of October, compared with $10.42 billion as of end-September and $65.79 billion as of March-end.

☆ Pakistan to approach UN after blaming India for bombing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohsin RazaISLAMABAD, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Pakistan will take a dossier to the United Nations alleging its neighbour India has backed incidents of terrorism, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, a day after Islamabad said India was behind a high-profile bombing. "We will call it information based evidence," Rabbani Khar said about the dossier. Khar said the facilitators and mastermind of the bombing that killed four people in eastern city of Lahore were based in India. "We would want India to hand them over, and as responsible nations do... and if India is a responsible nation, they will cooperate," she said. Arch-rivals Pakistan and India have fought three wars since 1947, when British colonial ended and the two independent nations were created in a blood-drenched process known as partition.

NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold an annual in-person summit this year, an Indian government source said on Friday, after the two held discussions on the sidelines of an event in September. Bloomberg News reported earlier in the day that the decision to cancel the summit was taken after veiled threats by Putin to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war. The government source, who declined to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter, said the decision not to hold a summit was taken much earlier and that the nuclear angle was not a factor. Putin visited New Delhi in December last year for the 21st India–Russia annual summit. A Russian official told Bloomberg that India’s decision not to hold a summit was clear at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, where Modi told Putin that this was "not an era of war".

☆ Pakistan's new army chief says will defend "motherland" during visit to disputed Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan's new army chief on Saturday said the military was ready to defend "every inch of our motherland" if attacked, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Kashmir region, which is claimed by both Pakistan and neighbouring India. The visit came less than a week since General Asim Munir took charge of Pakistan's powerful military, and were among his strongest public statements on arch-rival India since taking up the role. The two South Asian nuclear powers both claim the Kashmir region in full, but rule only parts, and have fought two of their three wars over the area. Since early 2021, the LoC has been mostly quiet, following the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ INDIA RUPEE Rupee drops as COVID woes keep Chinese yuan pinned
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Anushka Trivedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee declined against a steady U.S. dollar on Monday, tracking the Chinese yuan's plunge on stringent COVID curbs in the country. The rupee eased to 81.8850 per dollar by 0441 GMT, as against its previous close of 81.6850. The onshore yuan slipped 0.6%, prompting a 0.2% to 1% decline in Asian currencies, while the rupee held up relatively better than its peers. Regional stocks were also lower as Chinese equities (.SSEC) and Hong Kong shares (.HSI) dropped 0.8% and 2%, respectively. The dollar and U.S. yields have stabilised over the past week as Fed officials made hawkish remarks.

Search resuls for: "India's Foreign"

25 mentions found