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☆ Apple targets raising India production share to up to 25% - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) wants India to account for up to 25% of its production from about 5%-7% now, the trade minister told a conference on Monday, as the iPhone maker continues to move its manufacturing away from China. "Apple, another success story," Piyush Goyal said, pitching India as a competitive manufacturing destination. Goyal did not say when Apple wants to meet the target. Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years, sources told Reuters late last year. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Indian's electronics and information technology minister, tweeted on Monday that Apple's exports from India had hit $1 billion in December.

☆ Pakistan suffers major power outage after grid failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan suffered country-wide power cuts early on Monday due to a major breakdown in its national grid, the federal energy ministry said. "According to initial information, at about 7:34 AM (local time) today, the National Grid experienced a loss of frequency, that caused a major breakdown. Power was out in all major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar. This is not a major crisis," Dastagir said. Reporting by Asif Shahazad, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Regulator fines Air India $37,000 for unruly passenger incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Air India has been fined 3 million Indian rupees ($37,000) for its handling of an unruly passenger on one of its flights in November, India's aviation regulator said on Friday. Air India, on Friday, said it was studying the regulator's order on the matter, but acknowledged that there were "gaps" in the airline's internal reporting and assured the "relevant steps" were being taken to address them. "We are also strengthening our crews' awareness of and compliance with policies on the handling of incidents involving unruly passengers," said a spokesperson. India's aviation regulator had earlier issued formal paperwork, named show cause notices, to some Air India staff, including the pilots and cabin crew of the flight involved in the incident, asking why enforcement action should not be taken against them. Air India had also issued show cause notices and de-rostered one pilot and four cabin crew as part of its investigation.

☆ India says it is committed to boosting investment in crisis-hit Sri Lanka
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We count on the government of Sri Lanka to provide a more business friendly environment to create a powerful pull factor." India has told the global lender that it strongly supports Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan, with Sri Lanka owing about$1 billion to its nearest neighbour. We extended financial assurances to the IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward." China is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lender and the last remaining major creditor to yet to agree to the plan. Sri Lanka owed Chinese lenders $7.4 billion, or nearly a fifth of its public external debt, by the end of last year, calculations by the China Africa Research Initiative show.

☆ Pakistan to start importing Russian oil after March
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Pakistan has been battling a balance of payment crisis with foreign exchange reserves falling to $4.6 billion, barely enough to cover three weeks of imports - mostly for oil. It said in October it was considering buying discounted Russian crude, citing neighbouring India which has been purchasing from Moscow. Pakistan officials and Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov, who is in Islamabad for an annual inter-governmental commission on trade and economy, did not specify the size of the planned purchases. Pakistan junior oil minister Musadik Malik told local Geo News TV separately that Islamabad wanted to import 35% of its total crude oil requirement. Shulginov said Russian gas companies might not be in a position at present to extend any supplies to Pakistan.

☆ 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, U.S. establish new trade group to bolster supply chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, poses for a picture before the start of their meeting in New Delhi, India, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/PoolNEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - India and the United States have established a new working group to build sustainable supply chains and boost bilateral trade, the governments said in a joint statement on Thursday. The United States will also consider India's interest in the restoration of beneficiary status under the U.S. generalized system of preferences program, the statement added. The Trade Policy Forum, revived in 2021 after a gap for four years, will reconvene on a ministerial level before end of 2023. The two countries said they mean to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues.

☆ India and United States to increase dialogue on food, agricultural trade in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - India and the United States will increase dialogue on food and agricultural trade issues in 2023, both governments said in a joint statement on Thursday after a trade policy forum meeting in Washington D.C. The two countries also decided to create a new trade policy forum working group on resilient trade, and to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues, they added in the statement. Writing by Sakshi Dayal; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India finds 11 Omicron subvariants of COVID-19 in international travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - India detected a total of 11 variants of COVID-19 in international travellers who arrived in the country during Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, health ministry sources said on Thursday. Of the 19,227 passengers who were tested for COVID-19 during the period, 124 were found positive, the sources said. (This story has been corrected to fix the headline and lede to clarify that all COVID-19 variants are not "new")Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India OKs $2 bln incentive plan for green hydrogen industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Sarita Chaganti Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters reported last month about India's plans for a green hydrogen incentive programme. "Our aim is to establish India as a global hub of green hydrogen," Thakur said. India also plans to build electrolyser capacity of 60 gigawatts to 100 gigawatts to help produce green hydrogen, Thakur said. To promote the use of green hydrogen, Thakur said obligations - such as mandatory targets for green hydrogen consumption - would be required of fertiliser units, petroleum refineries and city gas distribution networks. The United States and the European Union have already approved incentives worth billions of dollars for green hydrogen projects.

☆ India's Supreme Court upholds legality of 2016 note ban decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court on Monday upheld the legality of the 2016 government decision to outlaw 86% of the country's cash in circulation. The arguments in the case were heard by a five-judge constitution bench of the country's top court. In November, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally led the shock move to outlaw 86% of the cash in circulation to target undeclared "black money" and fight corruption. The petitioners included lawyers, a political party, co-operative banks and individuals, all of whom challenged the decision in the court. Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India proposes self-regulatory bodies for online gaming companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - India has proposed self-regulatory bodies for online gaming companies operating in the country in a draft of amendments to its information technology rules published on Monday. The proposal came after a recommendation by a government panel on creating a regulatory body to classify online games as based on skill or chance, introduce rules to block prohibited formats and take a stricter stance on online gambling, Reuters reported in September. Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto GangulyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India to require COVID test for arrivals from China, four other Asian countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - People arriving in India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will have to show a negative COVID-19 test from Sunday, India's health minister said. Travellers from those countries would have to upload their test result on an India government website before their departure, the minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The new requirement for a COVID test would be in addition to the random tests on 2% of all international passengers arriving in India. India joins the United States, Japan, Italy and Taiwan in imposing mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China, amid a COVID surge there after authorities relaxed strict "zero-COVID" rules. Reporting by Shivam Patel; editing by Sudipto Ganguly, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian maker of syrup linked to Uzbekistan deaths halts production; facility inspected
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Anushree FadnavisNEW DELHI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - India's drug regulator said on Thursday that it had inspected Marion Biotech's production facility and promised more action based on the probe report after the company's cough syrup was linked to death of 18 children in Uzbekistan. A legal representative of Marion Biotech said the Indian maker of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics regretted the deaths and the company has halted production of the Dok-1 Max syrup. The drug regulator reviewed the company's Noida facility in the Uttar Pradesh state and is in regular touch with its Uzbekistan counterpart, the Indian health ministry said in a statement. "The samples of the cough syrup have been taken from the manufacturing premises and sent to Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory, Chandigarh for testing," the ministry said. Uzbekistan's health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 18 children in the country died after consuming the syrup, manufactured by the Indian drugmaker.

☆ India inspects drug factories as Gambia controversy lingers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

India is known as the "pharmacy of the world" and its pharmaceuticals exports have more than doubled over the past decade to $24.5 billion in the past fiscal year. The deaths of at least 70 children in Gambia has dented the industry's image, though India says the drugs made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd were not at fault. "Joint inspections are being conducted all over the country as per standard operating procedures," the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement. Some health experts say India's drug regulations are lax, especially at the level of states where thousands of factories operate. But India's main drugs officer told the World Health Organization this month that tests of samples from the same batches of syrups that Maiden sent to Gambia were compliant with government specifications.

☆ India federal police arrests Videocon chairman Dhoot in loan fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency has arrested Videocon Group (VEDI.NS) chairman Venugopal Dhoot in connection with a loan fraud case involving ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), a source from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told Reuters on Monday. In early 2019, the CBI filed a case of criminal conspiracy and fraud against Dhoot, former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar. The agency alleged that ICICI Bank, under Chanda Kochhar, sanctioned 'high value' loans to Videocon, violating the bank's lending policies, in exchange for an investment by the consumer electronics company's owner in a business headed by Kochhar's husband. The CBI arrested Chanda and Deepak Kochhar on Friday. Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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 finance minister hospitalised but fine - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been admitted to the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Monday. She is fine," the source said on the condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear why she was hospitalised. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Shivam Patel in New Delhi; writing by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Krishna N. DasOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India plans to make COVID-19 negative test mandatory for passengers from high caseload countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India is planning to make a COVID-19 negative test report mandatory for passengers arriving from countries with a high number of cases, the country's health minister said during an interview with broadcaster NewsX on Friday. "In the next one week, selected countries will be identified where the caseload is higher today," minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. "People from there who come to India will have to upload their (COVID-19) RT-PCR reports and only then come." The passengers will have to upload their reports on a government website and undergo thermal screening upon landing, Mandaviya said. India, which has reported the second highest number of confirmed COVID cases in the world till date, will start randomly testing 2% of international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19, Mandaviya told the parliament on Thursday.

☆ Indian EV maker denies allegations of misappropriation of incentives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Indian government is reimbursing electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle manufacturers for reducing the purchase price of their vehicles under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) programme. Complaints were made against 12 electric vehicle and parts manufacturers, including Avon Cycles, for violating guidelines under the 100 billion rupees ($1.21 billion) programme, Minister for Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey told parliament on Tuesday. "We do have two number three wheeler models which qualify under FAME – phase 2 scheme which fully meet the eligibility criteria set by the concerned authorities. Also, the sales volumes of these three wheeler models sold under the stated scheme, so far, have been insignificant." ($1 = 82.8300 Indian rupees)Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pakistan suicide car bombing kills one police official, injures others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Police officers and rescue workers gather at the site of a suicide car bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan December 23, 2022. "Our initial information says that there was a man and a woman in the car," Islamabad operations police chief, Sohail Zafar, told reporters. "Had the car reached its target, it would have caused heavy losses," Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News TV. Pakistani Taliban claimed the car bombing, saying it was revenge for the killing of one of their leaders. The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism facility.

☆ India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Apple (AAPL.O) have in the past faced scrutiny from the country's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged abuse of the application market. Companies including Facebook (META.O), Twitter and Google (GOOGL.O) have for years been concerned with many regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, with companies complaining about excessive compliance burdens. Amazon, Google, Meta, Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. A specialised digital markets unit should be established within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that competitive behaviour of big tech companies needs to be monitored in advance and not after markets become monopolised.

☆ Indian, Chinese troops suffer minor injuries in clash on Dec 9: Indian army
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Indian and Chinese troops suffered minor injuries in a clash in the Tawang sector of India's Arunachal Pradesh state on Dec. 9, the Indian army said on Monday, the first such incident since the deadly clash between the two neighbours in June 2020. An Indian foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, while a defence spokesperson declined to comment on injuries sustained by Indian or Chinese soldiers during the skirmish. Neither the Chinese foreign ministry nor its embassy in New Delhi responded to a request seeking comment. In June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, abutting the Chinese-held Tibetan plateau. The incident led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers, while China suffered an undisclosed number of casualties.

☆ Factbox: Recent attacks on foreigners in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Taliban took back control of Afghanistan last year as U.S. and foreign troops withdrew after 20 years of conflict following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Following is a list of recent attacks on foreigners in Afghanistan:December, 2022* At least three attackers were killed by security forces in Afghanistan on Monday after armed men opened fire inside a hotel in central Kabul popular with Chinese nationals. * Cross-border shelling and gunfire between Afghanistan and Pakistan killed six Pakistani civilians and one Afghan soldier, officials on both sides of the frontier said, with each side accusing the other of starting the fighting. September, 2022* Two Russian embassy staff were killed in a suicide bombing near the country's diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Compiled by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India asks parliament to approve additional spending of $39.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government sought approval for gross additional spending of 4.36 trillion rupees, it told parliament, after earlier pegging total expenditure for the year at 39.45 trillion rupees ($480.5 billion) in budget estimates. India was seeking to spend an additional 1.09 trillion rupees on fertiliser subsidies, according to the document submitted in the parliament. The government also wants to spend an additional 164 billion rupees for a rural employment guarantee scheme in 2022/23. This would take the total spending on the job guarantee scheme to 894 billion rupees. To increase its spending on a rural affordable housing scheme, the Indian government sought an additional 284.22 billion rupees.

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