Ukraine war in focus at India-Nordic talks, twitter courts advertisers amid uncertain future under Musk, RBI raises policy rate at surprise MPC meet, and other top news in this bulletin. India and the five Nordic countries on Wednesday condemned civilian deaths in Ukraine and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities while affirming their support for a rules-based international order. During a summit in Copenhagen between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterparts from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway, the six countries discussed the “destabilising effect” of the conflict in Ukraine and its regional and global implications. The meeting reviewed progress in India-Nordic relations since the first summit held in Stockholm in 2018, and the leaders discussed multilateral cooperation in areas such as post-pandemic economic recovery, the climate crisis, sustainable development, digitalisation, and green growth. There were also discussions on cooperation in the maritime sector and sustainable ocean management, and Modi invited the Nordic companies to invest in the blue economy, especially India’s “Sagarmala” project. Modi noted that India’s Arctic Policy is a good framework for expanding cooperation with the Nordic states. He also invited the sovereign wealth funds of the Nordic countries to invest in India. Twitter Inc is facing a skeptical audience as it showcases its advertising opportunities on Wednesday evening at an event in New York City, three ad agency executives told Reuters, as the social media company’s plans under billionaire Elon Musk remain unclear. The Tesla chief executive, who is buying Twitter for $44 billion, has tweeted that the platform should not have ads so it can have more control over its content moderation policies. Twitter has told its employees in internal staff meetings and in public filings that its advertising business and other operations would continue normally until the deal closes, but the company could not speculate on changes Musk might make. “He’s like the ghost of Christmas future hanging over this whole thing,” said Mark DiMassimo, founder of ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein, referring to Twitter’s presentation to advertisers on Wednesday. “Whatever (Twitter) says, all anyone really wants to know is how this will be in the future.” The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India announced an unscheduled hike of 40 and 50 basis points – one basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point – in policy rate and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) respectively in a move to contain raging inflation. The hike, the first in 45 months, comes a month before RBI’s next scheduled meeting on June 6, surprised both markets and experts, and will increase most consumer loan rates, including on mortgages. Announcing MPC’s decision at an unscheduled press conference on May 4, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das justified the action on account of increased risks to inflation compared to the MPC’s April assessment. To be sure, Das reiterated that monetary policy stance continues to be accommodative, which according to experts refers to the fact that real policy rate (after adjusting for inflation) continues to be negative. Still, conventional monetary theory will find it reconcile higher interest rates with an accommodative stance. While the MPC resolution released on May 4 does not give actual projections for growth or inflation numbers, it has noted “significant upside risks to the inflation trajectory set out in the April statement of the MPC” while saying that “it is prudent to continuously monitor the balance of risks” to growth even though “the Indian economy appears capable of weathering the deterioration in geopolitical conditions”. India may reconsider the nine-month gap between the second Covid-19 shot and the booster dose for those travelling overseas, especially to countries mandating that arriving travellers have been administered a third shot, people familiar with the matter said. This may be reduced to six months, they added. The idea is one of several discussed by the government’s expert panel which is looking at several issues related to booster doses, including reducing the gap for all eligible people to about six months. Several people have made representations to the central government lately on reducing the gap as many countries have begun asking for a booster dose, creating hurdles for those intending to travel abroad for employment, education, business, or pleasure. In addition, some experts have said that reducing the gap from the current nine months would speed up the booster drive — which is currently lagging. According to health ministry data, at least 105.8 million people were eligible for the booster dose (those who had received both shots of the vaccine as on August 1, 2021) as on May 1, but only 28.3 million have taken one. The government’s expert advisory panel, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) is looking at the available evidence to make recommendations in this regard. A section of lawyers claiming allegiance to the Congress protested against former Union Finance Minister and senior advocate P Chidambaram for representing one of the respondents in a petition seeking probe into sale of shares of Metro Dairy by the West Bengal government to agro-processing firm Keventer, as the senior Congress leader was leaving the Calcutta High Court. Alleging that Chidambaram is playing with the sentiment of the Congress party, the lawyers claimed that it was not appropriate for him to represent a respondent in the matter when West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury is fighting the case challenging the Trinamool Congress government’s sale of shares of Metro Dairy to the private company. One of the participants in the protest, lawyer Kaustav Bagchi said the former Union Finance Minister was appearing in the case in which purchase of shares by a private entity was being objected to by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president. “Mr Chidambaram is a CWC (Congress Working Committee) member and a very important leader,” Bagchi said. He said he led the protest “as a Congress worker” and not as a lawyer and added that party workers will mete out similar treatment to any leader who acts against the interests of Congress in West Bengal.
Two more people have been arrested in connection with the murder case of actor and BJP leader Sonali Phogat, Congress's Digvijaya Singh stings Azad: ‘Which security guard of Rahul ... Read more
Two more people have been arrested in connection with the murder case of actor and BJP leader Sonali Phogat, Congress's Digvijaya Singh stings Azad: ‘Which security guard of Rahul ji took…’, PM Modi to inaugurate Atal bridge today, calls it ‘spectacular’; and other top news in bulletin. Read more
Army receives swarm drones, eyes light tanks to check PLA, Trump mixed top secret documents with magazines, other items: FBI, Munawar Faruqui's Delhi show denied permission by Delh ... Read more
Army receives swarm drones, eyes light tanks to check PLA, Trump mixed top secret documents with magazines, other items: FBI, Munawar Faruqui's Delhi show denied permission by Delhi Police and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday resigned from all Congress party posts, Election freebies: Supreme Court refers matter to three-judge bench, Sonali Phogat ‘murder’: ‘Curlies’ restaurant ... Read more
Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday resigned from all Congress party posts, Election freebies: Supreme Court refers matter to three-judge bench, Sonali Phogat ‘murder’: ‘Curlies’ restaurant at Goa’s Anjuna beach back in limelight after 14 years and other top nws in this bulletin. Read more
96% of Indian parents feel their children don't know enough about financial management: Report, Goa Police call Sonali Phogat's PA, associate for questioning, India votes against R ... Read more
96% of Indian parents feel their children don't know enough about financial management: Report, Goa Police call Sonali Phogat's PA, associate for questioning, India votes against Russia in UNSC during procedural vote on Ukraine for the first time and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
EC sends its recommendation in Soren office of profit case to Governor, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday renewed his attack on the BJP, SC directs Gujarat govt to respond to Te ... Read more
EC sends its recommendation in Soren office of profit case to Governor, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday renewed his attack on the BJP, SC directs Gujarat govt to respond to Teesta Setalvad’s bail plea within 2 days and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Competition heats up for naval fighter deal ahead of Vikrant’s commissioning, Supreme Court puts off the formation of an expert panel on freebies amid debate, Govt launches games o ... Read more
Competition heats up for naval fighter deal ahead of Vikrant’s commissioning, Supreme Court puts off the formation of an expert panel on freebies amid debate, Govt launches games on India’s freedom struggle, and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
What will Rishi Sunak do if he loses the UK PM race to Liz Truss, AAP MLAs accuse BJP of threatening to file fake cases, offering money to defect, Congress on Adani's hostile takeo ... Read more
What will Rishi Sunak do if he loses the UK PM race to Liz Truss, AAP MLAs accuse BJP of threatening to file fake cases, offering money to defect, Congress on Adani's hostile takeover bid for NDTV: ‘What's mysterious is…’ and other top news in bulletin. Read more
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and govt talks reach impasse amid economic crisis, BJP leader found hanging from tree in J&K’s Kathua, Why seek votes in Balasaheb’s name, has Modi w ... Read more
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and govt talks reach impasse amid economic crisis, BJP leader found hanging from tree in J&K’s Kathua, Why seek votes in Balasaheb’s name, has Modi wave abated?’: Sena asks Fadnavis and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Ramdev must restrain himself from “abusing” allopathy: Supreme Court, India head coach Rahul Dravid will not travel to UAE for Asia Cup, Convicts’ release shows they were reformed, ... Read more
Ramdev must restrain himself from “abusing” allopathy: Supreme Court, India head coach Rahul Dravid will not travel to UAE for Asia Cup, Convicts’ release shows they were reformed, says cop who probed Bilkis Bano case and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
IS terrorist arrested in Russia for plotting attack in India over Prophet remark, UGC approves proposal for hiring industry experts as professors of practice, China to issue visas ... Read more
IS terrorist arrested in Russia for plotting attack in India over Prophet remark, UGC approves proposal for hiring industry experts as professors of practice, China to issue visas to Indian students after two-and-a-half years & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
The Website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. If you continue browsing you will be providing your consent to our use of these.