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.
Agnipath: Telangana man who died in protest 'was inspired by sister to pursue military dream,' says family, Bihar bandh today over Agnipath; RJD, BJP ally Jitan Manjhi extend suppo ... Read more
Agnipath: Telangana man who died in protest 'was inspired by sister to pursue military dream,' says family, Bihar bandh today over Agnipath; RJD, BJP ally Jitan Manjhi extend support, UK approves extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; appeal possible, and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Govt clears appointments, 6 High Courts to get new Chief Justices, govt grants age waiver for Agnipath amid stir, Biden on recession: 'Not inevitable but we're in a stronger positi ... Read more
Govt clears appointments, 6 High Courts to get new Chief Justices, govt grants age waiver for Agnipath amid stir, Biden on recession: 'Not inevitable but we're in a stronger position', and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
China blocks India-US move to designate Hafiz Saeed’s relative as terrorist, 'PM Modi cares for youth…': Amit Shah amid Agnipath protests in several states, Covaxin shows robust sa ... Read more
China blocks India-US move to designate Hafiz Saeed’s relative as terrorist, 'PM Modi cares for youth…': Amit Shah amid Agnipath protests in several states, Covaxin shows robust safety, immunogenicity in children aged 2-18 years: Lancet, and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
‘Everything should look fair’: SC on UP demolitions- told no community targeted, Train set ablaze as protests against Agnipath scheme escalate in Bihar, Congress protest outside Hy ... Read more
‘Everything should look fair’: SC on UP demolitions- told no community targeted, Train set ablaze as protests against Agnipath scheme escalate in Bihar, Congress protest outside Hyderabad Raj Bhavan: Two-wheeler set afire, bus damaged and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Ayodhya visit is not political, says Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, govt panel recommends market authorization for SII's qHPV vaccine against cervical cancer, Hardik Pandya to ... Read more
Ayodhya visit is not political, says Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray, govt panel recommends market authorization for SII's qHPV vaccine against cervical cancer, Hardik Pandya to lead Team India in Ireland T20Is; Rahul Tripathi earns maiden call-up as Suryakumar, Samson return, and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
PM Narendra Modi-led union cabinet has cleared the auction of the 5G spectrum which will be held by the end of July, Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Naveen Kumar Jinda ... Read more
PM Narendra Modi-led union cabinet has cleared the auction of the 5G spectrum which will be held by the end of July, Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Naveen Kumar Jindal summoned by the Bhiwandi Police over his controversial tweets against Prophet Mohammed told them to send a questionnaire over email, A booster dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine Covaxin will enhance its efficacy against the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and protect against the Omicron variants BA.1.1 and BA.2, and other top news in the bulletin. Read more
2 LeT-linked terrorists shot dead in J&K. 1 was involved in bank manager killing, Chhattisgarh boy, 11, who fell in borewell rescued after 110 hours, and Sidharth Malhotra goes ... Read more
2 LeT-linked terrorists shot dead in J&K. 1 was involved in bank manager killing, Chhattisgarh boy, 11, who fell in borewell rescued after 110 hours, and Sidharth Malhotra goes on bike ride with Sadhguru, fans call it an unexpected 'crossover'. Read more
Union defense minister Rajnath Singh and the three service chiefs introduced the short-term defense recruitment policy called Agnipath, Indian business conglomerate Adani Group and ... Read more
Union defense minister Rajnath Singh and the three service chiefs introduced the short-term defense recruitment policy called Agnipath, Indian business conglomerate Adani Group and French energy behemoth TotalEnergies have entered into an agreement to jointly create the world’s largest green hydrogen ecosystem, PM Narendra Modi reviewed the status of human resources across all government departments and ministries and other top news in the bulletin. Read more
Rahul Gandhi will be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate today, Microsoft will retire its oldest browser Internet Explorer on June 15, The bidding process to secure IPL media ... Read more
Rahul Gandhi will be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate today, Microsoft will retire its oldest browser Internet Explorer on June 15, The bidding process to secure IPL media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle has come to an end and other top news in this bulletin. Read more
The Sashastra Seema Bal arrested two Chinese nationals after they were caught illegally crossing the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, Punjabi rapper-singer Sidhu Mo ... Read more
The Sashastra Seema Bal arrested two Chinese nationals after they were caught illegally crossing the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, Punjabi rapper-singer Sidhu Moose Wala got a special tribute at the Times Square in New York, one of the senior most leaders of the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Front (PLA) surrendered and joined the mainstream and other top news in today's 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.