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.
More than 75% of India’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, The Budget Session of Parliament will begin from Monday with President's address to both the houses, Tejasswi P ... Read more
More than 75% of India’s adult population has been fully vaccinated, The Budget Session of Parliament will begin from Monday with President's address to both the houses, Tejasswi Prakash lifts the Bigg Boss 15 trophy & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Amit Shah addressed a gathering of BJP supporters in UP's Muzaffarnagar today, India continued a downward trajectory on the Covid-19 graph on Saturday, A thousand drones will dazzl ... Read more
Amit Shah addressed a gathering of BJP supporters in UP's Muzaffarnagar today, India continued a downward trajectory on the Covid-19 graph on Saturday, A thousand drones will dazzle the sky above Delhi during the Beating Retreat ceremony & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
NARC is ready to acquire stressed assets worth 82000 crore rupees, India and the Philippines signed a deal worth $375 million, The trajectory of India’s 3rd wave of Covid-19 appea ... Read more
NARC is ready to acquire stressed assets worth 82000 crore rupees, India and the Philippines signed a deal worth $375 million, The trajectory of India’s 3rd wave of Covid-19 appears to have started reducing & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
The Supreme Court set aside the Maharashtra Assembly's decision to suspend 12 legislators of BJP for a one-year period, Protesters blocked roads and burned tyres in Patna over alle ... Read more
The Supreme Court set aside the Maharashtra Assembly's decision to suspend 12 legislators of BJP for a one-year period, Protesters blocked roads and burned tyres in Patna over alleged discrepancies in railway recruitment examinations, Trinamool Congress national vice-president Luizinho Faleiro withdrew his candidature from Goa’s Fatorda assembly constituency & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
China has said it will work “closely” with India to properly handle the ongoing border tension, Yogi Adityanath says he does politics of development, Joe Biden has said he will nom ... Read more
China has said it will work “closely” with India to properly handle the ongoing border tension, Yogi Adityanath says he does politics of development, Joe Biden has said he will nominate a Black woman to the US Supreme Court for the first time in history & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Supreme Court asked the Punjab government to not arrest Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Mon, Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to lift weekend curfe ... Read more
Supreme Court asked the Punjab government to not arrest Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia till Mon, Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to lift weekend curfew and odd-even restrictions, China's People's Liberation Army handed over the missing teen from Arunachal Pradesh to the Indian Army & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
Amit Shah met Jat leaders and exhorted them to back the BJP in UP polls, The Delhi government has been pushing to reopen the schools, South Korea defeated India in the Asia Cup wom ... Read more
Amit Shah met Jat leaders and exhorted them to back the BJP in UP polls, The Delhi government has been pushing to reopen the schools, South Korea defeated India in the Asia Cup women’s hockey semi-final & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
There will be no “At Home” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state, Virat - The elite horse of President's bo ... Read more
There will be no “At Home” ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, The Andhra Pradesh government has revised the number of districts in the state, Virat - The elite horse of President's bodyguard, retires & other top news in this bulletin. Read more
India is celebrating the 73rd Republic Day today as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating 75 years of independence, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday paid tributes t ... Read more
India is celebrating the 73rd Republic Day today as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating 75 years of independence, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday paid tributes to tributes to India's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Some top-level appointments are expected in the Indian Army by the end of January & other top news in this bulletin Read more
Congress leader RPN Singh tendered his resignation from the party's primary membership, Arvind Kejriwal said that Covid positivity in the national capital has reduced by 20% in the ... Read more
Congress leader RPN Singh tendered his resignation from the party's primary membership, Arvind Kejriwal said that Covid positivity in the national capital has reduced by 20% in the last 10 days, The UK has announced removal of all tests for fully vaccinated arrivals & 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.