Abha Khatua has set a national record and won gold medal in Women’s Shot Put with a massive throw of 18.41 metres at National Federation Cup Athletics Competition in Bhubaneswar. Representing Maharashtra at the event, Abha was the joint record holder of 18.06 metres with Manpreet Kaur before this event. Abha has become the sole national record holder.
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 25th May as the World Football Day, by adopting a resolution during the 80th plenary meeting of the General Assembly in New York. The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the first international football tournament in history with the representation of all regions as part of the 1924 Summer Olympic Games, held in Paris.
The resolution was passed unanimously by the 193-member General Assembly. Taher M. El-Sonni, Permanent Representative of the State of Libya to the United Nations, introduced the draft resolution under Sport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal during the meeting.
The genesis of World Football Day stems from the historic event of May 25, 1924, during the summer Olympic Games in Paris, where the first international football tournament featuring representation from all regions took place.
India’s headline retail inflation stayed largely unchanged at 4.83 percent in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. A marginal fall in the headline retail inflation rate was limited by prices of food and beverages that remained elevated at 7.87 percent, edging higher than 7.68 percent a month ago.
Food inflation rose marginally with the index coming in at 8.70 percent in April, as compared to 8.52 percent in previous month.
The Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra and Sahṛdayāloka-Locana have been included in ‘UNESCO's Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register’. The 'Ramcharitmanas', 'Panchatantra', and 'Sahṛdayaloka-Locana' are such timeless works that have deeply influenced Indian literature and culture, shaping the nation's moral fabric and artistic expressions.
These literary works have transcended time and place, leaving an indelible mark on readers and artists both within and outside India. It is noteworthy that ‘Sahṛdayaloka-Locana’, ‘Panchatantra’, and ‘Ramcharitmanas’ were authored by Acharya Anandvardhan, Pt. Vishnu Sharma, and Goswami Tulsidas, respectively.
The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), played a vital role in securing a historic moment during the 10th meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP). This marks the first time IGNCA has submitted nominations to the Regional Register since its inception in 2008.
The 7th edition of India- France Joint Military Exercise SHAKTI commenced at Umroi, in a fully developed and modern Foreign Training Node in Meghalaya. The Exercise is scheduled to be conducted from 13th to 26th May 2024. Exercise SHAKTI is a biennial training event conducted alternatively in India and France. Last edition was conducted in France in November 2021.
Aim of Exercise SHAKTI is to enhance joint military capability of both sides to undertake multi-domain operations in a Sub Conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate. The joint exercise will focus on operations in the semi-urban and mountainous terrain.
Tata Consultancy Services announced the creation of a Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre of Excellence in Paris, during the Choose France Summit. The TCS AI Centre of Excellence in Paris will leverage TCS’ global ecosystem of startups, academia, and research organisations to bring the best of global capabilities to French companies.
The new AI centre will be based in the upcoming TCS PacePort in the La Défense area of Paris, which will be inaugurated in June 2024, becoming the seventh such facility in TCS’ global Pace network, following Amsterdam, London, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Tokyo.
The board of Shriram Finance Ltd (SFL) approved the sale of its housing-finance subsidiary Shriram Housing Finance Ltd (SHFL) to Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor, for Rs 4,630 crore. Warburg Pincus will acquire the stake through its affiliate Mango Crest Investment from all the sellers.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
SFL holds a controlling stake in SHFL while private-equity firm Valiant Partners LP (Valiant), Mauritius, holds the rest. As part of this transaction, Valiant will sell its equity stake to Warburg Pincus. SFL is one of India’s leading non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
India’s imports from its key free trade agreement partner nations grew at a faster pace compared to total inbound shipments entering the country, according to a report.
Imports from the FTA partners saw a nearly 38 per cent increase, totalling $187.92 billion in 2023-24, which was faster when compared to the 31.4 per cent jump to $675.45 billion in the country’ import.
The growth in shipments spans a five-year comparison, from 2018-19 (FY19) to FY24, Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. Exports from FTA nations increased by 14.48 per cent to $122.72 billion, while total exports saw a 32 per cent growth at $437 billion.
This includes India’s trade agreements with South Korea, Japan, Australia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mauritius, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) nations, and the South Asian Free Trade Area. These countries constituted 28 per cent of India’s total trade — exports and imports — during FY24.
The trade agreement with Asean, which kicked in in 2010, saw growth in imports at a faster pace than exports. Exports to Asean countries grew from $37.47 billion in FY19 to $41.21 billion in FY24, marking a 9.96 per cent increase. On the other hand, imports from Asean saw a 34.3 per cent jump, totalling $79.67 billion.
Exports to South Korea rose by 36.38 per cent, from $4.71 billion to $6.42 billion, and imports increased by 26.12 per cent, from $16.76 billion to $21.14 billion. Exports to Japan showed a modest increase of 6.06 per cent, from $4.86 billion to $5.16 billion, while imports rose by 38.56 per cent, from $12.77 billion to $17.7 billion.
India and Iran signed a 10-year long-term bilateral contract for the operation of Chabahar Port, a vital cog in India’s trade plans with central Asia and parts of Europe. Under the agreement – signed between India Port Global Limited and the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran. India will develop the strategic port for 10 years.
The Chabahar Port, located on Iran's southwestern coast, has easy access to India's west coast. It also forms a crucial link in the International North-South Transport Corridor. The long-term contract will give a significant boost to economic activities and establish our growing role in developing global trade & commerce. A formal 10-year agreement had been signed in 2016.
China has emerged as the largest trading partner of India with $ 118.4 billion two-way commerce in 2023-24, slightly edging past the US, according to the data of economic think tank GTRI.
The bilateral trade between India and the US stood at $ 118.3 billion in 2023-24. Washington was the top trading partner of New Delhi during 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The data showed that India's exports to China rose by 8.7 per cent to $ 16.67 billion in the last fiscal. The main sectors which recorded healthy growth in exports to that country include iron ore, cotton yarn/fabrics/madeups, handloom, spices, fruits and vegetables, plastic and linoleum. Imports from the neighbouring country increased by 3.24 per cent to $ 101.7 billion.
On the other hand, exports to the US dipped by 1.32 per cent to $ 77.5 billion in 2023-24 as against $ 78.54 billion in 2022-23, while imports dipped by about 20 per cent to $ 40.8 billion, the data showed. According to the commerce ministry data, China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21.
Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner. The US was the largest partner in 2021-22 and 2022-23. In 2023-24, the UAE with $ 83.6 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India. It was followed by Russia ($ 65.7 billion), Saudi Arabia ($ 43.4 billion), and Singapore ($ 35.6 billion).
N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, is set to assume the additional role of chairman at Tata Electronics. This transition comes as Tata Electronics earmarks around $14 billion towards venturing into the semiconductor industry. Chandrasekaran will succeed Banmali Agrawala, who has served in this post for the past few years, pending regulatory approvals.
Established in 2020, Tata Electronics is the sole Indian vendor assembling iPhone enclosures for Apple. The company plans to scale up its existing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu and has acquired a facility in Karnataka previously operated by Taiwan's Wistron.
