Murmu sworn in as India’s first tribal president
NEW DELHI: Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as India’s president on Monday, making her the first person from one of the country’s marginalised tribal communities to serve as head of state. The former school teacher and state governor was elected to the largely ceremonial position last week with 64 per cent of the vote by […]
APAC economy continues to show resilience in face of inflation
KUALA LUMPUR: The economy of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region continues to show resilience in the face of inflation caused by sanctions on Russia, goods and commodities shortages after the invasion of Ukraine, as well as local shutdowns in China due to the republic’s zero-COVID policy. Moody’s Analytics in a note today said China’s economic indicators […]
Indian gov’t relaxes age for new recruitment scheme in armed forces amid protests
NEW DELHI: The Indian government today extended the entry age by two years for the recruitment of youths in the country’s armed forces under the newly-announced employment scheme “Agnipath,” reported Xinhua. The decision was taken amid violent protests going on in several states against the new recruitment scheme fixing the entry age bracket between 17-and-a-half […]
Daily COVID-19 cases surpass 10,000 in India
NEW DELHI: The number of new COVID-19 cases per day in India continues to increase at a fast pace with 12,213 new cases recorded during the past 24 hours, showed data released by the federal health ministry today. This was the first time in the past couple of months that the number of new cases […]
Death of three sisters spotlights India dowry violence
JAIPUR, India: Before the three sisters and their children were found dead in a well, they left a message blaming the family they had married into. Kalu, Kamlesh and Mamta Meena were victims of a dispute over dowries, the often hefty sums Indian parents pay to marry off their daughters. The sisters had wed brothers […]
Dung is ‘gold’, India’s new energy cash cow
INDORE: India is tapping a new energy source that promises to help clean up smog-choked cities and is already providing a vital revenue stream for poor Indian farmers: truckloads of bovine manure. Cows are venerated as sacred creatures by the country’s Hindu majority. They also have pride of place in India’s rural communities, where they […]
India arrests ‘doctor’ conman who married 18 women
NEW DELHI: Bibhu Prakash Swain believed in soulmates and true love, or so he told at least 18 women he allegedly married and conned across India before his arrest — weeks before his next two weddings. The diminutive 67-year-old scoured marriage websites posing as a 51-year-old doctor and persuaded professors, lawyers, medics and a paramilitary […]
India may cut import tax on palm oil
NEW DELHI: India may reduce its import tax on palm oil to reign in local consumer prices of cooking oil, according to an Indian media report. The government is mulling on lowering the effective duty on crude palm oil (CPO), soybean oil and sunflower oil to 24.75 per cent from the current 30.25 per cent, […]
India imported 13.3 mln tonnes of edible oil in 2020-21
NEW DELHI: India imported 13.35 million tonnes of edible oil, a little more than half of its total consumption, in its fiscal year 2020-21, according to government data. Its domestic production of edible oils for the April-March fiscal year totalled 12.47 million tonnes and consumption was 25.82 million tonnes, the Ministry of Agriculture said on […]
India imports 275,915 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil in June
By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI: India imported 275,915 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia in June, according to the latest data from an industry group. The country’s total edible oil imports last month were 969,431 tonnes, with palm oil’s share being 61 per cent, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said. Overall edible […]
