India and Pakistan will both gain immensely by encouraging bilateral trade In his speech on July 26, after his electoral victory, Pakistan Prime Minister-elect and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan conveyed a sense of hope when he spoke of the need for harmonious relations with neighbouring countries, including India. …

The Chief Election Commissioner on proxy voting for NRIs, the fake news challenge, electoral bonds, and why EVMs are the best option In the Monsoon session, the Lok Sabha passed a Bill that allows ‘proxy voting’ to non-resident Indians (NRIs). Is it going to be a game changer? Chief Election …

Our Independence Day is, very specially, our Prime Minister’s day. It has been that way since our very first Independence Day, August 15, 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, chiselled his name for all time into that date with his ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech in Parliament House. …

Inflation at the wholesale level slowed to 5.09% in July largely due to a cooling down of food price inflation, according to official data released on Tuesday. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was lower than June’s 5.77%. The primary articles category saw growth slowing significantly to 1.73%, from …

The Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), the country’s largest commodity exchange in terms of market share, will commence trading in rubber futures contracts from August 16. The new contract is aimed at offering a hedging solution to participants in the rubber value chain, including growers, traders, exporters, importers and …

The government on Tuesday proposed a new transaction structure for the bid process for greenfield airports, switching from a revenue share model to a fixed fee per passenger to be paid to the concessioning authority. The Ministry for Civil Aviation is betting that the proposed change to the bid parameters …

Will however be a ‘negative’ for outbound tourists: industry The sharp depreciation of the rupee against major currencies will help inbound tourism to grow while outbound travel will be hit. “A weakened rupee has made India a cheaper foreign destination,” said Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Assocham Tourism Committee. “We expect inbound …

The rupee breached the psychological barrier of 70-to-a-dollar for the first time as the sharp fall in the Turkish lira continued to affect all emerging market currencies. The rupee had a strong opening against the dollar at 69.85, but fell sharply to breach the 70-mark and went on to depreciate …

Says companies exploiting a ‘gaping’ loophole in Britain’s immigration system A lobbying group, which pushes for greater curbs on Britain’s immigration regime, has accused multinational IT companies, “typically based in India”, of exploiting a “gaping” loophole in Britain’s immigration system, and has called for the system to be overhauled. Tier …

Police say they are holding the driver on suspicion of terror offences A car crashed into barriers outside Britain’s Houses of Parliament in a suspected terror attack on Tuesday, injuring a “number of pedestrians” close to where five people were killed last year. Footage shows the silver Ford Fiesta veering …