IPA Staff
12600 stories by IPA Staff
Banks Seek Common Insurance Repository, Shared Customer Data Access To Curb Policy-Backed Loan Fraud
NEW DELHI: Banks have pitched for creation of a common insurance repository and shared access to key customer data to help curb fraud in loans backed by life insurance policies. The suggestion was made to the government earlier this month after discussions centered on strengthening KYC norms and enhancing...
Amid Trade Talks, GAIL Goes Scouting For US LNG Stake, 15-Year Supply Deal
NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing tariff talks, India is stepping on the gas — literally — to reduce its trade surplus with the US in the hope of an early deal. State-run gas utility GAIL has invited expressions of interest for acquiring upto 26% stake in a US LNG (liquefied...
Modi And Trump Don’t Just Blunder, They Also Outshine Each Other In Flip-Flops
By K Raveendran In both foolhardiness in decision making and shameless flip-flop in dealing with disastrous aftermaths, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump have exhibited a total lack of honesty in admitting their mistakes. The similarity is too striking to be missed. Thanks to recklessness and impulsiveness in decision making—Narendra...
Employment And Unemployment Data For 2024 Is Puzzling
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Two reports brought out recently by Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation present puzzling data on employment and unemployment in 2024, and when read them together a doubly confusing scenario emerges regarding the ground realities. These two reports are – Key Employment Unemployment Indicators,...
Narendra Modi’s Ministers Are Talking In Differing Voices On Key Policy
By Sushil Kutty Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers is full of tough cookies, from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who warned Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha that refusing to accept a law passed in Parliament would not be tolerated. Then, there is Union Defence Minister Rajnath...
Bihar BJP Is Deliberately Spreading Rumour About Nitish Kumar’s Shift To Centre
By Arun Srivastava Nitish Kumar who is credited with giving an identity to the Biharis in recent times ironically has fallen out of grace but it is indeed a dichotomy that he still continues to be the benign hope for BJP to retain the power. Incidentally Bihar is the...
Waqf Act Of 2025 Challenges The Morality Of Indian Constitution
By Narender Nagarwal The ongoing challenges faced by Indian Muslims extend beyond the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 2025, the legislation that replaces the Waqf Act of 1955. Central to their fight is the urgent need to uphold their right to live with dignity and to...
Hezbollah Should Wake Up To The New Reality Of Military And Economic Weakness
By Manish Rai US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, recently visited Lebanon. During an interview with the LBCI news outlet, Ortagus stressed the importance of disarming Hezbollah. This statement from a senior US diplomat has sparked a new debate about the disarmament of Hezbollah, which has...
Trump’s 90-Day Pause – 90 Days Of Blackmail, Bullying And Looming War
By Ben Chacko LONDON: Trump’s 90-day tariff reprieve spells 90 days of geopolitical turbulence, US bullying and the threat of war. All three have been constant features of the period of US “unipolar” power, especially since the beginning of what even US presidents have termed the “forever wars.” But...
Industrial Output Growth Slows To 6-Month Low Of 2.9% In February
NEW DELHI: Growth in industrial production slowed to a six-month low at 2.9 per cent in February this year as a high base and lacklustre demand pulled it down. In February 2024, the index of industrial production (IIP) grew 5.6 per cent aided by the leap year, while in...
‘Win-Win’ Trade Deal With Us Likely Soon
NEW DELHI: The planned bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US might take a “win-win shape and form,” before the 90-day window created by the pause on full reciprocal tariffs, a senior government functionary said on Friday. The two sides, the person said, have already finalised terms...
Digital Foundation Will Power AI In India: Nandan Nilekani
NEW DELHI: India is on the cusp of a transformative phase where the country’s robust digital public infrastructure could be combined with the power of artificial intelligence to unlock innovations at an unprecedented scale, Infosys chairman and Aadhaar architect, Nandan Nilekani said on Friday. Speaking at the Global Technology...
Showing Steady Retail Interest, SIP Flows Stay Robust At Rs 25,926 Crore In March
MUMBAI: Flows through systematic investment plan (SIPs) stayed robust in March and fell only marginally to Rs 25,926 crore, even as the overall industry saw an outflow led by debt funds, revealed data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Friday. “The mutual fund industry has demonstrated...
India Not Encouraging FDI From China: Piyush Goyal
NEW DELHI: India does not intend to encourage foreign direct investments (FDI) from China, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, indicating New Delhi’s intentions of not easing overseas investment curbs imposed on the neighbouring country in 2020. FDI applications from countries sharing land borders, such as...
ASEAN Accounts For 11% Of India’s Global Trade: Centre
NEW DELHI: ASEAN remains a pivotal trade partner for India, accounting for approximately 11 per cent of India’s global trade, the government has said. In the fiscal year 2023-24, bilateral trade between India and ASEAN reached $121 billion, this was conveyed at the 8th meeting of the AITIGA Joint...
India, 62 Other Countries Vote In Favour Of First Global Carbon Tax On Shipping
NEW DELHI: India and 62 other countries voted in favour of the world’s first-ever global carbon tax imposed on the shipping industry by the United Nations’ shipping agency. The decision, taken at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) headquarters in London on Friday after a week of intense negotiations, aims...
Rupee Upticks 61 Paise To Settle At 86.07 Against US$
MUMBAI: The rupee surged 61 paise against the greenback to settle at 86.07 (provisional) on Friday due to a sharp correction in the US dollar and a strong rebound in the domestic equity markets. The surge in the local unit came a day after US President Donald Trump suspended...
Equity MF, SIP Inflows Drop On Tariff Concerns
NEW DELHI: Inflow in equity mutual funds (MFs) declined to an 11-month low at Rs 25,082 crore in March primarily due to sharp redemption in sectoral and thematic funds amid continued market volatility spurred by tariff concerns. This was the third consecutive month of a decline in inflow in...
