India has moved to strengthen the international use of the rupee by allowing banks to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) without prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The policy shift is designed to expand INR‑denominated trade settlements, giving Indian exporters and partner countries an alternative to dollar‑based transactions at a time
A US federal appeals court has declined to revive the Trump administration’s proposed $100,000 fee on new H‑1B visa applications, marking another significant legal setback for the policy and offering major relief to thousands of Indian professionals who rely on the programme. The ruling effectively blocks the fee from taking effect unless Congress explicitly authorises
India’s ancient Buddhist site Sarnath, located in Uttar Pradesh, has officially been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the country’s 45th World Heritage Site. The decision was announced during the 48th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea, marking a historic moment for India’s cultural and spiritual heritage. Sarnath
India and China are cautiously steering their relationship toward pragmatic cooperation, even as deep strategic rivalry and unresolved border disputes continue to define the broader equation. Analysts say both nations recognise that in an increasingly uncertain global environment, permanent hostility is neither sustainable nor beneficial, especially for two major economies with significant regional influence. Relations
India will continue negotiations with the United States to finalise a long‑pending bilateral trade agreement, even as President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on imports from India under Washington’s revised trade measures. The announcement came a day after the tariff was formally applied to goods from 60 trading partners, with the US alleging insufficient
India’s foreign exchange reserves climbed by $1.08 billion to reach $676.24 billion in the week ending 17 July, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This marks the second consecutive weekly increase, following a $964 million rise in the previous reporting week. The biggest contributor to the jump was the surge in
India has firmly rejected China’s latest assertions on territorial sovereignty, stating that Beijing — not New Delhi — has violated India’s territorial integrity through its continued illegal occupation of parts of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh since 1963. The response came from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after Chinese officials raised objections to India’s
A deadly suicide attack on a joint military‑police checkpoint in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has left 15 people dead, including 14 security personnel, in one of the region’s worst militant assaults this year. The attack occurred early Friday at the Manji Khel checkpoint in Tank district, close to the Afghan border — an area that
Donald Trump’s most consequential trade move of his second term didn’t arrive through Congress or a formal proclamation — it appeared on Truth Social. The former president announced a phased tariff plan on generic drug imports, keeping them tariff‑free for two years, then imposing a 100% tariff, and eventually raising it to 200%. The policy
Relentless monsoon rain has pushed Assam into one of its worst flood phases this season, with the death toll rising to 50 and more than 8 lakh residents impacted across 16 districts, according to state authorities. Continuous downpours have caused major rivers — including the Brahmaputra and several tributaries — to flow above danger levels,
