Modi seeks Merkel's help in early conclusion of FTA with EU

April 14, 2015

Berlin, Apr 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today sought German Chancellor Angela Merkel's help in concluding a "balanced and mutually beneficial" Free Trade Agreement with the European Union that has been stalled for two years.modi markel

"I have requested Chancellor Merkel that India and European Union should resume the negotiations quickly and conclude a balanced and mutually beneficial agreement at the earliest," Modi said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor after a meeting with her.

"Development of India as a manufacturing hub and expansion of infrastructure of India would also be beneficial for trade. Our imports would also grow. And, it is natural that German companies would benefit a lot from it.

"In this context, I would also like to state that negotiations between India and European Union on a Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement have remained stalled for two years," he said.

Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) between India and the 28-member European bloc have witnessed many hurdles as both the sides have major differences on crucial issues.

The two sides are yet to iron out issues related to tariffs and movement of professionals but the EU has shown an inclination to restart talks.

In May, 2013, both sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for IT sector.

Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, the EU wants tax reduction in wines, spirits and dairy products, and a strong intellectual property regime.

On the other hand, India is asking for granting 'data secure nation' status to it by the EU. The country is among nations not considered data secure by the EU.

The matter is crucial as it will have a bearing on Indian IT companies wanting market access.

The EU law mandates that European countries doing outsourcing business with countries that are not certified as data secure have to follow stringent contractual obligations which increases operating costs and affects competitiveness.

India also wants liberalised visa norms for its professionals and market access in services and pharmaceuticals sector.

The two-way commerce stood at USD 101.5 billion in 2013-14. It was USD 57.25 billion during April-October last fiscal.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

Kanpur, Feb 20: Inspector general, Kanpur range, has ordered a probe into a woman's allegation that the cops misbehaved with her at Raipurwa police station when she went there with her father to lodge a complaint of harassment and eve-teasing.

The woman posted her complaint on the Twitter handle of Kanpur police.

The woman, 21, alleged that instead of listening to her complaint, Raipurwa cops asked her, "Zyada padh gayi ho, itna advance kisne bana dia hai, tumhare Papa ne?" (You are too educated. Who made you so advanced - your father?)

She further said that instead of taking necessary action on her complaint, the police forced her father to compromise with the accused, the son of her landlord, who harassed her on Monday.

The woman also stated that there were no female cops at the police station and she had to wait for several hours.

"Throughout my presence at the police station, I had to interact with male cops," she tweeted.

Inspector, Raipurwa, Sunil Kumar, however, has denied allegations.

"Her allegations are not true. Both the parties settled the dispute on their own," he said.

IG Range, Mohit Agarwal, meanwhile, said, "I have asked the SSP to initiate a probe in this regard and take action against guilty cops."

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News Network
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has gone into self-quarantine after developing sore throat and fever, and will get himself tested for COVID-19 on Tuesday, officials said on Monday.

They said the chief minister, who is also a diabetic, was feeling unwell since Sunday afternoon.

"He has mild fever and sore throat since Sunday afternoon. As advised by doctors, the chief minister will undergo COVID-19 test on Tuesday morning," officials said.

Officials said the CM had attended a Cabinet meeting on Sunday morning and thereafter, he did not attend any meeting.

The chief minister has been holding most of his meetings via video conferencing from his official residence for past two days.

This come as the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital crossed the 28,000-mark with 1,282 fresh infections while the death toll climbed to 812 on Sunday, a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government said. According to the health bulletin, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi rose to 28,936 with 1,282 fresh cases.

A total of 51 fatalities were reported on June 6, the bulletin said, adding that these lives were lost between May 8 and June 5. It, however, said the cumulative death figure refers to fatalities where the primary cause of death was found to be COVID-19, according to a report of the Death Audit Committee on the basis of the case-sheets received from various hospitals.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Petrol price on Saturday was hiked by 59 paise per litre and diesel by 58 paise as oil companies for the seventh day in a row adjusted retail rates in line with costs since ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 75.16 per litre from Rs 74.57, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 73.39 a litre from Rs 72.81, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.

This is the seventh daily increase in rates in a row since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus.

In seven hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 3.9 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.

The freeze in rates was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.

Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in the retail rates that was warranted because of a decline in international oil prices.

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