New Delhi, May 31: The cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy that proposes to abolish roaming charges on mobile phones and allow users to retain the same number across the country.
The cabinet approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, a senior minister told reporters after the meeting of the cabinet.
The NTP 2012 aims to provide free roaming to telecom users and allow them to retain the mobile number even outside their circles without having to pay any extra charge.
Washington, Jul 18: The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the US to India has crossed the $40 billion mark so far this year, reflecting the growing confidence of American companies in the country, the head of an India-centric business advocacy group has said.
The American companies, during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has battered the world economy, have shown great confidence in India and its leadership, said Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), which keeps a track of the major US FDIs in India.
“Year to date investment from the US, including the recent ones, is over $40 billion,” Aghi said.
In recent weeks alone, the announcement of the FDI into India has been over $20 billion, he said, referring to the announcements made by some of the top companies like Google, Facebook and Walmart.
“Investors’ confidence in India is high. India still remains a very promising market for global investors. If you look at the $20 billion… not just the US, but (investment) has also come from other geographies such as the Middle East and the Far East.
“So, India still remains a very, very bullish market for the investor community,” Aghi said in response to a question.
The USISPF has been working with New Delhi to bring in FDI into India… playing a key role in encouraging American companies planning to move their bases out of China, he said, adding that the move was going on in the last three years of the Trump administration, but gained momentum during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We feel that Prime Minister (Narendra Modi’s) intention is very high. The challenges lie on the execution side. Efforts are being made to encourage manufacturing… I've never seen it so better. The policy framework is moving in the right direction,” he said.
Early this week, Larry Kudlow, the White House Economic Advisor, told reporters that the US tech giants like Google and Facebook announcing big investments in India shows that people are losing trust in China and India is emerging as a big competitor.
At the same time, he rued that India continues to be a protectionist country.
“The question is how do you define protectionism... the administration here is saying America first and India is saying vocal for local…,” Aghi added.
New Delhi, Jun 16: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said that he has been hospitalised after suffering from high-grade fever and a sudden drop in his oxygen level.
He tweeted to inform that he was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) here, a dedicated COVID-19 facility under the Delhi government.
"Due to high-grade fever and a sudden drop of my oxygen levels last night I have been admitted to RGSSH. Will keep everyone updated," Jain tweeted.
Mumbai, Jan 28: Flag carrier Air India has kept one of its 423-seater jumbo planes ready in Mumbai for the evacuation of Indian citizens from Wuhan in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in that country, an official source said on Tuesday.
The airline is awaiting necessary approvals from the ministries of external affairs and health to operate the special flight, the source said. The health ministry's nod is required because the operating crew has to fly in a virus outbreak territory.
"We have kept a Boeing 747-400 ready in Mumbai to operate an evacuation flight to China whenever we get a go ahead from the government," the source said.
Some 250 Indians are to be evacuated.
At a meeting of top secretaries called by the cabinet secretary on Monday, the government decided to be prepared for possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan.
Accordingly, Ministry of External Affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities for evacuation of Indian nationals, mostly students, stuck in Wuhan city. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health will make arrangements for transport and quarantine facilities respectively, an official release said on Monday.
Wuhan along 12 other cities have been completely sealed by the Chinese authorities to stop the virus from spreading. The death toll climbed to 80 with 2,744 confirmed cases.
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