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Roving Periscope: With a fresh IMF breather, cash-strapped Pakistan is relieved for now

July 13, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit    New Delhi: After months of severe cash crunch, supply crisis, and political uncertainties, Pakistan, where general elections to the National Assembly are due in October 2023, got a breather from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which transferred a USD 1.2 billion bailout, the media reported on Thursday. A day after the global […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: China opposes, Ukraine waits for NATO expansion

July 12, 2023 Vinayak Barot

Virendra Pandit     New Delhi: As China protested the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into Asia and the Pacific region, the Western security alliance, mainly focused on Europe, has said it would invite war-torn Ukraine to join it “when conditions are met,” showing its cautious approach so as not to provoke […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: “You saved us… prevented bloodbath,” Sri Lanka tells India

July 8, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday expressed deep gratitude to India, calling it a “trustworthy friend” which saved the island nation and prevented a “bloodbath” during its unprecedented economic crisis in 2022. He said that not a single nation extended that kind of assistance to Colombo as New […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: Pakistan Army has no fuel for tanks; suspends exercises!

July 6, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Two years after then Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa admitted that Islamabad cannot go to war against India as its tanks were not in working condition, the bankrupt South Asian country’s troops have also run out of fuel and suspended all military drills and war exercises until the […]

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Business

Economy: India’s growth sustainable, FinMin says, and cautions against headwinds

July 6, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi:  Noting that the Indian economy grew by 7.2 percent in 2022-23, especially in its last quarter (January-March 2023), the Finance Ministry on Thursday said the country will continue to register sustained growth in a more durable way than before—but also cautioned about the possible headwinds that could pose major challenges, […]

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Business

Seasonal cycle: In some Indian cities, tomato is far more expensive than apples, and petrol!

July 6, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The La Nina effect, which extended the onset of the Monsoon season, the Biparjoy cyclone in June, and an extremely hot, humid, and prolonged summer, adversely affected horticulture and floriculture in several Indian states, severely impacting supplies of vegetables and flowers. But tomato took the cake: its high prices in […]

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Business

Cliffhanger: IMF approves Pak’s $3bn loan program; may be considered in two weeks

June 30, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Almost bankrupt Pakistan, facing a default on July 1, has clinched initial approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a USD 3 billion loan program, lowering the risk of a sovereign default, the media reported on Friday. The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, […]

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Business

Farmers’ stir, Covid-19: Karnataka HC fines Twitter Rs. 50 lakhs, rejects its claims

June 30, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: The Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed global microblogging platform Twitter’s plea against the Union Ministry of Information Technology’s order to block its content about the farmers’ agitation and the pandemic and directed it to pay a fine of Rs. 50 lakhs. “You are not a farmer but a billion-dollar […]

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Business

Roving Periscope: Now, Putin is hoisted by his own petard—the Wagner militia

June 24, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: It was waiting to happen in Russia also which did not pay heed to what she said 12 years ago. As the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan in 2011: “If you have snakes in your backyard, they won’t bite only neighbors.” President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly […]

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Business

Modi in Egypt: India may invest in Suez Canal Economic Zone

June 24, 2023 virendra pandit

Virendra Pandit   New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Cairo on Saturday, is likely to discuss India’s possible investments in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, where the African nation plans to offer land for Indian companies to set up their units. PM Modi’s two-day State Visit to Egypt at the invitation of President […]

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