India-China in talks to resume border trade after 5-year gap as tensions ease
The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, will be visiting India on August 18 for the talks. He will meet National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Both leaders will discuss the boundary issues between the two nations.The meeting holds significance as it will be the first visit by a Chinese Foreign Minister to India post the Galwan clashes of June 2020.Direct flight services between both the nations are likely to resume from next month.The Indian government has reportedly asked carriers such as Air India and IndiGo to be ready to operate flights to China at short notice.Here it is to be noted that the direct air connectivity between the two nations has remained suspensed since the onset of Covid-19.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
CUMTA to roll out app to integrate metro, bus, last-mile connectivity
Chennai: Chennai unified metropolitan transport authority (CUMTA) will roll out a single ticketing app in the first week of September to integrate Metro Rail, MTC buses, Namma Yatri autos, and cabs. MRTS and suburban trains will be added later this year. While cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru already have integrated ticketing for buses and metros, Chennai's app will make it the first initiative in India to bring cabs, autos, buses, metros, and trains onto one platform. For example, a commuter travelling from Nandanam to VR Mall can open the app, whose name is yet to be finalised, enter start and end points, and receive the best route. This could mean taking the metro to Koyambedu and then a Namma Yatri auto to the mall, with a single QR code generated for the entire journey. Once the commuter exits at Koyambedu, the auto will be booked automatically, with payment for the auto made separately. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Gold Rates Today in Chennai | Silver Rates Today in Chennai The project, costing around 8.75 crore in labour and establishment expenses, is backed by a primary contract with Namma Yatri and MoUs with MTC and CMRL. Agreements with Southern Railways for MRTS and suburban trains are in the pipeline. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo CUMTA aims to promote 'Mobility as a Service', encouraging people to choose public transport. With MTC's 34.5 lakh daily riders, suburban and MRTS rail's 9.27 lakh, Metro's 3.3 lakh, and over 7,000 Namma Yatri trips a day, the service will unite all modes in five phases. Phase two will integrate fares, and phase three will extend the service beyond the city. The app, initially called 'Anna-Ride Booking', will get its official name and logo next month after a meeting with chief minister M K Stalin and CUMTA's chairperson. Commuter Rithvik K, at Thousand Lights Metro, said, "This is great if implemented without bugs. Half the time I fear cancellations from drivers of cab aggregators. If this app books an auto automatically, that worry is gone." Principal architect in Urban Design Collaborative, Nirmal S John Britto, said, "Cities like London have a similar app called Citymapper, so this is a first for India. But like Google Maps, it must adapt to Indian realities. In the West, apps give real-time updates on road closures or repairs. We don't have that here. It should also recognise micro-streets in areas like Sowcarpet or Royapettah, which add historical value for first-time commuters. Without that, it may fall short." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Krishna Janmashtami Wishes ,, messages , and quotes !
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Foreign Holdings of Treasuries Climbed to a Record High in June
(Bloomberg) -- Foreign investor holdings of Treasuries climbed to a record high in June, showcasing sustained overseas demand for US government debt even as a slump in the dollar stoked concerns about sentiment toward American assets. Foreign holdings totaled $9.13 trillion for June, up $80.2 billion from May, Treasury Department figures showed Friday. For the first half of the year, foreign holdings went up by $508.1 billion. That was during a period in which one benchmark gauge of the dollar tumbled by almost 11%, the most since 1973. Britain and Belgium saw the biggest gains in holdings, while India — currently embroiled in a trade battle with the Trump administration — and Ireland posted declines. China's stockpile was little changed. Holdings are affected by net sales or purchases along with shifts in valuation. The Bloomberg US Treasury index advanced in June, after a selloff the previous month. Japan, the biggest holder of Treasuries, saw a $12.6 billion rise in its holdings, to $1.15 trillion, while China's stockpile — now the third larges, behind the UK — ticked up $100 million $756.4 billion. Belgium, whose holdings include Chinese custodial accounts according to market analysts, saw its stockpile go up by $17.9 billion, to $433.4 billion. Britain's holdings jumped by $48.7 billion, the most since March 2023, to $858.1 billion. India's total dropped by $7.9 billion, to $227.4 billion. Overseas holdings of Treasuries have been in focus against a backdrop of concern about foreign demand after President Donald Trump slapped tariff increases on the rest of the world. Foreign funds and governments hold over 30% of US Treasuries outstanding. More stories like this are available on
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Google finds workaround for lobbying that omits big bosses
It was the end of 2018, and Google's leaders were tired of being Number the second year in a row, federal records showed the search giant had spent more than any other individual company on lobbying in Washington. Executives in Mountain View were sick of seeing that mentioned in the press, according to a former Google employee who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. Then Google apparently found a workaround.A new analysis of federal lobbying data by the nonprofit Tech Transparency Project shows that Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., used an internal reorganisation to exclude the value of lobbying by its senior executives from disclosures. The move helped keep Google off the top of the lobbying charts even as it maintained a robust network of advocates pushing its interests in the capital, during federal challenges to its dominance in search and advertising and the beginnings of artificial intelligence regulation. The findings, which were confirmed by a Bloomberg analysis of lobbying records, show that the effect of the accounting change was to lower the amount that Google reported spending to influence the federal government, likely by millions of dollars. The reorganization 'has allowed the company to shield a significant portion of its lobbying expenditures from public view,' the Tech Transparency Project said in its report. A Google spokesperson, José Castañeda, disputed the report and said the company has followed all relevant disclosure laws. 'These are inaccurate claims about a technical change that simply brought us in line with how many other companies report their lobbying activities,' he said. 'Our lobbying expenditures began decreasing in 2018, after we restructured our government affairs team and cut spending on consultants.' Internal reshuffle Starting in 2019, Google began cutting ties with some of its external lobbying firms, a move it acknowledged publicly as part of an overhaul of its Washington operations. But the shuffling of external lobbying firms doesn't explain the whole of the decline in Google's reported lobbying expenses, which fell from more than $22 million in 2018 to $8.9 million in the Covid-disrupted year of 2020, and have subsequently remained well below pre-pandemic levels. There's been another, quieter change: in early 2020, Google moved its in-house lobbyists into a new subsidiary, called Google Client Services LLC. It's that unit which now files spending disclosures for Google's lobbying activities. The reorganization meant that the parent companies Google and Alphabet no longer directly employed any lobbyists – defined under federal disclosure law as people spending at least 20% of their time on influencing Congress or the executive branch. Companies that file lobbying disclosure reports are supposed to also account for the time that other senior executives — those who don't meet the 20% threshold – devote to lobbying, according to legal experts and the compliance guide for the Lobbying Disclosure Act published by Congressional leaders. That generally involves prorating their annual compensation to account for the days they spend influencing the government. But since Google moved lobbyists into the Google Client Services subsidiary, the parent company no longer meets the threshold for filing disclosures under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, according to the TTP analysis. That means Google no longer reports the lobbying expenses of high-ranking managers who aren't part of the Client Services unit — like Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai and chief legal officer Kent Walker — to the public, as it once did. As a result, in 2020 Google dropped out of the top 20 in corporate lobbying expenses for the first time in nearly a decade, the TTP analysis found. While Google's reported annual spending has since edged back up again, it hasn't come close to the No.1 slot in the company lobbying rankings that it used to occupy. For the past five years, that position has alternated between two other tech giants: Meta Platforms Inc. and Inc. Antitrust challenge There's been plenty going on in Washington over the period that was crucial for Google's business. For one thing, the company — like many peers — is betting heavily on AI, a field where decisions in the US capital will shape the commercial landscape. Google has also been under assault from antitrust authorities over its dominance in search and digital advertising. The company has maintained in those lawsuits that its success is down to consumer choice and superior innovation, rather than a result of its power to shape laws and regulations. Publicity around its lobbying spending has the potential to undercut such arguments and alienate regulators. When executives are as highly paid as many in Silicon Valley, the prorated amounts can add up to millions — even for just a few days' worth of lobbying. Google reported total compensation for Pichai of more than $225 million in 2022, thanks to grants of stock. His total compensation was $10.7 million in 2024. Walker's total compensation was more than $30 million last year, the company reported. Some say the new structure Google is employing flouts the spirit of the federal disclosure law – if not the letter itself. 'This is just too cute by half,' said William Luneburg, a professor emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law , and the co-editor of the manual for lobbying compliance published by the American Bar Association. 'On the face of it, it's wrong,' he said. 'They have to report all of their expenses, which would include the time of officers and directors and other employees that spend their time engaging in lobbying activity.' 'We always comply with disclosure laws and any suggestion of improper reporting is false,' said Castañeda, the Google spokesperson. TTP said it examined lobbying disclosures of several other companies that filed reports via a similar subsidiary model, but didn't find any that had used the structure to remove executive lobbying from their disclosures.
