Latest news with #NewDelhi
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
India's military chief admits jets downed in recent clashes with Pakistan
NEW DELHI: India's military chief Gen. Anil Chauhan has confirmed for the first time that the Indian Air Force lost jets in clashes with Pakistan in May. Earlier this month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country shot down six Indian jets, an assertion that Delhi had refrained from commenting on. Chauhan, chief of defense staff of the Indian Armed Forces, is the first Indian official to make the most direct admission over the fate of the country's fighter jets during the conflict that erupted on May 7. 'What is important is that, not the jet being downed, but why they were being downed,' Chauhan told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Saturday, while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 'The good part is that we are able to understand the tactical mistake which we made, remedy it, rectify it and then implement it again after two days and fly all our jets again, targeting at long range.' Pakistan's claims of shooting down six Indian combat aircraft were 'absolutely incorrect,' Chauhan said, without specifying how many jets India lost. India and Pakistan recently saw their worst clashes in half a century, during which both sides traded air, drone and missile strikes, as well as artillery and small arms fire along their shared border. It was triggered by a gruesome attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 people — 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen — were killed. Bharat Karnad, an emeritus professor for National Security Studies at the Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, said that the Indian Air Force may have underestimated its Pakistani counterpart. 'Initially, Indians were surprised. Maybe they underestimated the capacity of the Pakistani Air Force,' Karnad told Arab News on Saturday. 'I think what was surprising was that India did not use the airborne early warning (and) control system, the NETRA, which Pakistan has used very well,' he said. 'I'm not sure how much the Indian Air Force expected this kind of tactical innovation. So, this is something that the Indian Air Force realized very quickly.' According to Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, a retired officer of the Indian Air Force, Pakistan benefited from its Chinese-made weapons during the early May conflict. 'This brings us to the lessons which underscore that India was not fighting Pakistan on one front but two countries: Pakistan and China,' Kak told Arab News. 'Every single superior technology, capability, operationally and tactically, or in strategic terms, are made available to Pakistan. That must concern us: What kind of force structure we must have and what kind of capabilities we must build against the combo.'
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
India slashes import tax on crude edible oils, include palm, to 10pc to boost domestic demand
NEW DELHI, May 31 — India has reduced the basic import tax on edible oils by 10 percentage points, a move that is expected to improve domestic retail cooking oil demand. This move reduces the basic duty on crude palm oil (CPO), crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil to 10 per cent from 20 per cent. The effective import duty, which includes agriculture infrastructure and development cess and social welfare surcharge, on crude edible oils will now be 16.5 per cent compared with 27.5 per cent earlier. The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA) welcomed the government's decision to slash the duty on crude edible oil imports while leaving it unchanged for refined oils. 'This move will not just strengthen the domestic refining capacities of Indian refiners but also ensure a fair price to oilseed farmers and a fair price to the consumers,' the trade body's president, Sudhakar Desai, said in a statement. India is the world's biggest importer and second-largest consumer of edible oils. Nepalese refiners have significantly increased their sales to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) rules since the Indian government raised the basic customs duty on crude edible oils from zero to 20 per cent and from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent on refined products in September last year. Indian oilseed crushers had said the narrow duty differential between the crude and refined varieties was hurting their interests. — Bernama
Times of Oman
18 hours ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Indian economy doing well, may achieve growth at higher end of 6.3-6.8% projection in FY26: CEA
New Delhi: Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Anantha Nageswaran on Friday affirmed that the Indian economy is doing well and may achieve a growth rate at the higher end of its 6.3-6.8 per cent projection. "All in all, given the global environment, our economy is doing quite well," the CEA told reporters at a virtual press conference, soon after the GDP data for 2024-25 and January-March were released. "And if we continue with the efforts to bring in more foreign direct investment and the private sector, if it continues its increase in capital investment, which we saw in 2024-25 and urban consumption picks up on the back of let's say, better capital formation, hiring and compensation, then we can probably achieve a growth rate which is at the higher end of this range (6.3-6.8 per cent)." As was widely expected, the Indian economy grew by 6.5 per cent in real terms in the recently concluded financial year 2024-25. According to NSO's second advance estimates, the country's economy was projected to grow at 6.5 per cent in 2024-25. The Reserve Bank of India had projected 6.5 per cent GDP growth for the fiscal year 2024-25. In 2023-24, India's GDP grew by an impressive 9.2 per cent, continuing to be the fastest-growing major economy. The economy grew 8.7 per cent and 7.2 per cent, respectively, in 2021-22 and 2022-23. On Friday, the official GDP growth data for the January-March quarter was also released. The economy grew 7.4 per cent during the quarter. During the April-June, July-September, and October-December 2024 quarters, the country's economy experienced real-term growth rates of 6.7 per cent, 5.6 per cent, and 6.2 per cent, respectively. Asked whether unusual monsoon rains will impact vegetable prices, Chief Economic Adviser Anantha Nageswaran suggested against extrapolating a few weeks of prices and activity. "To say there will be a problem as of now, I think every indication is that crop produce will be good and with adequate inventory, the benign food price trends will continue," he explained. Amidst global uncertainty, the CEA said global growth for 2025 and 2026 is likely to slow, but India faces smaller forecast cuts in global forecasts. He supplemented high-frequency indicators for April 2025, showing strong Industrial and commercial activity in India. "Food Inflation remains benign due to good rabi harvest, higher summer sowing, healthy procurernent, and above-normal monsoon. Exports remain robust, forex reserves provide 11 months of import cover. Declining crude oil prices will potentially lower import bills, create fiscal space and alleviate external economic pressures," he said in a presentation. The government retains its outlook on 2025-26 growth at 6.3-6.8 per cent, with private consumption, especially the rural rebound, and resilient services exports as the key drivers. Multiple agencies have projected India's growth to be in the range of 6.3-6.7 per cent in 2025-26.
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Trump says he used trade as leverage to prevent possible nuclear war between India and Pakistan
President Donald Trump on Friday said he had helped India and Pakistan avert a potential nuclear war by using trade with the US as leverage to push for a ceasefire. The South Asian neighbours exchanged artillery, plane and drone strikes this month after gunmen killed 26 people in April in the Himalayan tourist spot of Pahalgam in the Kashmir valley. India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, which Islamabad has denied. 'We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting, I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster,' Mr Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday. 'We dropped trade, and we said we can't trade with people that are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons. … They're great leaders in those countries, and they understood, and they agreed, and that all stopped.' Mr Trump infuriated New Delhi this month when he announced the US had 'mediated' a ceasefire. Not only did his announcement pre-empt India making a statement, New Delhi has long maintained that any issues with Pakistan, including over the disputed Kashmir region, can only be addressed bilaterally and without the intervention of a third country. India has insisted the recent cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was decided through direct contacts between the two countries' armies. During an Indian Ministry of External Affairs news conference on Thursday, a spokesman said trade discussions never came up in ceasefire talks. 'The issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of those discussions,' said Randhir Jaiswal. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed Mr Trump's mediation and his 'very pivotal and paramount role' in ending the crisis. According to US figures, trade between America and India totalled about $129.2 billion last year, compared to $7.3 billion between the US and Pakistan.
CNA
a day ago
- Business
- CNA
Mumbai eliminate Gujarat to keep alive IPL final hopes
NEW DELHI :Powerhouse Mumbai Indians kept alive their hopes of reaching the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a 20-run victory against Gujarat Titans in the eliminator of the 10-team league on Friday. Electing to bat, Mumbai racked up a commanding 228-5 after their frontline batters hit a combined 17 sixes. Gujarat managed 208-6 in reply despite defiant knocks by opener Sai Sudharshan (80) and all-rounder Washington Sundar (48). Five-time champions Mumbai will play Punjab Kings on Sunday for a place in Tuesday's final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. After Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya elected to bat, Jonny Bairstow, replacing Ryan Rickelton, smashed 47 off 22 balls in his first match of the season in a blistering opening stand of 84 with Rohit Sharma. Rohit, dropped twice early in his knock, struck 81 to punish Gujarat. Suryakumar Yadav (33), Tilak Varma (25) and Pandya (22 not out) produced whirlwind cameos to take Mumbai past the 200-mark. The chase was steep and Gujarat stuttered early in their reply losing skipper Shubman Gill trapped lbw by Trent Boult in the opening over of the innings. Kusal Mendis (20) fell hit wicket but Sudharsan, the tournament's leading scorer, revived Gujarat's chase with his sixth fifty of the tournament. He found an able ally in Sundar who smashed Boult for back-to-back sixes to turn the pressure back on Mumbai. Pandya brought back Jasprit Bumrah and the pace bowler slipped in a yorker between Sundar's legs to flatten his leg stump.
