Business

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) Protesting farmer unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three contentious farm laws at their ninth round of talks with three central ministers while the government asked them to be more flexible in their approach and expressed willingness for necessary amendments, as the two sides decided to meet again on January 19.

Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan told reporters after the meeting that the unions urged the government to repeal the three laws, but the Centre was unwilling to do so.

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) Driven by healthy growth in pharmaceuticals and engineering sectors, the country's exports grew about 11 per cent year-on-year to USD 11.81 billion in the first fortnight of January, an official said on Friday.

The exports during January 1-14 last year stood at USD 10.65 billion.

Imports during January 1-14 this year too increased by 6.58 per cent to USD 18 billion as against USD 16.91 billion in the same period of 2020, the official said.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) WhatsApp has decided to delay the rollout of its new policy update to May 15 after massive criticism from users globally, including India, over concerns that data was being shared with its parent company Facebook.

The move assumes significance for users in India given that the country is among the biggest markets for WhatsApp with over 400 million users.

In a blog post, WhatsApp said it is moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms.

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India's COVID-19 vaccination drive and asserted that the made-in-India vaccines being rolled out will ensure a "decisive victory" for the country over the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing the nation ahead of the launch, Modi reminded people that two doses of vaccine are very important and asked them to maintain wearing masks and social distancing even after receiving the jabs.

"'Dawai bhi, kadai bhi," he said.

15 Jan 2021; MEMO: Mexican Cinépolis is planning to open 200 cinemas in Saudi Arabia within two years, local media reported on Wednesday.

Cinépolis recently opened two new cinemas in Saudi Arabia's cities of Jeddah and Dammam as part of the kingdom's "Saudi Vision 2030", which is reported by the government to be aimed at diversifying the country's oil-dependent economy.

14 Jan 2021; MEMO: Russian oil giant Gazprom has resumed talks with the Saudi Arabian chemical manufacturer SABIC over the latter's co-investment in building a gas chemical complex in Serbia's northwestern peninsula of Yamal.

Washington, Jan 15 (PTI) The IMF believes the farm bills passed by the Indian government have the potential to represent a significant step forward for agricultural reforms, but a social safety net is needed to protect those who might be adversely impacted during the transition to the new system, a spokesperson of the global lender said here.

Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the new measures will reduce the role of the middlemen and enhance efficiency.

Paris, Jan 15 (AP-PTI) All of France will be under a stricter curfew starting Saturday at 6 p.m. for at least 15 days to fight spread of the coronavirus.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex also announced strict new controls for those arriving in France from countries outside the European Union. Starting Monday, they must produce a PCR test with negative results and self-isolate for seven days followed by a new, negative test.

14 Jan 2021; MEMO: Egypt has signed an agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to finance the country's petroleum imports, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum announced on Tuesday.

"The loan agreement is valued at $1.1 billion," the ministry confirmed in an official statement, adding that the fund was allocated: "To fund the country's petroleum and basic goods imports for 2021."

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) In a major decision, the government on Wednesday approved the procurement of 83 indigenously-developed light combat aircraft Tejas for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of Rs 48,000 crore.