Central News Hub

Month: September 2022

  • Healthy snacking recipes with Almonds

    Healthy snacking recipes with Almonds

    For thousands of years, almonds have been a part of Indian traditions and food habits, and their health benefits have been widely quoted in several Ayurvedic, Unani, and Siddha texts…reports Asian Lite News

    A handful of almonds, on the other hand, may have satiating properties that promote feelings of fullness, which may keep hunger at bay between meals. Snacking on healthy foods like almonds not only keeps us from snacking on junk but also ensures that our bodies receive nutrition, as almonds contain 15 nutrients such as vitamin E, magnesium, protein, riboflavin, zinc, and others.
    Try these recipes from the Almond Board of California’s in-house chefs.

    Almond & Chicken Momos (without shell)

    Ingredients:

    Chicken mince – 250 gms

    Garlic, chopped – 1 tbsp

    Carrots, finely chopped – 3 tbsp

    Spring onions, finely chopped – 3 tbsp

    Ginger, finely chopped – 1 tbsp

    Soya sauce – 1 tbsp

    Oyster sauce – 1 tbsp

    Sesame oil – 1 tsp

    Pepper powder – 1 tsp

    Egg – 1 no

    Blanched & chopped almonds – 1/2 cup

    Oil – for greasing

    Method:

    Place the chicken mince in a bowl.

    Add all the ingredients except almonds and divide it into equal-sized balls.

    Roll these balls in the blanched and chopped almonds and carefully place these small balls on a greased plate.

    Get the steamer ready and steam these on high heat for 15 minutes.

    Remove and serve the momos hot.

    Almond Crusted Tandoori Fish

    Ingredients:

    Almond slivers (unpeeled) – 50 g

    John dory or any white flesh fish – 100 g

    Panko bread crumbs – 15 g

    For Butter:

    Butter – 50 g

    Ginger and garlic paste – 2 g

    Vinegar – 5 ml

    Kashmiri red chili powder – 2 g

    Ajwain – 1 g

    Chaat masala – 2 g

    Salt – to taste

    Method:

    Wash and cut fish fillet into 4″ x 1.5″ pieces.

    Pat dry using a clean kitchen cloth.

    For masala butter, take soft butter in a grinding jar with all the ingredients.

    Blitz till all ingredients are mixed nicely without melting the butter.

    Mix panko bread crumbs in masala butter.

    Place fish pieces on a greased baking tray and spread about 10 gms of masala butter on each piece evenly.

    Then, crust the fish with almond slivers. Bake the buttered fish in a pre heated oven at 200 c for 6-8 minutes. Serve hot.

    Durga Puja 2022 Healthy Snacking Recipes.(photo:IANSLIFE)
    Durga Puja 2022 Healthy Snacking Recipes.(photo:IANSLIFE)
    Durga Puja 2022 Healthy Snacking Recipes.(photo:IANSLIFE)

    Baked Almond Kofta

    Ingredients for Kofta:

    Potato, boiled and mashed – 2 cups

    Nutmeg – A pinch

    Milk – 2 tbsp

    Almonds crushed – 3/4 cup

    Green onions, chopped – 1/2 cup

    Refined flour – 1 tbsp

    Egg – 1 no

    Salt – 3/4tsp

    Pepper – 1/2tsp

    Ingredients for Crumbing:

    Eggs – 2 no

    Refined flour – for rolling

    Dry breadcrumbs – for rolling

    Method:

    Place the mashed potato in a bowl and add almonds, salt, pepper, nutmeg, milk, green onions, flour, and 2 eggs.

    Mix them well and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

    Now roll them into equal-sized koftas.

    Place flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs separately in different plates.

    Cover each kofta with flour and dunk them in beaten eggs.

    After which give them a good roll in the breadcrumbs.

    Preheat an oven to 200c and bake the koftas till golden brown. Serve hot.

    ALSO READ-Goan Bolinhas : Best tea time treat for sweet lovers

  • Not easy, but can’t be denied for ever: Jaishankar on UNSC reforms

    Not easy, but can’t be denied for ever: Jaishankar on UNSC reforms

    Jaishankar said there is a recognition that a limited group of cynics that are ‘reluctant’ to UNSC reform efforts, but India needs to stay focused…reports Asian Lite News

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said reforming the chronically deadlocked Security Council is not an easy process, however, it can not be denied forever.

    Even though the US has encouraged India in favour of SC reform in recent weeks, Jaishankar said UNSC reform is a collective effort.

    “I think it’s a collective effort that members of the UN have to make and we have been pressing the reform effort,” he said while addressing a press conference in Washington.

    Jaishankar said there is a recognition that a limited group of cynics that are ‘reluctant’ to UNSC reform efforts, but India needs to stay focused.

    “You also know where the reluctance comes from, let’s stay focused on it. We have never thought that it was an easy process, but we do believe that the need for reform cannot be denied forever,” Jaishankar told reporters.

    As part of the US push to strengthen the United Nations, US President Joe Biden in a speech at the General Assembly reiterated his commitment to reforming the UN Security Council.

    Biden said he believes the time has come for the institution to become more inclusive so that it can better respond to the needs of today’s world “My understanding is that the position that President Biden put forward is the most explicit and specific articulation of the US support for reform of the UN including the Security Council,” Jaishankar told reporters.

    “How this advances where it goes, I think depends on all of us, the members of the UN, and where we take it, it’s not it’s not the responsibility of a single country, however powerful,” Jaishankar added.

    In the recently concluded UNGA, the issue of UN reforms and India’s Security Council bid was backed by a number of countries.

    Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa called for UNSC reform that should include representation of India, Brazil and the African continent at the UN Security Council.

    Addressing the 77th session of the UNGA, Costa advocated for a Security Council that incorporates a comprehensive view of security and gives fair representation to small countries. “We need a representative, agile and functional security council that is able to respond to the challenges of the 21st century without being paralyzed and whose actions are scrutinised by the other members of the United Nations,” he said.

    In his UNGA address, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov too backed India for becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

    “We see prospective of making Security Council more democratic via representation of countries from Africa, Asia & Latin America. India and Brazil, in particular, are key international actors and should be counted for permanent membership in the council,” he said. (ANI)

    ALSO READ: In US, Jaishankar bats for global south

  • Russia to annex occupied Ukraine territories

    Russia to annex occupied Ukraine territories

    The referendum by the Russian authorities on the annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine was largely seen as a “sham referendum” and has been widely criticised by various countries….reports Asian Lite News

    Russia will hold a signing ceremony on Friday to incorporate the annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine at Kremlin, Moscow’s President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

    “Tomorrow in the Georgian Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace at 15:00 [1200 GMT] a signing ceremony will take place on the incorporation of the new territories into Russia,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

    He further added that Putin will make a speech at this event.

    The referendum by the Russian authorities on the annexation of occupied territories of Ukraine was largely seen as a “sham referendum” and has been widely criticised by various countries.

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany will never accept the results of “sham” referendums on joining Russia in occupied regions of Ukraine.

    According to Al Jazeera, Scholz made these remarks in conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Scholz reaffirmed Germany’s stance saying that the country’s support to Ukraine remains unwavering.

    Meanwhile, Canada also said that they will not recognise Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories. “Canada does not and will not ever recognise the results of these sham referendums or Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. Serbia, too, will not recognise the results of referendums held in four regions of Ukraine partly occupied by Russian forces, President Aleksandar Vucic has said, as per the portal.

    “Serbia … will not recognise that [referendums] as it adheres to international law, the United Nations Charter and UN resolutions,” Vucic said as quoted by Al Jazeera.

    Meanwhile, Russia’s President Putin signed a decree on Thursday authorising the government to ban some Western trucks from crossing Russian territory.

    The ban, which applies to vehicles carrying goods, comes into force immediately and applies to countries with similar restrictions against Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine, according to Al Jazeera.

    Looking at the escalation on the Russian side in Ukraine, European Commission on Wednesday proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia which includes a “new listing of individuals and entities as well as new trade bans on Russian products depriving the country’s economy of 7 billion euros in revenues.”

    The announcement of fresh sanctions was done at a press conference by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Russia has escalated the invasion of Ukraine to a new level and we are determined to make the Kremlin pay the price for this further escalation,” she tweeted and mentioned sanctioning “more products that can’t be exported to Russia, in particular key technologies needed for its war machine.”

    Proposing a new package of “biting sanctions” against Russia, von der Leyen said that Russia should not benefit from European brainpower and expertise. EU Commission proposed “additional bans on providing European services” that include “prohibition for EU nationals to sit on governing bodies of Russian state-owned companies.”

    Furthermore, she said that there must be a legal basis for an oil price cap. “Some developing countries still need some Russian oil supplies, at low prices. This cap will help reduce Russia’s revenues and keep global energy markets stable.”

    “We are stepping up our efforts to crackdown on circumvention of sanctions. Therefore, we are adding a new category to be able to list individuals if they circumvent our sanctions. This will have a major deterring effect,” she tweeted. (ANI)

    ALSO READ: Leave Russia, US tells American nationals

  • Gehlot says won’t contest Congress chief polls

    Gehlot says won’t contest Congress chief polls

    Gehlot said that whatever happened in the state in the past two days had shocked everyone…reports Asian Lite News

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that he will not fight for the post of Congress chief.

    His remarks came after the veteran leader met with party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence at 10 Janpath in the national capital. “I met Rahul Gandhi in Kochi and requested him to fight the polls (for Congress President). When he didn’t accept, I said I’ll contest but now with that incident (political crisis in Rajasthan), I have decided not to contest the elections,” CM Gehlot said.

    Gehlot also apologised for the ruckus in Rajasthan triggered by his loyalists over a possible leadership change in the state after Gehlot was set to file his nomination papers for the Congress chief polls.

    Gehlot said that whatever happened in the state in the past two days had shocked everyone.

    “I had a conversation with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. Whatever happened two days ago shocked us. It gave a message that all of it happened as I wanted to be CM. I apologised to her,” said CM Gehlot addressing the media persons after meeting Sonia Gandhi. Further in his address to the media persons, Gehlot said that he won’t contest the elections in this atmosphere. “I won’t contest these elections in this atmosphere, with moral responsibility,” Gehlot said.

    On being asked if he will remain Rajasthan CM, Gehlot said, “I won’t decide that, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will decide that.”

    “One-line resolution is our tradition. Unfortunately, a situation arose that resolution wasn’t passed. It was my moral responsibility (to pass the resolution), but despite being a CM I couldn’t get it passed,” he added.

    Talking to reporters, Gehlot said the party works under the Congress president and decisions will be taken in the time to come.

    He said Congress workers worry about the direction in which the country is heading and tackling the issue was more important. Also, today Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh collected his nomination papers and announced that he is likely to file his nominations tomorrow between 11 am to 3 pm.

    Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has announced that he will submit his nomination for the post at 12.15 pm tomorrow.

    The filing of nominations for the top Congress post will take place till September 30 and the election will take place on October 17. (ANI)

    ALSO READ: Jaishankar backs Modi’s Putin remarks

  • New £50 million cyber academy to benefit UK-US ties

    New £50 million cyber academy to benefit UK-US ties

    Backed by £50 million, the academy will support the wider development of the national cyber profession, as part of the National Cyber Strategy…reports Asian Lite News

    The announcement comes as UK and US defence chiefs attend the Atlantic Future Forum 2022 in New York City this week.

    The two-day forum seeks to advance vital defence, security, trading and economic partnerships between the UK and US, and explore how to boost innovation, economic growth and resilience.

    Building on the success of the UK’s Defence Cyber School, the new Defence Cyber Academy will develop sovereign and international courses and support wider UK endeavours in developing the national cyber profession – launching in 2022.

    It will bolster the ranks of the UK and international allies, including the United States, training high-quality defence personnel to be at the forefront of cyber technology, strategy and operational preparedness. Closer alliances between our nations, delivered through shared experiences and training, will allow our personnel to better prepare for NATO, joint and multi-domain operations of the future.

    Backed by £50 million, the academy will support the wider development of the national cyber profession, as part of the National Cyber Strategy. It will increase the volume and scope of training and education, supporting the growth of Defence’s cyber workforce

    Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “Defence co-operation between the United Kingdom and the United States is the broadest and deepest of any two countries in the world, and will continue to expand in the coming decades. The Defence Cyber Academy builds on that collaboration, defining closer integration and shared capability, helping us and our allies counter global cyber security threats, staying one step ahead and at the forefront of this cutting-edge military domain.”

    Based in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, the launch of the academy comes after the DCMS revealed cyber-attacks, including espionage activity and ransomware infiltration, across Government has cost an estimated £100 million in the last year.

    Commander of Strategic Command, General Sir Jim Hockenhull said, “As Defence’s leader for the cyber domain, Strategic Command is committed to ensuring our personnel have the cyber skills needed to maintain a competitive edge against our adversaries.  The Defence Cyber Academy will allow us to expand the training opportunities we offer, and share these with our international allies. This new development will help us share our expertise and better conduct the integrated operations needed in a modern battlespace.”

    The Atlantic Future Forum is taking place on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, anchored in the Hudson River just off New York City’s financial district. In the coming months, the aircraft carrier will be at the heart of a powerful task group made up of thousands of sailors, up to ten ships, F-35B Lightning jets, helicopter squadrons and Royal Marines Commandos which will operate across Europe this autumn.

    The conference is an opportunity to discuss the success of the UK and US working collaboratively at unprecedented speed to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine with crucial military capabilities since Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion.

    The continued and very close relationships between US and UK suppliers and governments has seen typical procurement timelines shortened from months to days, allowing the supply of military aid in record speed.

    As well as the large capabilities, such as multi-launch rocket systems, ground-to-air missiles and anti-tank weapons, non-lethal military aid has been procured at pace. For example, around 200 armoured vehicles have been fitted with sophisticated military communications capabilities and delivered to Ukraine, involving the designing of dozens of components from scratch.

    ALSO READ-USAID urges China to assist Lanka’s debt restructuring

  • Kremlin dismisses claims Russia attacked Nord Stream

    Kremlin dismisses claims Russia attacked Nord Stream

    Asked about claims Russia might somehow be behind the possible attack, Peskov said: “That’s quite predictable and also predictably stupid.”…reports Asian Lite News

    The Kremlin on Wednesday said claims that Russia was somehow behind a possible attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines were stupid, adding that Moscow saw a sharp increase the profits of US companies supplying gas to Europe.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily conference call with reporters that the incident needed to be investigated and the timings for repair of the damaged pipelines were not clear.

    Europe has been investigating what Germany, Denmark and Sweden said were attacks which had caused major leaks into the Baltic Sea from two Russian gas pipelines at the center of an energy standoff.

    Asked about claims Russia might somehow be behind the possible attack, Peskov said: “That’s quite predictable and also predictably stupid.”

    “This is a big problem for us because, firstly, both lines of Nord Stream 2 are filled with gas — the entire system is ready to pump gas and the gas is very expensive… Now the gas is flying off into the air.”

    “Before making any claims, we should wait for investigation into these ruptures, whether there was an explosion or not,” Peskov said. Information on the incident could be expected from Denmark and Sweden, he said.

    Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said on Tuesday that three of four offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system sustained “unprecedented” damage in one day. All Nord Stream’s pipeline had not delivered gas by the time of the incident.

    Nord Stream 1 has reported a significant pressure drop caused by the gas leak on both lines of the gas pipeline, while Nord Stream 2 said that a sharp pressure drop in line A was registered on Monday.

    ALSO READ-Kremlin declines to comment on report of US envoy visit

  • IMF blasts UK’s new fiscal plans

    IMF blasts UK’s new fiscal plans

    Earlier this month, the UK government also announced a series of measures to support households and businesses with their surging energy bills amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis….reports Asian Lite News

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has openly questioned the UK’s new fiscal plans and called for more targeted support measures.

    An IMF spokesperson called the fiscal measures, including the large-scale tax cuts, “untargeted” and said they will “likely increase inequality” given “elevated inflation pressures” in the UK, reports Xinhua news agency.

    The IMF said that “it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy” and called on the UK government to “re-evaluate the tax measures, especially those that benefit high income earners”, on November 23, when Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to make his next budget announcement.

    The UK consumer price index rose by 9.9 per cent in the 12 months to August, as food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 13.1 per cent.

    To tackle high inflation, the Bank of England (BoE) has increased interest rates to 2.25 per cent, the highest since 2008.

    In response, a UK Treasury spokesperson said Kwarteng will “publish his medium-term fiscal plan on November 23, which will set out further details on the government’s fiscal rules.”

    The rebukes were part of drastic market reactions to the government’s new measures.

    The plans, announced on September 23 by Kwarteng, include cancelling the planned increase in corporation tax to 25 per cent and keeping it at 19 per cent, and reversing this April’s 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance contributions.

    He also announced a one percent cut to the basic rate of income tax to 19 per cent in April 2023, one year earlier than planned.

    The 45 per cent additional rate of income tax on earnings above 150,000 British pounds ($163,000) will also be scrapped.

    Kwarteng set a target of 2.5 per cent economic growth alongside these plans.

    According to the Chancellor, the tax cuts and reforms, the biggest package in generations, “send a clear signal that growth is our priority”.

    The 45-billion-pound tax cut is the biggest since 1972.

    Earlier this month, the UK government also announced a series of measures to support households and businesses with their surging energy bills amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

    However, since the announcement of the new measures, the sterling has fallen and the cost of government borrowing has soared.

    On Monday, the pound tumbled to trade as low as $1.035, taking it closer to parity. The pound remained under pressure on Wednesday, trading against the dollar at $1.07.

    ALSO READ: UK PM Liz Truss defends her mini-budget

  • Terror funding: Pakistan’s largest bank faces liability in US court

    Terror funding: Pakistan’s largest bank faces liability in US court

    Judge Schofield said the allegations were sufficient to show that HBL “joined in a conspiracy to commit the attacks”…reports Asian Lite News

    Pakistan’s largest bank, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), faces secondary liabilities in a terror financing case in the US in which the plaintiffs had alleged that it aided and abetted Al Qaeda terrorism and joined a conspiracy to launch attacks that killed or injured 370 people, a media report said on Thursday.

    Judge Lorna G. Schofield observed that bank faces the liabilities under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act as a party that “aids and abets, by knowingly providing substantial assistance, or who conspires with the person who committed such an act of international terrorism”, Dawn news quoted the Bloomberg report as saying.

    The Bloomberg report quoted the judge as saying that the plaintiffs in three consolidated cases “sufficiently” alleged that the attacks were planned or authorised by a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organisation’ such as the Al Qaeda or syndicates Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Afghan Taliban, including the Haqqani Network, and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

    “The plaintiffs sufficiently allege that the bank knew its customers were integral to al-Qaeda’s overall campaign of terrorism, carried out directly and by proxy, which is sufficient to allege general awareness.

    “The complaints also show that the bank knowingly and substantially helped al-Qaeda and its proxies evade sanctions and engage in terrorist acts, which satisfies the eknowing assistance’ requirement,” the judge said.

    Judge Schofield said the allegations were sufficient to show that HBL “joined in a conspiracy to commit the attacks”.

    However, she turned down the plaintiffs’ claims of primary liability because none of the alleged banking services provided by HBL “were themselves acts of international terrorism”, the report added.

    Prior to this, HBL had agreed to pay a fine of $225 million, the largest ever imposed upon a Pakistani bank by regulatory authorities, in 2017 for various violations of New York’s regulatory provisions, Dawn news reported.

    The bank had also agreed to surrender its licence to operate a branch in New York and unwind its operations there.

    The branch had been operational since 1978.

    In a strongly worded release issued at the time, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) of New York State had harshly castigated the bank and added that it “will not stand by and let Habib Bank sneak out of the US without holding it accountable for putting the integrity of the financial services industry and the safety of our nation at risk”.

    HBL had become the target of an enforcement action by DFS for 53 separate violations allegedly committed between 2007 and 2017.

    ALSO READ: Blinken urges flood-hit Pakistan to seek debt relief from China

  • India proposes 15% duties on items imported from UK  

    India proposes 15% duties on items imported from UK  

    India’s average imports of semi-manufactured silver from the UK stood at $412.68 million. The figure stood at $275.22 million for certain silver goods and $51.03 million for blended whiskey…reports Asian Lite News

    India has proposed additional customs duties of 15 per cent on the import of 22 products, including whiskey, cheese and diesel engine parts, from the UK in retaliation to Britain’s decision to impose restrictions on steel products.

    In a communication to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India said it is estimated that the safeguard measures taken by the UK on steel products have resulted in the decline of exports to the tune of 2,19,000 tonnes on which the duty collection would be $247.7 million.

    Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the UK, it said.

    “India hereby notifies the (WTO’s) Council for Trade in Goods of its decision to suspend concessions or other obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards that are substantially equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the measures of the UK,” it added.

    The other products include processed cheese, scotch, blended whiskey, gin, animal feed, liquified propane, some essential oils, beauty preparations, cosmetic and toilet preparations, unsorted diamonds, silver, platinum, semi-diesel engine parts, unwrought gold, turbo jets, and certain electric conductors.

    India’s average imports of semi-manufactured silver from the UK stood at $412.68 million. The figure stood at $275.22 million for certain silver goods and $51.03 million for blended whiskey.

    The communication also said that the proposed suspension of concessions would be in the form of an increase in duty on the selected products originating in the UK.

    “The suspension of concessions and other obligations will continue to apply until the safeguard measures of the UK are lifted,” it said, adding “India wishes to clarify that suspension of concessions will be equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the UKs’ measures”.

    The measures imposed by the UK consist of tariff-rate quotas imposed on 15 steel product categories with an out-of-quota duty of 25 per cent.

    Both the countries held consultations on August 5 virtually to discuss the extensions of the safeguard by the UK on certain steel products, originally applied by the European Union.

    On September 1, India proposed to impose retaliatory customs duties under the WTO norms on about $250 million worth of goods imported from the UK if no agreement is reached on compensation in a case concerning the imposition of restrictions by Britain on steel products.

    India has raised concerns at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the UK’s move.

    New Delhi has stated that it has substantial trade interest in the sector.

    According to an earlier communication of the WTO, India had submitted its concerns to the UK regarding the manner in which safeguard measures have been extended, which is violative of the global trade provisions and the WTO’s Agreement on Safeguards.

    India had requested compensation under the agreement.

    Last year, New Delhi has also proposed similar measures against the European Union (EU) under the aegis of the WTO against a move of the 28-nation bloc to impose safeguard duties on certain steel products.

    In 2018, India imposed retaliatory customs duties on certain American goods against their move to impose high customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products.

    The WTO is a Geneva-based, 164-member global body which frames rules and norms for exports and imports and adjudicates trade disputes among member countries.

    India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK, talks for which are expected to conclude anytime soon.

    The bilateral trade has increased to $17.5 billion in 2021-22 compared to $13.2 billion in 2020-21. India’s exports stood at $10.5 billion in 2021-22, while imports were $7 billion.

    ALSO READ-Govt may slash import duty on steel to near-zero levels

  • UK PM Liz Truss defends her mini-budget

    UK PM Liz Truss defends her mini-budget

    Truss denied that the tax cuts were solely benefiting the wealthy, saying that “simply isn’t true” and insisted that she was pursuing the “right plan”…reports Asian Lite News

    UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has defended last week’s mini-budget, saying it was a necessary “decisive action” that had to be taken.

    In her first comments on the market turmoil since the September 23 announcements made by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, Truss on Thursday defended her plans to cut taxes and increase borrowing, saying “we had to take decisive action”, reports the BBC.

    The Prime Minister also said the government was working to protect people from high energy costs and was prepared to take “controversial and difficult decisions” to get the economy moving.

    Growth won’t “come through overnight”, she said, adding that the mini-budget puts the UK on a “better trajectory for the long-term”.

    Truss denied that the tax cuts were solely benefiting the wealthy, saying that “simply isn’t true” and insisted that she was pursuing the “right plan”.

    Responding to concerns over pension funds following the announcements, Truss said the Bank of England (BoE) does a “very good job” of looking after pensions.

    The Prime Minister said her energy package will help reduce overall inflation, which will subsequently reduce food prices as well.

    Discussing fracking, Truss said her government would only press ahead in areas “where there is local community support”, the BBC reported.

    The announcements made by Kwarteng, include cancelling the planned increase in corporation tax to 25 per cent and keeping it at 19 per cent, and reversing this April’s 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance contributions.

    He also announced a 1 per cent cut to the basic rate of income tax to 19 per cent in April 2023, one year earlier than planned.

    The 45 per cent additional rate of income tax on earnings above 150,000 British pounds ($163,000) will also be scrapped.

    Kwarteng set a target of 2.5 per cent economic growth alongside these plans.

    According to the Chancellor, the tax cuts and reforms, the biggest package in generations, “send a clear signal that growth is our priority”.

    The 45-billion-pound tax cut is the biggest since 1972.

    Following the announcement, the pound fell more than 3 per cent to a 37-year low against the dollar as investors worried that large-scale tax cuts would ramp up public borrowing, bring much fiscal uncertainty and push up already high inflation.

    ALSO READ: Truss thanks Saudi Crown Prince