PM Modi departs for 5-nation tour, longest diplomatic visit in 10 years
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Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Collector Takes Governance to the Grassroots, Ensures Swift Redressal of Local Issues
Nagpur: To strengthen grassroots administration, district collector Vipin Itankar visited villages across Nagpur district to monitor and ensure the resolution of local issues through timely action by village-level offices on Wednesday. As part of this drive, Itankar visited Gram Panchayats in Pavaddona (Mauda taluka), Gumthala (Kamptee taluka), and other villages to interact directly with citizens and assess the ground situation. The initiative, part of the district's broader plan to make local governance more accessible, mandates that officials remain present at Gram Panchayat and Talathi Saja offices regularly — especially on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. "Samadhan Diwas has been started to ensure that issues are addressed right in the village. Applications received on the designated Wednesdays will be resolved within 15 days," Itankar said at a public meeting at the Gumthala Gram Panchayat office. Itankar, while encouraging villagers to make full use of Samadhan Diwas, warned against misuse of the platform. "Some villages have reported false complaints made with the intention to blackmail. Such actions will not be tolerated," he said firmly. The initiative aims to simplify grievance redressal by making govt officials more accessible and accountable at the village level. At Pavaddona, ten complaints were registered — eight related to the revenue department and two concerning agriculture. Officials initiated the resolution process. A health camp organised alongside the event received an enthusiastic response from residents. Present at the meeting were Sarpanch Shilatai Wange, sub-divisional officer Sachin Gosavi, district agriculture superintendent Ravindra Manohare, tehsildar Dattatray Nibankarkar, mandal officer Rahul Bhujade, Talathi Pratiksha Patil, and Gram Sevak Ankita Chakole. With daily progress reports now being sought from officials and a push for direct citizen engagement, the district administration hopes to make this model of localised governance more efficient, responsive, and transparent. Itankar inaugurates breakfast programme for government schools in Nagpur In a landmark step to combat childhood hunger, collector Vipin Itankar inaugurated a large-scale breakfast programme for govt school children by flagging off the first delivery truck from a newly built mass-feeding kitchen in Butibori MIDC on Wednesday. The state-of-the-art kitchen will serve over 20,000 hot, nutritious meals daily to schoolchildren across Nagpur. It was developed over nearly two years, following sustained planning, partnerships, and support from both organisations and the people of Nagpur. The initiative is the result of a collaboration between 'Share Our Strength', a US-based NGO committed to ending childhood hunger globally for over four decades, and The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Speaking at the event, representatives highlighted the critical need for nutrition in schools, especially in underserved areas. "This kitchen is not just about food — it's about giving children a fair shot at education and a better future," said Sachin Jahagirdar, India Program Director, Share Our Strength. Several prominent donors and supporters attended the launch, including Param Sancheti, Prashant Garg, Hemant Lodha, Narendra Jog, Sameer Bendre, Jeetu Nayak, Subodh Dubey, Vyompada Prabhu, and Ashish Singh of Akshaya Patra, and Rohit Choudhari and Sachin Jahagirdar of Share Our Strength.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India needs to be careful after US-Vietnam deal: Experts
India needs to tread carefully in its trade negotiations with the United States, keeping in view the terms proposed under the latter's trade deal with Vietnam, trade experts say. As per the new trade pact announced by President Donald Trump , the US will impose a flat 20% tariff, besides a 40% tariff on transshipped goods from Vietnam. Beyond a deviation from the previous commitments under the 2000 US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), where Vietnamese goods were subject to 2-10% tariffs, the new deal seeks to tax transshipped goods, which differs from the rules of origin on which tariffs or duty concessions are based. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ултрапреносими 2-в-1 таблети - 50% отстъпка в последния ден LYH Купете сега Undo "The terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% tariff on any and all goods sent into our territory, and a 40% tariff on any transshipping," Trump said in a post on X. "India needs to be cautious as these transshipment tariffs could be a different form of 'rules of origin', which could have a detrimental impact on our pharmaceutical and electronics exports where the import component is high," said trade expert Biswajit Dhar. Live Events Indian trade negotiators are in the US since last week to thrash out a deal before the July 9 deadline for an interim deal to avoid US reciprocal tariffs, but India has hardened its stance to protect its sensitivities.
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
India to pitch for preferential trade pact expansion with Mercosur nations
India will pitch for expansion for a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mercosur nations during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Latin American nations such as Brazil and Argentina later this week. Mercosur is a Latin American trading bloc, with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay as its members. It is the fourth-largest integrated market or trade bloc globally, after the European Union (EU), Nafta and the Asean. Modi began a five-nation tour from July 2 to 9, covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. During his visit to Brazil, the Prime Minister will be participating in the Brics Summit and is scheduled to have bilateral talks with Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva. Modi will also meet Argentinian President Javier Milei. During both the meetings, India will push for expansion of the PTA with Mercosur bloc. 'India has been proposing an expansion of the PTA with Mercosur nations. However, there has been no consensus regarding this among the bloc. This will be discussed during the PM's visit to Argentina and Brazil,' a senior government official told Business Standard. India-Mercosur PTA was signed in January 2004, but came into effect from June 2009. Both sides had given tariff concessions ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent. India had given tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines, while the Latin American trade bloc had given concessions to 452 tariff lines. The main idea behind a PTA is to eliminate or remove tariffs, covering limited number goods and less comprehensive as compared to a free trade agreement. According to the department of commerce, the major products covered in Indian offer list are meat and meat products, organic and inorganic chemicals, raw hides and skins, leather articles, wool, cotton yarn, among others. The major product groups covered by Mercosur nations are food preparations, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, essential oils, plastics, rubber, machinery items, electrical machinery and equipment, among others. During the financial year 2024-25, India's exports to Mercosur countries stood at $8.12 billion, while imports were $9.36 billion. Among Mercosur nations, India's lion's share of the trade is with Brazil.
