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The Print
6 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Trade agreements with US, EU to be concluded soon: Sitharaman
India has already signed free trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, and 4-nation EFTA (European Free Trade Association) bloc and negotiations have been completed with the UK, she said adding 'with the US and the European Union, negotiations are really intensely going on and should come to conclusion sooner.' The emphasis now is on concluding more free trade agreements, she said while inaugurating Trade Conclave by India Exim Bank here. All efforts are being made to boost exports to achieve the ambitious target of USD 2 trillion by 2030. New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said negotiations for the proposed free trade agreements with the US and European Union (EU) are progressing at a fast pace and would be concluded soon. She also mentioned Budget announcements of Export Promotion Mission and Bharat Trade Net, a digital public infrastructure which provides a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions. The Budget also proposed a National Framework for Global Capability Centres (GCC) to further support services-led growth in emerging tier 2 cities and Trade Facilitation Measures. Referring to the country's exports, the finance minister said total exports of goods and services reached a record high of USD 825 billion in FY25, achieving 6 per cent growth over previous year. This is a significant leap from USD 466 billion in 2013–14. While global exports grew by only 4 per cent, India's exporters managed to fast-track and cross growth of 6.3 per cent despite global uncertainties on trade front, she said. Observing that exporters are 'swimming against tides' , she assured all support to them and urged them to focus on innovation and finding newer markets for their products. Quoting United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2025, she said, India's position has improved though the global FDI flows dropped 11 per cent. FDI inflows of nearly USD 668 billion from 2014-24 account for nearly 67 per cent of the total FDI reported in the last 24 years which was USD 991 billion, she said. India has deepened its participation in global value chains, she said, adding, Apple India's iPhone contract manufacturers have crossed the 20 per cent domestic value addition (DVA) threshold across variants. Speaking at the event, Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said India's growth prospects remain bright even as the world economy is troubled by geopolitical uncertainties and significant headwinds emanating from it. 'Even amidst all the global headwinds, India continues to be a beacon of hope,' he said. Nagaraju said that India's exports, which the commerce ministry is 'trying very hard' to integrate into the global value chain, are doing well irrespective of the challenges. Exports from the pharmaceuticals and gems and jewellery sectors are showing resilience, he said adding in this endeavour, the finance ministry is committed to extending support through policy, schemes and financial aid. 'Our financial systems are strong with adequate capital and low non-performing assets,' he said, adding, this gives strong support to India's financial needs. PTI DP DP ANU ANU This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Daily Record
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Stirling pensioner at front of swimming lessons drive - and says age no barrier
The 74-year-old says an early experience of almost drowning as a youngster shaped his attitude - and has spoken of the benefits of getting into the water. A 74-year-old who swims every week at Stirling University is backing a campaign telling people it's never too late to learn the skill. John Nicolson is a real advocate of learning to swim - but an early experience almost shaped his attitude for life. 'I nearly drowned when I was three years old in a pond and it put me off swimming for many years – my school experience was not great either. 'I came back to swimming later in life and now gain huge amounts from swimming every week. 'Once I came to the first class I found it really challenging. The whole coaching process was excellent and I began to realise I was doing things and it just clicked. It was an improving journey all the time and I've still got a lot to do, but the journey has been fantastic. 'Swimming enables me to be fitter, it enables me to have a sort of platform and that is my way of keeping fit, keeping healthy and being able to do all the things I couldn't do when I was arthritic. 'I think if anyone's got doubts about learning to swim because of age or capability or health, I think they've got to try it. 'They will find learning to swim will enable them to do other things as well that you want to do in life like getting about, and that I think is essential.' Scottish Swimming has seen a 152 per cent increase in adult swimming programmes as reported by National Learn to Swim Framework lesson providers across the country. On the back of the launch of #NeverTooLate last year – a campaign to get more adults learning to swim and taking up aquatic sports - lesson providers delivering the National Framework (a partnership between Scottish Swimming and Scottish Water), have reported a substantial increase in adult involvement from 729 adults in 2024 to 1840 in 2025. Staggeringly one in three adults in the UK cannot swim the length of a pool yet 63 per cent of Scots say it is important to them to have access to a swimming pool, the sea or a loch on holiday. Learning to swim is an essential life skill and never more so than in the summer months. John Lunn, CEO of Scottish Swimming said: 'The recent good weather makes water all the more appealing for a swim or paddle and this is when people need to be fully aware of the dangers. 'Our drowning statistics in Scotland are more than double those of the UK and our unique geography with 11800 km of coastline and 30,000 inland waters means that danger is never far away. 'My hope is that the #NeverTooLate campaign continues to have an impact and persuades even more adults to learn this vital life skill. 'Swimming is a fantastic activity, when done safely, for family enjoyment, individual fitness and all round health. 'It's great to see John and others like him gaining so much enjoyment from swimming as well as the important health benefits.' According to the Scottish Household Survey in 2023, 13 per cent of adults swim regularly – the highest participation sport after going to the gym and weight training. For women participation rates are even higher - 14 per cent of women swim regularly – the same percentage who do keep fit and aerobics, and for adults with disabilities swimming is the highest participation sport.
Times of Oman
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Information Ministry begins session on tackling social media
Muscat: The Ministry of Information on Sunday started an evolution session themed 'Towards a National Framework for Dealing with Social Media'. The session, which lasts until 25 February 2025, is being organised in cooperation with Oman 2040 Vision Implementation Follow-up Unit. The session seeks to address digital challenges involved in raising children, enhance public awareness about the safe use of social media and achieve the goals of Oman Vision 2040 in building an enlightened society and developing efficient policies and strategies that reflect the needs of the community. The session stems from the Royal speech of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on the responsibility of the family and society towards children's upbringing in an atmosphere of social media. The session will round up a programme undertaken earlier by the Ministry of Information to engage academics, researchers, educators, media professionals and specialists in drafting research and studies and to conduct a survey and a poll in cooperation with official bodies. Mohammed bin Said Al Balushi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information, said in a speech at the session that the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik underscored the need to accord a special attention to the influence of social media on youth and young people. Al Balushi explained that this Royal directive reflects the importance of taking action to address the impacts of social media, safeguard the integrity of the family and adhere to the proper upbring of children—bearing in mind that this phenomenon has become global in its nature and orientations and that it should be dealt with at the national level by establishing clear-cut mechanisms. Al Balushi added that social media has become a major factor in shaping the communication map in modern societies. He observed that, through social media networks and other applications, one can access the world by pressing a button. 'This tremendous transition in methods of human communication has had major implications to the nature of our social relations and it influences the way we interact with our surroundings,' said Al Balushi. The session saw the screening of a short film featuring Omani citizenship, the national identity and how to locally deal with social media by establishing clear-cut mechanisms for this purpose. The presentation also dealt with the extent to which the efforts of media agencies could help unify and integrate joint action. Dr. Amal Mohammed Al Nofli, Director General of Electronic Media, Head of the Working Group, said that the Ministry of Information formed a team comprising members from the Ministry of Information and representatives of government departments to study the current situation, explore the reasons for change, identify the challenges and converting them into opportunities to substitute the negative outcomes from the use of social media with positive outcomes. The team is also entrusted with enlightening families and youth about the best ways to use social media, she added. Dr. Amal explained that the team will take steps to prepare a set of initiatives that will contribute to realizing the strategic objectives of the workshop and achieving optimal interaction among means of social media. The evolution session discusses strategic approaches by raising awareness among families and youth about the importance of responsible use of social media sites. The workshop envisages the implementation of public awareness campaigns and programmes targeting families and young people. It also includes programmes to eradicate digital illiteracy, consolidate digital citizenship and ethics and introduce social media education to help inculcate the concepts of digital citizenship and digital ethics through educational curricula designed to enhance positive digital conduct.
Times of Oman
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Ministry of Information Information to organise evolutionary workshop on tackling social media
Muscat: The Ministry of Information will organize an evolutionary workshop themed "Towards a National Framework for Dealing with Social Media". The two-week workshop, due to be held on Sunday, 16 February 2025, will be organized in cooperation with 'Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit' and other departments concerned. The workshop stems from the Royal speech of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on the responsibility of the family and society towards children's upbringing in an atmosphere of social media. The workshop will round up a programme undertaken earlier by the Ministry of Information to engage academics, researchers, educators, media professionals and specialists in preparing relevant research/studies and conducting a survey in cooperation with Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). A team from the Ministry of Information, Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit and the departments concerned has developed a strategic approach that comprised smart goals, algorisms and challenges posed to the priorities of Oman Vision 2040. The team analysed an initial set of projects and initiatives and visited a number of government departments to get more insights about existing initiatives and projects.
