Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal for the 3rd batch of ascending <keyword id="22338892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-auctions" source="keywords">e-auctions</keyword> for 730 <keyword id="22951451" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="FM-radio-channels" source="keywords">FM radio channels</keyword> in 234 new cities, with an estimated reserve price of Rs. 784.87 crore under the <keyword id="22950610" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Private-FM-Radio" source="keywords">Private FM Radio</keyword> <keyword id="22657617" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Phase-III-Policy" source="keywords">Phase III Policy</keyword>. According to the official statement, the Cabinet also approved a proposal to set the <keyword id="22951452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Annual-License-Fee" source="keywords">Annual License Fee</keyword> (ALF) for FM channels at 4 per cent of <keyword id="20406587" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gross-Revenue" source="keywords">Gross Revenue</keyword>, excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will apply to the 234 new cities and towns. The expansion of Private FM Radio to these 234 new locations will address the existing demand for FM radio services in areas still uncovered by private broadcasters, providing access to new and local content in <keyword id="20520759" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regional-languages" source="keywords">regional languages</keyword>. This initiative will create new <keyword id="19972727" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employment-opportunities" source="keywords">employment opportunities</keyword>, promote local dialects and culture, and support the 'vocal for local' initiative. Many of the approved cities and towns are located in Aspirational districts and areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). The introduction of Private FM Radio in these regions will further strengthen the Government's outreach efforts. The evolution of India's Private FM Radio Policy marked a shift from <keyword id="22951453" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="medium-wave" source="keywords">Medium Wave</keyword> (MW) broadcasting to Frequency Modulated (FM) waves, driven by a need to enhance the quality and variety of radio programming, improve broadcast standards, and modernize outdated equipment. The journey began with the approval of the FM Phase-I Policy in July 1999, which aimed to revitalize the radio industry by introducing open auctions for selecting successful bidders. However, the initial phase met with limited success, with only 21 channels becoming operational across 12 cities. Recognizing the need for a more robust framework, the government introduced the improved FM Phase-II Policy in July 2005, following recommendations from the Dr Amit Mitra Committee and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This policy was well-received by stakeholders and resulted in significant growth in the FM radio industry, creating new employment opportunities and expanding the reach of private FM radio. Despite this success, many cities, particularly those with populations below three lakh and border areas, remained outside the private FM radio network. The necessity for further expansion led to the introduction of the FM Phase-III Policy, which sought to address the unmet demand for FM radio in uncovered cities. This policy recognized the strategic importance of extending FM radio services to border areas, such as Jammu &amp; Kashmir, the North Eastern states, and island territories, where private broadcasters had been reluctant to enter due to concerns about viability. The policy also aimed to incentivise the development of FM radio in these regions to counter cross-border propaganda and ensure that Indian radio channels had a wider reach. Additionally, the Phase-III Policy acknowledged the presence of 97 vacant channels from Phase-II that could not be auctioned for various reasons and emphasized the need for better utilisation of the frequency spectrum allocated for FM broadcasting.

Cabinet approves Rs 784.87 cr e-auctions for 730 FM radio channels across 234 new cities

<keyword id="6357713" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh" source="Orion">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> Chief Minister <keyword id="43254" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yogi-adityanath" source="Orion">Yogi Adityanath</keyword> on Sunday expanded his cabinet by inducting seven new <keyword id="6364618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministers" source="Orion">ministers</keyword>. All the new ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy by Governor Anandiben Patel at a hurriedly convened ceremony at the <keyword id="138" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Raj-Bhavan" source="Orion">Raj Bhavan</keyword>, in the presence of the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues. Among those who were sworn in are one cabinet minister and six ministers of state. The much-awaited expansion comes barely months before the state is preparing for assembly elections in early 2022. Through this expansion, the BJP has made it clear that it will focus on OBCs and SC/ST categories to ensure its return to power in next year's assembly elections. While Jitin Prasada, who has been sworn in as cabinet minister, is the lone Brahmin leader to get a place in Sunday's expansion, the remaining six belong to OBC (three) and Scheduled Caste (two) and Scheduled Tribe (one). The six ministers of state who were sworn in are -- Sanjeev Gond (ST-Sonbhadra), Dharamvir Prajapati (OBC-Agra), Chhatrapal Gangwar (OBC-Bareilly), Sangita Balwant Bind (OBC-Ghazipur), Paltu Ram (SC- Balrampur) and Dinesh Khatik (SC-Meerut). Apart from ensuring a caste balance, the party has also made sure to provide representation to all parts of the state. A surprise omission in Sunday's list is the name of Arvind Kumar Sharma, a former bureaucrat in the PMO who had taken voluntary retirement in January this year to join politics. He came to Lucknow and was immediately made member of the UP legislative council. It was believed that he would soon be inducted into the ministry and given an important portfolio, however that did not happen. There are 53 ministers in the UP cabinet at present, and seven more could be inducted as per the constitutional limit. This is the third time the Yogi cabinet has been expanded since the Chief Minister was first sworn in on March 19, 2017. As many as 23 new ministers were inducted into the cabinet on August 21, 2019. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/highlights-of-prime-minister-narendra-modis-speech-at-the-unga-today/articleshow/86510462.cms">Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his points on China, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/freshworks-ceo-girish-mathrubootham-shares-someone-said-i-will-be-nothing-but-a-rickshaw-puller/articleshow/86507840.cms">WATCH: "Someone said I am good enough to be a rickshaw puller," shares Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham in a candid chat</a>

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath adds seven new ministers including Jitin Prasada ahead of polls

<ul><li>India’s Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> will host the year’s first <keyword id="245371" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Council-of-Ministers">Council of Ministers</keyword> today evening in the national capital. </li><li>Allies of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) are hoping that Modi will expand his cabinet to accommodate ‘respectable’ representation. </li><li>The council will also have to address the issues of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the <keyword id="36141" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-slowdown">economic slowdown</keyword>. </li></ul>India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to kick off the new year with his first Council of Ministers today evening. Not only is it the first meeting of the year, but it may also be important with rumours of Modi wanting to reshuffle and expand his cabinet. <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/pm-narendra-modi-to-review-ministerial-work-in-years-first-council-of-ministers-meet-today/535060">Times Now</a> reports that Modi will be returning to Delhi to hold the Council of Ministers at 5:30 pm today after returning from the Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Karnataka. Allies of the <keyword id="58687" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> (BJP) — like <keyword id="6358821" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="shiv-sena">Shiv Sena</keyword> and the <keyword id="123462" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Janata-Dal">Janata Dal</keyword> — have been asking for ‘respectable’ representation sources told <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cabinet-expansion-reshuffle-on-the-cards-amid-demands-from-bjp-allies-119110400024_1.html">Business Standard</a>. That’s not surprising since there are currently 72 ministers on Modis’ Council of Ministers — not one from BJP’s allies. Slots are still up for grabs since the council can accommodate a total of 81 ministers, excluding Modi — 15% of the total number of members in the lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha. Addressing the issues While the political elements may be more interested in getting a seat at the table, there are other pressing issues on the docket as well. Multiple reports of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/caa-internet-shutdowns-make-india-example-for-china/articleshow/72931761.cms">clashes between protestors and the authorities</a> have been coming in over the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indian-citizenship-bill-challenged-by-iuml-in-supreme-court-one-day-after-passing-rajya-sabha/articleshow/72487481.cms">Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)</a>. In addition, the global economic slowdown has the Indian economy on the edge. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/imf-calls-out-indias-growth-rate-which-did-not-translate-into-jobs/articleshow/72947797.cms">India’s ‘growth rate’</a> which did not translate into jobs was recently called out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Modi held the last Council of Ministers on the 21 December, four days before Christmas. Today’s council will the first major hurdle of 2020. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/caa-internet-shutdowns-make-india-example-for-china/articleshow/72931761.cms">Indian government shut off the Internet over a 100 times in 2019 — and China is lovin' it</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/5g-data-privacy-surveillance-ai-digital-tax-and-e-commerce-to-drive-tech-debate-in-india-in-2020/articleshow/73054149.cms">5G, AI, data privacy and mass surveillance — 12 biggest tech policy challenges India will have to face in 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/8-charts-that-show-that-corruption-is-still-a-way-of-life-in-india/articleshow/72260521.cms">8 charts that show that corruption is still a way of life in India</a>

Narendra Modi to lead the first Council of Ministers of the year today— cabinet expansion may be on the cards

According to a media report, <keyword id="6358821" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shiv-Sena">Shiv Sena</keyword> has demanded one more Cabinet berth in the Narendra Modi-led government. The report quoted a Shiv Sena leader saying that party would not join the <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> government in <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword>, if it does not agree to this demand. 
 
BJP had earlier rejected Shiv Sena’s demand for a deputy chief minister in Maharashtra. 
 
"When Uddhav decided to come for the swearing in on the call of BJP leaders, the understanding was that our MLAs would be sworn in before Fadnavis wins the vote of confidence. However, BJP has ruled it out. So, effectively it wants us to support it in the vote of confidence without even telling us what portfolios we would be given. If BJP is serious in our support in Maharashtra, we need a Cabinet berth at the Centre," said a Shiv Sena leader. 
 Yesterday, Shiv Sena President <keyword id="53973" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uddhav-Thackeray">Uddhav Thackeray</keyword> had held a meeting of senior party leaders, in which the party decided to wait till the Union Cabinet expansion. If its demand is not met, it will not join the BJP government in Maharashtra and announce the name of the leader of opposition in the state Assembly.

Shiv Sena Presses For Another Berth In Modi Cabinet

NEW DELHI: The <keyword id="6355512" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Cabinet">Union Cabinet</keyword> on Wednesday allowed foreign investment in the Railways for the first time and raised limit for such investment in the defence sector, steps intended to raise funds for expansion of the Railways and encourage domestic manufacture of arms. 
 
100 per cent foreign investment in railway infrastructure projects will be allowed while in the case of defence the limit has been raised to 49 per cent from the current 26 per cent, subject to the Indian owners exercising management control. 
 The <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> hike in defence is intended to cut imports by indigenising defence production as India is one of the world’s largest arms importers. 
 "It is a composite cap, incorporating all forms of foreign investment, FDI, FII, FPI, NRI, etc," said a <keyword id="6542458" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-official">government official</keyword> confirming that the proposals has been cleared. Experts did not seem impressed with the cautious stance of the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> on defence. 
 
"Good development, but not great. Round one has gone to protectionist forces. 49 per cent is the same as 26 per cent technically and hence may not open the investment floodgates," said Amber Dubey, Partner and India Head of Aerospace and Defense at global consultancy KPMG. 
 
"We hope better judgment prevails and we have the FDI limit enhanced to 74 per cent later this year," he added. Official notifications giving effect to changes will be issued soon, after the minutes of the cabinet meeting are finalised. 
 Foreign investment in defence will be though the approval route, implying it will have to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Though the 49 per cent cap will be general rule for the defence sector, 100 per cent overseas ownership will be allowed in case the <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> comes bundled with state of the art technology. Such investment proposals will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). 
 
In companies with a 49 per cent foreign holding, more than one Indian company will be allowed to hold the 51 per cent share, unlike the present norm that mandates that a single Indian entity should own and control the entire 51 per cent, a move that will encourage more domestic players to enter the sector. 
 
In case of Railways, 100 per cent FDI will now be allowed in railway infrastructure segments such as electrification, signalling, high speed and suburban corridors. 100 per cent FDI will also be allowed through the Special Purpose Vehicle route to provide last mile connectivity to ports and mines. Further, some railway operations have also been partially opened up to foreign investment. 
 FDI is now allowed in PPP projects, suburban corridors, high speed train systems, and dedicated freight lines. Estimates suggest that the opening of railways to foreign <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword>ors will add 1-1.5 percentage points to the overall GDP growth. China and Japan are keen to invest in the railways sector. 
 
As a result of these changes, railways transport will be removed from the list of prohibited sectors in the consolidated FDI policy.

Indian Cabinet Approves Raising FDI Cap In Defence To 49 Per Cent, Opens Up Railways

E-bidding process will be transparent and leaves no discretion, said <keyword id="18658" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Railway-Minister">Railway minister</keyword> <keyword id="6356597" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Suresh-Prabhu">Suresh Prabhu</keyword> lauding the Cabinet decision to modernise 400 stations through open bids. 

	"All bids will be done only through web-based bidding process, it will see evaluation by independent experts," the minister tweeted. 
 

	The Cabinet cleared the redevelopment of the railway stations on 'as is where is' basis through open invitation from interested parties with their designs and business ideas, including permitting commercial development of real estate by the zonal Railways. 
 

	These stations shall be offered for redevelopment under the Swiss Challenge method, which is by inviting open bids from interested parties. These stations are to be developed by leveraging real estate development of land and air space in and around the stations. 
 

	"We are working on all of my Budget announcements, several of them have been implemented fully," Prabhu said. 
 

	Lauding PM Narendra Modi's push to create railways as a growth centre, Prabhu said: "This move is a very big step towards passenger service, modernisation and job creation." 
 

	These stations are generally located in metros, major cities, pilgrimage centres and important tourist destinations. 
 The decision, according to <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Finance-minister">finance minister</keyword> <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>, will encourage innovative ideas from interested parties at no cost to the Railways. 

	Prabhu is expecting a whopping investment of $120 billion in next five years, which will boost the cash-strapped national transporter. 
 

	Railways needs massive investment for upgradation and expansion of its network, Prabhu said. 
 

	"There has been no investment in the railways for the last 20-25 years... There will be an investment of $120 billion in the next five years to catch up with the backlog," he said. 
 Requiring huge resources, the government has already decided to allow <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> in certain segments of the railways, like coach manufacturing, station development, suburban rail and high-speed network. 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Suresh Prabhu lauds Cabinet’s ‘Swiss Challenge method’ of modernising 400 stations

Full transcript of PM Narendra Modi's TV interview

KOLKATA: The telecom department (DoT) has for the first time set a cutoff date—July 31, 2015—for concluding the much discussed merger of struggling state-run telecom companies, <keyword id="109662" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bharat-Sanchar-Nigam-Ltd">Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd</keyword> and <keyword id="381260" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mahanagar-Telephone-Nigam-Ltd-">Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.</keyword> 
 In a presentation to <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, seen by ET, DoT said it expects to “secure Cabinet approval for the proposed BSNL-MTNL merger by June 30 next year”. 
 
Towards this, it plans to wrap up merger consultations with the unions of BSNL and MTNL by March 31, 2015, and circulate a draft Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations by April 30 next year. MTNL runs telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai while BSNL offers telecom coverage in the rest of India. 
 
In the run-up to the proposed merger, DoT has set additional deadlines for concluding pending organisational restructuring initiatives in both the telcos. For instance, it has set a December 31, 2014, deadline for hiving off BSNL’s mobile towers into a wholly-owned arm and also monetising BSNL and MTNL’s property holdings to unlock value for their survival, the minutes of DoT’s presentation show. 
 
BSNL has 61,622 mobile towers, the second largest tower portfolio among all telcos. A sizeable chunk of its tower assets are colocated with landline exchanges to meet business needs. 
 
BSNL is also the holder of one of the largest land banks among state-owned firms with properties reckoned to be running into thousands of crores of rupees across 3,500 towns. It had recently said it hoped to raise nearly Rs 500 crore in the first year from leasing parts of its land holdings and would also offer its telecom factories to contract manufacturers to generate cash in its bid to contain losses. 
 
While BSNL is yet to do a valuation of its countrywide property holdings, MTNL’s land and building assets are pegged above Rs 3,000 crore, according to a senior company executive. 
 
In addition, DoT plans to provide financial support to compensate MTNL for liabilities stemming from its minimum alternate tax (MAT) payout, which is pegged at roughly Rs 780 crore. It also proposes to fund MTNL’s capex needs for expanding its mobile, landline and broadband networks. A top MTNL executive said the company had sought Rs 2,000 crore from DoT for meeting network expansion capex costs over a three-year span. 
 
BSNL and MTNL have an infrastructure-sharing pact for providing joint services to companies. They share assets such as buildings, mobile masts and international longdistance phone networks to service mostly enterprise customers. 
 DoT’s presentation to the prime minister on the BSNL-MTNL merger road map comes at a time when the <keyword id="6387077" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi-government">Narendra Modi government</keyword> is trying to revive the two financially stressed telcos, which continue to reel under hefty losses. MTNL posted a Rs 733.2 crore net loss in the quarter to June, while BSNL incurred a Rs 7,085 crore loss in 2013-14.

BSNL And MTNL To Be Merged By July 2015

<keyword id="6358821" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shiv-sena" source="Orion">Shiv Sena</keyword> leader <keyword id="193503" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="eknath-shinde" source="Orion">Eknath Shinde</keyword> on Friday said not only his colleagues in the Assembly but also Maharashtra is happy that "<keyword id="44236" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="balasaheb-thackeray" source="Orion">Balasaheb Thackeray</keyword>'s Shiv Sainik has become the chief minister". He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah among others for reposing confidence in him. Backed by the BJP, <keyword id="6360495" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shinde" source="Orion">Shinde</keyword> on Thursday took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra with the support of a breakaway faction of Shiv Sena MLAs and Independents. After taking the oath in Mumbai, Shinde returned to Goa at midnight to meet his colleagues who had supported him in rebelling against <keyword id="53973" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="uddhav-thackeray" source="Orion">Uddhav Thackeray</keyword>. Interacting with reporters at the Goa Airport, he said Maharashtra could see this day because of his 50 MLAs. "My colleagues and entire Maharashtra is happy that Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sainik has become the chief minister of the state," Shinde commented. The chief minister said his government will do the works that are expected from them by the people of Maharashtra. Shinde said his government will work to deliver justice to every section of society. "We will also take ahead the vision of Balasaheb Thackeray." Asked about cabinet expansion, he said the future strategy would be discussed in the meeting with his colleagues. Later, while interacting with reporters at the resort in Goa's Dona Paula, the newly sworn-in Maharashtra chief minister thanked Modi, Shah and BJP leader <keyword id="6355042" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="devendra-fadnavis" source="Orion">Devendra Fadnavis</keyword> for reposing faith in him. "Fadnavis has shown a big heart by giving me the opportunity to become chief minister," Shinde said. Shinde said he will ensure ample developmental work in the constituencies of all the 50 MLAs who supported him. The Shiv Sena leader also said he is well aware of the experience of these legislators during the last two-and-a-half years. He said that the floor test in the Assembly is a "mere formality" as he claimed to enjoy the support of 175 MLAs. Asked when will he go to Matoshree -- the residence of the Thackeray family -- Shinde replied, "You will get to know about it at the right time." Shinde, along with supporting MLAs, had arrived in Goa on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, he left for Mumbai. In a series of political developments that unfolded in Mumbai, Shinde was sworn in as chief minister of Maharashtra while BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as his deputy. His swearing-in was celebrated by the Shiv Sena MLAs who continued to remain at the resort at Dona Paula in Goa. After landing at Dabolim Airport, Shinde went to the resort, 30 km away, where the MLAs were waiting to welcome him. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/neeraj-chopra-misses-stockholm-diamond-league-by-a-whisker-finishes-second/articleshow/92585778.cms">Neeraj Chopra misses Stockholm Diamond League by a whisker, finishes second</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/four-days-work-week-full-and-final-settlement-within-2-days-of-exit-new-changes-at-workplaces-to-reflect-from-july-1/articleshow/92572689.cms">Four-days work week, full and final settlement within 2 days of exit — new changes at workplaces to reflect from July 1</a>

Eknath Shinde says Balasaheb's Sainik has become the chief minister

New Delhi, Jan 22 () India on Wednesday expressed interest in raising the import of crude oil from Brazil as the world's third largest oil consumer is looking at diversifying its import basket beyond the highly volatile Middle East region.
 Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met visiting Brazilian Minister for Mines and Energy Bento Albuqueroque to review cooperation between the two countries.
 "India is diversifying its crude oil supply and our oil companies have expressed interest in sourcing more crude from Brazil if offered favorable commercial terms," Pradhan tweeted after the meeting.
 India imports 84 per cent of its oil needs and two-thirds of its import come from the Middle East with Iraq and Saudi Arabia being the top suppliers.
 Pradhan said he also sought intervention for the early monetization of India's existing investments in the Brazilian energy sector.
 ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has two exploration blocks in Brazil - BC-10 and BM Seal-4 and is looking at monetizing discoveries made there.
 Pradhan said during the meeting the agreements/MoUs to be signed in bioenergy and oil &amp; gas sector during the Summit level meeting with the visiting Brazalian President were also reviewed.
 Separately, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazil on cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas.
 "The MoU will enhance cooperation between the two sides in the oil and natural gas sector. Under the MoU, both sides will work towards establishing cooperation in the exploration and production (E&amp;P) initiatives in Brazil and India, research &amp; development in this sector, explore collaboration in Liquefied Natural Gas projects in Brazil, India and third countries, and also encourage collaboration in oil energy and environmental issues, including energy policies such as energy efficiency, energy research development and expansion of the regional energy infrastructure networks," an official statement said.
 The MoU will be signed during the visit of Brazalian President.
 "We further discussed to collaborate our efforts in the field of Biofuels. We are targeting to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol &amp; 5% bio-diesel blending capacity by 2030. In this regard expressed India's interest to work with Brazil in the field of Bioenergy," Pradhan tweeted after meeting his Brazalian counterpart.
 Also discussed was developing cooperation in technologies, particularly in the areas of mining and pelletization, he added. ANZ MR

India keen on importing more oil from Brazil

The <keyword id="43628" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bombay-stock-exchange">Bombay Stock Exchange</keyword> <keyword id="6484188" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sensex">Sensex</keyword> increased by 159.33 points, hitting another lifetime high of 28,027.96 in the early morning trade today. The National Stock Exchange <keyword id="6354813" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="nifty">Nifty</keyword>, too, crossed another milestone of 8,383.05. 
 
According to brokers, inflow of foreign funds and large scale buying in the expectation of economic reforms following expansion of the Cabinet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped boost trading sentiments. 
 
The rupee, too, increased by 17 paise to reach Rs 61.45 against the dollar amid sustained foreign capital inflows.

You Searched For "Modi Cabinet expansion" and got 11 results

Cabinet approves Rs 784.87 cr e-auctions for 730 FM radio channels across 234 new cities

ANI

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath adds seven new ministers including Jitin Prasada ahead of polls

IANS

Narendra Modi to lead the first Council of Ministers of the year today— cabinet expansion may be on the cards

Prabhjote Gill

Shiv Sena Presses For Another Berth In Modi Cabinet

BI India Bureau

Indian Cabinet Approves Raising FDI Cap In Defence To 49 Per Cent, Opens Up Railways

ET

Suresh Prabhu lauds Cabinet’s ‘Swiss Challenge method’ of modernising 400 stations

BI India Bureau

Full transcript of PM Narendra Modi's TV interview

BI India Bureau

BSNL And MTNL To Be Merged By July 2015

Economic Times

Eknath Shinde says Balasaheb's Sainik has become the chief minister

PTI

India keen on importing more oil from Brazil

PTI

Sensex Maintains Upward Trend; Hits 28k Mark

BI India Bureau

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides