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World Economic Forum: India participates with record delegation

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To mark its presence robustly at the just-concluded World Economic Forums (WEF) annual meeting this year, India had sent a record delegation this year led by Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The meeting took place in Davos from May 23-25.

This year coincides with the World Economic Forum’s 50th anniversary and 35 years of the Forum’s collaboration with India.

Speaking at the WEF, Goyal said, even as challenges continue to remain on economic front, the government is conscious to move forward and is aware of what to focus on. He said there is a lot of optimism globally regarding India.

Goyal also expressed concern over “excessive dependence” on international supply chains and asked businesses to procure locally “whenever there is an opportunity”.

He also mentioned that India has no plans to immediately lift ban on wheat export. India is now the second largest wheat producer in the whole world. But it had put a ban on private overseas sales as output was hit due to heat wave and domestic price hit a record high.

Nearly 100 participants and dozens of political leaders from India attended the World Economic Forum, and presented the country’s position on the energy situation, food security and health equity at Davos.

In line with the Centre’s priorities, sessions were organised at the India Lounge keeping in mind India’s strategic advantage, existing and upcoming incentive architecture, industry investment potential and market opportunity.

The key topics which were discussed during the sessions include policy and ease of doing business reforms, energy transition, digital economy, opportunities in National Monetization Pipeline, India as an entrepreneurial destination shaping the unicorn story, growing talents in the digital space, emphasis on innovation and research in the healthcare ecosystem.

Attendance from China, Japan and South Korea was sparse this year, mentioned Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group.

It was an opportune forum for India as European business leaders were eagerly scouting options for diversifying trade and investments. Thanks to its political stability and reformist policies, India seemed to have appeared to be the best option for most of them.

Many global investors endorsed India’s rising economic relevance. For example, Saint Gobain Global CEO Benoit Bazin said that the company plans to invest over Rs 5,500 crore in the next four years in India. Bazin was bullish about the 45-billion-euro company’s growth story in India.

David Rubenstein, co-founder of the private equity Carlyle Group, told reporters in Davos that “India has been more attractive (to buy assets) of late than China”. Clearly, India benefitted from the absence of China and concerns over its heavy-handed �zero Covid’ strategy.

Goyal said that every Indian diplomatic mission had been given the responsibility of supporting Indian industry. “Every mission, every office, every official is now ready to stand for Indian businesses and that is what will spearhead Trade 4.0,” he said.

Ministers from several state governments, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, were also in Davos to attract global investors.

Andhra Pradesh reportedly signed renewables investment pacts cumulatively worth about Rs 1,600 crore with three companies. The investment commitments were made with India’s Adani Green Energy, GIC-backed Greenko and India’s Aurobindo Realty & Infrastructure.

The Maharashtra delegation reportedly signed at least 23 MoUs worth Rs 30,000 crore. Of these investments, more than 55 per cent are by way of FDI from the US, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.

Indian delegation also included unicorn founders such as Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti, Ashish Singhal of Coinswitch, and Vidit Atrey of Meesho.

Crime

Bengaluru: Nursing student raped by PG owner after confessing to theft; accused held

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Bengaluru, June 25: An incident has been reported from Bengaluru on Wednesday where a nursing student was allegedly raped by the owner of a paying guest (PG) accommodation after she confessed to a theft, officials said.

The police have arrested the accused.

The arrested person has been identified as 35-year-old Ravi Teja Reddy, the owner of the PG facility.

According to the police, Reddy raped the 21-year-old woman after she admitted to stealing three gold rings from another girl residing in the same PG.

Following the victim’s complaint, Reddy has been booked for rape and taken into police custody.

The victim, a nursing graduate from Andhra Pradesh, had joined the PG only a week prior to the incident and was searching for a job, the police said.

Investigations revealed that the victim had allegedly stolen three gold rings from another PG inmate.

She had also disconnected the CCTV camera wire during the theft.

However, she asked another inmate whether the CCTV footage would still be recorded despite the wire of the CCTV camera being cut.

This conversation was shared with Reddy, which raised his suspicion on the nurse.

Reddy then summoned the victim for questioning and threatened to hand her over to the police.

The girl reportedly confessed to the theft, after which Reddy instructed his aides to retrieve the hidden valuables, police added.

When the victim pleaded with Reddy to forgive her and not to inform the police, he allegedly slapped her and sexually assaulted her.

Initially hesitant to file a complaint, the victim later confided in a male friend.

The friend then contacted a city-based advocate, who helped lodge a formal complaint with the police.

Based on the complaint, the police sent the victim for a medical examination and arrested the accused.

Reddy has been booked under Sections 64(1), 74, and 75(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act.

In her complaint, the victim said that Reddy initially touched her private parts under the pretext of checking her.

When she resisted, he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex.

The FIR further mentions that the victim, unable to control her urge to vomit after the assault, ran to the restroom.

Reddy followed her and allegedly forced her to have unnatural sex again.

The victim also said that Reddy later threatened her not to reveal the incident to anyone.

It was only after the victim’s friends came to her support that she gathered the courage to file a complaint.

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International

South Korea welcomes Israel-Iran ceasefire, commends US’ diplomatic efforts

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Seoul, June 25: The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and praised the diplomatic efforts led by the US and other involved countries.

“We hope that all parties will faithfully implement the terms of the agreement so that tensions in the region can be eased swiftly,” the ministry said in a statement.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, South Korea “will continue to participate in the international community’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East,” Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel had officially taken effect, urging both sides to maintain restraint.

“THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Trump posted on the social media platform Truth Social.

The announcement came amid escalating violence in the Middle East, but President Trump’s declaration appeared to catch both parties off guard. The ceasefire claim was quickly contradicted by Iran, which asserted it had not received any formal proposal from Washington and had not agreed to a bilateral ceasefire.

US President Trump also wrote, “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, ‘Peace’! I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real winners!”

“Both Nations will see tremendous love, peace and prosperity in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of righteousness and truth. The future for Israel & Iran is unlimited and filled with great promise. God bless you both!” he added.

Earlier, Iran announced a unilateral halt to its military operations against Israel, effective 4 a.m. local time, but made it clear that the pause was conditional, based entirely on whether Israel would stop its own airstrikes and military actions.

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Crime

PFI had ‘hit list’ of 950 in Kerala including judge, reveals NIA probe

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Kochi, June 25: In a startling revelation made by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), it has surfaced that the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) had prepared a hit list of 950 people in Kerala.

The list, which surfaced in the media on Wednesday, included a now-retired district judge.

Incidentally, this list was submitted early this month by the NIA at a special court here when the bail applications of four accused in the murder of RSS leader Sreenivasan came up for hearing. The NIA opposed the bail strongly. The four accused, identified as Muhammad Bilal, Riyasudheen, Ansar K.P. and Saheer K.V., were arrested for murdering Sreenivasan at Palakkad, Kerala, in 2022.

The list of 950 was compiled after getting confirmed inputs from different places by the NIA probe team. It includes eight documents seized from the 51st accused, Sirajudheen, which contain a list of 240 people from other communities.

Then, while conducting a search held at Periyar Valley Campus at Aluva, NIA was able to get the details of five targeted persons from the purse of the 15th accused, Abdul Wahad, who is presently on the run.

It was in this list that the name of a former district judge was found.

Another document seized from an accused, who turned approver later, contained a hit list with the names of 232 people.

Similarly, a search held at the home of the 69th accused, Ayoob, a hit list containing the names of about 500 people was found.

When the NIA was probing the Sreenivasan case, the PFI link emerged. It was later found that PFI had sinister plans to create unrest in the country.

During the investigation, the anti-terror agency got details of the PFI carrying out physical and arms training for its cadres.

The NIA has now claimed that it has voice clips and witness statements that reveal the ‘India 2047 plan’ of setting up Islamic rule in India.

The special court, after hearing both sides and going through the documents produced before it, observed that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the petitioners was prima facie true, and rejected the bail petition.

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