Observing “we have no control over what happened in the past… and so we cannot undo that”, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its order on whether or not to refer the Ayodhya title dispute for mediation.
In favour of giving “healing” a chance, the bench said if there was to be mediation, it may ask the parties involved to suggest names of possible mediators.
China steps up diplomacy to ease India-Pakistan tensions
China has stepped up its diplomacy to ease tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama attack by sending its special envoy to Islamabad.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Wednesday that Vice-Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou was already in Islamabad to establish an “enabling atmosphere” that would help Pakistan to cooperate with “other parties”.
US to withdraw zero duty import benefit on 1,784 items
United States has decided to withdraw duty benefits on annual exports worth $5.6 billion from India under the so-called Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by May.
The US move could also harden New Delhi’s resolve to slap proposed retaliatory tariff worth $235 million against the Trump administration’s extra 25% levy on steel supplies.
India poised for a billionaire boom, led by Bengaluru
India is expected to add 44 new billionaires in the five years to 2023 as the country is poised to report strong economic growth despite near-term uncertainties related to national elections.
The number of Indian billionaires is expected to rise 37% to 163 by 2023, beating the global and regional averages, according to Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report.
Globally, 2019 will also see the number of high net-worth individuals exceed 20 million for the first time.
