India-US trade talks: US deputy ambassador for trade to visit India; discussions resume this week

The US Deputy Ambassador for Trade, Rick Switzer, will visit India on December 10 and 11 as New Delhi and Washington continue discussions aimed at concluding a fair and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement, ANI reported.Confirming the visit at a media briefing on Monday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the trip would…

Read More

AI expansion: IBM snaps up Confluent in $11-billion deal; data streaming seen as key to faster AI deployment

IBM on Monday announced a major acquisition to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities, agreeing to buy data streaming platform Confluent in a cash deal valued at $11 billion.The US technology major said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding common stock of Confluent Inc. for $31 per share in cash,…

Read More

Digital dominance: UPI tops global real-time payments with 49% share; govt tells Lok Sabha

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been recognised as the world’s largest retail real-time payment system by transaction volume, accounting for nearly half of all such transactions globally, the government told Parliament on Monday.Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report titled ‘Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability)’ dated June 2025, the government said…

Read More

The trillion-dollar shock: What tariff? How Xi Jinping beat Trump in trade war

President Trump’s trade war strategy – featuring sweeping tariffs – has not curtailed China’s export machine. (AI image) Driving the news:Despite nearly a decade of US tariffs under President Donald Trump, China’s trade surplus has exploded, hitting $1.08 trillion through November – the highest ever recorded globally and a level China didn’t reach until year-end…

Read More

Bad loan clean-up: PSU banks write off Rs 6.15 lakh crore in 5.5 years; Govt informs Lok Sabha

Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off loans worth Rs 6.15 lakh crore over the last five-and-a-half years, with the exercise aimed at cleaning up balance-sheets rather than waiving borrower liabilities, Parliament was informed on Monday, PTI reported.“As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, PSBs have written-off an aggregate loan amount of Rs 6,15,647…

Read More