The regulator can also impose fines of up to 1 per cent of the provider’s total annual income or worldwide turnover for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to a request for information.
|Last Updated: May 17, 2024, 06:30 PM IST|Source: IANS
Apple is making crucial updates on iPhone and iPad software, allowing app sideloading in the EU due to the Digital Markets Act. Changes exclude India.
By ANI
PARIS: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday began his three-day visit to France during which he will attend EU Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amid Chinese assertiveness in the region.
During his visit, Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Jaishankar will attend the EU Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific on February 22, an initiative of the French Presidency of the European Council.
EAM will also hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from EU and other Indo-Pacific countries on the sidelines of the Forum. He will also give an address at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
“EAM Jaishankar begins his 3-day visit to France, a key strategic partner; he will attend the EU Ministerial forum for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, hold bilateral meetings with @JY_LeDrian and @florence_parly, interact with think tanks and chair India Heads of Missions in EU Conference,” India in France wrote in a tweet.
Meanwhile, China has formed 3,200 acres of artificial land in the South China Sea, raised an airstrip with the capacity to land fighter jets and large commercial planes, built 72 fighter-jet hangers, and commissioned 10-12 large aircraft on Fiery Cross, Subi, and Mischief Reefs in the Spratly Islands. It has made military installations in the Woody Island of the Paracel Islands.
The construction of these artificial islands is in clear violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, of which China is also a signatory.
This visit comes after Jaishankar participated in Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2022 in Germany and held a series of meeting with ministers from Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world.
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The government should iron out the issues hindering the signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the US and the EU nations as domestic exporters are at a disadvantage due to the absence of these agreements, a parliamentary panel has recommended in a report submitted on Saturday.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce chaired by YSR Congress leader Vijaysai Reddy submitted the report to Chairman of Rajya Sabha Venkaiah Naidu, wherein it has expressed concern that India’s exports contracted from 2019-20, registering a negative growth rate of (-) 15.73 percent in 2020.
In view of the crucial role played by exports in the overall economic growth of a country, the Committee in the report opined that “India needs to step up its effort in export promotion, expand its export baskets and penetrate new export markets to recover from its current slump and increase its share in global exports”.
The panel also underlined that the Indian exporters are at a “disadvantage” in the US and the European markets while competing with other exporting nations due to the absence of FTAs with the US and the EU countries.
“The Committee recommends the Department of Commerce to iron out the issues that hindered the signing of FTAs with our leading trade partners and enter into trade agreements that are beneficial for our country while balancing the interest of the domestic market with that of our exporters,” the report stated.
The panel also expressed concern that the share of rail freight vis-à-vis road is only 35 percent whereas the trend is reversed in developed countries.
The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry of Railways to undertake a detailed study on the reason for low share of rail and take a concerted effort to increase the share of rail in freight traffic, the report said.
At the same time, the panel said, it is “disheartening to note that the Ministry of Railways is unable to provide competitive freight rate for movement of export consignment”.
The Committee feels that this will adversely affect the competitiveness of India’s exports in global markets as freight cost plays a crucial role in determining the final price of the product, as per the report.
The panel undertook an in-depth examination of export-oriented measures and held seven meetings with all stakeholders spanning over for nearly twenty hours, it said.
The panel led by Reddy, who is a noted chartered accountant and former director of Oriental Bank of Commerce, in the report recommended the government to take appropriate measures, relook its export strategies and policies to achieve a positive growth rate of exports and higher share in global exports markets.
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With the European Union’s Digital Covid Certificate or Green Pass coming into effect from July 1, India on Wednesday urged all member states to individually grant exemption to those who have taken Indian vaccines.
Germany was the first to get on board, with its Ambassador to India Walter J Lindner confirming recognition to Covishield. “Confirming that a double shot of Covishield is fully recognized by GER as valid proof of anti-COVID vaccination (this does nevertheless not modify existing travel or visa restrictions for travelers from areas of concern/virus variants areas),” he tweeted.
Sources said it has also been conveyed to EU member states that India will institute a reciprocal policy for recognition of the Green Pass. “Upon notification of Covishield and Covaxin for inclusion in the EU Digital Covid Certificate and recognition of Indian CoWIN vaccination certificates, Indian health authorities would reciprocally exempt the concerned EU member state from mandatory quarantine of all those carrying the EU Digital Covid Certificate,” they said.
“We have requested EU member states to individually consider extending similar exemption to those persons who have taken Covid-19 vaccines in India, i.e., Covishield and Covaxin, and accept the vaccination certificate issued through the CoWIN portal. The genuineness of such vaccination certification can be authenticated on the CoWIN portal,” sources said.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU’s regulatory body, had approved four vaccine products manufactured by Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and at AstraZeneca’s Europe plant and allowed people who have taken either of those jabs to travel within the bloc for tourist and business purposes. The Serum Institute of India’s Covishield was not on the list though it is manufacturing AstraZeneca’s vaccine under licence.
However, the EMA gave its member states the freedom to amend the rule and allow entry of persons who had not taken any of the four vaccines. The matter figured in the talks External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had with Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU, on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Italy.