Washington, April 15 (IANS) The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) warned of a sharp deterioration in global economic conditions, citing conflicts, supply disruptions and financial pressures that could weigh heavily on emerging economies.In a communique issued after its ministerial meeting in Washington, the G-24 said global growth is projected to decline in 2026 compared to 2025, as the fallout from the war in the Middle East and other crises ripples across energy markets and supply …
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Washington, April 14 (IANS) As global investors reassess risk in a shifting economic order, Mehul Pandya believes India has a chance to challenge long-standing norms in sovereign credit ratings — and to question why some economies are judged differently than others. Pandya, Managing Director (MD) and Group CEO of Care Ratings Limited, is in Washington for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, where he is meeting policymakers, investors and multilateral…
Baku, April 14 (IANS) The World Bank has approved a five-year project worth $8.24 million to strengthen pollution monitoring and biodiversity protection in the Caspian Sea, Report news agency said.The initiative, titled “Blueing the Caspian Sea: Building Capacities for Pollution Management and Biodiversity Conservation,” is expected to benefit Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The project will receive $11.74 million in grant financing from the Global Environment Facility, Xinhua news agen…
New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Pakistan is facing renewed concerns over rising poverty levels, with fresh estimates by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) suggesting that the country’s poverty rate has climbed to 43.5 per cent, a report has said. This figure is significantly higher than the 28.9 per cent estimated by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) based on the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25, as per the Business Recorder report.The divergence in estimates stems la…
Colombo, April 12 (IANS) The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a 141-page document, formally adopted during China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Two Sessions in early March 2026 appears to be a strategic blueprint for deepening Beijing’s presence across the developing world, more so in South Asia, a media report said on Sunday. The Two Sessions, which bring together the NPC and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, function as the institutional machinery through which the Co…
New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) The World Bank, the IMF, tax consultants, and commentators frequently assert that Pakistan suffers from a “tax gap” of seven to nine per cent of GDP.This gap in the shortfall between what is collected and what the law, ideally enforced, would yield, and the metric implies that this shortfall is a result of citizens not paying the taxes that are due from them. This narrative favours the tax collector and policymaker to deflect their own mistakes and increased coercion t…
New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Finance ministers and central bankers from the 191 member countries will attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s spring meetings, to be held from April 13-18 in Washington, DC, to take stock of the global economic uncertainties amid the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran and continuing uncertainties over the outcome of the peace talks.IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that the new economic forecasts, to be published on…
Mumbai, April 12 (IANS) The Indian stock markets witnessed a strong rebound last week after six consecutive weeks of decline, supported by favourable global cues, according to analysts.Sentiment remained buoyant amid optimism surrounding a temporary US–Iran ceasefire, although lingering geopolitical uncertainties capped the pace of gains as the week progressed. “The rally was further aided by a stable domestic macro backdrop, with broader markets outperforming the benchmarks. Despite elevate…
New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) India remains among the fastest-growing major economies in the world despite the global slowdown – likely to clock 6.6 per cent in FY27 — as higher energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict and supply chain disruptions weigh on economic activity.According to the latest World Bank’s latest economic update, despite significant downside risks stemming from the conflict, the economy’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and policy buffers offer some insulation….
New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) As India’s Unified Payments Interface marks its 10th anniversary on Saturday, the government informed that the country now accounts for 49 per cent of global real‑time payment transactions.The instant payments system processed 21.70 billion transactions in January 2026 alone, with Rs 28.33 lakh crore in value. UPI accounted for 81 per cent of all retail digital transactions in India.The International Monetary Fund has called UPI the world’s largest real‑time pa…