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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review India’s security preparedness and the prevailing global scenario in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Modi, official sources said, emphasised on integrating latest technology in the security apparatus and reiterated that every effort must be made to make India self-reliant in the defence sector so that it not only strengthens our security but also adds to the economy.
Modi was also given a detailed overview of global tech usage in the defence sector and India’s advances in it, they said.
An official statement said Modi was briefed on latest developments and different aspects of India’s security preparedness in the border areas as well as in the maritime and air domain.
“The prime minister was also briefed on the latest developments in Ukraine, including the details of Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian nationals, along with some citizens of neighbouring countries, from Ukraine,” it said.
Modi directed that all possible efforts should be made to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa, who died in Kharkiv.
Shekharappa, an Indian student studying in Ukraine, was killed in shelling following the Russian invasion of the country.
India has been able to evacuate most of its citizens, a large chunk of them students, from the war-hit country.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were among those who attended the meeting. NSA Ajit Doval and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
India to relocate embassy from Ukraine to Poland temporarily
India has decided to temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine to Poland in view of the deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country including the Russian military offensive in its western region. The decision comes as Russian troops are closing in on key Ukrainian cities and towns including the capital Kyiv.
“In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country, it has been
decided that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated to Poland,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“The situation will be reassessed in the light of further developments,” it said in a brief statement.
A significant number of officials in the Indian embassy in Kyiv was already working from its camp office in Lviv for the last few days.
The camp office of the embassy was set up in Lviv as part of efforts to evacuate Indian citizens from Ukraine through land border crossings. Lviv is a city in western Ukraine that is around 70 kilometres from the border with Poland.
India brought back over 18,100 of its nationals from across Ukraine under its evacuation mission ‘Operation Ganga’ that was launched on February 26 in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Gold imports surge 73% to $45 bn during Apr-Feb this fiscal year
India’s gold imports, which have a bearing on the country’s current account deficit (CAD), surged by about 73 per cent to $45.1 billion during April-February this fiscal year on account of higher demand, according to official data.
The imports stood at $26.11 billion in April-February 2021. In February 2022, however, imports of the precious metal dipped by 11.45 per cent to $4.7 billion, as per the data by the commerce ministry.
The surge in gold imports during the 11-month period contributed to the widening of the trade deficit to $176 billion, against $89 billion in April-February 2021.
India is the world’s second-biggest gold consumer after China. The imports mainly take care of the demand by the jewellery industry. The gems and jewellery exports during the first nine months of the current fiscal year grew by 57.5 per cent to $35.25 billion.
India’s current account slipped into a deficit of $9.6 billion or 1.3 per cent of GDP in September quarter, according to the Reserve Bank. The CAD, which records the value of exports and imports of goods and services, along with global transfers of capital, was in surplus both in the quarter-ago and year-ago periods. PTI
Commenting on rising gold imports, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Colin Shah said monthly average imports of gold during April-February 2022 are still at 76.57 tonnes, relatively lower than the usual level.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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