‘Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Palestine should be free’: SP’s Abu Azmi slams India’s UN abstention on Gaza motion

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) FII selling in India continues in early March, but the intensity of selling is slowly declining as valuations are becoming reasonable in the stock market, according to experts.

This month (up to March 14), FIIs have sold equity for Rs 30,015 crore, taking the total equity sold in CY 2025 so far to Rs 1,42,616 crore.

In the debt category FIIs were buyers in March so far. The total buy figure for debt (general category plus VRR) stood at Rs 7,029 crore in March to date, say market watchers.

However, the heightened uncertainty triggered by the trade war between the US and other nations is likely to push more money into safe asset classes like gold and the dollar, they added.

According to Shridatta Bhandwaldar, Head Equities at Canara Robeco Mutual Fund, FIIs have been significant sellers in the Indian equity market over the past three months, with outflows amounting to $15-20 billion.

“However, as the initial shocks subside, we expect FII flows to at least stabilise in the next quarter and eventually turn positive over time,” he mentioned.

“For this to happen, though, our earnings will need to show substantial improvement from current levels. We believe that the slowdown in earnings growth is more cyclical than structural, noting that a similar trend was observed in FY23,” he added.

Valuations for the Nifty index are already below its 10-year average for one-year forward earnings.

Meanwhile, in the last week, the Indian stock markets remained largely range-bound, ending slightly lower amid mixed global cues and investor caution.

The benchmark indices saw mild corrections as concerns over global trade policies and sector-specific sell-offs weighed on sentiment.

Analysts expect volatility to persist in the upcoming sessions as investors track global developments, particularly economic data releases from the US Federal Reserve and domestic macroeconomic indicators.

While the 22,250-22,650 range remains a key technical zone for the Nifty 50, a breakout in either direction could determine the market’s trajectory in the near term, as per market experts.

–IANS

na/dpb

Jaipur, April 23 (IANS) US Vice President JD Vance who is on a four-day visit to India (April 21-24) accompanied by his family has cancelled his scheduled visit to the City Palace here. While the itinerary included a visit to Jaipur’s City Palace on Wednesday, the visit has now been cancelled.

Although no official reason has been provided, sources submitted that the plan was cancelled soon after he returned from Agra and the decision was influenced by the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Vice President Vance and his family visited the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra, spending approximately three hours at the monument before returning to Jaipur.

They are currently staying at the Rambagh Palace Hotel and are scheduled to depart for Washington on Thursday morning at 6.30 a.m.

Throughout their visit, the Vance family was seen embracing Indian culture, donning traditional Indian attire. Vance’s two sons, Vivek and Ivan, were seen in kurta-pyjamas, while his wife, Usha Vance, was spotted walking hand-in-hand with their daughter, Mirabel, upon arrival in Agra. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed the family with a bouquet upon their arrival.

Vice President Vance and his family landed in Jaipur on Monday night.

On April 22, they visited Amer Fort, spending over an hour exploring the historic site.

Vance was particularly interested in the architectural and historical aspects of the fort, including Diwan-e-Aam, Ganesh Pol, Man Singh Palace, and Sheesh Mahal. City Palace Museum Director Vaibhav Chauhan had earlier announced that the City Palace would remain closed to tourists on April 23 in anticipation of Vance’s visit.

US security agencies had also conducted a thorough inspection of the venue on Tuesday to assess security arrangements.

“The City Palace, Jaipur, is honoured to welcome US Vice President JD Vance and his family on April 23, 2025. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, The City Palace, will remain closed for tourists on 23rd April 2025,” said Chauhan earlier on April 22.

Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari and Padmanabh Singh, a member of the former royal family, were expected to welcome the Vice President and his family at the palace.

However, the family is now in Ram Bagh.

On Tuesday, Vance also addressed the US-India relations at RIC and said that 21st century will be prosperous if India and the US work together.

–IANS

arc/pgh

Guwahati, June 14 (IANS) In a sharp critique echoing the long-standing security concerns of India’s strategic establishment, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday called out the Congress for what he described as a “historic blunder” — India’s failure to prevent Pakistan from acquiring nuclear weapons in the 1980s.

Posting on X, Sarma said the missed opportunity to neutralise Pakistan’s Kahuta enrichment facility remains a cautionary tale in India’s strategic history.

Drawing from intelligence archives and declassified diplomatic anecdotes, Sarma highlighted that the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had definitive proof of Pakistan’s uranium enrichment activities at the Kahuta plant during the early 1980s.

According to the Assam CM, Israel had reportedly extended an offer to collaborate on a joint pre-emptive strike, even shortlisting India’s Jamnagar Air Base for the mission.

India’s military brass, too, had given its nod for surgical action — yet political hesitation sealed a different fate.

CM Sarma accused then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of backing down in the eleventh hour, fearing geopolitical backlash, while her successor Rajiv Gandhi eventually scrapped the plan altogether, succumbing to international pressure in favor of diplomacy.

“This indecision,” Sarma wrote, “paved the way for Pakistan’s nuclear test in 1998 and the consequent arms race that destabilised the subcontinent.”

The fallout, Sarma argued, has been deeply consequential.

He pointed to the 1988 India-Pakistan nuclear non-aggression pact signed by Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto as a symbol of misplaced trust.

The following decade saw Pakistan not only crossing the nuclear threshold but also emboldening its proxy war machinery.

“Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella,” Sarma asserted, “has enabled cross-border terrorism and given Islamabad diplomatic impunity under the guise of deterrence.”

In a pointed political swipe, Sarma also referenced the 2024 manifesto of CPI-M — a key ally of the opposition INDIA bloc — which proposed dismantling India’s nuclear deterrence.

“At a time when rogue states use nuclear threats as policy tools, such thinking,” he wrote, “is dangerously naive.”

Framing the episode as a “lesson in leadership,” Sarma concluded that where India needed courage, Congress chose caution.

“The cost of that hesitation,” he wrote, “is a strategic burden the nation continues to carry to this day.”

–IANS

tdr/pgh