Author: TheStateLine

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) India’s textile and apparel export sector is on its way back to recovery from the uncertain past and is likely to do even better than any time earlier once the country’s new trade deals come into force, according to industry players.Industry players also dismissed reports of a threat from Bangladesh exporters, with Dhaka having entered a trade deal with Washington, securing zero reciprocal tariffs on such goods, as "exaggerated and unfounded". "With the United States reducing tariffs to 18 per cent and India’s FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with the EU having zero duty access to textiles and apparel, we see the business growing by at least 30-40 per cent in another two years," stressed Animesh Saxena, General Secretary, Garments Exporters and Manufacturers Association....

Kolkata, Feb 17 (IANS) Kasturi Goswami, the daughter of former Left Front government Minister Kshiti Goswami joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, along with former National Security Guard (NSG) Commando Dipanjan Chakraborty and retired Central Reserve Police Force officer Biplab Biswas.The eminent personalities joined the BJP at its Salt Lake party office in the presence of West Bengal BJP President and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, Leader of the Opposition in State Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and former MP and State BJP General Secretary Locket Chatterjee.Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader and former West Bengal Minister Kshiti Goswami passed away in 2019.After Kshiti Goswami's death in 2019, one of her daughters, Vasundhara Goswami, had joined the Trinamool Co...

Patna, Feb 17 (IANS) Three youths were killed, and another was seriously injured in a horrific road accident in Bihar’s Jehanabad district on Tuesday.The accident took place near Kathhar Bridge on the Patna–Jehanabad main road.According to police sources, a speeding car lost control while attempting to avoid an oncoming vehicle and rammed into the bridge divider.The impact was so severe that the vehicle was completely mangled.The deceased have been identified as Sonu Kumar (21), Rohit Kumar (22) and Uddeshya Kumar (18), residents of Teni Bigha village in Jehanabad district.All three were cousins and were returning home after attending a Tilak ceremony for a friend’s sister in Punpun block in Patna district.The accident occurred around 3:00 a.m.Another youth, Suraj (19), sustained seriou...

​Gandhinagar, Feb 17 (IANS) The Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, raising the threshold for the law's applicability and revising provisions related to working hours and overtime.​Presenting the Bill in the House, Labour and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said the amendments were introduced in view of changing economic and social conditions and the need to balance the interests of workers, traders, employers, and the wider public.​Under the revised provisions, the Act will now apply to shops and establishments employing 20 or more workers, instead of the earlier threshold of 10. Establishments employing fewer than 20 workers will not be required...

Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday underscored that the India-France relationship has reached a level of mutual trust that is "unique in the world today." ​After a morning jog at Marine Drive and a tribute to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack victims, the President joined PM Modi to chart the next decade of the Horizon 2047 roadmap.After the bilateral meeting, Macron, in his statement, said, “From the deep oceans to the highest mountains, the India-France partnership knows no boundaries. We are not just partners; we are two nations that share a vision for a sovereign, independent, and multipolar world.” ​President Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to India’s "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India) initiative. Macron welcomed the recent Indian approval fo...