INDIA THIS WEEK FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2023 1 A W e e k l y N e w s p a p e r Fe a t u r i n g N e w s & Tr e n d s f r o m t h e I n d i a n S u b - C o n t i n e n t P u b l i s h e d f r o m t h e U S C a p i t a l Website: www.indiathisweek.online Vol. 31 No 15 • WASHINGTON D.C • Phone: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 • e-mail: indiathisweekads@gmail.com • Friday • April 14, 2023 EC recognises AAP as Sitharaman, Yellen discuss strengthening national party; NCP, India-US economic partnership Trinamool Congress lose the status New Delhi [India], April 10 (ANI): In significant decisions, the Election Commission on Monday recognised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party and withdrew this recognition given to the Nationalist Congress Party, CPI and Trinamool Congress. In other decisions, the poll panel gave recognition to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) as a state party in Nagaland and Tipra Motha Party was recognised as a state party in Tripura. Bharat Rashtra Samithi has been derecognised as a state party in Andhra Pradesh. The poll panel also withdrew the state party status of Rashtriya Lok Dal in Uttar Pradesh and of Revolutionary Socialist Party in West Bengal. The Voice of the People Party got recognition as a state party in Meghalaya. Tipra Motha Party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Voice of the People Party got recognition as state parties based on their recent performance in the assembly polls earlier this year in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya respectively. AAP rules Delhi and Punjab. Apart from Delhi and Punjab, it got Remember: national party status based on its performance in Gujarat and Goa. It is a recognised state party in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and Goa. AAP has been looking for a national footprint and has contested polls in several states. Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the party workers after the ElectionCommissiongranted AAP the national party status on Monday, and said that the development in “such a short time” is “nothing less than a miracle”. The Election Commission said the AAP has been named as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states – Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat. Kejriwal said that the people of the country have given them a huge responsibility. “National party in such a short time? This is nothing less than a miracle. Many congratulations to all. Crores of people of the country have taken us here. People expect a lot from us. Today people have given us this huge responsibility. Lord, bless us to fulfill this responsibility well,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose misapplication of the word. – Mark Twain Wa s h i n g t o n [US], April 12 (ANI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023 in Washington. The two leaders discussed strengthening the India-US economic and financial partnership and increasing engagements at bilateral and multilateral forums. “Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman met with the United States Treasury Secretary Ms.@SecYellen on the sidelines of the @WorldBank and IMF #SpringMeetings 2023, in Washington D.C., today,” tweeted the Ministry of Finance. Taking the discussions ahead from their last meeting in November 22 during the Economic Financial Dialogue (EFD), in India, the two leaders discussed strengthening the India-US economic and financial partnership and increasing engagements at bilateral and multilateral forums. said Goyal. He said that the Statue of Unity and the Eiffel Tower bring together two beloved countries and peoples with shared values of democracy, unitycommitment to diversity, principles of global trade rules etc, during a conversation at the Gala Dinner in Paris. Goyal is in Paris for the India-France Business Summit, commemorating 25 years of India-France friendship. Piyush Goyal and Olivier Becht, France’s Minister delegate of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad co-chaired the IndiaFrance Business Summit, commemorating 25 years of India-France friendship, on Tuesday in Paris. “Glad to welcome you to Paris, dear @PiyushGoyal, on the occasion of the France- “Wide-ranging conversation between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on deepening bilateral economic partnership and engagement in multilateral fora,” tweeted Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the US. Sitharaman, who is leading a high-powered delegation, appreciated the multi-faceted IndiaUS partnership and called for further cooperation in addressing global economic challenges, including climate change. She also highlighted the role of G20, Quad, and IPEF in fostering INDIA -US PARTNERSHIP SEE PAGE 8 Piyush Goyal invites French businessmen to invest in India Paris [France], April 12 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday (local time) invited French businessmen to invest in India highlighting ways to further deepen the India-France partnership and realise the tremendous opportunities it offers. “I am inviting you to visit India along with your board members. French people can come to India as tourists and investors to get good returns. I invite you (France) to do business with India, increase trade between us and initiate a technology partnership between 2 countries,” he said. He further said that India is one of the largest consumers of goods and services. “Over the last two years, our exports of goods and services have grown by over 50 per cent. By 2030, we hope to see our exports of goods and services from India triple from the existing level of about USD 765 billion to USD 2 trillion,” India economic forum. As we celebrate 25 years of our strategic partnership this year, our two countries share a long and vigorous economic relationship,” tweeted Becht. Goyal also met Pierre Courduroux, CEO of Roquette in Paris.“It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Pierre Courduroux, INVEST IN INDIA SEE PAGE 6
April 14, 2023 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK Viriginia Governor Glenn Youngkin along with his wife Suzanne Visit H Mart store in Fairfax Fairfax, VA (April 6): Viriginia Governor Glenn Youngkin along with his wife Suzanned dropped in at the Fairfax H Mart store for a brief visit ahead of his scheduled visit to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan during the latter part of this month. Youngkin had visited the H Mart store in Centreville, Virginia while campaigning for governor. Speaking to the crowd who were there on shopping errands as well as to have a glimpse of him, the Governor said, “This extraordinary store, is spread across the country and what is most exciting is that shoppers can come here and find such a wide variety of international offerings and allow so many Virginians to bring their home culture to their Kitchen.... I want to thank all of you for the extraordinary store spread all over the country...What a great store!” He further added, “In Virginia, we have seen the cost of living come down, and we have seen businesses move here. It’s an exciting time in the commonwealth of Virginia, and I just want to thank all of you for fully, fully supporting this extraordinary store H Mart. What is most exciting is when you see a thriving business where customers are so excited to be here right in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” H Mart is the largest Asian grocery chain in the United States. It has about 90 stores spread all over the country from the East Coast to the West. The first store was started in New York in 1983, which was comparatively small. It has since grown exponentially to a chain that has become a formidable challenge to American Grocery chains. Due to the availability of a wide variety of international food that is not available in American stores, shoppers flock to International stores of which H Mart dominates as the leader. The governor spoke to the crowd on other relevant topics as to how his administration is working hard to lure more businesses to Virginia and promote employment opportunities for Virginians. He said, “We are doing well. You’ve got 100,000 more Virginians working today than when we started. What I am so encouraged by is, over the last year we’ve been working so hard to bring the cost of living in Virginia down. And we’ve been able to reduce taxes. Last summer I signed the budget to reduce taxes in Virginia by 4 billion dollars, a large part was reducing the state portion of the grocery tax.” Commenting on the inflation Youngkin said, “Against the backdrop of inflation and rising prices the family budgets are severely strained. The government should do what ever is necessary to alleviate the peoples’ pain. We have taken away the added burden of state taxes on groceries which is no longer necessary. It is not coming back.” We are still working to reduce taxes further. With the current surplus in Virginia, we should cut them again and I encourage our Senate Democrat leadership to work with the House leadership to bring us a budget that can Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and his wife Suzanne at the Fairfax HMart Store reduce taxes and invest in our most important priorities, Behavioral Health, schools, and law enforcement. “Virginia has a $ 3.6 billion surplus Governor Youngkin and wife Suzanne posing for a picture along with H Mart employees in front of the Faiurfax Hmart Store. and we can reduce a billion dollars in taxes and invest in behavioral health and education and in law enforcement, we can do both, That is why I am working with the General Assembly to reduce a billion dollar in taxes. We can do this....It is time to further reduce taxes, rates, and taxes on Virginians. Wa s h i n g t o n [US], April 4 (ANI): The popular messaging platform WhatsApp is apparently developing a new feature termed the Lock Chat. According to Mashable website, the beta version of Android is now being used to test the functionality. This indicates that WhatsApp has not made it available to a larger audience. Users should be able to lock their private conversations inside the chat’s contact or group information thanks to the new functionality. This increases users’ privacy and security by giving them total control over who can see their private conversations. The user will be requested to clear the chat before viewing it if someone tries to use their phone without giving the required credentials. The lock chat function also prevents images and videos from being automatically stored in the device’s gallery when they are sent in a locked chat. Users can feel more secure knowing that this extra layer of security can stop sensitive media from being read by anybody but the intended receiver. There is no release date set yet for the Lock chat functionality, which is still under development. Yet, this function allows users more control over their chats and material and represents a big improvement in WhatsApp’s privacy. It’s important to note that WhatsApp has recently been concerned about privacy and security, particularly in the wake of the installation of new privacy standards. (ANI) WhatsApp developing chat security with new lock feature
FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2023 3 CUSTOMER SERVICE T 8 7 27 T. 877.427.7386 Customer_care@hmart.com For events, coupons & exclusive deals, subscribe at www.hmart.com, and Visit our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram to stay up to date on special of n offers! Follow us @hmartofficial HERNDON WEEKLY SALE APR. 14th - APR.13th, 2023 7th - APR. 20th, 2023 American Yam LB LB LB 2.29 $ 2.99 $ M E AT LB $ 4.99 LB $ SEAFOOD LB $ 0.89 1.79 $ ����� ��� ����� ���� 1.99 $ �������� ��������� 3.99 ����������� ���������� $ 28.05 OZ DEEP Fafda Traditional Chickpea Flour Crisps 12.3 OZ DURRA Pomegranate Molasses Sauce SADAF Lemon Juice DABUR Indin Mustard Oil ZIYAD Hot Pepper Paste PARLE Parle-G Biscuits 16 OZ 2 LB/BAG kingly prices at shockingly low prices 5.99 16.9 OZ 0.59 Red Onion $ Fresh Rohu DURRA Bread Sticks $ FAMILY PACK/LB 8.99 $ HALWANI Maamoul Dates Filled Cookies LB Fresh Boneless Chicken Thigh Fresh Mrigal LB 0.99 $ $ at unbeatable low p es prices Fresh Beef Chuck Short Ribs Frozen Pork Thin & Roll Single Rib Belly Loose Carrot LB LB 1.29 $ Dragon Fruit White LB 0.99 Flat Cabbage LB Thai Banana 0.99 $ Shanghai Tip Chinese Eggplant Small Mustard Green 35.3 FL OZ SOLEIL Pitted Dates 24 OZ 9.99 �� LAXMI Cashew Whole 1.76 LB 4.99 $3.99 $3.49 $6.99 $4.99 $4.99 $11.99 LAXMI Almonds 3 LB ZIYAD Fusilli Tortillon 16 OZ 32 FL OZ 16.9 FL OZ 23.6 OZ DEEP Dhokla Flour 2 LB ROSHNI Coriander Seed 14 OZ 18.99 $1.49 $3.49 $3.99 $4.99 $1.99 $3.49 $ HERNDON 1228 Elden St., Herndon, VA 20170 During the editing process, there may be mistypes/misprints. Each location may be subject to limited availability, as well as their sale prices. Some products may be sold out. If a product is not listed as a boxed sale item, it cannot be purchased as a boxed sale item. All H Mart locations accept all major credit cards. JOIN MARKET EATERY FOOD HALL! CONTAC T :t.com me@hmar Have a great idea for a restaurant, we have the perfect busy location for you.
April 14, 2023 INDIA THIS WEEK Friday Over 40 Years Of Experience 5 FAMILY HAIRCUT $ MEN • WOMEN • CHILDREN ROOT TOUCH-UP FOR MEN 20 $ & up SERVICES • BEARD TRIM 5 $ • SHAMPOO 1000 • BLOW DRY $1000 $ 00 $ 00 • PERM FROM 20 $ 00 • COLOR FROM 20 • HIGHLIGHTS FROM $3500 • SPA PEDICURE FROM $1700 C&S Beauty & Barber Shop 7311 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003 info@csbarbernschool.com Exercise Cope India 23 between the Indian Air Force, United States Air Force begins New Delhi [India], April 10 (ANI): Exercise Cope India 23, a bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) is being held at Air Force Stations Arjan Singh (Panagarh), Kalaikunda and Agra. The exercise aims to enhance mutual understanding between the two Air Forces and share their best practices. The first phase of the exercise has commenced on Monday. This phase of the exercise will focus on air mobility and will involve the transport of aircraft and Special Forces assets from both the Air Forces. Both sides will field the C-130J and C-17 aircraft, with the USAF operating an MC130J, as well. The exercise also includes the presence of Japanese Air Self Defence Force aircrew, who will participate in the capacity of observers. The Indian Air Force has recently been engaged in multiple multinational exercises in which the US has also participated including the EX Desert Flag in the UAE and Ex Cobra Warrior in the UK. The field training exercise focused on enhancing US-Indian mutual cooperation by building on existing capabilities, aircrew tactics and force employment. Cope India began in 2004 as a fighter training exercise held at Air Station Gwalior, India. The exercise has evolved to incorporate subject matter expert exchanges, air mobility training, airdrop training and large-force exercises, in addition to fightertraining exercises. The last edition of the wargame was held in 2019. The US has also been making efforts to have closer military ties with Indian forces who have traditionally used Russian-origin hardware including the Air Force and Army mainly. (ANI)
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April 14, 2023 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK Piyush Goyal invites French businessmen to invest in India INVEST IN INDIA FROM PAGE 1 From The Poet’s Pen INDIA THIS WEEK- April 14, 2023 My Inner Life INDIA THIS WEEK Address: P.O. Box 352, Bryans Road, MD 20616 Phone: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 www.indiathisweek.online by Robert William India This Week is published every Friday by ADV Solutions Inc, ‘Tis true my garments threadbare are, And sorry poor I seem; But inly I am richer far Than any poet’s dream. For I’ve a hidden life no one Can ever hope to see; A sacred sanctuary none May share with me. Aloof I stand from out the strife, Within my heart a song; By virtue of my inner life I to myself belong. Against man-ruling I rebel, Yet do not fear defeat, For to my secret citadel I may retreat. Oh you who have an inner life Beyond this dismal day With wars and evil rumours rife, Go blessedly your way. Your refuge hold inviolate; Unto yourself be true, And shield serene from sordid fate The Real You. Views expressed in this paper are those of the individual writers and not necessarily of India This Week. India This Week accepts no liability for the errors in advertisements or in any of its reports. For remedial actions any errors should be brought to the attention of the editor by the information provided below. Publisher: Chief Editor: Contributing Editors: Dr. Babu Stephen Rajan George Saju Mathew Isaac George Asst. Editors: Manu Jacob Sherena Panjikkaran Special Business Correspondent Elisha B. Pulivarti Business Coordinators Rajan C. George Jithu Johny Panjikkaran Dr. Renuka Misra, Special Correspondent: Geeta Goindi Community Coordinator: Prof. Vinod Goel India Office Manesh Krishna Columnists: Anadi Naik World Religions Dr. Sam Prasad Jillella Photo Journalist: Mathew Karmel, System Admn. & Maintenance: Rajan C. George Layout & Graphics: Prinston Samuel, Business Affairs: Mrs. Molly George CALL US • 301-445-0200 • 301-917-4800 e-Mails: Advertisements: indiathisweekads@gmail.com Press Releases: indiathisweekpress@yahoo.com Web: www.indiathisweek.online CEO of Roquette in Paris. As the company strengthens its presence in India, deliberated on ways to further enhance its investments in the country’s growing agriculture & food processing sector,” tweeted Goyal. He also met Luc Remont, CEO of French energy major EDF in Paris. “Met Mr. Luc Remont, CEO of French energy major EDF in Paris. Discussed how the company can be a significant part of India’s journey to achieve the ambitious target of energy diversification for sustainable growth,” tweeted Goyal. Meanwhile, the Co-Founder and CEO of Carpooling application BlaBlaCar, Nicolas Brusson, spoke about the scope and growth of the application in the Indian market. Brusson earlier met Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Paris. “The main discussion was actually what BlaBlaCar can do and how it can grow in India,” he said. BlaBlaCar allows drivers to share their cars when they drive between cities. It’s intercity carpooling, for example, if you drive from Mumbai to Pune and you have two or three empty seats in your car, you can go and buy a car, set up your profile, BlaBlaCar verifies your profile, and then you can start offering empty seats when you travel between the two cities. And passengers can book those seats and share the cost of the journey. “Today, to give you a sense of size, we have 4 million active users in 2022 in India, and it’s roughly doubling year on year. So it’s really sort of Remember: like exploding right now,” said Brusson. Speaking on future plans for India Brusson said that BlaBlaCar is working on finding the right hubs. “There are some regions like Mumbai to Pune we see, like in the west of New Delhi, Delhi to Chandigarh. So you have these sort of corridors or regions where carpooling actually makes a lot of sense, typically because public transport is not that good or it’s too crowded or too expensive,” he said. Speaking on the competition with Uber and Ola, he said, “Uber and Ola tend to be very different because it’s all about aggregating. Professional drivers typically for shorter distances within a city and the price point is pretty high. So typically it would be like 10-20 rupees per kilometre. Whereas in our case, people are the car owners are just like, quote-unquote, normal people.” Speaking about IMF and World Bank said that India is the best destination to invest, he said, “I think it’s very good. Like when you have meetings like the one I had with the Minister, you realize that as foreign companies and as European companies, you feel pretty welcome in India.” “If you look at private cars, unlike in Europe, it’s growing in India. So in five or ten years, there will be more private cars in India, maybe fewer in France or Germany. As the population is sometimes decreasing and private car ownership is decreasing, it is increasing in India. And it’s probably easier and more transformative for companies like India than it is in Europe,” said Brusson. (ANI) “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ” JESUS CHRIST
FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2023 7
INDIA THIS WEEK India to put across concerns of Global George Washington Hosts 29th South at lG20 platform: Jaishankar K a m p a a participant as well. And the movement is assisted [Uganda], April 12 (ANI): India is making efforts to include concerns of the Global South in the G20 framework under its presidency, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Uganda‘s Kampala. Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Uganda and Mozambique on Tuesday addressed members of the Parliamentary Forum on Indian Affairs in Uganda. “We (India) are doing it differently in the sense that no other chair of G-20 made an effort to consult all the countries of the Global South and ask it saying, look, you are not on the table. So what is your interest, what are the things you want? What are your concerns that we can put on the table on your behalf? We went through this very, very detailed, very exhaustive exercise in the month of January,” he said. The External Affairs Minister also stated that India would like to use its G-20 presidency to get the influential forum focused on its mandate of global growth and development issues. “And of course, naturally, Uganda was today we would like to use the G-20 presidency really to get that forum to focus on what is its remedy, what was its mandate, which is global growth and global development issues, which are very important for you. Issues of green growth, issues of debt, issues of health, issues of SDG, developmental agenda, issues of digital delivery. I think all these are really the issues on which we would like the G-20 to focus,” Jaishankar said. India assumed the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1 last year. The G20 Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 this year. External Affairs Minister reiterated India’s full support to Uganda for a very successful chairship of the Non-Alignment Movement. Uganda was endorsed to chair the Non-Aligned Movement on behalf of Africa for the period from 2022 to 2025. The NAM chair position rotates every three years during summit conferences. The chair of by both the former and incoming chairs. According to the movement, this structure represents its past, present and future. Jaishnkar also announced that he will participate in the inauguration of the National Forensic Research University, whose first campus is opening in Uganda. The minister who is on a two-nation visit from April 10-15, participated in the virtual groundbreaking ceremony of solar-powered piped drinking water supply systems funded by India Exim Bank in Uganda, on Tuesday. Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, “This project will provide safe and sustainable water supply to half a million Ugandans across 20 rural districts.” Later on Jaishankar met the Indian business community in Uganda. “Appreciated their contribution to India-Uganda bilateral relationship. Encouraged them to continue building the bridge of our business ties that capture the growth and development in the two countries,” Jaishankar said in a tweet. G20 presidency a success. “I want to commend your presidency for its focus on advancing the evolution of the multilateral development banks. As you know, this initiative is a priority of mine and will be a major focus of our conversations this week,” she said. Yellen said the G-20 can bring strong political momentum to bear to make sure that the multilateral development banks accelerate their work on 21st-century global challenges as part of their effort to end extreme poverty and expand shared prosperity. She also said that having the right leadership at the World Bank is critical in furthering the progress that they have made. The Finance Minister also met with the United States Ex-Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and discussed about the Digital Public Infrastructure, providing accessibility for besides supporting the growth of fintech. “FM Smt. @nsitharaman informed Ms. @PennyPritzker that scaling up of #DigitalInfrastructure and adoption of tech by common people in India has been phenomenal in the last couple of years,” tweeted the Ministry of Finance. Sitharaman also highlighted that in the space of manufacturing, India has the right kind of skills, including manpower and language proficiency along with a huge domestic market which provides a significant scaling advantage to the private sector. “In reference to the Union Budget 2023-24, FM Smt.@nsitharamaninformed Ms. @PennyPritzker that India has announced setting up of 3 Centres of Excellence in the area of #ArtificialIntelligence as it is a key focus for the Government,” added the tweet. (ANI) Annual Bhangra Blowout Sitharaman, Yellen discuss strengthening India-USIndia to help make India’s all, including StartUps, economic partnership I -US P NDIA ARTNERSHIP FROM PAGE 1 this partnership. “FM Smt. @nsitharaman appreciated the multi-faceted IndiaUS partnership and called for further cooperation in addressing global economic challenges, including #ClimateChange. FM highlighted the role of #G20, QUAD and IPEF in fostering this partnership,” tweeted the Ministry of Finance. Sitharaman also emphasised the importance of coordinated global action to address debt vulnerability in low and middle-income countries, besides the need for financial support to help developing economies achieve their climate goals. Yellen applauded India for focusing on advancing the evolution of the multilateral development bank during its G-20 presidency. She said the US was looking forward to continuing its close cooperation with On April 1, 2023, the 29th Bhangra Blowout was hosted by George Washington University. After months of hard work and practice, eight competitive Bhangra teams from across the US gave unforgettable performances. Only three teams came out on top, with Virginia Tech’s Bhangra team taking first prize, University of Maryland’s Bhangra team earning second place, and University of Michigan coming in third.
FRIDAY APRIL 14, 2023 9 IMF projects India to be fastest growing economy in the world Wa s h i n g t o n [US], April 12 (ANI): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its flagship World Economic Outlook projected that India will be the fastest growing economy in the world amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, and three years of COVID. IMF on Tuesday lowered its growth projection for 202324 to 5.9 per cent from 6.1 per cent earlier but despite a significant drop, India continues to be the fastestgrowing economy in the world, the World Economic Outlook figures revealed. The IMF projects India’s inflation to slow to 4.9 per cent in the current year and further to 4.4 per cent next fiscal year. IMF growth forecast is lower than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) projection. The central bank predicted 7 per cent GDP growth for FY 2022-23 and 6.4 per cent in the ongoing fiscal that started on April 1. The government is yet to release full-year GDP numbers for 2022-23. Meanwhile, the international lender flagged concerns about inflation, debt and risks to the financial sector from rising interest rates. It warned that if banks cut lending further, the global output will reduce by another 0.3 percentage point in 2023. “Despite the fillips from lower food and energy prices and improved supplychain functioning, risks are firmly to the downside with the increased uncertainty from the recent financial sector turmoil,” the report said. The IMF projects growth to bottom out at 2.8 per cent in 2023, picking up to 3 per cent in 2024. Inflation is expected to stay elevated at 7 per cent for the rest of the year, before declining to 4.9 per cent next year. Supply-chain disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions have brought the risks and potential benefits and costs of geoeconomic fragmentation to the center of the policy debate, added the report. FDI flows are increasingly concentrated among geopolitically aligned countries, particularly in strategic sectors. Several emerging market and developing economies are highly vulnerable to FDI relocation, given their reliance on FDI from geopolitically distant countries. In the long term, FDI fragmentation arising from the emergence of geopolitical blocs can generate large output losses, especially for emerging market and developing economies, added the report. Tentative signs in early 2023 that the world economy could achieve a soft landing–with inflation coming down and growth steady–have receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial sector turmoil. Although inflation has declined as central banks have raised interest rates and food and energy prices have come down, underlying price pressures are proving sticky, with labor markets tight in a number of economies. Side effects from the fast rise in policy rates are becoming apparent, as banking sector vulnerabilities have come into focus and fears of contagion have risen across the broader financial sector, including nonbank financial institutions. Risks to the outlook are heavily skewed to the downside, with the chances of a hard landing having risen sharply, added the report. Public debt as a ratio to GDP soared across the world during COVID19 and is expected to remain elevated, posing a growing challenge for policymakers, particularly as real interest rates are rising across the world. China‘s growth rate is projected to be 5.2 per cent in 2023 and 4.5 per cent in 2024 against its growth rate of three per cent in 2022. The US‘s growth forecast for 2023 is 1.6 per cent, France 0.7 per cent, while Germany and the UK are a dismal -0.1 per cent and -0.7 per cent, respectively. Most countries will, however, avoid recession in 2023 despite the COVID pandemic lingering and tightening financing conditions as the RussiaUkraine war continues. (ANI)
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