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New Delhi [India], January 12 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in a significant diplomatic encounter, expressed delight at meeting the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Katherine Tai in Delhi on Friday. The meeting focused on the substantial progress in bilateral trade between India and the United States in recent years. Also Read | UK: Female Prison Officer Caught Engaging in Sexual Activities With Inmate on Secret Camera in Store Cupboard at HMP Birmingham, Jailed. On social media platform X, EAM Jaishankar shared his appreciation for the positive trajectory of economic collaboration between the two nations. The post on X read, "Delighted to meet USTR @AmbassadorTai today in Delhi. Appreciate the tremendous progress in our bilateral trade in recent years." Minister Jaishankar also expressed gratitude for Ambassador Tai's valuable insights into challenges facing the international economy. "Also value @USTradeRep's perspective on challenges to the international economy," his post added. Also Read | Russia Says Defense Industry Worker Arrested for Providing Information to Poland About Moscow's Production. United States Trade Representative Tai arrived in New Delhi to co-chair the 14th ministerial-level meetings of the United States-India Trade Policy Forum with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. US Trade Representative Tai will be in New Delhi from January 12 to January 14. On her first day of the visit, Tai will meet with Piyush Goyal, following which she will co-chair the 14th ministerial-level meetings of the United States-India Trade Policy Forum with Minister Goyal. The United States-India Trade Policy Forum was established in 2010 and plays an important role in strengthening and expanding the bilateral economic and trade relationship. Moreover, under both ministers' leadership, the Trade Policy Forum has helped remove trade barriers and facilitate cooperation on key issues. During this year's meeting of the Trade Policy Forum, Ambassador Tai and Minister Goyal will discuss a broad set of issues to enhance the resiliency of the trade relationship, including agriculture, industrial products, services, and the protection of intellectual property, among other topics. Later, Ambassador Tai will meet with India's Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar. On January 13, Ambassador Tai will meet with civil society representatives, business leaders, and stakeholders to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration's engagement and commitment to fostering closer ties between the two countries. The United States-India trade relationship has continued to grow stronger and benefit both nations throughout the past year as Ambassador Tai and Minister Goyal reached several milestone agreements that deliver crucial market access for American farmers and producers and high-quality products to Indian consumers. These included a 70 per cent reduction of the tariff on pecans and the removal of retaliatory tariffs on almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils and walnuts, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents. Moreover, it included commitments for additional tariff reductions on frozen turkey and frozen duck, as well as fresh, frozen, dried, and processed blueberries and cranberries. Furthermore, the US and India have also reached agreements to resolve all seven of their outstanding World Trade Organisation disputes. Additional details on Ambassador Tai's schedule will be provided at a later date. India and the US are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationships, and people-to-people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too. The two nations are also collaborating under other frameworks, such as QUAD and I2U2 (India-Israel, UAE-US). Regular exchanges at the leadership level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. (ANI)

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13.01.24 05:28

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World News | Molasses Makers in Nepal Under Pressure Due to Short Preparation Wi...

Kathmandu [Nepal], January 13 (ANI): Restless hands, boiling lumps of sugar, and its aroma always linger in the air around the ancient city of Tokha these days, as it has been the sole supplier of the molasses locally called "Chaku" for years. Workers preparing molasses this year are under pressure to maintain the supply of enough "Chaku" in the market, as they had relatively less time to prepare and dispatch it to the market. Demand for the confectionary has already risen in the market with the arrival of Maghe Sankranti, the festival of Chaku. Also Read | Japan: Crack Found on Cockpit Window of ANA Boeing 737-800 Aircraft Mid-Air, Plane Safely Lands at Sapporo-New Chitose Airport. Buddha Shrestha, an entrepreneur at Tokha, told ANI, "Demands for Chaku (molasses) are rising year by year. The season is quite short this year, because of which we fear that we won't be able to tap into the supply as per demand. We are making efforts to pump on enough produce for the market but we are not able to supply enough amount of Chaku as per the demand of the market." Shrestha added that the production of Chaku in the ancient town started late by about 10 days this year in comparison to the previous ones. Also Read | UK Shocker: Mother, Her Ex-Partner Kill 18-Month-Old Boy in 'Cruel and Brutal' Attack, Jailed For Life. "In previous years we used to start producing Chaku in high volume from mid-November but this year we started late from the first week of December. The demand of Chaku increases when the Newa: a community of Kathmandu Valley devour themselves celebrating Yo:mari Punhi and the festival as per the lunar calendar started late which gave us a window of 19 days to prepare enough Chaku for the Maghe Sakranti. In the earlier years we used to have about a month to prepare and supply enough to the market but this year the season is short which has resulted in low supply," Shrestha explained. The Newa, a community of Kathmandu valley consume a high volume of Chaku- confectionery made from concentrated sugarcane juice, jaggery, ghee and nuts which holds significance on the Maghe Sankranti- the first day of the 10th month as per the Lunar calendar. This process involves melting jaggery, stirring it continuously and then cooling it in clay pots. It is then whipped, slapped, and stretched until it turns dark brown. The confectionery is then weighed, topped with nuts, and packaged. The whole process takes two to three hours. "Consuming Chaku would regulate body temperature. It increases warmth in a person's body as well as plays a role in producing milk for breastfeeding. Women can take benefit through its consumption," Rahul Shrestha, another entrepreneur briefed about its major health benefit. As many as 1100 grams of sugar lumps, 'Bheli', are needed to prepare one kilogram of molasses and the producers only can make a profit of Rs 15-20 through the sales. The business of making molasses is seasonal and functions full-fledged for 2 months in a year. The rest of the time entrepreneurs...