‘Indians working less post Covid, real earnings flat’

Indian workers are putting in fewer hours weekly compared to pre-pandemic levels, with self-employed individuals seeing the steepest decline. This trend, alongside modest real earnings growth, suggests lower aggregate demand and a recovery driven by a select few. Women’s increased labor force participation, particularly in rural agriculture, indicates distress-led employment. NEW DELHI: Indian workers put…

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Light is right this Akshaya Tritiya

MUMBAI: Light-weight jewellery was the flavour this Akshaya Tritiya, as a steep rise in gold prices nudged consumers to strike a balance between their budgets and love for the yellow metal that’s considered auspicious in Indian culture.For context—gold has risen nearly 57% year-on-year since last year’s festival—from around Rs 97,000 per 10 grams to roughly…

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Boost to India–South Korea ties: PM Modi, Lee Jae Myung hold talks at Hyderabad House; push deeper trade, tech ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung engaged in high-level talks on Monday at Hyderabad House, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties. The meeting was followed by the exchange of Memorandums of Understanding between the two sides, witnessed by both leaders. External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his South Korean counterpart Cho…

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Big payback: US launches portal to refund $166 billion in tariffs collected from Trump policy nixed by SCOTUS

The US government launched a portal Monday to refund more than $166 billion in revenue from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and struck down by the Supreme Court.In February, the conservative-majority high court ruled against a swath of Trump’s tariffs. The decision marked a stinging rebuke of his key economic policy and opened the…

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