In the February budget, the central government marked down the disinvestment target to ₹50,000 crore from ₹65,000 crore budgeted initially. It has managed to raise ₹31,107 crore so far.

The big pandemic stimulus and the contraction in the economy worsened the combined Centre and state debt-to-GDP ratio to 89.2% in FY21 from 75.1% in FY20. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast the ratio will improve to 83.5% of GDP in FY23 and gradually ease from FY26 onwards.

It also said in a report that anticipating the impact of the upcoming FTAs on the supply chains can help businesses review sourcing strategies to design resilient supply chains. India has inked trade pacts with the UAE, Australia and Mauritius recently, and is in talks with the UK, EU, Canada and Israel.

Certification schemes like IndG.A.P are designed to help farmers and exporters meet global food safety standards, essential to access overseas markets."Adoption of G.A.P verified by a robust certification will enhance value realisation by farmers and make India globally competitive in agri exports," said Samunnati founder Anil Kumar SG.

"Prices remained stable due to consistency in demand and supplies as well as export potential. However, the month of February saw a decline in prices of red onion, particularly in the State of Maharashtra where the modal rate dropped to Rs 500 -700/quintal," the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader is lodged in Tihar jail after a CBI court on Monday remanded him to 14-day judicial custody. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned him inside the prison as part of its money laundering probe.

India offers capacity building courses to Central Asian states to fight drug menace. India also offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking.

Prices of the crop have fallen to as low as 200 rupees ($2.44) per 100 kilograms prompting some farmers to dump the crop in fields in the western state of Maharashtra, the largest producer of red onion in the country, where rates have fallen sharply.

Cess and surcharges are levied by the Central government for the purposes of the Union under Article 271 of the Constitution of India. The proceeds of such surcharge and cess go towards meeting certain specific needs such as financing of centrally-sponsored schemes.