India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said he has “a very productive discussion” with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (WTOMC). The meet is taking place from March 26-29 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.. Goyal and Greer during the WTO meet in Cameroon. (Photo: X/@PiyushGoyal). “Exchanged views on the #WTOMC14 agenda, next steps in the India-US BTA negotiations and explored ways to further deepen our economic cooperation and bilateral trade ties,” Goyal posted on X.. About two weeks, amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, and after the US Supreme Court struck down most of Donald Trump’s tariffs, India’s commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal had said the signing of the bilateral deal would happen only after a new tariff framework is in place.. India and the US in February announced the finalisation of a framework for the first phase of their bilateral trade agreement. Under the proposed framework, the US had agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent.. However, the tariff structure in the US has since changed following a Supreme Court ruling against Trump’s sweeping tariffs. After the ruling, Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on all countries for 150 days starting February 24, the PTI report added.. Amid these developments, the meeting between the chief negotiators of India and the US was also postponed. The two sides were scheduled to meet last month to finalise the legal text of the pact, which had earlier been expected to be signed this month.. The commerce secretary had said, “The deal was to be signed in March. (But) When we said this, that time, the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs had not come. Now, with the Supreme Court judgment on IEEPA tariffs, the tariffs per se don’t exist. Now there are tariffs under Article 122… around 10 per cent. So the deal that we finalise and sign has to be against the tariff structure or the comparative advantage that India gets in the US market.”. Apart from the US, the government said that it is currently negotiating six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with different countries and regional groups as part of efforts to expand trade partnerships.. Negotiations are ongoing with Australia, Sri Lanka, Peru, Chile, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and Israel, another report from news agency ANI added. 

 March 27 – Australia in December became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook.. Factbox-From Australia to Europe, countries move to curb children’s social media access. The ban comes amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children’s health and safety.. Below is a summary of what countries and companies are doing to regulate access to social media.. AUSTRALIA. A landmark law forced major social media platforms to block minors under 16 from December 10, 2025, one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting major tech platforms.. Companies that fail to comply could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million .. AUSTRIA. Austria will ban social media for children up to the age of 14, the conservative-led, three-party government said on March 27. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and junior digitisation minister Alexander Proell said draft legislation for the ban would be finalised by June.. BRAZIL. Brazil’s Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents, which requires minors under 16 to link their social media accounts to a legal guardian and bans addictive platform features such as infinite scroll, came into force on March 17.. BRITAIN. Britain is considering an Australia-style ban on social media and tighter AI chatbots safety rules for children under 16 as early as this year, technology minister Liz Kendall said in February.. Social media bans, curfews and app time limits will be tested in the homes of 300 teenagers to gauge the impact on children’s sleep, family life and schoolwork, the government said on March 24.. CHINA. China’s cyberspace regulator has put in place a so-called “minor mode” programme that requires device-level restrictions and app-specific rules to restrict screen time depending on age.. DENMARK. Denmark said in November it would ban social media for children under 15, while parents could provide access to certain platforms to kids down to the age of 13.. FRANCE. France’s National Assembly in January approved legislation to ban children under 15 from social media amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks. The bill needs to pass through the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.. GERMANY. Minors aged 13-16 are allowed to use social media only if their parents provide consent. But child protection advocates say controls are insufficient.. GREECE. Greece is “very close” to announcing a social media ban for children under 15, a senior government source told Reuters on February 3.. INDIA. Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, on March 6 became the first Indian state to ban social media for children under 16. Neighbouring states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh are also weighing restrictions.. India’s chief economic adviser called for age restrictions on social media platforms in January, describing them as “predatory” in how they keep users engaged online.. I 

 The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued an advisory on the allotment of examination cities for candidates registered from Kuwait, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain for the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026 Session 2, amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.. NTA issues advisory for Gulf candidates. (Representative photo). The advisory dated March 26 said that city intimation slips for candidates in Kuwait and Dubai have been released, while arrangements for candidates in Bahrain are still being finalised in coordination with the Embassy of India in Bahrain.. The Joint Entrance Examination (Main), or JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2, will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode from April 2 to April 8 at centres across India and a few cities abroad, the agency said in the advisory.. “The city intimation slips for candidates in Kuwait and Dubai have now been released,” the NTA said in the advisory, adding that “for the candidates registered from Bahrain, the NTA is in coordination with the Indian Embassy.”. The agency has also opened a window for candidates seeking a change in their allotted examination city. “For any change of examination cities for JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2, candidates may contact 011-40759000 or write an email to jeemain@nta.ac.in,” the advisory said.. Candidates have been asked to keep checking official websites for the latest updates.. NTA officials did not respond to HT’s queries.. JEE (Main) serves as the gateway to undergraduate engineering programmes at institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and other centrally funded technical institutions.. The NTA conducted JEE Main 2026 Session 1 between January 21 and January 29, with 13.04 lakh candidates appearing out of over 13.5 lakh registered. The results were declared on February 16, 2026.. Based on JEE Main performance in both sessions, the top 2.5 lakh candidates qualify to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced), which is scheduled to be held on May 17, 2026, and will be conducted by IIT Roorkee. 

 The Congress has come out lashing at the Narendra Modi government after it cut excise duty by ₹10 each on petrol and diesel on Friday but did not pass on the benefit to the final consumer — meaning the rates at fuel stations stay the same.. Congress lashes out at Modi government for claiming that excise duty cuts on petrol, diesel will provide relief to consumers. (PTI). BJP leaders, from home minister Amit Shah to defence minister Rajnath Singh, thanked Prime Minister Modi, meanwhile, for “providing relief to citizens” by reducing the levy.. However, Congress leaders have questioned the government’s claims, asking whether the excise duty cut will actually reduce fuel prices for consumers.. Congress leader Pawan Khera argued that the excise duty cuts are for oil marketing companies and not a relief for the common people, as they will end up paying the same amount even after the reduction. He also said that the government has raised excise duty 12 times in the last 11 and a half years, and cutting it now is no favour to the people of India.. “Look at the audacity of (oil minister) Hardeep Puri. He says they want to provide relief to the people of India so they don’t face the burden, and therefore the Government of India is taking the burden. The Government of India is the government of the people of India. The money belongs to the people of India,” Khera added.. Further, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of slashing excise duty to “influence” assembly elections in four key states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam — and the UT of Puducherry in April.. In a post on X, Ramesh pointed out that when global crude oil prices fell over the past 12 years, the government did not reduce consumer fuel prices in India. He asserted that the latest move was made solely due to the impending elections.. “When global crude oil prices fell, as they did on seven different occasions in the past 12 years, consumer prices in India were not reduced. Today’s announcement was because of assembly elections. Wait till April 30,” the post read. Voting for all these elections ends on April 29, though results are scheduled for May 4.. DK Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister of Karnataka, also reiterated his party colleagues’ stance that the government is acting to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.. “The Government of India is burdening us… they are doing it for the election. The Nayara company has already increased prices. We will highlight this issue to the people of the state,” Shivakumar told reporters, referring to private company Nayara Energy’s price-hike decision.. Asked if the state government would take any measures to bring down prices, he said, “We will talk about it later.”. Also Red: Will petrol, diesel prices go down after excise duty cut by govt amid Iran war? Big question answered. What does the government say on excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel?. The price of petrol a 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the first phase of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, March 28. After multiple delays, the airport is finally set for inauguration, and to become the second international airport serving the Delhi-NCR region.. A view of New Noida International Airport at Jewar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport on March 28, in Greater Noida, India. (HT Photos ). At 12pm on Saturday, PM will inaugurate phase 1 of the much-awaited airport and will address a public gathering on the occassion. The government termed the airport as ‘major international gateway for the National Capital Region (NCR)’ that represents a significant step in strengthening the country’s airport infrastructure and enhancing regional and international connectivity.. The airport will serve as the primary international airport for major Uttar Pradesh cities such as Noida, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Mathura and Agra. It will also act as a gateway to several pilgrimage and tourist destinations.. Also read: Married man staying in live-in relationship not a crime: Allahabad high court. Initial commencement date for the airport was December 1, 2024 which was deferred to April 2025. It was again postponed to September 1,2025 and then finally to early 2026.. Here is all you need to know about the Noida International Airport:. Noida International Airport will be the first airport in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state with a 70 million capacity, complementing the existing 110 million passenger capacity at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in neighbouring Delhi.. The two airports, IGIA and Noida International Airport, will function as an integrated aviation system that will ease congestion, expand passenger capacity, and position Delhi-NCR among leading global aviation hubs, the government said.. Phase I of the airport is developed at a total investment of around Rs.11,200 crore under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. It is among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, the government said.. While the airport will initially have a passenger handling capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), it can handle up to 70 MPPA once complete. As per the master plan submitted by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), initial passenger traffic is forecast at 4 MPPA.. The runway of the airport, that spans over 3,900-metres, can handle wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 777-300ER, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.. The government said the airport also incorporates a cargo ecosystem, including a multi-modal cargo hub featuring an integrated cargo terminal and logistics zones. The cargo facility is designed to handle over 2.5 lakh metric tonnes annually, expandable to around 18 lakh metric tonnes, and includes a dedicated 40 acre Maintenance, Repair and Overh