UAE and India enter the ‘CEPA’ era with an eye on $100 billion in 5 years

News Network
February 19, 2022

Dubai, Feb 19: The UAE and India have signed a trade and economic partnership that will remove 80 per cent of the customs tariffs on goods produced and shipped out from the countries. The other 20 per cent will be phased out over time, and sets up a trade alliance that could touch $100 billion in the next five years from $60 billion plus now.

The deal, called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), was signed in the virtual presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

“This agreement, which is considered the first of its kind, is among the economic projects that the UAE has set out for the next 50 years,” said Sheikh Mohamed. “This provides a strong basis for the continuous expansion of our common interest for the benefit of our people and for the fulfilment of their aspirations and better prosperity.”

UAE-led investments into India will translate into millions of new jobs, such as in the plastics industry which will also benefit from technology support.

A ‘reliable partner’

In his statement, Prime Minister Modi said: “Trade, investment, energy, and people-to-people contacts have been the pillars of our cooperation. At the same time, there are possibilities of enhancing cooperation in several new areas.

“The new MoU between us on food corridors is a very good initiative. We welcome investment from UAE in the areas of food processing and logistics. With this, India can become a reliable partner for UAE’s food security.”

Effective from May 1

The CEPA deal, which is the first trade deal entered into by India’s BJP-led NDA government, will formally take effect from early May, once the internal processes are completed in either country, according to Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.

The deal, details of which are still to come out in full, will provide the big banh needed for trade between UAE and India to move up a few gears. That up to 80 per cent of the goods traded will be covered under tariff concessions does push the possibilities for an immediate and significant spike in volumes.

On the areas that are not covered by the deal – the 20 per cent – Goyal said that these are areas of strategic interests to both countries and will require time for the duty structures to be rolled back.

Spread the word

India has invited top UAE Government officials in the first week of May to have round-table discussions with the country’s business community and get the word out on what CEPA could deliver as a win for all parties.

In his speech, Modi said: “Last year, alone India has seen the emergence of 44 unicorns. We can encourage startups in both of our countries by way of joint incubation and joint financing. Similarly, we can cooperate in modern institutions of excellence for the development of skills for our people.”

With CEPA, the “sky is the limit” for the UAE and India to achieve their ambitions and share in them. 

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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coastaldigest.com news network
November 28,2025

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Udupi district transformed into a sea of saffron and celebration on Friday, November 28, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow swept through the coastal temple town. Thousands of residents lined the streets, turning the event into a vibrant public spectacle filled with cheers, flags, and festive energy.

The procession route—from the helipad to the historic Sri Krishna Math—was decked with buntings, saffron flags, and multilayered security barricades. One of the district’s largest-ever security deployments was put in place for the high-profile visit, with over 3,000 police personnel on duty. The arrangement included ten SPs, 27 DSPs, 49 inspectors, 127 sub-inspectors, 232 assistant sub-inspectors, 1,608 constables, and 39 women staff.

Six platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police, six Quick Response Teams, bomb detection units, and dog squads were stationed across Udupi. Enhanced surveillance covered Adi Udupi, Bannanje bus stand, and the Sri Krishna Math parking zone, with combing operations carried out along the roadshow corridor.

At the 800-year-old Sri Krishna Math, preparations reached a ceremonial peak. Paryaya Puttige Math seer Sugunendra Teertha Swamiji said the Prime Minister would take part in the Laksha Kantha Geetha Parayana, a mass chanting of the Bhagavad Gita by one lakh devotees, and inaugurate the new Suvarna Teertha Mantapa.

“He will first offer floral tributes to saint-poet Kanakadasa and then unveil the golden covering over the Kanakana Kindi,” the seer said.

The Prime Minister will also receive a Poorna Kumbha welcome and have darshan of Lord Sri Krishna, Mukhyaprana Devaru, and the Suvarna Paduke. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister Bairathi Suresh, Dharmadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade, and seers from the Ashta Maths are expected to join the ceremony.

Ahead of his arrival, the Prime Minister posted on X that he felt “honoured” to attend the spiritually significant gathering. “This is a special occasion that brings together people from different sections of society for a recital of the Gita. This Matha has a very special significance in our cultural life,” he wrote, noting the institution’s long-standing legacy rooted in the teachings of Sri Madhvacharya.

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News Network
November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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