India’s trade deficit with China widened to $83 billion in FY23 from $72 billion in FY22, according to the commerce ministry data. While total exports to the neighbouring country fell by nearly 28% to $15.32 billion in FY23, total imports surged by 4.16% to $98.51 billion in FY23.

However, China’s share in India’s merchandise imports declined to 13.79% in FY23 from 15.43% in FY22.  Notably, imports of electronic goods from China witnessed a decline of around $2 billion in FY23 as against the same period of last year.

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) on Apr 13 said its coking coal production has risen to 54.6 million tonnes (MTs) in 2022-23 with a sharp 17.2% year-on-year growth compared to 46.6 MTs last financial year.

The quantum leap in the year was a whopping 8 MTs. This assumes significance at a time when the coal ministry has asked CIL to elevate the output of this category of coal to 105 MTs by 2030 in a bid to reduce its imports and forex outgo.

Coking coal is an important feedstock in steel making. In India, its mineable reserves are scarce and also its quality inadequacy necessitates washing for direct use in steel making. 

Bharat Coking Coal Limited  (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), the two Jharkhand-based CIL subsidiaries are major producers of coking coal and together accounted for almost the entire output of 54.3 MTs in 2022-23. BCCL alone produced nearly 62% or 33.7 MTs during the year, posting 16% growth over 29 MTs of FY '22. Whereas, CCL clocked around 20% growth at 20.6 MTs. During FY '23, coking coal imports were to the tune of 56 MTs (provisional) down by 1.1 MTs compared to 57.1 MTs in FY’22.

Apart from the meagre availability, Indian coking coal has high ash content requiring washing for use in steel mills.

CIL has set out a roadmap to produce 12 MTs per annum of washed coking coal by 2030 with ash content between 18%-19% and about 1.4 MTPA at 14% ash. In a push towards this, CIL has commissioned two new coking coal washeries and renovated three older versions. It also plans to add nine more new washeries, at an investment of around Rs 4000 crores, of which few will replace the aged ones. The company currently operates 11 coking coal washeries.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will miss next week's Barcelona Open as he works on his fitness ahead of the French Open in May and June

The Barcelona Open tournament will start on Apr 15

Nadal has not played since losing in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury, and missing events in Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo.

The Barcelona Open, an ATP 500 event, begins on April 18. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won the 2022 edition. Nadal has won the Barcelona Open a record 12 times, the first in 2005 and the last in 2021

The Women's Premier League will be played in the home-away format from the next edition onwards with a bigger window, most likely in February, a source in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed on Apr 14 .

The inaugural edition of the tournament was held from March 4-26 across two venues in Mumbai.

Earlier this month, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal had told PTI that WPL will remain a five-team tournament for the next three seasons and it will be staged in the home and away format as that was "important for building a fan base."

The BCCI will wait for the directives from the Indian government on their participation in the Asia Cup 2023 as well as on Pakistan's matches in India during the World Cup.

It was reported by PTI earlier that Pakistan is most likely to play a bulk of their World Cup matches in Chennai and Kolkata as the team has 'felt safe' at these two venues during their previous tours

BCCI chairman of selectors to be announced before Afghanistan series

The BCCI is hopeful of appointing the chairman of selectors for the Indian cricket team before the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which is expected to be held after the ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia in June at The Oval.

The post has been lying vacant since the resignation of Chetan Sharma in February this year.

The post is usually determined on seniority, as currently former India opening batter Shiv Sundar Das is the acting chairman post Sharma's resignation.

BCCI confident that Bumrah will be fit for World Cup

The BCCI is confident that the ace India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, out of action due to a back injury, will be fit in time for the World Cup 2023.

India will host the 50-over tournament later this year in October-November and the schedule is expected to be declared soon.

Hamirpur has massive potential in sports and more facilities will be added at SAI's National Centre Excellence in this Himachal Pradesh district, said Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on Apr 14.

Thakur, who hails from Hamirpur, inaugurated the badminton court, mats hall, judo hall and boxing hall at the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) NCOE.

Thakur said that with the availability of modern facilities at the Centre of Excellence, better training will be imparted to aspiring athletes.

He said that the NCOE will be expanded and, if the land is available, international-level facilities will be provided here for at least 20 major sports, besides hostel facilities.

He said that about Rs 3200 crore will be spent on sports facilities in the next five years in India under the Khelo India initiative.

In a major development, a new international boxing federation has been launched to retain the sport in the Olympic Games. The body will be called World Boxing and its primary objective would be to ensure the sport is part of the Olympics in Paris and beyond. WB felt since the International Boxing Association (IBA) has still not mended its relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), they were forced to take this step.

Dutch Boxing Federation chief Boris van der Vorst, who is also part of the interim board of World Boxing, said that they are doing this to help the sport keep its Olympic status. The Dutch federation is part of the eight-nation Common Cause Alliance that also includes the US, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Canada, Philippines and Ireland. Most of these countries also boycotted the Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi.

Nearly 50,000 people belonging to the Dalit and tribal community on Apr 14 renounced Hinduism and embraced Buddhism on the occasion of the 132nd birth anniversary of social reformer BR Ambedkar at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

Baudh bhikshu Pragya Ratna of the Great Ashoka Buddh Vihar in Porbandar administered the 'Deeksha' to the hundreds of thousands of attendees.

The Swayam Sainik Dal (SSD), a Rajkot-based Dalit organization organised the event.

The event was preceded by a mega rally that saw participation from thousands of people, mostly Dalits, and tribals.

Notably, Ambedkar, along with his thousands of followers, embraced Buddhism on October 14, 1956, in Nagpur.