Russia's foreign minister arrived in Myanmar on  Aug 3 for talks with junta leaders, stopping off on his way to a regional meeting that has snubbed the military over its refusal to halt its bloody crackdown on dissent.

Sergei Lavrov arrived at the military-built capital Naypyidaw "for a working visit," Russia's foreign affairs ministry said on Twitter.

He will meet the junta's foreign minister and "the Myanmar leadership," according to a ministry statement released ahead of the trip.

Lavrov's visit comes after the junta sparked renewed international outrage last week when it announced it had executed four prisoners, including a former lawmaker and a democracy activist, in the country's first use of capital punishment in decades.

He is scheduled to travel on to an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting in Cambodia from which the junta's top diplomat has been excluded over its refusal to engage in dialogue with its opponents.

Russia and its ally China have been accused of arming Myanmar's junta with weapons used to attack civilians since last year's coup.

India’s trade deficit in July 2022 widened to $31.02 billion from $26.18 billion in June due to inflated commodity prices, according to the data released by the Commerce ministry .

The trade deficit in the same month last year (2021) stood at $10.63 billion. In the April-July 2022 period, the trade deficit crossed $100 billion, almost 2.5 times the trade deficit in the same period last year. 

While merchandise exports in July 2022 remained flat at $35.24 billion ($35.51 billion in July 2021), merchandise import in July 2022 was $66.26 billion, a rise of 43.59% over $46.15 billion in July 2021.

Petroleum and coal were the major contributors to India’s imports in July. India imported petroleum products of $21.13 billion in July, which is 70% higher than last year. Similarly, coal imports witnessed a spike of 164% to $5.18 billion in July.

Merchandise imports in April-July 2022-23 were $256.43 billion with a rise of 48.12% over $ 173.12 billion in April -July 2021-22. The value of non-petroleum imports was $45.13 billion in July 2022 with a positive growth of 33.74% over non-petroleum imports of $33.74 billion in July 2021. The cumulative value of non-petroleum imports in April-July 2022-23 was $174.39 billion, showing an increase of 34.35% as against non-oil imports of $129.81 billion in April -July 2021-22.

Banks have written off loans worth about Rs 10 lakh crore in the last five financial years, Parliament was informed on Aug 2.

During 2021-22, the write-off amount came down to Rs 1,57,096 crore compared to Rs 2,02,781 crore in the previous year, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

In 2019-20, the write-off was worth Rs 2,34,170 crore, down from Rs 2,36,265 crore, the highest in five years recorded in 2018-19.

During 2017-18, the write-off by banks stood at Rs 1,61,328 crore, he said.

In all, he said, bank loans to the tune of Rs 9,91,640 crore have been written off in the last five years--2017-18 to 2021-22.

He also said that "scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) and all Indian financial institutions report certain credit information of all borrowers having aggregate credit exposure of Rs 5 crore and above to RBI under its Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) database.

" As per RBI, the CRILC data in respect of wilful defaulters is maintained from 2018-19 onwards, he said, adding total number of wilful defaulters in the last four years stood at 10,306.

The highest number of 2,840 wilful defaulters reported during 2020-21 was followed by 2,700 the next year.

The number of wilful defaulters stood at 2,207 at the end of March 2019 that rose to 2,469 in 2019-20.

Sharing details of top 25 wilful defaulters at the end of March 2022, Karad said, Gitanjali Gems Ltd tops the list followed by Era Infra Engineering, Concast Steel and Power, REI Agro Ltd and ABG Shipyard Ltd.

Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi's company Gitanjali Gems owes banks a whopping Rs 7,110 crore while Era Infra Engineering owes Rs 5,879 crore and Concast Steel and Power Ltd Rs 4,107 crore.

Besides, REI Agro Ltd and ABG Shipyard have defrauded banks of Rs 3,984 crore and Rs 3,708 crore, respectively.

Other wilful defaulters like Frost International Ltd owes Rs 3,108 crore, Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Rs 2,671 crore, Rotomac Global Private Limited Rs 2,481 crore, Coastal Projects Ltd Rs 2,311 crore and Kudos Chemie Rs 2,082 crore.

Around 1 crore micro small and medium enterprises have registered on the Udyam portal within a span of 25 months, Union Minister Narayan Rane said on Aug 2.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference, the MSME Minister said he has given a target of 16 months to officials for achieving 2 crore registrations on the Udyam portal.

The minister informed that 1 crore Udyam registrations were achieved in 25 months.

The MSME ministry signed MoUs with the Ministry of Tourism and the NSIC for the sharing of Udyam data.

On the occasion, the Digi Locker facility for Udyam Registration was also launched.

Rane also highlighted the need for Udyam registrations and underscored its utility as an identity for MSMEs to avail benefits of schemes for Ministry of MSME and for Priority Sector Lending of banks.

He stressed on the contribution made by MSMEs in GDP, exports and employment generation.

Following the adoption of the revised definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on 26 June, 2020, which is based on investment in plant & machinery or equipment; and turnover, the Udyam Registration Portal was launched on 1st July 2020.

The revised definition did away with the distinction between manufacturing and services enterprises.

The Udyam portal is linked to the databases of CBDT and GSTN.

It is fully online, does not require any documentation, and is a step towards Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs.

India and Maldives on Aug 2 inked six agreements to expand cooperation in a range of areas including cyber security, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a USD 100 million financial aid to help the island nation complete certain infrastructure projects.

Prime Minister Modi announced a Line of Credit of USD 100 million (one million = 10 lakh) for Maldives for the completion of development projects in a time-bound manner.

After wide-ranging talks with visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Modi also said that India will provide 24 vehicles and a naval vessel to the Maldivian security forces, besides developing police infrastructure in 61 islands in that country.

In his media statement, Modi, in the presence of Solih, said India "has been and will continue" to be the "first responder" to any need or crisis facing the Maldives.

The bolstering of bilateral defence and security ties including in the maritime domain comes in the backdrop of concerns over China's growing forays into the Indian Ocean region, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy.

The six pacts inked between the two sides will facilitate cooperation in capacity building, cyber security, housing, disaster management and infrastructure development in the Maldives.

The two leaders also virtually witnessed the pouring of the first concrete for the ambitious greater-Male connectivity project.

In August last year, the island nation sealed a contract for the implementation of the India-funded connectivity project, billed as the largest infrastructure initiative being rolled out in the island nation.

Under the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) project, a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

Five months after the exit of BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover, another co-founder Bhavik Koladiya has quit the fintech unicorn.

Though it is said that Koladiya's contract has not been renewed, BharatPe said in a statement that his contract tenure ended on July 31, 2022, and he expressed his desire to spend time on other assignments outside the company.

His exit comes months after Grover's ugly spat and exit from BharatPe. In 2018, Koladiya's role changed from the founder of the company to co-founder and CEO, and then again, he lost his co-founder status and instead was named the CTO of the company.

Weightlifter Vikas Thakur needs no introduction as he has won a bagful of medals for the country. He has tasted success at every platform over the years but the lifter seems to have a special liking for the Commonwealth Games. In 2014 with the 85kg silver in Glasgow, Vikas became the first Indian to win a medal in higher weight categories at the event. He followed it up with 94kg bronze in the next edition at Gold Coast.

Shushila Devi Likmabam is one of the pioneers of women's judo in the country. Back in 2014 during the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Manipuri judoka became the first Indian woman to clinch a medal (silver) at the event.