IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has cited the example of the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka to warn other countries that they could also face a similar situation in the face of high debt levels and limited policy space.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Georgieva said at the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Indonesia.

The comments from the IMF MD came as Sri Lanka is going through its toughest economic crisis and is in a hard position where it cannot pay for its essential imports, fuel, food and medicine due to an acute forex crisis.

The government declared bankruptcy in mid-April by refusing to honour its international debt.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced out of power last week due to his poor handling of the economy.

Georgieva said that developing nations had also been experiencing sustained capital outflows for four months in a row, putting their dreams of catching up with advanced economies at risk.

While she did not directly indicate the names of any nations, the same global headwinds - rising inflation and interest rate hikes, depreciating currencies, high levels of debt and dwindling foreign currency reserves, have affected other economies in the region.

Pakistan is one of the nations, which has been witnessing a shaky economy for some time now. Fuel prices in Pakistan are up by around 90 per cent since the end of May, after the government ended fuel subsidies. It's trying to rein in spending as it negotiates with the IMF to resume a bailout programme.

The economy is struggling with the rising cost of goods.

In June, the annual inflation rate hit 21.3 per cent, the highest it has been in 13 years.

Maldives and Bangladesh are two nations which are on the verge of witnessing an economic crisis if situations are not brought under control.

The Maldives has seen its public debt swell in recent years and it's now well above 100 per cent of its GDP. Like Sri Lanka, the pandemic hammered the economy of the Maldives that was heavily reliant on tourism.

On the other hand, in Bangladesh Inflation has hit an 8-year high in May in Bangladesh, touching 7.42 per cent.

With reserves dwindling, the government has acted fast to curb non-essential imports, relaxing rules to attract remittances from millions of migrants living overseas and reducing foreign trips for officials.

Imran Khan has demanded fresh general elections in Pakistan after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party routed the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party in the crucial Punjab assembly by-polls, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif whose son Hamza Shehbaz is all set to lose his post as chief minister.

The election for the chief minister will be held on July 22 on the Supreme Court's order and PTI-PMLQ joint candidate Chaudhary Parvez Elahi is likely to be the new chief minister of the politically crucial province Punjab.

According to unofficial results so far, the PTI has won 15 seats while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Sharif has just four. An independent candidate also won.

The Punjab Assembly currently stands at 369 members: the PTI has 178 lawmakers and its ally PML-Q 10.

The PML-N has 167 members while its coalition partners PPP seven, six independents and one Rah-i-Haq Party.

India's agricultural and processed food products exports rose 14 per cent during the first three months of the current financial year 2022-23 (April-June). Total exports were to the tune of USD 5,987 million.

During the same quarter last year, the exports were worth USD 5,256 million.

For 2022-23, the government had set an export target of USD 23.56 billion for the agricultural and processed food products basket under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The basket excludes tea, coffee, spices, cotton and marine exports.

The exports of fresh fruits and vegetables registered 8.6 per cent growth, while processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported an impressive growth of 36.4 per cent during the quarter, a Ministry of Commerce & Industry statement said.

Exports of other cereals increased from USD 237 million in April-June 2021 to USD 306 million in April-June 2022, whereas exports of meat, dairy and poultry products increased from USD 1,023 million in April-June 2021 to USD 1,120 million in April-June 2022, the statement added.

Further, exports of rice witnessed a growth of 13 per cent in the first three months of FY 2022-23, while the export of meat, dairy & poultry products increased by 9.5 per cent and export of other cereals increased by 29 per cent.

In 2021-22, India's agricultural products exports had grown by 19.92 per cent to touch USD 50.21 billion despite unprecedented logistical challenges.

The government has also taken several initiatives to promote products having registered geographical indications (GI) in India by organizing virtual buyer-seller meets on agricultural and food products with various countries.

Market regulator Sebi has cleared the name of Ashishkumar Chauhan for the MD & CEO post of NSE. Chauhan currently serves as MD & CEO of BSE. Chauhan will succeed Vikram Limaye, who demitted office on july 16, subject to NSE shareholder approval. Limaye did not seek a re-appointment. Sebi cleared Chauhan’s name out of a short list of two. Chauhan’s term at BSE ends in November.

Chauhan joined BSE as Deputy CEO in 2009 and was appointed CEO in 2012.  An IIT Bombay alumnus, Chauhan worked with Reliance group as president and CIO from 2000-2009. He was instrumental in setting up India’s first fully automated screen-based trading system and first commercial satellite communications network.

The share of India’s inward remittances from Gulf countries has likely declined from more than 50% in 2016-17 to about 30% in 2020-21, a survey by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.

According to the survey, remittances from the US have surpassed that of UAE, with the former accounting for 23% of total remittances in 2020-21. Remittances from UAE now account for 17-18% of India’s total inward remittances.

The RBI conducted the fifth round of the survey on remittances for the year 2020-21 based on a census of all authorised banks and major money transfer entities engaged in cross-border transfer of funds.

An RBI report further says that amid the steady migration of skilled workers, advanced economies particularly the US, the UK and Singapore have emerged as important source countries of remittances, accounting for 36% of total remittances in 2020-21.

The report believes that the fall in remittances from the Gulf region can also be attributed to the fact that the Indian diaspora working in informal sectors in the region seems to have been impacted the most due to lockdown restrictions, subdued crude oil prices and slower pace of migration in recent years.

The signs of financial distress among remitters, says the report, were evident in the increase in smaller denominated transactions (less than $200) in 2020-21. State-wise share

The share of the traditional remittance recipient states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which had strong dominance in the Gulf countries, has almost halved in 2020-21, accounting for only 25% of total remittances compared to over 42% in 2016-17, while Maharashtra has emerged as the top recipient state surpassing Kerala. The report shows Maharashtra now accounts for almost 35% of the total remittances in 2020-21.

The majority of the remittances continue to be routed through private sector banks, followed by public sector banks although foreign banks have witnessed a marginal increase in remittances transactions. Majorly via private banks

India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm has submitted an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000 crore ahead of its participation in the 5G auction, while Bharti Airtel has put in Rs 5,500 crore.

According to the list of pre-qualified bidders posted on the telecom department's website, the EMD (Earnest money deposit) amount of Adani Data Networks stands at Rs 100 crore. Typically, EMD amounts give a broad indication of players' appetite, strategy and plan for picking up spectrum in an auction.

It also determines the eligibility points, through which telcos target a specific amount of spectrum in a given circle. Vodafone Idea has put in an EMD of Rs 2,200 crore.

With its EMD at Rs 14,000 crore, the eligibility points assigned to Jio for the auction stand at 1,59,830, the highest in the list of four bidders.

The eligibility points allocated to Airtel are 66,330, while that of Vodafone Idea are 29,370. Adani Data Networks received eligibility points of 1,650, based on its deposit.

The 5G spectrum auction is scheduled to start on July 26. Total of 72 GHz (gigahertz) of spectrum worth at least Rs 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the auction.

The auction will be held for radiowaves in various low-frequency bands (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 megahertz) and high-frequency bands (26GHz).

England's Ben Stokes has announced he will retire from one-day international cricket after  july 19  series opener against South Africa on his Durham home ground, citing an "unsustainable" schedule.

The powerful all-rounder, who captains the England Test team, famously inspired his side to victory in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord's.

Stokes's decision comes after England's 2-1 series defeat against India, in which he scored 48 runs in three innings, but only bowled three overs.

He has been rested from the three T20 games against South Africa that will follow the ODI series.

Veteran Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmed Khan on july 18  created history by winning the country's first-ever ISSF World Cup gold medal in men's skeet in Changwon.

In the 40-shot final, the 46-year-old from Uttar Pradesh shot 37 to finish ahead of Korea's Minsu Kim (36) and Britain's Ben Llewellin (26), who won the silver and bronze respectively.

The two-time Olympian, who is the oldest member of the Indian contingent in Changwon this year, had won a silver at the 2016 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier in the day, the trio of Anjum Moudgil, Ashi Chouksey, and Sift Kaur Samra won bronze in the women's 50m rifle 3P team event.

With one gold and bronze on july 18  , India remained on top of the medal tally with 13 podiums (5 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze).