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‘Swadeshi Campaign’ launch: Govt pushes to boost Indian textiles; domestic market demand expected at $250 billion by 2030 – The Times of India

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‘Swadeshi Campaign’ launch: Govt pushes to boost Indian textiles; domestic market demand expected at 0 billion by 2030 – The Times of India


The ministry of textiles has launched the ‘Swadeshi Campaign’ to boost domestic demand for handloom, handicrafts, and textile products across India. The initiative, which will run for six to nine months, aims to reposition Indian textiles as symbols of pride, style, and heritage, particularly among urban youth and Gen Z consumers. According to the government press release, the campaign’s objectives include stimulating domestic textile consumption, empowering weavers, artisans, and textile MSMEs, and aligning efforts with flagship government initiatives such as the PLI scheme for textiles, PM MITRA Parks, and One District One Product (ODOP). It will also encourage institutional procurement, urging ministries, PSUs, and educational institutions to adopt Indian-made textiles for uniforms and furnishings.

Amit Shah Sounds Big ‘Swadeshi’ Threat From Bastar, Urges 140 Crore People To Adopt Local Products

Awareness will be created through events, social media outreach, and partnerships with state governments. The campaign will run under the slogan: “स्वदेशी कपड़ा देश की शान—यही है भारत की पहचान” (Swadeshi fabric is the pride of the nation—this is India’s identity). India’s textile and clothing market, valued at $179 billion in 2024, is expanding at an average annual growth rate of over 7 per cent. Household consumption accounts for 58 per cent of the domestic market and is growing at 8.19 per cent annually, while non-household consumption contributes 21 per cent with 6.79 per cent growth. With the government’s continued initiatives and the Swadeshi Campaign, domestic demand for textiles is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9–10 per cent, reaching $250 billion by 2030.





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GWR fined £1m over train passenger’s death in Bath

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GWR fined £1m over train passenger’s death in Bath


Tess de la MareWest of England

PA Media A young blond woman with blue eyes looks at the camera. It is a very close shot so her face fills the screen.PA Media

Bethan Roper was returning home from a Christmas shopping trip when she died on the train on 1 December 2018

A major rail operator has been fined £1m for breaching health and safety law when a young woman suffered a fatal injury after placing her head outside a droplight window.

Bethan Roper, 28, was killed on a Great Western Railway (GWR) train near Twerton in Bath on 1 December 2018 when her head struck a tree branch.

Regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) prosecuted GWR on the grounds it was aware of the issue of droplight windows, and had not yet implemented steps identified in a risk assessment undertaken two months before Ms Roper’s death.

GWR was fined and also ordered to pay £78,000 after pleading guilty to two counts of breaching health and safety law.

Richard Hines, ORR’s chief inspector of railways, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Bethan Roper.

“Her death was a preventable tragedy that highlights the need for train operators to proactively manage risks and act swiftly when safety recommendations are made to keep their passengers safe.”

GWR told BBC West: “Bethan Roper’s death was a tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with her family and friends.

“We accept the judge’s decision and remain committed to continuously improving passenger and colleague safety across our network.

“In sentencing, the judge recognised our strong safety record both before and after this incident, and the safety of our passengers and colleagues remains our highest priority.”

Ms Roper, from Penarth in Wales, worked for the Welsh Refugee Council, was a Unite union convener and also chaired the Cardiff West branch of Socialist Party Wales.

She had been returning home from a Christmas shopping trip in Bath and was intoxicated when she boarded the train, an inquest held in 2021 heard.

PA/Cardiff School of Journalism Bethan Roper sits in front of a large pop art picture. She is wearing a green shirt jacket, and dark top. she is holding her hand up. She has pink-tinged blond hair and dark eyebrows. PA/Cardiff School of Journalism

Bethan Roper worked for the Wales Refugee Council

Investigators told the inquest that a yellow warning label above the window bearing the words “Caution do not lean out of window when train is moving” was an insufficient deterrent.

Ms Roper’s death echoed a similar incident in 2016 in which a passenger died near Balham, south London, resulting in the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) issuing safety recommendations in May 2017.

GWR did not produce a written risk assessment until September 2017, but that assessment found droplight windows to be one of the most significant passenger safety risks.

The ORR found the assessment to be insufficient and wrote to GWR about its concerns.

However the assessment was not revised, and the actions GWR had set out to reduce the risk were not implemented before the fatal accident of 2018, the ORR said.

Since Ms Roper’s death, measures have been introduced across the rail industry to prevent passengers leaning out of droplight windows.

Trains with such windows have since been withdrawn from service or fitted with engineering controls to prevent windows being opened while trains are moving.

The ORR said it welcomed actions taken by GWR and the wider industry to reduce risk.



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Harrods sets aside more than £60m for Mohamed Al Fayed abuse victims

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Harrods sets aside more than £60m for Mohamed Al Fayed abuse victims


Harrods has set aside more than £60m in its plan to compensate alleged victims of historical abuse.

More than 100 employees of the luxury department store are expected to claim up to £385,000 each via the redress scheme which is open until March 2026.

The scheme, launched in March, provides to victims who claim they have suffered abuse by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, who died in 2023.

Multiple women have accused Fayed, who owned the luxury store between 1985 to 2010, of rape and sexual assault. The Met Police said that 146 people have come forward to report a crime in their investigation into Fayed.

Harrods have set aside £57 million to be used to compensate alleged victims, with an extra £5.3m reserved to cover legal and administrative costs, bringing the total amount allocated to £62.3 million.

Harrods Managing director Michael Ward said that “more than 100 survivors” have joined the process of the scheme since it was opened.

He added: “Compensation awards and interim payments began being issued to eligible survivors at the end of April 2025 and the scheme will remain open until 31 March 2026.”

The compensation scheme will award each eligible claimant general damages of £200,000. They could receive up to £385,000 in compensation, plus treatment costs, if they agree to be assessed by a consultant psychiatrist, or up to £150,000 without a medical assessment, Harrods said in March.

Partially due to the scheme, Harrods recorded a £34.3 million loss in its latest full year accounts, compared with a profit of £111 million the previous year.

In a statement announcing the scheme, Harrods said: “While we cannot undo the past, we have been determined to do the right thing as an organisation, driven by the values we hold today, while ensuring that such behaviour can never be repeated in the future.”

To be eligible for the scheme, claimants must prove that they were subject to sexual assault and/or wrongful testing, and prove that Harrods is liable.

Many of those who say Fayed abused them underwent intrusive medical examinations when they were hired.

In accepting a compensation offer, victims will waive their right to pursue further action for damages.

The Harrods Group also operates smaller stores at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as a small chain of beauty stores. Revenues for the financial year 2024 were broadly flat at just over £1bn.

It blamed the drop in profits on weaker beauty trading and modernising some of its systems.

Mr Ward added: “The current domestic and global economic environment means that current trading conditions in the luxury sector remain challenging.

“However, we remain confident in the strength of the business, and the resilience of the luxury sector, and that we will continue to drive progress towards longer-term growth and performance objectives.”

Fayed was not charged before his death two years ago.



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Pakistan pitches port on Arabian Sea to US; eye on minerals hub development: Report – The Times of India

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Pakistan pitches port on Arabian Sea to US; eye on minerals hub development: Report – The Times of India


US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month

Advisers to Pakistan’s military chief, Asim Munir, have reportedly approached US officials with a proposal to construct and operate a port at Pasni on the Arabian Sea, offering Washington a strategic presence in a geopolitically sensitive region. According to the Financial Times, the plan envisages transforming Pasni—a small fishing town—into a hub for transporting Pakistan’s critical minerals, including copper and antimony, essential for batteries, fire-retardant materials, and missile production. The town lies about 100 miles from Iran and 70 miles from Gwadar, where China operates a major port facility. The initiative, which is not official government policy, was reportedly shared with Munir ahead of his White House meeting with President Donald Trump last month. However, a senior Trump administration official clarified that the proposal had not reached the president or his advisers for discussion. The port plan forms part of a broader push by Pakistani officials to strengthen ties with the Trump administration. Other initiatives include collaboration on a Trump-backed cryptocurrency project, deeper cooperation against the Afghanistan-based militant group Isis-K, support for his Gaza peace plan, and access to critical minerals. US and Pakistani diplomats have described the relationship between Munir and Trump as “a bromance” since the president claimed credit in May for brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India. Over the summer, US-India relations have cooled, while Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly thanked Trump and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Following their recent meeting, the White House released photographs showing Munir and Sharif presenting Trump with mineral samples. The Pasni port blueprint includes a railway to transport minerals from Pakistan’s interior, connecting to mines such as Reko Diq, developed by Canada’s Barrick Mining. The project’s estimated cost is $1.2 billion, with proposed funding from a mix of Pakistani federal and US-backed development finance. Supporters say the plan would diversify Pakistan’s strategic options while balancing relations with China, the US, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, following a recent security pact with Riyadh. The blueprint stated, “Pasni’s proximity to Iran and Central Asia enhances US options for trade and security. Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar and expand US influence in the Arabian Sea and Central Asia.” It also flagged potential dual-use concerns at China’s Gwadar port under the Belt and Road Initiative, alluding to fears it could serve as a naval base, a claim denied by Islamabad and Beijing. The plan specifies no “direct basing,” meaning the port would not host US military installations. Pakistan has historically been a close US ally, first during the Cold War and then after the 9/11 attacks, but relations frayed due to Islamabad’s support for the Taliban in Afghanistan. One adviser, quoted by FT, said, “I’ve been telling our leaders we need to diversify from China. We don’t need to consult the Chinese as it’s outside the Gwadar concession.” Missouri-based US Strategic Metals (USSM) has shown early interest, signing a memorandum of understanding in September with Pakistan’s military engineering corps. USSM commercial director Mike Hollomon said, “In our conversations with the field marshal, he stressed that Pakistan has been an ally of the US for a long time and minerals is a way to rekindle a dormant friendship.” Late last month, Pakistan shipped a small first consignment of fewer than two tonnes of critical minerals, including copper, antimony, and neodymium, to USSM. The minerals sector currently accounts for about 3 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP, with large untapped reserves in insurgency-hit western provinces. Hussain Abidi, chair of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, described the initiative as, “This is a reset with America through economic ties rather than just the traditional security ties.”





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