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Traders raise concerns over border closures | The Express Tribune
Pakistan has not suspended the Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement, but it was not processing goods clearance due to the closure of borders to avoid congestion at Chaman and Torkham borders, said senior officials of the Pakistan Customs. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD:
Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan on Friday held a high-level consultative meeting with leaders, traders and community representatives from Chaman District, including members of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to discuss persistent issues affecting cross-border trade at the Pak-Afghan border.
According to an official statement, the meeting primarily focused on the challenges arising from the frequent and prolonged closures of the Chaman border crossing, which stakeholders said have caused serious disruption to economic activity in the region. Participants highlighted the severe socio-economic consequences of these closures, pointing to sustained financial losses for traders, repeated disruptions in the export of perishable goods, rising unemployment and growing hardship for the local population, much of which depends heavily on cross-border trade for its livelihood.
As per the statement, Kamal Khan listened to the concerns raised during the meeting and assured participants that the Ministry of Commerce would extend full support in addressing trade-related issues and facilitating legitimate cross-border commerce. He emphasised that the difficulties faced by Chaman’s trading community were a priority matter for the government and required sustained attention.
The minister clarified, however, that while the Ministry of Commerce would continue to advocate improved trade facilitation and smoother cross-border movement, decisions regarding the opening or closure of the border are taken collectively by the government on the basis of broader national considerations. He noted that such decisions do not fall under the sole mandate of the Ministry of Commerce.
Business
LPG crisis: No respite for restaurants yet – The Times of India
MUMBAI/BENGALURU: The restaurant industry is struggling to run regular operations due to the meagre supplies of LPG cylinders . With the govt’s move to hike commercial LPG allocation to up to 70%, it will take some time before the measure actually translates into sustained supply, executives said. “Supply is still hugely limited and erratic. A feeling of uncertainty looms large,” said Anurag Katriar, founder at Indigo Hospitality. The key question is how quickly this revised allocation will translate into on-ground availability, said Pradeep Shetty, vice-president at Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).A walk along Indiranagar’s 12th Main, known for its cluster of independent restaurants, reflects the strain. “It is all hand-to-mouth at this point,” said Nikhil Gupta, who runs brands including The Pizza Bakery and Paris Panini . The move doesn’t directly help the restaurant sector which is still getting 20%-30% of LPG supplies, said Sagar Daryani, co-founder & CEO at Wow! Momo Foods and president at National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). State-wise, the supply situation varies with some such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan restricting allocation for restaurants, hurting the sector , Daryani said.
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Asda boss rejects profiteering claims as petrol price tops 150p
Motorists are facing higher fuel prices ahead of Easter break due to the conflict in the Middle East, the RAC says.
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E-cheques coming soon? RBI unveils Payments Vision 2028, plans wider oversight of digital players – The Times of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unveiled its ‘Payments Vision 2028’ document, outlining a roadmap that includes exploring electronic cheques, expanding regulatory oversight to digital platforms, and strengthening safeguards in the fast-growing payments ecosystem, PTI reported.The central bank said it will examine the introduction of e-cheques to combine the advantages of paper instruments with the speed and reliability of digital payments. “To leverage the unique benefits of paper-based instruments and the speed and reliability of electronic payments, and cater to new business use cases, the introduction of electronic cheques in India shall be explored,” the RBI said.Alongside, the RBI is considering widening the regulatory ambit to include entities such as e-commerce marketplaces and centralised platforms that play a growing role in facilitating digital transactions.“In addition, e-commerce marketplaces and centralized platforms have been assuming significant responsibilities that could have implications on the orderly functioning of the payments ecosystem. These aspects shall be examined in detail and, if required, the scope of direct regulations shall be extended to cover such entities,” the document said.The vision document also proposes allowing users to enable or disable transactions across digital payment modes, similar to controls available for card transactions.To address fraud risks, the RBI is exploring a “shared responsibility framework” under which both the issuing bank and the beneficiary bank would share liability in cases of unauthorised digital transactions.The central bank also plans to review cheque design and security features, introduce a Domestic Legal Entity Identifier (DLEI) framework for better transaction traceability, and bring in a Cyber Key Risk Indicators (KRI) framework for non-bank payment system operators.Other initiatives include exploring white-label solutions in the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), developing interoperability in the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System (TReDS), and introducing a ‘Payments Switching Service’ to ease customer migration across platforms.The RBI said it will also review the cross-border payments ecosystem to improve efficiency and streamline authorisation processes, alongside publishing periodic reports on global and domestic payment trends.Additionally, the central bank aims to enhance access to payment data and reimagine the card payments ecosystem by promoting secure tokenisation, improved transparency in pricing, and greater choice for users and merchants.
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