# India – Australia trade deal

• India and Australia signed an Economic Cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) on Saturday in the presence of prime minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart in Canberra Scott Morrison.
• This trade agreement is aimed at doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion in five years and easing movement of people, goods and services across border.
• The agreement with Australia, which commerce and industry minister Piyush goyal expects would create 10 lakh additional jobs in the country over the next five years.
• This trade deal will facilitate zero duty access on over 96% of Indian exports, including several labour intensive industries.
• India will, in turn, offer preferential access to Australia on over 70% of its tarriff lines of on goods imports, including raw materials and intermediaries like coal, mineral ores and wines.
• Prime minister Modi has described this agreement as watershed moment in India Australia relations.

# Pakistan

• Pakistan army chief General Qamar jawed bajwa on Saturday said that all disputes with India should be settled peacefully through dialogue.
• Pakistani army chief was speaking at the ‘Islamabad security dialogue’ conference on emerging challenges in international security.
• Meanwhile, Imran khan has said that the establishment (army) had given him three options : resignation, no confidence vote Or elections.

# Srilanka

• Srilanka has declared a weekend curfew, ahead of mass protests planned by citizens’ groups challenging the government over its failed response to a heightening economic crisis in the Island nation.
• The curfew was effective from Saturday evening until Monday morning.
• The public outcry is in response to long power cuts and persisting shortage of essential commodities.

# Noise

• With growing demand for wearables and hearables, homegrown consumer technology firm noise is looking at more than doubling its revenue in the current financial year to about ₹2000 crore.
• The company also plans to increase its ‘made in India’ product portfolio to manufacture about 60% of its products locally.