US 'bluntly' warns China to avoid supporting Russia's invasion in Ukraine

 US adviser Jake Sullivan warned a Chinese official about Beijing’s support for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, even as Kremlin denied reports stating that it had requested Chinese weapons to use in war

Washington [US], March 15 (ANI): US President Joe Biden‘s National Security Adviser warned a top Chinese official on Monday (local time) about Beijing’s support for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, even as the Kremlin denied reports stating that it had requested Chinese military equipment to use in the war. US adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met in Rome earlier today. Sullivan held an “intense” seven-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart and laid out potential consequences of Beijing assisting Russia in the war in Ukraine.

“The national security adviser and our delegation raised directly and very clear our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us but for its relationships around the world,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price, using the initials for the People’s Republic of China…Read More

Covid-19: Alcohol-based hand sanitizers to attract 18% GST, rules AAR

Springfields (India) Distilleries had moved Goa AAR over classification of the hand sanitizer and the applicable rate of GST.

Amid the ongoing debate over goods and services tax (GST) rate on hand sanitizers, the Goa bench of the GST Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that the alcohol-based hygiene product will attract 18 per cent GST. It added that its classification as an essential commodity cannot be a criteria for exemption from GST.

Springfields (India) Distilleries had moved Goa AAR over classification of the hand sanitizer and the applicable rate of GST. It also sought an opinion on whether it will be exempt from GST as the consumer affairs ministry has classified hand sanitizers as essential commodity.

The applicant was of the view that hand sanitizers are covered under the medicament category, and should be taxed at 12 per cent under GST. However, the AAR bench ruled that, “Hand sanitizers manufactured by the applicant are of the category of alcohol-based sanitizers and are classifiable under heading 3808 of the Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN) to which the rate of GST applicable is 18 per cent.” Regarding the second query, the AAR said that there is a separate notification under GST law for exempted goods and services. “Merely classifying any goods as an essential commodity will not be the criteria for exempting such goods from GS.”

US Covid-19 vaccine test results bring 'good news,' final trial soon: Fauci

No matter how you slice this, this is good news, says Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government's top infectious disease expert

The first Covid-19 vaccine tested in the US revved up people's immune systems just the way scientists had hoped, researchers reported Tuesday, as the shots are poised to begin key final testing. No matter how you slice this, this is good news, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US government's top infectious disease expert, told The Associated Press.

The experimental vaccine, developed by Fauci's colleagues at the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will start its most important step around July 27: A 30,000-person study to prove if the shots really are strong enough to protect against the coronavirus. But Tuesday, researchers reported anxiously awaited findings from the first 45 volunteers who rolled up their sleeves back in March. Sure enough, the vaccine provided a hoped-for immune boost.

Those early volunteers developed what are called neutralizing antibodies in their bloodstream -- molecules key to blocking infection -- at levels comparable to those found in people who survived Covid-19, the research team reported in the New England Journal of Medicine...Read More

Coronavirus outbreak: US teen charged for ‘prank’ coughing on groceries

The incident took place at a time when confirmed cases of novel coronavirus are on the rise in Houston area. As of Sunday noon, COVID-19 cases in the area have climbed to 928.

A 14-year-old boy was charged over a prank in which he allegedly coughed on produce at a grocery store in northwest Harris County, amid the coronavirus scare in the US, officials said on Sunday. The grocer called 911 and reported a disturbance, following which the deputies arrived the store, they said. In a Facebook post, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the deputies responded to the disturbance call at the Food City. He said the teen “intentionally coughed on produce”.

“Apparently it was a prank,” wrote Gonzalez. “Not a very funny one. The teen was charged with Tampering with Consumer Products.” The incident took place at a time when confirmed cases of novel coronavirus are on the rise in Houston area. As of Sunday noon, COVID-19 cases in the area have climbed to 928. An estimated 58 people in the area who have tested positive for the virus have recovered, according to reports from a number of health officials. Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott is tightening travel to Texas by ordering some motorists from Louisiana to self-quarantine for two weeks.

The new travel restrictions come as Louisiana’s status as a novel coronavirus hotspot grew Sunday to more than 3,500 positive cases statewide. Abbott said drivers with commercial, medical, emergency response, military or critical infrastructure purposes for entering Texas would be exempted.State troopers will enforce the order at checkpoints at major roadways along the border. Those asked to quarantine will be required to provide an address for where they plan to hold up in Texas, either for two weeks or until their return to Louisiana, whichever comes first.

Read our full coverage on Coronavirus

New York state’s coronavirus death toll surpasses 1,000 in 16 days

The virus and the disease it causes, coronavirus, has torn through New York with frightening speed.

New York state’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed Sunday above 1,000, less than a month after the first known infection in the state. Most of those deaths have come in just the past few days. New York City reported in the evening that its toll had risen to 776. The total number of statewide deaths isn’t expected to be released until Monday, but with at least 250 additional deaths recorded outside the city as of Sunday morning, the state’s total fatalities was at least 1,026.

The virus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has torn through New York with frightening speed. The first known infection in the state was discovered March 1 in a health care worker who recently returned from Iran. Two days later, the state got its second case, a lawyer from the suburb of New Rochelle.

March 10, Gov. Andrew Cuomo had declared a containment area in New Rochelle that shuttered area schools and houses of worship. That same day, the metropolitan area saw its first fatality: a man who worked at a harness track in Yonkers and lived in New Jersey. By March 12, the state had banned all gatherings of more than 500 people, darkening Broadway theaters and sports arenas. A day later, the first New York resident died, an 82-year-old woman with emphysema...

Delhi police detects fake UPI ID created to cheat PM CARES donors; blocked

Anyesh Roy, DCP (cybercrime) said in a tweet that the fake UPI was created with the ID pmcare@sbi, which is similar to the correct ID pmcares@sbi.

Delhi police’s cybercrime unit has detected a fake Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID created with a motive to cheat the donors of the newly launched PM CARES Fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official said on Sunday. Anyesh Roy, DCP (cybercrime) said in a tweet that the fake UPI was created with the ID pmcare@sbi, which is similar to the correct ID pmcares@sbi.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: Punjab records another death; global toll hits 33,965

The State Bank of India has also been briefed about the fake ID and the bank has blocked it, another official said. The matter is under investigation and efforts are being made to identify the accused, he added. PM Narendra Modi announced the constitution of the PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund last week. The fund is dedicated for dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like the coronavirus pandemic. He also urged people to donate in the fund to fight the battle against coronavirus. The pandemic has claimed at least 21 lives in India and over 1000 people has been tested positive so far.

Donald Trump threatens intelligence block over Huawei: US diplomat

Grenell said on Twitter that the president had called him on Sunday from Air Force One, the presidential plane, to convey the message.

The US’ ambassador to Germany has said that President Donald Trump had threatened to cut off intelligence-sharing with countries that dealt with Chinese tech firm Huawei. Washington has been pressing allies to ban Huawei, one of the world’s largest tech firms, from next-generation 5G mobile data networks, saying it is a security risk.

Ambassador Richard Grenell said Donald Trump “instructed me to make clear that any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardise our ability to share intelligence and information at the highest level.” Grenell said on Twitter that the president had called him on Sunday from Air Force One, the presidential plane, to convey the message. Key US allies in Europe, notably Britain and France, have said they will not ban Huawei from building 5G networks but will impose restrictions. Publicly, the US has been restrained in its response, but Trump was reportedly furious with London.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Huawei was a “Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence.” The tech company vehemently denies the US allegations, and Beijing has characterised its treatment as “economic bullying.”

Trump ordered killing of top Iranian military commander: Pentagon

The death of Qasem Soleimani, who led the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force, heightened fears of an armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran that could easily pull in other countries.

US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani, who died in Baghdad “in a decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad,” the Pentagon said.

“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Qasem Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more,” the Department of Defence said.

Following Soleimani’s death, Trump tweeted an image of the US flag without any further explanation. The strike, which occurred at Baghdad’s international airport on Friday in Iraq, also killed the deputy chief of Iraq’s powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force. A pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the US embassy following deadly American air strikes on a hardline Hashed faction.\

The US had called the strikes in response to a rocket attack days earlier that had killed an American contractor working in Iraq. The Baghdad airport was hit in a volley of missiles just after midnight Friday, Iraq’s military had announced

Iran’s celebrity, West’s terrorist: Who was General Qasem Soleimani

Soleimani was the key planner of Iran’s local impact, driving the battle against jihadist powers and broadening Iran’s conciliatory heave in Iraq, Syria and past

Progressive Guards administrator Qasem Soleimani, who was killed Friday in a US strike, was one of the most well known figures in Iran and seen as a lethal enemy by America and its partners. General Soleimani, who headed the outer tasks Quds Force for the Guards, had employed his local clout openly since 2018 when it was uncovered that he had direct association in top-level talks over the arrangement of Iraq’s administration.

It was nothing unexpected at the ideal opportunity for a man who has been at the focal point of intensity broking in the district for two decades. Qasem Soleimani has been in and out of Baghdad from that point forward, most as of late a month ago as gatherings looked to shape another administration. Where once he kept to the shadows, Soleimani has lately become an improbable big name in Iran – packed with an immense after on Instagram.

His profile rose abruptly when he was pushed forward as the general population face of Iran’s mediation in the Syrian clash from 2013, showing up in combat zone photographs, narratives – and in any event, being highlighted in a music video and vivified film. In an uncommon meeting disclosed on Iranian state TV in October, he said he was in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war to regulate the contention…

Boeing messages disclose ‘very disturbing picture’ of 737 Max planes

This was the second time that the Chicago-based company has delayed turning over to the FAA sensitive messages related to the development of the 737 Max

A new batch of messages between Boeing Co. employees on the development of the 737 Max paints a “very disturbing picture” of concerns about the plane, according to an aide to a House committee.

The documents were turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, the agency said in a statement. The disclosure came the same day that Boeing ousted its chief executive officer. At least some of them were written by the same Boeing pilot whose 2016 messages were released in October and were the subject of sharp questioning by lawmakers, according to a person familiar with their contents who wasn’t authorized to discuss them.

The communications haven’t been released publicly. The staff of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are still reviewing the messages and didn’t provide specific details about what they contain. “But similar to other records previously disclosed by Boeing, the records appear to point to a very disturbing picture of both concerns expressed by Boeing employees about the company’s commitment to safety and efforts by some employees to ensure Boeing’s production plans were not diverted by regulators or others,” a committee aide said in a statement…

From India to Brazil, emerging markets can shore up global economy

South Korea and Brazil are among those with further cuts likely on the horizon, while others like China and Thailand are proceeding more cautiously on further easing

Emerging-economy central banks from India to Brazil still enjoy the firepower to shore up the global economy as their peers from developed markets take to the sidelines. While policy makers at the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are seemingly set to keep interest rates on hold, many of their developing nation counterparts have room to cut further. That should help support the world economy amid its weakest expansion in a decade.

“In most cases, emerging markets are now in the comfortable position to be able to cushion an economic downturn with monetary easing,” Ulrich Leuchtmann, head of currency strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a report this month. “This easing of monetary policy is likely to give a lift to EM economies, and this would also be positive for developed countries.”

Faster Growth

That outlook was underscored this week by Morgan Stanley economists, who predicted emerging markets will grow 4.4% next year, more than three times the 1.3% rate anticipated in the Group of 10 economies.

After 20 of the 32 central banks monitored by the bank eased policy in 2019, its economists forecast 13 will do so in 2020 with the cuts concentrated in emerging markets helping to reduce the global weighted average policy rate to a seven-year low by March. India, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey can all strike if they need to…

Huawei, ZTE corp threaten our national security, says US attorney general

The US government added Huawei to its economic blacklist in May, saying the Chinese company was involved in activities contrary to US national security.

Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp “cannot be trusted,” US Attorney General William Barr said, labelling the Chinese firms a security threat as he backed a proposal to bar US rural wireless carriers from tapping an $8.5 billion (£6.64 billion) government fund to purchase equipment or services from them.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Nov. 22 and is proposing requiring the carriers to remove and replace equipment from the companies. Barr said in a letter to the FCC released on Thursday that “their own track record, as well as the practices of the Chinese government, demonstrate that Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted.”

He added that “we should not signal that Huawei and ZTE are anything other than a threat to our collective security, for that is exactly what they, through their actions, have shown themselves to be.”Barr noted that federal prosecutors charged Huawei with violations of the US embargo on Iran, bank fraud, obstruction of justice and trade secret theft. ZTE pleaded guilty in 2017 to illegally sending approximately $32 million in US goods to Iran.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the commission “cannot ignore the risk that the Chinese government will seek to exploit network vulnerabilities in order to engage in espionage, insert malware and viruses, and otherwise compromise our critical communications networks.” The move is the latest US action aimed at barring US companies from purchasing Huawei and ZTE equipment. Huawei said last week that “in 30 years of business, Huawei has never had a major security-related incident in the 170 countries where we operate.”

Nita Ambani named to the board of New York-based Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nita Ambani, 57, was elected to become an honorary trustee of the museum, according to the statement.

Nita Ambani, philanthropist and wife of Asia’s richest person, was named to the board of the largest U.S. art museum after years of supporting exhibitions at the New York City institution. Ambani’s backing “has had an enormous impact on the museum’s ability to study and display art from every corner of the world,” Daniel Brodsky, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s chairman, said Tuesday in a statement.

The wife of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of refining-to-telecom giant Reliance Industries Ltd, has been promoting Indian art and culture around the world along with sports and development programs inside the country as the head of the conglomerate’s foundation. Nita Ambani, 57, was elected to become an honorary trustee of the museum, according to the statement.

The 149-year-old Metropolitan museum draws billionaires, celebrities and millions of visitors a year to see art spanning 5,000 years from around the world. The not-for-profit institution reported revenue, support and transfers of $384.7 million in 2018 at the operating level, down from $385.3 million the previous year, according to its annual report.

US hikes H-1B application fee by $10 as part of revised selection process

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency

The United States has announced the increase of H-1B work visa application fee by $10 as part of its revised selection process.

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday. “This effort will help implement a more efficient and effective H-1B cap selection process,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.

“The electronic registration system is part of an agency-wide initiative to modernise our immigration system while deterring fraud, improving vetting procedures and strengthening program integrity,” he said. The H-1B Visa programme allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with the USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended, the USCIS said. The federal agency is slated to implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap selection process, pending completed testing of the system.

World leaders come up short at UN summit as millions demand climate action

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit new, and ideally more ambitious, climate action plans every five years. The next presentations are due in 2020

Millions of people in 170 countries took to the streets to protest. World leaders lined up at the United Nations to pledge action. A 16-year-old girl, close to tears, shamed them for robbing her of a future.

The pressure to act on climate change is mounting. Titans of global business and politics gathered in New York this week for a series of events, including the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, to acknowledge that more must be done — but fell short of saying exactly what will be done.

“Time is running out in the court of public opinion, because time is running out to address climate change,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told heads of state and business chiefs at the Global Business Forum on Wednesday. “It’s right for them to hold our feet to the fire.”

The stakes have indeed never been higher. Temperatures have already risen 1 degree Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1880s. The world must limit that warming to no more than 2 degrees above Industrial Revolution levels, the UN has warned, to avoid the most catastrophic of droughts, floods, mass migrations and conflicts. “You can just feel the groundswell of popular sentiment, that the urgency of this is elevated,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive David Solomon said during the forum.

When asked whether there’s enough information out there to determine his own bank’s exposure to climate change, Solomon said, “We’re working on it. The answer is we’re working on it.” It was a response that underscored both the heightened awareness among leaders that they will be held responsible for global warming and the work that still lays ahead of them…

How will Trump’s trade war end? The US-UK war of 1812 may have the answer

The war of 1812 between US and United Kingdom might offer a more realistic comparison, say trade historians

President Donald Trump’s heightening exchange war against China has drawn a lot of recorded parallels. The Chinese like to summon the nineteenth century Opium Wars and the national mortification that pursued. In the U.S. the examination is progressively to the Cold War against the Soviet Union, or the 1980s exchange wars against Japan.

Ask Douglas Irwin, creator of “Conflicting Over Commerce: A History of U.S. Exchange Policy,” notwithstanding, and he contends the most exact examination from an American viewpoint is the War of 1812. That contention was conceived out of an exchange war (a British ban of France) and battled at any rate incompletely as an exchange war (a British bar of America). It likewise yielded another exchange war.

When the war was won, it incited requires a decoupling from a British economy with which America’s was profoundly coordinated, Irwin said. Furthermore, similar to the present calls identified with China, that depended on a greater existential inquiry for the U.S. “We needed to lessen our reliance on Britain, which was seen as an adversary control,” said Irwin, a teacher at Dartmouth.

Higher Stakes

Accordingly, Washington started forcing higher levies on British products to secure what it pronounced to be key U.S. ventures. That activity developed into makers’ calls for assurance from modest British imports that would turn into a component of political discussion through the nineteenth century.

You can contend the present monetary stakes are without a doubt a lot higher in esteem terms. In any case, the War of 1812 and the reliance on British industry at the time displayed a genuine existential inquiry. The British got right to Washington and set flame to the White House in 1814, all things considered.

Irwin isn’t confident about the fate of Trump’s China exchange war. He trusts a goals in the present moment is improbable. “On the off chance that you are truly looking for trouble routine change that is something no nation, especially one that is as nationalistic and glad as China, will convey on,” he said…

Click Here: US China Trade War

US-Iran tensions, Opec’s indication of continuing cuts lead to oil surge

Opec+, an alliance of Opec and some non-member nations, had in January announced to cut output for six months to prevent a decline in prices

Oil rose to multi-week highs on Monday after Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) demonstrated it will probably keep up generation cuts that have helped bolster costs this year, while strains kept on raising in the Middle East.

Brent rough was up by 96 pennies, or 1.3%, at $73.17 a barrel by 0227 GMT, having prior contacted $73.40, the most astounding since April 26. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rough was 82 pennies, 1.3%, higher at $63.58 a barrel. The US benchmark came to $63.81 before, the most astounding since May 1.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday there was accord among the Opec and united oil makers to drive down rough inventories “delicately” yet he would stay receptive to the necessities of a “delicate market”. Joined Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei prior told columnists that makers were equipped for filling any market hole and that loosening up supply cuts was not “the correct choice”.

In the interim, US President Donald Trump undermined Tehran on Sunday, tweeting that a contention would be the “official end” of Iran, while Saudi Arabia said it was prepared to react with “all quality” and that it was dependent upon Iran to maintain a strategic distance from war. The talk pursues a week ago’s assaults on Saudi oil resources and the terminating of a rocket on Sunday into Baghdad’s vigorously invigorated “Green Zone” that detonated close to the US government office…

Click Here: US Iran Tensions 

Texas mass shooting: 27 dead after firing at church, gunman identified

Gunman responsible for the tragedy shot down; heavy police personnel reported at crime scene

At least 27 people were killed and nearly two dozen wounded in a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday when an unidentified gunman opened fire, the local media reported.

Local police told Channel KSAT12 that the shooter was dead but did not specify the cause of death or the exact number of victims inside the First Baptist Church, Efe news reported.

The shooter was later identified as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, according to two law enforcement officers briefed on the situation, CNN reported.

Sutherland Springs is located 45 km southeast of San Antonio. A heavy police presence, including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel, was reported at the crime scene after the incident.

Although local police have not released figures on the number of dead, County Commissioner Wilson Albert Gamez Jr told MSNBC that 27 people were dead and at least 24 wounded, the report said.
The church was celebrating Mass at the time of the shootings.

“Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act. Our thanks to law enforcement for their response. More details from DPS soon,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter shortly after the incident.

United States President Donald Trump condemned the shooting as an “act of evil” and called it “horrific” in his first public remarks after the incident took place.

“This act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship. We cannot put into words the pain and grief we all feel and we cannot begin to imagine the suffering of those who lost the ones they love,” Trump said. |READ MORE

Doklam stand-off: US wants India, China to resolve issue through 'direct dialogue'

China has vehemently rejected all reports of it ever offering a compromise to India by relocating its troops in the disputed Doklam border area.

economy news: The United States has called on India and China to sit down and have a direct dialogue to resolve their issues.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert further said, "Just that we are encouraging both parties to sit down and have direct dialogue," when asked about the United States' stand on 'another round of skirmish and tension from India and China,' referring to the two-month long Doklam stand-off.

Earlier on August 11 too, the U.S. had pressed for diplomatic talks between the two nations, adding that the stand-off is a situation that it has certainly followed closely.

"As you know, we have relationships with both governments. We continue to encourage both parties to have conversations," it added.

Meanwhile, China has vehemently rejected all reports of it ever offering a compromise to India by relocating its troops in the disputed Doklam border area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted to a report where China had allegedly offered to move its troops back 100 meters, after India sought the pullback of Chinese troops by 250 metres.

The Spokesperson's Office told China Daily that the report is not true, adding that "China will not trade its territorial sovereignty under any circumstances."

"China's position on solving this incident is clear and firm. India must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its trespassing troops and equipment back to the Indian side of the border," the office said in a statement.....Read more

Serious action by US on H1-B visa would worry India quite a bit: CEA

Anything that is going to interfere with export growth creates anxiety (in India)

 

Any "serious actions" taken by the Trump Administration on the H-1B visa programme would be a cause of "worry" as a majority of Indian exports in the services sector go to the US, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has said.

"If there are serious actions taken it's something that's going to kind of worry us a lot because, remember that our exports of services are about 40 to 45 per cent of the total exports," Subramanian told an audience here last week.

"Something like 50 to 60 per cent of all our exports of services goes to the United States. So it would worry us quite a bit," he said while responding to a question on the H1-B visa during his visit at the Peterson Institute, a top American economic think-tank.

Subramanian said that India would be "okay" as long as the visa reforms are manageable and it's keeping a close watch on it.

"Anything that is going to interfere with export growth creates anxiety (in India). In the context of the United States, we're all watching very carefully the H1-B visa situation," the Chief Economic Advisor said.

"On the visa side, I don't know but as long as you know we can keep this thing manageable. You know it should be okay," he said.

During his US visit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also taken up the the H-1B issue with the American side and highlighted the contribution Indian companies and professionals are making to the US economy.

President Donald Trump had earlier this month signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop its "abuse" and ensure that the visas are given to the "most-skilled or highest paid" petitioners, a decision that would impact India's USD 150 billion IT industry.| READ MORE