Let US, China ratify CTBT first: India

Let US, China ratify CTBT first: India

New Delhi, Dec 29: Japan on Tuesday urged India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), but kept the door open for civil nuclear cooperation and high-tech trade in the future. India in its turn put the onus on the US and China to show the way by ratifying the treaty.

Civil nuclear cooperation was among key issues Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed with his Japanese counterpart Yukio Hatoyama in wide-ranging talks. They vowed to push for an early conclusion of an economic partnership agreement to scale up trade and investment and cooperate on a range of global issues, including the UN reforms, climate change and nuclear disarmament.

The two leaders signed an ambitious joint declaration entitled “New Stage of India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership”, which has an action plan on advancing security and counter-terror cooperation as its centrepiece.

Sensex falls off highs, closes flat

Sensex falls off highs, closes flat

MUMBAI, Dec 29: A key Indian equities index gave up its gains on Tuesday to close flat, just 0.24 per cent higher than its previous close, even as broader indices managed sizeable gains. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,388.67 points and closed at 17,395.52 points, up 40.95 points or 0.24 per cent from its previous close at 17,360.61 points. It had risen over 125 points to 17,486.05 points in the last hour of trade. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,187.95 points against the previous close at 5,178.4 points, a gain of 0.18 per cent.