Category: Business & Economics

There has been a decrease in the wholesale prices of tomatoes due to the intervention of Government to sell it at concessional rate of Rupees 90 per kg, at several locations in the country where the prices were ruling exceptionally high. After a re-assessment of the situation from across 500 plus points in the country, it has been decided to sell it at Rupees Eighty (80) per kg from today Sunday July 16th, 2023. Sales have started today at several points each in Delhi, NOIDA, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Muzaffarpur…

India and the UAE have signed a MoU to set up a framework to strengthen the use of local currencies.  “The MoU covers all current account transactions and permitted capital account transactions,” the Indian central bank stated in a statement.    Bilateral trade between India and UAE was $84.5 billion in 2022/23.  India is keen to push similar local currency arrangements with other countries, as it looks to boost exports amid slowing global trade.  The United Arab Emirates has pledged $2 billion to help develop a series of “food parks” in…

FM said the Narendra Modi government has provided several tax benefits to middle-class people, including income tax exemption for those earning up to Rs 7.27 lakh per annum.  Under the new scheme a standard deduction of Rs 50,000 is also given.   The total budget for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has increased to Rs 22,138 crore for 2023-24 compared to Rs 3,185 crore in 2013-14, a jump of almost seven times in nine years.  India’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business are being acknowledged on…

The Prime Minister announced that New Delhi and France have got into an agreement to use India’s flagship payment system in France.  Earlier this year, India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement to make seamless, real-time, and secure cross-border transactions in both countries.  UPI services have already been adopted by UAE, Singapore, Nepal, and Bhutan and NPCI is in talks with the US, Europe, and West Asia to extend it.  India has expanded UPI services in more than a dozen countries across the world.  NIPL, has joined hands with…

A total of 706 venture capital (VC) funding deals worth $7.2 billion were announced in the United Kingdom during the first half (H1) of 2023. Both VC funding deals volume and value witnessed a considerable year-on-year (YoY) decline during the period. While the number of VC funding deals declined by 28.6%, the corresponding deal value saw a massive 54.7% drop, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that a total of 989 VC funding deals were announced in the UK during H1 2022 while…

South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), one of the largest coal-producing subsidiaries of Coal India Ltd, will be developing rooftop and ground mounted solar power projects of 600 MW capacity in the coming years as part of the company’s strategy to expand and diversify its business and achieve the “Net Zero Energy” goal. The strategy is in line with the larger goal of “Panchamrit” announced by Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi at CoP-26 to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070. SECL, the Miniratna PSU, is planning to develop the above projects at…

The government has brought the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This means that the GSTN will now be required to comply with the provisions of the PMLA, including reporting suspicious transactions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The inclusion of GSTN under the PMLA will facilitate sharing of information or material in possession of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with GSTN. The government issued a notification regarding the same on July 7. The GSTN is a centralized IT infrastructure that facilitates the registration…

India’s largest depository National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) has filed its Draft Red Herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an IPO. The initial public offering will be a full offer for sale (OFS), allowing investors to sell up to 5.726 crore equity shares. IDBI Bank and HDFC Bank will be among those participating in the OFS. With this, NSDL will become the second depository services company to be listed on domestic stock exchanges, following the successful market debut of its peer, Central Depository Services…

In its continued dedication to advancing the vision of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for balanced regional development, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) proudly launched the One District One Product (ODOP) Awards on June 15th on the Rashtriya Puraskar portal. These prestigious awards aim to recognize and honour those who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments within their respective Districts, States/UTs, and International Missions abroad in achieving economic development through the ODOP approach. The Awards focus on the following: (i) Encouraging constructive competition, innovation, and efficient public service delivery in…

Tomato prices in India surge, hit record  McDonald’s takes tomatoes off-menu items, blames quality  Price rise comes when inflation was hurting consumers  Indians cutting back on tomato consumption  Restaurants of fast-food chain McDonald‘s have dropped tomatoes from their burgers and wraps in many parts of India, hit by supply shortages and quality concerns after prices of the vegetable soared to records. In some regions, wholesale prices of the staple of traditional Indian cuisine have surged 288% in a month to a high of 140 rupees a kg, with retail prices…