- Thursday, April 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Monday, July 17, 2023:
India and the US have agreed to collaborate on a new investment platform aimed at reducing the cost of the former’s energy transition, as confirmed by statements from the finance ministers of both nations on Monday, Moneycontrol reported. Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed her anticipation for furthering bilateral interests through development cooperation and exploring investment opportunities for renewable energy through alternate investment platforms. US treasury secretary Janet Yellen also expressed her eagerness to work with India on the investment platform, aiming to deliver a lower cost of capital and attract increased private investment to accelerate India’s energy transition.
Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group and the largest supplier of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army, has announced the acquisition of defense orders worth Rs 800 crore (£74.5 million) from the same. The contracts include the procurement of the Field Artillery Tractor and the Gun Towing Vehicle, which are specialised vehicles used for towing light and medium guns by the artillery. The vehicles will be delivered to the army over the next 12 months. The Indian government has set a target of achieving indigenous defense manufacturing worth Rs 175,000 crore (£16.3 billion), including defense exports of Rs 35,000 crore (£3.2 billion), by 2024-25.
The board of directors of India’s Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) on Monday approved the extension of Mahendra Shah’s term as the managing director for another year and appointed Bipin Gemani as the chief financial officer with immediate affect, as stated in a regulatory filing, Moneycontrol reported. Shah’s reappointment is effective from October 1, 2023, until September 30, 2024, pending shareholder approval, it added. Gemani has also been appointed as the whole time director besides he CFO, effective from July 17, 2023, until September 30, 2024, subject to shareholder approval.
The Global Food Regulators Summit 2023, a G20 event, will take place in Delhi for the first time. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is organising the summit on July 20-21, 2023, at the Manekshaw Auditorium. Representatives from over 40 countries, 30 international organisations and 25 international research institutes/universities will participate. The logo of the summit was inaugurated by India’s health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday. He emphasised the importance of food safety and expressed confidence that the summit would lead to global harmonisation of standards and improved regulatory frameworks. This is the first time the summit is being held outside Rome, Italy, the minister said.
Despite global challenges, India’s manufacturing sector has maintained a positive outlook in the first quarter of 2023-24, according to a survey by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The survey, which included responses from over 400 manufacturing units from both large and small and medium-sized enterprises segments with a combined annual turnover of over Rs 7.7 lakh crore (£71.7 billion), revealed that the growth momentum in the Indian economy has continued since its post-pandemic recovery in 2021-22. The survey also highlighted an average capacity utilisation of around 75 per cent, indicating sustained economic activity in the sector. Furthermore, the future investment outlook has improved, with over 56 per cent of respondents expressing plans for investments and expansions in the next six months.
(With agencies inputs)
