- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Thursday, December 28, 2023:
India is aiming to attract potential investors from countries such as Germany, UK and South Korea under its new electric vehicle (EV) policy, an Indian government trade official told reporters on Thursday, Reuters reported. “Talks are underway and we aim to bring all countries on board,” the official said, but did not give a timeline on the launch of the new policy. According to the official, the policy will also aim to benefit Indian carmakers. “It should be for everyone.” In September, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal had said that the country would come up with new policy to attract electric vehicle manufacturers and encourage greater investment in the sector.
India’s non-governmental trade association and advocacy group Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India has predicted that the South Asian nation will maintain its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy in 2024. Backed by robust consumer demand, various sectors such as construction, hospitality, and infrastructure, including railways and aviation, are expected to experience increased investment. India’s GDP expanded by a remarkable 7.6 per cent in the July-September quarter, surpassing projections, including the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 6.5 per cent. The growth outpaced China’s 4.9 per cent increase during the same period, highlighting India’s resilient macroeconomic outlook amid challenges faced by western economies.
Around 30 companies, including 22 MSMEs, are taking advantage of India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing millet-based products, according to the country’s ministry of food processing industries. The PLI for Millet Based Products (PLISMB) was carved out of the savings of the main PLI Scheme for the Food Processing Industries (PLIFPI) to encourage the use of millets in Ready to Cook/Ready to Eat (RTC/RTE). According to the ministry, around 30 companies, including 22 MSMEs, are involved in the promotion of millet-based products under the PLISMBP. The PLISMBP scheme — approved in August with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore (£94.2 million) arising out of the savings from other segments — envisages the use of a minimum of 15 per cent millet content in the approved food products, it said in a statement.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached bank deposits and immovable assets worth Rs 3.68 crore (£346,969) in a money-laundering investigation linked to a case of illegal online cricket betting in Odisha. The accused — Dinesh Kumar Rathi, R Lalie Achary and their accomplices — were first booked by the Odisha Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prize Chit and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. The accused “allegedly committed the offence of illegal online cricket betting and lured the gullible public to invest money in this racket”. They gave the investors false assurances of getting a profitable margin of return while siphoning off their hard-earned money, the agency said in a statement.
(With agencies)
