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India economy & business news in brief for Feb 8: Maharashtra inks MoU with Google for AI use

Devendra Fadnavis (fifth from right), the deputy chief minister of the western Indian state of Maharashtra with Sanjay Gupta (to his left), country head & VP, Google India; and the state’s chief secretary Nitin Kareer (to Fadnavis’s right) at a MoU-signing ceremony between the Indian state and Google over harnessing artificial intelligence in the Indian city of Pune. (Picture: Devendra Fadnavis X account/@Dev_Fadnavis)

By: Shubham Ghosh

HERE are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Thursday, February 8, 2024:

The government of the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Thursday inked a Memorandum of Understanding with search engine behemoth Google, aiming to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for innovative solutions across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and education. The signing took place at the company’s office in the city of Pune, attended by the state’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis; Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president of Google India; and the state’s chief secretary, Nitin Kareer. Google and the state government will work together on seven areas, Fadnavis said, adding that one of them is “agricultural sustainability.”

Airbus has awarded a contract to an Indian company for manufacturing all the doors of its narrow body A220 family of aircraft, a significant development in expanding the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The announcement was made at a function attended by India’s civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and others in New Delhi on Thursday. The financial details were not revealed. The contract has been awarded to Dynamatic Technologies in Bengaluru, which already manufactures the Flap Track Beam of the Airbus A330 and A320 Family aircraft. This is one of the single-largest export contracts for an Indian aerospace manufacturing company. India is becoming a destination for aircraft component manufacturing activities, Scindia said.

The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday projected a GDP growth of seven per cent for 2024-25 financial year, which is lower than the 7.3 per cent expansion estimated for the current fiscal. Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, the central bank’s governor Shaktikanta Das said rural demand continues to gather pace, urban consumption remains strong and investment cycle is gaining steam on the back of increased capex. Das said there are signs of revival in private investments. The real GDP for 2024-25 is projected to grow at seven per cent, with June and September quarters growth at 7.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively. The growth in December and March quarters is projected at 7 per cent and 6.9, per cent, respectively.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at constant prices is estimated to grow by 6.56 per cent in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh and the per capita income is likely to reach Rs 147,361 in the 2023-24 financial year, the state’s Economic Survey Report presented in the assembly on Thursday said. Chhattisgarh’s finance, and planning, economics and statistics minister O P Chaudhary presented the report for FY 2023-24 in the House. He will table the state’s 2024-25 budget for in the assembly on Friday (9). The state’s agriculture and allied sector (agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing) and industry sector (mining and quarrying, construction, manufacturing and electricity, gas and water supply) are expected to grow by 3.23 per cent and 7.13 per cent, respectively, in the ongoing fiscal compared to the previous one.

The overall strategy for the development of India’s Lakshadweep islands is based on achieving sustainable growth, preserving the unique cultural and environmental characteristics, and enhancing the quality of life for the islanders, the government informed the parliament on Thursday. The country’s tourism minister, G Reddy, said this in a written response in Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the parliament to a query on whether the government intends to develop Lakshadweep as a major tourist destination in a big way. He was also asked whether the current infrastructure and unique nature of the place allows the Islands to sustain huge inflows of tourists, and its strategy to exploit the islands’ tourism potential keeping in view their eco-sensitivity.

(With agencies)

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