- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Tuesday, January 16, 2024:
Indian minister of state for information technology (IT) Rajeev Chandrasekhar has announced the forthcoming notification of new information technology rules, addressing the surge in deepfake incidents, including former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar falling victim to the trend. Emphasising the Indian government’s commitment to advisory compliance, Chandrasekhar stated that if adherence is lacking, revised IT rules would be implemented. The minister also highlighted the need for stricter regulations, stating that the government intends to introduce updated IT rules within the next week, aiming to address the challenges posed by deepfake technology.
Gujarat’s GIFT City’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is partnering with the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) to establish a pioneering Global Hydrogen Trading Mechanism. As the second initiative of its kind worldwide, this positions GIFT City at the forefront of the burgeoning green hydrogen economy. The collaboration includes launching the Global Hydrogen Price Index, a crucial benchmark for price discovery and market information in India’s growing green hydrogen market. Expected to enhance transparency and investor confidence globally, this mechanism will catalyze the expansion of the green hydrogen market globally.
Indian commerce and trade minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday chaired the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. He announced the initiation of work on Trade Connect ePlatform, an intermediary platform providing the facility to connect Indian exporters and entrepreneurs with various stakeholders in international trade will commence shortly. The ePlatform is expected to provide facilitation for new and aspiring exporters, information on various regulations to access markets, sectors, export trends, easy access of benefits under free trade agreements, access to sector-specific events along with a facility to address trade-related queries to officials in the Indian government and associated entities to get expert advice. The platform is likely to be ready in a 3-4 months’ time period.
Indian aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued show cause notices to IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL (Mumbai International Airport Limited) over the incident of passengers having food on the airport tarmac on Sunday, according to official sources. Many passengers rushed out of an IndiGo aircraft at the Mumbai airport, sat on the tarmac, and some were also seen having food there as soon as their diverted Goa-Delhi flight landed after a long delay on Sunday (14). Both IndiGo and MIAL were not proactive in anticipating the situation and making the appropriate facilitation arrangements for passengers at the airport, as per the notices issued by the BCAS.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-‘ with a stable outlook on robust medium-term growth prospects and sound external finances. India’s rating has remained unchanged at ‘BBB-‘, the lowest investment grade, since August 2006. “Fitch Ratings has affirmed India’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ with a Stable Outlook,” the global rating agency said in a statement. In its sovereign rating action, Fitch said India is poised to remain one of the fastest-growing countries globally in the next few years, as the robust economic momentum is proving resilient. The agency has projected India’s GDP growth at 6.9 per cent for the fiscal year ending March 2024 (FY24) before easing to 6.5 per cent in FY25.
Indian woman and child development minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday made a strong pitch for bigger investments in women-led businesses, saying India has shown the world why it is an intelligent case. Lauding the role played by small businesses run by women across the country, she said the opportunity lies in taking the success stories of women-led businesses and making them attain more and more scale and size. “There are many sectors where women account for a large majority including textiles and agriculture-related businesses,” she said at a Confederation of Indian Industry session in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024. “India has shown the world why it makes for an intelligent case to invest in small businesses led by women,” she said.
(With agencies)
