- Thursday, February 27, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Wednesday, July 12, 2023:
India’s top 500 companies would need training of at least a million hours to upskill its mid- and senior-level management on the business sides of artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, agile ways of functioning and more, a joint study by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and Boston Consulting Group has found, The Week reported. The 52-page report, which was released at an event in Ahmedabad on Gujarat, is titled ‘AI in India — A Strategic Necessity’. While the report said that successful companies in sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance have reached high AI maturity, it added that India would require between 25,000 to 30,000 advanced practitioners of AIML in top 500 companies over the next five years.
India’s central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought a wider set of lenders to take part in pilot programmes using the central bank digital currency as it aims to increase transactions, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing three bankers. In a survey published earlier this week, the Bank for International Settlements found that almost two dozen central banks across emerging and advanced economies are expected to have digital currencies in circulation by the end of the current decade. Presently, large lenders such as State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Yes Bank are among those participating in the pilot project.
Walt Disney is weighing options to either sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and television business, Reuters reported citing an informed source. It added that the talks are in a “very, very nascent” stage and no potential buyer or partner has been approached yet, the report said. The source also said that it is still not clear how the process will conclude. “Talks have begun internally (on) what makes sense to do,” the source was quoted as saying by Reuters. It also added that talks were being driven by executives at Disney headquarters in the US. The Wall Street Journal had first reported about Disney’s talks, saying the company had reached out to at least one bank about ways to develop the India business.
SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh will infuse Rs 500 crore into the carrier by way of subscribing to fresh equity shares and through convertible instruments, or both, the airline said in a release on Wednesday. The infusion is expected to substantially strengthen the airline operator’s financial position and its journey towards sustained growth. The airline has been struggling with financial constraints in a competitive aviation industry. The company’s board of directors, which met the same day, considered options for raising fresh capital where the promoter decided to infuse funds. “SpiceJet has a bright future and I am committed to helping it achieve its full potential,” said Singh, chairman and managing director of SpiceJet.
Razorpay, India’s home-grown fintech and payments solutions provider, has announced the launch of its first international payment gateway services in the Malaysian market with Curlec, the startup it acquired earlier. In February last year, the Bengaluru-based Razorpay announced its inaugural expansion into Southeast Asia with the acquisition of a majority stake in Curlec. The new Curlec payment gateway by Razorpay plans to serve over 5,000 businesses with with a target of Malaysian Ringgit worth 10 billion (£1.6 billion) in annualised Gross Transaction Value by the year 2025.
India’s Sterlite Power on Wednesday said it has received new orders worth Rs 1,400 crore (£131.4 million) during the quarter ended March 31, 2023. The set of orders, won across domestic and international markets, have strengthened the company’s solutions business unit’s order book to Rs 5,200 crore during FY23, Sterlite Power said in a statement. “Sterlite Power has secured multiple new orders worth Rs 1,400 crore across its ‘solutions’ business that caters to products and specialized EPC (engineering, procurement and construction), during the last quarter of FY 2023,” it said. Major orders secured during the January-March quarter are for upgrading transmission projects and supply of high-performance products.
(With agencies inputs)
