- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news related to Indian economy & business for Friday, March 8, 2024:
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi greenlit $15 billion (£11.6 billion) worth of infrastructure projects in the past week, aiming to boost support just days before the announcement of national elections. He toured several states in the south and east in this time, unveiling initiatives aimed at propelling India from the fifth to the third-largest economy globally. He will visit the north-eastern state of Assam on Saturday. Modi has made high growth and infrastructure development his key poll plank in his last two tenures won in 2014 and 2019. He has promised to make India a developed country by 2047 from its current status of a low-middle income country.
BlackRock, one of the world’s leading providers of investment, advisory and risk management solutions, has appointed Maheshwar Nataraj to spearhead its private credit business in India, a fast growing market. Nataraj has been leading the firm’s sourcing and managing private credit investment in the South Asian economy, which creates “exciting opportunities”, a statement by the company’s spokesperson said, Bloomberg reported. The official added that Dhruv Agarwal, BlackRock’s director for private credit who has been with the firm for four years, is exiting due to personal reasons. In anticipation of rapid growth in the region, banks and private credit funds are increasing their workforce in Asia, including India.
A senior official of the Indian government announced on Friday that the graphics processing units (GPUs) sanctioned under the IndiaAI Mission will be accessible within the next 18-24 months. Electronics and IT secretary S Krishnan revealed this information while attending Tie-Con Delhi-NCR in New Delhi. He outlined that the government will seek industry bids under the mission and provide viability gap funding for GPU-based computing infrastructure. “The entire GPU approved under the mission will be made available in the next 18-24 months,” Krishnan said. The cabinet has already approved the India AI Mission with a budget of Rs 10,372 crore (£975.2 million) for five years, aiming to foster AI development in the nation.
Indian petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday announced that the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is on track to establish 100 compressed bio-gas (CBG) plants in the near future. Speaking at the inauguration of one such plant in Gorakhpur in the state, he emphasized their role in environmental preservation, income generation for farmers, and enhancing energy independence. Currently, the state hosts 10 CBG facilities. The newly inaugurated plant by Indian Oil, with an investment of Rs 165 crore (£15.5 million), will process agricultural residue, press mud, and cow dung, producing bio-gas and organic fertilizer to boost agricultural output. Puri also praised Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath’s Green Hydrogen Policy, foreseeing substantial investments in the sector.
(With agencies)
