- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Thursday, November 16, 2023:
Two more Japanese banks are set to join 10 foreign and 16 local banks in the tax-free GIFT City of India’s Gujarat state, where more than 550 businesses with assets worth $47 billion have registered and begun operations, an official said. This marks a significant expansion of the GIFT City’s financial sector, which is expected to play a key role in India’s economic growth, International Financial Services Centres Authority chairman K Rajaraman said on Thursday. “We also want Indian origin funds and businesses that are located in tax-free jurisdictions to return home and be part of the growing GIFT City hub,” said Rajaraman, giving this update on the Ahmedabad-based city free trade zone, where ease of doing business procedures, processes and laws have become a benchmark for international standards.
Jio Financial Services on Thursday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, had given nod to the appointment of three directors to its board. “We wish to inform you that RBI vide letter dated November 15, 2023, has accorded its approval for the appointment of Isha Mukesh Ambani, Anshuman Thakur and Hitesh Kumar Sethia as directors of the company,” Jio Financials said in an exchange filing. The approval nod remains valid for a duration of six months starting from the date of approval. The RBI said in a letter than if the company fails to give effect to the proposal within the time frame, it would have to undergo the application process again citing the reason for not carrying out earlier the proposed changes, Moneycontrol reported.
A fresh summons was issued by India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) to China-based American millionaire Neville Roy Singham for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe linked to online news portal NewsClick, officials said on Thursday. The 69-year-old businessman, who is accused of spreading Chinese propaganda in India, is stated to be currently based in Shanghai. The summons were sent to Singham recently on his personal email ID and also through the Chinese diplomatic channels after the ED routed them through India’s ministry of external affairs, the officials said. This is understood to be the second summons issued to Singham by the ED.
Over 25 crore (250 million) households across India have the potential to deploy 637 GW of solar energy capacity on rooftops, according to a new independent report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) released on Thursday. The CEEW report said that deploying just one-third of this total solar technical potential could support the entire electricity demand of India’s residential sector (about 310 TWh). However, the technical potential reduces to one-fifth (118 GW) after factoring in the current electricity consumption of households. “Most residential consumers fall into low-consumption slabs and solar may not be economically feasible for them without financial support even though it is technically possible,” the report said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday released its November 2023 Bulletin, offering a comprehensive view of the economic landscape, monetary policy expectations, and sector-specific transitions. According to the RBI bulletin, the Global economy shows signs of a slowdown, with manufacturing lagging and services sector growth reaching a plateau. In India, Q3:2023-24 anticipates higher GDP momentum, buoyed by festival demand and resilient investment activities. Headline inflation decreased to 4.9 per cent in October, down from the 2022-23 average of 6.7 per cent. Analysis of Overnight Index Swaps rate reveals rare unanticipated changes in policy rates, suggesting effective RBI communication.
(With agencies inputs)
