- Monday, November 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Friday, October 27, 2023:
Reliance Industries, India’s most valuable company, on Friday reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit as a slump in crude prices hit revenue from fuel sales and affect its mainstay oil-to-chemicals business. The company, led by Mukesh Ambani, banks heavily on its mainstay business to make money despite making an aggressive expansion into sectors such as retail, telecom and green energy. Last year, the conglomerate witnessed its refinery margins reaching record levels as it consumed a high quantity of Russian crude and exported refined fuel to Europe. That benefit has waned.
Shares of Westlife Foodworld, a McDonald’s operator in India, on Friday tumbled by up to 7.7% following an unexpected decline in quarterly profits and concerns about rising inflation impacting consumer spending during the festive quarter. The surge in essential product prices has led companies like Coca-Cola to introduce smaller packages, and restaurants to offer more affordable pizza and burger options. Westlife’s Executive Director, Akshay Jatia, acknowledged the macroeconomic spending pressures, citing a slowdown in informal dining and western fast-food growth due to reduced eating-out frequency.
Jio has unleashed the fastest roll-out of 5G technology witnessed anywhere in the world and is deploying a 5G cell every 10 seconds, Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani said on Friday. Stating that prime minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has brought India and Indians together, motivating the entire nation, Ambani said, “We promise you that through the power of technology, we will build a digital statue of unity.” Jio has installed over 10 lakh (1 million) 5G cells across all 22 circles of India, he said speaking at the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi where Modi also delivered an address. “I am humbled to share that Jio alone has contributed to 85 per cent of the overall 5G capacity in the country… and provided one of the fastest 5G internet speeds in the world,” he said.
Engaging with business leaders, investors, and trade and commerce representatives in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Thursday (26), TRB Rajaa, the industries minister of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, delivered a compelling message urging investment in his state he extolled as a guarantor of comprehensive progress. During his Keynote Address at the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet (TNGIM) 2024 – Mumbai Investment Conclave, Rajaa spoke about the State’s stellar success story in economic growth. He underscored this was driven by effective leadership and good governance, resulting in global corporations and investors expressing keen interest in investing in the state. “Investing in Tamil Nadu assures robust growth. This State boasts of highly skilled human resources and a governance framework rooted in progressive policies, and giving top priority to inclusivity and sustainability,” Rajaa said.
One crore (10 million) passengers are riding metro systems per day in India, the country’s housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. He said this in his address at the 16th Urban Mobility India Conference and Exhibition being hosted in New Delhi by the ministry of housing and urban affairs that kicked off the same day. At present, the operational length of metro systems in India is 895 kilometres in about 20 cities, and it is set to grow towards becoming the world’s second-largest metro network in the next few years, Puri said. Asked about the metro lines under construction, Puri said, about 965 km of it is under construction and once completed, will take the number of cities having a metro system to 27 from about 20 today.
Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday chaired the 604th Meeting of the Central Board of the central bank in Rishikesh in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. According to a press release issued by the RBI, the board reviewed global and domestic economic and financial developments, including challenges posed by evolving geopolitical conflicts. It also spoke about the functioning of various sub-committees of the central board, the ombudsman scheme and the activities of select central office departments. Deputy governors Michael Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J and other directors of the central board – Revathy Iyer, Sachin Chaturvedi, Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and Ravindra H Dholakia were also present at the meeting.
(With agencies inputs)
