- Wednesday, February 26, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Wednesday, October 4, 2023:
Actor Ranbir Kapoor is slated to appear before the country’s economic crime-fighting agency Enforcement Directorate on Friday (6) regarding his association with a controversial gaming app. He had previously been part of ad campaigns for the app and allegedly received a substantial sum linked to illicit activities. The app, Mahadev Online Book App, is accused of orchestrating an illicit betting network, utilizing deceptive bank accounts. The government’s updated regulations prohibit betting-related games. Additionally, about a dozen celebrities are expected to face similar inquiries, and will be summoned soon, according to sources.
India’s retail inflation is likely to ease by December as seasonal factors become more favourable, finance secretary T V Somanathan told Reuters on Tuesday. The south Asian economy’s retail inflation remained above the upper end of the central bank’s 2 per cent-6 per cent tolerance band for a second consecutive month in August, though it eased from a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July. “Seasonal factors in inflation rate are beginning to become favourable and hence a reduction in inflation by December is very likely,” Somanathan was quoted as saying. Sharp spikes in food prices have been the main reason for inflation as erratic weather conditions hurt production of staples like vegetables, milk and cereals.
India on Wednesday announced a fresh list of 98 military hardware including complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition that will only be procured from domestic industry after a ban on their import kicks in under a staggered timeline. Defence minister Rajnath Singh made the announcement about the fifth positive indigenisation list at the ‘Swavlamban 2.0’ seminar organised by the Indian Navy in New Delhi. The key items included in the list are futuristic infantry combat vehicle, remotely piloted airborne vehicles (up to 25 kilometres range with payload of 2 kilograms for army), shipborne unmanned aerial system, medium upgrade low endurance class tactical drone, next generation low-level light radar for Army and electro optic fire control system for naval platforms.
NPCI International Payments Ltd, the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, is set to sign an agreement with Al Etihad Payments on Thursday (5) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to facilitate cross-border transactions, an official said. The memorandum of understanding will be signed on the development of domestic card scheme of the UAE based on India’s RuPay debit and credit card stack, the official added. The agreement will be signed in the presence of India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, who is leading a business delegation to Abu Dhabi between Thursday and Friday (6). Goyal will co-chair the eleventh meeting of India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investments along with Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
India’s Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentarian Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, officials said. This comes after the agency conducted searches at his residence earlier in the day in connection with the case. The officials said premises belonging to some others connected to the case were also covered during the operation. The ED had earlier questioned the members of staff and those linked to the 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP. It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.
(With agencies inputs)
