- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and news for Friday, September 23, 2022:
Indian telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the telecommunication reforms would be in place in 6-10 months and also stressed that the government was not in a hurry. He was speaking at the 9th Annual Forum of Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) in New Delhi on Friday, Asian News International reported. “Today, not a single licence for a spectrum is pending more than 28 days,” the minister said, stressing that the whole process of applying for a licence is available online. The minister said, “We have created a Prime Minister Gati Shakti portal which would help the sector.” He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set up a series of reforms and regulations, and added that PM instructed to draft (Telecom) Bill focusing on users’ security; both service providers and users should know caller’s identity.
The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd has invited bids for the tunneling works for 21 kilometre (approx) long tunnel, including a 7-kilometre undersea tunnel using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) and New Austrian Tunneling Method for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor, ANI reported. According to a statement released here, the tunnel will be between the underground station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in the State of Maharashtra. The 7-km undersea tunnel at Thane Creek will be the first undersea tunnel to come up in the country. The tunnel will be a single tube tunnel to accommodate a twin track for both up and down track. The statement further read that 39 equipment rooms at 37 locations will also be constructed in adjoining tunnel locations as part of the package. To construct this tunnel, TBMs with a cutter head of 13.1 metre diameter will be used. Usually, 5-6 metre diameter cutter heads are used for urban tunnels used in MRTS – Metro system.
During the 20th meeting of prosecutors general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), solicitor general of India Tushar Mehta on Friday urged member states “to broaden the scope of the activities of the forum and eliminate the threat of transnational economic crimes by enhancing mutual trust, understanding, cooperation and communication between the member states”, ANI reported. The 20th meeting of prosecutors general of the SCO was held on Friday in Astana, Kazakhstan. Mehta also said India has signed extradition treaties/agreements with 47 and 11 countries, respectively, and mutual legal assistance treaties/agreements with 42 nations to seek assistance in the investigation of such instances.
Tata Steel has decided to merge seven subsidiaries, including four listed entities with itself, Hindu BusinessLine reported. The board of directors of all the Tata Steel group firms have approved the schemes for the proposed amalgamation, it was said. The decision came in a bid to drive efficiency and slash operational costs. The report added that the four listed companies that are being merged into Tata Steel tanked between 5-12 per cent on Friday. While Tata Steel Long Products fell by 12 per cent to ₹659 (£7.44), TRF and Tata Metaliks were down five per cent each at ₹356 (£4.02) and ₹763 (£8.61). Tinplate Company fell six per cent at ₹318 (£3.59).
Britannia Industries, the maker of the popular Good Day and Tiger biscuits, said on Friday it has appointed Rajneet Kohli as its chief executive officer (CEO), effective September 26, Reuters reported. Kohli is currently president and chief business officer at Domino’s India, run by food service company Jubilant FoodWorks. He had also held senior leadership roles in Asian Paints Ltd and Coca-Cola Co. His appointment to what is reportedly a newly created CEO role at Britannia comes at a time when the industry is grappling with margin concerns amid soaring inflation. Britannia reported a 13.4 per cent fall in June-quarter profit in August, missing analyst estimates, as expenses jumped. Kohli will report to managing director Varun Berry, who was also given the role of vice chairman.
India’s palm oil imports could jump 23 per cent in 2022/23 to an eight-year high of 9.5 million tonnes, as a rebound in consumption and competitive prices prompt refiners to increase purchases, the country’s top palm oil buyer said, Reuters reported. “Palm is very attractive as prices are under pressure because of stocks,” Sanjeev Asthana, chief executive officer at Patanjali Foods Ltd, said on the sidelines of Globoil conference. Palm oil’s big discount to soy oil is unsustainable and it is likely to narrow in the coming months, he said. Palm oil futures have dropped nearly half from their record highs and palm oil is again at a sizeable discount to rival oils, dealers said. Palm oil is offered at $950 (£870) a tonne including cost, insurance and freight to India for October shipment, compared with $1,250 (£1,145) for crude soy oil, according to them.
Amazon has broadened the four-hour delivery offering for Prime members to more than 50 major cities and towns across India from 14 cities, the Hindu BusinessLine reported. The e-commerce giant will deliver items across categories such as wireless, consumer electronics, books, etc., among others. Amazon first introduced the same-day delivery programme five years ago. “We’re always innovating to bring our customers new levels of convenience and delivery options that work best for them. We are especially excited to introduce this in cities and towns beyond metros, which are underserved in terms of speed of delivery. Same-day delivery also provides great job opportunities for associates, especially since the site locations are within the city,” Abhinav Singh, director, customer fulfilment, supply chain & Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon India, was quoted as saying.
