- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Monday, January 8, 2024:
Indians top the Maldives’ tourist arrival figures, data have shown, with more than 200,000 of them visiting the island nation every year after the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Maldives tourism ministry statistics, more than 209,000 Indians visited the country in 2023. The number was more than 240,000 in 2022 while over 211,000 Indians flew to the Maldives in 2021. The Maldives was also one of the few countries open for international tourists during the pandemic and nearly 63,000 Indians visited the country in that period. In 2019, India reached the second spot with nearly double the number (166,030) of arrivals. However, the travel hotspot for Indians is now facing a backlash after three deputy Maldivian ministers made derogatory comments against prime minister Narendra Modi following his recent visit to Lakshadweep.
India’s state-owned oil company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has commenced “first oil” production from Krishna Godavari Deep-Water Block 98/2 in the Bay of Bengal, marking new crude discovery in the country. The place where the oil is extracted is 30 kilometres off the coast of Kakinada in the Krishna Godavari basin in the south-eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. “I am delighted to inform all my fellow countrymen that the first oil was extracted yesterday (by ONGC). Work has started on this in 2016-2017, and there were some delays on account of Covid,” Indian petroleum minister Hardeep Puri told reporters in Bengaluru on Monday. He said four of 26 wells are already operational and the production is expected to touch 45,000 barrels per day by May or June, which will be seven per cent of our total crude oil production.
Dutch firms will sign agreements proposing an investment of 3.6 billion euros at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit starting this week in the western Indian state of Gujarat this week, an official said. The summit will be held from January 10-12 in Gandhinagar, the state capital. This is the fourth time the Netherlands is joining the summit as a partner country, according to Amlan Bora, chief representative for India at the Netherlands Business Support Office. “This time, 45 companies are joining the Dutch delegation and our total delegation size will be 158 people. Several MoUs will be signed by Dutch companies with multiple ministries and private sectors. Through this summit platform, we are proposing an investment of 3.6 billion euros in multiple sectors across the country, including in Gujarat,” Bora told reporters in Ahmedabad.
Indian conglomerate Adani Group has committed investments to the tune of Rs 42,700 crore in the southern state of Tamil Nadu across various sectors on the second day of the Global Investors Meet 2024 held in Chennai on Monday. At the valedictory session of the event organised by the state’s Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam government, memorandums of understanding between the Adani Group and the state government were signed in the presence of chief minister M K Stalin, Tamil Nadu state industries minister TRB Rajaa and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s managing director, Karan Adani. The investments by Adani Group is one of the big ticket projects bagged by the state government.
India’s Mold-Tek Packaging Ltd on Monday said it has inaugurated three manufacturing plants in the states of Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, at an outlay of over Rs 100 crore, with capacity expansion of 5,500 MTA. Mold-Tek also acquired land at Mahad in the western state of Maharashtra to set up another manufacturing plant with a production capacity of 1,500 MTA by September/October this year, a release said here. Mold-Tek Packaging Limited is involved in the manufacturing of injection molded containers for lubes, paints, food and other products. All the units (three units inaugurated recently) will go into commercial production within next few weeks and with all these four expansions Mold-Tek’s total manufacturing capacity will go upto 54,000 MTA by the end of FY 24-25, it said.
India’s public sector aerospace and defence company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is all set to participate in the 10th edition of ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Show 2024 in Gandhinagar in the western state of Gujarat this week. With the thrust on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self reliant India), the company seeks to explore the capability of Indian industries through this event. One of the major attractions at the HAL stall will be Su-30 MKI aircraft which has been modified indigenously for integration of air-to-ground BrahMos missiles manufactured in India. The missile weighs 2500 kg and has a range of nearly 300 kms, a release said on Monday. HAL’s Prachand Light Combat Helicopter will be on static display during the Vibrant Gujarat summit.
(With agencies)
