- Sunday, April 28, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy & business for Wednesday, March 20, 2024:
INDIA needs to grow at eight per cent on a sustained basis to create sufficient jobs to reduce poverty and inequality, India’s executive director at International Monetary Fund Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian said on Wednesday. The South Asian economy grew by better-than-expected 8.4 per cent in the final three months of 2023 – the fastest pace in one-and-half years. “We should be impatient even if we grow at seven per cent. We should be looking to grow at eight per cent and above, as the country needs to create a lot of infrastructure,” Subramanian said, addressing an event organised by OMI Foundation.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India will lead the world in AI capabilities, and exhorted young entrepreneurs and startups to work on ‘Indian solutions for global applications’ to solve challenges faced by nations across the world. Addressing the Startup Mahakumbh event in New Delhi, Modi said the three missions on AI, semiconductors and quantum, launched by the government earlier, will generate jobs for youth and investment opportunities for global investors. “We are in a new era of AI technology, and the world acknowledges that India will have an upper hand in AI. It is now our priority to ensure that we do not let go of this opportunity,” he said.
The CEO of India’s Akasa Air has expressed confidence that the delivery of its ordered Boeing 737 MAX jets will proceed as scheduled, notwithstanding apprehensions over the US maker’s production timetable for 737s that have faced heightened scrutiny following a mid-air incident earlier this year, Reuters reported. In January, India’s newest airline revealed its order for 150 Boeing 737s. This announcement closely followed a mid-air cabin panel blowout incident on an Alaska Air flight in Oregon, US. While Akasa’s order does not include the 737 Max 9 version which has been under the scanner, broader internal company scrutiny and external probe in the US have raised worries that delivery timeline of other variants of Boeing’s 737 jetliner programme could be hit.
US-based multinational SVP Worldwide, which owns the iconic sewing machine brand Singer, plans to invest in a green field facility in India following its strategy to make it a global manufacturing hub for the brand, said its chief operations officer David Jude Rotell. The company is “very optimistic about working in India”, where it plans for a second manufacturing unit for Singer’s high-tech Zig-Zag machines, which will cater to the global markets besides the domestic, where it anticipates a growth, Rotell told PTI. “We anticipate growth for the Indian market, which is really where the focus is. But beyond that, we also think there are opportunities as we look at setting up manufacturing operations in India,” he said.
India’s leading food delivery platform Zomato on Wednesday reversed its decision to introduce green uniforms for a new vegetarian-only service, expressing concerns that the significant vegetarian demographic might then neglect its regular offerings. The decision came within less than 24 hours of Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s announcement of a green-coloured “Pure Veg” fleet, distinct from its usual red, aimed at delivering orders only from vegetarian eateries. This move received mixed reactions on social media platforms. “This will ensure that our red uniform delivery partners are not incorrectly associated with non-veg food, and blocked” by gated communities, Goyal said on X. More than one-third of India’s 1.4 billion people is estimated to be vegetarian.
Radisson Hotel Group on Wednesday announced the appointment of Nikhil Sharma as the managing director and area senior vice president for South Asia, effective April 1. In his new role, Sharma will lead Radisson Hotel Group’s operations in the dynamic South Asia region, which has over 165 hotels in operation and development. “Nikhil joins Radisson Hotel Group from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WHR) where he served as Market Managing Director Eurasia, overseeing business development, operations, new openings, and sales & marketing,” Radisson Group stated. Before his time at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, he held the position of chief operating officer at Ginger Hotels, a brand under the IHCL conglomerate, the statement added.
(With agencies)
