- Saturday, July 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Friday, February 2, 2024:
Interglobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, announced a substantial increase in third-quarter profit, driven by robust air travel demand during a traditionally busy season. The company’s standalone profit surged to Rs 29.98 billion (£286.1 million) for the quarter ending on December 31, more than doubling from Rs 14.18 billion (£135.3 million) recorded in the corresponding period last year. “For Q3 FY24, we reported a profit after tax of Rs 3,000 crore (£286.3 million) with a profit after tax margin of 15.4 per cent. With these five consecutive quarters of profit we continue to recover from the losses of Covid and have now become net worth positive again,” said IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers was quoted as saying by Business Today.
India must clarify its stance on clean-car technology to achieve its zero-emission objectives, P B Balaji, CFO of Tata Motors, the country’s leading car manufacturer, has said, Reuters reported. He stressed the necessity for the government to specify its investment priorities, as automakers cannot pursue all available technologies simultaneously. His remarks follow inquiries regarding Tata Motors’ stance on potential reductions in import taxes on hybrid vehicles. Currently, India imposes a five per cent tax on electric vehicles and up to 43 per cent on hybrids, close to the 48 per cent duty on petrol cars. Balaji commended the government’s choice of a “destination” technology, requiring substantial investments from automakers transitioning from gasoline cars to electric vehicles in the long term.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi will over the weekend launch multiple development projects in the eastern states of Odisha and Assam. While he will inaugurate projects worth over Rs 68,000 crore (£6.4 billion) in Odisha on Saturday (3), he will be in Assam on Sunday (4) to inaugurate projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore (£1.04 billion). In line with his vision to strengthen the country’s energy security, the PM will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of several projects aimed at boosting the sector at a public programme in Sambalpur in Odisha, his office said in a statement. While Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has not been in power in Odisha ever, it captured eight seats in the state in the 2019 national elections and one of them was Sambalpur.
Asserting that India is moving ahead on the path of speedy development, members of the country’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the parliament on Friday said the Narendra Modi government does not believe in doling out gifts, but works on making the country developed by 2047. Moving the Motion of Thanks on the president’s address in the house, BJP MP Kavita Patidar said the federal government has implemented various schemes to improve the plight of women and under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, more than 100 million women have got freedom from the smoke that was pushing them towards diseases like asthma. She also claimed that the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple will strengthen the economy in Ayodhya.
India’s central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) against human rights activist Harsh Mander and the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), his NGO, and searched his premises on Friday, officials said. The searches were conducted at two locations in Delhi, including Mander’s official and residential premises, according to a CBI statement. The agency registered the first information report against the former Indian Administrative Service officer and his Delhi-based CES after conducting a preliminary enquiry on a complaint from the Indian home ministry for the alleged violations of various provisions of the FCRA.
The entrepreneurship cell of India’s elite IIT Bombay was set to host the two-day annual flagship conclave, E-Summit’24, on Saturday (3) and Sunday (4). The occasion will feature an enriching lineup of events for founders and business enthusiasts, including: The Ten Minute Million, where startups can pitch to 16 investors for up to Rs 2.4 million (£22,909); Seed Stars, where exceptional seed-stage startups meet extraordinary mentors; I Summit, where fast-track incubation process will be provided for startups; Networking Arena to chat with industry stalwarts; among others.
(With agencies)
