- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Tuesday, March 28, 2023:
A parliamentary panel in India has asked the country’s health ministry to finalise draft e-pharmacy rules and implement them without more delay, the Hindu BusinessLine reported. It also expressed concern over possible misuse of online pharmacies due to lack of regulation. In its report, the panel said there were concerns over distribution of illegal or unethical medicines or outdated, substituted, or counterfeit medications. “Stringent regulation of the e-health and e-pharmacy sector is essential in view of the potential harm it can cause to health of end user in case of misuse,” it said while recommending that “comprehensive guideline” be put in place.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed an appeal filed by the customs department against Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML), Adani Power Rajasthan Limited (APRL) and others in a case pertaining to alleged over-valuation of imported goods, PTI reported. “We have heard Balbir Singh, Additional Solicitor General appearing for the appellant(s), and Mukul Rohatgi, senior counsel appearing for the respondents, at length. We are of the considered opinion that the matters are concluded by the findings of fact recorded by the authorities below and the impugned order(s) does not require any interference at our behest. The appeals accordingly stand dismissed,” a bench comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Sanjay Karol said.
India’s G20 presidency reached a milestone on Tuesday as it marked a half-century of G20 meetings, ANI reported. Three meets commenced the same day in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Ramnagar, taking the total to 50. So far under India’s G20 presidency which assumed on December 1, 2022, two ministerial, one Sherpa, 23 working groups, 20 engagement groups, and one curtain raiser were held, leaving aside about 30 University Connect and dozens of Janbhagidari events that were held. India assumed the G20 presidency from Indonesia oand will convene the G20 leaders’ summit for the first time later this year. India’s presidency will continue till November 30, 2023.
Microsoft-owned GitHub has laid off about 100 to 140 workers from its India office, primarily in engineering roles, the Hindu BusinessLine reported. The news outlet quoted a spokesperson of GitHub as saying, “As part of the reorganisation plan shared in February, workforce reductions were made today as part of difficult but necessary decisions and realignments to both protect the health of our business in the short term and grant us the capacity to invest in our long-term strategy, moving forward.” Former GitHub engineer Devyani Chowdhury confirmed the development and said that she was also impacted by the layoffs.
India on Tuesday sought to pitch itself as a leading defence exporter for African countries with both Army chief Manoj Pande and defence minister Rajnath Singh seeking to woo them, PTI reported. At the Army Chiefs Conclave here, attended by representatives of 31 African nations including army chiefs of ten African countries, Singh said India will continue to work with African nations to promote regional security, foster stability and enhance the defence capabilities together. The conclave also had sessions on the Indian defence industry and how it can contribute to African countries’ security and meet their aspirations.
Embassy Office Parks REIT (‘Embassy REIT’), India’s first listed REIT and the largest office REIT in Asia by area, announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Embassy Business Hub, a 1.4 million square feet (‘msf’) office property in Bengaluru in the southern state of Karnataka, for a total enterprise value of Rs 3,348 million ($41 million), ANI/BusinessWire India reported. Embassy REIT plans to primarily fund the acquisition through debt at an 8.1 per cent interest cost per annum, for which it has secured binding commitments from leading financial institutions.
