India has become the sixth largest market in the MSCI All Country World Investable Market Index (ACWI IMI), surpassing China and narrowly behind France.
For the first time, India is the largest emerging market (EM) in the gauge that tracks the performance of global capital markets.
At the end of August 2024, India's weight in the MSCI ACWI IMI stood at 2.35 per cent, 11 basis points (bps) more than China which is at 2.24 per cent. France has just 3 bps more weight than India.
MSCI ACWI IMI index encompasses stocks in the large- and mid-cap space. It is a spinoff of the more widely followed MSCI ACWI Index, which has only large and mid-cap representation.
Infosys Collaborates with UK's Metro Bank for Digital Transformation
Indian IT major Infosys entered into a long-term collaboration with British community bank Metro Bank to digitise the bank's operations. The collaboration will utilise Infosys Topaz, the firm's AI-first offerings, to enhance Metro Bank's digital capabilities, improve automation, refine data, and embed further AI capabilities.
ICICI Bank Launches NPS Vatsalya Pension Account for Minors
ICICI Bank announced the launch of NPS Vatsalya, a pension scheme aimed at securing the financial future of children, at its service centre at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.
The new pension scheme, to be operated under the aegis of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), was proposed in the first Budget of the Narendra Modi 3.0 government in July. The NPS Vatsalya scheme allows parents or guardians to build corpuses for their minor children until they attain 18 years of age. Upon attaining adulthood, the subscriber can convert the NPS Vatsalya account into a normal NPS account.
Sep 19, 2024
Amazon Names Samir Kumar as New India Head
Amazon named Samir Kumar as its new India head, handing the reins to the 25-year company veteran as the e-commerce giant faces intense competition and regulatory pressures in the country.
Kumar was part of a team that launched Amazon India in 2013 and will take over from Manish Tiwary on Oct. 1, in addition to his current role as head of Amazon's consumer businesses in the Middle East, South Africa and Turkey.
Tiwary resigned after an eight-year stint, to pursue an opportunity outside the company.
The change in leadership came as the U.S. e-commerce giant is fast expanding in India, with plans to invest up to $26 billion by 2030, even as it faces intense regulatory scrutiny.
Banks and FIs to Invest Rs 32.5 Trillion in Renewable Energy by 2030
At the 4th RE-Invest Summit, hosted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), leading renewable energy (RE) developers, manufacturing companies, banks, and financial institutions pledged close to $386 billion (Rs. 32.45 trillion) to develop RE projects by 2030. India aims to build 500 gigawatts (Gw) of RE capacity by 2030, but commitments from the solar power industry have reached 570 Gw. Reliance Industries (RIL) leads the pack with a 100 Gw commitment, followed by NTPC (41.3 Gw) and ReNew (40 Gw).
ReNew also plans to build 6 Gw of solar manufacturing capacity, while Gujarat-based Torrent Power committed to 10 Gw. A new initiative called 'Shapath Patra' aims to attract green energy investments, with the solar module manufacturing pledge totaling 338 Gw, cell manufacturing at 239 Gw, and wind turbine manufacturing receiving 22 Gw.
Swiggy Launches Project Next to Offer Career Growth for Delivery Partners
Food delivery and quick commerce company Swiggy launched an initiative aimed to provide career growth opportunities for delivery partners while accelerating restaurant onboarding.
'Project Next' is part of Swiggy's larger initiative, Swiggy Skills, which offers skilling, training, internship and employment opportunities in its value chain.
By transitioning qualified delivery partners into the role of sales executives, Project Next seeks to enhance restaurant expansion across 150+ growing markets, according to a press release issued by the company. Under this project, delivery partners will take on a new role within Swiggy and will be responsible for onboarding and managing its restaurant network, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Sep 18, 2024
LIC Appoints Infosys for NextGen Digital Platform
The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) selected Infosys to develop its next-generation digital platform as part of its DIVE (Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement) programme. This new platform will serve as an integrated end-to-end solution, enhancing customer services, business lifecycle management, and operational activities for sales intermediaries, while also offering a digital front-end for branch employees.
The DIVE programme aims to revolutionise LIC's digital infrastructure, transforming operations from customer onboarding to claims settlement. Siddhartha Mohanty, LIC's managing director and CEO, emphasised that the partnership with Infosys will help LIC evolve into a technology-driven organisation, enhancing its ability to offer comprehensive life insurance solutions and meet the instant service expectations of today's digitally connected customers.
The new platform will be modular, cloud-native, and designed to adapt to emerging technologies and products. It is expected to provide superior customer service, streamline lifecycle management for sales intermediaries, and offer a robust digital interface for branch employees.
West Bengal's Decades-Long Economic Decline
A working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), authored by EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal, highlights the relative economic performance of Indian states from 1960-61 to 2023-24. Titled "Relative Economic Performance of Indian States: 1960-61 to 2023-24," the paper reveals that West Bengal, once holding the third-largest share of the national GDP at 10.5% in 1960-61, has seen a consistent decline, now accounting for only 5.6% of India's GDP in 2023-24. The report notes that maritime states have generally outperformed others, with the exception of West Bengal.
Sep 17, 2024
GST Council Forms GoM to Review Tax Rate on Health, Life Insurance
The GST Council constituted a 13-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to review and suggest GST rates on health and life insurance premiums. The report is due by October 30, 2024, and Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary leads the group. The decision was made during the 54th GST Council meeting earlier in September 2024. A final decision will be made in November based on the GoM's recommendations.
Key Objectives of the GoM are:
Review GST rates on health and life insurance, including premiums for individual, group, and family plans
Examine tax rates on specialised categories such as senior citizens and those with mental illness
Review rates on term insurance, life insurance with investment plans, and reinsurance
Currently, a GST rate of 18% applies to health and life insurance premiums. Some opposition-ruled states like West Bengal have called for complete exemption, while others advocate reducing the rate to 5%.
HDFC Bank Aims to Boost Income of 5 Lakh Marginal Farmers by 2025 under 'Parivartan'
India's private sector bank HDFC looks to increase the income of 5 lakh marginal farmers who earn less than 60,000 annually by 2025, as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Parivartan.
The bank's focus on rural development reflects continued commitment to fostering sustainable growth and uplifting vulnerable communities.
Since its inception in 2014, Parivartan has grown into one of India's largest CSR programmes, active in 28 States and 8 Union Territories.
With over 65 per cent of India's population residing in rural areas, they strongly believe that inclusive development can only be attained when the prosperity and livelihood in villages keeps pace with the growth.
DPIIT Launches BHASKAR: A Revolutionary Platform for India's Start-up Ecosystem
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, launched a groundbreaking digital platform named Bharat Start-up Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) under the Start-up India program. This initiative aims to strengthen India's start-up ecosystem by centralising and streamlining collaboration between key stakeholders like start-ups, investors, mentors, service providers, and government bodies. It aligns with India's vision to become a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, further boosting the country's commitment to the start-up movement.
BHASKAR acts as a bridge between start-ups, investors, mentors, and stakeholders, promoting seamless interaction across different sectors.
The platform provides immediate access to critical tools and knowledge, helping start-ups make faster decisions and scale efficiently.
Sep 16, 2024
India's Foreign Kitty Jumps to Fresh Time High at 689.24bn
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that India's forex reserves jumped USD 5.248 billion to a new all-time high of USD 689.235 billion till 6th September, 2024.
Forex reserves or foreign exchange reserves are assets that are held by a nation's central bank or monetary authority. It is generally held in reserve currencies, usually the US Dollar and to a lesser degree the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling. It is used to back its liabilities.
UPI Users Can Now Send 5 Lakh for Some Transactions
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) increased the transaction limits for tax payments using UPI (Unified Payment Interface), by allowing people to send 5 lakh in a single transaction.
Acquiring entities must ensure that the classification of their merchants within MCC-9311 strictly adheres to the tax payments only. Merchants shall ensure UPI as a payment mode is enabled for the increased limit for the tax payments category.
Earlier, the transaction limit for UPI was Rs. 1 lakh except for certain categories of payments which have higher transaction limits.
It has now been decided to enhance the limit for tax payments through UPI from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh per transaction.
This will further ease tax payments by consumers through UPI.
Categories of Payment are: (1) Tax payments, (2) Hospital and educational services and, (3) IPOs and government securities.
To Resolve Exporters Issue Piyush Goyal Launches Portal
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, launched the 'Jan Sunwai portal', which is an online platform of the Department of commerce, designed to streamline communication between stakeholders and authorities.
The portal has been designed to streamline the communication between stakeholders and authorities.
This portal will provide a significant boost to the existing commerce and business sector since people will not have to visit our offices with their grievances
This portal's accessibility extends to solve the problem related to many commerce department for exports such as, Department of commerce, DGFT (Director General of Foreign Trade), Tea Board, Coffee Board, Spices Board, Rubber Board, APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority).
Back
+91-85588-96644
