General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2025

Aug 2025

Nov 01, 2025

US Waives Sanctions on Chabahar for 6 Months

India secured a fresh six-month waiver from the US to continue operations at Iran's strategic Chabahar Port, restoring a crucial link for regional connectivity that had come under threat following the recent withdrawal of the exemption.
The waiver came barely six weeks after Washington revoked India's earlier exemption, which was set to lapse on September 29, bringing the port and associated activities under the ambit of its sanctions imposed on Iran.
The Chabahar project, jointly developed by India and Iran, has been a crucial link for humanitarian supplies and trade with Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.

Vizag Port to Build Major Port Cum Ship Building Cluster at Dugarajapatnam

The Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) has signed an MoU with the State of Andhra Pradesh, in 2025, for establishment of a `major port cum ship building and ship repair cluster' at Dugarajapatnam in Tirupati district, with an investment commitment of Rs. 29,662 crore, according to an official communication from the VPA here on Thursday.
The project will generate large-scale employment, strengthen India's self-reliance under the Make in India framework, and deliver modern infrastructure to accelerate the nation's maritime growth.

Oct 31, 2025

Achin Gupta to Succeed Umang Vohra as Cipla MD & GCEO

Cipla announced the elevation of Achin Gupta, its Global Chief Operating Officer, as Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer (MD & GCEO) effective April 1, 2026, for a five-year term, subject to shareholder approval. Gupta will take over as MD & GCEO-designate from January 1, 2026, succeeding Umang Vohra, who has led Cipla since 2016.
Umang Vohra joined Cipla in 2015 as global chief financial and strategy officer and thereafter served as the company's MD & GCEO since 2016.

Reliance Jio Users to Receive Rs. 35,100 Google AI Pro Boost, for Free

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), through its subsidiary Reliance Intelligence Limited, has entered into a strategic partnership with Google to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across India.
The tie-up, aligned with Reliance's AI for All vision, will see the rollout of Google AI Pro featuring the latest Gemini model for eligible Jio users, free of charge for 18 months. Valued at Rs. 35,100, the offer includes access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, expanded image and video generation through Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, enhanced Notebook LM features, and 2 TB of cloud storage. Reliance Jio's telecom user base currently stands around 506 million.

Same-Day Cross-Border Payments: A Reality Soon By RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed a set of measures to make it easier and faster for individuals and businesses to receive money from abroad, seeking to eliminate delays between the receipt of funds by a bank and the credit to the recipient's account.
Under the proposed norms, banks will be required to credit inward remittances received during foreign exchange market hours to beneficiaries' accounts on the same business day, and those received after market hours on the next business day, the central bank said in a draft circular.
"One of the challenges with the speed of cross-border payments is the delay between the receipt of the payment at the beneficiary bank and the credit to the beneficiary's account," the RBI observed.

Oct 30, 2025

Paytm Enables UPI for NRIs with Foreign Numbers

In a breakthrough for cross-border digital payments, Paytm introduced UPI payment support for NRIs using international mobile numbers. Announced in October 2025, this new service empowers Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from 12 countries to make seamless UPI payments in India through the Paytm app, without needing an Indian SIM card.
The new feature enables NRIs to,
Make instant UPI transfers to Indian UPI IDs and mobile numbers
Pay merchants by scanning UPI QR codes across India
Shop online on Indian platforms using their existing NRE or NRO bank accounts
Skip forex conversion and traditional remittance charges
The following are the 12 countries: United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia, Canada, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Bahrain.

HAL to Manufacture Russian SJ�'100 Passenger Aircraft in India

Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to manufacture the SJ-100 civil commuter aircraft in India. The agreement, signed in Moscow marks a major step towards India producing a complete passenger aircraft for the first time since the Avro HS-748 project ended in 1988.
The SJ-100 is a twin-engine, narrow-body aircraft already in commercial service, with more than 200 units operating across 16 airlines worldwide. Under the new arrangement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture the aircraft for Indian customers.
As per the MoU, being billed as a big self-reliance push, HAL will have the rights to manufacture the aircraft for domestic customers.

Oct 29, 2025

Japan Launches World's First Yen-Pegged Stablecoin

In a major milestone for global digital finance, Japan officially launched the world's first yen-pegged stablecoin, named JPYC. The debut marks a key turning point in the country's evolving financial ecosystem, which has traditionally leaned heavily on cash and credit cards. Issued by Tokyo-based start-up JPYC Inc., the digital token is fully backed by Japanese yen and government bonds (JGBs), and offers zero transaction fees during its initial rollout phase.

Ministry of Coal Launches 'Koyla Shakti' Dashboard

In a leap towards digital governance in the energy sector, the Ministry of Coal unveiled 'Koyla Shakti – Smart Coal Analytics Dashboard'. This digital platform promises to transform how coal production, logistics, and supply chain data are monitored and analysed, fostering transparency, efficiency, and smarter decision-making.
Koyla Shakti is a real-time analytics dashboard designed by the Ministry of Coal to act as a centralised digital interface for monitoring coal-related operations across India.
It integrates data from multiple sources—ranging from coal producers to ports and ministries—into one unified platform.
The system provides a bird's-eye view of the coal supply chain, enabling authorities to track production, dispatch, transportation, and consumption activities live.
This is aimed at enhancing coordination, minimising delays, and improving transparency in coal management.

Oct 28, 2025

New GDP Series to Map India's Digital Economy and Gig Sector

India's economy has changed dramatically over the past decade and its statistics are finally catching up. The government plans to roll out a new GDP series early next year that will better reflect the country's growing digital footprint, from e-commerce and gig work to logistics and digital payments.
Officials said that the upcoming series, which will shift the base year from 2011–12 to 2022–23, will include richer data on services and unincorporated enterprises, capturing the transformation of India's economy in far greater detail.

Global Urban Leaders Convene in Dubai for Historic Asia Pacific Cities Summit

More than 15,000 urban leaders, policymakers, and innovators from over 600 cities worldwide converged Expo city Dubai as the 2025 Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors' Forum officially opened, marking a historic first for the event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region.
The three-day summit, running through October 29, brings together 118 mayors, deputy mayors, business executives, and young professionals under the banner 'Collaborate. Inspire. Transform'. Organised by Brisbane City Council at the legacy site of Expo 2020 Dubai, the gathering represents the 15^th edition of a summit with a 30-year tradition of fostering urban innovation and cross-regional cooperation.

NITI Aayog Extends Support to Indian Rice Exporters Federation's Bharat International Rice Confer...

In a significant step towards strengthening India's agricultural trade and enhancing the country's global leadership in rice exports, NITI Aayog extended its support to the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) for organising the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2025. The prestigious event will take place on October 31, 2025, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The conference, a flagship initiative by IREF, aims to bring together policymakers, exporters, scientists, researchers, and international trade representatives under one platform to deliberate on innovation, sustainability, and strategies to boost India's export competitiveness.

Amazon Deepens Ties with Govt. to Boost e-commerce Exports; Signs MoUs with FIEO and Gujarat MSME...

The Amazon Global Selling India strengthened its partnership with the government to accelerate the country's e-commerce export ecosystem, signing new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with key export and MSME bodies, Srinidhi Kalvapudi.
An MoU was signed with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the apex body of exporters in India. It also signed an MoU with the MSME Commissionerate of Gujarat.

Reliance, Meta Launch Enterprise AI Joint Venture

In a tech partnership, Reliance Industries and Meta Platforms announced a Rs. 855 crore joint venture to build enterprise-grade AI products. The new entity, named Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL), will develop and scale AI solutions for business clients in India and selected global markets. This collaboration is seen as part of a larger push towards 'Made-in-India' digital infrastructure, amid ongoing India–US trade tensions and increasing global demand for trusted AI ecosystems.
The joint venture will focus on building scalable AI products tailored for enterprises, such as,
AI-driven automation tools
Predictive analytics platforms
Customer service chatbots
Generative AI models optimised for Indian markets

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