Author: NNI Editor

Through “Global Investor Meets”, State governments compete with each other every year to show-case themselves before the investor community and the elite, thereby giving the indication that employment promotion through new investments stands out as their policy plank. In the early part of the present century, the economic cold war between Gujarat and Maharashtra led to a search for new strategies of attracting investments. In 2003, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, came up with the idea of ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ as an experimental project, offering a meeting place for potential investors. Various State governments including Kerala, Tamil Nadu…

BBMP officials remove Optical Fibre Cables (OFC) which were hanging at Avenue Road, Bengaluru in 2018. | Photo Credit: File Photo The story so far: The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), a multilateral organisation launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, put out a report earlier this month studying Indian telecom networks’ preparedness in the event of disasters. The report suggests ways in which State governments can better prepare for calamities that may impact telecom networks.Why is it important? Telecom networks are crucial to handling disasters, because they allow the State and National Disaster Management Authorities to communicate quickly…

Suzuki Motor’s logo on a wheel of its Wagon R Stingray. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Japanese small car maker Suzuki Motor said it will target 4.2 million vehicles in global sales in five years’ time, an increase of nearly a third, with most of its expansion concentrated in its main market of India.It expects 60% of those sales to be in India, adding that the country would also receive 60% of the 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) it plans to invest by the 2030 financial year.The company aims to boost manufacturing capacity in India to meet expected local demand…

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 86.88 and gained further ground to trade at 86.79 against the greenback during early deals on February 20, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The rupee appreciated 19 paise to 86.79 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday (February 20, 2025), as the American currency and crude oil prices retreated from their elevated levels. Forex traders said there is a negative bias for the USD/INR pair amid a muted trend in domestic equities and the unabated foreign fund outflow is weighing on investor sentiments. At the interbank foreign exchange, the…

Brokers watch the movement of stock prices on their computer screens during a trading session. File photo | Photo Credit: PTI Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in initial trade on Thursday (February 20, 2025) as fresh tariff threats, weak Asian markets and foreign fund outflows hurt investors’ sentiment.The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 393.01 points to 75,546.17 in early trade. The NSE Nifty declined 118.95 points to 22,813.95.From the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, ITC, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato and Hindustan Unilever were among the biggest laggards.NTPC, Infosys, Reliance Industries and Adani Ports were among the gainers.Foreign Institutional Investors…

Showcasing its distinctive taste and humongous goodwill, the ‘Indian Malt Whisky Association’ has sought Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Indian Single Malt Whisky and Pure Malt Whisky.Watch | What are the benefits of GI tags and how are they awarded?In its application filed before the GI Registry here, the association said that the Indian Single Malt Whisky and Pure Malt Whisky originated in India making it distinctly different from other foreign malt whiskies owing to its naturally inherent quality and characteristics. The drinks were extremely unique as they derived superior qualities, texture, taste and aroma and other fine characteristics from…

Vedanta Limited will also act as an incubator for new businesses, including Vedanta’s technology verticals. File | Photo Credit: AP “Vedanta Limited has received approval from its shareholders and creditors for its proposal to demerge the company into five independent, sector-specific companies,” according to a stock exchange filing by the company. The demerger was approved by 99.99% of shareholders, 99.59% of the secured creditors, and 99.95% of unsecured creditors of Vedanta Limited who voted in favour of the demerger, as per the stock exchange filing made by the company.Did not receive application from Vedanta for tungsten mining, says T.N. government…

Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness Digital Engineering | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement While artificial intelligence (AI) has been a buzzword across industries, companies worldwide have yet to harness the full potential, says Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness Digital Engineering. Speaking to The Hindu during his visit to Mumbai, the New York-based tech leader said that while senior executives across industries frequently discuss AI, very few possess a deep understanding of it.Mr. Tinaikar stressed that leaders must first grasp the concept of AI to effectively guide their organisations through the transformative journey it entails. “This journey is about re-skilling people,” he…

Representational image of Aurobindo Pharma’s Unit IX in Andhra Pradesh | Photo Credit: A. Roy Chowdhury The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) has classified a warehouse of Aurobindo Pharma subsidiary in New Jersey, U.S. as Official Action Indicated (OAI) after an inspection it conducted. Such a classification means regulatory and/or administrative actions are recommended by the regulator, for the facility it has inspected. “The U.S. FDA had conducted an inspection at one of the warehouses of Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., a 100% subsidiary, situated in East Windsor, New Jersey, from May 13-15, 2024, with regards to compliance of…

Fines for DSA violations can reach as much as 6% of a company’s global annual revenue [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS WhatsApp has hit a user criterion set out in landmark EU tech rules, the unit owned by Meta Platforms said, meaning it is required to do more to tackle online illegal and harmful content.Messaging platform WhatsApp in a February 14 filing said it had about 46.8 million average monthly active users in the 27-country European Union in the six month period to December 2024, above the 45-million-user threshold set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA).”We can indeed confirm…