India’s manufacturing activities continued to expand in December 2023.
As per data released by S&P Global on Wednesday, the HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slipped to an 18-month low of 54.9 in December last year from 56.0 in the previous month.
A PMI print below 50 means contraction, while one above it indicates expansion.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has launched K-SMART (Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation), the first of its kind project in the country aimed at making available all services of local self government institutions over a uniform digital platform.
K-SMART ensures easy access of most vital services to the common public.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) has advised against endorsing the exports of iron ore from the nation, given its non-renewable nature.
Instead, the CCI recommends adopting the Chinese strategy of importing iron ore, despite China being a leading global producer, a move that has propelled China to become the world's top steel manufacturer.
The recommendations are based on a new Market Study on Mining Industry by CCI.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted a payment aggregator (PA) licence to Tata Payments, Tata group’s digital payments app. This will help the firm facilitate ecommerce transactions through its platform. Tata Payments is held through Tata Digital, the group's subsidiary entity, which houses its digital businesses.
Adidas is setting up its first and only global capacity centre (GCC) in Asia outside China in Chennai, to focus on 'key processes'.
The athletic footwear and apparel giant’s move reinforces the recent boom of multinationals investing in India in large numbers to set up their GCCs to harness the abundant software skills in the country.
India Ratings and Research upped GDP growth estimate for current fiscal to 6.7 per cent, from 6.2 per cent, citing resilient economy, sustained government capex and prospect of a new private corporate capex cycle.
It flagged weak global growth and trade as risks which weighed down the growth estimates, besides volatile geopolitical situation.
India's Gujarat state signed initial investment agreements worth 7.17 trillion Indian rupees ($86.07 billion) with 58 companies operating in sectors such as energy, oil and gas, and chemicals.
Gujarat has been signing these agreements ahead of its biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, which is scheduled to take place in state capital Gandhinagar from Jan. 10 to Jan. 12.
France will become the first European country to issue digital Schengen visas to visitors for the upcoming Paris Olympics. France has announced plans to shift entirely to online procedures for 70,0000 French Schengen Visas, in a move that aligns with the EU's digitalization plans.
France began operations of the "Olympic Consulate" system from January 1, 2024.
PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation for various projects worth Rs 1,150 crore in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
This includes the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection (KLI - SOFC) project.
PM also inaugurated the Low Temperature Thermal Desalination plant at Kadmat, which will produce 1.5 lakh litres of clean drinking water every day.
The current Administrator of the union territory of Lakshadweep is Praful Khoda Patel.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), operator of the world's largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex, has become the first Indian company to chemically recycle plastic waste-based pyrolysis oil into International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)-Plus certified Circular Polymers.
RIL's Jamnagar refinery became the first refinery to get this.
Randhir Jaiswal has officially assumed the position of the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, succeeding Arindam Bagchi, who has been appointed as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva.
Arindam Bagchi took over as the spokesperson in March 2021.