Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is organising the Startup India Innovation Week 2024 from January 10 to 18.
The aim of the exercise is to celebrate the country’s startup ecosystem and launch the National Startup Day (16th January 2024).
The Startup India initiative was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 16th January 2016.
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated and laid foundation stones of 29 national highway projects worth Rs 4,000 crore in Punjab.
The projects included Ladhowal bypass in Ludhiana, six-lane flyover and two-lane road over bridge in Ludhiana, four laning of Jalandhar-Kapurthala section, and three bridges on the Jalandhar-Makhu road.
The Rural Development Ministry and State Bank of India on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate enterprise financing for rural self-help groups (SHG).
State Bank of India introduced a specialised financial product Svyam Siddha, exclusively tailored for SHG women entrepreneurs seeking loans up to Rs 5 lakhs.
The Indian Navy took delivery of its first India-made Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone, acquired under emergency procurement mechanism.
Manufactured by Adani Defence and Aerospace in partnership with the Israeli firm Elbit, in Hyderabad, the Drishti 10 StarLiner, has an endurance of 36 hours, satellite connectivity and the ability to carry a payload of 450 kg.
It is the Indian version of the original Hermes StarLiner.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has projected a modest rise in the global unemployment rate to 5.2% in 2024, citing an increase in joblessness across advanced economies.
According to ILO's 2024 World Employment and Social Outlook report released on January 10, anticipated rise would result in the global unemployment rate inching up from 5.1% recorded in 2023.
Sri Lanka’s Education minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha has said that a new campus of IIT Madras would be started in Kandy in Sri Lanka.
The minister said that the proposal was part of the Budget 2024 presented by Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremasinghe in his capacity as Finance Minister.
IIT Madras has previously established a presence in Zanzibar.
The commerce ministry has set up a task force to identify and resolve trade barriers being faced by exporters.
The ministry is also looking at improving mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with different countries so that product standards are as per the requirements of the importing countries.
Indian exports that routinely face high barriers include chillies, tea and basmati rice.
The World Bank in its Global Economic Prospects report retained India’s economic growth forecast at 6.3% for the current financial year, and 6.4% for the next, citing slow post-pandemic recovery.
Global GDP is likely to grow 2.4% in 2024, it said. That compares to 2.6% in 2023, 3% in 2022 and 6.2% in 2021 when there was a rebound as the pandemic ended.
Bhutanese voters have elected Tshering Tobgay to become Prime Minister for a second time after his party won nearly two-thirds of seats, the election commission said in results released on January 10.
Mr. Tobgay, head of the liberal People's Democratic Party (PDP), who served as prime minister of the Himalayan kingdom from 2013 to 2018, won 30 of 47 seats.
State Bank of India (SBI)said it has concluded the issue of USD 600 million senior unsecured fixed rate notes having maturity of 5 years at a coupon of 5 per cent, payable semi-annually, under Regulation-S.
This fundraising comes on the heels of the bank concluding placement of USD 250 million senior unsecured Green floating rate notes, referred to as “The Green Notes.”
India and U.K. on January 9 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for bilateral international cadet exchange programme and also a Letter of Arrangement (LoA) on defence collaboration in Research and Development.
These were signed after the bilateral talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his British counterpart Grant Shapps in London.
This is the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to U.K. since 2002.
Ugram, a state-of-the-art assault rifle of the 7.62 x 51 mm calibre, was launched by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Ugram, which means ferocious, has been developed and manufactured DRDO’s Pune-based facility Armament Research and Development Establishments (ARDE)along with Hyderabad-based Dvipa Armour India Private Limited.
Ugram weighs less than four kilograms and has an effective range of 500 metres.
Microsoft has launched an initiative, AI Odyssey, that aims to skill one lakh developers in India in the latest AI technologies and tools.
The month-long program is open to all AI enthusiasts in India, regardless of experience level or background. The program has two levels that participants need to complete by January 31, 2024.
The Uttar Pradesh government plans establishing a pharma park in Lalitpur, Bundelkhand, covering 1472 acres across five villages.
The identified villages for the survey include Saidpur (426 acres), Gadolikala (249 acres), Largan (239 acres), Karounda (116 acres), and Rampur (441 acres).
The plan is guided by Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA).
Einstein Probe (EP), uses new X-ray detection technology inspired by the functioning of a lobster eye & was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's Sichuan Province.
It a new astronomical satellite shaped like a lotus launched to observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe that flicker like fireworks.