IT major Wipro has acquired a 60 per cent stake in US-based insurtech Aggne Global for $66 million to strengthen its competitive advantage in the insurance sector, particularly in the property and casualty (P&C) insurance space.
Founded in 2019, Aggne is incorporated in the US and India, with offices in Tampa, Florida, and Hyderabad, India.
India and the United Arab Emirates signed a key bilateral investment treaty along with key agreements spanning a slew of fintech and digital infrastructure projects announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the Gulf nation.
The bilateral investment treaty is set to be a key enabler for further promoting investments in both countries.
The UAE is the seventh-largest source of historical Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for India, with a total of $16.67 billion.
It constitutes 2.5 per cent of India's overall inbound FDI originating from the country since 2000, according to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
India signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the country in February 2022, which went into effect in May 2022.The UAE has become India's second-largest export destination, and the third-largest trading partner with total trade touching $85 billion. Both sides also signed Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India said Bima Sugam—Insurance Electronic Marketplace formed under the Companies Act, 2013—will be a not-for-profit entity.
As per IRDAI (Bima Sugam – Insurance Electronic Marketplace) Regulations, 2024, consumers shall not be charged for availing services of Bima Sugam.
The company will be operative and accessible at all times and will not store or hold any data, with the board of the company also having a policy on a revenue model which is self-sustainable.
The company will also have two nominees from the Irdai on its Board, apart from having the company’s own chairman and CEO, who will be appointed with the consultation of the Irdai.
The shareholding of the company will be widely held amongst Life insurers, General Insurers, and Health insurers, with no single entity having a controlling stake. The shareholders, as and when required, will contribute to the capital requirement. According to the regulator, Bima Sugam will be a one-stop solution to achieve the vision of “Insurance for all by 2047.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to cross Rs 20 lakh market capitalisation during the trading session.
The benchmark Sensex gained 0.68 per cent, or 483 points, at 71,555.19 and the NSE Nifty moved up by 127 points to 21,743.25. The RIL stock surged to its 52-week high of Rs 2,958 before closing at Rs 2,928.95.
RIL market capitalisation at close was Rs 19.81 lakh crore.
Market capitalisation is the total market value of all listed shares of a company. Reliance, TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Infosys are the top five companies in India, in terms of market capitalization.
Apple's iMessage & Microsoft's Bing search engine are exempted from new EU tech rules, EU antitrust regulators said, after accepting the companies' argument the services were not gateways to reach end-users. The new Digital Markets Act takes effect in three weeks'. The Digital Markets Act is the EU's law to make the markets in the digital sector fairer and more contestable
Its requirements include obliging Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet's Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms and ByteDance to allow third-party apps or app stores on their platforms and making it easier for users to switch from default apps to rivals.
The companies are also prohibited from favouring their services.
India's wholesale price index-based inflation eased further to 0.27 per cent in January on an annual basis, as against 0.73 per cent in December, stated provisional data from the Commerce Ministry on Wednesday. A Reuters poll had estimated the index would rise 0.53 per cent. Inflation for food articles stood at 6.85 per cent in January.
For the primary articles segment, the inflation rate in January declined by 1.04 per cent to 3.84 per cent.
Wholesale inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas eased 0.20 per cent. The fuel and power inflation contracted to (-)0.51 per cent in January.
Inflation for manufactured products came in at -1.13 per cent in January.
Shamar Joseph made history by becoming the first West Indian to win the Men's ICC Player of the Month award.
Ireland's explosive young batter Amy Hunter claimed the honour in the women's category after her dominance against Zimbabwe.
Joseph's debut Test match in Adelaide saw him claim five crucial wickets in the first innings.
The men's marathon world record holder, Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum, 24, has died in a road accident in his home country. He was killed alongside his coach, Rwanda's Gervais Hakizimana, in a car on a road in western Kenya. Kiptum broke the men’s marathon record in Chicago on 8 October 2023, with a time of two hours and 35 seconds.
The Kenyan slashed 34 seconds off two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge’s previous world record from Berlin in 2022 to become the first man to run the marathon under two hours and one minute.
Odisha government has decided to provide interest-free loans up to Rs 1 lakh to youth of the state under the new government scheme 'Swayam.' Under the scheme 'Swayam' to create self-employment for youth, 1 lakh eligible rural and an equal number of urban youth in the age group of 18-35 years will receive interest-free loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for starting a new business.
Further, all rural unemployed youth or those with no outstanding loan for the same purpose from any central or state government-supported schemes in the age group of 18-35 years (18-40 years for a special category) desirous of starting a new business or expanding their existing business will be provided an interest-free bank loan for project costs up to Rs. 1 lakh.
The government informed further that the scheme is also for urban youth.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) will be the aspirational and global document for students in India. Inaugurating the National Conference on “APAAR: One Nation One Student ID Card” in New Delhi, Mr Pradhan highlighted that 25 crore APAAR IDs have already been created till date.
About APAAR:
The APAAR ID is a unique alphanumeric code linked to an individual student. It will be a gateway for accessing Digilocker ecosystem which will store digitally all achievements of students like exam results, holistic report card, health card, learning outcomes besides other achievements of students be it OLYMPIAD, Sports, Skill training or any field.
The Education Ministry has proposed a deadline of 2026-27 for 100% integration of the education records of all students through the ID.
The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for procurement of 11 Shakti Electronic Warfare Systems for Indian Navy. The contract is worth 2,269 Crore Rupees. The Shakti EW System is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured. It is capable of accurately intercepting electronic emissions and implement counter measures.
According to the Defence Ministry, the Shakti EW System will be installed on-board capital warships of Indian Navy. The project will generate employment of two and half lakh man-days over a period of four years with participation of more than 155 industry partners including MSMEs, thus furthering the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.
India has secured the prestigious 9th GovTech Prize for its pioneering endeavors in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered government services, at the World Government Summit 2024. The annual award is instituted by the government of the UAE and is presented to government entities, central or local, worldwide, to recognize creative and innovative solutions.
The accolade recognizes the remarkable efforts of the Ministry for Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, for its transformative project known as iRASTE. It is a collaborative initiative involving the government, industry, and academia, is revolutionizing road safety through the integration of AI technology.
Life Insurance Corporation of India’s shareholding in SBI Cards and Payments Services crossed 5% with the insurer, as an investment function, acquiring recently a little more than three lakh shares in the non-banking financial company at an average cost of ₹716 per share. The shareholding has increased from 4.99% to 5.02% following open market purchase.
World Unani Day is observed on February 11 every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of social reformer & renowned Unani scholar Hakim Ajmal Khan, regarded as the pioneer of Unani medicine in India. The theme of Unani Day 2024 is "Unani Medicine for One Earth, One Health," underscoring the shared responsibility for the planet's welfare and the importance of health.
