Global technology companies in Israel may shift their business operations to India or other locations such as the Middle East or Eastern Europe, if the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, said a news report. Cited industry experts, the report said that the businesses may shift to locations with similar time zones and talent capabilities. According to reports, there are over 500 global companies in Israel. In addition to Microsoft, Intel, and Google from the US, firms such as Wipro and TCS from India have businesses in the country. These companies employ at least over 100,000 people. For a few
The Government of India has decided to rescind its earlier decision to impose restrictions on laptop imports. Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal made this announcement on October 13. The original plan, which sought to implement a licensing system for laptop imports on August 3, was intended to ensure the entry of “trusted hardware and systems” into India. However, it faced a three-month delay due to opposition from the industry and criticism from other countries. Major tech giants like Apple, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, and HP would have been significantly affected had the initial plan gone int
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched its first wind project of commercial size, making use of technology to exploit low wind speeds. The 103.5-megawatt project run by renewable energy firm Masdar is set to power more than 23,000 homes a year, spanning four locations. The project developed by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, demonstrates for the first time the latest technology and innovation to capture low wind speeds at utility scale, adopting advances in material science and aerodynamics to make wind power possible in the country. It marks the debut of cost-effecti
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 14 announced that the governments of India and Sri Lanka are working together on fintech sector connectivity by linking Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Lanka Pay. The Prime Minister said this in his video message aired at the launch of ferry services between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka. PM Modi and Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe had signed an agreement on UPI acceptance in Sri Lanka during Wickremesinghe’s two-day visit to India in July this year. In 2022, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), th
India has allowed Nepal to sell the electricity generated by two of the Himalayan country’s hydropower projects in its real-time energy market, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). On July 31, India had opened the door to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh to participate in its real time energy market by amending the ‘Procedure for approval and facilitating import/export (cross border) of electricity by the designated authority’ issued in February 2021. The Central Electricity Authority of India has allowed trading of 44 MW of electricity generated by the 19.4 MW Lower Mo
Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco has increased the official selling prices (OSP) for November-loading Arab Light to Asia by 40 cents a barrel from October to $4 a barrel over Oman/Dubai quotes. The Kingdom on October 4 announced that it will continue with its voluntary output cut of 1 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) for November and until the end of December 2023. The price hike is in accordance with the market expectations of an increase of about 45 cents, and has pushed the price for the medium sour crude to its highest level this year. Saudi Aramco also raised the price for Extra L
The World Bank has downgraded its growth forecast for developing economies in East Asia and Pacific, citing slow growth in China and weak global demand amid high interest rates and slow trade. It now expects these economies to grow by 5% this year, slightly less than the 5.1% it had forecasted in April. For 2024, the bank expects growth in the region to be 4.5%, down from the earlier forecast of 4.8%. The Washington-based multilateral bank has left its 2023 economic growth forecast for China unchanged at 5.1%, but reduced its 2024 estimate to 4.4% from 4.8%. It pointed at longer-term struc
The ongoing 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup may boost the host country India’s economy by as much as ₹22,000 crore ($2.6 billion), according to an estimate from the Bank of Baroda. The quadrennial tournament, which began on October 5 and will continue until November 19, is expected to attract a large number of fans from India and abroad. With matches being played across 10 cities, the championship is likely to benefit other sectors such as tourism and hospitality, said the economists working with the bank on October 4. The ICC Cricket World Cup, hosted in India for the first time
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India will cooperate more closely in sustainable industrial development following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on October 5 in Abu Dhabi. The MoU was signed by His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Focusing on facilitating industrial investments, technology transfer and enabling the deployment of key technologies in industr
On October 4, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took action in the foreign exchange market by selling dollars to prevent the Indian rupee from plummeting to an all-time low. The rupee, facing challenges from increased US Treasury yields and a strengthened US dollar, concluded the day at 83.24 against the dollar, slightly weaker compared to the previous closing rate of 83.21. During the day, the domestic unit depreciated to 83.27 per dollar, just shy of the record intraday low of 83.29. Dealers estimate that state-run banks, acting on behalf of the RBI, sold approximately $500 million to s