The Ministry of Finance of Singapore announced on November 15 that every Singaporean adult will receive S$200 to S$800 from the Assurance Package in December. This will apply to Singaporeans aged 21 and above in 2024. “The Assurance Package aims to help Singaporeans tide through the period of higher inflation and cushion the impact of the GST rate increase. The package includes cash payments, rebates, Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers, and MediSave top-ups,” MOF said in a press release. When Singapore’s national Budget was rolled out for 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and
The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) 2023, which took place in Marrakech, Morocco from November 8-10, has achieved considerable success by securing $34.82 billion in investment interests for projects across the continent. Organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the AIF serves as a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary platform aimed at advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital, and expediting deals to financial closure. Its overarching vision is to direct capital towards critical sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, AfDB’s High 5s, and the African
Recent findings from SBI Research reveal a significant drop in India’s unemployment rate, reaching a record low. The Periodic Labour Force Survey report indicates a notable decrease from 6.1% in the fiscal year 2018 to 3.2% in 2023. SBI Research’s analysis further notes a rise in self-employment, climbing from 13.6% to 18.3% during the same period. The shift is accompanied by an increasing trend in higher educational attainment and a growing preference for entrepreneurship across diverse segments of society. The report underscores a societal shift in India, transitioning from tradition
Union Minister Piyush Goyal on November 14 said that US electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc. is in the process of doubling its imports of components from India. He shared the information on the social media platform X after his visit to Tesla’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fremont, California, US. The minister said in September that Tesla was aiming to source components worth between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion from India this year, having bought $1 billion of components last year. Piyush Goyal was, however, unable to meet Tesla chief Elon Musk during his visit to the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15 launched the Rs. 24,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PM PVTG) Mission for the holistic development of around 28 lakh PVTGs in the country. While announcing the mission from Birsa College ground in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, PM Modi also released Rs. 18,000 crore as the 15th installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme to more than eight crore beneficiary farmers across the country. Launched on the occasion of the third Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, the PM PVTG mission will provide basic facili
Taiwan is planning to address its labour shortage in factories, farms, and hospitals by hiring up to 1 lakh Indian workers. The two countries are expected to finalise an employment mobility agreement as early as December. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, announced on November 9 that the pact between India and Taiwan is in the final stages of negotiation. This initiative comes in response to Taiwan’s shrinking workforce, attributed to a low birth rate and an aging population. The influx of Indian workers is anticipated to boost Taiwan’s economy
Turkiye and India have topped a global ranking of employees’ well being, measured by assessing physical, mental, social and spiritual health based in a survey conducted by McKinsey Health Institute released on November 3. Japan has ranked last in the survey. Turkiye scored the highest at 78%, followed by 76% for India and 75% for China in the poll of more than 30,000 workers across 30 countries. Meanwhile, Japan scored 25%. The global average was 57%. In the survey, Indian employees reported the highest rates of burnout symptoms at 59%, while Cameroon reported the lowest at 9%; 22% of
Mundra Port in Gujarat handled 16.1 MMT of cargo in October, the highest-ever volume by any port in India. One of the flagship ports of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), the port is the largest port in the country with 102 MMT of cargo handled on a year to date (YTD) basis, at 9% year-on-year growth. It crossed the volume of 100 MMT in 210 days, overtaking the record of 231 days last year. Mundra saw double-digit growth on a year-on-year basis for containers (10%) and liquids and gas (14%). In another milestone, it handled 4.2 million TEUs of containers in just 203 days,
India’s Essar Group is poised to initiate an ambitious foray into low-carbon initiatives spanning three continents. This significant plan represents the conglomerate’s concerted effort to prioritise clean energy investments and take a leadership role in sustainable, environmentally-friendly solutions. The company is gearing up to invest in low-carbon ventures in Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and India. It anticipates securing final approvals by June 2024 to kickstart a $4 billion project aimed at constructing a low-carbon steel plant with an annual production capacity of 4 million
Delhi-NCR is the sixth most expensive office space rental market across the APAC region, says Knight Frank’s latest Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index for the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, Hong Kong SAR maintained its position as the most expensive office market in the region during the same quarter. The demand for office space in India’s largest occupier markets remained robust, with over 700,000 square meters of office space being leased during the quarter. The majority of this demand was driven by companies establishing Global Capability Centres, compensating for the reduced