UK, France among Top Destinations Preferred by Private Real Estate Investors
Economy

UK, France among Top Destinations Preferred by Private Real Estate Investors

Private investors were the most active buyers in global commercial real estate investment in 2022, says a new report by Knight Frank. The year saw a significant $455 billion invested, making for 41% of the total investment. The Wealth Report of Knight Frank said that the number represents private investors’ highest share of global commercial real estate on record, and is the first-time private investment has surpassed institutional investment. The year 2022 was the second strongest year on record for commercial real estate investment volumes among private investors, with investors capita

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Dubai Scales Efforts to Become Industrial Hub
Economy

Dubai Scales Efforts to Become Industrial Hub

Dubai is scaling up efforts to transform itself into a global industrial and manufacturing hub and attract major investments across key sectors such as aerospace, pharma and medical equipment, to name a few. This is in line with the Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030, which projects an additional $5 billion in industrial sector growth by the year 2030. In the past 10 years, the contribution of Dubai’s industrial sector to its GDP has been around 11-14%, making it the third largest sector, after trade and logistics. It has continued to demonstrate solid growth even during times of global cris

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UAE-India Business Council Launched to Boost Bilateral Trade
Economy

UAE-India Business Council Launched to Boost Bilateral Trade

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched UAE-India Business Council (UBIC) to bolster economic ties and facilitate enhancing bilateral trade and investment. The two sides aim to increase non-oil bilateral trade to $100 billion and attract $75 billion in investment from the UAE to India. The UAE chapter of the UIBC was launched on February 18, 2023, on the completion of one year of signing of the India-UAE comprehensive free trade agreement. The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi launched the UIBC-UAE chapter (UIBC-UC) in the presence of India�

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India Can Accomplish Net Zero Target before 2070, Says IMF MD
Economy

India Can Accomplish Net Zero Target before 2070, Says IMF MD

India can achieve the ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 much before the target, said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. In an interview, the IMF MD said that with the ambition India now demonstrates, it could take additional actions that could help in carbon neutrality being achieved earlier than expected. She added that it is important that a country like India plays a leading role against climate change, and underlined that phasing out coal is a big issue for the country. Georgieva noted that what India has done is "quite admirable" bec

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India Needs 30 Million Digitally Skilled Professionals by 2026
Economy

India Needs 30 Million Digitally Skilled Professionals by 2026

India will need 30 million digitally skilled professionals by 2026, and about half of the current workforce would require to re-skill themselves in areas of emerging technologies, according to a report by employment services provider TeamLease. At present, India has about 500 million people of working age, and industry data suggests that only 49% of total youth (age group of 22-25 years) in the country is employable. The TeamLease Services’ survey indicates that 75% of companies face a skill gap in the industry. Even among people who can stay in their current jobs, 40% of fundamental abi

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Delhi to Spend over ₹1,000 Crore on G20 Summit
Economy

Delhi to Spend over ₹1,000 Crore on G20 Summit

It is estimated that more than Rs 1,000 crore will be spent by various Delhi government agencies on the preparations for the G20 (Group of 20) summit and related events to be held in the city this year, officials said. The Indian capital will host the main summit meeting of the G20 countries and seven other related events, starting in March, during the country’s G20 presidency. The preparations that will include upgrading the civic infrastructure and beautification work among other measures by various departments of the city government and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will cost

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Indore Gets Rs 720 Crore on Green Bonds to Build Solar Plant
Economy

Indore Gets Rs 720 Crore on Green Bonds to Build Solar Plant

The non-convertible green municipal bonds of Indore Municipal Corporation were oversubscribed by 5.90 times after raising about Rs 720 crore till the last date for application for the bonds. The issue opened on February 10 and closed on February 14. Indore is India’s first urban body to introduce green bonds, seeking to raise Rs 244 crore to install and operate the plant of 60 megawatts in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district. It is expected to be the largest solar plant meant for pumping and supplying water from river Narmada. In response, the Indore Municipal Corporation raised Rs 661.

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First Phase of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Inaugurated
Economy

First Phase of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Inaugurated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the 1380-km, eight-lane Delhi-Mumbai expressway on February 12. The 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section will be open to the public, reducing the travel time from the national capital to Jaipur from five hours to about three hours. The expressway passing through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat will reduce travel time between Delhi and Mumbai from over a day to just 12 hours. The expressway is also set to benefit various cities along the way, cutting down travel times between them as well. The Minister of Road Tr

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At G20, India Pushes For Adoption of ‘3S’ Strategy in Agriculture Ecosystem
Economy

At G20, India Pushes For Adoption of ‘3S’ Strategy in Agriculture Ecosystem

India has called on Group of 20 (G20) nations to adopt ‘3S’ strategy, i.e., 'smart' and 'sustainable' agriculture which should 'serve' all, to address global food security concerns. Speaking on the sidelines of the first G20 Agriculture Deputies’ Meeting in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on February 14, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that agriculture for India has always been a priority, and for the world it has fully come to the fore now. For smart agriculture, he emphasised on adopting drones and other new technologies for increasing the crop yield. For sustainable agriculture,

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Air India Signs Massive Deals for Airbus, Boeing Aircraft
Economy

Air India Signs Massive Deals for Airbus, Boeing Aircraft

Air India on February 14 announced its plans to acquire 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing in deals potentially worth tens of billions of dollars. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have hailed Air India's multi-billion dollar deal to buy planes from Airbus and Boeing. During the video call with Macron, Modi described the agreement with Airbus as an important achievement for the bilateral strategic partnership and said, “Today, the India-France partnership is playing a direct role in ensuring internati

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