Bengaluru will host the first Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) gathering under India’s G20 Presidency beginning Tuesday. The Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India will jointly host the three-day gathering, from December 13-15, 2022, which will kick off discussions on the "Finance Track" agenda. The G20 Finance Track is led by the central bank governors and finance ministers of G20 nations. The track focuses on economic and financial issues, and offers a useful forum for discussion of international economic issues and the coordination of policy. Finance Minister Nirmal
Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Saturday welcomed this year’s 10 millionth visitor to the country at Suvarnabhumi Airport to celebrate the revival of the tourism industry. Two tourists who arrived on a flight from Saudi Arabia received special prizes from the Prime Minister. The prizes included Limousine transfer, air tickets, shopping vouchers and virtual land, among others. The passengers were welcomed by traditional drummers and dancers. Around 40 million tourists were welcomed by the Asian country in 2019, but COVID-19 restrictions gave a major setback to the travel i
Rural India added 4.3 million jobs in November leading to an increase in the employment rate from 37% in October to 37.5%. Jobs in urban India also witnessed a marginal increase, from 34.2% to 34.4%, last month, said the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) fell 0.2% in November after urban sentiment fell 1.5%, while rural India rose 0.5%, said the CMIE. The November 2022 ICS decline comes after two months of robust gains after rising somewhat sharply by 11.4% during the last two festival months. In its weekly job analysis, CMIE underlined t
The World Bank revised its growth forecast for India in the current fiscal year to 6.9% from 6.5%, led by expected higher consumption and more robust domestic activity, which will help the country perform better than other emerging markets. A report released by the World Bank on Tuesday said India is well-positioned to navigate external financial shocks. The country’s gross domestic product grew 6.3% in the July to September period—a decline from last quarter’s 13.5%—and has so far buffered itself from recessionary shocks facing other parts of the world. The bank said global eco
Global airlines are predicting their first industry-wide profit in 2023, as air travel rebounds from COVID-19 restrictions. The trade association of world airlines, International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday said that it expects a net profit of $4.7-billion for the industry next year, with more than 4 billion passengers set to fly. It had previously said only that profits were “within reach” in 2023. For this year, the association narrowed its forecast for industry-wide losses to $6.9-billion from $9.7-billion. Geneva-based IATA, which represents some 300 airlines compri
Even as central banks across the world continue to raise their interest rates to limit growing inflation, India stands like an “oasis” in this era of uncertainty, says the latest Ecowrap report of SBI Research released on Friday. In comparison to developed economies such as the US, the UK and Germany, the report shows India to have done noticeably better in areas of cost of living, food prices and energy costs. The report has been authored by Group Chief Economic Adviser of SBI Soumya Kanti Ghosh. SBI Research compared the cost of living in India with the US, the UK and Germany by m
In an attempt to diversify its business activity beyond oil, the UAE capital city of Abu Dhabi is seeking more investments from India to not only benefit the local economy, but also allow Indian companies to use it as a platform to grow their footprints globally. The city has identified priority sectors such as agritech, tourism, healthcare, pharma and financial services, for Indian enterprises to invest. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Alshamsi, Acting Director General of Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) told media that his office will assist all investment opportunities for Indian companies. He als
The vast Indian diaspora will send home more than $100 billion in yearly remittances in 2022, says a World Bank report published on Wednesday. Asia’s third largest economy will reach the milestone figure for the first time, the report added. Remittances are money transfers from migrant workers to families back home. These money transfers are an important source of income for households and help in reducing poverty and driving healthy social indicators such as higher school enrollment rates for children. The World Bank report noted that over the last few years, Indians have moved from
Benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 63,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, extending its winning momentum to seventh day due to a largely positive trend in global markets and constant foreign fund inflows. The broader NSE Nifty also hit a record high at around 18,800. Extending gains from the previous session, Indian stock indices rose on Tuesday morning and hit fresh lifetime highs. The Indian stock markets got the boost from strong inflows of foreign funds, relative strength of the Rupee, and a clue from the US Federal Reserve on slowing down on policy rates. The minutes of the US Fed
The Tata Group on Tuesday announced the merger of its two airlines Vistara and Air India. With this consolidation, Air India will be India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it the largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier in the country. Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Limited. The airline was established in 2013 and is India’s leading full-service carrier with international operations in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. As part of the merger transaction, Singa