BUSINESS
India extends ban on international commercial flights till Jan 31
Earlier, India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15 with certain conditions. However, on December 1, the Directorate General of Central Aviation (DGCA) said it is "closely monitoring" the situation emerging out of the Covid-19's Omicron variant and the final decision on the resumption of near normal international flight operations will be taken after consultation with stakeholders.
RBI to launch UPI platform systems on feature phones to promote digitisation
With 118 crore users, India is one of the largest mobile phone users base and a large part of the users operate feature phones. So, enabling UPI payment possible on the most widely used device in the country will take India a step closer to advancing digitisation under the Digital India campaign.
Coal shortage cripples non-power sector as supplies to power sector prioritised
The council has highlighted a recent decision of Coal India to enhance the rake supplies for power sector to 296 rakes per day. The decision dated December 2, 2021 has been taken in order to increase coal stocks level in power plants to 14 days from current level of around 10 days. Coal Ministry's move to increase coal rakes for the Power Sector will deprive Captive Power Plants (CPPs) from coal rakes.
RBI to develop UPI for feature phones to boost digital payments
India has one of the largest mobile phone users base, with around 118 crore users. A large part of them use feature phones. "In the first cohort of 'RBI Regulatory Sandbox', some innovators had successfully demonstrated their solutions for feature phone payments, under the theme of 'Retail Payments', the central bank said.
Growth Oriented: RBI keeps lending rates intact, remains accommodative
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of India's central bank voted to maintain the repo rate, or short-term lending rate, for commercial banks at 4 per cent. Repo Rate (RR) is the rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks or financial institutions against government securities. The reverse repo rate was also kept unchanged at 3.35 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the 'Bank Rate' at 4.25 per cent.
India should move towards greater digital inclusion: Ambani says while stressing on 5G roll out
Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that India should roll out 5G or fifth-generation technology as a national priority to support India's digital revolution. The Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) also put special emphasis on completing the migration from 2G to 4G to 5G at the earliest.
Repo rate remains at 4% as RBI keeps rates intact
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday retained its key lending rates and along with the growth-oriented accommodative stance at the pan-ultimate monetary policy review of FY22 to support the economy of the country. The RBI formulated the decision keeping in mind the concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Top 10% hold 57% of national income making India 'poor' and 'very unequal' : World Inequality Report
The report revealed that the majority of the national income in 2021 was generated by the top 10 per cent and top 1 per cent who held 57 per cent and 22 per cent of total national income respectively. The 50% of the lower-income groups were only able to generate 13%. "India stands out as a poor and very unequal country, with an affluent elite,” the report said.
ECB to redesign euro banknotes
In a statement on Monday, the central bank said that it has appointed an advisory group to submit a list of new themes to the ECB's Governing Council, based on opinions from people across the euro area, reports Xinhua news agency. ECB expects to select new euro banknote designs by 2024.
Cloud firm Genesys raises $580 mn at $21 bn valuation
The round was led by Salesforce Ventures with participation from investors like ServiceNow Ventures, Zoom Video Communications, among others. "We believe this fundraise, including raising from leading strategic investors, validates the achievements we have made to date and will accelerate our continuing efforts to expand and realise the vast 'Experience as a Service' market opportunity ahead," said Tony Bates, CEO and Chairman, Genesys.
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