Internet giant Google is investing $10 billion in India's digitisation fund, its CEO Sundar Pichai has told Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a step that will recognise India's leadership on fintech and will support small and large businesses in India, the US and around the world. Pichai met Prime Minister Modi in Washington on Friday and also announced the opening of Google's global fintech operation centre in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar. "It was an honour to meet Prime Minister Modi during the historic visit to the US. We shared with the Prime Minister that Google is investing $10 billion in India's digitisation fund," Pichai said.
Even at the entry-level, professionals who have proficiency in emerging technologies will have an edge over others in these domains.
Skills like social media, e-mail marketing, SEO (search engine optimisation) and PPC (pay per click) will be essential in 2025, says Sachin Alug, CEO, NLB Services.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Structural reforms, pro-people programmes and employment opportunities helped the economy get new vigour, the finance minister said. After contracting by 5.8 per cent in 2020-21, the economy recorded a growth of 9.1 per cent in 2021-22.
Several multinational medical device makers are focusing on deepening their presence in India by expanding their local manufacturing footprint and research capabilities, a move that can catapult India into a strategic hub for the medical technology (medtech) industry. Among those increasing their reach in the country are Siemens Healthineers and Philips, signalling a broader shift from India being only a sales destination to becoming a global production and innovation base.
After Chennai, it is Coimbatore, Madurai, and Tiruchirappalli, that are emerging as manufacturing hubs. Coimbatore is India's top Tier-II city in terms of the number of GCCs, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.
Employers in India are planning to outpace global adoption in certain future technologies as companies operating in the country are heavily investing in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), energy technologies, robotics, and autonomous systems, said the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its latest "Future of Jobs" report released on Wednesday. The report, released days before the WEF annual meeting in Davos from January 20-25, notes that 35 per cent employers in India think that adopting semiconductors and computing technologies (compared to 20 per cent globally) will transform their operations while 21 per cent employers think that adopting quantum and encryption technologies (compared to 12 per cent globally) will also transform their operations.
India is among the fastest-growing markets for Google in the cloud services segment, a senior executive has said, adding that the tech giant is looking to partner companies in their business transformation through its offerings. Google Cloud India is seeing an "increased adoption" of its offerings across segments from the public sector to small and medium businesses and from startups and digital-native companies, Google Cloud India vice president and country managing director Bikram Singh Bedi told PTI.
More than 30 technology startups, collectively valued at $100 billion, are poised to go public by 2027, signalling a potential rebound in India's stock market activity, according to a report by investment bank The Rainmaker Group. Walmart-owned Flipkart, financial technology (fintech) leader PhonePe, SoftBank-backed Lenskart, Razorpay, Zetwerk, and Meesho are among the top companies preparing to go public in India.
'We aim at establishing India as an early talent hub on a global scale and are actively recruiting professionals in areas like cybersecurity, machine learning, data science, and other relevant fields.'
TCS's mcap crossed $100 billion in 2018, 13.5 years after the IPO. It took only four more years to double its mcap to $200 billion.
The government may not be able to put in place the Digital India Act, which aims to replace over 23 years old IT Act 2000, before the next general election, as there is not much time left for extensive consultation, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday. While speaking at the Global Technology Summit 2023, the minister, however, said the rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act will be out later this month for consultation and are expected to be notified by the end of December or early January. Chandrasekhar said the existing IT Act doesn't even have the word internet, and there is a consensus that it can be safely superseded and replaced.
The interplay between domestic and foreign capital will shape India's equity markets.
A trends study conducted by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has expressed suspicion that cryptocurrency is being used across the country in serious criminal acts like terrorist financing, fuelling secessionist activities, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, illegal betting and gambling. The report, which was based on suspicious transaction reports and operational analysis, shared these trends and credible intelligence with law enforcement agencies.
India will need to grow at an average 7.8 per cent to become a high-income country by 2047, a World Bank report said on Friday. To achieve this goal India would require reforms in financial sector as well as in land and labour market, the World Bank said in its India Country Memorandum titled 'Becoming a High-Income Economy in a generation'.
Adani group will invest more than $100 billion (around Rs 8,340 crore) in energy transition projects and manufacturing capability to produce every major component required for green energy generation, its chairman said on Wednesday. Besides building solar parks to produce electricity from sunlight and wind farms that do the same from wind, the conglomerate is building major facilities to manufacture electrolyzers for making green hydrogen, wind power turbines and solar panels.
Unilever completed one of the largest cloud migrations in the consumer goods industry, with a little help from Accenture and Microsoft, and has become a cloud-only enterprise. Accenture and Microsoft, together with their joint venture, Avanade, worked with Unilever to deliver the transformation in 18 months with minimal disruption to business operations, Accenture said in a release. The release added that it has not only helped ensure and optimise operations for Unilever but also provides a platform to drive innovation and growth.
Infosys has launched a new array of AI-powered innovations and platforms for the 2025 Australian Open.
Generative AI (GenAI) has the potential to add a cumulative $1.2-1.5 trillion to India's GDP over the next seven years, according to a report by EY. The report titled 'AIdea of India: Generative AI's potential to accelerate India's digital transformation' says that in 2029-30 alone, GenAI can contribute an additional $359-438 billion to India's GDP. The report said that around 69 per cent of the overall impact of GenAI on India's GDP is expected to be derived from sectors such as business services (including IT, legal, consulting, rental of machinery and equipment, and others), financial services, education, retail, and healthcare.
Bengaluru-based IT major Infosys is growing its footprint in the Nordics by establishing a new proximity centre in Oslo, Norway, as part of its continued expansion plans in the region. The new centre is expected to enable Infosys to attract, re-skill, and upskill local talent to work on global opportunities through next-gen technologies like cloud, AI, IoT, 5G, and software engineering. The Nordic region consists of five sovereign states - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden - besides the three autonomous territories connected to these states: the Faroe Islands and Greenland (Denmark), and land (Finland).
Manish Tiwary plans to take up a new role at another firm.
"Humble", "kind", and "spiritual" are some adjectives used to describe K Krithivasan, chief executive officer designate and global head of banking, financial services, and insurance business, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where he is an old stager. Krithivasan, based out of Chennai, has been part of the global technology sector for over 34 years. He joined TCS in 1989. During his long tenure at the company, he has held leadership roles in delivery, customer relationship management, large programme management, and sales.
the largest transactions of the year include the merger of Quality Care India and Aster DM Healthcare valued at $5.08 billion, followed by Bharti Enterprises' acquisition of a 24.5 per cent stake in the BT Group at $4.08 billion, and a family settlement transaction in the Godrej family at $3.5 billion.
Entry level engineers for these roles can be paid between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh annually, which can go beyond Rs 30 lakhs for people with more than eight years of experience.
'Its nature changes, new types of jobs are created.' 'We need to invest in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his opening speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris, co-hosted by India.
Nikhil Anand, senior vice president, operations, at NLB Services explains why professionals who are adept at data, cloud computing and cybersecurity will earn well in 2024.
Siemens's share price has lost ground in the past few sessions following weak management commentary. The management indicated challenges to the growth outlook due to stagnant private capex and concerns over semiconductor shortages for digital industries. Government infra-spending may regain momentum from January 2025.
Aerospace major Rolls-Royce has announced its intention to double its supply chain sourcing from India over the next five years. The company plans to increase sourcing of complex parts for advanced aerospace engines, naval propulsion systems, diesel engines, and gas turbine engines to grow its presence and participation in India's defense sector. Rolls-Royce currently sources a wide range of high-precision parts and engine components from Indian partners for its civil aerospace, defense, and power systems businesses. The company highlights India's emergence as a preferred global sourcing hub and emphasizes its commitment to strengthening partnerships with both existing and potential Indian suppliers to develop capabilities for manufacturing complex engine components locally for global markets. Rolls-Royce highlights its established ecosystem of strategic partnerships, skilled talent, engineering and digital capabilities, service delivery, supply chain, and manufacturing in India, along with a history of successful technology transfer for licensed production of various engines in the defense domain. The company believes that strengthening the supply chain and enhancing ecosystem capabilities will pave the way for future co-production opportunities, supporting India's vision of becoming a self-reliant defense powerhouse. Rolls-Royce emphasizes its commitment to serving the needs of India's armed forces and its focus on participating in co-development opportunities for critical combat engine technologies.
The Eicher Pro X is assembled on an all-women assembly line.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the India business of global media house Walt Disney and formed a joint venture with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. The JV will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India with a combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore and will be led by Nita Ambani as its chairperson, according to a joint statement.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday announced an agreement to invest alongside Brookfield Infrastructure and Digital Realty in special purpose vehicles developing data centres in India. Reliance will hold a 33.33 per cent stake in each of the five Indian special purpose vehicles and become an equal partner, the company said in a statement. Digital Realty Trust, Inc is the largest provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions globally with 300+ data centres across 27 countries.
In its highest ever reduction in seller fees, ecommerce giant Amazon India has introduced zero referral charges on over 12 million products on its platform that are priced below Rs 300. The move is aimed at boosting seller growth on Amazon.in and supporting hundreds of thousands small businesses across the country.
A number of exhibitions at the Bharat Mandapam, the convention centre which will host key G20 summit meetings, will showcase India's technological prowess and innovation, and offer a multitude of unique experiences to the visitors.
With the rapid evolution of channels like quick-commerce and the emergence of ONDC, the Indian retail industry is 'cautiously optimistic' for 2025, in which new-age technologies such as AI and automation will play a crucial role, driving efficiency and personalisation.
As for now, let's just say Air India has a long way to go before it can be the reliable, comfortable choice we all dream of. But until then, we'll just keep our expectations in check, enjoy the camaraderie of shared movies, and hope for the best, observes Abhijit J Masih who flew Air India recently to the States.
Sony World Photography Awards 2025 Winners Announced
Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has proposed a significant increase in User Development Fee (UDF) for international passengers, while domestic passengers will be charged a UDF for the first time. However, MIAL also proposed a 35% reduction in landing and parking charges, aiming to balance infrastructure development with cost-effective air travel for airlines. The new tariff structure is subject to approval by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
Infosys Ltd on Thursday reported a 4.7 per cent rise in the September quarter net profit and raised revenue guidance after broadbased growth. Net profit of Rs 6,506 crore in July-September was up 4.7 per cent when compared to Rs 6,212 crore earnings in the same period last year. It was 2.2 per cent higher quarter-on-year, according to a company statement.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, is back on a growth path after six months of challenges as it posted better than expected earnings in the December quarter, brokerages said.