Tech giant Microsoft has unveiled a blueprint for India on artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and proposed a regulatory architecture to oversee safety protocols, according to a whitepaper released on Thursday. The whitepaper titled "Governing AI: A Blueprint for India" comes amid Microsoft raising its stakes in its artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. The proposed AI regulatory architecture includes regulations prescribing safety and security requirements, then license deployment for permitted uses in a licensed Al data centre with post-deployment safety and security monitoring and protection.
UK fashion retailer Superdry on Wednesday said it will sell its intellectual property assets in South Asia to Reliance Retail for 40 million pounds (Rs 402 crore) through a joint venture. Superdry, whose fashion line mostly includes sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets, will own 24 per cent of the joint venture while Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer, will have the remaining 76 per cent. Under the agreement, Superdry's brand IP assets in South Asia will be permanently transferred to the new JV entity.
China and India are still at the top among the fastest growing economies in the world.
Nothing is more promising than countries putting aside hubris and ideological differences to invest in our shared future, observes Durga Sreenivasan, a delegate at COP28.
Ahead of the upcoming elections, political parties have started announcing incentives to benefit women, but what do women truly seek for genuine gender parity, asks Nivedita Mookerji.
'If the almost literally heart-stopping Suez block has any positive outcome, it is to be hoped that it will accelerate the setting up of a fab (perhaps Taiwanese) in India,' asserts Rajeev Srinivasan.
Byju's, India's most-valued startup, has decided to put two of its key assets -- Epic and Great Learning -- on the block to generate $800 million-$1 billion in cash, with an aim to meet the edtech firm's various commitments, including repaying the entire $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) within six months, according to sources. The cash-strapped company has proposed repaying $300 million of the $1.2 billion loan in the next three months, depending on whether the lenders accept Byju's amendment proposal, said the people familiar with the development. "This loan repayment proposal has been submitted to the lenders and conversations are going in the right direction," said a person in the know.
Transnational companies accounted for a quarter of the world's GDP1 in 2010.
Throughout 2022, China turned to the PLA as an increasingly capable instrument of Statecraft, strengthening its ability to 'fight and win wars' against a 'strong enemy', points out Ajai Shukla.
Crude oil has fallen about 40 per cent since mid June and the price on Monday touched its lowest level since mid 2009 before US oil prices posted their biggest one-day gain in two years overnight.
Tata Consultancy Services has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud for generative AI offerings, the company said on Monday. Under the partnership, TCS will leverage Google Cloud's generative AI services to design and deploy custom-tailored business solutions for the clients. "Our launch partnership with Google Cloud on generative AI enables us to rapidly create value for our customers.
'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
'India's G20 presidency has been inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented. We actively voiced the developmental concerns of the Global South'
Air India on Tuesday signed agreements with Airbus and Boeing for acquiring 470 planes for an estimated $70 billion at list prices. The Tata Group-owned airline had announced that it will buy 470 aircraft, including wide-body planes, in February this year. The "firm orders include 34 A350-1000, 6 A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft," the airline said in a release.
After inaugurating development projects worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore for boosting the agri-economy in the Union territory, Modi said he was "elated to be among the wonderful people of Srinagar".
Manufacturing activities in India accelerated further and touched a four-month high in April, boosted by robust new business growth, mild price pressures, better international sales, and improving supply-chain conditions, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) increased from 56.4 in March to 57.2 in April, indicating the fastest improvement in the health of the sector so far this year. The March PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 22nd straight month.
While near-term performance is difficult to predict after a huge run-up, fund managers believe the PSU theme's prospects remain sound over the medium to long term.
Trading sentiment turned extremely bullish as gold and silver soared to a record levels in 31 years in global markets as inflation in China accelerated underscoring the challenge that central bankers worldwide face in combating rising prices.
'We need to do more to accelerate growth.'
The World Bank has sounded a note of caution on the global economy, which it says has reached a turning point with a slowdown that has already begun.
Showing respect to the Indian flag, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday immediately picked up the tricolour placed on stage at a BRICS meeting here to mark the standing place of every leader so as not to step on it.
The migration of domestically developed intellectual property to foreign corporations within India reflects an anomaly in the demand pattern of the country's job market, points out Kanika Datta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pitched India as the most attractive investment destination for those looking to invest in urbanisation, mobility, innovation and sustainable solutions. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, he said India and some African nations will witness the biggest wave of urbanisation over the next two decades. The post pandemic world has to be rebuilt around people and cities will have to be made more liveable, he said adding post-Covid restart will not be possible without a reset of mindset, process and practices.
The skyline is getting crowded by the day--not only in the big cities but across the country. India is expected to double the number of branded hotel rooms from 100,000 now in just three years. Leading the pack are global hotel chains, which will add over 300 hotel properties (an estimated 55,000 rooms) in the country by 2013.
'As we expect the economy to continue to grow above the trend line, we expect capex decisions to be taken next year when there is more certainty about the cost of funding and the economy.'
Modi said this is the time for peace and brotherhood, and time to move forward together.
In cricket, we have something that we can share with our families, neighbours and indeed, the whole country. It is colour-blind, language-neutral, truly secular and transcends all regions, from Kashmir to Kerala and Mizoram to Maharashtra, explains Shreekant Sambrani.
India's services sector growth accelerated in April, as strong demand conditions resulted in the fastest increase in new business and output in close to 13 years, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The pick-up in demand occurred in spite of escalating price pressures. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 57.8 in March to 62.0 in April, signalling the fastest expansion in output since mid 2010, amid a pick-up in new business growth and favourable market conditions.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani has said the Ram Janmbhoomi movement, whose primary objective was construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, also became a symbol of 'reclaiming the true meaning of secularism from the onslaught of pseudo-secularism'.
Bengaluru recorded the highest green building stock at 140 million square feet, followed by Delhi-National Capital Region at 74 msf, and Hyderabad at 72 msf for Grade A office buildings as of September 2023.
The summit is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
The July-September quarter results of software companies in the engineering research and development (ER&D) segment were broadly in line with expectations, though there have been cuts in revenue growth guidance. While results were a mixed bag, and there are cautionary views on the near-term outlook, brokerages and global consulting firms highlight the strong growth trajectory for the sector. They expect this segment of the software sector to grow by 8-12 per cent going forward.
As part of its road map to achieve 100 per cent dependence on renewable energy by 2025, Amazon on Wednesday announced its first utility-scale renewable energy projects in India - three solar farms located in Rajasthan. These include a 210-megawatt (Mw) project to be developed by India-based developer ReNew Power, a 100 Mw project to be developed by local developer Amp Energy India, and a 110 Mw project to be developed by Brookfield Renewable Partners. By the end of 2021, the company had reached 85 per cent renewable energy across its business.
The growth momentum in India's manufacturing sector was maintained in February, with new orders and output increasing at similar rates to January, according to a monthly survey. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 55.3 in February, little-changed from 55.4 in January. The February PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 20th straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 indicates contraction.
Despite multiple headwinds at the start of 2023, the Indian markets delivered a strong performance, posting 19-20 per cent growth for the year. Even as new records were set, investor sentiment remains strong going into 2024, given the lower inflation, expectations of steady to lower interest rates, higher economic growth, and strong inflows. However, the overriding concern for most brokerages is valuations.
Morgan Stanley has upgraded China's equities amidst optimism about the country relaxing restrictions to slow down the spread of Covid-19. "Multiple positive developments alongside a clear path set towards reopening warrant an upgrade and index target increases for China," the brokerage said in a note. MSCI China's return on equity (ROE) is likely to rise from 9.4 per cent to 11.1 per cent by the end-2023.
Its success script: Investing more in local content ecosystem; growing its partnership footprint.
With debt woes and a legal case in the US courts, educational technology (edtech) giant Byju's is expected to be laying off more employees, according to media reports. According to The Morning Context report, Byju's intends to lay off 1,000 employees. This number, however, could not be confirmed by Business Standard independently. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the reports.
