Business
Indian government extends helping hands to poor people by building houses for them
In order to provide the under-priviledged better living conditions, the Indian government initiated the PM Awas Yojana in 2014. Under it, till March 24, 2022, more than 2 crores 32 lakh pucca (concrete) houses have been completed.
People who had believed that life would now pass on pavements and huts, the government itself handed over the keys of the houses to these families. These houses consist of all the amenities including toilets, electricity connection under the Saubhagya scheme, LED bulb under the Ujala scheme, gas connection under the Ujjwala scheme, and water connection under Har Ghar Jal Yojana. That is, the poor beneficiary no longer needs to visit government offices separately for these facilities. Despite the hurdles caused by Corona in the last two years, this work was not allowed to slow down.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), a flagship Mission of Government of India being implemented by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), was launched on June 25, 2015. The Mission addresses urban housing shortage among the EWS/LIG and MIG categories including the slum dwellers by ensuring a pucca house to all eligible urban households by the year 2022, when Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
The Mission provides Central Assistance to the implementing agencies through States/Union Territories (UTs) and Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs) for providing houses to all eligible families/ beneficiaries against the validated demand for houses for about 1.12 crore. As per PMAY(U) guidelines, the size of a house for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) could be upto 30 sq. mt. carpet area, however States/UTs have the flexibility to enhance the size of houses in consultation and approval of the Ministry.
In continuation to this government’s efforts towards empowerment of women from EWS and LIG unlike earlier schemes, PMAY (U) has made a mandatory provision for the female head of the family to be the owner or co-owner of the house under this Mission.
Jamna of Lanji block of Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh lives with her two daughters. They were living in a dilapidated house that could fall any day. Jamna says that in such a situation, the Modi government has supported, my house has become pucca now. Bhagwanta Devi of Dewas is also happy that now there will be no problem during the monsoon. Such stories from every state and district of the country that poor people are getting pucca houses.
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has initiated Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs), a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). This will provide ease of living to urban migrants/ poor in Industrial Sector as well as in non-formal urban economy to get access to dignified affordable rental housing close to their workplace.
MoHUA has initiated the Global Housing Technology Challenge – India (GHTC-India) which aims to identify and mainstream a basket of innovative construction technologies from across the globe for the housing construction sector that are sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster-resilient.
In Madhya Pradesh, 5.25 lakh such beneficiaries were handed over the keys of the house under the ‘Griha Pravesham’ program. During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself interacted with many beneficiaries. The Prime Minister said in the programme, “When efforts of an honest government and efforts of empowered poor come together, poverty is defeated”.
He further said the campaign of providing pucca houses to the poor is not just a government scheme but a commitment to instill confidence in the rural poor. It is the first step to give courage to the poor to come out of poverty. When poor people have a roof over their head, they can focus on educating their children. The Prime Minister said the previous government had built “only a few lakh houses for the poor in their tenure. My government has built 2.5 crore houses for them. Of these, 2 crores are in villages. Women too have the ownership rights of around two crore houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. And, work didn’t slow down despite Corona.”
Business
L&T Technology Services bags over $75 million five-year deal from global tech enterprise

New Delhi : Larsen & Toubro Technology Services (LTTS) on Wednesday said it has won a five-year contract worth more than $75 million from a leading global technology enterprise.
In a regulatory filing, the company said the engagement will involve deploying its Engineering Intelligence (EI) capabilities across the client’s product development and engineering lifecycle.
In addition, the deal will cover product engineering, software development, testing and validation, sustenance engineering, platform operations and other digital engineering services, LTTS said.
Under the engagement, the company will also use its suite of Engineering Intelligence solutions to establish a dedicated engineering centre for the client’s technology and digital functions.
However, it did not disclose the name of the client — citing contractual obligations. It said the contract was awarded by an international entity and would be executed over a period of five years.
The latest order comes as LTTS continues to expand its engineering and artificial intelligence capabilities across global markets.
Moreover, the company had reported a 17.4 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 352 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year. While revenue during the quarter rose 11.5 per cent to Rs 2,940 crore.
However, on a constant-currency basis revenue growth stood at 1.9 per cent, compared with 12.8 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
LTTS last week also announced the launch of AgenticIQ, an end-to-end agentic artificial intelligence platform aimed at enabling engineering and manufacturing companies to deploy autonomous AI agents at scale.
Shares of LTTS on Wednesday traded at Rs 3,517.65 apiece on the BSE in early deals.
LTTS is a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro and provides engineering research and development and digital engineering services to customers across industries.
Business
PM Modi to inaugurate fifth edition of ‘SEMICON India’ on Sept 17

New Delhi, Aug 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 on September 17 here as India seeks to accelerate the development of its domestic semiconductor ecosystem, an official statement said on Tuesday.
The three-day conference and exhibition — themed Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem — will be held between September 17 and September 19 and is being jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) — under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) — and global industry association SEMI, the ministry said.
The event is expected to bring together policymakers, global semiconductor companies, industry executives, researchers, academics, start-ups and students to discuss developments across the semiconductor and electronics value chain.
In addition, the Centre recently approved Semicon 2.0 to strengthen the country’s semiconductor manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities.
The government said it is also supporting semiconductor research, innovation and design through access to advanced design tools for more than 332 academic institutions and 105 start-ups.
Moreover, 24 start-ups have been approved under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme.
However, India’s semiconductor ambitions have gained momentum under the Semicon India Programme with 12 projects approved under Semicon 1.0 to help build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem, according to the ministry.
S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, said the 2026 edition comes at a significant stage in India’s semiconductor journey, noting that three of the 12 projects approved under Semicon 1.0 have commenced commercial production.
“The announcement of Semicon 2.0 with six major pillars further strengthens India’s commitment to build a robust and resilient semiconductor ecosystem,” he said.
Ajit Manocha, President and Chief Executive Officer of SEMI, said India is well positioned to expand its role in the global semiconductor industry through its talent pool, policy support and long-term vision.
Ashok Chandak, President of SEMI India and IESA, said the event reflects India’s efforts to build a comprehensive semiconductor value chain and has become a key platform for collaboration among industry leaders, policymakers, investors and researchers.
Additionally, the exhibition is expected to feature more than 500 exhibitors, including over 240 international companies, with delegations from more than 40 countries.
According to the ministry, the event will also include six country pavilions, 10 state government pavilions, a start-up pavilion, innovation showcase, start-up pitch competition, student hackathon and workforce development pavilion.
Business
Sensex plunges 493 points, Nifty falls 133 points amid global tensions

Mumbai, Aug 18: The benchmark indices extended their losses on Tuesday, with the Sensex and Nifty coming under pressure amid heightened geopolitical tensions and weakness in key sectors.
The Sensex fell 493 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 77,235.46, while the Nifty declined 132.75 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 24,154.90.
Commenting on technical outlook, the 24,300 zone is likely to act as the immediate resistance.
“A sustained move above 24,300 could help stabilise the structure and support a recovery towards the 24,400–24,500 region. However, failure to reclaim this level could keep recovery attempts vulnerable to selling pressure,” an analyst stated.
“On the downside, 24,150 remains the immediate support level. A decisive break below 24,150 could intensify selling pressure and drag the index towards the 24,000 psychological mark,” as per the market expert.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Asian Paints and Infosys emerged as the top losers among Nifty constituents. The broader market also remained under pressure, with the Nifty MidCap index declining 0.43 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index ended flat.
Sectorally, Nifty IT, Nifty Realty and Nifty PSU Bank were among the biggest drags on the benchmark indices. In contrast, the Nifty Auto index emerged as the top-performing sector during the session.
Experts said that the market sentiment remained cautious as investors assessed the impact of ongoing geopolitical tensions, with selling pressure in IT, realty and PSU banking stocks weighing on the overall market.
“Although domestic fundamentals continue to be supportive, sustained high crude prices and rising input costs could pressure recent earnings upgrades, prompting investors to remain cautious in the near term,” as per the market expert.
Meanwhile, Rupee traded largely flat near 95.67, but the broader weakness continues as the currency faces hurdles in sustaining strength.
“The rupee is expected to trade in the 95.25–95.85 range in the near term,” a market expert noted.
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