Business
Indian talent can be valuable partner in economic progress of Slovakia: President Murmu
Bratislava, April 10: Asserting that India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday urged business leaders from Slovakia to seize the opportunities and convert them into concrete results
Slovakia, President Murmu said while addressing the Slovakia-India Business Forum in Bratislava, with its strong industrial base and strategic location in Europe, presents great opportunities for deeper trade and investment ties.
“Slovakia is looking for hard-working skilled workers and professionals from overseas to help meet its workforce requirements. I am convinced that Indian talent can be a valuable partner in the economic progress of Slovakia,” President Murmu said in her address at the event.
“India is committed to enhancing trade relations with Slovakia. The large business delegation, representing diverse fields, which has accompanied me, clearly shows the interest of Indian businesses to explore opportunities in Slovakia. We have seen a similar interest from Slovakia,” she added.
Addressing the forum, President Murmu thanked Slovakia President Peter Pellegrini for his commitment in strengthening economic ties between the two countries. She said that India is undergoing remarkable transformation and has emerged as a global leader in technology, innovation and sustainable development.
President Murmu added that the Slovakia-India Business Forum serves as an excellent platform to explore synergies and build mutually beneficial partnerships.
Earlier, President Murmu visited an exhibition of paintings by Slovak children. The Slovak-Indian Friendship Society, in collaboration with the Indian Embassy, has been organising the painting competition ‘Beauty Hidden in Fairy Tales – India through the Eyes of Slovak Children’ since 2015.
She also witnessed a puppet show on Ramayan conducted by Lenka Mukova. Lenka is part of the Babadlo Puppet Theatre in Presov, which has been educating children through puppetry for 30 years.
President Murmu also attended a banquet hosted in her honour by Slovakia President Pellegrini at the historic Bratislava Castle. The Slovak artists presented captivating musical performances including that of the National Anthem, signifying the strong cultural bond between the two countries.
Thanking the Slovak government and the people of Slovakia for the warm welcome and hospitality, she said that from yoga and ayurveda to Indian cuisine, the love for Indian culture in Slovakia is a testament to the strong people-to-people connections. She also reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries.
On Wednesday, President Murmu held productive talks with the Slovakia President in Bratislava as both leaders reviewed various facets of India-Slovakia relations and agreed to work towards strengthening the bilateral partnership across diverse sectors.
During their one-to-one meeting and delegation-level talks, President Murmu and Pellegrini also discussed issues of shared global and regional interests. The participants in delegation-level talks from the Indian side included the accompanying Minister of State, Nimuben Bambhaniya, as well as Members of Parliament Dhaval Patel, Sandhya Ray and senior officials.
President Murmu also met the Speaker of National Council of the Slovak Republic, Richard Rasi in Bratislava, congratulating him on his recent election as Speaker while reaffirming the high priority attached by India to the historic friendship between the two countries.
“President Murmu said that Parliamentarians have an important role in enhancing goodwill and mutual understanding between India and Slovakia. She noted that there has been a tradition of a Slovak-India Friendship Group in the National Council of Slovakia, and said that it would help promote exchange of knowledge and experience among our Parliamentarians,” the President’s Secretariat stated.
This is the first visit by an Indian President to Slovakia in nearly three decades.
“The two-day visit to Slovakia spotlights the importance India places on its bilateral relations with the Slovak Republic. It is also expected to pave the way for deeper cooperation and new initiatives in various sectors, including defence, science and technology, and education,” stated the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Business
India world’s 2nd-largest single country contributor to global construction growth

Mumbai, June 9: India has emerged as the second-largest single country contributor to global construction growth between 2020 and 2030, according to a new report released on Tuesday.
The report from Foundamental, a Berlin-based venture capital firm, said that India and China together account for nearly 40 per cent of global construction growth over the period.
Global capital expenditure is becoming increasingly concentrated in five countries: India, China, the United States, Germany and France, it said.
“India accounts for the second-largest share of global construction growth by volume between 2020 and 2030, at 14.1 per cent, behind only China at 26.1 per cent and ahead of the United States at 11.1 per cent,” said Shubhankar Bhattacharya, Co-Founder and General Partner at Foundamental.
Global construction spending reached $15.97 trillion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $19.86 trillion by 2028, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6 per cent.
Within that total, infrastructure is the fastest-growing major construction segment globally, expanding at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent between 2020 and 2025.
In India, the pace is markedly higher: the country’s infrastructure market is forecast to grow at around 8 per cent annually through the end of the decade, well above the global rate.
The report also notes that global gross fixed capital formation has grown roughly 30-fold since 1960, with that investment becoming increasingly concentrated among a handful of major economies.
“Global construction spending has already surpassed previous forecasts and is creating new opportunities across infrastructure, industrial facilities, energy systems, transportation networks and digital infrastructure,” said Bhattacharya.
The report forecasts the global data centre construction market will double by 2030 compared with 2018 levels, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing, making data centre infrastructure one of the fastest-growing construction segments through 2030. “Data centre construction could add between 10 per cent and 15 per cent to the global construction market by 2030,” said Bhattacharya.
The report said India is positioned to benefit from multiple long-term growth trends at once, including infrastructure expansion, industrial development, the energy transition, digital transformation and urbanisation.
Business
Indian equity markets trade higher as Iran-Israel tensions ease

Mumbai, June 9: Indian equities traded higher on Tuesday in the morning trade, supported by improving sentiment after signs of a pause in hostilities between Iran and Israel.
Sensex rose as much as 0.7 per cent or over 500 points to hit an intraday high of 74,035.41 in early trade, while Nifty gained 0.6 per cent or more than 100 points to touch 23,259.45.
On the sectoral front, Nifty MidSmall Financial Services emerged as the top gainer, rising over 1 per cent, followed by Nifty Realty, which also advanced more than 1 per cent. Nifty Auto climbed 0.9 per cent. Banking stocks traded higher as well, with the PSU Bank and Private Bank indices gaining up to 0.8 per cent.
Category-wise, microcap, midcap and smallcap indices outperformed the benchmarks. Nifty Microcap 250 rose more than 1 per cent, while Nifty Midcap 50, Midcap 100 and Midcap 150 gained up to nearly 1 per cent.
Market volatility eased, with India VIX declining more than 4 per cent to around 16.
According to market experts, the decline in Brent crude prices to below $94 per barrel is positive for Indian equities. They, however, cautioned that there is no certainty that the fragile peace between Iran and Israel will hold.
A US federal judge striking down President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike is also a mild positive for Indian IT stocks, experts said.
“The bulls are too weak to stage a strong comeback, while the bears remain strong enough to press selling on rallies. The sustained selling by FIIs shows no sign of fatigue. Large-cap valuations are fair and, in segments like banking, attractive, largely due to FII selling,” analysts said.
However, elevated volatility and lingering global uncertainty are expected to keep traders cautious in the near term, they added.
Meanwhile, Iran and Israel said they had paused military strikes against each other following an appeal by U.S. President Donald Trump for an immediate de-escalation. However, Tehran warned that it would resume attacks if Israel continued targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.
Crude oil prices traded lower, with international benchmark Brent crude declining about 1 per cent to $93 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell around 1 per cent to $90 per barrel.
Asian markets traded largely in positive territory, with Japan’s Nikkei rising more than 1 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI surging nearly 5 per cent. Other major regional indices were also trading higher.
In the US, Wall Street ended in green overnight, with the S&P 500 closing 0.3 per cent higher and the Nasdaq settling nearly 1 per cent higher.
Business
Sensex, Nifty trade muted in early deals amid mixed global cues

Mumbai, May 27: Domestic equity markets traded on a muted note in early deals on Wednesday amid mixed global cues and a decline in crude oil prices.
Sensex was trading at 76,050, up 40 points or 0.05 per cent in the morning session, while Nifty rose 20 points or 0.08 per cent to 23,932. Earlier, the benchmark indices opened at 75,939.86 and 23,880.35, respectively.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal emerged as the top gainer, climbing 1.59 per cent, followed by Nifty Cement, which advanced 0.83 per cent. Nifty Media, Realty and Consumer Durables also traded higher, rising up to 0.67 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty Oil & Gas was the top loser, falling 0.66 per cent. While private banks, financial services and IT indices also traded in the red, declining up to 0.33 per cent.
Among Nifty stocks, selling pressure was visible in select heavyweight counters, with Coal India dropping over 4 per cent and ONGC slipping nearly 3 per cent. HDFC Bank, Infosys and Wipro also remained under pressure.
Meanwhile, the volatility index India VIX gained 0.68 per cent to trade around 16.
According to analysts, the near-term market tone remains cautious but stable, as recent profit booking at higher levels indicates some consolidation after the sharp recovery phase.
“Despite intermittent weakness, controlled volatility and balanced market breadth suggest that broader sentiment has not deteriorated significantly,” they added.
Meanwhile, Iran on Tuesday accused the United States of violating the ceasefire by carrying out strikes near the disputed Strait of Hormuz, while Washington maintained that the attacks were defensive in nature.
In the commodity market, crude oil prices declined, with international benchmark Brent crude falling 1.73 per cent to $97.85 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped over 2 per cent to $91.87 per barrel.
In Asia, markets traded mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined nearly 1 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s KOSPI rose up to almost 5 per cent.
Overnight in the US, Wall Street ended higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.61 per cent and the Nasdaq closing 1.19 per cent higher.
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