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World Economic Forum: India participates with record delegation

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To mark its presence robustly at the just-concluded World Economic Forums (WEF) annual meeting this year, India had sent a record delegation this year led by Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

The meeting took place in Davos from May 23-25.

This year coincides with the World Economic Forum’s 50th anniversary and 35 years of the Forum’s collaboration with India.

Speaking at the WEF, Goyal said, even as challenges continue to remain on economic front, the government is conscious to move forward and is aware of what to focus on. He said there is a lot of optimism globally regarding India.

Goyal also expressed concern over “excessive dependence” on international supply chains and asked businesses to procure locally “whenever there is an opportunity”.

He also mentioned that India has no plans to immediately lift ban on wheat export. India is now the second largest wheat producer in the whole world. But it had put a ban on private overseas sales as output was hit due to heat wave and domestic price hit a record high.

Nearly 100 participants and dozens of political leaders from India attended the World Economic Forum, and presented the country’s position on the energy situation, food security and health equity at Davos.

In line with the Centre’s priorities, sessions were organised at the India Lounge keeping in mind India’s strategic advantage, existing and upcoming incentive architecture, industry investment potential and market opportunity.

The key topics which were discussed during the sessions include policy and ease of doing business reforms, energy transition, digital economy, opportunities in National Monetization Pipeline, India as an entrepreneurial destination shaping the unicorn story, growing talents in the digital space, emphasis on innovation and research in the healthcare ecosystem.

Attendance from China, Japan and South Korea was sparse this year, mentioned Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group.

It was an opportune forum for India as European business leaders were eagerly scouting options for diversifying trade and investments. Thanks to its political stability and reformist policies, India seemed to have appeared to be the best option for most of them.

Many global investors endorsed India’s rising economic relevance. For example, Saint Gobain Global CEO Benoit Bazin said that the company plans to invest over Rs 5,500 crore in the next four years in India. Bazin was bullish about the 45-billion-euro company’s growth story in India.

David Rubenstein, co-founder of the private equity Carlyle Group, told reporters in Davos that “India has been more attractive (to buy assets) of late than China”. Clearly, India benefitted from the absence of China and concerns over its heavy-handed �zero Covid’ strategy.

Goyal said that every Indian diplomatic mission had been given the responsibility of supporting Indian industry. “Every mission, every office, every official is now ready to stand for Indian businesses and that is what will spearhead Trade 4.0,” he said.

Ministers from several state governments, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, were also in Davos to attract global investors.

Andhra Pradesh reportedly signed renewables investment pacts cumulatively worth about Rs 1,600 crore with three companies. The investment commitments were made with India’s Adani Green Energy, GIC-backed Greenko and India’s Aurobindo Realty & Infrastructure.

The Maharashtra delegation reportedly signed at least 23 MoUs worth Rs 30,000 crore. Of these investments, more than 55 per cent are by way of FDI from the US, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.

Indian delegation also included unicorn founders such as Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti, Ashish Singhal of Coinswitch, and Vidit Atrey of Meesho.

Business

Maharashtra presents deficit budget, new tax burden on citizens

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Mumbai: Finance Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar presented the state budget in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today. The public has expressed confidence in us in the assembly elections, so Mahayuti is committed to maintaining their trust. In this budget, special concessions and facilities have been given to the middle class. An attempt has been made to solve the problems of the people. With this resolve, Ajit Pawar has presented the budget for 2025-26, which is the first annual budget presented by the Mahayuti government.

Presenting the budget in the Assembly, Ajit Pawar said in his speech that Maharashtra will not stop, development will not be delayed, he also claimed that large-scale projects will be completed in the state, which will increase employment opportunities and boost the economy.

The state has set a target of an economy of one lakh trillion. Work on the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is underway. Along with better industrial facilities in the state, employment opportunities and a technical center in the state and establishment of Maharashtra Technical Textile Mission for development work have also been implemented. It has also been assured in the budget that electricity rates will be reduced in the state. Electricity rates in the state will be lower than the rates of other provinces.

Ajit Pawar has also promised to complete many facilities and projects in the state budget. The work of Navi Mumbai airport is 85 percent complete, while work has started on Nagpur airport. Establishment of markets for agriculture has been ensured. Rs 3610 crore has been allocated for the transport department, out of which work has started on a 41 km long metro route in Mumbai.

A special project has been included in the budget for Mumbai, in which Rs 64,783 crore has been allocated for Versova to Madha, Versova to Bhayander Coastal Road, Malind to Goregaon, Thane to Borivali and Orange Gate to Marine Drive underground road to eliminate traffic problems in suburban areas. Thane to Navi Mumbai International Airport will be connected to the international airports of Thane, Dombivali, Kalyan and other important cities.

The work of the missing link at Khapoli-Khandala Ghat on Mumbai-Pune Highway will be completed by August 2025. Mumbai, Navi Mumbai Global Market will be established as well as Taluka Market Committee will be established across the state. Housing Scheme: Financial assistance of Rs 50,000 will be given for the house. Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana will be ensured in the state. Under this scheme, assistance of Rs 50,000 will be provided to each person. Under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana, Rs 1.30 lakh has been allocated for domestic electricity and Rs 1,000 crore for power generation of more than 500 MW.

The state government has so far spent Rs 33,232 crore on Ladli Behan in the budget, while the Finance Ministry has allocated Rs 36,000 crore for it. A Hope Mall will be started in every district to establish savings banks and 10 malls will be set up in the first phase.

A 200-bed hospital will be built in Thane of Ratnagiri district, which will provide medical facilities to the citizens. The second phase of construction of metro route will be implemented in Pune. In the second phase, Rs 9894 crore has been allocated for two metro routes. Both the metro projects have been sent for approval from the Central Government. A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be installed in Sangameshwar. Apart from this, Maratha Shaurya Smarak will be built in Panipat. A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be built in Agra.

In this budget of the state government, a new tax has been imposed on the citizens. In this, a lump sum tax of 7% has been ensured on the purchase of cars. This tax has been imposed on electric cars and other things. This tax has been imposed on the purchase of cars worth more than 30 lakhs so that the common citizens do not face any problem. The state government has presented a budget of 7 lakh thousand crores. In this deficit budget, the burden of tax has been imposed on the citizens.

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Maharashtra Budget 2025: Dy CM Ajit Pawar Says Will Create 50 Lakh Jobs With ₹40 Lakh Crore Investment In 5 Years

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Mumbai: The Maharashtra state budget for fiscal year 2025-26 is being presented by the state Deputy CM and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra State Assembly in Mumbai.

Jobs In Maharashtra

During the speech, the FM Pawar said that his government intends to create 50 lakh jobs for citizens of Maharashtra through a Rs 40 lakh crore investment over the next 5 years.

Pawar added that Maharashtra’s new Industrial Policy 2025 will soon be announced.

Special polices will also be announced in space, defence, electronics, MSME and circular economy.

Pawar also spoke about the introduction of new labour laws in the richest state.

In the speech, the FM said that he intends to build new business corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, or MMR, and make it a Growth Hub.

Mumbai-Bengaluru Corridor

Highlighting CM Fadnavis’s trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Pawar said, MoUs signed with 63 companies at Davos Economic Summit, investment of a whopping Rs 15.72 lakh crores and estimated creation of 16 lakh jobs.”

The finance minister also updated the house on the status of the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

He said that land acquisition for the Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is underway and this project will help set up industries in drought-prone areas of the state.

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Mumbai Metropolitan Region To Be Developed As ‘Growth Hub’: Dy CM Ajit Pawar During Maharashtra Budget

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Mumbai: Maharashtra state’s budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 is currently underway in the Maharashtra state assembly. The state’s finance and deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, while speaking in the budget, said that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region or MMR, will be developed as an international-class ‘Growth Hub’.

In order to achieve this, trade hubs will be set up in Bandra-Kurla, Kurla-Worli, Wadala, Goregaon, Navi Mumbai, Kharghar, Virar-Boisar.

The state government also aims to take the Maharashtra economy to USD 300 billion by 2030 and take it to new heights and reach the coveted trillion-dollar mark or USD 1.5 trillion by 2047.

The state of Maharashtra is the largest state economy within India.

The state FM also announced a major decision to exempt Port Development from property tax.

In his speech, Pawar said, “In the “Maharashtra Maritime Development Policy-2023”, port development has been exempted from property tax, non-agricultural tax, electricity duty, stamp duty, and industrial rates have been implemented for electricity. Passenger and port taxes have been exempted to promote passenger shipping and coastal tourism.”

At the beginning of the speech, Pawar highlighted the state election results. While speaking in the Maharashtra state assembly, he said, “The people gave an unprecedented majority to the Mahayuti in the November 2024 assembly elections. Heartfelt gratitude to all the people! This trust is a sense of responsibility and guarantees to uphold its honor.”

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