Category: India

Zia Mody, a leading lawyer at AZB & Partners, wants to see more young people and women in company boardrooms making important decisions. At the ET CEO Roundtable 2024, she mentioned that board members are getting better at understanding risks and how to manage their reputation. Mody expressed her disappointment that there aren’t enough young faces or women in these key positions. She emphasized that, regardless of age, no one wants to be in the news for the wrong reasons.

However, Mody is excited about the younger generation entering the business world. She believes they are passionate about India and ready to chase their dreams. She noted that investors are eager to support new ideas. Some young dreamers may fail, but others achieve great success.

Talking about India’s economy, Mody said that investments in the country have grown over the past two years. Many companies are looking at India not just as an alternative to China, but as a place with its own unique opportunities. She pointed out that improving the perception of doing business in India is necessary. Processes need to be quicker, and regulations should be simplified instead of being overly controlled.

On the subject of India’s legal system, she commented that while it may seem slow, it is not unpredictable. The problem lies in having too few judges for too many cases. Mody believes that we need more judges to handle the workload better. She trusts the Supreme Court to make fair decisions most of the time but acknowledges the delays caused by backlogs. Overall, she has confidence in India’s judiciary system.

New Delhi: The Indian government has decided to lower how much wheat traders and millers can keep in stock. This change is being made to help bring down prices. By limiting the amount of wheat that traders, like wholesalers and big stores, can hold, the government hopes to stop hoarding and make sure there’s enough wheat available for everyone. These kinds of limits are usually set when wheat is hard to find or too expensive.

According to the government, India produced a good amount of wheat this year — around 113.2 million tonnes. As a result, traders can now keep only 1,000 tonnes, down from 2,000 tonnes. Wheat processors also have new limits, allowed to store only 50% of what they can process in a month.

Many people believe that the price of wheat has climbed recently, but the new limit of 1,000 tonnes isn’t too strict. CP Gupta, a trader from Kota, Rajasthan, said it’s a fair measure and that the limits should change when prices go down.

In addition, India’s inflation is higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4%, with retail prices reaching 6.21% in October — the highest in 14 months. Food prices went even higher at 10.47%. Last week, the Reserve Bank decided to keep interest rates the same at 6.5% despite a slowdown in the economy, mainly due to ongoing issues with rising food prices.

India, known as the second-largest wheat producer in the world, once banned wheat exports to control rising prices after bad weather affected production in 2022 and 2023. However, this year, they have lifted that ban.

In a recent crackdown, the Delhi Police used high-tech Facial Recognition Technology (FRS) to arrest three criminals who tricked a bank into giving them a huge loan of ₹75 lakh (7.5 million INR) using fake documents. Among those arrested was Pankaj Sachdeva, also known by the fake name Roshan Manchanda, who created fake property documents and IDs to get the loan.

This case began back in 2019 when a woman named Harminder Kaur Anand from Bengaluru found out her property in northwest Delhi had been wrongly mortgaged. She bought this property in 2011, but when she visited it in 2018, she discovered loan notices on her property, which shocked her.

The police learned that these criminals specifically targeted empty properties. They forged documents to pretend to own these properties and then applied for loans. Once they got the money, they moved it around to different accounts under fake names, making it hard for anyone to find out where the money went.

After years of trying to catch them, the Delhi Police finally made progress by using FRS technology. They matched a photo from the loan application with their database and found out that the real name of the scammer was Pankaj Sachdeva, who lived in Tagore Garden. He had used fake IDs, including a PAN card and a voter ID, to support his lies.

Once his identity was confirmed, the police raided Sachdeva’s home and arrested him. During questioning, he revealed that two other people, Suhail Chauhan and Nitin Verma, helped him with the loan process and took ₹18.4 lakh as payment for their role. Both accomplices were later arrested in Meerut and Faridabad.

The Thailand embassy in New Delhi announced a new e-visa service for Indian passport holders starting January 1, 2025. This online visa will allow people to pay through offline methods. The embassy reminded everyone that the 60-day visa-free entry for Indian tourists and short business trips is still available until further notice.

When applying for the e-visa, you will need to pay a fee, and the embassy will share details on how to pay offline. Remember, these visa fees cannot be refunded, no matter what. More information about the e-visa will be shared soon.

Thailand is a very popular travel spot for Indians. Cities like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Koh Samui are favorites among Indian tourists. The country attracts many Indian weddings and honeymoon trips. In 2019, over 2 million Indians visited Thailand, and after the COVID-19 pandemic, more Indian tourists have been coming back, which helps Thailand’s economy.

In other news, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced new measures to help families with rising debt. The country has a household debt of $500 billion, the highest in Southeast Asia. About 1.9 million borrowers, owing a total of 890 billion baht (around $26 billion), will receive help. They can pause their loan interest for three years and will also be given lower monthly payment options to make it easier for them to manage their debt.

New Delhi: The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has given a grant to Haryana Airports Development Corporation Limited (HADC) to help upgrade Hisar airport into a busy aviation center. This grant will help turn Maharaja Agrasen International Airport into a hub for cargo and logistics. The goal is to boost air cargo services at Hisar airport, which is near the National Capital Area (NCR), according to USTDA. “This partnership shows USTDA’s commitment to India’s growing aviation industry,” said USTDA director Enoh T Ebong. He added that the project will improve local supply chains and give US companies a chance to offer their technology.

Hisar airport has been in operation since 1967, mainly serving private flights and pilot training. It is quite far from the nearest international airport, which makes it hard for businesses to use air cargo services. USTDA’s assistance will help overcome these challenges by making the airport a cargo hub, boosting trade and investment, and enhancing the supply chain network.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi recently met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. During their meeting, he asked the Speaker to remove hurtful comments that had been made about him in the House. Rahul Gandhi said, “I spoke to the Speaker and requested him to expunge the derogatory comments against me. He assured me that he would consider it. Our goal is for the House to work well and for discussions to take place. Regardless of what is said about me, we want to debate on December 13th. They don’t want to discuss the Adani issue, but we will not back down. They’ll keep making accusations, but it’s important for the House to function properly,” he told reporters. This story is still developing, and we will provide more updates soon.

Amaravati: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that Google has chosen Andhra Pradesh as an important partner in its plans for India. During a meeting with a Google team led by Vice President Bikash Koley, the Chief Minister talked about different ways they could work together. He feels excited about teaming up with big tech companies like Google, believing this will help Andhra Pradesh grow and create more jobs. Naidu shared on X that the Google team introduced their plans and operations in India. He is proud that Andhra Pradesh has been recognized as a key partner. Naidu also mentioned that the state’s friendly rules for businesses have attracted many investors, leading to new job opportunities. He noted their recent agreement with Google and expressed hope for successful collaboration on future projects.

A special court in Mumbai has given three men from Bangladesh a sentence of five years in prison because they entered India illegally and had fake documents. The men, named Mohammed Habibur Rehman Habib, Hannan Anwar Hussain Khan, and Mohd Azarali Subhanallah, were found guilty and each was also fined ₹2,000.

The case started when the Pune Police reported in March 2018 that several Bangladeshi people were living in Pune without proper papers. They were also accused of helping a group linked to the banned terror organization Al Qaida.

After the investigation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged the three men along with two others, Mohd. Ripen Hossain and Mohd. Hassnali Mohd. Amirali, on September 7, 2018. All five men were found guilty and sentenced under Indian laws related to illegal stay and using fake documents.

Earlier in October 2023, the other two men, Mohd. Ripen Hossain and Mohd. Hasan Ali, had also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to five years each.

According to NIA, the three men were convicted for staying in India without permission, using fake documents, and for their involvement in a conspiracy about document forgery.