Merchandise imports, meanwhile, grew 8.45 per cent to $58.25 billion, boosted by gold imports

The fall in US Treasury yields and foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows further aided rupee and bonds

'Ten years of this growth we have seen, at least another five years of a strong majority government will end up institutionalising those policies to a fair extent,' Bajaj said in an interview in Davos

This is the second consecutive month that the wholesale inflation rate had remained in the positive territory after it had recorded deflation for seven consecutive months until October 2023

U.S. yields eased last week after December producer prices data fell unexpectedly, raising bets of an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve

The exports of computer software and services, including IT enabled services and BPO, logged 12.2 per cent growth during 2022-23 to touch USD 193 billion, according to estimates by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC). The IT software/services chunk accounted for the bulk of this at USD 126 billion, followed by BPO services (USD 52 billion). "In value terms, export of the IT/ITeS/and BPO during 2022-23 is estimated at USD 193 billion, up from USD 172 billion estimated in the year 2021-22, registering a growth of 12.21 per cent, which is mostly contributed by IT software/services at USD 126 billion, followed by BPO services (USD 52 billion), software products development (USD 5.1 billion), engineering services (USD 9 billion)...," Sandeep Narula, Chairman of ESC said in a release. Narula said the growth of BPO services at 14.63 per cent and 13.33 per cent growth of IT products are good indications since global trading of these segments would go up ...

As many as 2,975 government recognised startups have been granted income tax exemptions so far, a senior official said on Monday. Under the Startup India , the government provides income tax exemption. Joint Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sanjiv said that as on December 31 last year, 1,17,254 startups have been recognised by the department. "The number of startups getting income tax benefits was 1,100 till March 2023 and now it has increased to 2,975 startups," he told reporters here. He added that they are in the process of formulating a standard operating procedure for examining and fast-tracking applications for granting eligibility certificates. This certificate is required to claim tax exemptions. The Startup India Action Plan was announced in 2016.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that despite a global slowdown, "we are" in the positive zone

To bolster its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, India needs to substantially increase the size of its quality workforce and investment in R&D in science and technology, including by the private sector, a top Indian official has said. In an interview with PTI on the sidelines of the PANIIT 2024 meeting in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC, Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said that one of the key challenges that India has is shortage of trained manpower in R&D sector and "that requires to be enhanced substantially. Given the size and scale of our country, we need a large number of quality R&D workforce to drive the science and technology landscape of the country, he said. Another thing is that we need substantial investment in the R&D sector as a percentage of our GDP, which has been really much lower than the world average, Karandikar said in response to a question. India has taken the initiative to set up a very ...

Germany's economy shrank 0.3 per cent last year as Europe's former powerhouse struggled with more expensive energy, higher interest rates, lack of skilled labour and a homegrown budget crisis. Europe's largest economy has been mired in stagnation since the last months of 2022 amid those multiple challenges. The International Monetary Fund expected Germany to be the worst-performing major developed economy last year, a major turnaround from its place as a model for how to expand when other nations were struggling. German's economy likely also shrank 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter after stagnating in the third quarter, the Federal Statistical Office said on Monday in an initial rough estimate. Official figures for the last three months of 2023 are expected to be announced January 30. Meanwhile, there's an ongoing debate about why Germany has stalled. Energy intensive industries must pay higher natural gas prices after losing Russia's cheap supply following its invasion of Ukraine,

The interim Budget 2024-25 on February 1 will likely see the central government boost investment, while still sticking to the fiscal consolidation path

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the country can develop only if various welfare schemes reach all, asserting that it is his guarantee that everyone - even those in the remotest of areas - will benefit from them. Releasing the first instalment of Rs 540 crore to one lakh tribal beneficiaries of a rural housing scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN) via video conferencing, he said the 10 years of his government have been dedicated to the poor. Invoking Shabari, a tribal woman depicted in the epic Ramayana who served berries to Lord Ram during his stay in forests, the prime minister said it is natural for him to remember her when he has undertaken a special religious ritual till the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22. "The story of Shri Ram is not possible without Mata Shabari," he said, asserting that she played a big role in the transformation of 'prince' Ram into 'maryada purushottam' Ram. "Be it

The commerce ministry has called a meeting of all stakeholders, including government officials and trade sector experts, on January 20 to discuss issues which are likely to figure in the WTO meeting, an official said. The 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) of World Trade Organization (WTO) is scheduled from February 26-29 in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. MC is the highest decision-making body of the 164-member WTO, which monitors global exports and imports besides adjudicating disputes between member countries. India is the member of the organisation since 1995. The issues which would figure in the MC 13 include agriculture, food security, dispute settlement reform, e-commerce moratorium, and fisheries subsidies. "We are meeting all the stakeholders on January 20," the official said. On the food security issue, India has called for finding a permanent solution to the issue of public stockholding for food security in the ministerial-level meeting. It has dismissed arguments for alternative fo

Moody's Investors Service on Monday said the strength of the next government's mandate following parliamentary elections this year will influence the medium-term trajectory for fiscal consolidation and governance in India. It said a moderation in economic conditions in the US and the persistence of subdued growth in the euro area in 2024 will further dampen demand for goods produced in Asia Pacific and curb global commodity prices, but large emerging markets like India will be able to mitigate the impact. Moody's in its 2024 outlook for APAC sovereigns said that the forthcoming elections, particularly those with greater likelihood of leadership transitions, including Indonesia, pose a degree of policy uncertainty as governments seek to manage key geopolitical relationships, especially regarding China and the US, current economic and fiscal strains, and longer-term commitments toward addressing climate change. The prevalence of social risks amid political transition could undermine .

Investments from American institutions in Indian real estate market declined 39 per cent last year to USD 1.35 billion amid global uncertainties, according to JLL India. During 2022, US-based institutional investors had pumped USD 2.2 billion in Indian real estate. American funds have generally been the biggest investors in Indian real estate market. According to the JLL India report released on Monday, the total institutional investments in Indian real estate rose 14 per cent to USD 5,878 million (USD 5.87 billion) in 2023 from USD 5,151 million in the previous year. The consultant said this reflected India's resilience in the face of global economic headwinds. JLL anticipates investor confidence in the Indian growth story to continue in 2024 as well. In 2023, the largest contributors were foreign institutional investors with 63 per cent share in the total investments. However, the share of inflow from Americas, the conventionally highest contributor in investments, witnessed a

Positive rate of inflation in December, 2023 was primarily due to an increase in prices of food articles, machinery & equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment

The country's wheat stocks at state warehouses stood at 16.47 million metric tons as of Jan. 1, the lowest since 2017