(PTI) The Reserve Bank said it will soon commence the pilot launch of e-rupee for specific use cases as it tests digital currency in India. “As the extent and scope of such pilot launches expand, RBI will continue to communicate about the specific features and benefits of e-rupee, from time to time,” the central bank said in a concept note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The concept note also discusses key considerations such as technology and design choices, possible uses of the digital rupee, and issuance mechanisms, among others.
Author: Aruna Sharma
(FE) The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), has announced its collaboration with Podar Eduspace, an education technology organisation focused on student programmes ranging from research, volunteering, and skill development, an official statement said. As part of the collaboration, Podar Eduspace will be empanelled as a skilling partner for NSDC and will provide its WorkEx Bootcamp programme and 21st century Digital Skills Bootcamp programme. It aims to bridge the gap between industry and education in colleges, increase employment, and help in upskilling candidates across India, mainly in corporates…
(PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting Assam for three days beginning Friday during which he will attend a meeting on floods, inaugurate a state-level SPs conference and address BJP workers. Shah will also attend a meeting of chief ministers and DGPs of northeastern states on narcotics, review the functioning of the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) and inaugurate the newly built office of the BJP’s Assam unit during the visit, sources said here. After arriving from Sikkim, the home minister will attend a meeting on ‘Flood Free Assam’ on Friday evening in Guwahati. On Saturday, he will inaugurate the newly built…
(PTI) Tata Power on Friday announced its plans to develop around 10,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, mainly solar energy, in the next five years in Rajasthan. “Tata Power plans to have a renewable power portfolio of 10,000 MW in the state (Rajasthan in next five years,” a company statement said. Participating in the ongoing Invest Rajasthan summit in Jaipur, it stated that it plans to develop up to 8,000 MW of utility scale projects, 1,000 MW of solar rooftop and 1,50,000 solar pumps in next five years in the state.
(HT) Fast-tracking projects will give India an advantage, especially with China still largely closed to the outside world and companies increasingly adopting a China-plus-one policy — finding other countries to expand in or source from — to diversify their businesses and supply chains. In India, half of all infrastructure projects are delayed, and one in four run over their estimated budget. Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes technology is the solution to these perennial and notorious bottlenecks. Under a 100-trillion-rupee ($1.2 trillion) mega project called PM Gati Shakti — Hindi for strength of speed — Modi’s administration is creating a digital platform that combines…
(PTI) India has cut the windfall tax on locally produced crude oil and diesel, in line with the decline in international rates, and scrapped the levy on the export of jet fuel. The government reduced the tax on domestically produced crude oil to Rs 8,000 per tonne from Rs 10,500 per tonne after the sixth fortnightly review. The levy on the export of diesel was halved to Rs 5 per litre. The Rs 5 a litre tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) exports was scrapped with effect from Sunday, according to a finance ministry notification issued late Saturday night. India…
(ET) The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to develop solar rooftop projects on government and semi-government buildings and offices in the state as part of its new renewable energy initiative. The department of New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (NEDA), the nodal body, has already invited online bids from prospective bidders for designing, manufacturing, supply, erecting, testing, and commissioning of 25-2,000 kw grid-connected solar PV projects on government buildings and office. The selected contractors will also be responsible for maintaining and operating the rooftop solar projects for 25 years.
(PTI) The Vande Bharat Superfast Express train which Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be flagging off on Friday morning will run six days a week between Mumbai Central and Gandhinagar stations, Western Railway said. In a late evening release on Thursday, it said that Vande Bharat Superfast Express will run six days a week except Sundays. The train will depart from Mumbai Central at 6.10 am and reach Gandhinagar at 12.30 pm.
(ET) A 30% decline in oil prices since early June has brought relief to refiners, which had sold fuels at a loss to domestic customers for months, but is unlikely to lower consumer prices, said analysts and executives. Crude oil prices have fallen to $86 a barrel, from $124 on June 8, as fear of a recession in the developed world is swaying investors amid interest rate tightening by central banks. “India may not get the full benefit of falling oil prices,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist at India Ratings and Research, pointing to depreciation in the rupee that…
(PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate or lay foundation stones for multiple infrastructure and development projects worth more than Rs 29,000 crore during his two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat starting from Thursday. Some of these big-ticket projects slated for inauguration/foundation stone laying ceremonies include world’s first CNG (compressed natural gas) terminal in Bhavnagar, Metro phase-1 in Ahmedabad and phase-1 of Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City at Surat, said an official release issued by the Gujarat government on Wednesday. During the tour, the PM will flag off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express train and also inaugurate the 36th…