Nomura cuts India’s GDP forecast for 2023 to 4.7%
Nomura has cut its 2023 forecast for economic growth in India, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), to 4.7 per cent from its earlier projection of 5.4 per cent amid recession fears and rising interest rates. Exports have started to struggle, while elevated imports are pushing up monthly trade deficits to record highs. Higher inflation, monetary policy tightening, dormant private CAPEX growth, the power crunch and the global growth slowdown pose medium-term headwinds.
Meanwhile, the recent economic releases have not been too encouraging. India’s retail inflation rate – the CPI – came in at 7.01 per cent versus 7.04 per cent in May. This is the sixth consecutive month that the CPI inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) comfort zone of 2 – 6 per cent. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP), however, grew at a faster clip of 19.6 per cent in May, as compared to 6.7 per cent in April, data showed.
India’s first locally created HPV vaccine receives DCGI approval
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the market authorization of India’s first quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against cervical cancer. The Serum Institute of India (SII) will produce this vaccine. CEO of The Serum Institute of India Adar Poonawalla tweeted the information. For the first time, an inexpensive and widely available HPV vaccination made in India will be available to treat cervical cancer in female patients. Later this year, SII hopes to launch it, and we are grateful to the DCGI, MoHFW INDIA, for their approval.
Following an assessment of the clinical trial results for the vaccine, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) recently gave its approval to the qHPV. The Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine against cervical cancer, which was produced domestically by Serum Institute of India (SII), was recommended for standard market authorization on June 15. After the vaccine’s phase 3 data were deemed to be satisfactory, suggestions were made.
Luis Echeverria, former president of Mexico, dies at 100
As told by his son Benito Echeverria, Luis Echeverria Alvarez, who presided over Mexico from 1970 to 1976, passed away at the age of 100. Echeverria passed away in his house in Cuernavaca, the state capital of Morelos in south central Mexico. The family and friends of the former leader received a tweet from Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressing his respectful condolences.
About Luis Echeverria Alvarez:
Career attorney and Institutional Revolutionary Party member Echeverria prioritised Mexico’s foreign affairs and is renowned for, among other things, advocating for the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States at the United Nations in 1972.
During his time serving as Interior Secretary under the Dáz Ordaz administration, political repression increased.
One of the most well-known presidents in Mexico’s post-war history, Echeverra made an effort to lead the so-called Third World, which was made up of nations that did not support either the US or the USSR during the Cold War.
He served as the Interior Secretary from 1963 to 1969. He was the oldest former head of state still alive in his nation at the time of his death in 2022.
In February 1972, he also started the process of establishing diplomatic ties with China.
Meena Hemchandra appointed as temporary chairperson of Karur Vysya Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has authorised Meena Hemchandra‘s appointment as the Karur Vysya bank‘s temporary chairperson for three years, according to private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank. Hemchandra’s application for the position of non-executive independent (part-time) chairperson of the bank had been recommended by the bank to the RBI in May.
KEY POINTS:
Hemchandra‘s (64) term is approved for 3 years beginning on the day he assumes office.
She has over 35 years of banking expertise in a variety of RBI areas as a career banker.
From June 2015 to November 2017, Hemchandra served as the RBI’s Executive Director.
Karur Vysya Bank shares were down 0.63 percent from the previous close, trading at Rs. 47.40 per share on the BSE.
About Karur Vysya Bank:
An Indian Scheduled Commercial Bank is Karur Vysya Bank. With its headquarters in Karur, Tamil Nadu, it has operated for 100 years and is one of the top banks in India. M. A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar founded it in 1916. The bank’s main business segments are retail banking, corporate/wholesale banking, and treasury. Karur Vysya Bank offers services such corporate, personal, agricultural banking, as well as support for NRIs and MSME.
WEF’s Gender Gap Report 2022: India ranks low at 135th globally
India ranks 135 among a total of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022 of the World Economic Forum (WEF). It is the worst performer in the world in the “health and survival” sub-index where it is ranked 146. India also ranks poorly among its neighbours and is behind Bangladesh (71), Nepal (96), Sri Lanka (110), Maldives (117) and Bhutan (126). Only Iran (143), Pakistan (145) and Afghanistan (146) perform worse than India in south Asia.
4 key dimensions
The Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks gender parity across four key dimensions or sub-indices — economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. It measures scores on a 0 to 100 scale, which can be interpreted as the distance covered towards parity or the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed.
Key points of the reports:
Iceland has retained its position as the world’s most gender-equal country, among 146 nations on the index.
Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden are the top five countries on the list respectively.
Afghanistan is the worst-performing country in the report.
India ranks 146 in health and survival, 143 in economic participation and opportunity, 107 in educational attainment and 48th in political empowerment.
About the Global Gender Gap Report 2022:
The Global Gender Gap Report 2022 is the 16th edition of the annual publication by WEF. The Global Gender Gap Index was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 to compare countries’ gender gaps across four dimensions: economic opportunities, education, health and political leadership.
Delhi Government tie-up with UNICEF for employment opportunities for students
Students of the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) will now have access to job opportunities thanks to a new pilot project the Delhi government announced with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). DSEU and UNICEF have introduced ‘Career Awareness Sessions’ for students. Skill Varsity of Delhi joins hands with YuWaah (Generation Unlimited India) at UNICEF to enable access to employment opportunities, assist students in becoming job ready as well as listen to and amplify the voices of young people.
Another pillar of the partnership is the ‘YuWaah Step Up – Bano job ready’, a six-month pilot being conducted by Flywheel Digital Solutions Pvt with DSEU students and other job-seekers in Delhi to enhance the reach of young job-seekers on the new age job portals, the government said in the statement. The pilot will run at the Ambedkar DSEU Shakarpur-I campus starting July 20.
SBI subsidiary and MEA sign agreement regarding Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Ministry of External Affairs and SBICAP Ventures Limited (SVL), a State Bank of India (SBI) subsidiary, to establish the Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund (TDC Fund) for collaborative projects with international partners. The Global Innovation Development Fund (GIP Fund), which is planned to be established in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) under the India-UK Global Innovation Partnership, will receive India’s commitment of approximately Rs. 175 crore (£17.5 million) through the TDC Fund.
KEY POINTS:
The GIP Fund will invest primarily in small and medium-sized Indian businesses that address development issues in line with the GIP’s goals and objectives and that have developed and successfully proven workable social impact solutions that can be exported to and scaled up in other nations.
The GIP Fund would target creative Indian businesses that are already established but lack the funding to expand to other developing nations.
In addition to facilitating the GIP programme for MEA, SVL will serve as the administrator-cum-advisor (Investment Manager) of the TDC Fund.