business news

Google is set to position India as a significant export hub for its Pixel range of smartphones, targeting markets in Europe and the United States, according to a report by Moneycontrol. The tech giant has already initiated trial production in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with Foxconn, a major manufacturer of Apple devices.

Mumbai has been ranked as the most expensive city in India for expatriates, securing the 136th position globally, according to Mercer’s Cost of Living City Rankings 2024. This marks an 11-spot climb from last year. Delhi also moved up four points to 165th place globally.

A recent investigation by Italian prosecutors has brought to light startling revelations about the production costs of luxury handbags sold by renowned fashion houses like Dior and Giorgio Armani. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, these brands pay significantly low amounts to their suppliers for manufacturing these high-end accessories, which are then sold at exorbitant prices.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rolled out stringent guidelines effective July 1, impacting how credit card bills can be paid through third-party apps. According to the latest regulations, all credit card bill payments via such apps must now be routed through the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

India has made significant strides in reducing poverty, with rates dropping to 8.5% in 2022-24 from 21.2% in 2011-12, according to a research paper released by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

HDFC Bank has announced a scheduled system upgrade on July 13, 2024, which will temporarily affect its UPI (Unified Payments Interface) services. The bank aims to enhance its overall performance, capacity, and reliability through this upgrade, which will necessitate specific downtime periods for various banking services.

In a significant milestone, Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft Corp., has surpassed company co-founder Bill Gates to become the sixth-richest person in the world. This shift in wealth comes as Microsoft's stock reached record highs, bolstered by its strategic partnership with OpenAI, positioning it as a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom in the US market.

In a landmark verdict, Indian-American entrepreneur Rishi Shah, co-founder of Outcome Health, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison by a US court. The sentencing comes in the wake of a massive $1 billion fraud scheme that has rattled high-profile investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company), and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's venture capital firm.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has reported a significant 40% year-on-year growth in sales for the month of June, marking its highest-ever monthly sales performance. The company sold 27,474 units compared to 19,608 units in June last year. Additionally, TKM exported 1,722 units during the same period.

Air India has unveiled ambitious plans to establish South Asia's largest Flying Training Organisation (FTO) in Maharashtra's Amravati, with operations set to commence by early 2026. This initiative marks a significant milestone as the first FTO by any Indian airline in the country.