The Rs 37,000 crore investment plan of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) over the next three years is a testament to our commitment to boost growth, innovation and job creation in the country, Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra, said.

Urging the private sector to utilise the government’s employment-linked schemes, announced during the Union Budget 2024-2025, Anand Mahindra said that this approach will help create more jobs for the youth, especially the fresh talent coming out of colleges.

The Mahindra Group Chairman, while addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), said it is a collective responsibility of the private sector and the government to generate employment for nation-building.

He said that as India stands to benefit from the re-orientation of global supply chains, its growth and prosperity must be driven by job creation.

The Group reached over 2.2 lakh women through skilling interventions, including employability-focused training and domain-specific skill development in FY24.

Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the government and it has taken various steps to generate employment in the country.

The Budget 2024-25 announced five schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a five-year period with a central outlay of Rs 2 lakh crore.

According to the government, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 29 years has been declining steadily over the last five years.

According to data tabled in the Parliament this week, it has come down from 17.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 10 per cent in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India have generated more than 20.5 crore jobs in the last four years, the Centre informed this week.

More than 12.5 crore jobs were created from FY14-23, with an average of 2 crore jobs per year.

There has been a 56 per cent rise in workers’ income (FY22-23) and India is on track to become a $10 trillion economy. AGENCIES

 Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) platform has seen around 88 lakh candidate registrations till June, along with 9.59 lakh mobile app downloads and 7.63 lakh candidates being enrolled for online courses.

SIDH offers 752 online courses, leading to 7.37 lakh minutes of digital content readily available and accessible for learners, informed Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Jayant Chaudhary.

According to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the primary objective of the platform is to provide a comprehensive and accessible platform for skill enhancement, offering industry-relevant skill courses, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship support.

“SIDH is at the intersection of two of the most important initiatives of the government — Skill India and Digital India,” said the Minister.

It aims to serve India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for skill development, education, employment and entrepreneurship landscape.

Envisioned to integrate with MSME and facilitate access to entrepreneurship schemes for the learners and job seekers, it offers courses and apprenticeship opportunities to the learners.

The minister also informed that there are 19 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) out of 33 which are exclusively for women.

These women NSTIs offer 19 courses under the Craft Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) as well as 23 courses under the Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS).

To empower women entrepreneurs and spur economic growth, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has also unveiled the Women Entrepreneurship Programme.

This is aimed to address the distinct challenges that women face when starting and growing businesses.

In partnership with Britannia Industries Limited, the initiative will also offer financial grants and feature their products and services on the Skill India Digital Hub.

“In the skilling segment, under Jan Shikshan Sansthan, 82 per cent of our trainees are women. In the PMKVY short-term training programme, close to 45 per cent of the participants are women,” said Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. AGENCIES

 Indian equity indices opened at a lifetime high on Thursday following positive global cues.

In the early trading hours, Sensex and Nifty made a new all-time high of 82,129 and 25,078 respectively.

At 9.41 a.m., Sensex was up 299 points or 0.37 per cent at 82,040 and Nifty was up 101 points or 0.41 per cent at 25,051.

Buying is also seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty midcap 100 index is up 213 points or 0.36 per cent at 59,222 and the Nifty smallcap 100 index was at 19,227, up 90 points or 0.47 per cent.

There is a positive trend in the stock market also. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,503 shares are in the green and 570 shares are in the red.

In the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, JSW Steel, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Axis Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank are the top gainers. M&M, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv are the top losers.

On the global front, the markets of Seoul, Bangkok and Jakarta are trading briskly. At the same time, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong are in red. The US markets closed positive on Wednesday.

Market experts said, “The Fed chief signalling a possible rate cut in September is positive for global equity markets. More importantly, his comments that the US economy is normalising is a shot in the arm for bulls.”

“A serious geopolitical risk is the escalation of tensions in West Asia following the killing of the top Hamas leader in Iran. The risk of a regional aggravation of the Gaza war is high,” they added. AGENCIES

 Tata Motors on Thursday reported a total sale of 71,996 vehicles in July, a significant drop from 80,633 units sold during the same period last year.

The total domestic sales dipped 11 per cent, to 70,161 units against 78,844 in July last year.

When it comes to commercial vehicles, the company sold 27,042 units last month, down 18 per cent from July last year (32,944 units).

Total passenger vehicle sales (including EVs) stood at 44,954 units, down 6 per cent from 47,689 units in the same period last year.

Segment-wise, the company saw a dip in domestic sales of medium and heavy intermediate commercial vehicles (MH & ICV) in July, including trucks and buses, at 11,174 units, compared to 13,291 units in July last year.

Total sales for MH & ICV domestic and international Business in July, including trucks and buses, stood at 11,886 units — compared to 13,830 units in July 2023, the automaker informed.

For the April-June period of this fiscal, the global wholesales of all Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles and Tata Daewoo range were at 93,410, higher by 6 per cent over Q1 FY24.

The company recorded global wholesales of passenger vehicles (including electric vehicles) at 138,682, lower by 1 per cent.

For the Q1 FY25, the sales in the domestic and international markets stood at 229,891 vehicles, compared to 226,245 units during Q1 FY24.

Driven by friendly government policies, rapid urbanisation and economic growth, sales volumes of commercial vehicles (CV) have nearly recovered to the pre-Covid times. AGENCIES

Venture capital (VC) investment in India surged considerably to $4 billion in the April-June period (Q2 2024), from $2.9 billion in the previous quarter, a report said on Thursday.

On the other hand, China saw a massive decline in VC investment from $13.5 billion to $6.9 billion in the same period.

VC investment is expected to continue to pick up in India, driven in part by the country’s stable government and positive economic environment, according to a KPMG report.

During the quarter, VC investors in India focused on more traditional sectors for investment, including fintech, electric vehicles, and consumer technologies.

Unlike many other jurisdictions where investment in the consumer-focused technology space has dried up dramatically, India’s population and demographics have kept investment in the space relatively resilient, the report mentioned.

The IPO market in India continued to be robust. The capital markets saw all-time highs during Q2’24, feeding the appetite of venture companies looking to raise funds in the public markets.

“Investors continue to remain optimistic about India and as mentioned in the previous edition, our expectations of VC investments to bounce back are now playing out,” said Nitish Poddar, Partner and National Leader, Private Equity, KPMG in India.

Strong demographics, robust economy and a vibrant capital market are the real drivers behind this optimism.

“Investors will however remain cautious and will continue to back sectors and companies which have a good operating model and an assured path to profitability,” Poddar added.

VC investment in Asia dropped from $20.8 billion to $17.4 billion, driven largely by a decline in China.

“VC investment in other jurisdictions in the region saw solid increases. In Singapore, it rose from $1 billion to $2.6 billion, and in Japan, it rose from $842 million to $1.1 billion. Consumer e-commerce companies raised the largest rounds in Asia in Q2 2024,” the findings showed.

Global VC investment rose from $75.4 billion in Q1 to a five-quarter high of $94.3 billion in Q2.

Heading into Q3, VC investment globally is expected to remain relatively steady, with AI continuing to attract a large share of funding, said the report. AGENCIES

New Delhi, Aug 1

 As more than 3.2 billion people use at least one of Meta apps daily, X rival Threads is about to hit 200 million monthly active users (MAUs), Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced.

He said the company is making steady progress towards building Threads what is going to be another “major social app”.

During the Q2 earnings call with analysts, Meta CEO said “WhatsApp now serves more than 100 million monthly active users in the US.”

He said the company is also seeing good year-over-year growth across Facebook, Instagram and Threads as well, both in the US and globally.

The Meta family of apps continues to grow, with approximately 3.27 billion people using at least one of its family of apps on a daily basis in June.

“Q2 total family of apps revenue was $38.7 billion, up 22 per cent year-over-year. Q2 family of apps ads revenue was $38.3 billion, up 22 per cent or 23 per cent on a constant currency basis,” informed Meta.

On an advertiser geography basis, total revenue growth continued to be strongest in Asia Pacific, at 28 per cent.

“We expect the relevance of video recommendations will continue to increase as we benefit from unifying video ranking across Facebook and integrating our next-generation recommendation systems,” said the social network.

The company is also seeing good momentum with its longer-term engagement priorities, including Generative AI. AGENCIES

 The mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty, the Pentagon said in a statement.

They are held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Pentagon said that the Convening Authority for Military Commissions, Susan Escallier, has entered into pretrial agreements with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, three of the co-accused in the 9/11 case said the statement.

The official said that the specific terms and conditions of the pretrial agreements are not available to the public at this time.

The three accused, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were initially charged jointly and arraigned on June 5, 2008, and then were again charged jointly and arraigned a second time on May 5, 2012, in connection with their alleged roles in the September 11, 2001, attacks against the US, the Pentagon said.

US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the plea deals. “The Biden-Harris Administration’s cowardice in the face of terror is a national disgrace. The plea deal with terrorists, including those behind the 9/11 attacks, is a revolting abdication of the government’s responsibility to defend America and provide justice” McConnell stated on X. AGENCIES

The Australian government has denounced Japan’s decision to expand its commercial whaling. 

Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, on Thursday, condemned Japan’s move to add fin whales to its list of commercial whalers will target, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Australia is deeply disappointed by Japan’s decision to expand its commercial whaling program by adding fin whales,” she said in a statement.

Fin whales are the second-largest whale species in the world and are listed as vulnerable to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

Japan’s Fisheries Agency in May proposed expanding commercial whaling in the country’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone to include fin whales. In June the agency announced that it has authorized the hunting of up to 59 fin whales in the North Pacific in 2024.

Plibersek said on Thursday that Australia is opposed to all commercial whaling and called for all countries to end the practice.

“Australia’s efforts through the International Whaling Commission have contributed to a whaling-free Southern Ocean and a decline in commercial whaling around the world. Australia will continue to advocate for the protection and conservation of whales and the health of our ocean for future generations,” she said. AGENCIES

The body of Fouad Shokor, Hezbollah’s top military commander who was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, was found under the rubble in Dahie in Beirut’s southern suburbs, local media reported, citing sources close to Hezbollah.

An Israeli drone fired on Tuesday evening three missiles at a position near the Shura Council of Hezbollah, aiming to target Shokor, a senior military advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The attack on Dahie also killed five others and wounded around 74 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying Lebanon preserves its right to take all necessary measures to deter the aggression.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’ attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. AGENCIES

 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said here on Thursday that women have played a pivotal role in socio-economic development and poverty reduction in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Pinnacle Entrepreneur Forum & 2024 ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs’ Network Award held in Phnom Penh, Hun Manet said women are at the heart of families, the soul of communities, and the conscience of the nations, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Our region has become the fifth-largest economy in the world because ASEAN women have played a pivotal role, not just as the very bedrock of her communities and national economies, contributing to job creation, reducing poverty, and promoting inclusive economy, but also in economic integration through regional and international platforms driving growth and foster innovation across borders,” he said.

In ASEAN, about 9.8 per cent of the population, or over 60 million individuals, are female business owners, he said, adding that in Cambodia, female business owners account for around two-thirds of businesses.

“As women engage more actively in regional and international economic activities. They not only elevate their enterprises but also contribute to the overall economies, resilience and sustainability of their communities and nations,” Hun Manet said.

The Cambodian leader said despite their resilience and determination, women entrepreneurs face numerous challenges including limited access to finance, markets, networks and opportunities for growth and development.

“The ASEAN governments, including Cambodia, recognise the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and understand the vital role they play in achieving gender equality and economic growth,” he said. “We are actively working towards overcoming these obstacles.”

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. AGENCIES