The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan issued an alert for urban flooding in parts of the country’s south Sindh province during the ongoing spell of monsoon rains.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the NDMA quoted its national emergencies operation centre as saying that under the monsoon’s influence, scattered rainfall, windstorms, and thunderstorms are expected across various regions of the province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The NDMA advised the provincial disaster management authority and the local municipal administration to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate measures to safeguard the population at risk.

“People dwelling in low-lying areas are advised to take extra caution and undertake emergency preparation given potential urban flooding,” the statement added.

Communities at risk are also advised to follow instructions from local authorities and download the NDMA’s mobile application for timely disaster alerts, guidelines, and precautionary measures, the statement noted. AGENCIES

A special rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ by Austrian artists greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the hotel Ritz-Carlton in Vienna, where he arrived after a highly successful two-day visit to Russia. 

PM Modi arrived in Austria on Tuesday for a historic visit and he is the first Indian PM to visit the country in over 41 years.

Upon his arrival, PM Modi was welcomed by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer at the airport. The two leaders then proceeded to the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where he was welcomed with the special performance of ‘Vande Mataram’.

The members of the Indian community also greeted the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister will call on Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and later will hold talks with Chancellor Nehammer to discuss the bilateral ties between the two nations.

Earlier, Chancellor Nehammer hosted PM Modi for a private dinner engagement. Sharing a photo of the two leaders on X, the Chancellor wrote: “Welcome to Vienna, PM Narendra Modi! It is a pleasure and honour to welcome you to Austria. Austria and India are friends and partners. I look forward to our political and economic discussions during your visit!”

Expressing his gratitude, PM Modi thanked the Austrian Chancellor “for the warm welcome” and added, “I look forward to our discussions tomorrow as well. Our nations will continue working together to further global good.”

Photos shared on social media showed a warm interaction between the two leaders, including a hug and a selfie taken by Nehammer with PM Modi.

In another post on X, PM Modi said: “Happy to meet you in Vienna, Chancellor Karl Nehammer. The India-Austria friendship is strong, and it will get even stronger in the times to come.”

During PM Modi’s visit, India and Austria are set to explore ways to deepen their bilateral relationship and enhance cooperation on various geopolitical challenges. AGENCIES

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Tuesday from Moscow on a two-day visit to Austria and was hosted by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer for a private engagement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

“An important milestone in the India-Austria partnership! PM @narendramodi hosted by Austrian Chancellor @karlnehammer for a private engagement. This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Discussions on realising the full potential of bilateral partnerships lie ahead,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, along with photos of the two leaders together in Vienna.

Nehammer posted a photo of him and PM Modi on the microblogging platform X and said: “Welcome to Vienna, PM @narendramodi! It is a pleasure and honour to welcome you to Austria. Austria and India are friends and partners. I look forward to our political and economic discussions during your visit!”

The Prime Minister thanked the Austrian Chancellor “for the warm welcome” and said he looks forward to “our discussions tomorrow as well. Our nations will continue working together to further global good”.

Prime Minister Modi was seen hugging Nehammer in one of the photos while in another, the Austrian Chancellor was seen clicking a selfie with the Prime Minister.

In another post on X, PM Modi said: “Happy to meet you in Vienna, Chancellor @karlnehammer. The India-Austria friendship is strong and it will get even stronger in the times to come.”

During PM Modi’s visit to Austria, the two countries will explore ways to further deepen their relationship and closer cooperation on various geopolitical challenges.

Earlier, PM Modi said on X: “Landed in Vienna. This visit to Austria is a special one. Our nations are connected by shared values and a commitment to a better planet. Looking forward to the various programmes in Austria including talks with Chancellor @karlnehammer, interactions with the Indian community and more.”

Prime Minister Modi was welcomed by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at the airport in Vienna.

In an earlier post on X, the MEA spokesperson said, “As the two countries are celebrating 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations this year, this momentous visit will add renewed momentum to India-Austria ties.”

Prime Minister Modi will call on the President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, and hold talks with Nehammer on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor will also address business leaders from India and Austria.

Ahead of his visit to Austria, PM Modi on Sunday said the shared values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law form the bedrock upon which the two countries will build an ever-closer partnership.

Prime Minister Modi’s remark came a day after Nehammer posted on X: “I very much look forward to welcoming Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, the world’s largest democracy, next week in Vienna.”

“This visit is a special honour as it marks the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in over 40 years and a significant milestone as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations with India,” he said.

“We will have the opportunity to talk about further deepening our bilateral relationship and closer cooperation on the many geopolitical challenges,” the Austrian Chancellor said.

Responding to Nehammer, PM Modi said, “Thank you, Chancellor Karl Nehammer. It is indeed an honour to visit Austria to mark this historic occasion. I look forward to our discussions on strengthening the bonds between our nations and exploring new avenues of cooperation.” AGENCIES

Yemen’s Houthi group said they have attacked three ships owned by the United States and Israel in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.

The targeted ships were “Maersk Sentosa, Marthopolis, and MSC Patnaree,” said Yahya Sarea, the Houthi spokesman, in a televised statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on Tuesday.

Sarea said that the first operation “targeted the US ship, Maersk Sentosa, in the Arabian Sea with several ballistic and winged missiles,” reports Xinhua news agency.

The second operation “targeted the ship, Marthopolis, in the Arabian Sea with drones” due to the company owning it had entered a port in Israel, he said.

The third operation targeted “the Israeli ship, MSC Patnaree, in the Gulf of Aden with several drones,” he said, adding that “the three operations achieved their goals successfully and the hits were direct and accurate.”

“Our operations will not stop until the Israeli aggression and siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip stop,” he said.

This is the latest in a series of Houthi attacks against ships transiting off Yemen since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out last year.

The Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, began in November last year to launch anti-ship ballistic missiles and drones targeting what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the US-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has since January conducted air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets to deter the group, but this only led to an expansion of Houthi attacks to include US and British commercial vessels and naval ships. AGENCIES

 About 73 per cent of Indian organisations plan to harness generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) within the next 12 months to enhance security measures and align IT objectives with broader business goals, a new report said on Monday.

However, only 8 per cent of organisations showed high confidence in effectively implementing GenAI technologies, according to the exposure management company Tenable.

“Despite the rise of AI, many Indian businesses are still developing their technology maturity and often lack the resources or skills needed to properly create, train, and implement AI, as well as maintain high standards of data governance,” said Nigel Ng, Senior VP, Tenable APJ.

The report surveyed 826 IT and cybersecurity professionals, including 52 Indian respondents conducted in October 2023.

Moreover, the report identified two major challenges hindering Indian organisations from utilising or optimising AI technologies — a lack of technological maturity (71 per cent) and uncertainty about the applicability of AI within their operations (54 per cent).

An aspect of concern highlighted by the report was the perception of GenAI as a greater security threat than an opportunity among 40 per cent of Indian organisations.

Internal misuse of GenAI emerged as a major concern, with 67 per cent expressing worry about potential misuse within their organisations. Additionally, 60 per cent said that providing sensitive data to open-source GenAI puts them at risk of intellectual property theft.

Despite facing significant challenges in adopting AI technologies, cybersecurity and IT leaders in India were optimistic about the potential benefits of GenAI.

Around 31 per cent believe GenAI can enhance preventive threat response, 42 per cent think it can automate security measures, and 40 per cent feel it can improve actionability, according to the report.

“The future holds great promise in leveraging GenAI’s evolutionary capabilities for preventive cybersecurity measures. This shift moves the needle on merging IT and security objectives and places importance on prioritising AI governance and using the technology responsibly,” Ng said. AGENCIES

 Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and Chairman of the Ola group, said on Monday that after exiting Microsoft Azure Cloud, it is time for the developers to shun Google Maps, as he announced one-year free access to all developers to Ola Maps on AI-driven Krutrim platform, along with more than Rs 100 crore in free credits.

Last week, the ride-hailing company Ola exited Google Maps and shifted to in-house Ola Maps for cab operations. The move has apparently saved the company nearly Rs 100 crore a year.

“We’ve been using western apps to map India for too long and they don’t get our unique challenges: street names, urban changes, complex traffic, non-standard roads, etc,” Aggarwal said.

He said that Ola Maps tackles these challenges with AI-powered India-specific algorithms, real-time data from millions of vehicles, leveraging and contributing massively to open source “with more than 5 million edits just last year” to the Open Street Maps.

“We’re outperforming competitors on location accuracy, search accuracy, search latency and ETA accuracy,” said the Ola founder.

In a separate blog post, the company said Ola Maps is built to utilise the most diverse set of data and send updates in near real time to ensure the most accurate mapping data as possible.

“Our AI first data systems utilise real time data from millions of vehicles using Ola Maps, fleet of Ola S1’s equipped with 360 cameras, open-source government data repositories, OpenStreetMap, partnerships and proprietary sources to build essential map features such as roads, points of interest, street furniture, building geometry and traffic signals,” the company explained.

Last month, Aggarwal cut all his ties with Microsoft Azure and shifted his company’s entire workload to in-house AI platform Krutrim. AGENCIES

To ensure seamless mobile connectivity for pilgrims participating in the Amarnath Yatra, the government on Monday announced significant improvements in telecom infrastructure.

In collaboration with major telecom service providers (TSPs) including Airtel, BSNL and Reliance Jio, the infrastructure has been upgraded to provide continuous coverage along the Yatra routes, said the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

“To ensure coverage, a total of 82 sites (Airtel, RJIL and BSNL) shall be active. A total of 31 new sites have been installed along the Yatra routes, increasing the total number from 51 in 2023 to 82 in 2024. This enhancement aims to provide seamless mobile connectivity to the pilgrims and public,” the DoT informed.

The routes from Lakhanpur to Qazigund and from Qazigund to Pahalgam and Baltal are fully covered with 2G, 3G, 4G, including 5G technology at many places for pilgrims and the public, according to the Department.

Some key points of SIM distribution centres have also been opened, apart from other locations to extend telecom facilitation to the pilgrims.

These centres are located at Lakhanpur, Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar, Chanderkot, Anantnag, Srinagar, Srinagar Airport, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and Baltal.

Over 1.82 lakh pilgrims had ‘darshan’ inside the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the last nine days as another batch of 5,803 yatris left for Kashmir on Monday.

Yatris take either the 48 km long traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter 14 km long Baltal route to perform the Yatra.

Those using the Pahalgam route take four days to reach the cave shrine while those taking the Baltal route return to the base camp the same day after ‘darshan’. AGENCIES

US-based consulting firm Mercer on Monday announced the appointment of Siddhartha Gupta as its India President. 

Gupta brings a wealth of experience and expertise to this role, having most recently served as Mercer Mettl’s Chief Executive Officer.

“I am excited to take on this role and lead efforts to further strengthen Mercer’s position as a trusted partner for organisations seeking to unlock their workforces’ full potential. Together with the talented teams at Mercer, I look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional value to our clients,” Gupta said in a statement.

Gupta will be reporting to Sanjay Kedia, Marsh McLennan’s India Chief Executive Officer, and will join the leadership teams for Marsh McLennan in India and Mercer in the India, Middle East and Africa Region, the company said.

“Under Siddhartha’s leadership, Mercer Mettl, our international talent assessment arm, has achieved remarkable growth, becoming the largest online assessment entity in India and one of the world’s fastest-growing HR and Ed-tech startups,” Kedia said.

“With his proven track record of success and deep understanding of the talent landscape, he is poised to drive innovation and propel Mercer’s success in India,” he added. AGENCIES

 The ascension of the Labour government has injected rare impetus into Britain’s capital market.

On Friday, the first day of the newly-elected Labour government, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index rose by 0.86 per cent and the country’s 10-year bond yield dipped by 0.8 percentage points, reports Xinhua news agency.

The GDP for the first quarter this year increased by 0.6 per cent, and the annual Consumer Prices Index rose by 2 per cent in May, aligning with the anticipated interest rate cut by Bank of England.

The Labour government inherited a comparatively strong economy. However, it also faced an economy with significant inertia. There remains a large gap between the current productivity rate and pre-pandemic levels, and investment rates are low compared to other developed countries. The Labour government faces substantial challenges in revitalising the economy.

Low Investment

Data from the Economics Observatory showed that the overall investment rate in Britain fell from a high of around 23 per cent of the GDP in the late 1980s, to around 17 per cent from 2000 onwards. In contrast, investment rates among its peers in G7 countries remained largely between 20 and 25 per cent.

The primary focus for the new Labour government should be on investment, Tim Besley, Professor of Economics and Political Science at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), told Xinhua.

“When you talk with economic heavyweights or entrepreneurs, they will tell you that it’s very hard to see the strategic direction of the UK economy and the institutional framework that will deliver economic targets,” said Besley.

However, it may take time for Labour to form a coherent industrial strategy and plan.

Steve Nolan, senior lecturer in economics at Liverpool John Moores University, said that the Labour Party fought a cautious campaign and their future economic plans are fairly slim.

Infrastructure could be a key area for attracting investments. The Labour government is set to establish a National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, which will focus on infrastructure delivery and play a critical role in setting the path for development.

“If it’s structured right, there is potential for the UK to address the low level of investment,” said Besley.

Tax Rate

Tax policy has been a contentious issue during Britain’s general election campaign, with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak repeatedly pressing then-Labour leader Keir Starmer to clarify his stance.

In response, the Labour Party pledged not to increase income tax, national insurance, and value-added taxes.

Iain Begg, a professorial research fellow at LSE, told Xinhua that Labour has “tied their own hands by restraining from raising taxes.”

“If you don’t raise taxes, then the debt level will become a constraint,” said Begg.

Begg noted that the public debt level in Britain is nearly 100 per cent of the GDP, in addition to a significant fiscal deficit. The Labour government should be very careful with public finances to avoid the pitfalls of former Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose policies, including substantial borrowing while maintaining low tax rates, rattled the financial markets.

“The Labour solution is to try to raise growth. Higher growth means the same level of debt comes out as a lower ratio of debt to GDP, and the Labour is hoping that they can achieve this through regulatory interventions rather than public spending,” said Begg.

International Trade

The Financial Times reported last year that the Department for Business and Trade revealed a 27 per cent decrease in foreign direct investment projects in Britain for the year ending in March 2023, compared to the period from 2016 to 2017.

Besley believes it is important to provide a framework and conditions that carefully choreograph plans and strategic government support for investors.

John Bryson, chair in Enterprise and Economic Geography at the University of Birmingham, told Xinhua: “What the Labour government needs to do over the next five years is to ensure that relations with China, the US, and the EU are appropriate, positive, and constructive.”

“These relationships must be constructive if the UK economy is to grow,” Bryson said. AGENCIES

 The Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced on Monday that the application window for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods (ACs and LED Lights) is being reopened “based on the appetite of the industry to invest more under the scheme.”

The ministry said this was an outcome of the growing market and confidence generated due to the manufacturing of key components of ACs and LED Lights in India under the PLI scheme for white goods.

The application window is being opened on the same terms & conditions stipulated in the PLI white goods scheme notified on April 16, 2021, and the guidelines issued on June 4, 2021, as amended from time to time, the ministry said in a statement.

The application window for the scheme will remain open for the period from July 15, 2024, to October 12, 2024 (inclusive) on the same online portal having the URL as https://pliwhitegoods.ifciltd.com/. No application will be accepted after the closure of the window, the statement added.

In order to avoid any discrimination, both new applicants as well as existing beneficiaries of the PLI white goods scheme who propose to invest more by way of switching over to a higher target segment or their group companies applying under different target segments would be eligible to apply subject to fulfilling the eligibility conditions and adhering to the investment schedule as mentioned in the guidelines of the scheme.

The applicant approved in the proposed third round would be eligible for PLI for a maximum period of three years only in the case of new applicants and existing beneficiaries opting for an investment period up to March 2023 seeking to move to a higher investment category. Existing beneficiaries opting for an investment period up to March 2022 seeking to move to a higher investment category in the proposed third round would be eligible for PLI for a maximum of two years only.

Existing beneficiaries opting for the above, in case they are not able to achieve the threshold investment or sales in a given year, will be eligible to submit the claims as per their original investment plan. However, this flexibility will be provided only once during the scheme period.

Further, to maintain liquidity in the business, better working capital management, and enhance the operational efficiency of beneficiaries, it has been decided to introduce the system of quarterly claims processing of PLI in place of processing of claims on an annual basis. Necessary amendments are incorporated in the Scheme Guidelines to clarify the above.

So far, 66 applicants with committed investments of Rs 6,962 crore have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme. Daikin, Voltas, Hindalco, Amber, PG Technoplast, Epack, Mettube, LG, Blue Star, Johnson Hitachi, Panasonic, Haier, Midea, Havells and Lucas, are among the companies manufacturing components of Air conditioners (ACs).

Similarly, in manufacturing components of LED lights, companies like Dixon, RK Lighting, Crompton Greaves, Stove Kraft, Chenfeng, Luker and Fulham etc, have invested. These investments will lead to the manufacturing of components of Air Conditioners and LED Lights across the complete value chain including components which are not manufactured in India presently with sufficient quantity.

The Union Cabinet had given approval for the PLI Scheme for White Goods for the manufacture of components and sub-assemblies of Air Conditioners (ACs) and LED Lights on April 7, 2021, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ drive to bring manufacturing at the centre stage and emphasise its significance in driving India’s growth and creating jobs. The Scheme is to be implemented over a seven-year period, from FY 2021-22 to FY 2028-29 and has an outlay of Rs 6,238 crore. AGENCIES