India's economic engine is revving up, but navigating the global headwinds requires sharp strategy. The rupee's recent volatility against the dollar underscores the complexities facing Indian businesses, impacting everything from import-export trade to domestic inflation. This week alone, we've seen significant shifts in the IT sector, with major players announcing restructuring and a renewed focus on AI-driven solutions. Meanwhile, the burgeoning startup ecosystem continues to attract substantial funding, despite a cautious global investor sentiment. The government's recent policy announcements on infrastructure development and digitalization are poised to further shape the business landscape, creating both opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs and established corporations alike. Understanding these market dynamics is crucial for success in today's rapidly evolving Indian economy. Stay informed with Abtak.com for the latest insights and analysis on key sectors including finance, manufacturing, and technology – empowering your business decisions in a dynamic market. Explore the complete business news section now to stay ahead of the curve.
Hyderabad: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is taking bold strides to position India at the forefront of the global creative economy with the strategic use of artificial intelligence, said Union I&B Secretary Sanjay Jaju. Addressing during a high-profile meeting held on Thursday at T-Hub Hyderabad, he invited India's top AI and ML startups to join the Ministry's ambitious challenges -- Kalaa Setu and Bhasha Setu -- launched under the WaveX Startup Accelerator Platform. Jaju emphasized that these initiatives align with the Prime Minister's vision of nurturing a thriving creator economy rooted in innovation and cultural inclusivity. He called upon the startup community to design scalable and indigenous digital solutions that honor the nation's linguistic and cultural diversity, ensuring last-mile communication delivery across all Indian languages. The meeting witnessed participation from premier incubators, startups based in T-Hub, and representatives from IIT Hyderabad, NITs, and innovation-focused engineering institutions. Startups can register and explore technical details for both challenges at the WaveX portal (wavex.wavesbazaar.com). Finalists will pitch their solutions in New Delhi before a national jury. Winners will receive an MoU for full-scale development, pilot collaboration with All India Radio (AIR), Doordarshan (DD), and Press Information Bureau (PIB), and full incubation under the WaveX Innovation Platform. WaveX, launched under the Ministry's WAVES initiative, is dedicated to fostering innovation across media, entertainment, and language technology. At the WAVES Summit 2025 in Mumbai, more than 30 startups were allowed to pitch directly to key stakeholders, including government agencies, investors, and industry leaders. The Ministry's support through WaveX reflects a strong commitment to empowering startups with mentorship, hackathons, and integration with national platforms, potentially redefining the way India communicates and creates in the digital age. India's vision of leveraging AI for inclusive development just gained significant momentum, he added.
* Commoditisation and similarity of products and services with competitors will have the most significant impact on how businesses deliver customer experiences over the next two years, according to the latest IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Affinidi * However, businesses who are looking to hyper-personalise their products as a competitive differentiator are facing several obstacles in addressing the privacy-personalisation dilemma, with 56% of them highlighting data collection and management to be a key challenge. * To truly enhance customer experiences through more personalised insights, they m ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 3 (VOICE) White collar hiring in India grew 6 per cent in the festive season (October and November), driven by strong growths in key non-IT sectors, a report showed on Tuesday.The sectors like Oil and Gas (+16 per cent), Pharma/Biotech (+7 per cent), FMCG (+7 per cent), and real estate (+10 per cent), alongside sustained momentum in emerging domains like AI/ML (+30 per cent) and global capability centres (+11 per cent), according to Naukri JobSpeak Index. While the IT sector has historically been a dominant force in fresher hiring, the current trend shows a significant upsurge ...Read More >
Bengaluru, 4th December 2024- PURE EV, one of India's leading electric two-wheeler manufacturers, has unveiled an ambitious roadmap to strengthen its presence nationwide and expand globally while introducing innovative solutions for sustainable mobility. Over the next 30 months, the company aims to add 250 new dealerships, taking its total network to over 320 across India. The expansion will be driven by the growing demand for long-range scooters, electric motorcycles, large B2B contracts, and the company's entry into the house-hold brand space. Dr. Nishanth Dongari, Founder & MD of PURE EV, ...Read More >
WarmUp Ventures Founders L to R - Rajendra Lora ,Yogesh Chaudhary , Sharad Bansal Athera Venture Partners has roped in HDFC AMC's fund of funds as an LP for its Fund IV, while Warmup Ventures is launching its second fund. HDFC AMC invests in Athera's Fund IV Tech-focused venture capital fund Athera Venture Partners, formerly known as Inventus India, on Wednesday said that HDFC's fund of funds has invested in its Fund IV, which is scheduled to close in 2025. HDFC AMC's Select AIF FoF I Scheme will be a dominant LP in Athera's Rs 900-crore fund to be invested into fast-growing tech startups ...Read More >
In an exclusive interview with FinTech Magazine at Money20/20, Matthew Van Buskirk, Co-founder and CEO of Hummingbird Regtech, discusses how the company is enabling data to be labelled at ease through the use of artificial intelligence. Hummingbird positions itself as an AI enablement company, addressing a critical challenge in the financial sector: the lack of well-labelled, clean training data. "From the day we launched, we saw that deploying effective machine learning or AI capabilities in this industry is incredibly difficult because we don't have clean training data. Instead, we have th ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Dec 11 (PTI) The National Law School of India University, which has pioneered and developed an integrated five-year BA LLB (honours) degree that transformed Indian legal education, has now come up with a three-year (honours) BA course with an option of an additional fourth year. The first cohort of the programme will be admitted in July 2025, the NLSIU said. "We are looking to develop something that is responsive to 2025, but is completely different," the NLSIU Vice Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy said at the launch of the programme. He said the university will teach the social sc ...Read More >
New Delhi/Hyderabad, Dec 18 (UNI) Union Minister and Telangana BJP President G Kishan Reddy emphasised the Modi government's commitment to preserving and promoting India's regional languages. Addressing the media in New Delhi on Wednesday, Reddy highlighted various initiatives undertaken by the central government to strengthen India's linguistic diversity. Reddy noted that India is unparalleled in its cultural and linguistic diversity, with 121 languages spoken across the country. "Our Constitution initially recognised 14 official languages, but this number has increased to 21 under Prime M ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Recognizing the potential and challenges of AI, the Government of India constituted an advisory group, chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, to undertake the development of an 'AI for India-Specific Regulatory Framework'. Under the guidance of the Advisory Group, a sub-committee on 'AI Governance and Guidelines Development' will provide actionable recommendations for AI governance in India. The sub-committee's report on AI Governance, now published for public consultation, aims to guide the development of a trustworthy and accountable AI ecosystem in India. ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) The year 2024 has been historic for Indian startups as the government abolished the angel tax (a tax levied on investing in startups), which improved Indian startups' funding and enabled them to raise more than $12 billion. Along with this, food delivery company Zomato managed to make its place in the Sensex, the index of top companies in the country. Indian startup companies crossed the magical figure of getting $150 billion in funding in 2024. Between 2014 and 2024, new-age tech companies raised more than $151 billion in funding. Startups raised the highest funding ...Read More >
Vastu Housing has raised $100 million from the global consumer internet group Prosus. The Amsterdam-based investor has acquired an 8.4% stake (7.8% fully diluted) in the home finance company. Vastu Housing Finance is a prominent player in the affordable housing finance sector, focusing on underserved communities. In September, Vastu received a $50 million loan from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (USDFC). Housing finance companies have attracted significant funding in recent months. Recently, Easy Home Finance raised $35 million in a fresh funding round led by ...Read More >
Smart India Hackathon 2024: The Smart India Hackathon 2024, designed to unite the nation's brightest young talent in solving real-world problems presented by major government ministries, is scheduled to take place from December 11 to 15. This is the seventh edition of the Smart India Hackathon, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over this on Wednesday. More than 54,000 entries were received, and out of that, 1,300 teams (comprising over 10,800 participants) were selected to compete in figuring out the answers to 254 problem statements. Notably, most of the entries came from Tier 2 a ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], January 31 (ANI): Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that French President Emmanuel Macron has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit, and India has accepted the invite. While speaking at a press briefing, Jaiswal said that India is also developing its own AI program. "French President has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Artificial Intelligence Action Summit and we have accepted their invite. We will update you about further details," he said. On February ...Read More >
Haridwar: A woman politician has been arrested for allegedly letting her boyfriend and others repeatedly rape her 13-year-old daughter in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The horrifying crime, which occurred between January and March, was exposed when the minor bravely confided in her father, prompting a police investigation that led to the arrest of the accused. The accused was arrested with her boyfriend and one more. According to police reports, the minor was gang-raped multiple times, often in the presence of her mother. The minor, who had been living with her father following her parents' separat ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
Vodafone Idea has launched an AI-powered Spam SMS solution to protect users from unwanted messages and potential fraud. The technology uses machine learning to detect and flag spam in real-time, with over 24 million messages identified since its testing phase. The solution complements existing measures like a user-friendly mobile app for filing complaints and reporting spam. Vi is also working on reducing unwanted voice calls and uses customer feedback for further detection. This initiative aims to provide proactive protection and safeguard customers' digital experience. Vodafone Idea's stock ...Read More >
Gurugram (Haryana) [India], December 12: Navanc, a pioneering FinTech startup building India's first AI-powered property score and stack for secured lending and insurance practices, has successfully raised USD 1 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Prarambh Ventures, with participation from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Brigade REAP FirstPort Capital, and marquee angel investors Also Read | US: Joe Biden Commutes Roughly 1,500 Sentences and Pardons 39 People in Biggest Single-Day Act of Clemency. The funds will be directed toward expanding operations across India, with a ...Read More >
The books for class 9-12 will be available from 2026-27. New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reduced the prices of books for classes 9 to 12 by 20 per cent. The decision was announced by NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani during an event held in the national capital on Monday. The reduction in the prices of books will be effective from the upcoming academic year. News agency PTI quoted the minister as saying that while the textbooks for classes 9- ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: In his budget for 2025-26, Finance Minister K N Balagopal emphasised on technology, research, jobs, and education, positioning the state as a knowledge powerhouse. Here are key allocations and initiatives that could fuel the state's knowledge economy vision. Technology & AI * Rs 10 crore for establishing a world-class GPU cluster in Thiruvananthapuram to develop AI and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) industries. Unlike a CPU (Central Processing Unit), optimised for sequential tasks, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) excels at parallel processing, maki ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Aadhaar number holders executed over 211 crore authentication transactions in May this year taking the cumulative number of such transactions to more than 15,223 crore since inception, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics & IT on Thursday. The May authentication transactions are more than the previous month, as well as of May 2024 when 201.76 Cr such transactions were carried out. The growing number shows, how Aadhaar-based authentication has been playing a facilitating role in effective welfare delivery, and voluntarily availing v ...Read More >
The Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024, one of India's largest platforms for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, is set to culminate in its Grand Finale at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee from 11th to 15th December 2024. As part of its 7th edition, SIH 2024 continues to exemplify the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji to make India self-reliant and globally competitive through youth empowerment and innovation. He will interact with young innovators at the Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2024 on 11th December 2024, at around 4:30 PM, via video con ...Read More >
The Andhra Pradesh government inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Google. The tech giant will launch its operations from Visakhapatnam in the State. Making the announcement at the district collectors' conference on Wednesday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said HRD Minister Nara Lokesh's efforts have paved the way for this. The MoU was a significant development and would be a game changer. Visakhapatnam is poised for transformative growth, Mr. Naidu said. The chief minister, in ...Read More >
News 2 min read Indian IT industry to see 30-35 pc high demand for niche tech roles in 2025 The Indian IT industry is projected to see 30-35 per cent increased demand for highly-specialised tech roles in 2025, along with increased spending on upskilling in the coming years, according to a new report. New Delhi, The Indian IT industry is projected to see 30-35 per cent increased demand for highly-specialised tech roles in 2025, along with increased spending on upskilling in the coming years, acco ...Read More >
As businesses increasingly adopt AI, customizing large language models (LLMs) like GPT and Claude is key to meeting industry-specific needs. Techniques like Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and in-context learning are gaining popularity. RAG enables real-time data retrieval, ideal for tasks requiring up-to-date information, while in-context learning provides guidance within the task prompt. Recent advancements in LLMs, such as larger context windows, offer new possibilities but also present challenges, including cost and efficiency. A hybrid approach combining RAG and long-context models m ...Read More >
NewsVoir Gurugram (Haryana) [India], December 12: Navanc, a pioneering FinTech startup building India's first AI-powered property score and stack for secured lending and insurance practices, has successfully raised USD 1 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Prarambh Ventures, with participation from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Brigade REAP FirstPort Capital, and marquee angel investors The funds will be directed toward expanding operations across India, with a focus on strengthening Navanc's presence in urban and semi-urban areas. Additionally, the startup will bolster ...Read More >
Hyderabad: Databricks, the Data and AI company, announced its Series J funding. The company is raising $10 billion of expected non-dilutive financing and has completed $8.6 billion to date. This funding values Databricks at $62 billion and is led by Thrive Capital. Along with Thrive, the round is co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, GIC, Insight Partners and WCM Investment Management. Other significant participants include existing investor Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and new investors ICONIQ Growth, MGX, Sands Capital and Wellington Management. The company has seen increased momentu ...Read More >
PNN Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 6: We are thrilled to announce that ABSYZ Software Consulting, a Youngsoft company, and a trusted Salesforce partner since 2014, has been elevated to Salesforce Summit Partner status, the highest recognition within the Salesforce consulting ecosystem. This milestone highlights ABSYZ's unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation focused on customer needs, and delivering transformative results for clients through its global Salesforce implementations. As one of the elite 5% of Salesforce consulting partners worldwide, this achievement reflects ou ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) India has always led in developer talent and now has a strong opportunity to lead in AI talent, OpenAI Global Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Jason Kwon said on Thursday as the ChatGPT-maker launched OpenAI Academy in partnership with IndiaAI Mission. In an interview to PTI, Kwon said that India - which has the second largest number of ChatGPT users - is among the most important countries for OpenAI in terms of engagement. India has always had the "ingredients to succeed", he noted. OpenAI, he pointed out, is eyeing partnerships that will help build the future of AI infra ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: OpenAI, in partnership with IndiaAI Mission under the IT Ministry, on Thursday launched the OpenAI Academy India, marking the first international expansion of the ChatGPT-maker's education platform. The initiative seeks to broaden access to AI education and tools, tapping into India's fast-growing developer community, digital infrastructure, and network of startups and innovators, the company said. OpenAI and IndiaAI also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU), outlining their partnership goals. OpenAI Academy India will support the IndiaAI Mission's FutureSkills pillar by exp ...Read More >
Elon Musk has announced plans to revolutionize the gaming industry by launching an AI-driven game studio under xAI. In a series of posts on X, Musk, a passionate gamer, criticized the current state of game development, highlighting the influence of large corporations and ideological biases. He pledged to "make games great again" through innovative applications of artificial intelligence. While many gamers have welcomed this move, excited by the idea of independent game development, critics question Musk's lack of experience in managing a game studio. The announcement has sparked widespread deb ...Read More >
Umwelt.Ai has partnered with PeopleStrong to enhance employee experiences and streamline HR processes through advanced AI-driven engagement solutions. This collaboration combines Umwelt.Ai’s cutting-edge analytics and sentiment analysis with PeopleStrong’s expertise in Human Capital Management (HCM), delivering real-time insights to tackle workforce challenges. The partnership aims to boost employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity, aligning with the rapid growth of India’s employee engagement market. Umwelt.Ai’s CEO Vishal Chopra emphasized its role in fostering dynamic workplaces, w ...Read More >