Hiya,
Many have pinned excessive hopes of tax aid and consumption revival as FM Nirmala Sitharaman presents her eighth Union Funds in the present day.
Startups and MSMEs expect tax aid, simplified compliance, and entry to funding, whereas sustainability-focused sectors are calling for incentives to undertake inexperienced practices. There may be additionally a rising demand for elevated spending on infrastructure, healthcare, and schooling to drive long-term development.
On the economic system entrance, the Financial Survey 2024-25 famous the GDP for the following monetary 12 months is anticipated to develop between 6.3% – 6.8% on the again of sturdy fundamentals, calibrated fiscal consolidation, and steady non-public consumption
It additionally referred to as for tax breaks on EVs and subsidies on renewable power to inspire individuals to change to low-carbon existence.
The Survey additionally highlighted the necessity for enhanced deregulation for MSMEs, which contribute 30% to India’s GDP and 40% to our exports.
In the meantime, the inventory markets will stay open tomorrow for a particular buying and selling session. That is the third time in a decade that buying and selling was open on Saturday; the markets have been operational on Funds days in 2015 and 2020.
You possibly can keep watch over YourStory’s full protection of all of the bulletins made in Funds 2025, and the way these measures have an effect on you, here.
In in the present day’s e-newsletter, we are going to discuss
- The state of India’s economic system
- Ola Electrical’s Gen 3 scooters
- Understanding the FIITJEE fallout
Right here’s your trivia for in the present day: Who holds the file for delivering probably the most phrases in a Funds speech?
Union Funds
The state of India’s economy
The Financial Survey for 2024-25 referred to as for a delicate strategy to constructing establishments to take care of the potential impression of AI on jobs in India’s labour-intensive economic system. The first problem is job creation, as India must create a median of 78.5 lakh jobs yearly within the non-farm sector by 2030 to cater to the rising workforce, as highlighted within the 2023-24 Survey as effectively.
The Survey identified, “Protracted labour displacement is one thing {that a} labour-surplus nation like India can not afford.”
Nation-building:
- India must utilise the window of alternative to construct sturdy establishments. “This may then assist tilt the size in direction of the advantages, bringing a steadiness to the ‘cost-benefit’ side in a labour-driven, services-dependent economic system like India,” it mentioned.
- The Survey additionally mentioned the rising presence of global capability centres (GCCs) will reshape the company panorama in India and affect international enterprise dynamics. The variety of GCCs in India has grown from about 1,430 in FY19 to over 1,700 in FY24, using practically 1.9 million professionals.
- The female labour force participation charge has proven a major rise—from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24. It has been pushed largely by rural ladies coming into the workforce.
High Funding Offers of the Week
Startup: Leap
Quantity: $65M
Spherical: Collection E
Startup: Captain Contemporary
Quantity: Rs 250 Cr
Spherical: Pre-IPO
Startup: InsuranceDekho
Quantity: $14.1M
Spherical: Contemporary
Electrical Car
Ola Electric’s Gen 3 scooters
Ola Electrical unveiled its Gen 3 electrical scooters in Bengaluru. The S collection scooters are priced beginning at Rs 79,999 for the S1X and go as much as Rs 1,69,999 for its new S1 Professional+.
In the meantime, Founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal emphasised the corporate’s deal with the security of its clients, after Ola Electrical got here beneath scrutiny put up a collection of fireside incidents involving its scooters.
Key takeaways:
- The foremost modifications all through the generations embody a 53% enhance in peak energy from 8.5 kW motor in Gen 1 to 11 kW in Gen 2 to 13 kW motor in Gen 3. It additionally sees a ten% enhance in power effectivity from 70% in Gen 1 to 76% in Gen 2 to 80% now in Gen 3.
- Ola Electrical’s new line of scooters comes with the corporate’s Bharat 4680 cell and battery pack. These have higher temperature thresholds in comparison with the earlier battery packs that have been imported.
- The corporate additionally recaptured its lead within the electrical two-wheelers market in January, after the corporate doubled down on increasing its store footprint final month.
Explainer
Understanding the FIITJEE fallout
Within the week main as much as January 24, 2025, FIITJEE teaching centres started shutting down throughout North India. The closures began round January 17-23, affecting centres in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, with a number of extra shutdowns occurring subsequently.
Business specialists YourStory spoke to notice that this incident has highlighted weaknesses within the teaching trade, significantly for institutes that rely on a decentralised mannequin.
All of the tea:
- Media experiences point out that FIITJEE is dealing with monetary challenges, together with wage delays, which can have led to employees departures and operational disruptions. The administration asserts this example is a “felony conspiracy” orchestrated by people with vested pursuits.
- The sudden closures have disrupted college students’ preparation for aggressive exams. Many mother and father who had paid vital charges—starting from a number of thousand rupees to a number of lakhs—are actually in search of refunds or various options.
- Whereas FIITJEE maintains the closures are as a result of mismanagement by sure CMPs, mother and father argue the institute ought to have had safeguards in place to forestall such disruptions.
Design: Nihar Apte
Information & updates
- Launch: Google took the low-key route for the launch of its next-gen flagship AI mannequin, Gemini 2.0 Professional Experimental—the successor to the Gemini 1.5 Professional mannequin. As an alternative of a splashy announcement, it revealed the mannequin in a changelog for its Gemini chatbot app, because the tech world stays fixated on Chinese language AI startup DeepSeek.
- Inject: The RBI’s $5 billion 6-month greenback/rupee buy-sell swap public sale was oversubscribed 5X on Friday, with the central financial institution receiving bids totalling $25.59 billion from 253 individuals. The swap will infuse rupee liquidity into the banking system.
- Tariffs: America’s two largest buying and selling companions, Canada and Mexico, are bracing for Donald Trump to impose sweeping tariffs on their exports. Officers in Ottawa and Mexico Metropolis have drawn up plans to retaliate towards Washington with tariffs of their very own, elevating the prospect of a harmful commerce struggle.
Who holds the file for delivering probably the most phrases in a Funds speech?
Reply: Manmohan Singh. He delivered an 18,650-word speech in 1991 when he was the finance minister.
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