Apple is to start making iPhones in India this year, a local government official said on Friday (3), as the company seeks to tap into a booming middle class while sales in China slow.
Karnataka’s IT minister said Apple had agreed to assemble its hugely popular phones in the southern state, whose capital Bangalore is India’s technology hub.
Apple, which has not commented on the minister’s statement, remains a relatively small player in India, where sales of its smartphones lag those of rival...
SRI LANKA is optimistic about reaching an agreement soon with bondholders to restructure about $12 billion (£9.54bn) in debt, a top official said on Monday (1), a big step that will help the island nation emerge from its worst financial crisis in decades.
China, the world’s and Sri Lanka’s biggest sovereign creditor, pledged to support the island nation to take forward its debt restructuring plan during Sri Lankan prime minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s visit to Beijing last month.
Sri Lanka held talks with bondholders in London last week. “We are optimistic we will come out with a positive outcome,” state finance minister Shehan Semasinghe said, without elaborating.
Sri Lanka secured a $2.9bn (£2.3bn) bailout from the IMF in March last year, helping it temper inflation, increase state revenue and rebuild foreign exchange reserves.
Gunawardena said China would “assist” Sri Lanka’s restructuring of external debt, a key condition to maintaining the $2.9bn IMF bailout.
Beijing’s position on debt restructuring has not been made public, but Sri Lankan officials said China was reluctant to take a haircut on its loans, but could extend the tenure and adjust interest rates.
Gunawardena’s office said premier Li Qiang had promised China would “assist Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process continuously and help Sri Lanka to develop its economy”. Beijing offered “assistance to develop” Colombo International Airport and Hambantota port, a statement from Gunawardena added.
A Japanese-funded expansion of Colombo airport had been on hold since Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt default.
The southern sea port of Hambantota was handed to a Chinese state-owned company in 2017 on a 99-year lease for $1.12bn (£890 milion), sparking security concerns in India.
India and the US are both concerned a Chinese foothold at Hambantota could boost its naval advantage in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka insisted its ports will not be used for any military purposes, but New Delhi has objected to Chinese research vessels calling at Hambantota fearing that they could be used for espionage.
ENTEPRENEUR Dinesh Dhamija has told Eastern Eye he wrote The Indian Century because he wants the 30 million-strong Indian diaspora across the world, but especially in the UK, to invest back in the mother country.
The interview about his new book, in which he gives an upbeat assessment of the Indian economy, takes place near his home in Virginia Water, described as “a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey”.
It is a scenic part of the world showing the first signs of spring. By the station is a sign indicating a riverside walk. Dhamija has arrived casually dressed, but chauffeur driven in one of his Tesla limousines with a personalised number plate.
He says he put in “a bit of money” into an Indian investment in October 2022, and “till the first of this month earned a return of 37 per cent. Where else can you get that?”
He is encouraging the 2.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK to follow his example.
To give Dhamija his due, when it comes to making money, what the entrepreneur says has to be treated with respect. He is, after all, the pioneer who had the foresight to develop online booking for travel. He put his story into his debut book, Book It! How Dinesh Dhamija sold travel agency ebookers for £247m.
He reiterates that he wrote The Indian Century “because I want the diaspora to start investing in India because the market is growing and everyone is going to make a lot of money.”
What about putting in, say, a few hundred pounds?
He nods.
It could be done through brokers or going direct to the companies in India. He mentions the BSE Sensex, “a free-float market-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange”, or the Nifty 50, “a benchmark Indian stock market index that represents the weighted average of 50 of the largest Indian companies listed on the National Stock Exchange”.
“So 30 plus 50, that’s 80 companies (where people can invest),” he says. “Say you put in £1,000, which becomes £3,000 by 2030, which isn’t bad.”
What made him think about the diaspora was the Chinese example. Investments b y overseas Chinese had helped transform the economy of China. He agreed with Narendra Modi when the Indian prime minister announced his “Make in India” policy.
Not that Dhamija is uncritical of the Indian system. He finds it totally unacceptable that in the Indian legal system, court cases routinely take 20 years to resolve. This, he implies, puts off potential investors.
“I am not saying India is a bed of roses. I am pointing out these problems need to be solved by Indians in India. Then, instead of $100 billion coming in in overseas investments, the figure would be closer to $500bn.”
At the moment, there is no sign that the UK and Indian governments are ready to conclude a Free Trade Agreement. Dhamija reckons progress has been slowed down by a clash of “egos”. But if an FTA were to be signed, “it would mean the creation of 300,000 new jobs in the UK and a million new jobs in India”.
He studied trade deals when he was head of the India desk during his brief spell as a Liberal Democrats Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in Strasbourg in 2019. “The experience of the European parliament is that exports double as the result of a trade deal.”
According to the World Bank, India’s economy, currently worth $3.7 trillion, will grow to $7tn by 2030. By that reckoning, the per capita income will go up from $2,200 to $4,000. But Dhamija calculates the true figure will be closer to $10tn when the ‘black’ economy is taken into account.
He talks about one of the chapters in his book, “Cricket as a Metaphor”, and says: “I am not here talking about the results of cricket matches but, financially, India controls the world of cricket. And if you excel in cricket, you can excel in other things – that’s my take.”
Dhamija was born in Australia (where his father was posted as a senior Indian diplomat) on March 28, 1950, attended Mayo College in Ajmer, Rajasthan, followed by St Xavier’s School in Delhi, and then went to the King’s School, Canterbury, before Cambridge.
He read Oriental Studies in Part 1 followed by Law in Part II when he was an undergraduate at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, from 1971-1974. He has been elected a “Benefactor Fellow” of Fitzwilliam, having gifted £1m to his alma mater “to increase the college’s capacity in teaching and research across disciplines of applied engineering and science”.
He is currently working with the Judge Business School at Cambridge on a programme under which the high flyers who belong to the Young Presidents’ Organisation pay £9,000 to hear insights into four areas – the human body, machines and robotics, AI and space.
Dhamija has now invested heavily in solar energy and green hydrogen plus real estate in Romania.
The Indian Century concludes by looking at what the country might be like in 2047. “As anniversaries go, 75 is all very well, but 100 is the big one,” writes Dhamija. “After a century of independence, India will really be in a position to assess its successes and failures.”“Everyone is acutely aware of this looming milestone from the prime minister downwards. Deloitte anticipates India growing to become a $17tn economy.
“India will be a $26tn economy,” forecasts consultancies PwC and EY, while the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) goes for an impressive $35tn-$45tn.
“Whatever the future, India in 2047 is likely to be a hugely different country from that in 2023, never mind that of 1947 when it had a population of 340 million, 20 per cent literacy and a life expectancy of 37. Today’s 1.4bn are 80 per cent literate and live to more than 70.”
Dhamija does not avoid risk factors.
“Among the general euphoria over the likely size and power of the Indian economy and national prestige in 2047, there are few voices of dissent,” he goes on. “It seems unpatriotic to disagree with uplifting visions of showering wealth, unending technological progress and relief from poverty. But we need to remember, a good friend is one who tells the truth, who warns of danger. Even in a scenario when India becomes a $20-plus trillion economy in the 2040s, how that giant pie is divided makes a difference. Oxfam recently found that 1 per cent of India’s population controls 40 per cent of its wealth and that the bottom half has just 3 per cent. If that disparity continues, or widens, the benefits to India as a whole will be marginal and its potential to become ‘developed’ will remain unfulfilled.”
Inspired by his late father-in-law, General Om Prakash Malhotra, who was chief of the armed forces of India, Dhamija helped set up two charities near Delhi. Chikitsa (meaning treatment in Hindi) provides free medicine to 120,000 people through 15 clinics in and around Gurgaon, where a great deal of construction works has been going on. Another charity, Shiksha (education), provides free schooling to children in three school buildings.
“They are given a good meal at lunch – probably the only meal they will get during the day,” he says. “We also have a blind class as my father-in-law was head of the Blind Association of India.”
The charities are now run day to day by his nephew, Uday. “I started off with putting $250,000 in each charity. But it’s not enough just to given money. You also need organisational talent.”
The Indian Century by Dinesh Dhamija. Finito Publishing. £19.99
DIVERSITY and inclusion “are central” to Japan Tobacco International (JTI), an organisation that cares about its people and is mindful about creating a workplace where everyone is encouraged to be their best self, a senior executive has said.
In a recent chat with Eastern Eye, Ruth Forbes, inclusion and office operations director at JTI UK, talked at length about the company’s beliefs and policies as well as thought process that drive its work culture.
“Diversity and inclusion are central to JTI as an organisation,” she said. “We firmly believe that it will make us stronger as a business in three keyways – enabling employees to be themselves, encouraging new ways of thinking and allowing us to lead inclusively.”
A leading firm in the tobacco and vaping industry, JTI operates in 130 countries with a workforce of 48,000 employees from 119 different nationalities.
In 2023, JTI’s ‘introductions programme’ was awarded the ED&I Initiative Award at the GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, hosted by the Asian Media Group, publishers of Eastern Eye and Garavi Gujarat. The trophy was collected by JTI’s then inclusion and wellbeing director, Natalie Richardson.
Forbes said, “Our ‘Introductions’ programme has continued since we won the GG2 ED&I Initiative Award in 2023. This continues to break down barriers and increase collaboration and productivity through introducing colleagues to each other.”
Among notable initiatives at JTI is ensuring that all employees have access to free mental health and wellbeing services.
From 2021, the company also rolled out mandatory training on how to support the wellbeing and positive mental health of their teams to line managers.
Forbes said, “We have been mindful to create an environment where employees are able to speak out about their mental health struggles and encourage colleagues to openly share concerns and seek help when they need it.”
JTI is in the process of refreshing its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) strategy and action plan to ensure employees feedback is considered throughout the process. Forbes said, “Over 10 per cent of our UK employees are currently participating in DE&I focus groups to guarantee that their voices are heard within the strategy. We are looking forward to sharing more later this year.”
She added, “We also host regular awareness sessions for employees on various important issues, such as race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+allyship and disability awareness. On top of this, we run ‘unconscious bias’ training to support employees so that they can identify and manage their biases.
“Our most successful initiatives always have employees at the centre of them. For example, our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play a pivotal role in fostering a sense of belonging.
“Our UK Pride Chapter ERG has been running since 2021, while our UK Enlighten and EmbRACE (ERG) will launch in May 2024. EmbRACE exists to help us on our journey to build a truly meritocratic and inclusive culture by ensuring all ethnic groups are treated equally.”
Forbes said the wellbeing culture in the company has resulted in a transformation in recent years.
“We are proud to be accredited with a gold award in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index for best practice organisational support when it comes to mental health. We’ve also been named as a Top Employer for the 12th year in a row,” she said.
“This is a recognition of the positive and supportive workplace we have created and underlines our commitment to keep improving the lives for our employees, year after year.”
JTI’s “family leave” policy supports employees by helping them in the early stages of raising a family, while continuing to allow them to “thrive” at work. Introduced in 2021, it offers a minimum of 20 weeks fully paid leave for employees, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or whether they become parents by giving birth, or through adoption or surrogacy.
In addition, JTI UK takes part in industry-specific networks, alliances, and partnerships dedicated to discussing inclusion and diversity, Forbes said.
“By engaging with other organisations, attending conferences and collaborating on initiatives, we’re able to gain exposure to best practice and emerging trends in the broader business landscape.
“We also conduct regular exercises to compare our inclusion and diversity initiatives against industry benchmarks and leading practices. This involves research into global and regional trends, enabling us to identify areas for improvement.”
Empathy is key, so is open communication, she added. Employees imagine walking in the shoes of their colleagues, so they can empathise.
Forbes said, “This is driven by offering open communication and transparency at all stages of our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.
“That’s why it is critical that we provide employees with the correct education and awareness around diversity and inclusion issues so that they are fully informed on the initiatives we implement.
“We provide feedback channels so employees can share their views and help us shape our strategy.”
JTI also ensures that inclusion and diversity considerations are integrated into its hiring and promotion processes.
Forbes said, “Our job descriptions are written in an inclusive manner, avoiding language that may unintentionally discourage individuals from diverse backgrounds. In addition to this, JTI implements a structured interview process to ensure consistency and fairness at all stages.”
The organisation also makes sure it examines the outcome of its diversity initiatives. The annual employee survey enables staff to score JTI on their sense of belonging, fairness and inclusion at the company, she explained.
JTI’s refreshed DE&I strategy will also include an actionable measurement plan, so that progress can be tracked.
“This gives us a clear and measurable way to view the effectiveness of our initiatives,” Forbes said.
PAKISTAN’S central bank, on Monday (18), held its key interest rate at 22 per cent for a sixth straight policy meeting as inflation risks continued to loom.
The decision was in line with the expectations of a majority of analysts, although most are also expecting rate cuts from the second quarter of this year.
The bank said although the inflation rate had eased in February, it remained high and subject to risks.
“This warrants a cautious approach and requires continuity of the current monetary stance to bring inflation down to the target range of five-seven per cent by September 2025,” the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy committee said.
Monday’s policy decision is the last ahead of the April expiry of a £2.35 billion standby arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pakistan’s key rate was last raised in June to fight persistent inflationary pressures and to meet one of the conditions set by the IMF for securing the critical bailout.
The bank noted the improved inflation figures in February, when the country’s consumer price index rose 23.1 per cent year on year, its slowest since June 2022, partly due to the “base effect”.
“Going forward, any further adjustments in administered prices or fiscal measures that may push prices up pose risk to the near and medium-term inflation outlook.”
“Cognizant of these risks, the committee assessed that it is prudent to continue with the current monetary policy stance at this stage,” the statement added.
“The decision to hold rates is guided by the inflation outlook, as opposed to the argument of debt burden and economic slowdown impact of a high policy rate,” said Sajid Javed Amin, deputy executive director at Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
He said the central bank must continue its “non-adventurous monetary policy stance”, basing rate decisions on the inflation outlook, its primary mandate.
In January, the central bank had raised the average inflation forecast for the fiscal year ending in June to 23 per cent – 25 per cent, from a previous projection of 20 per cent – 22 per cent, due to rising gas and electricity prices.
Inflation hit an all-time high of 38 per cent in May last year, driven partly by new taxation measures imposed to comply with IMF’s demands for a rescue programme The central bank chief said talks with the lender over the third tranche of the ongoing bailout programme were progressing, but didn’t comment on what outcome he expected from the talks.
He said the central bank expected a rollover of £1.57 billion in debt payments this week, and another £3.14bn rollover by June. (Reuters) .
THE INDIAN government last Friday (16) gave initial approval for purchase of 15 maritime patrol aircraft from Airbus and six air-refuel aircraft, officials said.
The defence acquisition coucil, the top defence ministry body for arms acquisition, approved projects worth ₹845.6 billion (£8.07 billion) for the country’s armed forces and coast guard, the government said in a statement.
Initial approval, called Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), was given for Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance and MultiMission Aircraft for the navy and the coast guard.
The statement did not give any further details.
However, two defence officials aware of the matter confirmed that it referred to the maritime surveillance version of the C-295 aircraft made by Airbus, and they will be manufactured in Spain and in India.
The defence acquisition council also approved purchase of flight refueller aircraft for “enhancing the operational capabilities and reach” of the air force, the statement said.
A military official said that the air force would utilise a multivendor bid platform to buy six of these aircraft.
The three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity since they were not authorised to comment on the subject, did not provide any cost breakdown for the two projects.
A spokesperson for Airbus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last Friday’s approvals also included anti-tank drones for the army and heavy weight torpedoes for naval submarines.
Each of these projects will go through bidding processes or manufacturer negotiations before they are finally approved by the country’s cabinet for purchase.
