This is the 73rd occasion when a proposal moved by Guatemala, a Central American country, on behalf of 130 members was not able to launch the selection processes.

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A proposal backed by 130 World Trade Organization (WTO) members to restart the selection processes for filling vacancies on WTO’s Appellate Body was shot down by the United States (US) yet again in a sign that disputes may keep piling up at the top trade body, fueling further protectionism in global trade.

The Appellate Body is the apex institution for adjudicating trade disputes.

This is the 73rd occasion when a proposal moved by Guatemala, a Central American country, on behalf of 130 members was not able to launch the selection processes. The US has been blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s seven-member appellate court since 2017 on grounds of judicial activism at the WTO and concerns over US sovereignty.

The lack of a functional Appellate Body is concerning as global trade is already slowing with growing geo-political tensions. Moreover, developed countries are turning inward with the introduction of several environment related trade measures such as carbon tax which could hurt India’s trade prospects. India’s goods exports have seen a decline during the better part of 2023 largely due to weakening demand globally.

“Guatemala said that on behalf of the 130 members it regretted that for the 73rd occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, Guatemala said for the group,” an official WTO statement released late on Friday read.

This comes ahead of the 13th ministerial conference (MC) of the WTO in Abu Dhabi on February 26-29 where India is set to bat for a resolution of the system. The US repeated that it does not support the proposed decision to commence the appointment of Appellate Body members as its longstanding concerns with WTO dispute settlement remain unaddressed.

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Talwar, who was unwell, was a former Standard Chartered Bank CEO.

Rana Talwar, the first person from Asia to head a global bank (Standard Chartered) passed away on Saturday at the age of 76 after being unwell for some time.

“We regret to inform about the sad demise of non-executive director Gurvirendra Singh (Rana) Talwar, which was intimated to the company by the family members,” real estate giant DLF said in a regulatory filing, reported the Times of India.

Talwar was a board member at DLF, having joined the realty major in 2006. He will be cremated at Delhi’s Lodhi Road cremation ground on Sunday.

Who was Rana Talwar?

(1.) He began his career with Citibank India in 1969, swiftly ascending through the ranks to lead its retail businesses in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe, and North America.

(2.) Then, in the summer of 1997, the St Stephens alumnus joined Standard Chartered, assuming the position of CEO after some months, becoming the first Asian to head an international bank.

(3.) There, he was instrumental in major acquisitions, including the Trade Finance business of UBS, Grindlays Bank in India and the Middle East from ANZ, and the Credit Card business from Chase Manhattan in Hong Kong.

(4.) After moving on from Standard Chartered in 2002, the veteran banker founded Sabre Capital, a private equity firm. Interestingly, ‘Sabre’ means a sword, which translates to ‘Talwar’ in Hindi.

(5.) He is survived by his wife, Renuka, whose father is DLF Group chairman emeritus KP Singh. The couple’s son, Rahul, is also involved with DLF.

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 The FPI  vend- off in January was also one of the reasons for the fall in  standard  indicators, Sensex and Nifty, which had  collapsed around 2 per cent in a  largely  unpredictable month. 

  After two months of  successive buying, foreign portfolio investors( FPIs) have come net  merchandisers in January as they  unloaded Rs 24,734 crore worth of Indian equities so far in the month amid  enterprises over  detention in interest rate cuts by the United States( US) Federal Reserve and high valuation of domestic shares.  

 The selling of stocks by foreign investors in the current month( till January 25) comes after heavy buying witnessed in November last time at Rs 9,001 crore and in December at Rs 66,135 crore. In October 2023, FPI exodus stood at Rs 24,548, according to the data from the National Securities Depository Ltd( NSDL). 

  The FPI  vend- off in January was also one of the reasons for the fall in  standard  indicators, Sensex and Nifty, which had  collapsed around 2 per cent in a  largely  unpredictable month.   According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, FPIs continued to be  merchandisers in the cash  request having  vended equity worth Rs 27,664 crore through January 25.

  “FPIs were  merchandisers in  motors and  bus ancillary, media and entertainment and  hardly in IT. They bought  oil painting and gas, power and widely in  fiscal services, ” he said.   commentary from Federal Reserve System’s Governor Christopher J Waller, on January 16, that interest rate cuts need to be calibrated and not rushed counted on the investors ’ sentiments as it dampened expedients of early rate cuts by the US central bank, performing in heavy selling by FPIs in the domestic shares. 

There was a stopgap  before that the US Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates as early as March this time.

 The negative sentiments about interest rates in the US likely to remain advanced- for- longer- than- anticipation led to a rise in the yield on the US 10- time bond to over4.18 per cent, compared to3.18 per  “ The rising bond yields in the US is a matter of concern and this has  touched off the recent bout of dealing  in the cash  request, ” Vijayakumar said. requests will  nearly watch the US Federal Reserve’s  financial policy  advertisement on January 31, judges said.

    “ Another critical event to watch is the  outgrowth of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting  listed for January 31st, which could  give  perceptivity into the implicit timing of interest rate cuts, ” said Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika InvestmartLtd.  

 Domestically, the sell- off by FPIs was driven by  enterprises over advanced valuation of shares despite the frugality doing well and  enhancement in the commercial earnings. 

Dealing by overseas investors in the current month comes ahead of the January- end deadline set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India( Sebi) for certain FPIs to  expose  fresh details, including their power and  profitable interest.

  Still, FPIs, who have been  commanded to liquidate their  effects as per the Sebi’s January- end deadline, will have seven months more to  give  fresh  exposures, which will give some respite to the overseas investors. 

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 This will be  the  first helicopter final assembly line  in India  to be set up by private sector  enterprises.  

 European aerospace  giant  Airbus and  Tata Group will build a final  helicopter  assembly line (FAL)  in India to produce the  manufacturer’s  best-selling H125 civil  helicopter this plane.  

 This will be  the  first helicopter final assembly line  in India  to be set up by private sector  enterprises.  The helicopters produced at  this plant,  which is expected to take about two years to  build,  will be for the Indian market as well as for export to  some of India’s neighboring countries.  

 “Under this partnership, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a subsidiary of  the  Tata Group, will  install this  facility  with Airbus Helicopters,” Airbus said  on Friday when  announcing the deal. The announcement was made  during a  state visit  by  French President Emmanuel Macron. 

  Airbus and  Tata  Group  said the location of the proposed facility  would  be  decided  jointly  by the two partners, without  providing  further details on  possible locations  under consideration. The two  men  also did not provide financial details about the project. 

  “FAL  in India will undertake the integration of  major  assemblies, avionics and mission systems,  wiring harness installation, hydraulics,  flight controls, dynamic components, fuel  systems materials  and  engines.  It will also  conduct  testing,  qualification  and delivery of the H125 to customers in India and the region.  FAL  deployment  will take 24 months  and deliveries of the first  “made  in  India”  H125s are expected to  begin  in  2026,  Airbus said.  

 The proposed helicopter  factory  will be the second  FAL  aircraft  set up  in India by Airbus and TASL.  These  two  men  are  building an FAL in  Vadodara, Gujarat  to produce  C295 military transport aircraft. 

  “This  partnership  marks  an important  milestone in promoting indigenous manufacturing and will also give a major boost to our economy by creating  more  employment and  employment opportunities, solving unleash  the potential of the Indian aerospace  industry  and further  strengthen India-France  relations,” Civil  said.  Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia posted on X (formerly Twitter). 

  Airbus expects  H125 production in India to  “catalyze” helicopter  use  in the country. The company  hopes  the helicopter  will “revolutionize”  passenger and  cargo transport  in India,  as well as growing usage  segments  such as  emergency medical services, disaster management,  food  law enforcement,  travel, air missions  and even regional air connectivity. 

  “By providing last-mile  connectivity to remote areas, the H125 will  contribute  significantly  to the Government of  India’s  regional connectivity  programme, Ude  Desh ka Aam Naagrik  (UDAN), Airbus said.  will further promote  domestic tourism.”  

 Helicopter  usage  in India lags  behind  many other countries where  helicopters  are  commonly  used for a  variety  of purposes.  India’s large  population and  remarkable  economic growth make it an attractive potential market for increased  use of  civil  helicopters. 

 “The H125 is the  best-selling single-engine helicopter  in the world, outperforming  other helicopters in its  class.  This  versatile  and high-performance  helicopter is  part  of  the Airbus  Ecureuil family, which has accumulated more than 38 million flight hours worldwide. It can operate in  harsh  and  very hot  environments and can be easily reconfigured for  different missions  including aerial work, firefighting, law enforcement, rescue, air ambulance, passenger  transportation  and many  other tasks,”  Airbus said. 

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 The company, launched in December 2023, is India’s first AI  unicorn  and the fastest  to  achieve this  status.  

 In a significant development,  founder  Ola  Bhavish Aggarwal’s artificial intelligence (AI)  startup Krutrim  has become India’s first AI  unicorn  and the fastest  to  achieve this status .  The company achieved this by raising  a USD 50  million  (approximately  ₹415 crore)  equity  investment  at a valuation of  USD 1  billion  (approximately ₹1 billion). ₹ 8,300  crore),  has  successfully  closed  its first round of funding, Krutrim said in a statement.

  “Krutrim,” whose  name  means “artificial”  in Sanskrit, was founded  last  December. On the other hand, a “unicorn”  is a  privately held  startup valued at $1 billion or more.  

According to crunchbase.com, as many as 15 AI startups became unicorn in 2023. These are:

Unicorn–-Founded in–Headquarters–Most recent valuation–Funds raised till now

→Adept AI – 2022 -San Francisco- $1 billion-$415 million

→AI21 Labs-2017-Tel Aviv-$1.4 billion    $274 million

→Character.ai    2021    Menlo Park    $1 billion    $150 million

→Cohere    2019    Toronto    $2.2 billion    $435 million

→CoreWeave    2017    Roseland    $2.4 billion    $427 million

→DeepL    2009    Cologne    $1.1 billion    $100 million

→Helsing    2021    Berlin    $1.8 billion    $341 million

→Imbue    2021    San Francsico    $1 billion    $232 million

→Light Years Beyond    2023    Beijing    $1.2 billion    $280 million

→Replit    2016    San Francsico    $1.2 billion    $202 million

→Runway–2018–New York City–$1.5 billion    $237 million

→Quantexa–2016–London–$1.8 billion–    $370 million

→Synthesia–2017–London–$1 billion–$157 million

→Typeface–2022–San Francisco–$1 billion-$165 million

→Zhipu AI–2019–Beijing–$1.6 billion–$342 million

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 Kalpana Morparia not new to awards and recognitions, says, “when an industry association or a media houses give you an award you feel good about it because they recognise and value your contribution but when a country confers an award on you it is so very special.  

 “This is a truly special recognition,” says Kalpana Morparia on being conferred the Padma Shri. Describing it as an emotional moment and in some sense also very humbling, Morparia not new to awards and recognitions, says, “when an industry association or a media houses give you an award you feel good about it because they recognise and value your contribution but when a country confers an award on you it is so very special. This is because there is an emotional bond that you feel with your country and this is second only to the bond you feel with God.” 

 She attributes her contributions and role more to the abilities that were enabled because of the great “platforms” that she got associated with. “I feel fortunate and blessed to have got two great platforms – One was ICICI, which I joined in 1975 and when I retired in 2008, it was a completed changed country with the ICICI story, in many ways, mimicking India’s development journey. Our  goal was  initially  to finance Indian  industry,  then with  liberalization,  ICICI helped  establish  modern financial architecture in India whether it was  creating  Crisil,  joined  the National Stock Exchange as a promoter,  becoming  the first bank  in  Asia (outside  Japan). ) is listed  on the New York Stock  Exchange.  

  For her, the  other  foundation  was the opportunity she  had  at JP Morgan Chase,  “now  the most valuable bank in the  world,  and I spent 12 and a half years there. The JP Morgan platform  aims to take  India to the world and  take  the world to India and very few people get such an opportunity and  one should  not  miss the fact that she  has been able  to work with iconic leaders like “Jamie  Dimon”.  

 Morparia  is currently a board member of  four  companies:  Dr  Reddy’s,  Hindustan Unilever, HSBC Holdings and Phillips Morris International.  She  describes  all four  as great  learning platforms.  

 Referring to the Financial Express online article  in which GV  Prasad,  Co-Chairman  and  Managing Director of Dr. Reddy’s  spoke about  Morparia’s  contributions, she  said:  “I have  been with Dr. Reddy’s for  17 years  . People really talk to  me about my  contributions,  but I feel  honored to have  the  opportunity to work  with  and  learn  from  amazing people.  For example, you  also  talked  to Nachiket. He was  a  brilliant  student and a  top ranker at  IIM, Ahmedabad and I  always  felt that  I  learned  a lot from him  right from the start.  

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The global economy, as highlighted in the Circle Economy Foundation’s “Circularity Gap Report 2024,” is currently only 7.2 percent circular, indicating untapped economic potential in this transformative shift.

Sustainability to Transforming To A Circular 

Economy: Unleashing Economic Potential

Transforming to a circular economy: Unleashing economic potential

The global economy, as highlighted in the Circle Economy Foundation’s “Circularity Gap Report 2024,” is currently only 7.2 percent circular, indicating untapped economic potential in this transformative shift.

The shift from fossil fuels to renewables is essential, and a parallel focus on circularity is equally vital. 

The shift from fossil fuels to renewables is essential, and a parallel focus on circularity is equally vital. Managing materials sustainably reduces dependence on fragile supply chains, easing pressure on nature. The global economy, as highlighted in the Circle Economy Foundation’s “Circularity Gap Report 2024,” is currently only 7.2 percent circular, indicating untapped economic potential in this transformative shift.

Atte Jääskeläinen, president of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, believes the next significant investment trend will be in circular solutions. Regulations play a crucial role in directing investments toward circularity for the sustainable development of societies, essential in combating overconsumption of natural resources.

The upcoming IRP report, “Global Resources Outlook 2024,” underscores the necessity of a circular economy. The use of new materials has grown by over 2.3 percent per year, and without urgent action, material resource extraction could rise by nearly 60 percent by 2060, from 100 to 160 billion tonnes.

Ivonne Bojoh, CEO of Circle Economy Foundation, emphasizes the room for wiser, circular solutions, especially in agrifood, mobility, and consumables, post-COP28 decisions. Reformation of finance and labor policies is crucial for lasting changes addressing the root causes of climate change and social inequity.

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