French President Emmanuel Macron accepts PM Modi’s Republic Day invite
French President Emmanuel Macron accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invite to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 next year. India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues as strategic partners. Notably, this is the sixth time a French leader will be the chief guest at Republic Day celebrations here in the national capital. Before Macron, former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac was the Chief guest on India’s Republic Day celebrations in 1976 and 1998, as were former Presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Francois Hollande in the years 1980, 2008 and 2016, respectively. Note: This year, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership.
Unemployment Rate Among Graduates Declines to 13.4 % Between July 2022 and June 2023
Unemployment rate among graduates in the age group of 15 years and above has declined to 13. 4 per cent in 2022-23 from 14. 9 per cent in year ago, according to a government survey. As per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), conducted by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, the lowest unemployment rate among graduates aged 15 years and above witnessed in Chandigarh at 5. 6 per cent, which was followed by Delhi with 5. 7 per cent during 2022-23. The data showed the highest unemployment in Andaman & Nicobar Island at 33 per cent, followed by Ladakh at 26. 5 per cent and Andhra Pradesh at 24 per cent. Among larger states, the unemployment rate was high in Rajasthan at 23. 1 per cent and in Odisha at 21. 9 per cent. Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Considering the importance of the availability of labour force data at more frequent time intervals, the NSSO launched the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in April 2017.
India ranks 14th in housing price rise in Jul-Sep with 5. 9% growth: Report
India jumped 18 places to 14th rank in home price appreciation globally in September quarter, with nearly 6 per cent price rise year-on-year (YoY), according to Knight Frank India. Real estate consultant Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index tracks nominal and real price growth across 56 countries in local currencies. Turkiye is at number one position with an annual 89. 2 per cent appreciation, followed by Croatia (13. 7 per cent), Greece 11. 9 per cent, Colombia 11. 2 per cent and North Macedonia 11 per cent.
Indian-American Vanita Gupta to step down as Associate Attorney General of US next year
Vanita Gupta, Indian-American US associate general, will step down early next year, the US Department of Justice announced. She was the first Indian-American to hold the office of associate attorney general. Gupta has served as third highest-ranking official at the US Department of Justice following her confirmation by the US Senate in April 2021.
United States Department of Justice
- Formed: 1 July, 1870
- Annual budget: $37. 7 billion
- Attorney General: Merrick Garland
- Solicitor General: Elizabeth Prelogar
India’s richest woman outgrows software tycoon Azim Premji in net worth
With a current net worth of nearly $25 billion, Savitri Jindal—India’s richest woman—has overtaken software magnate Azim Premji in net worth. While the fortune of Savitri Devi Jindal, the chairperson emeritus of JSW Steel, surged 87% over the last two years, Azim Premji witnessed a 42% drop in his net worth during the same period. In fact, Azim Premji, who was the third richest person in the country after Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani about two years ago, has seen a massive erosion in his net worth since January 2022. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Azim Premji currently occupies sixth place after Savitri Jindal.
List of best Indian cities for expats in 2023 released, Hyderabad tops
Hyderabad has topped the list of best cities in India for expatriates in 2023 according to Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking. Other top Indian cities on the list were Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. Mercer analysed living conditions in over 450 global cities, taking into account factors like political and social environment, health, education, recreation and housing.
Global Ranking:
Hyderabad with a rank of 153, Pune at 154 and Bengaluru in the 156th position are the three highest placed among Indian cities in Mercer’s worldwide quality of living ranking for 2023 which rates Vienna in Austria at the top of the list. Chennai is the fourth Indian city in the list at the 161 spot followed by Mumbai at 164.
Startup funding: India slips to 4th spot in global ranking
India slipped to fourth position in the global ranking among the highest-funded geographies in 2023, as it recorded lowest funding in five years. After grabbing the third spot globally in 2021 as well as in 2022, India ranked fourth behind the US, the UK and China this year, receiving only $7 billion in total funding (till December 5), according to data compiled by global market intelligence platform Tracxn. In the third quarter (Q3) this year, India even slipped to fifth position among the highest-funded countries — behind the US, the UK, China and France.
Wipro’s Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Trautman Steps Down
IT major Wipro announced that its Chief Growth Officer Stephanie Trautman will step down from her role. Trautman was brought in by Wipro nearly three years ago from Accenture Plc in a high-profile hiring.
Wipro:
- Founded: 1945
- Founder: M. H. Hasham Premji
- Owner: Azim Premji
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
- CEO: Thierry Delaporte
India ranked 7th in climate change performance index, up one spot this year
India ranked 7th in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index, up one spot from the previous one, and also remained among the highest performers, according to the report released here during the global climate talks COP28.
Climate Change Performance Index:
According to the CCPI, none of the countries has yet achieved a performance across all indicators that can be qualified as very high, because no country fulfills the requirements to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, as agreed in the Paris Agreement. This is why the first three places in the final ranking remain unoccupied. In 2023, the CCPI did not evaluate the performance of Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the CCPI index for 2023, Denmark led the index followed by Sweden and Chile. The last three were Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
