India's space regulator picks Google-backed PixxelSpace for home-grown satellite constellation
The consortium, comprising local space tech firms Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India and Dhruva Space, will design, build, and operate the satellites, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) said.
The PixxelSpace-led consortium won the project, outbidding Indian defence equipment makers Astra Microwave and Bharat Electronics.
The Indian government wants to reduce its dependence on foreign systems, including the widely used U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), and says its regional navigation satellite system, called NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), provides more accurate domestic navigation and that its use would benefit the economy.
This is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive for self-reliance, which has also expanded the use of NavIC.
India has also been pushing tech giants to make smartphones compatible with its home-grown navigation system within months, worrying the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
33 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
India's stock benchmarks inch lower
MUMBAI: Indian equity benchmarks inched lower on Tuesday as a drop in financials weighed ahead of key US and domestic inflation readings. The Nifty 50 fell 0.4% to 24,487.4 points and the BSE Sensex shed 0.46% to 80,235.59. Investors await US CPI data due later in the day which will guide the Federal Reserve's rate-cut path. Lower US rates typically boost the appeal of emerging market equities, including India, as yields on US Treasuries fall. Eight of the 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps were flat, while mid-caps slipped 0.3%. Financials, which gained 0.9% in the previous session, reversed course and fell 1% on Tuesday. IT rose 0.4%, on the back of a US-China tariff truce extension that averts triple-digit duties that is expected to shield US growth, curb inflation risks, and support corporate discretionary spending, including on technology. Pharma advanced 0.7%, buoyed by strong results from Abbott India and Alkem Laboratories. The sector, like IT, counts the US as a key market. Investors also await India's July retail inflation data, due after market hours, with a Reuters poll forecasting an eight-year low of 1.76% on cooling food prices. The modest sized drop in benchmark indexes 'reflects reluctance among investors to make significant moves ahead of key inflation data, while uncertainty also lingers with a second round of tariff hikes scheduled later this month,' said Devarsh Vakil, head of prime research at HDFC Securities. Among stocks, Marksans Pharma and Astral fell 11.1% and 8.1% after reporting weaker quarterly profits.
Business Recorder
11 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's Apollo Hospitals beats estimates for Q1 profit on strong demand
HYDERABAD: India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprise on Tuesday reported its fifth straight quarterly profit rise, beating analysts' estimates on higher demand for its healthcare services. The hospital chain operator reported a consolidated net profit that rose 41.8% to 4.33 billion rupees ($49.40 million) for the April-June quarter. Analysts, on average, had expected of 3.86 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. Indian hospital chains such as Apollo and Manipal have been increasing their bed count for a larger share of the market, including through acquisitions of smaller hospital operators. Temasek-backed Manipal acquired a majority stake in local peer Sahyadri Hospitals last month. Apollo said it is on track to add 4,370 beds over the next 3-4 years through acquisition, setting up new hospitals, aswell as expansion of existing facilities. The hospital operator had 8,030 operational beds as of June 30. Occupancy rate for the quarter, however, saw a slight dip to 65% from 68% last year. Total revenue for the first quarter rose 15% to 58.42 billion rupees beating estimates of 57.44 billion rupees, aided by a 12% growth in the healthcare services business that contributes more than half of the total revenue. The company expects double-digit revenue growth for the current financial year. Its offline pharmacy and digital healthcare business reported a 19% rise in revenue. Apollo spun off the business recently and aims to list it as a separate entity in the next 18-21 months.
Business Recorder
11 hours ago
- Business Recorder
India's RBI allows ‘vostro' accounts to invest entire surplus in government securities
BENGALURU: India's central bank said on Tuesday foreign investors may invest the surplus balance in their so-called 'vostro' accounts into central government securities. Vostro accounts are typically held by a domestic bank on behalf of a foreign bank in which trading partners can hold rupee-denominated balances emerging from trade transactions. 'Persons resident outside India that maintain a special rupee vostro account (SRVA) for international trade settlement in Indian rupees … may invest their rupee surplus balance in the aforesaid account in central government securities,' a Reserve Bank of India notification said. In 2022, the RBI had allowed overseas banks to open SRVAs to settle trade transactions in rupee as part of its efforts to boost the currency's 'internationalisation'. India central bank issues final co-lending framework effective January 2026 The holders of such accounts can invest in Indian government debt without registering as foreign portfolio investors, as overseas investors have to. However, the government slapped a limit of using only 30% of account balances to buy securities with residual maturity under one year, including treasury bills. Reuters reported in May that the central bank had sought the government's approval to remove this cap on foreign banks with vostro accounts to boost rupee-denominated investment and trade. The RBI has approved 123 correspondent banks from 30 trading partner countries to open 156 SRVAs with 26 Indian banks topromote bilateral trade in local currencies, a junior trade minister told Parliament earlier this year.
