India's RBI Winds Down Offshore Currency Tool as Strategy Shifts
India's central bank has scaled back its use of a key tool it deployed last year to counter the strong dollar, according to people familiar with the matter, reflecting a change in the authority's intervention strategy under its new leadership.
The Reserve Bank of India's short dollar positions in the non-deliverable forwards market have fallen sharply to below $5 billion, down from a peak of about $70 billion late last year, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private matters.
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Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Why Maximizing Data Insights Can Drive Decisions That Yield Growth
Business leader reviewing data insights Nearly everyone in an organization feels the pressure to act decisively. From the individual contributors helping internal users with technical issues to top leadership, all must make decisions that impact critical outcomes. Going down the wrong path may have consequences ranging from a minor mishap to an unrecoverable catastrophe. In my experience, whether situations call for split-second choices or drawn-out analyses, having data-driven insights to rely on can steer the team in the right direction. Nonetheless, sometimes access to facts, figures and stats isn't enough. Maximizing data insights not only ensures a higher degree of accuracy but also results in growth. Discover the main reasons below. Many business leaders have experienced working for an organization that lacked clear strategic direction. Even worse, its initiatives might have frequently shifted abruptly—from crucial decisions about brand identity to determining who would oversee the company's website redesign. While inconsistent decision-making sometimes stems from conflicting viewpoints, it most often signals a fundamental failure to harness data effectively. The challenge isn't always a lack of research or information. More often, not using data effectively can be linked to disorganization, or to models or datasets that need fine-tuning. This is particularly true in the age of LLMs and Machine Learning, where high-quality data is more critical than ever. In other words, the organization lacks the proper tools to consolidate its data. This prevents the information from sufficiently synchronizing to yield clear, actionable insights that ensure everyone is on the same page. Some of my portfolio companies have used tools like that allow companies to build datasets, evaluate or fine-tune models and collaborate with multiple stakeholders. Rather than making decisions based on disparate data, marketing and customer service directors can access the same, unified information. This approach leads to cleaner datasets that are synthesized across departments, ensuring greater consistency. When critical stakeholders contribute to data models, it reduces surprises and disjointed decisions. This allows the company to maintain its trajectory, enhancing growth aligned with data-driven insights. With improved consistency, employees gain greater clarity, enabling them to achieve their growth goals. Analytics reveal insights beyond just current market trends. These tools also provide predictive capabilities, which are crucial for enhancing a company's competitiveness. By fully leveraging data analytics insights, organizations can stay ahead of the curve. Remaining ahead of the competition translates to delivering solutions before competitors do or offering superior versions that improve the customer experience. This competitive advantage may be magnified by what's often called a 'data flywheel'—a virtuous cycle where insights drive better products and services, which in turn generate richer data for even further optimization and differentiation. For example, Helix Wireless was able to help client Genesee & Wyoming, a short-line railroad holding company, do this through data-driven insights. Train passengers naturally want to stay connected while they're traveling. However, the nature of train travel means railroad cars are passing through tunnels, remote landscapes and long distances. Different wireless carriers own and operate the towers that enable mobile data and, consequently, mobile Wi-Fi networks. When service constantly switches between these carriers, it can result in dropped and unstable connections. Leveraging data insights, Helix knew its client was juggling multiple relationships with different carriers across various countries. This led to a less-than-seamless experience for the railroad operator's customers. So, Helix's used their SmartSIM to eliminate challenges with connectivity, roaming expenses and service restrictions could be overcome. Costs related to purchasing and logistics decreased by 25%, and customers got a better experience. When service and product solutions become more competitive, market growth typically follows. Anytime you see a user experience that has disruptions like this, try and find a solution that can eliminate frustrations for your customer. Consider any major decision, personal or professional. The inherent uncertainty often leads to agonizing over 'what-ifs' —the potential risks and downsides of choosing a particular path, sometimes even the worst possible outcomes. In business, when teams and leaders rely on intuition rather than insight, risks can be greater. Decisions become susceptible to real-time impulses or are hindered by incomplete data. Assumptions may also arise from a lack of proper tools to interpret information correctly. Regardless, failing to maximize data insights often leads to poorly informed choices. It's similar to looking at a picture from a single angle. Acting on this limited perspective, an organization may proceed down a misleading path, taking on unnecessary risks and dealing with the ensuing fallout. Getting a complete data picture eliminates most of the guesswork. Instead of choosing a direction based on assumptions, decisions are backed by comprehensive data. The broader the perspective, the greater the accuracy. Consequently, more informed teams and leaders face a reduced chance of undesirable outcomes. Mitigating risks means fewer costs that can stifle growth, including qualitative expenses like the erosion of brand trust. A company's growth is often synonymous with success. But behind the numbers are well-made decisions, ranging from strategic product launches to everyday interactions with clients. Without data-driven insights, those choices can derail an organization's growth trajectory. Acquiring the tools and resources needed to get the most out of the information you gather will enhance consistency, competitiveness and risk reduction.
Geek Wire
an hour ago
- Geek Wire
He helped Microsoft grow in India, and Seattle Orcas co-owner could do same for cricket in U.S.
Sanjay Parthasarathy. Sanjay Parthasarathy, a former Microsoft leader who is among the notable tech execs that have ownership stakes in Seattle's new professional cricket team, has been passionate about the sport since he played it as a kid in India. He may end up being known as a key figure in making the second-most popular sport in the world a hit in the U.S., too. As the Seattle Orcas open their third season of Major League Cricket play on Saturday, Parthasarathy joined a new episode of 'Desi Roots & Routes,' a podcast produced by Seattle University's Roundglass India Center, to talk about everything from his history with the sport and how to play it, to how he hopes it can catch on in America. The episode touches on parallels between the rise of Indian technology workers and immigration reform in the U.S., as well as Parthasarathy's role in helping Microsoft take off in India. Author and journalist Greg Shaw, who has written about cricket and the Orcas, said that when immigration opened up in the 1990s with the H-1B visa, and the personal computer was taking off, Silicon Valley and Seattle saw an influx of Indian developers and programmers at places like Microsoft and elsewhere. 'With them came their passion and love for cricket,' Shaw said on the podcast. Shaw is bullish that Parthasarathy can help spur cricket's popularity in the U.S. 'What Sanjay has always been so great at is, at Microsoft, taking complicated software development and making it accessible to the masses,' Shaw said. 'And I think he's going to do that with Seattle Orcas and with Major League Cricket.' Parthasarathy is part of the deep tech community backing that has helped get the Orcas off the ground. Other notable owners include: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; Madrona Venture Group Managing Director S. Soma Somasegar; Icertis co-founder and CEO Samir Bodas; and GreatPoint Ventures managing partner Ashok Krishnamurthi. Parthasarathy, who was previously profiled by GeekWire, spent 19 years at Microsoft. Five years after joining the company, he told his managers in 1995 that he wanted to go to India and help Microsoft scale. The idea was born out of his return to the country six years earlier, during a summer away from MIT, and his understanding that India was poised to make a mark in the IT industry. With no experience selling anything in his life, he said he was given the OK and was named Microsoft's regional director for South Asia. Two years later, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates made his first trip to India. 'His trip was bigger than Michael Jackson,' Parthasarathy said. 'We did 40 different meetings, and we coined the phrase 'India can be a software superpower.' It caught everybody's imagination in India. Three years after that was the Y2K challenge, which really was the beginning of the expansion of the Indian software industry. It already existed, we just happened to have lit a match at the right time.' The Seattle Orcas open the 2025 season on Saturday in a match against the Washington Freedom in Oakland, Calif., continuing alongside five other teams on the journey to grow the sport in the U.S. Learn more about watch parties in the Seattle area. Listen to the 'Desi Roots & Routes' episode below:
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Apple's $4.4B India Play: The Secret iPhone Shift That's Reshaping U.S. Supply Chains
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is ramping up its India productionand fast. From January through May 2025, Foxconn (FXCOF) shipped $4.4 billion worth of India-assembled iPhones to the U.S., already beating 2024's full-year total of $3.7 billion. Between March and May, a staggering 97% of Foxconn's $3.2 billion exports went straight to the U.S., compared to just 50% last year. The push isn't subtle: Apple has been flying out iPhone 13, 14, 16, and 16e models on chartered planes and pressing Indian officials to cut customs clearance at Chennai airport from 30 hours down to six. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with MSFT. This shift comes as Apple looks to de-risk from China ahead of what could be another round of sweeping tariffs. Donald Trump has floated a 55% duty on Chinese goods and slammed Apple's expansion into India, reportedly telling CEO Tim Cook, We are not interested in you building in India. India, meanwhile, is trying to dodge a separate 26% reciprocal tariff on top of its standard 10%. With the stakes this high, Apple's move to reroute its supply chain through India could be less about costand more about survival. It's also about time. Apple still sells 60 million iPhones a year in the U.S., with about 80% made in China. Tata Electronics, Apple's smaller Indian partner, is also stepping up. Nearly 86% of its March and April shipments went to the U.S., up from 52% across 2024. Analysts at Counterpoint Research believe India-made iPhones could hit 2530% of Apple's global shipments this yearup from just 18% in 2024. But India's still an expensive bet. High import duties on components make local assembly far from cheap. Still, Apple appears willing to absorb the extra costs in exchange for agility. The numbers suggest this isn't a trial run. It's a full pivot. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
