Latest news with #AmitabhKant
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
New Zealand hails 'breakthrough' in trade talks with India, but no timeline for deal
New Zealand's deputy prime minister said on Friday that talks over a free trade agreement between his country and India were ongoing, but he didn't provide a timeline for when the two nations could eventually sign a deal. Winston Peters, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the negotiations were 'going with real meaning now," calling them 'a breakthrough in our economic relationship.' India and New Zealand began negotiations in March for a trade pact, and had aimed to sign a deal in 60 days. The deal will significantly bolster economic ties between the two countries, but it has faced delays because of differences over tariffs on dairy products. Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand stood at $1.7 billion in the 2023-24 financial year. Talks between India and New Zealand were taking place amid global trade tensions, after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose now-paused reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from several countries, including India. Earlier this month, India and the United Kingdom clinched a trade deal. India is also engaged in trade talks with Washington. Peters, who met with India's Group of 20 emissary, Amitabh Kant, in New Delhi, said that India was New Zealand's 12th-largest partner in trade and 'we are determined that we're going to work to change that.' "Our strengths, from food and beverage products to agriculture, forestry, horticulture, education and tourism are world class. And our innovation in areas like outer space and renewable energy will find a welcoming partner in India," he said. Peters said that the relationship between the two countries extended to defense and security, calling it a 'priority for New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific." "During a time of great uncertainty, instability and disorder, we have taken steps to work more closely on matters of defense and security with India," he said.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
New Zealand hails 'breakthrough' in trade talks with India, but no timeline for deal
NEW DELHI (AP) — New Zealand's deputy prime minister said on Friday that talks over a free trade agreement between his country and India were ongoing, but he didn't provide a timeline for when the two nations could eventually sign a deal. Winston Peters, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the negotiations were 'going with real meaning now,' calling them 'a breakthrough in our economic relationship.' India and New Zealand began negotiations in March for a trade pact, and had aimed to sign a deal in 60 days. The deal will significantly bolster economic ties between the two countries, but it has faced delays because of differences over tariffs on dairy products. Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand stood at $1.7 billion in the 2023-24 financial year. Talks between India and New Zealand were taking place amid global trade tensions, after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to impose now-paused reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from several countries, including India. Earlier this month, India and the United Kingdom clinched a trade deal. India is also engaged in trade talks with Washington. Peters, who met with India's Group of 20 emissary, Amitabh Kant, in New Delhi, said that India was New Zealand's 12th-largest partner in trade and 'we are determined that we're going to work to change that.' 'Our strengths, from food and beverage products to agriculture, forestry, horticulture, education and tourism are world class. And our innovation in areas like outer space and renewable energy will find a welcoming partner in India,' he said. Peters said that the relationship between the two countries extended to defense and security, calling it a 'priority for New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific.' 'During a time of great uncertainty, instability and disorder, we have taken steps to work more closely on matters of defense and security with India,' he said.
Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant urges Indian businesses to build foundational AI models
Mr Amitabh Kant, Indias G20 Sherpa, said that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race has just begun and urged Indian businesses to build foundational models. Mr Kant was speaking at the session on Making this Indias Moment: What Must India Do? at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 in New Delhi on 29 May. Indias G20 Sherpa believes that Indian models will provide solutions to many of the challenges faced by countries around the world. What we did in digital public infrastructure is that we used open source, open API, globally interoperable models, and those models will be the way forward for us. Therefore, India must build its foundational model. I believe India will provide these foundational models for many areas which have challenges for the world, he said. How to improve learning outcomes, health outcomes and nutritional standards, etc. India will use its 22 languages and thousands of dialects to find solutions to many of the challenges of the world. Indian startups will do some pathbreaking work in this area, Mr Kant said. Talking about the ease of doing business, Indias G20 Sherpa said that the central government has put in the building blocks, and that it is time for states to bring reforms. He also urged the industry to invest in research and development to develop cutting-edge technologies to sustain Indias accelerated growth. He also said that Quality Control Orders (QCOs) must be used rationally to ensure Indian industry can grow. To make Indian Industry more competitive, he suggested that States give land to the industry on long-term lease and privatise DISCOMS to make them more efficient. He also underlined the need for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to ensure speedy justice, especially in commercial cases.
India Gazette
2 days ago
- Business
- India Gazette
Importing from China to become 'China Plus One' will never work, says Amitabh Kant
New Delhi [India] May 29 (ANI): Importing from China itself to become China plus one will never work, said India's G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, on Thursday, adding that Indian industry has to invest in research and development (R&D). Speaking in a Q&A session at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 in New Delhi, Kant said that Indian industry should adopt cutting-edge technologies to compete with China, as the industry 'can't copy the Chinese'. Kant further added, 'You'll have to do the technology leapfrogging. You can't copy the Chinese. You have to beat the Chinese with one up. This game of China plus one by importing from China all the time will never work.' The China Plus One strategy typically involves companies diversifying their investments to countries other than China. China Plus One strategy is a focus of government as well as industry. Kant further stated that Indian industry will have to use completely new technologies to disrupt Chinese technologies. 'You have completely new technologies which are going to disrupt the Chinese. Technologies. Why is Indian industry not getting into them? Why are we not sourcing those technologies and using the size and scale of India to beat the Chinese through new technologies? And unless you don't do that, you'll have to do the technology leapfrogging,' he added, suggesting the industry invest in R&D. Asserting that in technology, first movers are never the winners, Kant said that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race has just begun and urged Indian businesses to build foundational models. India's G20 Sherpa believes that Indian models will provide solutions to many of the challenges faced by countries around the world. 'What we did in digital public infrastructure is that we used open source, open API, globally interoperable models, and those models will be the way forward for us. Therefore, India must build its foundational model. I believe India will provide these foundational models for many areas which have challenges for the world. How to improve learning outcomes, health outcomes and nutritional standards, etc. India will use its 22 languages and thousands of dialects to find solutions to many of the challenges of the world. Indian startups will do some pathbreaking work in this area,' Kant said. Talking about the ease of doing business, India's G20 Sherpa said that the Central government has put in the building blocks and that it is time for states to bring reforms. He also urged the industry to invest in research and development to develop cutting-edge technologies to sustain India's accelerated growth. He also said that Quality Control Orders (QCOs) must be used rationally to ensure Indian industry can grow. To make Indian industry more competitive, he suggested that states give land to the industry on long-term lease and privatise DISCOMS to make them more efficient. He also underlined the need for an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to ensure speedy justice, especially in commercial cases. (ANI)
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant calls for more Indian foundational AI models
India must build more foundational artificial intelligence (AI) models as these are likely to solve multifaceted issues, according to the country's G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant. India's linguistic diversity is likely to play a major role in solving global issues in the sector, Kant said at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025 in New Delhi. 'What we did in digital public infrastructure is that we used open source, open API, globally interoperable models and those models will be the way forward for us. Therefore, India must build its foundational model," said Kant at the summit. Also read: Govt relaxes rules to boost GST registration among small businesses 'I believe India will provide these foundational models for many areas which have challenges for the world. How to improve learning outcomes, health outcomes and nutritional standards, etc. India will use its 22 languages and thousands of dialects to find solutions to many of the challenges of the world. Indian startups will do some pathbreaking work in this area," he added. He also said the central government had laid a foundation to boost business-led growth and called for states to implement reforms for the ease of doing business. Also read: Northeast secures ₹4.3 trillion investment proposals at MDoNER Summit Kant also stressed that alternative dispute resolution methods such as arbitration and mediation, which are swifter forms of delivery of justice, need to be used widely, as they increase the ease of doing business. Kant also stressed that quality control orders (QCOs) must be used rationally to ensure Indian industry can grow. Reducing QCOs can potentially reduce compliance costs, strengthen supply chains and remove bureaucratic hurdles, as these certifications require businesses to go through additional procedures between manufacturing and selling their products. The ease of doing business is a critical facet of the economy, as it acts as a reference for foreign and domestic investment. The World Bank's now-discontinued Doing Business Report considered multiple factors for countries and measured the ease in securing land, tax compliance, as well as enforcement of contracts, among other things, to map the ease of doing business in an economy. India's rank in the annual Doing Business report improved to 77 in 2019, compared to 100 in the previous year. Also read: Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence in pact to supply artillery shells to German firm Kant also stated that the Indian tourism industry could be a potential driver for growth, as it can act as India's soft power. 'We need to roll out a massive Incredible India campaign to attract tourism in a big way. This is India's soft power. It has a huge multiplier effect in terms of jobs and can create millions of jobs. States must drive the tourism sector as the driver of growth," he said.
