US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint two Indian Americans to his Export Council which is the principal national advisory committee on international trade.
On Tuesday (28), he announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the the Council, according to a White House press release.
Punit Renjen, the former CEO of Deloitte Consulting, and Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO and president-elect of FedEx, are on the list.
The Council will be headed by Mark Edin, chairman of Kastle Systems.
More than two dozen leaders from the corporate sector, labour, real estate, national security and law, have been tapped into the council.
Prominent among them are Karen S Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health; John Lawler, the chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R Amon.
“The Council advises the President on government policies and programmes that affect US trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labour, and government sectors,” the White House said.
On December 31, Renjen retired as Deloitte Global CEO after having served in the role since June 2015.
He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus. Under his leadership, Deloitte launched WorldClass — a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity — based on the belief that business thrives when society thrives, the White House said.
Recently, Deloitte made a commitment to be net zero by 2030 under its WorldClimate initiative and joined the First Movers Coalition.
Renjen is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at Deloitte through measurable actions toward gender balance.
Over his career, Renjen has been recognised by numerous organisations for his leadership, business acumen and commitment to societal impact.
In 2022, Renjen was recognised by the Economic Times as “Global Indian of the Year” and the Carnegie Corporation of America as one of 34 “Great Immigrants. Great Americans.”
In 2021, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum recognised Renjen with its Global Achievement Award. In 2020, Renjen was awarded the Oregon History Makers Medal.
Raj Subramaniam, as President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation, is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies.
Subramaniam is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation's strategic business activities.
He is also chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company's top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.
Before being named president and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was the president and chief operating officer of FedEx Corporation.
Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies.
Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the US Chamber of Commerce's China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council, and a member of the US-India CEO Forum.
Subramaniam is also a 2023 recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award presented by the President of India to the Indian diaspora in recognition of outstanding achievements in India and abroad, the White House said.
(PTI)
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Tata Consultancy sees 5.6 per cent rise in revenue despite market challenges
Jan 16, 2025
INDIAN IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) posted a 5.6 per cent on-year rise in revenue for the December quarter last Thursday (9), after lower earnings in its key North American market.
The leader of India’s $254 billion (£208.4bn) IT sector, TCS is the second-largest company in India by market capitalisation and earns over 80 per cent of its revenue from Western clients.
The Mumbai-headquartered firm has seen growth slow over the past 18 months as high inflation and global geopolitical uncertainty forced customers to cut back on tech spending.
It has forecast a better performance this year as demand slowly recovers, betting on a revival in North America’s banking sector, lower inflation and clients spending more on generative AI.
The firm’s October-December revenue rose 5.6 per cent year-onyear to `639.7 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of around six per cent.
Net profit for the period came in at Rs 123.99bn with “growth led by consumer business group, energy, resources and utilities, and regional markets”, TCS said in a statement.
“In a quarter that saw significant cross-currency volatility TCS’s strong execution, cost management and deft currency risk management helped deliver healthy margin improvement and free cash flows,” TCS chief financial officer Samir Seksaria said in the statement.
The earnings statement showed a 2.3 per cent on-year decline in the North American market, offset by growing domestic demand.
Top Indian IT firms have resumed adding employees on a net basis over the past two quarters, a boon for the job prospects of tens of thousands of young Indian engineering graduates who depend on the sector.
However, potential headwinds remain on the horizon.
Recent policy debates in the United States have sparked speculation over how the H-1B visa system, a major tool for Indian IT firms, may be severely cut back.
The IT services sector is one of India’s biggest employers and revenue earners.
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UN: Australia broke treaty by detaining asylum seekers on Nauru
Jan 16, 2025
A UN committee found that Australia violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, including minors, on the remote Pacific island of Nauru even after they were granted refugee status, it said in a statement last Thursday (9).
Under Australia’s tough immigration policies, those attempting to reach the country by boat have been sent to detention centres – including on the South Pacific island nation of Nauru – for so-called “offshore processing” since 2013. Such facilities have previously drawn scrutiny from rights groups.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the legally-binding 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and was asked to consider a complaint by a group of refugees, found that Australia had violated two provisions of the treaty: one on arbitrary detention and one protecting the right to challenge their detention in court.
It asked Australia to provide compensation to the victims and to ensure similar violations do not recur.
The UN committee finding follows a 2016 petition filed with it by a group of 24 asylum seekers from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar who were intercepted while trying to reach Australia by boat in 2013, when they were aged between 14-17 years old.
The group, who were unaccompanied and transferred to Nauru from Christmas Island in 2014, were held in the overcrowded Regional Processing Centre where they lacked access to sufficient water and healthcare, the UN statement said.
Nearly all the minors suffered a deterioration in well-being there, including weight loss, self-harm, kidney problems and insomnia, it said.
They remained in detention in Nauru even after all but one of the group were granted refugee status, the statement said. It did not specify the total duration of their detention nor did it give information on their identity or current whereabouts.
“The outsourcing of operations does not absolve States of accountability,” said committee member Mahjoub El Haiba. “Offshore detention facilities are not human-rights free zones for the state party, which remains bound by the provisions of the Covenant.”
A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said in a statement it was engaging with the UN on the complaints.
“It has been the Australian Government’s consistent position that Australia does not exercise effective control over regional processing centres,” it said. “We welcome Nauru’s continued partnership in the effective delivery of regional processing arrangements.”
Australia argued that there was no proof that the alleged violations had occurred within its jurisdiction, according to the UN statement. However, the committee found that the Nauru facility counts as being within Australia’s jurisdiction, citing the country’s role in constructing and financing it.
In a second case filed to the same committee, it found that an Iranian refugee who had been held in Nauru had also been subject to arbitrary detention, the statement said.
The office of Nauru prime minister, David Adeang, did not respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)
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BCCI limits time for cricketers’ wives on tours after Australia defeat
Jan 16, 2025
INDIA's cricket team faces new restrictions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following their 3-1 defeat in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Reports suggest the BCCI attributes the poor performance, in part, to the presence of players’ wives during the tour.
Under new guidelines, wives will be permitted on long tours exceeding six weeks for no more than two weeks. For shorter tours, their stay will be limited to seven days.
Additionally, players will no longer be allowed to travel with their spouses instead of the team. All players are now required to travel together on team coaches.
The presence of wives has historically been allowed since the late 2000s, but the BCCI believes it has become a distraction.
Prominent players, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul, were accompanied by their spouses during the Australia tour.
Critics have called the move unjustified. Suresh Menon, a sports writer, termed the restriction “ridiculous” and highlighted the double standards, reported The Times.
He recalled Kohli’s performance fluctuations while accompanied by his wife, Anushka Sharma, which drew blame during poor phases but no credit during good ones.
The restrictions aim to ensure players remain focused during tours, but the debate over their necessity continues.
(With inputs from PTI)
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GDP rises just 0.1 per cent in November following Reeves’ budget
Jan 16, 2025
THE ECONOMY grew by 0.1 per cent in November, marking a slight recovery after contractions in September and October, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This modest increase followed chancellor Rachel Reeves’ October budget, which introduced significant tax hikes for businesses. However, the growth was weaker than the 0.2 per cent rise expected by economists.
Reeves stated she is “determined to go further and faster to kick-start economic growth” and plans to meet regulators to discuss how they can support the government’s efforts to accelerate the economy.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has also pledged to achieve the fastest per capita GDP growth among the Group of Seven advanced economies.
Despite the slight growth, challenges remain. Ben Jones, lead economist at the Confederation of British Industry, noted a cautious mood among businesses following the budget.
“Many firms are entering 2025 with a focus on reducing operational expenditure, which is likely to weigh on pay, hiring and investment in the months ahead,” he said.
Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the economy continues to face pressure from recent tax increases and global uncertainty, particularly after Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory.
However, Wood expects the Bank of England to cut interest rates in February, adding, “We think the outlook remains brighter than the late 2024 data suggest, and talk of recessionary risk is wide of the mark.”
The ONS reported that growth in the services sector, driven by wholesaling, pubs, restaurants, and IT companies, supported November’s economic expansion.
However, manufacturing and oil and gas sectors experienced declines. Production output fell by 0.4 per cent, while construction rebounded by the same margin.
The economy showed zero growth in the third quarter of 2024, with uncertainty over the budget affecting businesses.
The Bank of England expects the economy to have flat-lined in the final quarter of the year. Some analysts have warned the economy may have contracted overall in that period.
Government borrowing costs recently surged due to concerns about slow economic growth but fell sharply after lower inflation data in the UK and the US suggested that interest rate cuts could happen sooner.
Sterling fell slightly against the US dollar before recovering some losses, and UK government bond yields steadied following a significant drop.
Investment strategist Lindsay James from Quilter Investors highlighted that the full impact of the budget is still to come, with the rise in social security contributions starting in April. She also pointed to potential global risks, saying, “Trump’s inauguration is nearing, and the true effects of his policies will start to be felt later in the year.”
Looking ahead to 2025, some analysts caution that tighter financial conditions and higher taxes could negatively affect business investment. Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, warned that a “gloomy business mood on the back of higher taxes and a potential escalation in trade conflicts could set back business investment.”
Despite these challenges, Reeves reaffirmed her commitment to driving economic growth. “That means generating investment, driving reform and a relentless commitment to root out waste in public spending,” she said. “I will fight every day to deliver that growth and put more money into working people's pockets.”
Compared to the previous year, the UK’s economic output in November was 1.0 per cent higher, falling short of economists’ forecasts of 1.3 per cent growth.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Sindhu courts title success with new training method
Jan 16, 2025
INDIA’S two-time Olympic medallist, PV Sindhu, said she still has the fire to achieve more in the last phase of her career as she has begun a new chapter under Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama.
The 29-year-old from Hyderabad has worked with multiple coaches, but endured a challenging season which included a medal-less Olympic campaign.
She is one of only three Indians to win back-to-back Olympic medals and is also a world champion, besides claiming podium finishes at the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Sindhu, who returns to action at the India Open Super 750 after missing the Malaysia Open recently following her wedding last month, has begun training under Irwansyah. He is credited with the rise of men’s singles stars Jonatan Christie and Anthony Ginting.
“Right now, I am training with coach Irwansyah in Bangalore, it has been just one and-a-half weeks,” Sindhu said. “Basically, he is the women’s singles coach and is training some young boys as well. I am really looking forward to it.
“The bonding is important between coach and athlete, it will take time. We will need a couple of training sessions to come together and understand what he’s thinking.
“I’ve heard a lot about him and I thought he is the right coach for me. His approach against opponents, I think it’s really good.”
The shift from personal coaches to group training under Irwansyah at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy marks a major change for Sindhu. “Yes, it will be in a group. Basically, when the camp list comes out, we will know who the women players are.” Having achieved success, including the Rio Olympic silver, under the tutelage of her mentor and chief India coach Pullela Gopichand, Sindhu later worked with Korea’s Kim Ji Hyun to win the 2019 World Championships and claimed the Tokyo Games silver with Park Tae-Sang.
She then moved to Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, before training with Vidhi Choudhary for a brief time. Sindhu trained under Indonesian Agus Dwi Santoso and India’s Prakash Padukone mentored her ahead of the Paris Olympics. She also sought the guidance of Anup Sridhar and Korean Lee Hyun-il until December.
Asked if the dynamics will be different in a group setting, Sindhu said: “I don’t think it will be different. Initially when I used to play as an individually coached player as well, there were players who were sparring with me. So, it’s good for them and it’s also good for me because they make it difficult.
“It will be like a conference, where they are also improving, I am also improving. We are competing against each other.”
Before claiming the Syed Modi Super 300 crown in December, Sindhu had last won a BWF title at the Singapore Open in 2022. A stress fracture on her left foot following the Commonwealth Games gold kept her away from the court for a long time. Sindhu also suffered a knee injury in 2023, and though she reached the finals at the 2023 Spain Masters Super 300 and Malaysia Masters Super 500 in 2024, she did not win the title.
“I need to maintain my speed. I need to have my power. The women’s singles game is evolving, and after playing for so many years, I think opponents definitely know my game by now. They’ll anticipate it, so it’s crucial to strategise with my coach, having both a plan A and plan B,” she said.
Sindhu’s plan for the 2025 season is to compete in select tournaments to avoid injuries. “I feel there’s so much more to achieve. I have that fire in me, and I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of time and rhythm.
“I definitely want to secure another medal at the World Championships, and also at the All England Championships. There are big tournaments like the World Tour Finals that I’ve already won medals in, but every time you step onto the court, you always want to win, even if you’ve won before.”
She added, “I have seen a lot through sport. It was important for me to believe in myself when there were days when I was injured and I didn’t know if I could come back and be 100 per cent. It happened in 2015, when I had an injury, but then I bounced back, and I got a silver at Rio.
“My life has changed a lot since the time I started. I am very grateful for what I have achieved and when I look back, I can say that yes, I have done whatever I could.
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