Vienna, July 11 (IANS) Indian companies are keen to explore investment opportunities in Austria across areas such as Research and Development, artificial intelligence (AI) and software in sustainability areas for addressing the European market, industry experts as Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his historic visit to the country.

Speaking at the India-Austria Business Forum in Vienna, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Federation of Austrian Industries in conjunction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Austria, Martin Kocher, Minister of Labour and Economy, Austria stressed that we value the Indian startup ecosystem as one of the most vibrant in the world.

He added that there are cooperation opportunities in renewable energy, smart cities, audio-visual and films, tourism and other sectors.

Sanjiv Puri, President, CII, said we must encourage two-way cooperation in sustainable agriculture, water treatment and food processing.

“In critical areas in sustainability cooperation of circularity, adaptation to weather disruptions and biodiversity, Austrian technology partnerships can help India in these areas through AI, advanced sensors and other new tech instruments,” said Puri.

Talking about India-Austria trade relations, R. K. Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Investments and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the two-way trade between India and Austria is worth about $2 billion which is relatively well balanced.

“Most MNCs who have invested in India, including many European ones who have stayed the course have reaped rich dividends in terms of outshining their parents, both in terms of topline and bottom-line expansion, profitability as well as enterprise value,” said Singh.

–IANS

na/svn

Bengaluru, July 11 (IANS) IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) hired 5,452 employees in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal (FY25), reversing three-quarters of the drop in headcount.

The company’s headcount had fallen for the first time in 19 years during FY24.

The company now employs 6,06,998 people. The attrition rate came further down to 12.1 per cent in the Q1 FY25, said the company.

After presenting the quarterly result (Q1 FY25) where it reported a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit at Rs 12,040 crore, Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said he is “delighted to announce the successful completion of our annual increment process”.

“Our continued focus on employee engagement and development led to industry-leading retention and strong business performance, with the net headcount addition being a matter of immense satisfaction,” Lakkad added.

For Q1, TCS clocked revenue of Rs 62,613 crore, up 5.4 per cent from the same quarter last year.

“We are continuing to expand our client relationships, create new capabilities in emerging technologies and invest in innovation, including a new AI-focused TCS PacePort in France, IoT lab in the US and expanding our delivery centres in Latin America, Canada and Europe,” said K Krithivasan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

–IANS

na/uk

London, July 11 (IANS) The European Union (EU) on Thursday accepted commitments offered by Apple over how it operates Apple Pay to end a long-running competition investigation.

“The Commission has decided to accept commitments offered by Apple. These commitments address our preliminary concerns that Apple may have illegally restricted competition for mobile wallets on iPhones,” said Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager, who heads up the EU’s competition division.

“Apple has until July 25 to implement their commitments. As of this date, developers will be able to offer a mobile wallet on the iPhone with the same ‘tap and go’ experience that so far has been reserved for Apple Pay,” she added.

In 2020, the EU formally launched an antitrust investigation related to Apple Pay. The investigation looked at the terms and conditions Apple sets for integrating Apple Pay in apps and websites and concerns around the ‘tap and go’ technology and alleged refusals of accessing Apple Pay.

In 2022, the Commission found that Apple Pay could restrict competition as it was the only option for iPhone users.

“Our preliminary finding was therefore that Apple abused its dominant position by refusing to supply the NFC technology to competing mobile wallet developers,” the Commission mentioned.

In Europe, the most widely available technology for mobile payments in stores is called ‘Near Field Communication’ (NFC). This technology enables wireless communication between a mobile phone and a store’s payments terminal. It allows users to ‘tap and go’ with their mobile phone.

NFC technology was not developed by Apple. It is a standardised technology and made available for free.

Apple refused to give access to the NFC technology on the iPhone to rival wallet developers and instead reserved the use of the technology on the iPhone to its own mobile wallet solution, the Commission said.

Now, the Commission has ended the investigation and mentioned that iPhone users will be able to use their preferred mobile wallet for payments in stores.

“They will be able to do so while enjoying all the iPhone’s functionalities, including tap-and-go, Double-Click and FaceID,” it added.

–IANS

shs/dan

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) With real estate companies worth $36 billion in 2024, India is accelerating to become the real estate capital of Asia, pushing away China in terms of growth rate, a new report said on Thursday.

China’s real estate market is facing significant headwinds due to government clampdowns and demand slowdown.

While in India, with the middle class projected to reach 547 million by 2030, residential sales are expected to grow 10-12 per cent in FY2024-25, according to the ‘2024 GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 100’ report.

“Rising foreign investments of around $4 billion yearly are further catalysing growth,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.

Sixty of the top 100 companies operate beyond their core state headquarters, indicating a significant trend towards national brand building in the real estate sector.

“Notably, six companies on the list have an international presence, demonstrating the global ambitions of Indian real estate companies. With the strength of the Indian diaspora, Indian real estate companies are well-positioned to expand internationally, a trend we expect to see grow in the coming years,” Junaid emphasised.

DLF emerged as the top real estate company in the list, with a valuation of Rs 2,02,140 crore, followed by Macrotech Developers with a valuation of Rs 1,36,730 crore and Indian Hotels Company at third spot with a Rs 79,150 crore valuation.

Among the top 10 companies, 60 per cent are headquartered in Mumbai, while two are based in Bengaluru and one each in Gurugram and Ahmedabad.

“The list showcases that entrepreneurs hailing from tier 2 cities are forging some of the most impactful real estate enterprises in the nation. Five per cent of the entrants in 2024 GROHE-Hurun India Real Estate 100 hail from tier 2 cities. This highlights the fact that geographic boundaries no longer limit the rise of influential real estate players in India,” informed Junaid.

India is projected to add 200,000 km of national highways by 2037, fostering the growth of micro cities and further value addition by India’s real estate sector, he added.

–IANS

na/uk

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) About 96 per cent of Indian small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) might consider paying cybercriminals in the event of ransomware extortion, a new report said on Thursday.

According to cybersecurity company ESET, about 88 per cent of Indian SMBs experienced breach attempts or incidents in the past 12 months.

“Our report reveals that although SMBs are confident in their security measures and IT expertise, the majority still faced cybersecurity incidents over the past year,” said Parvinder Walia, President of Asia Pacific & Japan at ESET.

The report, which surveyed over 1,400 IT professionals, found that ransomware, web-based attacks, and phishing emails emerged as the top concerns of Indian SMBs.

India and New Zealand experienced the highest number of security breaches or incidents, despite expressing the highest levels of confidence in their security systems.

Moreover, the report mentioned that 63 per cent anticipated a rise in cybersecurity spending over the next 12 months, with 48 per cent of these firms expecting to do so by more than 80 per cent.

SMBs in India are also planning significant cybersecurity enhancements over the next 12 months. About 38 per cent aim to deploy Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Extended Detection and Response (XDR), or Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions. Additionally, 33 per cent plan to incorporate cloud-based sandboxing, 36 per cent will implement full-disk encryption, and 40 per cent will focus on vulnerability and patch management, the report said.

–IANS

shs/vd