Business Today 14 May 2023

Being a CEO in these times is no walk in the park. Today’s global and domestic economic reality throws several challenges for the chief executive to deal with, and unless the leader has a vision and gets the organisation—down to the last guy on the field—to follow it, winning is going to be a distant dream. Consider the issues the CEO has to navigate today—rising inflation, interest rate changes, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions. And these are just some of them. Alongside, there are also changes in regulations and a very long list of compliances they have to contend with. That’s precisely why the latest BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking is so important. The 20 leaders who are winners have not just led their organisations—of various sizes and sectors—with…

SOURCE PIB 947 PER CENT The surge in India’s defence exports in the past six years—from ₹1,521 crore in FY17 to ₹15,920 crore in FY23 ₹ 40,000 CRORE The target for India’s annual defence exports—set by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh—for 2025 85 The number of countries India is now exporting its defence equipment to…

33 per cent OF THE INDIAN CEOs SURVEYED HAD AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW ABOUT THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK OVER THE NEXT 3-5 YEARS, PER ARTHUR D. LITTLE 64 per cent OF BOARDS EXPECT TO INCREASE THEIR RISK APPETITE IN 2023-2024, ACCORDING TO GARTNER 48 per cent OF BOARDS SEE RECESSION AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY AS THE BIGGEST CONSTRAINTS TO GROWTH IN 2023-24, PER GARTNER…

On India’s moment for Apple: India is at a tipping point. And it feels so great to be here. You can just feel the vibrancy, the dynamism, the feeling that anything here is possible. And it’s so great to be a part of it. On Apple’s approach for India: Every place is unique. India has its own journey and culture, and so you really have to understand the local culture. We’re trying to bring our best to India. We brought the online store a few years ago, we have now brought the retail store [in Mumbai and Delhi]. We have manufacturing here. We have an extraordinary developer community here. We have musicians. It’s great to interface with the artists and creators here. So, there’s a huge Apple community in India. On…

▶ FINALLY, IT’S HERE. Twenty-seven years after Apple entered India, 23 years since it opened its first retail store in the US and more than two years after Apple’s online store was launched in the country, the physical Apple Store has reached Indian shores. On April 18, people lined up to click selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook—who was in India with Senior Vice President of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien—at the launch of the first store in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). Two days after throwing open the doors of the BKC store—Apple’s most sustainable company-owned store till date—the Cupertino-based tech giant welcomed people into its store in Delhi’s Saket. Apple’s expansion into the retail space and the presence of Cook to inaugurate the stores reiterates the growing importance of…

▶ UNHAPPY WITH THE government’s revision of rates for services provided under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), private healthcare players have demanded that the government consider revising the charges for diagnostics and surgical services as well, citing losses due to rising costs. The move follows the Union health ministry’s April 12 decision to revise the rates for consultations and treatment in private hospitals. For instance, the government has revised the OPD consultation fees from ₹150 to ₹350 and in-patient consultation fees from ₹300 to ₹350. It has also fixed ICU fees at ₹5,400, including accommodation for all ward entitlements, while rent for a general room stay stands revised to ₹1,500 from ₹1,000; rent for a stay in a semi-private ward is revised to ₹3,000 from ₹2,000; and the rent…