26: Kula Connect Digest September | Milestones, Events, and Changes Ahead
Revolut’s entry into India, Mario Draghi’s investment call, key economic insights, and our upcoming events in France and Italy!
Hello Kula Community! 👋
Welcome to the Kula Connect Digest, a monthly recap to help you navigate the Indo-European landscape and make you actively involved in Kula’s future.
Today you are reading Kula Connect September digest!
Are you new to Kula? Learn more about us here
What can you expect from Kula Digest?
🚀 Kula Connect Progresses & What’s next: We'll make you part of our journey building Kula
🚨 This week's top headlines: Selection of news regarding Europe and India
📊 The Big Read: Articles and reports worth to read not strictly related to the newsletter
📅 Upcoming Events
👩💻 Kula’s Jobs Recommend: Open positions for people interested in working in the Indo-European space
🚀 Kula Connect Progresses & What’s next
We’re excited to share some updates regarding our newsletter!
🗓️ New Cadence: Going forward, our newsletter will be published bi-monthly instead of weekly.
📚 Content: Alternating editions will feature an interview-based article and a digest of key insights. Soon you will also find exclusive interviews with successful startup co-founders.
✂️ Shorter Articles: We’re trimming down the length of our articles to make them more concise and impactful.
📲 Social media: We are increasing our presence across social media by posting new content and news on our pages. Please make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
These changes will allow us to allocate more time to other exciting projects, like upcoming events and potentially even bigger initiatives.
Speaking of events, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re planning some incredible events in France with our amazing partners.
In October we will have an event in collaboration with Dimensions France a platform to help international students and expats make the right choice about various aspects related to studying in France
The date of the event is still to be decided, but it will surely be the last week of October or the first week of November.
Register your interest for the event to be notified when we will open the registrations (limited places available)
We are also planning to organize an event on Startups and investing, so stay tuned!!
This week's top headlines 🚨
Revolut has announced plans to enter the Indian market by 2025. With over 4,000 employees already based in India, the company is now aiming to capture market share and compete with local fintech giants like Paytm and Razorpay. This move aligns with Revolut's broader strategy to diversify its revenue streams beyond Europe, focusing on high-growth regions such as India and the Middle East. [Financial Times]
Mario Draghi has called for the EU to raise investment by €800bn annually to boost competitiveness against the US and China. His report recommends a new industrial strategy focused on market consolidation, capital market integration, and joint defense procurement. Draghi warns that without significant reforms, the EU risks economic decline, advocating for public-private investment and common EU funding. [Financial Times]
Pernod Ricard has become India’s largest alcohol company by revenue, surpassing Diageo. According to managing director Jean Touboul, this success is driven by strong sales of its Scotch brand 100 Pipers and Indian-made foreign liquor brands Blenders Pride and Royal Stag. [The Economic Times]
The European Central Bank’s decision, unanimously supported by all 26 policymakers, lowers the benchmark interest rate for the eurozone from 3.75% to 3.5% The ECB cut rates for the first time in five years in June, but kept them unchanged at its last meeting in July. Inflation has since fallen further, dropping to 2.2% in August, its lowest level in three years and close to the central bank’s 2% target. Wage growth, keenly watched by ECB officials, also eased in the second quarter.
Ninth round of India-EU FTA talks to address duty relief on textile products, discuss 12-point agenda: The ninth round of India-EU FTA talks is focusing on reducing duties for textile products, addressing the EU's proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism (carbon tax), and enhancing cooperation in sustainability and EVs. The talks aim to boost trade relations by ironing out differences in key areas like tariffs, labor rights, and environmental sustainability. Both sides are also working on a comprehensive investment protection agreement to safeguard bilateral investments and foster economic collaboration.
The Big Read 📊
India’s Economy to Remain Strong Despite Subdued Global Growth [World Bank]
India was the fastest-growing major economy, with 8.2% growth in FY23/24, driven by infrastructure investment and manufacturing sector growth. The outlook remains positive, with growth forecast at 7% in FY24/25 and expected to remain strong in subsequent years. Urban unemployment has improved, especially for female workers, though youth unemployment remains high. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to decline from 83.9% in FY23/24 to 82% by FY26/27.
We are also reading…
Figure/graph of the month 📊
India experienced an 8.1% year-on-year increase in exports during the fourth quarter, marking the highest growth rate this fiscal year. Significant contributions came from high-value manufactured goods, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering products, and electronics. The upward trend supports India's goal of deepening its integration into the global value chain and achieving US$2 trillion in exports over the next six years. However, exports from traditional sectors continued to decline.
You can read the full article here: India economic outlook, August 2024 [Deloitte]
📅 Upcoming Events
IFCCI's 47th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) | 27 September | Mumbai, India 🇮🇳
INDIA & ITALY BUSINESS MEET | 1 October | Rome, Italy 🇮🇹
The France-India Ocean Summit | 08 October | Nice, France 🇫🇷
IFCCI COMMITTEES ANNUAL NATIONAL MEET 2024 | 10 October | Delhi, India 🇮🇳
Choose France Tour 2024 (Campus France) | Opportunity for Indian students to get face-to-face with leading French institutes and universities through a multi-city education tour | 19 - 27 October | Various Cities in India 🇮🇳
Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 | 24-26 October | Delhi, India 🇮🇳
Bonus event
SICC @ 20th Zurich Film Festival 2024: India Night at the Zurich Film Festival by the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce | 3 October | Zurich 🇨🇭
Kula’s Jobs Recomm 👩💻
Indo-German Chamber of Commerce
Manager, Delegations - Pune (IND) 🇮🇳
Volkswagen Group
Internship India Trends, Automotive & Lifestyle (w/m/d) - Wolfsburg (GER) 🇩🇪
AXA XL
Analyst-German,French,Spanish,Portuguese, Italian Language Skills - Bengaluru (IND)🇮🇳
Alteryx
Digital Customer Success Manager - Events (French Speaking) - Bengaluru (IND) 🇮🇳
Oracle
German Language Specialist - Accounts Payable Support A2-Fin - Bengaluru (IND)🇮🇳
Allianz Services
Talent Partner based in Romania, India, Mauritius or Morocco - Bucharest (ROM) 🇷🇴
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