Weekly News Roundup at 10:00 am on 23rd March 2024

Let’s begin…People looking for jobs in Singapore need to be aware of the new rules that the Singapore government has put in place. The Ministry of Manpower in Singapore has announced significant modifications to its foreign worker policy. The Employment Pass minimum qualifying salary is being increased from $5,000 to $5,600 per month. The qualifying salary will continue to increase progressively with age, up to $10,700 for a candidate in their mid-40s. This maintains a level playing field for locals across all age groups. The Employment Pass allows foreign professionals, managers, and executives to work in Singapore. The benchmark for the Employment Pass qualifying salary is based on the top one-third of local PMET1 wages, to ensure that EP holders are of high quality. Next up, Prestige Estates Projects and Marriott International have signed an agreement to develop six hotel projects in the country. The hotels will be developed in the next two to five years, said Zaid Sadiq, executive director, hospitality, at Prestige Estates. He said, quote, The total inventory will be 801 keys across Goa and Karnataka and Marriott is launching some of the new brands in the country with Prestige, end quote. The hotel properties include 177 key Marriott Executive Apartments in UB City in Bengaluru, 130 key Moxy Bengaluru ORR in Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru, and 152 key Bengaluru Marriott Hotel South in Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru, among others. In other news…the UK has decided to cut the net migration rate of the country. Several steps have already been implemented while some are in the offing. One of the proposed changes impacts international students’ ability to work in the UK after finishing their studies. The UK Graduate route review is taking place and the Migration Advisory Committee is expected to submit the report to the government by May 14. The government in December decided that modifications will be made to the Graduate route to encourage firms to invest in the native workforce rather than relying too much on migration. The UK Government has made a commitment to reduce levels of migration coming into Britain so it is highly possible that the review will recommend restrictions to the Graduate Visa route. Moving on, In a bold move to address a critical challenge, a consortium of seven leading Indian companies have launched the Indian Foundation for Quality Management, a Section 8 not-for-profit Company. IFQM will be a unique institute dedicated to fostering a culture of quality and innovation within Indian businesses. The initiative, spearheaded by India Inc – Tata Sons, TVS Motor Company, Sun Pharma, Motherson Group, Bharat Forge, Boeing India, and Biocon aims to propel the ‘Make in India’ brand on the global stage. It aims to equip business leaders with the latest knowledge and tools in quality management, connecting them to renowned global experts for personalised guidance, and facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration among industry leaders. Meanwhile, India’s ambitious Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train corridor is progressing at a rapid pace as the government has set the 2026 deadline for opening the first stretch of the project. In the south of Gujarat, Bilimora bullet train station is being constructed and designed similar to the mango orchards in the region. According to the reports, out of the total work of 450 meters of rail level slab, 375 meters have been completed. After 100 percent land acquisition for the country’s first bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the project has picked pace. Further, Bilimora station is being prepared with a special design near at Kesli village in Navsari district. The station is spread across 38,394 square meters of land. Presently, the bullet train station’s slab level work is 83 percent completed. In other major news, within five years of its inception, India’s first semi high-speed train Vande Bharat Express has revolutionised rail travel in the country. The first-of-its-kind ‘engine-less’ train, which runs on distributed traction, has not only happy passengers but also admirers on a global level. Now, Vande Bharat Express may soon hit the tracks of South American nations who are ‘very much interested’ and are presently in talks with India over a possible international trade of the train. Interacting with Financial Express, RITES Ltd Chairman Rahul Mithal informed, quote, We targeted those countries which have electrified broad gauge railway systems. We picked South American countries like Chile and Argentina which require minimal customisation, end quote. Lastly, Even as the Department of Financial Services has written to all public sector banks asking them to review gold loan portfolios for any lack of regulatory compliance, Canara Bank, the largest gold loan provider amid PSBs, is confident of sustaining a higher double-digit loan growth in the segment, two senior officials told FE. A source said, quote, The DFS sought some data from us and other PSBs about a week back and we have submitted it already. This was an outcome of the issues at IIFL Finance and Bank of Baroda (BoB). However, we will continue to grow our gold loan book as we have implemented robust compliance measures, end quote.