Elon Musk Delays India Trip and PM Modi Meeting, Reports Say

The CEO of Tesla and one of the richest people in the world, Elon Musk, has rescheduled his much-anticipated trip to India. The two-day visit by the CEO and founder of SpaceX was slated to include a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. After Reuters reported on the postponement and quoted three people acquainted with the situation, Tesla and PM Modi’s office remained silent. Elon Musk, who also controls X (previously Twitter), verified this week that he will be meeting with Prime Minister Modi in India.

“Looking forward to meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India,” he wrote in a post on X. Elon Musk was expected to announce an investment of $2–3 billion to start a manufacturing facility in India. Elon Musk met with PM Modi in June 2018 when he was visiting the US. The CEO of Tesla talked about PM Modi, his intended travel to India in 2024, and Tesla’s strategy to join the Indian market and establish the eagerly awaited factory.

Elon Musk’s visit to India was revealed a few months after the government of India unveiled a new policy pertaining to electric vehicles. Individuals who invested a minimum of $500 million to develop manufacturing units in India were eligible for import duty waivers under this policy. It was anticipated that the founder of Tesla would also use his visit to boost his other ambitious project, Starlink, which is being operated in India. According to “people familiar with the matter” cited by Bloomberg, Starlink has already gotten guarantees from the national government that it will be permitted to begin operations in the nation as early as this quarter’s third quarter.

Also Read: Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Protests Over Israeli Government Contract

According to experts, Starlink’s operations in India will signal stronger security cooperation between the US and India. India relaxed its regulations on foreign direct investment in the space industry in February, enabling businesses to invest in enterprises that produce satellites and rockets.

Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Protests Over Israeli Government Contract

A Google contract with the Israeli government led to the firing of 28 workers by tech giant Google, who had participated in sit-in protests at their offices. According to The Verge, the layoffs followed the US authorities’ suspension and subsequent arrest of nine employees earlier this week. The Israeli government has a $1.2 billion deal with Google Cloud, which the 28 employees who were asked to leave in protest protested.

The corporation stated that such behavior “has no place in our workplace, and we will not tolerate it” in an internal memo to staff members. “A large portion of our employees behave morally. Google told its workers, “If you’re among the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again.” “The company will continue to implement our long-standing policies to take action against disruptive behavior, up to and including termination. We take this very seriously.”

Also Read: Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Life, Resigns; Keki Mistry Will Lead Board

The protestors dubbed Google’s action a “flagrant act of retaliation.” “Google workers are permitted to protest unjust working conditions in a nonviolent manner. “These terminations were obviously reprisals,” the organization “No Tech for Apartheid” declared. After conducting an inquiry, the corporation declared that “we terminated the employment of twenty-eight employees found to be involved.” We’ll keep looking into this and act when necessary.

Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Life, Resigns; Keki Mistry Will Lead Board

HDFC Life Insurance’s chairman, Deepak S. Parekh, stepped down from his position, the company said in a trade recording on Thursday. “Deepak S. Parekh has chosen to step down as the Chairman and Non-Executive Executive of the Company, with an impact from nearing trade hours on April 18, 2024,” the company said. The company also said that they have named Keki M. Mistry as the Chairman of the Board.

“The board has consistently endorsed the arrangement of Keki M. Mistry as the Chairman of the Board with prompt impact, subject to the endorsement of the Protections Administrative and Improvement Authority,” the company said. Mistry has been related to the company since December 2000 and is right now acting as a non-executive director. “With the amalgamation of HDFC Restricted with HDFC Bank, Mr. Mistry superannuated from HDFC Constrained and has been named as a non-executive executive on the Board of HDFC Bank Constrained.

He is also an executive on the sheets of a few other noticeable companies,” the trade recording stated. The backup plans also said that VK Viswanathan and Prasad Chandran should desist from being autonomous chiefs of the company after completing their two continuous terms of five years each on April 24, 2024.

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Moreover, the company also named Venkatraman Srinivasan as its autonomous chief. “The board has affirmed the arrangement of Mr. Venkatraman Srinivasan as an Extra-Autonomous Director effective April 18, 2024, for a term of five continuous years, subject to the endorsement of the shareholders in the resulting Yearly Common Assembly of the Company,” it said.