Good morning, friends. We’re closing the week with a busy issue, covering investment pledges in data centers, clean energy and manufacturing.

IN THIS MORNING’S ISSUE- The Modi government has rolled out a USD 815 mn scheme to counter China’s export curbs, and it plans to open the nuclear energy sector to private players.

ALSO- Digital Connexion has pledged USD 11 bn for data centers while KKR-backed Serentica is lining up USD 8 bn for its next wave of clean energy investments.

AND- The RBI defends its inflation forecasts; the IMF has reclassified India’s exchange-rate framework, and Berger Paints, JK Cement, and Aditum are pushing momentum across the India-UAE corridor.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sees no “systematic bias” in its inflation projection, arguing its use of a mix of modelling approaches, historical patterns, and expert assessments to forecast price movements, PTI reports, citing Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta. Forecast deviations are a global phenomenon and not unique to India, she said, adding that the RBI treats external evaluations of its projections seriously.

Backdrop: Gupta’s comments follow growing scrutiny over the RBI’s inflation forecasts after multiple projection errors this year. The central bank’s first-quarter estimate overshot actual inflation by 0.7 percentage points, the biggest gap in nearly six years. Economists have suggested that repeated overestimation could delay rate-cut decisions.

MEANWHILE- The RBI is predicted to cut its key interest rate by 25 bps to 5.25% at the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting on 5 December, according to a Reuters poll of 80 economists. Sixty-two respondents forecast a reduction after consumer inflation fell to a record low of 0.25% in October.

#2- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reclassified India’s de facto exchange-rate system to a “crawl-like arrangement” from “stabilized” following central bank interventions to stabilize currency volatility through 2025, according to the IMF’s 2025 Article IV Staff Report. The shift reflects greater two-way movement in the INR, which has weakened about 4% so far this year, and touched a record low of INR 89.49 per USD on 21 November.

Under the IMF methodology, a crawl-like regime applies when a currency remains within a narrow band of 2 percentage points relative to a statistically identified trend for at least six months and exchange rate cannot be considered floating. The IMF said there is potential for additional exchange-rate flexibility, although the central bank continues to step in to limit sharp volatility.

#3- Gurugram-based renewable-power developer Serentica Renewables, backed by private equity firm KKR, could raise up to USD 8 bn over the next five years to fund acquisitions and expand capacity as it plans to scale its clean-energy portfolio to 17 GW by 2030, Reuters reports. The first USD 3 bn phase of funding is fully secured, while about USD 2 bn for the next phase is partially financed and the rest of the amount is under negotiation. The firm is also assessing 3-5 GW of renewable assets currently up for sale in India, as per the newswire.

ICYMI- India’s renewable energy sector has clocked USD 18 bn in investments from January-September this year, according to Hindu Businessline. The sector recorded USD 10 bn investments in 2024 and USD 13.2 bn in 2023.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

All eyes are still on the Hong Kong fire, which has so far killed 94 people, with scores still missing, and the White House shooting, which killed a National Guard member. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal | New York Times)

Unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work at the residential building in Hong Kong that caught fire might be the culprit behind the rapid spreading of the fire, police have alleged. Several employees and consultants at the construction firm that built the building have been arrested. (Guardian | Reuters | NYT)

ALSO- A controversial new 1.1km oil pipeline agreement that will link Canada’s Alberta oil sands to the Pacific coast has already received tons of backlash from environmentalist groups and other Canadian cabinet members, with Culture Minister and former Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault resigning on the news.

The pipeline will likely impact indigenous communities in the region and could have potential environmental repercussions, critics say. The megaproject comes as Canada looks to shift its economy away from an overreliance on the US economy. Canada supplies around 60% of US oil imports. (Financial Times | Guardian | NYT)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Telangana Rising 2047 will take place on 8 and 9 December in Hyderabad. Leading industrialists and international delegates are expected to attend the two-day investment summit.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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