‘Saw major growth in digital transactions’

“I understand it has nine principles, which are all built on trust, transparency and ensuring inclusivity. The emphasis on including women is right. Most often when technology-related matters are introduced, women tend to be hesitant, and there is an eagerness to move ahead fast even if women are left behind—both of which are not ideal,” added Sitharaman.

The minister stressed on the need for women to participate in technology as the economy depends on women’s active participation.

“I also think one of the nine points is also to ensure that there is data privacy. It is one of the things that is very important and is an issue on which there can be a lot of contentious views. However, basic respect for privacy is something which as guiding principle is well-appreciated,” she added.

NEW DELHI: The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) for India touched a record high of 105 in the week ended September 26.

The NIBRI is a weekly indicator of economic activity that takes into account Google mobility indices, driving mobility from Apple, power demand and the labour force participation rate. A NIBRI value of 100 refers to the pre-pandemic level (23 February 2020) of economic activity. It has emerged as a popular high-frequency economic tracker since the Covid-19 outbreak.

After India went into a lockdown for 68 days beginning March 25 last year, NIBRI fell sharply, reaching a minimum of 44 in the week ended April 26, 2020. It has recovered gradually since then, and came close to 100 (99.3) in the week ended February 21, 2021, before the second wave of the pandemic led to another decline.