| | JULY 20269The World Bank Group has approved $890 million to support India's rooftop so-lar programme, accelerating clean energy adoption across millions of households. The financing includes an $820 million IBRD loan, a $60 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund, and a $10 million grant from the Liv-able Planet Fund. The initiative is expected to generate 1.7 million jobs across renewable energy manufacturing, installation, and services while mobilising $4.2 billion in private financing for residential rooftop solar projects. The funding supports the government's PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which aims to install rooftop solar systems in 10 million urban and rural homes, reduce electricity bills, strengthen domestic solar manufacturing, and advance India's clean energy and net-zero goals. IKEA is exploring fresh invest-ment opportunities in Haryana while advancing its planned Gurugram mixed-use project, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said after meeting IKEA India CEO Patrik Antoni. The leaders reviewed progress on the project and discussed ex-panding the company's presence in the state. Saini assured continued government support, while IKEA expressed confidence in Hary-ana's business-friendly investment climate. The Gurugram development, with an investment of around Rs.3,500 crore, will feature an IKEA store, offices, retail outlets, restaurants, and community spaces across a 10-acre site in Sector 47. The project reflects IKEA's broader strategy of developing integrated commercial hubs that combine shopping, workspaces, and entertainment to serve the growing Delhi-NCR market while strengthening its omnichannel retail presence across northern India. Starbucks is expanding its use of artificial intelligence to develop in-house software, aiming to replace some enterprise applications currently sourced from Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle. WORLD BANK BACKS INDIA'S ROOFTOP SOLAR PUSH WITH $890 MILLION IKEA STRENGTHENS HARYANA PRESENCE WITH GURUGRAM PROJECT STARBUCKS LEVERAGES AI FOR INTERNAL SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY RETAIL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India says, "A stronger economic partnership between India and New Zealand will create new opportunities for businesses, innovators, and the youth of both countries." The company is building al-ternatives for inventory manage-ment, maintenance, and point-of-sale systems to reduce technology costs and improve operational efficiency. Chief Technology Officer Anand Varadarajan said Star-bucks spends around $400 million annually on software and sees significant opportunities for sav-ings through internally developed solutions. Some AI-powered applications could be rolled out by the end of next year, subject to successful testing. Starbucks is also encouraging employees to integrate AI into their daily work, with AI adoption reportedly considered as part of performance evaluations, support-ing its broader digital transforma-tion strategy and long-term cost optimization goals.
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