Newsmakers: Rupee hits one-week high, Google's Sundar Pichai in India and more

India recorded $17.5 bn PE investments in 2015: PwC
Private equity investments in India touched a record high of $17.5 billion in 2015 across 685 deals, breaching the previous high of $14.7 billion recorded in 2007, a PwC report says. According to the report, PE investments (excluding real estate deals) till December 14, this year stood at $17.5 billion, registering a jump of 34 per cent over calender year 2014, which saw $13 billion invested across 560 deals.

Budget 2016: PM to focus more on fields than roads
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will recalibrate budget priorities in 2016 to focus on social initiatives, such as the country's first major crop insurance scheme, while capping previously prioritised infrastructure spending , officials say. Modi splurged on roads and railways this year in a strategy to spur economic growth. But it came partly at the expense of federal programmes for farmers and the poor, suffering through back-to-back drought years.

Early GST rollout to help create more jobs: IMF
Pitching for an early take-off of the Goods and Services Tax, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said it will help India create more jobs, increase revenue as well as promote domestic manufacturing. She assured support and technical assistance for implementation of the comprehensive indirect tax reform, which will subsume excise and sales taxes.

Rupee hits one-week high of 66.73 level ahead of Fed meet
Showing remarkable resilience, the rupee appreciated for the second straight day to end at one-week high of 66.73 against the US dollar even as Federal Reserve's historic policy decision remained in the spotlight. Heavy unwinding of dollars by banks and corporates alongside upbeat equities predominantly supported the rupee upmove despite firm dollar overseas.

Google CEO Pichai touts India as key testing ground for new products
New Google leader Sundar Pichai pledged to use India as a testing ground for its products as the US tech giant targets hundreds of millions of consumers in the developing world set to move online in the next few years. "We think that what we build in India will apply to many global places," Indian-born Pichai, appointed chief executive officer in August, told reporters at an event in New Delhi.