It’s getting easier to breathe in Delhi, India gets an upgrade, and more trending news

Delhi’s air quality is improving, and curbs are being eased. The National Green Tribunal has lifted a construction ban and started allowing trucks to enter the capital, and parking charges have also been rolled back to regular levels. The ban on industrial activities remains intact. Many corporate executives and diplomats have been refusing Delhi-based roles because of air quality concerns; about 40% of Delhi’s smog was due to dust from West Asia, government research firm SAFAR said.

Moody’s has upgraded India’s sovereign rating for the first time in 13 years. The global agency raised India’s rating to “Baa2” from “Baa3” — seen as recognition of the Centre’s “reforms” such as GST implementation and demonetisation. While government officials have hailed the bump, Bloomberg reports that investors are surprised: India recently lost its place as the fastest-growing world economy. While Moody’s expects India’s GDP to go up to 6.7% in 2017-18, the agency warned that a downgrade could be possible if the country’s fiscal metrics worsen.

Tesla now has an Indian connection. TVS Group’s Sundaram Fasteners is supplying the Elon Musk-led company with electric car parts such as bevel gears and surge tank caps. Suresh Krishna, the managing director of Sundaram Fasteners, says working with Tesla augurs well for his company’s gradual transition to the electric vehicles era; the government wants to electrify all vehicles by 2030. India recently lost out to China in the race for Tesla’s first factory outside the US.

India has the highest number of people with no access to toilets. Over 730 million Indians, including 355 million women, either defecate in the open or in unhygienic toilets, according to a WaterAid report. But the Swachh Bharat Mission — under which 52 million toilets were built — has helped put India in the top 10 list for improving sanitation access, says the non-profit organisation. Still India is a long way away from fully eliminating open defecation, WaterAid said. Globally, one in three people don’t have access to a safe toilet.

Siemens is cutting 6,900 jobs worldwide in response to changes in the energy and commodity industries. Cuts will be made in the affected areas "over a period of several years," the German manufacturing conglomerate said in a press release. The decision is largely due to falling prices in major markets, including India. Siemens reportedly had 18,000 employees across 22 factories in the country last year. Siemens also said it plans to shift as many affected employees as possible into some of the 3,200 vacancies it now has.

Idea of the Day: Your workplace may attract employees with perks like ping-pong tables and stand-up desks — but those aren’t what will make them happy in the long-run, says best-selling author Bernard Marr.

“It’s important to have a trusted support network at work just as it is in other areas of your life. The stronger your connection is to those you work with and work for, the more you will want to be generous with your time and talents.”

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