India is set to hold the world's largest election between April and June 2024. Here are three facts to keep in mind.

India's general elections are set to begin on April 19 and will span nearly seven weeks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running for a third consecutive term. The election will cover 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of the Indian parliament, and is expected to be massive, with over 2,400 political parties fielding candidates. Nearly one billion people are eligible to vote in the elections, with nearly 970 million Indians registered to vote in over one million polling stations across the country. The election will be conducted in seven phases, with the results expected to be announced by June 4 and the entire process completed by June 6. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is favored to win the majority of seats. Modi himself has predicted that the BJP will win 370 seats and the Democratic Alliance.

https://internasional.kontan.co.id/news/india-bakal-menggelar-pemilu-terbesar-di-dunia-pada-april-juni-2024-ini-3-faktanya
 

China's industrial output and retail sales exceeded expectations in January and February.

China's factory output in the first two months of the year exceeded expectations, growing at a rate of 7.0%, the highest in almost two years. This surpassed analysts' forecasts of 5%. Retail sales also performed well, increasing by 5.5%, higher than the estimated 5.2%. However, retail sales growth slowed compared to December 2023, when it reached 7.4%. The return of the travel sector during the Lunar New Year holiday contributed to the positive performance of the tourism and hospitality sectors. Fixed asset investment increased by 4.2% compared to the same period last year, exceeding expectations of a 3.2% increase. These indicators, together with better-than-expected trade and consumer inflation data, provide a temporary boost to policymakers as they strive to maintain a growth rate of around 5% for the world's second-largest economy. However, achieving this growth may be more challenging than last year due to less favourable conditions.

https://internasional.kontan.co.id/news/output-industri-dan-penjualan-ritel-china-di-januari-februari-naik-lampaui-ekspektasi
 

Malaysia's central bank is outraged that Google misquoted the ringgit rate.

The Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), has accused Google of misquoting the exchange rate for the ringgit against the US dollar, resulting in a weakening of the currency. BNM will be seeking an explanation from the tech giant for this matter. The ringgit has already experienced a decline of around 2.44% this year, reaching its lowest level in 26 years last month. The central bank asserts that the undervaluation of the ringgit does not accurately reflect Malaysia's positive economic fundamentals. This is the second time that Google has been accused of publishing inaccurate information regarding the ringgit exchange rate. The bank has requested clarification on how these mistakes occurred and what corrective actions have been taken. However, Google does not verify the data provided by financial exchanges and content providers, and therefore disclaims responsibility for any inaccuracies.

https://internasional.kontan.co.id/news/bank-sentral-malaysia-berang-google-salah-kutip-kurs-ringgit