Business

fm-pitches-for-regulatory-impact-assessments-to-enhance-accountability-in-policy-making

Fri Jul 28 16:03:19 IST 2023

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday pitched for a "regulatory impact assessment" to study the positives and negatives of a decision before it is taken, and also for existing rules.

She said having such a facility can help enhance the transparency and accountability in the policymaking process.

"We may also have a regulatory impact assessment to critically assess the positive and negative effects of proposed and existing regulations and non regulatory alternatives," she said, speaking at an event here.

Time limits to decide the applications under various regulations should also be named in the interest of ease of doing business, she added.

Regulatory actions may vary from disclosure to light touch regulation and supervision to tight regulation and full fledged supervision depending on the risk implications, she said.

"Quality, proportionality and effectiveness of regulations matter the most for ease of doing business," she said.

Sitharaman said the main focus of financial regulators should be market development and also investor protection.

The markets should be enabled for ease of raising capital, as much as the investors should be given the necessary protection both simultaneously, she added.

Admitting that the job of a regulator is onerous and often thankless, Sitharaman said they should maintain the balance between the two tasks.

She asked the regulators to be "flexible" and ensure that their decisions do not stifle innovation.

There is a need to enhance mobilisation of domestic savings towards financial assets by easing access to the financial market, she said.

She pitched for public consultations to be made into an integral aspect in the process of regulation making and issuing subsequent directions, she said.

"I firmly believe that a set of broad indicative benchmarks for a good consultative and participatory process for better understanding between the regulators and the regulated may help in achieving better economic outcomes, smoother acceptance of regulatory changes and effective functioning of financial markets," Sitharaman said.

iphone-15-lineup-from-ai-to-hybrid-lens-all-rumoured-specifications-so-far

Thu Jul 27 17:03:39 IST 2023

With rumours suggesting that the launch of the iPhone 15 line-up might get postponed to October instead of getting released in the usual September time-frame, the anticipation about the specifications of the new models is at an all-time high. Here are the rumoured specifications suggested by tipsters so far.

AI to track moods

Siri is already powered by AI but Apple is yet to make a major foray into the field. Dan Ives, an industry insider with Wedbush Securities, told DailyMail.com that the iPhone 15 could be Apple's stepping stone into the AI arena. He claimed that AI features could help the Health app enhance data collection on heart rate, breathing and sleeping and monitor movement, exercise routine and food habits.

Apple may also come up with an AI feature to track the user's moods by capturing speech and analysing text messages, he added.

More megapixels and better photos

'We've heard there is a 20 to 30 per cent improvement than the iPhone 14. This will likely include megapixels and other capabilities around photos that are not even imaginable with the iPhone 14,' Ives told the outlet.

The iPhone 15 might feature the same dual-sensor camera setup, but could also feature the 48MP main sensor while the Pro versions may flaunt the long-rumoured periscope.

Glass-plastic hybrid lens

The iPhone 14 versions feature seven plastic lenses in the primary camera. However, according to Twitter user RgcloudS, a tipster with a track record of leaking specifications of Android devices, the iPhone 15 series might feature a hybrid lens made up of one glass element and six plastic elements in the main camera.

More battery life

According to a staffer at Foxconn, the firm that makes Apple's iPhones, quoted by ItHome, the 2023 versions of the iPhone may get larger batteries.

The iPhone 15 could have a 3,877mAh capacity, iPhone 15 Plus 4,912mAh, iPhone 15 Pro 3,650mAh and iPhone 15 Pro Max 4,852mAh, as per the report.

Bolstered RAM

iPhone 15 Pro models are anticipated to get enhanced performance as they might be equipped with 8GB RAM compared to the 6 GB RAM in the iPhone 14 Pro, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce.

A17 Bionic chip

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max might feature Apple's anticipated next-generation 3nm A17 Bionic chip. However, the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will retain last year's A16 Bionic chip.

USB-C

Leaked images of the purported iPhone 15 Pro case show a wider cut-out at the bottom. This is rumoured to be for a USB-C port that replaces Apple's Lightning port.

Titanium frame

The iPhone 15 Pro models may incorporate a titanium frame, inspired by the Apple Watch Ultra compared to the stainless steel frame found in the 2022 Pro version.

Ultra-thin bezels

MacRumors reported that iPhone 15 Pro models will get ultra-thin bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, according to the leaker, "ShrimpApplePro." The leaker added that thinner bezels and curved edges could give the new Pro models a look that's similar to the Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8.

demerger-not-to-affect-synergies-between-itcs-other-businesses-and-hotels-analysts

Wed Jul 26 18:47:44 IST 2023

The proposed demerger of the hotels division of ITC into a separate entity will not affect synergies with other business lines of the conglomerate, according to analysts.

The board of ITC, on Monday, accorded in-principle approval to demerge its hotels business into a new entity to be listed pursuant to a scheme of arrangement.

Broking firm JM Financial said in a report that "synergies between hotels and other ITC businesses like foods should largely remain unaffected".

The firm said ITC will continue to hold 40 per cent shareholding in the new entity post-demerger and the balance of 60 per cent will be owned by the shareholders.

This, according to JM Financial, will help the demerged business to raise and deploy its own capital to fund growth of the hotel business and ensure it remains on top amongst peers.

This move of demerger will also point towards a sharper capital allocation strategy of ITC, the report said.

Another firm, Nuvama Research, said ITC has addressed the key investor expectation of demerging the hotels business.

With ITC holding 40 per cent of the demerged entity directly and the balance 60 per cent by its shareholders, this will provide synergy and stability in the operations of the two companies, it said.

Nuvama said if ITC had no stake in the proposed demerged entity, the hotels business would become a takeover target with no possibilities of synergy.

Prior to 2004, the ownership of the hotels business was split between ITC Limited and ITC Hotels Limited and its subsidiaries.

However, the two were merged on April 1, 2004 and the hotels business was consolidated under ITC.

Nuvama said the structure of the demerged entity implies a balance between decision-making capabilities and stability.

The company's hotels business is operated under six brands—ITC Hotels, Mementos, WelcomHotel, Storri, Fortune and WelcomHeritage.

From 2002-03 to 2022-23, the revenues from the hotels business has grown at a CAGR of 11 per cent.

On Wednesday, the ITC scrip closed at Rs 472.40 per cent on NSE, registering a rise of 2.18 per cent.

threads-or-twitters-x-whats-next-in-the-battle-to-dominate-microblogging

Fri Jul 28 17:39:19 IST 2023

Twitter has gone X. And Threads is in free fall after a turbo-powered launch. Desi alternatives like Koo have their share of ups and downs. There has probably never been such a flurry of developments in the text-based short blog space, referred to as microblogging, since Jack Dorsey invented the blue bird 15 years ago. So, what does the road ahead look like?

The most startling news was perhaps the demise of the blue bird itself. Maverick billionaire Elon Musk came up with his latest disruption for the microblogging champ this week — its very identity. Out went the blue bird logo and the very name ‘Twitter’, to be replaced by the more-ominous-than-mysterious X.

Not that all is hunky dory at Twitter’s bete noire, the newly-launched Threads from Musk’s nemesis Mark Zuckerberg. After a spectacular launch early this month which saw Threads hit 10 crore users in just the first five days, the unravelling began. Threads has lost more than half of its users and is in danger of becoming another internet viral trend that fizzled out soon enough.

Alin Choubey, business head (north) of FoxyMoron, a digital products and services agency, attributed it to a “lack of well-thought-out user acquisition and retention strategies.” He explained: “ Simply copying and pasting features from other platforms is not sufficient. The current approach of migrating Instagram's audience to a Twitter-like experience is not sustainable.”

Instagram’s 235 crore users were given a one-click option to join Threads. In the initial days of its launch, it became a fun trend for Instagram users to migrate and flaunt their Threads credentials. But active usage is entirely another story.

Not that Zuckerberg seemed too perturbed. "Obviously, if you have more than 100 million people sign up, ideally it would be awesome if all of them or even half of them stuck around. We are not there yet," Reuters quoted him as saying at a town hall event at the Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley recently.

The company is now aiming at what it called ‘hooks’ to entice users, including squeezing in important ‘threads’ into user feeds on Instagram as well as launching a desktop version and 'Search' function. With its dominance over all other areas of social media — direct messaging (WhatsApp in most parts of the world and Facebook Messenger in the US), social networking (Facebook) and photo-and-video sharing (Instagram)—Zuckerberg obviously does not plan to let go of this golden opportunity to take over the one area of social media where he doesn’t have sway—microblogging.

Twitter’s chaos since Musk took over could only help him along the way. Musk has fired a good chunk of Twitter staff (many of whom have joined Meta, some even helping Zuckerberg clone Twitter at Threads, according to allegations levelled by Musk & Co), turned verification, earlier a mark of authenticity, into a paid-for revenue generator and made odious amounts of superficial changes. Result? Twitter’s brand valuation and ad revenue have been diving south these past few months.

Said Choubey, “Threads should adopt a multi-pronged approach: acquire an audience that drives the platform and connects with other opinion leaders, retain an audience that engages with the platform based on its value proposition, and offer something unique to address Twitter's shortcomings.”

“It's one thing to have a user base, but having an engaged user base is an entirely different challenge,” he quipped.

Indian social media platforms will know exactly how it feels. The network effect, the algorithmic might and FOMO-effect (Fear Of Missing Out) ensure that predominant players will almost always have an edge. This was in evidence when the government banned TikTok, prompting many desi players to launch their short video apps to fill in the vacuum. However, at the end of the day, it was Instagram that managed to take over the void left by TikTok through its own in-app short video facility called Reels.

Or even Koo. Though much touted as the desi Twitter, it has still to live up to its potential. Even with Twitter, oops, X plummeting further, the advantage would more be for a player like Threads than Koo, if you believe the experts. “Smaller players like Koo can't compete with the algorithmic strength of giants like Meta and Twitter,” said Choubey. “Koo needs to determine its unique value to users, clarify its purpose, and then emphasize that value proposition to attract and retain users effectively. This will be a challenging task, given the competition from established platforms, but it is crucial for Koo's survival and growth.”

will-there-be-an-end-to-byjus-woes

Wed Jul 26 17:38:14 IST 2023

It seems there may not be an immediate end to Byju's woes. Media reports state that Byju Raveendran, the founder, broke down in tears after the Enforcement Directorate raided the company's offices, linking it to possible foreign exchange violations. The company has been facing a series of crises including allegations of financial irregularities and legal battles. Byju's had recently shut its largest office space in Bengaluru’s Kalyani Tech Park as part of cost-cutting measures. The office space was spread across an area of 5.58 lakh square feet.

Experts with whom THE WEEK spoke to feel that Byju's is going through an existential crisis and that it's a clear case of growing too big and too fast without a strong foundation in place. In B2C businesses, one needs to have the pulse of the customer and here it touches something India has always valued—education.

“In education it is your value rather than valuation which matters. Unless the company raises a lot of money in the near term (which seems almost impossible) it would be very difficult for it to survive. It is very difficult for any company to survive by cost management. Unfortunately in Byju's case, the revenues don't seem to be in sight as well,” Satya Pramod, Founder and CEO, Kayess Square Consulting Private Limited, told THE WEEK.

He points out that with so many issues pulling the company down, it seems almost impossible for it to come out of the pit. “The company needs urgent infusion of cash to change the negative image currently and they should agree to down rounds as well since it is about the company, its customers and employees now more than it is about the investors. The company has to look at all three in tandem, focus on revenues and grow, optimize costs and also raise capital. It is not easy to do all the three together, but if a company could grow so fast, it can also find the resilience in its management, board, investors and also its employees,” added Pramod.

The rapid growth and success has undoubtedly attracted a significant influx of investors and moreover the EdTech sector was the darling of the investor community. “The turn of events at Byju's have been unfortunate. It is essential for any company and its top leaders to prioritise building and maintaining the trust of their investors. Transparent communication and upholding corporate governance are pivotal in this regard. We have seen companies who have neglected this aspect have eroded shareholder value. One has to navigate through the challenging phase when it happens. There are no shortcuts here; one has to rebuild the trust and confidence of the stakeholders, especially since the prospects for the sector continue to remain bright,” remarked Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD and CEO of CIEL HR.

The company has been trying to deal with the situation one at a time. As per Byju's spokesperson, the company has no pending PF dues. “We would like to reconfirm that all PF dues have been cleared till June 2023 for our employees. There have been a few authentication issues which are being currently worked on with the employees and the PF department,” said BYJU'S spokesperson.

Prosus N.V., an investor in Byju's had said that the company's reporting and governance structure did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale and it "regularly disregarded advice" despite repeated efforts by the Dutch-listed technology firm's former director. Prosus had slashed the valuation of Byju's to $ 5.1 billion from $ 22 billion last year. The company had said that the decision for its director to step down from Byju's board last month was mainly because he was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the company and its stakeholders.

“In the recent past, many of Byju's investors have expressed trenchant criticism as to how business is taking shape. But on the other hand, Byju's management has turned recalcitrant. It is a sign that things will go downhill before things get better,” remarked Alok Shende of Mumbai-based Ascentius Consulting.

The present crisis at Byju's is not surprising as the EdTech companies overestimated the future prospects of their products and are now coming to terms with the reality of phygital environment. Beside the money from the PEs, the companies have leveraged debt to finance their operations. All EdTech companies have been facing challenges of revenue flow and hence are under stress to optimise their operations. Hence they have shut down projects and been pressing the pedal to the maximum limit on sales and marketing.

electric-two-wheeler-sales-on-the-rise-but-where-is-the-charging-infra

Wed Jul 26 17:32:37 IST 2023

Another day, another electric vehicle launch. As Lectrix, the EV division of the power-to-telcom SAR Group, introduced its new electric two-wheeler scooter at an upscale hotel in the national capital, the question that is the crux of the whole go-EV-or-remain-ICE debate popped up again—what about the dire need for charging infra in the country?

While the two models that Lectrix is launching nationwide, the LXS G2.0 and LXS G3.0, can both be plugged and charged at home (like all the electric two-wheelers in the country which work on a combo of plug-and-charge or battery swap model), company MD and CEO K. Vijaya Kumar admits it’s a challenge.

“Charging infra in the country needs to be developed. The government is working on it and discussing with the industry,” he said in an interview with THE WEEK. However, he admitted that there are challenges. If compared to as many number of petrol pumps, it is a different level of penetration and requirement that you are looking at.”

According to a CII report earlier this week, India may require at least 13 lakh charging stations by 2030 to support aggressive EV uptake. Or to break it down, 4 lakh charges every year.

It is no hyperbole. In 2023, electric two-wheeler sales hit an inflection point, tripling in numbers to nearly 8.5 lakh, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). As Vipin Sondhi, former MD & CEO of Ashok Leyland and JCB, said, “The government has set the ball rolling on accelerated adoption of TVs, aging to achieve sales penetration of 30 per cent for cars and 80 per cent for two- and three-wheelers by 2030. This presents a huge opportunity for the Indian industry.”

But where are the charging points on this highway to electrification?

While the CII report paints an optimistic picture of the sheer extent of the requirement will provide the economics of scale needed to turn India into a global manufacturing hub for charging stations, reality can be a bit dampener — while firms like Freecharge, Tata Power and even EV makers like Ather have been putting up charging infrastructure across Indian cities, it has almost been like drops in the ocean.

Lack of standardisation is another hurdle. “There is a lack of information about which type of charger charge point operators (CPOs) should invest in, given the variety of brands available,” pointed out Avinash Sharma, co-founder and CEO of ElectricPe, an EV charging platform. “Customers are confused by the need to access multiple apps to find charging points, leading to fragmented demand across 20+ platforms,” he added.

The evolving nature of the sector is another impediment. Vijaya Kumar of Lectrix said, “It’s too early to get to that level of standardisation. The industry is still maturing itself, the battery technology is changing, battery algorithms are changing, based on that the controller has to change, the charger to change - so the ecosystem needs to be mature enough and stabilised.”

all-you-need-to-know-about-jios-entry-into-asset-management-business

Thu Jul 27 16:08:26 IST 2023

India's mutual fund industry, which currently has 43 companies, is set to get a new player. Reliance Industries' recently demerged Jio Financial Services and US-based investment manager BlackRock are setting up an equal share joint venture in the country to enter the asset management industry.

On the one hand, this joint venture marks the first steps Reliance has taken to build a diversified financial services business. On the other hand, this joint venture will mark the re-entry of BlackRock in India.

Contours of the joint venture

Jio Financial Services and BlackRock will hold a 50 per cent stake each and are targeting initial investments of $150 million each in the venture to be called Jio BlackRock.

While, Jio Financial Services contributes local market knowledge, digital infrastructure capabilities and robust execution capabilities, BlackRock brings deep expertise and talent in investment management, risk management, product excellence, access to technology, operations, scale, and intellectual capital around markets.

Jio BlackRock aims to be a "digital-first" enterprise with a vision to "democratise access to financial investment solutions," according to Hitesh Sethia, president and CEO of Jio Financial Services.

"The partnership will leverage BlackRock’s deep expertise in investment and risk management along with the technology capability and deep market expertise of Jio Financial Services to drive digital delivery of products," said Sethia.

BlackRock's re-entry

Hemendra Kothari's DSP Group had a mutual fund joint venture with Merrill Lynch. BlackRock bought out Merrill's 40 per cent stake in the venture in 2008 and the company became DSP BlackRock Investment Managers. However, BlackRock sold its stake in the venture in 2018 to exit the mutual fund business in India.

BlackRock is the world's largest asset management company, managing close to $9 trillion in assets.

“India represents an enormously important opportunity. The convergence of rising affluence, favourable demographics, and digital transformation across industries is reshaping the market in incredible ways," said Rachel Lord, chair and head of APAC, BlackRock.

It is partnering with Jio Financial Services to revolutionise India’s asset management industry and transform financial futures, added Lord.

Industry Scenario

India's mutual fund industry has seen a rapid rise in assets over the last few years. As of June 2023, the average assets under management of the industry stood at Rs 44.82 lakh crore, compared with Rs 36.98 lakh crore average AUM in June 2022 and Rs 26.06 lakh crore in June 2020.

However, it remains hugely underpenetrated compared with other, especially, developed markets. The ratio of mutual funds assets under management to the country's GDP is hovering around 16 per cent, compared to the global average of 63 per cent.

The rapid growth in recent times and the huge scope to grow have attracted several new players to the industry. Non-banking financial services major Bajaj Finserv launched its mutual fund business last month. The country's largest broking firm Zerodha has announced plans to launch a mutual fund business with the fintech platform smallcase. Hedge fund Helios Capital, Old Bridge Capital Management, and broking firms Angel One and Emkay Global are among the many other companies that are interested in launching mutual fund business in the country.

Jio BlackRock could well disrupt the industry, just like Jio did in the telecom business. But, in the mutual funds business, ultimately its the returns that a fund can deliver will make a big difference.

Also, important to note, is that despite the presence of over 40 companies, the mutual fund industry AUMs are dominated by the top 6-7 companies, especially those who have a backing of a bank. The top five AMCs in the country - SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential MF, HDFC MF, Nippon India MF and Kotak Mahindra MF - together had AUM of over Rs 22 lakh crore. So, Jio BlackRock will face stiff competition in this industry.

The company will have its own management team, but operations will be launched only after receiving the necessary regulatory and statutory approvals.

all-you-need-to-know-about-cryptocurrency-taxation-before-filing-income-tax-returns

Wed Jul 26 16:46:05 IST 2023

It is that time of the year when filing your income tax returns will be high up on your agenda, if not already done. The last date for ITR filing is July 31; so there is hardly any time left. Do note that from this year, people would also need to file taxes for gains made on their cryptocurrency investments.

In the Union Budget last year, it was announced that any income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset would be taxed at 30 per cent.

The crypto tax applies to all investors—private or commercial—who transfer virtual digital assets during the year. The tax rate is also the same for short-term and long-term gains, and it applies to all types of income earned by the investor, noted Avinash Polepally, senior director, crypto business head, Cleartax.

"Gains from trading, selling or swapping cryptocurrency will be taxed at flat 30 per cent (plus a 4 per cent surcharge) irrespective of whether the income is treated as capital gains or business income. Other than this tax, one per cent TDS will also apply on sale of crypto assets worth more than Rs 50,000," said Polepally.

The liability to deduct the TDS (tax deducted at source) at one per cent rate lies with the person purchasing the virtual digital assets from an Indian resident. If the seller has not filed the ITR, then TDS will be deducted at a higher rate of 5 per cent, according to Avinash Shekhar, CEO and founder of TaxNodes, a crypto tax startup.

The most common transaction on any exchange is where a person buys and sells any cryptocurrency to another person, essentially a transfer of the digital asset.

Things to remember while filing your income tax returns as deadline closes in

"Indian exchanges dealing with virtual digital assets are mandated to comply with TDS provisions. If an individual engages in a peer-to-peer transaction on an Indian exchange, the exchange itself will be responsible for deducting and depositing TDS with the government," said Shekhar.

What if someone is mining cryptocurrencies? Essentially, mining is a process where the person is generating new coins. According to Polepally, there should be no TDS implications on crypto exchanges in the case of mining.

"The cost of acquisition for crypto mining will be considered as zero for computing the gains at the time of sale. No expenses such as electricity cost or infra cost can be included in the cost of acquisition," he said.

Are there taxes on gifting cryptocurrency?

"Gifts of crypto are not taxed in the hands of the recipient if they are close relatives such as spouse, parents, children etc. However, if the recipient, in turn, sells the crypto, then they will incur a 30 per cent tax on the gains," said Raghuram Trikutam, CEO, Descrypt, a platform that allows investors to track and file taxes on cryptocurrency.

Gifting crypto to non-close relatives too will be tax-free in the hands of the recipient, but only up to Rs 50,000, added Trikutam.

Sometimes, blockchains or exchanges may send coins or tokens to wallet addresses for completing tasks, participating in community events, and the like. These are called Airdrops. According to Polepally, there should be no TDS implications on crypto exchanges in the case of airdrops. Tax implications on receiving donations in crypto will also be similar to airdrop.

"If you donate using cryptocurrency, then the value of the crypto at the time of donation will be considered as sale value and tax will be calculated on notional gains," he said.

What are the things that a crypto investor must keep in mind and remember to file?

One, the investor must maintain a detailed record of all crypto transactions, including purchases, sales and transfers. People should also differentiate income from various crypto activities, like trading, investment, and mining, among other things, as each is subject to different tax treatment, said Shekhar of TaxNodes.

"Understand the applicable tax rates for cryptocurrency gains based on the type of activity and duration of holding. If TDS is applicable, ensure proper reporting and compliance," he said.

According to Trikutam of Descrypt, investors have to disclose gains made on crypto transactions for each quarter of the financial year.

"Under schedule VDA, investors must list down all crypto transactions where they sold or exchanged any crypto, regardless of what they received in return (goods, services or other cryptocurrencies). This comprehensive disclosure is crucial for accurate reporting of crypto transactions," he said.

Do note that income can't be offset by losses and losses can't be carried forward to subsequent financial years.

indians-may-soon-be-able-to-shop-for--indiasize--garments

Wed Jul 26 17:18:10 IST 2023

In a move aimed at revolutionising the shopping experience for Indians, the Textiles Ministry is set to launch the 'INDIAsize' initiative. Textiles Secretary, Rachna Shah, announced the upcoming rollout, which aims to introduce measurements and standards tailored to better suit the diverse body types of the Indian population.

Currently, both international and domestic brands available in India use sizing metrics primarily based on US or UK standards, with generic labels such as 'small', 'medium', and 'large'. This one-size-fits-all approach has often led to fitting issues for Indian consumers, as Western body types differ significantly from those of Indians in terms of height, weight, and specific body measurements.

The 'INDIAsize' initiative is expected to resolve this long-standing concern, allowing Indian shoppers to find clothes that fit them better and enhance their overall shopping experience. With a focus on addressing the unique body proportions of the Indian populace, this initiative is likely to be welcomed by consumers across the country.

"We are hoping... that will happen very soon," stated Textiles Secretary Rachna Shah in response to queries about the launch date of the INDIAsize initiative.

Beyond catering to consumer needs, the government has set ambitious goals for the technical textiles segment. The Textiles Secretary expressed the government's determination to boost the domestic technical textiles sector's value from the current USD 22 billion to a remarkable USD 40-50 billion within the next five years.

The introduction of 'INDIAsize' is expected to not only improve the clothing shopping experience for Indians but also stimulate growth and innovation within the country's textile industry. With the government's emphasis on promoting indigenous technical textiles, the nation is poised to witness a substantial economic transformation in the coming years.

As anticipation builds for the imminent launch of the 'INDIAsize' initiative, industry stakeholders and consumers alike are eager to embrace this positive change that promises a more inclusive and tailored approach to fashion in India.

The Textiles Secretary said the government's goal is to take the domestic technical textiles segment to USD 40-50 billion in the next five years or so, from USD 22 billion at present.

"Our exports of technical textiles is presently at USD 2.5 billion, our objective is to enhance it to USD 10 billion during this period," Shah added.

The technical textile market globally is to the tune of about USD 250-260 billion and is expected to increase to about USD 320-325 billion by 2025-26, she said.

The Textiles Secretary shared that the government is working in the technical textiles sector with a multi-pronged approach.

"There is focus on R&D activity in the technical textile segment including fibre and in development of various applications. There is also focus on developing a skilling ecosystem and skilled manpower for this sector.

"The government is promoting investment in technical textiles through its flagship schemes namely the PLI scheme for textiles as also the PM-MITRA Mega Textiles Parks," Shah said.

She informed that the Textiles Ministry is working very closely with various user Ministries and Departments within the government and state governments to increase demand and increase the penetration of technical textiles.

One very critical element of the approach is focusing on developing standards and regulations for technical textiles, she said while addressing a Ficci conference.

The Ministry of Textiles sanctioned the INDIAsize project to develop standard body sizes for the Indian apparel sector to address the prevailing disparities and inconsistencies in provided fits.

The project entails gathering anthropometric data pan-India from more than 25,000 male and female persons between the age group of 15 years and 65 years using human safe 3D whole-body scanning technology.

The created body-size chart will help national and international retailers and manufacturers to produce goods which are best suited for Indian body types and create a balance between demand and supply of well fitted garments.

Apart from apparel, the findings of the study will have ramifications across various sectors such as automotive, aerospace, fitness & sport, art, computer gaming, etc. where the insights from this data can produce ergonomically designed products which are well suited for the Indian population.

(With inputs from PTI)

stock-markets-close-higher-on-foreign-fund-inflows-rally-in-us-equities

Wed Jul 26 17:05:48 IST 2023

Benchmark Sensex bounced back 351 points while Nifty closed above the 19,750 level on Wednesday following buying in infra, banking and oil shares amid fresh foreign fund inflows and rally in the US markets.

Snapping its three-session losing run, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 351.49 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 66,707.20. During the day, it jumped 541.56 points or 0.81 per cent to 66,897.27.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 97.70 points or 0.50 per cent to end at 19,778.30.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro jumped over 3 per cent. ITC, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys and State Bank of India were the other major gainers.

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday posted a 36 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 3,116.12 crore for the June quarter, mainly aided by the execution of a healthy order book in its projects and manufacturing portfolio.

From the 30-share club, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and Titan were among the major laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Equity markets in Europe were trading in the red. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.72 per cent lower at $83 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,088.76 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark had slipped 29.07 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 66,355.71 on Tuesday. The Nifty inched up by 8.25 points or 0.04 per cent to end at 19,680.60.

stocks-have-rallied-this-year-and-canara-robecos-bhandwaldar-sees-more-upside-from-here

Wed Jul 26 13:43:26 IST 2023

Equity markets have gained momentum in 2023, on the back of continued domestic inflows into mutual funds and foreign institutional investors beginning to invest heavily in India in the last few months. The market rally has been broad-based; while the benchmark BSE Sensex is up over 9 per cent as of closing July 25, midcap and smallcap indices have accelerated over 17 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Shridatta Bhandwaldar, head of equities at Canara Robeco Mutual Fund feels there are possibilities of further upside from a three-year horizon. In an interview with THE WEEK, he says there isn't anything that could warrant a correction of over 5-7 per cent now.

Q. Over the past few weeks the benchmark indices have touched record highs, the mid and small caps too have seen a strong rally. Do you think there is more steam left for the markets?

Markets go up and down. It's all a function of what's the incremental view on earnings growth. So while the markets have moved, can there be a little bit of up-fronting that might have happened on returns in some of the pockets? Yes, it has happened. But in general, I still feel that markets are in a fair zone and terms of earnings trajectory, we are in the right direction. When we look at earnings today, they are far more realistic as compared to where they were 18 months back.

Everybody had assumed that in the export-oriented sectors like IT, commodities, and energy, everybody will keep delivering the way it was delivering. Even in domestic consumption, particularly the discretionary part, people thought this is normal. I think a lot of it did not play out as people were expecting. There were earnings exuberance building, which got normalized over the next 15 months and the market did not go anywhere. And that was also accompanied by rising interest rates.

So not only you had cash flow getting impacted, but you also had the cost of capital which was moving up. That was a combination where you can't get returns in the market if your starting point was 22-23 times one year forward earnings. Even today, the market is at about 21-22 times forward earnings. But today, the only difference vis-a-vis then is your cost of the capital equation has started turning in your favour; over the next 18-24 months, the interest rate cycle is more likely to be down than up.

Today, predominantly the incremental earnings growth of 13-15 per cent over the next two years is assumed to be coming from financials, auto, industrials, cement, domestic pharma, telecom, and hospitals, in which there is none of the large pockets except for financials where if disappointment comes actually numbers will get cut. So, your earnings will keep compounding. There are external risks. If there are some big accidents like bank failures in the US, you will have challenges. If there is some geopolitical event, you will face challenges. But on the domestic side, there doesn't look like there are many challenges from an economic and growth perspective.

Q. But, what about the valuations?

I am willing to ignore valuations today a little bit because we are in a business cycle, we are in a credit growth cycle. And even from a contextual perspective, we are not expecting any earnings downgrades to play out like what played out 15-18 months ago. Since we are looking at a 3-5 year credit growth cycle, I am not willing to actually look at near-term valuation and get worried. I don't see anything for which the market should correct more than 5-7 per cent.

Q. So there are more upsides than downsides now?

There are more probabilities of upside if you hold it for three years than downsides.

Q. You mentioned financials. We have seen bank NPAs are at a record low, and credit growth is strong. But, we have also seen banking stocks doing fairly well for quite some time. So how much of that has already been factored in?

That is the beauty of the current market. This is the largest sector of the market that is probably trading at average valuations or lower than average valuations. If you get another 15 per cent credit growth this year, your valuations will go up in that sector also. Many of them are sizeable institutions and their pain is behind. Even if this doesn't play out, you will still get 13-15 per cent earnings growth with clean balance sheets.

Q. The other sector is information technology, everyone was expecting a slowdown...

There is a slowdown, and it is reflected in all large-cap IT stocks. Large caps have seen earnings downgrades. It's not equally reflected in mid-caps and small-caps yet. But my hunch is if the entire end market is slowing, they can't be completely immune. Of course individual companies based on their clientele and geographies can be less impacted than the others, but there still looks like people are a little more optimistic than what is likely to play out.

Q. Are you confident of investing in the IT sector right now, or will you wait for some time for clarity to emerge?

The outperformance of the sector will only start when you cross that hump and again just like the market, you start growing your earnings and people get the confidence that you are in at least a marginal upgrade cycle and not a downward cycle. We are yet not there in terms of earnings.

In terms of pricing, a correction has happened. So we have done some action on the large-cap side in terms of addition, but we are also taking time because you don't know whether it is only a two-quarter phenomenon, or you are going to take four-five quarters of earnings downgrade.

Q. Among other sectors, where are you confident about right now?

We think that there are three sectors in which investors should participate - financials. consumer discretionary and manufacturing.

Q. On the consumer staples side, do you think there is still some more weakness there?

In staples, the weakness is largely done. In the next few quarters, some of them will be beneficiaries of raw material price reductions. But volume strength is still not very visible in that sector. This tells you that basically the broader economy in terms of the bottom 100 crore people is still not doing as well. You and I are not going to consume more soap or toothpaste. There is a customer who needs to move up from powder to toothpaste. That's when you will get growth there, which is not happening currently.

Q. What's your general view on mid and small caps right now?

Three years is good, but in the near-term, there could be a little bit of upfronting in some of the pockets. In mid and small caps, typically the volatility is more, and a lot of scripts are relatively illiquid, so as participation increases, your price actions are more skewed in that category versus the perfect price discovery that happens in mega caps or large caps. So to that extent, there is a little bit of up-fronting that is happening in some of the pockets. But I think if our economic view goes right, 3-5 years should be okay.

threads-rolls-out-following-feature

Tue Jul 25 22:55:21 IST 2023

Meta-owned social networking site Threads, on Tuesday, rolled out a feature that the users have been demanding ever since its launch on July 6—a 'Following' tab.

The new feature allows users to see posts of people they follow in a chronological order instead of the algorithmically curated posts that come in the 'For you' feed of the platform.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote: “Ask and you shall receive,” in response to a user who requested the feature on the platform.

However, the new feature may not be available for many users yet, even if they have the latest version of Threads. Some users reportedly found that hitting the home button to reset the feed brought the 'Following' tab on the app.

Many users, meanwhile, were quick to point out that the 'For you' and 'Following' tabs on the platform look very much similar to the current layout of Twitter, which too has these two tabs.

The announcement of the new feature comes amid reports that Threads has been finding it tough to bring in more users to the platform, which was billed as 'Twitter killer'. According to media reports, the traffic to Threads declined by 75 per cent since its arrival on June 6.

New data apps tracking firm Sensor Tower indicates the hype has died down and Threads has seen a 20 per cent decrease in active users and a 50 per cent reduction in time spent on the app, from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.

According to app intelligence firm data.ai, Threads had the most downloads coming from India (33 per cent), followed by Brazil (22 per cent) and the US (16 per cent).

adani-group-shares-jump-adds-rs-50501-crore-in-a-day-here-are-the-reasons

Tue Jul 25 22:04:09 IST 2023

Billionaire Gautam Adani's ports to power conglomerate added over Rs 50,501 crore in market capitalisation in a single day on Tuesday as shares of all the 10 listed group companies surged on renewed interest from domestic investors.

The overall market capitalisation of the 10 Adani Group companies stood at over Rs 10.6 lakh crore at the end of trading on Tuesday on the BSE, up Rs 10,501.26 crore over an m-cap of around Rs 10.1 lakh crore on the previous year, stock exchange data showed.

Market experts attribute the reasons for the rise in stock prices to an increase in interest from domestic investors.

"Definitely, there is significant interest from investors like retail, HNIs and family offices. Also, the market is catching up with the fundamentals of the Adani Group companies. The Hindenburg issue has taken a backseat and the market is judging the group by its financial performance," said a head of research of a domestic brokerage house.

Notable performers were renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), city gas distributor Adani Total Gas Ltd (ATGL), and news broadcaster NDTV, all of which hit the upper circuit limits.

Leading the charge, AGEL registered a significant 10 per cent gain, with Adani Power not far behind, clocking a 9.3 per cent increase.

Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship firm, saw a gain of 2 per cent, boosting its market capitalisation to Rs 2.81 lakh crore. Adani Transmission, riding high on a nearly 8 per cent gain to its previous close, saw its current market price reach Rs 834.80, which in turn propelled its market cap to Rs 93,121 crore on the BSE.

Shares of Adani Wilmar rose by 4.57 per cent, driving its current market price to Rs 416.65, thereby increasing its market capitalisation to Rs 54,151 crore. ATGL witnessed a 5 per cent gain, elevating its market cap to Rs 72,856 crore.

Adani Ports and its shares followed suit, rising by 1.90 per cent to Rs 749.35, and raising the market cap to Rs 1,61,870 crore.

Adani's cement sector stocks, Ambuja Cements, also saw a healthy growth of 4.10 per cent, lifting its market cap to Rs 87,418 crore. The ACC shares climbed 4.83 per cent, increasing the market cap to Rs 35,528 crore.

The news broadcaster NDTV hit the upper circuit limit, closing at Rs 238.75, marking a gain of 4.99 per cent.

The recent surge in Adani Group's market value reflects the various investor confidence-building measures implemented by the conglomerate in the wake of the Hindenburg report, which has resulted in the group's market value recovering to over Rs 10.6 lakh crore from its post-Hindenburg lows of Rs 6.5 lakh crore.

US short-seller Hindenburg Research in January released a damning report alleging accounting fraud and stock price manipulation at Adani Group, triggering a stock market rout that had erased about $145 billion in the conglomerate's market value at its lowest point.

Adani Group has denied all allegations by Hindenburg and is plotting a comeback strategy that includes recasting its ambitions, scrapping acquisitions, pre-paying debt to address concerns about its cash flows and borrowings, and scaling back its pace of spending on new projects.

US-based investment firm GQG Partners invested in Adani Group companies in three tranches over the last five months. GQG had initially invested $1.87 billion in four group companies in March and followed by open market purchases of about $500 million in May. GQG bought another USD 1 billion worth of stocks in several Adani Group companies in late June.

These strategic investments by GQG Partners align with the Adani family's strategy to reassure investors of their commitment to growth and exemplify GQG's confidence in the group's robust business model, despite the past Hindenburg crisis.

Adani Group's financial performance of its listed portfolio also showed strong growth year-on-year with an EBITDA growth of 36 per cent to Rs 57,219 crore in FY23 despite the Hindenburg crisis.

millets-mission-has-doubled-even-tripled-price-of-millets-says-govt

Tue Jul 25 18:02:05 IST 2023

The government, on Tuesday, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for millets is showing results, as market rates have doubled, or in some cases even tripled, this year so far.

“Once we start exporting millets as well, the benefit to farmers will increase further,” said Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Kailash Choudhary. He was speaking on the sidelines of a 'Millets Mission' event organised by the foods-to-hotels conglomerate ITC in the national capital.

According to the minister, millet prices, which were ranging around Rs 1,400 per quintal before the government launched the mission, are now around Rs 3,500.

The United Nations had declared 2023 as the international year of millets, based on a suggestion put forth by India. Millet is a common term for several varieties of small-seeded grasses used as both food and fodder. Cultivated in some 12-13 states across the country, popular desi variants include ragi, jowar, and bajra.

Choudhary, speaking at the function celebrating ITC’s own 'mission millets' and outreach with farmers, spoke about the benefits of millets and how it needs to be promoted and reach the common man’s plate. “Millets in our diet can reduce diseases. It used to be derisively called ‘garibon ka anaaj’ (poor man’s staple) 'mota anaaj’, insinuating that it will make you fat, but it is actually the opposite. If you want to reduce the number of hospitals in the country, you need to have not just healthy exercise, but a healthy diet, too.”

Recently, the Parliament had incorporated millets into the menu. Choudhary pointed out how MPs later came to him and told him how tasty the food was. “If you taste it once, you will never let it go!”, the minister exclaimed.

PM Modi had said at a Shree Anna (millets) conference back in the summer that the present push for millets by the government will benefit 2.5 crore marginal farmers. He had also called on agriculture scientists to work towards increasing the share of nut-cereals in the national food basket.

ITC agri business head S. Sivakumar explained how the corporation was engaged in developing sustainable millet farming as well as various food products like biscuits, energy bars, ready-to-eat poha and even namkeens which incorporated millets amongst its ingredients. India Post also launched a special edition postage stamp to commemorate ITC’s Mission Millets efforts, as well.

landt-q1-results-net-profit-goes-up-by-46-pc-announces-dividend-share-buyback

Tue Jul 25 22:57:42 IST 2023

Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T ), on Tuesday, reported 46.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit for the April to June quarter. Aided by a strong performance in the engineering and construction business, the consolidated net profit of the company stood at Rs 2,493 crore, beating street estimates.

The consolidated revenue of the company stood at Rs 47,882.37 crore, a 34 per cent increase.

Larsen & Toubro announced a special dividend of Rs 6 a share. The record date for the same has been fixed to August 2.

Further, the company has announced that it will buy back shares worth Rs 10,000 crore.

The board of Larsen & Toubro approved a proposal to buy back 3.33 crore shares via tender offer route, at Rs 3,000 per share, it said in a statement.

This would be 2.4 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital.

The shares of the company closed at Rs 2,561.95, a decline of 1.54 per cent. The offer price of Rs 3,000 is nearly more than 17 per cent from Tuesday's closing price.

tata-motors-q1-consolidated-net-profit-at-rs-3300-65-crore

Tue Jul 25 22:06:19 IST 2023

Tata Motors on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,300.65 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2023.

The company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 4,950.97 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,01,528.49 crore, as compared to Rs 71,227.76 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

Total expenses were at Rs 98,266.93 crore, as against Rs 77,783.69 crore in the same quarter a year ago, the company said.

luxembourg-stock-exchange-partners-with-giceandsdgs-to-promote-sustainable-finance-education-in-india

Tue Jul 25 18:49:34 IST 2023

In a first for the country, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and GICE&SDGs (Krÿstähl) have partnered to strengthen sustainable finance education in India.

LuxSE, launched by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, is the world’s first platform dedicated entirely to sustainable securities (such as green energy investments). As part of it, the LGX Academy offers sustainable finance courses to financial professionals and market participants from all around the world. Its mission is to support emerging markets in their transition towards more sustainable economies.

As part of this partnership, Krÿstähl, a joint venture of the Global Institute for Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals, and Sanshodhan (an e-waste exchange private company), will facilitate access for the Indian market participants to online courses on sustainable finance in capital markets delivered by LuxSE’s LGX Academy.

The partnership covers both the regular courses organised by the LGX Academy twice a year, on the topics of fundamentals of sustainable finance, debt products, standards, and best market practices, as well as tailor-made courses addressing the specific needs of certain sectors or geographies.

Laetitia Hamon, head of Sustainable Finance at LuxSE, said an increased knowledge of sustainable debt products and internationally recognised standards for such issuances would foster sustainable finance developments and mobilise more financing for sustainable investment projects in the region.

“We are delighted to collaborate with GICE&SDGs - Krÿstähl to better reach impact-conscious financial professionals in India and contribute to the transformation of the local financial sector,” said Hamon.

Shalini Sharma, director at Krÿstähl, described the agreement as a “great opportunity” for industries, organisations, banks and investors in India and Southeast Asia to grow their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)-based investment and green finance knowledge, to innovate in green fin-tech.

“It will help develop the economically beneficial mechanism to ease out import-export, and to climate-proof their businesses. In India, some of the latest policies, such as the draft on ‘Green Credit Programme (GCP)’ implementation rules 2023, and the gazette notification for Carbon Credit Trading Scheme 2023, opened new opportunities for businesses and investors to leverage green incentives. Collaborating with the LGX Academy will open up new avenues to amp the sustainable finance ecosystem in India”, Sharma said.

As ESG impact assessment and reporting are key requirements today, and as assurance mechanisms emerge, sustainable finance and transparent incentives systems will play a key role. ESG parameters are increasingly being applied by investors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.

x-centric-musks-obsession-with-x-could-spur-legal-woes-with-meta-and-microsoft-experts

Tue Jul 25 11:52:13 IST 2023

With Elon Musk rebranding social media giant Twitter as X, experts fear that the move could invite lawsuits over the trademark. Tech behemoths including Twitter’s archrival Meta and Microsoft already have intellectual property rights to the letter, X.

Extensively cited in trademarks, the English alphabet is a candidate for legal complications and Musk’s company might struggle to defend the new brand in the future.

"There's a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody," Reuters quoted trademark attorney Josh Gerben as saying. The lawyer said there were around 900 active trademark registrations for the letter in the US.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Meta applied for a trademark on its "X" logo in May 2017 and registered the logo in 2019. The trademark website says the logo was registered for "online social networking services", "social networking services in the fields of entertainment, gaming, and application development" etc

Lawyer Ed Timberlake tweeted that Microsoft also has registered an “X” logo. As per the USPTO document posted by him, the trademark was registered in connection with “online chat rooms” and “entertainment services”.

Gerben added that Meta and Microsoft would sue only if Musk’s new brand encroaches on their brand equity. Trademarks owners could claim infringement and sue for monetary damages or even block the use of the logo if Musk’s X brand causes confusion among consumers, the agency reported.

Meta, too, treaded trademark troubles when Facebook rebranded itself. Investment company Metacapital and virtual-reality firm MetaX filed lawsuits against Mark Zuckerberg’s firm over intellectual property. Meta had also settled another suit over its infinity-symbol logo.

"Given the difficulty in protecting a single letter, especially one as popular commercially as 'X', Twitter's protection is likely to be confined to very similar graphics to their X logo," Douglas Masters, a trademark attorney at law firm Loeb & Loeb, told Reuters. "The logo does not have much distinctive about it, so the protection will be very narrow."

Musk has a long history with the letter "X” and the rebranding of Twitter is not a surprise move. His spacecraft engineering firm, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is commonly known as SpaceX. Musk founded startup called X.com, an online financial services company, in 1999 and it later became PayPal. A tweet by Musk on Sunday read, “Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X”.

why-it-sector-will-hire-cautiously-this-year

Mon Jul 24 19:08:01 IST 2023

The Indian IT sector is expected to adopt a cautious approach towards hiring this year which will prevail over the next couple of quarters. IT companies are placing greater emphasis on cost reduction and maximising employee efficiency and this has led to a significant decline in the headcount growth of major IT services firms in India compared to the previous year. The net addition of employees has dropped compared to the previous quarter. Given the subdued results in Q1 of FY 2023-24 and the prevailing environment will be the key reasons for this dip in hiring.

‘The current scenario necessitates a prudent approach to recruitment, emphasising quality over quantity. Organisations are likely to prioritise hiring for critical positions and specialised skill sets that align with their growth strategies and the evolving needs of their clients. The IT sector's continued focus on transformation will require a skilled workforce proficient in emerging technologies such as generative AI, machine learning, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data analytics, among others. Despite muted sentiments, demand for these niche skills will continue to rise 10-12 per cent Q-o-Q in this financial year,” Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services told THE WEEK.

He further adds that the overall, hiring outlook in the IT sector for Q2 FY24 is expected to be cautious yet strategic. “While hiring volumes may remain relatively muted, organisations will focus on optimising existing talent, strategically acquiring specialised skill sets, and embracing emerging technologies,” said Alug.

The global uncertainties may further dampen the hiring sentiments in the IT sector in the country as majority of clients in the west have expressed a cautious approach towards embarking on new projects and spending. “We have observed that hiring of IT professionals in sectors such as manufacturing, FMCG, Auto, and BFSI has gone up. They have been looking to hire architects, business analysts, engineers and analysts for data analytics, ERP and cloud infrastructure. This hiring hasn't been easy because of the mismatches between the salary levels on offer vis-à-vis the skills being sought. Despite this growth in other sectors, we do not expect recruitment to pick up in the IT industry until the first quarter of 2024,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD and CEO of CIEL HR.

There is no doubt that the globe has shrunk into a digital village with technology and technology powered access to customer as the twin drivers of revenue augmentation leading to cost optimisation and efficiency enhancement. “The outlook for IT sector is in good health and direction while the global macroeconomic uncertainties may dampen the pace of growth or reduce scale of earnings slightly. India being the backyard of technology growth can look forward to another growing year for its IT sector,” said Subramanyam S. CEO of Ascent HR.

Market experts point out that in this digital age, the importance of upskilling and reskilling has assumed utmost significance and IT professionals must continuously update their skills to stay relevant and competitive. “Employers can play a pivotal role in this journey by investing in training and development programmes for their workforce. This not only ensures that they have access to a pool of skilled talent but also boosts employee engagement, productivity and retention. While the future looks promising, challenges lie ahead, including an ever-evolving cyber security landscape, data privacy concerns and the need to strike the right balance between automation and human touch. However, with the right approach, these challenges can be transformed into opportunities for growth and innovation,” said Girish Rowjee, co-founder and CEO, greytHR.

byjus-disregarded-advice-its-governance-structure-did-not-evolve-sufficiently-prosus

Tue Jul 25 22:08:06 IST 2023

Prosus NV, an investor in educational startup Byjus, on Tuesday, said the troubled company's reporting and governance structure did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale and it "regularly disregarded advice" despite repeated efforts by the Dutch-listed technology firm's former director.

Prosus, which this year slashed its valuation of Byju's to $5.1 billion from $22 billion last year, said the decision for its director to step down from Byju's board last month was mainly because he was "unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders."

Byju's spokesperson said, "We have noted the observations of our valued investors. We have updated our shareholders about definitive steps taken to improve corporate governance and financial reporting".

In a statement, Prosus said Byju's grew considerably since its first investment in 2018.

"But, over time, its reporting and governance structures did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale," it said.

"Despite repeated efforts from our director, executive leadership at Byju's regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters," it said.

It went on to state that the decision for its director to step down from the Byju's board was taken after "it became clear that he was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders."

"As a shareholder, Prosus will continue to assert its rights, collaborating with other shareholders and government authorities to safeguard the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders," it added.

Byju's, it said, sits at the intersection of India and education, two very important and strategic areas of investment for Prosus.

"Although we no longer have a representative serving on the Board of the company, we continue to believe in the potential of Byju's and its role in revolutionising access to quality education in India and around the world," it said.

byjus-vacates-its-largest-bengaluru-office-to-cut-costs-amid-fund-crunch

Mon Jul 24 16:54:36 IST 2023

Amid fund crunch, Edtech major Byju’s has shut its largest office space in Bengaluru’s Kalyani Tech Park, as part of cost-cutting measures, according to a report. The office space is spread across an area of 5.58 lakh square feet.

Sources quoted by Money Control said the company has also vacated a portion of another office space in the city.

The report said Byju’s has notified its staffers to work from its other offices in the Prestige Tech Park and its main office situated on Bannerghatta Main Road or from their homes from July 23. The move is expected to save the company at least Rs 3 crore in monthly rent.

“Expansion and reduction in office space is based on changes in working policies and business priorities which is very regular and is aimed at boosting operational efficiencies," the outlet quoted a Byju’s representative as saying.

A week ago, Byju's came under the lens of the corporate affairs ministry, which has asked the office of the Regional Director in Hyderabad to inspect the books of the company. An official said that further course of action will be decided after receiving the inspection report. This came after the company was scrutinised over delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues.

In June, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) asked Byju’s to clear PF dues, after it came to light that the company has paid PF only for 738 staffers.

Earlier, audit firm Deloitte resigned as an auditor of Byju’s citing a delay in submitting financial statements. Following this, three senior board members, G.V. Ravishankar, MD of early-backer Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg's Vivian Wu, quit the firm.

Last month, Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran urged the employees to "rise above the noise" and added that the best is yet to come for Byju’s. Back then, in a call with shareholders, he had admitted his past mistakes and assured them that his learnings far outweigh any missteps.

In June, the company, which employs 50,000 people reportedly laid off nearly a thousand employees across different verticals.

—with inputs from agencies

mahindra-group-to-aid-us-companies-to-expand-manufacturing-footprint-in-india

Mon Jul 24 15:56:52 IST 2023

Mahindra Group has set up a dedicated platform in the US to help American companies expand their manufacturing base in India, the Mumbai-based diversified conglomerate said on Monday.

The Mahindra Group said it has an extensive experience in regulatory and policy matters, with an in-house team of experts, who will lend their expertise to give American companies a head-start on their manufacturing journey in India.

The Group will support interested companies in setting up their manufacturing base in India in a range of ways, including an integrated approach to manufacturing infrastructure, supply chain, technology/automation among others.

It would also provide modular plug-and-play suite of offerings; experience sharing on regulations and compliance; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus.

Mahindra Group is delighted to announce a dedicated platform in the US a decisive step aimed at enhancing global manufacturing and supply chain solutions for American companies," Mahindra Group Managing Director and CEO Anish Shah said in a statement.

With this bold move, the group will empower American businesses to unlock the immense potential of manufacturing in India, he added.

"We are committed to leveraging our experience, capabilities, and expansive scale thereby strengthening the global manufacturing landscape. Together, we will forge a path towards a shared, prosperous future, marked by strong collaboration and growth," Shah said.

The initiative's modular approach will allow businesses to select products, services, and financing options from the Mahindra Group's entire suite of offerings based on their exclusive requirements, it said.

With a demonstrated commitment to the highest ESG standards, sustainable manufacturing solutions will be a key component of the initiative, it added.

The Mahindra Group offers self-sufficient industrial parks at strategic locations and expertise to guide companies through the approval processes, it stated.

The Group also offers cost-effective solutions for manufacturing and logistics needs, amongst others, it added.

Complementing these efforts, International Finance Corporation (IFC) will offer equity and debt financing solutions for these companies, Mahindra said.

celebrating-164-years-of-income-tax-a-journey-through-india-s-ta

Mon Jul 24 16:30:28 IST 2023

Every year on July 24th, the Income Tax department of India commemorates Income Tax Day, also known as 'Aaykar Diwas', to mark the historic introduction of income tax in the country. This day serves as a reminder of the importance of taxes and their role in nation-building. As we celebrate the 164th Income Tax Day, here's a journey through history to explore the origins of this significant day and the pivotal role played by Sir James Wilson.

1860 - Birth of income tax in India

On July 24, 1860, Sir James Wilson, the first Finance Minister of the British Indian Government, introduced the concept of income tax in India. The objective behind this pioneering initiative was to compensate for the losses suffered by the British regime during the First War of Independence in 1857. The tax was imposed on incomes of British residents in India and was structured to be progressive, with higher rates applicable to higher income levels.

1865 - Temporary repeal

Despite its purpose, the income tax introduced in 1860 faced strong opposition from various sections of society. Many considered it burdensome and detrimental to trade and industry. As a result, in 1865, Sir Robert Napier, the successor to Sir James Wilson, temporarily repealed the income tax.

1886 - The resurgence of income tax

Budgetary constraints faced by the British government in India led to the reemergence of the income tax idea. In 1886, the British Indian government passed a new Income Tax Act, imposing the tax on individuals rather than companies. This version of income tax remained in effect until the early 20th century.

1918 - Tax reforms during World War I

During World War I, the Indian government raised income tax rates to meet the escalating war expenses. This move marked a significant step in the evolution of India's tax system.

1919 - Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms granted greater fiscal autonomy to the British Indian government. The Government of India Act of 1919 gave the Indian Legislature the authority to levy income tax, further shaping the nation's tax landscape.

1922 - The Income Tax Act of 1922

In 1922, the British Indian government replaced the existing income tax legislation with the Income Tax Act of 1922. This comprehensive act redefined provisions related to income tax, introducing separate taxation for individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and companies.

Post-Independence era

After India gained independence in 1947, the Income Tax Act of 1922 continued to be in force with several amendments. The government made various changes to tax rates, slabs, and exemptions to adapt to the changing economic and social conditions of the country.

1958 - Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee

In 1958, the government established the Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee (DTEC) to review and propose reforms to the income tax system. The recommendations of the committee laid the groundwork for the Income Tax Act of 1961.

1961 - The Income Tax Act of 1961

The Income Tax Act of 1961 replaced the earlier legislation and has since been the backbone of India's income tax system. Over the years, it has been amended multiple times to accommodate various changes and reforms.

1991 - Economic Reforms

In the wake of economic liberalization in 1991, further changes were made to the income tax structure to encourage investment and economic growth.

2010 - Commemorating 150 years of income tax

In 2010, the Income Tax department decided to observe July 24th as Income Tax Day to celebrate 150 years of income tax in India. This annual celebration serves to raise awareness about the significance of taxes and encourages citizens to contribute to the nation's development by fulfilling their tax obligations.

2023 - Milestone achievements

As we celebrate the 164th Income Tax Day, the Income Tax department achieved a significant milestone by surpassing its target of filing 3 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs). More than 91 percent of the ITRs filed have been e-verified, and a substantial number of them have already been processed, showcasing the increasing compliance and efficiency of the tax system.

James Wilson, the British economist, and founder of the global banking giant Standard Chartered Bank, is rightly regarded as the father of income tax in India. His visionary introduction of income tax in 1860 laid the foundation for a crucial source of revenue for the Indian government. He died in India on 11 August 1860 and was buried at a cemetery at Mullick Bazar in Kolkata. His grave was located in 2007 by CP Bhatia, a joint commissioner of Income Tax. A tombstone, in his memory, has been restored at the cemetery.

The journey of Income Tax Day in India reflects the nation's progress and evolving tax policies over the years. As India continues to grow and develop, the role of taxes remains pivotal in financing essential services and infrastructure. With ongoing discussions on tax reforms, the government aims to simplify the tax system, broaden the taxpayer base, and promote economic growth for a brighter future.

things-to-remember-while-filing-your-income-tax-returns-as-deadline-closes-in

Sun Jul 23 14:04:39 IST 2023

The deadline for income tax returns filing is closing in as the last date to file ITR is just over a week away. However, if you are hoping for a deadline extension, it’s not likely to happen this year. The Centre has stated that July 31 deadline will not be extended and has been urging taxpayers to avoid last-minute rush. The IT department revealed that 3.06 crore Indians have filed their returns so far and it has verified 2.81 crore ITRs.

What happens if you don’t file ITR by July 31?

If the deadline is not extended beyond July 31, you will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 if your income is under Rs 5 lakh and Rs 5,000 if your income is above Rs 5 lakh. It will also attract additional interest of 1% per month until the return is filed. If you underreport your income, you have to pay a penalty of up to 50% and if you misreport your income, you will be levied up to 200%. Non-filing despite reminders can even lead to prosecution.

What is 26AS/AIS and why is it important?

The first thing to remember while filing your tax returns is to declare all income shown in Form 26AS/AIS, a statement issued by the IT Department regarding your tax payment and deduction. This will help you avoid any inconsistencies in the filing.

How to claim TDS credits?

When the deducted tax does not match the payable amount, you can claim a refund. To avoid unnecessary tax payments, claim all TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) credits by making sure that the details mentioned in your Form 16/16A are shown correctly in your tax return. While filing the returns, provide the details of a bank account and IFSC code so that a TDS refund can be sent to you.

How to check your refund status?

If you are eligible to get a refund from the tax department, your refund will be processed within 20 to 45 days of filing and it will be sent to your account. To check your refund status, log in to your income tax e-filing portal, go to the My Account section and click on Refund/Demand status.

How to declare a deduction in income tax?

Make sure that you declare deductions related to investments in life insurance, medical insurance, post office schemes, Employees' Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund and home loan interest to reduce your tax burden along with investment proofs.

Why is e-verification important?

After filing income tax returns, don’t forget to e-verify the same within the stipulated time to ensure that it is processed by the tax department. Without e-verification, the tax filing is considered invalid. Failing to verify will attract all the consequences of not filing your returns. However, you can request a condonation of delay in e-verification by giving an appropriate reason. If the request is approved by the IT department, you can e-verify your return.

How to file a revised return?

If you have forgotten to report any income or claimed the wrong deduction or provided the wrong bank account details in your tax return, you can file a revised return without any penalty. The process is the same as filing the original ITR but you have to file it under section 139(5) of the IT Act and provide details of the previous one. However, make sure that you e-verify the revised return after filing just like the original ITR.

cobra-beer-may-brew-in-the-indian-market-soon

Sat Jul 22 19:36:24 IST 2023

British businessman and member of the House of Lords, Lord Karan Bilimoria, is positive about manufacturing and distributing the popular brand, Cobra Beer, in India once again, Hyderabad-born Bilimoria, who is the founder of Cobra Beer, said on the sidelines of an event held in the capital of Telangana. Getting into the details of how the dream run of Cobra was cut short due to the Bihar government’s policy, he said that “he was waiting to start again”.

“We had a very bad experience in Bihar with Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister) when he announced prohibition in 2016. Seven years later, it's still there. So, unfortunately, we had to close down our operations in India. It was doing so well before that. We were growing at 50 per cent a year. We were profitable, expanding around the country. Unfortunately, that (prohibition) destroyed our plans. But I am now waiting to start again,” he said.

Cobra Beer, which quickly gained popularity in India, exited the market soon after their Bihar plant was shut down. However, Cobra continues to perform well in the UK markets and the 40 countries where it is exported, according to Bilimoria.

“In the UK, we are a household name, distributed in 7,000 restaurants, tens of thousands of supermarkets. It is doing very well,” he said.

Cobra Beer, which has multiple variants now, was founded in 1989 to suit the pan-Asian cuisine. Bilimoria hails from the Parsi community and is an alumnus of Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, which has churned out top global corporate leaders, including Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, and Shantanu Narayan, CEO of Adobe.

He was the guest of honor at The Hyderabad Public School’s traditional annual Investiture Ceremony, organized to recognize and honor its outstanding student leaders. On this occasion, he launched the Leadership program, a new initiative of the school.

Gusti Noria, President of HPS Society, said that they plan to invest around 75 crores in the next five years to upgrade infrastructure and improve sports facilities at the 100-year-old school, which is an integral part of Hyderabad’s history.

In his address to the students, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari spoke on the importance of pursuing excellence and teamwork. He invited the students to explore career options in the Indian armed forces.

a-brief-history-of-twitter-logo-and-xcom-as-musk-gears-up-to-free-the-bird

Mon Jul 24 15:08:32 IST 2023

Amid competition from Meta’s Threads, Elon Musk is changing the Twitter logo to an 'X' and doing away with the iconic blue bird. This would mark the latest major change since Musk’s takeover of the social media company in late October last year.

Earlier, Musk drew flak over the layoff of several Twitter employees and the decision to tweak the blue tick policy. As Twitter gears up to rebrand itself, here is a look at the evolution of the company’s logo.

Twitter’s original logo read ‘twittr’ and was written in a slimy, green colour. Launched in 2005, the logo survived for almost a year.
In 2006, the logo was changed to ‘twitter’ which appeared in the now recognisable light blue colour.
In 2010, the famous blue bird appeared alongside the ‘twitter’ logo. The bird was named Larry T Bird, after US basketball icon and NBA legend Larry Bird who played for the Bolton Celtics.
In 2012, the word ‘twitter’ was removed from the logo and the blue bird became the official logo of the social media giant.
The blue bird survived for about 11 years. However, the company is undergoing a major overhaul after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. Back then, he tweeted that "buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."
In April this year, Musk replaced the blue bird with the Dogecoin logo. However, he changed it back a few days later. Rumours claimed that the move came after Dogecoin investors filed a $258 lawsuit against Musk.
The same month, he removed the letter ‘w’ from the ‘Twitter’ sign installed outside the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Musk later clarified that the firm was legally required to keep the ‘w’ on at the building. Hence, instead of completely restoring the letter, Musk’s team painted over the ‘w’ in the background colour.
On April 18, Twitter emailed its partners: “Twitter, Inc. has been renamed to X Corp.”
On July 23, Musk tweeted, “Soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

Many experts feel that the change is not surprising given Musk's long history with the letter "X”. Musk's spacecraft engineering company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is commonly known as SpaceX. In 1999, Musk founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company, which was an earlier version of what we know now as PayPal. In another tweet on Sunday, he said, “X.com now points to https://twitter.com/. Interim X logo goes live later today.” Another tweet by Musk read, “Not sure what subtle clues gave it way, but I like the letter X”.

Linda Yaccarino, who has been heading Twitter since May, posted on Twitter, “It's an exceptionally rare thing in life or in business that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square."

Yaccarino tweeted that X would be "the future state of unlimited interactivity centred in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities."

hdfc-bank-becomes-second-most-valuable-company-tcs-falls-to-third-place

Thu Jul 20 21:40:37 IST 2023

HDFC Bank, on Thursday, became the second most valuable company by market capitalisation, overtaking IT behemoth Tata Consultancy Services.

At the close of trade, HDFC Bank, which recently completed the merger of its mortgage financier parent HDFC into itself, commanded a market capitalisation (mcap) of Rs 12,72,718.60 crore, which was Rs 5,826.95 crore more than TCS' Rs 12,66,891.65 crore valuation on the BSE.

Shares of HDFC Bank ended at Rs 1,688.50 apiece, up 0.22 per cent on the BSE. During the day, it climbed 0.36 per cent to Rs 1,690.95.

However, shares of TCS dipped 0.25 per cent to end at Rs 3,462.35 each. During the day, it fell 1 per cent to Rs 3,436.

HDFC, the parent of HDFC Bank, merged into the lender on July 1.

The $40 billion merger, the largest such deal in the Indian corporate history, was driven by a changing regulatory landscape, which limited the advantages for HDFC continuing as a non-bank lending entity.

Reliance Industries is the country's most valued firm with a market valuation of Rs 17,72,455.70 crore, followed by HDFC Bank, TCS, ICICI Bank (Rs 6,96,538.85 crore) and Hindustan Unilever (Rs 6,34,941.79 crore) in the top five order.

HDFC Bank is also the country's most valuable bank by mcap followed by ICICI Bank, which commanded a market valuation of Rs 6,96,538.85 crore, and State Bank of India (Rs 5,44,356.70 crore).

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 474.46 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at its fresh all-time closing high of 67,571.90. During the day, it rallied 521.73 points or 0.77 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 67,619.17.

twitter-to-lose-the-bird-heres-what-musk-said-about-new-logo

Sun Jul 23 11:03:40 IST 2023

Twitter owner Elon Musk on Sunday announced that the social media platform is getting ready to lose its iconic bird logo.

"If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow," tweeted Musk.

Musk also said that “To embody the imperfections in us all that make us unique...And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

“Frankly, I love the negative feedback on this platform. Vastly preferable to some sniffy censorship bureau!,” he said.

Since Twitter was took over by Musk, the social media platform underwent sweeping changes including massive layoffs and paid verification plan.

Earlier, by posting 'X', Musk had announced that Twitter merged with a newly formed firm named X Corp.

In April, Musk had appointed Linda Yaccarino as the new chief executive officer. "Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he had tweeted while welcoming her.

Musk's love for the word 'X' was evident through his series of posts. "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," he had tweeted.

He had also announced that limit on the number of direct messages to be sent by an unverified user on the platform.

"We'll soon be implementing some changes in our effort to reduce spam in Direct Messages. Unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of DMs they can send. Subscribe today to send more message," he had tweeted.

larsen-and-toubro-to-consider-share-buyback-dividend-on-july-25

Thu Jul 20 19:21:54 IST 2023

Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) said on Thursday that it will consider a share buyback at the board meeting scheduled for July 25. It will also consider a special dividend on shares for the financial year 2023-24.

August 2 is likely to be the record date for the dividend.

"Buyback of equity shares of the Company in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations 2018. Special Dividend on equity shares for the financial year 2023-24. If approved, the record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the equity shareholders for the said dividend shall be Wednesday, August 2, 2023,” the company said in a filing.

Further, the company said its board of directors, during a meeting held on July 19, approved the merger of its subsidiaries, L&T Innovation Campus (Chennai) Limited with L&T Seawoods Limited.

L&T is a $23-billion company engaged in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects, hi-tech manufacturing and services and operated in over 50 countries worldwide.

govt-bans-exports-of-non-basmati-white-rice-to-boost-domestic-supply-help-control-price

Thu Jul 20 22:13:45 IST 2023

The government, on Thursday, banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season.

There would be no change in export policy of par-boiled non-basmati rice and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of exports, the food ministry said in a statement.

Non-basmati white rice constitutes about 25 per cent of total rice exported from the country.

"Export policy of non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed)...is amended from free to prohibited," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

"Export policy of Non Basmati White Rice amended to ensure adequate domestic availability at reasonable prices," the ministry said, adding, the move is aimed to ensure lower prices and adequate availability in the upcoming festival season.

In order to ensure adequate availability of non-basmati white rice in the domestic market and to allay the rise in local prices, the government has amended the export policy from 'Free with export duty of 20 per cent' to 'Prohibited' with immediate effect.

"The domestic prices of rice are on an increasing trend. The retail prices have increased by 11.5 per cent over a year and 3 per cent over the past month," the statement said.

Export duty of 20 per cent on non-basmati white rice was imposed on September 8, 2022 to lower the price as well as ensure availability in the domestic market.

However, the export of this variety increased to 42.12 lakh tonnes in September-March period of the 2022-23 from 33.66 lakh tonnes during September-March period of the previous fiscal.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, about 15.54 lakh tonnes of white rice was exported against only 11.55 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, which means an increase by 35 per cent.

"This sharp increase in exports can be ascribed to high international prices due to geopolitical scenario, El Nino sentiments and extreme climatic conditions in other rice producing countries, etc.," the statement said.

The prohibition on export of non-basmati white rice will lead to lowering of prices for the consumers in the country.

However, there is no change in export policy of non-basmati rice (par boiled rice) and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of rice exports.

"This will ensure that the farmers continue to get the benefit of remunerative prices in the international market," it added.

As per the commerce ministry data, India's total exports of basmati rice stood at $4.8 billion in 2022-23, while in volume terms it was at 45.6 lakh tonnes.

Similarly, exports of non-basmati stood at $6.36 billion in the last fiscal. In volume terms it was 177.9 lakh tonnes.

Major destinations of India's non-basmati white rice exports include Thailand, Italy, Spain, Sri Lanka and the USA.

As per the DGFT notification, the consignments of this variety of rice will be allowed to be exported under certain conditions such as where loading of rice on the ship has commenced before this notification.

Export will also be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their governments, it added.

The DGFT also said that exports are permitted for those consignments where the shipping bill is filed and vessels have already berthed or arrived and anchored in Indian ports and their rotation number has been allocated before this notification.

"The approval of loading in such vessels will be issued only after confirmation by the concerned port authorities regarding anchoring/berthing of the ship for loading of non-basmati rice prior to the notification," it said.

The exports are also allowed where the consignment has been handed over to the customs before this notification and is registered in their system.

Separately, the directorate said that it has extended the last date for submission of application for obtaining licence for export of broken rice to Senegal, Gambia and Indonesia till July 27 this year.

dgca-clears-resumption-of-go-first-flights-but-sets-terms

Fri Jul 21 16:58:24 IST 2023

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave nod to Go First's plan to resume its flight operations with subject to certain conditions. The aviation regulator body had given approval for Go First's plan to restart operations with 15 aircraft and 114 daily flights.

In a notification, DGCA said that it has accepted the proposed resumption plan dated June 28 subject to outcome of its writ petitions pending before the Delhi High Court and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

DGCA said that the Go First can commence flight operations, provided it complies with all the applicable regulatory requirements for holding an Air Operator Certificate, reported The Economic Times.

Go First may resume scheduled flight operations on the availability of interim funding and approval of flights scheduled by DGCA, the release said.

It also added that the company cannot deploy any aircraft for operations without undertaking a satisfactory handling flight.

"Any change in the company which has a bearing on the resumption plan submitted by the resolution professional shall be promptly notified to the DGCA," said the release.

After a severe fund crunch and grounding of several aircraft, Go First filed for voluntary insolvency resolution in May. Budget Carrier Go First stopped flying on May 3.

"Go First has had to take this step due to the ever-increasing number of failing engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney’s International Aero Engines, LLC, which has resulted in Go First having to ground 25 aircraft (equivalent to approximately 50 per cent of its Airbus A320 neo aircraft fleet) as of 1 May 2023," the airline said in a statement released earlier.

Go First has been facing engine-related issues for some time now, and these have only increased over the last year. The percentage of grounded aircraft due to Pratt & Whitney’s faulty engines has grown from 7 per cent in December 2019 to 31 per cent in December 2020 to 50 per cent in December 2022, the airline noted.

The company on Thursday tweeted that due to operational reasons, all its flights have been cancelled at least until July 23, 2023.

Go First's Resolution Professional (RP) submitted the resumption plan to DGCA on June 28. The regulator had informed earlier this month that it would conduct a special audit of the Go First facilities at Mumbai and Delhi.

"DGCA has ensured that the findings of the special audit have been adequately addressed by Go First," the release said, adding that the resumption plan was amended on July 15.

(With PTI inputs)

ambuja-cements-acc-wont-be-merged-adani-group-clarifies

Thu Jul 20 18:05:36 IST 2023

Adani Group, on Thursday, clarified that it has no plans to merge its two cement brands, Ambuja Cements and ACC.

There have been media reports that said the Adani Group was considering a merger of these two entities. However, the chief executive of both companies, Ajay Kaur, said at an annual meeting of shareholders that there will not be a merger. "No disruption is expected in the usage of these legacy brands," Reuters quoted him as saying.

Even as the shares of both companies continue to be below January levels in the wake of the short-seller Hindenburg's charges against the Adani Group, Kapur said, "We are looking to improve the cement business's EBITDA margins by 400-450 rupees per ton over the next 24 months."

He said efforts are on to lower production costs by streamlining manufacturing and logistics processes.

ACC is looking to add 16 million tonnes of new capacity in the next two to five years as the demand for cement in the country has been witnessing a growth of 7-8 per cent, Kapur said.

upi-based-payments-to-be-accepted-in-sri-lanka

Fri Jul 21 15:07:07 IST 2023

India's Unified Payment Interface or UPI technology will now be accepted in neighbouring Sri Lanka. After wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday, both nations adopted an ambitious vision document to significantly expand their economic partnership.

Modi said that the agreement to accept UPI will result in fintech connectivity between the two sides, a PTI report read. Several other agreements were reached between India and Sri Lanka when Modi and Wickremesinghe met in Delhi.

So far, France, UAE, and Singapore have partnered with India on the emerging fintech and payment solutions, an ANI report reads. In India, UPI, which facilitates round-the-clock payments, has become hugely popular for retail digital payments and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace.

Adopting UPI as a payment mode means people in both countries will be able to transfer funds in real-time by scanning the QR code or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account. It also means that Indians travelling to Sri Lanka will no longer need to carry foreign currency.

Travellers to India too, benefit from UPI-- taking into consideration the popularity of the system, the RBI proposed to allow travellers to India to use UPI for merchant payments while in the country. On February 8, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced, to begin with, the facility will be extended to travellers from the G20 countries arriving at 'select international airports'.

Modi, referring to the economic difficulties in Sri Lanka last year, said India stood "shoulder-to-shoulder" with the people of the island nation during the crisis as a close friend. In the last decade, the fintech industry has seen tremendous growth in India.

The leaders discussed various aspects of relationships between the two countries including maritime relations, air, energy and people-to-people connectivity and the fisherman issue, which Modi said should be handled under a humanitarian approach.

--With PTI inputs

sensex-nifty-hit-fresh-record-high-levels

Thu Jul 20 16:57:53 IST 2023

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty scaled fresh record high levels on Thursday, driven by unabated foreign capital inflows and intense buying in banking and FMCG stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 474.46 points or 0.71 per cent to settle at its fresh all-time closing high of 67,571.90.

The benchmark recovered all its early lost ground during the afternoon trade. During the day, it rallied 521.73 points or 0.77 per cent to hit its lifetime intra-day peak of 67,619.17

The NSE Nifty climbed 146 points or 0.74 per cent to end at its record closing high of 19,979.15. During the session, it soared 158.7 points or 0.80 per cent to reach its fresh a record high of 19,991.85.

ITC was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rising nearly 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever and JSW Steel.

On the other hand, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro were the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity as they bought equities worth Rs 1,165.47 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.13 per cent to USD 79.56 a barrel.

subdued-rural-demand-continues-to-weigh-on-fmcg-sales-hindustan-unilever-earnings-show

Thu Jul 20 20:28:31 IST 2023

Over the last one year, as commodity prices rose sharply, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies were hit hard as rural demand dipped considerably. With inflation cooling and companies passing that to consumers through price cuts and promotions, the hope was growth would rebound. However, the June quarter earnings of Hindustan Unilever suggest the sector is not out of the woods yet.

With companies reducing prices in certain categories, price-led growth has reduced. At the same time, volumes (units sold) are yet to see a good recovery. Much of the growth in the market is still led by urban demand, and the uncertainty around monsoon and the possible impact of El Nino would mean rural demand pick up could still be some time away.

"Near-term operating environment continues to be volatile with weather-related risk. We need to be watchful of the progress of the monsoon and any impact of El Nino on cropping and rural demand," said Ritesh Tiwari, chief financial officer of Hindustan Unilever.

He expects market volumes to recover gradually due to high levels of cumulative inflation and as typically consumption habits recover with a lag.

HUL, on Thursday, reported an 8 per cent year-on-year growth in standalone net profit in the first quarter at Rs 2,472 crore, versus Rs 2,289 crore, a year ago. Quarterly revenue for the maker of Dove soap and Bru Coffee was up 7 per cent to Rs 14,931 crore from Rs 14,016 crore, a year ago.

The company's volume growth in the June quarter was at just 3 per cent. In comparison, volumes had grown 4 per cent in the January-March quarter and 6 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2022.

While categories like oral care, skincare and colour cosmetics saw double-digit volume growth, beauty and personal care volumes grew in mid-single digits. Skin cleansing had a "modest volume-led growth" but foods and refreshments saw flat growth in the June quarter. The company has had to battle several challenges in the foods and refreshments space. In tea, for instance, high prices in premium tea led to consumers downgrading to loose tea. Unseasonal rains impacted ice cream consumption in the peak summer season.

"FMCG markets are recovering gradually although the operating environment remains challenging," said Rohit Jawa, the CEO and MD of HUL, who took charge of the company in June this year.

In the next couple of quarters, Tiwari expects price-led growth to taper off further with sequential price reductions.

"If commodities remain where they are, we expect our price growth to be near flat or marginally negative for the next couple of quarters," Tiwari added.

The company will be hopeful that the price reductions will lead to volume recovering strongly in the coming months.

HUL's results for the quarter are in contrast to upbeat commentary from its rivals recently.

Dabur is expecting its revenues in the June quarter to grow at 10 per cent. In its recent quarterly update, Dabur said trends in both urban and rural markets had shown signs of improvement. Sequential moderation in inflation had positively impacted consumer spending power and was resulting in gradual improvement in offtakes in the industry, it had said.

Godrej Consumer Products said volumes in homecare segment are likely to have grown in double digits and higher than mid-single digits in personal care.
"In India, overall consumer demand remained steady as seen in the previous few quarters. Our organic business continued to deliver robust performance with double-digit volume growth," it said in its quarterly update.

infosys-reports-net-profit-of-rs-5945-crore-misses-market-expectations

Thu Jul 20 16:37:20 IST 2023

Infosys, on Thursday, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,945 crore for the June quarter, a 10.9 per cent rise. The company revised its revenue guidance for the financial year 2024 to 1.0-3.5 per cent from 4-7 per cent. The muted earnings failed to meet the market expectations.

The net profit during the same period previous year stood at Rs 5,362 crore.

Consolidated revenue of the IT major increased 10 per cent yer-on-year to Rs 37,933 crore.

The operating margin of the company saw a slight decline to 20.8 per cent, from 21 per cent in the last quarter.

“Q1 operating margins were resilient in an uncertain macro environment on the back of our continued focus on cost optimization. Company’s rigorous operational discipline, including improved productivity measures and higher utilization helped margins for the quarter,” CFO of the company, Nilanjan Roy, has been quoted as saying.

CEO Salil Parekh said the IT major had a solid Q1 with a growth of 2.2 per cent and large deals of $2.3 billion. “We have expanded the margin improvement program with a holistic set of actions for the short, medium and long-term, working on five key areas, supported by our leadership team”, he added.

Meanwhile, the shares of the company ended 1.73 per cent lower at Rs 1,448.85.

india-came-out-strong-from-challenges-posed-by-covid-needs-to-maintain-momentum-world-bank-prez

Wed Jul 19 21:22:56 IST 2023

India has come out strong from the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic but the momentum needs to be maintained, World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters at a skill centre in Dwarka, the first-ever Indian-American to head the top global financial institution said India is doing a lot of things which are helping it to stay ahead during times of a global slowdown.

"India is doing a lot of things which are helping it to stay ahead in times of a global slowdown. One thing that is in India's favour is the very high percentage of GDP that comes domestically... India has come out strong from the challenges posed by the pandemic but the momentum needs to be maintained," he said.

"The best way to maintain this momentum is growth and more jobs. India is focussed on growing more and more and generating more jobs," he added.

Asked about India's potential growth in high income jobs, Banga said, "We need to understand where are these jobs. They are in technology, which are very few...then they are in manufacturing. India's opportunity currently is to cash in on the China plus strategy. This opportunity won't stay open for 10 years, it is a three to five years opportunity when supply chains start relocating or add another location that is going to need work."

Banga, 63, took over as the president of the World Bank last month, becoming the first person of colour to head either of the two global financial institutions—the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Banga is on his first visit to India after taking over the charge of the global lender.

He visited the GMR Varalakshmi Centre for Empowerment and Livelihoods and interacted with students here.

The World Bank President said he is preparing to pitch for private capital and corporate social responsibility funds to augment current sources of financing.

"The money we need for renewable energy resources is in a trillion dollars. We cannot pool such a huge amount with the government's help. We need to involve the private sector," he said.

Banga further said the gains made on poverty over the last three to four decades across the world took a hit due to the pandemic, climate change and higher debt in some countries.

"The best way to drive a nail in the coffin of poverty is growth. You have to provide jobs to people...you have to provide education and skilling for those jobs. You have to provide healthcare for people," he said.

Noting that India is focused on both growth and jobs, Banga said, "I am actually more optimistic with all the infrastructure investment...both digital and physical infrastructure in India".

bull-run-continues-sensex-ends-above-67000-mark-nifty-at-new-closing-peak-of-19833-15

Wed Jul 19 16:22:28 IST 2023

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued their upward movement on Wednesday, ending at fresh record high levels, driven by foreign fund inflows and optimism in the global markets.

Buying in index majors Reliance Industries and ITC also helped the markets maintain their winning momentum.

Rallying for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 302.30 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at its new record closing high of 67,097.44. During the day, it rallied 376.24 points or 0.56 per cent to reach its all-time intra-day peak of 67,171.38.

The NSE Nifty gained 83.90 points or 0.42 per cent to end at its lifetime closing high of 19,833.15. During the day, it climbed 102.45 points or 0.51 per cent to hit a fresh record intra-day peak of 19,851.70.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, ITC, Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers.

IndusInd Bank climbed 2 per cent after the company on Tuesday reported a 30 per cent jump in consolidated net profit in April-June quarter at Rs 2,124.50 crore, helped by core income growth and lower bad loan provisions.

Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued their buying activity on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 2,115.84 crore, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai ended in the green while Hong Kong lowered.

Equity markets in Europe were quoting in the green. The US markets ended in the positive territory on Tuesday.

"Despite the current high levels, domestic investors have hardly lost confidence in the Indian economy. It is experiencing a broad based rally strengthened by encouraging domestic macroeconomic data and sustained inflows from FIIs.

"Although there was some initial profit booking today, the market confidently recovered, with buying observed in all major sectors except auto and IT. Additionally, the global market is providing comfort to the rally, in anticipation of moderation in global inflation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.60 per cent to USD 80.11 a barrel.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday retained India's economic growth forecast at 6.4 per cent for the current financial year and 6.7 per cent for the next, saying robust domestic demand will continue to support the region's recovery.

in-a-diversification-bid-cognizant-appoints-six-women-senior-vice-presidents

Wed Jul 19 19:22:09 IST 2023

IT major Cognizant, on Tuesday, said six women have been appointed in senior vice president (SVP) positions in a bid to diversify the executive team of the company.

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said the announcement is one that needs to be collectively celebrated. "Advancing diversity must be systemic, woven into everything we do starting with how we recruit and hire, develop, promote, engage and retain talent,” he said, reports Moneycontrol.

After Kumar joined the company as CEO in January 2023, he effected leadership changes in the company, with the aim of increasing the diverse talent of Cognizant.

Elisa de Rocca-Serra, who joined Cognizant in 2021, has been promoted to the role of SVP, EMEA General Counsel and Contract Lifecycle Risk Management.

Thea Hayden, who has been part of the company since 2020, has been appointed SVP, Global Marketing.

Patricia Hunter-Dennehy has beeen made SVP, Healthcare Provider/Payor Business Unit. She has been with the company since 2015 when Cognizant acquired TriZetto.

Sailaja Josyula has been promoted to SVP, Intuitive Operations & Automation (IOA) for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector, and Archana Ramanakumar has been made SVP, Industry Solutions Group (ISG).

Sandra Natardonato has been made SVP, Partnerships and Alliances.