OPINION, P6 ECONOMY, P2 INTERNATIONAL, P4 ASHOK GULATI SUNIL JAIN FARM LAWS PRESIDENT PICKS Agri-food policies SC's farm panel is a chance Tomar to farmers: Give Biden ropes in 20 for Punjab to negotiate a must be demand-driven central package for up stubborn stand, come Indian-Americans in & focus on sustainability crop diversification for discussion tomorrow his administration

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IN THE NEWS MeitY DRAFT EXPORT RECOVERY EARLYBIRDS FinMin looks at Rivals Vietnam,China IT firms take the lead BIC model for PLI outlay for laptops, bank recap far outpace India in strong Q3 show THE FINANCE MINISTRY is looking at other avenues for BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAK Exports to the US FE BUREAU sharplyinQ1andQ2asrevenue affordable capital infusion, servers at `7,500 crore New Delhi, January 17 (% change, y-o-y, Jan-Nov 2020) New Delhi, January 17 growthwasverymuted. including setting up of a Bank India -13.3 Commentary from the ma- Investment Company,as the 120 KIRAN RATHEE $ billion India AS INDIA’S MERCHANDISE China -5.8 DRIVEN BY STUNNING num- nagements at ITfirms post the RBI has raised concern over New Delhi, January 17 97 exports limp back to normalcy, 19.5 bers from IT majors,especially Q3 results has been more than 100 Vietnam (-8 years back) Vietnam the issuance of zero coupon 87 two of its key rivals in global Source: USTR office TCS and Infosys,as also a good encouraging; most believe the bonds for recapitalisation of THEOUTLAYFORproduction- 80 75 marketshavesurgedaheadwith set of results from HDFC Bank, dealpipelinewillcontinuetobe public sector banks, sources Exports to the EU* linked incentives to make lap- 57 greatervigour,beatingtheCovid (% Change, y-o-y, Jan-Nov 2020) earnings from the early birds strong and that they are well- said, reports PTI. tops,tablets,personalcomput- 60 blues.While China has pipped have been strong.Expenditure positionedtoexploitssegments 47 India ersandservershasbeenpegged 36 India in scripting a resurgence -17.2 forthesampleof61companies like digital and cloud. Avenue 40 32 China 4.3 Excise duty at `7,500 crorewith the bene- 22 in exports to the US and the EU andbanksroseatamuchslower Supermarts postedbetter-than- fits expected to be in the range (excluding the UK),NewDelhi’s Vietnam -0.5 pacethanrevenuesresultingin expected revenue growth of 20 12 15 13 collection jumps of2-4%.Muchlikeitdidwhen 8 3 8 4 9 4 7 largest destinations that *Excluding the UK Source: Eurostat (EC) a big jump in operating profit 10%y-o-yonnear-normalstore itrolledoutproduction-linked 0 accountforathirdofitsoverseas margins.IndiaInchadcutcosts operationsandfestivedemand. 48% this fiscal FY-4 FY-3 FY-2 FY-1 F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 incentive (PLI) scheme for despatches,Vietnam outpaced India aspiring to repeat what Vietnam achieved 20 WHILETHE PANDEMIC manufacturers of mobile evenChinaintherecovery. 15.45 Operating profit 18.12 pummelled tax collection in electronics exports over last decade Source: ITC Trade Map phones, the government is This suggests India’s export 15 across the board, the excise likelytosetdifferentqualifying contraction may have been 10.84 duty mop-up jumped 48% in targets for domestic and over- accentuated by factors other 2020,whileIndia’sshipmentto 10 9.2 7.57 the current fiscal on the back seascompanies,officialsources roll out the scheme by April 1 local companies it would be thanjustaCovid-induceddem- theUSshrank13.3%onyearto 7.44 of a record hike in taxes on told FE.While overseas players followinganin-principleclear- `20 crore (`5 crore per year). and slowdown, mainly in the $46.3 billion,China’s dropped 5 petrol and diesel, reports PTI. wouldbeeligibleforincentives ancebytheCabinet. The annual productiontargets West.Forget China,in absolute by only 5.8% to $393.6 billion Net sales 3.6 Excise duty mop-up during if laptops are priced over The investment targets for over the base year, that would term, even Vietnam has now despiteatradewarandgrowing 0 April-November 2020, was at `30,000andtabletscostmore overseasplayerswouldbefixed makefirmseligiblefortheben- beaten India in exports to the criticism of Beijing’s mishan- -1.53 `1,96,342 crore, up from than `15,000, local players at around `500 crore spread efits,areyettobedecided. EU,having alreadysurpassed it dlingoftheCovidoutbreak. -5 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 FY20 FY21 FY21 FY21 `1,32,899 crore during the would not be subject to this over a period of four years in supplies to the US in 2018. (% chg y-o-y) Sample of 61 companies Source: Capitaline same period in 2019. condition. MeitY is hoping to (`125 crore peryear) while for Continued on Page 2 BetweenJanuaryandNovember Continued on Page 2

● RECOVERY Push from FM PRASANTA SAHU Franklin MF's Big jump in CPSE capex, Q3 matches H1 shut schemes Large CPSEs achieved about 30% of their capex target for FY21 in Q3, almost matching their investments in the first two quarters. State governments have slowed down investments significantly and the Centre' budget capex also looks constrained generate near GREAT PICK-UP TOP INVESTORS `14,000 crore `2.9 lakh cr `1.5 lakh cr FY21 target Actuals in Apr-Dec Actuals in Apr-Dec as % of annual target since closure Capex by CPSEs* Capex by these (` crore) (RHS) in April-Dec, this entities in H1FY21 2,00,000 80 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA was 60% of the 68 71 New Delhi, January 17 target for FY21 `1.4 lakh cr Capex in Q3FY21 1,50,000 60 FRANKLIN TEMPLETON 59 60 (*Data of CPSEs and MUTUALFundonSundaysaid 52 departmental undertakings its six shut schemes have with annual capex 1,00,000 40 plan of at least 1,60,792 received `13,789 crore from `500 crore) maturities,pre-payments and 1,07,500 50,000 95,000 20

32,921 coupon payments since clos- 25,084 75,000 21,000 17,000 15,000 15,000 ing down inApril. 0 0 Franklin Templeton MF Railways NHAI ONGC IOC NTPC shut six debt mutual fund schemes on April 23, 2020, citing redemption pressures and lack of liquidity in the bond market. “The six schemes have QuickPicks received total cash flows of `13,789 crore as of January DHFL resolution: Lenders India’s Covidvaccination 15, 2021 from maturities, pre-payments and coupon approve Piramal’s bid drive hits app glitch bump payments since April 24, DHFL ON Sunday said the INDIA’S COVID-19 vaccination 2020,”the fund house said in committee of creditors has drive hit a bump on the first day a statement. approved resolution plan due to glitches in an app called Over the latest fortnight submitted by Piramal Capital and Co-Win that is being used to (January 1-15),these schemes Housing Finance, reports PTI. This was coordinate the campaign, reports Reuters. received `669 crore, of which approved by the CoC in its 18th meeting Co-Win is supposed to help by alerting `617 crore was as pre-pay- concluded on January 15, 2021. Piramal's healthcare workers who are first in line ments,it added. bid received 94% votes compared to 45% for to get shots, and by allowing officials the US-based Oaktree Capital. PAGE 3 monitor and manage the entire drive. Continued on Page 2

GROWTH PANGS E-retailers must scale up to become profitable -5,685.4 ASMITADEY Amazon 7,593.5 New Delhi, January 17 -5,849.2 10,847.6 -1,624.4 4,233.8 -1,936.6 Flipkart 5,916.3 WHILEE-RETAILINGCONTIN- -3,959.64 3,049.87 Profit/ Paytm Revenue UED to gain momentum in -2,833.18 3,115.1 loss -940.46 1,162.87 2019-20,mostplayersreported -2,451.17 Zomato 2,336.34 lossesfortheyear.Foraclutchof -1,904.72 PhonePe 184.22 e-commerce companies — -1,771.48 371.76 Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, -1,160.8 Amazon Pay 806.5 FY19 -1,868.5 1,315.7 Paytm,Zomato,PhonePe,Ama- -932.69 First Cry 507.83 zon Pay and First Cry — losses -162.72 805.49 FY20 rose to `17,617.15 crore from -539.2 Myntra Designs 1,041.1 -744.3 1,675.4 `16,747crorein2018-19. (` crore) filings/Tofler company Source: Combined revenues, how- ever, grew at a brisk pace, auniteconomicschallengefor itability. He believes that at EY, observes.Discounts are increasing by over 40% to someofthescaled-upplayers,” attaining profitability in the smaller,procurement is more around`26,384crore. observes Arpit Mathur,part- next18-24monthsshouldnot efficientandmanyarecharging Asexpertspointout,it’snot ner, Kearney.Mathur explains beachallengebecauseonaper for delivery.Pahwa points out asthoughthebusinessmodels it is about what is the pace at transaction basis, the compa- several players are rolling out areinthemselvesunviable,it’s whichtheywanttocontinueto nies can still make money. privatelabels,whichthenhelps merely that companies con- acquire new customers Of course, companies are improvestheirgrossprofits. tinue to invest in acquiring because that is the key deter- takingacloserlookatcostsand customers.“Itisnotsomuchof minant of their overall prof- losses,asAnkurPahwa,partner Continued on Page 2

Pune 2 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM HIGH-SPEED RAILWAYTRACK

Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Rail tracks are being made capable for higher ❝speed. This is the reason it is being made possible❝ to run semi high-speed trains. We are fast moving towards high-speed track and technology. EconomyMONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 ● FM’S PUSH 2.24L vaccinated so far; 447 Big jump in CPSE capex,Q3 matches H1 cases of adverse effect: Govt PRESS TRUSTOFINDIA been reported on January 16 yearjump projected forFY21, New Delhi, January 17 and 17, out of which only Railways was the largest investor in the budgetary capital expendi- Vaccination three required hospitalisa- first nine months of FY21 with ture by state governments ATOTAL OF 2,24,301 bene- drive hit by tion. Most of the AEFI might have dropped by a ficiaries have been inocu- reported so far are minor like `95,000 crore,which was about 60% of quarter in April-November, lated with Covid-19 vaccine app glitch fever, headache, nausea," he its capex plan for the full year going by an FE review of data so far, out of which only 447 said. from twelve states. Among adverse events following INDIA’S COVID-19 vac- He said a meeting was them, these twelve states — immunisation (AEFI) were cination drive was still heldwith all states and union PRASANTA SAHU 7.3% on year) from a record Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, reported, the Union health facing some delays on territories on Sunday to New Delhi, January 17 decline (47.1%) in Q1. Madhya Pradesh, Andhra ministry said on day two of Sunday after it hit a review the progress of the Three dozen CPSEs, with Pradesh, Karnataka, the nationwide vaccination bump on the first day drive, identify bottlenecks LARGE CENTRAL PUBLIC- capex plan of at least `500 Rajasthan,Odisha,Telangana, drive on Sunday. due to glitches in an and plan corrective actions. SECTOR entities–companies crore, invested `2.9 lakh Kerala,Chhattisgarh,Haryana Addressing a press brief- app used to coordinate Prime Minister Narendra and undertakings – achieved crore or about 60% of their and Jharkhand — reported ing,the ministry's additional the campaign, accord- Modi rolled out the world's about 30% of their capital annual capex target of `4.95 combinedcapitalexpenditure secretary Manohar Agnani ing to officials in some largest inoculation drive expenditure target for FY21 lakh crore inApril-December capex targe.ONGC was fol- finance ministry and prime of `1,09,860 crore in April- said out of the 447 adverse states. against Covid-19 on Satur- in the third quarter of the of FY21. lowed by fuel retailer-cum- minister’s office have November FY21, compared events following immunisa- PrimeMinisterNarendra dayand said the twovaccines financial year, by spending This is a creditable refinerIndianOilCorporation alreadytold manyCPSEs that with `1,48,571 crore in the tion,onlythree required hos- ModilaunchedonSatur- being deployed will ensure a `1.4 lakh crore, almost achievement, as it reflects with `15,000 crore (60% of they must strive to achieve year-ago period, down 26%. pitalisation. day what his govern- "decisive victory" for India matching their investments that these companies have full-year target) and power 50% more than their annual Theannualcapextargetforall "Todaybeing Sunday,only ment has described as against the pandemic. in the first two quarters, managed to hold on to the producer NTPC at `15,000 capex target in FY21, this is states as per their budgets is six states conductedvaccina- the “world’s largest vac- India has approved two according to official sources. capex pace shown in recent crore (71%). going to be a daunting task `6.5 lakh crore. tion drive and in 553 ses- cination programme”. It vaccines -- Covaxin devel- The jump in CPSE capex years, despite the Covid-19 In the last few years, CPSE for these entities. Officials Comparedtothis,theCen- sions a total of 17,072 bene- aimstovaccinatearound oped by Bharat Biotech and comes after constant prod- shock. Among the govern- capex has remained robust; expect the capex achieve- tre has managed to spend ficiaries were vaccinated," he 300 million people to Covishield from the ding by the finance minister ment agencies, the railways theratioofcapexdeployment ment by CPSEs will be within `2.41 lakh crore as Budget said. curb the pandemic in Oxford/AstraZeneca stable Nirmala Sitharaman. was the largest investorin the between the first and second targeted `4.95 lakh crore for capex during April-Novem- The six states where the India, which has being manufactured by the State governments have first nine months of FY21 halves of a financial year has this fiscal. ber, up 12.8% on year, even vaccination drivewas carried reported the second Serum Institute of India -- sloweddowninvestmentssig- with `95,000 crore, which been 3:7. The combined capital though the FY21 target is out on Sunday are Andhra highest number of coro- for emergency use in the nificantlyinthecurrentfiscal was about 60% of its capex Of course, the Centre is expenditure by the CPSEs `4.12 lakh crore (up 22.4% Pradesh,Arunachal Pradesh, navirus cases after the country. year and the Centre's Budget plan for the full year. putting extra pressure on turned out to be `4.41 lakh on year). Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur United States. According to the govern- capex also looks constrained, The National Highways these entities to augment crore or90% of the target in In FY20, public capex was andTamil Nadu,he added. India was aiming to vac- ment, the shots will be due to the pandemic-induced Authority of India (NHAI) capital investments in the FY20.More than 80% of the roughly in the 5:3.6:3.4 ratio Agnani said a total of cinate more than offered first to an estimated revenue shortfalls. invested `75,000 crore or current year as it hopes that capex by these CPSEs and among the states (budget), 2,24,301 beneficiaries have 300,000 people on Sat- one crore healthcareworkers The jump in CPSE capex in 68% of its FY21 target in the slippages on the part of departmental units usually CPSEs (own funds) and the been vaccinated till January urday,but only 191,181 and around two crore front- Q3 could give leg-up to gross April-December2020.During other public-sector investors, comes from their own sur- Centre(Budget).However,this 17asperprovisionalreports, people were inoculated lineworkers,and then to per- fixedcapitalformation(GFCF) the period, Oil and Natural including the state govern- plusesandloanswhilethebal- ratio will likely change to adding that 2,07,229 of on the first day,official sons above 50 years of age, in the quarter; a sharp nar- Gas Corporation reported ments will be offset to an ance funds are provided from 3:4:4.5inFY21astheshareof them received the jabs on day data shows. followed by persons younger rowingofcontractioninGFCF capex of about `17,000 crore extent by the CPSEs. the Union Budget. states in public capex has one of the drive. — REUTERS than 50 years of age with was already seen in Q2 (down orabout 52% of its fullyear Even though the Union As against a 30% year-on- fallen. "A total of 447 AEFI have associated comorbidities. Tomar urges farmers to give up stubborn stand

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA has stayed the implementation ready to consider "seriously and TheSupremeCourtonJanuary entire country.Many farmers, New Delhi, January 17 of these laws, then there is no with an open heart" other alter- 11hadstayedtheimplementation experts and other stakeholders question of being stubborn," natives,he said. ofthethreelawstillfurtherorders have supported the laws. AHEAD OF THE tenth round of Tomartold reporters before leav- Tomar, who left for his con- and appointed a four-member So far,the nine rounds of for- talks scheduled on January 19, ing for his home constituency of stituency by Hazur Sahib paneltoresolvetheimpasse. mal talks between the Centre agriculture minister Narendra Morena in Madhya Pradesh. Nanded-Amritsar Superfast Tomar said the government and 41 farmer unions have Singh Tomar on Sunday again The government wants Express,was seen sharing langar offered certain concessions, but failed to yield any concrete urgedtheprotestingfarmleaders farmer leaders to come for from co-passengers of Sikh com- the farmer leaders have not results to end the long-running to give up their"stubborn" stand clause by clause discussion at munity -- a gesture which shown flexibility and were con- protest at Delhi's borders as the on the new farm laws and come the next meeting on January 19. comes amid the ongoing stantly demanding a repeal of latter have stuck to their main for a clause by clause discussion. Except forthe demand of repeal- protests byfarmers from Punjab the laws. He reiterated that the demand of a complete repeal of "Nowthat the Supreme Court ing the laws, the government is against the agri laws. government makes laws for the the three Acts.

From the Front Page CBI arrests senior railway MeitY draft: PLI efits has eroded theircompetitive- ness.TheallocationundertheMer- outlay for E-retailers must scale up chandise Exports from India official,two Scheme (MEIS) for the first three laptops, servers at quarters of this fiscal was reduced others in to become profitable tolessthan40%oflastyear’stotal. `7,500 crore Nonetheless,the market is get- The rupee was“over-valued”by bribery case India is aspiring for a more than ting competitive as players like 21% vis-à-vis a basket of 36 five-fold increase in electronics Reliance Industries scale up export-sensitive currencies in PRESS TRUST OF INDIA manufacturing to $400 billion by and new entrants like the Tata November, although it was lower New Delhi, January 17 FY25, by focusing on export mar- Group come in. than 23% in October,according to kets and incentivising manufac- To be able to grow their the RBI’s real effective exchange THE CBI ARRESTED the chief turerstobecomegloballycompet- catchments, e-retailers will rate index. administrative officer (con- itive.In the case of laptops tablets work on strategies to reach out Thegovernmentandthecentral struction)oftheNortheastFron- and servers, the objective is to try to the next lot of potential cus- bank have stepped in to boost liq- tier Railways on Sunday for and transfer20% to 30% of the tomers.Todaythere are an esti- uidityforcash-strapped firms.But allegedlyreceivingabribeof`1 world’s manufacturing to India. mated 200 million online export credit dropped by 2.3% crore for granting favours in Last April, the government shoppers whereas close to 600 year-on-year as of November 20, awarding lucrative contracts to rolled out a PLI scheme forlarge million use mobile broadband is picking up stakes in online even though overall prioritysector aprivatecompany,officialssaid. scale electronics manufacturing. services.While lockdowns have firms Urban Ladder,Netmeds lending rose by8.9%. Theschemeextendedincentivesof given online shopping a push, or partnering with kiranas to The Centre has rolled out a 4% to 6% on incremental sales e-retailers would need to work fulfill orders for JioMart.The scheme from January 1, 2021, to overthebaseyearforgoodsmanu- hard to get more people to Tatas for instance are under- reimbursevariousembeddedtaxes facturedinIndiaforaperiodoffive transact on the Internet. Kear- stood to be nearing a deal to oninputsconsumedinexportsand yearssubsequenttothebaseyearas ney’s Mathur believes it may buy a stake in BigBasket while replace the MEIS (the latter is con- defined. take more than just regulardis- ed-tech firm Byju’s is report- sidered by some wings of the gov- However,applicants have indi- counts and prompt deliveries. edly looking to acquireAakash ernment to be an inefficient pro- cated to the government theywill “There could be some behav- Educational Services. gramme that only drains the not be able to meet the manufac- ioural reasons for more people With capital likely to exchequer).Buttheextentofbene- turing targets before the March- not going online,it is not only remain abundant, as new fits under the proposed RoDTEP end deadline and have sought a about affordability,” he said, investors look to bet on the scheme isyet to beworked out. rollover of the milestones to the adding companieswill need to India Internet story, Pahwa MahenderSingh Chauhan, second and third years. This is do something different. believes e-retailers are likelyto Franklin MF’s 1985-batch Indian Railways only for those firms that meet The omni-channel route is continue to spend on acquiring ServiceofEngineer(IRSE)offi- their investment targets for the likely to be used to grow the customers. Indeed, Mathur shut schemes cer,wasnabbedfromMaligaon first fiscal. userbase signalling more part- estimates we could have as in Assam's Guwahati, while Experts believe mobile PLI- nerships between online and many as 350 million online generate `13,789 two others -- Bhupendra applicant companies are likely to offline companies.Already,RIL customers by 2024. Rawat,anemployeeofaccused meet first-year incremental rev- cr since closure companyABCIInfrastructures enue target despite challenges The schemes — Franklin India Private, and Indra Singh -- posed by Covid-19.Given low base ing this period and Vietnam’s fell much more stringent lockdown Low Duration Fund, Franklin were apprehended from and large entry-level mobile mar- only marginally by 0.5% to 31.9 (from March 25 until it was eased India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Dehradun, where the bribe ket (1,300 million units below billion euros. A recent free trade gradually from June) than any of Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, amount was allegedly being $200),incrementalrevenuetargets agreement between Hanoi and these nations.A domestic demand Franklin India ShortTerm Income delivered on Chauhan's for domestic mobile manufactur- Brussels may further tilt the bal- compression battered its imports Plan,Franklin India Ultra Short instructions,theysaid. ers should not be hard to achieve. ance in favour ofVietnam in the muchharderthanitsexports.Con- Bond Fund, and Franklin India Besides the arrested, the comingyears. sequently,import-sensitiveexport Income Opportunities Fund — CentralBureauofInvestigation Export recovery: India’s inherent structural segments, too, saw a sharp drop. together had an estimated (CBI) has also booked railway bottlenecks,including high logis- Also, India was among the last set `25,000 crore as assets under officials Hem Chand Borah Rivals Vietnam, tics costs, unimpressive trade of nations where the pandemic management (AUM). (deputy chief engineer),Laxmi infrastructure, container short- spreaditstentacles,whichmeansit Individually, Franklin India KantVerma(assistantexecutive China far outpace age and inadequate flow of shouldbeamongthelasttostagea Ultra Short Bond Fund, Franklin engineer) and director of ABCI cheaper credit,seem to have just rebound.To that extent, the con- IndiaLowDurationFund,Franklin Infrastructures Private Pawan India exacerbated the Covid-induced traction in its exports is under- India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Baid.It is alleged that Chauhan Vietnam’sexportstotheUS,infact, stress in its export sector. Its standable. Franklin India Credit Risk Fund (58)haddemandedthebribeto rose by as much as 20% to $72.7 exports have risen only for a sec- However,what signals a deeper and Franklin India Short Term show favours to the accused billion,accordingtotheUSgovern- ond time in 10 months in Decem- fissureinIndia’sexportresurgence IncomePlanhave63%,50%,41%, companyinawardingcontracts ment data. India’s exports to all ber,that,too,by just 0.1%. story is the loss of momentum 26and9%oftheirrespectiveAUM for various projects in the destinations were down by 16% As FE had reported in October, since the 6.1% expansion in Sep- in cash. Northeast Frontier Railways, until Novemberlast calendaryear. India had emerged as the worst tember,the first since February.Its Borrowing levels in Franklin theofficialssaid. Similarly,India’s exports to the performer among key developing outbound shipments faltered by IndiaIncomeOpportunitiesFund "The contractors were EU (excluding the UK) witnessed a economiesinAsiainexportsinthe 5.1% in October and 8.7% in continue to come down steadily allegedly being facilitated in steep17.2%declineto30.6billion aftermath of the Covid-19 out- November before recording the andcurrentlystandat6%ofAUM. awardingthecontracts,process- euros in the January-November break, trailing not just the usual marginal rise last month. Franklin Templeton MF said ingofsubsequentbills,releaseof period, showed the official data stars China and South Korea but Exportershavecomplainedthat that cash available stands at paymentsetc.bythepublicfunc- withtheEU.However,China’sship- also Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia a combination of a spike in ship- `9,190 crore as of January 15, for tionariesinlieuofillegalgratifi- menttothe27-memberblockrose and even Bangladesh. ping costs, the rupee appreciation these five cash positive schemes, cations,"the CBI spokesperson by 4.3% to 350 billion euros dur- To be sure, India imposed a andahugecutingovernmentben- subjecttofundrunningexpenses. saidinastatement.

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 FINANCIAL EXPRESS NATION 3 DHFL resolution: Lenders CCI almost stops procurement as prices rise up to `6,000/quintal FE BUREAU TheMSPisat`5,825perquin- 35 lakh bales from India,Ag- said US cotton production Pune, January 17 talforthebestgradeofcotton. grawalsaid.Vietnamislikelyto could fall by 15% to 225 lakh approve Piramal’s bid TheCCIhadoriginallyesti- import around 4-5 lakh bales. bales in 2019-20.Global de- WITH PRICES OF quality raw mated a purchase of 100-125 Pradeep Jain,a major cot- mand is expected to touch 25 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Accordingtosources,suitors cotton rising up to `6,000 per lakh bales at the start of the ton ginner from Jalgaon, said million tonne in the 2020-21 New Delhi, January 17 have submitted bids in the quintal this week, cotton pro- season. Wholesale prices of farmers are not responding to season. rangeof`35,000-37,000crore. curement by the Cotton Cor- cotton in most mandis in Ma- the CCI,and prefer selling to “Indianaswellastheglobal DEBT-RIDDEN MORTGAGE In November 2019,the Re- poration of India (CCI) has al- harashtrarangedfrom`5,400 private traders since prices cotton output is expected to lenderDHFLonSundaysaidthe serve Bank referred Dewan most come to a stop, top to `5,500 per quintal in the have improved. There is no decline in calendar year 2021 Committee of Creditors (CoC) Housing Finance (DHFL), the officials at the CCI said. Some lastweek of December. registration required with (globalcottonyearendingJuly has approved resolution plan third-largest pure-play mort- procurement is happening in Aggrawal said prices were tradersandqualityparameters 2021).As the demand is likely submitted by Piramal Capital gage lender, to the National rural areas. getting aligned since the de- are simpler, he said. Barely to rebound on recovery from andHousingFinance,aPiramal Company LawTribunal (NCLT) “Cotton procurement un- mand was slowly returning lakh bales being exported to 25% of cotton is left in the the pandemic impact, cotton Groupcompany. forinsolvencyproceedings. der the minimum support back to normal afterthe Covid the country.Aggrawal said al- marketwithfarmerswhohave stocks are expected to decline. This was approved by the tionplan,”itsaid. DHFLwas the first finance price (MSP) programme has pandemic.Capacityutilisation though the agreement be- the capacity to hold onto However,despite moderation, CoC in its 18th meeting con- Piramal’s bid received 94% companytobereferredtoNCLT reduced with prices going up. intextilemillsisalsoreturning tween the two governments is stocks, Jain said. Market re- absolute cotton stocks as well cluded on January 15, 2021, votes as compared to 45% for bytheRBIusingspecialpowers Cotton arrivals are staggered back to pre-Covid levels, he yet to happen,around 20 lakh ports speculate about cotton asthecottonstock-to-useratio DHFLsaidinaregulatoryfiling. theUS-basedOaktreeCapital. under Section 227 of the IBC. with around 210 lakh bales said. Daily arrivals have re- baleshavesofarbeenexported shortage in the US, Pakistan are expected to remain high The “resolution plan sub- Since the conclusion of the Prior to that, the company’s havingalreadyarrivedintothe duced to some 70,000 bales a tothecountry,hesaid.TheCCI and India and therefore the owing to sizeable carryover mitted by Piramal Capital and fifthandfinalroundofthebid- board was superseded and R marketwithanother140-150 dayfrom a high of 3 lakh bales has a floated a daily tender for sentiment is bullish. stocks brought forward from Housing Finance Limited was ding process last month,Pira- Subramaniakumar was ap- lakh bales remaining with on a daily basis at December- exports and expects a good re- The US Department of thepreviousyear,”ICRAsaidin dulyapprovedbyCoCbymajor- mal and Oaktree Capital each pointedastheadministrator.He farmers.The CCI has procured end,he said. sponse from China and Viet- Agriculture in a recent report its report. ityvotingundersection30(4)of claimed that their bid was the is also the resolution profes- 85lakhbalesandmayprocure Bangladesh, meanwhile, nam.Chinamayimport25-30 the Insolvency & Bankruptcy highest and fully imple- sionalundertheInsolvencyand another 5-10 lakh bales,”PK has emerged as the largest ex- lakh bales and Bangladesh is Code....asthesuccessfulresolu- mentable. BankruptcyCode(IBC). Aggrawal, CMD of CCI, said. porter so far with nearly 14 expected to import some 30- NOTIFICATION FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST EOIs are being invited from the Prospective Financially sound and Willing Corporates, Institutions and PEs, for Development of PM Modi flags off eight trains with Excise collection up 48% Hydrocarbon Assets, On-Shore Gas Blocks and Shallow Offshore on petrol, diesel tax hike Oil Block, (Offers higher upside potential), as per following linkage to Statue of Unity in Gujarat description: WHILE THE PANDEMIC crore,up from `1,32,899 KG Basin (Andhra Pradesh) Onshore 2-Gas Blocks: pummelledtaxcollection crore mop-up during the FE BUREAU Oneofthetrainsflaggedoff and further extension of the across the board, excise same period in 2019, ac- 1.0 Total Geographical Area : 193.57 Sq KM New Delhi, January 17 forKevadiaconnectsKevadiato new32kmbroadgaugerailway duty mop-up jumped cording to data from the 1.1 Gas in Place Reserve : 0.84 BCM the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MG linefromChandodtoKevadiya. 48% in the current fiscal Controller General of Ac- Mumbai Basin 1-Shallow Offshore Oil Block: PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Ramachandran Central Rail- Landacquisitionforthenew on the back of a record in- counts (CGA). Modi on Sunday flagged off way Station in Chennai.“It is a line project was completed as crease in taxes on petrol This despite the fact 1.0 Total Geographical Area : 90.86 Sq KM eight new trains connecting pleasantcoincidencethattoday lateasJuly2020andtheproject anddiesel,thatmorethan that over 10 million 1.1 Oil in Place Reserve : 14.78 MMT Gujarat’s Kevadia to several isthebirthanniversaryofMGR. hasbeencommissionedonlyin made up for the below tonneslessdieselwassold other destinations pan India, Hislifewasdedicatedtotheser- fivemonths. normal fuel sales. during the eight months Indicative Offer can be forwarded to us within a period of 15 days which will boost commerce, vice of the poor,”Modi said,in It has a total of seven sta- Excise duty collection period. Petrol consump- from the date of publication of this notification. Detailed terms & tourism and generate employ- an outreach to the state which tionswiththreemajorcrossing during April-November tion toowas lower. conditions shall be discussed, on mutual interest of both the ment. hasAssemblypollsthisyear. stations and four minor halt 2020, was at `1,96,342 —PTI Parties. Formation of SPV/JV accepted. Proposal be forwarded at: The newtrains link Kevadia Modi also inaugurated sev- stationsalongwitheightmajor (1) [email protected] (2) [email protected] toVaranasi,Dadar,Ahmedabad, eral other railway projects in bridges,79minorbridges,nine Hazrat Nizamuddin, Rewa, Kevadia,includingtheDabhoi- road overbridges and 31 roads Chennai and Pratapnagar.Ke- Chandid broad gauge rail line, underbridges. vadiyaishometothe‘Statueof Chandod-Kevadita new broad Unity’dedicatedtoVallabhbhai gaugerailline,Pratapnagar-Ke- Patel and a growing global vadiyanewlyelectrifiedsection. CLASSIFIEDS touristspot. The`811croreand50kmlong “This is a beautiful picture Dabhoi–Chandod–Kevadiya of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha sectionhasbeencommissioned PERSONAL Bharat’.Itisthefirsttimeinthe by converting the 18 km long RISHTARAILWAYSE. history of Indian Railways (IR) Dabhoi–Chandod narrow CHANGE OF NAME thatsomanytrainsfromdiffer- gauge section to broad gauge ent locations of the country I Vipul Sutaria S/O, TARAKKI RAFTAAR SE. started their run to the same Amrutlal Sutaria R/o A603 Mahindra destination,” Modi said, flag- Eminente Sv Road, ging off the trains via video- Goregaon West Mumbai conferencing. 400104 have changed my name to Vipulkumar Amrutlal Sutaria for all purposes. 0040560372-1

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Funded₹ 3.59 trillion ^ to Ministry of Railways for progress of the Nation

• IRFC - Dedicated market borrowing arm for Indian Railways • Registered with RBI as a Systemically Important NBFC-ND-IFC • Funded acquisition of 11,670 locomotives, 66,603 passenger coaches and 244,902 freight wagons* • Total revenue from operations increased by 22.15% between Fiscal 2019-2020 • Zero non-performing assets and Capital Adequacy Ratio of 433.92%* • Rolling Stock Assets worth` 2,346,271.68 million* • Capital expenditure of` 8,560.20 billion planned for Fiscal 2016-2020 by the Indian Railways#

^Cumulative funding of` 3,592.75 billion as of September 30, 2020. *As of September 30, 2020. #Source: Reform, Perform and Transform– Report by the Indian Railways, July 2017. Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited is proposing, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, to undertake an initial public offer of its Equity Shares and has filed the RHP with the Registrar of Companies, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Haryana at New Delhi. The RHP is available on the websites of SEBI, BSE and NSE at www.sebi.gov.in, www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com, respectively, and on the websites of the BRLMs i.e. DAM Capital Advisors Limited (Formerly known as IDFC Securities Limited), HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Limited, ICICI Securities Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited at www.damcapital.in, https://www.business.hsbc.co.in/en-gb/in/generic/ipo-open-offer-and-buyback, www.icicisecuri- ties.com and www.sbicaps.com, respectively. Potential investors should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and for details relating to such risk, see the section titled “Risk Factors” on page 24 of the RHP. Potential investors should not rely on the DRHP or Addendum dated October 23, 2020 filed with SEBI for making any investment decision. The Equity Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”) or any other applicable law of the United States and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold within the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. Accordingly, the Equity Shares are being offered and sold (i) within the United States only to persons reasonably believed to be “qualified institutional buyers” (as defined in Rule 144A and referred to in the RHP as “U.S. QIBs”. For the avoidance of doubt, the term “U.S. QIBs” does not refer to a category of institutional investor defined under applicable Indian regulations and referred to in the RHP as “QIBs”) in transactions exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act, and (ii) outside the United States in offshore transactions in reliance on Regulation S and pursuant to the applicable laws of the jurisdictions where those offers and sales are made. There will be no public offering in the United States. Adfactors

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● FBI FLAGS VIOLENCE RISK Breakthrough In first 10 days,Biden to in transition US state capitals brace for talks for Libya: act on‘overlapping’crises UN official GREGORY KORTE SAMY MAGDY pro-Trump armed protests January 17 Roubini expects violence, cyber Cairo, January 17 ' PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE attacks during Biden s term THE TOP UN official for Libya NATHAN LAYNE AND The FBI and other federal BIDEN plans an earlyblitz of said on Saturday that an advi- PATRICIA ZENGERLE agencies have warned of the executive action to reverse US ECONOMISTNOURIELRoubinifearsJoeBiden'spresi- sory committee for represen- January 17 potentialforfutureviolence,as some of President Donald dencywillbemarkedbyunrestandcyberattacks,according tatives of Libya’s different white supremacists and other Trump’s most contentious to an interview he gave to Der Spiegel.There will be addi- regions has proposed a way PROTESTERSAREEXPECTED extremistslooktoexploitfrus- policies and address the coro- tional armed riots,especially from white nationalists,and forward for choosing a transi- to descend on statehouses trationamongTrumpsupport- navirus pandemic, according Russia and China will orchestrate more cyber attacks tional government thatwould across the United States on erswhohaveboughtintofalse- toanoutlineofBiden’sfirst10 againsttheUSandspreadfalseinformation,Roubini,apro- lead the war-torn country to Sunday in support of baseless hoodsaboutelectoralfraud. days in office. fessorat the Stern School of Business and a formeradviser elections late thisyear. claims that electoral fraud Itwasnotclearwhetherthe The plan, spelled out in a totheUSgovernment,toldtheGermanmagazine.Roubini The talks in Geneva,struc- robbed President Donald ramped up security presence memo on Saturday by Biden also called forstricterregulation of social media platforms turedaroundtheLibyanPolit- Trumpofasecondterm,aslaw might lead some protesters to Chief of Staff Ron Klain to like Facebook andTwitter.— BLOOMBERG ical Dialogue Forum, have enforcement officials girded stay at home. Following the incoming White House advis- been taking place amid a forpossibleviolence. January6violenceinWashing- ers, will address what Klain heavy international push to More than a dozen states ton, some militia members called “four overlapping and scaled down because of the thetransitionteam’sfirsteffort reachapeacefulsettlementto haveactivatedNationalGuard said theywould not attend a compounding crises”.They are coronavirus outbreak and to temper those expectations Libya’s civil war. Previous troops to help secure their long-plannedpro-gundemon- the Covid-19 pandemic that securityconcerns. with an ambitious but achiev- diplomatic initiatives have all capitol buildings following an Capitol police secure the area ahead of Joe Biden's strationinVirginiaonMonday, has claimed close to 400,000 First-day directives will ableto-dolist. collapsed. FBIwarningofarmedprotests, inauguration, in Washington on Saturday. REUTERS where authorities were wor- USlives,theresultingeconomic focus on measures to mitigate Otherordersarewaitingon UN acting envoy for Libya with right-wing extremists ried about the risk of violence downturn,climatechange,and theCovid-19pandemicandits a legal clearance process — a StephanieWilliamstoldanews emboldened by the deadly Democrat Joe Biden will be erate anyacts ofviolence.” as multiple groups converged anationalreckoningoverracial economicfallout,includingan step Trump often skipped in conference in Geneva that the attack on the US Capitol in sworn in amid extraordinary The nationwide security onthestatecapital,Richmond. equity in the wake of the Black extension of student loan for- hisfirstdays,leadingtoconfu- advisory committee’s mem- Washington on January6. securityeffortsinWashington, scramble followed the attack Some militias and extrem- LivesMattermovement. bearance past January 31 and sion and legal challenges that bers“have met their responsi- There were scattered DC.The downtown area of the on the US Capitol in Washing- istgroupshavetoldfollowersto “In his first 10 days in an extension of a moratorium sometimes required him to bilitywithaconstructivespirit, demonstrations on Saturday, capital was virtually empty on ton bya mix of extremists and stayhomethisweekend,citing office, President-elect Biden on evictions and foreclosures, correct his own orders. Klain cooperativeefforts,andagreat but statehouses remained Saturday,with streets nearthe Trump supporters, some of the increased security or the will take decisive action to according to Klain. Biden will emphasised that Biden’s deal of patriotism”. mostlyquiet.Securityofficials Capitol closed and battalions whom called for the death of risk that the planned events address these four crises, pre- also launch a“100 Day Mask- orders will restore “an appro- The committee is part of a have eyed Sunday as the first of camouflaged National Vice President Mike Pence as werelawenforcementtraps. vent other urgent and irre- ing Challenge,”imposing new priate, constitutional role for 75-memberforumthatrepre- major flashpoint as that is Guard soldiers taking up posi- he presided over the certifica- Bob Gardner, leader of the versible harms, and restore mandates that require masks the President”. sentsallthethreemainregions when the anti-government tions across the citycentre. tionofBiden’selectionvictory. Pennsylvania Lightfoot Mili- America’s place in the world,” on federal property and for “Clearly, this is for public ofLibya.The18-membercom- “boogaloo” movement made Connecticut has activated The Democratic leaders of tia,saidhisgrouphadnoplans Klain wrote.“President-elect interstate transportation. consumption,” said Andrew mittee has proposed that each plans weeks ago to hold rallies its National Guard in prepara- four US congressional com- to be in Harrisburg this week- Biden will take action — not Typically,“DayOne”ismore Rudalevige,a Bowdoin College region’selectoralcollegename in all 50 states. tion for 2,000 mostly Trump mittees said on Saturday they end,wherethecapitolhasbeen justtoreversethegravestdam- arhetoricalconceptforanynew professorand expert on execu- a representative to a three- While many states have supporters at its capitol com- had opened a review of the fortified with barricades and agesoftheTrumpadministra- administration, with actions tive orders.He said Biden was member presidential council, erectedfencesorotherbarriers plex in Hartford on Sunday, a events and had written to the will be protected by hundreds tion—butalsotostartmoving oftenrolledoutoverdays,weeks probably eager to demonstrate Williams said.A prime minis- to secure their capitols,Texas state police spokesman said. FBI and otherintelligence and of members of its National ourcountryforward.” or longer.But during the cam- anorganisedWhiteHouseafter terwouldbechosenbythe75- and Kentucky have taken the “We are preparing possibly security agencies asking what Guard. “We’ve got our own Klain said Biden would paign and since his election, Trump’s turbulent governing member forum.A successful further step of closing their for anything to happen,”said was known about threats, communities to worry about,” beginwithaboutadozenexec- Biden hasrepeatedlypromised style,andtoreassurekeyDemo- nominee should receive 70% capitol grounds to the public. Trooper Pedro Muniz, adding whether the information was Gardner said earlier this utive actions on Wednesday, action “on Day One,”creating craticconstituencygroupsthat ofvotes. ItisjustdaysuntilWednes- that there had not been any shared and whether foreign week.“Wedon’tgetinvolvedin Inauguration Day.But Biden’s what would be an overwhelm- action on their priorities is Williams said that the day’s Inauguration Day,when specificthreats.“Wewon’ttol- influence played anyrole. politics.”— REUTERS inaugural has been greatly ingprioritylist.Klain’smemois coming.— BLOOMBERG forum would resort to lists formed from Libya’s three regions,with each list consist- ing of four names, nominated forthepresidentialcounciland 20 Indian-Americans in Biden administration,17 at keyWH positions a prime minister position.She BLOOMBERG said a list should obtain 17 LALIT K JHA African American to be sworn appointeesamongtheIndian- has been named as Director matePolicyattheWhiteHouse endorsements: eight from the Washington, January 17 in as thevice president. Americans include two who Speechwriting. and Vidur Sharma has been western region, six from the It is also for the first time trace their roots to Kashmir: Vedant Patel is all set to appointedasPolicyAdvisorfor eastern region and three from LESS THAN 100 hours ahead everthatsomanyIndian-Amer- Aisha Shah, who has been occupy a seat in the White Testing for the White House southern Libya. ofhishistoricinauguration,US icans have been roped into a named as Partnership Man- House lowerpress asAssistant Covid-19 ResponseTeam. The winning list should President-elect Joe Biden has presidential administration agerattheWhiteHouseOffice Press Secretary to the Presi- TwoIndianAmericanshave receive60%ofthevotesofthe either nominated or named at everbeforetheinauguration. of Digital Strategy, and dent. He is only the third-ever beenappointedtotheOfficeof 75-member forum in the first least 20 Indian Americans, Topping the list are Neera Sameera Fazili, who would Indian American to be part of the White House Counsel: round.A run-up is expected if including 13 women, to key Tanden,who has been nomi- occupy the key position of theWhite House press shop. NehaGuptaasAssociateCoun- no list received the required positions in his administra- nated as Director of the White Deputy Director at the US Three Indian-Americans selandReemaShahasDeputy votes,she said.Williams said tion, a new record in itself for House Office of Management National Economic Council havemadetheirwaytothecru- Associate Counsel. the forum would vote on the this small ethnic community and Budget, and Dr Vivek (NEC) in theWhite House. cial National Security Council Forthefirsttime,theWhite proposedmechanismonMon- that constitutes 1% of the Murthy, nominated as the US White House National Eco- of the White House. They are House will have three other day and the results are country’s population. Surgeon General. nomic Council also has TarunChhabra,SeniorDirector South Asians in key positions. expected the following day. As many as 17 of them Vanita Gupta has been Indian-American community RRangaswami said. another Indian American, for Technology and National Pakistani-AmericanAliZaidias The transitional govern- would be part of the powerful nominated asAssociateAttor- has shown to public service Mala Adiga has been Bharat Ramamurti,as Deputy Security;SumonaGuha,Senior DeputyNationalClimateAdvi- ment would be “a temporary White House complex. ney General Department of over the years has been recog- appointed as Policy Director of Director. Gautam Raghavan, Director for South Asia; and sor,White House; Sri Lankan unified executive staffed by The January 20th inaugu- Justice,andonSaturday,Biden nised in a bigwayat thevery the future First Lady Dr Jill whoservedattheWhiteHouse Shanthi Kalathil,Coordinator American Rohini Kosoglu as Libyan patriots who want to ration is already set to be his- nominatedformerforeignser- start of this administration! I BidenandGarimaVermawould in the Obama administration, for Democracy and Human DomesticPolicyAdvisortothe share responsibility rather toric as for the first time, a vice official Uzra Zeya as the am particularly pleased that be the Digital Director of the returns to the White House as Rights. vice president, and thantodividethecake,”theUN woman — Kamala Harris — Under Secretary of State for theoverwhelmingmajorityare Office of the First Lady,while Deputy Director in Office of Sonia Aggarwal has been Bangladeshi-American Zayn acting envoysaid. would be sworn as the vice Civilian Security, Democracy, women. Our community has Sabrina Singh has been named PresidentialPersonnel.Among named Senior Advisor for Cli- Siddique as Senior Advisor to Theforumreachedanagree- president.Harris,56,isalsothe and Human Rights. truly arrived in serving the asherDeputyPressSecretary. Biden’s inner circle is his top mate Policy and Innovation in theWhiteHouseDeputyChief mentlastyeartohold elections first ever Indian-origin and “The dedication that the nation,”Indiaspora founderM For the first time, confidant, Vinay Reddy, who theOfficeoftheDomesticCli- of Staff.— PTI onDecember24,2021.—AP Quick Earthquake death toll now 78 as Indonesia Gunmen kill two women Supreme View struggles with string of disasters in newyear Court judges in Kabul,say police

STANLEYWIDIANTO AND In 2018, a devastating 6.2- ABDUL QADIR SEDIQI UK hopes to AGUSTINUS BEO DA COSTA magnitude quake and subse- Kabul, January 17 Jakarta, January 17 quent tsunami struck the city ease lockdown of Palu, in Sulawesi, killing UNIDENTIFIEDGUNMEN from March ATLEAST78 peoplehavebeen thousands. KILLED two female judges killed after an earthquake Justtwoweeksintothenew from Afghanistan’s Supreme BRITAIN’S GOVERNMENT struck Indonesia’s West year, the world’s fourth-most Court on Sunday morning, HOPES to ease some Sulawesi province on Friday, populous country is battling policesaid,addingtoawaveof lockdown restrictions in the search and rescue agency several disasters. Floods in assassinations in Kabul and March as it presses ahead (Basarnas) said on Sunday, NorthSulawesiandSouthKali- other cities while government with Europe’s fastest the latest in a string of disas- mantan province each have and Taliban representatives rollout of Covid-19 ters to hit the Southeast killed at least five this month, have been holding peace talks vaccines,foreign minister Asian country. while landslides in West Java in Qatar. Dominic Raab said on Morethan740peoplewere provincehavekilledatleast29, The two judges, who have Sunday.The country, has injured and over 27,800 left authorities said. not yet been named, were been undernational theirhomesafterthe6.2mag- OnJanuary9,aSriwijayaAir killed and their driver Relatives carry the body of one of the judges shot dead by lockdown since January5. nitude quake, the country’s jet crashed into the Java Sea wounded,in an attack around unknown gunmen in Kabul on Sunday. REUTERS disaster mitigation agency Search and rescue personnel inspect a collapsed building with 62 onboard. East Java’s 8:30 am, police said, adding Israel,Bahrain separately (BNPB) said in a sit- following an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi Semerumountaineruptedlate thecasewasbeinginvestigated groups.Ghanisaid“terror,hor- capital Kabul. uation report. province, Indonesia, on Saturday. REUTERS on Saturday, but there have bysecurityforces. ror and crime was not a solu- The Taliban has denied banks ink MoUs The police and military beennoreportsofcasualtiesor A spokesman for the Tal- tion to Afghanistan’s problem involvement in some of the ISRAEL’STWO LARGEST officers have been deployed to has also been put in place for said that another quake in the evacuations. iban said its fighters were not and beseeched the Taliban to attacks, but has said its fight- lenders,Bank Leumi Le- crack down on looting in sev- twoweeks,he said. region could potentially trig- Dwikorita said extreme involved. accept“apermanentceasefire”. ers would continue to “elimi- Israel and Bank Hapoalim, eral parts of the region, BNPB Dwikorita Karnawati, the gera tsunami. weatherandother“multi-dan- Afghan President Ashraf Governmentofficials,jour- nate” important government have each signed MoUs spokesman Raditya Jati said. head of Indonesia’s meteoro- Straddling the so-called gers”ofhydrometeorologyare Ghani issued a statement con- nalists,andactivistshavebeen figures,thoughnotjournalists with National Bank of Anemergencyresponsestatus, logical, climatology and geo- Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia forecast in the comingweeks. demningattacksonciviliansby targeted in recent months, orcivil societymembers. Bahrain to facilitate intendedtohelprescueefforts, physical agency (BMKG), has isregularlyhitbyearthquakes. — REUTERS the Taliban and other militant stokingfearparticularlyinthe — REUTERS business dealings between the two countries,they said on Sunday. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi targets hydrogen as fuel for future export Israel to begin reopening European powers VERITY RATCLIFFE make green hydrogen at Mas- green hydrogen. economy in Feb: Minister rebuke Iran January 17 dar City in Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi is the capital THREE EUROPEAN Mubadala said in a statement. and largest emirate in the ALISA ODENHEIMER allow the economy to reopen POWERS,France,Britain ABU DHABI’S GOVERN- Munich-based Siemens UnitedArab Emirates. January 17 on the other,”Katz said in an and Germany, on MENT-RUN oil company is Energy is already building a AbuDhabiNationalOilwill interviewwith Kan radio. Saturdaywarned Iran teamingupwithtwoofitssov- hydrogen demonstration develop blue hydrogen inde- ISRAELWILLBEGINgradually Israel’s economy probably against startingwork on ereignwealthfundstoturnthe plant at the Mohammed bin pendently,while cooperating reopening its economy from contracted by 3.7% in 2020, uranium metal-based fuel petroleum-rich emirate into RashidAlMaktoumSolarPark with the two wealth funds to February,andmuchofitwillbe according to the central bank’s fora research reactor, an exporter of blue and green intheneighbouringemirateof makethegreenvariety,accord- active byMarch,Finance Min- January 4 estimate.The econ- saying it contravened the hydrogen. Dubai. ing to theADQ statement. isterIsraelKatzsaid omy may 2015 nucleardeal. Abu Dhabi National Oil SomeMiddleEasternstates Abu Dhabi National Oil on Sunday. The country has expand by as formed an alliance with that built their fortunes on oil produces around 300,000 The country has been under muchas6.3%in Uganda Oppn Mubadala Investment and are seeking to develop hydro- tons of hydrogen annually for been under lock- lockdown since 2021 under a ADQ to produce hydrogen genasfuel,givenashiftamong its downstream operations, down since the end December-end rapid vaccine rejects poll result from natural gas and renew- some of their buyers toward and it intends to expand out- of December, its drive,or as little A DAY AFTER Uganda’s able energy and to market less-polluting alternatives to put to more than 500,000 third since the as 3.5% if doses leader Yoweri Museveni the fuel overseas as well as in crude. Some West Asian nations are seeking to develop hydrogen tons, according to the state- beginning of the are given out was declared winner of the theUnitedArabEmirates,ADQ Saudi Arabia’s energy min- as fuel, given a shift among some buyers toward ment. coronavirus pandemic, as gradually,accordingtothefore- presidential election, the said in a statement. ister has said he wants the less-polluting alternatives to crude oil BLOOMBERG It’s“well-placedtobuildon infections continue to climb. cast.Some 23% of the popula- opposition dismissed the Inarelateddeal,AbuDhabi kingdom—theworld’sbiggest its advantaged position as a “We will have to be very tionhasreceiveditsfirstdoseof resultsas“fraud”andcalled Future Energy, also known as oil exporter — to become the bia, produces natural gas, gen. It also has ample major natural gas reserves exact with our decisions, in vaccineinatwo-doseregimen, for the release of their Masdar, agreed with Siemens largest shipperof hydrogen. which it could use to develop sunshine,which it could har- holder and producer,”Adnoc order to stop the spread of and2.5%havehadbothdoses. leader,BobiWine. Energy to develop a facility to Abu Dhabi, like Saudi Ara- what is known as blue hydro- ness to make avariant called said.— BLOOMBERG infectionontheonehand,and — BLOOMBERG

Pune WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 FINANCIAL EXPRESS NATION 5

● PSB RECAPITALISATION PRESS TRUST OF INDIA icated financing arm of the New Delhi, January 17 Two IPOs to hit market this week,eye over `5,800 cr Indian Railways for mobilising funds from domestic as well as Govt looksatBICmodel TWO COMPANIES — INDIAN The companies are expect- Corporation (IRFC) would be 178.20 crore shares,compris- upperendofthepriceband,the overseas markets. Its primary Railway Finance Corporation ing to benefit from an equity open for public subscription ingafreshissueofupto118.80 IPO is expected to fetch objectiveistomeetthepredom- and Sequoia Capital-backed market,which is flushwith liq- duringJanuary18-20,whilethe croreandoffer-for-saleofupto `4,633.4crore. inant portion of “extra bud- afterRBI raisesconcern IndigoPaints—aresettohitthe uidity and has seen a sharp IPO of Indigo Paints would 59.40 crore shares by the gov- On Friday, the company getary resources”requirement marketwith theirinitial share- increaseinnewretailinvestors. open on January 20 and con- ernment. The price band has raised `1,390 crore from of the Indian Railways through sale offers thisweek to raise an The three-day initial share- cludeonJanuary22. been fixed in the range of `25- anchorinvestors. market borrowings at the most overzero couponbonds estimatedover`5,800crore. sale of Indian Railway Finance IRFC IPO comprises up to 26 per equity share and at the IRFC,setupin1986,isaded- competitiveratesandterms. PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, January 17

THE FINANCE MINISTRY is looking at other avenues for affordable capital infusion, including setting up of a Bank Investment Company(BIC),as theRBIhasraisedconcernover the issuance of zero coupon bonds for recapitalisation of Bank Investment Company public sector banks (PSBs), (BIC) will be autonomous sources said. and will have the power to Setting up BIC as a holding companyora core investment appoint board of directors companywassuggestedbythe and make other policy P J Nayak Committee in its decisions regarding report on ‘Governance of subsidiaries Boards of Banks in India’. The report recommended transferring shares of the gov- pressure. ernmentinthebankstotheBIC Tosaveinterestburdenand which would become the par- ease the fiscal pressure, the ent holding company of all government decided to issue these banks,as a result of this, zerocouponbondsformeeting allthePSBswouldbecome‘lim- the capital needs of the banks. ited’ banks. BIC will be The first test case of the autonomousanditwillhavethe new mechanismwas a capital power to appoint the board of infusion of `5,500 crore into directorsandmakeotherpolicy Punjab&SindBankbyissuing decisionsaboutsubsidiaries. zero-coupon bonds of six dif- The idea of BIC,which will ferent maturities last year. serve as a super holding com- These special securities with pany,was also discussed at the tenure of 10-15 years are first Gyan Sangam bankers’ non-interest bearing and val- retreat organised in 2014,the ued at par. sources said. However,the Reserve Bank Theyadded that itwas pro- of India (RBI) expressed con- posed that the holding com- cerns over zero-coupon bonds panywould look into the capi- fortherecapitalisationofPSBs. talneedsofbanksandarrange The RBI has raised some funds for them without gov- issues with regard to calcula- ernment support. tion of an effective capital It would also look at alter- infusion made in any bank native ways of raising capital through this instrument such as the sale of non-voting issued at par,the sources said. sharesinabidtogarnerafford- Since such bonds usually able capital. are non-interest bearing but With this in place, the issuedatadeepdiscounttothe dependence of PSBs on gov- face value, it is difficult to ernment support would also ascertain net present value, come down and ease fiscal theyadded.

Pune 6 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM PROMOTIING ARTS & CULTURE

I&B minister Prakash Javadekar, exhorting film industry to

participate in organising IFFI ❝Just because it's the government's responsibility to ensure a ❝ thriving atmosphere and and promotion of arts and culture, doesn't mean the government should do everything OpinionMONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

RationalExpectations ● FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH AGRI-FOOD POLICIES SHOULD BE DEMAND-DRIVEN, PROTECT SUSTAINABILITYAND EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCTION, AND GIVE CONSUMERS MORE CHOICE ON NUTRITIOUS FOOD SUNIL JAIN

[email protected] @thesuniljain The contours of an Make the most of optimal agri-food policy the SC’s farm panel AKING AN OPTIMAL faster(3 to 5 times) than cereals orsug- This is a chance for Punjab’s agitating farmers to negotiate agri-food policy in arcane.Itmaybenotedthatin2018-19, India is the need of the ASHOK the value of livestock and fishery was a central package to help fund a crop diversification plan hour.It should look at almost 40% of the gross value of agri- not only the short run GULATI culturaloutput.Horticultureaccounted HERE IS LITTLE doubt the Supreme Court (SC) erred in putting the central M but also medium- to long-term chal- Infosys Chair Professor forAgriculture, ICRIER foranother21%(seegraphic).Andthey farm laws in abeyance and setting up a panel of expertswhowere to hearthe lenges.The UN Population projections Views are personal don’t enjoyanyMSPprogramme of the agitating Punjab farmers and suggest awayforward.Since the lawswere not (2019) indicate India will be the most government.Overall,the total value of T unconstitutional,byputtingtheminabeyance,SCdealtabigblowtothegov- populous country by 2027. By 2030, purchases by government agencies at ernment’sabilitytogovern.TheresignationofBSMann,oneofthemembersofthefour- India is likely to have almost 600 mil- best technologies and best markets in highly subsidised input price policy MSPofpaddy,wheat,pulses,oilseedsand memberpanel,evenbeforethefirstmeeting,onlyreinforcesthefearthatSCisgoingto lion people living in urban areas,who Indiaandabroad. (power,water,fertilisers),andMSP/FRP cotton,wasjustabout6%ofthevalueof haveeggonitsface;thefarmers’refusaltostopthecapital’sgheraoevenafterSCputthe wouldneedsafefoodcomingfromthe Ontheproductionfront,thebestpol- policyforpaddy,wheat,andsugarcane, totalagricultureandalliedsector. lawsinabeyancewasthefirstindicationofthetroubleSC’splanwouldruninto. hinterlands.Indian agriculture has an icyistoinvestinR&Dforagriculture,and tomoreincomesupportpolicieslinked In the marketing segment also,for Butnowthatthepanelisthere,itisineveryone’sinteresttogiveitashot.Sadly,farm- average holding size of 1.08 hectares itsextensionfromlabtoland,irrigation, tothesavingofwater,soilandairqual- mostofouragri-commodities,ourcosts ershaverefusedtoappearbeforeitastheysayitispackedwithsupportersofthefarmlaw. (2015-16data)whileengaging42%of etc,that raise productivity.Fordevelop- ity.But policymaking so far on this remain high compared to several other Thatmaywellbetrue,butnotappearingbeforethepanelisprobablyamistake. the workforce. Cultivable land and ing countries, it is believed that they front has failed, resulting in excessive developing countries due to poorlogis- Apart from casting aspersions on the intellectual honesty of the panel,the farmer water for agriculture are limited and shouldinvestinagri-R&Dandextension, production of these three crops in the tics,lowinvestmentsinsupplylinesand unionsandpoliticalpartiesthataresupportingthemdon’tappreciatethatthepanelhas already under severe pressure. Given at least about one percent of their agri- country.Sugar and wheat are being highmarginsofintermediaries.Thisseg- these basic parameters, how does one GDP.India is hovering at about half of producedatpricesthatarehigherthan ment has been crying for reforms for theirbestinterestsatheart.WhilevariousCongresspartyleadershavearguedthatIndia design an optimal agri-food policy? this number. It needs doubling with global prices, and can’t be exported decadestobringaboutefficiencyinagri- subsidises its farmersverylittle compared to the EU orthe US—and so must raise sub- Suchapolicymusthaveatleastfour commensurate accountability of R&D unless heavily subsidised. Excessive marketing and lower the transactions sidylevels—FEcolumnistandIcrierprofessorAshokGulati,whoisamemberofthepanel, touchstones. One, it should be able to organisations (ICAR and state agricul- stocksofwheatandricewithFoodCor- costs.Itisstillatallchallengebeforeus. was the first to argue,several decades ago,that India actuallytaxes its farmers bystop- produceenoughfood,feedandfibrefor ture universities) to deliver. Can it be porationofIndia(FCI)areputtingpres- Let us now look at the consumer pingexportsorimposingstockinglimitsthemomentvariouscroppricesrise!Thisisnot India’s large population.Two,it should doneoversaythenextthreeyears? sureonfinancesofFCI.Riceisstillglob- end.Basichungerhasbeenmoreorless to say that Gulati supports legally guaranteeing MSPs—or substantially hiking wheat dosoinamannerthatnotonlyprotects But,whereIndiaisfailingistoprotect allycompetitiveforexports,butweare conquered,butthebiggestchallengefor andriceMSPs—whichiswhatthefarmersandtheCongresspartywant,buthisapproach theenvironment(soil,water,air,andbio- its natural resource endowments,espe- exporting massive amounts of pre- the next 10 years is that of malnutri- willhelpfarmersineventhemedium-term. diversity)butachieveshigherproduction ciallywater and soil.Free electricity for ciouswater(almost25-30billioncubic tion,especiallyamongstchildren.Itisa More important,while talks between the Punjab's fall from grace with global competitiveness. Third, it pumping groundwaterand highlysub- meters, annually) through the rice as multi-dimensional problem. From Centre and the farmers centred around the should enable seamless movement of sidised fertilisers, especially urea, are water (power for pumping) is highly women education to immunisation repeal of the farm laws—once the Centre had Over-reliance on MSP... foodfromfarmtoforkkeepingmarket- damaging groundwater levels and its subsidised.All these are signs of sub- and sanitation, to nutritious food, all abjectly surrendered on the issue of electricity (% increase in price, 2017 to 2020) ingcostslow,saveonfoodlossesinsup- quality,moresointheGreenRevolution optimal agri-food policies. have to be addressed on a war footing. reforms and stubble-burning laws—the panel ply chains,and provide safe and fresh states of Punjab,Haryana and western Interestingly, these are the three Public Distribution of Food (PDS) that Paddy offers Punjab’s farmers a chance to negotiate a 20.5* food to consumers. And finally, con- Uttar Pradesh.This region is crying for cropsinwhichMSP/FRPhaveanysignif- isrelyingonriceandwheat,andthattoo much more meaningful package forthe state. sumers should get safe and nutritious cropdiversification,especiallyreducing icant meaning,but they are growing at atmorethan90%subsidyoveritscosts Wheat As the graphic makes clear, Punjab has 13.8* foodataffordableprices.And,atthecen- riceareabyalmosthalf,whileaugment- the slowest pace (see graphic).Poultry, ofprocurement,stockinganddistribu- steadily lost its top position among agricultural tre of all these is the farmer, whose ingfarmers’incomes. fishery,dairy,and even horticulture,for tion,is not helping much.It is already Onion statesinthecountry.Whileitsgrowthwasaround 60.3 incomeneedstogoupwithaccesstothe It can be done by switching from whichthereisnoMSP,aregrowingmuch blowing up the finances of FCI,where 2.5timesIndia’sin1971-72to1985-86,itfellto its borrowing are touching `3 lakh Potato 231.1 crore.Finance ministerwill do an hon- around the same level in the next two decades Average annual growth rate of gross value of output Shares of agriculture commodities in gross value from 2000-01 to 2018-19 (at 2011-12 constant prices) est job if she puts the full food subsidy and,overthelast13years,ithasbeenaroundhalf of Output (2018-19) Tomato 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 bill in the central budget rather than thatoftheentirecountry.Therearemanyreasons 3.2 *MSP Sugarcane Pulses 3.2 3.2 putting it under the carpet of FCI bor- for this,ranging from over-use of urea lowering Poultry meat 7.9 Cotton 1.9 ...hit Punjab’s growth Oilseeds rowings.Butmoreimportantly,benefi- soil productivity to excessive use of water caus- Fisheries 7.4 ciaries of subsidised rice and wheat ingsalinity,butgrowingthewrongcropandlack (Agriculture GDP growth, %) Other 4.8 Cotton 5.7 needtobegivenachoicetooptforcash ofdiversificationareattherootofit. 6 5.7 Punjab Crops Dairy equivalent to MSP plus 25%.FCI adds Eggs 9.7 22.5% WhilePunjabhasremainedfocusedongrow- 5 India 5.3 about40%costoverMSPwhileprocur- ingwheat and rice,the increase in MSPof these 4 3.7 Dairy* 4.5 Livestock ing,storing and distributing food.This cropshasbeenmuted,around21%overthepast 3 cashoptionwillsavesomemoneytothe 3 2.9 Horticulture** 4.4 16.4 (in %) &fisheries threeyears in the case of paddyand 14% in the 2.3 Cereals FMandalsoencouragemorediversified 1.9 Fishing 6.9% case of wheat.Compare this with onions where 2 Pulses 4.0 39.8 andnutritiousfoodtobeneficiaries. prices rose by over 60% and potatoes where 1 Oilseeds 3.2 Others 5.5% Allthiswouldmeansettingtheagri- pricesrosebymorethan2.3times.Thereisalot 0 Poultry 4.9% foodpoliciesbasedonademand-driven 1971-72 - 1986-87 - 2005-06 - Sugarcane 2.2 21.0 more volatility in prices of fruit and vegetables approach,protecting sustainabilityand 1985-86 2004-05 2018-19 Cereals 1.6 (tomato prices barely rose over the last three efficiencyinproductionandmarketing, years but rose by over 83% in the last two),but *Dairy includes Milk and Bovine Meat Horticulture and giving consumers more choice for notdiversifyingitscroppingpatternisthemainreasonforthestate’sfallfromgrace. *Horticulture includes Fruits, Vegetables, Spices and Floriculture Source: National Accounts Statistics, various Issues nutritiousfoodataffordableprices. MSPs of these crops can’t be raised by too much as the Centre has budget con- straints and,ifyou raise the prices too much—as has alreadyhappened in the case of wheat—the ballooning stocks can’t even be exported; FCI has 42 million tonnes of extra stocks of wheat and rice precisely because there isn’t enough demand, either LETTERS TO locallyorglobally,at the price atwhich theywere bought. What the panel can do,if the farmers choose to engage with it,is to come up with Is inflation coming back? THE EDITOR a diversification plan for Punjab that includes a generous dose of central funding. Indeed, recognising there was a problem, the Punjab government underAmarinder If inflation is set to rise globally—contrary, On farm laws SinghsetupaGroupofExpertsheadedbyformerplanningcommissiondeputychair- man Montek Singh Ahluwalia,and one of the suggestions made by the Group a few by the way,to what most analysts expect— JAMAL MECKLAI The demand of the farmers to repeal monthsagowastoreducetheareaunderpaddybyathirdoverthenext6-7yearsand what would be the implications for equity the three new farm laws resonates to diversifyinto maize,fruits and vegetables,dairy,etc; as it happens,using maize as CEO, Mecklai Financial with the people. Thousands of markets and the rupee? Views are personal cattle feed raises milk productivitydramatically. farmers must be quite convinced WhilesuchaplanwillinvolvepayingfarmershigherMSPsonothercropslikemaize, that the new laws will have a and perhaps even gap payments—till citrus trees start fruiting,assuming that citrus is HISTORICALLY,THE LOUDEST signal Other inflation indicators have also ofapull-back—afew,infact,lookingfor detrimental effect on their lives, planted—itcanbefundedbyboththeCentreandthestates.TheCentre’sFCI,forinstance, of upcoming inflation has always been been on a straight ride up—the price of Armageddon.However,atleastfroman livelihoods and landholdings to stay would save around `5,600 crore ayearfrom just getting less stocks that it has to carry; theslopeoftheUSyieldcurve.Thiswas copper,forinstance,hasrisen60%since interestratepointofview,itislikelythat put at various borders of Delhi another`13,275croreisspentbytheCentreandthestateonannualelectricityandfer- seen as the best signal because the US Augustlastyear,andotherrawmaterial the Fed will happily suffer (slightly) braving elements and the odds tilisersubsidies,andso,asthediversificationtakesplace,somepartofthiswillbefreed treasuriesmarketwas—andremains— pricesarealsosurging.Oil,whichalways higher inflation than risk yet another stacked up against them. One must be on another planet to believe that up.Norisitthatthestateisnotawareoftheneedtodiversifyawayfromwheatandrice; the most liquid in the world,and bond does its own dance, is also back to the traumainequitymarkets.Thenagain,it investors,eversensitivetotheirinvest- level it was pre-coronavirus and looks islikelythatoverthenextsixmonthsat the new farm laws were brought in in2006,itallotted300acrestotheBhartiGroupforcorporatefarmingandFieldFresh, ments losing value,was the fastest on likeitcouldhit$65/bblsoon. the very least,the new US administra- for farmers’ prosperity and not for whichworkswith 200 partnerfarmers in the state,is the largest exporterof babycorn thetrigger. Perhaps,the most significant factor tionwill—finally—focusontheonlyway the monopolisation of agriculture by fromIndiatoday;thenprimeministerManmohanSinghinauguratedtheventure. Overthepast15yearsorso,thisclas- fortheinflationoutlookinthemedium to addressAmerica’s real problems and corporates for accumulation of Even if the SC panel comes up with such recommendations on funding Punjab’s sic signal has been somewhat devalued termisthestructuralchangeintheChi- startusingfiscalpolicyasacorrectivefor wealth. The government’s claim that diversification,andalsolooksatwaysinwhichtoincreaseprocurementfromeastern becauseinflationhasappeareddeadasa neseeconomy.Overthepastfewyearsas theyears of almost criminallyenabling these laws are major farm reforms UP,BiharandWestBengal,itisnotcertaintheagitatingPunjabfarmerswillacceptit, resultofglobalisation(the“Chinaprice”) part of the US-China“tradewar”,China capital.Thus,the nearterm forequities aimed at deregulating agri-market oreventhatitwillfindfavourwiththegovernment.But,thepanel’sskillliesinalsocon- and automation, both of which have has been moving away from being the looks like volatility with a downward and increasing farmers’ incomes is vincing the Centre that its best bet is to start thinking along these lines. reducedtheabilityoflabourtonegotiate world’s manufacturing centre for low- bias(atbest). at variance with the construction Torecapitulate,therecanbelittledoubtthatSCwantingtostandinjudgmentover forfairerterms.Indeed,thisbiasagainst value goods to focusing on the higher Farmoreinterestingiswhatwillhap- put on them by the farmers. To alawclearedbytheCabinetandbyParliamentisbadnewsforthecountry;but,ifhan- labourhaspersisteddespitethefactthat end,higher technology products; this pen to the rupee.Clearly,RBI has been anyone who looks at the laws dledwell,there is a possibilitywe can come out of this bylimiting the damage. rampaging capitalism has delivered shift has been accelerated bythe coron- abletoholdofftherupee’syear-endrally without blinkers, it is crystal clear multiple crises,each time being bailed avirus, which compelled many, many and the 73 target remains (mostly) that they will jeopardise the state- out by ever more generous monetary global companies to look to shift pro- unbreached.Whilevegetablepriceinfla- run mandis and the minimum policy,whichhaslitaseeminglyperma- ductiontoothercentres,bothinAsiaand tionhascomedowninDecember,there support prices for agri-produce and BadSCIENCE nentfireunderassetprices. closertohome. areconcernsthatpricesmaystarttorise leave farmers at the mercy of big This has increased inequality, as a Again,over the past five years or so, again,partlyfromglobalconsiderations corporations. Farmers need reforms Many studies seem to ignore the retraction of the controversial result of which there has been a huge manyyoungpeopleinChinaarelooking and partly from expected increasing that respect them, their occupation, flowof funds into alternate investment formorevaluefortheirlabour—theyare, demand with the re-opening of the their labour and their symbiotic study on negative outcomes of HCQ administration in Covid-19 vehicles, like private equity and real perhaps,the first generation that is not economy.Thus,it is hard to see interest relationship with their lands. Their estate.Thesevehiclesarenotassensitive steeped in the historic ethos ofworking rates coming down materially. This condition is not susceptible of APIDKNOWLEDGEDISSEMINATIONonCovid-19has,withoutdoubt,given to inflation,which mayexplainwhythe hardwithoutcomplaint.Thus,localcosts shouldcontinuetosupporttherupee. improvement by these laws. The thefightagainstthepandemicahugelegup.However,thishasn’tcomewith- marketisnot—asyet—reactingtotheris- are rising and the central bank has sig- However,oddly—and,perhaps,sig- Modi government has promised to outcosts.Theneedforsharingresearchfindingsinthelargerinteresthasalso ing slope of the yield curve as it would nalled as much in allowing a sharp nificantly—while foreign portfolio give ‘complete costs +50%’ to R meant wide coverage for questionable research.Pre-prints (works that have haveacoupleofdecadesago. appreciation in the yuan from 7.25 in inflows are still positive, although farmers, but filed an affidavit in the notbeenpeer-reviewed)havereceivedalmostasmuchpublicityaspublishedwork.One Indeed,the difference between the Maytobelow6.50today,ariseofnearly down from the huge $8 bn that came Supreme Court expressing its consequenceofthisisbadsciencegettingamplified.. 10-year and 2-year US treasury yields 10%inabouteightmonths.Inparticu- induringDecember,debtinflowshave inability to raise MSP to 50% more Sciencereportsthatitfoundthatnearly200articlespublishedlastyear—includingin has been rising steadily since it briefly lar,therewas a sharp (1%) appreciation turned negative (from a net inflow of than the input costs. Worst, it has manyrespectedjournals—citetwostudiesthatwereretractedbyLancetandNewEngland turned negative in August 2019.This onJanuary3,2021,whichsuggeststhat over $700 mn in December, they are brought in laws inimical to their JournalofMedicineinJune2020,tosupporttheirownfindings,longaftertheretractions. despitethefactthattheFedpushedthe this policy maywell be on track to con- runningatabout$350mnnegativein interests. It must be called to ThetworetractedpaperswerebasedonwhatSurgisphere,acompanywithlinkstoaco- entire yield curve sharply lower when tinue.So,if indeed inflation is set to rise January so far). Further, imports have account for using its parliamentary authorineachofthetwoarticles,claimedwasalargedatabaseofCovid-19patientrecords the coronavirus hit (March this year) globally—contrary,by the way,to what started rising while exports remain majority won by playing the from across the world.The Lancet study was the one that claimed the antimalarial and committed to keeping short term most analysts expect—what would be underwater, all of which could bring religious and development cards in the furtherance of the commercial hydrochloroquineworsenedclinicaloutcomesinCovid-19.Surgisphere’s‘database’and rates close to zero for the foreseeable theimplicationsforequitymarketsand some pressure on the currency. future.The 10-year hit 1% for the first therupee? Veryhard to call; perhapswewill see interest of corporates and made to its genuineness had come undera cloud,with questions overitsveryexistence.Yet,Sci- timesinceMarchlastweek,andcontin- Well, if most analysts end up sur- therupeecontinuetojockeyaroundina repeal the anti-farmer laws. encefoundoneofthetwostudieswasaprimarysourceformanyofthe200studiesexam- ues to rise; significantly, the spread prised, equity markets will obviously slightly narrower range—say,72.50 to — G David Milton, Maruthancode ined byit.Such callous amplification muddles the understanding of the disease.While itselfhasrisento1%thisweek,itshigh- also be surprised; contrariwise,many 74.00—withanupwardbias. publicationsneedtovetresearchworksbetter,themediatoomustpubliciseretractions estlevelsinceJuly2017. analysts are,in fact,beginning to warn www.mecklai.com ●Write to us at [email protected] andpeercriticismofresearchworkfarmoreproactively.

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certificationacrossbordersisaccredita- tion, be these regulations or voluntary standards. However, despite having internationally recognised accredita- On cartels and tion bodies, the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and the National Accreditation Board regulators forTestingandCalibrationLaboratories (NABL),we continue to rely on a little practised model of BIS conformity assessment without accreditation in our regulations, leading to non-accep- tanceofitscertificationevenifinterna- YOGINDER K tionalstandardsare usedinregulations under the BIS Act. This works to the ALAGH detriment of India’s interest as the industry has to,at times,secure addi- The author is a former Union minister tional certification in order to export, which increases the cost of compliance. We need 21st century thinking of In fact,the entire system of using BIS asthehuboftechnicalregulationsunder distinguishing cartels from competition the BIS Act is an anachronism,practised asitismostlyinlessdevelopedcountries where technical competence is limited E HAVE AGAIN seen the government at and does not befit a countrylike India the highest level upbraid cement and with considerable technical expertise steel cartels, and announce the setting and aspiring to match the developed up of regulatory authorities.Officials economies. It is time to take a hard look andlawyerslovethis.Retiredofficersget at our approach to technical regulations Wsinecures in such regulatory authorities, and lawyers get and adopt international best practices. lucrative jobs. Official committees like the Pai Panandikar Increasingly, it is being recognised CommitteesetupbyMorarjiDesaiasthePrimeMinisteron across theworld that conformityassess- ‘decontrol’may have suggested that such‘regulation’leads mentcouldbelefttoprofessionalbodies topossibilityofcorruption,butthefilesarebroughtoutand in the private sector, except may be in dusted:thesegobacktothedraconiancontrolsofWWIIand high-risk sectors while the regulators a 21st centuryversion is suggested.

ILLUSTRATION: ROHNITPHORE exerciseanoversightoverthesystemand Déjà vu,as an economist friend suggested. deal with essential regulatory functions If the market price is the same, the regulator says it’s a ANIL long before these become prerequisites like notifying regulations,licensing and ‘cartel’.Butthentheagriculturalsector,theonlyrealcaseof intheIndianmarketaswell,asISO9001 market surveillance. perfect competition taught in textbooks, must be a cartel. JAUHRI becameoneafterinitiallybeingtoutedas Indian regulators are yet to embrace The price is the ‘same’.Léon Walras had said that happens a gatewayto the European market. this concept in entirety, although some with ‘tâtonnements’.These are repeated transactions to The author is former CEO, National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) The above are in addition to interna- progressive regulators like the Food achieve equilibrium.As a young man, I would get down at [email protected] tionally recognised certifications like Safety and StandardsAuthority of India Sealdah station in Kolkata and walk down to my favourite ISO 9001 for quality management sys- (FSSAI) in the food sector,the Central ‘mishti’ shop. Hawkers were peddling fountain pens.As I tems or ISO 14001 for environment Drugs Standard Control Organisation walkeddown,Iheardthemsaying‘dorupiahcharanna’(one ● UNDERSTANDING STANDARDS management systems or ISO 45001 for (CDSCO) for medical devices, and the price), and while coming back I heard‘do rupiah dus paisa’ occupationalhealthandsafetymanage- BureauofEnergyEfficiency(BEE)forstar (onehawkerreducedthepricebyreducinghiscommission, ment systems, and industry standards ratingschemehavetakencommendable and then the others joined).The result is one market price. like IATF 16949 in the automotive sec- initiativesinthisdirectionwithreliance Please notice that this one price comes out of cartels, but tor or AS 9100 in the aerospace sector, on accredited third-party conformity almost perfects competition in the short run. which are much sought assessment, which should This is not to say that cartels are not there. But proving Facilitating afterinvoluntarysectors. actuallybearule.Theynow them needs hard work.Economic analysis based on facts is Some of these private need to leverage the inter- needed, which is not easy and a retired civil servant’s standards allow develop- The most national equivalences domain.What were the communication channels? Hotel ment of local schemes and commonly used earnedbyouraccreditation rooms where meetings took place and so on? Even then,as benchmarking like Global- bodiestosecureacceptance theAmerican antitrust economists have shown by diligent acceptance GAP for good agricultural method for fromoverseasregulatorsto research,the cases go to courts,and so it goes on. practices or the Pro- acceptance of facilitate exports of rele- Delhi has to appreciate that steel and cement are prior- gramme for the Endorse- inspection, testing vant products. ity industries.It is this government that has given up long- mentofForestCertification or certification The WTO TBT and SPS term planning of industries and the dominant role of the (PEFC) for sustainable for- Agreements provide for public sector in these priority industries.This has conse- of Indian est management that across borders is acceptance of exporting quences for policy.These industries are needed for defence impactsallwoodandforest accreditation, be country’s conformity as these are required for roads and armaments.These are products like furniture, these regulations or assessment procedures by sectorswithlarge-scalelinkagesneededforgrowth.WhenI paper and handicrafts.It is voluntary standards importing countries and used to chairthe Bureau of Industrial Costs & Prices (BICP), here that India isyet to fig- India needs to pursue this Idecontrolledboth.Wedevelopedtheconceptofthedesired goods abroad ure out an effective strat- option assiduously to pro- price as LRMC (long-run marginal cost).The bureaucracy egy; despite having a mote acceptance of its asked: How will you implement it? I replied we will fix the nationalschemeIndGAPpremiumcerti- products once we have fixed our regula- control price and the market price will be there.The con- The challenges in the standards and fication of QCI which is on a par with tory regime. Bilateral trade agreements trolledquantitycangoforsocialneedsorthenetas’relatives. GlobalGAP or the forest management and better still multilateral trade agree- I don’t care. How will you get the right share? I won’t.The conformity assessment domain are quite certification of the Network for Certifi- ments can go a long way in making market will. If the joint return is less than LRMC,we will complex, needing a highly professional, cation and Conservation of Forests exports easier,rather than making indi- reduce the controlled share.The concept of LRMC was the (NCCF),which commendably has been vidualmanufacturersstrugglewithover- priceneededtomoderniseandexpandexistingcapacityand expertise-driven cohesive strategy benchmarked bythePEFC,Indiaisyet to seas acceptance on their own.The free setupgreenfieldplants.Itwasanadvanceinregulationand leveragethemtothebenefitofitsindus- flowof goods in the EU andASEAN mar- theWorldBanksaidso.Weuseddualpricingandtaxandtar- try. It has to be recognised that local ketsareexcellentexamples,andinmany iff policies to implement market-friendlylaws. schemesbringdowncostsofcompliance regionalgroupingsliketheSAARCorthe It broke the nexus between the babu and the seth, for the industry and make them more BIMSTEC, India is ideally paced to take which is the basis of corruption (with a percentage forthe competitive in the global market. the leadership to push such mutual neta?).My successorVijay Kelkar perfected it.The BICP S NOTED IN my previous demanded in the market even in regu- It is commonly believed in India that agreements. It may be appropriate to published reports hiding individual firm data, but mak- column (‘Towards global lated sectors,so it is not enough to meet ourindustryfacesthechallengeofmeet- point out that even harmonisation of ing the rules and calculations public.It is now a part of acceptance of Indian prod- European regulations on food,stringent ing global standards as the biggest one, standards is not a prerequisite for such textbook industrial economics. ucts’,FE,January 11,2021; as theyare,but also meet such private be these regulations or voluntary stan- agreements as long aswe displaya capa- A lot has happened in the last quarter of century. Out https://bit.ly/3nQdoFR),the standards as FSSC 22000 or BRCGS or dards.AstudybytheWTO of the specific bility to manufacture and demonstrate there are trained economists and policymakers, including challengAe of meeting global regulations IFS.A similar situation exists in forest trade concerns raised by the member compliance to standards/regulations of in the government to design new systems.These would,of is not the only challenge India faces in produce where not only regulations countries has shown that only 30% of theimportingcountries.Theseafoodcer- course, take care of newer, more sustainable technologies accessing the world market.There are relatedtolegalityofwoodhavetobemet these related to standards; 70% trade tification done by the EIC,as a duly des- and business practices. two more challenges that may impede with, but voluntary forest certification concernsrelatedtowhatiscalledconfor- ignated competent authorityforthe EU, Let’sdoamodern21stcenturyversionofdistinguishing Indian exports. hasbecomeadefactorequirementinthe mity assessment, which means issues is an excellent example of one-sided cartels (which, as the policymakers say,must be punished) Oneoftheseisthemarketdemandfor developed markets. Such private stan- relatedtoinspection,testingandcertifi- understanding where India has gained from competition again. voluntary standards and certifications, dards, now called private sustainability cation procedures.This is an aspect that access to the EU market. which are generally private because in standards, address concerns related to wehaveignoredandtowhichweneedto The above narration reemphasises (Declaration of Interest: The author, an independent developed economies governments environmental compliances, fair wages, pay special attention to facilitate accep- that the challenges in the standards and director of Shree Cement,strongly believes in ethical prac- rightly focus their energies on good reg- workersafety,fairtradepractices,etc,and tance of Indian products abroad. conformityassessmentdomainarequite tices in business.) ulations.Theinterestingaspectofvolun- arebecomingincreasinglyaprerequisite The most commonly used method complex, needing a highly professional, tary standards is that these are in developed societies.It would not be for acceptance of inspection, testing or expertise-driven cohesive strategy.

ILL GATES HAD forecast in are bettingonevaluationand assessment 1999 in his book ‘Business @ solutionstoprovideuninterruptedexams the Speed of Thought’ how, during the pandemic. usingadigitalnervoussystem, Battling Covid-19 Withtheclosureoftheatres,digitalhas technologywill transform the becometheplatformofchoiceforpeople, Bnature of new businesses. Indeed fortu- and the OTTsectorwitnessed an upsurge. itous,it was the digital nervous system According to a MoffettNathanson report, that survived the daily life and economy with digital armour Disney+ had expected to gain 20 million duringthepandemic.Quiteappropriately, subscribersbyOctober2020,butafterrak- the President,while rounding off 2020 at ingin10millionsubscribersontheirvery theDigitalIndiaAwards,said,“Technolog- How technology helped the humankind overcome the first day, the streaming platform contin- ical advances are often termed as disrup- biggest disruption in recent history ueditsmeteoricrisethroughtheNewYear tions but this year they helped us over- andthepandemic.Asitcelebrateditsfirst comethebigdisruptiontoagreatextent.” birthday in November 2020, Disney+ When the first lockdownwas clamped boasted over 73 million subscribers.Sim- inMarch2020,unsuspectingpeoplewere ilar is the trend with other OTTplatforms stunned, daily lives frozen, airports shut, DHANENDRA that have all hosted newfilm releases. planesgrounded,trainsstopped,shutters With the disruption in travel and downed in markets and theatres, schools KUMAR tourism, a new firm tourHQ.com,which closed, and it was the digital technology earlier provided a platform to connect The author is former chairman, CCI and thatcametotherescue.Inthenewnormal, ED, World Bank. Views are personal touristswithits35,000guidesaroundthe socialisationgotcurbed,work-from-home globe,was facing a near death,but with (WFH) became routine,needs curtailed to tech pivoted (tinyurl.com/1cxgxv3d) to essentials, e-commerce with hyperlocal usage per smartphone of 15.7 GB (up study (tinyurl.com/u3mgcugj),tech and e- nesshardwarelikeSoundboxverballycon- Education, which was severely dis- bringonlineexperiencesofvirtualvisitsof home delivery, schools and education, 16.3%from2019),whichisthehighestin commerce will be the silver bullets for veying payment confirmation alongwith ruptedduringCovid-19,gotabigboostto global destinations and activities like medical consultation, entertainment, theworld,is likelyto touch 37 GB soon. businesses in 2021.E-retail has benefited theamountwhenmultiplebuyersmakea due to edtech.Byju’s is reportedly acquir- music,dance,culinaryskills,allwithinthe financial services, everything turned Asectorthatsawabigspurtaftersome consumers, suppliers, MSMEs, and there payment at a shop, in languages such as ing bricks-and-mortar test prep leader comfort of homes, it provided virtual online. New business models evolved to hiccups during initial lockdown shocks have been heart-warming stories of such English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kan- AakashEducationalServicesfor$1billion. excursions to home-stuck families. survive; others became history. was e-commerce. Consumers’ need for supportbyFlipkart(tinyurl.com/1otdjd9h). nada—helpful in a multilingual country. Start-up Unacademy,which turned uni- Services platforms like Urban Com- The Digital India initiative came in safety and convenience resulted in an A similar report elaborates benefits to a Teleconsultation with doctors and corn,made five acquisitions and raised pany (formerly UrbanClap) are providing handyandgotabigfillip.Withtheinvest- inflexioninshoppingtrends.Therewasan million SMBs working with Amazon in telemedicinehavecomeinhandy.Accord- threeroundsoffunding,islookingat2021 homeservicesofhaircut,beautysalon,car- ment undervarious programmes by gov- upsurgeinsalesofbiggieslikeFlipkartand India (tinyurl.com/1n81ld45).Infusion of ingtoanEYstudy,telemedicineinIndiais with a focus on‘building things forIndia’. penter,electrician,etc.Theyareupgrading ernment and private agencies, there is Amazon during the festival season.There technologieslikeartificialintelligenceand expected to grow at a CAGR of 31% dur- Now valued at $2 billion, it aims to build skillsofthesegigworkers,providingthem nowarobustinfrastructure,with500mil- were supportive linkages to boost digiti- augmented reality is slated to give cus- ing 2020-25 to reach $5.5 billion.Tele- Graphy,whichallowsuserstoexploresto- modern tools and market linkages. Food lion internet users, 95% connected via sation of retailers and kirana merchants tomers a virtual close-to-real experience, consultationande-pharmacyaccountfor ries, ideas and original content through delivery services like Zomato and Swiggy mobile. The BharatNet project (`8,000 andhelpingartisansandhandicrafts.With driving growth. 90%ofthismarket.AarogyaSetuappwas video,audioandquizzes.Amazonisforay- have seen phenomenal growth. crore) is planned to provide broadband coverage of 95% of India’s PIN codes, Covid-19 changed the scenario forthe developed forCovid-19 contact tracing.A ing into edtech with Amazon Academy, Inthenewnormal,peoplepreferhiring services to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats,and much of the new incremental growth is fintech industry,with innovations that digitalecosystemsoongotevolvedaround which will help students prepare for JEE. personal transport services like Ola/Uber 5lakhWi-Fihotspotsforprovidingbroad- beingdrivenbytier-2andtier-3townsand will facilitate holistic financial services healthcare. Several players emerged like There are many other learning platforms orlow-costsolutionslike‘auto’and‘moto’, band service to 5 crore rural people will ruralareas.AccordingtoareportbyStore- over a single mobile interface.A plethora Practo,Docprime,1mg,Mfine,Callhealth, such as Vedantu,Toppr, Coursera, Merit- which include scootersharing firmsVogo help expand digital services across the Hippo(tinyurl.com/389x07q8),thegrowth of wallets grew as payment options, such Lybrate, Pharmeasy, Netmeds, Medlife, nation and Gradeup. Government plat- and Bounce,bike-taxi firm Rapido,etc. country.Thenumberofsmartphones,cur- of B2B e-commerce segment was 200% as Paytm, Amazon Pay, Airtel Money, Medplus,Wellness Forever.E-pharmacies forms like Diksha,National Repository of As India is gearing up for the world’s rently80crore,isexpectedtogrowto120 faster than B2C,and hyperlocal e-com- Mobikwik, Freecharge, Razorpay, Jio Pay, are diversifying their offerings into con- OpenEducationalResources,e-pathshala, largest vaccination drive, it is hoped that crore,and will give a big boost to m-com- mercemodelandm-commercehavecome PayZippy,etc.Innovationsstemmedfrom stituent areas like diagnostic tests, in- Swayam and Swayam Prabha have been 2021 will be much safer, benign, gentler merce,including fintech.India’s monthly to the centre-stage.According to a recent players like Paytm with concept of busi- housedoctorconsultations,lifestyleblogs. widely used. Firms like Orion Innovation and kinderto everyone.

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NEW HEIGHTS Debjani Ghosh, president, Nasscom The Indian tech startup ecosystem’s performance❝ ❝in 2020 has demonstrated the resilience and can-do spirit of the Indian entrepreneur. eMONDAY,FE JANUARY 18, 2021

● TIME TO ACT ● CRANKING THE ENGINE Business transformation needs a Business Cloud Going beyond robotic norm in the global business community, partnerstohelpmeetthegrowingdemands The need of the hour is to companies are looking at technology to anddeliverasandwhenneeded.Theneedof drive efficiency and transparency across the hour is to offer customised solutions process offer customised solutions theirbusiness networks.So,what holds the so that companies can provide a person- so that companies can keytoaresilientandagile2021? alised experience and run their businesses automation provide a personalised The answer (again) is cloud,says Bawa, seamlessly. “This is the time when “although with some more context given enterprisesneedenablersandexpertise,this experience and run their ourlearninginthishistoricalyear.”Hereck- is the time to build networks on a global Hyperautomation holds the businesses seamlessly, says onsthattherealdigitaltransformationdeal scale,”headds. is when the business processes are holisti- promise of automating the Kulmeet Bawa, president Leading the revolution cally automated, integrated and made whole body of knowledge and managing director, autonomous.Itcallsforaplatformonwhich As the world continues to look towards businessgetadigitaledgeandcanbetrans- emerging economies such as India to drive work instead of just the SAP Indian Subcontinent formed in the real sense.This,in essence,is thetransformationagenda,theroleoftech- simple tasks and rules Business Cloud,says Bawa.“It takes a busi- nology in enabling that growth cannot be ness-first approach and is defined directly understated,saysBawa.Forbothbusinessas SUDHIR CHOWDHARY bytheimperativestobecomecompetitively well as the overall governance framework, responsive,ruthlessly efficient,and inher- managing and utilising data is going to be

ONE THING THE year 2020 has proved is entlysustainable.It is not just about the IT thekeydriverforthenextfewyears. thatnomatterwhereintheworldyoulive infrastructure,it’sallaboutintegratedbusi- The choice for companies who want to or what you do for a living, technology is nessapplicationsunderlyingtheenterprise thrive in the true sense is quite clear– per- indispensable in life. It is transforma- processes. It is inherently architected for form by adapting to the current customer tional,exciting,mysterious,omnipresent cloud—making it scalable, elastic, agile, needsorgointooblivion. —allatonce.“Ithasalsore-emphasisedthe secure,anddata-centric,”hesays. ❝ According to Bawa, 2021 is not just Uma Ganesh need for enterprises to find bold ways to Today, companies can choose from a It is pivotal for every enterprise to push harder and work another newyear that beckons us.It’s the drive business transformation by adopt- widevarietyofclouddeploymentoptions— towards one goal—integrated digital transformation to beginningofanewdecadethatwillwitness ingdigitalisationtoemergestronger,”says public,privateorhybrid.Bawasays,“Whatis ❝leverage the power of the ecosystem at full scale. the rapidly changing business dynamics. ORGANISATIONS THATHAVE embraced Kulmeet Bawa, president and MD,SAP most important is buildingyourown busi- Those serious about keeping or attaining digitaltransformationhaverecognisedthe Indian Subcontinent. nesscasebasedonthecurrentITlandscape —KULMEET SINGH BAWA, PRESIDENT & MD, SAP INDIA leadership,inthelongrun,mustexhibitthe advantages that Robotic ProcessAutoma- In a free-wheeling chat with FE,Bawa and maturity,business realities,and most ability to experiment, learn and fail fast, tion (RPA) has to offer and many of them says this is not just a short-term goal any- importantly,businessrequirementbasedon embed innovation in business & IT have implemented it in their key business more.“There is a need fora holistic experi- anticipatedscale.” waybusinessisdone.Thinkaboutanybusi- tion has trulydisrupted industries,blurred processes and be ready to pivot business areas.By enabling businesses to automate ence that can help employees be more effi- ness—alltheprocessesfromfront-officeto boundaries,andledtonewbusinessmodels. modelstoberelevant. certaintasks,RPAhaseliminatedmundane cientandflexible,enablingcustomerstogo Changing business models back-office have undergone transforma- According to Bawa,business processes “Asustainable cloud strategywill playa manual tasks, enhanced cycle time thus digital, and partners to be adaptable,”he Ifwelookatthepastfewdecades,prod- tion—from manual and error-prone to one have critical dependencies on internal or pivotalroleinhelpingorganisationsintheir ensuringpredictability,accuracy,standard- emphasises.As uncertainty becomes the ucts and services have revolutionised the that’s automated and efficient.Digitalisa- external factors.Companies rely on their flighttoCloud9,”hesummarises. ization,flexibilityandbettercontrol.Further to this,businesses have experienced short paybackperiodsoftheirinvestmentinRPA andachievedcostsavingsof25-50%. Tech However the primary disadvantage of RPAisthatwhileithasfoundacceptancefor automating select simple and stable processesaimedattacticalquickwins,ithas limitedapplicabilityandpotentialforscala- Bytes bility.RPAalsohastheinabilitytoautomate Gadgets via unstructured data.In most businesses there are many continuous processes that requireoptimisationandhumaninterven- tion fordecision making and action.This is ● SHARP-QNET ZENSATIONALAIR PURIFIER and automatically adjust the function, where hyperautomation could help large resulting in energy efficiency.It purifies organisations in scaling their automation the indoor air by emitting positive and effortsandrealisesignificantreturns. negativeionswhicharepresentinnature. Clean & fresh air on wheels Letmepointoutsomeofthekeybene- fits.One,high densityPlasmaclusterions cation.Italsopromisestoremovedan- are said to kill 29 different types of Sharp-QNet ZENsational gerousparticulatesfromourlivingand pathogens (H1N1, MRSA, E.coli, Cla- is an elegant piece of workplaces.QNet,oneofAsia’sleading dosporium,etc) present in the air and directsellingcompany,isofferingthis fromthesurfaces.Two,dualactionwith equipment that co-branded(Sharp-QNetZENsational) Pandaa filter neutralises gases and incorporates high-end airpurifierfor`97,620.QNet’sdistri- chemical fumes and converts into bution channel comprises a strong harmless gases. Basically, a double technology and ensures network of over 5 lakh distributors deodorising function is performed a very good level of air spreadacrosskeycitiesinIndia.Letus here.It decomposes haze substances IT helps to know your checksomeofitskeyfeaturesandper- (Toluene, Ethylbenzene, xylene, etc) purification formance. along with other household toxins. customers better Out of the box, the Sharp-QNet Three, true HEPA filter captures HCLTECHNOLOGIES HAS partnered ZENsational air purifier comes 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 withArtificial Intelligence (AI) innova- SUDHIR CHOWDHARY across as a elegant piece of equip- micronsthatpassthroughit,including tion firm BobbleAI to offercustomer ment that is pleasing to the eye. pollen, mould, pet dander and dust. engagement solutions in the open NOWADAYS,QUITEAfewIndianhouse- Therefore,youcanplaceitanywhere Four,anintegratedhumidifierhelpsto banking space through a plug-n-play holds(atleastinthebigcities)haveairpuri- you like—in the living room, bed- keep your skin healthy and safeguard White-label Keyboard SDK(Software fiers to keep theirindoors pollution-free. roomorevenatyourworkplace,pro- against throat infection.Five,the air Development Kit).The keyboard-based Studies appear to suggest that reduction vided there is a need for it.The best purifier removes clinging odors and Hyperautomationhascaughttheimag- solution creates a unique advantage and inparticulatematterandallergensresults thingIlikedaboutthisairpurifieris bacteriaquickly. ination of businesses in the last couple of strengthens HCL’s relationshipswith its in reducing symptoms, and in certain its portability and ease of use. It Once you press the button,every- yearsasitholdsthepromiseofautomating banking and insurance clients.The cases, preventing disease progression weighs a mere 10.5 kg and has thingoperatesautomatically.Humidi- thewhole bodyof knowledgework instead solution,to be deployed remotely,will acrossallagegroupsincludingelderlyand wheels,therefore it is quite mobile. fyingandairpurificationarecontrolled of just the simple tasks and rules.Gartner help HCL’s banking clients develop a children.The evidences are apparent in Most important,theZENsational according to the impurities, odours, defines hyperautomation as“an effective 360-degree understanding of their chronic respiratory diseases such as airpurifierhasSharp’spatentedPlas- temperature,andhumidityoftheairin combinationofcomplementarysetsoftools consumers based on smartphone asthma and cardiovascular health.Air macluster ion technology, an inte- theroom.Also,amotionsensordetects that can integrate functional and process behaviouracross 24x7 usage. purifierswith Plasmaclusterion technol- gratedhumidifier,and seven Intelli- whetherpeoplearepresent,workingin silos to automate and augment business The BobbleAI Keyboard SDKoffers ogyarealsosaidtodeactivatecoronavirus gent-DetectionModes,thefirstofits coordination with a light sensor to processes.”This approach is also known as core typing functionalities like auto- by90%.Moreonitatalaterstage. kindinthiscategory.Theairpurifier automaticallyswitchtoenergy-saving Digital ProcessAutomation (Forrester) and correct,word predictions,swipe-to-type, This reviewer has been using Sharp- hasanintelligentsensorsystemthat operation. IntelligenceProcessAutomation(IDC). speech-to-text,clipboard and more. In QNet ZENsational airpurifierforthe past monitors and indicates the dust, Inshort,bringthisairpurifierhome Moving from simple automation of addition to English these featureswork fewdays and the machine is prettyeffec- odour,haze,temperature,andhumidity andsaygoodbyetoindoorairpollution. taskstocomplexandsophisticatedstatusof efficientlyin 36 Indic languages and tiveinkeepingourindoorscleanandfresh. conditions of the room. Based on the automation, hyperautomation has the over100 international languages.The It givesyou averygood level of airpurifi- requirement,the sensors detect the need ■ Estimated street price: `97,620 potentialtoimpacttheprocessesandwork- solution seamlesslyintegrateswith a flows across multiple stages such that bank’s mobile app,giving consumers processes are completed with speed,more access to serviceswhile creating an ● BOSCH HAEMOGLOBIN MONITOR efficiencyandfewererrors.Theseoutcomes opportunityforbanks to extend their are possible to be realised with a mix of features and offerings to their automationtechnologiesandartificialintel- consumers based on real-time intent.It NowAI helps determine haemoglobin levels ligence tools such as natural language pro- serves as both a strategic driverfor cessing(NLP),opticalcharacterrecognition promoting mobile banking services and (OCR) and machine learning (ML) that not helps banks regain P2P(peer-to-peer) on the surface of the skin. The system only simplify the processes but also transactions that maybe lost to digital A portable and compact usesanopticalsensortopreciselyandreli- empowerandaugmenthumancapabilities wallets and otherdedicated solutions. device that helps in early ably measure the photoplethysmogram forensuingrobustdesign,timelydiscovery (PPG)signals. andefficientmanagementofwork. TCSwins award forits detection of anaemia Photoplethysmography,or PPG,is an Inordertoconsideraninitiativearound without blood tests opticaltechniqueusedtodetectvolumet- hyperautomation,firstlyit is important to return-to-work IoTsolution ricchangesinbloodinperipheralcircula- examinethecurrentsystems,reengineerthe TCS’ Intelligent Urban Exchange (IUX) tion.The device provides a reliable result processesasrequiredandeliminateunnec- forWorkplace Resilience software has SUDHIR CHOWDHARY within30secondsevenforlowhaemoglo- essarystepsintunewiththebusinessreali- won the 2021 IoTBreakthroughAward binconcentrations.Thisiswheremachine ties.Sincehyperautomationisbuiltaround in the category‘Enterprise IoT ACCORDING TO ESTIMATIONS by the learningcomesin:thedevice’salgorithm a combination of technologies to augment Management Innovation.’The IoT WHO, 1.6 billion people suffer from monitors thewavelength of the light and human productivity, a sound strategy is BreakthroughAwards showcase the anaemia,a condition resulting from the uses27differentcharacteristicstodeter- required to be put in place to support this innovators,leaders andvisionaries that reducedhemoglobinconcentrationinthe mineandclassifythehaemoglobinvalue. goal. It would call for a new automation exemplifythe best in IoTtechnology blood. This has prompted the WHO to Thealgorithmhasbeentrainedwithmore strategythatwouldbecenteredaroundthe solutions across the globe.IUXfor definethefightagainstanaemiaasoneof than 10,000 anaemia data points.These goalofend-to-endautomationandoptimi- Workplace Resilience helps enterprises itscriticalsustainabledevelopmentgoals clinicallycollecteddataalongwiththecor- sationofdigitalprocessesatscalesuchthat make it saferforemployees to return to for2025. responding ground truth data, are the businessstakeholdersareempoweredwith work amid Covid-19 bycombining risk Towards this,Bosch has developed a basisforthemachinelearningalgorithm. minimal dependance on technical exper- analyticswith keybusiness relaunch portable Hemoglobin Monitor Solution betterdiagnosis options even in resource weakness,pale skin,and even serious ill- The morevalidated data sets are put into tise.Identifying the right complimentary functions such asworkforce safety, (HMS)especiallyforregionswhereroutine constrained conditions.The use ofArtifi- nesses. Anaemia particularly affects the continuouslylearning algorithm,the tools forRPAplatform based on the priori- regulation compliance,operational accesstomedicalcaretendstobedifficult. cial Intelligence is revolutionising women,moresowhentheyarepregnant, moreprecisetheresultswillbe. tisedsetofaddressableproblemsisanessen- resilience,and customerengagement.It ThisHMSallowsalargenumberofpeople anaemia management, specifically in and also people suffering from malnutri- Alaboratory analysis is not necessary tialsteptowardsthisgoal.Finally,executive is part ofTCS’Secure Borderless tobescreenedforanaemiarapidly,safely, point-of-care setups and closer to the tion. In cancer patients undergoing andthereisnoriskofinfectionfromcon- supportwouldbecrucialforsuccess.Poten- Workspaces model,which enabled its using a non-invasive approach.The solu- patient,”saysDattatriSalagame,president chemotherapyorinpalliativecare,hemo- taminated needles.Participants receive tial benefits such as customer retention, workforce of over453,000 across 46 tion has been named a CES Innovation andMDofRobertBoschEngineeringand globinlevelsshouldbecheckedregularly. their test results quickly at the point of enhancedrevenue,reducedcost,decreased countries towork remotelyin just a few Award Honoree in the“Health and Well- BusinessSolutions(RBEI). The intelligent solution by Bosch is care.The device is battery operated,does risk or increase in customer satisfaction weeks. ness”category.“Bosch has developed the Haemoglobinisaproteinfoundinred designed for use directly at the point-of- not need subsequent calibration,and is would make a strong case to win the busi- Currently,TCS has successfully non-invasive hemoglobin monitor as an blood cells and carrying oxygen and car- care and is completely pain-free with extremelyeasytouse.Itisintendedforuse nessmandateforhyperautomation. deployed the solution across nearlyall its innovative solution and as an alternative bon dioxide throughout the body.People no need for a blood test, as the value is inoutlyingandremoteregionsbyhealth- locations in 19 cities in India,and is totraditionalmethodsfortheearlydetec- withalowhaemoglobincountmayexpe- determined by a finger scanner using careprofessionals.MarketreleaseinIndia Thewriterischairperson,Global doing so at keyTCS facilities in the tion of anemia.This should offer people riencesymptomssuchasgeneralfatigue, multi-wavelength spectrophotometry isexpectedbymid-2021. TalentTrack,acorporate United States and Canada. trainingsolutionscompany

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We maintain that Infosys, given its significant EXPERTVIEW contribution from cloud and digital, remains a major beneficiary of this tech upcycle Investor —Edelweiss MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

● INFOSYS RATING: BUY ● EQUITY STRATEGY Broad-based Another strong performance by the company upgrade in Financials (` bn) Numbers were sound across Year to March FY20A FY21E FY22E FY23E earnings likely verticals; mgmt has raised Revenue 908 1,005 1,181 1,354 guidance; TP up to `2,124 Ebitda 223 282 330 385 All 13 sectors should see given the revenue growth, Adjusted profit 168 198 240 287 Diluted EPS (`) 39.4 46.6 56.5 67.6 growth in Q3; domestic firms execution; ‘Buy’ retained EPS growth (%) 8.1 18.2 21.4 19.5 RoAE (%) 25.7 29.7 33.7 35.2 to clock 7-qtr high; margins P/E (x) 35.2 29.8 24.5 20.5 expected to flatten q-o-q INFOSYS AGAIN DELIVERED strong EV/Ebitda (x) 27.1 21.1 17.5 14.6 resultswith revenue growth of 5.3% q-o- Dividend yield (%) 2.0 2.3 2.3 2.3 q(incc)inQ3FY21comparedwithourand Source: Company and Edelweiss estimates CORPORATE EARNINGS SHOULD grow Street’s estimates of 5% q-o-q and 3% q- at 21% y-o-y with the earnings growing o-q, respectively.Margins came in flat at acrossall13sectorsinQ3vs.6intheprevi- 25.4%, but ahead of Street’s estimate of Infosyswillrolloutwagehikesacrosslevels ous quarter.Domestic company earnings 25.1%.Thecompanynotcheduphighest- effective 1st January, 2021. Margins growth of 12%will be at a 7-quarterhigh. ever deal-wins,aggregating $7.1 bn,with remained stable with a positive contribu- Margins should flatten to decline q-o-q as 73% being net new clients.The net new tion from better utilisation and better costnormalisationsareseenacrossseveral deals for 9MFY21 stand at over $8 bn. onshoremixoffsetbytransitioncosts,pro- sectorsandrawmaterialpriceshaverisen. Moreover,the net new deals signed in Q3 motion and compensation-related costs Metals,cement,pharmaandmid-capearn- aremorethan1.5timesoftheentireFY20. andothers.Thatsaid,wagehikesarelikelyto ingsshouldrise30%+whileconsumerand Managementremainsconfidentofthe keep margins underpressure in Q4FY21e. ITwillbeinmid-singledigits. strength in business momentum and Cashattheendofthequarterwas$4.5bn. strong market share gains. In light of Earnings recoverybroadens Infosys’s robust revenue growth and con- Outlook: Consistencycontinues Q3FY21 pre-exceptional profit growth for sistent execution, we are raising the TP The company impressed with strong Jefferiescoverageuniverseisexpectedtorise from `1,850 to `2,124 while rolling for- results this quarter as well.We maintain 1pptq-o-qtoa7-quarterhighpaceof21% ward thevaluation to Q1FY23e. that Infosys, given its significant contri- y-o-y.Theearningsqualitywillshowsignif- bution from cloud and digital, remains a icantimprovementastheexcommodities, Verve acrossverticals ica/Europe/RestofWorld/Indiapostedy-o- 14–15%. The company added 139 new ance,to 4.5–5% (in cc); management also major beneficiary of this tech upcycle. metals & financials earnings is forecast to Financial services/Retail/Communica- ygrowthof8.8%/1.3%/6.1%/4.3%(incc). clients. It won 22 large deals, mostly in edged up the margin guidance to Maintain‘BUY/SO’whileincreasingtheTP riseatan8-quarterhighpaceof14%(vs.1% tion/Energyandutility/Manufacturing/Hi- Free cash flow increased to $772 mn from AmericaandEurope. 24–24.5%.Utilisation stood at 86.3%,an from`1,850to`2,124(36xQ1FY23e)as inQ2).Onasequentialbasis,severalsectors Tech/Life sciences grew 12%/2%/0.8%/ $674 mninthepreviousquarter.Voluntary all-time high. Onshore mix came in at we roll forward to Q1FY23e. will likely return to profit growth. These 4.9%/-4.1%/17.4%/11%onay-o-ybasis attritionwas 10% comparedwith 7.8% in Sectortailwinds continue to aid growth 25.2%,the lowest ever.More than 9,100 include: autos,consumer,cap-goods/infra, (incc).Similarly,bygeography,NorthAmer- Q2FY21,much lower than the acceptable Thecompanyagainraiseditsrevenueguid- employees joined the company in Q3. EDELWEISS property,telecomandmetals. Personal Finance

● MUTUAL FUNDS Reaping benefits of SIP in a market rally Domestic earnings to growafter3 qtrs Staggered purchase Our group of domestic companies’ (uni- As the Nifty-50 has risen verse excluding exporters, O&G, metals) SIP contribution grows (` crore) by 90% since its March 23 12% earnings growthwould be driven by ● KARNATAKA BANK 9,000 8,532 8,418 autos, cement, mid-caps and property 8,500 RATING: BUY lows, investors are seeing 8,000 which should grow earnings at c.20%+. a steady rise in SIP S 15000 7,500 The earnings decline in cap-goods and I 7,000 14000 propertysectorinQ2issettoreverseasthe returns after a steep fall P 6,500 problemoflackofconstructionlabourhas CoD fall, lower 13200 Jan 2020 Dec 2020 been largelyresolved. New SIP registration rises (lakh) credit costs 12200 SAIKATNEOGI 11300 Revenuesrecovering,marginsflattening

NIFTY 50 11 Theearningsgrowthimprovementforthe 10500 14.22

ATATIMEwhenstockmarketsaretouch- 11.27 exO&G,metals&financeuniverseislargely 11.01

aided earnings 10.63 10.41 9.13 7.5 ing new highs and investors are booking 9700 8.08 driven by revenue growth improving by profits from equityfunds,manyindivid- 9000 6ppq-o-qto9%y-o-yinQ3.Domesticsec- Lagging loan growth was a ualinvestorsareincreasinglyinvestingin Apr 2020 Dec 2020 torrevenuegrowthimprovementissharper 8400 dampener; ‘Buy’ retained mutual funds via systematic investment Source: Amfi at10pptq-o-q;andwillbedrivenbydouble plans(SIPs).InDecember,collectionsfrom 7800 SIP returns of top 5 funds by AUM (%) digit revenue growth in autos,consumer with target price of `75 SIPstouched`8,418crore,thehighestfor 7260 1-year 3-year 5-year AUM (` cr) and cement.Domestic company margins Kotak Standard Multicap Fund Regular Plan a month sinceApril when it was `8,376. 2020 Feb Mar Apr May jun jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2021 Feb though will be flat q-o-q/y-o-y at 21% as Collection through SIPs dropped to 67.13 17.66 14.31 3,3461.66 benefitfromhigherrevenuegrowthwould ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD Axis Long Term Equity Fund KARNATAKA BANK (KBL) reported Net `7,300 crore in Novemberlastyear.Even 75.36 22.83 18.11 2,7180.98 likelybeneutralisedbycostnormalisation. Profits of `135 crore,higherthan ouresti- the numberof newSIPs registered nearly in a rowsince Julylastyear.In December, increase at 18% CAGR to `25 trillion by ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund 73.24 18.15 14.31 26,541.23 mateof`119croreledbydeclineinCostof doubled to 14.22 lakh in Decemberfrom the net outflows were `10,147 crore, FY25,from`11.1trillioninMarch2020, SBI Bluechip Fund Sectors/stockswith strong earnings Deposits (CoD) of 66/11bpsy-o-y/q-o-q to 7.5lakhinAprillastyear,accordingtodata slightlylower than the previous month’s drivenbystronginflows. 78.88 19.60 14.17 25,925.01 Steel companies Tata Steel and JSW are 5.4% and lower provisions of `214 crore, fromAssociationofMutualFundsinIndia. net outflows of `12,917 crore. Despite HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund expectedtopost~25%q-o-q/~110%y-o- Accumulate through SIPs 78.42 17.84 12.87 24,714.42 down32/34%y-o-y/q-o-q.NIMexpanded As on December-end,there are 3.47 this,according to a note from Crisil,the Source: Value Research y Ebitda growth on improvement in steel by43bpsto3.26%leadingNIIgrowthof21 croreSIPaccountsandexpertssayincrease open-ended equity fund asset base Disciplinedinvestingcanhelpanindi- prices;Consumercosvolumegrowth+3ppt /7%y-o-y/q-o-q,evenasyieldsmoderated inSIPfoliosisreflectiveofretailinvestors’ advanced6%on-monthtosettleatafresh vidual to accumulate wealth over a long q-o-qto10%:Dabur'sEbitdatogrow~20% andloangrowthfellby3%to`53,187cr. confidence in mutual funds.Individuals record high of `9.07 lakh crore,riding on period of time.Togain from SIPs overthe March23lows,investorsarenowseeinga y-o-y on strong Thebankcontinuestorundownitslarge areinvestingthroughSIPinlarge,midand mark-to-market (MTM) gains in the long term, the investor has to be disci- steady rise in SIP returns for well-per- health portfolio. Our domestic firms corporate book which stood at 15.5% of small cap funds and also in certain the- underlying equity asset class as stock plined to take the advantage of com- formingschemesafterasteepfall.Experts HUL’s 18% PAT universe’s (excl loanmixvs.25.2%ayearago.MixofRetail matic funds.In fact,overall sectoral/ the- benchmarksS&PBSESensexandNifty50 pounding. In fact, investing during the sayinvestorswhohadstoppedinvestingin growth helped exporters, O&G, and mid corporate loan improved to maticschemesattractedstronginflowsof rallied8%eachinDecember. highs and the lows through an SIP will SIPs during March and April because of by GSK merger; metals) 12% 51/33%vs47/28%y-o-y.Depositsgrowth `3,412 crore,which is the highest forthe InFY20,themutualfundindustrycol- enableaninvestortobuyunitsonagiven paper loss in their portfolio would regret Property cos earnings growth of 3% was led by CASA,up ~13.5% y-o-y. category since April 2019. Even those lected `1 lakh crore through SIPs,up 8% dateeachmonthandnotneedtotimethe thedecisionnowasthemarketcorrections should report CASA ratio improved to 30.1% vs 27.4/ investorswhohadputapausetotheirSIPs over `92,700 crore collected in FY19.In market. During market volatility, SIPs helpSIPinvestorstoaveragethecosts. doubledigity-o- would be driven 29.2% y-o-y/q-o-q.Non-interest income in the last few months due to loss of FY21tillDecember,theindustrycollected averageoutthecostasmoreunitsarepur- As investing in a SIP is a great way to y pre-sales by autos, cement, growthwasmuted,down32/17%y-o-y/q- incomehavealsostartedtoinvestthrough `71,347crore.Inthemutualfundindus- chased when a scheme’s NAV is low and buildwealth,expertssuggestaminimum growth; 30%+ mid-caps o-q on lower trading profits.C-I was up at thisstaggeredmodeofinvesting. try,growth is expected to be led byequity fewerunitsareboughtwhenNAVishigh. of five years of investment.Losses due to earningsgrowth and property 50.6% from ~45% y-o-y/q-o-q on higher WhiletheincreaseinSIPcollectionsin funds,whichwillcontinuetogarnerstrong The real benefit of highernumbers of market volatility are evened out over a reported from employee costs (on superannuation costs). December is a positive sign, equity investor interest.A Crisil research notes units are seenwhen the markets recover. long-period of time,provided the funda- most pharma Provisioning came down 32/34%y-o-y/q- schemesfacednetoutflowsforsixmonths that average equityAUM is expected to AstheNifty-50hasrisenby90%sinceits mentalsoftheschemearestrong. majorssuchasSun,CiplaandLupinhelped o-qto`214crore. by domestic cost cuts supporting margins Asset qualitymovementwas benign on ● (+3.3ppty-o-y)andnewlaunchesintheUS. Supreme Court’s NPA standstill.Without YOUR MONEY ` ` o-y growth in H1FY21.This is likely fol- ` ` ` ` ` ` this dispensation,GNPAwould have been ` ` lowing recent tariff hikes bylarge players Earnings laggards ` ` ` ` ` ` 3.95%from3.16%whileNNPAsat2.42% ` ` andlowerriskaversionamongconsumers While ITC will see a sequential improve- vs1.74%.Proformaslippagesstoodat`427 ` ` ` ` ` ` drivingslowdowninretailprotection. ment,Ebitda would be down 7% y-o-y as Pvt life insurers see low ` ` ` ` crore, (~3.2% of loans). Morat book has ` ` ` ` Individual non-single sum assured to cigarettevolumes (-5%) are still pressured come down to 1.7% from 11.4/51.1% in ` ` ` ` ` individual non-single premium declined on y-o-y basis; earnings growth for 2Whlr Q1/Q2FY21.Restructuredadvancesduring ` to 26X in Q3FY21 from 29X in Q3FY20 coswouldbeinflattishtodown,wherevol- ` the quarter stood at `690 crore,~1.3% of growth in Dec premium APE and 35X in Q2FY21 reflecting a sharp umerecoveryhastrailedthatforPVs(Maruti advances.YTD provisions are ~2% of the slowdown in individual protection.Sum earnings+18%y-o-y);PSUbanks,willlikely bookwhichlooksadequate. ments by financial institutions were assured in the group single segment was seehigherprovisioning(2.7%,+70bpsq-o- UptickinNIM,improvedCASAandlower Growth in the protection strongduringthemonth). up13%y-o-yinDecember2020(up11% q) while it falls for private banks q-o-q on credit costs were the key operational posi- segment has likely Overall growth in individual APE for y-o-yin Q3FY21 compared to 46%y-o-y upfrontedNPLrecognitionbylatter. tives in Q3FY21.However,the lagging loan moderated from peak the private sectorwas muted at 3%y-o-y decline in H1FY21) likely reflecting pick growthisadampener.Assetqualitybuffers inQ3FY21(16%y-o-yinQ3FY20)despite upincreditprotectbusiness. JEFFERIES look adequate though tailwind risks exist. levels observed in H1FY21, robust14%y-o-ygrowthinOctober2020. On undemandingvaluations,we maintain reducing contribution to Ithoweverremainshigherthanthe3%y- Q3FY21E forecast Pre-ex PAT growth of aBuywithaTPof`75(0.30xFY23eABV). o-ydeclineinQ2FY21.LICwasdown22% Large private life insurers (excluding companies under coverage quarterly APE y-o-yinQ3FY21onahighbaseof40%y- ICICI Prudential Life) reported 5-22% y- (% Y-o-Y) Pre-ex PAT growth (Universe) 30 AXIS SECURITIES o-y in Q3FY20. While growth has o-yincreaseinAPEin3QFY21;ICICIPru- 20 21 INDIVIDUAL ANNUALIZED PREMIUM improved from trough levels,protection ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD dential Life’s APE is down 21% y-o-y. 20 10 6 Change in estimates (` cr) equivalent(APE)fortheprivatesectorwas business has slowed down likely due to pickupinQ4FY21EonalowbaseofMarch Growth in the protection segment has 5 2 0 Revised Change (%) muted at 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in moderation from heightened risk aver- 2020(duetothesuddenlockdown). likely moderated from peak levels change December 2020 (base was a bit high), sion.Unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips) observed in H1FY21,reducing theircon- (10) FY21E FY22E FY21E FY22E higherthan7.1%y-o-ydeclineinNovem- have picked up a bit from trough levels, Individual sum assured weak tributiontoquarterlyAPEandvalueofnew (20) (30) NII 2,342 2,693 7.4 12.3 berbutlowerthan14%growthinOctober likelytrackingthebuoyantequitymarket. Individualsumassuredfortheprivate business.Ulip growth,a lowmargin busi- (25) (40) PPOP 2,081 2,253 -8.8 -1.1 2020.OverallAPEgrowthwasatadhigher Traditional business segments and pro- sector declined 14% y-o-y in December ness,wasthelikelyvolumedriver. (50) (38) PAT 616 755 32.8 -17.2 at 5% y-o-y due to strong 60% y-o-y tection,however,continuedtoremainkey 2020(down17%y-o-yinNovember2020 Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 EPS (`) 19.8 24.3 33.0 -17.1 growthingroupAPEindicatinglikelypick drivers for incremental volumes in and9%y-o-yin3QFY21)comparedto9% EditedextractsfromKotakInstitutional FY20 FY21 FY21E Source: Company, Axis Research up in credit protect business (disburse- Q3FY21,inourview.Weexpectgrowthto y-o-ygrowth in October2020 and 8%y- EquitiesResearchreport Source: Companies, Jefferies

Pune 10 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

● NUMEROLOGY Spending intent of consumers in the near future: ■ 52% - Household goods ■ 25% - Electronics ■ 1% - Restaurant/ Takeout BrandWagonMONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 — Deloitte Consumer Tracker

● VENKATA SUSMITA BISWAS ● M&E pleasantlysurprisedtoseeconsumerspay- E-COMMERCE ing towatch movie premieres and Gujarati OTTVIDEO STREAMING platforms have contentonourplatformwithnomarketing hadagoodrunoverthepastninemonths. investmentfromourend,”saysHirenGada, Meat delivery Several VoD providers have registered an 2020: Rise of paid subscribers CEO,ShemarooEntertainment. increase in not just usage and time spent Meanwhile,Amazon Prime Video,in a on their apps, but also in the number of bidtoaddmoresubscribers,hastiedupwith biz heats up paid subscribers.According to Omdia Airtel to launch mobile-onlyplans starting (which excludes subscriptions from bun- OTT platforms have benefitted from the dearth of entertainment avenues in the past year atanintroductorypriceof`89permonth. dledoffers),asofDecember2020,Disney+ Online meat delivery Hotstarhad18.69millionsubscribers,abig Content contest platforms clock growth jump from 5.36 million in 2019.Amazon Dishing out newer content and acquiring Prime Video had 5.83 million subscribers movies fordigital premiereswill come at a during the pandemic — up from 4.34 million in 2019 — while huge cost.“For a direct-to-OTT release, a Netflix added more than a million paying filmmaker could demand four times the users to reach 3.08 million subscribers in priceofsellingonlydigitalrightsafterathe- 2020.The subscriber count of Zee5 and atrical release,”estimates Shailesh Kapoor, SonyLivstoodat2.7million(upfrom1.99 founderandCEO,OrmaxMedia.Themovie million) and 1.81 million (up from 6.5 acquisitioncostforadigitalpremierecould lakh),respectively,in2020. be as high as `75-100 crore; analysts esti- Acombination of factors hasworked in matethataplatformcouldeasilychurnout favour of OTT platforms. The absence of eightto10originalshowswithinthatcost. freshcontentontelevisionduringthelock- The past year saw Viacom18 launch down drove people to explore OTT plat- Voot Select, and Sony relaunch SonyLiv forms.And once it became clear that the- withafreshfocusonoriginalcontent.Voot atreswill not be able to resume operations Selectintroducedsixoriginalshows,while atthesamelevelasearlier,producersopted SonyLiv added seven.“Indian platforms to release movies directly on digital plat- that have been following the freemium formsbehindpaywalls.Thatapart,OTTplat- model have realised that subscription DEVIKA SINGH formscontinuouslyspruceduptheirlibrary offersbettermonetisationopportunities,” withneworiginalshowsthroughtheyear. says Papavassilopoulos.Netflix,the most THE PANDEMIC HAS given online meat In its 2020 M&E report,KPMG haspre- premium OTTplatform in India,charging delivery platforms such as Licious, dictedthatSVoDsubscriptionbasewillgrow `499permonth,invested`3,000croreon Zappfresh,TenderCuts and FreshToHome 2.8timesinthenexttwoyearsto62million, Indianoriginalsin2019-2020. some much-needed impetus.According to and drive OTTsubscription revenue by4.8 Subscriptionfeesacrossplatformsvary a recent report by RedSeer, online meat times to `4,600 crore in FY22.Could sub- from 22.2 million to 29 million,between principalanalyst,Omdia. nextyear.OmdiaestimatesthatVootSelect drastically.AnannualsubscriptionforZee5 deliverygrew 2.5-3 times during January- scriptionbecomeamorebankablerevenue March and July 2020 alone. Until 2019, Voot’s premium paid servicewhichwas has 5.6 lakh paying subscribers. A Zee5 Club costs `365; Disney+ Hotstar charges September2020.Inabidtotapthisgrowth, streamforOTTplatformsgoingforward? paid subscriptions brought in hardly 10% launchedjustdaysaheadofthelockdownis spokesperson informs that the platform’s `399 fortheyearlyVIPaccess;whileAma- online meat delivery platforms have of a video streaming platform’s total rev- now“well ahead of estimates”,says Ferzad paid users increased by 45% in 2020 over zon Prime Video is part of the Amazon expanded their product portfolios.In July Subscribersurge enue. “In 2020, paid users increased by Palia,head –Voot Select,youth,music and 2019andoverallsubscribersgrewby80%. Prime bundle which costs `999 annually. 2020, Licious expanded its ready-to-eat According to India Brand Equity Founda- about 25% resulting in subscription rev- English entertainment, Viacom18. The ShemarooMe,whichdidnotplantocon- Asplatformspourinmoremoneyintocre- (RTE)offeringbyintroducingaprawn-based tion, the OTT sector in India witnessed a enue contributing 15-20% to the overall streamingplatformwasexpectingtoreach centrate on the B2C part of the business atingcontent,profitabilitywillcontinueto spread,whileZappfreshlaunchedRTEprod- 30%riseinthenumberofpaidsubscribers, pie,”says Constantinos Papavassilopoulos, the current level of subscriptions only by until 2022,is now reconsidering.“We are beachallenge,sayanalysts. uctslikemeatballsandchickenmomos.Ten- derCutsandFreshToHomehavealmostdou- bled theirstock keeping units (SKUs) in the ready-to-cook(RTC)category. In The RohanAggarwal,director,RedSeer,says that the monthlygross merchandisevalue thatonlinemeatdeliveryplayerswereclock- ing in the pre-Covid period was over `58 crore; this grew to `150-175 crore in Sep- News tember2020.Dedicatedmeatdeliveryplat- Motobahn forms,such as the ones mentioned above, command over 80% of this market,while Leo Burnett wins companies such as BigBasket,Swiggy and Milkbasketoccupytherest. creative mandate ● STELLANTIS TheirmovetowardsRTEandRTCcate- for Vega gories, analysts say, is an attempt to gain better margins — fresh meat products offerthese platforms abysmallylowmar- An auto CEO much of Detroit doesn’t gins (in single digits),whereas RTE and RTCproductsusuallyofferaprofitmargin of 10-15%. know takes over a new empire Partyplatter LEO BURNETTINDIAhaswon the Thesurgeinat-homeconsumptionoffood creative mandate forbeautyaccessory has meant more takers for RTE and RTC and personal care appliances brandVega. Carlos Tavares has spent a products.Meatdeliverycompaniesaretap- Leo Burnettwill handle the strategic and 40-year career rising up pingintothisdemandbytellingcustomers creative communication forthe brand about their‘healthy products’,which are across platforms.The accountwill be the ladder of an industry free of chemicals and preservatives.Most handled byits NewDelhi office.Vega that birthed the modern of the products are being tailored for the recentlybrought on board actorAnanya young customer base that tends to cook Pandayand cricketerRohit Sharma as day celebrity CEO, lessathomeandwantsahassle-freeexpe- brand ambassadors. engineering impressive rience.Zappfresh,for instance,has intro- duced bulk packs (two to three kg) and RishiVasudevmoves on turnarounds while largely party packs of its products to cater to this going unrecognised targetgroup. from Lifestyle Oil-free RTC products are also in high RISHIVASUDEV, demand.“Indiadidnothaveabarbecuecul- CEOofLifestyle TARA PATEL, GABRIELLE COPPOLA & tureearlier;but,oflate,wehaveseenprod- andHome DANIELE LEPIDO ucts that can be Centre,has grilled or barbe- According to a

decidedtomove THE JUST-FINALISED merger of Fiat BLOOMBERGPHOTO: cued being recent report by onfromLifestyle Chrysler Automobiles and PSAGroup is Logos of marquees of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sit on the Mirafiori Motor Village dealership in Turin, Italy bought increas- RedSeer, online Internationalduetopersonalreasons. poised to raise the global profile of an ingly,”says Shan meat delivery Vasudevhadjoinedthecompanyfrom under-the-radarchiefexecutivewhowill back from the brink.The self-described anengineerbecausehelackedthetalent detail. He doesn’t tolerate meetings Kadavil,CEOand grew 2.5-3 times FlipkartinMarch2020.Untilhis lead a vast and massively complex car- “performancepsychopath”alsowillhave andmoneytoraceprofessionally.Hewas starting late or dragging on and asks co-founder, during January- successorisappointed,KabirLumba,CEO makerwith quiet intensity. to prove his product chops and catch up scheduled to drive a Lancia Stratos at an underlingstomakepresentationsinfive FreshToHome. designateandgroupdirector,Landmark The market debut this week of Stel- on electrification in an era when little annual rally in Monaco this month slides orless. The company September 2020 Group,willtakeovertheresponsibilities, lantis, the group formed by the Italian- seems to mattermore to investors. before Covid-19 forced its cancellation. Tavares shuns the annual gathering has doubled its inadditiontohiscurrentrole. AmericanandFrenchautomanufactur- AftergraduatingfromoneofFrance’s of business elite that Ghosn frequented SKUs in the ers,willfunctionascoming-outpartyfor Racing roots topengineeringschools,Tavaresstarted in Davos, Switzerland, and shows up to RTCcategoryfrom60to120inthepastfew Dentsu India merges all its itsleader,CarlosTavares.He’sspenta40- Born and raised in Lisbon, Tavares hiscareeratRenaultin1981.Heheaded glitzycarshowsinscuffed-updadshoes. months.This category now contributes 6- year career rising up the ladder of an displayed his earlypassion as a 14-year- uppartnerNissan’sNorthAmericaoper- He often spends weekends tinkering on 7%toitsmonthlyrevenueof`50crore,up commerce capabilities industry that birthed the modern day old volunteer at the Estoril track.He has ationsfortwoyearsbeforebecomingNo. cars at his suburban Paris home. from1.5%inthepre-Covidtimes. DENTSUINTERNATIONALHASlaunched celebrity CEO, engineering impressive since competed in more than 500 races 2 to Ghosn at Renault in 2011. As head of Stellantis,he’ll answer to TenderCuts,too,has80-90SKUsinthe itsglobalcommerceunitTotalCommerce turnarounds while largely going asanamateurdriverandsaidhebecame Inanunusualpowerplayforatopjob, dynastic shareholders—the Agnellis,led RTC category, compared to 45-50 in the inIndia.Underthisunit,allofits unrecognisedtakingcommercialflights he told Bloomberg News in 2013 that by Chairman John Elkann,as well as the pre-pandemicperiod.Ithasseensalesfrom commercecapabilitieswillbebrought in and out of Detroit. since Ghosn was planning to stick Peugeots—andpoliticswillplayanoutsize thiscategoryincreaseto14%,comparedto underoneumbrella,“encapsulatingevery Thewiry,hyperactive62-year-oldhas around, he would be interested in run- role.TheFrenchstatewillretainastakein 4%earlier. aspectofe-commerce,last-miledelivery shown little desire to be another Lee ning General Motors or Ford. He left the merged company,and Italy’s deputy To encourage trials,FreshToHome aswellasretailradiuscommunication”. Iacocca, Dieter Zetsche, Sergio Mar- Renaultwithinweeks and took the helm economyministerhas hinted its govern- offers its RTC products in small packs — chionneorCarlosGhosn.Butwhetherhe ofalmost-bankruptPSAsixmonthslater. mentmayacquireashareholdingaswell. 150 gm for `99; while TenderCuts offers VMLY&RCommerce comes around to the spotlight or not, The French state and China’s PSA’s outgoing Chairman Louis Gal- free samples to customers who buy meat Encompass elevates he’ll get much more of it steering an Dongfeng Motor bailed out PSA by par- loishassaidthatsinceTavares’srootsare fromitsplatform. empire of roughly 400,000 employees ticipating in a share sale and 3 billion- in Portugal,where he owns a vineyard ShankarShinde and 14 brands into an uncertain future, euro capital raise. Tavares andsmallvintage-carbusi- Sustaining demand VMLY&RCOMMERCE where cars increasingly run off of bat- pruned the model lineup, He doesn’t tolerate ness, he’ll be an effective BecausetheuptakeofRTCandRTEproducts ENCOMPASS has teries and software and the combus- cut costs and raised vehicle meetings starting neutral arbiter. has been largely driven by the pandemic, elevated ShankarShinde tion engine meets its demise. prices. PSA turned its first late or dragging Stellantis will be an thesecompanieswillhavetoensurethatthe to the position of chief “He’s not selling Carlos, and he annualprofitinthreeyears. on, and asks amalgam of model lines demand sustains even when dine-in operating officer.Hewas doesn’t want to,”said Jim Press, an Heappliedsimilartactics underlings to make with a strong presence in resumesinfullswing. earliermanaging partner auto executive who worked with with Opel andVauxhall,the North America’s lucrative AggarwalofRedSeerestimatesthatthe presentations in at GeometryEncompass, Tavares when the latter headed brandsGMcastofftoPSAin truck and SUV segments, dine-inbusinesswillreturnto80%ofpre- overseeing the rural,shopperand urban Nissan Motor’s North American 2017afterrackingupabout five slides or less thanks to Fiat Chrysler’s CovidlevelsbyApril-May. activation practices. operations.“He develops people $20 billion of losses over Ram and Jeep divisions. Taking cognizance of this,online meat and organisations.The guy is a two decades. By slashing PSA’s revitalised Peugeot deliveryplayershavepricedtheirproducts Netflix’sKunalGaur great businessman.” development spending and buying out and Citroen brands also have excelled in 15-30% lowerthan restaurant dishes.For movestoViacom18 Automotive mega mergers thousandsofworkers,heswiftlypushed Europe and are the envyof Renault. example,TenderCuts’Madras Chicken 65 have failed in simpler times. those operations into the black. Yet Stellantis won’t have much of a is priced at `150 for 400 gm, while VIACOM18 HASAPPOINTED Kunal Gaur Before Daimler’s disastrous “TheTavares factorwas probablythe foothold in the luxury-carbusiness.The Zappfresh’s products are available for as its chief commercial officer.He moves combination with Chrysler most underestimated” of PSA’s 2014 AlfaRomeoandMaseratilinesarestrug- `150-300.“Itismoreeconomicalforacus- from Netflix India,andwill be taking around the turn of the cen- turnaround plan, said Societe Generale gling and PSA’s DS is tiny. Fiat Chrysler tomertoorderfromusthanfromarestau- overfrom Utpal Daswho is slated to tury,Renault acquiredAmeri- auto analyst Stephen Reitman. “Opel and PSA also have stumbled in China’s rant,”says Nishanth Chandran, founder move on from the company.Gaurwill can Motors in a doomed deal Vauxhall was seen as maybe a step too vast auto market. andCEO,TenderCuts. report to Rahul Joshi,MD,Network18. the French company reversed far,butheprovedthatbypatientlygoing “Tavares knows that if the Chinese Satiatingthepalateofconsumersacross from a little overa decade later. around and reasoningwith people,they market is a medium- or long-term goal, thecountrywithvariedpreferenceswillbe Consumer For Tavares to succeed with Stel- wouldreconsiderpositionsthathadcon- EuropeisrightnowStellantis’mostcom- keyfortheseplatforms.“Everyregionhasits electronics lantis,he’llhavetodomorethanjust tributed to 20years of losses.” pelling challenge,” said Carlo Alberto flavourpreferenceforproductslikechicken company streamlineandslashcosts,theplay- Carnevale Maffe, a professor at Bocconi tikkaortandoori;thesebrandsneedtocus- U&i has book he followed in bringing PSA Five-slide rule University in Milan.“He needs to act by tomise their offerings accordingly,”says signed on Bloomberg News spoke with half a cutting costs, recovering profitability AmarjeetSingh,partner,KPMGIndia. actor John Carlos Tavares, the CEO of dozen people who have worked closely andinvestinginarangeoftechnologies.” Ensuring consistent quality in their Abraham as Stellantis, formed by the merger withTavares.Theydescribehimasultra- offerings would also be crucial but its brand of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group competitive with a dogged attention to Bloomberg challenging as they expand their opera- ambassador tionsinthecountry.

Pune 11 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

InfrastructureMONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

● WISHLIST FOR UNION BUDGET 2021-22 with a part of the expanded credit guaran- teelimitsalsobeingmadeavailablethrough the DFIs.Anyadditional budgetarycontri- bution can be positioned as risk capital to Spur spend by states,pvt sector to meet NIP goals mobilise additional resources from multi- lateraldevelopmentagencies. Finally, from a taxation perspective, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs),infrastruc- Likely sources offinance Sector share of investments fromindividualstates. whilemeasureslikeexemptingthedividend Budget 2021-22 needs to tureinvestmenttrusts(InvITs),etc. The second potential area forinterven- and capital gains income of SWFs and FPFs ● in NIP 2020-25 However,State Government-finances Central Budget 18-20% tioninvolvessettingupofasuitablemech- frominfrastructureinvestmentsarealready prioritise interventions Airports Others have always been constrained and have ● State Budgets 24-26% 1 anism to facilitate infrastructure asset inplace,theBudgetcanaddresssomeaddi- which can act as a force taken a further hit due to Covid-19, on Irrigation monetisation, with a focus on State and tionalissues.Potentialareasincludeextend- ● Banks 8-10% 3 multiplier for both state account of a dip in revenues and increased 9 Power city-level projects.Budget 2021-22 can be ing the tax exemption u/s 10(23FE) to ● Infra NBFC/DFI 15-17% Telecom healthcarespending.Privatesectorinvest- 31 used to contribute the initial capital to SWF/FPF investments in holding compa- govt investments as well as ments in infrastructure would also need a ● Asset monetisation/InvlT 3-5% 12 acquirecompletedprojectsgeneratingrev- nies,as against onlyinfrastructure operat- stepchangeforNIPfinancingexpectations enues/havingrevenuepotential,withaddi- ingcompanies;allowingtheSWF/FPFavail- long-term private and (in %) to be met.The other concern has been of ● Bond markets 6-8% tionalfundsbeingmobilisedfromexternal ing the exemption to have a role in the Urban external sources of finance assetliabilitymismatchatbanksandNBFCs ● Equity 2-4% 15 investors.Theexistingalternateinvestment governance of the investee entity; and (which have limited long-term financing fund (AIF) structure under the NIIF or the extendingthebenefitsunderthesectionto ● Others 10-24% 18 Roads ARINDAM GUHA sources),whichhavebeenthemainstayfor sector-specific InvITs being set up in the other potential long-term infrastructure 1 10 fundinglong-terminfrastructureprojects. Source: DEA Task Force report on National Ports road,power sectors can be leveraged.New investorslikeprivateequityfunds. Infrastructure Pipeline 2020-25; April 2020 WITH THE ECONOMY poised for a turn- ForensuringtheNIPisfundedinasustain- Railways InvITs can also be considered with a focus Togetherwiththeaforementionedmea- aroundpostCovid-19andgiventhestrong able manner,it is important that Budget on urban infrastructure,urban transport, sures,equally(ifnotmore)criticalwouldbe GDP multiplier effect of investments in 2021-22 prioritises interventions which etc. Suitable governance arrangements underlyingpolicyreformsforindividualsec- infrastructure,there is a lot of attention on act as a force multiplierforboth state gov- including appointment of professional tors,some of which have been highlighted what the forthcoming Budget will offer in ernment investments aswell as long-term investmentmanagerswouldneedtobeput intheNIPearlier.Keyactionpointsinclude terms of infrastructure spend.Ifwe look at private/externalsourcesoffinance. inplacetoattractexternalinvestors. puttinginplaceobjectiveregulatory&tar- 2020-21, budgetary spending on infra- The first such area is the setting up of The third potential area which Budget iffsettingmechanismsforspecificsectors; structure development is expected to be oneormoreDevelopmentFinanceInstitu- 2021-22 can focus on is the extension of streamlining land allotment, approvals, around `4.5 lakh crore.Even if this was to tions (DFIs) to finance greenfield infra- the existing credit guarantee facilities for contractenforcement&renegotiationand increase by 10% y-o-y over the next four structureprojectsinselectsectors.Ashigh- infrastructure projects,either through the dispute resolution practices for infra- years, the total budgetary spend during lightedin the NIP,DFIs funded 20-25%of proposed Credit Guarantee Enhancement structure projects; and deepening the 2020-25islikelytobe18-20%ofthetotal infrastructure investments during 2013- Corporation or any other similar entity. marketforcorporatebondswhilestream- National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) out- 2018,with annual infrastructure spend in Althoughthecorpusavailablewithdomes- lining trading & settlement mechanisms. layof`111lakhcrore. thisperiodbeingintherangeof`7-12lakh tic pension funds and insurance firms is Acoordinatedandtime-boundimple- This is in line with the financing mix crore.DFI financing has been focused on can look at setting up one or more DFIs, therleveragedthroughadditionalresources estimated at over `50,000 crore, only a mentation of these measures is likely to envisagedbytheNIP,whereinthetwoother specific sectors like power and railways, focusingonhigh-impactsectorslikeurban from bilateral/multilateral organisations, small proportion of this is currently facilitate timely financing and imple- main sources of finance are states' bud- where institutions like PFC,IRFC,etc.have infrastructure,health,education,etc.where internationalcapitalmarkets,etc.Aregional deployedininfrastructuresectorbonds,etc. mentation of the NIP,thereby enabling getary spend (24-26% of total NIPoutlay) contributedaround40-50%oftotalinvest- project development responsibility is pri- or state-specific DFI construct can also be as most instruments do not meet the the country to achieve its overall eco- andnon-government/privatesectorfinanc- ments.However,thenumberofDFIsatthe marilywith state and/orcitygovernments explored,basedonequityparticipationfrom threshold rating requirements needed for nomic development objectives. ing (45-50%) provided by banks, infra- statelevelhasbeenlimited.Toaddressthese andfinancingchallengeshavebeenhigher. state governments and backed by suitable investment.Leveragingofenhancedcredit structure NBFCs,long-term investors like issues,inadditiontomakingallocationsto WhiletheinitialriskcapitalfortheDFI(s) governance arrangements and state-spe- guarantee provisions can playa keyrole in ThewriterisPartner,Government&Public domesticandforeignpensionfunds(FPFs), supporttheexistingDFIs,Budget2021-22 can come from the Budget,this can be fur- cificinvestmentcapsbasedoncontribution removing these investment bottlenecks, Servicesindustryleader,DeloitteIndia Quick Quick View Startups View

● INTERVIEW: VENKATVALLABHANENI, upskill themselves from the comfort of theirhomes.OurFund–Iportfoliocompa- Managing Partner, Inflexor Ventures nies offering SaaS solutions in EduTech, cybersecurity,automationareseeingsome significant tailwinds with actual sales or in-bound leads up by3X to 4X compared SaaS startups are already topre-Covid-19times. SaaS was a fairly new term/ concept backin2015,withslowadoptiononboth B2B and B2C fronts.But with increased walking the revival road awareness of its benefits,it has become a preferred business model.Covid-19 has WhileitisclearthattheCovid-19pandemic given itthenecessarypushforrapiddigi- andrelatedlockdown/socialdistancinghas talisationandaccelerationindigitaladop- impacted almost all businesses globally, tionbyusers. Air traffic down 45% in there are some sectors particularly within Over 500 non-coal technologythatareexperiencingtailwinds. Whicharethesectorsthatyoufocuson? Dec, though sequential Especiallytheonesthatmakeworkorbusi- Fewofthesectorsthatwearefocusing mining blocks on offer growth continued nesscontinuityfromhomemoreproductive more from our Fund–II are fintech, after Cabinet move and safe,like cloud-based SaaS software healthtech,edutech,consumer tech and INDIA'S DOMESTIC TRAFFIC declined companies, says Venkat Vallabhaneni, also opportunistic sectors such as space OVER500 NON-COAL mineral blocks, by around 45% y-o-y to about 71 lakh managing partner,Inflexor Ventures, an tech.From a SaaS perspective,the maxi- partiallyorminimallyexplored under passengers in December last year even early-stage,sector agnostic tech VC fund. mumemergenceweareobservingisfrom current leases butwhich are entangled in as passenger traffic was up 12% “SaaS companies have an edge as they are healthtechwith several startups offering legacyissues and litigation,will be up for sequentially over November 2020, asset light with quick and easy DIY type EMRmaintenance,efficientlastmiledis- grabs as the Cabinet is learnt to have ratings agency ICRA said in a release adoption,have recurring revenue models tribution of medicines, B2B platforms approved a proposal to amend the last week.Capacity deployment in and also lend themselves well to WFH,”he assistingwithscansforquickdiagnosisof relevant lawfortheirre-allocation December 2020 at around 67% (vis-a- tellsSudhirChowdharyinarecentinter- Covid-19andotherailments,etc. through competitive bidding,FE vis December 2019) was a significant view.Excerpts: Anotherspacewouldbeenterprisetech reported lastThursday.Also,the highly increase over the 52% capacity offeringB2Bsolutionstonotonlyimprove under-invested sectorwill get a fillip deployed in October 2020 and 59% in Whyareyou focusing on deep tech and their internal processes but also increase from a Cabinet decision to do awaywith November.The Indian aviation SaaS at Inflexor? Is the SaaS space in theirreachandrevenues. end-use restrictions forminers.Sources industry had witnessed a continued Indiayettoachieveitsfullglory? said the Cabinet also gave the go-ahead recovery in domestic passenger traffic Jatin Desai (managing partner) and I What is the opportunity available for forreallocation of several non-producing in December 2020,with sequential bothcomewithastrongtechnologyback- SaaSinIndiaandglobally? blocks of state-run companies,a move growth (over November 2020) of ground—havingsetupandledtechnology SaaS companies (from the mid play- that could enthuse private players as around 12%,the ratings agency said. divisionsforglobalbanks,andalsohaving ers to the world giants) has been receiv- manyof these blocks have abundant The number of flights departing has scaled our own tech focused ventures in tech and products with differentiated tupspostCovid? ing immense traction, especially in the proven resources.The moves are in sync also gradually increased from 416 from the past.Deep tech/SaaS are an obvious businessmodelandtechnologyIP. While the pandemic and related lock- last few months and is expected to con- with the National Mineral Policy,which the resumption of domestic operations choice for our investment thesis/ethos. Indian SaaS industry has 1,000-plus down has impacted almost all businesses tinue so.VCs investing $32 billion glob- aims to increase the domestic on May 25,2020 to 2,230 on Day 219 Also,SaaScompanieshaveanedgeasthey companies,generating revenues of $3.5 globally,there are some sectors particu- ally in 2019 in SaaS companies clearly production of non-coal,non-fuel (December 28,2020),Kinjal Shah, are asset light,offerquick and easyadop- billion in FY20.Around 150 companies larlywithin technology,like cloud-based demonstrate the faith they have in their minerals by200% in sevenyearswith vice-president,ICRAsaid. tion, offer non-linear growth and have out of these generated an ARR of more SaaSsoftwarecompanies,thatareexperi- growth. India has the geographical greaterprivate participation. recurringrevenuemodels. than$1million.Aroundsevenofthemare encing tailwinds.Especiallythe ones that advantagetopriceitsSaaSproductssub- Bengaluru Metro extension Weareasector-agnosticfund,looking unicorns with the likes of Zoho, Fresh- make work or business continuity from stantially lower compared to its global States'capexseentohave for products leveraging strong technol- works,Druva,Postman,etc.And 75% of home more productive and safe,or OTT peers,toattractcustomers. line inaugurated ogy/IP/innovation to differentiate and the demand for Indian SaaS products platformswiththeirendlesschoiceofcon- Also, India’s young demographic droppedbyaquarter UNION MINISTEROF State forHousing create a mark forthemselves in domestic comesfromoverseas.Ifthisisanyindica- tenttokeeppeopleentertained. (forming a significant portion of India’s ASAGAINSTA30%y-o-yjumpprojected and UrbanAffairs Hardeep Singh Puri andinternationalmarkets.B2B,enterprise tion,wehavegreatthingstobewitnessed AnotherSaaSbasedindustrywhichhas huge user base) with its massive con- forFY21,budgetarycapitalexpenditure inaugurated throughvideo- software platforms are where our sweet fromthisspaceinthefuture. seensubstantialuptickinCovid-19times sumptionofeasilyaccessibleinternetcon- bystategovernmentsmayhavedropped conferencing the six-km-long southern spotlies.Havingsaidthat,wearecomfort- is edutech with significant interest from tent becomes a magnet forcompanies to byaquarterinApril-November,goingby extension line underPhase-2 of able investing in selective B2C consumer Do you see anychallenges in SaaS star- K-12kidsaswellasmillennialslookingto setupaswellasinvestinIndia. anFEreviewofdatafrom12states.These “Namma Metro”,fromYelachenahalli to 12states—UttarPradesh,TamilNadu, Silk Institute Metro stations,byflagging MadhyaPradesh,AndhraPradesh, off a train onThursday.The extension ● ENSUREDIT ideagivesusthemuchneededmotivation Karnataka,Rajasthan,Odisha,Telangana, has five newstations beyond the formaking greaterstrides in ourjourney. Kerala,Chhattisgarh,Haryanaand Yelachenahalli Metro Station on the We intend to use the funding to hit our Jharkhand—reportedcombinedcapital currentlyoperational line — next growth curve by significantly expenditureof`1,09,860croreinApril- Konanakunte Cross,Doddakallasandra, Taking insurance to the masses expandingourtechnologyteamandout- NovemberFY21,comparedwith Vajarahalli,Thalaghattapura and Silk reachcapabilities.” `1,48,571croreintheyear-agoperiod, Institute.The elevated extension is at the ancemanufacturersandchannelpartners. The market that Ensuredit is address- down26%.Comparedwiththis,the southern end of the operational The platform aims to Recently,VentureCatalysts,afast-growing ingis valuedat$100billion. ApoorvRan- Centrehasmanagedtospend`2.41lakh 24.2-km-long Green (North-South) line. leverage the capital infusion integratedincubatorandaccelerator,leda janSharma,co-founder&president–Ven- croreasbudgetcapexduringApril- `2.5 crore pre-Series A investment in tureCatalysts,said,“UsinganAI-powered November,up12.8%y-o-y. NHAItosetupperformance led byVenture Catalysts to Ensuredit.The platform aims to leverage platform forempowering customers and bolster its tech thecapitalinfusiontoestablishitsposition insuranceintermediariesisaninnovative AdaniEnterpriseswins threshold forroad bidders as a market leader by bolstering its tech approachwith great disruptive potential. HIGHWAYCONCESSIONAIRESWILLhave infrastructure and outreach infrastructure and outreach, said Amit Their robust IP,backed by the relentless `1,838-crhighwayproject topaymoreattentiongoingforwardon Boni,founder&CEO,Ensuredit. dedicationofthefoundingteam,makesus ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED (AEL) improvingusers’experienceand Leveraging its‘Platform as a Service’ confidentinourinvestment.” on Thursday said it had won a `1,838-cr maintainingtheroadqualitytoavoid SUDHIR CHOWDHARY business model,the platform is commit- Ensuredit’s API-integrated platform highway project from the National beingbarredfrombiddingfornew ted to helping brokers,corporate agents, providesaccesstoAI-powereddistribution HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI) in stretches.ThisisbecausetheNational FOUNDED IN 2019 byAmit Boni,Rohit IMFs,andinsurerstobolstertheirrevenue system,streamlinedworkflows,openAPIs, Kerala.The project,under the hybrid HighwaysAuthorityofIndia(NHAI)will SadhuandVikasRanga,Ensureditaimsto generation,Boni said.“Ensuredit’svision andAIbasedanalyticssuiteforatransfor- annuity mode (HAM),is a part of the soonintroduceasystemofrankingof disrupttheinsuranceindustryandunlock issimple:TodigitallytransformtheIndian mational customer experience.Its range Bharatmala Pariyojna.“AEL has recently concessionairesbasedontheir the next chapter of its development by insurance industry using our AI-based, of services include agent on-boarding, participated in tender issued by NHAI performanceonvariousparameters. utilising the power of technology. To API-integrated platform and deliver a quote generation,processing payments, under HAM and we are pleased to Anythinglessthanthecut-offmark,which achieve this,it focuses on enhancing the moreenhancedcustomerexperiencetoall policyinsurance and comparison,identi- inform you thatAEL has received a isyettobedecided,ontheseparameters salesforcewhileenablinginsuranceplay- thestakeholdersacrossthesector.Venture Amit Boni, founder & CEO, fying cross sell and upsell opportunities, letter of award (LOA) from NHAI willmeanthebiddingprocessbeingoutof erstoonboardagreaternumberofinsur- Catalysts’support and confidence in our Ensuredit andcreationofproposal. for...road project in the state of Kerala,” boundsfortheaspiringinvestor. the company said in a filing to the BSE.

Pune

12 FINANCIAL EXPRESS WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

NEWTECHNIQUES IN EDTECH Kirthi Reddy, Director & Founder, The Gaudium In 2020 the education sector saw an influx of newer❝ techniques of teaching and learning. Looking ❝forward, I believe 2021 will be driven by increased adaptation of these tech advancements and will MONDAY,Education JANUARY 18, 2021 focus on upskilling the faculty and teaching staff. ● UNION BUDGET EXPECTATIONS ● UNION BUDGET 2021 Lowertaxation can support edtech Focus on job-creation RITURAJ SINHA tosubsidisebothemployers’andemploy- solving, creativity and computational ees’ contribution of PF in respect of new The tax of 18% on edtech thinking are crucial for21st-centurykids THE PRIVATE SECURITY and facility employeesorinrespectofemployeeswho can be reduced so that to face future adversities, just like the management sector,broadly classified as have lost their jobs during the lockdown Covid-19 pandemic. outsourced business services,offers min- periodandgainingreemploymentevenin accessible quality digital Regular classes of basic academia imumwagelevelemploymenttoalmost1 respect of those enterprises employing education becomes a should be the point of focus for the gov- crore citizens of India,creating livelihood more than 1,000 people. ernment, as new normalcy should be fortheneediestsectionsofoursociety.The Request 3: Support from banks: Con- viable option for students reflected in the education sector as well. sector undertakes skill development and sidering that we continue to paywages of from all sections of society Considering all these points,the Union ensures employability of 8th/10th pass, lakhs of private security guards, cleaners Budget2021mustbeinclinedtowardsthe and landless non-agricultural labourers and other such minimum wage workers, education sector. hailing from the poorest states. ANOOP GAUTAM Educationstart-ups:Theimportance EveninthemidstoftheCovid-19pan- The private security and facility of MSMEs on the Indian economy is evi- demicandthelockdown,thegovernment management sector undertakes not THE COVID-19 pandemic has turned dent from the fact that MSMEs provide a notified our sector as ‘essential services’. only skill development, but also around the education sector.The transi- lotofemployment,attractforeigninvest- Privatesecurityguards,cleaningstaffand ensures employability of 8th/10th tion from traditional learning to digital mentsandsubstantiallycontributetothe cashvan/ATMworkers continuedtowork pass, and landless non-agricultural methods has helped the growth of edtech GDP.India is home to around 63 million through the lockdown, risking their lives labourers hailing from the poorest start-ups and existing companies, and it start-ups (as per data from the MSME to support police/local administration, willmostlikelycontinue.Atthesametime, ministry),employing around 120 million hospitals, grocery stores/marts, e-com- states of the country theUnionBudgetallocationfortheedtech people and contributing to 45% of mercewarehouses,etc. sectorshouldbe increasedby7-8%,com- exports.In the Union Budget 2021,the The upcoming Union Budget 2021 pared to the previousyear. taxation scheme for MSMEs should be mustfocusonemploymentgenerationto Digital education: Last year schools, ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD revised and reduced, as it will provide revive the economy: thesectorwillneedadequateworkingcap- colleges and institutions were shut ontheedtechsectorcanbereducedsothat efforts being put by private companies moreopportunitiesforMSMEsandstart- Request1:Taxbreak/improvementin ital support from banks. Therefore, our entirely,with students and teachers hav- accessible quality digital education and the government,we still lack a uni- ups to grow. Besides, the loan approval 80JJAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961: We sectorshouldbeclassifiedasaprioritysec- ingnootheroptionleftthangoingdigital. becomesaviableoptionforstudentsfrom form solution for all the students,as e- process for MSMEs should be simplified, suggest amendment to Section 80JJAAof torandbanksshouldbeadvisedtoextend Teachers and students demonstrated allsectionsofsociety.Recentmonthshave learning is still a challenge for students and collateral-free loans should be pro- theIncome-taxAct,1961,tocomputethe at least six months equivalent working tremendous adaptability in adopting witnessed the maximum funding during coming from socioeconomically weaker vided to start-ups and MSMEs. Last year eligibility in respect of employees who capital credit lines to eligible security, online learning methods.This opens new this pandemic in the edtech sector,which sections of the society.The Union Budget witnessedrecord-breakingfundinginthe have completed 90 days (in place of 240 facility management, manpower supply horizonsforedtechstart-ups.TheNational is also a direct result of increased aware- 2021 must accord more priority to the edtech domain, and this sector should be days) in FY ended March 31,2021,and and cash logistics companies. Education Policy 2020 focuses on ness. Lower taxation can help the edtech education sector, so that the effects of included under the benefits availing where there has been a net increase in Request 4: GST Relief: Allow man- extracurricular and vocational learning sector to expand horizontallyand revolu- Covid-19 can be normalised.Underprivi- schemeforMSMEs,asitwillprovideabet- employeesascomparedtoSeptember30, power supply and private security sector with no separation from academic tionise the education system. legedstudentscanbegivenmorelearning ter ecosystem for start-ups to scale and 2020 (instead of March 31,2020). to deposit GST only after collection is streams across the country.According to Prioritise education budget: Even toolsandopportunitiestoadapttodigital promote qualityeducation. Request 2: Inclusion of employers received from the end-user. NASSCOM, India’s edtech space will be a though institutions have adopted online learning methods. Robust platforms above 1,000 employees in the Atmanirb- $3.5 billion opportunityby2022. learning methods, the normalcy in the should be developed and curated forsuch The authoris CEO & co-founder,Tinker harBharatRojgarYojana:Wehumblysug- The authoris group MD,Security and Taxcuts:Thecurrenttaxationof18% education sector is still far away. Despite students. Moreover, skills like problem- Coders.Views are personal gestconsideringamendmenttotheABRY Intelligence Services Are you job- Asafe return ready for the to the school new normal? Science & tech School interruption means a massive learning loss Dynamism, critical thinking and problem solving are key skills for all professionals Save the internet Trust and safety starts with safeguarding vulnerable groups on the Internet

tent,which is hateful, extremist,vio- lent and dangerous. This includes children performing ANIRUDH KHAITAN extremely dangerous stunts. While platforms make enough effort to use THE COVID-19 pandemic brought the algorithms,tracing and tracking down worldtoahalt,andinIndiaithasaffected content is a crucial challenge. the education of nearly 290 million chil- VIVEK BINDRA Kanishk Gaur While the minimum age for access- dren.Already, there were 6 million chil- ing any social media and messaging drenoutofschool.Thisnumberthreatens THE COVID-19 economic crisis has com- platforms remain 13 years,millions of togoupduetotheeconomicinsecurityin pounded the problem of unemployment WHILE THE WORLD rattles with underage children access these plat- their families due to Covid-19, causing in India,which was already undergoing a accepting or not accepting changes in forms in India. manychildren to leave studies. phase of‘jobless growth’.According to the a major messaging platform’s privacy With apps offering live video monitoring and regulating guidelines through use of technology. WePRO- The ASER has stated that there is a latest CMIE, India’s unemployment rate policy, a key question that remains recording feature, any kind of content ensuring trust,safety and privacy. TECTGlobalAlliance is one such initia- sharp jump in out-of-school children in jumped to 9.9% in the week ending unaddressed is the trust and safety of can be made live on social media plat- Another key aspect is that while the tive launched by the UK government. the 6-10 age-group, gone up from 1.8% December13,whichisa23-weekhigh.Itis the vulnerable population? forms. world views online child safety and WePROTECT Global Alliance is an (in2018)to5.3%(in2020),andamongall estimated that around 5.5 lakh jobs were In India, law enforcement agencies India has the largest youth popula- women’s cyber safety as two separate international movement dedicated to children up to 16years from 4% to 5.5%. lost in Octoberalone. have been battling the bigger issue of tion in the world and almost all are issues,India still treats and classifies it national and global action to end the Oneofthereasonsmaybethattheadmis- The nature of jobs is also changing. cooperation from tech using these platforms.Thus, the plat- as a single subject.The central and state sexual exploitation of children online. sionsprocessmaystillnotbecompletedue Greaterdigitisation ofworkspaces,a shift companies/platforms, to share data forms,which are popularamongyouth, government divide on tackling this Ninty-eight countries across theworld toCovid-19.Butprimarilyitcouldbethat inbuyingbehavioursandgrowthofdigital given the rapid increase in crime need to offer safety and security fea- issue is another key problem as crime are signatory to it. parents have decided to keep their kids at serviceshasengenderedtheneedformul- against women and children. tures,and educate the youth on do’s against children and women remains Indian Government must ask home. However, closing of schools has tiple skills.Forthosewho lost theirjobs or The affordable smartphone revolu- and don’ts’of social media. within the domain of the state police schools to train children, adolescents otherdownsides aswell. who have just entered the job market, a tion has helped the population in hin- India also needs a central and as bodies, whereas perpetrators reside in about online best practises.It should Schoolsarenotonlyplacesoflearning, post-Covid-19 environment is a difficult terlands get access to thousands of app well distributed authority to monitor multiple states. also make platforms responsible for thesealsoprovidesocialprotection,nutri- space.Theymust studythe market condi- broadcast and share content.With no content on social media. The much- Countries such as United States, teaching kids basic hygiene. tion,healthandemotionalsupporttostu- tions, analyse the demand, and upskill formal education,training on usingthe debated data protection law,if imple- United Kingdom,Australia and Canada dents. Decisions as to whether students themselves forthe current job market. internet and internet-enabled plat- mented,could offer a solution to this have made significant effort to track Author is founder,India Future shouldreturntoschoolinpersonmustbe Digital marketing: Targeted digital forms,users are uploading viral con- problem with central regulatory body crime against children perpetrated Foundation.Views are personal tailored to fit each community, district, marketing strategies backed by effective and even grade dataanalysisaretheneedofthehour.Dig- within a school. Schools are not ital marketing knowledge includes skills ● EAVESDROPPER payments and chatswith business users, While health only places of of digital business analysis,content mar- it can collect information to build more risks are real, learning, these also keting,SEO,among others. accurateuserprofiles. these must be provide nutrition, Data analysis: In a digital economy, The problem is not so much What- balanced with social protection, dataanalysisisausefulstrategyfororgan- A signal sApp’s conditions but data privacy laws the scientific and health and isationstobetterunderstandtheirmarket, acrosstheworld.Incountrieswherethere consensus that predict and plan strategies accordingly. isadataprivacylaw,WhatsAppcandolit- children must emotional support Creative skills: In a crowded market tle to collect userinformation.Butwhere be around other to students space, an ability to creatively portray or for others privacy laws are in a limbo,the company people. depictyourideasandthoughtscansetyou getsfreehand.However,usershavestarted The follow- apart. Creative communication skills, Users want more features, valuing privacy. What the WhatsApp ing are our recommendations for India’s power point making skills and writing but do not wish to forego episode has made apparent is that even school systems: skills can helpyou findyourown space. though users do not respect privacy as ◗ Open schools for voluntary atten- New language: Learning a newlan- privacy either. Is the muchasotherfeatures,thereisalinethat dance to startwith,whichwill allowthose guage doesn’t just add yet other ability to market ready for paid companiescannotaffordtocross. thatarelesscomfortabletooptout,butat yourskills,italsosharpensyourmind.But Butwhatisthewayforward?Datapri- the same time allow those that have the which language should you learn is an messengers? vacylawsareamust,butusersalsoneedto most need to opt-in; important determinant.Itwill depend on realise that there can be no free lunch. ◗ Prioritise reopening of primary your core area of work or field. For exam- ISHAAN GERA Thereisapricetosecurityandsafety,and grades: These are the most critical devel- ple,ifyourareaofworkislikelytotakeyou The Signal of Distress, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) thatcaneithercomeviatradingofdataor opmental years, and children who fall to a European country,you must consider NOT MANY WOULD remember, but following a subscription model.Free ser- behind earlyare at increased risk of never learningaEuropeanlanguage.Orifyouare WhatsApp’sinitialplan,atthetimeofthe now has 2bn users—and emerging busi- takes with data handling led people to viceslikeSignalandTelegramcanonlyrun catching up ordropping out of school; a north Indian looking to start a career launch,was to provide the service forfree ness use cases has allowed Facebook to assumetheworst.ItdidnothelpthatElon forsolong;ultimately,theywouldwantto ◗Focusonbuildingfoundationalskills down south,you must consider getting a for one year and then charge $1 for its monetiseservices.Itchargesbusinessesto MuskendorsedchatplatformslikeSignal, monetise.Moreusersrequiremorepeople ofchildreninsteadofcompletingorstart- hang of a southern Indian language. annual subscription. As the company send messages over WhatsApp and whichespousebetterprivacystandards. tohandlesecurity,moreserversandmore ing at grade level curriculum. Graphicdesigning:Intheageofinfo- startedgainingmoreusers,thefreeperiod recentlygotthenodfromRBItoincorpo- Signal andTelegram havewitnessed a databases.d ◗ Mitigate risks of reopening: Several graphics andvisual appeals,content is no kept on getting extended until Facebook ratepayments.Earlierthisyear,itchanged surgeindownloadssince.Untillastweek, WhatsApp and other messengers resources and guidelines are available on more limited to words. It encompasses acquired thechatplatformin 2014.With itstermsandconditions,allowingittodo Signal had accumulated 7.5 million new can ensure that not all users have to makingareturntoschoolsafer.Theguide- visuals,informativefigures,charts,statis- 600 million users,WhatsApp at the time more in terms of data collection and user users,whileTelegramhadgotten9million. abide bythe newterms and conditions. lines generally stress on social distancing tics, etc. Presenting these elements in an hadthepotentialtogrowbiggerthanFace- tracking from its business accounts and ThepressureonSignal’sserversbecameso Thosewhowant to stick to the old ones by staggering school timings or shifts, aestheticallyappealingandcreativewayis book.However,the real challenge was to overitspaymenttransactions. much that the service crashed on the need to be given a choice to either wearingofmasks,ensuringventilationor whatgraphicdesignersarerequiredtodo. harness data. As chats were encrypted, A week after WhatsApp announced weekend. switch to a paid model oruse the one increasing the time spent outdoors, fre- Businessskillstraining:One-dimen- Facebook could do little but to connect that it would be changing its terms and While WhatsApp service has nothing with existing features. quentsanitisation,andstandardprotocols sional skill sets do not suffice anymore. personallyidentifiableinformation.Given conditions,creatingahugefuroreinIndia to do with data leaking,the areas of con- Themarketmightnothavebeenready around health checks and quarantine. Business skills training courses help pro- thatpeskyadswouldhavedeterredpeople and across the world, on Saturday, the cern are notWhatsApp can do today,but afewyearsagowhenWhatsApplaunched Given the massive negative impact of fessionals learn financial management, fromusingtheservice,thecompany’sonly company said that it was postponing its what itwill do in the future.More impor- its $1 plan,but companieswould be sur- continuing school closure on children,we leadership,problem solving skills,project optionwastogrowitsbusinessusecases. policyrollouttoMay15.AlthoughWhat- tantly,the fear is reverse engineering of prised to find out how much people are mustactivelyprioritiseasafereturntothe management and time management. Overtheyears,thankstosmartphones sApp was not giving up its encryption personallyidentifiableinformation.Even willing to shell out forprivacy.The grow- school that can reverse this impact. gainingpopularity,Facebookexpandedits standardsinfavourofaccesstomoredata, ifWhatsAppdoesnotleakanyofchathis- ingdemandforVPNsisacaseinpoint. The authoris founder& CEO, domain.Expansion of users—WhatsApp rumour mills and Facebook’s past mis- tory,in the future,when it is monitoring [email protected] The authoris treasurer,FICCIARISE, Bada Business.Views are personal and vice-chairman,Khaitan Public School

Pune Pune MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM 14 BACK PAGE FINANCIAL EXPRESS ● JOB AT HAND Australian Open to go ahead Merkel’s successor needs to strike right with 72 players in quarantine DAVID STRINGER Authoritiesdisclosedthefourth tone with Biden & European Union January 17 positive test, a member of a broadcastcrew,onSunday. THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN ten- “We are in this situation,we ARNE DELFS Holger Schmieding described Tellingly,healsosignalledopen- opted for Laschet, albeit by a nistournamentwillgoaheadas have to deal with it, the Aus- January 17 Laschetas“noforeignpolicyex- ness to a transatlantic trade narrowmarginof53%to47%. schedulednextmonth,evenaf- tralian Open is going ahead,” pert so he will therefore con- agreementonceBidenwillhave “I look forward to ourcoop- ter the number of players sent Tournament Director CraigTi- THE ELECTION OF Armin tinueMerkel’sforeignpolicy.”Is takenoffice. eration,”Merkelannouncedina into a 14-day hotel quarantine gent and had tested negative leysaid.Playerswillbeprovided Laschet as the new leader of thattherightassumption? There’s no guarantee that statement on the party’s Twit- onarrivalrisesto72. beforetheflight,”theAustralian withfitnessequipmentfortheir German Chancellor Angela ThechallengeforLaschetwill Laschetwillbenominatedtobe teraccount.Laschetmighteven Apassengerhastestedposi- Open organizers said in the hotel rooms.“It’s a tough situa- Merkel’s Christian Democratic betooffercontinuitywhilecarv- chancellorwhen the CDU and prove to be a strongeradvocate tiveonathirdflight,arrivingin statement.“Therewere 58 pas- tionandwehavegottodowhat- Union is good news for the Eu- ing his own path as someone its Bavarian sister party choose of EU integration than Merkel Melbourne from Doha, the sengers on the flight,including everwe can to make it as fairas ropean Union and those who Armin Laschet withaneyeonrunningEurope’s their candidate for the federal was.As former member of the eventorganiserssaidinastate- 25 players. All are already in possible for those players that welcome engagement with dominant economycome Sep- election. But his position as EUparliament,he’sstillstrongly mentonSunday.Thismeansan quarantinehotels.” areinlockdown,”hesaid. ChinaandRussia. shares Merkel’s openness to- tember elections.He’ll want to party leader will nevertheless attachedtothevisionofamore additional group of people,in- Players on two separate Isolated players or officials What kind of rapport he wardChinesenetworkprovider avoid the fate of a predecessor give him a central role in that united Europe.“The GermanyI cludingafurther25players,will flights that arrived Fridayfrom aren’t permitted to leave hotel strikes with the new US leader Huawei Technologies and her who was never able to emerge decision and, most likely, in imagine is a European Ger- needtocompletea14-dayhotel LosAngeles andAbu Dhabiwill roomsbutsomepeopleinquar- remainstobeseen. support for the Nord Stream 2 fromMerkel’sshadowandpoint shaping the policies of the next many,”Laschet told delegates quarantine. It brings the total spend two weeks in isolation antine had caused issues by The59-year-oldstateleader gas pipeline to Russia.Both of to a track record of being a con- Germangovernment. aheadofthevote. number of players in a two- without opportunities to prac- openingdoorstoholdconversa- from the industrial heartlands thoseissuesposedproblemsfor servative able towin in a tradi- Hiselectionalsogivesaclear On domestic policy too, weekisolationperiodto72. tice,afterfourpositiveCovid-19 tions,Covid-19QuarantineVic- endorses the moderate eco- thepreviousUSadministration tionallyleft-dominatedstate. indication of the mood within Laschet represents business as “The passenger is not a caseswereconfirmed,including toriacommissionerEmmaCas- nomicandforeignpolicycourse andthestanceinWashingtonis Intermsofraisinghisinter- the CDU.Facedwith the oppor- usual.He’s backed Merkel’s de- member of the playing contin- tennis coach Sylvain Bruneau. sarsaid. —BLOOMBERG set by Merkel,has a good rela- unlikelytoshiftwiththetransi- national profile, Laschet was tunity to abandon Merkel’s cision to leverage the power of tionshipwith French President tion from DonaldTrump to Joe one of the first German politi- moderate line in favour of the thefederalbalancesheettohelp Emmanuel Macron and shares Bidenfollowingnextweek’sin- cianswho congratulated Biden hard-edged conservatism of Germanbusinessesweatherthe Merkel’s vision of a more inte- auguration. and praised hisvictoryas proof Friedrich Merz, a long-time pandemic as well as her goal of gratedEU. Analystsassumenochange. thatelectionscouldstillbewon critic of the chancellor, the returning to a balanced budget More controversially, he Berenberg Chief Economist without a populist campaign. party’s 994 voting delegates in2022. — BLOOMBERG

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KAMALA HARRIS’S TERM as uniting most members �� ����������� ���� vice-president will be defined againsttheviolence,alsohigh- ���������� ��� ����������� ������������� �������� ���� ������ ��� ���� ����� ��� ������ �� ����������� �� ����� �������� ��������� ����� ���� ���� ����������� ������� ���� ��� ������ �� ��� ������ ����� ���� ����������� �������� ����������� ������ �� ���� �� ���������� from the start by the Senate’s lighted the deep political di- ������� ���� ������ ������� ������� ���� ������ ������� � �� �������� � ������ ��� ��� � ������ ���� �� ������������ ������ ������ � partisansplit,astheformerlaw- vides Biden’s administration ������� ���� ���� ��� ���� �� ��� ��������� �� ������ ����� ������ ����� ������� ���� ��� �� ������� ����� �� ���������� ������� ������ ���� �������� �������� ����� �������� ������� �������� ������� ����� �� ������ � �������� ���������������� ������� ����� ���� ���� ������� makeris pushed into a power- will face. ����� �������� ��� ������� ��� ����� ��� ����� �� �� ������ ������ ������� ������� ������ ������� ����� ���� ��� ��� ����� ����� ���� ��� ������� �� �� ���������� ���� ������� fulroleinachamberthatmust The Senate may soon be ����������� ������� ���������� ���� ���� ��� ��� ���� ���� ��� ������� �� ��� ���������� �������� ���� ���������� ����� ���� ���� ������ ����������� �������������� ������� ����� ���� ���������� ��� ����������� ������������� ����� ��� ������� ����� ������� �� �����

decide whether to convict the turning to putting Trump on ���� ����� �������� outgoing president of inciting trial after the House im- ���������� ���� ����� ��������� ������ ���� � ���������� ���� ��� ���� ������ ����� ��� �������� �� ��������� �������� �� ����� �������� ��������� ����� ���� ���� aninsurrection. peached him last week for a ���� �� ��� ���������� � ��������� ��� ���������� ������� ���� ��� ������������������� ����� �� ���� ���� �� ���������� ������������ ��������� ���� �������� ���������� ��������� ���� ��������������� ����� �� ���� ������� �� �� ������������ ������ ������ � Harris will formally resign historicsecondtime. ����� ����� �������� ��� ��� ���� ��� � � � ������ ����� ������� ����� �� ������������ ������ ������� ������� �� ���������� ���������� �������� ���� ����� �������� ���� ����� ���� �������� ����� �������������� ���� ������� ������� ������������������ ������� ��� ����� ��� from the Senate on Monday,a TheSupremeCourtchiefjus- ������� ������� ���� ��� ������ ����������� ������ ������ ��� ����� ���� ��� ����� ���� ������ ��� � ���� ����� ��� �������� ��� ������� ��� transition official said, two tice normally presides when a ������� ������� ���� �� ������ ������� ����� �������� ���������� ����� ���� ��� �� ����� �� ������� �������� ����� ����� ����� ���� ��� ������� �� �� ����� ������� � ����������� ������� ������� ������� ����� ����� ���� ����� ��� ������� �� ������ ���� ���������� ���� ������� ���������� �������� days before she’s sworn in as sitting president is tried, but ���������� � ���������� ���� ������ ����������� ��� ������ ����� ���� ��� �� �� ����� ����� ��� ���� ��� ���� ���������� ����� ���� ����� ��� �������

the nation’s first female vice- Trumpwill be out of powerby �������������� ������� ������ ����� ���� ������� ���� ����� ��� ���� ��� �������� �� ��� ���������� ���� ����� ������� �� �����

�������� ���� ������� ����� ���� ������ �������� ���������� ���������� �������� president. then.McConnell,inamemoto �������� �� ���� ������� �������� � �������������� ���� �� ��� ���� ������ ����� ��� �������� �� ��������� �������� ������� �� ��� ������� �� ����� �������� ��������� ����� ���� ���� After wins by Democrats GOPsenators,saiditwasunclear ��� ���������� ��������� ��� ���������� ���� ���� ��� ����� ��� ��� ������� ���� ���� ��� � ����� ����������� ����� �� ���������� RaphaelWarnockandJonOss- whether Chief Justice John �������� �������� � ��� �������� ���������� ����� �� ������������� ������ ���� ����� �� ����� �������� ����� �� ���� ��� �� ������������ ������ ������ � �������������� �� �� ����� ���� ������� ���� ������ �� ���� ���� ���� ����� ���� ��������� ������������� ����� �� ���� �� �� ���������� ����� ���������� ����� ������� � ���������� ������� �������� ������ ���� ���� �������������������� �� ������� ����� off in Georgia’s runoff elec- Roberts would preside, and �� �������������� ������� ������� ����� ���� ������ � ������� �������� ����� ���� �� �������� ��� ����� ��������� �������� �� ��� ���������������� ���� tions,theupperchamberisdi- Roberts has declined to com- ������ ����� ���� ������ ������� � ����������� ������� ������� �������������������� ��� ���� ����� ��� ���� �� ��� ���� ���� �������� ���� ������� ������ ������� ������� ���������� ����������� ������� ������ ���� ���� ����������� �������� �� ���� ��� ������ ������ ����� ����� ���� ��� ������� �� �� ���������� vided 50-50 between ment.Ifhedoesn’t,Harrislikely ���� ������ ����������� �������������� ����� ���� ��� �������� ����� �� ������� � ����������� � ����� ������������� ����� ���� ������� ���������� �������� ���� Republicans and the Democ- would be the presiding officer, ������� ����� ��� ���� ���� �������� ���� ��� ������� �� ������ ���� ���� ������� ��������� ���� �������� ��� ���� ���������� ����� ���� ����� ��� ������� ����� ������� ������� ������ ����� ���� ���� ������� ����� ����������� ��������� �� ��� ���������� � ��� ������� �� �����

ratic caucus,meaning Harris whichwould give Democrats a ��������������������������� ��� �������������������������� can use her tie-breaking vote one-voteedgetosettledisputes ����������� ��� �������� ��� ����������������������� ��� ��������� ������ ���� �� ���� ������� �� ��� ����� ��������� �������� ������ ���� ������� �������� �� ��������� ����������� �� ���� as president of the Senate to onissuessuchasevidence. ������ �� ���� �� ���� ������ ������� ����� ��� ����������� ����� �� ����������� �� ���� ������ ����� ��� ��� �� ������� ��� ��������������� ����������� ���� ��������� �� ������� �� ���������� �� ����������� ��� �� ������� �� �� ��� ��� �� ������ �� ����� ��� ��� �� ������� �� ������ ��� ������� ����� ������ ������ ���������� �� ��� ��������� ���������� ������ ���� ���� �� ���

push through nominees and Biden has suggested that ������� ������ �� ��� ���� ���� ��� ��� ���������� ���� ������������ ��� �������������� ���������� �� ��� �� ����� ����� �� ��������� ������� ��� �������� passbillsonwhichsenatorsare Harriscouldbeadealmakerin- ������������� ���������� ��� ������� ��� ������� ������� splitalongpartylines. stead of a tie-breaker, poten- ������ ������� ���������� ������� And it’s a cudgel she will tially taking on some of the likelyhavetouse,eventhough good will he earned with the Joe Biden’s team has said it fewsenators remaining from hopes to secure Republican his36yearsintheSenate. IIFL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD. support for legislation,espe- “I’ve never once misled Regd. Of�ice: IIFL Centre, 6th Floor, Kamala City, cially if Democrats don’t do any of my Republican col- Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013 awaywith the 60-vote rule on leagues.Not one single time. CIN: U74900MH2010PLC201113 | www.ii�lmf.com mostlegislation. Andtheyknowtheycantrust Notice- cum- addendum to the Scheme Information Document(s) (SID), Key No sooner than Biden and Kamala as well.And we can Information Memorandum(s) (KIM) and Statement of Additional Information (SAI) Harris are sworn in,they’ll be figure out where we can co- of IIFL Mutual Fund No. (3/2021) workingtopasstheir$1.9tril- operate.Where we can’t,we lion Covid-relief plan, which have our arguments,”Biden Change of Fund Manager haselementsthatwouldlikely said on a Decembercallwith appeal to enough moderate supporters. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT with effect from January 19, 2021, Mr. Rahul Nambiar, has been designated as Fund Manager for IIFL Dynamic Bond Fund (An open ended dynamic Republicanstogainsomefavor But Harris’s ability to win debt scheme investing across duration) and IIFL Liquid Fund (An open ended liquid scheme). in the Senate but other parts overSenateRepublicansmay thatmayspurpartisanwarfare. be limited.Hercontact list of Brief pro�ile of Mr.Nambiar is given below: Name of Fund Manager, Under current rules, De- friendly Republicans is Brief Experience mocrats can pass some items smaller than Biden’s. She’s Age, Quali�ication with just 51 votes through a notknownforcloserelation- Mr.Rahul K. Nambiar Mr. Nambiar has over 8 years of experience in the�ixed income process known as budget rec- ships with McConnell or his Age: 35 years; market. Prior to joining IIFL Asset Management Limited, he onciliation.Therestwillrequire leadership team.Nor has she Quali�ication: Master's in was a part of the Wealth Management industry as Product thespiritofcooperationBiden gained a reputation as a par- Business Administration Manager – Bonds. He has worked in this capacity with YesBank hadpromisedhecanresurrect. ticipant in the various Ltd and ICICI Securities Ltd. He has also worked in the Wholesale Debt Market(WDB) broking industry for 4 years. Yet there’s no reason to be- “gangs” of party moderates lieveRepublicanswillbeinthe and compromisers. Mr. Ankur Parekh ceases to be Fund Manager for IIFL Dynamic Bond Fund and IIFL Liquid moodtoplayalong. In her four years in the Fund from the above-mentioned date. Their narrow defeats in Senate, Harris’s work put This addendum shall form an integral part of the SID & KIM of IIFL Dynamic Bond Fund and Georgia,settingupthe50-50 her consistently at odds IIFL Liquid Fund and SAI, all other features, terms and conditions as mentioned therein split,meanRepublicanLeader with McConnell’s efforts remained unchanged. Mitch McConnellwill lose his with President Donald For IIFL Asset Management Ltd. Pace : Mumbai powertodictatetheagendain Trump to reshape the fed- Sd/- Date : January 15, 2021 Washington or block nomi- eral judiciary and pass the Authorised Signatory nees. But as minority leader, massive 2017 tax-cut bill he’ll still hold sway over his with only GOPvotes. “Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully”

Coinbase, MEVP invest in crypto- asset start-up Rain

BLOOMBERG January 17

RAIN FINANCIAL, WHICH operates a crypto-asset plat- form used mainlyin the West Asia and North Africa, raised $6 million,securing backing from Coin- base, the biggest cryptocurrency ex- changeintheUS.The Series A funding round was led by venture-capitalfirm Middle EastVenture Partners,RainFinan- cial said in a state- ment.RainFinancial declined to disclose itsvaluation.

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