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OPINION, P10 ECONOMY, P6 INTERNATIONAL, P8
A GULATI & S SAINI EDITORIAL 'LONG STANDING PROBLEM' COVID SURGE
MSPwon’t help in India likely to weather Fed IndiGo working with peers Biden to issue ‘stark
taper well; RBI will guard
supporting Indian against inflation, rupee may to address high indirect warning’ on vaccination
farmers in the long run not depreciate too much taxes issue, says Dutta tomorrow as cases rise
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LACK OF FUNDS RECOVERY BUMPS E & V BANDS

MG-NREGS work Growth could stay weak as Tussle over high
speed spectrum,
offers may hit the
lowest ever in Dec demand remains subdued DoT to decide soon
FE BUREAU GOOD COMEBACK… Telcos seek auctions E & V bands
SURYA SARATHI RAY MG-NREGS New Delhi, December 19
❚ India Inc bounced back nicely ❚ Capital raising strong ❚ Loan growth picks up
New Delhi, December 19 Person days generated (crore) (Net sales; % chg, y-o-y) IPOs amount raised (` cr) Sensex (Bank credit plus corporate but tech players ■ Used as backhaul to connect
INDIA’S ECONOMIC RECOV- mobilewhere fibre is not available
DECEMBER DATAFOR person
70 June ‘20
ERY so far while reasonably
80
64.48
2019 No. of IPOs 64,000 57,901.14 bonds; ` lakh crore) want de-licensing ■ Have low propagation
60 64.07 60 12,362 16 60,000 47,868.98 116.4
days (work) under the strong has been uneven. The 114.1 characteristic
Mahatma Gandhi National 50 organised corporate sector has 40 2020 56,000 KIRAN RATHEE ■ Used for broadband services, not
28.47
Rural Employment Scheme bouncedbackasreflectedinthe 17.13 26,613 15 New Delhi, December 19 for direct mobile
40 24.65 20 52,000 102.2
(MG-NREGS) could turn out to strong tax collections even as 0.01 2021 (till Nov) 48,000
be one of the lowest ever.
30
the informal sectorseems to be
0
Q3FY21 Q4FY21 Q1FY22 Q2FY22 109,188 52 IN AN EFFORT to usher in big- Why no auction
In the first 17 days of 20 stuck in a rut. Sustainable and Sample of 2,495 companies (excluding banks 44,000 2019 2020 2021* gerreforms,the department of
Jan 1 2021 Dec 16 ■ Lowvalue due to low
& financials ) Source: Capitaline Source: Prime Database Source: RBI, Sebi * Till November
December, just 4 crore person 10 inclusive growth seems some telecommunications(DoT)will propagation characteristic
dayswere generated underthe 4.01 time away given rising infla- ❚ Big exports recovery ❚ Tax collections buoyant ❚ Smart revival in real estate soon finalise the allocation
0 ■ Bands provided forvery short link
popular scheme that has April 2019 Dec 2021*
tion, higher interest rates and (April to November, $ billon) % chg, (April to October, ` crore) (Absorption; m.sf) methodology for a spectrum
■ Managing assignment is a
helped alleviate rural distress *Till Dec 17 weak purchasing power of FY20 211.7 y-o-y 50 band which has the potential
FY21 8,75,591 herculean task
during the pandemic, com- lower-income households % chg,
40 to provide high-speed broad-
30
pared with over 22 crore each could hurt demand in the 17.7 y-o-y band services, especially in
in the previous two months monthsahead.Indeed,eventhe
FY21 174.2 20
remote areas and also better
Best way forward
10
and an all-time peak of 64 conservative 7-7.5% consen- FY21 13,64,101 55.8 0 in-building coverage. ■ De-licence them
FY22 263.6 51.3
crore in June last year. susGDPgrowthprojectionsfor October 2019 October 2021 The issue is a contentious ■ Light touch regulation by
Source: Ministry of commerce Source: CGA Source: Jefferies
Post the peak in June, the 2022-23 are looking a stretch. one. Should spectrum in the charging token amount
person days have been declin- Recent job data is worrying. BUT... concerned band be delicensed ■ Trai also against auctioning
ing almost steadily as the pan- Joblessness hit 8.53% in the ❚ Recovery is uneven ❚ Consumption demand weak ❚ Unemployment remains high or should it be allocated
demic’s second wave abated. to urban areas overthe last few week to December 12, for the (Retail auto sales; % chg, y-o-y) (PFCE at constant prices; % chg, y-o-y) (%) through auctions as is the case
Though the nascent eco- months—,therateofdeclinein firsttimein17weeksowingtoa 75 Passenger vehicles 20 8.6 25 7.22 for access services spectrum? like Google, Microsoft, Apple,
-0.8
nomic revival has apparently work under the scheme has spike in urban unemployment 50
25 10 20
While telecom operators Facebook, etc, are pitted
led to a gradual fall in demand been sharper. to 10.09% and also elevated 0 like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio against them.
-25 -87 0 15
for work — there has been ruralunemploymentat7.42%, -50 2-wheelers -10 10
7 and Vodafone Idea are seeking
reverse migration of workers Continued on Page 6 datafromtheCMIEshowed.An -75
-88.8 -19.4 auctions, technology players Continued on Page 6
-100 -20 5
addedobstaclecouldbethenew May 2020 Nov 2021 -30
-26.2
0
Omicron wave and the inade- Note: April & May 21 compared with Q1FY21 Q2FY22 Jan 2020 Nov 2021
Other employees to get NPS tax sop at quate pace ofvaccinations. April & May 2019 Source FADA Source: MoSPI Source: CMIE
Apple asks CCI to dismiss App Store case
❚ Inflation is running high ❚ No capex uptrend in sigh ❚ Construction slow off the block
par with central government's staff Not surprisingly,capex isn’t
coming back in a big way. (% chg, y-o-y) 14.23 (New project announcements; ` lakh crore) (Construction GVA at constant prices; APPLE HAS ASKED antitrust CCIstartedreviewingcharges
WPI
15 8 % chg, y-o-y
SIMILARTOTHEcentralgov- the NPS subject to a cap of Capacity is no doubt being 7 7.5 75
7.5 watchdog CCI to throw out a that Apple hurts competition
ernment staff, employees 24% of basic salary and DA, addedbysomesteelmakersand 12 7.61 6 50 case alleging abuse of market by forcing app developers to
withstategovernments,PSUs reports Prasanta Sahu in equipment is being ordered in CPI 4.9 54 1.1 25
powerintheappsmarket, say- use its proprietary system
9 0
3
and private corporate sector New Delhi. An announce- other sectors too but on the 1.3 2 -25 ing it is too small a player in which can charge commis-
6 1 -50 -49.5
may also get full deduction ment is expected in the com- whole there’s no real burst. 3
0 0 -75
the country,reports Reuters. sions of up to 30% on in-app
forthecontributionsmadeto ing Budget. ■ Page 6 October 2020 November 2021 Dec 2019 Sept 2021 Q1FY21 Q2FY22 The filing was made after the purchases. ■ Page 16
Source: MoSPI, Office of the Economic Adviser Source: CMIE Source: MoSPI
Continued on Page 6
QuickPicks
Power CPSEs register 45% y-o-y Labour codes’ rollout likely by FY23
growth in capex investment as many states ready draft rules
CENTRAL PUBLIC sector enterprises (CPSEs) have THE FOUR labour codes on wages, social security,
registered a 45% growth in investment on capital industrial relations and occupation safety, health
expenditure over the previous year, the power and working conditions are likely to be
ministry said, reports PTI. CPSEs incurred a capex implemented by FY23 as at least 13 states have
of `22,127 crore till November 2020. For FY22, the capex pre-published draft rules on these laws, a senior official said,
target of the CPSEs, under the power ministry, is `50,690.52 reports PTI. The Centre has already finalised the rules under
crore. So far, the CPSEs have invested a capex of `32,137 these codes and now states are required to frame regulations
crore, which is 63.4% of the annual capex target. on their part as labour is a concurrent subject.
FE SPECIALS
■ BRANDWAGON, P14
Ikea’s big
‘small’ plans
On the brand’s retail
roadmap are city stores
in Delhi, Mumbai and
Bengaluru, followed by
tier I and II towns
■ eFE, P12
BPCL’s Project
Anubhav
The PSU oil and gas
marketing giant uses
cloud and SaaS to set
new benchmarks in
customer centricity
■PERSONAL FINANCE, P13

Home
insurance tips
Go for comprehensive
insurance that covers all
kinds of risks to structure,
household items and the
people living in it
■ INFRASTRUCTURE, P15
On course
despite Covid-
19 waves
While some infra sectors
have displayed resilience,
there is need to address
issues that have impacted
private investment
CHENNAI/KOCHI
6 FINANCIAL EXPRESS
Economy
WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM
REFORMS PUSH
T V Narendran, president, CII

❝Government's strong emphasis on public works, timely
❝
interventions to boost liquidity and several reforms carried
out in the recent months including easing regulations, PLI
scheme, RoDTEP and several other bold reforms have
buoyed the optimism on higher economic growth
India's ● SAME BENEFITS New cooperative

Omicron
count rises Other employees to get NPS tax policy soon: Shah
sops at par with Centre’s staff
FE BUREAU for cooperative banks. Cur-
to 145 Pune, December 19 rently there are at least
95,000 PACs in the country
INDIA'S OMICRON COVID UNION HOME MINISTER out of which 65,000 are
count rose to 145 on Sunday Amit Shah,who is also minis- active, he said. If all the PACs
after a 45-year-old NRI and employees of public sector sense to extend it to other eli- 8.5% in employees provi- ter of cooperation,on Sunday, work in a transparent man-
a teenage boy, who recently Announcement banks but no tax deduction is gible subscribers, analysts dent fund in FY21). announced that the Centre ner, they will directly benefit
arrived in Gujarat from the expected in available to the additional 4% reckon. With saturation level will soon unveil a new com- farmers and the economy
United Kingdom, tested contribution. “Tax incentive should be reaching in the government prehensive cooperative policy shall get a boost, he said.
positive for the variant. the coming “There should be parity in equalforeverybodywhoispar- sector,private sectorwill drive to widen the reach of cooper- Shah said there are several
According to central and Union Budget taxtreatmentofNPScontribu- ticipating in a similar scheme. NPS growth in the coming atives at the grassroot level government schemes in 23
state officials, omicron cases tion under 80C and the It will provide incentives for years. Corporate employees and strengthen the coopera- different departments for
have been detected in 11 enhanced limit of 24% should higher savings and growth of enrollment grew 65% to tive sector. various sectors like fisheries,
states and union territories - PRASANTA SAHU be extended to all salaried sub- savings in the economy as well 13.21 lakh as on December 4, He also said that the gov- micro irrigation,which will all
- Maharashtra (48), Delhi New Delhi, December 19 scribers including corporate ashelp increase the retirement 2021 compared with 8.03 ernment has decided to be brought under the com-
(22), Rajasthan (17) and employees,” a Pension Fund corpus of people,” said said lakh as on March 31, 2019. amend the Multi State Coop- mon umbrella of the Coopera-
Karnataka (14), Telangana SIMILAR TO THE Central gov- Regulatory and Development Gautam Bhardwaj,co-founder During the same period, the erative Societies Act 2002 to tion Department. At present,
(20), Gujarat (9), Kerala (11), ernment staff, employees Authorityofficial said.Forcon- of pinBox, a global pension- Central government- establish an effective regula- there is a lot of talk about
Andhra Pradesh (1), with state governments,PSUs tribution to the Employees Tech committed to digital employee subscribers grew tory mechanism for multi- organic farming but there is
Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu and the private corporate sec- Provident Fund Organisation micro-pension inclusion in 13% to 22.46 lakh while state cooperative societies no proper system for valida-
(1) and West Bengal (1). tormayalso get full deduction (EPFO),subscribersareallowed Asia and Africa. state-government subscribers and remove the loopholes in tion because of which farmers
On Saturday, for the contributions made to 24% tax deduction (12% of After stagnating for over a grew 26% to 54.5 lakh. the existing act. do not get the right prices for
Maharashtra had reported the National Pension system basic pay each by employee decade, the NPS is gaining Total number of NPS sub- Addressing the annual their produce, he said. The
eight more cases, subject to a ceiling of 24% of employer and employees) for and employer). traction in the private sector scribers as of December 4, convocation ceremony at the minister said that the govern-
Telangana's tally jumped basic salary and dearness other employees. This is NPS,whichwas mandatory with about 10 lakh new sub- 2021, was 4.78 crore, 68% of Vaikunth Mehta National ment is working to establish a
from eight to 20, while allowance.An announcement despite the fact as many as 15 for central government scribers (corporate employ- which are in the Atal Pension Institute of Cooperative Man- laboratory in the country that
Karnataka and Kerala is expected in the coming state governments and public employees for new recruits ees and individuals) expected Yojana (a government-backed, agement (VAMNICOM) in will audit land and certify
reported six and four cases Union Budget. sector banks have subse- since April 1, 2004, has since to join it in FY22, PFRDA voluntary scheme meant to Pune,he said that the govern- organic products so that
respectively. Since financial year 2019- quently enhanced employers' been adopted by most of the chairman Supratim Bandy- provide old-age income secu- ment shall soon computerise farmers get more prices.Amul
In Gujarat, the non- 20, the Central government share to NPS to 14%. state governments for their opadhyay had told FE rity in the form of minimum the Primary Agriculture Soci- and others are working on it.
resident Indian tested staff has been eligible for The states that raised the employees as well as for the recently. Higher tax-saving assured pension in the unor- eties (PAC) and link these with This will encourage organic
positive for the coronavirus deduction of 24% of salary NPS share to 14% include employees of autonomous potential (additional ganised sector). However, in the District Central Coopera- farming,he said.Cooperatives
infection in the RT-PCR test (employees' contribution of Maharashtra, Odisha, Jhark- bodies, state PSUs, corpora- `50,000 deduction available terms of asset under manage- tive Banks that in turn will be like IFFCO,Amul, Lijjat Papad
carried out at the 10% and employers' share of hand and Karnataka. In tions and boards. for NPS over and above the ment under NPS, the central linked with State Cooperative and KRIBHCO have achieved
Ahmedabad international 14%) for NPS contributions August, the Centre has also With the Centre keen to 80C limit) and attractive government, state govern- Banks and the National Bank a milestone in areas like milk
airport soon after he arrived under Section 80C of the approved the proposal to widen the coverage of retire- returns vis-à-vis other tradi- ment and corporate sector for Agriculture and Rural and fertilisers,he said,adding
from the UK on December Income Tax Act. But the limit increase employers contribu- ment schemes to a larger sec- tional products are seen subscribersaccountfor92%of Development (NABARD) to that cooperatives have played
15, a health department continues to be 20% (10% tion under the NPS to 14% tion of society,especiallyin the spurring demand for NPS the `6.91 lakh crore as on establish a seamless and a stellar role in the develop-
official said on Sunday. contribution of each by from the existing 10% for corporate sector, it makes (over 10% compared with December 4,2021. transparent financial system ment of the nation.
"The man's sample was
Zomato, Swiggy stare at GST

later found infected with the
Omicron variant," Anand
district health officer Dr M T IndiGo working with peers to address
high indirect taxes issue: Dutta
Chhari said.
complexities from January 1

He was scheduled to
reach the state's Anand city
from Ahmedabad. PRESS TRUST OF INDIA ond wave, which almost
"But, after he tested Mumbai, December 19 grounded air travel demand,
positive for the coronavirus, airline ticket prices in India are
he was taken to the PRASANTA SAHU invoicing of the above service the government could clarify THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST among the “lowest” in the
Ahmedabad civil hospital New Delhi, December 19 has been made the responsibil- that ECO is only responsible for airline,IndiGo,isworkingwith world.
from the airport. The patient ityof ECOs. paying the tax and restaurants other industry players and the “As income levels in the
is currently recovering at E-COMMERCE OPERATORS Since this gives ECOs only cancontinuetodotheinvoicing civil aviation ministry to country rise, we can expect
the Ahmedabad civil (ECOS) such as Zomato and two weeks to implement the thewaytheyaredoingcurrently, address the “long-standing some relief in the form of
hospital," Dr Chhari said. Swiggy, which will be liable to same from January 1,2022, an itwouldmakecomplianceofthe problem” of high indirect tax higher ticket prices, but in the
His co-passengers and pay the 5% goods and service extension of time should be above smoother. It would also rate,which currently stands at meantime, there is consider-
other contacts have tested tax on restaurant services sup- giventothemforimplementing fulfil the objective of the gov- 21%, according to its chief indirect taxes atvarious levels. able pressure on profitability,”
negative for the viral plied through them from Janu- suitablechangesintheirinvoic- ernmentwhichisthatECOsdis- Ronojoy Dutta. “We pay over 21% of our he said. During the pandemic,
infection, the official said. ary 1,are staring at an onerous ingsoftware,saidAnitaRastogi, charge the above tax liability,” In his Christmas and New revenues as indirect taxes to theairlineincurredlargelosses
A 15-year-old boy from task of changing their software Partner,PriceWaterhouse&Co. said Rastogi. Year greetings to the employ- the government.We think it is andhasbeenforcedtotakeona
Gandhinagar was also in less than two weeks as the Classificationofeachrestaurant The GST Council’s decision ees, the IndiGo CEO also unconscionable that a critical largeamountofdebttofundits
detected with the Omicron invoicingresponsibilityhasalso item and making the necessary to bring food delivery apps flagged that profitability is infrastructureindustrysuchas cash burn, Dutta said and
variant after returning from shifted from restaurants to changesinsoftwareisahumon- within the ambit of restaurant under considerable pressure aviation, with its large multi- emphasisedthat“repairingour
the UK, Gandhinagar them. gous task,she said. services and make them liable owing to lowairfares regime at plier effects in employment, balancesheetisanurgenttask”.
Municipal Commissioner In September 2021 it was Thereareothercomplexities collected at source (TCS) norm to pay the tax is aimed at shift- a time when the carrier is should be taxed at such a high Outlining the “game plan”
Dhaval Patel said. announcedthattaxliabilitywill in compliance as well. Restau- onCoke.Cokeattracts28%GST ing the responsibility from focusing on“repairing”its bal- rate.Weareworkingwithother for the future, Dutta said
Maharashtra on Saturday be on ECOs for restaurant ser- rants through these apps not and is paid by the restaurant. restaurants to apps to make ance sheet. players in the industryand the maintaining the cost leader-
reported eight new vices provided through them. onlyproviderestaurantservices These two items in the same compliance wider and easier His views also come at a civil aviation ministry to ship position is, of course, of
infections of the Omicron However, procedural aspects but also supply goods. For orderwillrequiretwoinvoices— even though the move will time when the civil aviation address this long-standing “critical importance” amid
variant of coronavirus which likeinvoicingandothercompli- example, people buy Pizza and one by the app on Pizza and on likely marginally increase the sectoris slowlyon the recovery problem,”Dutta said. heightened domestic compe-
took the total of such cases anceswereonlyclarifiedbyacir- Coke in their combo orders. Coke by the restaurant, which tax incidence on small restau- path after being battered by The IndiGo chief also tition alongwith international
in the state to 48, the health cular issued by the revenue Pizza is a restaurant service on couldhavebeenavoidedbyhik- rants otherwise exempt from the pandemic. The domestic pointed out that even as the expansion,as“weseeimmense
department said. department on December 17. which these apps will pay 5% ingTCS rate to 5%. GST(annual turnoverless than aviation industry has been domestic aviation market is scope for profitable growth in
— PTI According to this circular, GST and comply with 1% tax “Considering the above, if `20 lakh). pitching for lower direct and growing rapidly, post the sec- geographies all around us”.
From the Front Page LETTERS TO

Growth could son. With supply-side bottle- ation,CellularOperatorsAsso- deployment and usage.
THE EDITOR
Govt in hurry to
Lack of funds: MG-NREGS work
necks easing out of key sectors ciation of India (COAI). The argument against
stay weak as such as automobiles should go Opposed to their stand are auction is because there’s not
up;onlyinflationcouldbeabig technology players, who much the government is get out of banks
demand offers may hit the lowest ever in Dec dampener in the months through their association going to get by doing so
ahead as high raw material Broadband India Forum (BIF) unlike access spectrum. The Unlike earlier, bank strikes do
remains costs get passed on the con- have said that the spectrum value of a spectrum band not get the same kind of
subdued It is obvious the government,

mindfulofastressfulfiscalsit-
sumers. Exports continue to
have a good run and could help
should be delicensed and not
auctioned as it is not the same
depends upon various fac-
tors, like ecosystem but the
press. Due to increased used
of digital payments, the two
To be sure,the spends bythe e- uation,hasbecomemoreeco- push up capacity utilisation, as spectrum for access ser- most important factor is its day strike passed offwithout
commerce and start-up space, nomicalwith release of funds currently below 70%. vices.Questioning the COAI’s propagation characteristics. much notice. The
while not in plant and for the scheme. It had raised stand, BIF has pointed out The lower frequency spec- government is in a hurry to
machinery, are huge and this the Budget outlay for the E & V bands: that auctioning of spectrum trum is more valuable com- get out of banks. It must
ecosystem is creating job
opportunities.In contrast,the
scheme and released funds
liberally when the pandemic Tussle over in these bands would go
against international best
pared to the higher frequency
as the radio waves riding on
consider the fate ofvarious
schemes it has implemented
corporate sector isn’t adding
to workforce; an analysis by
was wreaking havoc in the
country,especiallyduring the high speed practices.
Sources in the DoT have in
the former travels further,
thereby requiring fewer base
in the future. PSB's carried
out the instructions of the
CARE shows that the head-
count fell 1.3% in FY21 on the
firstwave.
“Lack of funds has led to spectrum, DoT the past maintained that auc-
tion is ruled out but so is
stations, which means less
operational costs.
government without
objections. But it is hard to
back of a 2.2% increase in
FY21 and 4.1% in FY19.
heavy rationing of employ-
mentgenerationthisDecem-
to decide soon administrative assignment,
which means allocating spec-
The value of E and V band
spectrum is low because they
envisage private banks doing
the same.
Importantly, the data doesn’t ber.Such(sharpregulation)of The concerned spectrum is the trumonfirst-cum-first-served have very poor propagation — Anthony Henriques,
cover outsourced staff,which allocation demonstrates the diture was placed in Parlia- driven scheme for the E (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) basis.What’s possible is a light characteristics as they fall Maharashtra
is becoming a sizeable compo- anti-poor stance of the gov- mentrecently. enhancement of livelihood andV(-64 GHz) bands,used as touch licensing. between 71-76 GHz and 81-
nent of the workforce. India ernment,” said Rajendra Against the total expendi- security of the households in backhaul for connectivity Infact,theTelecomRegula- 86 GHz (E band) and between Omicron sets
Inc is leading the economic
recovery. The share of PAT to
Narayanan,professor at Azim
PremjiUniversity.
turerequirementestimatedat
`82,794 crore under the
rural areas by providing at
least one hundred days of
where fibre is not available.
Sources said communica-
tory Authority of India, which
submitted its recommenda-
57-64 GHz (V Band). These
bands are like fibre and can be
off alarm bells
GDP,for listed companies,has DebmalyaNandyofMGN- scheme so far in the current guaranteed wage employ- tions ministerAshwini Vaish- tions to the DoT way back in used for broadband services The WHO, sounding the
risen from the two-decade REGA Sangarsh Morcha said, fical,the Centre has released ment to every household naw is likely to take the final August 2014 has also favoured but not for direct mobile con- Omicron bugle following
low of 1.8% in FY20 to 3.7% “While 20 crore person days `74,762 crore, suggesting whose adult members volun- decision soon around its allo- a light licensing approach and nectivity. cases doubling in 1.5 to 3
of GDP in 1HFY22. Corporate were generated in December thatitisyettoreleasethesup- teer to do unskilled manual cation methodology — auc- not auctioning this spectrum. According to some ana- days in areas with community
sales have soared, helped by a 2019,in the same month last plementary funds and there- workineveryfinancialyear. tion or some light touch The Trai had recom- lysts, the telecom operators transmission, has set off alarm
favourable base and inflation. year, which was a pandemic fore,there has been a spurt in Againstthescheme’sman- licensing — following a mended that both E and V are opposed to the move to bells. European nations
Critically, interest coverage year,over28crorepersondays pending payments to the date to provide at least 100 detailed presentation by tele- band should be opened with delicense the E andV bands as scrambled to reimpose curbs
ratio has seen a vast improve- got generated. Considering workers. days of‘wage employment’in com secretary K Rajaraman. ‘light touch regulation’ and they fear that technology and accelerate booster shots
ment. Much of the improve- the trend over the past few “Everyyear80-85%funds a financial year to every rural The department may a legal allotment should be on a‘link companies may enter into the as the WHO warned that
ment has come from efficien- years, the performance in provided in the Budget get household, 40.76 days of opinion on whether it needs to link basis’.It had said that E broadband market and use hospitals could be
cies, price and productivity December this year looks exhausted within the first six employment have been pro- to move the Supreme Court band carrier should be the delicensed spectrum, overwhelmed with cases
increases and better cost abysmal and this could be months of the financial year vided in the current fiscal on for greater clarity on the charged at `10,000 per which would come free of rising so rapidly in some
management. attributed to non-release of and an inadequate supple- anaveragetoruralhouseholds methodology route, sources annum per carrier of 250 cost, to provide services to places. But it is unclear if the
However,the growthinfac- funds.” mentary allocation is then compared with 51.52 days in added. MHz each and there should be consumers.This may lead to a doubling of cases is because
toryoutput has been relatively Compared with an alloca- made in the ninth or tenth thelastfiscaland48.4daysin The telecom operators are initial promotional discount non-level playing field as of the variant’s ability to
slow. In October, it grew 3.2% tionof`1,11,500croreforthe month by when workers get 2019-20. of the view that the spectrum of 50% for three years from telecom operators have spent evade immunity, its inherent
y-o-y compared with Septem- scheme in the last fiscal year, completelycash-strappedand Atotalof260croreperson in the concerned band should the date of allocation of first billions of rupees in acquiring increased transmissibility or a
ber’s 3.3% y-o-y. Although the budgetary outlay (BE) in implementation of the pro- days of work has been gener- be auctioned as not doing so carrier in this band. In case of access spectrum to offer the combination of both.
therewas a sequential pick-up, thecurrentfiscalwas`73,000 gramme has slowed down to ated under the scheme so far wouldleadtolossofrevenueto charging of V band carriers, it same kind of services. Com- — N J Ravi Chander,
it was uneven. While some of crore.However,an additional anextentthatitwon'trecover inthecurrentfiscalcompared thegovernmentasthesebands had said that it should be Rs panies like Microsoft,Google, Bengaluru
this could be attributed to sup- `25,000 crore was allocated till the end of the financial with 389.16 crore in FY-21, have a very high commercial 1,000 per annum per carrier Facebook etc have in the past
ply-side bottlenecks, demand for the scheme when supple- year,”Nandysaid. 265.35 crore in FY20 and value proposition. Telcos have of 50MHz each. It has said shown their intent to provide ●Write to us at
has clearly been subdued mentary demands on expen- MG-NREGS is a demand- 267.96croreinFY19. conveyed the same to the gov- that prices would be reviewed broadband using delicensed feletters@expressindia.com
despite it being the festive sea- ernment through their associ- after five years based on spectrum.
CHENNAI/KOCHI
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FINANCIAL EXPRESS 7
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8 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL EXPRESS
● COVID SURGE
‘UK PM’s position not too Humanitarian
Biden set to issue ‘stark weak for more Covid curbs’

situation in
Afghanistan
warning’ on vaccination
deteriorating,
says OIC
REUTERS
London, December 19
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER SAJJAD HUSSAIN

JENNIFER A. DLOUHY ing to a White House official. Boris Johnson is not too politi- Islamabad, December 19
AND JENNIFER JACOBS Healthexpertshavewarned cally weak to bring in further
December 19 of a wave of new infections Covid-19 restrictions if neces- REPRESENTATIVES OF MUS-
coinciding with the arrival of sary,healthministerSajidJavid LIMnationsataspecialmeeting
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN is set the omicron variant, holiday said on Sunday. here on Sunday acknowledged
towarn the nation of the perils travel and colderweather. Johnson is facing the thedeterioratinghumanitarian
of remaining unvaccinated In the US, 800,939 people biggest crisis of his premier- situation in Afghanistan and
against the coronavirus in a have died of Covid-19,accord- ship after a litany of scandals called formeasures to tackle it.
planned speech on Tuesday as ing to the Centers for Disease and missteps. Earlierthisweek The17thExtraordinarySes-
the omicronvariant takes hold Control and Prevention. And more than 100 of his own law- sion of the Organisation of
in the US and the nation expe- the seven-day average of new makers voted against the gov- Islamic Cooperation (OIC),
riences a surge in cases. US caseswas 122,297 as of Fri- ernment’s latest measures to Council of Foreign Ministers
“We are prepared for the day,according to CDC data,up tackle the spread of Covid-19. People walk through Covent Garden in London. UK health (CFM),called at the proposal of
rising case levels, and 1.5% from the previous week. Asked on BBC Television if minister Sajid Javid said any further Covid-19 restrictions SaudiArabia is being hosted by
@POTUS will detail how we Biden’s speech is set to Johnson was too weak to bring will have to be backed up by the data REUTERS Pakistan with the objective to
will respond to this challenge,” build on a strategy to combat in any further restrictions, bring to the notice of the world
White House Press Secretary the coronavirus he unveiled Javid said: “No, I don’t think 19 data on an almost hourly and testing. the humanitarian situation in
Jen Psaki said on Twitter.“He earlier this month that that’s the case … if the govern- basis and will do whatever is Asked about reports of pos- Afghanistan.
will remind Americans that President Joe Biden seen in a meeting with members of the included new travel requirement felt that further action necessary to tackle the spread, sible further measures, Javid Official sources said about
they can protect themselves White House Covid-19 response team REUTERS ments, more accessible free had to be taken of course we Javid told SkyNews on Sunday. said,“Wewill dowhat is neces- 70 delegates of countries and
fromsevereillnessfromCovid- home Covid-19 tests and would present that to parlia- Javid said analysis of the sary but it has got to be backed international organisations,
19 by getting vaccinated and have forced the cancellation of steps the administration is encouraging booster shots. ment and it would be for par- data suggested around 60% of up by the data…we are watch- including the UN, are partici-
getting their booster shot Broadway shows and football taking to help communities in So far, the administration liament to decide.” all new Covid-19 cases in Eng- ing the data,discussing it with pating in the day-long confer-
when they are eligible.” games. Nations worldwide are need of assistance, while also has steered clearof more strict land are the fast-spreading our scientists and our best ence.Theyincludeabout20for-
Biden’s planned speech weighing new border controls issuingastarkwarningofwhat measures,including requiring Monitoring Covid Omicronvariant,butthecoun- advisers almost on an hourly eign ministers and 10 deputy
comes amid mounting Covid- and restrictions on indoor the winter will look like for vaccination for domestic air data closely: Javid try was in a better position basis and we will monitor that ministers.
19 hospitalisations and deaths gatherings. Americans that choose to travel and quarantine require- The British government is than last Christmas thanks to very carefully we will keep the PrimeMinisterImranKhan,
in the US, with outbreaks that Biden will announce new remain unvaccinated, accord- ments. — BLOOMBERG monitoring the latest Covid- things such as vaccinations situation under review.” in his keynote address, asked
the US to de-link its policy
towardstheTalibanfromthe40
UK Brexit minister Frost resigns in another blow to Boris Johnson

million people of Afghanistan,
while asking for action to help
theAfghan people.
“Iftheworlddoesn’tact,this
GUY FAULCONBRIDGE “You know my concerns crisis of his premiership after a Having a true “Brexit who think we can treat the pri- will be the biggest man-made
London, December 19 about the current direction of litanyof scandalsand missteps, believer”at the heart of British vate sector as just a convenient crisis which is unfolding in
travel,” Frost told Johnson in a which his opponents say show power gave reassurance to wayofkeepingthepublicsector front of us,”he said.
BRITISH BREXIT MINISTER letter released by Downing he is unfit to be prime minister. BrexitsupportersintheConser- running”.“Itisn’tjustasourceof HewarnedthatAfghanistan
David Frost resigned on Satur- Street.“I hope we will move as He has faced a barrage of criti- vativePartythatJohnsonwould taxes,”Frostsaid.“Wecan’tcarry wouldendupinchaosifimme-
day over disillusionment with fastaspossibletowhereweneed cism since a video emerged remain toughon the EU. onaswewerebefore,andifafter diate action was not taken.
the direction of Boris Johnson’s togetto:alightlyregulated,low showing his staff laughing and Frost, until his resignation, Brexit all we do is import the Chaos means the end of gov-
government, dealing a major tax,entrepreneurialeconomy,at joking about a Downing Street was leading an attempt byLon- European social model we will ernment, which would
blow to the embattled prime the cutting edge of modern sci- party during a 2020 Christmas don to renegotiate parts of the not succeed.” strengthen IS, enabling it to
ministerastheOmicronvariant ence and economicchange.” lockdownwhen such festivities divorce deal concerning North- TheoppositionLabourParty carry out acts of global terror-
sweeps the country. His resignation was first were banned. Downing Street ern Ireland. said the government was in ism,he said.
The resignation of Frost, a reportedbyTheMailonSunday, had denieda partytookplace. Beyond Brexit, though, the chaos and Johnson should pro- Khan also highlighted the
core architect of Johnson’s which said it was triggered by The loss of a parliamentary 56 year-old was unhappy. In a vide clarityonwhatwould hap- threat of Islamophobia.
tumultuous Brexit strategy, Johnson’s tougher Covid-19 seat in an election defeat in a speech last month, Frost penintalkswiththeEUoverthe MartinGriffiths,headofthe
raised questions about the restrictionsbutalsobyabroader A file photo shows David Frost walking outside Downing Conservativestrongholdearlier expressed his discontent with NorthernIrishProtocol,apartof Office for the Coordination of
future tone of the EU divorce discontentwithtaxrisesandthe Street in London earlier this year REUTERS thisweekshowedpublicdismay thecourseofpost-BrexitBritish the divorce deal. HumanitarianAffairsspeaking
and the immediate course of cost of environmental policies. overthe scandals. policy.“Wehavenotsuccessfully “BorisJohnsonneedstogeta on the behalf of UN Secretary
talksonNorthernIreland.Italso Frostsaidhehadagreedwith and not be tempted bythe kind ofwarningsfromsomeofJohn- Frost,aformerdiplomatwho rolled back the frontiers of the grip,tell us his plan for the next General,AntonioGuterres,said,
added to a sense of turmoil in Johnson earlier this month to of coercive measures we have son’s own Conservative Party was repeatedly hailed by John- European Union from Britain few weeks and bring certainty “TheAfghan economyis in free
Johnson’sConservativegovern- leaveinJanuary,butbecausehis seen elsewhere.” lawmakers that he must son as“the greatest Frost since with Brexit,only to import that for the people of Northern Ire- fall,needingurgentsteps.About
ment. move had been leaked it should Johnson said hewas sorryto improve his leadership orface a the Great Frost of 1709”,was a European model after all this land by unblocking the stale- 23 million people are facing
Frost said he was confident happen with immediate effect. receive Frost’s resignation. challenge. committed Brexit supporter time,” he said in a November22 mate over the Protocol,” said hunger,”he said. He also called
that Brexit was secure,but said “We also need to learn to live The departure of the British Johnson, who won a land- who negotiated Johnson’s speechattheMargaretThatcher Jenny Chapman, Labour’s for international engagement
he had concerns about the gov- with Covid,” Frost said.“I hope government’s most senior slide electionvictoryin Decem- revised EU divorce deal and a Conference onTrade. shadow minister of state at the with the de facto authorities in
ernment’s direction. we can get back on track soon Brexit negotiator comes on top ber 2019, is facing the biggest trade agreement. He disagreed with “those CabinetOffice. — REUTERS Kabul. — PTI
SocGen, BofA set to New anti-monopoly bureau head: China Russia weighs higher
adopt Monday-Friday to tighten antitrust legal enforcement tax on wheat exports
work week in UAE if price increases
REUTERS Alibaba Group Holding for
Beijing, December 19 abusing its market position. REUTERS
BEN BARTENSTEIN have staff in Saudi Arabia, the Alibaba was found to have YULIYA FEDORINOVA
December 19 Middle East’s largest economy. CHINA’S ANTI-MONOPOLY engaged in the practise of December 19
Theinitialmemosdidn’thintat BUREAU will step up legal “choosing one from two”, in
BANK OFAMERICA (BofA)and anyimminent relocations. enforcement against monop- which an e-commerce plat- RUSSIA IS CONSIDERING
Societe Generale (SocGen) will BofA and SocGen weren’t olistic behaviourand push for- form barsvendors from selling imposing a higher tax on
adopt a Monday-Friday work immediatelyavailableforcom- ward the amended anti- on rival sites. wheat exports, based on a for-
week in the United Arab Emi- ment. monopoly law to improve the Gan said this practice was mula that links the tax rise to
rates from the start of January, LikeotherArabGulfnations, regulatory framework, said not evident during China’s increases in the price of the
peoplefamiliarwiththematter includingSaudiArabia,theUAE Gan Lin, chief of the national annual“618shoppingfestival” commodity.
said,followingtheGulfnation’s currently has a Sunday-Thurs- anti-monopoly bureau. and Singles’ Day online shop- Under the formula, the tax
decision to switchweekends. dayworkingweek.Thechanges China last month elevated ping festival this year after the will rise if prices reach $375 a
A BofA memo said the bank willcomeintoeffectonJanuary theseniorityofthemarketreg- bureaukickedoffasector-wide tonandagainiftheyhit$400a
welcomed the move as it aligns 1 and applyto the public sector ulator’s antitrust unit, the rectification. ton, according to documents Under the formula, the
the country with major and schools. There will be a 4 National Anti-monopoly In October,it levied a $527 published on the govern- tax will rise if prices reach
economies, and employees 1/2-day week with Friday — a Bureau and appointed Gan as million fine on food delivery ment’s proposed regulations
requiring flexibility on Friday holydayin Islam — being a half chief,amovewhichwouldhelp giant Meituan for abusing its website. $375 a tonne and again if
can discuss schedules with day, the federal government antitrust investigators gain dominance. Russia could revise the for- they hit $400 a tonne
managers, according to a per- said earlierthis month. resources when examining China shed its relatively laissez-faire approach to market “The orderliness of market mulaforthetaxifthereisasig-
son who has seen the internal TheUAEhasn’tsaidwhether mergers and acquisitions. regulation of the internet sector this year, imposing a competition has shown great nificant increase in global
document. theprivatesectorwouldhaveto Gan said China still faces record $2.75 billion fine on Alibaba Group Holding REUTERS improvement,and the smaller prices, agriculture minister than the level at which the tax
The shift is unlikely to have adopt the new week, with the “insufficient punishment” for business operators have now Dmitry Patrushev said at a wouldberaised.Russianwheat
a major impact on SocGen, doorbeingleftopenforcompa- some monopolistic activities, differences in competition monopoly legislation and gained broader space,” Gan government meeting in export price from Black Sea
which doesn’t have trading nies to decide how to allocate while some antitrust regula- modes between the new and industry regulation.” said. For the next step, the November.Thelevyhasbeenin ports was at $335.50 per ton
desks in Dubai or Riyadh, resources.This could set firms tionsremainattheelementary the traditional economy,” Gan China shed its once rela- bureau will step up antimo- place since mid-year in an last week.
according to two people who upforapotentiallytrickyjuggle level. said in an interview published tivelylaissez-faire approach to nopoly reviews of concen- effort to slow sales abroad and Russia also plans a wheat
have seen a memo from the between regional and global “With the rapid develop- on the official website of State market regulation of the inter- tratedbusinesses,andwillcon- cool domestic food inflation. export quota of 8 million tons
bank. markets at a time when work- ment of the digital economy, Administration for Market net sector in dramatic fashion tinue to prevent mergers from Russia also plans to set a grain- for February 15 through June
While Dubai is the region’s ing practices worldwide have and new industries and busi- Regulation (SAMR) on Sunday. thisyear,blockingmergersand disrupting the market, and export quota again in the first 30, according to a statement
main business and financial been transformed by the pan- ness models emerging one “There’s an urgent need to imposing a record $2.75 bil- curb excessive capital expan- half of next year,he said. fromtheeconomyministry,on
hub, most international banks demic. — BLOOMBERG after another, there are great further improve the anti- lion fine on e-commerce giant sion,Gan said. Pricesarestilltradinglower Friday. — BLOOMBERG
Philippines typhoon deaths top 100, mayors seek aid Bangladesh economy to grow
JIM GOMEZ
Manila, December 19
6.6% in FY22, forecasts IMF island provinces on Thursday
and Friday.
where he was born. Duterte’s
family later relocated to the
Thegovernmentsaidabout southern city of Davao. “The REUTERS
THE GOVERNOR OF an island 780,000 people were affected, moment I was born into this ARUN DEVNATH “The uncertainty around
province in the central Philip- including more than 300,000 world, I told my mother,‘Let’s December 19
the outlook remains
pines said on Sunday that at residents who had to evacuate notstayherebecausethisplace
least 72 people died in the dev- their homes. is really prone to typhoons’,” BANGLADESH’S ECONOMIC high and risks are tilted to
astation wrought by Typhoon At least 64 other typhoon Duterte told officials. GROWTH is expected to the downside,” IMF
Rai in more than half of the deaths were reported by the Atitsstrongest,thetyphoon increase to 6.6% in the fiscal economist Rahul Anand
townsthatmanagedtocontact disaster-response agency, the packed sustainedwindsof 195 yearendingJune2022,accord- was quoted as saying,
him, bringing the death toll in national police and local offi- km perhourand gusts of up to ing to the International Mon- following a visit to
thestrongesttyphoontobatter cials. Most were hit by falling 270 kph, making it one of the etary Fund (IMF), as the capital Dhaka from
the country this year to at least trees and collapsed walls, most powerful in recent years coronavirus pandemic abates
146. drownedinflashfloodsorwere to hit the disaster-prone archi- and policies remain accom- December 5 to 19
Governor Arthur Yap of buried in landslides. pelago,which lies between the modative.
Bohol province said 10 others Officials on Dinagat Pacific Ocean and the South Growth may rise to 7.1%
were missing and 13 injured, A house damaged by Typhoon Rai lies along a road in Islands, one of the southeast- China Sea. the fiscal year after that, the following a visit to capital “An orderly exit from
and suggested the fatalities Surigao del Norte province, southern Philippines AP/PTI ern provinces first pounded by Floodwaters rose rapidly in IMF said in a statement on its Dhaka from December5 to 19. Covid-19 related financial
may still considerably increase the typhoon, separately Bohol’sriversidetownofLoboc, website, citing an improve- Gross domestic product policies remain important to
with only 33 out of 48 mayors inhisprovinceofmorethan1.2 ial survey of typhoon-ravaged reported 10 deaths just from a where residents were trapped ment in the external environ- rose 5.43% for the financial reduce the build-up of finan-
able to report back to him due million people to invoke their towns,Yap said “it is very clear fewtowns,bringing the overall ontheirroofsandintrees. They ment and progress with the year ended June 2021,accord- cial sector vulnerabilities,”
to downed communications. emergency powers to secure that the damage sustained by fatalities so far to 146. wererescuedbythecoastguard domestic vaccination pro- ing to a provisional estimate Anand said.
Officialsweretryingtocon- foodpacksforlargenumbersof Bohol is great and all-encom- President Rodrigo Duterte the following day. On Dinagat gramme. fromtheBangladeshBureauof “With the economy
firmasizablenumberofdeaths people along with drinking passing”. flew to the region on Saturday Islands, an official said the “The uncertainty around Statistics. In June, the govern- rebounding, the central bank
causedbylandslidesandexten- water. Bothhavebeenurgently He said the initial inspec- and promised 2 billion pesos roofs of nearly all the houses, the outlook remains high and mentproposeda12%increase should closely monitor infla-
sive flooding elsewhere. sought in several hard-hit tion did not cover four towns, ($40 million) in aid. including emergency shelters, risks are tilted to the down- inthebudgettospureconomic tionary pressures and stand
In statements posted on towns. where thetyphoonblewinasit He met officials in Maasin were either damaged or blown side,” IMF economist Rahul activity and offset the pan- ready to normalise,”he said.
Facebook,Yap ordered mayors After joining a military aer- rampaged through central CityinSouthernLeyteprovince away entirely. — AP Anand was quoted as saying, demic’s fallout. — BLOOMBERG
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Opinion
TAKING FARMERS FORWARD

PM Narendra Modi

❝
India’s farmers can’t live in the state of backwardness
anymore. The modern facilities, which are available to
farmers of the developed countries, should also be available
to Indian farmers. There can’t be any further delay
❝
All set to weather ● FROM PLATE TO PLOUGH
MSPS WON'T HELP. A PER HECTARE INCOME-SUPPORT POLICY, WITH BETTER IDENTIFICATION OF
the Fed taper TENANTS AND OWNERS THROUGH TRANSPARENT LAND RECORDS, COULD
RBI will act to minimise import of inflationary

pressures, rupee may not depreciate too much Supporting agriculture
I
FMARKETSAROUNDtheglobehaven’tgotthemselvesintoatizzyafter
theUSFedsignalledlastweekitwouldnowwithdrawatafasterpacethe
pandemic-induced stimulus measures,it is probably because some of
it was anticipated.The Fed has decided it would scale back asset pur-
the smart way
S
chasesbyMarchratherthanJune.Expertsexpectinterestratehikestofollow
soonafter.ProjectionsreleasedposttheFed’stwo-daymeetingshowedmost EVERAL COUNTRIES, procuring more than 50% of the mar-
central bankers are baking in at least three rate increases,of 25 basis points ESPECIALLY the G-20,sup- keted surplus, prices ruled below MSP,
each,in 2022.To be sure,this is a big change in views because,even in Sep-
port their agriculture.
Research evidence tells us ASHOK GULATI extending the system to cover all 23
crops under MSP will need a much
tember,aroundhalfthebankersbelievedratechangeswouldn’tbecalledfor
until 2023.
that the best way to support
agriculture in a sustainable and com-
& SHWETA SAINI deeper thought.
Our back of the envelope calcula-
Indeed,this time around,the Fed has chosen to prioritise the economic petitive manner is to invest in agri- Respectively, Infosys chair professor of tion, assuming only 10% of the pro-
recoveryandhasbeenfarmorecautiouswiththenormalisationprocess.How- R&D, agricultural-extension systems, agriculture, and senior visiting fellow, ICRIER duction of the remaining crops
ever,inrecentmonths,inflationarypressureshavebeenbuildingupfastand and connect farmers to lucrative mar- (excluding sugarcane) is procured,
kets, domestic and external, by build- shows it will cost the government
are morewidespread; in addition,the labourmarkets have been tightening. ing efficient value-chains. Giving government. legal price), and procurement of rice about `5.4 lakh crore annually to pro-
FedChairPowellsaidhebelievedinflationmaybemorepersistentandthatthe farmers their right to choose best tech- As of today,the Centre declares MSP andwheatwas done to give a support to cure these other MSP crops.This cost is
risks of higherinflation becoming entrenched had increased. nologies and best markets is funda- for23 crops—seven cereals (rice,wheat, farmers when they were adopting new estimated based on economic costs of
In the past,a shift in the Fed’s stance has upset the global sentiment and mental to robust functioning of agri- maize,bajra,sorghum,ragi and barley), seeds (HYV technology) and domestic operation that are usually about 30%
resulted in outflows from emerging markets (EM) as investors sought safe systems and augmenting farmers’ five pulses (tur,moong,chana,urad and procurement was to feed the PDS. But higher than MSP(in the case of rice and
havens. However, the repercussions this time should be much milder. In incomes. masur), seven oilseeds (soybean, now, with granaries overflowing with wheat, it is 40%). But, it appears that,
But in a democratic system,policies groundnut, rapeseed-mustard, sesa- rice and wheat, there is the need to despite this, market prices may rule
India’s case,the external sectoris in farbettershape than in 2013; although
are not always framed on scientific mum, safflower, sunflower and rethink and redesign the procurement below MSP, especially during harvest
the CAD is widening,it would be well within comfortable limits as would be basis.They are often influenced byvar- nigerseed) and four commercial crops policy. In crop year 2020-21, about 60 time. It also raises the question why
thetotalexternalliabilities.Althoughthefundamentalsofthelocaleconomy ious lobbies,including politicians who, (sugarcane, cotton, jute and copra). million metric tonnes (MMTs) of rice onlysupport these cropswith MSP,why
mayhave some fragilities,masked bythe headline GDPnumbers,the recov- at election times,offerfreebies like free The main procurement, however, and 43 MMTs of wheat were procured not other agri-produce, say, milk, the
eryisontrack.Therealworriesareinflation,whichwhilelowerthanitwasin electricity, farm loan waivers as ‘doles happens largely for rice by Food Corporation of value of which is more than the value
fiscal2014,couldworryinvestorsandgovernmentdebtthatiscloseto90%. for votes’. This short-sightedness and wheat to feed the India (FCI).Nafed proof rice,wheat and sugarcane combined.
AnanalysisdonebyCRISILinSeptembershowedthatincomparisonwith results in sub-optimal or even irra- public distribution cured about 0.66 One argument that is floated is that
tional policy choices, which, in due system (PDS).The PD- MMTs of pulses. instead of physical procurement, one
sixEMpeers,India’smacroindicatorswereaverage;itrankedfourthinterms course, harm the economy, environ- issue-prices ofriceand
Our back-of-the-envelope Even after procur- may use price deficiency payments
of the catch-up of expected GDP this fiscal to pre-pandemic level, third in ment, and even farmers. wheat are subsidised calculation, assuming ing more than 50% of (PDP), implying that government pays
termsofinflationrate,andfirstinratioofgovernmentdebttoGDP.Nonethe- Let us discuss here the case of min- by more than 90% of only 10% of the the marketed surplus to farmers the gap between market
less,the impact of a faster taper and the consequent rise in US interest rates imum support prices (MSP), which their economic cost to production of the of rice and wheat, the price and MSP,whenever market prices
is unlikelyto beverysignificant.The outflows from India’s equitymarkets— many political parties are demanding the government. In market prices of rice are below MSP.
to make a legal instrument. Legality of 2020-21, the food remaining crops and wheat remained We know very well that Madhya
$4billionsinceOctober—haveledtotalkthattheFed’sfastertaperingwould
MSP means that no one is allowed to subsidybillwasalmost (excluding sugarcane) is below MSP in several Pradesh adopted this scheme (Bhavan-
seeabigsell-offinstocks.However,theoutflowsseemtobetheresultofstocks buy a MSP crop below MSP. If this 30%ofthenettaxrev- states.For example,in tar Bhugtan Yojana) in kharif 2017 for
procured, shows it will
being highly over-valued. Given the US markets have not been in the least demand is accepted, this will not only enue of the central November2020,mar- eight crops (maize, tur, urad, moong,
spooked by the Fed’s announcement, a sell-off on this account is unlikely. cost the government
mess up the economy but also ulti- government, reflect- ket prices of paddy in soybean, groundnut, sesamum, and
Unless there is a big sell off in global equities, a steep correction in India’s mately turn out to be anti-farmer. The ing clearly a huge con- about `5.4 lakh crore Chhattisgarh were nigerseed) but had to give up the very
equitymarketsisunlikely.RemembertheIndianstockmarkethashadasharp reason is simple: It ignores the basic sumer-bias in the sys- annually to procure MSP below MSP by more next season as traders gamed it,widen-
runthisyear.Tobesure,thetaperingwouldimplyaphasedpull-outofglobal logic that prices are largely decided by tem. crops other than rice than `300/quintal; in ing the gap between market prices and
the overall demand and supply. Unless this PDS is and wheat UP, the gap was about MSP,and benefited massivelyfrom this
liquiditywhichhasbeeninabundancethispastyear.However,therearethose
In case of surplus, which usually reformed either by `102/quintal. This scheme.And the government incurred
whobelievesignificantcross-borderflowsareunlikelysincerealinterestrates happens at harvest time,the prices fall restricting this to,say, situation prevailed heavy expenditure.
in the US could remain in the negative for many months.At home,RBI will to clear the market.If MSPis above that the bottom 30% of widelyin Bihar,Jhark- What’s the way out to give a better
not want inflationary pressures to become entrenched and will act sooner market clearing price,no one from pri- the population or raising the issue- hand, Assam and many eastern states. deal to farmers? It may be better to use
ratherthanlater.Itwouldcertainlywanttominimiseimportinginflation,as vate sectorwill be willing to buy.In that prices to, say, half the economic cost of Similarly,in wheat,where the crop sold an income policy, on per hectare basis,
imports pick up in linewith the recovery.While supplyside bottlenecks per- case, the government will have to rice and wheat, giving a better deal to at below MSP in the two largest wheat- to directly transfer money into farm-
sist,prices of commodities should stabilise or even ease,given the Chinese become the buyer of last resort. Else, farmers is likely to blow up the fiscal of producing states (UP and MP). One of ers’ accounts without distorting mar-
farmers will be left high and dry with the central government. the reasons behind market prices hov- kets through higher MSPs or PDP.This
economy is slowing.The inclusion of Indian bonds in a global bond index no buyers for their produce, making It may also be remembered that the ering below MSP is possibly the large can be improvised by better identifica-
wouldcushionthefall;anestimated$15-20billionisexpectedtobeinvested farmers worse-off. MSP regime has its genesis in 1965, leakages from the PDS suppressing tion of tenants and owners, through
in the firstyear.To that extent,there is limited downside to the rupeewhich The issue is how much govern- when India was hugely short of basic market prices. transparency in land records. There is
has breached the 76 mark against the dollar.Therefore,unless exports slow ment can buy of how many commodi- staples and living in a ‘ship-to-mouth’ If this is the situation in the case of no easy substitute to ‘getting the mar-
downverysharply,the rupee should not depreciate significantly. ties, and what will be the cost to the situation.Itwas an indicative price (not rice and wheat, where even after kets right’.
Pay time for digital payments? Little gain from power packages
Unless discoms get financially stronger, they will need more bailouts, PRAAPTI data shows
A well-framed charge-out framework should facilitate healthy
JAIKRISHAN G market competition, thus pushing the PSPs to further optimise
Partner (financial services) their costs and continuous improvement on efficiencies
ASHOK PENDSE highest for any state in any month.The
outstanding forTamil Nadu and Maha-
almost equal to,and that of IPPgencos is
almosttwice,thatowedtoCentre-owned
Grant Thornton Bharat The author is a power-sector regulation expert rashtra figures are extremelyhigh.Ifwe gencos.It appears that IPPs and RE gen-
add Rajasthan's, then the three states' erators are worst sufferers at the hands
outstanding is 50% of national figure. ofdiscoms,whiletheCentre-ownedgen-
THE INCREASING VOLUME, velocity and Withallpaymentsgettingloggedandstate- Nowthequestionis,howcanRBImakesure THECENTREANNOUNCEDapackageof In Maharashtra, in March, the out- cos have been the biggest beneficiary.
variety of digital payments in India has ments available,one does not need to keep these transactions continue to be secured, `120,000crore throughPFC andRECin standing shot up by `9,000 crore,likely Every month, gencos confirm to
broughtindiscussionsontheeconomicsof ameticulousrecordofhowmuchispaidto protected, and follow regulatory norms if 2020underUday,asalsolettersofcredit because of a change in the law. State Load Dispatch Centres that they
payment systems, including the cost who and when. With clearly recorded of the revenue model is not sustainable (LCs) for payment guarantees, to bring The states being unable to pay have the LCs. This is for normally eight
incurred by payment processors and sys- payment history, credit will also become enough to cover the expenses and create downtheamountoutstandingfromdis- power-purchase costs, and the out- days of supply.So,legally,the condition
tem providers along with the affordability more accessible. surplus for investments? A classic case comstogencos.Itisnecessarytoevaluate standing going up is the common is fulfilled. The question then is why is
of payments forend customers.It is in this For government and regulators, for- would be the slowdown in ATM deploy- performance on these counts from theme.Gujaratisanexceptiontoallthis. the outstanding going up. Discoms are
context,RBIiscomingupwithadiscussion malisation of payments adds more mus- ments after 2017, where among many PRAAPTI data. PRAAPTI data, provided Generally, they pay earlier than stipu- paying within 12-18 weeks. Suppose a
paper on charges relating to various chan- clefortransactionmonitoringandtaxcol- otherfactors,lowerinterchangecombined bythediscom/stategovernmentforcen- lated and hence get early payment dis- generator revokes LC. Then, it will get
nelsofdigitalpayments,withtheobjective lection. India has 36% of its population with higher compliance costs stifled new tral gencos, IPPs , and RE generators, is count.Also,eventhoughJammu&Kash- money for a maximum of one week of
ofstudyingtheeconomicsofpaymentsand between the age of 10-25years.While the deployments and replacements. With missingdataontheoutstandingowedto mir is with the Centre, the outstanding supply.Itwill have to go to the same dis-
settingitattherightbandtodrivethenext rest of world, including China, is slipping increasing requirements for data privacy, stategencos.So,forcalculatinggrossout- goes up, and dips only when Uday comfor11-17weeksofpayments.Obvi-
phaseof growth digital payments. into aged population with lower birth datalocalisation,cybersecurityetc.,digital standingtogencos,atleast25-30%will money flows in. ously,thediscomwillmakethesituation
It is safe to expect that the discussion rates, India remains young and will have payment service providers will have to havetobeaddedtothePRAAPTIfigures. Three major players supply the tough for the genco. Suppose the genco
paper on various charges in the payment large working-class population in the invest more on governance and risk miti- The accompanying graphic shows the power,andhence,theoutstandingowed stops supply and sale on exchange. At
system will take a holistic world. It is no surprise that gationmechanisms.Thoughsomepartsof outstandingatthebeginningandendof to them needs looking into. They are present, the tariff is `3.50-4. On the
view of the issues involved we have adopted smart- these costs are already taken care by gov- the month in 2021. Centre-owned (NTPC, NLC, DVC, etc), exchange, it will be around `2.5-3. So,
and possible approaches to Learn from the phones and digital pay- ernment sponsored digital infrastructure, Few things become quite clear. IPPs (Adani,Lalitpur,DB Power,etc] and generators have no choice but to get
mitigatetheconcernsregard- slowdown in ATM mentsfasterthananywhere theultimateresponsibilitycomplianceand Approximately `17,000 crore in the RE generators.As it can be seen from the dragged into the discom mess. In prac-
ing affordability of digital in the world.The sheer size risk management lies with the Banks and month of March. And `8,000 crore in accompanying graphic,the biggest ben- tice, LC is not making any difference.
transactions.Whileotherpay- deployments after and scale at which India’s Payment service providers.Add to this the Septembermust have been released.So, eficiaryaretheCentre-ownedgencos,for Unless discoms become financially
ment systems are also under 2017, where among digital payments operate necessitytospendonconsumerawareness, only during these two months, the whom outstanding decreased by 50%. strong, this scene will continue, requir-
the purview of discussion, other factors, lower equals to 1.5 times that of theeconomicsinthesectorisathreattofur- amount outstanding dipped. In all the IPP and RE gencos’ outstanding has ing continued Uday-like support. Also,
retaildigitalpaymentswould interchange China and 20 times that of therinnovationandriskmanagement.Itis remaining months, the outstanding increased by almost 35 %. In value support IPPs and RE gencos; else, they
be a major focus. Review of US.Aswe speak,we have 4.2 thereforecriticalforIndiatohaveawell-bal- amount only goes up—because the dis- terms,outstandingowed toRE gencosis will add to the NPA burden.
zero charge-out regime for combined with billion transactions on anced,transparent charge-out framework com is unable to pay the power-pur-
UPI and Rupay will be prime higher compliance monthly basis getting that can be adopted by these players.The chase costs.This is compounded by the
focus,given the surge in vol- costs stifled new processed through UPI sys- discussionshouldconsidertheneedforfur- late-payment surcharge that keeps on How the outstanding stacks up (in ` crore)
umes in these systems. tems and one billion trans- therpenetrationofdigitalpayments,keep- mounting. Beginning End of UP Karnataka Tamil Nadu Maharashtra
deployments
Amongst other factors, zero actions through other pay- ingpaymentsaffordableforconsumersand Even after the large central package, of month month JAN 14,762 5,364 21,286 9,804
chargesforUPIandRupayhas ment systems. With such a merchants and healthy revenue and sur- the outstanding amount increased by JAN 99,583 99,330 FEB 13,761 5,834 21,706 9,871
clearly supported the rapid strong share of young pop- plusforecosystemplayersforinvestments about `600 crore from January to FEB 99,318 1,00,323 MAR 1,952 4,747 18,051 18,258
adoptionofdigitalpaymentsinIndia.While ulationthatwouldlargelycompriseofdig- A well-framed charge-out framework December. Thus, at the national level, MAR 1,00,318 83,451 APR 3,154 5,290 16,902 17,158
ittook morethanfourdecadesforphysical ital natives, it is imperative for Govt. to should facilitate healthy market competi- there has virtually no impact of Uday. APR 83,444 83,984 MAY 4,815 6,100 18,901 18,330
card acceptance network to reach 57 lakh urgently develop comprehensive frame- tion,thuspushingthePSPstofurtheropti- In the light of the national scene,it is MAY 83,975 93,542
JUN 6,764 6,371 20,533 17,581
terminalsinIndiaafterthelaunchofcredit works for a digital economy mise their costs and continuous improve- worth exploring whether there is any JUN 93,584 99,477
JUL 7,603 6,527 22,589 17,990
cards in 1980, it took merely five years to While payments system such as UPI mentonefficiencies.Thereareotherissues distinction between states depending JUL 99,865 1,03,791
AUG 6,016 5,729 23,805 18,116
deploy 7.5 crore QR terminals.Zero cost of lookssimpletoaconsumer,itishighlycom- alsotobeaddressedsuchascompensation on the ruling party. The accompanying AUG 1,03,787 1,02,893
SEP 1,02,839 94,572 SEP 6,288 5,884 18,099 18,193
transactions and not having to spend on plex with many moving parts and several to customers in case of failed transactions. graphic shows the outstanding in four
OCT 94,519 97,046 OCT 6,968 6,074 18,751 18,677
physical infrastructure has led to the rapid ecosystemplayers.Banks,PSPsandsolution Given with the pragmatic approach from states, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil
NOV 97,046 99,140 NOV 7,148 5,770 19,887 18,411
adoption, apart from the incentives pro- providers have absorbed a lot of complex- regulatorandgovernmentoninclusivedig- Nadu and Maharashtra,in 2021.
DEC 99,140 1,00,206 DEC 7,276 5,884 20,318 18,642
vided by the payment system operators to ity and cost to make things happen at the ital growth,we can certainly look forward As stated earlier, thanks to the
merchants and customers. backend.BanksandPSPsarespendinghun- to RBI having a series of meaningful amount released under Uday, the out- Centre-owned IPP RE gencos
Centre RE
Forthecommonman,digitalpayments dredsofcroresinayearonprocessingthese engagementswithexpertsinthepayments standing dipped in March and owned IPPs gencos NTPC NLC Adani Lalitpur Adani Tata
havebroughtinalotofconvenience.Simply transactions in the areas such as reconcili- spacetocomeoutwithanenablingcharge- August/September. Else, it has been on Jan 43,479 39,629 15,158
put,withUPI,onedoesnotneedtoscourge ation,settlement,disputes,and risk man- outframework.Awell-orchestratedframe- the upward trajectory in all the states, Apr 26,510 41,095 14,940 JAN 16,449 6,778 16,708 4,686 1,545 2,534
for change, carry lot of cash or even visit agement.Thereistremendouspressureon work with focus on affordability, growth irrespective of the party in power. Bear Sep 23,212 50,286 18,803
ATMs for cash withdrawal.Cashbacks and infrastructure required to support the andsustainabilityofecosystemisundoubt- in mind the following facts. UP got Dec 22,940 54,479 20,575 DEC 4,156 2,751 25,245 4,503 2,032 2,888
rewards have benefitted the customers. expected growth in digital transactions. edlythe need of thehour. almost `11,000 crore in March, the
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CHENNAI/KOCHI
Education
SIX SCHOOLS BY 2023
YSR Murthy, Vice-Chancellor, RV University
❝We started with eight programmes offering degrees in

three schools (liberal arts, design, economics and finance).
The School of Computer Science & Engineering and School
of Business will start from next academic year. We will have
six schools and 20 programmes offering degrees by 2023.
❝
● 2021 ● INTERVIEW:
A year when edtech took the giant leap

CHANDRAHAS
PANIGRAHI, CEO &
Co-Founder, Edukemy
Let’s rewind ourselves and

retrospect some of the key
skill redundancy is everywhere.
Let’s rewind ourselves and retrospect
some of the key trends of 2021 that will
In June, the University Grants Com-
mission released a Concept Note on the
BlendedModeofTeachingandLearning.It
Our goal is to
trends of 2021 that will
continue next year as well
continue next year as well.
Reskilling and upskilling become
highlightedtheflexibilityitwouldprovide
with application to any programme that
combines traditional learningvalueswith
expand into
more relevant
By 2025, the World Economic Forum
predictsthataround85millionpeoplewill
digitalmedia.Providingfreedomandflex-
ibility, blended learning can be effective
and likable with the best of both worlds as
all test-prep
lose their jobs. Whilst, over the same
period,97 million newjobswill be created,
these will require very different skills.
it moves from classroom to online.
Globally,blended learning is one of the
most frequentlyadopted learning tools as
segments in
Without the ability to reskill people
quickly, and at scale, millions will poten-
tially be displaced from work. It will
it frees students, academicians and poli-
cymakers from the restrictions of the four
walls of a classroom.In a vast country like
the country
require new technology and a fresh India,blendedlearningwillallowaccessto
Mayank Kumar approach to partnerships between the the best of educational universities to the
government,industry and academia. smallest of towns and villages, and foster
In a tech-driven market, upskilling is the next generation of learners.
RAPIDLY-CHANGING technology,in tan- one of the most important things profes-
dem with the evolving learning mechan- sionals can do to not only retain their cur- Coaching and mentoring
ics,hasfast-trackedtheedtechspaceinthe rent jobs but also move up in their careers In online education, other than deliv-
last twoyears,more than everbefore.With or make meaningful career transitions. ering content virtually, assisting learners
physical schools and colleges being shut with the best professional guidance dur-
and education getting affected, online Online learning becomes PORTRAIT: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD
ing their career progression is equally
education took the centre-stage and mainstream mic and industry sectors are from the edtech space. important.Education oredtech is a subset
became the essential mode of learning for This year saw increased acceptance of brings the advantage of versatility and Stakeholders have accepted that col- of a larger ecosystem of coaching, guid-
students aswell as working professionals. the value of anytime, anywhere learning flexibilitywhile being cost-effective. laborationswill bevital foredtech compa- ance and mentoring and some of the play-
This year saw copious investments in that is accessible across devices. Multiple nies and educators to maximise value. ers have differentiated themselves by
technologies such as gamification,AR,VR, segments of Indian edtech have emerged Year of capital flow, leading to Given the market depth, the continued leveraging the human touch delivery
etc, as also the adoption of multiple new- as against only K12 which was the case consolidation capital flow into edtech firms and the engine by building a strong coaching and PORTRAIT: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD
age exam monitoring systems such as the earlier.Higher education,hobby learning, This year saw an influx of capital into focus on building scale, India will emerge mentoring layer.This helps in surpassing Started during the first lockdown last year,
dual-proctoring approach that support a etc,have found quite a few takers. the education sector as well as increased as a global hub for edtech and education geographical barriers and gives learners the test-prep start-up Edukemy was able to
fairgrading system.The rapid shift to dig- Top universities across the globe have acceptance of all key stakeholders which wherein online learning will become a the best mentors and coaches,from across place 51 students in the total 761 UPSC
ital learning brought to the surface the democratised the learning process by led to consolidation in the market. This default option in higher education. top universities and large corporates. selections this year (seven of its students
importance of lifelong learning, and we making courses available online.Adopting year also saw the largest number of uni- were in top 100).“We happened to be in the
only see it accelerating as the problem of tech-based education in both the acade- corns from ourcountryand some of them Hybrid learning models The author is MD & co-founder,upGrad right place at the right time,” Chandrahas
ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD
Panigrahi, co-founder & CEO, Edukemy,
says. In an interview with FE’s Vikram
Science & tech

AP wants HEIs to Chaudhary, he adds that while Edukemy
currently caters to government job exams,
engage in social, the goal is to expand into all test-prep seg-

ments, including school to college and col-
lege to jobs.Excerpts:
community work Did the lockdown provide Edukemy a
jumpstart in the test-prep market?
State education department Edukemy was started during the first
lockdownlastyear,andithelpedusexploit
sets up a community
Arctic fires are melting permafrost

a big deficit in the test-prep space,almost
planning board at HEIs immediately. Historically, test-prep has
been concentrated in Kota (Rajasthan),
and Old Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee
FE BUREAU Nagar (Delhi). But the lockdown led to a
behaviour shift, as students could study
IT HAS BEEN observed that engaging in from anywhere,
community service provides students A new analysis shows that fires in Alaska have an influence on landscape far beyond the area they burn online. We In a year and a half,
with the opportunity to become active exploited this we have managed
members of their community and has a ERIC ROSTON change in to attract over 3
positive impact on society at large. Com- behaviour by lakh learners, and
munityserviceenablesstudentstoacquire FEWTHINGS SIGNALsomething'sgone giving students of these more than
lifeskills andknowledge,aswellasprovide haywire on the planet quite like frozen the benefit of
services/solutions to those who need it land on fire. Now scientists have deter- online without 15,000 are now
most.The Andhra Pradesh government is minedthatArcticfires,evenmilderones, losing the paid subscribers
now looking into ways to amalgamate can reshape a landscape for decades, in essence of (i.e. enrolled
highereducationinstitutes(HEIs)withthe ways that may make it even harder to offline teaching students). Our goal
community at large. This initiative has keepglobalheatingfromeclipsinginter- (real-timedoubt is to cater to 750
beenappreciatedbytheNITIAayogaswell. national goals. clearing and test-prep exams
The state higher It's mostly rising temperatures that peer-to-peer
This step will and impact over 15
education depart- arethawingoutfrozenArcticgroundbut learning).
enable students ment is setting up a northern blazes — already increasing — The goal is to crore students
become socially community plan- are nowunderstood to playa dispropor- bring good fac-
responsible ning board at HEIs. tionate role, according to a study pub- ulty, curated
The community lishedlastweekinthejournalOneEarth. content and expert content delivery to
engagement of Previous research has shown that places where quality teaching is scarce,
HEIs is incorpo- highertemperatures,driersoilandmore such as villages and smaller towns.
rated into a course ora series of courses by lightning storms will lead to more fires.
wayof a project that has both learning and That work, with the new paper, mean What kind of market performance have
community action goals. The project is that“inthefuturewemightexpecttosee you recorded in the last year and a half?
designed via collaboration between fac- an outsized influence on thaw from the We have more than 3 lakh learners,
ultyand communitypartners.The project firesthatwilllikelyincrease,"saidRóisín over15,000paidsubscribers(enrolledstu-
will ask students to apply course content Commane,a Columbia Universityassis- between 1950 and 2015.Most of that is Mary,who conducted thework as a Uni- the kind of land in an area. dents), over 10 crore minutes of watch
to community-based activities. tant professorwho studies atmospheric fromairtemperaturesrisingattwicethe versity of Illinois PhD candidate.“Many Ultimately,they'dliketoknowwhen, time on YouTube, and of the 761 UPSC
The community planning board aims composition and wasn’t involved in the global average. By analyzing 70 years of people think that an ecosystem will howmuch and howfast permafrostwill selections, 51 students were from
to advise the government on matters new study. satellite and overflight images, and alwaysrecover.Thereisactuallyathresh- release more heat-trapping gases, Edukemy (seven in top 100). Also, 50%
affecting community development by The paper might help explain small applyingamachine-learningmodel,sci- oldpointafterwhichtheecosystemmay accordingtoamajorUNclimate-science aspirantsfromEdukemy’s firstbatch have
incorporating the services of HEIs,includ- increases in methane and CO2 from entists have determined that north- never recover.” assessment published in August. This crackedOPSC(OdishaPublicServiceCom-
ingengineering,pharmacy,education,law Alaska’s North Slope seen over the past western Alaskan fires have a lasting When dead biomass freezes,hungry would help them make estimates of the mission).By2023,we expect to doubleour
and conventional degree colleges. 40 years, she said, but there’s been no effect.Theyburnedjust3.4%ofthearea microbescan'tfeastonitandreleasecar- rate and extent of globalwarming more numbers and grow by 18-20X as com-
Neduramalli Ram Kumar Reddy,com- massive increase yet from abrupt per- but are responsible for 10.5% of bon dioxide in the process. But that’s precise. How thermokarst transforms pared to our inception year.
munityplanning and development board mafrost melt — a longstanding concern thermokarstinAlaska’sNoatakNational what happenswhen the thawcomes.Or landscapes, releasing more CO2 or
chairman,APstate government,said,“The among researchers. Preserve,the area under study. worse,thermokarstpitscanflood,form- methane in the process, isn't captured Will you continue with the phygital
board acts as abridge between the govern- When frozen ground melts, it can Global warming is making fire con- ing lakes that cut off oxygen to the well in climate models now. approach?
ment and the people.This step will enable destabilize the earth above it so much ditions more common near the top of ground. That makes the land swampy “I like to think of it as a 10% effect,” Based on our research and student
students become socially responsible.” that the ground subsides or collapses, the world, and the study’s results are and attracts microbes that produce saidDavidLawrence,aseniorscientistat demand, we identified a gap and began
leaving behind a landscape of what sci- likely applicable to the uptick in fires methane,a much more powerful green- the National Center for Atmospheric with the phygital approach. We are con-
entists call thermokarst.The terrain can elsewhere around the Arctic rim. In the house gas than CO2. Research who wasn’t involved in the sideringwhatwillwork on phygital,going
PlanetSpark starts take on the appearance of large, round,
shallow pits, sometimes abutting so
period right after a fire, thermokarst
rates are dozens of times higher than
Permafrost is chock full of carbon
and it sits underneath 20% of the
study.Permafrostmelt“isgoingtomake
climate change about 10% harder to
forward, and will work on feedback pro-
vided by our students.
Spark Tank closely that scientists monitoring them
havetostepcarefullyalongnarrowstrips
normal.After 40 years, the rate was still
twice as high, returning to normal per-
world's land, holding twice as much as
the atmosphere. Scientists don't have
combat.We have to reduce emissions by
10% more to get to the same targets,or What is your faculty profile like?
between them. haps onlyafter about eight decades. maps as detailed as they'd like of where we’re going to get 10% more warming. Theyare industryexperts,with most of
Inspired by Shark Tank, for Aerialimagesoftheselandscapescan “That'sthemaintake-homemessage allthepermafrostis.Remotesensingcan That number could rise to 20%, but I them having 10-plus years of experience
be striking or beautiful as long as you about this project,” said Yaping Chen, only penetrate so far down the surface, don’t think it’s going to be 50%.” in their respective domains.
kids under the age of 17 don't think about why they've grown by lead author and a postdoctoral sotheyhavetomakeassumptionsabout
about 60% in the Alaskan Arctic researcher at the College ofWilliam and how much permafrost there is based on —Bloomberg Will you continue focusing on govern-
FE BUREAU ment job exam preparations?
While we currently cater to govern-
AHEAD OF THE release of Shark Tank’s ment job exams,ourgoal is to expand into
first season in India, edtech firm Plan-
etSpark has announced the ‘Spark Tank’.
Aspartofthis,childrenundertheageof17
Moderna shot had more heart risk than Pfizer’s: Study alltest-prepsegments,includingschoolto
college and college to jobs.
yearswill present theirmillion-buck busi- Which all languages are used for train-
ness ideas to impress the jury, in a bid to TIM LOH lished in the BMJ. benefits of such vaccination on an indi- lionpeople,themajorityofthecountry’s ing at Edukemy?
bag investment from‘sharks’. WiththePfizershot,meanwhile,1.4peo- vidual, societal, and global level,”wrote population. We deliver content in Hindi, English
Duringthiseventspanningfourweeks, THE RISK OF rare heart inflammation pleper100,000developedtherareheartside the authors, led by Anders Husby, a Earlier this week a study from the andkeyvernacularlanguages,butourgoal
kids aged 7-17 years from India, the US, side effects was as much as four times effects, although a heightened risk was researcher of epidemiology and biosta- Universityof Oxford found that the rare is to deliverin the regional language of the
the UAE and Europe will be pitching busi- higher in people who received Moderna observedinwomen,thestudysaid. tistics at Imperial College London. form of heart inflammation some peo- specific geographywe cater to.
ness ideas to become one of the youngest Inc.’s Covid-19 shot than in those who The prevalence of such side effects Moderna’smessenger-RNAshotcon- ple get after a Covid shot occurs far less
entrepreneurs globally. got the vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and was nonetheless low and when it tains more genetic material than often in response to vaccination than Why do you call yourself India’s first
Participants must make a video pre- BioNTechSE,accordingtoresearchersin occurred, people had “predominantly Pfizer’s, which may help explain the after the disease itself. The scientists non-STEM-focused edtech start-up?
sentation of up to 3 minutes explaining Denmark. mild” experiences, the authors wrote. increased side effect profile, the com- found that the number of cases of We are the first company to provide
the preliminary business idea and submit About 4.2 people per 100,000 who The greaterhealth risks byfarwere seen panyhas acknowledged.Each dose con- myocarditis was at least four times end-to-end learner profiling, preparing
it by December 23. The competition is got the Moderna vaccine developed in the unvaccinated,who, among other tains100microgramsofmRNAencased greater after Covid-19,according to the students for non-STEM test preparation.
open to all students of PlanetSpark above myocarditis or myopericarditis within things, had a 14-fold increased risk of in lipid nanoparticles, compared to just largest studyto date on the topic. Our end-goal is to cater to as many as
Grade 3,ofwhich the top 15 entrieswill be 28 days of vaccination,with the highest cardiac arrest and death in the 28 days 30 micrograms per dose in the Pfizer- Moderna did not respond immedi- 750 test-prep exams and impact over 15
shortlisted forthe nextround.Post the fol- risk seen in those age 12 to 39 and after followingapositivetest,theresearchers BioNtechvaccine. atelyto a request for comment. crore students. We are deep into person-
lowing rounds of screening, only six stu- people received their second doses, said. The study draws on a year’s worth of alised feedback via our app Korrecto,
dents will be given a chance to present according to the study,which was pub- The research “supports the overall Danishhealthcaredatacovering4.9mil- —Bloomberg where we provide detailed feedback on
theirideas to the jury,in the main event to answers written with line-by-line com-
be held live on YouTube,on January 10. ments on answers.
CHENNAI/KOCHI
eFE
TECH MATTERS
Rishad Premji, chairman, Wipro
❝
❝
Skilling in new-age technologies is critical
to stay relevant and make India the digital
talent hub for the world.
● DIGITAL DIVIDENDS ● OUTLOOK 2022
BPCL champions change with Project Anubhav Building a

resilient
digital future
constructing multiple-use cases that we
The PSU oil and gas maydeployfurther.”
BPCLhopestohaveathoroughgraspof
marketing giant sets new digital marketing platforms and how
benchmarks in customer these may improve customer experience Investments in hybrid
centricity using cloud and through end-to-end digital marketing
customer journeys as part of this project. multicloud, cybersecurity,
software-as-a-service; Analytics on BPCL’s data is used to create automation and AI, will help
achieves 100% RoI within business knowledge for simpler decision-
Indian enterprises become
making.“Analytics and artificial intelli-
the digital marketing pilot gence are also playing a pivotal role in more resilient
with Oracle Cloud boosting customersatisfaction.Parallelly,
digital marketing enabled cloud solutions
such as Oracle Responsys have helped
SUDHIR CHOWDHARY BPCL boost customer engagement
through data-driven choices and improve
IN TERMS OF digital transformation, the our revenue streams,”he added.
last few years have been dramatic. The “By developing this distinct edge for
Indian market has tremendous digital itself and its stakeholders, BPCL is reaping
development possibilities, and both the Rahul Tandon, head, Digital the rewards. A project of this magnitude
public and the commercial sectors are To fosterdigital change throughout its enhances supply chain transparency and Transformation (Project Anubhav), needs vision emphasis to become a digital- Faiz Shakir
equally committed to the project. Bharat marketing division, BPCL has initiated its assists in delivering on BPCL’s brand com- BPCL first company.We live in a digitally linked
PetroleumCorporationLtd(BPCL),aFortune ProjectAnubhav,with the aim to provide a mitments; world,andtechnologyispushingchangesin
500 firm, is one such participant, with a unified BPCL experience across different ■ Urja, a chatbot powered by artificial “Customerstodayseeksolutionsthatare business models,” said Rakesh Jaitly,senior OVER THE PAST 18-plus months,organi-
robustnetworkofaround19,000retailout- touchpoints to its enormous retail (B2C) intelligence (AI) that can communicate in simple to use,intuitive, multichannel,and sales director,OracleApplications. sationalchangehasbeenforgedbyinternal
lets across India.BPCL is the second largest and commercial (B2B) client base.The ini- 13 languages; tailored in real-time, and they prioritise BPCL’sTandonaddedthatthepublicsec- and external pressures.Organisations that
Indian oil marketing company and one of tiativebolstersBPCL’smarketingactivities ■ HelloBPCL, a unified and integrated seamless work delivery across many chan- tor petroleum marketing company has drove forward with an agile mindset and
the premierintegrated energycompanies. and gives it a single perspective on the softwarethatprovidesasinglewindowview nels.These business objectives have been madeastrategicdecisiontoprioritisecloud adopted the right digital technologies to
“Technology is playing a pivotal role in consumer, with the goal of improving of BPCL. It is also a one-stop solution for successfully met through our digital pilot and software-as-a-service solutions. It has support their teams and customers have
BPCL’s digital transformation journey.The business process efficiency, improving BPCL’s sales and service activities. with Oracle,” said Tandon.On the response created an innovative fuelling solution, a seengreatreturns.Now,onthecuspofanew
developing technologies from some of the supply-chain transparency,and gathering Consumer-centricityisoneoftheinitia- on digital marketing by using Oracle Mar- cloud-first software that is more secure, era, organisations have a brief window for
leading cloud providerswill also have a sig- market information. The key initiatives tive’smainfocuses,andBPCLhasteamedup keting Cloud – Responsys, he added,“We quick,andsimpletouse.Thishasbeenquite introspectionandtoconsiderhowtheywant
nificant impact on the future of the oil and launched as part of the project are: with Oracle for its pilot digital marketing have received positive feedback on this,so popular with a large number of customers to operate and fine tune theirapproach.
gas industry in the Indian market,” said ■ SalesBuddy, a CRM application to programme project to improve customer we’replanningtodevelopadatalake,andon utilising this solution. These developing Hybrid multicloud, cybersecurity,
RahulTandon,head,DigitalTransformation develop and maintain clientrelationships; interactionsthroughdigitalchannelsandto thatdatalake,whateveranalyticsoranalyt- technologieswill be game-changers forthe automation and artificial intelligence are
(ProjectAnubhav),BPCL. ■ IRIS, the Digital Nerve Centre, it cross-sellfuel to its LPG customers. ics centre of excellence performs,wewill be industryin the nearfuture. some key technologies that will have a big
part to play in increasing customer experi-
ence and accelerating business growth in
Gadgets
Tech 2022.HereishowfourofIndia’skeysectors
Bytes
will use these technologies as they aim to
build a resilient digital future:
BFSI
Recentrapiddevelopmentsinfinancial
services from newer players and fintechs
have challenged the dominance of tradi-
tional banks. So, a large focus for all BFSIs
will be on transforming their digital cus-
tomer experiences while retaining,engag-
● AMAZON PAPERWHITE (SIGNATURE EDITION) hourswhen using a 9Wadapterorlarger.
Warm light: Built-in adjustable
ingandacquiringnewcustomers.BFSIswill
look to automate their manual processes,
Purpose-built for reading, it’s

warm light and dark mode offerflexibil- develop more digital products and deliver
ity for reading, so you can easily transi- betterservicesoverall.ModernisingtheirIT
tion from daytime to nighttime reading. infrastructure and applications, and mov-
Faster and smoother: The latest ing to hybrid multicloud solutions will be
thin and portable too generation E-ink display offers better

performanceanddeviceresponsiveness,
including 20% faster page turns.
Waterproof: With the IPx8 rating,
essential to this model.
ation combines premium hardware, has smaller bezels, and is 10% brighter you can take Kindle Paperwhite almost
The Signature Edition has faster performance, and a redesigned at the maximum setting. anywhere you want to read—it’s water-
Nachiket Deshpande, executive Board a larger 6.8-inch display userinterface fora more enjoyable read- Longerbattery:AnewUSB-C charg- proof from the beach to the bath.
Member & COO, LTI ingexperience.Startingat`13,999,Kin- ingportandupto10weeksof batterylife Unique to Signature Edition are some
with colour warmth, dle Paperwhite comes with a larger dis- allowyou to enjoyyourbookwithout the interestingfeatures.Oneisauto-adjusting
LTI opens new delivery 32GB storage, wireless play, a new adjustable warm light, and
increased battery life, while the
worry of finding a power outlet.You can
charge from zero to full battery in 2.5
light sensor. This ambient light sensor
automatically changes the brightness of
centre in Hyderabad charging and an adaptive new Signature Edition adds the display to the lighting around you.
TECH CONSULTING AND digital front light an auto-adjusting light sen- Then, there is wireless charging feature
solutions firm Larsen & Toubro Infotech sorand is the first-everKin- thatoffersflexibility,andcanbeusedwith
(LTI) has expanded its Hyderabad dle to offer wireless charg- anycompatibleQiwirelesscharger.
operations by setting up a new facility in SUDHIR CHOWDHARY ing. It retails for `17,999 Switched on,we are looking at a com-
the city.The 110,000 sq.ft.facility is and is available in Black pletely redesigned Kindle interface,
designed to house over 3,000 employees. READING IS A dying habit. Blame it on colour. Whether reading in adding several newfeatures foran easier
The centre will focus on delivering the rapid proliferation of devices in our thesun,orinthedark,thenew and more intuitive experience from the IT/ITeS
digital,data,and cloud solutions to everyday life, but many among us have Kindle Paperwhite devices momentyou pick upyourdevice to start The hyper-digital transformation wit-
global clients.The facility hosts new-age lost the zeal to read. However, anyone have a smoother experience reading. The updated experience pro- nessed since the pandemicwill continue to
amenities related to the safety,security, who likes to read books will find them- enabled by all-new hardware vides an easyway to switch between the accelerate as India’s enterprises seek faster,
and overall wellbeing of employees. selves reading more often once they get and a redesigned interface. home screen, your library, or your cur- value-drivensolutionstosecuretheirwork-
Located in the SkyView Campus,Hitech a Kindle. Amazon Kindle’s ease of use, The Kindle Paperwhite and rent book, while a new library experi- force,applicationsanddata.IT/ITeSorgani-
City Main Road,Madhapur,the centre is longbatterylife,andinstantbuyingabil- Kindle Paperwhite Signature ence includes new filters and sort sations will lean on hybrid multicloud for
LEED Gold certified by USGBS. itymeans it’s more likelyto getyou read- Edition have been purpose-built menus, a new collections view, and an operational consistency across their work-
Nachiket Deshpande,executive Board ing books, newspapers, magazines and to help you get lost in your interactive scroll bar. loads,sincetheywillneedunifieduserexpe-
Member & COO,LTI said,“The city of other digital media content. On a per- favourite book. Thin, portable One of the things I really liked riences,policies,security postures and ser-
Hyderabad has a special place in the sonal note,I always wanted to introduce design,and at only205g forKindle about the new Kindle is that it has no vice-level agreements. In the face of an
global technology space that is further mydaughterto reading forquite awhile. Paperwhite and 208gforthe Signa- glare and won’t distract you with evolving security threat landscape,‘zero-
complemented by the vast talent pool I simply gifted her a Kindle Paperwhite tureEdition,it’seasytocarryaround social media, emails, text messages, trust’will become the defence strategy of
and an encouraging support by the and it’s been just a delight to to see her or read for hours. Plus, 8GB of stor- or notifications.The Signature Edi- choice.And as part of this strategy,security
government.LTI’s new centre in the city develop the much needed reading habit age on Kindle Paperwhite and 32GB tion offers more features than automation will play a large part in con-
will strengthen our operations and play a in this digital era. of storage on the Signature Edition standard model, including wire- stantly protecting an enterprise’s vulnera-
critical role in our growth aspirations.” Cut to present. Amazon has intro- means there’s room for thousands of less charging and automatic front bilities from external and internal threats
LTI also signed a memorandum of duced the next generation of Kindle titles and more space for comics and light adjustments, the latter is a both.Finally,enterprises will turn to AI and
understanding (MoU) with Indian Paperwhite with two new models: the magazines. Let me list out some of the genuinelyusefulfeature.Indeed, automationtohelptheircurrentworkforce
School of Business,Hyderabad,to all-new Kindle Paperwhite and the first- key features here. one of the finest devices to address operational challenges.
conduct a study on digital readiness. ever Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edi- Larger and brighter display: Fea- inculcate reading habits among
This digital readiness index will serve tion.Wegotthelatterforreviewpurpose. turing a 6.8-inch,300 ppi glare-free dis- the digital-savvy lot. Healthcare
as a tool to assess the state of digitisation Foryears,KindlePaperwhitehasbeenthe play that reads like real paper even in The sector’s ultimate focus is on saving
in enterprises. most popularKindle,and the newgener- bright sunlight, Kindle Paperwhite now ■ Estimated street price: `17,999 lives,so weeding out any issues that might
obstructfromthatpurpose,especiallyfrom
Giving wings to creators an IT standpoint,will be the main goal for
● BLUEI TRUEPODS-1 EARBUDS 2022.OurlastEnterpriseCloudIndexreport
with Adobe software
Sound quality is top-notch on these buds

identified that many healthcare organisa-
ADOBE HAS DEBUTED Creative Cloud tions have a five-year-plan to switch to
Express,a unified task-based,web and hybrid multicloud,and will continue look-
mobile product that makes it easy to ingatITmorestrategically.Thisarchitecture
create and share beautiful rich willprovideCIOsagility,flexibilityandcon-
multimedia content—from social media simple reason that they can change capacity of 40 mAh and this delivers up trol,and also help position the industry for
posts and stories to invitations to Truepods-1 ensures a great songs or take calls without having to to six hours of playback time (100 hrs further innovation in areas such as AI, IoT,
marketing materials like logos,flyers and audio experience while pick up the phone. In addition, you can standbytime).The earbuds feature Blue- AR,VRandrobotics.AllhealthcareCXOswill
banners.Creative Cloud Express enables use them during your gym sessions or toothv5.0technologythatdeliversasta- prioritise fortifying their IT environments
drag-and-drop content creation, playing games or listening video chats.We take a look at BlueiTrue- ble connection that lets your rock on with the abilityto rapidlyrecoverfrom ran-
empowering every user to express their to music, and even for pods-1 earbuds that are ideal for use in without connectivity issues. The stereo somware attacks.
creativitywith just a few clicks.It offers the gym or running tracks without the calling feature of these earbuds allows
thousands of high-quality templates, taking work-related calls fear of losing them. you to enjoy calls via its built-in micro- PSUs/Government
20,000 premium Adobe fonts and 175 With the advent of even more phone and 10-mm drivers and the Sincetheseroutinelydealwithimmense
million licensed Adobe Stock images. advanced versions of Bluetooth, true device is IPX5 water resistant.Bluei ear- volumes of data, data management and
Creative Cloud Express leverages Adobe SUDHIR CHOWDHARY wireless in-ears have become an buds are powered up by the IWP tech- cybersecurity,alongwithanupgraded,scal-
Sensei,Adobe’s powerful AI/ML frame- essential piece of kit for many. nology featured in them the moment able infrastructure like hybrid multicloud
work,and the cutting-edge technology WIRELESS HEADPHONES—EARBUDS Take for instance,the Truepods- you open the case. The presence of a thatcaneasilysupportheavyworkloadsdur-
behind Adobe’s flagship applications like and neckbands—are the new buzzword 1 wireless earbuds from the Type-C charging port ensures you can ingcrucialperiods,willremainparamount.
Photoshop,Premiere and Acrobat. in the audio segment. Their usage has homegrown audio and wear- easilycharge itwith anychargerthat has The future enterprise is taking shape,
“Everyone has a story to tell and it’s surged during these pandemic-induced able brand Bluei. Priced at a a compatible cable. Accessing the voice with strong focus on process redesign to
our mission to empower everyone to work and learn from home times. They modest `2,199, these are assistant function is easy,as all it takes is improve and simplify work. In 2022, as
express their ideas,”said Scott Belsky, are built with modern technology to unique curved design earbuds a single press of easy access multifunc- data further cements its position as the
chief product officer and executive vice provide a seamless experience.Wireless powered with active noise cancel- tion buttons featured on theTruepods 1. currencyofdigitalbusinesses,investments
president,Creative Cloud,Adobe. earbuds are easyto use due to theircom- lation.The earbuds come packed in an The smooth touch controls let one com- in hybrid multicloud, cybersecurity,
Creative Cloud Express is free to start and pact shape and size. You can connect exquisite and compact chargeable black mand playback,hands-free and activate automationandAI,willhelpIndia’sorgan-
available immediately to everyone on the these to various types of gadgets, right case and in three noise-cancelling voice assistant with ease. isations become more resilient.
web at adobe.com/express and as a free from smartphones to laptops. Young- modes.
app from the Microsoft Store,Google sters, in particular, love them for the Bluei Truepods 1 comes with battery ■ Estimated street price: `2,199 The writeris managing director– Sales,
Play Store and Apple App Store. India & SAARC,Nutanix
CHENNAI/KOCHI
Investor
USFDA’s VAI for Lupin’s Goa site implies steps taken

EXPERTVIEW by the management to resolve the issue were
adequate. This would accelerate the efforts to
resolve issues at other sites as well
—Motilal Oswal
● LUPIN RATING: NEUTRAL ● REAL ESTATE
USFDA clearance for Goa unit removes overhang Residential

segment the
EPS CAGR of 21% estimated
over FY21-23e; TP revised
Financials & valuations
Year to March
Sales
2021
150.9
2022E
162.2
(` billion)
2023E
184.8
winner in year
EBITDA 25.3 25.5 33.6
to `990; ‘Neutral’ retained Adj. PAT 11.8 12.6 17.3 Momentum likely to sustain
as valuation leaves limited EBIT Margin (%)
Cons. Adj. EPS (INR)
10.9
26.0
10.4
27.9
13.2
38.0 in CY22 while annuity asset
upside from present levels EPS Gr. (%)
BV/Sh. (INR)
11.5
304.2
7.2
275.2
36.5
301.5
plays are expected to see
AFTER ALMOST 4.5 years of regulatory
Ratios
Net D:E 0.1 0.3 0.3
recovery to pre-Covid levels
hurdles,LPC received a favourable classifi- RoE (%) 9.0 9.6 13.2
cation (VoluntaryAction Indicated orVAI) RoCE (%) 7.5 18.9 10.8 IN SPITE OF two successive Covid waves in
for its Goa facility from the USFDA.This is Payout (%) 30.4 -56.9 30.8 India in CY20 and CY21, listed developers
Valuations
a big relief from a compliance standpoint, P/E (x) 36.3 33.9 24.8 have weathered the storm remarkablywell
given the reasonable contribution in the EV/EBITDA (x) 17.6 18.5 13.8 and sector consolidation has accelerated
basebusinessaswellasdoubledigitANDAs Div. Yield (%) 0.7 1.0 1.1 along with balance sheet de-leveraging. In
pending approval from the Goa site. We FCF Yield (%) 1.8 0.9 3.3 CY21, the clear winner was the residential
expect21%earningsCAGRoverFY21-23e EV/Sales (x) 3.0 2.9 2.5 segment with a combination of low mort-
Source: MOFSL
andraiseour12-monthforwardP/Eto25x gage rates, stable residential prices,strong
(tofactorinGoacompliance)from24xear- salary/hiring growth in the IT/ITeS sector,
lier and arrive at our TP of `990/share. Valuation and view and continued Work-from-Home driving
While the regulatory clearance removes a We expect LPC to record 21% earnings demand.Whileannuityassetsacrossoffices,
keyoverhang on the Goa facility,we main- CAGR over FY21-23E, led by: (i) ramp-up malls and hotels sawa muted CY21 perfor-
tain ourNeutral rating asvaluation leaves inthemarket share ofg-Proair/g-Brovana, mance,greenshootsarevisiblefromOct’21
limited upside from current levels. (ii) new launches in US Generics, and (iii) intheformofincreasedofficeleasing,recov-
improved outlook for DF, especially eryinmallconsumptiontopre-Covidlevels
Goa regulatory background Chronic Therapies. There could be head- and improved hotel occupancies.
LPC’sGoasiteregulatoryhistorywassound (OAI). In fact, the inspection conducted in resolve this issue were adequate. This (Pithampur Unit 2) plant was inspected in winds related to rawmaterial and logistics BarringanythirdCovidwavedisruption
till USFDA issued a Warning Letter to this Sep’21 highlighted a similar observation. would accelerate the efforts to resolve May’17.Subsequently,it received a Warn- costovertheneartermaswitnessedacross acrossIndia,weexpectresidentialhousing
site after its Apr’17 inspection. The key The recentVAI classification byUSFDA issues at other sites as well. ing Letter.It was inspected again in Jan’19 the industry. We arrive at our TP of demand to sustain in CY22 and annuity
observations cited by USFDA in its Warn- implies enhanced remediation measures andwasclassifiedasOAI.PithampurUnit2 `990/share and maintain Neutral rating assetplaystoseerecoverytopre-Covidlev-
ingLetterwerefrequentinvalidationofini- implementedbyLPCtoresolveissuesindi- Other inspection updates receivedsixobservationsduringtheJan’19 as current valuations adequately factor in els.Whilethe59%CY21YTDreturnsinthe
tialOutofspecification(OOS)resultswith- cated by USFDA. The ‘OOS’ related obser- LPC’s Mandideep Unit 1 was inspected in inspections.Onthepositiveside,keyprod- healthy earnings CAGR as well as a BSE Realty Index factors in these positives
out adequate investigation.Subsequently, vation has been cited by USFDA at other Dec’18,after which the facilitywas issued uctAlbuterolisbeingproducedattheNag- favourable regulatory outcome. to a large extent,we remain bullish on the
the site was again inspected in Feb’19 and sites of LPC as well. VAI at the Goa site a Warning Letter in Sep’19. No ANDA is pur facility and has an EIR in place. This medium-term outlook for the sector.Top
was classified as Official Action Indicated impliessteps takenbythe management to pending approval from this site.Its Indore limits the downside on current revenue. MOTILAL OSWAL picks: DLF, Oberoi Realty, Embassy REIT,
Phoenix Mills and Brigade Enterprises.
Personal Finance
● INSURANCE
Tips for buying a home insurance policy
● MINDA INDUSTRIES
RATING: BUY
JV with FRIWO It is best to go for a

property documents, data, and keep
safely all important receipts and docu-
Crackerofafestiveseason,residential
outlook remains bright: While initial
expectations were for new residential
to enlarge EV comprehensive insurance ments.Also,maintain an inventory of all
the items in your home.You can also use
launchesto commencefromOct’21tocoin-
cide with the beginning of the festive sea-
policy that covers all kinds
product basket of risks to structure,
theapporwebsitetotrackitemsdigitally.
When filing a claim, make sure you
have this information and all other
son, the waning of the second Covid wave,
record low mortgage rates and strong hir-
ing/salarygrowthintheIT/ITessectorledto
household items and the details aboutyourhome are at hand and developers pre-poning many launches to
Firm to continue to outgrow
people living in it ready to share. Insurance companies Aug-Sep’21 which saw strong buyer
industry; ‘Buy’ retained with have different time frames forreporting demand.Asperourchecks,themomentum
claims. Make sure you submit within has carried into Q3FY22, and we expect
TP up to `1,130 from `950 VIKRANT VIKRAM SINGH these deadlines to make sureyourlosses developers to post record sales booking
are covered. numbers in H2FY22led bynewlaunches.
MINDA INDUSTRIES ENTERED into a JV THE DECISION TO buy your first home Check your policy related rules and We believe that owing to healthy bal-
with FRIWO to combine their manufac- is exciting. Many people find that important updates on a regular basis. ance sheets, access to capital and many
turing and technical expertise to manu- spending money on real estate is more Changes to your home,and even in your unlisted,weakerdevelopersbeingshunted
facture and supplyvarious electricvehicle beneficial in the long run than renting Home Insurance neighbourhood,can increase ordecrease out of the market, the market share of
components for 2Ws and 3Ws in Indian it out.Whetheryou are buying an apart- yourinsurance premiums.Ifyou expand large organised developers is set to grow
markets.TheJVwill help MNDAaccelerate ment or constructing a house, home your home, for example, if you remodel further in the next 2-3 years. Most devel-
EV product launches and provide a wide insurance is a must to protect the home a basement or pool,you want to replen- opers in the listed space have aggressive
range of offerings to 2W OEMs.The com- and personal belongings. There are ishyourinsurance policyso thatyouwill launch plans from H2FY22 and are look-
pany is well-positioned to benefit from – many ways to save money with insur- ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD
not be uninsured in the event of serious ing to grow at a double-digit sales value
(i) premiumisation leading to increase in ance when buying your first home. basis after taking into Changes to insurance usually means damage to your property or liability. On CAGRoverthe next 2-3years.We estimate
content per vehicle, (ii) import substitu- account the depreciation. your home, and that the premiums are the other hand, if the risk is mitigated, the pan-Indian residential market share
tion (alloywheels) and increase in localisa- Buy your policy online Experts suggest guarantee- lower than if you had indi- insurance premiums may go down. for our coverage universe to grow from
even in your
tion of electronic components (sensors) If you buy home content insurance ingthebuildingstructureof vidual insurance foreach of Adding new roofs, security alarms, 25% in FY21 to 31% in FY24e.
and (iii) rapid adoption of EV technology online, your premium will be lower as the property based on the neighbourhood, these insurances. fences,poolcovers,etc.,toyourhomecan Office leasing recovery on the cards
in 2Ws.Given superiorgrowth opportuni- there are no intermediaries in online total building area. can increase or If you want to save on reduce your risk and reduce your insur- from CY22: While vacancy levels may
ties, MNDA remains our top pick in the mode and very few documents are There are separate decrease your your home insurance pre- ance premiums. remain flat in Q4CY21, we expect this
auto ancillary space. required.Buyingonlinecan alsosaveyou insurance policies for the insurance miums, refurbishing your trend to reverse from Q1CY22e (Jan’22
Minda Industries forms JV with a lot of time and effort. structure,household items, premiums property is essential. Con- Take help from experts onwards)with the improved pace ofvacci-
FRIWO: This JV will help the company If you agree to pay a portion of the andpeople inthe house,but sider completing the The best way to determine your cov- nations across India, select corporates
offernewerproduct additions such as bat- damage in the event of a complaint,this it is best to have a com- wiring to repair the dam- erage needs is to consult an indepen- recalling employees to offices and gradual
tery packs and off board chargers (FRIWO will significantly reduce your monthly pletely comprehensive insurance that age and avoid the risk of breakdown or dent agent. Your agent will review your pick-up in international travel. While the
already has anchor customers for these premiums. In this way, you can save on includes all of them. The contents are fire and make the roof of the house situation, home and location and come juryis still out on the eventual outcome of
products in India) aswell as accelerate the monthly premiums while being prop- insured against fire, robbery, terrorist more impact resistant. up with the best policy recommenda- the back-to-office plans of corporates,we
product development for motor con- erly covered. activity, or electrical or mechanical fail- tions for you. The agent can also elabo- model for pan-India net absorption of
troller.The entitywill offerfull line e-drive ureandincludejewelleryandothervalu- Be smart about filing a claim rate on the policies and optional cover- 18.5msf in CY21 (11.5msf achieved in
solutions for electrical two-and three Comprehensive cover ables. In-house compensation covers Claiming is an important step in age that it may add. 9MCY21) and build in a recoveryin CY22e
wheelersinthedomesticmarket.Thetotal Itisanerrortoestimatetheinsurance emergencies, accidents, workers' acci- recovering the damage. Also, there are with net absorption of 26.8msf.
capex to be incurred by the proposed JV amount for the past price of properties dentcompensation,andthecostofalter- manyways to make the process of billing The writer is assistant professor,Amity Mall consumption showing green
will be `3.9 bn over the next six years,out purchased.Infact,furniture,fixturesand native housing after accidental family easyandfreefromflaws.Firststepinthis Business School,Amity University, shoots in festive season: While rental
of which `1.6 bn will be invested over the fittings should be insured on a regular hospitalisation. Fully comprehensive direction is to keep proper records of all Madhya Pradesh waivers may result in mall owners incur-
next two years. ring ~30% rental loss at the industrylevel
JVwill further accelerate 2W EV ini- in FY22e, consumption levels in Q3FY22
tiatives for MNDA: The company has ● YOUR MONEY period2016-21is`11lakhcrore,whichis during the festive season range between
commencedthe production ofEV-specific 15%ofthetotalwealthcreatedbytop100 80-100% of pre-Covid levels. With
products for 2W OEMs. Furthermore, the
JVwill aid the companyto accelerate prod-
uct development timeline as well as
Financial services lead companies. Five of the top 10 wealth
destroying companies are in the public
sector.Interestingly,thefinancialsectoris
resumption of Food and Beverages (F&B),
gaming and multiplexes,mall rentals may
revert back to 90% minimum guarantee
in wealth creation
increasethekitvalueofferingto2WOEMs both the top wealth creating and top from Q4FY22 as consumption stabilises
with new products. wealth destroying.While the private sec- to pre-Covid levels heading into FY23e.
Mindawell-positioned:Wehavefine- torbanksandnon-bankingfinancialcom-
tuned ourFY2022-24e EPS estimates.We panies were wealth creators, their public ICICI SECURITIES
expect MNDA to continue to outperform `9.7 lakh crore,the highest ever surpass- sector peers were the wealth destroyers,
industry.Maintain Buywith revised FVof During 2016-21, while ing its own record of `5.6 lakh crore in according to thestudy. Affordability* of homes is at
`1,130 (from `950 earlier) based on DCF Sensex’s CAGR was muted 2014-19.The studysaysAdaniTransmis- 3.2x, best in last 25 years
methodology as we have increased long- sion is the fastest wealth creator with a Atoms to Bits
term growth rate assumptions for the at 14%, the pace of wealth price CAGR of 93%. Adani Enterprises Globally, there is a shift from Atoms,
Property value (`1,00,000)
Affordability
Annual income
(`1,00,000, RHS)
company and roll over to March 2024e. creation was healthy at ranks the third fastest wealth creator. In which do businesses dealing in physical
50
16.00
fact,AdaniEnterpriseshasemergedasthe matter,toBits,whicharedigitalinnature.
KOTAK INSTITUTIONAL EQUITIES 24% CAGR BestAll-roundWealthCreator,followedby UnlikeAtoms,Bitsdealinintangibleassets,
14.00
groupcompanyAdaniTransmission. enjoy very low cost of replicating their 40 12.00

Financials & valuations During2016-21,whileSensex'sCAGR offering,andbenefitfromnetworkeffects. 10.00
2022E 2023E 2024E FE BUREAU wasmutedat14%,thepaceofwealthcre- These factors enable Bits firms to scale up 30
EPS (`) 12.8 21.7 28.9 ationwashealthyat24%CAGRindicating veryrapidly.ThesuccessofBitscompanies 8.00
EPS growth (%) 68.8 70.4 32.9 BETWEEN 2016AND 2021,the financial that wealth creation happens in all kinds ILLUSTRATION: SHYAM KUMAR PRASAD
centres around rapid growth in order to
P/E (X) 81.5 47.8 36.0 20 6.00
sectorwasthelargestwealthcreatingsec- ofmarketconditions.So,investorsarebet- duringtheperiod2016-21.Thestudysays achieve critical mass. While Atoms use
P/B (X) 8.9 7.5 6.2
EV/EBITDA (X) 31.6 22.9 18.3 tor and is likely to spearhead wealth cre- ter off focusing on which stocks to invest thereareonlytwopublicsectorcompanies financialcapitaltoacquirephysicalassets 4.00
10 4.8 4.7
RoE (%) 10.9 15.7 17.2 ation for quite some time in the future, in,ratherthan timingthe markets. (PSUs) in the top 100 wealth creators and which reflect in their balance sheet, Bits 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.44.1 3.83.7 3.33.2 2.00
3.5
Div. yield (%) 0.2 0.3 0.4 saystheMotilalOswal26thAnnualWealth the wealth created by these two PSUs — mainlyusehumancapitaltoself-generate
Sales (` bn) 84 105 123 Creation study.Reliance Industries is the Losing out GujaratGasandIndraprasthaGas—isless intangible assets, (e.g. technology plat- 0 0.00
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
EBITDA (` bn) 10 13 16 largestwealthcreatorforthethirdtimein The wealth creation performance of than 1% of the total. form), which gets fully charged to the
Net profits (` bn) 4 6 8
Source: Company, Kotak Institutional Equities estimates
succession with total wealth created at state-owned companies was the worst The total wealth destroyed during the incomestatement,resultinginopticalloss. Source: HDFC Limited Investor Presentation, Isec Research
* Affordability equals property prices by annual income
CHENNAI/KOCHI
BrandWagon
● NUMEROLOGY
Growth expectations from global ad industry by end of 2021:
■ 30.5% – Digital advertising
■ 11.7% – Television advertising
■ 30.5% – Audio advertising
MONDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2021 — GroupM report
VAISHNAVI GUPTA
● RETAIL exclusive stores each year,while Pepperfry ● LIFESTYLE
Ikea’s big‘small’plans
aims to achieve the 200 Studios mark by
AFTER LAUNCHING TWO large-format
stores in India in a span of three years —
March 2022. In September this year, Pep-
perfryforayedintothecustomisedfurniture Unconventional
forays
one each in Hyderabad and Navi Mumbai segmentwiththePepperfryModularoffer-
— Ikea opened its first small-format store ing,which focusses on modular kitchens,
inWorli,Mumbai,to become“more acces- wardrobes and entertainmentunits.
sible and convenient”.About 90,000 sq ft
Good start? From beauty to home décor
insize,these‘city’storesarealreadypresent The furniture brand’s retail roadmap includes city stores in Delhi, Mumbai and
inmarketssuchasNewYork,London,Paris, This is a good time for Ikea to establish its products, Chumbak is on an
Moscow and Shanghai. Bengaluru, followed by tier I and II towns presence in the Indian market,says Alagu
The furniture market in India stood at Balaraman, CEO, Augmented SCM.“Ear-
expansion spree
$17.77 billion in 2020, and is expected to lier, people used to rely on carpenters for
reach $37.72 billion by 2026,growing at a furnishing their homes; now, they prefer
CAGR of 13.37%, according to a Research to buyreadymade furniture.The market is
and Markets report.Godrej Interio,Urban- moving towards acceptability, making
Ladder and Pepperfry are among the big plenty of headroom for growth for these
players in this space, all with a significant companies,”he says.
onlinepresence,too.GodrejInteriohas300 Ikea’s cautious expansion approach in a
exclusivestoresinIndia,whilePepperfryhas market like India where several local
more than 110 Studios. dynamics are at play,is tactful,analysts say.
Devangshu Dutta,founder,Third Eyesight,
Brick by brick says,“In the past,Western businesses have
Spread across three floors, Ikea’s first city made the mistake of simply copy-pasting
storehas9,000productsinfocus,ofwhich formatsandstrategiesinemergingmarkets
2,200 are available for takeaway and the from their more developed markets.” He
rest for home delivery.“We have observed believes there is “nothing wrong” in being
that it is not easy to find large retail loca- incremental while growing footprint.
tions in cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru. “There’s no sense in carpet-bombing the
The small store offers convenience and marketwithstores,whenmanymayendup
accessibility for consumers to experience beingloss-makingorsub-optimal,”headds.
Ikea products,”says PerHornell,area man- Getting the product mix and pricing VENKATA SUSMITA BISWAS
agerandcountryexpansionmanager,Ikea right would be key in realising the full
India.This launch is in line with the com- potential of this market. Balaraman says CHUMBAK, THE 11-YEAR-OLD company
pany’s aim to become accessible to 200 `6,000 crore by 2030.“We are on track to coming up with its first shopping centre in 30% of our overall India sales come from Ikea will have to balance its global portfo- that started with a collection of souvenirs
million homes in India by 2025, and 500 exceed the investment commitment of Gurugram(followedbyNoida),whichwillbe onlinechannels,”Hornellinforms.Through lio with what it is doing locally, and make and collectibles inspired by India, has
million homes by 2030. `10,500 crore made for India in Decem- integratedwithan Ikea store. its e-commerce website and mobile shop- sure it is profitable. evolved into a lifestyle brand over the
More launches are being planned: berlastyear,”adds Hornell.Delhi,Mumbai In India, unlike its organised furniture pingapp,thecompanycurrentlyoperatesin Forthe Ikea model to succeed,adequate years. It now claims to sell over 2,000
anothercitystore in Mumbai in the spring and Bengaluru are the three cities on its market competitors, Ikea doesn’t have a Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, demand-concentration is crucial,which is products, from magnets and bags to
of 2022 and a large-format store aswell as radar at the moment, which will be fol- pan-India online presence yet. It has been Surat,Ahmedabad andVadodara. beingcurrentlyprovidedbythebiggercities benches and smartwatches. Recently,
a city store in Bengaluru by the end of lowed by tier I and II towns. following a“cluster-based expansion strat- On the other hand, players like Godrej inIndia.Givenitsglobalpopularity,thefur- Chumbak expanded into categories such
2022. For its retail expansion in Maha- Furthermore, Ingka Centres, part of egy”foritsonlineoffering,butthecompany Interio and Pepperfry have big plans to tap niture giant, analysts say, is poised to see as furniture,home linen,and beautyprod-
rashtra, the company plans to invest Ingka Group that includes Ikea Retail, is insists this is not a limitation.“At present, new markets. The former aims to add 50 traction inthe metros and tierI cities. ucts. Can the retailer stand out in product
categories that have other utilitarian
values beyond clever design?
Motobahn
In The Décor and more
News
Afocus area forthe companyis home prod-
ucts. CEO Vasant Nangia says that 60% of
thecompany’srevenuecomesfromthiscat-
egory,which includes sub-categories like
furniture and furnishing,kitchen and din-
ing,andhomedécor.“Wehaveobservedabig
spurt in interest in products such as bed
Anisha Iyer named linen,planters,walldécor,etc,” Nangia says.
Thispromptedthecompanytoforayinto
CEO of OMD India ● INTERVIEW: SEON SEOB KIM, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd the niche category of accent furniture that
OMNICOM includes products like wing chairs, foot-
Focus on diesel, SUVs

MEDIA GROUP stools covered in fabric, and benches.“The
India’s media home furnishing and home décor category
network OMD has been a laggard in moving online.This is
has named a market that is ripe for growth and is big
pays off… getting ready

Anisha Iyer as its enough for several brands to coexist,” he
chief executive adds.Theseproductswillbeavailableonfur-
officer.She will niture marketplaces,in addition to Chum-
be responsible bak’s ownoffline and onlinestores.
for electric cars now

for“leading With its foray into the beauty category,
future-ready thebrandnowsellslipsticks,nailpaints,fra-
teams, grances,make-up products,etc,withan eye
enhancing client relationships and on consumers in the 18–25 age group.The
delivering best-in-class solutions across products are designed to be convenient to
the board”.Iyerwill report to Kartik Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL)—which whya lot of them preferunique external carryaroundinvanitypouchesorhandbags.
Sharma,group CEO,Omnicom Media hadlaunchedtheKonaelectricvehicle(EV) design touches. As it expands its product range, the
Group India.She had joined OMD in in 2019, a CKD car assembled in India— We have also seen that Indian cus- company is increasing its focus on online
2019 as managing director for Malaysia. will have as many as six EVs by 2028. tomers are spending more time in their and omnichannel sales.In the wake of the
“These will be across body shapes—from cars.Earlier,if forvacations beyond,let’s pandemic, the brand had to shut some of
Tata Studi partners with crossovers to SUVs—and caterto multiple say, 300-odd km they used to take a its stores — Chumbak, at present, has
segments, including mass market and flight or train, now they are travelling around 53
Mullen Lintas mass premium,” Seon Seob Kim, MD & evenup to500kmin theirpersonalvehi- stores in the To reach a wider,
TATASTUDI,THE learning CEO,HMIL,says.InaninterviewwithFE’s cles with family. So, they want safety, country, down more price-
app from edtech firmTata VikramChaudhary,Kim—whowillsoon convenience and comfort,and that’s the from 70 in sensitive audience,
ClassEdge,has awarded its move to Seoul afterleading HMILforthree reason for choosing top variants, and 2019. Chumbak
brand and creative years—adds that as far as local manufac- that’salsothereasonalotofthemare Nangia launched a budget
communications turing of EVs is concerned,HMIL is trying choosing six- and seven-seat expects 60-70%
mandate to Mullen Lintas Mumbai.The to find the right partners who specialise in SUVs such as the Alcazar. ofthecompany’s sub-brand called
agencywill craft the creative strategyfor manufacturing battery cells.Excerpts: businesstocome Teal about six
the launch of the learning app.Its mission, What was the rea- from online months ago
the official statement says,is“to inculcate Will all these six EVs be manufactured son behind sales. “Online
effective studyhabits in everychild and in India? launching the reaches 20,000
inspire them to be independent learners”. That’stheaim.Wewillfindlocalpartners N Line brand postalcodesinthecountry;thatsimplycan-
who specialise in manufacturingbattery in India ear- not be achieved through a retail presence.
Wavemaker’s new unit to cells;we are also having discussionswith lier this Wealwaysplannedtogrowouronlinebusi-
local vendors on other EV parts, such as year? ness; the pandemic accelerated this shift,”
focus on South cinema motor and inverter etc. Indian car he adds.
WAVEMAKER INDIA HAS unveiled a We will introduce our dedicated EV buyers are
specialised unit in collaboration with platform called the E-GMP,short for the getting Magnetic pull?
One Mercuri to help brands leverage the Electric Global Modular Platform (for younger; they Since the time Chumbak entered the mar-
entertainment and content business in manufacturing/assembling these EVs in want powerful, ket,severallifestyleandhomedécorbrands
South India.This will include creating India). We are investing about `4,000 exciting-to-drive cars, have cropped up in the D2C space.While
original content IPs,enabling better crore in R&D towards the expansion of which can be person- Chumbakhastheadvantageofhavingbuilt
brand associations in films and OTT the EV line-up. alised to theirtaste,but its brand over a decade, more affordable
content (audio & video),and Bynextyear(2022)we should be able which are accessible as brands with low or no investment in an
measurement and collaborations with to launchoursecond EV,and theremain- well. That’s the reason offline presenceare sellingvia Instagram.
writers,among other things. ing over the years till 2028. welaunchedthe To reach a wider, more price-sensitive
N Line in the audience, Chumbak launched a budget
BookMyShow rolls out TV What kind of EV usage patterns have i20 this year. PORTRAIT: ROHNIT PHORE sub-brandcalledTealaboutsixmonthsago.
you learn from Kona customers? These cars have turbocharged petrol “This is primarily designed to appeal to the
series on-demand We’ve seen that the Kona is usuallya sec- engines, and their design helps them a voice command or navigating you to all-IndiaCretasalesareofdieselvariants, discount-mindedconsumer,andisavailable
BOOKMYSHOW STREAM,THE ond car for most customers, and a large stand out on the roads.Gradually,wewill yourfavourite restaurant.One must also in Punjab it’s 68%, in Madhya Pradesh on marketplaces like Flipkart, Myntra and
transaction video-on-demand service, number of Kona customers charge the launch other products in the N Line remember that using phone while dri- 67%, in Andhra Pradesh 66%, in Amazon,” says Nangia.
has expanded its content library to car at home instead of using public range as well. ving—let’s say you’re using maps on Uttarakhand 65%,and in Uttar Pradesh Adrastic shift towards categorieswhere
include TV series.The platform will roll chargers. The driving range of the Kona phone—is not a safe practice. itis63%.Themoreexpensivethecar,the the brand does not have an edge in terms
out exclusive titles and mini-series (over 400 km) is good enough for week- Do customers see higher is the diesel model sales percent- ofproductexpertisecoulddilutetheequity
❝
across genres and languages,including long city commute.We are also working value in buying con- Sales of sedans are age. What has helped in the case of it has built over a decade, analysts say.
its originals. towards the development ofEVcharging nected cars? falling over the years. Hyundai is that we are able to offer the “This move to expand the canvas of the
solutionswithafocusonhomecharging, At Hyundai India, con- A key sales trend we have Will you continue diesel optionatamarginallyhigherprice brandcouldhavebeenpromptedbythelim-
DDB Mudra elevates Iraj public charging stations,charging facil- nected cartechnologyis observed in the post- focusing on sedans, than the petrol. Yes, our focus on diesel ited nature of the gifting and souvenir
ities at dealernetwork,and a 24x7 road- available across seven going forward? has been paying off well. category,”says Saurabh Uboweja, founder,
Fraz Batla side charging assistance (car to car). models and 34% of
lockdown car-buying
Not just SUVs, we are BOD Consulting.
behaviour is that the
DDB MUDRA HAS ELEVATED Iraj Fraz sales in those models sales percentage of top doing quite well in the How much has semiconductor short- Nangia says that Chumbak is choosing
Batla to the position of creative head – What are some key sales trends you are of ‘connected’ vari- variants has been sedan segment as well; age restricted production at HMIL? products where it can make a difference
North.Prior to this,he served as executive
creative director – West.
have observed in the post-lockdown
car-buying?
Anotable trend is that the sales percent-
age of top variants has been increasing.
Forexample,in the i20,the sales share of
ants. In the Alcazar, for
example, all variants
have the connectivity
technology; in the
Creta, more than 45%
❝
increasing; people are
their cars, and that’s why

in the last two years,we
spending more time with introducedtheAuraand
the newVerna,of which
we are selling about
they want more features 4,000 units and 2,000
on the dashboard
All carmakersare facing thisissue,and at
Hyundai we’re trying to mitigate as
much as possible and minimise the
impact of semiconductor shortage on
ourproduction.We have been successful
through its ‘unique’ design language and
philosophy. However, Uboweja says, the
challenge for the brand will be“to retain its
identity and purpose as it risks resembling
othermarketplaces now”.It isworth noting
the top two trims in 2019 was 18% but sales are of connected units, respectively, per in managing the situation till now, and that beauty retailer Nykaa made a play for
this has increased to over30% in the last variants. month. The Elantra is a hope to do our best in the coming the home décorsegment in June thisyear.
few months.In the Creta,the sales share niche segment, but we months as well. Anchit Chauhan, cluster director,
of the top two trimswas 44%,but nowit But when a person already has a con- will continue with that car as well. TBWA,India,saysthatconsumersarelikely
has gone up to 47%; in the Verna it has nectedsmartphone,whydoessheneed (On Friday,HMIL said that SS Kim—who tosampleChumbak’sbeautyproductsand
increased from 82% to 89%. This a connected car? Has the focus on diesel post-BS6 emis- had joined on December 4,2018—will home décor pieces. “The brand has an
implies that customers want features Your phone is your personal space. Let sion norms paid off? take up a global role at Hyundai Motor ‘urban cool, but proud of my desi roots’
such as sunroof,connectivityand a lot of the car do its own things, such as taking Therearemanyregionswheredieselout- Company headquarters in Seoul,and positioning.Consumerswill buyfurniture
technology on the dashboard. They also you from place A to B, showing you live sells petrol in cars that cost above `10 Unsoo Kim will take charge from him on or home décor pieces from Chumbak to
Euronics brings Hrithik Roshan on want theirvehicle to stand out and that’s traffic on the screen,opening sunroof on lakh. For example, while about 55% of January 1,2022.) add quirkiness to their homes, but not fill
board as brand ambassador uptheirhomeswithitsproducts,”henotes.
CHENNAI/KOCHI
Infrastructure
● OUTLOOK FOR SECTOR AT END OF 2021 tenders, timely payments from discoms,
On course despite being

sanctity of contracts, thrust to domestic
solar manufacturing through the produc-
tion-linked incentive (PLI) scheme will be
keymonitorables forsustainable growth.
Theweak link here — and forthe power
buffeted by Covid-19 waves

sector in general — is the power distribu-
tion sector. Discom financial health
remainsweak owing to high techno-com-
Vivek Sharma mercial losses (21% as of FY20) and rev-
enue gap (25 paise/unit in FY20).The gov-
ernment’s recently announced revamped
THECENTREANNOUNCED itsinfrastruc- distribution scheme (planned outlayof `3
turevisionforIndiainFY2020throughthe trn) with clear focus areas and stringent
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), While the Union government's focus on infrastructure remains sharp as ever and some sub-sectors have implementation guidelines is expected to
envisaging an investment of `111 trn over displayed resilience, there is need to address issues that have impacted private investment impact the sector positively. However, if
afive-yearperiod.Theannualinvestmentof there is another unsuccessful round of
~`22trnonaveragethroughFY2025would support,states mayneed to explore differ-
be a step-up of ~2.5 times vis-à-vis the his- period a year ago.To finance these initia- 4,000 ` billion SECTOR-WISE INVESTMENT gies/policies and is expected to revamp ent PPP models or outright privatisation
FY17
toricallevel.ThiswasfollowedbyaNational tives,the NHAI hasventured into monetis- 3,500 FY18
these.Measures such as revamp of existing may become imperative.
Monetisation Pipeline (NMP),co-terminus ing its operational asset pool with the PPP policies,establishment of an indepen-
3,476
3,000 FY19
Summing up
1,841
3,118
1,768
1,750
2,980
1,662
with the NIPperiod of FY2020-25. launchofitsfirstinfrastructureinvestment 2,500 dentregulatortofacilitaterationalisationof
1,620
1,614
1,480
FY20
1,334
2,503
2,000
1,099
This indicates the government’s focus trust,raising over`5,000 crore. freight tariffs, and promotion of PPPs and The sectoral variations apart, some issues
1,020
FY21E
2,055
1,500
on infrastructure remains sharp as ever. On the flip side, as many as 888 road enabling of private investment in rolling impact private sector participation across
622
1,000
433
354
326
284
Together,NIPandNMPprovidedacompre- projects under the ministry, spanning stock by streamlining the Research Design sectors.TherecentmovebyPunjabtorene-
106
116
500
87
43
39
hensiveviewtoinvestorsanddevelopersof ~27,665 km and involving a total outlayof 0
Roads Railways Conventional Renewable Airports and Standards Organisation approval gotiatecontracts,forinstance,violatesbasic
greenfieldaswellasbrownfieldinvestment ~`3,15,370 crore,were delayed last fiscal. energy/power energy process couldbe helpful in this context. principlesofcontractsanctity.Itisessential
avenues in the infrastructure sector. Tobesure,thegovernmenthasundertaken Notes: 1. FY21 values are estimates; 2. Aviation only includes Airports; 3. Conventional energy/power includes to undertake measures to protect contract
Indeed,despitetheimpactofCovid-19over measures to boost public private partner- Thermal, Nuclear, Hydro, Gas and Transmission and Distribution; 4. Renewables includes Solar and Wind Renewable energy sanctity, have due process and forums for
thepasttwoyears,someinfrastructuresub- ship (PPP) via the hybrid annuity model The sector has revived after a brief hiatus. quick arbitration of anycontractual issues,
sectors,suchashighwaysandcleanenergy, (HAM) route. Last fiscal, the NHAI’s HAM traffic reaching ~80% of the pre-pan- Railways PosttheCovid-19ledslump,capacityaddi- and ensure developers have adequate and
remain resilient. A brief, sector-wise project e-auctions saw increased competi- demic level in November. The twin focus The railways is looking anew at efforts to tions surged in the first 8 months (rising reasonablypricedaccesstoinfrafinancing.
overviewmaybe in orderhere. tion following relaxation of biddereligibil- on asset monetisation and privatisation attract private sector participation,which ~3x on-year to 7.3 GW) of this fiscal,led by The Centre’s move to institutionalise
ity criteria. Smaller regional players cor- should serve the sector well, with addi- havemetwithonlypartialsuccesssofar.For astrongprojectpipeline(solar~30GWand specialised infrastructure finance entities
Roads and highways nered 33% of the HAM projects awarded. tional/freed-up funds being ploughed instance,therailwayshadcalledforbidsfor wind ~9 GW).Tariffs discovered in recent via the National Bank for Financing Infra-
The length of national highways con- Whiletheirbidswerenotaggressive,finan- back to fuel the next phase of growth. the operation of private trains in 12 clus- tenders have remained competitive owing structure and Development Bill, 2021, is
structed last fiscal stood at ~13,300 km cial closures and project execution will be Additional steps such as making changes ters.While the request forquotations stage to aggressive bidding by IPPs as well as by commendable.The execution of this new
(36.4 km per day), up ~30% on-year.This keymonitorables in the future. totheNationalCivilAviationPolicy(NCAP) saw good participation, bids were received creditworthycentral counterparties. development financial institutionwill bear
fiscal,asofthesecondquarter,theNational and introducing NCAP 2.0 for boosting foronlythreeclustersintherequestforpro- Going forward, investments are watching,along with revamping of PPPs to
Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had Aviation post-Covidrecovery,andbringingaviation posalstage,withonlytwofirmssubmitting expected to continue with a strong thrust spurprivate investment in the sector.
awarded projects for highway stretches of The sector was affected adversely during turbine fuel under the goods and services bids.The railways has since scrapped this on RE sector as well as support for tech-
about1,930km,up~8%on-yearcompared the pandemic year and is on course to tax, to provide much-needed relief to air- bid process forprivate train operations. nologiessuchasstorage.Overall,despatch- The writeris SeniorDirector,
with ~1,400 km in the corresponding recovery now, with domestic passenger lines,could be helpful policy moves. The railways is reviewing its PPP strate- able RE through hybrid/round-the-clock CRISILInfrastructureAdvisory
Startups
Quick Quick
View View
● UNNATI
Building a fintech-driven agri ecosystem
management,nutrientusage,maximising
This startup is enhancing output,andpredictingmarketconditions,
farmers’ lives and Unnati is looking to empower them with
the knowledge required to boost their
livelihoods through incomesthroughbetteryields.Withinfour
increased access to credit years, the tech-driven platform has
achieved a growth trajectorythat is noth-
and end-to-end support ing short of remarkable,says Sinha.
Today,Unnati has a digital presence in
Foundation stone laid all major states in the countrywith a net- Adani Green signs
SUDHIR CHOWDHARY workofover20,000uStoresandisassoci-
for Ganga Expressway ated with prominent brands that ensure mega 4,667-MW solar
in Uttar Pradesh ITISAwell-knownfactthatagricultureis
one of the primary employers and con-
steadysupplyofhigh-qualityinputs.Addi-
tionally, the platform has impacted the
PPA with SECI
PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi on tributes significantly to the country’s livesofoverthreelakhfarmersbyallowing ADANI GREEN ENERGY (AGEL) on
Saturday laid the foundation stone for economy.Being a predominantly agrar- themtoprocurefarminputs,andoffering Tuesday entered into a power purchase
the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh's ianeconomy,onemightthinkthatfarm- market linkages credit access,and predic- agreement (PPA) with state-run Solar
Shahjahanpur.The 594-km-long six-lane ers and retailers have ample income, tive diagnostics that help in maintaining Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to
expresswaywill be built at a cost of over good produce, and easy access to credit a high quality of produce. Having facili- supply 4,667 MW of green power.This is
`36,200 crore,the Prime Minister's and marketplaces. Unfortunately, for a tated farmers to build financial resilience the largest PPA the SECI,the state-run
Office (PMO) said in a statement on majority of the country’s farmers, this and strengthening the agrivalue chain, green power aggregator,has clinched
Thursday.Starting near Bijauli village in isn’t the scenario. Several farmers face According to Sinha, Unnati is acting with any producer; AGEL called the pact
Meerut,the expresswaywill extend till challenges in access to credit, market- as a one-stop solution for both farmers the world’s largest.The contract is a part
near Judapur Dandu village in Prayagraj, places,qualityfarminputs,andguidance and retailerstohelp themstreamlinethe of the solar tender awarded by SECI to
passing through Hapur,Bulandshahr, to improve theircropyield.Additionally, business process. AGEL on June 9,2020.The tender
Amroha,Sambhal,Budaun, agriculture has also been one of the last “The platform also facilitates better envisages the setting up of 8,000 MW of
Shahjahanpur,Hardoi,Unnao,RaeBareli, industries to integrate technology into payment methods and supply chain generation capacity and additional
and Pratapgarh.Upon completion,it will its operations. management of inputs as per the 2,000 MW of solar cells and module-
become the longest expressway in Uttar ThiswaswhenAshokPrasadandAmit demand,”he says. manufacturing capacity.With this,AGEL
❝
Pradesh,connecting the western and Sinha decided to launch Unnati, a new- With a 16x growth rate year-on-year, has signed PPAs with SECI for a total
eastern regions of the state,the PMO age fintech powered agritech platform linkages, says Sinha, the co-founder.An Unnatirecentlyreceivedafundingof`60 generation capacity of close to 6,000
said.A 3.5-km-long air strip for assisting that had robust technology infrastruc- The platform also alumnus of IITand IIM,he has had stints crore as a part of its Series A round from MW.AGEL said it expected to close the
emergency take-off and landing of air ture and could enable farmers to boost facilitates better payment ❝ with several notable organisations, Incofin Investment Management, Nab- balance 2,000 MW PPA in the next two to
force planes will also be constructed on their livelihoods. Having closely wit- includingInfosys,PricewaterhouseCoop- Ventures, and Orios.Setting its sights on three months.The execution of the
the expressway in Shahjahanpur,it said. nessed the issues faced by farmers, methods and supply chain ers(PwC),BhartiAirtel,andPaytm.Onthe further growth,Unnati plans to continue entire project is seen to cost the firm
An industrial corridor is also proposed to including the unavailability of high- management of inputs as other hand, Prasad holds an MS in Soft- expanding its footprint geographically in around `45,000 crore ($6 billion).
be built along the expressway. qualityfarm input products,insights on wareSystemsfromBirlaInstituteofTech- UttarPradesh,Bihar,Maharashtra,Andhra
market requirements and linkages, the per the demand. nology and Science and an MBA in Inter- Pradesh,Telangana,Haryana,and Punjab Umbrella irrigation scheme
Defaulting discoms may not lack of technology innovation in the AMIT SINHA, CO-FOUNDER, UNNATI national Business from the Indian byincreasing its network of uStores.
extended till 2026
agriculture space, and the challenges Institute of ForeignTrade. “Theplatformislookingtoaugmentits
be able to change suppliers they face in managing operations, the With a farming model that acts as a offerings to address the issues faced by THE UNION CABINET on Wednesday
THE UNION POWER ministryis planning duo decided to launch Unnati. ted to enabling farmers to improve their guide forfarmers,allowing them to make farmers in agronomy and help them approved the continuation of the
to frame rules to barstate-run discoms A fintech-driven agriculture ecosys- livelihoodthroughdata-drivendecisions, informed decisions regarding crucial streamlinetheirbusinesswhilemaximis- umbrella irrigation scheme — Pradhan
from buying electricityfrom othersources tem,Unnati,foundedin2017,iscommit- easy access to credit, and better market aspects such as plant protection, weed ing profitability,” concludes Sinha. Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana —
aftergencoswithwhich theyhave through 2026,with a total funding
purchase agreements cut supplies to them requirement of `93,068 crore.The plan
on payment default.Union Power ● GRENE ROBOTICS where we see a potential 10X RoI but includes `37,454 crore of central
Made for the world, from India

MinisterRKSingh said onTuesdaythe hyper-automationpromisesevenhigher assistance to states and `20,435 crore
draftversion of the rules is being returns in the long run. We drastically of debt servicing for past loans availed
circulated among stakeholders. bring down the cost, boost revenue and for PMKSY. States are also expected to
Meanwhile,FE reported on Fridaythat the unifyfunctionsinabusiness,”saysPenu- part-fund the scheme. Under the
ministryhas asked State Bank of India macha. This also has a direct impact on scheme, 90% grant will be provided to
(SBI) to followstrict prudential norms defence, hospitality, banking amongst how a business gets incrementally eval- two national projects — Renukaji
when it comes to lending to discoms, The startup’s hyper- many others.“We spent over a decade in uated in the long term. (Himachal Pradesh) and Lakhwar
warning that unchecked lending to the automation platform R&D to come upwith the platform.Hav- Foroneofitsbiggestclients,Vodafone (Uttarakhand) — that are critical for
financially-stressed entities can expose ing our own platform enables our cus- Idea, the company has solved issues in water supply to Delhi and also to other
the bank’s loan assets to risks. GreneOS connects, unifies, tomers to gain 100% control over vari- order processing,turn around time post participating states (Uttar Pradesh,
and manages 100% of ous digital functions in their receiving an order,issues in filling repet- Haryana and Rajasthan) and for
Vedanta drops cases against organisations,” says Kiran Penumacha, itive forms and generating real-time rejuvenation of the river Yamuna.
people, processes, data, and CEO and founder,Grene Robotics. intelligence.“For instance, every month
govt in retro tax dispute 99 coal mines put up forsale
systems in an organisation “Forinstance,currentlyasalesperson it has over 6000 orders worth over a bil-
MINING GROUPVEDANTA said last using a CRM has to manually enter lion dollars and over 500 mission-criti-
Mondayit hadwithdrawn cases in the details of his/her outreach into the soft- cal issues that need an insane amount of in fourth round of auctions
Delhi High Court aswell as before an SRINATH SRINIVASAN ware. But with our platform, we can computation.Wearecompetingwiththe THE UNION GOVERNMENT on
international tribunal to settle a `20,495 extract important details alone from Oracles and SAPs of the world and not Thursday launched the fourth round of
crore retrospective tax disputewith the WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION communication channels real-time and SaaS products that can be downloaded auction of coal mines for commercial
government.Post slapping of a `10,247- sweeping the business landscape at load it to the system,” he adds. With and installed,”says Penumacha. mining.With coal mines rolling over
crore tax demand on UK's Cairn EnergyPlc scale,GreneRoboticsaims tobuildatrue respect to other contexts, this could The Grene Robotics CEO expects to from the third round of commercial
foralleged capital gains made on a 2016 computer technology company from mean large machines or systems inter- take the company public by 2025.It has auction and the second attempt of
internal rejig priorto the listing of its India India,with its own platform,greneOS,at actingwith each otherandwith humans received seed funding of $10 million second tranche of commercial auctions,
business,the IncomeTax Department had the core of everything, promising through the greneOS platform. This since its inception in 2007,with an order there will be a total of 99 mines,
sought `20,495 crore in taxes (including autonomous decision-making and resultsinenhanceduserexperiencetoall book of $6 million this year.“We expect including 24 new mines,on offer,the
penalty) from Cairn India.Cairn Indiawas hyper-automation. The startup cuts stakeholders who are using the system. Kiran Penumacha, CEO and founder, totaketheorderbookto$30millionnext coal ministry said in a statement.Of
in 2011 bought bytheVedanta group and across sectors such as healthcare, “Usually, we deploy our platform Grene Robotics year,”says Penumacha. these 99 mines,59 are fully explored and
subsequentlymergedwithVedanta Ltd. 40 are partially explored.
CHENNAI/KOCHI
16 BACK PAGE FINANCIAL EXPRESS
Apple seeks NHPC plans clean energy projects of 27 GW in 9 states, Nepal EXPRESS
dismissal of ABHISHEK SONKAR
apps market New Delhi, December 19
antitrust case PLANS to set up new hydro
STATE-OWNED NHPC
NHPC CMD Abhay Singh
said Nepal has also
shown interest in hydro
`10,000 crore. We are in jects of total 6,000 MW
profit of about `3,500 crore capacity and another 9,000-
and it will increase further to 10,000 MWis in the pipeline,
`5,000 crore, substantially Singh said. He said the com-
projects in a joint venture helping us to increase our pany will meet its target of
Careers
and solar projects of more with NHPC. Singh had capex to `13,000 crore.” 50,000 MW energy capacity
ADITYA KALRA than 27,000 MW capacity in recently met Nepal’s He said there were certain which includes solar, within
New Delhi, December 19 nine states and in Nepal, prime minister NHPC projects, especially in time.
according to CMD Abhay the Northeast, which had “We have made a break-up
APPLE INC HAS asked the Kumar Singh. been stalled. Efforts have of the target — by 2025,
Competition Commission of The new capacities would jects in a joint venture with been taken to resume them. 2030,2040howmuchcapac-
India (CCI) to throw out a case come up in Uttar Pradesh, NHPC. He met Nepal’s prime The 2,000 MW Subansiri ity we have to install — and
alleging abuse of market Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, minister during a recent visit lowerhydroelectric project in accordingly we will be meet-
power in the apps market,say- Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maha- to that country. Assam and Arunachal ing our targets,” the CMD
ing it is too small a player in rashtra and Andhra Pradesh, jects. Others will also be When asked about fund Pradesh is progressing. In said. NHPC, under the min-
India where Google is domi- SinghtoldPTIinaninterview. engaged for the purpose, the availabilityfortheprojects,he Dibang, all hurdles have istry of power, is the largest
nant, a filing seen by Reuters NHPC is in talks with some of CMD said. said, “At present, NHPC will ended and the 2,880-MW hydro power company in
shows. these states, which have Singh said Nepal has also not have aproblem in making dam project will begin soon. India.
The filing was made after shown interest in the pro- shown interest in hydro pro- a capital expenditure of NHPC is working on pro- — PTI
the CCI started reviewing alle-
gations that Apple hurts com-
petition by forcing app devel-
opers to use its proprietary
��
(A Government of Tamilnadu Undertaking)
“IMPORTANT”
systemwhich can charge com- The Growth Catalyst Tiruvallur Branch Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of
missions of up to 30% on in- 86 C&D, 2nd Main Road, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai-600 058.
app purchases. Phone: 26257664, 26248644, Mail: bmtiruvallur@tiic.org, Web: www.tiic.org
advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its
Apple denied the allega- E-Auction Sale Notice contants. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot
tions in its filing to the CCI and be held responsible for such contents, nor for any
The Assets of the following concern(s) taken possession under Section 29 of State Financial Corporations
stressed that its market share Act 1951 will be sold by Tender cum Public Auction “AS IS WHERE IS” by our branch as given below:
in India is an“insignificant”0- loss or damage incurred as a result of
Item No.1 : E-Auction Sale Notice
5%, while Google commands transactions with companies, associations or
Name of the Unit/Address Details of assets for auction / Upset Price / EMD
90-100% as its Android oper-
ating system powers most 1) M/s. Sri Sivasakthi Modern Primary (Machinery) individuals adversing in its newspapers or
Rice Mill - Factory:
other smartphones. Soaking Tank - 2 Nos, Boiling Tank-2 Nos, Paddy Cooler-1
No, Bed Dryer with Blower unit -1 No., Paddy cleaner with
Publications. We therefore recommend that
S.No.168/2, 168/3 (New
S.No.1061/11 & 1061/12) & dust collection system - 1 No, Hot Air furnace with digital readers make necessary inquiries before sending
159/11, 11-A, Ekkadukandigai moisture control system -1No, Paddy Storage-1 No, Paddy
Village, Ekkadu Post, Tiruvallur Dryer unit with standard items - 1 No, Boiler with steam any monies or entering into any agreements with
pipe arrangements for boiling tank, soaking tanks - 1 No,
Taluk & District 602 021.
Storage tank-1 set, Paddy Precleaner-1No, Rubber Roll advertisers or otherwise acting on an
Loan Outstanding Rs.98.35 lakhs
as on 31.10.2021
Sheller-1 No, Paddy Separator-1 No, Elevators of different
types -11 Nos, Structural works such as frame work,
advertisement in any manner whatsoever.
working platform and electrical items.
Upset Price: Rs.7.83 lakhs, EMD Rs.5,00,000/-
Collateral - (Land & Building)
Factory land at S.No.168/3, 168/2, New S.No. 1061/12
Gramanatham, New S.No. 1061/11 and S.No. 159/11A
Gramanatham - altogether measuring 69 cents and 298
sq.ft Ekkadu Kandigai village, Tiruvallur Taluk and District
“Apple is not dominant in & Building thereon about 8557 sq.ft and drying yard 6000
sq.ft owned by Thiru. C.S. Dharaneswara Rao, Proprietor
the Indian market... Without Upset Price Rs.50.84 lakhs, EMD Rs.5,00,000/-
dominance, there can be no
Item No.2: E-Auction Sale Notice
abuse,” Apple said in the sub-
2) M/s. Jain Cable Industries Primary (Land & Building)
mission dated November 16 Pvt. Ltd. Land: Leasehold land at F-71, SIPCOT Industrial Complex,
which was signed by its chief Factory: Gummidipoondi Tk., Tiruvallur District - Extent - 99 cents
compliance officer Kyle F-71, SIPCOT Industrial Complex, owned by M/s. Jain Cable Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Gummidipoondi Tk,
Andeer. “It has already been Tiruvallur Dist - 601201 Building
established that Google is the Loan Outstanding Rs.3303.04 Factory Building-ACC - 7180 sq.ft, Godown & Landing
dominant player in India,” it lakhs as on 31.10.2021 area - GF-RCC 2365 sq.ft, Office & Landing area - FF -
RCC - 2365 sq.ft, EB Room, Workers Rest Room, Toilet,
added. Compound wall, fencing etc.
Apple and the CCI did not Upset Price Rs.65.45 lakhs
respond to a request for com- EMD Rs.5,00,000/-
ment. A spokesperson for (The highest bidder shall clear dues and obtain NOC
AlphabetInc'sGoogledeclined from the Commercial Tax Dept & Central Excise Dept.
tocommentwhen asked about Before execution of fresh Lease deed by SIPCOT).
Apple's assertions in the filing. Item No.3: Tender cum Public Spot - Auction Sale
The complainant in the Office : The TIIC Ltd., Mahindra Bolero Jeep Model 2008 -
case,a little-known non-profit Tiruvallur Branch, Bearing Regn. No. TN-20BW-0160
86, C&D, II Main Road, Ambattur, Upset Price : Rs. 30,000/-
group called 'Together We Chennai - 58. EMD Rs. 25,000/-
Fight Society', said Apple with Last date for
iOS dominates the market for Last date for
submission
Date of inspection of submission of tender, Date / Time of
non-licensable mobile operat- Property & Place
of tender, KYC
KYC documents & Auction
ing systems. documents &
payment of EMD
payment of EMD
Apple countered that in its
For Item No.1 & 2: For Item No.3 Tender Date: 20.01.2022
filing,saying the entire smart- Date: 12.01.2022 alongwith EMD to be Item No.1 & 2:
For Item No.1 & 2
phone market – which Between 11 A.M. & 4.00 19.01.2022 submitted on or before 11 A.M. to 1.00 P.M
includes licensable systems P.M. at the respective before 4 p.m. 20.01.2022 at 11.00 am. (Through Online
like Android – is the market factory address at TIIC Ltd., EMD shall be e-auction), Item
For Item No.3- Tiruvallur Branch, remitted directly at No.3: 11 A.M. (Spot-
that should be taken into con- Chennai - 58. Branch on 20.01.2022 auction at the Office
Between 11 a.m. & 4
sideration. p.m. On all working days at 11.00 am. of TIIC, Tiruvallur BO.
Apple also described the
1. The sale / auction will be conducted on 20.01.2022 at 11 A.M. - 1.00 P.M. for item
Indian complaint as a “proxy no.1&2 by the undersigned through E-Auction platform provided at the Web Portal
filing” in its CCI submission, https://www.bankeauctions.com (For Item No.3 Public-Spot auction will be conducted
saying that the complainant at Tiruvallur Branch at 11.A.M. on 20.01.2022)
was “likely acting in concert 2. Extension of time of the E- Auction from the last bid is 5 minutes each and the extension is
unlimited times (if bid received in the last 5 minutes). (Not applicable to Item. No.3)
with parties with whom Apple
has ongoing commercial and
contractual disputes globally
3. Further interest wil be charged as applicable, as per the loan agreement on the amount
outstanding and incidental expenses, costs, etc is due and payable till its realization.
(Not applicable to Item. No.3)
DECRYPTING
and/or that have complained
CRYPTO
4. The Bid amount shall be more than upset price. The Incremental bid amount is Rs.10,000/- or its
to other regulators.” multiples for item No.1&2 & Rs.1,000/- or its multiples for Item No.3.
The US tech company did 5. EMD shall be payable through DD in favour of the TIIC Ltd, payable at Chennai and shall be
submitted at the Tiruvallur branch office. The interested bidders shall submit the EMD along
not give any evidence in its with the bid participation form / KYC Documents etc, before the date and time specified above.
submission to support its For Item No.3 Sealed tenders with 25% of bid amount or EMD as indicated above whichever is
claim. The non-profit told higher by way of DD/pay Order (payable at The TIIC Ltd., Tiruvallur) shall have to be submitted,
Reuters that Apple's remark 6. The bidders are advised to go through the detailed terms and conditions of E-Auction available in
was “made to prejudice the the Web Portal of https://www.bankeauctions.com before submitting their bids and taking part in
the e-Auction. (For Item No.3, Terms & Conditions shall be collected from Branch Office)
mind”of the CCI“without any
7. The prospective qualified bidders may avail online training on e-auction from the Service provider
iota of proof”. —-REUTERS M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., prior to the date of e-auction and can contact the Service provider
M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Plot No.301, Gulf Petrochemical Building, 1st Floor, Udyogvihar Phase - 2,
Gurgaon, Haryana 122015, India, Phone No.0124 - 4302020 / 4302010 and having Chennai Number
CSC, Infosys Thiru Prabhakaran 7418281709 and Email ID as tn@c1india.com Neither the authorised officer, The
TIIC Ltd. nor M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd shall be liable for any internet network problem and the interested
bidders to ensure that they are technically well equipped for participating in the e-auction event. (Not
tie up to upskill applicable to Item No.3)
8. For Item No.1 & 2: The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of the successful bidder shall be retained
6 crore students towards part sale consideration and the EMD of the unsuccessful bidders shall be refunded. EMD Tanvi Ratna
shall not bear any interest. For Item No.1& 2: The successful bidder shall have to deposit 25%
of the sale price, adjusting the EMD already paid before 4.30 pm of the next working day after the Founder & CEO Policy 4.0
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA conclusion of the e -Auction. The balance 75% of the sale price shall be paid on or before 30th
New Delhi, December 19 day of sale confirmation or within such extended period as agreed upon in writing by and solely at
the discretion of the TIIC Ltd., In case of default in payment by the successful bidder, the amount
already deposited by the offerer shall be liable to be forfeited and the property shall be put to
CSC E-GOVERNANCE SER- re-auctionanddefaultingborrower/biddershallhavenoclaim/rightinrespectoftheamount/property.
VICES India and IT giant For Item No.3: The highest bidder should pay 25% of the highest bid amount (including EMD
remitted already) immediately, failing which EMD will be forfeited. TIIC reserves the right to
Infosys have collaborated to reject the tenders / offers without assigning any reason and the decision of the Corporatiorn in There's a surge of interest in cryptocurrency, but not many understand what they are, or how
impart digital skills among six this regard is final. they work. Digital currencies are extremely volatile, and as yet totally unregulated.
crore students of the age of 10 9. All Statutory dues including GST are payable by the successful bidder in respect of respective
to 22 years, mainly in rural assets / vehicle(s) being auctioned.
areas in the country. 10.The TIIC Ltd., is not responsible for any liabilities upon the property which is not in the Should you invest in crypto? Is it the currency of the future, as some evangelists claim? Or is it
knowledge of the TIIC Ltd.,
“Common services centres fool's gold, a get-rich dream that can never become reality in global financial transactions?
(CSCs), an SPV under the Min- 11. Every bidder of the e-Auction / public auction shall submit the attested copies of KYC documents
consisting of The RBI favours an official digital currency, but isn't 'official crypto' a contradiction in terms?
istry of Electronics and IT, has
a) PAN Card b) Address Proof (Aadhar card, Driving licence, Passport) c) ID Proof
tied up with leading IT com-
Original documents shall be produced for verification.
pany Infosys to empower stu- Listen to researcher and advisor Tanvi Ratna, founder & CEO of Policy 4.0, a think tank focused
For further details contact the Branch Manager, The TIIC Limited, Tiruvallur Branch.
dents in the age group of 10 to (Phone: 044-26257664, 9444396836) on the future of money and emerging technology issues for India.
22 years with digital skills BRANCH MANAGER
Chennai The TIIC Ltd.,
throughInfosysSpringboard,a 17.12.2021 DIPR/1170/Display/2021 Tiruvallur Branch
digital platform that helps Tanvi will be in conversation with Pranav Mukul and Aashish Aryan of The Indian Express.
��
accelerate reskilling and
improves employability,”
according to a statement.
Through this engagement,
CSC and Infosys will work
together to upskill students
and learners from underprivi-
legedcommunitiesinruraland
22 2021 Dec
06:00PM
To Register
SCAN
semi-urban areas across India
and help them develop voca- To register, SMS- IEEXP<space>"IE”<space>”Your name and email ID” to 56161
tional and professional skills.
CSC e-Governance Services
India managing director
Dinesh K Tyagi in the state- Associate Partners
ment said,“The foundation of
CSC is based on education.We
have a mandate of training six
crore rural citizens in digital
skills under the Pradhan
Mantri Gramin Digital Sak-
shartaAbhiyan (PMGDISHA).”
CHENNAI/KOCHI

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