MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021

20 pages in 1 section
MUMBAI www.business-standard.com
~10.00
VOLUME XXVI NUMBER 2

How markets performed last week

% chg over Dec 31, ‘20
Index on *One- --————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Aug 13, ‘21 week Local currency in US $

Sensex 55,437 2.1 16.1 14.3
Nifty 16,529 1.8 18.2 16.3 POLITICS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS P7 COMPANIES P2
Dow Jones 35,515 0.91 16.0 16.0
Nasdaq
Hang Seng
Nikkei
14,823
26,392
27,977
-0.1
0.8
0.6
15.0
-3.1
1.9
15.0
-3.5
-4.0
ELECTRICITY REFORMS TIED PAYTM GOING THE SUPER
FTSE
DAX
7,219
15,977
1.3
1.4
11.7
16.5
13.4
12.5
IN KNOTS AMID PROTESTS APP WAY BY END OF YEAR
*Change (%) over previous week Source: Bloomberg P U B L I S HE D S I MU L T A N E O USL Y F R O M AH M E D AB AD , B E NG AL UR U, B H UB ANE SW AR , CH AND I G AR H , CH E NNAI , H Y D E R AB AD , KOCHI, K OL K ATA, L UCK N OW , MUMBA I (AL SO P R IN TE D IN BHOP AL ), N E W DE L HI AN D P UN E

TALIBAN TAKES OVER

KABUL; AFGHAN ‘Gati Shakti’ to give Ola’s maiden e-scooter
PRESIDENT FLEES
undercuts competition
Taliban leaders entered Kabul on Sunday
as they prepared to retake control of
Afghanistan 20 years after they were
removed by the US military. Officials with
the militant group said they’ve occupied
~100-trn infra boost
PM sets target for energy independent India by 2047
Bhavish Aggarwal against sale of petrol 2-wheelers after 2025
PEERZADA ABRAR & ATTRACTIVE RATES
the presidential palace, Reuters reported. SHALLY SETH MOHILE Ex-showroom prices post
US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled the ADITI PHADNIS Bengaluru, 15 August
state and FAME subsidy
country, according to Abdullah Abdullah, New Delhi, 15 August
head of the High Council for National SoftBank-backed Ola

L
Reconciliation. Local media reported ooking to put the Covid horrors Electric took the wraps nS1 nS1 Pro (Price in ~)
Ghani was bound for neighbouring behind and place the economy off its maiden e-scooter
Tajikistan, along with some close aides. on the fast-track, Prime Minister offerings — Ola S1 and Delhi 85,099
American diplomats were evacuated from Narendra Modi promised a slew S1 Pro — for a commer- 110,149
their embassy by helicopter to the airport of initiatives in his Independence Day cial launch on Sunday.
as local Afghan forces, trained for years speech on Sunday, including the ~100- With prices starting
Gujarat 79,999
and equipped by the United States trillion Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti Bharat from ~99,999 (exclud- 109,999
and others for billions of dollars, Master Plan for integrated infrastructure ing state government Maharashtra 94,996
melted away. 8> growth. He also set a target of making incentives, registration 124,999
India energy independent by 2047 by fee, and insurance Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, OLA Electric PHOTO:PTI
replacing petroleum with other forms of cost), the Bhavish Rajasthan 89,968
ON PAGE 9
energy and announced a
National Hydrogen
Aggarwal-founded
firm said the e-scooters
world and will deliver
the best scooter experi-
2025, sale of petrol-
powered two-wheelers
119,138

SPECIALS
MONDAY EDIT:
Mission, noting the coun-
try spends ~12 trillion on
are designed and engi-
neered in India for the
ence to the consumer.
He suggested that after
should not be allowed.
Turn to Page 6 >
All other
states
99,999
129,999
RHETORIC
BANKER’S TRUST AND REALITY energy imports every
year.
Of Covid deaths, bank
Securities tax mop-up at 70% of
In his 90-minute
deposits and bad loans speech, the prime minister hailed start-
Districts with higher death rates during up unicorns for wealth creation and said In his 90-minute Independence Day speech, PM Narendra Modi
the pandemic have shown outflow of his government would develop an e-com- hailed start-up unicorns for wealth creation

Budget target amid market rally

bank deposits, rise in home loan NPAs
and rush to raise gold loans.
TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY writes
STATSGURU 19 >
Dealing with climate change
PHOTO: PTI
merce platform for products manufac-
tured by women self-help groups in vil-
19 > lages. The Gati Shakti Bharat Master Plan
Gati Shakti gathers PM looks to make
has a striking resemblance to the 2019- speed as new India global green DILASHA SETH COLLECTION AT A HEALTHY RATE
20 Budget proposal which mentioned the
same figure for the same purpose:
investment plan hydrogen hub New Delhi, 15 August (~ crore)

5,045

5,291
nSecurities transaction
Infrastructure creation; his own The government’s national ma- PM Narendra Modi announced a More than 70 per cent of the tax collection*

12,800

13,000

12,500
8,800
THE SMART INVESTOR Independence Day speeches in 2019 and ster plan of Gati Shakti could all new target of making India an budgetary target for collection of
Time to reduce weight also last year had mentioned the National be about speeding up economic ‘Energy Independent’ nation the securities transaction tax
nBudget target
in mid-, small-cap stocks, Infrastructure Pipeline Project. recovery through infrastructure before the country reaches 100 (STT) has been achieved by * until August 12
Source: Govt 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22
says Samir Arora 10 > The plan is aimed at easier intercon- building. Gati could bring in years of India’s independence, August itself, on the back of
nectivity between road, rail, air and economic power since the amb- in 2047. Modi’s comments come increased retail participation in % of Budget target 39% 41% 70%
MONEY MANAGER waterways to reduce travel time and itious ~113-trillion plan could a few months before the country the stock market.
Behind the glitter 18 > improve industrial productivity. As generate demand for other sec- is expected to miss an earlier The STT collection as on over the mop-up of ~5,291 crore market,” J B Mohapatra, chairman
The surge in gold loans and the sharp before, the prime minister emphasis was tors, including cement, metal, goal that he had set of a 10 per August 12 stood at ~8,800 crore, until August 2020. “The sharp of the Central Board of Direct
uptick in auctions may be hiding a larger on “Indian-made”: Whether it was fighter and power, and more importa- cent cut in crude oil import against the target of ~12,500 crore. increase in the STT collection can Taxes, told Business Standard.
pain, reports RAGHU MOHAN aircraft or mobile phones. Turn to Page 6 > ntly, generate employment. 4 > dependence by 2022. 4> In fact, the growth is 64 per cent be attributed to an overheated Turn to Page 6 >
2 COMPANIES
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

IN BRIEF
TaMo lines up new models, It’s loading: Paytm super app by end of year
looks to enhance sales infra SHIVANI SHINDE
Mumbai, August 15
Tata Motors plans to drive in new
models, expand sales network as With almost 700 developers on its
it aims to maintain its double digit mini app store already, fintech major
market share in the highly Paytm is looking to become a super
competitive domestic market, as app by the end of year when it hopes
per a top company company to have as many as 2,000 to 3,000
official. The auto major, which developers on board, said source close
sells models including Nexon, to the development.
Harrier and Safari, has clawed its A super app is a mobile app with a
way up to over 10 per cent market share in the passenger large number of use cases of pay-
vehicle space in July this year after a span of nine years and ments, commerce, daily life and finan-
now plans to hold on to it with a slew of measures. In order to cial services, explains RedSeer.
bring additional volumes and bring more customers to its Paytm’s super app strategy is sim-
fold, the company plans to add around 250 sales outlets by the ilar to its Chinese investor Alibaba’s
end of the fiscal. "Already four months are over and we are at Alipay foray into mini apps in order
a market share of 10.3 per cent. Still, we have two big launches to get more users on the platform. In
lined up, including the Hornbill, so that is still to come. China, payments players like WeChat
Besides, we are continuously coming up with exciting and Alipay have been able to transit
interventions in the existing portfolio. So we are quite into a super app environment, with
confident of maintaining this position," Tata Motors President hundreds of use cases of mini apps.
Passenger Vehicles Business Shailesh Chandra said. PTI Paytm’s largest use case is, of
course, its payments ecosystem,
which has 333 million users and 21.2
TRACKING THE RISE million merchants. According to
Paytm's draft red herring prospectus
OF WOMEN GAMERS (DRHP), the company is the largest
IN INDIA payments platform in India, with a
BETTING BIG
n 700 developers on its mini app store;
will touch 2,000-3,000 by year end
n Taking a leaf out from Alipay’s mini
app store strategy
n Vaccine Finder is one of the apps
used by 10 mn users in last 3 mths
n As of March 31, the mini app store
has 5.7 million monthly active
users, according to DRHP
gross merchandise value of ~403,300 the number of developers that it
billion in FY21. As of March 31, Paytm’s intends to add by the end of the year.
mini app store had 5.7 million Paytm says in its DHRP that con-
monthly active users. sumers can opt for services like online
Explaining the company’s mini recharges, bill payments, money
app store strategy, Shreyas Srinivasan, transfers and pay in-store merchants.
head, Paytm mini app store, said, “Our Users can also buy entertainment and
strategy is to make sure that our users travel tickets, consume content, play
have more use cases to open Paytm online games and access hundreds of
every day. We want to provide more
integrated services so that users do
mini apps across food delivery, ride
hailing and e-commerce services. A
not need to set up accounts at multiple broad range of financial services, such
places.” Srinivasan did not confirm on as consumer wallets, postpaid (buy-
now-pay-later), auto and health insur-
ance, personal loans, brokerage
accounts and equity trading accounts,
are also on offer.
Srinivasan added that Paytm was
trying to be a platform where devel-
opers and businesses can create a
seamless experience for users — from
search to payment. To do this, Paytm
has allowed developers to create apps
in HTML and Javascript, which means
they are quick and cheap to build.
“We give them traffic and the abil-
ity to receive payments very easily. We
open Paytm’s payments instruments
for developers on both the consumer-
facing Paytm app as well as the mer-
chant-facing platform,” he said.
Moreover, the listing on Paytm is
free, and if payments happen via UPI
or a mobile wallet, there are no trans-
action charges. Charges are applicable
only for credit card payments (2 per
cent) or for advertisements. Paytm is
also making payments across mer-
chant QR codes easy, “For many apps
in the online-to-offline segment, the
journey starts from their store by using
a QR code. So we are integrating their
QR codes into Paytm. Right now it’s
in beta,” said Srinivasan.
Some of the popular names that
are currently on the Paytm mini app
store include Domino’s, Ola,
Decathlon, Rapido, among others.
Vaccine Finder has been one of
Paytm’s most successful apps and has
been accessed by almost 10 million
users in the last three months. “Last
month we added the feature of book-
ing vaccines using this app, which has
been accredited by CoWin. More than
1.4 million users have booked vaccine
slots using this app,” Srinivasan said.
Experts say that the biggest advan-
tage of a mini app store is that it
declutters your phone as there is no
need to download different apps for
different services.
“With mobile phones becoming
the sole device that is used frequently,
this can get users hooked.
Additionally, a fintech player also
gives ease of payment across transac-
tions, reducing the pain of maintain-
ing multiple accounts and passwords,”
said a senior analyst on the condition
of anonymity.

Covid-19 saw gaming explode in

popularity but Indians have

Vi lost 12.4 mn subscribers ‘Domestic flat

retained their habit even into 2021,
with a 1.7x increase in the unique
user count from July 2020 to April

steel prices may

2021. A survey conducted between
February 9 and February 16, 2021, on
the InMobi Pulse Platform, showed
that 49% of the women started
playing games due to the pandemic.
COMPILED BY SHIVANI SHINDE
in Q1, most since March ’20 not go up now’
ANEESH PHADNIS
Mumbai, 15 August LOW SIGNAL With domestic steel prices not expected to rise in the same
43% 49% 49% n Vodafone Idea n Reliance Jio n Bharti Airtel momentum they did a few months ago, Tata Steel is banking on

V
odafone Idea (Vi) lost 12.4 million Subscribers (million) strong volumes to sustain its earnings before interest, tax,
subscribers in the first quarter of 440.6 depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) in the midst of rising costs.
Smartphone Women started of women
FY22, the most since the fourth 320.0 331.3 398.3 321.2 In conversation with Aditi Divekar, T V NARENDRAN, chief executive
quarter of FY20, as the second wave of 276.8 279.8 279.8 officer and managing director of Tata Steel, talks about the
users are playing games gamers are
women gamers due to Covid 24+ Covid hurt its operational and financial 255.4 company's thrust on exports in 2021-22 (FY22), Europe operations
performance. becoming self-sufficient, and the domestic demand scenario amid
Vi had managed to trim subscriber an anticipated third wave. Edited excerpts.
53 mins/day GENRE- Action 88 losses in the third and fourth quarters of
average time BASED Board 42 FY21. However, it lost 12.4 million sub- With domestic steel prices not
spent by BREAK-UP Card 37 scribers and its customer base shrunk to expected to rise in the same
Indian women OF TIME Casual 43
255.4 million in the first quarter of FY22. momentum they did a few
on gaming SPENT PER Sequential fall in 4G users was modest, months ago, Tata Steel is
apps Sports 47 indicating that most of the loss was in the Q1 FY 2020 Q1 FY 2021 Q1 FY 2022 banking on strong volumes to
DAY (in min) Strategy 56 low-margin 2G segment. At the end of the Source: Companies sustain its earnings before
June quarter, Vi reported 112.9 million 4G interest, tax, depreciation, and
REGIONAL TRENDS* users against 113.9 million in the previous loans and non-convertible debentures. Its on account of free recharges during the amortisation (Ebitda) in the
25.3% 20.4% 21.3% 16.2% quarter. Rival Reliance Jio gained the most
from Vi’s falling market share as it added
gross debt, too, has increased sequentially
to ~1.9 trillion from ~1.8 trillion, including
second wave and lower usage.
In a statement, MD and CEO Ravinder
midst of rising costs. In
conversation with Aditi Divekar,
West India's East North and South
14.4 million subscribers in the first quarter. accrued interest. Takkar blamed the weak results to disrup- T V NARENDRAN, chief executive
share of India's Central India
Vi’s loss of 12.4 million in a quarter is The company narrowed net loss by 71 tions caused by the second wave. “We con- officer and managing director of
downloads share India *data for Q1
its second highest since the fourth quarter per cent to ~7,319 crore in the first quarter tinue to focus on executing our strategy to Tata Steel, talks about the
of FY20 when it lost 12.9 million cus- of FY22 on a year-on-year basis on account keep our customers ahead and our cost- company's thrust on exports in
75% OF WOMEN ARE WATCHING ADS OVER
COMMITTED GAMERS, tomers. Overall, in the last two years, the of lower exceptional expenses. In the same optimisation plan remains on track to 2021-22 (FY22), Europe
PAYING MONEY struggling company has lost 64.6 million period last year, it had posted a net loss of deliver the targeted savings. We are in operations becoming self-
PLAYING A MOBILE
GAME EVERY DAY 79% watched an ad to customers. In contrast, Jio and Airtel have
added 109.3 million and 44 million cus-
~25,460 crore due to provisioning for
adjusted gross revenue dues.
active discussions with potential investors
for fundraising to achieve our strategic
sufficient, and the domestic
demand scenario amid an
progress in a game
77% play once to tomers, respectively. On a sequential basis, however, it was intent,” he said. The company has targeted anticipated third wave. Edited
several times a day 21% paid money The customer base was disclosed along a weak showing as the loss widened from ~4,000 crore of annualised cost savings excerpts.
12% play at least once SOME OF THE POPULAR GAMES
with the company’s financial results for
the first time under new Chairman
~7,022 crore due to lower revenue.
Gross revenue declined 14.1 per cent on
and has achieved around 70 per cent of its
target on a run-rate basis by the end of the Domestic steel prices have thrust on exports than the
a week > Call of Duty Himanshu Kapania, who took charge fol- a year-on-year basis to ~9,152 crore due to first quarter, he said. corrected recently. There is domestic market due to
11% play once a month > Clash of Clans lowing the resignation of Kumar fall in subscribers. Sequentially, too, reve- Similarly, Vi said it continues to invest also resistance from the better pricing overseas.
or less > Hill Climber Mangalam Birla last month. nue declined 4.7 per cent from ~9,607 in increasing coverage and capacity. consumer industry against What is Tata Steel’s plan for
Vi has sought a moratorium from the crore. Ebitda declined 9.5 per cent on a During the quarter, it added around price hikes. Supply is high in FY22 exports?
Note: Includes data from the InMobi Advertising and Audiences Platform
between Jan 2020 and Jan 2021 and data from VTION between Jan 2021 and government for its spectrum dues. Its wor- year-on-year basis to ~3707 crore in the 6,400 4G FDD sites, primarily through the market. How do you see We will be exporting around
Apr 2021 Source: InMobi Pulse Platform survey sening financial condition has resulted in first quarter. Average revenue per user refarming of 2G/3G spectrum to expand the pricing scenario for steel 15-20 per cent this financial
credit rating downgrade for its long-term (ARPU) fell sequentially to ~104 from ~107 its 4G coverage. producers? year, which is higher than the
Between the flat and long normal 10-15 per cent we do
steel products, the latter faces every year. In Q1 last year, we

Fewer brands, more models in M&M’s comeback trail

SHALLY SETH MOHILE
Mumbai, 15 August
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)
is set to embark on a sharper
brand architecture as it seeks
to make a strong comeback in
the competitive sport utility
vehicle (SUV) market, said a
senior company executive. It
will have fewer 'top head'
and brands and will instead
rely on brand recall to launch
new models (rather than new
brands). It will create differen-
tiation by way of brand
extensions.
“Henceforth, we’ll have a
lot more focused strategy on
nameplates and a sharper
brand architecture. It’s based
on our research that the same
brand can cater to different
types of buyer profiles by way
of differentiated features,” said
Rajesh Jejurikar, executive
director – automotive and
farm sectors, M&M.
M&M will follow a similar
strategy for the Scorpio, the
Bolero, and the Thar, he said.
The XUV700, its latest SUV
offering that broke cover on
Saturday, is the first model to
mark the shift in strategy.
Priced at ~11.99 lakh and going
up to ~14.99 lakh, the model
comes with variants under the
MX and AX Series.
While the former is aimed
at entry-level buyers, the latter
offers trims loaded with
advanced safety and high-end
M&M has learnt lessons
PRICE OF XUV7OO on brand architecture the
hard way. As the company's
All prices are ex-showroom stronghold in the segment
11.99 lakh 13.99 lakh began to weaken in 2012-13
MX Gasoline AdrenoX AX3 with the entry of 'car-like
Gasoline SUVs', it launched multiple
SUVs — all under different
12.49 lakh 14.99 lakh brands. It included the
MX Diesel AdrenoX AX5 Quanto, the NuvoSport, the
Gasoline KUV100, the Verito Vibe, and
the TUV300. But none lived
up to expectations. In trying
features targeted at more to protect its turf and chasing
mature SUV buyers. The com- volumes, M&M had to cede
pany has not revealed the ground to rivals.
prices of the top-end trim “The XUV700 will have to
under the AX Series and the work hard for M&M and set the
seven-seater. foundation of Mahindra core
M&M has not announced a SUV strategy,” said Ravi
date for bookings of the model Bhatia, president and manag-
just yet. It is expected to do so ing director at JATO
in the coming weeks. Dynamics.The narrow price
gap between the entry level
and top end trim indicates that
high end variants may be
introduced in future.
The pricing is indeed agres-
sive and is designed to be an
investment to create
demamd pull in the market.
Even though this may cause a
short term profitability chal-
lenge it is a sensible strategy
With the latest offering that
replaces the flagship XUV5OO,
the SUV major is looking to
straddle both ends of the mar-
ket — the premium SUV seg-
ment, which has the Creta, the
Seltos, the Tata Harrier, and
the MG Hector, and the pre-
mium six-seater SUV seg-
ment, which has the Hector
Plus, the Tata Safari, and the
Hyundai Alcazar.
higher pricing pressure when
the economy comes under
pressure. This is exactly what
has happened during the
pandemic. Long steel prices
had dropped over the past
few weeks, but have started
to go up. If construction activ-
ity comes back and the infras-
tructure sector picks up, the
a demand-supply balance will
get better from October
onwards.
In flat products (which
takes its cue from global mar-
kets), Europe and the US steel
prices have been higher. In
flats, if there is any slowdown
in domestic demand, exports
are always an option. Having
said that, the domestic auto-
mobile (auto) industry is
coming back reasonably well
in select segments. We may
not see prices go up the way
we saw them rise three-four
months back.
With domestic steel price-
rise momentum not staying
exported 50 per cent since the
domestic market was com-
pletely shut. For 2020-21, the
overall exports were 20-22 per
cent. Our exports are mainly
to Southeast Asia, Southern
Europe, and West Asia.
Rumours of a likely third
wave amid consumer
industry anticipating a fall
in prices has led to steel
purchase getting deferred.
How do you see the domestic
demand scenario for the rest
of FY22?
Sometimes demand is not
exactly the underlying
demand and there is a specu-
lative element to it. Over the
past two months, everyone
was expecting steel prices to
drop. Steel prices did drop,
but I can see things have
somewhat changed in
August. Speculative compo-
nents in demand are coming
back. People are buying more
in August. Construction
activity is picking up. The

Instagram ad options give businesses a wider reach strong, how do you see Tata
Steel's Ebitda in the coming
quarters? The
company had
rainy season is not a great
time for us, but Q1 suffered
largely due to
unavailability
NEHA ALAWADHI Global Business Group at campaign. It has helped rapid- clocked a record- of workforce.
New Delhi, 12 August Facebook India. “TODAY, 90% OF INSTANT BOOST ly build awareness in India for high Ebitda in the In the flat pro-

More and more businesses in

India are using Instagram
through brand campaigns
and creators to reach
a wider audience, a senior
executive said.
“We started with only
(Instagram) Feed, and then
there are products like Stories,
Live, IGTV, and now Reels is
the latest addition. What we
see is that our audience con-
tinues to engage and interact
with creators, public figures
and brands. And today,
90 per cent of people follow at
least one business on Insta-
gram. This means they
actually want to see more
about this business or brand,
when they have new launches
or something new to share,”
said Arun Srinivas, director of
With branded content ads,
advertisers can promote cre-
ators’ branded content posts
as feed and stories-based ads.
Srinivas added that Reels,
the short format video pro-
duct that was launched in
India last year, shortly after
TikTok was banned, has
gained massive traction. An
average of over 6 million Reels
are produced in India every
day, as of the last three
months ending July 2021.
While Reels has been
around for a year, advertising
on the product began only six
weeks ago. “We have some
early campaigns which have
gone live. For example, Nykaa
has done a campaign to pro-
mote its new ranges of make-
ups, from foundation or eye-
shadow, through creators.
PEOPLE FOLLOW AT n More than 200 million businesses,
one of our global flagship
playlists,” said Neha Ahuja,
April-June
quarter.
duct segment,
warehousing,
LEAST ONE BUSINESS mostly small ones, use Instagram head of marketing, Spotify Our Ebitda per
T V NARENDRAN oil and gas,
ON INSTAGRAM. THIS tools to connect with customers India. Similarly, toothpaste tonne may not CEO & MD, Tata Steel and water pip-
n An average 6 million Reels produced brand Closeup’s increase in the ing are also
MEANS THEY WANT TO #FreedomToLove campaign second quarter. There is cost helping, along with pick-up
in India everyday (three months
SEE MORE ABOUT THIS ending July 2021) for Valentine’s Day had pressure due to increase in in select auto segments.
BUSINESS OR BRAND“ n Brands like Spotify, Closeup, Red
worked with creators to coal prices and other con-
develop content. This resulted sumables. But the overall Europe deliveries have been
ARUN SRINIVAS, Label, Nykaa used Instagram to reach in a 4.4-points lift in ad recall Ebitda can get better since good in Q1FY22. How are you
Director of Global wider customer base for the campaign. there is more volume upside seeing Europe operations
Business Group at Other brands such as Red potential in the subsequent for the rest of the year?
Facebook India n Different ad options for brands are
Stories, Feed, IGTV, Live and Reels Label’s #letsunstereotypeIndia quarters than a margin In Europe, we are focused
campaign also resulted in a upside. First quarter (Q1) was on making it self-sufficient
movement of 8.7 points in ad not the best volume for us and cash-positive. We are
Another example is audio influencers and promotions resulted in 60 million views recall. The product a brand due to Covid (second wave) also focused on separating
streaming service of Spotify’s on Instagram, Spotify saw an and the “Holi Ke Rang” play- chooses on Instagram to drive impact and oxygen diversion into Tata Steel Netherlands
#Listenwiththeworld cam- increase of 23 per cent in its list ranked among the top its advertising depends on the for medical use. The second and Tata Steel UK - this will
paign, where it worked with daily average users in India on three most consumed playlists kind of announcement or half of FY22 is also expected allow the businesses to pur-
creators to develop content the “Today's Top Hits” play- on Spotify for the week. campaign it wants to do, said to be better than the first half, sue alternative strategies,
that showcased how diverse list. The Sweden-based firm “We combined the power Srinivas. The platform helps in terms of volumes. and give them greater agility
playlists on Spotify inspire also ran a #SpotifywaaliHoli of authentic influencer recom- brands connect with creators, and focus.
their work. campaign using Reels to host mendations with the targeting helping them monetise oppor- Since last year, steel
Using a combination of a “Reels Holi party,” which options on Instagram on this tunities. companies have laid greater More on business-standard.com
.
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 COMPANIES 3 <

Godrej Properties sees room to ‘Good growth headroom

scale up Mumbai home mkt biz
RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH
Mumbai, 15 August
G
odrej Properties is looking to
scale up its business in the
Mumbai home market, after
rapidly expanding in National Capital
Region (NCR) and Bengaluru.
The company has rejigged its
Mumbai management team and
brought in a new chief executive to
focus on Mumbai operations. It plans
to launch mid-income housing and a
fair amount of premium housing in
Mumbai, the company’s chairman,
Pirojsha Godrej, said during a confer-
ence call with analysts last week. “I
think it is a very big market in Mumbai...
if we were rating our own performance
in the city, we would honestly give our-
selves a pretty low grade,” Godrej said.
The company has 27 projects in
Mumbai with a development potential
of 38 million square feet and nine proj-
ects with 16 million sq ft under con-
struction. The company hopes to go to
market with at least 4-5 launches in the
near future, Managing Director Mohit
Malhotra said. Godrej said there was no
reason for its sales in Mumbai to be at
the levels that they are currently at. “So,
“WE ARE LOOKING AT BOTH STEPPING UP
JOINT VENTURES AND SOCIETY
n Godrej Properties has
REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN rejigged its Mumbai
MUMBAI WHERE THERE ARE management team and
brought in a new
EXCITING DISCUSSIONS chief executive
UNDERWAY” n Plans to launch mid-
PIROJSHA GODREJ income housing and a
Chairman, Godrej fair amount of premium
Properties housing in Mumbai
we have taken a look at where some of are looking at both joint ventures and
the areas we have not done well.” society redevelopment projects in
Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Mumbai where there’s some exciting
Property Consultants, said MMR, which discussions underway,” Godrej said.
had the presence of several leading Godrej said the company is looking
developers, saw less activity by Godrej at some land purchases where the land
Properties. “The time is right for them parcels are coming in at a good value
to increase their presence across MMR, and with attractive payment terms. “I
given that consumer demand for large wouldn’t say there is distress valuation,
and listed players is on a high,” Puri said. but certainly we think there are some
attractive opportunities and we think
Redevelopment, land buys the timing is interesting because most
The company is also looking to focus
on redevelopment projects in Mumbai
developers continue to be struggling
with liquidity issues,” he said.
like other top developers such as Oberoi The company raised ~3,750 crore last
and Tata Realty & Infrastructure. “We year through QIP to buy land and make
n Has 27 projects in
Mumbai with a
potential of 38 million
sq. ft; 9 projects with
16 million sq. ft
n Hopes to go to market
with at least four to
five launches in the
near future
related payments. “We do think it’s a
good time to be investing that capital
and land markets probably will start
tightening in a year or two. So, I think
the more of it that we can get done
within that 12-to-24-month timeframe,
the better it will be,” he said.
Over a medium to long-term hori-
zon, Pirojsha said he thinks this could
be a very interesting opportunity for the
company to create an REIT (real estate
investment trust) to other such struc-
ture where Godrej will have a minority
stake, but in a pretty sizeable venture,
as some of the REITs that have listed
are examples of similar structure.
for both Mindtree & LTI’
SANJAY JALONA, CEO and MD of LTI (erstwhile L&T Infotech), will complete six years at the helm of the
company. Since he led the firm to a successful listing in 2016, the company’s stock price has gone up
6.7x. In an interview with Shivani Shinde, he talks about growth momentum, Shoshin approach to
hiring and more. Edited excerpts:
Q1 results reported a strong cal focus. Six years back when
growth momentum. How do I joined this company, we got
you see the fiscal year out of several verticals and
panning out? decided to get a sharp focus on
This was our best-ever Q1 since a few sectors. Second, aware-
we got listed and the growth ness on new technology. We
was best in q-o-q terms. The bet very early on Snowflake, a
good thing about this growth data warehousing services pro-
is that it was holistic and across vider. Last year, they had the
parameters. Traditionally, we largest IPO in the US, but more
have seen growth a bit soft in importantly they recently
verticals like insurance, energy made us their Elite Service
and utility, but even those have partner globally. There are sev-
done well. We added 23 new eral such examples. Third, we
logos, and revenue from large make sure our staff are on a
accounts grew well. Our confi- continuous path of learning.
dence comes from Q1 exit, con- In short, we want to be
versation with customers, the paranoid all the time, and keep
work that is in the pipeline and looking for newer things, keep “I CANNOT CRYSTAL-
robust demand. We have an appetite for risk and for fai-
added over 4,000 people lure. I have incorporated the GAZE, BUT FOR AT LEAST
between Q4FY21 and Q1FY22. Shoshin-Jain-Buddhism phi- THE NEXT 7-8 YEARS,
losophy of a “beginners mind”
How are you making sure that within the company.
THERE IS ENOUGH AND
LTI continues to capture the MORE IN TERMS OF
growth due to the cloud and
digital transformation?
You are a part of L&T conglom-
erate that has two other tech
TECH SERVICES”
We believe that this firms, one is into
is an era of digital services (Mindtree) be where the largest global SI’s
restructuring. If and the other into or India GSI’s will also have
three years back tech. Do we see presence. We are used to com-
you asked me about them coming toget- peting for the mindshare of the

Unfreeze Zee insider trading a/cs: Bajaj Fin to Sebi
NIKUNJ OHRI
New Delhi, 15 August
Bajaj Finance has written to the
Securities and Exchange Board
of India (Sebi) requesting to
unfreeze the funds of ~1,200
crore lying in the accounts of
individuals blocked by the reg-
ulator for insider trading in Zee
Entertainment Enterprises.
The freezing has blocked
IPO financing provided to
these accounts by Bajaj
Finance, which could create a
severe cash crunch and a sub-
sequent default on repayments
by the shadow lender.
As Sebi has debarred 15
entities from trading in capital
markets and ordered impound-
ing of gains of ~23.84 crore,
HDFC Bank — where accounts
were opened by such individ-
uals for IPO financing —
informed Bajaj Finance that
such accounts have been
blocked for any debit.
Accounts that belong to the
Jajoo Family and the Chawla
Family, who are named in the
Sebi order, would be frozen
until ~23.84 crore is not trans-
ferred to a separate escrow
account. But HDFC Bank has
frozen the account, including
funds of over ~1,200 crore. The
Sebi order names Ritesh Jajoo,
Gomati Rotalia, Daljit Chawla,
among others, for insider trad-
ing in Zee shares.
Bajaj Finance has written to
the markets regulator, saying
like its normal business prac-
tice, the non-banking finance
company (NBFC) borrowed
remote workforce, I
would
laughed and said
have
SANJAY JALONA
MD & CEO, LTI
her or are there syn-
ergies that can be
built on?
customer. We reduced our
presence from some of the sec-
tors and started to focus on
funds from various lenders and liabilities. “It is also important ness operations. “There will not the industry will L&T has been a very fewer things. We invested in
is bound to meet timely repay- to note that in this case, the cus- be any impact on our business perish. But look around and supportive parent group for us. building a dream team which
ment obligations. The NBFC is tomers’ obligation is very small operations,” the NBFC told this every industry has been They have various IT services co-creates with customers.
undergoing a cash flow crunch compared to the amount newspaper. The intention of restructured. And the one companies in their portfolio. IT LTI’s culture is now customer-
on freezing such accounts. blocked,” Bajaj Finance said. the regulator was to freeze thing that is binding this companies and LTTS cater to centric... We have acquired
In its response to queries, The blockage of funds funds of ~23.84 crore; however, together is technology. I cannot two different markets and have seven companies and these are
Bajaj Finance said would adversely the action has unintentionally crystal gaze, but for at least the been in this space for 20 years. all small tuck-in acquisitions
it maintains adequ- BAJAJ FINANCE HAS impact the shadow led to the freezing of Bajaj Fina- next 7-8 years, there is enough Mindtree and LTI are both where the largest one for us
ate liquidity for its TOLD SEBI THAT THE lender’s ability to nce’s fund of over ~1,200 crore. and more in terms of tech serv- doing well, and the headroom would have been $15-20 mil-
business opera- BLOCKAGE OF FUNDS repay and may, in The action on insider trad- ices. Earlier, there would be for growth is also good. We lion in revenue. We are not into
tions. “The com- WOULD ADVERSELY turn, result in a ing by Sebi was taken to protect this one company that would complement each other, there headline grabbing M&As for
pany does back to IMPACT ITS ABILITY default, it is said to the interest of shareholders. lead in technology adoption or is a good place where we can just taking up revenue. We
back financing TO REPAY AND MAY have told the regu- However, the interest of Bajaj shift, and others would follow. collaborate too. Only time will have to build capability that
arrangements for RESULT IN A DEFAULT lator. Such a situ- Finance’s shareholders is also Now, if you do not accept this tell if there is a need for these creates differentiation.
IPO financing so it ation may halt at stake as it is also a listed firm. shift, you will disappear. to merge.
is important that money is Bajaj Finance’s business and its HDFC Bank is also said to How much of the demand-
released to us from the cus- reputation would be at stake separately approach Sebi for …so what is LTI doing to keep Majority deals now are digital supply scenario bothers you?
tomer/s account on the sched- without having committed any clarity over the treatment of up with this shift? first, which also means they Attrition has spiked, for this
uled repayment date.” wrongdoing, the NBFC is said such accounts. Bajaj Finance There are two things that are are getting smaller. Does it quarter it was 15.2 per cent for
However, Bajaj Finance is to have told the regulator. said IPO financing provided to important in our business: one, mean more competition? us. It’s in line with what we see
maintaining more than adequ- In its response, Bajaj these individuals was driven by you need to know the business Our business has always been in the market. More than the
ate internal cash surpluses for Finance said it maintains the company's internal product of your customers and hence hyper competitive. At least 85- attrition, the bigger challenge
repayment of its committed adequate liquidity for its busi- programme. you need to have a sharp verti- 90 per cent of our business will is the talent pool.

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Windlas Biotech Limited has filed the prospectus with the Registrar of Companies, Uttarakhand at Dehradun. The Prospectus is available on the website of the SEBI
at www.sebi.gov.in as well as on the websites of the book running lead managers, SBI Capital Markets Limited, DAM Capital Advisors Limited (Formerly IDFC
Securities) and IIFL Securities Limited at www.sbicaps.com, www.damcapital.in and www.iiflcap.com, respectively, the website of the National Stock Exchange of India
Limited at www.nseindia.com and the website of the BSE Limited. Potential investors should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and
for details relating to such risk, see the section titled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19 of the Prospectus.
The Equity Shares offered in the Offer have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or any other
applicable law of the United States and, unless so registered, may not be offered or sold within the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a
transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the Equity Shares are only being offered
and sold (i) within the United States only to persons reasonably believed to be “qualified institutional buyers” (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act, “Rule
144A”) in transactions exempt from, or not subject to, registration requirements of the Securities Act, and (ii) outside the United States in offshore transactions in
reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act and pursuant to the applicable laws of the jurisdictions where those offers and sales are made. There will be no
public offering of the Equity Shares in the United States.
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4 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

IN BRIEF
Meghalaya ex-rebel encounter: Gati Shakti gains speed Vision 2047: PM
Home min quits over violence emphasises on
Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui resigned on Sunday
amid violence in Shillong over police encounter of a top former
militant, who had surrendered. Curfew was imposed in Shillong
and mobile internet stopped in at least four districts of Meghalaya
on Sunday amid vandalism and arson. The curfew was imposed in
as new investment plan
Govt intends to power up economic recovery through infrastructure building
green hydrogen
Shillong from 8 pm on Sunday till 5 am on Tuesday, they said. TWESH MISHRA
Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, a militant who had surrendered, was JYOTI MUKUL (EPC) companies rebound with New Delhi, 15 August
laid to rest at a cemetery in Shillong after being killed by police in an New Delhi, 15 August IMAGING: AJAY MOHANTY a revenue growth of over 20 per
encounter at his home on August 13. Thangkhiew was suspected to cent this fiscal year. Prime Minister Narendra

T
be the mastermind of a spate of IED attacks since his surrender in he government’s “While operating margins Modi on Sunday announced
2018, police said. Director-General of Police R Chandranathan said national master plan of may moderate slightly due to a new target of making India
there was ample evidence against Thangkhiew when he sent his Gati Shakti could all be higher cost of inputs, particu- an ‘Energy Independent’
team to arrest the “retired” general-secretary of the banned about speeding up economic larly steel, an improvement in nation before the country
Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC). PTI recovery through infrastruc- the working capital position reaches 100 years of India’s
ture (infra) building. and strong balance sheets independence, in 2047.
Gati, the Hindi word for should support credit profiles,” Addressing the nation
Centre’s right to intercept for speed, could bring in economic
power (Shakti) since the ambi-
it said in a study of eight large
and diversified EPC com-
from the Red Fort, Modi
lamented that India was not
legal causes will be there: MoS tious ~113-trillion plan of the panies, which are into civil energy-independent today.

The government's right to intercept

for duly authorised legal causes like
security and terrorism will always
exist with checks and balances in
any democracy, Minister of State
for Electronics and IT Rajeev
Chandrasekhar said on Sunday,
while speaking at a Times Now
summit. “As far as the
government's right to intercept for
duly authorised, legal causes like
security, terrorism, etc (is concerned), that right will always be
there with every sovereign government... but those are
accompanied with checks and balances. We must understand that
there is no utopian world or where George Orwell's sort of a
situation is addressed completely,” he said. PTI
FM to meet CEOs of PSBs on Aug 25
to review financial performance
Finance Minister Nirmala is scheduled to
meet heads of public sector banks (PSBs)
on August 25 to review financial
performance of the lenders and progress
made by them to support the economy
battered by Covid-19 pandemic. Given the
importance of the banking sector in
generating demand and boosting
consumption, sources said the meeting
with the MD and CEOs of PSBs is considered
important. Recently, the Finance Minister
said the government is ready to do everything required to revive
and support economic growth hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. PTI
government could generate
demand for a host of other sec-
tors, including cement, metal,
and power, and more impor-
tantly, generate employment.
This investment is also cru-
cial for creating hospital,
school, and other social infra
that form the very fabric of the
national infrastructure pipe-
line (NIP) identified by a gov-
ernment taskforce. The govern-
ment is expected to add speed
to the creation of health infra
since the second wave of Covid-
19 underscored the need for
central and state investment in
it.
Infra investment creates the
bulwark against further invest-
ment in the economy. The US
Senate, for instance, last
Tuesday approved Joe Biden's
$1.2-trillion infra Bill, paving
the way for not only a major
political victory for the US
President, but also stepping up
economic revival.
More than 70 per cent
investment in Gati Shakti will,
however, have to come from
the government, even though
the plan is to leverage private
sector capital and efficiencies
in the overall infra creation.
Gross domestic product
projections, however, have a
bearing on the viability of infra
projects. Besides, the fiscal
NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE
GRAND
TOTAL 11,130,428
Power
Renewable
Atomic
Petroleum and natural gas
Roads
Railways
Ports
Airports
Urban sector
Rural infrastructure
Agri & food processing
Digital communication
Irrigation
Social infrastructure
Industrial infra
Source: National Infrastructure Pipeline
position of states and the
Centre limit their funding
capability. With some private
sector companies, especially
those in the power business,
reaching the end of debt delev-
erage, capital expenditure in
renewable energy is expected
to pick up.
Similarly, the national high-
way construction is expected
to rely more on private and
infra, transportation, power,
and oil and gas, among others,
(in ~cr) with an aggregate revenue of
~1.5 trillion.
The companies had logged
aggregate revenue declines of
1,410,428 4 per cent and 6 per cent in
2019-20 and 2020-21, respec-
929,500 TOTAL tively, because of weak eco-
155,503 ENERGY nomic growth and the pan-
194,572 2,690,003 demic, said the CRISIL report.
2,033,823 A host of projects have been
1,367,563 offered on the India invest-
121,194 ment grid to provide visibility
to them and help in their
143,448 financing with prospective
1,919,267 investors. This would mean the
773,915 share of the private sector in
168,727 spending could change,
309,672 depending upon the attractive-
ness of projects. A committee
894,473
393,386
for NIP, which may be sub-
sumed or christened Gati
314,957 Shakti, monitors the NIP pro-
gress and eliminates delays.
Besides, a steering committee
at the infra ministry-level fol-
institutional investment since lows up on implementation.
the National Highways There is also a committee that
Authority of India is over-lev- monitors raising financial
eraged. resources for the NIP.
A recent CRISIL Ratings The focus would be to con-
report said a strong order book nect underdeveloped areas as
and improved project execu- well. “All villages should have
tion, supported by the central roads. All households should
government’s thrust on infra have bank accounts. All bene-
spending, will help large and ficiaries should have
diversified engineering, pro- Ayushman Bharat cards,” he
curement, and construction said in his address.
“India spends more than ~12
trillion annually for energy
import. For India’s progress,
the energy independence is
the need of the hour.
Therefore, we have to take a
resolution that we will make
India energy independent
before the completion of 100
years of independence and
for this our roadmap is very
clear,” he said.
Modi’s comments come a
few months before the coun-
try is expected to miss an ear-
lier goal that he had set of a
10 per cent cut in crude oil
import dependence by 2022.
This was announced in 2015.
But this target is far from
being achieved and the
county’s import reliance has
only risen. Instead of cutting
imports by 10 per cent, its
proportion has continued to
rise from 2015. Annual
domestic crude oil output has
fallen to below 30 million
tonnes (MT) and total import
has risen to 226 MT. When
Modi had given his earlier
import reduction call, domes-
tic crude oil production in
2015-16 stood at 35.5 MT and
has fallen to 29.1 MT in 2020-
21.
Modi said, “Be it a gas-
based economy, a network of
Compressed Natural Gas,
MAJOR GOALS
n Energy Independent India
by 2047
n Net zero railway emission
by 2030
n Global green hydrogen
hub in India
Piped Natural Gas across the
country, a target of 20 per cent
ethanol blending, India is
moving ahead with a set goal.”
Highlighting that the role
of the Indian Railways in
these import-reduction plans,
Modi said, “The work on 100
per cent electrification of
Railways is also progressing
fast. Indian Railways has set
a target of becoming Net Zero
Carbon Emitter by 2030.”
PM Modi also batted for
increasing the use of Green
Hydrogen as a cleaner alter-
native fuel. “There is the big-
gest goal in that which is
going to give quantum jump
to India in the field of climate,
that is the area of green
hydrogen. To achieve the goal
of green hydrogen, I am
announcing the National
Hydrogen Mission. We have
to make India a global hub for
production and export of
Green Hydrogen.”

We have come
a long way since Centre asks Kerala govt to JNPT regains pre-Covid
Independence revisit ‘failed’ Covid plan cargo volumes in Apr-Jul
The Finance Minister SHINE JACOB 36,083 FRESH
ADITI DIVEKAR
Mumbai, 15 August
IMPROVING NUMBERS April-July (in TEUs)
devoted a lot of time to Chennai, 15 August VIRUS 1,738,459
explaining the difficult bal- TRACKER CASES IN INDIA With export momentum gain-
ance of payments position With an average 20,055 cases INDIA ing strength, Jawaharlal Nehru
1,797,838
and rapid depletion of foreign and 122 deaths a day in Port Trust (JNPT) — the coun- 1,192,165
exchange reserves. So, the August, Kerala is the Covid
Total 32,192,576 try’s largest container port —
government has decided to hotspot in India today, con- é36,083 aims to sustain pre-Covid
adopt a more restrictive tributing to 50 per cent of the Active cases Recovered Deaths levels of cargo volumes amid
import policy, he said.
Accordingly, imports of food,
cases reported in the country.
This has forced the Centre
385,336 31,376,015 431,225 continued container shortage.
“JNPT has already regained
EXIM MATTERS capital goods, the raw materi-
als of industry and certain
to suggest a revisit by the state
on its ‘failed’ Covid strategy.
ê2,337 é37,927 é493 its traffic to pre-Covid levels in
the April-July period. We have
T N C RAJAGOPALAN 2021-2022 2020-2021 2019-2020
essential consumer goods
were freely importable and no
To assess the ground situ-
ation, Union Health Minister
Vaccination 543,846,290 é73,50,553 sustained the volumes since
there is good export-import Source: JNPT

As we step into the seventy
fifth year after our independ-
ence, it is worthwhile taking a
look at where we started.
The first Union Budget
presented on November 26,
1947 by the Finance Minister
RK Shanmugam Chetty of the
Justice Party, envisaged total
expenditure of ~197.39 crore
and revenue of ~171.15 crore.
The net deficit was ~16.24
crore but the Finance Minister
said the deficit could be
higher because the actual
amount required for meeting
the expenditure in connec-
tion with the relief and
rehabilitation of refugees was
still very uncertain.
The defence expenditure
at ~92.74 crore took away
about 47 per cent of the total
expenditure as the demobi-
lization of the armed forces
after the Second World War
had not taken place fully.
After providing for subsidies
for food imports, payments
for interest, pensions and
administrative expenses,
relief and rehabilitation of the
refugees from Pakistan etc.,
the amount left for expendi-
ture on nation building activ-
ities such as education, pub-
lic health, infrastructure,
electricity, communication,
transport, dams, irrigation
canals, research laboratories,
public institutions etc. was
only ~12 crore.
On the revenue side, the
1947 Budget estimated cus-
toms receipts at ~50.50 crore
and income tax receipt at ~29.5
crore and other collections of
~91.15 crore. The Finance
Minister explained the diffi-
culties in raising loans,
increasing revenues and infla-
tionary pressures. He flagged
rising pent up demand that
was suppressed during the
war and limitations in increas-
ing the supplies for want of
enough production capacity
and low productivity as key
issues.
exchange restrictions were
placed upon their imports.
Consumer goods which were
not absolutely essential were
to be licensed on a quota basis,
while others which were
regarded as totally unessential
and luxury imports were alto-
gether prohibited. Certain
restrictions on remittances
abroad, in particular on the
transfer of Indian capital, were
also imposed. The Imports
and Exports Control Act, 1947
and Foreign Exchange
Regulation Act, 1947 were
enacted that year. Later they
were amended several times
and repealed.
The Finance Minister said
that the only real answer to
inflation is to increase our
internal production and
thereby close the gap between
the available supplies and the
purchasing power in the
hands of the community
which in present circum-
stances imports cannot
bridge. He also said that large
scale Imports of food grains
seriously affect our foreign
exchange position and
threaten to consume the bulk
of the available resources
which are badly required for
the industrialization and
development of the country.
In the concluding part of
his speech, the Finance
Minister said, “while we have
secured freedom from foreign
yoke, mainly through the
operation of world vent and
partly through a unique act of
enlightened self abnegation
on behalf of the erstwhile rul-
ers of the country, we have yet
to consolidate into one unified
whole the many discordant
elements in our national life”.
From those difficult gloo-
my days, we have travelled a
long distance through a dem-
ocratic process. Hopefully, we
will move forward at a faster
pace in the coming days.
email:tncrajagopalan@gmail.com
Mansukh Mandaviya is set to Note: Total cases include 1 momentum. We should grow investing in dwarf containers minimum. JNPT will be hav-
visit the state on Monday and WORLD migration; figures as of 9 pm
IST; Sources: Ministry of
4 per cent on an annual basis,” are some of the ways JNPT is ing its first dwarf container
may meet chief minister Total Health and Family Welfare, said Unmesh Wagh, deputy tackling container shortage,” train in September,” said Wagh.
Deaths Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
Pinarayi Vijayan. “Kerala had chairman, JNPT. said Wagh. Freight also went up across
its own strategy to contain 206,936,504 4,358,228 Resource Centre Note: Arrow
shows one-day change Compared to 2020-21, when Around 20,000-30,000 ISO routes. China to Canada or
Covid and it did not work this cargo volumes were at 11,92,165 containers will be de-stuffed, China to the US saw freight
time. If your strategy is not Kumar Singh told Business cent, 13 are in Kerala. The twenty-foot equivalent units making it available for the port. shoot up to $40,000, from
working for 50 days, you Standard. A rise in the state’s overall positivity rate (TEUs), during April-July, the An ISO container is an $10,000, against India-Europe
should not be continuing with number of cases forced the now stands at 13.97 per cent rise was around 50.8 per cent. international intermodal con- or India-US, which rose to
it. There is a need to look into Opposition parties to come with a seven-day average of “Improving the turnaround tainer that is manufactured $4,000 and $6,000, from $1,200
all the aspects, including iso- out in public, calling the around 10.24 per cent. This time for International according to the specifications and $2,000, respectively.
lation, contact tracing and state’s strategy a “failed” one. can be compared to a national Organization for outlined by the ISO. During April-July, the port
containment zones,” National Out of the total 45 districts daily positivity rate of 1.88 per Standardization (ISO) con- “The idea is to keep ISO handled 17,97,838 TEUs,
Centre for Disease Control in the country that have a test cent now and less than 3 per tainers, freeing up containers containers in the port vicinity against 17,38,459 TEUs handled
(NCDC) director Dr Sujeet positivity ratio of over 10 per cent in the last 20 days. stacked at Customs, and to keep the turnaround time in the same period in 2019-20.
Circular economy faces recycling scale hurdle
JYOTI MUKUL & SHALLY SETH MOHILE support setting up a registered Group said it had signed an agree-
New Delhi/Mumbai, 15 August vehicle scrapping facility in ment with Mahindra MSTC
Ahmedabad, for end-of-life pas- Recycling Private Limited (MMRPL)
Targeted to promote a circular econ- senger and commercial vehicles. to offer its customers an end-to-end
omy, India’s vehicle scrapping policy Apart from M&M, which has a solution for scrapping vehicles.
has sought to incentivise owners to joint venture with MSTC, major auto- MMRPL is engaged in the business
dispose of their 25-year-old commer- mobile players are yet to get their of acquiring used/end of life vehicles
cial and 20-year-old private vehicles. plans off the ground on what to dismantle and scrap it under the
But beyond that, handling the scale happens to used cars. But the brand name of CERO, the company
of vehicles that have already been number scrapping yards in the coun- said in a statement. The agreement
scrapped because of new emission try to take in the potential number with MMRPL will enable customers
norms or will be rendered unfit in a of vehicles that could be scrapped to get a hassle-free and transparent
test, will still be a challenge since are not enough, so the government deal under one roof, it added.
organised scrapping facilities are is encouraging companies to set up It is India’s first authorized recy-
limited, putting a question mark on such facilities under the policy that cler for motor vehicles built on PPP
environmentally safe disposal of will come into force through the model with dismantling centres at
vehicle’s metal and even battery Motor Vehicles (Registration and Greater Noida, Pune and Chennai. It
scrap. Functions of Vehicle Scrapping also has collection centres in major
While launching the policy on Facility) Rules, 2021. The process of scrapping cars involves stripping them and shredding and cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Friday, which also found mention in Typically, the process of scrap- melting the leftovers — mostly steel and aluminum, to make recycled steel Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and
his 75th Independence Day speech, ping cars involves stripping them Chandigarh. CERO has plans to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said and shredding and melting the left- tive director at Center of Science and Tata Motors’ scrappage centre expand to 25 cities in 8-10 months.
the country will be moving towards overs — mostly steel and aluminum, Environment, said, “If dismantled will have the capacity of recycling up Company’s dealerships, along
a circular economy. The vehicle to make recycled steel. Reusing steel properly, the scrap can recover mate- to 36,000 vehicles a year. The MoU with CERO will offer vehicle eval-
scrapping policy is an important can lower carmakers’ costs by 20-40 rial for automotive, steel, and elec- was signed at the Investor Summit uation, arrange quotes for
starting point in this since it works per cent. tronics industry among others.” in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Tata Motors exchange/scrappage value of the
on the concept of reduce, reuse and When extrapolated vehicle man- This could be better quality will set up the scrapping centre in vehicle, provide end-to-end servic-
recycle, he said. ufacturers that have largescale oper- because they are already processed association with a partner, it said in es, including vehicle pickup, trans-
Tata Motors, Mahindra and ations and churn out more than but of lower price. An estimated 8.7 the statement. portation and environment-
Mahindra (M&M) and Maruti Suzuki 100,000 vehicles a month, the sav- million vehicles by 2015 and nearly For setting up the RVSF, multiple friendly dismantling at CERO Scrap
have partnerships for scrapping ings in cost are huge, an executive at 22 million by 2025 would reach end- levels of approval will be required yards. CERO will issue the
vehicles. Last week, Tata Motors — a carmaker had told Business of-life (ELV) status and could be primarily from state- and city-level Certificate of Deposit/Destruction
India’s largest commercial vehicle Standard earlier. The companies set- available for scrapping. To begin organisations. These approvals will (COD), which will enable customers
manufacturer — said it had entered ting up scrapping units will have to with, this level of scrapping demands include environment, water and land to claim eligible benefits under the
into an agreement with the import equipment from the US and a good network of vehicle fitness cen- use approvals apart from registration policy.
Government of Gujarat, through the Europe for such plants. tres that will decide which vehicles of such centres.
ports and transport department, to Anumita Roychowdhury, execu- are fit or will go for scrapping. In April this year, the Mahindra More on business-standard.com
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 5

Quarter Year Quarter

ended ended ended
Particulars
30-June-21 31-Mar-21 30-June-20
Unaudited Audited Unaudited
Revenue from Operations 91,523 419,522 106,593
Loss before Tax and Exceptional items (74,965) (242,853) (55,370)
Loss before Tax and after Exceptional items (73,186) (442,534) (254,602)
Loss after Tax and Exceptional items (73,191) (442,331) (254,600)
Total Comprehensive Income / (Loss) (73,129) (441,963) (254,670)
Paid up Equity Share Capital (Face value `10 per share) 287,354 287,354 287,354
Earnings Per Share for the period (`)
- Basic (2.55) (15.40) (8.86)
- Diluted (2.55) (15.40) (8.86)

Quarter Year Quarter

ended ended ended
Particulars
30-June-21 31-Mar-21 30-June-20
Unaudited Audited Unaudited
Revenue from Operations 90,882 416,727 105,939
Loss before Tax and Exceptional items (74,670) (242,109) (54,107)
Loss before Tax and after Exceptional items (74,157) (463,145) (253,339)
Loss after Tax and Exceptional items (74,157) (462,937) (253,339)

TELECOM TOWERS MONOPOLES SMART CITY POLES UTILITY POLES

TRANSMISSION LINE TOWERS SOLAR MODULE MOUNTING STRUCTURE EPC

EXTRACTS OF UN-AUDITED STANDALONE /CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30th JUNE, 2021
(Rs. in Lakhs except EPS)
Standalone Consolidated Notes:
Particulars
Quarter Ended Year Ended Quarter Ended Year Ended 1. The above is an extract of detailed format of Un-Audited Financial Results filed with stock exchanges
30-Jun-21 30-Jun-20 31-Mar-21 30-Jun-21 30-Jun-20 31-Mar-21
Un-audited Un-audited Audited Un-audited Un-audited Audited
under regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
Total Income from operation 13,028.12 6,369.87 59,346.22 13,485.36 6,378.69 60,673.80 The full format of the Un-Audited Results are available on the stock exchange websites viz.
www.nseindia.com & www.bseindia.com and on the Company's website www.salasartechno.com.
Net Profit/(Loss) for the quarter/year ended
2. The Un-audited Financial Results of the Company for the quarter ended 30th June, 2021 have been
(before tax, exceptional/ extraordinary item) 1,083.97 55.60 4,303.92 1,030.28 48.74 4,386.08 reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by Board of Directors at their respective meetings held
Net Profit/(Loss) for the quarter/year ended on 14-August-2021.
before tax (after exceptional/extraordinary item) 1,083.97 55.60 4,303.92 1,030.28 48.74 4,386.08
3. These results have been prepared in accordance with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards)
Rules, 2015 (Ind AS) prescribed under section 133 of the Companies Act 2013 and other recognized
Net Profit/(Loss) for the quarter/year ended after
accounting practice and policies to the extent applicable.
tax (after exceptional/extraordinary item) 796.12 26.84 2,933.74 734.37 19.97 2,989.90 4. Figures for the previous periods/year have been regrouped (except segment reporting) wherever
Total Comprehensive Income for the necessary, to confirm to the current period's calssification.
quarter/year ended (Net of Tax) 5. Operations of the Company were hampered by COVID related restrictions during the quarter ended 30th
796.12 26.84 2,945.95 734.37 19.97 3,002.11
June 2021.
Equity Share Capital 1,428.53 1,328.53 1,428.53 1,428.53 1,328.53 1,428.53 For Salasar Techno Engineering Limited
Reserves (Excluding Revaluation Reserve) - - 23,749.05 - - 23,840.25 sd/-
Earning per Share (in Rs.)
Alok Kumar
Basic 5.57 0.20 21.92 5.08 0.15 22.15
Date: 14.08.2021 Managing Director
Diluted 5.57 0.20 21.92 5.08 0.15 22.15 Place: Hapur DIN: 01474484

SALASAR TECHNO ENGINEERING LIMITED

CIN: L23201DL2001PLC174076
Regd office: E-20, South Extension I, New Delhi-110049. Tel: +91-11-41648566/8577;
E-mail id: compliance@salasartechno.com, Website: www.salasartechno.com
6 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

Inflationary pressure likely

to build up after Oct-Nov
Economists believe the MPC may not raise policy rate till at least the third quarter
SHRIMI CHOUDHARY & INDIVJAL DHASMANA
New Delhi, 15 August

F
all in the retail price inflation rate
to a three-month low of 5.9 per
cent in July may be transitory and
may not last beyond October- November
this year after consumer demand
rises with supply constraints remaining
and low base effect of the previous year
wanes away.
Fall in retail price inflation rate to a
three-month low of 5.9 per cent in July
may be transitory. It may not last beyond
October-November this year after con-
sumer demand rises with supply con-
straints remaining and the low-base
effect of the previous year wanes away.
Consumer price index (CPI)-based
inflation rate came below the upper limit
of the monetary policy committee’s
(MPC's) tolerance ceiling after two
PRICE SURGE
months due to decline in the rate of price CPI Inflation in % Food Inflation in % Petrol Inflation in % Diesel Inflation in %
rise in food items, particularly sharpen-
ing of deflation in vegetables.
Economists believe that the MPC may
not raise the policy rate till at least the
third quarter of the current fiscal year
since economic growth is a concern. It
may keep addressing systemic liquidity.
Former chief statistician Pronab Sen
told Business Standard that going Note: Inflation for petrol and diesel is not available for March, April and May 2021 Source: MoSPI
forward, consumer demand may rise
quickly while that for investment is in
bad shape. and we expect it to go up from these lev- inflation slide at least till November 2021.
“This means there is damage to the els,” he added. Inflation is expected to decline slightly
supply side. While pricing power of big “Our full-year forecast of the average in the third quarter,” he said.
corporates have gone up, that of MSMEs inflation rate is 5.9 per cent for 2021-22, Rahul Bajoria, chief India economist
(micro, small and medium enterprises) which is a bit higher than the MPC’s esti- at Barclays, said, “We expect the CPI
have not come back,” he said. mates at 5.7 per cent,” he said. inflation rate to be somewhat
The MPC, in its latest policy review, However, the MPC also expected the sticky in the coming months, but over
said that input prices are rising across inflation rate to be 5.9 per cent in the the next six months, see it modestly
manufacturing and services sectors. second quarter of the current fiscal year. trending lower.”
However, it also says that weak demand If this turns out to be true, the inflation Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA,
and efforts towards cost cutting are tem- rate may rise in August and September said with the inflation expected to
pering the pass-through to output prices. or one of these months compared to the remain sticky in the 5-6 per cent range
Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic July figure. over the next three quarters, it’s increas-
advisor at State Bank of India (SBI) group, Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at ingly difficult to characterise the pres-
believes that this downward trajectory of CARE Ratings, said inflation rate will sures as purely transitory in nature. “A
CPI inflation could be a blip. remain 5-5.5 per cent in the next two small disruption could push inflation
“As the economy opens up, the second months and then increase. The inflation back above the 6 per cent threshold,”
round pass-through from fuel prices will rate was down in July on a high base she added.
gather momentum,” he said. effect, which will last till September- Rumki Majumdar, economist at
The fuel inflation rate remained ele- October, he added. Deloitte India, said, “We believe that
vated in July despite some moderation “Core will remain sticky and rise,” inflation may ease in the coming months
from the previous month. Petrol was still Sabnavis said. He pointed out that serv- assuming no rise in infections. However,
at 23.7 per cent inflation rate against ice prices are going up. high oil and commodity prices will keep
24.54 per cent last month. Diesel saw Even health services, the crucial seg- the pressure on prices.”
higher moderation to 22.71 per cent com- ment during Covid times, saw inflation Sabnavis said crux is the Kharif crops
pared to 28.7 per cent. rate rising moderately to 7.74 per cent and their price effect. Sowing of Kharif
Ghosh said, more importantly, sea- from 7.71 per cent. crops gained momentum and hit almost
sonally-adjusted month-on-month Devendra Pant, chief economist at 2020 levels during the week ended
momentum of core inflation rate (which India Ratings, said, decline in retail infla- August 13. However, concerns remain
does not take into account food and fuel tion rate in July was due to both base over the final output because of delay in
inflation rate) is now closer to the effect and slow price build up. the planting of some crops, which have
trend. “Core is currently at 5.94 per cent “The base effect will continue to help crossed their ideal sowing time.

> FROM PAGE 1

PM ...
He said India used to import
mobile phones in large num-
bers but is now exporting
them. He asked exporters to
make goods that were not
merely competitive but also
high quality because “your
goods are brand ambassadors
for the country”.
“In our eyes, there must be
a dream: A dream to capture
the world market,” he said.
Modi said the next 25 years
are “Amrit Kaal” for Indian cit-
izens. “The purpose of Amrit
Kaal is to better the lives of cit-
izens, lessen the development
divide between villages and
cities, reduce government
interference in people's lives,
and have the latest technology
so that we are not behind any
country in the world," the
prime minister said.
> BS SUDOKU
SOLUTION TO #3436
Glossing over the shortages
in public health facilities, espe-
cially during the second wave
of Covid-19, Modi said the
world had praised India for its
Covid management and while
its large population presented
huge challenges, the country
was forging ahead in vaccinat-
ing people. “But can you imag-
ine what might have happened
if India did not have its own
vaccine?” he asked.
The PM posed the ongo-
ing protest against the three
farm laws as a small-versus-
big farmer problem. He said
the Swaminathan committee
formula for minimum sup-
port price had already been
implemented.
Delivering his
Independence Day address
from the ramparts of Red Fort,
Modi said there would be 75
Vande Bharat trains by 2023,
besides India would have bet-
ter air connectivity in the com-
ing years with new airports.
# 3437
Easy
««
Solution
tomorrow
HOW TO PLAY
Fill in the grid so that
every row, every col-
umn and every 3x3
box contains
the digits 1 to 9
Ola chief...
“It will be the best scooter ever
made, not just the best e-scoot-
er,” said Aggarwal, chairman
and group CEO, Ola, during a
roundtable at the Ola Electric
campus in Bengaluru. “We
have to make technology
which is the best in the world
and that's what we're doing.
We've been saying we'll build
our own technology. We built
our own technology.”
With pricing that undercuts
competition — internal com-
bustion engine (ICE) powered
scooters and e-scooters and a
promise of delivering an e-
scooter that claims superiority
over rivals, Aggarwal gave a
clarion call to “reject petrol and
commit to electrification”.
“The only true solution for
us is to genuinely completely
reject petrol and commit to
electrification,” he said, often
interrupting himself to ask
“What do you think?” He said
after 2025, “no petrol two-
wheeler should be sold in India
and it is possible to make this
transition to sustainability in
four years.”
In India, Ola is now in direct
competition with e-two-wheel-
er makers, such as Ather
Energy, Hero Electric, Bajaj's
Chetak, and TVS Motor
Company. Ola has the S1
(~99,999) and S1 Pro (~1,29,999)
e-scooter models – the S1 Pro
has 3.97 kWh (kilowatt-hour)
battery packs, which, accord-
ing to the company, have
enough power for a range of 181
km in a single charge.
The S1 and S1 Pro would be
available for purchase from
September 8 and deliveries
across 1,000 cities and towns
would start in October. The
company would sell the vehi-
cles online (olaelectric.com)
and through physical stores.
“Ola is priced aggressively
on a par with the gasoline
Activa and undercuts its EV
rivals,” Aditya Makharia, ana-
lyst at HDFC Securities, wrote
in a research report. With a
starting price of ~85,000 in
Delhi, the Ola e-scooter is
cheaper than the TVS iQube
(~101,000), Bajaj Chetak
(~142,000) and the Ather
450 (starting at ~1,13,000).
Ex-showroom Delhi prices
for ICE scooter Honda Activa
6G ranges between ~69,080
and ~72,325, while the more-
powerful Activa 125 costs
~72,637-79,760.
The launch comes days
after Tesla CEO Elon Musk
expressed hopes that the
Indian government would
slash tax on imported e-cars.
Earlier, Aggarwal had said he
was not in favour of the gov-
ernment paring duty on
imported electric vehicles and
his comment went viral. But
Aggarwal, on Saturday, said
that many people misinterpret-
ed his comment that his firm
didn’t want any competition.
Ola Electric had also
revealed its plans to set up the
world’s largest e-two-wheeler
charging network. The Ola
Hypercharger Network is likely
to be the widest and densest e-
two-wheeler charging network
in the world, with more than
100,000 charging points across
400 cities.
Securities...
The STT is a direct tax payable
on the value of taxable securi-
ties transactions done through
a stock exchange. It is levied at
0.1 per cent of turnover for
delivery-based equity transac-
tions, while for intraday trans-
actions, the STT for purchase
is nil; for sale, it is 0.025 per cent
of the turnover. The net
direct tax collection witnessed
87 per cent YoY growth to ~3.56
trillion until August 12. Gross
collection at ~4.05 trillion was
46.1 per cent higher YoY and
refunds were down nearly
32 per cent.
“This is the best year in
terms of direct tax collection
in the past four years. That's
because some sectors are
doing wonderfully well.
Maybe there is pent-up
demand in high revenue areas.
Generally, corporates are
doing well,” said Mohapatra.
The Budget had pegged
revenues from direct taxes at
~11.08 trillion, necessitating 17
per cent over the 2020-21
actuals. Last year, the direct
tax mop-up at ~9.47 trillion
was 9.7 per cent lower than
the previous year due to the
impact of the pandemic but
exceeded the revised estimate
of ~9.05 trillion.
More on business-standard.com
 MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 POLITICS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 7
“FOR THE ALL-ROUND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATION, IT “HE (PRIME MINISTER) ANNOUNCES NEW SCHEMES “IF THE DEPENDENCE ON
IS ESSENTIAL TO END THE UNNECESSARY INTERFERENCE BUT THESE ARE NEVER IMPLEMENTED OR SEEN ON THE CHINA INCREASES, THEN
OF GOVT AND GOVERNMENT PROCEDURES IN THE LIVES GROUND. HE SAYS A LOT OF THINGS BUT NEVER (WE) WILL HAVE TO BOW
OF PEOPLE” ADHERES TO THEM” BEFORE CHINA”
NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister MALLIKARJUN KHARGE, Senior Congress minister MOHAN BHAGWAT, RSS chief
> .

Of power, privatisation and politics

The Centre’s electricity reforms tied in knots amid protests by Opposition states would be left to be tended by public
sector discoms”.
SHREYA JAI West Bengal has a private power
POWER TARIFF RATES discom CESC (promoted by R P Goen-
over the franchisee business in 2007.
Being a franchisee is different from
privatisation — part of the power sup-
ply operations lies with the private part-
ner while ownership remains with the
state department.
In July last year, during the power
ministers’ conference, Bihar — ruled
by BJP ally JD(U) — opposed the pro-
posal for privatisation of power distri-
bution as it feared it would lead to an

A
s the Centre pushes reforms in
the power sector, especially for
the beleaguered electricity dis-
tribution segment, several states, espe-
cially those ruled by Opposition par-
ties, are clamouring against it.
Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Na-
du, and Kerala have voiced their reser-
vations against the proposed amend-
ments to the Electricity Act, 2003.
The irony is the states opposing the
amendments on the ground of threat
of privatisation already have private
partnerships in power supply.
The proposed Bill was slated to be
placed on the floor of Parliament in
the Monsoon session. But it still awaits
Cabinet approval amid several states
complaining that they have been not
consulted on the issue. Senior officials,
however, said the Bill was circulated
among all stakeholders, including state
governments, and their comments
were taken into consideration.
The Centre in April 2020 unveiled
the first set of draft amendments to
the Electricity Bill, 2003, and asked
states to submit their comment. Major
amendments included an end to sub-
sidised power rates, replacing it with
“direct benefit transfer (DBT)” of sub-
sidy, reduction of cross-subsidy burden
on industrial consumers, new contract
enforcement authority, and new selec-
tion process for existing state electricity
regulatory commissions (SERCs).
Domestic ~1.5-3 per unit ~3-6 per unit ~6 - 8.5 per unit ka group) in some parts of Kolkata. increase in the power rates. Tamil
R K Singh, Union power minister, Nadu, Odisha, and Kerala also raised
TN, Sikkim, Telangana, J&K, Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal,
was reported questioning the statem- objections against several provisions
Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal, Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Punjab, ent of West Bengal CM. The minister of the Bill.
all UTs, except Delhi, Delhi, Kerala, Tripura Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, said last week: “Why she (Banerjee) wa- Odisha however, has recently
Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh nts to protect monopolies is not clear, awarded all its power distribution
especially the private company in Ko- zones for privatised power supply. Tata
Industrial ~3.5-6.5 per unit ~6.5-8.5 per unit ~8.5-9.5
lkata, which has one of the highest tar- Power has won all the zones. Odisha
“In the present case, “There must be (medium scale) Arunachal, Assam, Gujarat,
there has been competition in this
TN, Meghalaya, Telangana, Kerala, Mandhya Pradesh, West Bengal, iffs in the country.” He further said the also has private franchisees in some
some tokenism of sector, so that Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh Mahrashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh Bill would end government and pri- areas operated by Feedback Infra.
consultations, but people can choose a Goa, Himachal Pradesh Haryana, Punjab, Triupra, Odisha vate monopolies in power distribution. Last year, several states also con-
no real exchange of distribution “There must be competition in demned the move to end subsidised
Agriculture ~0-1.5 per unit ~1.6-4.5 ~4.9-6.5 this sector so that people can choose power rates. The provision of power
views, which is company which
antithetical to the gives more Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh a distribution company which gives tariff determination has been revised
federal structure of efficient service at Telangana, Punjab, Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Rajasthan, Bihar, Sikkim, more efficient service at lower in the Bill and it asked all SERCs “to
our polity” lower prices” prices,” Singh said. determine tariff for the retail sale of
Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut reiter- electricity without any subsidy under
MAMATA BANERJEE RK SINGH Himachal, J&K, Haryana ated the same complaint that states section 65 of the Act”.
West Bengal CM Union power minister TN= Tamil Nadu; note: Selected states taken Source: Ministry of power were not consulted on the provisions The amendment proposes to give
of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, subsidies directly to the consumer.
In February this year, the Centre age to boost investment, she had said, have been four reforms or financial cially when ‘electricity’ as a subject is and it is not in the interest of the coun- States, including Bihar, opposed this
further amended the existing discoms of all Union Territories would restructuring schemes over the last in the Concurrent List of the try. “The provisions ring a danger bell on the ground that it would be difficult
Electricity Act, 2003, to abolish power be offered to private companies. decade for state-owned discoms. Constitution of India and any legisla- for state electricity companies. Our to enforce DBT in electricity, sources
“distribution licence” and allowed any The push to privatise discoms has With the changes suggested in the tion on a subject in such a list needs party is holding consultations in this said. Giving electricity subsidies to cer-
company to supply electricity in an become a major bone of contention be- Electricity Act, several states have now serious prior consultation with the regard,” he said. tain sections of electricity consumers
area, after necessary regulatory tween the Centre and states. The chal- started attacking the Centre citing the states. In the present case, there has In Maharashtra, Mumbai has two is prevalent in all states. In Delhi, the
approval. With this, the Centre ended lenge also comes at a time when the federal structure of the electricity sec- been some tokenism of consultations, private discoms — Tata Power and subsidy is based on consumption
the monopoly of existing power dis- BJP-led Central government has unve- tor, where generation and transmis- but no real exchange of views, which Adani Electricity. Tata has been in oper- units. As these subsidies are difficult
tribution companies (discoms), which iled a second power distribution reform sion comes under the Centre while dis- is antithetical to the federal structure ations in the financial capital for a to recover, the finances of discoms get
are mostly state-owned entities, and of ~3 trillion. The scheme aims at imp- tribution is a state subject. of our polity,” she said in her letter. decade and Adani recently took over impacted as a result.
any and every area was thrown open roving finances and operations of dis- In a recent letter to the prime min- She also further said the approach the business from Reliance Infra, which There is no clarity exactly when
to be offered to private discoms. coms, most of which are in dire straits. ister, West Bengal Chief Minister suggested in the proposed Bill would also operated for a similar period. Mah- the Bill will be cleared by Cabinet and
This decision followed an The last discoms reform scheme Mamta Banerjee wrote that states were result in the concentration of private arashtra also has private power distri- for parliamentary passage. But given
announcement by Finance Minister UDAY, launched in 2014, concluded not consulted regarding the amend- profit-focused utility players in the bution franchisees in some areas, such the politics around the matter, for the
Nirmala Sitharaman last year when in 2020 with most states failing to meet ments. “Power is too important a sector “lucrative urban-industrial segments, as Bhiwandi which was the first to have moment, the Centre seems to have po-
under the Aatmnirbhar Bharat pack- their stipulated targets. So far, there for such unilateral interferences, espe- while poor and rural consumers this model when Torrent Power took stponed it to live to fight another day.

The credit Yogi STORY IN NUMBERS

banks upon URBAN JOBS & GENDER

Women tend to be concentrated in
apparel and textile manufacturing and in GENDER DISAGGREGATION OF URBAN JOBS Figures in %
services like education and health, while
men are concentrated in the trade and Women 23 million jobs
hotels sector, and manufacturing
including in heavy industry. 2018-19 Change in share since 2011
Nearly two in three urban jobs are l Manufacture of apparel, textiles etc 24 -4.20
concentrated in services (41%) and l Education and health services 21 3.10
manufacturing (22%) in 2018-19 (trade at
l Trade and hotels 14 0.90
19%, construction at 10%, agriculture at
6% and electricity, water and gas at 2% l Employment within households 10 2.10
and hotels sector and also in
form the rest). When these numbers are manufacturing in various sectors l Agri, forestry and fishing 8 -3.10
compared with the urban jobs in 2011, it is including heavy industry and textiles. l IT financial and professional services 8 2.40
clear that the share of manufacturing has Not only do significantly fewer women
declined by 1.2 percentage points (1.2 of working age actually want or hold jobs
million jobs) and the share of services in urban areas, they often work in jobs of Men 89 million jobs
has increased by 2.4 percentage points poorer quality with wide income
VIRENDRA SINGH RAWAT four years to spur industrialisation. (2.9 million jobs). 2018-19 Change in share since 2011
variability, lack of benefits and lack of
The state now ranks second in terms In 2018-19, urban jobs engaged 23 safety provisions. In addition to l Trade and hotels 25 -0.80
With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elec- of ease of doing business while it is million women and 89 million men. addressing these critical areas of concern, l All manufacturing 22 -0.50
tions barely six months away, the main today the country’s second-largest Gender disaggregation of jobs in urban the question of women's participation in
opposition parties — the Samajwadi economy (after Maharashtra),” he said. l Construction 12 0.90
areas reveals particular trends. Women the urban workforce is also contingent on
Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Even as the pandemic has hit tend to be concentrated in l Transport and storage 9 0.20
and Congress — have sharpened MSMEs the hardest, the UP govern- factors such as providing child-care
manufacturing of apparels and textiles facilities at the workplace and ensuring l IT, financial and professional services 8 1.40
attacks on the Yogi Adityanath gov- ment is bracing itself up for an aggres-
ernment over alleged Covid-19 mis- sive outreach strategy in the weeks and
and in services like education and health, availability of safe public transport. l Admin and other services 6 0.50
management and economic hardship months ahead to communicate as to while men are concentrated in the trade IndiaSpend
in the last four years. how a proactive stance had turned the
Although the ruling Bharatiya crisis into an opportunity, and provided
Janata Party (BJP) has deployed senior timely relief to the sector for catalysing
cabinet ministers as also top party lead- economic activities and job creation.
ers to counter the opposition onslau- “Compared to the credit offtake of NEWSMAKER / PRALHAD JOSHI
ght, the plausible of the pandemic on ~28,136 crore in 2017-18, the infusion
the socio-economic canvas of the state of ~73,765 crore in 2020-21 indicates
is far too wide to underestimate. the quantum leap in credit facilitation
However, the government can by the UP government,” Sehgal said,
mount its defence by highlighting the adding that about 7.4 million units had
sizeable credit flow of about ~2.20 tril- benefited from this.
Minister who needs to step up his game
lion to the state’s micro, Public finance and ADITI PHADNIS attempt to hoist the tricolour at the Idgah
small and medium enter- policy expert Yashvir Maidan in Hubli on August 15, defying the
prises (MSMEs) in the past Tyagi said the state gov- Poor Pralhad Joshi. The just gone-by prohibitory orders (the matter of
four years. ernment’s efforts to make Monsoon session had been a complete ownership of the Maidan was subjudice).
A top UP government UP a preferred destination wash-out and while no one is blaming Ten people died in the resulting violence
official said the infusion of for foreign and domestic him, as parliamentary affairs minister, for and the police firing that followed.
this amount since 2017 had investors had started it, the fact is the sheen of the job he holds Pralhad Joshi was among those who led
a massive multiplier effect bearing fruit. “Such has worn off a bit. the charge. The Idgah Maidan agitation
in the state and resulted in investment is not con- Parliamentary affairs ministers, helped the BJP gain political ground in the
industrial sector invest-
ments of almost ~4 trillion.
STATE fined to the developed
regions only, but indus-
arguably, have among the worst jobs in the
world — they have to be pleasant to
state and the party has been winning in
the Dharwad constituency — that Joshi
This, in turn, generated 25
million direct and indirect SCAN tries are now being estab-
lished in the comparative-
jobs and self-employment UTTAR PRADESH ly backward eastern and
political rivals they can’t stand, have to
beg, plead, and cajole their own party
colleagues for presence in the House,
represents — since 1996. His first Lok
Sabha attempt was in 2004 that he won
defeating the Congress’ B S Patil. He has
opportunities. Bundelkhand regions as must have the rulebook memorised to the won three consecutive elections from that
The MSME sector is the well,” he said. last comma and full stop, and the political constituency since, having won the 2009
largest provider of employ- Moreover, the govern- and government authority to offer IOUs to elections by the second-highest margin in
ment in UP after agriculture. It con- ment has been holding virtual loan members of friendly parties in return for all 28 constituencies in Karnataka. His
tributes more than 60 per cent of the fairs since last year. So far, five such backing legislation. They need to have an rival from the area, Vinay Kulkarni from
state’s industrial output and 40 per fairs have been organised, providing equable temperament, for if they are hot- the Congress, used to be arguably better
cent to the export basket. The state working capital support of ~33,338 headed and join the debate they can known and more popular, but in the last
logged exports of more than ~1.21 tril- crore to nearly 680,000 entities. become part of the problem, not part of Lok Sabha election, Joshi defeated him by
lion during 2020-21. BJP UP unit secretary Chandra the solution. As parliamentary affairs a margin of over 200,000 votes.
According to the UP additional Mohan said: “The Yogi government minister, Sushma Swaraj got the ultimate Joshi’s name was mentioned in
chief secretary (MSME and export pro- has embarked upon an agenda to accolade: The Lok Sabha speaker who was despatches as a possible B S Yediyurappa
motion), Navneet Sehgal, even as the restore the past industrial glory of UP, elected to the House from bitter political successor when the BJP replaced the
pandemic hit in 2020-21, the state gov- when it was among the leading states rival CPM, Somnath Chatterjee, was on stalwart. But he played down the reports.
ernment facilitated a credit infusion in India. The state has launched record as saying she was one of the best "Though he (Yediyurappa) is aged, he is
of about ~73,765 crore to the MSME schemes to boost the local economy parliamentary affairs ministers India ever functioning efficiently. And, there has
sector, which helped in overcoming and create mass jobs, and the govern- had. She was helpful and pleasant at all been no discussion about leadership
the crisis. ment has been working to provide an times, even when the Opposition was But Joshi’s political history suggests an Ananthakumar’s rise to power was the change keeping his age as the factor. There
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath easy finance window to the MSME sec- behaving badly. enviable lack of ego in all his dealings. He most rapid; he became Union minister in is no vacant position as far as the chief
while inaugurating the Indigenization tor, which is the backbone of the coun- Pralhad Joshi could not resist hitting rose to become the BJP’s state unit both Vajpayee and Modi regimes. Even minister is concerned, there is no question
Summit on Defence & Aerospace (ISDA try’s industrial base,” he said. out at the Opposition for disrupting president (from July 2012 to January Anant Hegde became a minister at the (of leadership change)," he had said in
2021), organised by the Confederation Meanwhile, UP Congress leader Parliament, which has seen a lot of 2016), but even in that influential position, Centre. It took an inordinate amount of response to a question. If he had become
of Indian Industry and UP Expressway Zishan Haider debunked the claims business being transacted but with had no difficulty in taking directions from time for Joshi to get out of Karnataka CM, Karnataka would have had the first
Industrial Development Authority, had of the state government regarding new minimal debate. The PM himself had to B L Santhosh, currently in the BJP as politics and travel to the Centre. The BJP Brahmin chief minister since 1988.
stressed that the state was coordinating employment avenues, terming them ask for details of BJP MPs present in the national organising secretary but the sources say although he began as a protégé Among all his other charges — he is
with banks to ensure that industry, a bundle of lies. Rajya Sabha when Bills were passed. That powerful pole of power in Karnataka. The of Anantha Kumar, his further rise in also minister for coal and mines — it is
especially MSMEs, did not face a work- “Why don’t they provide official should have a salutary effect on BJP MPs’ Karnataka unit of the BJP had three politics was stymied by Anantha Kumar parliamentary affairs that is politically the
ing capital squeeze. data regarding fresh employment conduct in the Upper House in the future Brahmin leaders who were immediately who did not want caste rivals to emerge. most crucial. But to make a success of his
“We have recast more than 30 opportunities created in the public and but says little for Joshi’s authority in identifiable — Anantha Kumar, Anant His rise in politics began in 1994 when job, he may have to hone his people skills a
investment-related policies in the past private sectors?” getting his own flock together. Kumar Hegde, and Joshi. Of them, Uma Bharti led a group of people in an bit more. At 59, he still has time.
8 WORLD
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021

Taliban takes over Kabul, president Ghani flees country

AIRPORT UNDER FIRE, CASUALTIES FEARED AFGHAN COUNCIL FORMED FOR PEACEFUL TRANSITION
Flight from Kabul
REUTERS
Kabul, 15 August ‘TRANSFER OF POWER’ RACE TO BOTTOM
n US Embassy in n NATO Secretary- April 14 US President Joe Biden

A
fghanistan’s Taliban insurgents entered
Kabul on Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani
left the country and the US Embassy said
Kabul tells
Americans to
General Jens
Stoltenberg discussed
says US troops will withdraw
from Afghanistan from May 1
returns to India
shelter in place, the latest
the capital’s airport, where diplomats, officials and
other Afghans had fled, had come under fire.
says airport
reportedly
development in
Afghanistan with
May 4 Taliban fighters launch a
major offensive in southern
Helmand province
with 129 on board
It was not yet clear where Ghani was headed or
taking fire Britain’s Prime
how power would be transferred following the mil-
itant Islamist group’s lighting sweep across
Afghanistan that led back to the capital two dec-
n Afghan leaders
have created a
Minister Boris
Johnson
July 21 Taliban controls about
half of the country's districts, A n Air India flight from Delhi hovered over the
Kabul airport for about an hour on Sunday
waiting for the air traffic control permission before
says senior US official
ades after it was overthrown by US-led forces. coordination n US Secretary of State it could finally land with 40 passengers on board,
council to meet Antony Blinken Aug 6 - Zaranj becomes the
“The security situation in Kabul is changing but the corresponding return flight left the
with the Taliban said “it is simply first provincial capital to fall
quickly, including at the airport. There are reports Afghanistan capital hours later with 129
and manage not in our interest” to the Taliban in years
of the airport taking fire; therefore we are instruct- passengers as Taliban fighters closed in on the
ing US citizens to shelter in place,” a US Embassy the transfer of to remain in Aug 13 - Four more provincial city, officials said.
security alert said. the power Afghanistan capitals fall in a day, According to officials of Air India, there is no
Hundreds of Afghans, some of them govern- n “Core” US team n The UN has warned including Kandahar plan yet to cancel the Delhi-Kabul-Delhi flight and
ment ministers and government employees and members working that 390,000 Aug 14 - The Taliban takes the that it is scheduled to operate on Monday too.
also other civilians including many women and from the Kabul people could major city of Mazar-i-Sharif However, they said, the airline is monitoring the
children, crowded in the terminal desperately airport, a US be displaced situation closely and it will take appropriate action
Aug 15 - The Taliban takes
waiting for flights out. official said across the country as and when required. Currently, only Air India is
Jalalabad, surrounding Kabul
Ghani’s destination was uncertain: a senior operating flights between India and Afghanistan.
Interior Ministry official said he had left for The national carrier operated it Delhi-Kabul leg
Tajikistan, while a Foreign Ministry official said KEY REACTIONS of the flight (with call sign AI-243) on Sunday
his location was unknown and the Taliban said it afternoon with around 40 passengers, officials
was checking his whereabouts.
“I WAS THE 4TH PRESIDENT “AUTHORITY HAS BEEN GIVEN “THE WORLD IS “IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE said. Officials said AI-243 departed from Delhi at
Some local social media users branded him a TO PRESIDE OVER AN TO A DELEGATION THAT WILL BE WATCHING IN HORROR INTERNATIONAL around 12.45 PM (Indian Standard Time) and had
“coward” for leaving them in chaos. AMERICAN TROOP PRESENCE GOING TO DOHA (QATAR) THE RESULTS OF COMMUNITY IS UNITED to hover for around one hour above the Kabul
Taliban fighters reached Kabul “from all sides”, IN AFGHANISTAN — 2 TOMORROW (MONDAY) WASHINGTON’S LATEST IN TELLING THE airport as it did not get permission to land from the
the senior Interior Ministry official told Reuters air traffic control.
and there were some reports of sporadic gunfire
REPUBLICANS, 2 DEMOCRATS. I TO REACH AN AGREEMENT HISTORICAL EXPERIMENT” TALIBAN THAT THE India has put in place contingency plans to
around the city. WOULD NOT, AND WILL NOT, ON AFGHANISTAN” MARIA ZAKHAROVA VIOLENCE MUST END” evacuate hundreds of its officials and citizens from
Insurgents entered the presidential palace and PASS THIS WAR ONTO A FIFTH” BISMILLAH KHAN Russian Foreign Ministry DOMINIC RAAB, Kabul that has been gripped by fear and panic
took control of it, two senior Taliban commanders JOE BIDEN, US president Acting Afghanistan Defense Minister spokeswoman UK Foreign Secretary following reports of Taliban fighters entering the
in Kabul said. outskirts of the Afghan capital city on Sunday. PTI

A stronger Taliban: History turns full-circle in Afghanistan

AJAI SHUKLA
15 August
As dawn broke on November 13, 2001 — 20 years
ago, almost to the day —a Northern Alliance army
raced across the Shamali Plain, southwards
towards Kabul, just a couple of hours away.
Accompanying these grizzled fighters was a
small battalion of journalists, all of us acutely aware
that this was an exceptional moment in history. I
was amongst them — the only Indian journalist to
have remained in Afghanistan during those
momentous months, reporting the build-up of anti-
Taliban militias, the capture of Kabul, Osama bin
Laden’s escape into Pakistan and the scattering of
the Taliban into Afghanistan’s southern provinces.
Backed by US military air power, the mainly
Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara soldiers of the Northern
Alliance would, on that crisp, late-autumn day,
recapture Afghanistan’s capital from the mainly
Pashtun Taliban, which had seized it in 1996, hung
Afghanistan’s president — the redoubtable
Mohammad Najibullah — from a lamp-post with
his severed genitals stuffed into his mouth, and
then unleashed a five-year reign of terror that
would now be ended by American wrath after the
Taliban provided Al Qaeda safe haven in
Afghanistan and allowed Osama bin Laden to plot
to bring down the twin towers of the World Trade
Centre in New York city.
With surprisingly little fighting or firing — a
feature that can also be observed in the current
Taliban offensive — our vehicle rounded a curve
and there, visible from the Khairkhana Pass, lay
Kabul, sprawled before us.
Like the Taliban today, Northern Alliance
generals had given their word that they would stop
outside Kabul and allow a peaceful transfer of
power. Any misbehaviour by their forces would
bring back memories of the mujahideen infighting
between 1992-1996 that had reduced Kabul to
rubble. But the Northern Alliance commandoes in
civil dress were already inside the city, mopping up
the few remaining Taliban and Pakistani fighters,
and by the end of that day, the Northern Alliance
was firmly in control of Kabul.
Taliban spokespersons today are vowing to
create an inclusive government, with
representation from all factions and groups in bridges for even a basic conversation.
Afghanistan. But Afghanistan’s elected leader, Instead, New Delhi has held on firmly to the
President Ashraf Ghani, has already fled the belief that the Taliban is a Pakistani proxy and that
country and Vice-President, Abdullah Abdullah is its actions are entirely controlled by Pakistan’s
in Doha, in a long-odds endeavour to negotiate Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The corollary is
terms with the Taliban. that negotiating with the Taliban is as fruitless as
Walking into Kabul in November 2001, one of negotiating with the ISI would be.
my first actions was to visit the Indian Embassy. As a consequence, New Delhi finds itself
With the gates chained and plaster without official levers or dialogue
hanging from the roof, it was clear that With the capture of channels in a country where
there had been no diplomatic activity billions of dollars of India and Indians are held in
here for years. The embassy staff had weaponry that the the highest esteem.
been evacuated in September 1996, just US and others have In a long conversation I had in
hours ahead of the Taliban’s entry. equipped the Afghan 2012 with senior Taliban leader,
Today, it remains unclear whether army with, the Taliban Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, who was
the embassy staff have been evacuated. is likely to become the Taliban government’s
It is unlikely that the government of even stronger ambassador to Pakistan (and,
India would risk the lives of its therefore, an isolated Taliban’s
diplomatic staff to the Taliban’s say-so. channel to the world), put to me the
That New Delhi has been forced to evacuate its question: “Why does India not want to engage us in
embassy staff from a country where India is held in dialogue. We have been consistently side-lined by
the highest esteem underscores the failure of India’s New Delhi, but we are still eager to talk to them. But
diplomatic policy in Afghanistan. For 20 years, New New Delhi refuses to talk to us”.
Delhi has failed to reach out to the Taliban and build When I put it to Muttawakil that India regarded
the Taliban as a Pakistani proxy, he responded: “We
are Pashtuns and we dislike those Punjabis who
rule Pakistan. When we (the Taliban) take
important decisions, we take them in our national
interest. We may be conservative Muslims, but we
are Afghan nationalists, not Pakistani puppets.”
The old Taliban leader ended our conversation
with this piece of logic. “Everyone in Afghanistan,
whether Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras or Pashtuns; loves
India and all Indians. How can the Taliban go
against this wave of popular opinion”.
It would appear that, willy nilly, New Delhi
will have to engage with the Taliban and the
government in Kabul that these fundamentalists
are set to dominate. India’s traditional partners of
the Northern Alliance are fading away and the
Taliban has demonstrated that it has the military
forces needed to control Afghanistan. With the
capture of billions of dollars of weaponry that
the US and others have equipped the Afghan
National Army with, the Taliban is likely to
become even stronger. The activation of
diplomatic channels is likely to yield better
results than a simmering hostility.

IN BRIEF POWERFUL HAITI QUAKE’S TOLL MOUNTS TO 724 China snags top
Crypto market retakes IPOs even as HK
$2-trillion market cap
The total market value of cryptocurrencies rose above
$2 trillion again as Bitcoin continued to climb and the likes of
listings fade away
Cardano, XRP and Dogecoin advanced as well. Crypto’s
market value rose to $2.06 trillion on Saturday, according Beijing’s desire to elevate domestic
to CoinGecko, which tracks more than 8,800 coins. Bitcoin
reached as high as $48,152, the highest level since May 16, as
markets playing key role, say experts
it showed staying power above its 200-day moving average. BLOOMBERG policy risks in sectors ranging
As of 1 p.m. in Hong Kong on Sunday, Cardano — now the 15 August from technology and educa-
third-ranked cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ether — was tion to food and health care.
up 47 per cent over the past seven days. BLOOMBERG Initial public offerings are The mainland is also
coming thick and fast in benefiting from Beijing’s
mainland China, with desire to elevate its domestic
Faurecia to take over auto Shanghai set to host the
world’s two biggest listings
markets, including the crea-
tion of a new Nasdaq-style
supplier Hella for $8 bn this year as domestic inves-
tors look past the govern-
Star board.
China Telecom Corp, one
Faurecia SE agreed to take over Hella GmbH in a deal valuing ment’s regulatory crackdown. of the nation’s largest telecom
the German automotive supplier at 6.8 billion euros It’s a different story in carriers, is a perfect example.
($8 billion), beating out rival bidders from the European Hong Kong, a global centre After being delisted by the
car-parts industry. France-based Faurecia will purchase a for IPOs that’s seen only one New York Stock Exchange on
60 per cent stake from Hella’s founding Hueck family offering so far this month. national security grounds in
through a mixture of cash and stock, according to a A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake added to the misery in Haiti, killing at least 724 people, injuring a minimum of 2,800 International investors who January, it aims to raise 47.1
statement. Faurecia will make a public offer for the others and destroying hundreds of homes. People in the Caribbean island nation rushed into the streets to seek safety and to use the financial hub as a billion yuan ($7.3 billion) in
remainder at 60 euros a share plus a dividend of 0.96 euro help rescue those trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes, hotels and other structures. The disaster added to the plight of window into China are Shanghai next week, setting
apiece. The Hueck family will own as much as 9 per cent of Haitians already grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, a presidential assassination and deepening poverty PHOTO: REUTERS increasingly concerned by a new high mark for 2021.
the combined company. BLOOMBERG

Aramco joins in to build

$1-bn Saudi solar plant
Saudi Aramco is joining a group led by ACWA Power to build a
nearly $1 billion solar power plant in the kingdom as the
world’s largest oil-exporting nation expands renewable
energy supply. Aramco will hold a 30 per cent stake in the
Sudair solar project, while ACWA and partner Water &
Electricity Holding Co. will each own 35 per cent. ACWA, itself
50 per cent owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, said
it had reached financial close with lenders on the 1,500
megawatt project. Saudi Arabia has been slow to move away
from fossil fuels in favour of clean energy. BLOOMBERG
German football legend
Gerd Müller dies aged 75
Gerd Müller, the Bayern Munich and former West Germany
forward who scored 566 goals for the club and still holds
the record for the most goals scored in the Bundesliga with
365, has died. He was 75. The Bavarian club announced his
death on Sunday. “Gerd Müller was the greatest striker
there’s ever been, and a fine person and character of world
football,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said in a
statement posted on the cub’s website. He was the
league’s top-scorer on seven occasions. Müller joined
the Bavarian club in 1964 and won four league titles and
four German Cup titles. AGENCIES
Teenagers cash in on the NFT art manic boom
Forget mowing lawns and bagging groceries, some Gen Z kids are finding other ways to make money this summer
STEVEN KURUTZ
15 August
Last fall, Randi Hipper decided to, as she put
it recently, “go in-depth with the crypto
space.” After hearing about NFTs on Twitter
and other social media platforms, Hipper,
then a 17-year-old senior at Xaverian High
School in Brooklyn, began releasing her own
digital artworks — cartoonish and self-
referential pieces showing her cruising in a
car with a Bitcoin license plate or riding the
Coney Island Wonder Wheel.
Hipper comes up with the concepts and
collaborates with digital artists, including a
teenage boy in India who goes by Ajay Toons,
offering the works for sale through the NFT
marketplace Atomic Hub. An NFT, or a
nonfungible token, is a digital file created
using blockchain computer code. It is bought
using cryptocurrency such as Ether or Wax,
and exists as a unique file unable to be
duplicated, often just to be admired digitally.
“Right now, I’m trying to do one drop a
week,” said Hipper, who now goes by Miss
Teen Crypto and has since turned 18. “I try
not to overload my feed, my collectors.”
The 40-year-old digital artist known as
Beeple may have grabbed headlines last
spring when one of his works sold at
Christie’s for $69 million, but NFT markets
like Atomic Hub, Nefty Blocks and OpenSea
are filled with creators barely old enough to
drive. They promote their work not through
blue-chip galleries or auction houses but on
social media.
“In the NFT world, anyone can post
online, market themselves on Twitter
and build a following from a young age,”
said Griffin Cock Foster, who is 26 and
lives in New York City. He and his twin
brother, Duncan, founded the NFT
marketplace Nifty Gateway.
Duncan said, “The comparison I like
to make is it’s similar to the way TikTok
is causing people to be discovered at a
really young age.”
In June, Nifty Gateway did a drop called
Nifty Next Generation. It featured the work of
jstngraphics, a 17-year-old from Washington
State, and Solace, an 18-year-old from
Soledad, Calif. Both teenagers have been
NFT art, “his name is victor,” by FEWOCiOUS,
whose legal name is Victor Langlois
making NFT art for less than a year, and first
drew attention by selling through the online
auction site SuperRare. The works of both
artists, which ranged in price from about
$1,000 to $7,250, sold out.
“I was tossing out random stuff to see
what was going on,” said Justin Bodnar
(jstngraphics), who makes surreal
landscapes and what he described as “Tron-
style” art. “Then I got onto SuperRare and
things started blowing up.”
The most popular and successful young
NFT artist is Victor Langlois, a transgender 18-
year-old who goes by FEWOCiOUS, or Fewo to
his fans. He makes digital art that chronicles
his difficult childhood and struggles with
gender identity and his transition.
Last summer, Fewo started selling work
on SuperRare and built a following there and
on Nifty Gateway. Soon, he came to the
attention of Noah Davis, the digital art
specialist at Christie’s, who arranged an
auction of his work in June. The online sale of
five lots, entitled, “Hello, i’m Victor
(FEWOCiOUS) and This Is My Life,” earned
$2.16 million, turning Mr. Langlois into an
art-world star.
©2021 The New York Times News Service
 >
OPINION 9
STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM

Illustration Ajay Mohanty

Volume XXVI Number 2
has traditionally been used. If the latter had been
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 used, the discrepancy between the policy rate in the
rule and the actual level of the funds rate would be

Rhetoric and reality even larger. These higher possible levels for the federal
funds rate are largely being ignored in the Fed’s report-
ed discussions. Instead, the Fed insists that today’s
PM’s emphasis on less govt interference is the way to go higher inflation is a temporary byproduct of the
pandemic’s effect on inflation last year. Those who

P
rime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the ramparts of Red Fort on
defend its current stance point out that market interest
the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day contained several statements rates on longer-term bonds remain very low.
with regard to reform and sustainable economic growth that were welcome On safe Treasury assets, the five-year yield is only
in their clarity. The prime minister explicitly drew a distinction between 0.81 per cent, and the 10-year yield is only 1.35 per
the policies of the “past”, in which he said the government was in the driver’s seat of cent — well below the rates suggested by the Taylor
the economy. Those were, Mr Modi argued, perhaps the needs or desires of the rule when averaged over these maturities. Considering
these factors, many commentators are saying not to
time. But the times have changed, and his government intended to minimise the
worry: The markets are probably being rational when
intrusion of government into people’s lives. He specifically referred to efforts to they forecast low rates.
repeal “the web of unnecessary laws and regulations”, and said that “15,000 com- The problem with this line of reasoning is that the
pliances have been ended by us”. The example he gave of the government’s for- low longer-term rates are likely being caused by the
ward-looking actions was instructive: The opening up of mapping and surveying to Fed’s own insistence on keeping low rates as far as
firms, which thereby were empowered to collect geospatial data. the eye can see. As Josephine M Smith and I show in
a 2009 study, there is a “Term Structure of Policy
The prime minister’s emphasis on deregulation and freedom from state and
Rules” to consider. Effectively, the policy rule for
bureaucratic interference will hopefully fall on fertile soil in the rest of the government. longer-maturity bonds depends on the policy rule for
It must be said, however, that the actions of the government at various levels in the the much shorter-term federal funds rate, as perceived

The Fed's state of

recent past have not exactly met the standards set out by the prime minister. The by people in the market. If the Fed convinces the
policy on geospatial data that Mr Modi mentioned is unfortunately more the excep- market that it will stay low, the term structure of inter-
tion than the rule. By and large, the last years have seen the strengthening of the est rates will imply lower longer-term rates.
Today’s situation is similar to that of 2004, when
government’s role in the economy, rather than the reverse — the institution of new

exception
then-Fed Chair Alan Greenspan noticed that 10-year
tariffs as a mechanism for economic control, and the creation of a haphazard import- Treasury yields did not seem connected to moves in
substituting industrial policy in the guise of “Make in India”. Mr Modi’s desire to the federal funds rate. He called this a “conundrum,”
reduce interference and the grip of extractive regulations — not to mention his because the actual short-term interest rate was not
intention to bridge the trust deficit between state and industry — contradicts also a generating as large of an increase in long-term interest
recent statement by a senior Union minister that the business practices of Indian rates as one would expect based on previous experi-
industries were “against the national interest”. It is clear from this speech that the It appears that the Fed is deviating from monetary-policy ence. Monetary-policy tightening was not having as
much of an effect on longer-term rates as it had in
gap between Mr Modi’s vision and rhetoric, and his government’s policies and rules. But history tells us that it cannot continue indefinitely previous periods of tightening.
actions needs to be closed. During this period, the federal funds rate deviated

O
In terms of new schemes and promises, the speech had one that might dominate ver the past few months, there has been a
attention: A new “Gati Shakti” master plan, which the prime minister said would growing chorus of economic observers voicing
spend ~100 trillion to develop “holistic infrastructure”. It is unclear what this means, concerns about the increase of inflation in
the United States. Much of the com-
and how it is different from the ~100-trillion investment in infrastructure that the mentary (including my own) has
prime minister has talked about in two previous Independence Day speeches. It is focused on the US Federal Reserve’s
anyway far from certain that the government has any way to pay for such mammoth apparent continuation of easy mon-
investment from a Union Budget that was strained even before the pandemic put etary policy in the face of rising prices.
further pressure on the fisc. Other important policy priorities laid out in the speech Despite a sharp increase in the rate
may be more realistic and cost-effective. These include not just his hope that regu- of money growth, the central bank is
still engaged in a large-scale asset-
latory support could be provided to entrepreneurs and start-ups in Tier-II and Tier- purchase programme (to the tune of
III towns, but also that energy security, environmental security, and national security $120 billion per month), and it has
are all closely interconnected. kept the federal funds rate in the range
The prime minister spoke specifically of renewable energy production, making of 0.05-0.1 per cent.
India energy-independent, and of new technological advances that might be suitable That rate is exceptionally low
compared to similar periods in JOHN B TAYLOR
for India such as green hydrogen. It is to be hoped that the government will spend
recent history. To understand why it
less time on coming up with enormous targets that are unlikely to be achieved, and is exceptional, one need look no
more on doable and forward-looking policies such as these. further than the Fed’s own July 9, 2021, Monetary
Policy Report, which includes long-studied policy
rules that would prescribe a policy rate higher than
equation, has worked well when it has been followed
over the years. If you plug in the current inflation rate
over the past four quarters (about 4 per cent), the gap
between gross domestic product
(GDP) and its potential for the sec-
ond quarter of 2021 (about — 2 per
cent), a target inflation rate of 2 per
cent, and a so-called equilibrium
interest rate of 1 per cent, you get a
desired federal funds rate of 5 per
cent.
Moreover, the Taylor rule
implies that even if the inflation
rate falls to 2 per cent by the end of
this year (which would be well
below most forecasts), and eco-
nomic output reaches its potential,
the federal funds rate still should
be 3 per cent. That is a long way
from the near-zero level implied by the
Fed’s forward guidance.
Since these calculations use the inflation rate aver-
significantly from what would have been predicted
by the Fed’s typical response, much as it is doing
today. When the actual federal funds rate deviated
significantly from the level suggested by policy rules,
the short-term interest-rate response to inflation
appeared to be much lower, at least from the perspec-
tive of market participants trying to assess Fed policy.
And this perception of a smaller response coefficient
in the policy rule may have led market participants
to expect smaller longer-term interest-rate responses
to inflation, and therefore lower long-term interest
rates.
Today, it appears that the Fed is deviating from
monetary-policy rules. It has beaten its own path for
forward guidance, and the market is basing its
estimates of future rates on the expectation that this
deviation will continue. But history tells us that it
cannot continue indefinitely.
Eventually, the Fed will have to return to a policy
rule, and when it does, the conundrum will disappear.
The sooner this occurs, the smoother the recovery
will be. There is still time to adjust and get back to a

On top of the scrap heap the current actual rate. One of these is the “Taylor
rule,” which holds that the Fed should set its target
federal funds rate according to the gap between
aged over the past four quarters, they are consistent
with a form of “average inflation targeting” that the
Fed itself endorsed last summer. They also follow the
policy rule, but time is running out.

The writer, a former under-secretary of the US Treasury (2001-

The eco-system is critical for policy on scrapping actual and targeted inflation. Fed’s own recently suggested equilibrium interest 05), is Professor of Economics at Stanford University and a

T
he official launch of a vehicle-scrapping programme, the broad provisions The Taylor rule, expressed as a straightforward rate of 1 per cent, rather than the 2 per cent rate that senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © Project Syndicate
for which were announced in March this year, by the prime minister at a
business summit in Gujarat reflects its significance. It aims to fulfil the

The unfairness of real estate bankruptcy resolution

multiple mandate of stimulating the economy by stoking demand for
new vehicles as many western economies did after 2008 and of reducing vehicular
pollution in Indian towns and cities. On paper, the policy, otherwise known as
Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme, has the potential to achieve

C
&C Towers Ltd (CCTL) signed a 20-year conces-
both aims.
sion agreement with the Greater Mohali Area
First, it sets specific start dates for the programme: April 2023 for heavy com- Development Authority (GMADA) in April 2009
mercial vehicles over 15 years old and June 2024 for private vehicles more than 20 for an inter-state bus terminal, three multi-storey towers
years old. All vehicles over this age have to be off the road if they fail an automated with retail and office spaces, a multiplex, a five-star
fitness test. After that, they will be deregistered, which means they cannot run and hotel, a banquet hall, hypermar-
the owner can choose to scrap them. The government policy has designed “nudge” kets, and a helipad on top of one
tower. CCTL immediately gave an
incentives to encourage owners to scrap their “end-of-life” cars in the form of a
advance of ~110.78 crore as pre-
break on registration charges on new vehicle purchases, a lower goods and services construction advance and ~63.30
tax, a road tax rebate of up to 25 per cent for a new private vehicle, and 15 per cent for crore as mobilisation advance to
a commercial vehicle. At the same time, the policy seeks to disincentivise ownership a group company C&C
of old vehicles that do pass the fitness test by imposing steep re-registration charges Construction Ltd (CCCL, a listed
— road tax plus a green tax. firm which is also bankrupt). As
always, a bunch of public sector
These sound intentions, however, are predicated on the fulfilment of several
banks — State Bank of India (SBI),
conditions, none of which can be taken for granted. The first is that the Motor State Bank of Hyderabad, State
Vehicles Act falls in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, so some of the tax Bank of Patiala, Punjab National
breaks embedded in the policy will require the cooperation of the state governments, Bank, and Punjab & Sind Bank — IRRATIONAL CHOICE
which levy annual or lifetime taxes on motor vehicles, and it is as yet unclear whether sanctioned project finance in
November 2010. Apparently, C&C
DEBASHIS BASU
states are on board. Second, the country lacks the necessary eco-system, in the
Towers also collected ~490 crore
shape of automated fitness centres or sufficient scrapping centres. The government
from 400 property buyers.
wants at least 718 fitness centres (i.e. one in each district) and has sanctioned 26 Construction was inordinately delayed, leading to
model centres at a cost of ~17 crore. Here, too, the cooperation of the states would be the GMADA invoking bank guarantees of ~11.90 crore.
necessary. The creation of large-scale scrapping centres may be uncertain, too. SBI and PNB got Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction
Though a vibrant raddi industry exists for old vehicles, it is largely unorganised and Company (EARC) involved under a “Restructuring
piecemeal. An organised business linked to the policy will require large-scale logistics Agreement”. In October 2019, based on an application
under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
and real estate, which could limit the business to larger enterprises rather than (IBC), filed, strangely, by two individuals, a corporate
micro, small, and medium enterprises. insolvency resolution process (CIRP) started on
Of course, such centres are likely to have a ready business at hand by 2023-24. October 10, 2019.
The government data shows that there are 5.1 million light motor vehicles more
Fraud: The elephant in the room
than 20 years old and 3.4 million over 15 years old. Another 1.7 million medium and
heavy commercial vehicles ply without fitness certificates. For the policy to work, it The aggregate claims of all creditors admitted were
~580.12 crore while the capital work-in-progress was
is critical for the government to come up with clear incentives for scrapping centres put at ~399.89 crore. However, the actual allocation to
so that they are up and running before the policy comes into effect. Without these, the creditors under the resolution plan is as follows.
the policy, which has the potential to generate a decent level of unskilled-level Banks: 13.3 per cent (of which the upfront payment is
employment, will end up like the e-vehicles policy, where the lack of recharging just ~1 crore, the rest in instalments over five years);
centres has constrained the expansion of the industry. The proof of this policy, fixed deposit holders: 12.8 per cent; allottees: 10.6 per
cent; GMADA: 10 per cent; statutory dues: 8 per cent.
therefore, will lie in the detail.
In all, this is just ~72 crore, or 12.5 per cent of the admitted
claims! So, where is the ~399.89 crore of the capital
work-in-progress, whose value by now should at least
have doubled? What were the bankers doing? What
were the engineers of the GMADA doing? The answer
is crystal clear in all such bankruptcy cases (especially
in real estate involving public sector
banks), but one we don’t want to see:
Rampant fraud and corruption by all
involved. We like to believe this is not
large-scale loot but “business failures”.
Of course, there are provisions in the
IBC to identify transactions that are
collectively called PUFE, that is, those
that are preferential, undervalued,
fraudulent, and extortionate. These
transactions are supposed to be added
back and recovered from the corporate
debtor. Was it done in this case? Well,
the parties involved have managed to fix
these too. Preferential transactions of
only ~1.85 crore paid to two companies
of the C&C group were recorded.
Undervalued transactions of just ~91 lakh were
identified. Nothing was identified as extortionate, and
fraudulent transactions were just ~2.51 crore. During
this process, it also appeared that for some 91,000
square feet of space, there was fraudulent excess
booking of 289,445 square feet.
Like the three monkeys, we don’t seem to see, hear
or talk about rampant fraud and corruption leading to
IBC cases, especially those in which public sector banks
are involved.
n Bankers: Financed the project after the EPC (engi-
neering, procurement, construction) contract was
signed but did nothing to rectify the contract, which
drained off money to group companies. They failed to
monitor the project and take timely corrective action.
Further, they transferred the loans to EARC under a
“restructuring agreement”. Clearly, banks are primarily
responsible for this fraud, but they got away. Yet, there
is a widespread opinion (even articulated by former
Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan)
opposing criminal action against bankers.
n PUFE: The regular process of identifying PUFE is
toothless even in a case like this, where EPC was handed
over to benefit CCCL/individuals. What is needed is a
forensic audit not merely of the accounts but the whole
project. But this cannot be mandated. There has to be
some commercial incentive for such an investigation.
n Promoters: They crafted the EPC contract to drain
substantial amounts “legally” and have got away finan-
cially. While the chairman and a director were arrested,
Harbhajan Singh Jolly, general secretary of the C&C
Mohali Junction Clients Association, alleges that the
police gave the company officials a clean chit in a case
of outright fraud.
n GMADA: The “independent engineers” failed to
monitor the project. I am not sure if they paid any
price for it.
The most amazing aspect of this mess is that the
main victims, the allottees, have no say in this vile affair
from start to finish. They had no means to monitor the
project, were tricked by the presence of compromised
government-owned banks and the GMADA, got no
help from law enforcement agencies, and finally have
been relegated to rank outsiders in the IBC process.
According to banker and resolution professional
Rajendra Ganatra, it is the property buyers who fund
the project cost and the entire debt and entire equity
servicing, and yet, have no locus standi in the IBC pro-
cess. In fact, until the infamous cases of cheated home-
buyers such as Amrapali and Jaypee Infratech began
to hog the media headlines, homebuyers’ rights were
completely ignored. Then the Supreme Court merely
gave them the status of unsecured financial creditors.
It is hardly enough. They are the actual property owners
and have funded the project. Their rights should be on
a par with secured lenders or even superior because
they are under no legal obligation and devoid of insti-
tutional resources to monitor the project. Real estate
bankruptcy laws ought to be completely overhauled
to right this egregious wrong. But then who will argue
this for them?
The writer is the editor of www.moneylife.in
Twitter: @Moneylifers

From the ruins of 9/11 American History” — a phrase that for

years had referred not to the 9/11 attacks
but to the Oklahoma
bombing in 1995. In the immediate
City
White House lawyers pressed for max-
imum executive power, while Mr Bush
would insist that Muslims weren’t the
enemy in one moment and then describe
Ackerman says, with its settler colonial-
ism and fantasies of a race war; the dif-
ference was that the nativist right insisted
that settler colonialism was part of what
squandered the best chance anyone
could ever have to end the 9/11 era.”
There is, of course,
counterargument, and Mr Obama’s close
a

for this blunt-force thesis is presented
with an impressive combination of dili-
gence and verve, deploying Mr
Ackerman’s deep stores of knowledge as
a national security journalist to full effect.
The result is a narrative of the last 20
BOOK REVIEW years that is upsetting, discerning and
brilliantly argued.
JENNIFER SZALAI Mr Ackerman, who has been a
correspondent for outlets like Wired and
aftermath, Muslims were blamed. The
actual culprit, Timothy McVeigh, had
been an avowed white supremacist,
though you wouldn’t have necessarily
known it from the media reports at the
time, which kept emphasising
McVeigh’s “survivalism.”
McVeigh was sentenced to death after
being tried in an open court, before a jury
of his peers. Mr Ackerman invites us to
the War on Terror as a made America great, while the adviser Ben Rhodes offers it to Mr
“crusade” the next. progressive left found it morally despi- Ackerman: “Let’s say he did that, and
“The result,” Mr Ackerman writes, cable. By 2016, nativists were rejoicing at dismantled our counterterrorism appa-
“was a vague definition of an enemy that the prospect of Mr Trump pursuing ratus over that summer, and there’s a
consisted of thousands of Muslims, per- (nonwhite) terrorists without any terrorist attack and then the world ends.”
haps millions, but not all Muslims — restraints; progressives wanted the War However inelegantly phrased, it’s a
though definitely, exclusively, Muslims.” on Terror abolished. possibility that Mr Ackerman doesn’t
President Bush may have been a Those progressives were especially really address.
conservative disenchanted Still, this revelatory book shows that
Republican, but REIGN OF TERROR: How the by President for all the lawyering and “targeted

S
pencer Ackerman’s barnburner of
a new book, Reign of Terror,
reminded me of that moment in
2015 when Donald J Trump descended
his golden escalator to announce his
long-shot candidacy for the highest
office. Instead of starting with heart-
warming clichés about the country’s bet-
ter angels, Mr Trump came out swinging,
declaring that the United States was in
trouble: “When was the last time the U.S.
won at anything?”
It certainly hadn’t been winning any
of the wars it had been fighting for more
than a decade. Mr Ackerman contends
that the American response to 9/11 made
President Trump possible. The evidence
The Guardian, shows how Mr Trump contrast this respect for due Mr Ackerman 9/11 Era Destabilized Obama, who killing,” Mr Obama’s centrist approach
clearly understood something about the process with how the entire machinery reminds us that America and Produced was a vocal simply could not hold. Under President
post-9/11 era that the professional of the government transformed itself in liberal Trump opponent of Trump, there were even more drone
political class did not. Waging endless response to the 9/11 attacks, with deadly Democrats were the forever strikes and less transparency. According
war — on Afghanistan, on Iraq, on terror wars, proliferating immigration complicit in Author: Spencer Ackerman wars but to one study, Trump’s accelerated
— yielded nothing so definitive as peace restrictions and an elaborate apparatus starting and sus- once in bombing campaign in Afghanistan
Publisher: Viking
or victory, and instead simply fuelled a dedicated to mass surveillance. taining the forev- office increased civilian casualties
“grotesque subtext” to which Mr Trump Reign of Terror makes clear that what er wars. A grow- Price: $30 laboured to by 330 per cent.
proved to be remarkably attuned. He may happened on September 11, 2001, can ing popular put them on Not to mention that the animus and
have changed his positions on this or that only be called an atrocity; this isn’t one disgust with both Pages: 428 a more cruelty that had been stoked for a decade
conflict willy-nilly, but Mr Trump never of those accounts that tries to play down parties reflected “sustainable” and a half could be easily turned on
wavered on one key point — “the the trauma. But Ackerman also suggests how nativists on and “more immigrants closer to home. Mr Trump,
perception of nonwhites as that instead of defining the enemy as the one side and progressives on the other lawful” footing. Mr Ackerman depicts the Mr Ackerman writes, “had learned the
marauders, even as conquerors, from specific terrorist network responsible for understood a truth that centrists elided. assassination of Osama bin Laden in 2011 foremost lesson of 9/11: The terrorists
hostile foreign civilizations.” the attacks, the George W. Bush The fringes on the right and the left could as an opportunity to declare the mission were whomever you said they were.”
Reign of Terror begins with a prologue administration resorted to see how the War on Terror was an accomplished.
titled “The Worst Terrorist Attack in “deliberate indecision.” extension of the country’s history, “Instead,” he writes, “Obama ©2021 The New York Times News Service
 The Smart
QUICK TAKE: ANALYSTS SEE UPSIDE IN BPCL STOCK “Relative to the performance of its

Investor
economy, the US central bank is the
(Price ~) After falling marginally post results on Thursday, BPCL stock was up most dovish in the world
1.5% on Friday. Emkay Global says, Q1 Ebitda fell 17% YoY but was 4% and is likely to start its
455
above their estimate due to lower operating expenses, while hiking cycle a year or
MUMBAI | 456 adjusted PAT declined 25% YoY and was 4% below estimate. so later than normal”
MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 Marketing inventory gains of ~800 crore disappointed, but core ETHAN HARRIS
marketing margin was a 13% beat. Emkay has cut its FY22 EPS estimate Global economist at
Aug 6,’21 Aug 13,’21 Bank of America Securities
by 8%, while slightly raising FY23/24 EPS. It has a target price of ~535
WWW.SMARTINVESTOR.IN FOR INFORMED DECISION MAKING <

‘Time to reduce weight in mid-, small-cap stocks’ STREET

SIGNS
The primary and secondary markets in India have been buzzing with activity for the past folio may include India’s largest state-
few months. SAMIR ARORA, founder and fund manager, Helios Capital, tells Puneet Wadhwa owned bank that offers extreme value,
in an interview that there is no strong reason to believe that the generally strong equity while also holding some other stock(s) Buy the dips, sell the rallies
markets will largely disappoint in the coming few years. Edited excerpts: that offer very high growth and also The market trend continues to remain positive,
have high valuations. however, expensive valuations limit the near-
Equities, commodities, inflation, and What’s your views on mid-, small-caps? We believe (we don’t believe, we term upside, say, analysts. They believe traders
global debt levels — everything is on In general, it is time to reduce weight in know) that a large number of com- can make money in the current environment by
an upswing. Do you think this will end mid- and small-cap stocks as panies do well in any year or period and going out and buying whenever the market
badly for the global financial markets their valuations are more or less in line we owe 30-35 stocks that have been falls. Later, sell whenever stocks rally and wait
a few years from now? with bigger, better companies. We have bought on a basis that makes sense to for corrections to re-enter. “We are of the view
Well since stocks and commodities nearly 70 per cent of our portfolio in us. For some stocks, their extreme value that the short-term trading setup is positive
have 7-10 year cycles, it is true that large-cap companies and the balance in makes sense and for some may be their and the ideal strategy would be to buy on dips
one day this (rally) will end with a big mid/small companies. On the margin, high growth makes sense. This model and sell on rallies. In the near future, the
fall. As of now, there is no strong rea- we will add to larger-cap companies. has worked very well for us for over 16,400-16,320 levels would act as a key support
son to believe that the generally strong 25 years and helped us outperform the zone for the Nifty. If the index manages to trade
equity markets will not How shall foreign benchmarks and peers with reasonable above these levels, the uptrend momentum
continue to do well investors interpret the consistency. could persist up to 16,600-16,750 levels,” says
(although obviously not as investment climate in Shrikant Chouhan, executive vice-president,
well as the past year) for a India against the backdrop What are the weak links that can dent Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities. On
few more years. of the government’s recent sentiment in the BFSI sector? the downside, a fall below 16,320 could drag the
stand on retrospective We are most bullish on all aspects of market to 16,150-16,000 levels, he adds. The
How do you see the second SAMIR ARORA taxation? the financial sector — private sector Nifty on Friday closed at 16,529.
half of CY2021 playing out Founder and fund India is receiving strong banks, even one state-owned bank,
for the Indian equity manager, inflows from all types of OUR JOB IS TO OUTPERFORM MARKETS CONSISTENTLY AND NOT ONLY insurance, mortgage finance, broking, HNIs look to break even
markets? Helios Capital foreign investors already, wealth management, gold finance, etc. High net-worth individuals (HNIs) have incurred
I see the second half of 2021 and the removal of any IN PHASES WHERE THE CURRENT STYLE OF THE MARKET MATCHES OUR Unlike the consumer sector, valuations heavy losses on the previous two listings —
as more of a consolidation period at the issue that specifically bugs any class INVESTMENT STYLE” in BFSI have not increased a lot and Glenmark Life Science and Rolex Rings. They are
index level. We buy individual stocks of investors helps everyone. That’s returns over the past many years have hoping for a better outcome in the four listings
and so are always looking out for bot- because these things work in virtu- already quite bullish on India for the markets and PE exits via IPOs will come via earnings growth, rather than that will take place this week. “While the grey
tom-up ideas with a view to outper- ous and reinforcing cycles, where past few years. In this context, it is log- attract higher flows and confidence re-rating of companies. This gives these market premiums have come off, HNIs still seem
forming the market. The third wave of higher foreign direct investment ical to project that as foreign investors from PE investors. companies valuation comfort. to be in-the-money. One has to see how the
Covid will always be a risk, although (FDI) motivates higher private equity get upset with China (and there are actual listings take place,” said a primary market
examples of other countries are indi- (PE) flows and higher foreign portfo- many reasons for them to get upset), Growth, value or momentum — what Did you pick up Zomato in the initial expert. He said, after suffering losses,
cating that its effects on the economy lio flows (FPI) flows, and vice versa. they may increase their allocation to should investors chase now? public offering (IPO)? HNIs have scaled back on their bets. Besides
and markets may be limited. A surprise India. India’s weighting in equity Why do we have to choose — our job is We were willing to buy Zomato shares Devyani International and Krsnaa
may be a weaker-than-expected recov- Can foreign funds look at India as an benchmarks is about one-fourth of to outperform markets consistently on listing but not at the price at which Diagnostics, all other recent IPOs saw lukewarm
ery, if it turns out that the initial alternative destination, given the China. Therefore, even a slight pull out and not only in phases where the cur- it ultimately listed. We will watch the responses from investors, who place bets on
demand spurt we have seen — or may developments in China, or will pricey of China or a reallocation to the rest of rent style of the market matches our sector and other companies in general borrowed funds.
see for a few months — is more of pent- valuation here be a deterrent? emerging markets will be a meaningful investment style. Each company has to tech to see if other companies generate
up demand. FPIs and FDI, and even PE capital were increase for India. Also, vibrant equity be evaluated on its merit, and our port- interest in our analysts and me. Basket trade in Hindalco, JSPL, Ipru
Domestic brokerage IIFL is recommending its
clients to buy Hindalco, Jindal Steel & Power
(JSPL), and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

Page Industries needs faster growth at the core Company (Ipru) as basket trade citing positive
momentum. “We recommend a momentum
long basket comprising Hindalco, JSPL and Ipru
for a seven per cent gain. We will suggest
The company underperformed peers in the June quarter in a phased manner to tap oppor-
tunities in rural and tier 3 and 4
placing the stop loss at 3.5 per cent at the basket
level. The trade is based on our proprietary
centres. This should help the momentum framework as scores in these stocks
RAM PRASAD SAHU
Mumbai, 15 August
LOCKDOWN DENTS Q1 SHOW company post steady growth and
gain share. Ashit Desai and
have been pretty strong recently,” said Sriram
Velayudhan, vice-president (Alternative
in ~crore Q1FY22 % chg YoY % chg QoQ Devanshu Bansal of Emkay Research), IIFL-Institutional Equities in a note.
The June quarter numbers of Volumes (million pieces) 25.9 70.4 -43.9 Research say: “Strong growth SAMIE MODAK
Page Industries did not meet the plans in kidswear/athleisure and
Street’s expectations, leading to a Realisation (~) 193 3.2 1.0 aggressive network expansion
4 per cent fall in its stock price on Net sales 501.5 76.1 -43.1 into tier 3/4 and rural towns offer
Friday. Also, the company is good visibility of mid-teens EVENTS THIS WEEK
underperforming peers on the Operating profit 34.2 LTP -79.9 growth ahead.”
growth front. OPM (%) 6.8 LTP -1,250 While these initiatives (distri- Date Particulars
These, coupled with growth OPM: Operating profit margin; Margin change is in basis points; LTP: Loss to profit bution, rural push and traction in
concerns in its core portfolio of Source: IIFL Research kids segment) are positive, its core
Aug 16 n India - WPI figures
n UK - Rightmove House
men’s innerwear, are some of UNDERPERFORMING PEERS categories (innerwear for men
the worries weighing on the hard with the company losing and women) will need to post Price Index
2-year sales CAGR %
stock of the largest listed inner- half its Q1 sales to the lockdown. better growth to overcome the n China - industrial production
wear maker. Sequential sales and volume tepid growth seen over the last
These worries have led to a 5- declined 43-45 per cent. three years. Analysts led by Aug 17 n US - Industrial production
5.0

11.1

17 per cent cut in earnings esti- While revenue growth was 76 Krishnan Sambamoorthy of n US - NAHB Housing
-6.4

mates over the next couple of per cent YoY, according to Kotak Motilal Oswal Research say: Market Index
-22.5

years. Further, the valuation — Institutional Equities, it missed “Sustained top-line growth in the n UK - ILO unemployment rate
over 61 times its FY23 earnings revenue estimates by 26 per cent. men’s innerwear segment (about
n AGM: AU Small Finance Bank,
per share estimate — is on the Moreover, revenues were 40 per 45 per cent of sales), which has
expensive side. Thus, the stock cent lower than Q1FY20 levels. Page Dollar Rupa & Lux been struggling in recent years, Eicher Motors, Whirlpool
that has underperformed the Lower operating leverage and Industries Industries Company Industries holds the key.” This will be critical of India
benchmarks since higher other expenses CAGR: Compound annual growth rate
as things return to normal and the
the start of CY21 may Investors led to a 240-basis
Source: IIFL Research
growth spurt from the athleisure Aug 18 n UK - CPI & RPI figures
remain below par in should await an point decline in the is expected to revert to 21 per segment fizzles out. n UK - House Price Index
the near term. improvement in sequential margin to cent levels, as the situation The business underperform- n AGM: Honeywell Automation
The immediate volumes/market 6.8 per cent. returns to normal, believes the ance was also reflected in returns. India, UltraTech Cement
trigger for the neg- share and the Positive for the management. While investors in the bench-
ative sentiment margin before quarter was growth in While there was a recovery in marks (Nifty/Sensex) would have Aug 19 n US - Jobless claims
around the stock is considering the e-commerce June, analysts point out that seen their wealth grow by 45-47 n AGM: Dabur India, Pfizer
the operating per- the stock channel (up 2.5 times competition did even better in per cent over the last three years,
formance in the June YoY); it now accounts the quarter, riding on pent-up Page Industries lost 4 per cent Aug 20 n AGM: Aditya Birla Capital,
quarter. While sales growth for for 19 per cent of sales as com- demand. Sales of innerwear/ath- during this period. The consensus ICICI Bank, Vodafone Idea
the exclusive licensee of the pared to 7.4 per cent of sales in leisure of Aditya Birla Fashion target price at ~31,067 a share also
Jockey brand in India was led by FY21. The company indicated and Retail, for example, were up leaves little upside from current AGM & Results filtered for BSE100 companies
70 per cent volume growth over that the situation has improved twofold over the year-ago period 28 per cent YoY growth, which year-ago period. levels. Investors should await an Source: Bloomberg/exchange/websites
the year-ago period, it came on a with recovery taking hold in July and were even higher than the was 88 per cent of Q1FY20 levels, Though it is present in 2,900 improvement in volumes/market Compiled by BS Research Bureau
low base; the second wave of and is similar to the perform- pre-Covid period. Its smaller while Lux Industries reported a towns and cities, Page Industries share and the margin before con-
Covid infections hit operations ance in April. The margin, too, peer Dollar Industries reported 32 per cent increase over the is strengthening its distribution sidering the stock.

TOP BULK DEALS

MFs went big on IPOs Aggressive hybrid classes and hence, are one among the
most appealing fund categories. The
debt portion adds stability to the overall
returns and the equity portion offers po-
Date Scrip name
Aug 9 Quess Corp
Client name
Smallcap World
Fund Inc (B)
Price(~)
900

Mutual fund (MF) equity schemes received a record ~22,583 crore of net inflows in
July. This provided money managers plenty of dry powder to invest in the stock
markets. According to Abhilash Pagaria, assistant vice-president, Edelweiss
funds gain currency tential for long-term wealth creation.”
In the aggressive hybrid category,
some of the funds have given returns of
45-53 per cent over the past year. A few
Aug 9 Quess Corp

Aug 9 Quess Corp

Fairbridge Capital
(Mauritius) (S)
Ajit Isaac (S)
900

900
Alternative Research, MFs pumped in nearly ~6,000 crore in four companies that funds with greater exposure to mid- and Aug 9 Adani Ports Infinite Trade And 705
came out with initial public
CHIRAG MADIA
Mumbai, 15 August
GAINING SPOTLIGHT small-cap stocks have given even better & SEZ Investment (S)
TOP BUYS AND SELLS offerings (IPOs) in July. They Hybrid aggressive category saw net returns — of around 70 per cent.
Aug 9 Adani Ports & SEZ WorldWideEmerging 705
invested ~4,448 crore in Zomato, With Indian equities at record highs and inflows for the first time in 2021 in July Many investors confuse the aggres-
Amount invested Price chg Market Holding (B)
~1,083 crore in GR Infra, ~210 crore concerns around pricey valuations, nNet inflows/outflows (~cr) sive hybrid category with balanced
MOST-BOUGHT (~cr) (%) some investors are seeking refuge in so- advantage funds, which also have seen Aug 11 Timken India HDFCMutual Fund (B) 1,536
in Tatva Chintan Pharma, and ~142
740.64

Zomato* 4,448 75.7 crore in Rolex Rings. Market called “aggressive hybrid” funds. a lot of traction in recent months. Asset
Aug 11 Timken India Tricot Investments (S) 1,536
observers say besides applying in Experts say such funds can help allocation in aggressive hybrid cate-
HDFC Bank 3,548 -4.8
cushion the downside if the market cor- gories is static, while balanced advan- Aug 11 Globus Spirits International Asset 823
ICICI Bank 1,302 8.2 IPOs, some fund managers bought
rects. In July, the category received net tage funds (BAF) tweak their equity and Reconstruction Co (S)
-3,377.40

-2,334.15

-9.34

more shares in some of these inflows for the first time in 2021. debt allocation based on the underlying
Bajaj Finance 1,198 3.5
-301.49

companies, particularly Zomato, Aug 11 Globus Spirits Massachusetts 823

Before 2017, the aggressive hybrid market conditions.
-435.22
-501.69

NMDC 1,170 -1.6 following their listing. Besides category was much-favoured among “Aggressive hybrid funds remove
Institute of Techy (B)
IPOs, fund managers were bullish investors as it posed less risk than pure the timing element and given the higher Aug 9 Glenmark Life Polar Capital Funds 733
on the financial space, with HDFC equity funds and provided far higher exposure of around 70 per cent, histori- Science Plc (B)
Amount divested Price chg Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj returns than debt schemes. Later, such cally have ended up with higher returns
MOST-SOLD (~cr) (%) hybrid funds went out of fashion as 2021 over the BAF category in the long term,”
Aug 13 Sudarshan Rahul Pradeep 640
Finance emerging as top buys,
Infosys 1,563 1.8 equity returns plateaued. Source: Amfi, Value Research, Returns are for says Arun Kumar, head of Research at Chemical Rathi (S)
after Zomato. Stocks where fund direct plans
Kotak Bank 590 -3.0 managers pruned holdings With the boom in the equity mar- FundsIndia. In the past year, BAF have Aug 10 Astron Paper Asian Granito India (S) 54
included Infosys, Kotak Mahindra kets now, the category is back in have a mandate to invest 65-80 per cent given average returns of 23.41 per cent.
Grasim 499 2.1 Aug 12 Globus Spirits International Asset 862
demand, say industry observers. of assets in equities and the remaining With high allocation towards
Bank, Grasim, and Reliance Reconstruction Co (S)
Reliance In July, the aggressive hybrid cate- in debt securities. equity, aggressive hybrid categories
499 -3.6 Industries. In the small-cap gory saw net inflows of ~741 crore, shows Over the past year, the aggressive have given better returns even in the Aug 10 Dynamatic Tech Wavell Investment (S) 1,620
Industries universe, top buys included the data from the Association of Mutual hybrid category has given average longer time frame. In the last 10 years, Aug 10 Astron Paper Dwarkesh Finance (B) 54
Tata Consumer 336 0.3 Equitas Holdings (~139 crore Funds in India (AMFI). returns of 41 per cent — more than such funds have given average returns
Note: Amt invested/divested and price change for the investment), Hudco (~127 crore) Ashish Naik, equity fund manager, other hybrid categories like multi-asset of 13 per cent. In comparison, the large- Aug 13 Max India Ashish Dhawan (S) 70
month of July 2021; *Price change is IPO price to July 30
Source: Edelweiss
and Alicon Castalloy (~119 crore). Axis Mutual Fund, says: “Since the allocation, dynamic asset allocation, cap fund category has given average Aug 13 Karur Vysya Bank Yesha Developers (S) 44
Among the prominent buys in the March 2020 lows, the equity markets and conservative hybrid. returns of 13 per cent.
mid-cap space were Indraprastha Gas (~942 crore), Aditya Birla Fashion (~272 have witnessed a one-sided rally which Chintan Haria, head-product devel- “Investors should come in with a Aug 13 Karur Vysya Bank Kifs Dealers (B) 44
crore) and Emami (~227 crore). They booked profits in Happiest Minds (~261 crore was rather unexpected. As the category opment and strategy, ICICI Prudential minimum 5-7 years’ timeframe and Aug 10 Dynamatic Tech Abakkus Emerging 1,617
selling) and JSW Energy (~182 crore). allocates about 65-80 per cent funds AMC, says: “By providing investors with expect a slightly lower volatility profile Opportunities (B)
towards equities, the sharp movement a mixed portfolio of equity and debt in than pure equity funds and long-term
SAMIE MODAK Aug 13 Asian Energy Balram Chainrai (S) 141
in the equity market has benefited a predefined manner, the equity and de- returns which are comparable to equity
investors immensely.” Such schemes bt funds offer the best of both asset funds,” adds Kumar. (B) -Buy (S) -Sell Source: Exchanges
.
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 PERSONAL FINANCE 11 <

Gift City route to foreign

in derivatives or margin trading.

Insurer must pay declared Who should go direct?

Portfolios of most Indian inves-
tors have a heavy home bias.

value for total loss

equities promises security
“The Indian market accounts
for barely 3-4 per cent of global
market cap. Indian investors
case, contending that the same model should invest in international
was out of production and no longer equities to access the balance
available, but it had found the online 96-97 per cent,” says Pratik
price to be ~23 lakh. After deducting
~1 lakh towards salvage and ~2,000
Depository receipts rupt, investors could have a dif-
ficult time retrieving their secu-
Oswal, head-passive funds,
Motilal Oswal Asset
under the excess clause, it offered to created by the rities,” says Ravi Varanasi, pres- Management Company.
settle the claim by paying ~21,98,000. ident and chief business Investing in a market like the US
The State Commission observed exchange will be development officer, NSE. also gives investors access to an
that both Singh and Iffco Tokio had Each DR will represent a asset with a low correlation to
failed to prove the market price stated kept in the small fraction of a US stock. Indian equities. It also provides

CONSUMER PROTECTION
by them. It held that the vehicle could
not be replaced as it was no longer
investor’s own “Fractionalisation will enable
investors to buy shares of sev-
a hedge against the rupee’s ten-
dency to depreciate against the
JEHANGIR B GAI
available, and there was no evidence demat account eral companies and build a US dollar.
to prove that its last market price was diversified portfolio with even Financial planners say retail
~87,79,662, as contended by Singh, or a small sum,” says Varanasi. investors should take the
Ravish Singh purchased a ~23 lakh, as contended by Iffco Tokio. SANJAY KUMAR SINGH Using DRs allows fractionalisa- mutual fund route for interna-
second‑hand sport utility vehicle In the absence of the last available mar- tion to be done by the exchange, tional exposure, at least initially.

I
(SUV) and got the registration and ket price, the Commission held that ndian investors will soon be rather than by the broker. “Mutual funds offer diversifica-
insurance documents transferred to the claim would have to be settled on able to invest in interna- Costs are an issue in direct tion. An active fund offers the
his name. Iffco Tokio General the basis of the declared value of tional stocks via the international investing. While advantage of professional fund
Insurance charged a premium ~29,31,140 as stated in the policy, sub- National Stock Exchange’s TAXATION NORMS FOR FOREIGN EQUITIES the brokerage fee may not be management. And if you invest
amounting to ~1,19,915 for the declared ject to a deduction of ~1 lakh for sal- (NSE) subsidiary exchange in high, other associated costs, via an index fund, you get the
value of the vehicle of ~29,31,140, as vage, and ~2,000 for policy excess. GIFT City (an international n Long-term capital gains and 111A will apply such as remittance fee and for- benefit of low cost,” says Vishal
recorded in the insurance policy, Interest at 9 per cent was awarded financial services centre) called will be subject to tax @ 10% n Long-term capital losses eign exchange markup, make Dhawan, chief financial
which was valid from March 30, 2017, along with a compensation of ~50,000 NSE International Exchange. under Section 112A of the IT will only be set off against this an expensive proposition, planner, Plan Ahead Wealth
to March 29, 2018. Also, add‑on cover- for mental harassment and ~20,000 The BSE also plans to offer a Act on capital gain long-term capital gains, especially if the amount being Advisers. If retail investors take
age was obtained for an additional pre- towards litigation expenses. If compli- similar facility through its GIFT exceeding ~1 lakh while short-term capital invested is small. “We are work- the direct route, they should
mium of ~35,906.46 for depreciation ance of the order was delayed beyond City arm called India n Short-term capital gains losses will be set off against ing with a few banks to bring begin with ETFs.
waiver, and ~20,954 for 45 days, the interest rate International Exchange. will be subject to tax @ 15% both short-term and these costs down significantly,” Only investors who have
new vehicle replace- The National would stand hiked to 15 per Currently, Indian investors can says Varanasi. built well-diversified fund port-
under Section 111A long-term capital gains
ment coverage. Commission agreed cent for the period of delay. invest in international equities Investing via the NSE or BSE folios should consider investing
The terms of the pol- with the state Both Ravish Singh and via mutual funds, and in for- n Investments in IFSC are n Dividend income will be platform will also offer investors in foreign equities directly, pro-
icy specifically provided commission’s view Iffco Tokio challenged the eign stocks and exchange exempted from securities subject to tax in the hands the comfort of dealing with a vided they have the time, the
that in the event of a that neither party order in appeal. The traded funds (ETFs) through transaction tax, of the shareholder at the familiar entity. ability to evaluate stocks, and if
total loss, the claim had managed to National Commission domestic brokers or through nonetheless concessional applicable slab rates they can overcome the informa-
would be settled by pay- prove that the price observed that the manufac- platforms like Globalise, Vested, tax rates under Section 112A Source: RSM India Limited offerings tion gap vis-à-vis foreign stocks.
ing the difference mentioned by them turer had discontinued the etc that have tie-ups with for- In the initial stages, the menu Direct investors should
between the declared was the last production of BMW X5 SUV eign brokers. of products available on NSE’s adopt a buy-and-hold strategy.
value and the ex‑show- market price vehicles, so the claim $250,000. “They will have to makers will buy these stocks in platform will be limited to the “If they trade, then the costs ass-
room price of a new would have to be settled as Modus operandi request their local bank branch the US and place them with a 50 largest US stocks and a few ociated with international inve-
vehicle of the same make, model, fea- a total loss by considering the last avail- Large Indian brokerages will set to transfer fund through the LRS custodial bank account. The ETFs. The platforms, on the sting could make this route
tures, and specifications. If such a new able showroom price of the same up subsidiaries in GIFT City and route to a designated foreign latter will create DRs against other hand, offer a larger bou- expensive,” says Dhawan. Inves-
vehicle was unavailable, then the claim model. The Commission agreed with become members of the inter- currency bank account. They them, which the market makers quet. “With a US brokerage ting systematically may also be
would be settled on total loss basis the State Commission's observation national exchanges being set up will also have to fill up a FEMA will offer to investors on the account, investors can invest in difficult due to this factor.
instead of replacement basis. that neither Singh nor Iffco Tokio had by the leading Indian exchan- (Foreign Exchange exchange in GIFT City. over 4,000 stocks and ETFs DRs will be treated as inter-
The vehicle met with an accident been able to prove that the price men- ges. Investors will have to open Management Act) declaration available on the US exchanges,” national assets. “They will have
on November 6, 2017. The surveyor tioned by them was the last market an account with these subsidi- form for fund transfer,” says V Greater security says Viraj Nanda, co-founder to be reported as foreign assets
appointed by the insurance company price. So, it concurred with the State aries of brokerages. Balasubramaniam, managing The DRs will be kept in the and CEO, Globalise. He adds while filing income-tax
reported that the damage was so severe Commission's decision that the claim They will also have to open director and chief executive investor’s demat account. that direct accounts also give returns,” says Dhawan. No
that it would not be possible to repair would have to be settled on the basis of a demat account in GIFT City. officer, India INX (India Currently, when an investor investors immediate access to additional compliance is
the vehicle. The insurer, however, the declared value stated in the policy. National Securities Depository International Exchange) buys international equities US initial public offerings. required while filing tax returns
refused to pay the replacement cost, Accordingly, by its order of August Limited (NSDL) and Central through an Indian broker or a Once the DRs start trading, if you invest in international
despite being served with a legal notice. 9, 2021, delivered by Justice R.K. Depository Services (India) Invest via the depository platform (which has a tie-up investors will have to check how funds. They just get treated as
Singh filed a complaint before the Agrawal for the bench along with S.M. Limited (CDSL) are setting up receipt route with a US broker), the securities closely they track the prices of debt funds for tax purposes.
Haryana State Commission in which Kantikar, the National Commission subsidiaries in GIFT City for Indian investors will invest in are held by the US broker in an their underlying stocks. Once NSE and BSE’s Gift
he sought ~87,79,662 as the replace- dismissed both the appeals and upheld this purpose. depository receipts (DRs), omnibus account. “Having the “Trading directly on the US City platforms announce their
ment value of a new BMW-X5 vehicle. the State Commission’s order. Investors will have to trans- which are certificates represent- DRs in the investor’s own demat exchanges offers pricing effi- cost structures, investors will
He also claimed interest compensation fer funds via the liberalised ing stocks. NSE’s GIFT City arm account is safer. The risk in ciency,” says Nanda. be in a position to take an
and costs. The insurer contested the The writer is a consumer activist remittance scheme (LRS) route, will begin by offering DRs for keeping stocks with a US broker Remember that the LRS informed decision on whether
which has an annual limit of the top 50 US stocks. Market is that if the latter goes bank- route does not allow investing to take this route.

TARC Limited
(Formerly known as Anant Raj Global Limited)
(Corporate Identity Number: L70100HR2016PLC065615)
Registered Office: G-002, MACEO, Sector-91, Gurugram, Haryana (India)-122505
Corporate Office: C-3, Qutab institutional Area, Katwaria Saria, New Delhi (India)-110016
Tel.: 011-41244300, E-mail:tarc@tarc.in, Website: www.tarc.in
EXTRACT OF UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2021:
(Rs. in Lakhs except per share data)
Particulars Consolidated

Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Year Ended

30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Audited) (Audited)
Total income from operations 2,728.25 9,470.10 2,644.79 22,086.98
Net Profit/(Loss) from ordinary activities before tax (373.14) 172.64 (624.07) 92.72
Net Profit for the period after tax (318.16) 95.19 (447.46) 617.26
Total Comprehensive Income for the period [Comprising (315.23) 97.77 (441.83) 663.14
Profit for the period (after tax) and Other Comprehensive
Income (after tax)]
Paid-up Equity Share Capital 5,901.93 5,901.93 - 5,901.93
(Face Value per share Rs. 2/- )
Share pending allotment (Face Value per share Rs. 2/- ) - - 5,901.93 -
Other Equity - - - 1,50,524.97
Earnings per share (Quarterly not annualised) :
Basic ( Rs. ) (0.11) 0.03 (0.15) 0.21
Diluted ( Rs. ) (0.11) 0.03 (0.15) 0.21

KEY NUMBERS OF UNAUDITED STANDALONE FINANCIAL RESULTS

(Rs. in Lakhs )
Particulars Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Year Ended
30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Audited) (Audited)
Total income from operations 18,277.29 7,193.29 2,664.60 17,945.58
Profit before tax 97.94 325.18 11.59 527.48
Profit after tax 46.84 217.86 55.61 491.18
Total Comprehensive Income for the period [Comprising 49.77 220.34 61.24 536.96
Profit for the period (after tax) and Other Comprehensive
Income (after tax)]

1. The above unaudited standalone and consolidated results were reviewed and recommended by the Audit Committee & approved by
the Board of Directors at their respective meetings held on August 14, 2021. The Statutory auditors have conducted a limited review
of the above financial results in accordance with Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)
Regulation 2015 and have issued an unmodified review report.
2. The above is an extract of the detailed format of unaudited Standalone and Consolidated Financial Results for the Quarter ended June
30,2021 filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations,
2015. The full format of the unaudited Financial Results are available on the Stock Exchange websites, www.bseindia.com,
www.nseindia.com and on the company website www.tarc.in.

On behalf of Board of Directors

Sd/-
Place : New Delhi
Amar Sarin
Date : August 14, 2021 Managing Director & CEO
12
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

POST BOX NO. 10077

TEL. NOS.: +91 22 22197101
FAX :0091-22- 2207 1612 / 6772
THE BOMBAY BURMAH TRADING CORPORATION, LIMITED
Email: writetous@bbtcl.com REGD. OFFICE : 9, WALLACE STREET, FORT, MUMBAI 400 001, INDIA.
Website: www.bbtcl.com
CIN: L99999MH1863PLC000002

Extract of unaudited standalone financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021
(₹ in lakhs)

Sr. No. Particulars Quarter Ended Year ended

30/06/2021 30/06/2020 31/03/2021
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
1 Total revenue from operations (net) 5,051.88 3,098.77 20,768.55

2 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period [before tax, exceptional and / or extraordinary items] (1,359.98) 4,420.06 379.13
3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period before tax [after exceptional and / or extraordinary items] (337.11) 4,420.06 379.13
4 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period after tax [after exceptional and / or extraordinary items] (337.11) 3,764.06 280.38
5 Total comprehensive income for the period (240.90) 3,820.61 405.24
[comprising after tax profit / (loss) for the period & other comprehensive income]
6 Paid-up equity share capital (face value of Rs. 2 each) 1,395.44 1,395.44 1,395.44
7 Earnings per share (of Rs.2 each) (not annualised except for the year end) :
a) Basic (0.48) 5.39 0.40
b) Diluted (0.48) 5.39 0.40
8 Reserves excluding revalution reserve as shown in the audited balance sheet of the previous - - 21,550.55
year

Extract of unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2021
(₹ in lakhs)

Sr. Particulars Quarter Ended Year Ended

No. 30/06/2021 30/06/2020 31/03/2021
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
1 Total revenue from operations (net) 346,889.66 346,187.09 1,339,617.51
2 Net profit / (loss) before tax # 47,238.94 66,435.63 212,428.22
3 Net profit / (loss) for the period after tax # 27,998.86 46,399.83 127,774.91
4 Total comprehensive income for the period 28,292.98 48,405.87 134,181.32
[comprising after tax profit / (loss) for the period & other comprehensive income]
5 Paid-up equity share capital (face value of Rs. 2 each) 1,395.44 1,395.44 1,395.44
6 Earnings per share (of Rs.2 each) (not annualised except for the year end) :
a) Basic 12.89 28.37 52.96
b) Diluted 12.89 28.37 52.96
# There was no exceptional / extra ordinary item during the quarter ended 30 June 2021
Notes :
1 The above financials results have been reviewed and recommended by the Audit Committee on 12 August 2021 and approved by the Board
of Directors at its meeting held on 14 August 2021.
2 The Limited Review for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 has been carried out by the Statutory Auditors as required under Regulation 33 of the
SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
3 The above is an extract of the detailed format for the quarter ended unaudited financial results filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation
33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format for the quarter ended unaudited financial
results are available on the website of stock exchanges www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com and on the Corporation’s website www.
bbtcl.com
On behalf of the Board
For The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, Limited
Place : Mumbai Ness Wadia
Date : 14 AUGUST 2021 Managing Director

BAMBINO AGRO INDUSTRIES LIMITED

CIN NO.L15440TG1983PLC004363
No.4E, Surya Towers, S.P. Road, Secunderabad-500 003, Telephone No. 040-44363322,
Email id cs@bambinoagro.com; Website:www.bambinoagro.com
EXTRACT OF STATEMENT OF STANDALONE UN AUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30th JUNE 2021
Rs.in lakhs
Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Year Ended
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
Sl. Particulars 30-06-2021 30-06-2020 31-03-2021
No
1 Income from Operations 5612.59 6970.85 28194.33
2 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period (before Tax 338.14 427.40 1223.18
Exceptional and /or Extraordinary items)
3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period before tax 338.14 427.40 1223.18
(after Exceptional and /or Extraordinary items)
4 Net Profit/(Loss) for the period after tax 244.51 296.45 862.04
(after Exceptional and /or Extraordinary items)
5 Total Comprehensive Income for the period
244.51 296.45 862.04
(Comprising Profit/Loss) for the period (after tax)
and Other Comprehensive Income (after tax)
6 Equity Share Capital 800.88 800.88 800.88
7 Earnings Per Share (of Rs.10/- each) (not annualised): 3.05 3.70 10.76
1. Basic 3.05 3.70 10.76
2. Diluted
Notes:
The above is an extract of the detailed format of Unaudited Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges
under Regulation 33 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India(Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
The full format of the Audited Financial Results is available on the websites i.e.www.bseindia.com &
www.bambinoagro.com. For and on behalf of the Board of Directors of
BAMBINO AGRO INDUSTRIES LIMITED
Sd/-
SHIRISHA MYADAM
Place : Secunderabad MANAGING DIRECTOR
Date : 14-08-2021 DIN NO.07906214

Business Standard
MUMBAI EDITION
Printed and Published by Sangita Kheora
on behalf of Business Standard Private Email: investor.relations@jaispring.com
Limited and Printed at M/s. Dangat Media STATEMENT OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2021
Private Limited, 22 Digha M.I.D.C., TTC (Rs. in Lakhs)
Industrial Area, Vishnu Nagar, Digha, Navi
Mumbai, 400708 and M/s. Dainik Quarter ended Year ended
Bhaskar, Plot no. 10.11, Sector B,
Industrial Area, Govindpura, Bhopal Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited
(M.P.)-462023. & Published at
H/4 & I/3, Building H, Paragon Centre, Opp.
30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021
Birla Centurion, P.B.Marg, Worli, Mumbai- 400013
1 Total Income from operations 29,533.24 48,440.18 6,524.69 107,947.84
Editor : Shyamal Majumdar 2 Net Profit/ (Loss) for the period (before tax, exceptional
RNI NO: 66308/1996
items) 2,667.47 6,363.27 (1,625.92) 10,088.18
Readers should write their feedback at
3 Net Profit/ (Loss) for the period before tax (after
feedback@bsmail.in exceptional items) 2,667.47 6,363.27 (1,625.92) 10,088.18
Fax : +91-11-23720201 4 Net Profit/ (Loss) for the period after tax (after
For Subscription and Circulation exceptional items) 1,949.26 4,750.05 (1,271.26) 7,296.29
enquiries please contact: 5 Total Comprehensive Income for the period [Comprising
Ms. Mansi Singh Profit / (Loss) for the period (after tax) and Other
Head-Customer Relations Comprehensive Income (after tax)] 1,949.26 4,741.97 (1,271.26) 7,259.77
Business Standard Private Limited.
H/4 & I/3, Building H,Paragon Centre, Opp. 6 Equity Share Capital 3,983.25 3,983.25 3,983.25 3,983.25
Birla Centurion, P.B.Marg, Worli, 7 Reserves (excluding Revaluation Reserve) 54,017.41
Mumbai - 400013 8 Earnings Per Share (of Rs. 1/- each) (not annualised)
E-mail: subs_bs@bsmail.in (In Rs.)
“or sms, REACHBS TO 57575 Basic: 0.49 1.19 (0.32) 1.83
Overseas subscription: Diluted: 0.49 1.19 (0.32) 1.83
(Mumbai Edition Only)
Notes:
One year subscription rate by air mail
INR 51765 : USD 725 1. The above consolidated financial results of Jamna Auto Industries Limited ('the parent Company') and its subsidiaries (together referred as "the
Group") for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 have been reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors in their
DISCLAIMER News reports and feature articles in
Business Standard seek to present an unbiased pic- respective meetings held on August 14, 2021.
ture of developments in the markets, the corporate 2. Information of standalone financial results in terms of the Listing Regulations is as under:
world and the government. Actual developments (Rs. in Lakhs)
can turn out to be different owing to circumstances
beyond Business Standard’s control and knowledge. Quarter ended Year ended
Business Standard does not take any responsibility
for investment or business decisions taken by read- Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited
ers on the basis of reports and articles published in
the newspaper. Readers are expected to form their 30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021
own judgement.
Business Standard does not associate itself with or 1 Revenue from operations 29,037.00 47,225.29 6,293.35 105,270.66
stand by the contents of any of the advertisements 2 Profit before tax 2,603.52 6,429.02 (1,540.46) 10,265.11
accepted in good faith and published by it. Any 3 Total Comprehensive income for the period 1,943.85 4,834.83 (1,194.95) 7,625.97
claim related to the advertisements should be
directed to the advertisers concerned.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all rights reserved
3. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing
by M/s Business Standard Pvt. Ltd. Any printing, Obligation and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of the Financial Results are available on the Stock Exchanges
publication, reproduction, transmission or redissem- websites viz. www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com and website of the Company at www.jaispring.com.
ination of the contents, in any form or by any
means, is prohibited without the prior written con- For Jamna Auto Industries Ltd.
sent of M/s Business Standard Pvt. Ltd. Any such
(P. S Jauhar)
prohibited and unauthorised act by any person/legal
entity shall invite civil and criminal liabilities. Date: August 14, 2021 Managing Director & CEO
Place: New Delhi DIN 00744518
No Air Surcharge
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MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 13
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MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1
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MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 15
Valson Industries Limited
MANUFACTURER OF ART SILK SYNTHETIC YARN

AN ISO 9001 CERTIFIED COMPANY

CIN No. L17110MH1983PLC030117
REGD.OFFICE : 28, Bldg No.6, Mittal Industrial Estate, Sir M. V. Road,
Andheri (E), Mumbai 400059. Phone No : 40661000 Fax : 91-022-40661199
Email : pritesh@valsonindia.com. Website:www.valsonindia.com
Statement of Unaudited Results for the Quarter Ended 30/06/2021
(Rs. In Lakhs)
Quarter Year Corresponding
Ending ended 3 months
ended in the
Particulars
previous year
30/Jun/2021 31/Mar/2021 30/Jun/2020
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited)
Total Income from Operations (net) 2,176.87 6,391.01 514.06
Net Profit / (Loss) from ordinary (86.60) (500.32) (311.63)
activities after tax
Net Profit / (Loss) for the period (86.60) (500.32) (311.63)
after tax (after Extraordinary Items)
Equity Share Capital 766.08 766.08 766.08
Reserve (excluding Revaluation - 1919.24 -
Reserves as shown in the Balance
Sheet of previous year)
Earnings Per Share
(before extraordinary items)
(of Rs. 10/-each):
(a) Basic (1.13) (6.53) (4.07)
(b) Diluted (1.13) (6.53) (4.07)
Earnings Per Share
(after extraordinary items)
(of Rs. 10/-each):
(a) Basic (1.13) (6.53) (4.07)
(b) Diluted (1.13) (6.53) (4.07)
Note:
The above is an extract of the detailed format of quarter ended 30th June 2021
unaudited financial results filed with the Stock exchanges under Regulation
33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosures Requirements) Regulations,
2015. The full format of the Quarterly / Annual Financial Results are available
on the Stock Exchange website (www.bseindia.com) and company website
(www.valsonindia.com).
For Valson Industries Ltd.
sd/-
Place : Mumbai Suresh N. Mutreja
Date : 14th August, 2021 Chairman & Managing Director

Bank of Baroda
1/B, Alka Chambers, SV Road, Andheri West,
Mumbai, Maharashtra, PIN- 400058,
E-MAIL: vjandh@bankofbaroda.co.in,
Ph 022-26248404
Place: Mumbai
Date: 12-04-2021
NOTICE TO BORROWER
(UNDER SUB-SECTION (2) OF SECTION 13 OF THE SARFAESI ACT, 2002)
To,
1. Mr. Niraj M Kothari S/O M Kothari, Proprietor of M/s N D Plastics
Flat No. 6, 6th Floor, Raj Vastu Building, Model Co-operative Housing Society, Gulmohar Cross Road No. 7, Vile
Parle West, Mumbai, 400056
2. Mr. Niraj M Kothari S/O M Kothari, Proprietor of M/s N D Plastics
G-3, Neelkanth Complex CHS, Ground Floor, B Wing, Opp. Jay Vijay Society, Sahar Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai -
400099
Dear Sir/s
Re: Credit facilities with our Andheri (West) Branch.
1. We refer to our letter No. VB:ADH:6211:24:2019-20 dated 14-06-2019, Letter No.__dated - 25-06-2020, letter
no.__
- dated 02-07-2020 conveying sanction of various credit facilities and the terms of sanction. Pursuant to the
above sanction you have availed and started utilising the credit facilities after providing security for the same, as
hereinafter stated. The present outstanding in various loan/credit facility accounts and the security interests
created for such liability are as under:
Nature and type Limit Rates of O/s debit balance ason Security agreement with brief
of facility (Amount in Interest 31.03.2021 (inclusive of description of securities
Rs.) interest upto 30.03.2021)
(Amount inRs.)
Cash Credit 800,00,000- 13.10% 11,93,51,267.83 (1) Loan cum Hypothecation
Hypothecation p.a. Agreement and supplementary
(CCH) (floating) agreement dated 24-03-2007,
89750500000026 24-07-2007, 12-06-2008,14-01-2009,
( old account no. 2 9 - 11 - 2 0 11 , 31-05-2013,
503506211000024) 30-08-2014,02-05-2016, 08-11-2017,
(2)Memorandum of deposit of title
deeds dated 23.07.2004, 05-09-2006,
24-03-2007, 12-06-2008,
14-01-2009, 06-05-2010, 29-11-2011,
18-03-2015, 02-05-2016, 08-11-2017
for mortgage of property located at
Flat No. 6, 6th Floor Raj Vastu
Building, Model Co-operative
Housing Society Ltd Gulmohar Cross
Road No. 7, Vile Parle West Mumbai,
400056, in name of Mr. Niraj M Kothari
S/O M Kothari and Mrs. Darshana N
Kothari, situated at plot no. No. B-2,
CTS No. 17/8, Survey No. 287, Village
Vile Parle, Gulmohar Cross Road No.
7, JVPD Scheme, Juhu, Mumbai
400049. Admeasuring 1560 sq ft. in
carpet area
Plot Boundaries: East: Plot No. B-1,
West: Subham Building, North: Road
No. 7, South: New Building
BCECLS 800,00,000- 6.85% 71,56,863.12 Loan cum Hypothecation
89750600000087 p.a. agreement dated 25-06-2020
(old acct no.
503505327000004)
BGECLS 113,00,000- 7.85% 1,13,76,331.00 Loan cum Hypothecation
89750600000088 p.a. agreement dated 02-07-2020
FITL 58,55,483- 13.10 % 30,273.00
89750600000307 p.a.
(old acct no. (floating)
503505337000003)
Letter of Credit 300,00,000- Agreement dated 30.03.1998, 16-
12-1999, 26-06-2000, 12-12-2000,
26-06-2002, 25-06-2003,30-11-
2004, 05-09-2006, 24-03-2007,
24-07-2007, 12-06-2008,14-01-
2009, 29-11-2011,31-05-2013,30-
08-2014,02-05-2016, 08-11-2017,
Bill purchase
Book Debts &
Receivables
2. In the letter of acknowledgement of debt dated 19.06.2019 you have acknowledged your liability to the Bank.
3. As you are aware, you have committed defaults in payment of interest on above loans/outstandings for the quarter
ended Dec 2020 and thereafter. You have alsodefaulted in payment of instalments of term loan/demand loans which
have fallen due for payment on 31-12-2020 and thereafter.
4. Consequent upon the defaults committed by you, your loan account has been classified as non-performing asset on
13.02.2021 (mention date of classification as NPA) in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India directives and
guidelines. Inspite of our repeated requests and demands you have not repaid the overdue loans including interest
thereon.
5. Having regard to your inability to meet your liabilities in respect of the credit facilities duly secured by various
securities mentioned in para 1 above, and classification of your account as a non-performing asset, we hereby give you
notice under sub-section (2) of section 13 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, and call upon you to pay in full and discharge your liabilities to the Bank
aggregating Rs.13,79,14,734-95 (Rs Thirteen crore seventy nine lakh fourteen thousand seven hundred thirty four and
paisa ninety five only) , as stated in para 1 above, within 60 days from the date of this notice. We further give you notice
that failing payment of the above amount with interest till the date of payment, we shall be free to exercise all or any of
the rights under sub-section (4) of section 13 of the said Act, which please note.
6. Please note that, interest will continue to accrue at the rates specified in para 1 above for each credit facility until
payment in full.
7. We invite your attention to sub-section 13 of the said Act in terms of which you are barred from transferring any of the
secured assets referred to in para 1 above by way of sale, lease or otherwise (other than in the ordinary course of
business),without obtaining our prior written consent. We may add that non-compliance with the above provision
contained in section 13(13) of the said Act, is an offence punishable under section 29 of the Act.
8. We further invite your attention to sub section (8) of section 13 of the said Act in terms of which you may redeem the
secured assets, if the amount of dues together with all costs, charges and expenses incurred by the Bank is tendered
by you, at any time before the date of publication of notice for public auction/inviting quotations/tender/private treaty.
Please note that after publication of the notice as above, your right to redeem the secured assets will not be available.
9. Please note that this demand notice is without prejudice to and shall not be construed as waiver of any other rights or
remedies which we may have, including without limitation, the right to make further demands in respect of sums owing
tous.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
Authorised Officer
16
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021

Form No. INC-25A

BEFORE THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
WESTERN REGION
In the matter of the Companies Act, 2013, Section 14 of the Companies Act, 2013 and
Rule 41 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014
AND
In the matter of M/s Karishma Commodities and Derivatives Limited having its
registered office at 308, Maker Bhavan No. III, 3rd Floor, 21, New Marine Lines,
Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400 020, India, Applicant
Notice is hereby given to the general public that the company intending to make an
application to the Central Government under section 14 of the Companies Act, 2013 read
with aforesaid rules and is desirous of converting into a private limited company in terms of
the special resolution passed at the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting held on July 26, 2021
to enable the company to give effect for such conversion.
Any person whose interest is likely to be affected by the proposed change/status of the
company may deliver or cause to be delivered or send by registered post of his objections
supported by an affidavit stating the nature of his interest and grounds of opposition to the
concerned Regional Director, Everest Building, 5th Floor, 100, Marine Drive, Mumbai- 400 002,
within fourteen (14) days from the date of publication of this notice with a copy to the
applicant company at its registered office at the address mentioned below:
Date : August 10, 2021
Place : Mumbai. For and on behalf of the Applicant
Address of registered office of the Company: Sd/-
308, Maker Bhavan No. III, 3rd Floor, 21, Mahesh Kumar Soni
New Marine Lines, Mumbai – 400 020 Director - DIN : 00045370

Pooja Entertainment And Films Limited

CIN No. : L99999MH1986PLC040559
Registered Office: POOJA HOUSE, 1ST FLOOR, CTS NO. 892-893, OPP. J .W. MARRIOTT HOTEL,
JUHU TARA ROAD, JUHU, MUMBAI - 400049.
Phone : 022-26121613/14, Fax : 022-26631275, Website : www.poojaentertainmentandfilms.in,
Email : investor@poojaentertainmentandfilms.in
UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2021
(Rs. In Lakhs) (Except Earning per Share)
STANDALONE CONSOLIDATED
Quarter Ended Year Ended Quarter Ended Year Ended
PARTICULARS
30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021 30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021
Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited
1. Total Income from Operation 14.99 8.07 21.66 80.59 770.09 84.12 141.56 299.88
2. Profit/(Loss) from ordinary activities before tax 1.11 (29.32) 2.00 (0.60) 731.36 13.79 50.11 65.83
3. Profit/(Loss) from ordinary activities after Tax * 0.83 (25.84) 2.14 (4.36) 731.08 17.27 50.25 62.07
4 . Total Comprehensive Income for the period 0.83 (25.84) 2.14 (4.36) 740.89 17.07 50.79 56.36
5. Paid up Equity Share Capital
(face value of Rs 10/- per share) 453.32 453.32 453.32 453.32 453.32 453.32 453.32 453.32
6. Other Equity (Excluding Revaluation Reserves) - - - 3,038.67 - - - 3,161.73
7. Earnings per share (EPS) of Rs.10/- each (not
annualised)
- Basic Rs. 0.02 (0.57) 0.05 (0.10) 16.13 0.38 1.11 1.37
- Diluted Rs. 0.02 (0.57) 0.05 (0.10) 16.13 0.38 1.11 1.37

Notes:-1. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Unaudited Financial Results for the quarter ended 30th June, 2021 filed with
the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing Obligation and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full
format of Quarterly ended Financial Results are available on the Stock Exchange Website www.bseindia.com and on Company’s website
www.poojaentertainmentandfilms.in
2. The above results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 14th August, 2021 For
Poole Entertainment And Films Limited. For Pooja Entertainment and Films Limited
Deepshikha Dhiraj Deshmukh
Place : London Director
Date : 14/08/2021 DIN No.: 02146210

Suryaamba Spinning Mills Limited

CIN: L18100TG2007PLC053831
Reg. office: 1 st Floor, Suryatowers, 105, S P Road, Secunderabad TG 500 003 Corporate Office: A-101, Kanha Apartment, 128, Chhaoni, Katol Road,
Nagpur 440 013, MH. Tel. No.: 040 27813360, 7720001376, E-mail: samba.ngp@gmail.com, Website: www.suryaamba.com

EXTRACT OF UNAUDITED STANDALONE FINANCIAL RESULT FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30.06.2021
(Figures in Rs. in Lakhs)
Quarter Ended Year Ended
30-06-2021 31-03-2021 30-06-2020 31-03-2020
Unaudited Audited Unaudited Audited
Total Income from Operations (Net) 4,785.86 4,943.67 1,173.05 12,653.39
Profit for the period (before tax, Exceptional and/or Extraordinary items) 290.37 343.13 (110.48) 498.65
Profit for the period after Tax* 261.03 311.68 (95.79) 424.97
Total Comprehensive Income for the period after tax (comprising Profit /
(Loss) for the period (after tax) and Other Comprehensive Income
(after tax) 262.69 307.81 (92.28) 431.62
Paid-up Equity Share Capital (Face Value of Rs.10 each) 293.19 293.19 293.19 293.19
Reserves (excluding Revaluation Reserves) & other equity as shown
in the Audited Balance Sheet of the previous year. - - - 3,558.08
Earnings Per Share (not annualized) (in Rupees)
Basic: 8.90 10.63 (3.27) 14.49
Diluted: 8.90 10.63 (3.27) 14.49
* There were no exceptional and extra-ordinary items for the reporting period.
Notes:
1. The Financial Results of the Company for the Quarter ended June 30,2021 have been reviewed and recommended by the
Audit Committee and approved by the Board of the Company at their meeting held on the August 14, 2021.
2. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarterly / Annual financial results filed with the Stock Exchanges under
Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The detailed financial results are
available on the websites of the Stock Exchange namely BSE Limited (www.bseindia.com) and on the Company’s Website
www.suryaamba.com.
For Suryaamba Spinning Mills Ltd.

sd/-
Date : 14.08.2021 Virender Kumar Agarwal
Place : Secunderabad (Managing Director)
DIN: 00013314
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MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 17
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notice for loss of Gift Deed agreement.
Notice is hereby given to the Public that the
OLYMPIC OIL INDUSTRIES LTD
CIN :L15141MH1980PLC022912
Gift Deed agreement dated 01/03/2014, made Regd. Office : 709, C Wing, One BKC, Near Indian Oil Petrol Pump, G Block, BKC, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400051
between Shri. Murlidhar Balaji Dongre (The Email : olympicoilltd@gmail.com Website : www.olympicoil.co.in Tel : 022-6249 4444 Fax : 02226520906
Owner), Nilesh Murlidhar Dongre, for the
EXTRACT OF UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS
property bearing addressed at Flat no.-201,
2nd Floor, in the building-Rajarshi Shahu Co.
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2021
Op. Hsg. Soc. Ltd, Plot no.124/4 & 7, CTS No. (` in Lakhs except EPS)
1131, 90 feet Road, Navghar Pada, Mulund Particulars Quarter Year Quarter
East, Mumbai – 400 081 has been lost/ ended ended on Ended
misplaced. All person are hereby informed 30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020
not to deal or carry out any transaction with (Un-Audited) (Audited) (Un-Audited)
anyone on the basis of the said missing Total income from operations (net) - 73.62 55.9
document. If anyone has already carried out Net Profit / (Loss) from ordinary activities after tax (10.42) 17.04 43.84
or being carried out kindly inform the Net Profit / (Loss) for the period after tax (after Extraordinary items) (10.42) 12.18 43.84
undersigned in writing on above address Equity Share Capital 285.40 285.40 285.40
within 15 days from this present. Reserves (excluding Revaluation Reserve as shown in the Balance Sheet - (2,392.15) -
Place : Mumbai Sd/- of previous year)
Date : 16-08-2021 Madhuri M. Nalawade Earnings Per Share (before extraordinary items) (of Rs. 10/- each)
Basic: (0.37) 0.43 1.54
Diluted: (0.37) 0.43 1.54
Earnings Per Share (After extraordinary items) (of Rs. 10/- each)
Basic: (0.37) 0.43 1.54
Diluted: (0.37) 0.43 1.54
Note: The above is an extract of the detailed format of Quarterly and Annual Financial Results filed with the Stock
Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full
format of the Quarterly and Annual Financial Results are available on the website of BSE Limited at www.bseindia.com
STATEMENT OF STANDALONE UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2021 and on website of the Company at www.olympicoil.co.in.
(Rs. in Lakhs)
Quarter Ended Quarter Ended Financial Year Ended For Olympic Oil Industries Limited
30.06.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021 Nipun Verma
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited) Place : Mumbai Whole-time Direcror
Total Income from Operations (Net) 86.17 41.38 824.45 Date: 14th August, 2021 DIN: 02923423
Net Profit / (Loss) for the period (before Tax, (101.21) (137.82) (612.09)
Exceptional and/ or Extraordinary items)
Net Profit / (Loss) for the period before Tax (101.21) (137.82) (612.09)
(after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary Items
Net Profit / (Loss) for the period after Tax (100.17) (136.24) (556.96)
(after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary Items)
Equity Share Capital (Face Value of Equity Share 1,630.87 1,630.87 1,630.87
Rs.10/- per share)
Reserves (excluding Revaluation Reserve as shown - - 25.15
in the Audited the Balance Sheet of previous year)
Earnings Per share (of Rs.10/- each)
(for Continuing operations) (Not Annualised)
-Basic Rs. (0.61) (0.84) (3.42)
-Diluted Rs. (0.61) (0.84) (3.42)
Note :
1. The above is an extract of the detailed format of Financial Results for the quarter ended 30th June 2021 filed with the
Stock Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The
above disclosure is made as per revised SEBI guidelines. The Full Format of the Quarter ended Results are available on
the websites of the Bombay Stock Exchange www.bseindia.com and Company's Website : www.oclwed.com.
2. The above results have been reviewed by the Audit Committee and taken on record by the Board of Directors at their
respective meeting held on the August 14, 2021. The current quarter results are audited by the Statutory Auditors of
the Company.

August 14, 2021

Bank of Baroda
1/B, Alka Chambers, SV Road, Andheri West,
Mumbai, Maharashtra, PIN- 400058,
E-MAIL: vjandh@bankofbaroda.co.in,
Ph 022-26248404
Place: Mumbai
Date: 12-04-2021
ELCID INVESTMENTS LIMITED
NOTICE TO GUARANTOR CIN: L65990MH1981PLC025770
(UNDER SUB-SECTION (2) OF SECTION 13 OF THE SARFAESI ACT, 2002) Regd. Office:414,Shah Nahar (Worli) Industrial Estate, B-Wing,
To, Dr. E. Moses Rd, Worli,Mumbai - 400 018.
Mrs. Darshana N Kothari Tel. No.: 022-6662 5602, 6662 5604; Fax: 022-6662 5605
W/O Mr. Niraj M Kothari E-mail: vakilgroup@gmail.com website: www.elcidinvestments.com
Flat No. 6, 6th Floor, Raj Vastu Building, Model Co-operative Housing Society, Gulmohar
EXTRACT OF THE FINANCIAL RESULTS
PAISALO DIGITAL LIMITED
Cross Road No. 7, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, 400056
Dear Madam/Sir,
Re: Your guarantee for credit facilities granted to M/s N D Plastics, Proprietor Mr. FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30TH JUNE 2021
Niraj M Kothari, Flat No. 6, 6th Floor, Raj Vastu Building, Model Co-operative F K A S. E. I L
ORMERLY NOWN S NVESTMENTS IMITED
(Rs. in Lakhs)
Housing Society, Gulmohar Cross Road No. 7, Vile Parle West, Mumbai, 400056 REGD. OFF: CSC, POCKET 52, NEAR POLICE STATION, CR PARK, NEW DELHI-110019
1. As you are aware, you have by a guarantee dated 08-11-2017, 25-06-2020 and TEL: +91 11 43518888 FAX: + 91 11 43518816 WEB: www.paisalo.in STANDALONE CONSOLIDATED
02-07-2020, guaranteed payment on demand of all moneys and discharge all CIN: L65921DL1992PLC120483
obligations and liabilities then or at anytime thereafter owing or incurred to us by M/s N D Sr. Quarter Ended Quarter Ended
Particulars
Plastics, Proprietor Mr. Niraj M Kothari, G-3, Neelkanth Complex CHS, Ground Floor, EXTRACT OF CONSOLIDATED UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2021 No.
30.06.2021 30.06.2020 30.06.2021 30.06.2020
B Wing, Opp. Jay Vijay Society, Sahar Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400099, for
aggregate credit limits of Rs.12,93,00,000-( Rs Twelve crore ninety three lakh only) with (` in Lacs except EPS)
Unaudited Unudited Unaudited Unaudited
interest thereon more particularly set outin the said guarantee document. To secure the Quarter Ended Year Ended
guarantee obligation you have also provided following securities to us: Particulars 30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021 1 Total Income from Operations 5,692.01 1,353.38 8,705.48 2,008.69
Flat No. 6, 6th Floor, Raj Vastu Building, Model Co-operative Housing Society,
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Gulmohar Cross Road No. 7, Vile Parle West Mumbai, 400056, situated on plot no. No.
B-2, CTS No. 17/8, Survey No. 287, Village Vile Parle, Gulmohar Cross Road No. 7, Total Revenue from operations 9169.08 9318.71 8655.87 34602.19 2 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period
JVPD Scheme, Juhu, Mumbai 400049, in name of Mr. Niraj M Kothari S/O M Kothari and (before Tax, Exceptional and /
Net Profit for the period 2286.99 49.64 2171.71 8062.51 or Extraordinary items#) 5,612.28 1,335.15 8,611.37 1,989.38
Mrs. Darshana N Kothari (before Tax, Exceptional and/or Extraordinary Items)
2. We have to inform you that the borrower has committed defaults in payment of
their/his liabilities and consequently his account has been classified as non-performing Net Profit for the period before Tax 2286.99 91.96 2171.71 8104.83 3 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period
asset. A copy of the notice dated 12-04-2021 under section 13(2) of the Securitisation (after Exceptional and/or Extraordinary Items) before Tax (after Exceptional
and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 and / or Extraordinary items#) 5,612.28 1,335.15 8,611.37 1,989.38
sent by us to the borrower is enclosed. Since the borrower has committed defaults, in Net Profit for the period after tax 1694.41 202.20 1506.98 6126.09
terms of the guarantee you have become liable to pay to us the outstanding amount of Total Comprehensive Income for the period 1694.41 202.20 1506.98 6126.09
loan/credit facilities aggregating Rs.13,79,14,734-95 (Rs Thirteen Crore seventy nine [Comprising Profit/(Loss) for the period (after tax)
4 Net Profit / (Loss) for the period
lakh fourteen thousand seven hundred thirty four and paisa ninety five only), and we and Other Comprehensive Income (after tax)] after Tax (after Exceptional and
here by invoke the guarantee and call upon you to pay the said amount within 60 days / or Extraordinary items#) 4,259.76 1,056.84 6,543.98 1,575.76
from the date of this notice. Please note that interest will continue to accrue at the rates Paid up Equity Share Capital 4229.22 4229.22 4229.22 4229.22
(Face value of Rs. 10/- per share)
specified in para 1 of the notice dated 12-04-2021 served on the borrower (copy 5 Total Comprehensive Income
enclosed). Reserves excluding Revaluation Reserves — — — 82273.35 for the period [Comprising Profit
3. We further wish to inform you that in regard to the security provided by you to secure (as per balance sheet of previous accounting Year)
your guarantee obligations for the due repayment of the loans and advances by the
/ (Loss) for the period (after tax)
borrower, this notice of 60 days may please be treated as notice under sub-section(2) of Earnings per Share (of Rs. 10 each) (not annualised) 4.01 0.48 3.56 14.49 & Other comprehensive Income
section 13 of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement Basic: (after tax)] 118,475.93 6,325.87 170,374.72 9,136.95
Diluted:
of Security Interest Act, 2002. We further give you notice that failing payment of the
above amount with interest upto the date of payment, we shall be at liberty to exercise all Notes: 6 Equity Share Capital 20.00 20.00 20.00 20.00
or any of the rights under sub-section (4) of section 13 of the said Act, which please note.
1) The key standalone financial information of the Company is as under:
4. We invite your attention to sub-section(13) of section 13 of the said Act in terms of
7 Basic and Diluted Earnings Per
which you are barred from transferring any of the secured assets referred to in para 1 Quarter Ended Year Ended
above by way of sale, lease or otherwise (other than in the ordinary course of business),
Share of Rs.10/- each
Particulars 30.06.2021 31.03.2021 30.06.2020 31.03.2021 (not annualised) 2,129.88 528.42 3,271.99 787.88
without obtaining our prior written consent. We may add that non-compliance with the
above provision contained in section 13(13) of the said Act, is an offence punishable (Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
under section 29 of the Act. Total Revenue from operations 8351.30 8432.65 7817.21 31154.77 Note: 1. The above is an extract of the detailed format of the statement of Standalone and
5.We further invite your attention to sub section (8) of section 13 of the said Act in terms consolidated Financial results filed with the stock exchange under regulation 33 of
of which you may redeem the secured assets, if the amount of dues together with all Profit before tax 2268.02 94.12 2152.81 8052.98
SEBI (Listing & other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of
costs, charges and expenses incurred by the Bank is tendered by you, at any time before Profit after tax 1680.08 197.46 1504.39 6091.90 the statement of Standalone & consolidated financial results are available on
the date of publication of notice for public auction/inviting quotations/tender/private
treaty. Please note that after publication of the notice as above, your right to redeem the www.bseindia.com & www.elcidinvestments.com
2) The above is an extract of the detailed Financial Results filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the
secured assets will not be available. SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of the Financial Results By Order of the Board of Directors
6. Please note that this demand notice is without prejudice to and shall not be construed (Consolidated/Standalone) are available on the website i.e. www.paisalo.in and on the Stock Exchanges’ websites For ELCID INVESTMENTS LIMITED
as waiver of any other rights or remedies which we may have, including without i.e. www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com
limitation, in the right to make further demands in respect of sums owing tous.
Sd/-
Place : New Delhi For and on behalf of Board of Directors Varun Vakil
Yours faithfully, Date : 14.08.2021 Sd/- Place: Mumbai
Sd/- (SUNIL AGARWAL) Direcor
Authorised Officer Managing Director Date: 13th August 2021 DIN: 01880759
18 MONEY MANAGER
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

no way of knowing the extent of pain,

sector-wise. And not many are ready
to go on record, given the sensitivities
involved.
As on date, less than 15 per cent of
household savings in gold is leveraged
at any point of time for a short-term
loan to tide over emergencies —
whether personal, medical or busi-
ness-related. Usually, in times of eco-
nomic stress, utilisation of household
savings in gold for loans increases by
GUEST COLUMN 20-25 per cent.
“When households were under
TARUN CHUGH financial stress due to the lockdown
on account of the pandemic, it was
“We work closely with our “The margin requirement of
On the cusp of
the gold savings, primarily saved by
customers and understand the lady of the household over the
years, which came to the rescue of the 25 per cent of value is more
their needs better. I have not than sufficient to cover dues
a new growth
entire family,” says Sanjeev Agarwal,
seen signs of stress in our managing director of Dvara from the borrower”
business”

Behind
SmartGold.
SANJEEV AGARWAL
phase GEORGE ALEXANDER MUTHOOT
Managing Director, Muthoot Finance
Look at the issue of gold auctions
from a different perspective. “About
80 per cent of the loan against gold
Managing Director, Dvara SmartGold

jewellery is taken for a period of less

Twenty years ago, around this quarter, the than six months. And hence, the mar-
Indian life insurance industry was opened up to gin requirement of 25 per cent of value losses on account of the second wave.

private players. Around 11 of them commenced
operations then. A lot has changed since, but it
is opportune to strengthen the foundations and
commence the journey into the new phase.
The industry is guided by a strong regulator
whose direction and support has enabled
several players to set global benchmarks.
Leading global players brought in best practices
through partnerships with local business
houses. Life insurance products were being
customised to needs such as a child’s marriage
or buying a house. Agency-led insurance
business saw the distribution network grow
along with bancassurance.
the glitter
All this has created another set of
issues: Many will not be able to
redeem the gold, leaving them with-
out a safety set. The gems and jew-
ellery sector is also in the dumps, and
has sought a moratorium on interest
payments. In effect, vendors of gold
loans may soon see stress from both
The surge in gold loans and the sharp the retail and wholesale part of the
game.
uptick in auctions may be hiding a larger Things have come to such a pass
that, with limits being hit on gold
pain, reports Raghu Mohan LTVs, there is a flight to informal
sources of finance. (Some 65 per cent
is more than sufficient to cover the
interest costs due from the borrower,”
adds Aggarwal.
However, the situation is very dif-
ferent this time. Households that had
to borrow against gold jewellery dur-
ing the first wave of the Covid pan-
demic have not been able to fully
repay their loans because of income
These customers were forced to roll
over their existing gold loans along
with part of the interest due, because
of which the security margin available
got reduced.
The drop of 5-7 per cent in gold
prices after March 2021 has added to
borrowers’ woes, triggering margin
calls and auctioning off of jewellery
pledged by customers. And that is the
expected trend line in gold prices.
Overall, gold demand in India in
the first half of 2021 was 216.1 tonnes,
up 30 per cent over the corresponding

G
Over time we saw the digital revolution eorge Alexander Muthoot, surged nearly 85 per cent over the past of the gold-loan market is accounted period of 2020. “Though it is still a
emerge within the industry. Online services the managing director of year, to ~60,464 crore. The trigger is for by the unorganised sector.) multi-year low, it reflects an under-
being offered via agents or branches were Muthoot Finance, is of the the Covid-19 pandemic, with folks lying demand momentum that will
being made seamless and processes made view that his company pledging jewellery. Small firms have Red lights flashing likely support a sharp spike in
faster. I believe it’s this keen eye that helped knows the business of lending against also tapped this route to make up their Take a look at the gold auctions. demand once normalcy is restored
us steer well through the financial crisis that gold better than cash needs and, Mannapuram Finance had auctioned on the Covid front,” notes
hit us in 2009. most: “We work possibly, even ~8 crore worth of the yellow metal in Somasundaram
The last decade was where we augmented closely with our GOLD PRICE MOVEMENT working capital — the first three quarters of FY21. This P R, regional chief executive officer,
our tech journey, further customised our customers and from both formal shot up to ~404 crore in the fourth India, World Gold Council.
product offering and invested to ensure that understand their and informal quarter and further to ~1,500 crore in He adds that the outlook for the
customers’ experience with us was hassle-free. needs better. I have lenders. the June quarter. second half of 2021 is yet uncertain,
That’s when we made it possible for customers not seen signs of The outlier Granular data on gold auctions with consumer confidence and busi-
to purchase our products with the click of a stress in our busi- growth in gold across players are not available in the ness response subject to the impact
button. The industry resurrected unit-linked
insurance plans (ULIPs) to offer customers
ness.” What he will
not say explicitly is
loans compared to
any other segment
public domain, and banks hardly ever
disclose whether they opt for this
“The underlying momentum of the looming threat of a third wave
of Covid and the pace of economic
more value. Term-plans introduced in 2009 that this may not was also aided by route at all. It is entirely possible that will support a sharp spike in recovery. “One comforting view is
were made more affordable. Overall, insurers hold true for banks. the Reserve Bank those who have availed of gold loans demand for gold once that, given the pace of vaccination
were innovating across products and services,
and the discussion shifted to digital ecosystems
He limits himself to
a cryptic, “We do it
of India’s (RBI’s)
move to hike the
may also have taken other loan expo-
sures. These, too, may come under
normalcy is restored” and the sero survey results, we may
learn to live with Covid, ensuring that
from conventional brick-and-mortar stores. better than them.” loan-to-value (LTV) pressure. Worse, as lenders — be it SOMSUNDARAM P R businesses and sales become more
The 16-odd months gone by did have an And therein lies a ratio for such loans banks or non-banking financial com- Regional Chief Executive Officer, India resilient,” he points out.
World Gold Council
impact on industry practices, customer tale. from 75 per cent to panies — never reveal segmented Yet, analysts suggest that the next
preferences, and the overall working cultures of Gold loans have 90 per cent. non-performing asset data, there is few quarters may throw up surprises.
companies. However, I’d like to also mention
that we were in several ways geared up for these
changes. Our digital ecosystems were stronger,
offering more digital assets for insurance
agents, bank partners and customers alike.
Efficiencies and productivity was increasing
with these tech interventions. More customer-
facing and front-end tech enhancements were
ON THE CARDS
seen among players. The restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on global payment networks has
affected plastic issuers. The last to attract the regulator’s gaze was Mastercard — banks
cannot on-board new customers on this platform, effective July 22, 2021. The RBI had STATE OF
earlier restricted American Express and Diners Club. PLAY ON
This leaves only Visa and home-grown RuPay as payment providers that are MASTERCARD
under no restrictions. Nomura Global Markets Research says it does not foresee (%)
100
100
100

any material impact on card issuers in the near term (especially credit card
issuers), but there could be a medium-term impact if this situation persists.

THE PLOT ACROSS NETWORKS (in %)

60

VISA RuPay Master Diners American On

53

card Club Express restrictions

Embracing deeper Hence, when we RBL Bank 0 0 100 0 0 100
36
35

digital solutions were all in the midst YES Bank 0 0 100 0 0 100
like artificial of the pandemic, we
intelligence and needed to enhance Bajaj Finserv 0 0 100 0 0 100
10

robotic process the usage of these HDFC Bank 38 2 45 15 0 60

automation is assets to ensure our
0

resulting in cost customers’ long-term IndusInd Bank 47 0 40 0 13 53

optimisation and financial goals ICICI Bank 64 0 36 0 0 36 RBK YES BJFIN HDFCB IIB ICICIBC AXSB SBICARD KMB
operational remained on track.
Axis Bank 65 0 35 0 0 35 Source: Nomura research
efficiency Customers’ risk
perception was on SBI Cards 86 4 10 0 0 10
the rise during the pandemic. With market Kotak Mahindra Bank 100 0 0 0 0 0
volatility, guaranteed-return plans also saw an
uptick. With the markets stabilising, ULIPs
came back to the forefront.
Clearly, digitisation and virtualisation are
the new reality. This landscape will further be
shaped by the 3 Vs (video, voice and The London-based Tide, which has a market share of six per cent of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) small which we are inculcating in our product line,
vernacular), from increase in online buying business segment, has made India the first stop in its global foray. It has raised over £100 million in like the Unified Payments Interface, and the
and servicing, to embracing deeper digital
solutions like increased automation, artificial
‘We will investment from a clutch of investors. It is a rarity among fintechs, since it has a cross-border platform.
GURUJODPAL SINGH, chief executive officer of Tide India, spoke to Raghu Mohan about the company’s
Goods and Services Tax.

intelligence and robotic process automation.

put our
plans. Edited excerpts:
This is resulting in cost optimisation,
operational efficiency and ensuring a What is the scope of Tide’s ambitions in India?
competitive edge.
The life insurance industry has access to
varied points of customer data. It’s perhaps
cross-border We are a neo-bank focused on small and
medium enterprises (SMEs). The core of the
product is the bank account, for which we
among the few industries where the sales force
(and agents) have such a close association
with customers. The industry is now investing
platform into have recently partnered with RBL Bank. But
along with that on our platform, we help SMEs
to run their entire piece of financials and
towards managing this data for customers’
advantage and to make the engagement more
effective, more real-time. Data-driven
play’ administration to save on money and time.
Today, they do banking, taxation, and
invoicing on different platforms that don’t
solutions are the future, and several of these talk to each other. I mean, one needs
are now being executed with robust use of to manually move data from one
insurtech and collaborations with fintechs platform to the other.
and other partners. An example is sharing your
The industry is also showing promising invoicing details or bank statements
signs of offering increasingly personalised with chartered accountants for
products and services. The first step towards taxation. We solve these issues. And GURUJODPAL
this is to simplify products. The sachet we do collections as well. Our “Alpha” SINGH
revolution that’s sweeping across the product, which is for friends and Chief Executive
insurance sector is an excellent example of family, is now live. And the “Beta” Officer,
this. These are simple, more affordable, version will go live this quarter. We Tide India
insurance products that are a good starting shall onboard the first set of users over
point for new customers. the rest of 2021. And we will go in for a full-
These futuristic trends are already playing fledged launch in early 2022. In the first year,
out in the industry. We’re undoubtedly going to we plan to onboard 25,000 SMEs on our
witness a deep digital transformation as we platform, and over three to five years, we
evolve into a digital-first industry, with a far- intend to serve two million SMEs.
sighted regulator at the helm and ambitious
insurance providers all working consistently to What are the drivers behind your Indian foray?
bring about revolutionary changes. We have gained significant traction in the SME
banking channel in the UK market with 6 per
The writer is Managing Director and Chief Executive cent market share. Practically one out of 20
Officer of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance SMEs is now a Tide customer. We believe it is
the right time to expand internationally. Our
intent is to serve 25 per cent of SMEs globally.
From that stand-point, India becomes very
interesting, because 10 per cent of the global
SME population is out here. And because there
has been a massive push towards digitisation
from the government’s side and the way
smartphone penetration has moved.
India has also a very vibrant fintech
ecosystem, and banks are pretty open about
partnering with it. The fact that there is an
inherent digitisation DNA in the overall
financial ecosystem is very important for
somebody like us. The pandemic has
also pushed the ecosystem towards
this. And, you also have the talent —
be it products, the technology
involved, or people — which has
been built up over the last 10 to 15
years. My belief is that the Indian
market will bounce back much
faster than others. Recovery is going
to be strong, and SMEs will always
play a very important role.
How do you view the local SME segment?
SMEs are quite similar all over the world. From
a target market stand-point, the pain-points
are similar and hence, we feel we could
replicate all those value propositions from the
UK to the Indian market. Our mission is to
help SMEs digitise. We did this improvement
on the existing banking ecosystem and from
there we started building various things for
SMEs. That’s the reason we grew so well there.
But having said that, our range here is
different from the UK. There are certain pieces
which are very unique. I mean that there are
certain pieces which are unique about India
You are one of the few fintechs with a cross-
border platform. How do you propose to
leverage it?
There are many things we could build for
Indian SMEs, which will also be much useful
to such entities across the world. And we
intend to encourage cross-border trade. So, if
an SME offers a service, and there are others
on the platform who want to use this service,
we intend to facilitate it. Indian SMEs serving
global markets need to have the ability to
collect and pay in multi-currencies digitally.
Also, SMEs may use services or buy from
others on the platform.
You should also look at the larger setting.
The Indo-UK trade involving SMEs is now at
around a few billion pounds annually. Both
the Indian and the UK governments are
working towards establishing closer trade
ties. And after Brexit, the UK is looking at
more of the bilateral outside the European
Union. And then you have the global supply
chains and manufacturing hubs which are
looking at alternatives outside of China. India
could be a big beneficiary because of this.
And in all of this, SMEs will have a big role
to play.
While technology will undoubtedly
reshape how these entities go about their
businesses, they will also create significant
employment opportunities. And keeping in
view the business potential, we plan to invest
100 million pounds out here. For the
moment, we have tied up with RBL Bank, but
we will also be working with a bunch of other
fintechs and institutions. We also operate a
tech-centre out of Hyderabad, which was
started in early 2020.
.
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 TAKE TWO 19 <

Simplilearn’s Of Covid deaths, bank

deposits and bad loans
risky game plan Districts with higher death rates during the pandemic have shown outflow
of bank deposits, rise in home loan NPAs and rush to raise gold loans
Why the founders of the edtech company chose when the second wave hit India, with much higher death rates
the number of districts that saw have shown more than 3 per cent
fundraising over outright sale outflow of bank deposits almost bad loans.
doubled as compared to the first Thirty districts that have shown
ANJULI BHARGAVA
New Delhi, 15 August
LEARNING CURVES wave. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh between 1.5 per cent and 3 per cent
and Rajasthan have seen at least home loan NPAs also have death
n 40% of learners are postgraduates 60 per cent of the pandemic cases rates higher than the national aver-

W
hy settle for $400-500 million when
you can make a billion or even more?
That, in a nutshell, is why Krishna
Kumar, 43, and Kashyap Dalal, 40, co-founders
of Bengaluru-based edtech firm Simplilearn,
one of the big players in the segment, sold a 51
per cent stake to Blackstone instead of selling
100 per cent as close competitor and rival Great
Learning chose to do. The duo has a straight-
forward game plan that they said will leave
them and their employees even richer than
what rivals have managed in recent times.
Like many edtech players, Simplilearn
decided to raise some money in 2020 to fund
its expansion plans. The pandemic led to many
players seeing unprecedented growth levels as
the world moved online and became comfort-
able with it. Although the company had an offer
from a US-listed firm for a full buy-out, it chose
to raise money, parting with a majority stake
to Blackstone. The two founders felt that this
way they could “extract best value” for what
they’ve created over the last decade.
The company’s revenue growth for the last
three years has been 45-50 per cent (although
some competitors claim 100 per cent revenue
growth) and it says it has been profitable in this
time. The annual run rate is close to $100 mil-
lion and it claims to have made a 10 per cent
profit last year. The $250 million stake sale to
Blackstone places the company’s present val-
uation at a little over $500 million.
Kumar argues that if he and his team are
able to increase the revenue growth to around
100 per cent in three years, they can aim for an
annual run rate of $300-400 million, which
would take Simplilearn to a valuation of $1.5-
2.0 billion, assuming a multiple of five. Many
edtech companies are valued based on multi-
ples of revenue as these are “growth” companies
unlike traditional established companies that
are measured by profitability. Market leader
Byju’s commands a far higher multiple —
almost 12-15 times its revenue — on account of
its size and leadership claims.
The principal uncertainty with almost all
players in the sector is whether they can deliver
the kind of growth they promise. Barring some
inherent factors that give them confidence,
Kumar said certain macro factors are aligned:
Lifelong learning is here to stay. “Few can now
navigate their career of 35-40 years without up-
grading their skills to stay relevant,” he explai-
ned. This is a segment that can only grow. Besid-
es, acceptance for digital upskilling and learning
has jumped dramatically post-pandemic.
At present, the $100 million run rate is from
around 60 products, most of which are aimed
at upskilling tech and engineering profession-
als. With the fresh funding, Simplilearn is aim-
ing to add 140-odd products over the next two
years, substantially widening the array of sub-
jects, skills and the depth of programmes and
taking revenue to an ambitious $500 million.
“We will expand in fintech, supply chain, HR,”
said Dalal. Short-term certification will be deep-
ened, too, a competitive advantage it holds over
rivals because it has been doing this for 11 years.
A second area where the company has an
edge is working with enterprises to upskill em-
ployees. Though many rivals are entering this
space, Simplilearn already works with 500 cor-
n 60% of learners from India are IT and engineering,
40% are in other managerial roles like operations,
marketing and consulting
n 50% of learners in the US are IT and engineering
focused and 50% are from other managerial roles
SIMPLILEARN’S CUSTOMER DEMOGRAPHICS
INDIA
n Less than 30 years
n 30-40 years n 40+ years
16
30
In %
54
UNITED STATES
n Less than 30 years
n 30-40 years n 40+ years
16
45 In %
39
porations, including a few Fortune 500 ones.
The idea is to deepen the work with customers
rather than add new clients. “The effort will be
to focus on quality,” said Dalal. Already 25-30
per cent of revenue comes from this segment
while rivals may be in the 5-10 per cent range.
Another new driver is the degree programmes.
It has launched its first post-graduate pro-
gramme in management and many more are
on the cards but this remains an area where
others are far ahead in the game.
If new fields are planned as a driver, so are
new geographies. A huge push is planned into
the “rest of the world”, or ROW, that constitutes
only 20 per cent of revenues. India and the US
bring in almost 80 per cent, so there is plenty
of scope to grow in other regions. “We will dou-
ble down on our two primary markets, but we
are looking at ~1,000 crore in revenue from each
of these three: India, US and ROW,” Dalal said.
Another factor that gives it confidence is
that as an early entrant, Simplilearn is one of
the few that is making a profit. Repeat and refer-
rals are high, lowering the cost of acquisition
of a new learner. This, according to industry
observers, is a critical factor in separating the
wheat from the chaff in the edtech space. “In
Co-founders Krishna BANKER’S TRUST
Kumar (top) and
Kashyap Dalal TAMAL BANDYOPADHYAY
Different banks are dealing with the
Covid-19 pandemic differently. A
few have stopped growing, while
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND others are growing with caution.
n Less than 30 years n 40+ years Also, after giving a cold shoulder to
the corporate sector for the past few
Bachelors 42 years, a few banks have started
43 growing their corporate loan books
Engineering 15
for de-risking the balance sheets as
more retail loans are turning bad.
These are the business trends.
2
How has the pandemic affected
Postgraduates 41 the customers?
An internal study, jointly con-
39
ducted by the credit risk manage-
Others 3 ment department and the economic
15
research department of the State
Bank of India, tells that story.
The only Indian bank in the list
FUNCTIONAL EXPERIENCE of the world’s 50 largest banks by
assets, the State Bank is a proxy for
n Less than 30 years n 40+ years the Indian economy. It represents
little less than one-fourth of India’s
IT 50 GDP. Roughly one out of every three
37 Indians banks with the State Bank.
Engineering & 17 During the first wave of pandem-
ic, when there was a nationwide
Ops 14
lockdown, the banking sector’s
Marketing 2 deposit portfolio rose as people
5 stopped spending. But the most
affected districts saw an outflow of
Consulting 4 deposits as the customers took out
5 money from banks to meet medical
emergencies. Of the 711 districts sur-
Others 27 veyed, 112 witnessed a ~1.07-trillion
39 deposit outflow between April
and December 2020. The other
the short term, massive investment can create 599 districts, however, saw a ~11.20-
scale, but eventually an education firm has to trillion inflow.
deliver outcomes for its learner. The more learn- Nine districts in Maharashtra
ers get the desired outcome, the more referrals accounted for more than 50 per cent
they bring in. This is the reason we are prof- of the outflow — ~55,761 crore. Two
itable, while the industry norm remains losing other states that saw major deposit
a lot of money while scaling,” Kumar said. withdrawal are Gujarat (~18,237
It was in 2009-10 that Simplilearn started crore in 17 districts) and Karnataka
its journey as a project management blog that (~11,760 crore; 15 districts).
evolved into a company with the central goal Incidentally, the same 112 districts
of providing access to work-ready training to had seen close to ~50,000 crore
individuals and businesses anywhere in the inflow a year ago, between April and
world. The blog was started by Kumar, and December 2019.
Dalal joined in 2013 as a co-founder. The com- More interesting facts have come
pany slowly developed its approach and began out from an analysis of customer
to offer a boot-camp learning environment that behaviour of the State Bank during
is hands-on and immersive, with live virtual the second wave of the pandemic,
classes, integrated labs and projects, and 24x7 particularly in rural India which
support, training over two million professionals had 16.7 per cent share of GDP in
and 2,000 corporate training organisations in the financial year 2021. The State
150 countries. Bank data from this phase estab-
Unlike Great Learning and other companies lishes the links among outflow
that have chosen a safer path, the founders of of bank deposits, Covid death,
Simplilearn have picked a more rewarding, deterioration in the quality of
albeit riskier, game plan. Whether they are jus- loan assets and emergence of a new
tified or acted recklessly will be evident in ret- loan product.
rospect five years down the line. Between April and May 2021,
in rural pockets. At its peak age; many of them have also seen
in August-September 2020, rural outflow of deposits. Maharashtra
India had seen 2.28 million Covid and Karnataka dominate this list.
cases; this number jumped to Another 27 districts, which are
7.61 million in April-May 2021. at the bottom of this list with home
Similarly, in August-September loan NPAs between 1 per cent and
2020, little over 28,000 Covid deaths 1.5 per cent and higher than nation-
were reported in rural India. The al average death rate (in some cases
comparable figure for April-May beyond 2 per cent), are fairly well
2021 is 83,683 (these are being con- spread out across geographies,
tinuously revised). although Gujarat’s contribution is
Analysis of the State Bank’s busi- more than other states.
ness data for 735 districts across the Finally, in all high-mortality rate
country shows that the bank record- districts, loan against gold jewellery
ed deposit outflow in 213 districts emerged as a popular loan product,
in April-May 2021. In at least five of the currency of last resort.
these 213 districts, the outflow is Historically, raising money by
~1,000 crore or more. These are East pledging family gold has been a
Delhi, Mumbai, Sambalpur, Thiru- southern India phenomenon but
vananthapuram and Bengaluru. A during the pandemic the trend
year ago, in April-May 2020, barring spread across geographies. People
East Delhi, other districts had wit- raised gold loans to meet emer-
nessed deposit accretion, led by gency medical needs and even to
Mumbai. Most of the State Bank’s arrange for funerals.
16 divisions (called “circles”) saw The pandemic has also seen
savings bank deposit withdrawal. employees withdrawing money
The top 20 districts that had seen from provident funds. Going by
deposit outflow include data from the ministry of labour
Gandhinagar, Raipur, Jaipur, Sagar, and employment, the Employees’
Akola and a few others, along with Provident Fund Organisation
the big metros. In all these places, has settled 7.244 million claims,
the death rate was higher than the disbursing ~24,897 crore in
national average. three months between April
In two months between April and June 2021.
and May 2021, the Among all
State Bank’s term Between April and May places, the most
deposit portfolio, 2021, when the second varied trends are
in line with the wave hit India, the seen in Delhi, mir-
industry trend, wit- number of districts roring the national
nessed premature that saw outflow of scene. While East
withdrawal. States bank deposits almost Delhi has shown a
having high per doubled as compared rise in bad loans
capita income such to the first wave. and deposit out-
as Maharashtra Maharashtra, Uttar flow, the highest in
and New Delhi — Pradesh and Rajasthan any single district,
and even have seen at least 60 per the affluent South,
Jharkhand, with cent of the pandemic South East and
low per capita cases in rural pockets South West Delhi
income — wit- have shown no
nessed the trend. The entire bank- major deterioration in asset quality.
ing system might have seen prema- They also saw new deposit accre-
ture withdrawal of close to ~1.4 tion. The death rate in East Delhi
trillion term deposits. was far higher than in the other
The correlation between with- three parts.
drawal of deposits and Covid death Clearly, the pandemic has affect-
rate is stark. In 189 of the 735 ed the affluent class less than oth-
districts where the State Bank is ers. This is also the story of India.
present, the death rate was higher The gap between the haves and
than the national average during have-nots has widened. Addressing
the second wave. At least 27 districts this will be the biggest challenge in
in 13 states witnessed up to 2 per the post-Covid world.
cent premature withdrawal of
term deposits.
Along with the outflow of The writer, a consulting editor with
deposits, the most Covid-affected Business Standard, is an author
districts have shown a spike in non- and senior adviser to Jana Small
performing assets (NPAs) in the Finance Bank Ltd
bank’s mortgage portfolio. For the His latest book: Pandemonium:
purpose of analysis, the bank has The Great Indian Banking Story
focused on 84 districts that have at To read his previous columns,
least ~100 crore mortgage portfolio. please log on to www.bankerstrust.in
In this group, 27 districts Twitter: TamalBandyo

STATSGURU REUTERS
1: TEMPERATURE IS LIKELY TO RISE FASTER
IN MEDIUM TERM
2: INCREASING THE INTENSITY OF RAINFALL...
Heavy precipitation events will increase 1.5 times as
Rise in temperatures (degree Celsius) compared to 1850-1900 temperatures rise by 1.5 degree celsius
2021-40 2041-60 2081-2100 Frequency per 10 years Intensity (% wetter
3.6

4.4

(times increase when compared to

2.7

2.4

from 1850-1900) 1850-1900)

2.1
2.0
1.8

Present scenario
1.6
1.6

1.7
1.5

1.3 6.7
1.5

1.5

1.5
1.4

(1 degree C rise)
1.5 degree C rise 1.5 10.5
2 degree C rise 1.7 14.0
Very low Low Medium High Very high
emission scenario 4 degree C rise 2.7 30.2
Source: IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers Source: IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers

3: … AND DROUGHTS 4: MEANWHILE, FUNDING FROM DEVELOPED

Agricultural and ecological drought events will increase COUNTRIES HAS REMAINED INCONSPICUOUS
two times as temperatures rise by 1.5 degree celsius Green climate fund, $ billion
4.1
Frequency per 10 years (times increase from 1850-1900)
100
2.4
2.0
1.7

8.9 5.8

Dealing with climate change Present scenario 1.5 degree C rise

(1 degree C rise)
Source: IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers
2 degree C rise 4 degree C rise Target

Source: Green Climate Fund

Commitment Under
implementation

ISHAAN GERA
EARLIER THIS YEAR,
CANADA faced extreme
heatwaves and Germany
encountered massive
floods. In India,
Karnataka and
Maharashtra have been braving floods,
while some parts of the country are
dealing with deficient rainfall. The effects
of climate change are becoming more
severe, and if a new Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is
to be believed, the situation will only
worsen in coming years.
The IPCC has been highlighting
a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in
temperature, but this year’s report
shows that we may reach there a decade
early. The report highlights that even in
the very low emission scenario, the
temperature would increase by 1.4
degree Celsius by the end of the century,
compared to 1850-1900, and 0.4 degrees
when compared to 2019. In the worst
case, it can rise by 4.4 degrees Celsius.
The medium-term outlook (until 2060)
shows that the temperature is set to go
above 1.6 degrees (chart 1). This, the
report posits, is expected to make
heavy rainfall 1.5 times more likely
if temperatures rise by another 0.5
degrees Celsius (chart 2) and double the
likelihood of droughts as well (chart 3).
Meanwhile, efforts from developed
countries have been inconspicuous.
While the developed countries had 5: INDIA HAS BEEN DOING ITS BIT 6: BUT IS FAR OFF FROM THE TARGET
promised a $100-billion fund to help
Renewable energy and hydro account for 37% n Installed capacity (including large hydro)
developing nations with technology
transfers, only $8.9 billion worth of of installed capacity (Gw) n Remaining target till 2030 (Gw)
commitments have been made till
now. The utilisation of the green
climate fund is even lower at $5.8
billion (chart 4). India has been doing
its bit, though. The share of renewable 146
and hydropower in total installed 304
power capacity increased from 25 per
cent in 1997 to 37 per cent in 2021. Most
of the gains have come from renewable
sources (chart 5). However, concerns
remain as the country has completed a
third of its 450 Gw ambitious target,
and with nine years to go, 304 Gw
remains to be added (chart 6). Source: CEA Source: PIB

StatsGuru is a weekly feature. Every Monday, Business Standard guides you through the numbers you need to know to make sense of the headlines
20
>
MUMBAI | MONDAY, 16 AUGUST 2021 1

Threatened by pandemic:
The livelihood of lawyers
Large numbers turned to bar councils for ration, financial help in desperation
SINDHU BHATTACHARYA lockdown last year. He says youngsters are
New Delhi, 15 August happy with virtual hearings but older advo-
cates face difficulties due to digital literacy

I
n May, when the deadly second wave of gaps. Also, inadequate infrastructure, espe-
Covid-19 was raging across India, the Bar cially at the lower courts, makes it difficult
Council of Delhi (BCD) provided 4,000 to conduct smooth hearings virtually.
grocery kits to lawyers who had not earned
a single rupee for months and whose families
were fighting hunger every day. The council
spent ~4.26 lakh in additional cash relief for
Uploading of voluminous documents is also
problematic sometimes.
I P Singh, president of Tricity Consumer
Courts Bar Association in Punjab, says the
Why Goyal is
nearly 2,700 lawyers who were either in home
quarantine due to the infection or in hospital.
Covid-19 has shut court rooms for months
on end and even when hearings have resu-
state consumer dispute redressal commis-
sions were initially using the VidyoConnect

med virtually, the number of cases being tak-
en up has fallen drastically, leaving lawyers
with unprecedented financial difficulties.
Himal Akhtar, vice-chairman of BCD,
says, 90 per cent of the work comes to the
top 10 per cent of lawyers. So, while those
with a steady stream of cases and the where-
withal to attend multiple hearings in differ-
ent courts across the country (and even
across the world, now that cases are being
heard virtually) saw their earnings multiply
during the pandemic, a majority of the
lawyers had to struggle to survive each day.
One lawyer came to the BCD during the
second wave, demanding a ration kit for his
family of five, saying he could not wait for
the kit to be delivered home. Another chu-
cked it all and migrated back to his paternal
home in Bihar to take up farming. He is tack-
ling small cases virtually while tending to
crops, and currently has no plans to return
to Delhi.
The BCD has 133,000 registered members
and Akhtar says up to 50,000 have faced dist-
ress. “The government needs to create a me-
chanism for helping out lawyers. We are an
educated but a highly unorganised sector,”
he says. “The government should give us
some guzara bhatta (subsistence allowance).”
The situation of lawyers need not have
been this precarious. After all, most high
courts and district courts have been con-
ducting hearings through video conferenc-
ing. Why then should lawyers’ livelihoods
be threatened?
THE BALL IS IN THE COURT
Number of cases pending
Courts As on
March 30, 2019
Supreme Courts 58,072
High Courts 4,482,146
District Courts 3,047,562
Arghya Sengupta, research director at
Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, says the pan-
demic has sharpened the existing divide
between the top 1 per cent of lawyers (senior
advocates in the Supreme Court and high
courts) and the rest. New cases are down dr-
astically, he adds, due to restrictions because
of successive lockdowns and court closures.
There are primarily three issues that a
majority of lawyers are facing:
n Digital literacy: Most lawyers may have a
smartphone but may not be able to set up
Zoom or video conferencing facilities.
n In the lower courts, a lot of lawyers get
clients physically, through walk-ins, and they
have small stalls in the court premises.
Getting new work has stopped since court
visits are not allowed.
In 2020 In March 2021
61,142 (March 2020) 67,279
4,506,246 (August 2020) 5,704,658
31,943,372 (March 2020) 37,773,165
n Courts are not hearing all kinds of cases;
they are only hearing urgent matters. Since
many lawyers charge clients on a per hearing
basis, their incomes have suffered.
Data from Vidhi shows that in the
absence of any clear criterion for determining
what can be classified as an “urgent” case,
the actual number of pending cases has risen
meteorically across the country, hurting
earnings of most lawyers (see table). In the
12 months till March this year, more than
9,000 cases got added to the hundreds of
thousands already pending before the
Supreme Court. In the high courts and dis-
trict courts, another 1.22 million and 34.7
million, respectively, cases were added.
Rohit Bhattacharjee started practising at
Calcutta High Court just after the national
“90% of the
app for hearings. This
app did not allow
peeved at some
in India Inc
work comes to more than 15 people to
the top 10% of join in at one time.
lawyers. So a “But more than 50 ad-
majority of vocates have their cas-
lawyers had to es listed on any given DEV CHATTERJEE & NEHA ALAWADI be able to sell goods on Tata's upcoming
struggle to day. Even if a lawyer Mumbai/New Delhi, 15 August shopping websites.
survive,” says
Himal Akhtar,
logged in early, he wo-
uld be logged out by Union Minister of Commerce and What is the reaction of small
vice chairman, the person managing Textiles Piyush Goyal has stirred up a trading bodies?
Bar Council the app if the case was hornet’s nest by taking on India Inc, Small retailers and traders have welco-
of Delhi not among the first 10 specifically the Tata group, which is med Goyal’s statements since they were
for the day.” Singh among the companies that lobbied the worst sufferers during the pandemic,
says. “It was very tough to log in thereafter. against the Modi government’s pro- with sales plunging as demand shifted
The day was wasted; sometimes cases were consumer draft e-commerce policies. to online platforms. The Confederation
adjourned and sometimes adverse orders While Goyal’s comments, made at a of All India Traders (CAIT) said that for
were passed.” The state commission has since Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) the first time an elected government
adopted a different system for video confere- event, were streamed live on YouTube, representative has talked about inclu-
ncing and these problems have been resolved. the industry lobbying body later edited sive growth of big and small businesses,
Bhopal-based lawyer Yadvendra Yadav the video and subsequently withdrew which bodes well for the growth of India.
says different apps are in use for different the entire speech. Goyal had said the Media reports quoted CAIT
courts even within Madhya Pradesh. Some Tata group and other Indian compa- National President B C Bhartia as say-
courts are using Microsoft Teams and some nies often lobbied for their interest, ing there are 80 million small and me-
others use Jitsi. “So if a video conference is while ignoring national interest. dium traders whose survival and well-
to be done between two courts simultane- (While Goyal sought to play down being has been completely ignored by
ously, then multiple devices are needed.” his remarks in an interaction with the the corporate houses who have collu-
But virtual hearings have proved a boon Times of India on Sunday morning, ded with multinational companies to
for “big” lawyers. Yadav says before the pan- the CII and Tata group have plunder India’s retail mar-
demic, a lawyer residing in Delhi but fighting not commented on the ket and destroy the busi-
a case in a Mumbai court needed to take subject.) Small retailers’ ness ecosystem.
leave and travel, but can now attend these bodies, meanwhile, have
hearings with minimal time and effort. So come out in full support of What was the minister’s
those with billing of ~10-15 lakh a day are the minister. ‘nationalistic’ jibe about?
now making up to ~60 lakh a day. Goyal also said Indian com-
For a majority of India’s lawyers, however, What is Tata’s objection panies were failing to take on
it’s a struggle for survival. to the proposed
e-commerce rules?
DECODED competition from the multi-
nationals and asked Tata
According to a report in Steel to demonstrate if it can
Reuters, the Tata group had Indian industry sell its products in Japan and

India’s first leopard reserve offers worked on carnivore conservation

in Namibia, reckons that Jhalana
is a rare environment where leop-
taken a strong stand in a would import
July 3 meeting with gov- even if it helped
ernment officials that the them save just 10
proposed rules would imp- paise in the
Korea, arguing that compa-
nies in those countries are
“nationalistic” and won’t buy

lessons in coexistence, conservation

GEETANJALI KRISHNA
Jaipur, 15 August
Every day as the sun begins to set,
Nandi, the old keeper of a gaushala
(cow shed) near Chulgiri Jain tem-
ple, merely 20 minutes from Jai-
pur’s commercial hub Mirza Ismail
Road, begins his daily task. Steel
buckets of water in either hand and
a bag of seed on his shoulder, he
goes to the forest behind his home
to fill the dozen-odd water holes
that he and other residents have
built. “These arid hills are home to
several leopards that have strayed
from Jhalana Leopard Safari Park,”
he says. “This water helps them sur-
vive Jaipur’s summer.”
Nandi is not alone in his conc-
ern for leopards. In and around
Jaipur, communities have long co-
existed with these charismatic cats.
“Over the decades, humans and
leopards have developed a symbi-
otic relationship in the areas arou-
nd Jaipur,” says Swapnil Kumbhoj-
kar, a researcher studying Jhalana’s
leopards. The area presents the clas-
sic traits of island biogeography —
a fragment of a forest with unique
biodiversity in the heart of Jaipur
that has a population of 3.1 million
people. So far, in this urban context,
Jhalana’s leopards have performed
vital ecosystem services.
“On analysing their faeces,
we’ve found 50 per cent of their diet
comprises dogs,” says Kumbhojkar.
Keeping the stray dog population
under check has hugely benefited
the local population. The forest has
become a temperature and pollu-
tant sink, especially after illegal
mining came to a virtual standstill
when Jhalana became India’s first
leopard reserve in 2016. “Local
communities, most of whom work
in Jaipur city, say that they appre-
ciate the clean, cool environment
around the reserve, a direct result
of the thriving forest all around,”
he says. Last, being opportunistic
eaters, leopards scavenge carcasses
of cattle that villagers would oth-
erwise find hard to dispose of.
In a survey of perceptions of
local stakeholders in 18 villages
GAURAV SHARMA
around the sanctuary about leopa-
rds and conservation, Kumbhojkar
found 83 per cent respondents were
aware of their role in the ecosystem.
“A majority of the population here
belongs to the Jain and Gujar com-
munities and believe in non-viole-
nce and taking care of animals as a
religious duty,” he says. Thanks to
local cooperation and regular mon-
itoring through cameras and pat-
rolling, there has been a boom in
the population of the spotted felids.
Leopard population has risen
from 19 in 2017 to over 36 today.
Last year, 10 newborn cubs were
recorded and this year, three more
have already been sighted on the
FOREST IN THE CITY
n Jhalana Leopard Reserve
is the first leopard reserve
in India
n It has more than 35
leopards in approximately
20 sq km
n Home to 132 bird species,
33 mammals, 20 reptiles
n Distance from Jaipur
airport: 6.8 km
n Bookings at the gate of
the reserve one hour
before safari, or online at
https://sso.rajasthan.gov.
in
camera traps. “Today, Jhalana pres-
ents a unique opportunity to study
leopards in an environment in
which they are apex predators,”
says Kumbhojkar, who has docu-
mented possibly the only evidence
of thanatological expression
(behaviour exhibited towards the
dead) in leopards in 2019.
“We saw a female with two cubs
protecting a third dead cub from
two striped hyenas,” he recalls. “She
licked the cub’s body and then
placed it out of reach of the scav-
enging hyenas in a cactus thicket.”
The researcher, who is also a certi-
fied game ranger at South Africa’s
Kruger National Park and has
ards do not have to compete with
tigers to survive.
For a reserve forest about 20
square km in size, with corridors to
adjoining forests cut off by state
and national highways, the baby
boom among Jhalana’s leopards is
not all good news. “Thanks to amp-
le prey and proper patrolling, leop-
ards are moving out of Jhalana
now,” says Rohit Gangwal of World
of Wilders, which organises safaris
in Jhalana. While female sub-
adults tend to stay in their mother’s
territory (Kumbhojkar calls it “stay-
ing in the family business”) young
males are venturing further and
further away. In December 2019, a
leopard strayed into a posh colony
in Jaipur and could not be located
for days. Thirty-two leopards have
died or gone missing since 2012 to
date, victims of territorial fights,
poaching, road accidents and more.
As dusk falls near the Chulgiri
Temple, children drive home herds
of goat and sheep. Nandi says a
leopard has been passing this way
every evening these days. “Child-
ren, even the elderly, are an easy
target for leopards, if they decide
to hunt them,” muses Kumbhojkar.
With rising leopard numbers,
more conflicts with humans are
bound to happen. Inbreeding
among leopards is another con-
cern. Developing viable animal cor-
ridors is the only solution, local con-
servationists say. Else, Jhalana will
remain a cautionary tale for pro-
ponents of rewilding, a magical lit-
tle wild forest in the heart of a city
with too many leopards with too
few places to go to.
imported steel. On the other
act its businesses and even finished cost of hand, Indian industry would
bar its own brands or joint goods, and then import even if it helped them
venture partners from sell- lobby to avoid the save just 10 paise in the fin-
ing goods on Tata’s upcom- levy of anti- ished cost of goods, and then
dumping duties
ing shopping websites.
The Reuters report quot- on such imports,
lobby to avoid the levy of
anti-dumping duties on such
ed the Tata group saying in Goyal said imports, he said.
the meeting that the propo-
sed rules would greatly increase the com- What did the minister say on foreign
pliance burden of the group’s various en- direct investment (FDI)?
tities and interests, and hurt them far Goyal said many Indian companies are
more than others. Though the Tata gro- structuring transactions in such a way
up is currently a small player in the on- that it violates the FDI norms. Goyal
line retail business, which is dominated said instead of asking for restrictions
by Amazon and Flipkart, it is planning on import of foreign goods, Indian
to launch a super app that would offer companies should instead focus on
all goods and services sold by the group increasing their competitiveness.
under a single platform. Tata group did
not comment on the Reuters report. And on the new start-up fund?
The Tata group, however, is not the Goyal asked Indian companies to pitch
only one to have lobbied against the in to help start-ups. While most of the
proposed e-commerce rules. Others groups are spending money on their
like Amazon and Flipkart have also own start-ups, very few, he said, have
voiced their concerns, according to come forward to help others out. Goyal
media reports. asked CII members to set up a start-up
fund to help new entrepreneurs.
How will the proposed rules impact Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan Tata,
Indian companies? however, has invested in several start-
The proposed rules prohibit e-com- ups in his personal capacity, includ-
merce entities from using any informa- ing Urban Ladder, Snapdeal,
tion collected through their platform for Lenskart, NestAway and others.
unfair advantage of its related parties Recently, the group took over a phar-
and associated enterprises. ma retailer e-commerce company
This means, for instance, that Nykaa (1mg) and grocery retailer, Big Basket.
cannot use the data it collects through Reliance group, through its
its platform to sell its own brand's prod- different businesses, has majority
ucts. Similarly, Amazon cannot promote stake in Urban Ladder, digital phar-
Solimo, its private label, over other ma marketplace Netmeds, software
brands selling similar stuff. firm C-square, etc. And Wipro’s
Similarly, Tata will not be able to pro- founder Azim Premji has a private
mote Westside or its joint venture Zara's equity and venture capital family
products over other brands. Likewise, office, PremjiInvest, that invests
its joint venture Starbucks will also not in start-ups.

75 years on, a look back at Jinnah’s infamous Direct Action Day

August 16, 1946 was the day Pakistan became a certainty we accept your offer unhesitatingly. What followed was predictable
PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

We will either have a divided India or — massive Hindu-Muslim riots, first

TCA SRINIVASA RAGHAVAN
New Delhi, 15 August
Today is the 75th anniversary of
“Direct Action Day”. For some
reason, even though it was the day
the pre-Partition killings started in
real earnest — they had begun in
February actually — India has
forgotten it although more than
4,000 people died and around a
100,000 were left homeless,
in just 72 hours.
Even the Prime Minister, with his
ill-chosen Partition Horrors Day, has
focused on August 14, which is the
Independence Day of Pakistan. Truth
be told, Pakistan became a certainty
on August 16, 1946.
Direct Action Day was the result of
the call by Mohammad Ali Jinnah for
an all-India protest by Muslims for
the creation of Pakistan. Its
immediate consequence was massive
killings of Hindus and Muslims in
Calcutta, as it was known then. The follows. On June 16, 1946, Jinnah a destroyed India.” in Bengal and then later on in Punjab,
killings went for a week. accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan. the two provinces that were
Direct Action Day was an act of On July 10, Jawaharlal Nehru, who How it happened divided a year later in 1947.
absolute perfidy by Jinnah who, until was the Congress president, said the The Muslim League Chief Minister of There were riots in Bihar and
then, had behaved with restraint. Congress reserved the right to modify Bengal, Hussein Suhrawardy, Uttar Pradesh also.
Indeed, he had even given his assent, the Cabinet Mission Plan as it saw fit. declared a public holiday on that day.
along with the Congress, Jinnah responded The Bengal Congress protested, Jinnah, the British and Nehru
to the Cabinet Mission He replied, “Go to the by saying if there was accusing Suhrawardy of indulging in After 75 years and a tidal wave of
Plan, which had Congress and ask to be no Pakistan, he “communal politics”. research, one thing is clear: the
suggested a formula for them their plans. would take direct action. Very soon both parties started Congress underestimated Jinnah’s
transfer of power to When they take you He was asked what using religious symbolism and resolve and overestimated British
Indians. But he into their confidence, they meant. precedents, but the Congress less so. good intentions. It, therefore, made
withdrew his support I will take you into He replied, “Go to the The British looked on, hoping for the huge mistakes.
saying he suspected the mine. Why do you Congress and ask them best. They did not send in the army Jinnah was going to have his
Congress of “insincerity” expect me alone to sit their plans. When they until the early hours of August 17. Pakistan, which the British also
and instead launched his with folded hands? I take you into their The Muslim held a massive rally, wanted as they saw it as a military
Direct Action Day also am going to confidence, I will take which began at noon. The usual base for safeguarding their oil
demanding a separate make trouble” you into mine. Why do communal nonsense was spoken to a interests in West Asia.
homeland for Indian you expect me alone to crowd of around 100,000. The Congress simply did not
Muslims. He even said he sit with folded hands? I also am going But there is no record of comprehend the motives. The
wanted “either a divided India to make trouble.” Suhrawardy’s speech because the Direct Action Day was the start of
or a destroyed India”. The next day, he announced police had sent only one reporter to a joint strategy that eventually
August 16, 1946 would be Direct the meeting. But everyone later resulted in the partition of India.
What and why Action Day and warned Congress, agreed that he had said that “the People were totally expendable in
The sequence of events was as “We do not want war. If you want war, police would not interfere”. that scheme of things. Mohammad Ali Jinnah