businesstoday.

in

December 12, 2021 ` 100

GREEN LIC boss

M.R. Kumar on
preparing for the

KNIGHTS
C A N I N D I A’ S T W O R I C H E S T M E N H E L P P U S H T H E
C O U N T R Y ’ S R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y O B J E C T I V E S
mega IPO

The massive
growth of mobile
gaming
WITH THEIR $30-BILLION INVESTMENTS?

Gautam Adani Mukesh Ambani

Chairman Chairman
Adani Group Reliance Industries
FROM THE EDITOR
Clean
Ambitions
W
hen Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented his
five-point agenda—which he called Panchamrit—
at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in early Novem-
ber, it was a turning point in India’s climate change
agenda. As part of the commitments, Modi an-
nounced that India would take its non-fossil energy capacity to 500
GW by 2030, and by that year India would also meet 50 per cent of its
energy requirements from renewable energy. India’s commitment to
increasing its non-fossil energy capacity ties in perfectly with the am-
bitions of the country’s two richest men—Reliance Industries Chair-
man Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani—
both of whom are now putting in place mega plans in the renewables
space. Together, their investments will eventually total $30 billion,
or over `2.2 lakh crore, indicating the kind of big money the two
groups are ready to put into clean energy. And both want a chunk of
the renewables pie in various forms: solar, wind, hybrid and hydrogen,
though their strategies are quite different from each other. Krishna
Gopalan’s cover story takes a close look at the different strategies of
the two groups, and how their clean energy ambitions are playing out.
Ambani wants to “establish and enable” at least 100 GW of solar
energy by 2030 which, given India’s target of 500 GW and current and
ongoing capacity building, means Reliance wants 100 GW of the 350
GW which remains to be built to reach India’s 2030 renewables tar-
get. The plan is to make solar photovoltaic modules, advanced energy
storage batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells and “create and offer a
fully integrated, end-to-end renewable energy ecosystem”. Ambani
plans to invest $10 billion, or `75,000 crore, over three years. While
Ambani’s plan is more about manufacturing, Adani, whose group is
already a major player in the power sector, plans to pump in $20 bil-
lion on clean energy over the next decade. The investments will go
into renewable energy generation, component manufacturing, trans-
mission and distribution. Adani’s target is to become the world’s larg-
est renewable power generator by 2030.
The cover story apart, a few words about our new look. We believe
that in today’s high-energy, on-the-move world, content must be pre-
sented to readers in a manner that is contemporary, easy to navigate
and also snacky in parts. The aim of Business Today’s latest redesign, put
together by Group Creative Editor Nilanjan Das and Deputy Creative
Editor Anirban Ghosh, is to ensure today’s reader gets the best stories in
a relatable manner. The front-of-the-book section, The Buzz, has quick
takes on some of the most important developments in the world of busi-
ness, and is followed by the longer stories. There’s also the lighter back-
of-the-book, which we call The Good Life, where we take you through
the latest trends, the funkiest gadgets and tell you how to unwind. We
sincerely hope you like this new look of your favourite magazine.
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 THE BUZZ:

CONTENTSDecember 12, 2021 | Volume 30 | Number 25

08 PHOTOGRAPHIK

Flying Again
Airports and
flights are
humming as
passengers return
to the skies
with gusto

10 THE BUZZ: POINT

Battle on
Screens
India’s OTT market
is red hot with both
global and domestic
players vying for
users’ eyeballs

4|

12 THE BUZZ:
SPOTLIGHT

Social
Showman
What’s good for
Elon Musk isn’t
always good for
investors. Or, is it?

16 THE BUZZ:
COVER STORY BRIEFINGS

40 Kishore
Biyani’s
Burden

BRINGING
Digital imaging by NILANJAN DAS

Future Retail’s
independent

HOME THE SUN

directors target
Amazon over a
2019 deal

Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani push India’s

scattered renewable energy industry to the next level
Cover by
NILANJAN DAS

Business Today 12 December 2021

 68
MONEY TODAY

The Cost
of Crypto
20 Cryptocurrencies
may be the rage,
THE BT INTERVIEW but there are some
important factors
‘We want to you should consider
tell our growth before trading
story to
investors’
M.R. Kumar,
Chairperson of
LIC of India, in a free-
wheeling chat, opens
up about how the
giant is getting ready
for its bumper listing

74
THE GOOD LIFE:
TRENDS

6| Coffee Craft
Introduce yourself
to an exquisite cup
of artisanal coffee
STOCK MARKET 26 IT SERVICES 50
You’ve Been Warned Dial India for IT
Indian retail investors have never Despite emerging competition from
been so bullish on stocks. But it is a some countries, India is still the
good time to exercise caution go-to destination for IT outsourcing

80
THE GOOD LIFE:
DOWNTIME

START-UPS 56 GAMING 62 Rock On!

Cloudy Kitchen 1,2,3,Go Music aficionado
Ajay Bijli, Chairman
With user traction and investor India is now the world’s fastest-growing and MD of PVR,
interest, the cloud kitchen business mobile gaming market, helping often croons
is entering the phase of disruption, many enthusiasts turn into professionals. with his band
but with no clear winners yet Will the momentum sustain? Random Order

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE BUZZ
PHOTOGRAPHIK THE POINT SPOTLIGHT BRIEFINGS

PHOTOGRAPHIK
Photograph by Bandeep Singh
Text by SHIVANI SHARMA

Source: Ministry of Civil Aviation, AAI, CMIE

Business Today 22 August 2021

FLYING 15.4 63.7 161.9
AGAIN MILLION
Total passenger
MILLION
Total passenger
PER CENT
The YoY rise in
AIRPORTS AND FLIGHTS
ARE HUMMING AS traffic in September traffic in the cumulative passenger
PASSENGERS RETURN TO 2021, a YoY rise April-September traffic in the April-
THE SKIES WITH GUSTO of 82.7% Business Today 22period
August 2021 September period of 2021
 THE POINT

BATTLE ON
SCREENS
By SHIVANI SHARMA
Graphics by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

353.2 MILLION
96
MILLION
The Indian OTT audience Active paid OTT
universe till August subscriptions in India
2021, translating into a across 40.07 million
penetration of 25.3% paying members
 If there’s anything that has bridged the digital divide, it’s the
smartphone. India’s booming community of smartphone users has
led to the country notching up a record number of hours online. And
Indians spend a chunk of this time in watching streaming videos. No
wonder, then, that India’s OTT market is red hot with both global and
domestic players vying for users’ eyeballs.

STEADY RISE IN SHARE OF ADVERTISING

REVENUE FOR DIGITAL AND OTT

37 %
37 %

34%
36%

3 3%
36%

31%
36%
36

27%
%
37

%
1 8%
39

23
%

FY22P
F Y21

F Y17

F Y 18
F Y20

F Y19
F Y20
F Y19
27

F Y1

2P

11%
F Y2
%

FY

FY2
23
8

11%
17

PR I N
FY

% TV T

20
17

%
22

FY
10
FY
FY

18
19
P

%
21

FY
%
FY

10
19
FY 21
20

FY
TT Y
3,654

16 19 O F P
O TH
% FY D 6% 22
N ER FY
18 A V I D EO S
FY T
OT E IN INDIA 7%
Vide n Prime
L
A

17
IT

U
EN ON
G

.7
2,229

V
DI

E LY
o 19

R A
zo
4 .5

O F FE W
1,753

Ama
t s t ar 3

TH G
1,374

E E ET LL
I M E
1,0

T LIN
.5
y+ H o

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.4

A
In

56
2025 (E)

6
T L

S H ..
N
32
do

x5
EN TA

4.

O
817

ZEE

AR
ne
SP TO

Dis ne
2021

t f li

LI V
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2020
sia

20 19

E
az

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8
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il

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3
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8

i
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17

aj
6

ted;
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al

Estim
Vo

e y
er
TB

:
1. 4
U E a te
S m i ll i o n in m
i ll i o d s u b ov
In 0. in $ nf s c w
di 8 a in or sc Di No .2
Ch 1.3 0 Au rib o s
e1
in a 02 rs gu Er b
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ou uT
er
r2

1.8 s o
fo

b a 2 1*

Y
h

t2
on
ta

se
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lli
tri

...BUT THERE’S ZEE5 9%

Netflix 20%
SPACE FOR SonyLIV 4%
Amazon Prime Video 20% EVERYONE ALTBalaji 4%
Disney+ Hotstar 17%
Others 26%
OTT video market share in FY21

*Based on primary consumer research; may vary by up to 10% from actual numbers;
P: projected; Source: Bain & Co., Statista, RBSA Advisors, Ormax Media, KPMG M&E report
 THE BUZZ — SPOTLIGHT

Social
Showman
WHAT’S GOOD for Elon Musk is not neces-
sarily good for investors in Tesla stock. Or,
is it? Munch this: the stock jumped 148 per
cent from $408.09 on November 16, 2020 to
$1,013.39 on November 15, 2021, on the NAS-
DAQ. This jump masks a nuance: $1,013.39
was a 17 per cent slide since November 5.
On November 7 (Sunday), Musk’s legion of
Twitter followers responded to his ‘poll’ on
whether he should sell 10 per cent of his Tes-
la holdings. The answer was a resounding yes
(58 per cent), Musk promptly sold his stock
the next day, and the stock promptly tanked.
(The stock has since recovered to $1,096 on
November 18.) The poll is a novel addition to
Musk’s tweets on cryptocurrencies, whose
values go up and down like puppets based
12 | on what he publicly ‘jokes’. Investors remain
on the edge, though, unsure whether their
wealth would spike or nosedive the next day.

—TEENA JAIN KAUSHAL

A Bittersweet Beginning
“The one who will define the
fortunes of the country,” said a
teary-eyed Vijay Shekhar Sharma
while explaining the phrase Bharat
Bhagya Vidhata to his foreign
shareholders. And immediately
a puny dent in his net worth as
his Paytm shares were still worth
around `8,622 crore on Novem-
ber 23. While it may be too early
to judge Sharma or Paytm, there is
no doubt that the stock market is
PHOTOGRAPH BY BANDEEP SINGH

thereafter, he said: “Everyone at quite punishing and different from

Paytm has actually done that,”
while speaking ahead of the list-
ing of Paytm shares on Novem-
ber 18. The shares listed and the
outcome was underwhelming—
in the first two days after listing,
shares of Paytm lost nearly 37
per cent in value, then recovered
9.9 per cent to `1,494.95 on No-
vember 23—the issue price was
`2,150. For Sharma, this might be
the private market where start-ups
have attained unicorn status in a
manner that defy traditional valua-
tion and financial models. Market-
men also have a funny bone. By
end of listing day, memes about
Sharma taking back the cashback
his company has given over the
years went viral on social media.
—ASHISH RUKHAIYAR
 ONE IN A THE BUZZ — SPOTLIGHT
TRILLION

THAT’S THE market capi-
talisation (`1 lakh crore) of
Nykaa upon listing. That
h a s m a d e 5 8 -ye a r - o l d
ex-banker Falguni Nayar
India’s richest self-made
female billionaire, and her
family trust offices now
have a collective worth
of about ` 54,831 crore.
There’s more. The most
pleasant ‘anomaly’ is that
the online beauty plat-
fo rm N aya r fo u n d e d in
14 |
2012 is the first profitable
Indian start-up unicorn to
hit the public market. The
`5,352-crore initial public
offering was subscribed
82.4 times. Incidentally,
popular actress Katrina
Kaif, an investor in Nykaa,
was happy to have Nayar
hog the limelight on L-day,
no mean feat. Now with the
onerous tasks of launch-
ing the company at the
public market and raising
funds behind her, Nayar
begins the next phase of
her journey—running a
public company that has
to lay itself bare to inves-
tor scrutiny every quarter.
ELECTRIC SHOCKS
BHAVISH AGGAR-
WAL appears in a spot
of bother as the downers
continue in the rollout
of Ola Electric’s first
scooters, the Ola S1 and S1
Pro. The latest bummer:
the second purchase
window will open late
December, instead of
November 1, owing to
semiconductor shortages.
Even the first purchase
window was opened
on September 15 after a
week’s delay, followed by a
much-publicised tweeted
apology from Aggarwal:
“Unfortunately we have
had many technical dif-
ficulties in making our
It has been four months
since 100,000-plus pre-
bookings were made for
electric scooters from
Bhavish Aggarwal-led
Ola; not one
has reached a
consumer’s home
so far.
website for purchases
live today... the website
was just not upto our
expectations on quality...”.
Bottom line: four months
since 100,000-plus pre-
bookings happened on
July 15, not one scooter
has reached a consumer’s
home so far. And now,
the postponement of the
second purchase window
and delivery dates has
only accelerated criticism
of the company on social
media. Ola Electric has
sought to deflect that
with an announcement of
test rides in metros such
as Delhi-NCR, Kolkata,
Ahmedabad, and since
expanded to 1,000 cities.
But that seems to have
merely served as a red flag
to a bull, with complaints
only rising. An analyst
who didn’t want to be
identified said that there’s
a big question mark on
the services of a company
that takes a week to fix its
website. And, just saying,
Aggarwal had also prom-
ised to launch Ola’s first
electric car by 2023. That
sounds further away now
than it actually might be.
And the e-scooter? Late
December. Consumers are
keeping fingers crossed.
—PRERNA LIDHOO
PHOTOGRAPH BY SANDESH RAVIKUMAR

Given that Nykaa is profit-

able, she has already got a
head start over other start-
ups lining up for IPOs. But
growth will need business
expansion—entering new
categories, opening more
stores, building a strong
(own) house of brands and
expanding internationally.
The grind begins here.
—BINU PAUL

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE BUZZ — BRIEFINGS

KISHORE
BIYANI’S BURDEN
The independent
directors of Future
Retail have swung
into action, targeting
Amazon over a
2019 deal, and
complicating an
already convoluted
situation
BY KRISHNA GOPALAN

F
16 |
or Kishore Biyani,
the period starting
from last March has
been most forget-
table. A proposed deal to sell out his
flagship did not go through after
the Supreme Court restrained it
and instead, ruled in favour of the
Seattle-based Amazon.
The story goes back to Amazon
picking up a 49 per cent stake in
Future Coupons in August 2019,
wherein the buyer had the option
to completely acquire the company.
Amazon got an indirect holding of
3.5 per cent in Future Retail Limited
(FRL), which housed formats such as
Big Bazaar, Easyday, fbb, HyperCity,
PHOTOGRAPH BY RACHIT GOSWAMI

etc. The deal brought in `1,500 crore

for debt-ridden Biyani.
Cut to the present, and FRL’s
independent directors have swung
into action, with one of them,
Ravindra Dhariwal, saying, “When There have been many bitter moments and
the promoters of FRL reached out to this is one more in the rocky relationship
Amazon last March saying the com- between Amazon and Biyani. For a deal that
pany was in dire straits, there was no
concrete help coming. Future Retail should have been sewn much earlier, it has
was under pressure since the deal not just got delayed, but remains in limbo
Business Today 12 December 2021
had to be done by September, else
they were facing a potential default.”
“With malls shutting down,
the company found itself in a very
challenging situation. This is a busi-
ness that has thin margins and high
fixed costs. Any significant drop
in volumes or revenue is a serious
challenge to cash flows and loan
repayments,” he said. Responding to
queries, an Amazon spokesperson
said, “Amazon has always remained
proactive, transparent and forthright
in its various submissions. Allega-
tions of inconsistencies in Amazon’s
filings to regulators in the ongoing
litigation with Future Group are A file photo of farmers burning copies of farm laws at Ghazipur border
misleading attempts by interested
parties. Moreover, we had consis-
tently offered to assist FRL during
the economic downturn caused by
THE AFTERMATH
Repealing the three contentious farm laws,
Covid-19 and reiterated our openness
for a dialogue even during the Delhi introduced in September 2020, would impact
High Court hearings.” The issue blew exports and the food processing sector the most
up into a crisis in the first week of BY DILASHA SETH
November when FRL’s independent | 17
directors became aware of Amazon’s

I
n one of the biggest
internal documents. policy rollbacks since
As per Dhariwal, they stated that coming to power, Prime
the investment (made in Future Cou- Minister Narendra Modi
pons and FRL thereon) was clearly announced on Novem-
ber 19 that the Centre
strategic. “The intent clearly, if laws would repeal the three conten-
permitted, was to buy over Future tious farm laws introduced in
Retail and if that was not possible, September 2020, bowing to
ensure it did not go to competition— pressure from farmers ahead of
even if it meant destruction of the Assembly elections in Punjab
and Uttar Pradesh.
company or job losses or banks not The laws were aimed to
getting back their money,” he says. remove intermediaries and
The independent directors have also allow farmers to sell their pro-
written to the Competition Commis- duce anywhere in the country.
sion of India to revoke the approval Their repeal will jeopardise the
Centre’s attempt to link small
for the Future Coupons-Amazon farmers with the food pro-
deal. “For Amazon, the entire invest- cessing units and may impact
ment was only $200 million, which India’s prospects as a potential
is a small sum for them. For such a exporter of processed foods.
Even the production-linked
PHOTOGRAPH BY YASIR IQBAL
failed to make them understand
the benefits of the new laws,
and as such, we have decided
to withdraw all three agricul-
tural laws. In the Parliament
session that starts at the end of
this month (November 29), we
will complete the constitutional
process to repeal these,” he
said, urging farmers to end their
protest and return home.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab,
Haryana and UP, have been pro-
testing for over a year, demand-
ing repeal of the laws, which
they said would allow private
players to dictate terms. They
have also been demanding a
legal guarantee on MSP.
Madan Sabnavis, chief
economist, CARE Ratings, said
that he was disappointed to see
the government repeal the “very

strategic outcome of not letting your

incentive for the food process-
competitor gain FRL, this was a small ing sector, which aimed to
price to pay.” grow farmers’ income, reduce
There have been many bitter mo- agri-waste and expand India’s
ments along the way and this is only packaged F&B manufacturing
base and exports, may now get
one more in the rocky relationship impacted.
between Amazon and Biyani. For In his address to the nation
a deal that should have been sewn on November 19, Modi said the
up much earlier, it has not just got laws were meant to strengthen
delayed, but remains in limbo. small farmers. “However, we
progressive farm laws”.
“The government failed to
communicate the benefits of
these laws to the farmers. A
number of strong lobbying
groups of middlemen did not
want the existing system to get
dismantled. Farmers’ income
would have seen a considerable
improvement had these got en-
acted,” added Sabnavis.

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE GREAT REVELLER
A new crop of advertisers helps keep cricket’s party going. Is that a good sign?
BY KRISHNA GOPALAN
18 |

I
NDIA HAS AN ADVERTISER universe of around match came at a tag of `25 lakh. After all, nothing gives you
6,000. In a market as heterogeneous as ours, cricket’s kind of reach over an unbelievably short period of

with multiple genres and languages, even the
best media planners struggle to get bang for
their buck. That is where cricket helps—it is
language neutral, region neutral, everything neutral.
Everybody (almost) in India loves cricket. Naturally, it is
the most expensive advertising platform. A 10-second
spot during the recent India-Pakistan T20 World Cup
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANI
time, good reason for broadcasters owning the rights to
cricket (Star & Disney India and Sony Pictures Sports
Network) to drive a hard bargain with advertisers.
Not much changes in this paradigm, except when India
plays badly on the field, like at the T20 World Cup. As fans
turned away from their screens, questions rose from adver-
tisers on whether it is worth spending that kind of money.

W
hile India is still some time
NO away from rolling out the
5G network, smartphone

NETWORK. companies are aggressively

increasing their 5G portfolio.

SO WHAT… Consumers, too, are future proofing their

purchases, contributing to the robust de-
mand. As a result, 5G smartphone shipments
10 million 5G are expected to hover around the 10 million
smartphones unit mark in the October-December quarter
are expected to (Q4) of 2021. For perspective, the compa-
ship in Oct-Dec rable expected number for 4G smartphones
is 34 million. “We anticipate a very marginal
2021 in India impact arising from chip shortage, as major
smartphone OEMs have prioritised 5G in
BY NIDHI SINGAL
their India strategy. However, increased input
costs could lead to higher ASPs (average
selling prices). Going forward, we foresee
stronger growth for 5G in 2022,” says Anand

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE BUZZ — BRIEFINGS

That, too, is normal—the same questions crop up with

each poor performance, and then burn up with the fire- LISTING
POSITIVE
crackers with each thumping victory. This time, though,
there are some discernible shifts. One, the advertiser
profile has changed. The FMCG companies, telcos and
handset players have now made way for a bunch of newbies A MAJORITY OF COMPANIES
such as cryptocurrency exchanges and start-ups like DELIVERED ROBUST RETURNS
CRED, Groww, Upstox and Livspace, among others. And TO INVESTORS POST LISTING
two, of the overall base of 6,000 advertisers, barely 60-70
BY RAHUL OBEROI
(1 per cent) bring in the money for the broadcaster, who

E
has paid astronomical sums to acquire the rights.
Are the returns worth the investments? Kartik ight months
Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group, says into FY22, and
it has already
cricket, despite its pricing, has proven to deliver reach
set a record
and quick awareness for brands. “The incremental sales for the amount raised
due to advertising on cricket across many categories is by companies through
now well-researched and documented.” But to Mayank initial public offerings
Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products, any ad- (IPOs). Thirty-four com-
panies have collected
vertiser looking for RoI will not go with cricket: “On a more than `90,000
CPRP (cost per rating point) basis, it is very expensive crore from the main-
for the reach delivered. One would rather look at top board through IPOs
programmes on the regional channels, where viewership since April 1 as against
does not fluctuate much.” Shah speaks for many tradi- `31,511 crore in FY21.
Data from ACE Equity
tional advertisers (FMCG being the most obvious) who showed that a majority
have moved away from cricket. of firms delivered robust
This year, advertising revenue from cricket on televi- returns to investors post
sion was around `3,700 crore—IPL and the T20 World listing. Average listing
Cup accounted for `3,300 crore, and India’s tours of gains for FY22 stood
at 33 per cent until
Australia and England, `400 crore—making it over 10 November 18, with only
per cent of what the medium is estimated to make this nine firms listing at a dis-
year. The corresponding revenue for digital would be in count. However, eight
the range of `1,200-1,400 crore. How things play out in issues delivered more
than 50 per cent gains
next year’s T20 World Cup to be followed by the 2023
on listing. Sigachi Indus-
(50-over) World Cup will be interesting to watch. Who tries listed 251 per
will be willing to write the cheques? cent higher at `575 on
November 15 against
the issue price of `163.
On November 18,
23 firms traded higher
than their issue price.
With a gain of over 312
per cent, Paras Defence
& Space Technologies
topped the list.
Market watchers
believe strong liquidity
amid low-interest rates,
a robust secondary
market and increased
retail participation have
mainly supported the
primary market. Paytm
made a tepid debut | 19
on November 18 as
the stock declined 27
per cent to `1,564.15
from the issue price of
`2,150 on opening day.
However, Nykaa and
Policybazaar shares
gained 88 per cent and
35.81 per cent, respec-
tively, against their is-
sue prices.

Priya Singh, Analyst–Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), LEADERBOARD

Top five IPOs trading above the issue price since April 1
CyberMedia Research (CMR).
What is also helping is that 5G smartphones are get- Company Up from issue price (%)
ting increasingly affordable. Value-for-money smart- Paras Defence & Space Tech 312.29
phones priced at `7,000-24,000 are the most popular, Sigachi Industries 251.01
accounting for around 50 per cent share of shipments; Macrotech Developers 183.61
premium 5G smartphones priced at `25,000-50,000
Sona BLW Precision Forgings 144.36
are at 40 per cent. The Q4 predictions follow momen-
Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem 137.06
tum witnessed in Q3 (June-September) 2021, where
5G smartphones, at 10.3 million shipments, accounted
for 22 per cent of India’s overall smartphone market. TRAILING BEHIND
And as the smartphone brands, including OnePlus, Bottom five IPOs trading below the issue price

OPPO, Realme, Samsung and Vivo, prioritised 5G Company Down from issue price (%)
smartphones, collectively they shipped 5G smart- Windlas Biotech -35.80
phones in excess of $3 billion in Q3. Amongst the CarTrade Tech -35.08
models, Vivo Y72 and OnePlus Nord 2 were the most
Krsnaa Diagnostics -31.72
shipped 5G models in Q3 2021. Apple’s new iPhone
13 series and the now aggressively-priced iPhone 12 One97 Communications -27.25
series, too, are all 5G-enabled. Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC -17.75

Data as of November 18, 2021; Source: BSE, ACE Equity

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE BT INTERVIEW

‘We want to tell

our growth story
to investors’
M.R. Kumar, Chairperson of Life Insurance Corporation of
India, in a free-wheeling chat, opens up about how the giant is
getting ready for its bumper listing, among other things
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MANDAR DEODHAR

20 |
H e is a busy man.
As Chairperson
of the Life
Insurance
Corporation
of India (LIC),
M.R. Kumar, 61, is preparing the
insurance giant for an IPO. The public
listing will make LIC one of the most
valued companies in terms of market
capitalisation. And Kumar, who took
charge in March 2019, will leave office
by March 2022, the deadline for taking
LIC public. In an interaction with
Business Today’s Sourav Majumdar and
Anand Adhikari, Kumar talks about how
the insurance giant is gearing up for
the IPO, the changes expected after
the listing, and the way ahead. Edited
excerpts:
Q: Under your leadership, LIC will
create history in its 65-year journey by
listing on the stock exchanges. What
will be your investment pitch?
A: We have to build a growth story. We have been
growing despite competition from the private
sector. We must tell investors that this is what we
have done after the insurance sector opened up...
how we have been holding on to market share and
growing year after year. Going forward, we will do
the same thing, and also differently, to add value
for the shareholders. We are the world’s third best-
known brand, as per a recent study. LIC is the only
Indian brand featured in that study, which gave it a
valuation of $24 billion. Nowhere in the world after
opening up the insurance sector will you find a PSU
(public sector undertaking) or government-owned
entity holding on to its market share (we hold 60-70
per cent). As a PSU, we are different. We have plans
to expand globally.
Q: The public listing is likely to see
LIC rubbing shoulders with RIL, TCS
and HDFC Bank in terms of market
Business Today 12 December 2021
capitalisation. What will be the big
change once you list?
A: I put it this way. We were always very competitive
[but] we will become far more competitive because
we will have a different set of people who are going to
invest in us. We need to ensure that they get value for
their investment. That is going to be a big change. It’s
like getting married. Once we get the first thing [list-
ing] done, then we know where we stand. After that,
we will have to work on how we are going to bench-
mark ourselves... probably [against the] top insurance
firms across the globe. That is the way to go.
In terms of size, there are a couple of Chinese insur-
ance companies [like] China Life Insurance… [and]
Ping An Insurance... They are doing very well on the
digital side. Digital transformation is something that
we are also doing.
Q: There seems to be a lot of froth in the
IPO market. Some companies that have | 21
been incurring losses without any clear
path to profitability are commanding
massive valuations. How do you look at
“We will have to benchmark
ourselves with probably
top insurance firms across
the globe… In terms of size,
there are a couple of Chinese
insurance companies...
China Life [and]… Ping An...
They are doing very well on
the digital side”
that as you head towards an IPO?
A: There are two ways of looking at valuations. One
is the intrinsic value of the company and the brand.
The other is the future growth story for the company.
We have 250 million customers in a country of 1.25-1.3
billion people. That is the journey left to be covered.
Therefore, there is a growth story. Maybe some
[companies] do not get that kind of [profits]. But
people are still investing and it is growing the froth
that you talk about because people believe that there
 THE BT INTERVIEW

is a growth phase and it is going to happen in the

future. I don’t mind waiting. I’m not looking for
listing gains. I am interested in investing in an en-
tity that is going to give me good value over time.
Do you remember the year 2000 when we had
Y2K? We had a lot of start-ups then, especially IT
companies. Some may have fallen by the wayside,
but many continue to persist. Now they have fan-
tastic valuations. So, there was a growth story.

Q: What is the morale like, and what

work has been done since your IPO
was announced?
A: It’s a very exciting time and the morale is very
high. We have a group of 100 people working with
us right from the day of the IPO announcement.
We had SBI Caps and Deloitte as advisors. Subse-
quently, we have got 10 book-running lead manag-
ers. We have experts from within the organisation
as well because that is very much required. There
are experts from investment, marketing and fi-
nance. We have a dedicated IPO cell called Project
Management Unit headed by an ED, and different
sets of people are given different tasks based on
what the bankers and legal counsel want us to do.
22 | We have Milliman, a very well-known interna-
tional firm, helping us to find out the embedded
value (EV). There were huge challenges initially
because our database is humongous. Now, to run
through all the products of our 280 million poli-
cies itself was a humongous exercise. So slowly,
but surely, we are getting there. And once the
EV is determined, after that the rest of the work
will happen. But simultaneously, of course, we
are working on things like DRHP (draft red her-
ring prospectus).

Q: How complicated or challenging

is this exercise to calculate the EV?
A: The embedded value comes out of every
product and every policy. There is an asset share
built into every product. We have never done this
exercise, possibly because it was not mandated
by the regulator. This is a process that takes a
lot of time because you need to have the proper
software, which is not available in India. We “[Shareholder activism] is here
got the software from an enterprise called FIS, to stay, and it is a good thing…
which is based out of Singapore. The software is It keeps people mindful of their
called Prophet... It’s called so maybe because it business, the way they run
brings out the EV, the value that you cannot see. their businesses. So long as the
There were also challenges in terms of the size activism is not going overboard
and scale of the corporation. We required more
capacity. We required more servers. And all this
or going beyond a point, it
was happening during the pandemic... so many makes good sense”
of these people were working from home. EY, the

Business Today 12 December 2021

implementation advisor, the reporting ON THE We have a standard operating procedure
actuary, were all working from home. CHANGE AFTER for long-term investments. If we believe
That was a challenge [and] that’s prob- LISTING a company will do well in the long term,
ably why it is taking a little longer. But, as we look at it. But we do not participate in
We will become
I said, it’s a share of every product, every far more IPOs. We wait for the listing and value cre-
policy that adds value to the valuation. competitive ation. Price discovery is important. Once
because we have the price discovery takes place in the stock
Q: Do you think the whole a different set of market, then we want to know how this
people who are
buzz about the LIC IPO is going to invest
company is going to fare in, say, the next
coming at the right time? in us. We need two-five years or 10-20 years.
What is your sense of the to ensure that
timing? they get value for Q: You said the morale of the
A: I think that market timing is not their investment. employees is high. But some
That is going to
very important. To me, it depends on be a big change. link the IPO to privatisation.
the valuation. It depends on what your It’s like getting What do you have to say?
strengths are, and what story you are married. A: I don’t think that is an issue. They [the
bringing to the table. And if people be- employees] have understood this is not
lieve in that story—whether it is a good ON HIGH IPO privatisation. It’s just the government
time of the market or not—people are VALUATIONS selling a small stake. It is about retail
going to invest. That’s the way I look at it. participation. I get people to participate
There are two in the growth story of LIC. I’m not saying
ways of looking
Q: There is this talk about that only I will get the profits and I will
at valuations.
policyholders getting some One is the distribute it only to customers. We want
benefit in the IPO. What’s intrinsic value of the other shareholders to have a piece of
your view? the company and the cake as well. There is nothing wrong
A: This is the first time—I don’t know the brand. The with that. And as for the government, it | 23
other is the future
globally, but certainly in India. We want growth story for has amended the LIC Act to the extent
participation. We also want to give back the company. that it [the stake] will not go below 51 per
to the policyholders who have been faith- cent. There is no worry on that front.
ful and loyal for a long time and it will ON EMBEDDED
help them. If it works, the policyholders’ VALUE Q: What would change post the
participation is going to expand the capi- listing in terms of corporate
tal market. We have 60 million demat The embedded structure, governance,
accounts, but 250 million customers. You value comes out compliance and disclosures?
of every product
can easily see the gap. I know many of and every Are there any areas you are
them are in Tier II and Tier III cities and policy. There is looking at tightening?
may not be interested, but still, there is a an asset share A: I wouldn’t say tightening, but yes, we
substantial number of investors who are built into every will have other metrics on which we will
our policyholders. product. We have be measured, especially from the regulato-
never done this
exercise possibly ry viewpoint, especially SEBI (Securities
Q: But will it be at a discount? because it was and Exchange Board of India). The SEBI
A: That could be most likely. But that is not mandated by LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure
something we have to talk about and get the regulator. Requirements) regulations will apply to us
the approvals. There are no guidelines once we are listed. We have created a small
as such for customers or policyholders. ON FEARS OF team. We have a Company Secretary now.
There are already guidelines, though, PRIVATISATION He will be able to take care of the SEBI
for employees on getting shares at a LODR and SEBI regulatory issues. We
[The employees]
discount. have understood have a separate compliance team for the
this is not Insurance Regulatory and Development
Q: Do your investment privatisation. It’s Authority of India (IRDAI). We have set
committees consider the government up those systems and we are continuing to
investing in start-ups like selling a small set them up as we go along. By the time the
stake.
Zomato or Paytm? listing happens, we will be fully compliant
A: We are driven by the investment reg- and we will have the people in place to do
ulation that is there from the regulator. the jobs.

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE BT INTERVIEW

Q: What would be the top

management structure and
Board strength post the IPO?
A: In future, there will be an MD and CEO be-
cause that is what all listed companies have. The
Board composition is decided in the Companies
Act. So, whatever the maximum limit is—15
directors or so—we will be compliant with that.
Going forward, we will get experts from the in-
dustry or others who would fit into the scheme
of things.

Q: As LIC, you have invested in

firms. That’s one core area of
your activity. And here you are
becoming an investee company.
How do you perceive this change of
role for the organisation?
A: It’s a different role. We are conscious of
the fact and very mindful of the fact that just
as we were doing due diligence about other

“In a country like ours, we

24 |
need to cover people first
before we talk about insurance
penetration… There are 300
million policyholders in a
population of 1.3 billion”

companies, and the way we were giving valu-

ation numbers to them, and decided whether
we should invest in them, that is what people
will do to us. This is precisely what it is all
about. And we are very mindful of that. But at
the same time, we are very confident because I
think we have done a very good job in the past
65 years. We are confident that people will give
us a thumbs-up.

Q: You are a very important

player in the equity markets. How
does LIC see this growing trend
of shareholder activism?
A: I believe that it is here to stay. And it is a good
thing—because it keeps everyone on their toes.
It keeps people mindful of their business, the
way they run their businesses. So long as the
activism is not going overboard or not going be-
yond a point, I think it makes good sense to have
shareholder activism. Proxy advisory firms
have a role to play. If people play their role within
the boundaries, it is good for everybody.
Q: In the Zee-Invesco case, it is one
large investor raising a question
on governance. How does LIC view
these developments, especially this
particular case?
A: We don’t play too active a role. We don’t want
to get into the daily activities that are happening
in companies. We keep a watchful eye over the
proceedings. We try to make out whether this is
going to impact my return and whether it would
impact my policyholders’ interests in the long
term. Keeping all these [in mind], we take a call.
We do keep a close watch.
Q: The entire profit-sharing
arrangement between policyholders
and shareholders will change
from 95:5 to 90:10 for participating
businesses. What is the glide path?
A: This is something we are working on. This hap-
pened way back in 2012; the regulator said that
you can have 90:10. And let’s remember that 90:10
is for participating policies; for non-participating
ones, it is 100 per cent. We have a common fund,
which is a participating one. Therefore, we had to
do this sometime or the other. But at that point in
time, the government was kind enough to say that
you give me 5 per cent, and you give 95 per cent
to policyholders. The policyholders have enjoyed
a higher share for almost a decade. I don’t think
90:10 should be an issue because they know that
the rest of the industry is in tune with the regula-
tions. Therefore, we will have to be in sync with
the regulation going forward. But we are planning
it: how to do it, in what frame to do it, whether to
do it in two or three years. We should be doing
that [in less than five years].
Q: LIC has a large agents’ network
while the private sector uses
the cost-effective bancassurance
channel to tap new business. What
are your plans?
A: The agents’ network may be [loaded with
costs] but if they do enough business, the costs
reduce over time. The agents are helping us with
better persistency. Persistency is a very impor-
tant metric in the insurance industry because
it indicates how many policyholders are paying
premiums regularly. We have done very well on
the 13th or 37th or 61st month of persistency. We
may be a little behind on the 49th month. All this
Business Today 12 December 2021
is contributed by the agents. Just by sending an SMS
to a policyholder, he is not going to pay the premium.
The agent’s personal touch makes a difference. I can
manage the cost [of agents]. I can absorb it.
Q: How does the post-Covid-19 market
scenario look to you?
A: My sense is that things will taper off a little bit, es-
pecially the equity market. The markets have gone up
substantially. I think they have only corrected from
the downward movement that they had in early 2020.
If you look at broadly the five-year line of the Sensex
or Nifty, you will find that markets have been steadily
rising except for that blip in March last year. I am sure
that will continue for some time to come, but it may
not grow at the same rate. Naturally, it will taper off.
There is a lot of liquidity in the system now. The day
the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) or regulator decides
to [withdraw the liquidity]—and there has been talk
about that— it will probably taper off a little. But the
long-term story of the market is intact.
“Just by sending an SMS
to a policyholder, he is not | 25
going to pay the premium.
The agent’s personal touch
makes a difference”
Q: Life insurance penetration has been
on a decline from a high of 4.6 per cent
in 2009 to 2.7 per cent of the GDP now.
Has the pandemic changed anything in
terms of awareness?
A: We have to learn for ourselves. If you look at
insurance penetration as a percentage of GDP, we
are nowhere near global levels. We are looking at the
wrong metric. We have to look at insurance cover-
age first. We have to look at the protection gap.
Coverage and protection are low. Therefore, there’s
a protection gap. Unless I fill these two things, I
should not be talking about penetration. The den-
sity of penetration is talking about premium. But
in a country like ours, we need to cover people first
before we talk about that. Let’s look at it differently.
Let us create different metrics here. So, we have 250
million customers. Let’s say the private sector put
together has 50 million [customers]. There are only
300 million policyholders in a population of 1.3 bil-
lion. Where are we?
@TheSouravM and @anandadhikari
 STO C K M A R K E T — RETAIL INVESTORS

YOU’VE BEEN
WARNED
INDIAN RETAIL
INVESTORS HAVE
NEVER BEEN
SO BULLISH ON
STOCKS. THEY
COME TO THE
MARKET IN
HORDES, AND TRY
EVERY TRICK AND
AVENUE—FROM
26 |
PENNY STOCKS TO
ALGOS—TO MAKE
A QUICK BUCK. BUT
EVEN WITH THE
EUPHORIA, IT IS
A GOOD TIME TO
EXERCISE CAUTION

BY ASHISH
RUKHAIYAR
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
NIL ANJAN DAS
` 86,000
crore
Net investment in 2021 (till
September) by retail investors
in NSE cash segment

` 51,200
crore
Net investment in 2020 by
retail investors in NSE
cash segment

Source: NSE
 STO C K M A R K E T — RETAIL INVESTORS
I
“IF YOU DON’T FIND
a way to make money while you
sleep, you will work until you die.”
What Warren Buffett meant
was that one should have a steady
income stream in place, irrespec-
28 | tive of whether one is working,
vacationing or sick. Or perhaps,
even when one is literally sleeping!
But as is the case with most adages,
people have interpreted the legend-
ary investor’s words in a way that
suits their actions or convenience.
Record numbers of retail, or
individual, investors in India are
entering the stock markets and
capitalising on the year-and-a-
RUSH HOUR
More and more people are joining
the stock market bandwagon
2,000
New client registrations
(in thousands)
1,500
1,000
500
0 0
Sep-20 MONTHLY
Source: NSE
half-long bull run—some even
while sleeping. What else would
explain the investor behaviour in
the market currently, especially in
the cash (or spot) market?
According to data from the
National Stock Exchange (NSE)—
the country’s largest by market
share in the cash and derivatives
market—net investment by the
retail segment was `51,200 crore
in 2020 in the cash market. That
has already risen to `86,000 crore
this year till September.
This is much higher than the
institutional participation in the
same period. As per NSE, foreign
portfolio investors (FPIs)—tra-
ditionally considered the prime
traders accounted for 45 per cent
of all investors on the NSE in FY21,
a significant jump from 33 per cent
in FY16. More than a million new
accounts were created in each
month this calendar year, with a
new high being set each month.
That’s no surprise, considering
the Indian stock market is among
the best performing globally this
year. The benchmark Sensex and
Nifty have gained nearly 27 per cent
and 30 per cent, respectively, this
year through November 10. Gener-
ally, this sort of retail interest is
the hallmark of a healthy equity
investment culture as people opt
for well-regulated and transparent
public markets over physical, but
drivers of a bull run in the Indian opaque, asset classes such as real
stock market—have been net sell- estate and gold.
ers so far, at `30,600 crore, in the However, the market’s bull run
cash market. And while domestic has a few worrying signals. Stocks
institutional investors (DIIs) are across sectors are at record highs,
net buyers, the amount is a mere as are valuations, but without a
`9,700 crore, as per the exchange. corresponding shift in fundamen-
This contrast is also reflective tals. A cursory glance through
of the record number of retail India Inc.’s financial reports
investors that have entered the clearly shows headwinds looming,
market since the pandemic. Retail such as rising crude prices and in-
CLICK TO TRADE
The mobile is increasingly becoming
the preferred device for trading
20
Share of mobile
trading (in %)
15
10
5
Sep-21 Oct-15 YEARLY Oct-21
Source: BSE
Business Today 12 December 2021

flation, which are bound to impact
profit margins.
Concerns of an impending cor-
rection have increased, almost in
lockstep with the stock market’s
gains. Many market experts be-
lieve investors—especially the av-
erage retail ones—should reduce
their exposure to the market as
stretched valuations, the slowing
pace of foreign inflows and margin
pressures have increased the prob-
ability of a steep correction.
In fact, CLSA believes Indian
equities are “on borrowed time”
and has listed 10 reasons to book
profits. “Our concerns range from
elevated energy and broader input
price pressures applying down-
ward pressure on margins … (to)
The
Warning
Signs
Inflationary pressures
leading to tighter
monetary policy
Foreign investors
increasing quantum
of outflows
Expensive valuations
pushing up probability
of a correction
Weak global cues a
constant headwind
Earnings getting hit due
to higher input costs | 29
rich valuations, a high probability
of earnings disappointment, and a
potential lack of marginal buyers.”
These factors, the global broking
and research firm said in a report,
“add to our motivation to book
profits on India”.
“Many times, Retail investors, though, have
undesirable only been increasing their bets
elements take in the stock market and are even
trying innovative ways to make
advantage of money while the party lasts.
gullible investors Even if that means increasing the
by making promises risk quotient.
that are too good
to be true” Rise of the Software
Ankush Sawant is no novice
AJAY TYAGI trader. The 37-year-old Mumbai-
Chairman, Securities and based techie started with intra-
Exchange Board of India day trading in 2008 and moved to
Business Today 12 December 2021
STO C K M A R K E T — RETAIL INVESTORS

2008 2011

BLAST FROM 2007

Sensex
crosses
Global
financial crisis
Commonwealth
+ Telecom scam

THE PAST 20,000

propelled 2009
Satyam scam
Between 2018
and 2019
by global PNB scam and
History tells us that liquidity IL&FS crisis
when the Sensex scales 2021
a peak, a crash is not 2020 Sensex
too far away Covid-19 crosses
triggers crash 60,000

60,000
2021
1992 Sensex crosses
Harshad 2002 Ketan 50,000
50,000
Mehta scam Parekh scam
2006
Sensex
40,000 crosses
10,000
due to
30,000 commodity
boom in
1991 Landmark 2000
global
Union Budget Tech boom
20,000 markets
opens up India’s pushes
economy Sensex
beyond
10,000 5,000 2019 Sensex
1990 Sensex
2017 Sensex crosses
crosses 1,000
crosses 30,000 40,000
0
1981
1982

1984

2000
2001
2002

2005
2006

2010

2012
2013

2015
2016
2017
2018

2021
1980

1983

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

2003
2004

2007

2009

2011

2014

2020
2019
2008

Figures are BSE Sensex closing values; Source: BSE

derivatives in 2012. By 2015, after
a few misplaced bets, he realised
that a long-term, fundamentals-
based view was the only prudent
approach to make money in the
stock market.
But Sawant’s resistance ca-
pitulated this year amid the retail
euphoria. He started dabbling
in commodities, about which he
has very little insight. More im-
portantly, he adopted algorithm-
based trading.
“A few months back, I started
using algos for trading,” says
Sawant. “These algos fire
trades based on predetermined
parameters and I have no role
in the stock selection or trade
execution. With the help of algos,
I have started trading in silver as
well. The vendor has assured me a
minimum rate of return in lieu of a
fixed annual fee.”
Sawant is not alone. He’s
part of a growing breed of new,
tech-savvy investors ready to use
software tools to try their luck in
the capital market.
Many unregulated algo plat-
forms have mushroomed in the
country, luring clients with the
promise of a minimum rate of
return or even by pitching a profit-
sharing arrangement. These
platforms connect directly
to an investor’s trading account
and make trades without any
manual intervention.
“This is a concern, with people
selling off-the-shelf kind of algos.
Investors go to these platforms
because they promise extraordi-
nary returns. Some even work on
profit-sharing arrangements,”

Business Today 12 December 2021

 STO C K M A R K E T — RETAIL INVESTORS
says Nithin Kamath, Founder
and CEO of Zerodha, India’s
largest broking firm in terms of
active clients.
“These platforms are selling
greed by claiming that investors
can make a certain percentage of
return every month. If they are
regulated, they will not be
allowed to sell returns, and a lot
of problems will get resolved
automatically. As of today, it is
not a very large market, but it can
potentially become large if left
unchecked. There are risks
around these strategies, like ex-
ecution risks, front running, etc,”
says Kamath.
There is also a bigger risk,
one that any software perhaps
cannot compute.
Warning Signs
1992. 2002. 2008.
History is replete with instanc-
es of the vast universe of midcap,
smallcap and the so-called penny
32 | stocks galloping ahead of their
fundamentals, only for a steep cor-
rection to follow.
And history seems to be repeat-
ing itself now. Both the BSE Mid-
cap and BSE Smallcap indices have
outperformed the benchmarks
this calendar year. Except in the
past month or so, which is the
worrying sign.
In the month through No-
vember 10, the Smallcap index
shed nearly 1 per cent, while
both Sensex and Nifty logged
marginal gains. More importantly,
the broader indices lost ground in
many sessions recently, while the
benchmarks traded strongly or
closed higher. These are similar to
the trends that were a precursor to
corrections in earlier periods.
While it is anybody’s guess if
and when the market will eventu-
ally correct, the warning lights are
flashing. And retail investors, by
virtue of their burgeoning expo-
sure, need to be the most cautious.
Especially because many of them
entered the market last year when
stocks were battered by the pan-
demic, and have since ridden the
crest of the rally. In other words,
they have never experienced
losses or a downturn.
For them, a word of caution
from the highest echelon—
Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of India’s
capital markets regulator, the
Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI). “The
first thing the investors need to
understand is that any financial
investment comes with a
set of risks,” Tyagi said at The
“Any kind
of overexposure to
equities is
risky, especially
in high-growth,
but not
fundamentally
strong companies”
NITHIN KAMATH
Founder & CEO, Zerodha
India International Trade Fair
in mid-November. “If they are not
able to assess the suitability of a
particular financial
product, it might be wiser to
remain away from it rather than
going the wrong way. Investors
should be careful against getting
carried away by the lure of unre-
alistic returns in the securities
market. Many times, undesirable
elements take advantage
of gullible investors by making
promises that are too good to
be true. Investors are advised to
be cautious of such offerings.”
Business Today 12 December 2021
While retail investors might be
turning a blind eye to the signs,
one set of traders is not.
Drivers Take the
Back Seat
More often than not, FPIs have
been at the forefront of any bull
run in the Indian stock market. In
other words, they also tradition-
ally lead the race to the exits.
And while the emergence of
DIIs—such as mutual funds,
pension funds and insurance
companies, among others—in the
past couple of years has acted as a
strong counterbalance, the signals
by FPIs cannot be ignored this
time around.
Though FPIs have been net buy-
ers at $6.9 billion this year through
November 16, that is significantly
lower than the previous year’s $23
billion and the $14.4 billion
in 2019. Further, FPIs have
pressed the sell button recently,
offloading shares worth nearly
$2.5 billion between October and
mid-November.
Foreign investors come to
emerging markets, including
India, lured by the promise of re-
turns such economies offer when
interest rates are low in developed
markets. But, with reports that
global central banks, including
the US Federal Reserve, are look-
ing to raise rates, markets such as
India are likely to see a continued
slowdown in the pace of invest-
ments by FPIs.
And history shows that even
DIIs will be hard-pressed to bal-
ance the scales when FIIs stam-
pede for the exits.
The Sensex tumbled more than
52 per cent in 2008 when FPIs
were net sellers at nearly
$12 billion. In 2018, the index rose
less than 6 per cent as foreign
investors offloaded Indian shares
worth $4.4 billion. To highlight
the opposite effect, the Sensex
rose 28 per cent in 2017 on the
back of nearly $8 billion worth of
foreign inflows.
But more than the demons of
 STO C K M A R K E T — RETAIL INVESTORS

INDEX RETURNS INTEREST GROWING

The midcap and smallcap indices have Cash segment is seeing greater
outperformed the Sensex and Nifty investor interest than F&O
Returns (in %)
80 50
1-month 6-months Year-to-date*
Cash market
60.55
60 40
45.27
40 30
28.52 26.06 29.69
22.76 26.08 21.32 Equity F&O (premium turnover)
20 20
0.36 0.4 1.58 -0.64
0 10
* Till November 10
-20 0
Sensex Nifty BSE BSE FY16 YEARLY FY22
midcap smallcap
Source: BSE, NSE Figures are share of retail turnover (in %); Source: NSE

the past, the unicorns of the future
are luring investors.
Racing Ahead
of Fundamentals
Zomato listed on the stock market a
34 | few months ago, while Nykaa made
a blockbuster debut in November.
Paytm’s hotly-anticipated debut
turned out to be a damp squib on
November 18, with shares falling
27 per cent below the IPO price.
These start-ups offer tremen-
dous growth potential, but almost
none has any near-term plans for
profitability. Yet, many investors
don’t consider such weak funda-
mentals (relative to larger, listed
peers) a hindrance and are snapping
up these stocks. That adds a new
layer of risk, says Kamath. “We are
in a bull market, but it could poten-
tially turn around any time. Any
kind of overexposure to equities is
risky, especially in high-growth but
not fundamentally strong compa-
nies. Currently, there seems to be
overexposure to such companies
because of the IPOs,” says Kamath.
Dhiraj Relli, MD and CEO,
HDFC Securities, has a similar
view. “Markets are up for correc-
tion. The current euphoria is up for
a reality check. We have been cau-
tioning retail investors to be very
selective in markets while focussing
only on well-run companies.”
Not everyone is convinced,
though. Like Shankar Sharma, a
market expert well known for his
frank views. “We are still in a phase
wherein taking too little risk or no
risk is foolish. We have come out of
a big bear market (last year) and the
monetary policies of central banks
globally have ensured that the risk
“There is an
increased
propensity of
risk-taking among
investors and... it
is wrong to assume
that everyone
is foolish”
SHANKAR SHARMA
Vice Chairman & Joint MD,
First Global
is off the table for some time,” says
Sharma, Vice Chairman and Joint
MD of investment management
firm First Global. “There is an
increased propensity of risk-taking
among investors and, with so many
new investors coming to the mar-
kets, it is wrong to assume that ev-
eryone is foolish. One shouldn’t be
totally sceptical. The environment
is conducive for risk-taking.”
While only time will tell if or
when a correction will occur, it
is also foolhardy to ignore the
warning signs. There are clear
indications that the stock market
is in uncharted territory and the
underlying drivers are brittle. Even
the international environment
seems to be advocating caution—
the possibility of a sooner-than-
expected US rate hike, a weakening
Chinese economy, high energy
prices and input costs, and the
phased withdrawal of stimulus
by central banks. Many first-time
investors dove into India’s capital
market last year and were lifted
by the rising tide. But the water is
getting choppy and they would do
well to not misappropriate Buffett’s
words this time. “It’s only when the
tide goes out that you learn who has
been swimming naked.”
@ashishrukhaiyar

Business Today 12 December 2021

 INDUSTRY — TELECOM

B E YO N D
THE SKIES
36 |

T H E N A S C E N T S AT E L L I T E C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
INDUSTRY COULD PROPEL THE NEXT BIG
R E VO LU T I O N I N T H E T E L E C O M S PAC E .
W H E R E D O E S I N D I A S TA N D ?

BY MANU KAUSHIK
ILLUSTRATION BY NILANJAN DAS

Business Today 12 December 2021

2%
INDIA’S MARKET
SHARE (AROUND
$7 BILLION) IN THE
GLOBAL SATELLITE
INDUSTRY IN 2021

10%
INDIA’S ESTIMATED
MARKET SHARE
(OVER $50
BILLION) IN THE
GLOBAL SATELLITE
INDUSTRY IN 2030

Source: Satcom
Industry
Association
 I
INDUSTRY — TELECOM
38 |
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT TWO YEARS
from now, you will have another dish perched on your
balcony or roof—just like the now-ubiquitous DTH dish.
This new dish would provide broadband connectivity not
just within your house, but also outside of it through the
on-ground infrastructure that will be likely connected
to satellites hovering 500 km above the Earth’s surface.
Welcome to the future of internet and connectivity.
Satellite communication systems have been around
for some time, but a lot has changed recently. In the past
three years, eight policies directly and indirectly related
to satellite communications (or satcom) have been an-
nounced. Two policies—Draft Spacecom Policy 2020 and
National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018—
are shaping the sector in a big way. “The government is
enabling an environment through a slew of draft policies,
which is spawning a new industry,” says Anil Prakash, Di-
rector General, Satcom Industry Association (SIA-India).
The commercial launch of satcom services in India
is expected next year, and companies such as Starlink,
OneWeb and others are prepping for the big fight. They
have plans to send thousands of LEO (low-Earth orbit)
satellites into space, and spend billions of dollars to
provide global coverage. But their approach and target
customers are likely to be different. Bharti Group-backed
OneWeb, for instance, is planning to sell services to the
government, defence, and businesses such as telcos,
airlines, banks, educational institutions, etc. In addition
to backhaul (the connection between core and access
Business Today 12 December 2021
“This is a fast moving
area. A lot of trust has
been put on the private
sector coming into the
space sector. The next
couple of years will be
critical to ensure that
private enterprises are
able to contribute in a
meaningful manner”
Pawan Goenka, Chairman, In-SPACe
networks), Starlink would reach consumers directly, and
sell them broadband services. “As the economy becomes
more digital, alternate technologies for broadband com-
munications will emerge. The NDCP 2018 clearly states
the need for alternate technologies to provide connec-
tivity to everyone,” says a senior executive with one of
the large satcom firms, on the condition of anonymity.
So how does the LEO satcom work? At first, satellites
are placed in orbit, which is 500 to 2,000 km from Earth.
These satellites are smaller in size and make 12-16 turns
per day around the planet. Since each satellite covers a
limited geography (because they are closer to Earth),
they work effectively in a constellation (a group of a
thousand satellites). For global coverage, a large constel-
lation is required. As these satellites roam around the
Earth, they communicate with ground stations where
satellite terminals are placed to transmit data from
satellite-to-Earth and back.
Today, satcom tech is comparable to terrestrial 5G ser-
vices in terms of speed and latency. “India has emerged as
the second-largest telecom market in the world. Despite
the growth in digital broadband connectivity, there are
large parts of India that remain digitally unconnected.
Satellite communication is a boon for ubiquitous con-
nectivity. Satellite connectivity also complements mobile
network connectivity. Apart from commercial applica-
tions such as broadband, broadcast and Sat IoT, satcom
is vital in defence, coastal security, border surveillance,
disaster management, mission critical operations and
strategic applications,” says Parag Naik, Co-founder and
 SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS, CURRENTLY USED

LOG IN TO SPACE BY SELECT SECTORS, COULD BECOME THE NEXT

BIG THING FOR THE TELECOM INDUSTRY

Companies such These satellites will provide The initial use

as Bharti Group- data connectivity to end case would
backed OneWeb, consumers, businesses be to provide
Elon Musk’s Starlink, and governments connectivity in
Amazon’s Project remote areas but
Kuiper and Telesat eventually the
Lightspeed plan to services will be
send satellites to available to all
low-Earth orbit (LEO) telecom users

OneWeb has applied
for gateway licence
with the DoT, and is
likely to start services
by mid-2022
Starlink is Satellites are currently used for Recent policies also
also expected communication in sectors such aim to increase the
to enter the as TV, defence, maritime, aviation, involvement of the private
Indian market road and rail transport, agriculture, sector in the satellite
next year disaster management, etc. communications space

CEO, Saankhya Labs. Plus, 10 years ago, the upfront capi-
tal expenditure to put up satellites was huge. The costs
have come down sharply in the past few years.
As per SIA-India, however, there are huge gaps in our
broadband network. Estimates suggest we need at least 1
million Wi-Fi hotspots whereas the current number is less
than 0.1 million. The BharatNet project aims to connect
250,000 gram panchayats across 650,000 villages. As per
the government’s assessment, 10 per cent of these villages
cannot be connected through terrestrial networks. It’s
easier and faster (and cheaper) to connect any location
with satellite broadband because setting up the terrestrial
infrastructure requires extensive civil work and approv-
als. In comparison, satcom requires just ground stations
to provide coverage. “By 2025, 12,000-14,000 satellites
will be hovering over Earth. These are high-throughput
satellites with low latency,” says Prakash.
An October report by Verified Market Research
said the size of the global satcom market is expected
to increase from $65.68 billion in 2020 to $131.68 bil-
lion in 2028, a CAGR of 9.1 per cent. SIA-India expects
India’s market share in the global satellite industry pie
to rise from 2 per cent in 2021 to 10 per cent before 2030.
Experts say higher private sector participation is going
to drive this growth. At the launch of space body ISpA
(Indian Space Association) recently, PM Narendra Modi
said that Indian space has been dominated by a single
umbrella of Indian government and government institu-
tions, but there is a need to have no restrictions on Indian
talent, whether it is in the public or private sector.
“This is a fast moving area. A lot of trust has been put | 39
on the private sector coming into space. Policies have
been revised. Technology has been shared. The next
couple of years will be critical to ensure that private
enterprises are able to contribute in a meaningful man-
ner. My role is to put the private industry on board,” says
Pawan Goenka, Chairman of Indian National Space Pro-
motion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), a nodal
agency under the Department of Space.
This is the second time for the global private sector
to take a plunge in space communications. In the 1990s,
Iridium, Globalstar, Teledesic and Odyssey entered
this area but, barring Iridium, none could scale up due
to unfavourable cost economics and weak demand. But
now, things are different. India, for instance, has devel-
oped over 500 private enterprises over the past decade.
“We have laid a strong foundation. The work being done
in satellite development, launch vehicles, payloads,
remote sensing, data analytics, etc., is phenomenal,” says
Prakash. Globally, operators such as Starlink have also de-
veloped expertise in making their own satellites, besides
building in-house satellite launch capability.
But there could be hiccups. Setting up ground stations
or gateways would require regulatory approvals in each
country, and there could be inhibitions with conservative
regulators. “Any new tech will face challenges, but once
the authorities see the larger benefits, the dust settles,”
says the satcom operator executive quoted earlier.
@manukaushik

Business Today 12 December 2021

 COVER STORY — RENEWABLE ENERGY

BRINGING HOM
M U K E S H A M B A N I A N D G A U TA M A D A N I P U M P I N T H E B I G B U C K S ,
P U S H I N G I N D I A’ S S C AT T E R E D R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y I N D U S T R Y T O
T H E N E XT L E V E L , A N D H Y P E R- F U E L L I N G T H E C O U N T RY’S C L E A N
E N E R G Y D R E A M S F O R 2 0 3 0 . N U A N C E : I N D I A’ S T W O R I C H E S T
B U S I N E S S M E N A R E O N T H E SA M E PAG E

By KRISHNA GOPALAN
Illustration by NILANJAN DAS

Gautam Adani (left)

Chairman, Adani Group
Mukesh Ambani
Chairman, Reliance Industries
ME THE SUN
 COVER STORY — RENEWABLE ENERGY

T
energy storage batteries, electrolysers and, finally, fuel
cells. The investment, he said, “will create and offer
a fully integrated, end-to-end renewable energy eco-
system”. Another `15,000 crore is to be invested in the
value chain, partnerships and future technologies. That
adds up to `75,000-crore ($10-billion) investments in
the new energy business over three years. Ambani fur-
ther said that Reliance will “establish and enable at least
100 GW of solar energy by 2030”.
In a late-night statement on November 19, Reliance
said the proposed investment to be made by Saudi
Arabia’s Aramco in its O2C (oil-to-chemicals) business
would be re-evaluated. Importantly, this has been at-
tributed to the “evolving nature of Reliance’s business
portfolio”. The deal, announced over two years ago,
envisaged Aramco picking up a 20 per cent stake in the
O2C business of Reliance.
The statement
also makes a mention
Adani
of Jamnagar, now

THE HEADLINE OF this story could well have been “The

Great Disruptors”. But even that would probably not have
the base for a major
part of the O2C
assets, as the centre
$20
billion
fully conveyed the extent of the tectonic shift that two for “Reliance’s new
42 | canny industrialists have seeded within months of each businesses of renew- PRIMARILY INTO POWER
other. They have not partnered. They probably won’t able energy and new GENERATION BUSINESS OF
SOLAR, WIND. A SMALL PART
compete directly either. Yet, the impact of their moves materials, support- IS EXPECTED TO GO INTO
could serve to spark long-term change in an area of na- ing the net-zero HYDROGEN POWER
tional and global interest—renewable energy as a source commitment”. The
of electric power, with attendant benefits for our planet’s thrust on renewable
environmental health. The two gentlemen in ques- energy, with this announcement, is a clear indication
tion—Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, two of India’s of a new strategy within Reliance.
richest men, both ambitious to the point of leaving you Meanwhile, on September 21—three months after
incredulous—can sniff out a business opportunity the Reliance AGM—Gautam Adani addressed the JP
years ahead of the curve. Co-relate the two aspects, and Morgan India Investor Summit and declared that his
it would appear that renewable energy’s time has truly group would invest $20 billion in renewable energy
come. It is good for the planet. It is good for business. And generation, component manufacturing, transmission
now, it is good business. and distribution over the next decade, embellishing
Ambani On June 24, addressing an already significant body of work done by the Adani
Reliance Industries share- Group in the past few years. With a portfolio of 25 GW

$10 holders at the company’s

billion
OF IT, $8 BN: FOUR GIGAFAC-
TORIES, STORAGE OF INTER-
MITTENT ENERGY, PRODUC-
TION OF GREEN HYDROGEN,
FUEL CELL FACTORY
THE BALANCE $2BN, FOR
VALUE CHAIN, PARTNER-
SHIPS AND FUTURE TECH,
INCLUDING UPSTREAM AND
DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRIES
annual general meeting,
now a regular jamboree of
big announcements, Am-
bani made public a plan to
invest `60,000 crore to
set up four giga factories,
which “will manufacture
and fully integrate all the
critical components of the
new energy ecosystem”.
In some detail, the plan is
to make solar photovol-
taic modules, advanced
(including operational and in-the-pipeline projects),
Adani said this investment “puts us well on track to be
the world’s largest renewable power generating com-
pany by 2030”. The billionaire went on to point out
that of the group’s current EBITDA from utilities, 43
per cent comes from the green business. “Our actions
clearly indicate that we are putting our money where
our mouth is: Over 75 per cent of our planned capex
until 2025 will be in green technologies,” Adani said.
The duo’s proposed cumulative investment of $30
billion (a mammoth `2.23 lakh crore) will shake up the
15-year-old renewable energy ecosystem in India, and
will go across every form of renewable energy, be it so-
lar, wind, hybrid or even hydrogen. Their paths, how-
 RELIANCE’S KEY MOVES ADANI’S
The deals that show the path the company is taking
GREEN PLAN
More than 260% capacity
INVESTMENT ACQUISITION PARTNERSHIP expansion is on the cards

Ambri Inc. REC Group Stiesdal

19,834
$142 million $771 million Developing and
manufacturing MW
Battery develop- Solar module
hydrogen elec-
ment company to manufacturer
trolysers
explore alternatives 2,740
to lithium ion
Sterling &
NexWafe 1,701
Wilson Solar
$29 million `2,850 crore
Solar wafer Operations and main-
manufacturer tenance company

Source: Company announcements, media reports

Solar
Wind
Hybrid
ADANI ON TOP All figures in MW, installed
India’s leading domestic solar production capacity 15,393
5,410
cell manufacturers Source: JMK Research
MW | 43
647
Indosolar
450
4,763
Adani Solar Jupiter Solar
1,500 450

Current Planned
Tata Solar Power
operational operational
300
All figures in MW. Capacity does
not include the acquisition of SB
Websol Energy Moser Baer
RenewSys BHEL Energy’s 4.95 GW portfolio, which
System Solar
280 185 130 105 was concluded in October.
Source: Adani Green Energy Equity
Presentation, September 2021

ever, look different. Ambani’s use of the world “enable”

is leading most people to interpret that part of his grand
The proposed cumulative
plan is to be a key equipment supplier. On the other hand, investment of $30 billion
Adani is already into power generation, transmission and (`2.23 lakh crore) by Mukesh
distribution, and will continue on that path, adding more Ambani and Gautam
parts to the whole on the way. Adani will disrupt India’s
Two months after Adani’s talk, this November, India
announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change
renewable energy ecosystem
conference (better known as COP26) that it would put

Business Today 12 December 2021

 COVER STORY — RENEWABLE ENERGY
in place 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030
(we have 148 GW as of September 2021). The estimated
investment needed (see India’s Hard Drive) is $260 bil-
lion or `18 lakh crore, about nine times what Ambani
and Adani have collectively announced. That huge gap
presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for others—
the government and the private sector. “We see India’s
renewable energy opportunity to be more than 750
GW over the next two decades,” says Rahul Goswami,
Managing Director, Greenstone Advisors, an advisory
firm with a focus on renewable energy.
Ambani and Adani have obviously seen this oppor-
“Massive investments are
required in building the
infrastructure for the production
of competitive hydrogen and then
for its storage, transportation
and consumption”
GAURAV SOOD
CEO, Sprng Energy
tunity. Neither of the two groups responded to detailed
questionnaires from Business Today.
AMBITION OR AUDACITY?
Over a period of four days this October, Reliance New
Energy Solar spent $1.2 billion on three buyouts and a
manufacturing deal. Two investments—Ambri and REC
Group—were in the US and Norway, while Sterling &
Wilson Solar was in India. Each deal gave Reliance a stra-
tegic foothold in the renewable energy manufacturing
story. In investing $142 million in Ambri Inc., Reliance
New Energy Solar joined Paulson & Co. and Bill Gates,
apart from others. Based in Massachusetts, Ambri is
exploring alternatives to lithium ion for longer-duration
battery storage systems. That was followed by the other
deals (see Reliance’s Key Moves) that gave them a presence
Business Today 12 December 2021
in manufacturing of solar modules, solar wafers and
hydrogen electrolysers. Sterling & Wilson Solar was a
distress sale for the overleveraged Shapoorji Pallonji
Group and gave Reliance a presence in O&M (operations
and maintenance) in India and global markets, too.
According to Vinay Rustagi, MD, Bridge to India En-
ergy, a renewable energy consulting and research com-
pany, Reliance getting into manufacturing can rapidly
change the dynamics. “The solar manufacturing
business in India is highly fragmented with many sub-
scale players operating... basically, they are module as-
semblers with capacities as low as 10 MW. In a scenario
“Renewable energy is at 6-8
per cent [in terms of return on
equity]. For a foreign investor,
it is attractive because that is
more than what they make in
developed markets”
A. ISSAC GEORGE
Director & CFO, GVK Group
like this, disruption is inevitable,” he says. Assuming
Reliance starts production in 2024 with 20 GW annual
capacity, it could hit 120 GW of production volume by
the end of the decade. “With scale, they could offer in-
tegrated solar solutions to end consumers at prices far
below other players. Their strong consumer connect
on the back of retail and telecom offerings is going to
be very helpful,” Rustagi says.
To Sidharth Jain, Managing Director, MEC+, a
management advisory firm specialising in renewables
and cleantech, Reliance, with its manufacturing plans,
is adopting a logical strategy since it is in line with the
market dynamics: “They want a presence in materials,
engineering and also be a serious player in the global
energy market. Complementing that is its financing
arm, which can be a huge differentiator.”
 A couple of things do stand out here. The thrust on
solar is one. Plus, an “integrated, end-to-end” model is
about manufacturing, with transmission or distribu-
tion of power not finding a place. An industry veteran
points towards how important scale is to Reliance. “If
they have to think big on renewables, being across the
manufacturing chain is the way to do it,” he explains.
QUIET MOVES
For Adani, the renewables piece takes his overall power
story forward. According to an equity presentation
made this September, he is sitting on a capacity of 5.4
“Unique operational
approaches such as smart
grid will only create more
opportunities for solar cell
manufacturers and energy
storage producers”
MOHAN LAL KOLHE
Professor, Smart Grid & Renewable Energy,
University of Agder, Norway
GW, with another 13.4 GW in the pipeline, taking the
total to marginally short of 20 MW. The renewable
energy business is routed through Adani Green Energy
(AGEL), an entity that was listed in mid-2018 after a
demerger from Adani Enterprises. In October, AGEL
acquired the portfolio of SB Energy (a joint venture
between SoftBank Group and Bharti Enterprises) for
an enterprise value of $3.5 billion, making it the largest
deal in the sector. It brought to the Adani fold another
4.95 GW—4.18 GW being solar, 324 MW of wind and
450 MW, hybrid of wind and solar—taking AGEL’s total
capacity to over 24 GW. Smaller acquisitions include a
150-MW wind asset from Inox and 40 MW of solar from
Essel Green Energy. That pace of inorganic growth has
seen AGEL raising money as well.
For a cumulative fundraise of $2.5 billion, AGEL
brought in French energy major Total as an equity
investor with a 20 per cent holding this January, with
Total also picking up 50 per cent in AGEL’s operating
solar assets. Apart from this, another $750 million was
raised in September through the sale of green bonds
to finance its under-construction projects—the deal
structure allows AGEL to draw up to $1.7 billion. On
November 23, the company’s stock closed at `1,406.95,
with a market capitalisation of over `2.2 lakh crore.
One investment banker who has worked with the group
says it is very difficult to convince investors to put in
money for a traditional energy project. “Be it banks or
investors, the preference is not for hydrocarbons. There
is pressure from all quarters including limited partners
to back green energy. Returns may not be very high but
that is not of any great concern,” he says.
On the anvil is a 3X increase in renewable power
generation capacity over the next four years (see
Adani’s Green Plan). Less than a fortnight after the JP
Morgan summit, Adani spoke at the TiE sustainability
summit, where he said the overall organic and inorgan-
ic investments in green energy will range between $50
billion and $70 billion. “This will include investments | 45
with potential partners for electrolyser manufacturing,
backward integrations to secure the supply chain for
our solar and wind generation businesses, and AI-based
industrial cloud-based platforms.”
A senior official at a rival renewable energy company
points out that Adani has been setting up its own proj-
ects and also acquiring assets such as SB Energy. “But
this is not a very profitable business apart from the in-
herent risk of dealing with distribution companies (of-
ten called discoms and owned by state governments).
Going by Reliance’s initial announcements, they do not
appear to be keen on this,” said the official, who wished
to remain anonymous.
In fact, based on public announcements and insights
from industry trackers, Reliance could well remain in
solar for a while. The preference is to stay away from
businesses high on regulation and focus on a global
market where equipment supply looks more attrac-
tive. However, Adani, by virtue of a long presence in
power, operates through group companies not just in
renewables but in transmission and distribution, too.
A few weeks ago, it got the nod to acquire Essar Power’s
1,200-MW thermal project in Madhya Pradesh.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The excitement around renewable energy has been
around for a while, but India has had its difficult mo-
ments. Many an ambitious entrepreneur came in only
to realise that it was arduous to create a robust business
 COVER STORY — RENEWABLE ENERGY

model. Instances of people shutting shop or putting INDIA’S HARD DRIVE

assets on the block are many. The market size was over- The country has set a daunting non-fossil
estimated, and a combination of delayed payments and energy capacity target by 2030, which is a
revoked power purchase agreements did the business in. fair bit higher than its current total installed
The story seems to have changed substantially but capacity comprising all fuel sources
still comes with challenges. At the core of this large
business opportunity is domestic manufacturing. While OF INDIA’S TOTAL ENERGY CAPACITY OF 388
India is among the top 10 solar module producers glob- GW, NON-FOSSIL ACCOUNTS FOR 148 GW...
ally—installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) modules is
around 16 GW apart from 3 GW of cells—the story has
a few bumps. “India lags behind its biggest competitor, Thermal Solar
China, not just in module manufacturing but also in the 2,34,024 46,275
production of other raw materials such as wafers, cells Nuclear Wind
and polysilicon,” says Vibhuti Garg, Energy Economist, 6,780 39,870
Lead India, Institute for Energy Economics and Finan- Hydro Other RE
cial Analysis (IEEFA). “Besides, the capacity utilisation
46,512 15,387
domestically is only 40-45 per cent and the estimated
operational capacity is only about 7 GW.” The fact is, Other RE includes small hydro power and bio power
Figures in MW; Data as of September 30, 2021
current production capacity can meet just 35 per cent of
Source: Central Electricity Authority
the total domestic demand for manufacturing across the
board—PV modules, cells, wafers and polysilicon among
others—which also throws open a huge opportunity. 500 GW To be
46 | “India needs to develop domestic solar manufacturing ...WHICH added
NEEDS
capacities and reduce dependence on imports to avoid 352
TO MORE
any disruption in the future,” says Garg. THAN
GW
Meanwhile, the government is also playing its DOUBLE 148 GW
part. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has BY
imposed basic customs duty of 25 per cent on imports 2030…
of solar PV cells and modules, which will kick in from 2021* Target
April 2022. There is also a production-linked incentive *Till September 2030
scheme to the extent of `4,500 crore for high-efficiency
solar modules. “This will incentivise domestic and
global players to build large-scale PV capacity here and …AND THAT WILL COST AN
ASTRONOMICAL $240 BILLION…
help India leapfrog in capturing the global value chain,”
maintains Garg.
TARGET COST TOTAL COST
Gaurav Sood, CEO, Sprng Energy, a renewable energy (GW) PER MW (` lakh cr)
platform set up by private equity fund Actis, agrees that
some of the measures taken by the government do augur Solar 240 4 9.6
well. “It does support local manufacturing to compete Wind 100 7 7
with other country-based manufacturers. But it also re- Biomass and ~12 NA 1.4
sults in increased tariffs to the end consumers,” he says. others
With the government lending a hand on the back of
Total cost 18
a huge market, it makes sense for the big boys to come
in. Goswami of Greenstone Advisors says India is in the Source: Industry experts
midst of the second phase of a long-term opportunity in
the sector: “This will last for several decades.” He breaks
down the evolution of renewable energy in India, with …WHICH WILL Equity
COME FROM
the first phase having smaller developers building 5-25 25%
MW projects. “This has transitioned to a market where Note: This is how it is split Debt
utility-scale projects are typically at least 50 MW in size now for the current players
and greater than 100 MW on an average.” Source: Industry experts
75%
And now, the two billionaires’ moves are ringing in the

Business Today 12 December 2021


According to experts, the next 4-5 years in the renewable
energy space will be about solar and battery storage, while
the next decade would be about hydrogen and fuel cells
next phase. If you can visualise fuel cells taking over the
turf of internal combustion engines or hydrogen gen-
erating electricity in a cost-effective manner, the time
ahead has a lot to look forward to. “Their entry into the
sector signals an inflection point,” says Goswami. “We
are moving towards fewer, larger groups aiming to build
businesses in a different league of scale than what has
previously been observed in the sector. The strategies for
both the groups differ but appear to focus on leveraging
and creating synergies, as opposed to a sole focus on
standalone solar or wind project development.”
According to A. Issac George, Director & CFO, GVK
Group (which has a presence in naphtha, thermal and
PHOTOGRAPH BY VIVAN MEHRA
hydro), the return on equity from a well-run thermal
power project could be 14-16 per cent. “Renewable en-
ergy is at 6-8 per cent. From the perspective of a foreign
investor, it is attractive simply because that is more than
what they make in developed markets,” he says. To his
mind, the potential returns from renewable energy will
not be commensurate with the investments that go in,
and that is where big-ticket investments and patience go
together. “We have to get it right on domestic produc-
tion and, at the same time, the imports from China
Business Today 12 December 2021
| 47
need to drop dramatically. At this point, it is clearly a
wait-and-watch game,” he insists. That said, George still
sees an opportunity since grid stability, an imponder-
able in the case of solar, could augur well for gas-based
projects. “It will be a fresh lease of life.”
However, making a business plan with renewable
energy at the centre is how most players are going about
it. “Unique operational approaches such as smart grid
will only create more opportunities for solar cell manu-
facturers and energy storage producers,” explains Mo-
han Lal Kolhe, who teaches smart grid and renewable
energy at the University of Agder in Norway, adding
that hydrogen can replace fossil fuels and is a good
energy carrier. “Today, most of it is produced through
natural gas reforming and it can be done through elec-
trolysis. The technical challenges in hydrogen relate to
its production, storage, transportation and safety.”
H FOR HYDROGEN
To many, hydrogen is a transition that is inevitable, al-
beit a long way from now. The backdrop is really about
India being a cost-sensitive market. “Today, green
hydrogen production costs are quite high,” says Sprng
 COVER STORY — RENEWABLE ENERGY

Energy’s Sood. “Massive investments are required

in building the infrastructure for the production of
competitive hydrogen and then for its storage, trans-
portation and consumption.” So, just how expensive is
“India needs to develop hydrogen? According to Garg of IEEFA, the cost today
domestic solar manufacturing for fossil hydrogen is $2.5 per kg and for green hydro-
capacities and reduce gen, $7 per kg. “Reliance aims to bring down the cost
dependence on imports to of producing green hydrogen to $1 per kg in a decade.
avoid any disruption in future” This will revolutionise the clean energy solutions in
other sectors apart from power,” she says.
An ambitious target, but Reliance is also known to
VIBHUTI GARG spring a surprise to completely transform a market it
Energy Economist, Lead India, Institute for Energy
Economics and Financial Analysis enters. The partnership with Stiesdal is with the strate-
gic intent of both developing and manufacturing elec-
trolysers. MEC+’s Jain says this arrangement can bring
a lot to the table. “Stiesdal is a technology pioneer and is
known for its work in the offshore wind industry. They
have engineered a low-cost electrolyser and understand
technology really well. It is a team of experts and a seri-
ous disruption in hydrogen is very much possible.”
Maybe a lot more is required in the case of hydrogen.
Sood maintains a substantial cost reduction needs to
48 | be brought in the entire value chain (electrolysers, fuel
cells, among others). “Once fuelled by competitive
“Nobody is venturing into it renewable energy, green hydrogen can be a significant
[hydrogen energy] because solution in the clean energy mix,” he adds.
of high costs and lack of an The combination of technology and deep pockets is
ecosystem. It is a chicken-and- ideal and it is what Reliance did with Jio very successfully.
egg situation” To Garg, Reliance’s entry into clean energy will disrupt
the market as the group can bring in new, expensive
VINAY RUSTAGI technology. “Now these technologies can be developed
MD, Bridge to India Energy in India, driving the costs down. They will help build
economies of scale, and its strong market position allows
it to access global capital at cheaper rates,” she says.
The moves on hydrogen are being made by both
Adani and Ambani. Rustagi says hydrogen today is
where solar was 15 years ago. “Nobody is venturing into
it because of high costs and lack of an ecosystem. It is a
chicken-and-egg situation,” he explains. There is little
doubt we are at the cusp of an interesting phase with
several promising technologies. To him, the first phase
(the one we are in the midst of currently) will be about
“They [Reliance Industries] solar. “It will be followed by battery storage, hydrogen
and fuel cells in that order. The ensuing 4-5 years will be
want a presence in materials, about solar and battery storage, while the next decade
engineering and also be a will see hydrogen and fuel cells in play,” is his view.
serious player in the global That is some food for thought as one disruptive
energy market” phase makes way for another. Without a doubt, the
renewables story has never seen more turbulent times.
SIDHARTH JAIN But it could well be for all the right reasons.
MD, MEC+
@krishnagopalan

Business Today 12 December 2021

INDUSTRY — IT OUTSOURCING

DIAL
INDIA
FOR

Business Today 12 December 2021

 Despite emerging
competition from
Eastern Europe, Latin
America and the rest of
the Asia-Pacific region,
India is still the go-to
destination for IT
outsourcing.
Continuous skilling in
niche areas can help
keep the crown shiny
By VIDYA S.

Business Today 12 December 2021

 INDUSTRY — IT OUTSOURCING
HIRING SPREE

I
Tech giants plan to double fresher
hiring for FY22
200,000
TOTAL
82,000
162,000
150,000

78,000
100,000

45,000
40,000

22,000
21,000
50,000

17,000

12,000
9,000
0
TCS INFOSYS WIPRO HCL

FY21 FRESHER-HIRING FY22 FRESHER-HIRING TARGET

Source: Companies

$275 BILLION
THE TOTAL REVENUE OF
52 | THE TOP FIVE INDIAN IT
FIRMS PLUS THE TOP 10
GLOBAL IT FIRMS*

*The top 10 global firms are Accenture, IBM, DXC Tech, Cognizant,
Capgemini, Atos, NTT Data, Fujitsu, CGI and Computacenter

time when we have seen this kind of thing,” he said at

the company’s second-quarter earnings call in Octo-
ber this year.
Infosys Chief Operating The ‘thing’ he’s referring to is the mad rush for IT
Officer U.B. Pravin talent in the country brought on by pandemic-led digi-
Rao is retiring on a tal transformation initiatives in almost every company.
The ‘thing’ has forced firms and their HR heads to grin
baffled note, it seems. and bear it as highly skilled technology professionals
“This is a very unusual walk out on job offers with 50 per cent salary hikes in
phenomenon… [I have some cases, with three-four other offers lined up. The
‘thing’ prompted the likes of Bhavish Aggarwal, Found-
been] in the industry er and CEO, Ola, to wonder aloud on Twitter if it just
for over 35 years, I may be cheaper to hire from Silicon Valley instead.
cannot yet think of a Well, not quite. Let alone Bay Area, it turns out
there simply isn’t another IT outsourcing hub like In-
dia for companies looking to execute large-scale proj-
ects. The reason: A formidable triad of cost advantage,
a 4.5-million-strong English-speaking talent base and

Business Today 12 December 2021

 INDIA’S COST ADVANTAGE
The country’s coders are still cost-competitive, especially at junior and middle levels

HOURLY DEVELOPER RATES

Country Developer pool Junior Middle Senior

Ukraine 200,000 $18-25 $30-45 $50

Romania 400,000 $15-23 $23-30 $45+

Poland 139,000 $20-27 $35-50 $65+

India 4,500,000 $15-20 $25-40 $50+

Singapore 200,000 $20-25 $35-50 $55

Indonesia ~50,000 $10-18 $20-30 $35+

Colombia < 100,000 $10-18 $20-30 $40+

Brazil 500,000 $17-23 $25-35 $40+

Mexico 1,000,000 $16-23 $23-30 $35+

Source: Procoders.tech, daxx.com

$55 BILLION
3.3
MILLION
1.3
MILLION
SHARE OF TCS, THE GLOBAL OR 40% IS
WIPRO, INFOSYS, HEADCOUNT THE SHARE | 53
TECH MAHINDRA AND OF THE OF THE TOP
HCL TECHNOLOGIES, 15 FIRMS FIVE INDIAN
WHICH MAKES UP IT FIRMS
20% OF THE WHOLE

Data as of March 2021; Source: Elara Securities Research

high skill competencies built experts concurred. “Their IT

over a quarter of a century.
Since management consultancy
Kearney began measuring the
$133.7 outsourcing salaries are 10-50
per cent higher than that of In-
dians. But their productivity is
attractiveness of countries for
IT offshoring in 2004, India has
BILLION also high. Ukraine and Poland
are the two Eastern European
topped its Global Services Loca- The value of India’s IT/ countries where high-end soft-
tion Index all the way through to ITeS exports ware development is going
in 2020-21, according to
its latest edition in 2021. on,” says Jigsaw Co-founder
data from the Reserve
That is not to say there aren’t Bank of India and CEO Gaurav Vohra. The e-
any other options at all. “While learning platform offers digital
India still leads as a favourite training to 30-odd firms, mostly
destination for sourcing, there are other countries in IT, retail and banking.
that are fast becoming emerging locations,” says Ukraine, especially, has a lot going for it: a large
D.D. Mishra, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner. number of coders in C, C++, Java, HTML and Py-
Eastern European nations, especially Ukraine, thon, which are still in demand; English-speaking
Poland and Romania, are featuring a lot in discus- graduates in an otherwise non-English-speaking
sions on high-end software development, several country; developer rates averaging similar to In-

Business Today 12 December 2021

 INDUSTRY — IT OUTSOURCING

dia’s; and a penchant for working long hours. Adds politics, the regulatory environment and the language
Sanju Ballurkar, President of Experis IT, a recruitment barrier. That’s why it may not be preferred by global
firm: “Its geographical location covers both European companies either,” says Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice
and US time zones nicely, whereas India is on one end President and Chief Strategy Officer at IT industry
of the globe compared to the US. But Ukraine is miles body NASSCOM. Gartner’s Mishra says China-based
away from India in scalability.” firms have grown their market share significantly last
Similar is the case with Poland and Romania. The lat- year, but adds that their salaries are the highest in Asia.
ter, where several MNCs have their teams, brings qual- Latin American countries Colombia, Brazil and Mex-
ity data science skills to the table, experts say. ico are also emerging IT outsourcing centres, although
Within the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia, the Phil- the developers mostly speak Portuguese and Spanish.
ippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and an emerg- Latin America mostly offers a bunch of generic skills
ing Bangladesh are also upping their IT and IT services which features on the mid- to low-end of the expertise
outsourcing game. “The Phil- spectrum, Vohra says.
ippines, Sri Lanka and Viet- “In fact, a lot of Eastern Eu-
nam give tough competition ropean and Latin American
to India and their costs are at heritage companies are ex-
times on a par,” says Gartner’s panding their India talent pool
Mishra. a lot more. So is the case with
But IT industry veteran IT/BPO captive centres set up
and Happiest Minds Tech- by large corporations,” says
nologies Executive Chairman Apurva Prasad, IT Analyst and
Ashok Soota is quick to point Vice President (Research) at
out these 10-odd countries Elara Capital, as further proof
together don’t even add up to of India’s IT standing.
a third of India’s talent pool. It certainly shows as India’s
“The Eastern European man- “Most of the noise and IT and IT-enabled services
54 | power costs are exceedingly
other things we are hearing exports have steadily risen to
high. So, they are not a con- [about attrition and talent $133.7 billion as of 2020-21,
cern. Vietnam, you might say, according to data from the
pool diversification] are in
yes. But they have a language Reserve Bank of India. The
problem and their talent pool India only. I don’t see any country offers a lot of talent
is limited, too.” other country being able to to choose from, given that
The Philippines’ strength provide such kind of talent it produces 1.3 million engi-
lies in voice-based support with scale as India does” neering graduates every year.
services rather than STEM “That is way more than what
skills because of their Eng- comes out of the US, Western
lish-speaking competency. It U.B. PRAVIN RAO Europe, Eastern Europe and
is true, however, that India did COO, Infosys (during an earnings call) Latin America combined,” says
lose out on some BPO market Prasad.
share to the archipelago. But Despite skyrocketing sala-
Soota adds that the market is ries and the struggle to retain
shifting back to India as those talent, IT firms and banks—the
services undergo robotic process automation. biggest utilisers of the country’s technology talent—
deny that they are looking to hire employees from
overseas.
CHINA AND THE REST Axis Bank, which has a 1,000-member-plus tech-
The only other country with a scale to match India’s is nology team, has been addressing the talent war by
China. In fact, China and Malaysia have also held on to hiring people from smaller towns to work remotely.
their second and third spots on the Kearney GSLI since “When we started hiring freelancers under our GIG-
its inception. But the world’s most populous country’s A programme, we realised there are some countries
tech talent pool is mostly intertwined with its own do- where talent is available extensively. We also realised
mestic market whose requirements are in Chinese. “A there is enough talent available in Tier II and Tier III
lot of Chinese professionals are learning English, but cities. Hence, we are not in a hurry to explore talent
their language skills are still poor. They even code in from across borders,” says Rajkamal Vempati, Axis
Chinese. Most of our companies in China have not Bank’s Head of Human Resources.
been able to scale up their centres because of the geo- Satisfaction with hires from smaller towns as well

Business Today 12 December 2021

as possible tax implications has kept the private lender ing to re-negotiate costs wherever higher-end skills
from exploring options abroad. But it could change six are needed and some companies are equipping people
months or a year hence, she adds. from adjacent areas with the necessary skill sets, too,
Infosys Chief Operating Officer Rao, in the earn- says NASSCOM’s Gupta. Ballurkar, whose recruit-
ings call mentioned earlier, also categorically ruled ment firm has been working on a number of hire-
out going talent hunting for its India centres in Eastern train-deploy models for customers, says his company
Europe or elsewhere. “I don’t see any other country be- imparts cloud or cybersecurity skills to people with
ing able to provide such kind of talent with scale,” he programming skills. “We are training people even in
said. .NET, which was an old skill. But a lot of companies are
PwC India Partner Chaitali Mukherjee, who leads its finding it difficult to find Java and .NET resources.”
People & Organisation and HR Transformation practic- Besides these measures, companies also have to re-
es, says companies haven’t yet begun hiring tech talent assess their value proposition through enhanced em-
from other countries as a way ployee experience, mentorship
to counter the high costs here, support, wellness programmes
but she says if the attrition con- and, of course, skilling as they
tinues, client countries may work towards getting attrition
start creating alternate pools of under control over the next 6-9
tech talent. “The Philippines, months, experts say.
Malaysia and Romania already While the ebb and flow in
have process centres for com- the demand for IT talent is
panies. They would only need fairly cyclical, the pandemic
to build IT capabilities addi- has brought into sharp relief the
tionally. The movement from need for organisations and their
process to tech might be easy.” workforce to upskill pronto.
Other Asian countries can Skilling, upskilling and
also pick up a cue and build IT “When we started hiring reskilling of the workforce in
capability. “Companies may freelancers under our GIG-A relevant areas is the best way | 55
not move support, local and programme, we realised to guard against any imminent
technology hubs from India threat, although the emerging
to China, but they could cre-
[that in]some countries
hubs pose no risk to India’s tag
ate a hub of many countries talent is available. We also of the world’s outsourcing hub,
like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka realised there is enough stakeholders say.
and a lot of Middle-Eastern talent available in Tier II and In fact, Kearney’s 2021 index
countries. They could pick up Tier III cities [here]” introduced a digital resonance
the skills quite easily. It’s just metric to score countries on
about them realising it and us their digital skills. “This re-
taking too long to adjust our- RAJKAMAL VEMPATI port should be a moment of
selves. This will require a mas- Head, Human Resources, Axis Bank reflection for countries such
sive push and it has to come as India, Malaysia, Indonesia,
from the top as well,” says the Philippines, and Vietnam...
Mukherjee. Traditional heavyweights are
falling behind on digital reso-
nance and should view our analysis as a call to action
FIGHTING ATTRITION to re-evaluate their digital investment strategies,” said
Meanwhile, Indian IT companies have been trying to one of the co-authors of the report. The changing digi-
fight attrition by doubling their fresher intake. With tal focus could also mean more success for Singapore,
highest attrition in the experience bracket of 3-7 years, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Canada
their strategy is to hire and train freshers to deploy and Israel, the author pointed out.
them into projects quickly. TCS, Infosys, Wipro and NASSCOM’s Gupta also says the other emerging
HCL Tech have together committed to hire 160,000 hubs are no threat to India as long as we upskill our talent
freshers for 2021-22, upping it from the earlier pro- pool, especially at the entry-education level. But there
jection of 120,000. In comparison, they hired 82,000 is a caveat. “If we don’t act, then obviously they pose a
freshers in 2020-21. Besides, fresher salaries have not threat. These countries may not be able to compete with
changed a lot over the past decade, so the cost advan- India on scale, but they can compete on skills.”
tage continues, says Elara’s Prasad.
Clients of the outsourcing companies are also will- @SaysVidya

Business Today 12 December 2021

START-UPS — CLOUD KITCHENS

$7.5-8 $2-3
BILLION BILLION
Estimated value of India’s Estimated value of the cloud
online food ordering market by kitchen industry in
2022, according to a 2020 India by 2025,
report by Google and Boston according to RedSeer
Consulting Group Consulting

Business Today 12 December 2021

With significant user traction and investor
interest, the cloud kitchen business is
entering the inevitable phase of disruption,
but with no clear winners yet
By BINU PAUL
Illustration by ANIRBAN GHOSH

Business Today 12 December 2021

 START-UPS — CLOUD KITCHENS

room for growth as people increasingly prefer order-

ing online to cooking or visiting restaurants, especially
since the pandemic. India’s online food ordering market

T
will be worth an estimated $7.5-8 billion by 2022, ac-
cording to a 2020 report by Google and Boston Consult-
ing Group. The cloud kitchen industry alone is expected
to be worth $2-3 billion by 2025, according to research
and consulting firm RedSeer Consulting. Food is one of
the largest internet business opportunities today and,
therefore, there are going to be multiple business mod-
els, companies and brands.
In fact, most cloud kitchen pioneers, including Rebel
Foods, BOX8 and FreshMenu, began their cloud kitchen
journey as single-brand platforms and functioned on
a full-stack model. Rebel Foods, which pivoted from
a quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain to a pure-play
cloud kitchen model in 2016, was among the first to capi-
talise on the multi-brand strategy.
“We have gone through this journey ourselves,”
says Ankur Sharma, Co-founder, Rebel Foods. “What
we have seen is that the more you spread out your as-
sets, the better it is. Many of our initiatives were born
out of that, right from creating multi-brand cloud kitch-
ens. It helped us not only serve many customer-first
“THERE ARE 28 meal occasions in a week. You cannot missions but also ensure the economics make much
expect one brand to be fulfilling every customer’s needs more sense for us.”
on all occasions.” Today, the Mumbai-based company is valued at $1.4
58 | With that thought, Ankit Nagori found the key ingre- billion and operates more than 45 brands—including
dient in the recipe for his next venture. Curefit, the health its own such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Ovensto-
and fitness startup Nagori co-founded in 2016 with ry—across 350 kitchens in 10 countries. BOX8 turned
Mukesh Bansal, hived off its cloud kitchen vertical, Eat- to multi-brand much later, while FreshMenu stuck on
Fit, in October last year. Nagori swapped his stake in Cur- to its single brand, losing some of its sheen, with both
efit for majority ownership of EatFit. revenue and profits taking a hit.
And EatFit became the first and the On the other hand, QSRs such
largest brand in Curefoods, the par- as Wow! Momo Foods and Biry-
ent entity he created in 2020 to roll What was a private ani By Kilo have also boarded the
up popular food brands. Today, Cure- party comprising a cloud kitchen bandwagon. Their
foods owns and operates 10 brands handful of internet- low operating expenses and high
from 90 kitchens across 10 cities. optimisation allow them to easily
“Food is very diverse. Within ev- first restaurant convert their offline presence to
ery category, there could be different players a few years online orders.
flavours and price points. We feel if ago is now the new Today, it seems like a no-brain-
we have to do justice to a full-fledged growth frontier that er to build a house of brands to
customer base, we need as many capture a higher share of the wal-
brands as possible,” says Nagori. almost everyone in let across different days of the
The consolidation of food brands the food services week, different seasons, and dif-
is the newest business model prom- business wants to ferent occasions. It also offers
ising to spice up the cloud kitchen have a stab at substantial operating leverage at a
party, similar to how e-commerce per kitchen level.
was redefined by Thrasio—the US- “We are seeing a lot more cui-
based start-up, valued at $10 billion, sine diversification through sepa-
which rolls up popular brands on Amazon’s market- rate brands. In full-stack models, they are trying to do
place. What was a private party comprising a handful of multiple brands in a single kitchen, thus better utilising
internet-first restaurant players a few years ago is now their kitchens. Given the value-conscious market, a lot
the new growth frontier that almost everyone in the of cloud kitchens are launching affordable brands, es-
food services business wants to have a stab at. pecially meals. Use cases are thus diversifying from a
And it is a beast of a market, with enormous head- weekend kind of brand to daily meals, which is the larger

Business Today 12 December 2021

 TOP DOLLAR Investors are betting across the cloud
kitchen spectrum in search of winners

QSR/CLOUD KITCHENS INFRASTUCTURE-TECH

PROVIDERS
Wow! Momo Foods
Kitchens Centre
FUNDING: 53
FUNDING: Undisclosed
INVESTORS: Tiger Global
Management, Lighthouse INVESTORS: Village
Funds, Tree Line Investment Global, AngelList
Management, Anicut Capital
Loyal
Biryani By Kilo Hospitality
FUNDING: 9 FUNDING: 20
INVESTORS: IvyCap INVESTORS:
Ventures, Narendra Trifecta Capital
Nagindas Shah Partners, Beenext

HOUSE OF BRANDS

Rebel Foods BOX8 Hygiene FOOD BRAND ROLL-UPS

FUNDING: 456 FUNDING: 36 BigBites
INVESTORS: INVESTORS: FUNDING: 15 Curefoods
Sequoia, RTP Global, Indian Angel Net- INVESTORS: FUNDING: 18.65
Lightbox Ventures, work, Mayfield K. Ganesh, | 59
INVESTORS: Iron Pillar,
Coatue Management, India, IIFL Seed Alpha Wave
Nordstar Partners,
Goldman Sachs Ventures Fund Ventures
Binny Bansal, Kunal Shah
All figures in $ million; Source: Company data/media reports

REBEL FOODS* CUREFOODS LOYAL HOSPITALITY

A PIECE OF Brands Over 45 10 80

THE PIE Kitchens Over 350 90 350

How the major Order % from
60 60 90
players stack up delivery platforms
Cities present in 60 10 1

*Rebel Foods' numbers are only for India operations (it is also present in nine other countries);
Curefoods and Loyal Hospitality are present only in India; Source: Company data, media reports

market,” says Rohan Agarwal, Associate Partner, Red-
Seer Consulting. And there’s more than one way to whip
up the next big brand.
ALL IN ONE
“Other than the international fast-food brands, how
many Indian brands can you think of that have a pan-
India presence?” asks Junaiz Kizhakkayil, who has
over 30 years of experience in the F&B industry.
“Not many, because, in India, the taste palate differs
in each state, community and religion. Building brands
in India is not easy. It’s not a technology business at all.
It is operation intensive. You need to have the knowl-
edge and know-how. You start 10, two may survive,”
says Kizhakkayil, who is also the Founder and Group
CEO of cloud kitchen aggregator Loyal Hospitality.
That’s why many are happy to go the franchise route,
besides acquiring brands. Of the 45-odd brands in Rebel
Foods’ stable, 30 are in a pure-play commercial partner-

Business Today 12 December 2021

 START-UPS — CLOUD KITCHENS

ship. The company, which also offers commission- and

rental-based infrastructure and services, inked a part-
nership with US burger chain Wendy’s to run its cloud
kitchens in India. Sharma says they are in talks with at
least five international brands to franchise their on-
line operations in India and abroad. It has also invested
in three of its partner brands—SLAY Coffee, Biryani
Blues and Zomoz.
“From Rebel’s perspective, our idea is that in every “Food is very diverse. Within every
micro-locality, we should be able to serve 20-30 top cus- category, there could be different
tomer missions in multiple shapes and forms. This can flavours, price points. To do justice
be a Rebel-owned brand or partner brand such as Natu- to a full-fledged customer base, we
rals Ice Cream,” says Sharma. need as many brands as possible”
Nagori has charted out a similar brand acquisition-
cum-franchisee route for Curefoods as well, except
ANKIT NAGORI
for Indian brands. He wants it to expand to 50 brands
across 300 kitchens in three years. Meanwhile, Hygiene
Founder, Curefoods
BigBites, which had just one cloud kitchen pre-Covid-19,
runs 60 kitchens and 10 brands today. The Bengaluru-
based company is adding 8-10 kitchens every month.
But merely rolling up brands isn’t enough. “Knowing
your customers and building for them is super impor-
tant,” says Kiran Prasad, Founder and CEO, Hygiene
BigBites. He lays out the blueprint: “Use data to under-
stand local nuances, position the right set of brands for
that set of customers, be as close to the customer as pos-
60 | sible, and build an efficient process internally so that the
prep time is less, and deliver it to the customer without
losing the charm of the food.”
“We think about food 90 times a
But it takes a lot of fine-tuning and optimisation be- month. If you get your food quality
fore the flywheel spins seamlessly. And once it does, it and taste right, you have a chance
builds a healthy average order value, or AOV, which is to win. Each brand requires a small
closely tied to a brand’s ability to create economic value. slice of the 90 opportunities”
A cloud kitchen brand, say analysts, should target an
AOV of at least `350 because they will have to burn at K. GANESH
least 25 per cent on discounts, while food costs account Serial entrepreneur & investor
for about 25-30 per cent.
And another hefty 25 per cent, on an average, goes to
food delivery companies.

NECESSARY EVIL
The new breed of cloud kitchen entrepreneurs under-
stands that brand recall and distribution are the play,
that building a brand is a long-term game, and that they
need to have demand on their side. They, therefore,
acknowledge that food tech aggregators are a necessary
evil and are making efforts to understand the dynamics “In India, the taste palate differs
of working with them. in each state, community and
Placing an order in a customer’s hands within 25-35
minutes of an order, which is key for repeat orders, re-
religion. Building brands in India
quires mastering both the art of preparing food and de- is not easy. You need to have the
livering it. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly evident knowledge and know-how”
to cloud kitchen brands that they should focus solely on
their speciality—cook good food quickly—and leave the JUNAIZ KIZHAKKAYIL
rest to specialists that have a platform for ordering and Founder & Group CEO, Loyal Hospitality

Business Today 12 December 2021

the infrastructure to deliver food. But that does not necessarily always work out as
“The trend is changing,” says Ashish Tulsian, Co- Swiggy’s and Zomato’s lukewarm success in build-
founder and CEO of cloud-based restaurant manage- ing brands shows. Even partnering, rather than build-
ment software firm POSist Technologies. “Just like ing, may not find success, as Zomato found out. The
how retail brands work with e-commerce marketplaces, company put seed capital in Loyal Hospitality for an
food brands are also employing professionals to manage exclusive partnership in 2018, but exited the deal
aggregators. They make sure pricing is uniform across within two years.
aggregators, negotiate hard on commission, and man- “Both of us realised that running a cloud kitchen in
age promotions. They see bargaining power as a func- an exclusivity model doesn’t create a winning situation
tion of brand pull.” for either of the parties. Therefore, we decided to part
Food tech companies such as Swiggy and Zomato ways mutually. We bought back the shares and became
charge their cloud kitchen partners anywhere between 15 platform agnostic in the market where we do not have
percent and30 per cent of the order value as commission to exclusivity with Zomato, but they remain a strong part-
host the brand on their platform and deliver an order. ner for us,” says Kizhakkayil.
Of course, in-demand brands command the lowest He says the mantra for kitchen infrastructure servic-
commission rates since their cus- es is to ensure occupancy and effec-
tomer acquisition cost, for aggrega- tive utilisation of kitchen capacity
tors, is minimal. while selectively accepting brands
But aiming for a bigger pie of It is becoming so that both kitchens and brands
the cloud kitchen market, both increasingly evident are profitable.
Swiggy and Zomato had tried their to cloud kitchen Loyal Hospitality’s aggrega-
hands at running their own brands. tor brand Kitchens@ works with
However, after a period of trial and
brands that they 80 domestic and international
error, they are no longer a priority. should focus solely on brands, including Mainland China,
In a duopoly, where one wouldn’t their speciality—cook Empire, Chai Point, A2B, Domi-
host the other’s private label, it good food quickly— no’s, Taco Bell, and Dunkin’ Do-
became tough for their brands to nuts. About 90 per cent of its profit | 61
thrive on a single platform. Any and leave the rest to comes from 22 brands and there
cloud kitchen brand would need specialists that have a was zero churn in the past year,
both aggregators to survive. platform for ordering Kizhakkayil claims.
In fact, Zomato also abandoned and the infrastructure Food is a very large and high-
its venture into the infrastructure frequency use category. But while
space. “We experimented with to deliver food brands crave repetitiveness, fa-
cloud kitchen infrastructure a cou- miliarity and stickiness, it’s not as
ple of years ago, but discontinued it easy for food as it is in retail. Taste
in fiscal 2021. We do not have our own cloud kitchens or is subjective and cannot be standardised or quantified.
restaurant brands because we do not want to compete People crave variety in their food. That means there is
with our restaurant partners. They are the foundation space for multiple players and bands.
of our business and their success is critical to our suc- “We think about food at least 90 times a month.
cess,” a Zomato spokesperson says. But why aim for the If you get your food quality and taste right, you
infrastructure side of the market? have a chance to win,” says K. Ganesh, a serial en-
trepreneur and investor, who has funded Hygiene
BigBites. “Each brand requires only a small slice of the
MESSY PARTNERS 90 opportunities. The right to win for a food aggregator
That’s because cloud kitchen infrastructure providers, is based on how one is able to give you value, either by
who offer plug-and-play stations with end-to-end ser- discount or by the best choices. For food brands, they
vices, are expected to grow faster than brands. In fact, don’t need to do that as long as a user returns to them
pre-Covid-19, they were anticipated to grow at double about five out of 90 times a month. When you create
the rate of the classic full-stack firms, according to Red- more brands, five becomes 10, but it’s not going to be
Seer Consulting. 70, 80 or 90 ever.”
“Infrastructure service providers have faster growth Whether 28 meal occasions a week or 90 food
ahead because scaling up responsibilities are distribut- thoughts a month, there is clearly much more than a sil-
ed. A platform provider who knows how to build kitch- ver lining for cloud kitchens. In fact, it seems they may
ens and has integrations with aggregators is able to open be able to have their cake and eat it, too.
up new spaces faster without worrying about getting
brands or building brands,” says RedSeer’s Agarwal. @binu_t_paul

Business Today 12 December 2021

 INDUSTRY — GAMING

1,2,3,G O
T H A N K S T O A D R A M AT I C R I S E I N S U B S C R I P T I O N GA M I N G
S E RV I C E S A N D C LO U D GA M I N G A M I D T H E PA N D E M I C,
I N D I A I S N OW T H E WO R L D ' S FA S T E S T- G R OW I N G M O B I L E
G A M I N G M A R K E T, H E L P I N G M A N Y E N T H U S I A S T S T U R N I N T O
P R O F E S S I O N A L S . W I L L T H E M O M E N T U M S U S TA I N ?

BY PRERNA LIDHOO
ILLUSTRATION BY NILANJAN DAS
STRENGTH TO $10.2
STRENGTH billion
2025
The online gaming industry
is poised for gigantic
growth in India
INDUSTRY
SIZE
$3.5
billion
$1.2 2023
billion
2020

Source: Statista, Nazara DRHP, INC24

 INDUSTRY — GAMING
P
64 |
PROFESSIONAL CLASH
Royale player Prashant Pandey
started gaming in 2015 while he
was studying to become an engi-
neer in Bengaluru. Five minutes
of casual gaming turned into 15
hours a day and, in 2018, Pandey
went on to represent India at the
Clash Royale League e-sports
competition in the US. He even
started earning a six-figure
salary as a player. This year,
Pandey co-founded Qlan, a social
network for India’s online gam-
ing community, where players
can look for jobs, broadcast their
skills, share content, etc. “India’s
online gaming industry is not
what it used to be. It has gone
beyond leisure and entertain-
ment. It’s a full-fledged career
opportunity in the making now.
Just like Indian cricketers get sal-
ary from the BCCI [Board of Con-
trol for Cricket in India], online
gamers can make upto `1.5 lakh
[monthly] by playing for a team,”
says Mumbai-based Pandey.
In the early 2000s, games such
as Counter-Strike and Age of Em-
pires introduced Indians to the
world of online gaming though
consoles and PCs. Today, almost
two decades later, India is the
world’s fastest-growing mobile
gaming market, growing at 22 per
cent annually, and is expected
to generate an annual revenue of
`11,900 crore by FY23, accord-
ing to a 2019 KPMG report. The
main reason behind this is India’s
560-million-strong internet user
base, growth of cloud gaming and
a dramatic rise in subscription
platforms accelerated by the
pandemic. Mobile users form
an overwhelming 85 per cent of
the industry and given the low
entry barrier for mobile games
such as PUBG Mobile, Free Fire,
Clash of Legends and Call of Duty
“At the end of the
day, a gamer is not
just here to play for
fun, but also get
recognised for his
gameplay”
NAMAN JHAWAR
Senior Vice President,
Strategy and Operations,
Mobile Premier League
Business Today 12 December 2021
Mobile, the industry is expected
to grow exponentially in the next
few years. A joint study last year
by Statista, Nazara and INC24
estimated that the Indian gaming
market is poised to reach $3.5
billion in value by 2023 and $10.2
billion by 2025 from around $1.2
billion in 2020.
Not just that, according to
e-sports content platform AFK
Gaming, the total e-sports prize
money grew from `77 lakh in
2016 to `3.84 crore in 2018, grow-
ing at a CAGR of 123.3 per cent
during the period 2016-18. This
has, in turn, helped more gaming
enthusiasts turn into profession-
al players. Today, as per industry
experts, there are 80,000-odd
people looking at online gaming
as a potential career. “It’s seeing
very healthy growth. A lot more
gamers are picking up video
games professionally and creat-
ing good content around it. At the
end of the day, a gamer is not just
here to play for fun, but also get
recognised for his gameplay, and
that’s what we want to provide,”
says Naman Jhawar, Senior Vice
President, Strategy and Opera-
tions at Mobile Premier League
(MPL), one of the largest online
gaming companies globally.
According to a February 2021
report by the IAMAI and Ikigai
Law, the digital games and sports
industry has opened numerous
job opportunities in India, with
annual salary packages ranging
from `3 lakh to over `40 lakh.
Online gamers have broadly
three ways to earn revenue: the
prize money, sponsorship deals
and streaming live online. If they

SUNSHINE
S E C TO R
ONLINE GAMING
HAS MOVED
BEYOND JUST
LEISURE AND
ENTERTAINMENT
AND IS NOW A
FULL-FLEDGED
CAREER
OPPORTUNITY
FOR MANY
MOBILE USERS FORM
AN OVERWHELMING
85 PER CENT OF THE
INDUSTRY, GIVEN THE
LOW ENTRY BARRIER
FOR GAMES SUCH
AS PUBG MOBILE,
FREE FIRE, CLASH OF
LEGENDS, AND CALL
OF DUTY MOBILE
are part of a team, they could also
earn a monthly salary.
The IAMAI report on India’s
gaming industry estimates that
the pool of the prize money in
2025 will be $14.3 million (ap-
proximately `106 crore), up from
$3.6 million (approximately `27
crore) in 2020. The title sponsor-
ship for a championship with a
prize money of `25 lakh could
range from `30-40 lakh.
Besides opportunities for
gamers, the industry has also
created jobs in the fields of mar-
keting, sales, data analysis, game
design, technology, as well as
ancillary jobs for live streamers,
coaches, mentors, sport thera-
pists, etc. This growth, according
to the All India Gaming Fed-
eration (AIGF), is largely driven
by the young and tech-savvy
population, as well as factors
INDIA’S GAMING
SECTOR HAS
GROWN ON THE
BACK OF ITS
560-MILLION-
STRONG INTERNET
USER BASE
IN 2020, PRIVATE
EQUITY INVESTORS
KALAARI CAPITAL
AND SEQUOIA
CAPITAL INVESTED
A TOTAL OF $173
MILLION IN THE
SECTOR, A YEAR-
ON-YEAR RISE OF
78 PER CENT
A COMBINATION
OF POLICY AND
CAPABILITY-
BUILDING IS
NEEDED TO DRIVE
SUSTAINABLE
GROWTH IN THE
FUTURE, ACCORDING
TO INDUSTRY
EXPERTS | 65
ILLUSTRATION BY RAJ VERMA
such as broad internet coverage
ers and designers to help them
and affordable smartphones
create Indianised and culturally
with better performance. “This
relevant online games. While
entire growth in online gaming
Facebook and Netflix haven’t
is consistent with the growth
revealed their investments yet, in
in the Digital India initiative.
July-August this year, Facebook
People have started to pay for
recorded 234 million gameplay
content. The primary challenge
sessions in India, making it the
for the industry is the different
third-ranked country with the
interpretation of gaming in the
most gameplay sessions. “Gam-
minds of some people. Today, it’s
ing is closely tied to Facebook’s
creating jobs and contributing
mission of giving people the
to taxes. The industry is easier to
power to build a community and
self-regulate,” says Roland Land-
bring the world closer together,”
ers, CEO, AIGF.
says Manohar Hotchandani,
O
Business Development Director,
NLINE GAMING IS also Facebook India.
seeing huge interest “In fact, over the past year,
and investment from viewership of live gaming videos
giants such as Face- in India has grown by over 530
book, Netflix and Pay- per cent, so the opportunity for
tm. Last year, Paytm First Games game developers and creators is
invested `10 crore in homegrown huge. We have three consumer
gaming studios, game develop- verticals, namely Play, Watch and
Business Today 12 December 2021
 INDUSTRY — GAMING
Connect. For developers and pub-
lishers, our goal is to build a plat-
form that enables developers to
reach new audiences, connect with
players and monetise their games,”
says Hotchandani, adding, “For
creators, our goal is to enable gam-
ing creators to build and grow their
communities on Facebook and
earn a living through monetisation
on our platform. We are working
with top creators, as well as nano
and micro creators to expand their
presence on Facebook.”
The company has also helped
many homegrown creators pros-
per. A case in point is Rog Stream,
India’s biggest Facebook Gaming
homegrown female creator with
more than two million followers.
66 | Facebook promoted her work
and has given creators like her an
enhanced platform. Going ahead,
the company’s investment in India
is only going to grow, with plans to
dish out over $1 billion to creators
across platforms by the end of next
year. It has also signed exclusive
deals with gamers to stream on
their platforms. “We are focussed
on creating value for people who
love gaming content and the busi-
nesses that drive the industry,”
adds Hotchandani.
Facebook is also working to
make vernacular mainstream.
“India is home to many languages
and our team is working with cre-
ators who provide live streams in
Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and
Punjabi apart from English such as
Bagha, one of India’s most popular
Bengali gaming live streamers,
and PunjabiGamer63, a father-son
duo who stream games together in
Punjabi,” says Hotchandani.
Private equity investors Ka-
laari Capital and Sequoia Capital
also invested a total of $173 million
in 2020, a year-on-year rise of
TYPES OF
ONLINE
GAMING
FANTASY SPORTS
USERS CREATE VIRTUAL
TEAMS USING PROXIES
OF REAL PLAYERS
FROM SPORTS SUCH AS
CRICKET AND FOOTBALL,
AMONG OTHERS
CASUAL
GAMES
SKILL-BASED
GAMES SUCH
AS CHESS, LUDO,
CANDY CRUSH,
TEMPLE
RUN, ETC.
78 per cent, according to Tracxn
Technologies. The top-funded
start-ups include Dream11 (with
$100 million in total funding),
followed by Smaaash Entertain-
ment ($82.6 million) and Nazara
Technologies ($79 million). The
sector attracted $544 million in
investments during the August
2020-January 2021 period, as per
a March 2021 Maple Capital Advi-
sors report. This is set to double
over the next 12-18 months.
Mobile gaming is one of the
highest growth markets in the
Business Today 12 December 2021
E-SPORTS
USUALLY PLAYED
IN A MULTI-PLAYER
FORMAT. THESE ARE
MORE POPULAR AMONG
PROFESSIONAL GAMERS
AND GENERALLY INVOLVE
TOURNAMENTS. THESE
INCLUDE PUBG AND
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
EDUCATIONAL
GAMING
GAMES DESIGNED
WITH AN EDUCATIONAL
PURPOSE SUCH AS
QUIZZES AND
PUZZLES
ILLUSTRATION BY RAJ VERMA
media and entertainment space,
according to Nazara Technologies,
which is backed by ace investor
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. “In gaming,
boundaries are not defined by
countries. It’s about how you build
global communities and content
around them. 5G and rise in cloud
gaming will act as enablers for the
industry. Once that happens, it will
be able to support a much better
multi-player setup,” says Manish
Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Technolo-
gies. “As the domestic gaming mar-
ket increases, its scale increases,
the investment increases, gaming
will become a large source of
employment. We want to create
local heroes and local athletes
through online gaming. The per-
ception about the industry needs
to change,” he says.
With over 400-odd compa-
nies—including major players
such as Nazara Technologies,
Smaaash, Dream11, Games 24X7,
The Walt Disney Company
India, Moonfrog Labs, Zapak
and 99Games—operating in the
country right now, consolida-
tion seems to be the name of the
game. “It’s definitely becoming a
mainstream form of entertain-
ment and, going forward,
will see some kind of consolida-
tion when they find it sustain-
able from a margins perspective.
I am sure the industry will
create even more jobs and
entrepreneurs,” says Mukesh
Kumar, Engagement Manager,
RedSeer Consulting.
As per the AIGF, too, consoli-
dation is inevitable in the next
few years. “Consolidation will
happen in each of the gaming
formats. Realistically, there
could be 10-12 decently-sized
companies that [will] sustain.
It’s the same for all other en-
tertainment industries such as
OTT or sports broadcasting. So,
smaller players who are down
the pecking order may want to
consolidate in, say, the next four-
five years,” says Landers of AIGF.
O
NLINE GAMING compa-
nies are also exploring
new business models
such as in-app pur-
chases and subscrip-
tions. “There are more and more
monetisation models that are
coming up. Advertising doesn’t
work in India as one needs a very
high user base to monetise it.
Similarly, subscription is great
for some titles that are based on
seasons, such as fantasy sports.
MPL revolutionised a third kind
of monetisation model, which
was pay-to-earn and that has
scaled up very well. A lot more
games will be created on a certain
degree of trading characteristics
and will help users not only play
for fun and engagement, but also
trade digital assets inside the
game,” says Jhawar, who expects
this model to pick up in a big way
in the next two-three years.
On the regulatory front,
however, things aren’t very clear
yet. Online fantasy gaming, also
often referred to as ‘real money
skill gaming’, is governed by
“In gaming,
boundaries are
not defined by
countries. It’s about
how you build global
communities and
content around
them”
MANISH AGARWAL
CEO, Nazara Technologies
the Public Gambling Act (PGA)
of India, 1867, and states such
as Andhra Pradesh, Assam,
Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil
Nadu and Telangana have banned
some online fantasy games. In-
dustry bodies on their part have
raised the argument that online
fantasy games and sports require
talent and skill. Positive judge-
ments in the Supreme Court,
too, indicate that games of skill
are legal and protected under
the Constitution. The European
Union and countries such as
the UK and the US have regula-
tions in place, and India is well on
Business Today 12 December 2021
its way to getting one.
“We have been saying that
just because a gamer is paying to
play a game on a platform, it does
not make it gambling, right? Be-
cause today, I am paying to view
content on Netflix or Amazon
Prime, and I am also paying for
music,” says Landers.
A combination of policy and
capability building is needed to
drive sustainable growth, as per
industry experts. The regulatory
uncertainty around defining
games of skill and gambling,
as well as data protection and
taxing gaming companies also
needs to be resolved. “Despite
unambiguous Supreme Court ju-
risprudence that has repeatedly
held that games of skill such as
rummy and fantasy sports are le-
gitimate business activities pro-
tected under Article 19(1)(g) of
the Constitution of India, many
state governments have chosen
to introduce bans that do not
distinguish between games of | 67
skill and games of chance,” says
Dinker Vashisht, Vice President,
Corporate Affairs, Games24x7.
“Not surprisingly, these bans
have been set aside by the respec-
tive High Courts, most recently
in the verdicts of Madras and
Kerala High Courts. A blanket
ban is not a solution and, given
the opportunity, the online skill
gaming sector is keen to work
with the government towards
developing a progressive policy
and regulatory structure for this
sunrise sector,” adds Vashisht.
Once the regulations are in
place, the industry will be on a
growth path like never before, be-
lieve experts. “The decade 2020
onwards will be about Web 3.0
and connected business models.
The next 10 years will see the
evolution of technologies such
as cloud and Blockchain-based
data infrastructure, which will
disrupt the industry like never
before,” says Jhawar.
@PLidhoo
MONEY TODAY

THE COST
OF
CRYPTO
CRYPTOCURRENCIES MAY BE THE
RAGE NOW, BUT HERE ARE SOME
IMPORTANT FACTORS YOU SHOULD
CONSIDER BEFORE TRADING

BY TEENA JAIN KAUSHAL

ILLUSTRATION BY NILANJAN DAS
 M O N E Y TO D AY — C RY P TO C U R R E N C I E S

M
ers, exchanges charge a trading fee. A daily trader, for ex-
ample, would want low fees or no fees, as some exchanges
offer. But is there any such thing as a free lunch? Then
there are maker-taker fees and the cost of withdrawing
or transferring one’s tokens. All such costs tend to be in
the tens of rupees generally, but can add up to a signifi-
cant amount to the trading price in the long run. Some
of these costs are baked into the trading price and can be
considered “hidden”, while some are more transparent.
But let’s start with why crypto prices differ wherever
you look—India vs abroad or even on the various domes-
tic trading platforms. What do these prices include? And
more importantly, how does it affect one’s trading cost?

THE COST BEHIND THE PREMIUM

Let’s start with why crypto prices are higher in India.
While trading in India has soared, the actual circulation
of these digital coins is limited. Moreover, most of the
crypto mining happens overseas. This makes the cost of
crypto trading relatively higher in India.
“The demand is high and growing, resulting in a slight
MORE THAN 100 million! That’s how many Indians premium of 2-5 per cent over the international rates
70 | trade in cryptocurrencies, the highest in the world, ac- across all cryptocurrencies. The INR premium comes at-
cording to BrokerChooser, a broker discovery and com- tached with the buying and the selling prices, rather than
parison platform. While the central bank and some in- the exchange fees per se,” says Vikram Subburaj, Co-
dustry experts say that number is on the higher side, it’s founder and CEO of Giottus Cryptocurrency Exchange.
an accurate enough estimate of the interest in crypto But then domestic prices also differ. Consider this:
trading in India. Crypto has gone from being just talked on November 10, 2021, one Bitcoin cost `52.7 lakh on
about as an asset class to actually becoming an in- WazirX, `52.8 lakh on CoinDCX, and `53.1 lakh
creasingly popular investment. on CoinSwitch Kuber. Why the difference?
And it’s not just seasoned investors, but also The short answer is exchange trading fees,
youngsters from Tier II and Tier III cities who but the more nuanced explanation boils
are ploughing money into virtual coins—as down to the nature of the exchange and
much as `6 lakh crore, according to the Block- the available trading liquidity.
chain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC), part Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO of
of IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of In- WazirX, explains: “On WazirX if you are
dia). That is an eye-watering amount selling it at `100 and someone
considering cryptocurrencies are still wants to buy it, he will be able to
unregulated and not legal tender in “WazirX has an open buy it at `100 and we will get the
India. The central bank banned crypto order book, which fees of 0.1-0.2 per cent, which is
in 2018 but the Supreme Court over-
turned the order in 2020. Since then,
means anyone is free upfront. On closed exchanges,
if you are selling for `100, they
crypto trading has grown at a furious to deposit and with- will sell it to their customer at
rate. And so have crypto exchanges. draw crypto. We have `102. This is the amount you
And, obviously, crypto prices. For
example, the price of one Bitcoin is
the highest liquidity lose if you don’t buy it on open
order book exchange.”
north of $65,000 (`50 lakh). But it’s in India. This is the
not merely the price of cryptos— cheapest place you THE FREE TRADES MYTH
which can be bought in fractions— could get crypto” That brings us to the more nu-
but the cost of trading as well that can anced explanation—the dif-
impact an investor’s wallet. NISCHAL SHETTY ference between an open order
So, what are these costs? For start- Founder and CEO, WazirX book and a closed order book ex-

Business Today 12 December 2021

TRADING CHARGES
Transaction fees for different crypto exchanges

CRYPTO EXCHANGE MAKER CHARGES TAKER CHARGES

Bitbns 0.03-0.25% 0.03-0.25%
CoinDCX 0.06-0.2% 0.06-0.2%
CoinSwitch Kuber* up to 0.25% up to 0.25%
Buy: 0-0.25%; Buy: 0.2-0.25%;
Giottus
Sell: 0-0.15% Sell: 0.15-0.25%
WazirX** 0.20% 0.20%
ZebPay 0.06-0.15% 0.10-0.25%

*CoinSwitch Kuber has a closed order book ; **0.1% when WRX is used to buy cryptos;
Makers create an order in the order book and bring liquidity to the exchange, while tak-
ers match an existing order and suck out liquidity; Source: Individual companies

THE BITCOIN INDEX

Looking to buy or sell Bitcoin? Read on…

CRYPTO EXCHANGE BUY PRICE (`) SELL PRICE (`) DIFFERENCE (%)
Bitbns 52,66,000 52,99,399 0.63
CoinDCX 52,79,418 52,97,134 0.33
Giottus 52,61,000 53,99,999 2.57
WazirX 52,66,148 52,75,198 0.17
ZebPay 52,50,450 52,99,999 0.93

Prices as on November 10; CoinSwitch Kuber does not have spot exchange. The buying price was
`53,10,209 and selling price was `52,59,225; Source: Company websites

change. Some exchanges are not actually involved in the buying or sell-
ing of a cryptocurrency. Rather they are just a platform to bring together
buyers and sellers, much like a traditional stock market. These so-called
open order book exchanges include the likes of WazirX and Bitbns, and
their trading fees typically range between 0.1 per cent and 0.25 per cent.
Closed order book exchanges actually buy from and sell to their cus-
tomers. They might not charge an explicit fee on each trade, but rather
make their money on the price difference in trades. That is why they
have a 1-2 per cent difference, called the spread, between their buying “On one-click trades,
and selling prices. While CoinSwitch Kuber has a closed order book,
CoinDCX and Giottus have both open and closed order books. where the user buys/sells
However, not everyone buys the explanation of free trading. “The with the exchange taking
fee is already included in their price and that’s why they do not charge on the counterparty role,
fees. It’s a misrepresentation as the fees are included in the prices,” says
Shetty. Nonetheless, by virtue of being on one side of the trade, closed fees are a bit higher. Some
order book exchanges have to also contend with volatility risk. “On one- exchanges build this fee
click trades, where the investor buys or sells with the exchange taking into the price the user
on the counterparty role, fees are a bit higher—may be up to 1 per cent of
the transaction,” says Subburaj of Giottus. pays rather than explic-
“Some exchanges build these fees into the price the user pays rather itly calling it that ”
than explicitly calling it that. This premium on one-click buy/sell is to
accommodate the ease of trade as well as the volatility risk that the ex- VIKRAM SUBBURAJ
change takes on itself,” he says. This volatility risk includes the availabil- Co-founder and CEO, Giottus

Business Today 12 December 2021

 M O N E Y TO D AY — C RY P TO C U R R E N C I E S

AT A GLANCE
Here’s how the top 10 cryptocurrencies compare
GROWTH IN PRICE (%) MARKET
NAME PRICE ($) CAP
YEAR TO DATE* 30 DAYS 7 DAYS ($ BILLION)
Bitcoin 65,873.73 124.26 19.25 5.92 1,243
Ethereum 4,731.93 547.88 30.79 9.01 560
Binance
643.29 1,596.19 51.84 19.46 107
Coin
Solana 242.81 13,105.23 52.02 17.87 74
Tether 1 0.09 0.07 0.05 73
Cardano 2.04 1,061.36 10.6 2.33 68
XRP 1.26 431.48 13.47 15.25 59
Polkadot 53.05 536.8 52.34 17.95 52
Dogecoin 0.28 4,871.99 13.69 2.45 37
USD Coin 1 0.04 0.01 0.02 34
Data is price per unit as on November 8; *From Jan 1 to Nov 8; Source: CoinMarketCap

72 |
ity of crypto—or liquidity, as it is called in market terms—
and its price on that particular exchange.
And depending on whether they add to or reduce this li-
quidity, a trader could pay a cost known as maker-taker fees.
Market makers, such as broking firms, try to buy at the cur-
rent best bid or sell at the current best offer. They trade fre-
quently, bringing much-desired liquidity to the exchange.
On the other hand, market takers trade on the prices set by
market makers. Such investors—which include individu-
als—trade much less frequently, thereby sucking out liquid-
ity, and have to pay for that. “Some exchanges have zero
maker fees for some crypto pairs,” says Subburaj.
Since the trading fees are higher in India, experts suggest
trading in international markets. For this, one has to convert
the Indian rupee (INR) to Bitcoin (BTC) or a dollar-pegged
cryptocurrency such as Tether (USDT), also known as a
stablecoin, as it was designed to always be worth $1. “Some
international exchanges have a staggered fee structure de-
pending on the volume of trade—the higher your monthly
volume, the lower your fee structure,” says Subburaj.
THE COST OF MOVING CURRENCY
There are deposit and withdrawal fees to consider. While
crypto exchanges generally do not take any fees for deposits,
payment gateways can charge users anything from a fixed
`20 per transaction to up to 3 per cent of the deposit value.
However, withdrawals are quite straightforward, with no
fees in some cases and going up to `10 per withdrawal.
“Certain exchanges charge fees because they use pay-
ment processors and those fees get passed on to the user,”
says Gaurav Dahake, Founder and CEO of Bitbns and
BACC member. “In our case, deposits and withdrawals are
free as we have created a payment processor of our own.”
But that is cash. What about withdrawing tokens? “Each
crypto has a blockchain that is based on where entries are
created when a transfer between addresses occurs. For
Bitcoin, the standard withdrawal fees can range between
0.0004 to 0.0008 BTC ($25 to $50 per transaction as per
current prices) depending on the exchange. Some crypto-
currencies like Tron (TRX) enjoy very low withdrawal fees
($0 to $0.1 per transaction) and are often used to transfer
value between users on exchanges,” says Subburaj.
Though one can deposit and withdraw their tokens from
one crypto exchange to another, not all exchanges support
it. Especially not closed exchanges, as they trade in be-
tween. This does not sit well with Dahake. “The user, while
entering, does not know whether he or she will be able to
withdraw or deposit tokens. This is as problematic as banks
saying you cannot move money from one bank to another.”
As is clear, there are far more costs—some advertised,
some hidden—in crypto trading than the price of the virtual
coins themselves. And without any regulations, it’s the wild
west out there. There is talk that a crypto regulation bill will
be tabled in the winter session of Parliament, and that may
help transparency. Until then, one would do well to take into
consideration much more than a crypto’s sticker price.
@Teena_Kaushal

Business Today 12 December 2021

THE GOOD LIFE
TRENDS TECH TONIC DOWNTIME
 T
Take a sip and breathe in the aroma. Wait. Now take an-
other sip to determine the flavour, body, acidity, sweet-
ness and the overall balance. Look for fruity, nutty, spicy
and floral notes. Sounds like wine tasting, doesn’t it?
We are, however, talking about another global favourite
beverage with the same amount of complexity—coffee.
There is so much more to the beverage than opening
a sachet of freeze-dried instant coffee and adding it to
| 75

water or milk. Welcome to the world of artisanal or spe-

cialty coffee, where the beverage’s journey, from cherries
to the final cup, is monitored at each level to provide an
exceptional brew. From the way the pulp is washed to the
roasting and grinding of beans to the way you brew your
coffee, all of it impacts the taste profile. Unlike commer-
cial coffee, where mass-produced beans are roasted and
stored on the shelf for months, artisanal or specialty cof-
fee has a shelf life of only three weeks post roasting. Also,
when you order online, most artisanal coffee brands will
grind the beans as per your brewing method—finely
ground for regular, espresso and moka pot; and coarsely
ground like crushed black pepper for the French press.
“Environmental factors such as terroir and climate,
as well as production methods, all play a key part in a
coffee’s flavour—just like in winemaking,” says Nishant
Sinha, Founder of artisanal coffee brand Roastery Cof-
fee, which has cafés in Hyderabad and Kolkata. It will
soon open one in Noida as well. From its online store, you
Introduce yourself can buy various artisanal and single estate-origin cof-
fees. Check out Monsoon Malabar, the coffee that has put
to an exquisite India on the global coffee map. It gets its name from the
cup of artisanal coffee unique harvesting process, which involves exposing the
harvested beans to the full force of the Malabar region’s
BY SMITA TRIPATHI seasonal monsoon weather.

Business Today 12 December 2021

 THE GOOD LIFE — TRENDS

2.

1. At Roastery Coffee, the beans are roasted and

used within three weeks 2. Coffee estates at Araku
3. Blue Tokai sources coffee beans from over 20
estates in South India 4.Dope Coffee’s Kerehaklu
Honey Sun Dried is a limited-edition 100 per cent
76 |
Robusta single-estate coffee 5. To taste the true
flavour of the beans, it’s recommended to have
1.
your artisanal coffee black

Like most tales surrounding the
origins of coffee, the story of how
Monsoon Malabar came to be is
legendary. In the late 19th century,
as coffee was shipped to Europe
from India, it passed through the
Cape of Good Hope. It was then
discovered that shipments that
sailed at specific times of the year
underwent characteristic changes,
thanks to the humidity and sea
winds. The resultant coffee beans
were off-white in colour and had an
earthy flavour. Monsoon Malabar
became so popular in Europe that
a new harvesting process had to be
developed to replicate the impact of
the sea voyage.
The coffee is also available in the
online store of Dope Coffee, as well
as in its shop-in-shop stores at Social
restaurants in Mumbai, Chennai
and Noida. Dope Coffee, owned
by Rizwan Amlani—the brother
of restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani of
Impresario Handmade Restaurants,
which owns brands such as Social,
Smoke House Deli, etc.—does a spe-
cial blend called Dark Matter, which
blends five different beans (nor-
mally, blends have only two-three
different beans). “It’s a blend that
can shine through milk and sugar,”
says Amlani, adding that it’s ideal
if you don’t have your coffee black.
Dope has 15 coffees on its menu,
including a limited-edition 100 per
cent Robusta single-estate coffee—
Kerehaklu Honey Sun Dried—which
was sold out within an hour of being
made available on the website in
October. It’s being released in small
batches of 32 packets every couple of
weeks. The coffee was made by put-
ting the beans through two rounds
of fermentation, providing it with a
natural sweetness. “Most specialty
coffee is Arabica, but we decided to
work with Robusta, which is general-
ly considered an underdog in terms
of flavour,” says Amlani.
Every coffee is unique and even
the same varietal grown in different
parts will taste different, just like
how a Merlot grown in France will be
different from the one in Australia.
The quest for artisanal or spe-
cialty coffee starts with the coffee
cherries. “Even within the same
estate, the coffee from different
parts will end up tasting different
because of the climate, soil, sun-
light, etc., and, of course, the same

Business Today 12 December 2021

3.
4.
varietal grown in Chikmagalur will
taste different from the one grown
in Coorg,” says Matt Chitharan-
jan, Co-founder and CEO of Blue
Tokai Coffee Roasters, one of the
first players in the specialty coffee
space. Chitharanjan set up Blue
Tokai along with his wife in 2013
because he couldn’t find a good cup
of coffee in Delhi. Today, the brand
has over 40 cafés spread across ma-
jor Indian cities, including Delhi-
NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kol-
kata. It also has three roasteries and
sources beans from over 20 estates.
Last year, it launched a limited-
edition ‘Producer Series’. Under
this, top-quality coffee is grown,
processed and roasted in nano lots.
Less than a thousand packets are
made available on the website and
5.
get sold out rather fast.
Another limited-edition spe-
cialty coffee to look out for is Lot 58
from the Gems of Araku collection
by Araku Coffee, part of the Naandi
Foundation, which has Anand Ma-
hindra, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Satish
Reddy and Maganti Rajendra Prasad
as trustees. Gems of Araku is an an-
nual harvest festival, which brings
together eminent coffee experts
from across the globe to the Araku
region of Andhra Pradesh. The lim-
ited-edition coffees are auctioned
and exported. It’s only this year that
one particular lot—Lot 58—is being
sold in India. The coffee is 100 per
cent Arabica and high on sweetness.
There are only 500 packs available
(priced at `5,000 for 250 gm). “We
roast the coffee only after an order
Business Today 12 December 2021
| 77
is placed on the site,” says Manoj
Kumar, CEO, Naandi Foundation.
Among the other coffees available
online, Kumar recommends the
Selection coffee range if you drink it
with milk, and Micro Climate if you
have it black. Araku recently opened
a state-of-the-art coffee bar in Ben-
galuru as well.
Select the roast depending on
how you like your coffee. “A light
roast retains most of the original,
fruity flavours of the coffee and has
higher acidity, while a darker roast
will be bitter. Medium roast will
have more caramel and chocolate
flavours,” says Sinha.
It’s about time you sipped a cup
of artisanal coffee.
@smitabw
 THE GOOD LIFE — TECH TONIC

REVIEW

BLOW HOT
BLOW COOL
BY NIDHI SINGAL

Not just yet another air purifier
in the market, the Dyson Purifier
Hot+Cool does more than clean
the surrounding air of pollutants.
It also beams hot air to keep the
room warm. The dedicated con-
Dyson Purifier trols on the remote—with the red
Hot+Cool (HP07) dot—turned on the heating. And
using the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons, I was
able to attain the desired room
`55,900 temperature. For instance, with
LED display, HEPA the outside morning temperature
H13 certified in Delhi already touching 16° C, I
machine, magnetic turned it on at 25° C. The blade-
remote control, less fan at the top—housing self-
app enabled regulating ceramic plates at the
front of the loop—threw warm air.
And once the room reached the
desired temperature, the machine
stopped throwing warm air and
resumed operation after sensing
a drop in the temperature. It also
78 |
offers heating across the room,
without making it too warm.
When the heating is turned off,
it beams cool air just like a fan to
keep the room pleasant. To elimi-
nate the direct beam of air on me,
I used the diffused air mode that
pushed the air through the rear of
the loop. However, it did not work
with heating. Be it either of the
two, the machine using H13 HEPA
filters captures air pollutants
including PM 2.5, and the result
is visible on the machine’s LED
display in real-time. Plus, there is
a layer of activated carbon that
removed foul odours and gases
from my room. Given the poor
air quality in Delhi, it managed to
bring down the PM 2.5 from 500
to 30 in a little over three hours.
While the compact remote that
magnetically attaches to the top
of the purifier is convenient to
use, I preferred controlling it via
the Dyson Link app on the iPhone,
which displayed indoor pollution,
temperature and humidity level.
Unlike traditional air purifiers, this
comes with a circular base, an
oval-shaped, bladeless fan, and
doesn’t consume much space.
And while heating is its USP, it can
be used all year long.

FIRE
WITHOUT
SMOKE
Pull up a chair and grab a book to read
Bird Astrix 1200 next to this modern electric fireplace
that you can install in any corner of
your house. Heating up to 3KW, it
`3.45 lakh + taxes uses LED reflective technology fea-
All-electric fire- turing mood-based flames. It can be
place with LED
reflective technol-
operated through a remote and a wall
ogy, remote control
switch panel.
 CLEAN,
NOT WASH
Cleaning your winter attire without rush-
ing them for dry-cleaning might sound a
little bizarre. But that’s what Samsung’s
Your Cuppa,
wardrobe-shaped AirDresser does. It cleans
clothes of odours and dirt without washing,
and grooms using a combination of air and
steam. The cleaning cycle includes JetSteam,
My Cuppa
which infuses heat deep into the
fabric. Then, Jet Air and Air
Hangers release air to loosen
and remove engrained dust,
akh
`1.10 l sung and Heatpump Drying dries
e Sa m clothes at low tempera-
Th ser is
D re s
Air e tures, reducing the risk of
t-hom
your a aner’ damage and shrinkage. And
le
‘dry-c lastly, its Deodorizing Filter
captures and reduces odour
particles caused by sweat,
tobacco and food on the clothes.
There is a Fur Care Cycle, too, which grooms
delicate furs. This AI-powered AirDresser’s
My Closet feature stores details of the clothes
and suggests the best courses for them. The
AirDresser also has Self-Clean technology,
which notifies you when it needs cleaning.
What better way to clean and freshen your
favourite jacket, muffler and shoes?
| 79

`2.25 lakh
The Miele CM
6360 MilkPer-
What better than for ground
fection brews
walking up to your coffee for nearly 18 hot
favourite beverage— making a beverages
prepared just the second type
way you like—when of coffee without
you step out of bed changing the beans.
in the morning? Sup- Miele says the brew
porting up to 10 user chamber of the ma-
profiles that remem- chine expands when
ber all parameters water flows in, for
such as the amount the ground coffee
of ground coffee, to thoroughly mix
water temperature, with the water and
and the amount and unfold the coffee
preparation of milk, aroma. From cap-
you can have your puccinos to espres-
preferred drink, sos, Japanese tea to
make that two, with dark tea and lattes, it
the touch of a button. can brew around 18
Miele’s counter- hot beverages. You
top coffee machine can also connect to
grinds and brews, it over Wi-Fi to brew
has a bean con- your cuppa using the
tainer and a drawer Miele app.

Business Today 12 December 2021


THE GOOD LIFE — DOWNTIME
Rock On Music aficionado Ajay Bijli,
Chairman and MD of PVR, often
croons with his band Random
Order, performing gigs in Delhi
BY SMITA TRIPATHI
80 |
On The Mic Ajay Bijli has a repertoire of over 50 songs and hopes to take it up to three times that number soon
N
o matter what we
breed, we still are
made of greed,
this is my kingdom
come, this is my
kingdom come…”
croons Ajay Bijli, Chairman and
Managing Director of PVR, looking
every bit the rockstar in a round-
neck T-shirt and black denim jacket,
as he jams on stage with his band
Random Order. The venue is Home,
a private club by PVR at Delhi’s
Ambience Mall, which has one of the
largest sound stages in the city and
hosts live performances throughout
the week.
On this Saturday afternoon,
Bijli is practising with his band for
!
a gig he has the next day. Over the
next couple of hours, I hear him sing
Memories by Maroon 5, Run to you by
Bryan Adams, All I need is a miracle by
Mike & The Mechanics, among other
songs. Bijli has a repertoire of over 50
songs and hopes to take it up to three
times that number soon. “I have al-
“There is a whole
technique behind
singing and if you
don’t know the
technique, you can
harm your voice... I
have progressed from
where I started”
Business Today 12 December 2021
ways been passionate about singing,
but I never trained my voice. I used
to just sing,” says the 55-year-old. “In
school, I used to sing a lot and par-
ticipate in school functions. In fact,
that’s how I met my wife. We were
part of a singing group,” he adds.
However, a couple of years ago,
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAJWANT RAWAT
Bijli started learning Hindi music
from a teacher. “My mom is a big fan
of Jagjit Singh and often asks me to
sing his ghazals,” he says.
While he enjoys singing Hindi
songs, with Kishore Kumar being a
favourite, Bijli felt that he needed to
train more to sing English songs. So,
just before the lockdown last year,
he started learning from a teacher
based in Los Angeles who teaches

“I went to London for
about five weeks
and I found a teacher
there. Recently, I went
to Dubai for three
days and I found a
singer there, and
jammed with him”
at the Berklee College of Music in
Boston, as well as the Trinity College
of Music in Los Angeles. Given the
time difference, Bijli practises at 6
am twice or thrice a week. “There is a
whole technique behind singing and
if you don’t know the technique, you
can harm your voice. I am nowhere
where she wants me to be, but I have
progressed from where I started,”
he says. In fact, it was when he started
jamming with the band two years
ago that he realised he needed to train
more. “They are so good that I
felt I needed someone to train me in
the techniques.”
Bijli’s band is named Random
Order because they don’t stick to any
one genre or time period. “We sing
songs that connect with us,” he says.
The band has been around for nearly
two years now.
Bijli, who loves Billy Joel and
George Michael along with The
Beatles and Bee Gees, says that he
keeps on trying till he gets it right. He
also makes sure to practise at least
one hour of alankaar every morning
even if he is travelling. “For English
music, you just have to keep singing,
so I practise three-four songs daily,”
he says. Bijli even finds local teachers
in whichever city he is in. “I went to
London for about five weeks and I
found a teacher there. Recently, I went
to Dubai for three days and I found a
singer there, and jammed with him... I
want longevity,” says Bijli, adding that
Elton John and Mick Jagger are still
singing in their 70s.
Singing is not just a de-stressing
exercise for Bijli; it’s a passion. “I start
getting restless if a band is playing and
I am not singing,” he laughs.
@smitabw
DESIGNER
INSTINCT
A self-taught designer,
Himanshu Wardhan’s life spaces and
work spaces are both his own creation
BY NIDHI SINGAL
Blue & White The Managing Director of Etsy India used the
landscape of Santorini as the inspiration for his studio in Gurugram
Himanshu Wardhan has a chairs than black office chairs.
keen eye for design and décor, There are also lots of books and
something that’s evident from lamps in individual meeting
the studio he has designed for rooms. The DIY area has craft
himself in Gurugram. The Man- supplies for people who want to
aging Director of Etsy India has explore their creative side.
used a lot of white and blue, “Over the past five years,
with ample scope for natural I’ve interacted with sellers
light, in his design. from all parts of the country,
“I was inspired by the land- understanding their thought
scape of Santorini, where I had p ro c e s s e s a n d h o w t h e y
enjoyed a memorable vaca- work with different materials.
tion a few years ago. The de- Their workspaces and studios
cor is minimal, and this clutter- got me very curious about de-
free space helps me clear my sign and its different elements,”
mind,” says Ward- says Wardhan,
han, who worked Other than designing w h o i s s e l f -
in technology and taught and
spaces, Wardhan
strategy consult- enjoys experimenting spends a lot of
ing for most of his with cuisines, often time re ading
career, and also articles online
was an entrepre-
grilling vegetables on the subject.
from his garden
neur for a brief pe- He is now think-
riod. The furniture, ing about tak-
executed by a local contractor, ing a course as well.
has been designed by Wardhan Other than designing spaces,
as well. There is a garden, too, he enjoys experimenting with
where he grows vegetables. different cuisines, but does not
Wardhan was also involved get the chance to cook often.
in the overall design and dé- “I like Mediterranean food a lot,
cor of Etsy’s Delhi office space. especially their grills. I often grill
This included making decisions fresh vegetables from my gar-
about the materials to be used, den,” says Wardhan, whose fa-
the division of space, as well as vourite red wine is Pinot Noir.
thinking about the overall vibe.
The office has open-plan seat-
ing, with more sofas and lounge @nidhisingal
 The Best Advice I Ever Got
UNNIKRISHNAN A.R. I MANAGING DIRECTOR I SAINT-GOBAIN INDIA — GLASS BUSINESS

What was the problem you were

grappling with?
The pandemic. It has been amongst the big-
gest challenges of our times, disrupting the
world in unprecedented ways. But the diffi-
culties notwithstanding, what it also allowed
us was the opportunity to pause and re-look
at the way we were operating our business.
It gave us a new perspective so we could re-
imagine the future and come up with creative
ideas. Today, we can say that we recovered
much faster than our peers and could actual-
ly go ahead with the expansion plans that we
had envisaged before Covid-19 struck.

Who did you approach for advice?

The challenge in hand was complex and no
one person could solve or give you the reci-
pe for success. What I relied upon were the
82 | pearls of wisdom shared by three of my men-
tors over the past two decades.

What was the best advice you have

ever received?
Three of the best pieces of advice that I have
received are: think long-term; don’t take
yourself seriously—be confident, yet hum-
ble; and there are issues that can be solved by
processes and systems, and there are some
which can be solved only by expertise—so
choose wisely.

How effective was it in resolving

your problem?
These words of wisdom guided us a great deal
in not just surviving the pandemic, but they
also helped us revive faster and thrive. The
‘Don’t take business grew much faster than the market;
we have embarked on investments to secure

yourself seriously; growth for the future and the whole team
has aligned on key transformational
projects.
be confident, —krishna gopalan

yet humble’ Vol. 30, No. 25 for the fortnight

November 29, 2021 to December 12, 2021.
Released on November 29, 2021.
Total number of pages 84 (including cover)

Business Today 12 December 2021