FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021
12 pages in 1 section
MUMBAI
~10.00
VOLUME XXVI NUMBER 60
P U B LISHED SIMULT ANEOUS LY FROM AHME DA B A D, B A N G A L O RE , B HU B A N E S WA R, C HA N D I G AR H , CH E NNAI , H Y D E R AB AD , K O CH I , K O L K AT A, L UCK NO W , M UM B A I , NE W D E L H I AND PUNE
ACTIVE CASES
VIRUS
TRACKER LOWEST IN
253 DAYS
Total 34,321,025
Active cases Recovered
148,579 33,712,794 459,652
ê2,630 é15,054
Vaccination 1,077,176,168
é870,875
WORLDTotal
248,282,374
Deaths
5,025,636
PM: MODERN BORDER
INFRA TO BOOST
MILITARY POWER
Asserting that modern border
infrastructure will enhance the country's
military capabilities, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Thursday said that in a
departure from earlier times, connectivity
has been established in border and coastal
areas, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh
and from Jaisalmer to Andaman and
Nicobar Islands. He stressed that India
must enhance its military capabilities in
line with the changing world and modes
of war, and noted that modern border
infrastructure has been built to augment
connectivity and troop deployment.
Hailing the valour of the soldiers, Modi said
they were the 'suraksha kawach'
(protective shield) of 'Maa Bharti' (mother
India) and it was because of them that
people of the country can sleep peacefully
and there is happiness during festivals. 6 >
COMPANIES P2
Airtel eyes big growth
+ from payment bank
Bharti Airtel aims at leveraging its 180 million-
plus digital service customers and wide
presence in rural areas to grow its payment
bank business. Airtel’s payment bank began
operations in 2016 – first among the seven
payment banks that are currently operational
in the country. Airtel Payments Bank has a
customer base of around 115 million.
COMPANIES P2
Paytm may consider bitcoin
offerings if crypto legalised
Paytm, India’s digital payments pioneer, would
consider bitcoin offerings if the nation’s
authorities removed regulatory uncertainty
surrounding the adoption of crypto currencies.
The rules around these assets remain in a “grey
area,” Chief Financial Officer Madhur Deora said
in an interview to Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda
Amin and Rishaad Salamat on Thursday.
BACK P12
Musical horn OK please
Imagine being serenaded by the sitar while
stuck in traffic. Or bobbing your head to the
sound of tabla while waiting for the car in front
to move as the light turns green. If Nitin
Gadkari, minister of road transport and
highways, is to have his way, this might be a
reality.
> RESULTS RECKONER
Quarter ended Sep 30, 2021; common sample
of 1,089 cos (results available of 1,287)
SALES
Sep 30, 2020 -5.6% ~13.91 trn î
Sep 30, 2021 30.6% ~18.18 trn ì
NET PROFIT
Sep 30, 2020 59.7% ~1.52 trn ì
Sep 30, 2021 24.7% ~1.90trn ì
NO EDITION
There will be no edition of the newspaper
on Saturday (November 6) as the offices of
Business Standard will remain closed on
Friday on account of Diwali. The
e-paper of the newspaper can be accessed
at epaper.business-standard.com.
*T&C Apply
This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
TAKE TWO P7
THE PROMISING FUTURE OF
DIGITAL-ONLY NEWS SITES
INDIA
é12,885
Deaths
é461
Note: Total cases
include 1 migration;
arrow shows 1-day
change; figures as
of 9 pm IST; sources:
Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare;
CoWin.gov.in; Johns Ashishkumar Chauhan (centre right), MD & CEO, BSE, and Bollywood actor Bhagyashree (centre
Hopkins Coronavirus
Resource Center left) at the Muhurat trading session at BSE in Mumbai on Thursday
Samvat 2078 gets
off to good start
Sensex gains 307 points to reclaim 60,000
SUNDAR SETHURAMAN
Mumbai, 4 November
T
he stock markets
kicked off Samvat
2078 on a positive
note on Thursday,
with the benchmark indices
gaining during the ceremonial
one-hour-long trading session,
continuing the momentum
from the previous year, when
the markets broke many
records.
The Sensex ended the ses-
sion at 60,068, a gain of 296
points, or 0.5 per cent. The
Nifty50 ended with a gain of 0.5
per cent, or 88 points, at 17,917.
A majority of the components
on both indices ended with
gains. Among Sensex stocks,
Mahindra & Mahindra was the
best performer, gaining over 3
per cent, while HDFC Bank and
Reliance Industries made the
biggest contributions to index
gains.Several retail participants
consider buying shares on
muhurat day auspicious, and
indulge in ceremonial purchas-
es. Institutional investors and
brokers trade to price in global
cues or key developments.
Global cues were positive on
Thursday even though the US
Federal Reserve said it will scale
back its massive bond-buying
programme. Turn to Page 6 >
AM/NS raises prices by
8% in Sept auto contracts
ISHITA AYAN DUTT
Kolkata, 4 November
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS
India) has settled contracts with major auto
companies for the July-September period with
an 8-9 per cent hike in prices, passing on a part
of the runaway steel prices to the end-user.
“We have settled for the July-September
quarter with most of the auto OEMs (original
equipment manufacturers) and are also revert-
ing to six-monthly contracts. So, we have also
concluded contracts for H2FY22 (second half
of financial year 2021-22),” said Ranjan Dhar,
chief marketing officer, AM/NS India.
Career development with a little help from robotic friends
Survey finds 91% of
Indians are willing to
make life changes
suggestedby AI
NEHA ALAWADHI
New Delhi, 4 November
Among the significant changes brought
about by the pandemic is people’s
increasing trust in artificial intelligence
(AI), including for advice on career
development, according to a survey by
Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an
HR research and advisory firm, titled
“AI@Work”.
The report found that 75 per cent of
people globally and 91 per cent in India
were willing to make life changes based
www.business-standard.com
WORLD P8
MERCK GETS UK NOD, WORLD’S 1ST
COVID PILL READY TO BE OUT SOON
Govt looks to net $30 bn
in fresh funds via PLI
SURAJEET DAS GUPTA
New Delhi, 4 November
The government is banking on its
Production Linked Incentive (PLI)
scheme to kick off substantial fresh
investments to make up for the rock
bottom levels seen during the pan-
demic.
Thirteen PLI schemes are already
off the ground based on commit-
ments made by eligible players. The
government expects them to bring
KAMLESH PEDNEKAR in incremental investments of
around $30 billion by financial year
2024-25 (FY25).
Jefferies, which has undertaken
a yearly breakup of the investment
based on Commerce Ministry data,
says that in the first two years of FY22
and FY23, the PLI scheme will bring
in around $10 billion of fresh invest-
ments.
In the first year (FY22), the flow
will be minimal, around $2 billion.
Experts say this is because most of
the big PLI schemes where eligible
players have been selected or are in
STEADY GAINS the process of being finalised, have
already lost a large part of their first
Sensex Figures in bracket indicate % change on Muhurat day financial year (FY22) due to the sec-
21,239
ond wave and fear of another wave.
18,619
The rest of the investments will fruc-
60,079
43,638
39,250
32,390
35,238
27,930
26,851
25,867
tify in FY23 and FY24.
In the steel sector, based on com-
pany announcements, the big com-
(-0.28) (0.20) (0.24) (0.48) (-0.04) (-0.60) (0.70) (0.49) (0.45) (0.49) panies plan to spend nearly 2.5x on
SAMVAT capex between FY22 and FY24, com-
2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 pared with the previous three years,
Nov 13, Nov 3, Oct 23, Nov 11, Oct 30, Oct 19, Nov 7, Oct 27, Nov 14, Nov 4, with over ~78,000 crore of fresh
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 investments.
Samvat Start (Muhurat)
Nifty 50 Figures in bracket indicate % change on Muhurat day
6,317
5,667
Freight rates to cool
10,598
12,780
11,627
10,147
8,626
17,917
8,015
7,825
(-0.29) (0.16) (0.23) (0.54) (-0.14) (-0.63) (0.65) (0.37) (0.47) (0.49)
Source:Exchange/Exchange
“Although there would be
Compiled by BS Research Bureau
“The markets are currently not fully
after diesel price cut
ups and downs, we expect discounting headwinds. Companies,
HEAVY TOLL
the overall trend of the whose stock prices are reflecting the
market to remain positive in optimistic outlook 3-4 years down Rental movement
(in~)
Samvat 2078 as well” the line, are most vulnerable to price
Trunk Route As on Oct 1 As on Nov 1 Chg %
Motilal Oswal and time corrections”
Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi 120,000 132,000
MD & CEO, Motilal Oswal Krishna Kumar Karwa,
Financial Services Delhi-Nagpur-Delhi 105,500 115,000
MD, Emkay Global Financial Services
Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi 104,000 116,500
SAMVAT 2078 P 10 Despite unprecedented levels of Delhi-Guwahati-Delhi 156,500 175,200
uncertainty in Samvat 2077, Delhi-Hyderabad-Delhi 138,000 154,600
investors have little to complain
INFOSYS, L&T TOP about on the returns front. The BSE
*Diesel price hiked by ~7.55 per litre in October ; Note: Average diesel consumption 4 km/litre
PICKS OF BROKERAGES Sensex delivered returns of 38 per SHALLY SETH MOHILE
cent in this period, while the Nifty Mumbai, 4 November
FOR SAMVAT 2078 registered a return of 40 per cent.
Freight rates on key trunk routes are
expected to come down by 10-12 per
cent in the next few days following the
cut in diesel prices, according to the
Indian Foundation of Transport
Research and Training (IFTRT).
The prices of fruit, vegetables, and
other consumables are expected to
reduce, offering a relief to consumers.
“Freight rates are expected to come
down 10-12 per cent in the next few
“The increase will be in two parts, approx- days,” said S P Singh, senior fellow at
imately 8-9 per cent in each period. The first the IFTRT, a New Delhi-based think-
settlement period is for July-September and tank. He attributed it to the fall in diesel
the second for H2,” Dhar added. prices and an expected
Other steel majors, too, are understood to drop in value-added tax
be negotiating contracts. Sources indicated (VAT) rates by state gov-
that JSW Steel is in discussion to close the con- ernments.
tract, but for the September quarter, which In Delhi, for instance,
would be finalised soon. the diesel price is down
The status of Tata Steel’s contracts is not by ~12, also on account
known. But Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and AM/NS of reduction in VAT. In
India supply about 90 per cent of the steel some states the reduc-
requirements of auto companies. tion is ~14, said Singh.
Discussions for auto contracts are pro- The expected fall in
tracted. Turn to Page 6 > truck rentals will be the first
TRUST IN TECH
96% of workforce in India
not satisfied with their
employer’s support
44% believe that robots are better at giving unbiased
recommendations
46% believe robots are
better at delivering resources
tailored to current skills
or goals
44% people said robots do a better job of finding new jobs
that fit their current skills
on robot recommendations. better than a human. Nearly half the better at delivering resources tailored to
Compared with 82 per cent of the respondents said robots are better at current skills or goals.
global workforce, 92 per cent of Indians giving unbiased recommendations, Additionally, 50 per cent of respon-
believe robots can support their careers while 46 per cent believe robots are dents said robots are better at quickly
BRINGING IN THE MOOLAH
Year of PLI Incremental capex
expected by companies
(US $ billion)
FY 22 2 decide on fresh investment and
FY 23 >7
FY 24 >12
FY 25 >10
Source: Government & Jefferies
The government itself is expecting
investments of ~40,000 crore in spe-
cialty steel through the PLI scheme
for which it has earmarked an outlay
of ~6,322 crore as incentives.
There are also other high-tech
areas outside the PLI where invest-
ments have been lined up, such as
data centres. Real estate consultancy
JLL India points out that companies
have already committed $3 billion till
2023 to double the capacity to 1 Gw,
especially given the acceleration that
Diesel consumption
price escalation* (in ~)
10 5,600
10 5,500
12 5,800
12 8,800
12 6,000
Source: IFTRT
in five months. After plunging 23-27 per
cent in April and May owing to the pan-
demic, rentals have been rising since
June.
Petrol prices on Thursday were cut
in the range of ~5.7-6.35 per litre across
the country and diesel rates by ~11.16-
12.88 following the excite cut.
With the high tide of the festive sea-
son ending with Diwali, the freight vol-
umes started reducing in October-end.
So the additional demand of 30-35 per
cent, which came up due to the festivals,
has dried up. The combined effect of
reduction in cargo availability and drop
in excise and VAT will drag down freight
rates by at least 12 per cent. It can
go up to 14-15 per cent by
month-end, Singh
said.
Since states
charge VAT not
just on the base
price but also on
the excise duty
the Centre levies,
the incidence of
price reduction is
higher. Turn to Page 3 >
92% Indians believe robots
can support their careers
better than a human
50% respondents believe
robots are better at quickly
answering questions about
their career
the pandemic has given digitisation,
along with the impending roll out of
5G services.
Capacity utilisation is a key
barometer on which companies
expansion of capacity was adversely
impacted by the second wave.
But the good news is that capacity
levels are inching back to pre-Covid
times. According to a FICCI-Jefferies
assessment, the average capacity
level in industries cutting across
automobiles, capital goods, cement,
chemicals and fertilisers, metal and
metal products, and textiles stood at
73 per cent pre-pandemic in
December 2019, rose to 76 per cent
in December 2020, and then fell after
the second wave to 72 per cent in the
June 2021 quarter.
However, in many sectors such as
automotive, and cement, the average
capacity utilisation has already gone
above the pre-Covid December 2019
levels. Turn to Page 6 >
PAGE 4
HOW INFLATION
COULD RESCUE
GOVT’S FISCAL
DEFICIT IN FY22
The surging
inflation is
welcome news
for the finance
ministry as it
seeks to come
close to
SHADES OF
INFLATION
achieving the PART-I
fiscal deficit
target for FY22. The good news
will stay even though the rising
rates have begun to push up the
cost of government borrowing.
“The average cost of borrowing
by Centre won’t move much this
FY,” said Pinaki Chakraborty,
director, National Institute of
Public Finance and Policy.
FUEL TAX CUTS
LIKELY TO BOOST
CONSUMPTION BY
~35,000 CRORE
After nearly 18 months, the
Union government cut a slice
from the exorbitant rates of tax
on petrol and diesel.The cut of
~5 per litre on petrol and ~10
per litre on diesel will provide
relief to millions of consumers.
But, as with any tax cut, this
will hit the government’s
treasury. How much? A
Business Standard analysis
shows the Centre will lose close
to ~35,000 crore owing to the
decision.
answering questions about career and
44 per cent people said robots do a
better job of finding new jobs that fit
their current skills.
“Today, AI is seen as a way of assist-
ing our decision-making. I strongly
believe even with all of the technology
in the bag, the need for human interface
is significantly higher… Studies like
AI@Work help to understand the issues
better, validate our beliefs and open our
eyes to the new reality, which is the case
for now. Humanness needs a technol-
ogy buddy,” said SV Nathan, national
president, National HRD Network.
Workers across the world have been
negatively impacted over the past year
by the pandemic, with people in India
and the UAE struggling the most, but
also being the most open to technology
for support, the study found.
Turn to Page 6 >
 2 COMPANIES
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 1

Ready for bitcoin offerings if govt allows, says Paytm

AGENCIES
4 November
Paytm, India’s digital pay-
ments pioneer, would con-
sider bitcoin offerings if the
nation’s authorities removed
regulatory uncertainty sur-
rounding the adoption of
crypto currencies.
The rules around these
assets remain in a “grey
area,” Chief Financial Officer
Madhur Deora said in an
interview to Bloomberg TV’s
Haslinda Amin and Rishaad
Salamat on Thursday.
“Bitcoin is still in a regu-
latory grey area if not a regu-
latory ban in India,” Deora
said. “At the moment Paytm
does not do bitcoin. If it was
ever to become fully legal in
the country then clearly
there could be offerings we
could launch.”
The country’s central
bank had effectively banned
cryptocurrency trading until
the courts lifted the prohi-
bitions in March 2020.
Since then, the govern-
ment has considered the
adoption of crypto legisla-
tion, but the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) remains highly
critical and continues to
advocate for its ban.
Deora’s comments come
as Paytm prepares for public
subscriptions to its $2.5-bil-
lion initial public offering
(IPO), after selling almost
half to anchor investors. The
listing is expected mid-
November.
Paytm said it has allo-
cated shares worth $1.11 bil-
lion to more than 100 insti-
tutional investors, including
the government of
Singapore, ahead of what is
expected to be India’s largest
stock market listing.
Paytm’s offer garnered
interest from 122 institu-
tional investors who bought
more than 38.3 million shares
for ~2,150 apiece, according payment option. cent stake in Paytm, plans to
to a regulatory document Its use swelled further in sell shares worth ~4,704
dated November 3. 2016 when a ban on high- crore.
BlackRock Global Funds, value currency bank notes in Several companies,
Canada Pension India boosted dig- including Paytm, have
Plan Investment The Reserve Bank ital payments. tapped capital markets this
Board and Abu of India had Paytm has since year in a fund-raising frenzy
Dhabi Investment effectively branched out into on the back of record highs
Authority were banned services including hit by the Indian stock mar-
among the inves- cryptocurrency insurance and gold ket, which has outperformed
tors. trading until the sales, movie and Asian peers so far this year.
Launched a courts lifted the flight ticketing, Paytm’s IPO is likely to be
decade ago as a prohibitions in and bank deposits the biggest in the country’s
platform for March 2020 and remittances. corporate history, breaking a
mobile recharging, The company’s record held by Coal India
Paytm grew offering will open Ltd, which raised ~15,000
quickly after ride-hailing on Monday and top investor crore more than a decade
firm Uber listed it as a quick Ant Financial, with a 27.9 per earlier.

IN BRIEF
IndiGo appoints Saguna Vaid Airtel bets on rural play ‘Alteria can
as general counsel from Dec 1
IndiGo airlines has appointed Saguna Vaid as its general counsel
to boost payments biz commit over
$200 mn of
with effect from December 1, it said on Thursday. Vaid will be
replacing Priya Mehra, who has joined upcoming low-cost
carrier Akasa Air as its legal head. "Saguna joins IndiGo from
Looks to leverage 180 mn
Nokia Networks, where she was the director and head of Legal
digital customer base IN REPAIR MODE
venture debt’
and Compliance for India and the APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan)
region," IndiGo said in its statement. Prior to Nokia, Vaid was the n Revenue n Net loss (in ~ crore)
vice president and general counsel for Asia at Genpact for over a ANEESH PHADNIS
627
decade during which time she also supported GE Aviation's Mumbai, 4 November 474 464
operations, it mentioned. "She has also worked with leading 434 Alteria Capital, a venture debt firm that raised its second fund in

law firms in India and the Middle East, and her experience
includes advising leading domestic airlines," the statement
said.
B
harti Airtel aims at leveraging its 338 October from domestic limited partners (LPs), counts companies like
180 million-plus digital service cus- Rebel Foods, BharatPe, Infra.mart, Dunzo, Mensa Brands and Spinny
PTI tomers and wide presence in rural 254 as portfolio companies. Alteria’s managing partner VINOD MURALI, in
areas to grow its payment bank business. an interview with Deepsekhar Choudhury, talks about returns from
“We are well placed as we can leverage the first fund, Alteria’s evolving investment thesis, how unicorns are
the over 180 million customers we have impacting the venture debt game, and more. Edited excerpts:

Lenovo posts across our digital assets. We offer a pleth-

ora of services, such as lucrative interest
rates, gift cards, FASTags, telecom
2019 2020
Financial year
2021 Alteria raised its first venture
debt fund of ~1,000 crore in
recharges, payments and debit cards. Our 2018, and now, you have clos-

Q2 revenue of large merchant base of more than 8 million

allows us to drive both engagement and
monetisation. This is one area that is now
ed your second fund at ~1,800
crore. What has changed
between then and now?

$621 mn in India seeing solid traction,” Bharti Airtel’s chief

executive officer (CEO) Gopal Vittal had
said in a post results’ conference call.
In 2018, it was unimaginable
to raise $50 million for a ven-
ture debt-focused fund. It was
Airtel’s payment bank began opera- also difficult to raise venture
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA tions in 2016 – first among the seven pay- equity funds from domestic
New Delhi, 4 November ment banks that are currently opera- investors without the backing
tional in the country. Airtel Payments of a global institutional brand.
Tech major Lenovo on Bank has a customer base of around 115 tors, Vittal added. being a key player in the distribution of When we raised the first fund
Thursday said it has logged a million with a monthly transacting user “With 0.5 million business correspon- various government-sponsored schemes,” of ~1,000 crore in 2018, the
strong performance in the base of 31 million. dents (retail agents engaged by banks), we Vittal said. questions from investors were
July-September 2021 period Vittal said the payment bank’s revenue are well ahead of anyone else in the mar- The payment bank’s take rate (rate of around asset class quality, will brands, which are not only
with total revenue at $621 mil- is close to ~1,000 crore on an annual basis ket. To put this in context, our total pay- conversion of gross merchandise volume we lose money, will start-ups revenue generating, but also
lion during the quarter. and the bank made profit at both operating ments bank distribution is two times that into revenue) is 0.74 per cent. This is be successful, what will the Ebitda profitable. That is why
The total revenue for all and net basis in the second quarter. of the total ATMs and bank branches in among the highest in the industry, he returns be and so on. When we made a commitment of
Lenovo businesses in India Airtel believes that payments banks the country. This allows us to offer a full added. we went out to raise our sec- $20 million to Mensa through
was $621 million for the sec- will be a significant growth driver along stack digital account. It is this advantage While Airtel Payments Bank has lever- ond fund in December 2020, two rounds of financing.
+ ond quarter (July-September with its enterprise and digital businesses. that has enabled us to get into leadership aged its parent’s network of retailers and we could say that things
2021), representing a year-on- A surge in digital transactions across in the remittance market. A second big kirana shops, India Post’s payment bank played out as expected. Also, The number of venture debt
year increase of 26.9 per cent, "These, together with the the country over the past few years and opportunity is Aadhaar-enabled payment has enabled post offices to provide pay- from a macro perspective, deals spiked just after the first
according to a statement. opportunities created by wider adoption of 4G-enabled smart- systems. This segment is expected to grow ment bank services. Also, Fino Payments there is hardly any other fixed wave, when venture equity
Businesses and con- accelerated digitalisation, phones are expected to drive digital trans- over 45 per cent CAGR (compound annual Bank has widened its network through income asset class today that funds turned away start-ups.
sumers in India are rapidly intelligent transformation, actions further. Airtel’s presence in tier 3 growth rate) over the next four years. We partnership with Bharat Petroleum to use can give similar returns. What is your reading?
evolving their relationship and IT upgrades in devices, cities also gives it an edge over competi- are also driving financial inclusion by its outlets as digital banking centres. Another thing that has I don’t agree that venture debt
with technology, and this infrastructure, and applica- changed with the second fund is something you opt for when
accelerated transformation tions around the world con- is our ability to sign large you don’t get access to equity
is creating new opportunities tinue to fuel the group's long- cheques. We still prefer to funding. This is because if you

Rise in commodity prices to

for Lenovo across our busi- term and sustainable invest in the $500,000-$1 mil- don’t get access to equity, your
ness segments, Lenovo India profitability increases," the lion segment in venture business is at very high risk
Managing Director statement said. equity-backed and I don’t want to
Shailendra Katyal told PTI. Lenovo's group revenue companies. A larg- fund you either.

hurt margins: Apollo Tyres

He added that to realise increased 23 per cent to $17.86 er fund size means Our reason for
these opportunities, Lenovo billion in the September 2021 that we can also do high deployment
is investing sig- quarter, $20-25 million is that large and
nificantly in Lenovo Group has against cheques in large high quality com-
VINOD MURALI
innovation announced record $14.51 billion SHALLY SETH MOHILE and are doing it every quarter. Tyres has built a lot of inherent companies that panies have real-
across its busi- quarterly results for the in the year- Mumbai, 5 November Right now we are chasing the strengths over the last few yea- have already raised Chairman and ised that their
ness as it pro- group globally, with ago period. increases and because of this, rs and is now ready to capitalise $100 million
MD, Oil India equity is much
gresses from a "historic highs for both Its net Apollo Tyres expects to be a margins will be impacted,” said on them. It plans to ride on the round. more valuable
device company profit and revenue". The income key beneficiary of a sharp Sharma. dual brand strategy of Apollo than what they
to an integrated company's operational (profit recovery in the automobile The price of every raw and Vredestein, an improving What are the returns that your thought last year. This year,
services and excellence, innovation, attributable market and a pick-up in the material that goes into tyre economy, higher exports and a fund has generated for LPs? when VC funding has been
solutions pro- and strong execution to equity economy. It would gain from a manufacturing be it a natural sharp recovery in India’s auto- The first thing is that we the highest ever in the coun-
vider. "We lever- underpin the holders) higher off-take of tyres by the rubber, synthetic rubber — mobile sector. The next five ye- deployed ~1,600 crore from try, Alteria is on track to com-
age technology improvements across all jumped 65 automakers on the one hand which is a crude derivative — ars will be about consolidation our first fund, which was mit over $200 million of ven-
to empower key business groups, per cent to and its ripple effect that would carbon black or steel, has been and reaping the benefits of ~1,000 crore, because we ture debt. We’ve been funding
businesses both despite wider industry USD 512 mil- result in a steady growth for the high. “So far, one has not seen investments made in technol- could recycle the principal cheque sizes ranging from ~2
large and small, supply challenges, it said lion in the replacement demand, on the the cost plateauing,” he said, Apollo Tyres recently said it ogy, capacity and brands over amount. We have been dis- crore to ~200 crore.
the commu- the quarter other. But even as the demand adding that other inputs to pro- planned to introduce its the last five years, said Sharma. tributing interest income for
nities they under and volume outlook remain duction have also been high — locally manufactured “The India operations have the last 15 quarters and have Although you do debt fina-
serve, and the individuals review from $310 million in strong, a persistent inflationary freight rates, or diesel price. premium tyre brand done quite well and we have a also started returning the ncing, the deals are structured
who are creating the future," the year-ago period. trend in commodities has been To strengthen its product Vredestein in India range play in the tyre market principal to our investors. On in a way that you can also take
he said. Lenovo's research and a pain point and will weigh on offering further, Apollo Tyres — from two wheelers and cars this, we are effectively six an equity option. How big is
Lenovo Group has development (R&D) invest- margins, said Satish Sharma, recently said it plans to intro- Vredestein brand will be mar- to commercial vehicles and off months ahead of schedule that upside?
announced record quarterly ment greatly increased by president Asia Pacific, Middle duce its locally manufactured gin-accretive. The market size highway,” said Sharma, point- despite losing five months to Our primary compensation is
results for the group globally, almost 60 per cent, Lenovo East and Africa. premium tyre brand Vred- for premium tyres in India is ing out that the firm now leads Covid. in the form of a coupon with
with "historic highs for both Chairman and CEO Yuanqing “Businesses across indus- estein in India. It would addr- 20,000 a month but is expected the replacement segment of an interest rate that com-
profit and revenue". Yang said. tries are seeing a commodity ess the premium and luxury to grow manifold as the de- the passenger car radial market Venture debt funds invest in panies pay every month.
The company's opera- "Looking ahead, we will super cycle and we are no segment in passenger cars, mand for luxury cars and per- and will soon be entering the revenue-generating firms. Also, there’s some fee
tional excellence, innova- continue to drive to our goal exception. We need about 20- while the two-wheeler tyres formance bikes gains traction. performance segment of the Why did you invest in Mensa included in the cash compo-
tion, and strong execution to double R&D spending over 25 per cent increase in price to from the brand would cater to Meanwhile, talking about two-wheeler market. The com- Brands so early? nent. Although there is a bit
underpin the improvements three years, and further drive offset the increase in input the growing superbiking seg- the company’s five-year vision pany also seeks to benefit from The unique case of Mensa was of an equity upside, too, it
across all key business our service-led intelligent costs. It will take 2 years to pass ment. Apollo acquired the plan as part of which it envis- an upcycle in the CV market that usage of debt was not for turns out to be much cheaper
groups, despite wider indus- transformation," the CEO on the whole cost to the end Dutch tyre brand in 2009. ages to be a $5-billion company and an overall improvement in burning cash to fund growth. for companies compared to a
try supply challenges, it said. added. users. We have done half of it The introduction of the by 2026, Sharma said Apollo the economy. It was to acquire smaller pure equity round.

‘We are giving a boost to technology as we see good demand’

KPIT Technologies, which provides software to automotive companies, had on Monday reported fact, they’re accelerating. For us also, it has gone up a changed certain compensa- vaccination picks up and
consolidated net profit that more than doubled to ~65.1 crore for the quarter ended September 2021. Otherwise, they will lose couple of percentage tion structures both in the world slowly
Revenue from operations stood at ~590.8 crore for the quarter under review compared with ~485.4 on the models to come by points, it’s terms of normalises?
crore in the July-September 2020 quarter. In an interaction with Neha Alawadhi post earnings, 2025 and lose the market certainly over increment What we are trying to do is
KISHOR PATIL, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), spoke about the chip shortage, share in the new set of 20 per cent. The sentiment we see and multi- create a hybrid work plan.
its impact and the way forward. Edited excerpts: vehicle models, specifically We are fortu- is very positive. While year incen- The first focus is clients,
driven by electrification. nate in the we are aware that tives. We have depending on what they
How do you see the the new technologies What are the areas you are Chip shortage will sense that chip shortages are set up what want. We have planned cer-
demand environment? being introduced and the seeing greater demand remain for about 18 to 24 employees affecting production we call a com- tain workshops for more
Revenue, on a year-on- new architec- from? months. But the pro- who are pas- models, none of the petency man- engagement and team-
year (YoY) basis, has tures coming in The sentiment grammes we are working sionate about original equipment agement work. We have started
grown 23 per cent. In spite the next five we see is very for are for 2024-25, and automotive manufacturers, roadmap. So, (opening up) to some
of increments and special years, we see a positive. While clients are not compromis- want to work irrespective of the people know extent, but we plan to work
incentives, which we have very good we are aware that ing on those. with com- environment, have that if they in a hybrid model and in
rolled out, profitability has demand envi- chip shortages panies that reduced tech gain skills multiple centres in the city
still gone up 17.6 per cent. ronment. That’s KISHOR PATIL are affecting pro- How is the situation on the are focused. spending and expertise, as well as outside, in tier 2
We also announced why we have CEO & MD, duction models, supply side, in terms of So, our ability they can go cities. We will come up
some strategic engage- increased the KPIT Technologies none of the origi- talent? to hire the up the ladder. with a very concrete plan
ments, which shows the revenue and nal equipment Everyone is having this right talent is very good. by early next year, maybe
demand environment. In profit outlook manufacturers environment, have challenge, irrespective of We needed to make sub- What about returning to by January. And then, we
automotive, because of for the year. (OEMs), irrespective of the reduced tech spending. In the size of the company. stantial changes and work after the pandemic as will basically roll it out.

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 .
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 COMPANIES 3 <

After capacity boost, NCLT

ing to the IFTRT. It was
> FROM PAGE 1 fuelled by festive season
demand and a 25 per cent
Freight rates increase in factory dis-
patches.
rates further increasing as
demand was buoyant, he said.
“The gap between freight
and diesel prices will be deter-
mined by demand-supply
vals.
Sachin Haritash, founder
and chief executive officer,
Mavyn, a digital trucking plat-
form, said the transport

readies to fast-track cases to cool after

diesel price cut
However, some sector
watchers said the cut in diesel
prices alone might not reduce
freight rates. The forces of
demand and supply will be
dynamics, which will find a
balance in the coming days,”
said Thakkar.
Bal Malkit Singh, former
president of the All India
industry would respond to
the diesel price reduction
with immediate effect, which,
in turn, will reduce the prices
of perishable goods like fruit,
RUCHIKA CHITRAVANSHI time president, who has just been The reduction was larger in the key determinant. Motor Transport Congress, vegetables, poultry, and dairy
New Delhi, 4 November appointed to lead such an initiative,” a states with a higher VAT. “We will have to wait and said: “We welcome the move products.
NCLT got 18 fresh recruits, a legal expert, who did not wish to be Truck operators running watch as not only has the and are requesting the state “We expect both contract

A
fter getting a much-needed shot
in the arm of 18 appointments,
a new president and a chairman,
after over one and a half years,
the National Company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) is sitting in a more comfortable
position than it was a month ago. While
this should help in clearing the backlog of
cases in the short term, experts feel the
authority needs to be strengthened
with adequate training, infras-
tructure and mechanisms to
ensure independence from
the government.
Earlier this month, the government
appointed eight judicial and ten technical
members at the NCLT Benches after the
Supreme Court (SC) directed the posts be
filled immediately. Of the 63 sanctioned
posts, 43 are now occupied. The govern-
ment recently advertised for 15 more posts
for six technical and nine judicial
members.
“Most new members have resumed
office recently. In the next two to three
months we should see some difference in
the pendency of cases,” a senior official
said. Two of the most important appoint-
ments happened on October 29. Justice
Ashok Bhushan, a former SC judge, was
appointed chairperson of the NCLT and
Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar, former
chief justice of Manipur High Court, was
named president.
Some NCLT members also point out
that the original mandate of the NCLT was
to deal with cases under the company law.
However, these days the adjudicating
authority is mostly dealing with cases
new president and
a chairman,
during the last
month, after
more than
one and a half
years
related to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC).
“The strength sanctioned does not take
into account the added workload of NCLT.
IBC has become primary work. There will
be a shortage of members till this is
addressed,” a senior NCLT official said.
As of August 2021, nearly 21,000 cases
were pending at the NCLT. Of these, 13,000
related to IBC and the remaining dealt with
company law.
To make best use of the available
resources, some members are doubling up
for other Benches as well. For instance, in
the absence of any judicial member at the
Allahabad Bench, a member of the Kochi
Bench has stepped in.
The NCLT has 28 courts and 16 Benches
across India. Having dedicated Benches
for IBC cases has been one of the industry’s
suggestions. “NCLT can do this on its own
as well. These decisions required a full-
named, said. on medium and long routes Centre reduced excise but governments to reduce VAT.” and spot prices to cool. Most
Meanwhile, the NCLT will start to see had taken an average price several states have reduced Diesel prices and other importantly, it would bring
attrition from June with several members hike of 10-12 per cent during VAT too,” said Hemal costs, including tyre prices, back truck operators who
retiring. Many have just one year of service in October. The hike was more Thakkar, director, CRISIL. have gone up drastically, hit- have been off the road due to
left. than double the increase in Initially freight rates did ting the transporters’ viability, high fuel prices,” said
For the judges recently appointed, the diesel prices due to the high not increase in the same pro- he said, adding, he was not Haritash.
NCLT held a colloquium on IBC, company utilisation of 80-85 per cent portion as diesel prices, so sure if the demand would Mavyn has close to 4,000
law among other subjects. on key trunk routes, accord- there were chances of freight hold up even after the festi- trucks on its platform
Judges play a critical role in insol-
vency proceedings and must be inde-
pendent and competent in
today’s society. We need
trained and skilled judges
to conduct such adjudica-
tions successfully and
quickly,” said Sonam
Chandwani, managing partner, KS
Legal and Associates.
IBC and company law practitioners
have raised the issue of lack of domain
expertise among NCLT members as one
of the big challenges in the judicial process.
A senior lawyer also said the NCLT has
to stay independent of the government in
matters where the government is one of
the litigants.
“While the increase in strength is great
news for NCLT, will it improve jurispru-
dence or quality of judgments?” he asked.
Legal experts also feel that the NCLT
needs to overcome obstacles such as
delayed hearings and lack of infrastruc-
ture which leads to a low approval rate
of resolution plans. The NCLT has
strengthened its e-court system, allowing
24X7 filing and is working on putting
together an MPLS — a multi-protocol
label switch— system that would connect
all Benches online.

‘Next quarter onwards, we

hope to see positive growth’
PNB Housing Finance is set to present its short and long-term capital requirements to the board, CEO ital, we are going to ask our
HARDAYAL PRASAD tells Nikunj Ohri. It is also looking to increase its presence in tier 2 and 3 cities to expand stakeholders to provide.
its affordable housing portfolio. Edited excerpts:
What will be the approach on
Housing demand has picked quarters. And later, the growth raising growth capital?
up but your profit has would be 7-10 per cent, in line As and when capital require-
declined by 25 per cent. Why? with the industry growth. ment is there, we will go to the
We decided to reduce our cor- market, and seek permission
+ porate book in 2019, which Will the stress be more of the board. Short-term cap-
resulted in a decline of 44 per towards affordable housing? ital requirement will be up to
cent. This was a high-yielding We created a vertical in Janua- March, medium term would
book, but risky due to stress. ry to focus on affordable hous- be one to three years, and
Income has come down, but ing. We have opened six long-term capital beyond that.
expenditure hasn’t. Interest branches (for affordable hous- All three options would be dis-
rates started to ing) and another cussed with the board.
decline, and that seven would be
had also become opened by PNB couldn’t participate in
a challenge. December. We the QIP earlier? How would it
will start looking After your share-sale plan provide capital this time?
Will your entire at this portfolio with Carlyle fell, what is your That’s best left for PNB and
focus be on the
HARDAYAL PRASAD in a big way. capital-raising strategy now? other stakeholders to answer.
retail segment? CEO, PNB Housing PNB Housing is comfortably Once we prepare a plan, and
On the retail side, Finance Will you expand capitalised with a capital to discuss it, we will know their
for eight quarters, your presence to cater to the risk (weighted) assets ratio decision. More importantly,
our portfolio shrank, but this affordable housing segment? (CRAR) at 20.66 per cent, and they have committed on
quarter has witnessed flat This business comes from with focus towards the retail Tuesday, during the board
growth. We will start growing smaller towns and we are con- segment, the ability to finance meeting, that they remain
from the next quarter in terms tinuing to push it through our retail books is high. However, supportive of the company.
of retail books. There has been presence into new territories. since capital is required by They know that there is a
a 68 per cent increase in dis- We have identified states such any company that is growing, requirement for capital and
bursements, and 96 per cent of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar we continue to look at all ave- they will evaluate it once we
these are to the retail segment. Pradesh, Maharashtra, nues and options. And for the present it to them. So, we want
From next quarter, we will Telangana, Kerala, and short, medium and long term, to present it to the board and
either look at a slight or zero Madhya Pradesh. We plan to based on our growth trajec- then seek guidance from the
growth. It will not be negative, start operations in seven cities tory, there will always be a board on how exactly to pro-
as we are experiencing for 8-9 by December. shortfall of capital. This cap- ceed.

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 4 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 1

Inflation holds key to rein in govt’s fiscal deficit

The first of a three-part series looks at the
relationship between inflation, govt finances
SUBHOMOY BHATTACHARJEE
New Delhi, 4 November
The surging inflation is welcome news for
the finance ministry as it seeks to come
close to achieving the fiscal deficit target
for FY22.
The good news will stay even though
the rising rates have begun to push up the
cost of government borrowing.
“The average cost of borrowing by the
Centre will not move much this financial
year,” said Pinaki Chakraborty, director,
National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy.
The weighted average
borrowing cost in FY21 was
5.79 per cent, which was the
lowest in the past 17 years,
and the weighted average
maturity was 14.49 years,
according to the finance
ministry data.
The combined deficit of SHADES OF
the Central government and
the states is expected to
INFLATION
moderate. An India Ratings
report issued last week
PART-I
shows the states have in
aggregate borrowed 10 per cent less than
what they had announced at the begin-
ning of the financial year.
Balancing maths: This is also the sense
within the finance ministry as discussions
with the line ministries are about to be
wrapped up. The fiscal deficit of 6.8 per
cent for FY22 looks likely to be achieved.
The Department of Investment and Public
Asset Management in the finance mini-
stry has said that the sale of Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Ltd and the listing
of Life Insurance Corporation will happen
in FY22, bringing in the projected ~1.75
trillion to government receipts.
The reason why higher inflation (con-
sumer price index [CPI] or wholesale price
index [WPI]) helps in lowering the esti-
mated fiscal deficit is simple. The fiscal
deficit, which is the difference between
the expenditure of the govern-
ment by way of revenue, capital,
and loans net of repayments, on
the one hand, and revenue
receipts plus capital receipts (net
of borrowing) is calculated as a
percentage of nominal GDP —
nominal GDP because the way it
is calculated on current prices
includes the inflation component.
To estimate the real rate of
GDP growth, statisticians net out
inflation using a GDP deflator, a
weighted average of the CPI and
WPI. In September, the former
was currently running at 4.35 per
cent and the latter at 10.66 per cent.
Higher inflation would therefore shrink
the deficit just as a higher subsidy reduces
nominal GDP. On balance, however, the
numbers as of now show the effect of
higher inflation will overwhelm the higher
subsidy.
High inflation, if it persists in the next
fiscal year, could create difficult policy
choices for Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman for FY23.
“High inflation, like steroids, helps gov-
ernment estimates look good initially but
in subsequent years makes it difficult to
project any of the numbers accurately,”
said Deep N Mukherjee, visiting professor
of finance at the Indian Institute of
Management Calcutta. The minister has
to take a call on whether to keep the fiscal
deficit for FY23 unchanged or assume
more fiscal consolidation. Fiscal consoli-
dation will be rewarded by foreign bor-
rowers, whom the ministry plans to tap
aggressively in FY23, by pushing for inclu-
sion in the global bond indices. But it
might need the government to cut its cap-
ital expenditure as it is the only space
where there is scope for a cut. Government
capital expenditure is budgeted to grow to
2.49 per cent of GDP in FY22, consistently
raising its share since FY19.
The Central government accounts for
about one-third of the public capital
spend. The states will find it difficult to
meet their two- share of two-thirds.
According to the CARE Ratings data, eight
of the largest states are running a revenue
deficit in the first five months of FY22. It
means they will have to cut back on capex
to meet their deficit targets despite the
Finance Commission’s forbearance. So
meeting the fiscal deficit targets could
come at a cost.
Borrowing maths: Finance ministry grade officers for the laptops given to
officials have discovered the expenditure them for official use. In fact, the govern-
of the Centre in FY22 is running behind ment-run marketplace, e-GEM, has sud-
the rate for FY21. According to the denly found a huge bump-up in its order
updated monthly data of the Controller books as government departments have
General of Accounts, the expenditure of begun to place invoices for all sorts of
the Centre is at 46.7 per cent of the Budget expenses — from laptops to sundry office
Estimates for the first six equipment. More orders to
months of the year, against stimulate expenditure in
48.6 per cent last year. This HIGH INFLATION, IF government ministries are
includes both capital and IT PERSISTS IN THE expected in the next few
revenue expenditure. NEXT FISCAL YEAR, weeks.
A major item of COULD CREATE While the finance mini-
additional revenue expen- DIFFICULT POLICY stry has been liberal with the
diture could be the pro- CHOICES FOR FINANCE spending plans of key mini-
posed extension of the MINISTER NIRMALA stries from the beginning of
scheme for supplying an SITHARAMAN FOR the year, it will be a tough
additional 5 kg of food NEXT FISCAL YEAR task to spend their entire
grains per person per budget. In FY20, the year
month, as a Covid help before Covid, these mini-
measure. The PM Garib Kalyan Anna stries — health, education, rural develop-
Yojana ends this month. However, offi- ment, and drinking water and sanitation,
cials have factored in an extension till the with budgets of about ~1 trillion and more
end of this fiscal year, which will cost the for each — had an unspent balance of
government another ~53,000 crore. ~47,808 crore at the end of the year.
Overall, while the food and fertiliser This year, because the relaxation in
subsidies will exceed the budget targets, spending orders has come close to the
the trends in others are not so certain. firming up of the Budget numbers, the
To expedite expenditure, the finance expectations of a shortfall in expendi-
ministry has begun to relax austerity- ture are similar. This is the reason the
linked circulars given to central mini- Department of Economic Affairs has
stries to bring their expenditure to a dead projected no increase in borrowing pro-
halt from April 2020. grammes for the year from the markets.
The big relaxations of late include the The higher interest rates, as
grant of a bonus equivalent to 30 days’ Chakraborty says, will not skew the bill
pay to non-executive employees of the for interest on borrowings, projected at
Central government, including casual ~8.09 trillion for FY22.
labourers. It was signed last week. A very Higher inflation and the consequent
small one was the waiver of a ~300 per rise in the interest rates will begin to bite
month charge on senior management into government finances in FY23.

IN BRIEF
ICRA upgrades tier I, II bonds Fuel tax cuts may boost
of Canara Bank, PNB
Rating agency ICRA has upgraded tier I
and tier II bonds of Punjab National
Bank (PNB) and Canara Bank due to
improvements in their capital position
consumption by ~35K cr
Nomura says the excise
and profitability. Both banks have
also stated that their solvency profile duty reduction to cost
improved. The solvency is expected to
~45,000 cr to exchequer
get a further boost from expectations of steady internal capital
accruals, the rating agency said in a statement. Canara Bank's
additional tier I bonds were upgraded from AA to AA+, while its tier II ABHISHEK WAGHMARE
bonds were upgraded from AA+ to AAA. In the instance of PNB, the Pune, 4 November
tier II bond’s rating was upgraded from AA to AA+. While PNB and
A
Canara Bank are adequately capitalised and likely to remain self- fter nearly 18 months, the Union
sufficient for their capital requirements, ICRA expects the government cut a slice from the
government of India to continue to provide support if required. exorbitant rates of tax on petrol
While PNB had a capital adequacy ratio of 15.2 per cent in September and diesel. The cut of ~5 per litre on petrol
and ~10 per litre on diesel will provide relief
+ 2021, it was 14.37 per cent for Canara Bank. ABHIJIT LELE
to millions of consumers. But, as with any
tax cut, this will hit the government’s treas-
India requests Pakistan to let ury. How much?
A Business Standard analysis shows the
GoFirst flight use its airspace Centre will lose close to ~35,000 crore
owing to the decision. Sounds like a big
India has requested Pakistan to grant overflight clearance to GoFirst loss to the exchequer, but this amount will
airline's Srinagar-Sharjah flight keeping in mind the larger interest remain in the consumers’ pockets for con-
of common people who have booked tickets for the route, sumption in the remaining part of the
government officials said on Thursday. Pakistan on Tuesday did not financial year. In other words, an amount
allow the Srinagar-Sharjah flight to use its airspace, forcing it to take worth nearly 0.15 per cent of gross domes-
a longer route and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE, tic product will be available to Indians for
they mentioned. Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started private consumption for five months. This
direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 and the is nothing less than a stimulus to spend.
service was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during And the Centre need not worry because
his visit to the Valley last month. "Pakistani authorities had granted of robust revenues from personal and cor-
overflight clearance to GoFirst flights to operate the Srinagar-Sharjah porate income taxes. The Centre has gar-
sector on October 23rd, 24th, 26th and 28th," a source said. PTI nered 55 per cent of its annual receipts in
the first six months of 2021-22 against the
usual average of 40 per cent in the first
Diwali: Delhi’s air quality half. Further, growth over FY20 (two years)
has been strong at 31 per cent, falling in
on brink of turning 'severe' line with the average annual revenue
increase of 14 per cent in normal times.
With the share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution rising to 25 per If we consider the Centre’s tax revenues
cent on Diwali, the highest this season so far, authorities have said that only, the position is stronger: As much as
the air quality in the city may turn "severe" by midnight and shoot up 60 per cent has been covered halfway
rapidly by Friday morning if firecrackers are burnt. The PM2.5 pollution through the financial year.
in the capital may enter the "severe" zone by midnight even if there is Economists have predicted the Centre
50 per cent of firecrackers emissions as compared to last year, said will exceed its revenue target this year.
Gufran Beig, the founder project director of SAFAR. The PM2.5 pollution ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar expects
will shoot up rapidly by Friday early morning with the AQI even crossing the Centre’s tax coffers will get ~1.4 trillion
the 500-mark, he said. According to the Central Pollution Control more than the Budget projection, in addi-
Board, the capital's 24-hour average AQI stood at 382 on Thursday, up tion to ~50,000 crore from higher-than-
from 314 on Wednesday. It was 303 on Tuesday and 281 on Monday. PTI expected dividend from the Reserve Bank
of India. Even if the fuel tax cut shaves off
~35,000 crore from the Centre’s kitty, its
revenue position is set to remain strong.
Some research agencies have put a
higher number on the revenue loss.
Nomura, for instance, finds that the reve-
nue loss for the remaining part of FY22
will be ~45,000 crore. “We revise our esti-
mate of the fiscal deficit to 6.5 per cent of
GDP (previously 6.2 per cent) versus the
budget target of 6.8 per cent,” it said.
Reduction in fuel prices at retail level
will also ease inflation to some extent.
After all, transportation is a cost borne by
the masses, and inflation in that segment
has been the highest in a decade. “The tax
cuts should lower headline CPI inflation
by 0.14 percentage points due to direct
effects, and up to 0.3 percentage points, if
indirect effects are included,” it added.
This is how the calculation on the
potential loss to the exchequer has been
done. The Centre has earned revenue at
the older (higher) rates for seven months
of this financial year. As regards petrol and
Excise duty cut
on fuel sensitive
FUEL TAX CUTS
decision: Shah
PAINLESS FOR It’s a by-product of bypolls, says Oppn
CENTRAL GOVT
Various estimates
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA “PM MODI JI
New Delhi, 4 November
for tax revenue, net HAS GIVEN
to Centre (~ trillion) Union Home Minister Amit A BIG
Budget estimate
Shah on Thursday said the RELIEF TO
reduction in excise duty on
15.45 petrol and diesel was a very THE GENERAL
ICRA’s estimate after sensitive decision by Prime PUBLIC ON DIWALI BY
six months* Minister Narendra Modi, and
it would not only bring relief
REDUCING THE EXCISE
16.85 DUTY… THE RELIEF GIVEN
to the common man but also
Estimate after revenue reduce inflation. EVEN AFTER PRICES
loss due to fuel tax cut
16.5
“Prime Minister @naren-
dramodi ji has given a big relief
INCREASED
INTERNATIONALLY IS A VERY
Source: Union Budget, ICRA,
BS calculations
to the general public on Diwali
by reducing the excise duty on SENSITIVE DECISION”
* ICRA estimates that petrol and diesel by ~5 and ~10,
Centre’s net tax revenue
respectively. "The relief given
AMIT SHAH, Home Minister
will be ~1.4 trillion higher
than budgeted even after prices increased
internationally is a very sensi- “THE
diesel, 40-42 per cent is consumed in the tive decision. I thank Modiji RESULTS OF
past five months, on average, a look at their for this," Shah said in tweets
consumption in previous years tells us. in Hindi. He said this "Diwali
THE 30
The government expected ~3.2 trillion gift" by the prime minister to ASSEMBLY
this year from the two fuels in the full the country would not only AND 3 LS BY-
financial year at the older tax rates, accord- bring relief to the common
ing to the Union Budget 2021-22. Probable man but also reduce inflation. ELECTIONS HAVE
revenue from the last five months has been Senior Congress leader P PRODUCED A BY-
calculated using the share mentioned Chidambaram on Thursday PRODUCT… IT IS A
above. Further, petrol accounts for nearly took a swipe at the BJP, saying
CONFIRMATION OF OUR
30 per cent in the retail consumption of
the two most commonly used fuels. This
the results of the 30 assembly
and three Lok Sabha by-elec- CHARGE THAT FUEL PRICES
share, or weighting, has been used to arrive
at the estimate of the revenue lost.
tions have "produced a by-pro-
duct". "The results of the 30
ARE HIGH MAINLY
The Centre and states together have Assembly and 3 LS by-elec- BECAUSE OF HIGH TAXES”
pocketed close to ~7 trillion just from lev- tions have produced a by-pro- P CHIDAMBARAM,
ying tax on the two fuels since the rates duct. The centre has cut excise Senior Congress leader
were raised after the pandemic began. duties on petrol and diesel!"
After the Centre’s decision to cut fuel Chidambaram said on Twitter.
taxes, some states have followed suit and "It is a confirmation of our was in charge of petroleum
reduce sales tax (or value-added tax) on charge that fuel prices are high ministry till recently, hit back,
the fuels. mainly because of high taxes," saying the Modi government
Unlike the Centre, states’ earnings from he said. “stands for being with the
fuels have remained steady at ~2 trillion Union minister people in their happiness as
annually for three years. Dharmendra Pradhan, who well as in grief”.

From PPP to organisational changes, a tight rope walk for Vaishnaw

TWESH MISHRA
New Delhi, 4 November
Union railway minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw has completed three
months in office but the Indian
Railways that was at the crossroads
of getting in more private
investment into the system is still
not full steam into it despite his
predecessor Piyush Goyal’s push.
One of the key challenges is to
pick up the thread for private trains,
tender for which was designed
during Goyal’s tenure, but had to be
discharged due to tepid response.
Where the Indian Railways did
move ahead, however, was station
redevelopment which was largely
pursued through Indian Railways
Stations Development Corporation,
a joint venture of Ircon and RITES.
The corporation oversaw the
completion of the Habibganj and
Gandhi Nagar station
modernisation projects. It was also
taking up the modernisation of the
Bijwasan railway station. IRSDC,
however, is in the process of being
shut down in line with the Sanjeev
Sanyal committee report that the
Union government adopted
recently. The redevelopment work
would be carried out by the zonal
railways themselves post the
shutting down of IRSDC.
Electrification of 68,155 route
kilometre (RKM) broad-gauge
railway routes by December 2023 is
nearing completion. According to
an official release from September
2018, the electrification of sections
covered under the Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs
decision was to result in net savings
of Rs 3,793 crore annually.
The projected cost saving is
much higher today diesel was
around ~70 to ~75 a litre during the
period of these initial estimates but
is now retailing close to ~100 a litre
in parts of the country. The average
retail price of diesel has zoomed and
this means more expensive
operations for the Indian Railways
that earmarked ~11,000 crore for
buying diesel for the current year.
According to latest data, 46,677
route kilometre (rkm) of track elect-
rification has been achieved of
which 796 rkm has been done dur-
ing 2021-22. The target for this
financial year is 8,000 rkm (the
highest ever) out of which the
Central Organisation for Railway
Electrification (CORE) has been
tasked with electrifying 6,000 rkm.
This is a taller target than before
with electrification of 6,015 rkm
being achieved in 2021-21 and 5,276
rkm in 2019-20, an annual record
being set in both years. If achieved,
a new record would be attained this
year too.
While there are other railway
institutions that are also
conducting the electrification, the
largest share of this responsibility
lies on the shoulders of CORE.
“Nine of our project units are
committed to achieve 100 per cent
electrification of the Indian
Railways network by December
2023,” Y P Singh, general manager of
CORE, told Business Standard.
In addition to modernising the
railway infrastructure, the
electrification would offset
pollution and bring the national
transporter closer to its aim of
becoming a ‘net-zero carbon
emitter’ by 2030. This also requires
more deployment of renewable
energy. This has been a challenging
area for the Railways that has a goal
of setting up 20 GW of solar energy
generation capacity on surplus land
and land along the tracks. Despite
multiple bid extensions, renewable
energy project developers have not
been very enthused by the
proposals.
But these energy focused
initiatives would not be enough to
pull the Indian Railways out of the
financial difficulty. There is dire
need to improve freight earnings,
something that has been working in
Vaishnaw’s favour. According to
Rail Ministry data, freight revenue
in September 2021 stood at
~10,815.73 crore, 9.19 per cent higher
than ~9,905.69 crore earned in
September 2020. Earnings from
freight traffic in 2021-22 till
ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA
September 2021 rose to ~66,609
crore on a cumulative basis which
was 32.73 per cent higher than
~50,184.18 crore during the same
period of the previous financial
year. If this trend continued, it
would mean an improvement in
operating ratio, a measure of the
financial performance of the Indian
Railways.
The New Bhaupur - New Khurja
Section of dedicated freight
corridors (DFCs) that was
inaugurated on December 29, 2020
while the Rewari — Madar Section
operationalised on January 7, 2021
have helped in increasing freight
loading. The Dedicated Freight
Corridor Corporation of India has
started consultations to develop a
section of the corridor under public
private partnership mode, hoping
to rake in more revenues.
Despite all these efforts,
earnings alone cannot turnaround
the Railways that has been
adjusting its advance payments for
managing operating ratio (OR) to
present better optics. Nearly 70 per
cent of the Indian Railway’s
expenses are staff costs, which are
perceived as a drag on the budget.
The committee under Sanyal,
the principal economic advisor, the
Ministry of Finance, has
recommended a turnaround
strategy that includes exiting non-
core activities and introducing
more public-private partnerships in
activities such as running the 94
railway schools and 125 hospitals.
Seven central training institutes
(CTIs) are to merge into the National
Rail and Transportation Institute
which could help in ‘significantly’
reducing training costs.
Sanyal also has far-reaching
recommendations for the Railway
Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
He has proposed winding up CORE
once the electrification is complete,
and the Railway Recruitment
Control Board (RRCB), the Central
Organisation for Modernisation of
Workshops, and the Indian
Railways Organisation for Alternate
Fuels (IROAF). Of these, IROAF has
already shut shop, but shutting
down other organisations of the
railways will not be that easy.
Sanyal has also proposed
winding up the Centre for Railway
Information Systems (CRIS) and
giving its work to Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC), a PSU whose core function
is internet ticketing. Further,
RailTel Corporation, a PSU that
largely provides enterprise services
to other PSUs, is also proposed to be
merged with IRCTC.
These recommendations have
riled up employees in most PSUs. It
will be a tightrope for Vaishnaw to
walk who has been taking a while to
merge the Railways existing eight
group A services into a single service
called Indian Railway Management
Service. This move was approved by
the Cabinet in 2019 but is nowhere
near implementation.

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 .
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 5 <

KISETSU SAISON FINANCE (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED

#496/4, 2nd Floor, 10th Cross, Sadashivnagar, Bangalore Karnataka-Ka, India 560080

Business Standard GOLD AUCTION NOTICE

MUMBAI EDITION
The borrowers, in specific and the public in general, are hereby notified that
Printed and Published by Sangita Kheora private sale/auction of the gold ornaments pledged for the below loan accounts,
on behalf of Business Standard Private wherein despite notification through the registered letters, the borrowers failed
Limited and Printed at M/s. Dangat Media to clear overdue loan amount; is proposed to be conducted on or after
Private Limited, 22 Digha M.I.D.C., TTC 15th November 2021 at the Rupeek Fintech Pvt Ltd. #102, Maruti Bhavan,
Industrial Area, Vishnu Nagar, Digha, Navi Above Blackberry Showroom, Ram Maruti Road, Naupada, Thane West - 400602
Mumbai, 400708 and M/s. Dainik For more details, Contact 18004198000.
Bhaskar, Plot no. 10.11, Sector B,
Industrial Area, Govindpura, Bhopal List of Loans
(M.P.)-462023. & Published at
H/4 & I/3, Building H, Paragon Centre, Opp. 4000079
Birla Centurion, P.B.Marg, Worli, Mumbai- 400013
Sd/- Authorised officer
Editor : Shailesh Dobhal Kisetsu Saison Finance (India) Pvt. Ltd
RNI NO: 66308/1996
Readers should write their feedback at
feedback@bsmail.in
Fax : +91-11-23720201
For Subscription and Circulation
enquiries please contact:
Ms. Mansi Singh
Head-Customer Relations
Business Standard Private Limited.
H/4 & I/3, Building H,Paragon Centre, Opp.
Birla Centurion, P.B.Marg, Worli,
Mumbai - 400013 TENDER NOTICE : CPA-33-2021
E-mail: subs_bs@bsmail.in
“or sms, REACHBS TO 57575 Digitally signed tenders under Two Bid System are invited for the
Overseas subscription: following
(Mumbai Edition Only)
One year subscription rate by air mail Tender No.: SP/T-0307/1121 (RFx No: 3000023523)
INR 51765 : USD 725
Description of tender: Procurement of Worm Shaft Worm Gear
DISCLAIMER News reports and feature articles in
Business Standard seek to present an unbiased pic- with Key & Lock Nut for Coal Mill Drive & Bowl Assembly for XRP
ture of developments in the markets, the corporate
world and the government. Actual developments
803 ½ HP Coal Mill for Khaperkheda TPS & for Coal Mill XRP-
can turn out to be different owing to circumstances 803 at Chandrapur TPS of Mahagenco.
beyond Business Standard’s control and knowledge.
Business Standard does not take any responsibility
for investment or business decisions taken by read-
Due date & time of submission of Tender Bids: Up to 14.00 hrs of
ers on the basis of reports and articles published in 15/11/2021
the newspaper. Readers are expected to form their
own judgement. Contact Person: Office of Chief Engineer (CPA), Tel No.: 022-
Business Standard does not associate itself with or
stand by the contents of any of the advertisements 26474211, Extn: 2489/3657
accepted in good faith and published by it. Any
claim related to the advertisements should be For further details visit our website
directed to the advertisers concerned. https://eprocurement.mahagenco.in/
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all rights reserved
by M/s Business Standard Pvt. Ltd. Any printing, Chief Engineer (CPA)
publication, reproduction, transmission or redissem-
+ ination of the contents, in any form or by any
means, is prohibited without the prior written con-
sent of M/s Business Standard Pvt. Ltd. Any such
prohibited and unauthorised act by any person/legal
entity shall invite civil and criminal liabilities.
No Air Surcharge

BAZARGATE STREET BRANCH

266, Perin Nariman Street, Fort,
Mumbai - 400 001
Tel. : 2261 2979 / 2265 1054
Fax : 2265 1054
POSSESSION NOTICE UNDER SEC 13(4)
(For immovable Property)
Whereas:
The undersigned being the authorized Officer of the Union Bank of India, Bazargate
Street Branch, under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and
Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (54 of 2002) and in exercise of the powers
conferred under Section 13(12) read with rule 3 of the Security Interest (Enforcement)
Rules 2002, issued a Demand Notice dated 02.08.2021, calling upon the Borrower
Mrs. Pinal Pratik Jhawar & Mr. Pratik Jhawar to repay the amount mentioned in the
notice being Rs. 97,78,108.00 (Rupees Ninety seven lakhs seventy eight
thousand one hundred and eight only) and interest thereon within 60 days from the
date of receipt of the said notice.
The borrower having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby given to the borrower
and the public in general that the undersigned has taken symbolic possession of the
property described herein below in exercise of powers conferred on him/her under
Section 13(4) of the said Act read with rule 8 of the Security Interest Enforcement)
Rules 2002 on this 2nd day of Nov of the year 2021.
The borrower in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal
with the property and any dealings with the property will be subject to the charge of
Union Bank of India, Bazargate Street Branch for an amount of Rs. 97,78,108.00
(Rupees Ninety seven lakhs seventy eight thousand one hundred and eight
only) as on 02.08.2021 and further interest thereon.
The borrower’s attention is invited to the provisions of Sub-section (8) of Section 13 of
theAct, in respect of time available, to redeem the secured assets.
Description of Immovable Property
Flat no.101,1st Floor,Om Sarjan, Plot NO.149A and CTS No. 777 of village Borivali,
Nr. Gokhale High School, Shimpoli Road, Borivali (West), Mumbai-400092
Date : 02.11.2021 Sd/-
Place : Mumbai Authorised Signatory
UNION BANK OF INDIA

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 6 ECONOMY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 1

PM: India must enhance China taking tactical actions to

press claims at LAC: Pentagon
its military capabilities PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
Washington, 4 November
Says participation of women in India's defence touching new heights China has been taking “incre-
mental and tactical actions” to
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA press its claims at the Line of
Nowshera (J&K), 4 November Actual Control (LAC) with
India and has unsuccessfully
general, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley
issued a stark warning about
China’s military progress. The
Pentagon has repeatedly
referred to China as the “pacing
challenge” for the US.
“The PRC (People's
India-Chinese military stand-
off in eastern Ladakh. The
Department of Defense has cat-
egorically said China is indul-
ging in aggressive and coercive
behaviour with its neighbours,
India in particular.
Chinese officials, through
sions into customarily Indian-
controlled territory across the
border and has concentrated
troops at several standoff loca-
tions along the LAC, the
Pentagon said. The Pentagon
said despite the ongoing diplo-
matic and military dialogues to

A
sserting that modern border sought to prevent New Delhi Republic of China) seeks to pre- official statements and state reduce border tensions, China
infrastructure will enhance the from deepening its relationship vent border tensions from media, had also sought unsuc- has continued "taking incre-
country’s military capabilities, with the US during and sub- causing India to partner more cessfully to prevent India from mental and tactical actions" to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on sequent to the standoff, the closely with the United States. deepening its relationship with press its claims at the LAC.
Thursday said that in a departure from Pentagon has said in a major PRC officials have warned US the United States during and As of June 2021, China and
earlier times, connectivity has been report on China's military officials to not interfere with subsequent to the standoff, India continue to maintain
established in border and coastal areas, modernisation. the PRC's relationship with while accusing India of being a large-scale deployments along
from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh and The report comes amid India,” the Department of mere “instrument” of US policy the LAC and make prepara-
from Jaisalmer to Andaman Nicobar heightened tensions between Defense told the US Congress in the region, the Pentagon tions to sustain these forces
islands. the US and China over the issue on Wednesday. said. while disengagement negotia-
Addressing soldiers on the occasion of Taiwan and was published The Pentagon regularly Beginning in May 2020, the tions have made limited pro-
of Diwali at Nowshera sector in Jammu hours after the most senior US reports to the Congress on the Chinese Army launched incur- gress, it said.
and Kashmir's Rajouri district, Modi
lauded the role played by the brigade here
in the 2016 surgical strikes on terror

India must tread with caution

launchpads across the LoC, and asserted
that even though innumerable attempts
were made after the strikes to disturb
peace in the region, every time terrorism
was given a befitting reply.
He also asserted that India must
enhance its military capabilities in line
with the changing world and modes of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Nowshera to celebrate Diwali
with soldiers

war, and noted that modern border
infrastructure has been built to augment
connectivity and troop deployment.
Hailing the valour of the soldiers,
Modi said they were the 'suraksha kawach
(protective shield) of 'Maa Bharti (mother
India)' and it was because of them that
people of the country can sleep peacefully
and there is happiness during festivals.
Hailing the role of the brigade here in
the 2016 surgical strike, Modi said their
role fills the people of the country with
pride. “I will always remember that day
as it was decided that all soldiers will
return before sunset and I was waiting
anxiously for the call to know if all my
jawans had returned. Without any casu-
alty, all the bravehearts returned and
came out as winners,” Modi said.
After the surgical strikes, innumerable
attempts were made to disturb the peace
in the region and attempts are still being
made, but every time terrorism has been
given a “befitting reply”, the prime min-
ister said.
“I will always remember that day (2016 surgical strike as it was decided
PHOTO: PTI
on early-harvest deals: Experts
that all soldiers) will return before sunset and I was waiting anxiously SHREYA NANDI countries and a group of fessor of Indian Council for
for the call to know if all my jawans had returned. Without any casualty, New Delhi, 4 November nations have evinced an inter- Research on International Eco-
TRADE DEALS
all the bravehearts returned and came out as winners” est to start FTA talks with India nomic Relations’ trade policy & TIMELINES
With India warming up to sign - a harbinger of the world want- and WTO research progra- UAE: Comprehensive
NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister at least three early-harvest and ing to do business with India. mme, said India should be Economic Partnership
full-blown trade deals within While industry and govern- mindful of the past experience
Agreement by March 2022
India had conducted surgical strikes and noted that a list of 200 products that the next five months, experts ment officials have said signing of FTAs, especially concerning
on September 29, 2016, on terror will be procured only indigenously has harked back to the past, saying early-harvest agreements EHAs, since they have resulted UK: Interim trade deal
launchpads across the Line of Control been prepared. the country must be circum- (EHAs) can be a good strategy in adverse developments for by March 2022, followed
(LoC) as a response to a terrorist attack The list is going to be expanded soon, spect in such deals. since it signals commitment India. “EHAs have to be drafted by a comprehensive FTA
on an Army base in the Uri sector of he said. India is currently negotia- from both nations and kicks off carefully. Earlier, we had signed
Jammu and Kashmir. Modi also talked about the seven new ting free trade agreements trade in a small (albeit limited) an FTA with Thailand, which Australia: Comprehensive
Modi said the responsibility of pro- defence companies launched on Vijaya (FTAs) with the UK, the way, some believe the targets also had an EHA component. Economic Cooperation
tecting the freedom of the country vests Dashmi and noted that defence corridors European Union, the United are too grandiose right now. It only resulted in an inverted Agreement by the end-2022;
with everyone and today's India, in the are also coming up. He also highlighted Arab Emirates, and Australia. “We are understaffed at duty structure and India suf- early-harvest agreement to
Amrit Kaal of freedom, is aware of its that India's youth are involved in vibrant In most cases, India is present. Due to such ambitious fered quite a bit. One has to be signed by December 25
capabilities and resources. defence related startups. approaching a strategy to first targets, (hope) we don’t end up ensure that there is no adverse
He also underlined the importance of All this will strengthen India's position ink a mini trade or early-har- making any mistake while effect through an inverted duty EU: Talks expected to start
the growing 'Atmanirbharta (self-depen- as a defence exporter, he added. vest deal, which will be a pre- signing EHAs by March,” said structure,” said Hoda. by year-end
dence)' in defence resources as opposed Modi asserted that modern border cursor to an FTA that will be Pradeep S Mehta, secretary- Until now, India has signed
to the earlier period of dependence on infrastructure will enhance the country's signed eventually. general, CUTS International, a an early-harvest deal with
foreign countries and the long time taken military capabilities. Without disclosing names, global public policy think tank Thailand and Singapore. as possible and not riddle them
for defence procurements. How work was done with regard to Union Commerce and Industry on trade, regulation, and gov- Hoda also said that as far as with exceptions. “It is the
He said 65 per cent of the defence connectivity of border areas is known to Minister Piyush Goyal had last ernance. bilateral deals are concerned, exceptions that make them
budget is being used inside the country people, he said. week also said that two more Anwarul Hoda, chair pro- they should be cast as widely bad,” said Hoda.

India’s 2030 climate plans: How ambitious they are calculations. The annual trend has been
+ ABHISHEK WAGHMARE & ISHNAAN GERA
Pune/New Delhi, 4 November
As India set itself on a path to the long-term
target of becoming a net-zero economy by
2070, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
committed to the world four distinct near-
term targets to be achieved by 2030: improving
renewable power generation capacity,
greening India’s energy use, cutting emissions
explicitly, and reducing the economy’s
dependence on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
How has India performed
on these fronts so far? And
how achievable — or steep —
does the target look from
this point in time?
#Mission2030 Target 1:
GLASGOW Take India’s non-fossil
energy capacity to 500 Gw
COP26 Of the 388 Gw of installed
31 Oct–12 Nov power capacity in India
today, nearly 150 Gw is from
renewable sources, including hydroelectric
power. It has taken us seven years to double
the capacity from 2014. The previous doubling
was achieved in eight years.
Now, to achieve 500 Gw by 2030, India
needs to add 350 Gw in nine years. For that, we
need to double the capacity in less than five
years, according to back of the envelope
emissions in this decade and promised that
calculated using compounding the growth India’s total emissions till 2030 would be 1
rate from 2022 to 2030. billion tonnes lesser than the current
TARGET 1: TAKE INDIA’S NON-FOSSIL TARGET 2: MEET 50% OF ENERGY
projection. The Climate Action Tracker CAPACITY TO 500 Gw FROM RENEWABLES
#Mission2030 Target 2: Meet 50% of projects India’s annual emissions at 4 billion Renewables capacity (including hydro) in Gw in TWh or billion units
energy requirement from renewable tonnes of CO2e in 2030.
energy Reduction of 1 billion tonnes over nine
Today, India produces 24 per cent of the years would require—mathematically — a CAGR CAGR CAGR CAGR
electricity generation from reduction of 111 million tonnes 3.3% 7.9% 10.1% 14.5%
renewable sources. To go from 24 per NOW, TO ACHIEVE each year. This would cut
cent to 50 per cent in nine years is a 500 Gw NON-FOSSIL India’s annual emissions by
challenge, as it would require a ENERGY CAPACITY BY 2.5-3 per cent by 2030.
quadrupling of renewable power 2030, INDIA NEEDS
generation in a decade. This is the TO ADD 350 Gw IN #Mission2030 Target 4:
most conservative scenario, wherein NINE YEARS. FOR Reduce carbon intensity of Source: IEA Electricity Information 2020, BS Analysis
the generation from fossil fuels is THAT, IT IS REQUIRED its economy by less than Source: CEA, BS Analysis; Data after 2021 are estimates
2030 is an estimate assuming fossil fuel generation does not increase in
the next 10 years
considered steady at 2019 levels. If TO DOUBLE THE 45%
that increases every year — which is CAPACITY IN LESS In its voluntary pledge in 2010,
more likely than not — renewable THAN FIVE YEARS India had envisaged that the TARGET 3: REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS TARGET 4: REDUCE CARBON INTENSITY
power generation would need to emission intensity of its BY 1 BN TONNES BY 45%
increase by a higher multiple by economy would reduce by 25 Annual emissions in CO2e, billion tonnes By the target year... Reduce emission intensity by...
2030, probably five or six times that of today. per cent from the 2005 levels by the year 2020.
The improvement till now has been tepid: In its assessment, India found and reported 2005 - Base 0%
the share of renewables in power generation that intensity was cut by 24 per cent in 2016
was 19 per cent in 2010, and 17 per cent in 2000 itself, way ahead of the target. 2016 - Actual 24%
(The share was higher in 1990 due to larger In the 2016 Paris agreement, India
2020 - Original pledge 25%
share of hydropower and relatively planned to reduce the intensity by 35 per cent
underdeveloped thermal power stations). (from 2005 levels) by 2030. In Glasgow 2021, 2030 - Paris pledge 35%
the prime minister made the target further
#Mission2030 Target 3: Reduce total ambitious by announcing that India will cut 2030 - Glasgow pledge 45%
Assumption: Reduction of 1 bn tonnes over nine years = 111 mn tonnes of
projected carbon emissions by 1 bn tonnes the carbon intensity by 45 per cent of 2005 cut per year; Source: Technical analysis of the third biennial update report
Modi also announced a direct cut in carbon levels by 2030. Source: OurWorldInData, Climate Action Tracker, BS Calculations of India, UNFCCC

> FROM PAGE 1
> BS SUDOKU # 3507
Samvat 2078...
The US Federal Reserve Chairman Jay
Powell’s assurance that the central
bank would be patient with interest
rate hikes boosted investor sentiment.
This was the fourth straight year
the market has notched up gains on
Muhurat day. “Typically, the muhurat
trading session ends on a positive note.
Most of the investors think this is the
best day to buy. They make token pur-
chases, so there are more buyers than
sellers,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an
independent markets analyst.
The mood among those present at
the BSE was cheerful following a year
of superlative returns. The benchmark
Sensex finished Samvat 2077 with a
38 per cent gain—the most in 12 years.
The mid-cap and small-cap indices
jumped 63 per cent and 83 per cent
during the year. Most investors felt
returns this year will be positive, but
SOLUTION TO #3506 relatively muted. Analysts believe
investors will have to brace for more
Hard volatility over the next 3-6 months as
«««« the US Fed and other central banks
Solution get ready to lift interest rates as infla-
tion concerns rise.
tomorrow
“After a great year for equity mar-
HOW TO PLAY kets, investors are looking forward to
markets continuing rising though not
Fill in the grid so that at the same pace. Global headwinds
every row, every col- in the form of rising inflation and
umn and every 3x3 withdrawal of monetary stimulus may
box contains impact the moment. However,
the digits 1 to 9 strength in Indian macros and
improving micros may help offset
these. Investors need to conduct port-
folio, asset allocation reviews, and
raise the quality of stocks held in their
portfolio,” said Dhiraj Relli, managing
director and chief executive officer,
HDFC Securities. The rise in crude oil
prices, supply chain disruptions due
to Covid-19, the economic uncertainty
in China, and geopolitical tensions
between US and China are weighing
on investors’ minds. Last month, two
foreign brokerages downgraded the
Indian markets citing expensive val-
uations. Foreign portfolio investors
(FPIs) were net sellers to the tune of
~13,350 crore in October. So far this
month, they sold shares worth ~4,583
crore.
Last Samvat’s gains were under-
pinned by aggressive stimulus meas-
ures undertaken by central banks.
Another factor that spurred the
markets was the enthusiastic partici-
pation of retail investors, which has
driven returns over the past 4-5
months even as other emerging mar-
kets faltered. A lack of adequate
returns in other asset classes and lock-
down induced restlessness, which
gave them ample time to research and
make informed decisions, led to their
increased participation, say experts.
However, first-time investors
might have to battle volatility going
ahead. “This Samvat is likely to be very
volatile, unlike the one that has just
concluded. Rate hikes by the US Fed
will lead to some capital flight from
emerging markets like India, and this
is likely to trigger some sharp correc-
tion in the market,” said VK
Vijayakumar, chief investment strate-
gist at Geojit Financial Services.
Govt looks...
The big fall was seen in consumer
durables and electronics, where
capacity utilisation fell from 85 per
cent pre-second wave to 60 per cent
this June. A large part of the fall was
due to the shortage of semiconductor
chips. Clearly, the big-ticket items in
which incremental new investment is
expected to come up though the PLI
scheme include automobiles and auto
components (~42,000 crore),
advanced chemistry cells (~45,000
crore), pharma drugs (~15,000 crore),
and solar PV (~17,200 crore).
According to estimates by Jefferies
and commerce ministry data, invest-
ment in PLI schemes, together with
investment in data centres, should
add somewhere between $10-15 billion
in annual fresh investments in the
next few years.
AM/NS raises...
For instance, the June quarter con-
tracts were closed by most companies
towards the end of June with a 10-12
per cent escalation in prices.
Steel firms have been forced to
raise rates as prices have been rising
globally since restrictions were eased.
Sample this, domestic flat steel prices
nearly doubled to ~72,000 a tonne in
June from ~38,000 a tonne a year ago,
while long steel prices rose 1.4 times
to ~57,900 a tonne. Contract prices for
auto companies were, however, lower.
The second wave of Covid-19,
however, weakened the domestic mar-
ket and prices cooled during July-
September. However, they began ris-
ing again from October, on the back
of some recovery in demand and cost
push. After the latest increase this
month, flat steel prices are closer to
levels seen in June and long steel is
higher than that.
“We follow index-based pricing for
auto. Overall, the steel price index was
throwing up a rise of ~15,000-19,000 a
tonne, but we have not let this cause
an immediate impact on our auto
clients, who are currently facing head-
winds due to the chip shortage. We
have normalised the increase over two
periods for ease of auto companies,”
said Dhar. “AM/NS India firmly
believes in a symbiotic relationship
with all our customers as the relation-
ship is not spot but very long term in
nature,” he added. Typically, auto con-
tracts are settled for a period of six
months. But the volatility in prices
witnessed last year prompted com-
panies to move to quarterly contracts.
Now, AM/NS India is switching back
to half-year contracts. Steel accounts
for about 8-9 per cent of the selling
price of a car, according to sources.
Career...
“Covid-19 has tossed our lives and
work routines into disarray, but there
is one silver lining amid the chaos and
trauma, which is the rising acceptance
of mental health issues at work. As per
our survey, 68 per cent of respondents
from India struggled with mental
health at work more in 2021 than in
2020,” said Shaakun Khanna, head
HCM applications strategy, Oracle
Asia Pacific.
According to the survey, 96 per
cent of Indians said the definition of
“success” has shifted for them since
the pandemic, and that success is now
more aligned with achieving work-life
balance (52 per cent), prioritising men-
tal health (44 per cent), having flex-
ibility over when and where they work
(49 per cent), and having a meaningful
job (44 per cent), which contribute
more to their success than a steady
pay check. Going into 2022, profes-
sional development is top priority with
many willing to give up key benefits
such as vacation time (52 per cent);
monetary bonuses (51 per cent); and
even part of their salary (43 per cent)
for more career opportunities. In
India, 96 per cent of the workforce is
not satisfied with their employer’s
support.
“Through daily tracking, diagnos-
tics, and providing outlets for employ-
ees to discuss their issues, technology
can be used intelligently to ensure the
emotional and mental well-being of
the workforce,” he said.
The survey that was based on a
study of more than 14,600 employees,
managers, HR leaders, and C-suite
executives across 13 countries also
found that people across the world
have felt stuck in their personal and
professional lives, but are ready to
regain control of their futures

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 .
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 TAKE TWO 7 <

The future of digital-only news
The first lot of these online entities is finally
making money. But regulation and the
availability of capital will determine
their future
VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR
Pune, 4 November
PRINT - THE ONLINE READERSHIP STORY
> DEC-17
THE TOP INDIAN NEWS PROVIDERS ONLINE
> JUL-21
Quint, shut the year with ~22 crore
in revenues. “It has been profitable
for the last four quarters and in the
Satellites can
fourths of the ~23,500-crore adver- standing who is likely to pay or not.
tising money spent on digital. This If I push the wrong user to a pay-
leaves just about 20-30 per cent for
thousands of digital brands. To this,
wall, I will lose him. Algorithms on
who needs to be shown the paywall track carbon
add the pandemic. “During both
these (Covid) waves, users and inven-
are critical,” reckons Gupt. This
requires investing in artificial intel- pledges made
tory increased but revenue fell,” says ligence (AI), key to Google and
by nations
Puneet Gupt, COO, Times Internet. Facebook’s dominance.
That’s the second question:
Total unique visitors/ % reach Average minutes
viewers (in million) per visitor
The push for pay where is the capital? HENRY FOUNTAIN
The Morning Context was set up in “Raising money is a challenge,” 4 November
Total internet audience 273 100.0 2,933.4 late 2020 with funds from friends says Vellore. “In the short-term, rev-
News/information category 222 81.1 95.9 and family. The idea behind the sub- enue models are not defined. Three Under the 2015 Paris
scription-based business site was to years back it was possible to build Agreement to limit global
News media firm do “long form quality journalism,” a business on the back of advertis- warming, nations must
The Times Of India sites 85 31.2 41.6 says Ashish K Mishra, editor-in- ing. Now, that may be true only for measure and report progress
chief. It claims to have a renewal rate the bigger guys. The future of inde- toward their pledged reduc-
India Today Group 61 22.2 14.4
of 60 per cent on its small base. pendent media in India will involve tions in emissions. They reg-
“Annual subscribers are in sync with some element of reader revenue.” ularly submit greenhouse gas
the product. They hang out longer Mishra adds, “To build a sustain- inventories, detailing emis-
and their renewal rates are higher, able business you need capital for sion sources as well as
Total unique visitors/ % reach Average minutes too,” says Mishra. three years. However, to raise even removals, or sinks, of the gas-
viewers (in million) per visitor Many of the early movers and a million dollars (~7.5 crore), we es. These are then reviewed
legacy brands are learning what The need permissions. No Venture cap- by technical experts.
Total internet audience 468 100 3,991.10 Morning Context has within the first italist (VC) or benefactor wants to One new project, Climate
News/information category 461 98.5 153.6 few months. “It is important for us go through that. The Wire is a Trace, which former US Vice
News media firm not to chase reach. What really helps Section 25 (non-profit) company; President Al Gore described
us is deeper investment in our stories for-profit firms need to build some at an event alongside the
Times Internet Limited 395 84.4 83.9
and video to get subscribers,” says proof of concept.” COP26 summit in Glasgow,
Zee Digital 244 52.1 14.6 Ritu Kapur, co-founder and manag- Bahl agrees, “VCs are not invest- uses artificial intelligence and
Network 18 229 49.0 18.1 ing director, The Quint. ing in media; they prefer e-com- machine learning to analyse
HT Media Group 191 40.7 7.7 As the focus shifts, “it (the busi- merce or ed-tech. They will not satellite imagery and sensor
ness) becomes a mix of advertising fund your path to profitability, but data to come up with what it
The Indian Express Group 173 36.9 6.0 and subscription, and both have may come in if you are profitable.” says are accurate emissions
India Today Group 167 35.8 6.8

“
Unmasking the killer behind the
Cobra: How Kerala cops cracked
the case.”
“Tiger T-23 captured alive in the
Nilgiris after 21-day hunt.”
These were some headlines on
The News Minute (TNM) on a typical
morning this October. The news
site founded by Dhanya Rajendran,
Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh
Vellore remains resolutely focused
on India’s five southern
states. “We don’t touch on other
states. Our niche is here,” says
Vellore, CEO, TNM.
This, along with its on-ground
journalism, has meant that six years
later, “TNM is very close to prof-
itability,” says Raghav Bahl, co-
founder Quint Media and an
investor in the site. Its flagship, The
current one it generated free cash
flow,” he adds.
Six years after its launch,
Inshorts, which offers news stories
from different newspapers, agen-
cies and websites crunched to 60
words each, is one of India’s largest
news aggregators. In 2019, it
launched Public, an open news plat-
form a la YouTube. Till early this
year, it had 60,000 “creators”,
including ward members, MPs,
MLAs, among local residents, in
hundreds of small towns who use
it to upload short videos on local
happenings. Public brings in about
80 per cent of Inshorts’ 75 million
unique users. In March 2021,
Inshorts got over ~102 crore in rev-
enue. “If everything goes well, we
should hit ~150-160 crore in FY
Dailyhunt 156
NDTV 133
Jagran New Media 107
TV9 Network 103
Source - Comscore MMX Multi-platform Reports, India, June 2021
2022,” says co-founder and CEO,
Azhar Iqubal.
The Quint, TNM and Inshorts are
the happy green shoots of some-
thing that began in 2014 – the rise
of journalism-driven websites offer-
ing or aggregating news. The num-
ber of Indians accessing news
online has risen from 150 million
in 2016 to over 461 million in July
2021. “The sheer time spent online
and competition have increased,”
says Neha Singh, sales director,
33.3 58.8
28.5 5.2
22.8 7.0
22.0 7.1
Comscore India (see chart). “But
how do you monetise?” she asks.
That’s the first big question.
Ad rates for digital news remain
woefully low at ~50 to ~250 for every
thousand unique visitors, according
to data from media buying agency
Lodestar UM. Print gets six times and
TV three times that. Google
and Facebook, by virtue of being the
biggest gateways into the internet,
have the largest audience. In 2020,
they walked away with roughly three-
different compulsions,” says Gupt.
While immediacy of news is impor-
tant for the ad-driven audience,
depth is more important for sub-
scribers. It is, however, the adver-
tising part that is the “mainstay for
building subscriptions. Though
ARPU (average revenue per user)
on subscription is 20 to 30 times
that of advertising, it will start
showing only when there are tens
of millions of users,” Gupt adds.
Currently, India has less than a mil-
lion subscribers to news sites.
Entertainment OTTs, by compari-
son, have over 60 million.
Reaching, say, 10-20 million pay-
ing subscribers is tough even for the
~1,625-crore Times Internet, which
has 395 million unique visitors. “Lot
of data science goes into under-
The Information Technology
(Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules,
2021, notified by the Indian govern-
ment in February this year, have
posed another challenge. The code
has a grievance redressal mecha-
nism with a heavy regulatory hand.
While it has been taken to court,
the fact remains that setting up and
running an independent news
organisation has got tougher.
What drives traffic in the
cacophony of thousands of sources
is credibility. “The source of news
online has become important,” says
Shrikant Shenoy, general manager,
Lodestar UM. The trickle of rev-
enues into the digital news ecosys-
tem then is the proof of concept that
investors need.
estimates in near-real time.
But Nasa researchers and
colleagues Wednesday
reported what they called a
milestone toward a different
goal: measuring the actual
changes in carbon dioxide
concentrations in the atmos-
phere. The researchers said
that by plugging satellite
measurements of CO2 into an
Earth-systems model, they
were able to detect small
reductions in atmospheric
concentration of the gas over
the United States and other
areas that were a result of
coronavirus lockdowns in
early 2020.
@2021 The New York Times

> PART-7 N N N

Charaiveti: An
academic’s journey TARITWAN PAL, CC0, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

PRANAB BARDHAN

+ In spite of my abiding interest in literature

when I came to college, I was vaguely
inclined to major in History. In the long
break between school and college, I
chanced upon two books of Marxist
history which opened me to a new vista of
looking at history. The first was Maurice
Dobb’s Studies in the Development of
Capitalism. This book showed me that there
is a discernible pattern in the jumble of facts
in history, which attracted me. Soon after,
I read a lesser Marxist history book, A L
Morton’s People’s History of England, which
showed me how recasting the old widely-
known history of England from the people’s
perspective gives you new insights. These
books whetted my appetite to read more
of Marxist history.
In Presidency College there was a thriv-
ing tradition of Marxist history; the doyen At Presidency College there was a thriving tradition of Marxist history
of the historians there was the Marxist his-
torian Susobhan Sarkar, who had inspired the bus and rush to that library. The maga- Amlan Datta, whom my
generations of history students there. (I zine column we breathlessly read first was communist friends loved to hate. When I
managed to attend a couple of his lectures that of Isaac Deutscher, the Polish Marxist first went to College, he had recently pub-
as a sit-in student, but soon he was to leave writer, famous for his three-volume lished a book titled For Democracy, which
Presidency after a long career there). biography of Trotsky. was essentially a short tract giving the usual
Sarkar’s son, Sumit, also a famous historian The coffeehouse those days attracted liberal arguments against Stalinism in a
now, was a contemporary of mine in all kinds of characters. One table has several cool-headed logical way. When I read it, I
College. All around me, in College and in budding poets smoking away and, short of did not consider it a great book, nor did I
the coffeehouse, the dominant intellectual money, sometimes sharing one cup of cof- find anything particularly objectionable.
current was that of Marxists. fee among themselves (Allen Ginsberg, the The abusive words I heard about him made
College Street, the main thoroughfare American Beat poet, in what I believe his me curious, and one day I walked across to
in front of the College, and the road which last poem, is nostalgic about his Kolkata his table and introduced myself. Very soon
I walked everyday between my home and days in early 1960s, referring wistfully to we became good friends in spite of our large
College, was athrob with energetic leftist the “young coffeehouse poets”); another age and status difference—he a university
movements, the most table noisily discussing their professor and a leading public intellectual,
important of which were the literary preferences as signi- I, a callow student recently out of high
College Street was
protracted agitations in the fiers of political partisanship school. What I immediately liked about
athrob with
demand for adequate food (Sartre vs Camus, Bengali him, even though I disagreed with him on
energetic leftist
at affordable prices for the poets Buddhadeb Bose vs many points, he’d give me a patient hearing
movements, the
poor. Loud processions, bar- Bishnu De, etc); in a corner and honour my arguments by giving a
most important of
ricades, blocking of streets, table two lovebirds cooing to respectful, point-by-point rebuttal. After
which were the
tear gas, police chasing of each other ignoring the din some time when we knew where we agreed
protracted
students, and and bustle around; at another to disagree on politics, we moved to other
agitations in the
occasional police shooting table a rising film star subjects like literature. I also found out that
demand for
became part of my (Soumitra Chatterjee) and a he had the largest collection of western clas-
adequate food at
daily excitement. friend (Nirmalya Acharya) are sical music records or glossy books of west-
affordable prices
But on the intellectual busy editing the latest issue ern art reproductions of all my acquain-
for the poor
level doubts slowly gathered of the leading intellectual tances. So by arrangement I used to go to
in my mind, not so much Bengali magazine Ekshan; at his home Sunday afternoons when I’d listen
about Marx, but more about some of the another some students are loudly dis- to the music and look at the art prints for
Marxists around me. Many of them were cussing the student union elections or the hours. He also introduced me to Chinese
unreconstructed Stalinists; they would dis- latest soccer game results; at one table a cuisine, appreciation of which has been
miss the by-then well-documented atroci- young man is holding the open palms of long-lasting with me.
ties of Stalin as mere American propaganda, two women making a pretense of reading Although I remained an admirer of
and go on repeating the usual Party line them; another table has some famous Marxist history (over time with a growing
and cant, to which I became allergic. They Bengali writers on their way back from vis- list of important qualifications) I soon
also dismissed too easily the value of what iting their publishers in the neighbouring realised that to delve into the materialist
they described as ‘bourgeois democracy’. book district; at a corner table a lonely interpretation of history I needed to
In general I found the official Marxist bearded once-famous poet, now mentally understand the intricacies of Economics,
schema much too neat to fit in many of the unbalanced, is staring at the so this was how I gravitated to that subject.
complexities of social relations around. middle distance….. Looking back I think my first exposure to
Actually reading Marx, particularly his late For a time I also edited an (English) polit- Marxist history being with Maurice Dobb’s
works, I found him much more open than ical-literary magazine from the coffeehouse book may have inclined me in that
the Marxists I met — no wonder faced with titled ISM (Indian Students’ Magazine), direction, since Dobb himself was an
so-called Marxists around him, he which was started and funded by a young economist (whom I met several years later
reportedly told his son-in-law that he was businessman, a regular at the coffeehouse, in Cambridge, England). There is a story
not a Marxist. whom I did not know well but who wanted that when he was first offered the job in
There were furious debates among to be associated with intellectual activities. Cambridge by the conservative economist
several of us at the coffeehouse tables. In In the beginning, before others’ Dennis Robertson, he wanted to come
order to fortify my arguments I started read- contributions started coming, I wrote the clear that he was a member of the British
ing up particularly on the writings of editorial, and one of the main essays inside, Communist Party, to which Robertson
anti-Stalinist European leftists. Every and just to show that sufficient number of replied, “So long as you give us a fortnight’s
Friday the local British Council Library people are reading it, once I even wrote with notice before blowing up the chapel, it’d
would get its latest copy of The New a false name one of the letters to the editor, be all right.”
Statesman. As soon as the day’s classes were criticising my own editorial of the
over, a friend (Premen Addy, a previous month. The author is Professor of Graduate School at
historian and also the captain of the Another regular at the coffeehouse was University of California, Berkeley. The article was
college cricket team) and I would take an economics professor (not at the College), first published in the blog 3 Quarks Daily
This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 8 WORLD
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021

THE ‘GUEVARA’ IN GLASGOW’S CLIMATE FIGHT

‘End of coal is in sight’ as more
than 70 nations join new pact
REUTERS
Glasgow, 4 November
this year. He said on Thursday 77
countries had signed a pledge to
But the list published on
Thursday left out both India and Need 10x more
phase out coal-fuelled power
UN conference host Britain said 77 plants — which produce more than
China, which is home to almost
half the over 2,600 coal-fired plants
cash for climate
countries had pledged to phase out 35 per cent of the world’s electricity
coal, dirtiest of the fossil fuels that —and stop building new ones.
operating or under construction
around the world.
adaptation: UN
drive global warming, as a study “Today I think we can say that Poorer countries are certain to
Developing countries need up to 10
showed the carbon diox- the end of coal is in sight,” demand financial help from devel-
times more funding to protect
ide they release into the Sharma told the confer- oped nations as the price of ending
themselves from increasingly
atmosphere had ence. their reliance on coal — and richer
ferocious effects of climate change,
rebounded to near pre- Many developing countries have failed to meet a
the UN said. The UNEP report found
pandemic levels. countries, not least promise of providing $100 billion
developing countries will need to
“We were expecting to China, India and a year in “climate finance” by 2020.
spend up to $300 billion a year, while
see some rebound,” said Indonesia, rely on cheap, There are signs of initiatives to in 2019, wealthy countries provided
the study’s lead author accessible coal and other address the funding issue. $79.6 billion in climate assistance.
Pierre Friedlingstein, a cli- GLASGOW fossil fuels to grow, On Tuesday, countries includ-
mate
researcher
modelling
at the
COP26 despite their disadvan-
tages to the environment
ing Britain and the United States
announced an $8.5 billion partner-
‘Net-zero pledges
University of Exeter. 31 Oct–12 Nov and health. ship to help South Africa phase out may limit global
“What surprised us was coal faster.
the intensity and rapidity of the India, China absent
Emissions abound
warming to 1.8° C’
rebound.” Alok Sharma, British The British government said on Net zero emissions pledges and a
president of the COP26 conference Wednesday it expected 190 nations In 2020, carbon dioxide emissions commitment by leaders at the COP26
in Glasgow, said the two-week and organisations to sign the non- fell by a record 1.9 billion tonnes — climate conference to cut methane, if
meeting was on its way to gradually binding pledge, in which richer a 5.4 per cent drop — as countries enforced, would enable the world to
ending use of the world’s most countries would phase out coal locked down and economies limit global warming to below 2
Climate activist Greta Thunberg’s likeness, made in the image of Che Guevara, who has become a ubiquitous widely used fuel —for which power before 2040, and poorer ground to a halt because of the degree Celsius, the International
countercultural symbol of rebellion, was seen in Glasgow, Scotland, on Thursday PHOTO: TWITTER/STUART MURDOCH demand is set to hit a new record countries before 2050. coronavirus pandemic. Energy Agency said on Thursday.

IN BRIEF Merck gets UK nod, China ring-fences Beijing;

World food prices Europe may see half a mn
scaled 10-yr peak world’s 1st Covid pill more deaths by Feb: WHO
in Oct, warns FAO
World food prices rose for a
third straight month in
October to reach a fresh 10-
October. Agricultural
commodity prices have risen
steeply in the past year,
ready to be out soon AGENCIES
4 November

Chinese authorities are ring-fencing

year peak, led again by
increases in cereals and
vegetable oils, the UN food
agency said on Thursday.
The Food and Agriculture
driven by harvest setbacks
and strong demand. That
mainly reflected reduced
wheat output estimates for
Iran, Turkey and the United
US advisors to meet this month to vote on authorisation Beijing against growing Covid-19 outbreaks
now permeating more than half the
REUTERS nation’s provinces, seeking to protect the
4 November capital as it gears up to host top political
leaders next week and the Winter Olympics

Organization’s (FAO) food
price index, which tracks
international prices of the
most globally traded food
commodities, averaged 133.2
points last month compared
with a revised 129.2 for
September. The September
figure was previously given
as 130.0. The October reading
was the highest for the
+ index since July 2011. On a
year-on-year basis, the
index was up 31.3 per cent in
Uber may take $3-bn loss on
States, offsetting an
increased forecast for coarse
grain production. Expected
world cereal output would
still represent a record, but
would trail projected
demand, leading to a fall in
forecast cereal stocks, FAO
said. Demand was
supported by a raised
projection of global cereal
trade to a new record,
bolstered by increased
wheat trade. REUTERS
B
ritain on Thursday became the first coun-
try in the world to approve a potentially
game-changing Covid-19 antiviral pill
jointly developed by US-based Merck and
Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, in a boost to the fight
against the pandemic.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended the
drug, molnupiravir, for use in people with mild
to moderate Covid-19 and at least one risk factor
for developing severe illness, such as obesity,
older age diabetes, and heart disease.
It will be administered as soon as possible
following a positive Covid-19 test and within
five days of the onset of symptoms, the regu-
lator said, citing clinical data.
The green light is the first for an oral antiviral
treatment for Covid-19 and the first for a
in less than 100 days.
The country’s state-owned rail operator
said on Wednesday they suspended ticket
sales for trains departing from 123 stations
in 23 locations that reported coronavirus
infections. Previously, Beijing’s municipal Chinese President Xi Jinping called on
government all but barred people visiting Thursday for the smooth global trade in
the city from areas reporting Covid cases. vacccines and other medical supplies,
The escalating restrictions come after saying that unilateralism & protectionism
the number of cases rose persistently. were rising across the world PHOTO: REUTERS
Molnupiravir, which will be branded as Lagevrio The growing concerns over a resurgence
in Britain, is designed to introduce errors into fuelled by the delta variant finds echoes a million deaths by early next year.
the genetic code of the coronavirus PHOTO: REUTERS even in the European Union. “The current pace of transmission across
The World Health Organization warned the 53 countries of the European Region is
NATIONS MAKE A BEELINE on Thursday that the rising number of cases of grave concern,” WHO Europe director
Orders placed of Covid-19 in Europe were of “grave con- Hans Kluge told a press conference, sharing
US
Courses
1,700,000
Doses cern” and the region could see another half the data from a “reliable projection”.

Didi after China crackdown
Uber Technologies Inc. is poised to record a loss of more than
$3 billion on its stake in Didi Global Inc., wiping out the $1.4
billion it made after the Chinese ride-hailing giant went
public in June. Since pulling off one of the biggest US stock
market debuts of the past decade, Didi’s US-traded shares
have plummeted 41 per cent since Chinese regulators ordered
the app to be removed from online stores in its home market,
citing privacy and security risks. BLOOMBERG
US trade deficit widens to
record as exports decline
The US trade deficit widened to a record in September,
reflecting a pickup in imports and a drop in exports that
show a pandemic recovery further along than many other
economies around the world. The gap in trade of goods
and services grew 11.2 per cent to $80.9 billion, from a
revised $72.8 billion in August, according to Commerce
Department data released on Thursday. Exports declined
3 per cent to $207.6 billion. BLOOMBERG
Covid-19 drug that will be administered widely
in the community. US advisors will meet
this month to vote on whether molnupiravir
should be authorised.
Merck’s Molnupiravir has been closely
watched since data last month showed it could
halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised
for those most at risk of developing severe Covid-
19 when given early in the illness.
Molnupiravir, which will be branded as
Lagevrio in Britain, is designed to introduce
errors into the genetic code of the coronavirus
that causes Covid-19 and is taken twice a day
for five days.
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical
director for the National Health Service (NHS)
Novartis cuts uneasy 20-year ties Boeing has more work to
to Roche with $20.7-bn stake sale do, says US air safety head
UK 480,000 Australia
Philippines 300,000 300,000
Vax or masks: US’ Jan 4 deadline
Thailand 200,000
Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees
Malaysia 150,000 France will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by January 4 or get tested for the
50,000
South Korea 20,000 virus weekly under government rules issued on Thursday. The new requirements,
which were first previewed by President Joe Biden in September, will apply to about
Note: Molnupiravir needs to be taken orally every 12 hours for five
days by adults with mild-to-moderate Covid 84 million workers at medium and large businesses, although it is not clear how
Source: Reuters, Bloomberg many of those employees are unvaccinated. Tougher rules will apply to another 17
million people who work in nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities that receive
money from Medicare and Medicaid. Those workers will not have an option for
in England, said the drug would be administered
to patients at higher risk of complications as testing — they will need to be vaccinated. Workers will be able to ask for exemptions
on medical or religious grounds. AGENCIES
Britain heads into one of the most challenging
winters ever.

Federal Aviation Administration tionship with Boeing in no uncer-

Democrats add paid leave, REUTERS
Zurich, 4 November
tax changes to Biden Bill Novartis AG said on Thursday it
House Democrats added a new paid family leave program, would sell its nearly one-third voting
immigrant work permits and a state-and-local tax break to stake in Roche back to its cross-town
President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social services and rival for $20.7 billion, disentangling
environmental bill on Wednesday, reviving key priorities in the two pharma companies that had
the rush to finish up and start voting after dismal overnight been linked by the investment for
election results. The flurry of additions — on top of a plan to two decades.
include lower Medicare prescription drug prices — comes as The deal extricates Roche from
Democrats are desperate to deliver on proposals. AGENCIES ownership ties to a major competi-
tor with strategic vetoing power,
though it has kept a passive role in
the face of powerful Roche family
shareholders. Novartis has agreed
to sell 53.3 million Roche bearer
shares for $388.99 (356.93 Swiss
francs) per share.
By mid-morning, Roche shares
were up 2.4 per cent, while Novartis
shares were up 0.2 per cent.
In a separate statement, Roche
said it will use debt to finance what
it called a “disentanglement of two
competitors” and plans to reduce
its capital by cancelling the repur-
chased shares to regain full strate-
gic flexibility.
Novartis’ involvement started in
2001, when Swiss activist investor
Martin Ebner, known for orchestrat-
ing the merger that created banking
giant UBS, offered his Roche stake
to its cross-town rival out of frustra-
tion over rebuffed proposals.
chief Steve Dickson told a US
Congress panel that Boeing Co has
“more work to do” as the plane-
maker continues to face scrutiny fol-
lowing two fatal 737 MAX crashes in
the space of five months in 2018-
2019 that killed 346 people.
“Boeing is not the same as it was
two years ago but they have more to
work to do,” Dickson told the Senate
Commerce Committee on
Wednesday. “We have reset the rela-
tain terms.” Boeing said it “is com-
mitted to full transparency and
cooperation in all aspects of our
relationship with the FAA.”
Dickson said the FAA is delegat-
ing fewer responsibilities to Boeing
for aircraft certification. Senator
Maria Cantwell, the committee
chair, disclosed she plans to release
a report on aviation whistleblowers
by the end of the year.
REUTERS

Credit Suisse takes axe to prime broking biz after multibillion-dollar losses
JOHN O’DONNELL, OLIVER HIRT & MICHAEL SHIELDS
Frankfurt/Zurich, 4 November
Credit Suisse will rein in its investment bankers
and plough money into looking after the
fortunes of the world’s rich as it tries to curb a
freewheeling culture that has cost it billions in a
string of scandals.
Announcing the restructuring on Thursday,
Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, who joined
from Lloyds Bank in April to bring the Swiss
lender to heel, said he was putting risk
management and responsibility at the heart of
its operations.
Switzerland’s second-biggest bank will all
but stop funding hedge funds by shutting most
of its prime brokerage business, a division
blamed for racking up $5.5 billion in losses when
investment fund Archegos Capital Management
defaulted in March.
The long-awaited reorganisation, however,
fell short of the sweeping overhaul expected by
some investors.
“It’s rather underwhelming. A bit of
reshuffling, of reorganisation here and there,
and a few exits,” said Jerome Legras of Axiom
Alternative Investments. Analysts at Citi said it
was a “modest restructuring” which relied on
growth rather than cutting costs.
To further dampen the mood, the bank
posted a 21 per cent fall in third-quarter profit
and said it expected a loss in the final three
months of 2021 as it writes off some 1.6 billion
francs ($1.8 billion) of goodwill related to the
investment bank.
Beyond acceptable
SPIES, LIES AND LOSSES: THE MANY SCANDALS
The bank’s exit from prime broking cements its Here are some details about the main crises to beset the bank in recent years REUTERS
demise as a major player in the hedge fund
industry. In 2010, it was ranked the second-biggest TUNA BOND
FRAUD: ARCHEGOS DEFAULT: Credit Suisse lost $5.5 bn when
prime broker in the world, outstripping the likes of
Credit Suisse US family office Archegos Capital Management, founded by
US giants JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.
But a succession of leadership changes and pleaded guilty Bill Hwang (pictured), defaulted in March. The hedge fund’s
risk oversight branded as “lackadaisical” in an to defrauding highly leveraged bets on certain tech stocks backfired. An
independent review culminated in the Archegos investors independent report slammed the bank’s conduct, saying its
losses that triggered its downfall. over an $850 losses were the result of a fundamental failure of management
The trimmed down investment bank will mn loan to and control at its prime brokerage division in particular
focus on advising firms on deals and listings and Mozambique
trading cash equities. Credit Suisse will also cut meant to pay for
back its lending in emerging markets. GREENSILL FUNDS COLLAPSE: assuring them in marketing material
a tuna fishing that the high-yield notes were low risk
The bank said the overall reorganisation Credit Suisse was forced to freeze $10
fleet and is
would save it 1 billion to 1.5 billion francs by 2024. bn of supply chain finance funds in SPYING SCANDAL: Credit Suisse CEO
Horta-Osorio emphasised the history of a
paying US and
UK regulators March when British financier Greensill Tidjane Thiam was forced to quit in
national icon, which was founded to finance the Capital collapsed after losing insurance March 2020 after a probe found the
construction of Switzerland’s pan-Alpine $475 mn to settle
the case under a cover for debt issued against its loans to bank hired private detectives to spy on its
railways and has been central to the country’s
transformation from a farming nation to deal announced firms. The Swiss bank had sold billions former head of wealth management
financial powerhouse. REUTERS in October of dollars of Greensill's debt to investors, Iqbal Kahn after he left for arch rival UBS

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 >
OPINION 9
STAY INFORMED THROUGH THE DAY @ WWW.BUSINESS-STANDARD.COM

Volume XXVI Number 60

MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 tonnes or less. Size matters in an aircraft carrier, since

Broadening economic recovery A big stick for the that determines how many aircraft it embarks.
Roughly, a carrier can embark and operate one aircraft
for every 1,000 tonnes it displaces. The 44,000-tonne
INS Vikramaditya embarks 36 aircraft — 30 MiG-29K

Indian Navy
fighters and six Kamov helicopters. This air comple-
Samvat 2078 is likely to see lower equity returns ment, however, is inadequate. A carrier that is operat-
ing beyond the reach of shore-based air support

S
amvat 2077 saw an extraordinary mix of best and worst times. The market
rally took stocks to their best performance in 12 years, backed by an even
bigger surge in cryptocurrencies and commodities. India also managed
to administer one billion vaccine doses of Covid-19, fully protecting
roughly one-fourth of the population. But on the downside, the second wave
overwhelmed the health care system, raising the death toll. There have also been
persistent unemployment and distress across the informal economy. Interest
requires 50-60 aircraft to protect the CBG, while also
retaining offensive strike capability against enemy tar-
In the new military architecture emerging in the Indo-Pacific, a gets. That calls for at least a 65,000-tonne carrier, some-
third aircraft carrier will be needed to effectively counter the thing that Indian shipyards have never built.
Not all the aircraft on board a carrier are fighters
Chinese Navy or combat helicopters. There are also airborne early
warning aircraft — radar-equipped, airborne com-

A
rates have been held low while inflation has run high to add some more para- ircraft carriers — the name for warships that
doxical elements to this jigsaw puzzle of contradictions. Where will Samvat 2078 carry fixed wing fighter aircraft — have been
take the economy? The jury’s out on the quality of the ongoing economic recovery in the news recently. In July, a flotilla of British
— will it be fast enough, broad enough, and sustained enough? How long will it warships, led by an aircraft carrier, the Royal Navy’s
take to achieve some level of herd immunity to address Covid concerns? How flagship, Her Majesty’s Ship Queen Elizabeth (HMS
will the country respond to a third wave? Will the educational system have the QE), transited through the Indian Ocean on her way
resilience to compensate for the loss of classroom learning? to the South China Sea. This was the QE’s first opera-
The answers to some of those questions will arrive with time. While the tional tour of those contested waters and was intended
to demonstrate the “Indo-Pacific tilt” in London’s secu-
economy is in recovery mode, the recovery has been K-shaped and uneven.
rity policy. In early October, the QE joined two
Segments like travel, hospitality and entertainment have slipped back five years.
American carriers — United States
The formal economy, and higher-income groups, have done much better than Ship (USS) Ronald Reagan and USS
those at the bottom of the pyramid. Activity in the informal economy must accel- Carl Vinson — and a Japanese heli-
erate if consumption is to pick up. The fast-moving consumer goods sector and copter carrier, Japanese Ship Ise, to
two-wheelers are running below 2018-19 levels. Recovery depends on a pickup patrol the waters around Taiwan,
in lower-income household expenditure. In sectors like realty, there’s been con- where almost 100 Chinese military
solidation as smaller, under-capitalised developers have been swallowed up by aircraft intruded into airspace that
larger groups. So far as the stock market is concerned, the journey north has Taipei claims to control. This was a
been fuelled by easy liquidity, loan moratoriums, and tax cuts that helped heavily show of military power and intent
indebted businesses to deleverage. The liquidity has also led to a great opportunity that aircraft carriers are well suited
for initial public offerings (IPOs) and start-ups, since it has allowed entrepreneurs for. Former US secretary of state,
Henry Kissinger, had famously
to raise money at a rapid clip. Foreign investors have also been extremely opti-
mistic, pumping money into rupee assets. Further, a global commodity rally has remarked: “An aircraft carrier is BROADSWORD
both helped, and hurt. Miners and manufacturers of industrial metals have gen- 100,000 tons of diplomacy.” AJAI SHUKLA
erated bumper profits. But uptrends in oil and gas prices, coupled with high On its way back to the UK in
October, the QE-led flotilla (called
taxes on fuels, have also led to inflation, making people more averse to discre-
Carrier Strike Group 21) trained with the Indian navy
tionary consumption.
in the tri-service Exercise Konkan Shakti in the Arabian
Samvat 2078 is likely to see lower equity returns for several reasons. One is Sea. The navy did not field its lone aircraft carrier,
simply a higher base. Another is tighter global liquidity. The Fed has announced Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikramaditya, for the joint
a taper, which could impact foreign inflows. The Reserve Bank of India has tight- exercise. On August 4, a landmark day for Indian ship-
ened regulations with respect to borrowing to subscribe to IPOs. This would building, INS Vikrant, the country’s first indigenous
impact the primary market from next April. China’s real-estate bubble with its aircraft carrier (IAC-1), sailed out from Cochin Shipyard
high indebtedness is also a clear and present danger for the global economy. The Ltd (CSL) for her maiden sea trials. With her systems
low base effects of last year are now moderating. Most businesses are complaining performing to expectation, the Vikrant is currently
about margin pressures and soft demand. It would be unrealistic to expect the undergoing a second round of sea trials. India’s top
current earnings growth rates to be sustained — indeed, growth eased up in the government auditor discovered that the Vikrant is 12
second quarter. But investors can hope for a broadening of economic recovery, years late in construction and will end up costing 13
putting money into more pockets and driving consumption. This must be aligned times what was budgeted. Yet, it will remain a potent
to vigorous vaccination drives, strong infrastructure spending, tax rationalisation, tool for coercion and signalling. Former US President
and other policy measures to drive growth, and broaden the base. None of this is Theodore Roosevelt summed up his foreign policy as:
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” The
rocket science but implementation will be key. Samvat 2078 arrives accompanied
US Navy supercarrier named after him, USS Theodore
by a mix of hopes and fears. Happy investing!
Roosevelt, bears the nickname: The Big Stick.
In the second week of October, the four big
Quadrilateral Group navies — the Indian Navy,
Earlier, on September 15, the US further
reinforced the military architecture for confronting
China, joining hands with the UK and Australia to
create an “enhanced trilateral security partnership”
named AUKUS (Australia – UK – US). While its first
announcement was that the UK and US would pro-
vide Australia with the classified technology and
wherewithal needed to build and operate up to eight
nuclear-powered attack submarines, American air-
craft carriers will form the spine of AUKUS.
In New Delhi’s corridors of
power, however, debate still con-
tinues on whether the navy even
needs a third aircraft carrier.
Successive navy chiefs, including
the current one, Admiral Karambir
Singh, have publicly argued for hav-
ing three carriers in service. This
would allow two carrier battle
groups (CBGs) — each one with air,
surface and sub-surface capabilities
—to project power in India’s eastern
and western seaboards simulta-
neously, with the third carrier in
reserve or undergoing maintenance
or repair. An aircraft carrier, with
integral air support from on-board combat aircraft,
protects and gets protection from all components of
the CBG — multirole destroyers and frigates, anti-
submarine corvettes, missile boats, logistics support
vessels and submarines — enabling the CBG to oper-
ate thousands of kilometres from land.
Opposition to a third carrier comes from the Indian
Air Force (IAF), which claims it can provide air support
to navy CBGs from shore-based airfields such as Car
Nicobar and Thanjavur. It refers to the Andaman &
Nicobar Islands as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier.” This
viewpoint is backed by the tri-service chief, General
Bipin Rawat, who has publicly declared that an aircraft
carrier costs too much, is overly vulnerable to enemy
attack and that more submarines should be bought
instead. In fact, the further away from the coast the
CBG operates, the less effective is shore-based air sup-
port, given the limited radius of action of fighter air-
craft. And as a CBG sails further away, shore-based air
support ceases to be effective at all.
mand posts that control and direct carrier-deck
fighters as threats develop. The US Navy uses the E-
2D Hawkeye, a large, twin turbo-prop aircraft that
needs a far longer deck for getting airborne than what
is available in sub-45,000-tonne carriers like the
Vikramaditya or Vikrant. The US Navy found the solu-
tion in 100,000-tonne “supercarriers” that launch air-
craft with steam catapults — a steam-driven piston
that hooks on to the belly of an aircraft and accelerates
it to take-off speed in just 2-3 seconds. The newest
American supercarriers of the USS Gerald R Ford class
have replaced steam catapults with an “electromag-
netic aircraft launch system” (EMALS) that accelerates
aircraft (including unmanned aircraft) precisely to
take-off speed. EMALS is smaller, lighter, quicker, and
more powerful, and allows the take-off speed to be
calibrated for different types of aircraft, reducing
stress and wear on their airframes.
It was earlier believed that EMALS requires so
much power that a nuclear-propelled carrier would
be essential. With a nuclear propulsion solution
nowhere in sight, the Indian Navy is veering round to
the belief that the answer could lie in the QE’s “inte-
grated all-electric propulsion system.” That is based
on two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine alternators (36
Megawatts each) and four Finnish Wartsila diesel gen-
erators that each provide 10 MW. These generators
drive electric motors provided by US firm GE Power
Conversion, propelling the 65,000 tonne carrier at 32
knots (60 km per hour) and also power the EMALS.
Ultimately, an aircraft carrier’s combat power
depends upon the robustness and combat power of
the aircraft that it operates and what sortie rates it can
generate. The Russian MiG-29K/KUB, which was spe-
cially developed to operate off IAC-1, has emerged as a
major disappointment. Since it arrived, it has been
riddled with problems relating to its airframe, RD MK-
33 engine and fly-by-wire system. The serviceability
of the MiG-29K ranged from a disgraceful 15.93 per
cent to 37.63 per cent; and that of MiG-29KUB from
21.30 per cent to 47.14 per cent. Numerous defects
relating to failure of airframe parts had occurred during
deck operations, most of them caused by the high
impact of the MiG-29K/KUB fighters during touch
down. While MiG has made some improvements, the
navy will have to expedite the ongoing procurement

Nurturing horticulture United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self

Defence Force and the Royal Australian Navy —
trained together in Exercise Malabar 2021. Amongst
Constraints in the sector must be addressed the frontline ships that participated were the car-
riers, USS Carl Vinson and J S Kaga.
For building a suitably powerful and capable IAC-
2, India needs knowhow and skill from the US, French
or British Navies, even after undergoing the experience
of building INS Vikrant in CSL. That is because India
has only operated small aircraft carriers of 44,000
of 57 “carrier based multi-role fighters” from the global
market, or the “twin-engine deck-based fighter” that
the Defence R&D Organisation is developing indige-
nously. Only then would IAC-2 be a carrier that can
confront the Chinese Navy on equal terms.

G
oing by the agriculture ministry’s latest crop assessment, the production
of fruit, vegetables and other horticultural products rose to a new high
of 331 million tonnes in 2020-21, outpacing the food grain output of
306 million tonnes for the ninth year in a row. This trend, notably, has
+ endured despite low developmental effort, public funding, and policy support
to horticulture in comparison to grain crops. Measures like minimum support
Whose net zero future?
prices are unavailable for fruit and vegetables, though most of these crops are

grown by resource-poor small landholders with a meagre risk-bearing capacity.
Yet, the uptrend in production remained intact even during the longish drought
between 2016 and 2018. The horticultural revolution can, thus, be deemed more
impressive than the much-acclaimed green revolution. This is borne out by the
fact that horticultural production has spurted 13-fold since 1950, against only
around a six-fold rise in food grain output. The increase, significantly, is attribut-
able more to the productivity upswing than area expansion.
Horticulture now accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the agriculture sector’s
output, which comprises field crops, animal husbandry, fisheries, and forestry.
Little wonder, therefore, that India has emerged as the world’s second-largest
producer of fruit and vegetables, next only to China. It tops in the output of fruit
and vegetables like mango, banana, guava, lemon and okra, and is the second-
largest grower of potato, onion, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal, and a few
other crops. However, the past achievements do not call for any complacency in
boosting this sector further. The reasons for this are several. For one, most horti-
cultural crops, thanks to their inherent high yield and greater market value, are
more lucrative than other crops. Besides, these crops are relatively climate-resil-
ient and need less water and other inputs to grow. They, therefore, can be the
potential alternatives to environment-unfriendly field crops to diversify agricul-
ture. The United Nations has declared 2021 as the international year of fruit and
vegetables to enhance farmers’ income and improve consumers’ nutrition.
Indeed, the horticulture sector continues to face several constraints, which
mar its growth prospects. The development of infrastructure for the post-harvest
management of horticultural produce, for instance, has failed to keep pace with
growth in production. Cold stores, needed for the safe upkeep of surplus output,
are scarce. So are the refrigerated transport vehicles and the facilities for pre-
marketing grading, packaging and processing of these products. The result,
evidently, is very high wastage of the output of these perishable and semi-per-
ishable products. Some estimates put these losses at a massive 30 to 40 per cent,
valued roughly at around ~2 trillion a year. Hardly around 3 per cent of horticul-
tural produce is processed into value-added and shelf life-enhanced products.
This compares poorly with many other countries where the bulk of the output is
processed to prolong the shelf life and ensure the year-round availability of hor-
ticultural products. The marketing of these perishable and delicate products,
too, is in bad shape. Growers often fail to recover their production costs, especially
during the post-harvest peak marketing seasons. They are at times forced to
throw their perishable produce on roads to protest against unremunerative prices.
These issues need to be addressed urgently to ramp up the production and con-
sumption of fruit, vegetables, and other high-value and nutrition-dense horti-
cultural products.
T
he Indian prime minister’s speech at the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change in Glasgow powerfully articulated the
the global south’s concerns about climate change. The
West for its own reasons is fixated with the net zero
target. But India showed with great clarity that climate
action could not be separated from securing inclusive
and equitable prosperity.
“Our common planet” cannot be visualised by cli-
mate warriors with selective amnesia. Doing so makes
climate inaction “a weapon on the weak” — if the world
does not care about Bangladesh being inundated since
its inception, but now cares about
favourite beaches of the rich being
inundated due to global warming,
then why should Bangladesh care? A
stunted malnourished Indian child
will take the ravages of global warming
as her lot in life; it is the healthy, well-
nourished Norwegian child who will
suffer most incrementally. Concern
for our common planet cannot there-
fore be confined to things on which
collective action is required, because
they impact the children of the rich. RATHIN ROY
On October 21, India spoke of the
need to focus on “pathways to net
zero” rather than fixating on the year a country would
achieve net zero. This was ignored simply because cli-
mate warriors and rich countries do not care a fig about
pathways, as their behaviour towards their own poor
and disempowered citizens shows. This is why the
focus of climate science has been on energy. Energy is
an intermediate good, it can be used to light a school
or a brothel. The rich do not care about use, as long as
the energy source is renewable. As a result, there is no
public transport in many parts of rural Britain on
Sundays, which means only those with cars can enjoy
a day out. That is fine for net zero as long as the cars
are electric. The car is the bedrock of rural Europe and
as long as people transit to electric cars no one cares
about those who do not have cars. The energy transi-
tion is divorced from the choice of pathway. Recycling
vegans happily drive their kids to school and to the
doctor, and long distances on holiday. As long as they
are doing it in electric cars by 2030, they couldn’t care
less about those who cannot afford cars.
India is in a fortunate position in that almost every
action to improve productivity and equity will be car-
bon reducing. Manual scavenging, open-cast coal
mining, water-intensive green-revolution agriculture
— these and many other activities leave millions of
citizens with precarious, low-remuneration employ-
ment. Switching to more productive ways of doing
these things like zero-budget natural farming, biodi-
versity activities, and better sanitation and building
practices would improve productiv-
ity and lower the carbon footprint.
But such transitions require financ-
ing, and it is here that the utter self-
ishness of the rich countries comes
into play.
In rich countries, it is old people
who own the assets, not the young.
Measured by asset ownership, the
under-40s in rich countries are the
poorest generation of that cohort
since the 1930s. These old people
have a lot of savings and they seek
to live on the returns. Returns are
high in countries with young people,
like India, so it is logical that finance should flow from
rich to poor countries, which could then make the pro-
ductivity and climate transition. Note this is not an
argument for aid, but a commercial proposition that
would be extremely valuable if the public good inherent
in it were to be valorised as people are constantly trying
to do with carbon credits and carbon taxes.
But the old rich have miserably failed on this count,
preferring safe low returns to investing in the climate
and productivity cause. The global financial system
and western governments have collaborated in this
failure. India quite rightly pointed out that given this
failure, the meeting of net zero targets would not
happen. G7 leaders are not credible even to the British
monarch on this front. She said, “It’s really irritating
when they talk, but they don’t do”.
The prime minister’s speech in Glasgow also raised
serious questions for introspection within our coun-
try. Growth since 1991 has been unequalising, but
inequality continues to rise even as the economy has
decelerated over the past five years. I have repeatedly
argued that the 1991-sparked India story is over and
we have to find new pathways to inclusive transfor-
mative prosperity. These involve important policy
trade-offs. For example, a hydrogen-powered railway
network will improve transportation productivity
and enrich tomorrow’s hydrogen producers (who
have the money to invest in this technology because
they are today’s fossil fuel barons). That is fine, except
when you ask, who will the railways transport? If the
answer continues to be large numbers of migrant
workers from the north and the east of India to the
prosperous peninsula, then this would be a perpet-
uation of an inequality enhancing growth pathway.
Alternatively, green activities in north and east India
would reduce the demand for rail transport, thereby
reducing the carbon footprint and increasing equity
and prosperity across the country. Investing in dry-
land and natural farming would reduce the need for
millions of tonnage to move grain from Punjab to
the rest of India again, improving equity and Punjab’s
ecology and reducing the carbon footprint.
So India’s lessons about pathways at Glasgow are
important as we look within. Inclusive and inequality
reducing choices about what we produce, where and
for whom will renew the India story, increase social
cohesion, reduce inequality in many dimensions and,
almost as a by-product or externality, rapidly reduce
carbon emissions. If we successfully tread this trans-
formative path, I have no doubt that we, the people of
India, will reach net zero well before 2070. But if we
persist with pathways that produce gated commu-
nities, immiserising employment opportunities and
accentuating regional inequality, and achieve net-zero
by 2070 by giving the rich electric cars and replacing
coal-powered energy for lifestyle consumption with
solar energy, then we would have saved our “common
planet” but failed future generations of Indians.
The writer is managing director, ODI, London.
r.roy@odi.org. Views are personal

Fragments of exhilaration though, more palpable, less ambiguous,

Mr Dhondy’s memoir, however, isn’t
about gathering the shards of a life jolted
by dislocations. And it certainly isn’t
about ruin.
But I will come to the seemingly
incongruous title later. For now,
BOOK REVIEW Mr Dhondy’s narrative demands atten-
tion. He tells of his father, Lieutenant
RADHIKA OBEROI Colonel Jamshed Dhondy’s transfer to
the Military Staff College in Quetta, and of
almost audible in their retelling. Like
attending The Bishop’s School in Pune
(Mr Dhondy’s Poona), and discovering
Thomas Hardy and Marie Corelli on the
shelves of the Albert Edward Institute on
East Street. He recalls holidays in
Kashmir, where he attempts to make
cherry wine, and in Kanpur, where his
sister Zareen plays a record of the gloomy
ballad Tom Dooley with exasperating
persistence on the turntable. In Bombay,
where he enrols for a course in chemical
from the top public schools — scholars
and intellectuals all, no doubt — and
some were grammar school lads from
tor for Channel 4 television, from 1984 to
1997, are also stoked by his political ideal-
ism. These are the years of power and
writes to Mala Sen from Cambridge.
There are moments of deep and abiding
friendship, like gifting a cat, picked from
working-class families and whose fathers influence, of a heady multiculturalism an animal shelter, to V S Naipaul. But
earned their living as fishermen and fac- that leads to the setting up of an appren- these aren’t the tattered remains of mem-
tory workers.” He becomes friends with a ticeship scheme for people of ethnic ory. In fact, Fragments Against My Ruin is
working-class origin, of dining anything but fractured. The memoir tells
London Irish under- with Oprah of a life, whole and somewhat unscathed
graduate, Paul Fragments Winfrey and arriv- by the whims of fortune. It tells of a life in
Danaher, and finds Against My Ruin: A ing with Mira Nair which talent meets exhilarating opportu-
himself drawn Life at the Oscars, nities. Which brings me back to the per-
towards the clam- drunk and stoned. plexities caused by the title of the book.
Author: Farrukh
our of socialism. Dhondy These are the years What fragments? Whose ruin?

I
n retrospect, the title of Farrukh
Dhondy’s memoir Fragments Against
My Ruin: A Life left me confounded. It
is at odds with the substance of the book
— a narrative of vivid, often exuberant
recollections that moves swiftly, unen-
cumbered by sentimental ramblings or
digressions. The phrase “Fragments
Against My Ruin” is a variation of a line
that appears towards the end of T S
Eliot’s 1922 poem, The Waste Land:
“These fragments I have shored against
my ruins.” Cracked images of Europe
traumatised by the First World War lie
scattered across Eliot’s poem.
a house in the cantonment there. A house
with a garden and a chilli tree, which the
family must leave in 1947, when the sub-
continent is divided into India and
Pakistan. Mr Dhondy is three years old
and is spared the memory of crossing the
border into India, in a crowded but
guarded train. But his mother, Shireen
Anita, “…for the rest of her life, would
occasionally recall the horror, the sights
and sounds of slaughter…”
Childhood is an effective anaesthetic,
and this dislocation — a seizure brought
about by history — is but a haze in the
memoir. There are other memories,
technology, he reads Lawrence Durrell’s
Alexandria Quartet on the wooden
bench of a tram.
Fragments Against My Ruin has tab-
leaux of fortuitous encounters, new
friendships, and the early stirrings of
political ideologies that will influence his
work as a writer. The young man who
arrives at Pembroke College in
Cambridge, England, in ill-fitting
trousers, becomes aware of the British
class system. “At Pembroke, this was vis-
ible in the personalities, accents, preoc-
cupations and friendship patterns of my
fellow undergraduates. Some were ‘toffs’
Later, he and his of provoking Cat Mr Dhondy is hardly like the shell-
partner Mala Sen Publisher: Stevens into shout- shocked poet of The Waste Land, whose
join the Leicester Context ing, “Kill him!”, and composition of multiple, shifting voices
Indian Workers’ Pages: 312 of meeting Charles and experimental syntax reflects a collec-
Association, and Sobhraj in his tive vulnerability. But Fragments Against
Price: ~699
subsequently, the office. Mr Dhondy, My Ruin does hint at mortality. Buried in
British Black the quintessential the afterword is the inevitability of
Panther Movement. raconteur, provides anecdotes that are decline. Mr Dhondy mentions those
Mr Dhondy’s activism — pamphle- quirky, and sometimes incredulous, but friends who have passed away, and then
teering, organising pickets and strikes, never nostalgic. To him, looking back is admits, “I guess we are all on the runway,
writing pieces commissioned by Darcus an act of recollecting with lucidity, and and such a flight holds no terror for me.”
Howe for Race Today magazine in the Mr Dhondy’s narrative voice does not Perhaps that is what the title means:
1970s — provides smouldering material quaver with emotionality. Death will come, but before that, we
for his short stories and television dra- There are vignettes that depict ten- must gather the people and places that
mas. His years at the commissioning edi- derness, like the blue air-mail letters he have made our lives grand.

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 10 THE SMART INVESTOR: SAMVAT SPECIAL
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 1

INFY, L&T TOP PICKS OF BROKERAGES

Public sector banks, information technology companies, cement
makers, and consumption plays are among other picks

STOCKS FOR SAMVAT 2078 As on Nov 03, 2021 As on Nov 03, 2021
Target Upside Target Upside
Company Price 1-Yr chg price (%) Company Price 1-Yr chg price (%)
(~) (%) (~) (~) (%) (~)
ANAND RATHI ICICI Bank 786 76.9 900 14.5
Indo Count Industries 242 53.7 334 37.9 Reliance Industries 2,484 34.3 2,800 12.7
Rossari Biotech 1,352 73.8 1,840 36.1 Larsen & Toubro 1,889 103.1 2,100 11.2
Vardhman Special Steels 274 280.2 350 27.9 ACC 2,421 45.7 2,550 5.4
Coforge 5,066 138.0 6,465 27.6 State Bank of India 528 157.7 550 4.2
Hindalco Industries 478 165.9 578 20.9
Infosys 1,703 60.3 2,000 17.5
MOTILAL OSWAL SECURITIES
APL Apollo Tubes 845 164.8 1,032 22.2
AXIS SECURITIES SBI Life Insurance 1,178 49.4 1,431 21.4
ICICI Securities 744 65.8 940 26.3 Infosys 1,703 60.3 2,001 17.6
Can Fin Homes 646 39.3 800 23.9 Indian Hotels 204 111.7 231 13.3
Cyient 1,105 169.8 1,300 17.7 Trident Ltd 39 398.1 44 12.7
SBI Life Insurance Co 1,178 49.4 1,350 14.6 Varun Beverages 938 109.4 1,047 11.6
APL Apollo Tubes 845 164.8 960 13.7 Jubilant FoodWorks 3,725 72.8 4,091 9.8
Cholamandalam Investment 612 106.4 690 12.7 Orient Electric 376 74.9 409 8.7
KNR Constructions 292 138.1 325 11.3 Tata Motors 485 261.7 521 7.5
Mindtree 4,627 251.3 5,100 10.2 UltraTech Cement 7,891 73.4 8,411 6.6
Safari Industries India 868 101.9 930 7.2 OTHER STOCK PICKS: STATE BANK OF INDIA, VIP INDUSTRIES,
ACC 2,421 45.7 2,570 6.2 MACROTECH DEVELOPERS, UNITED SPIRITS, TATA POWER CO

HDFC SECURITIES NIRMAL BANG

Adani Ports & SEZ 709 100.5 936 32.0 Laurus Labs 495 69.8 722 46.0
Indian Bank 167 183.3 214 27.6 Accelya Solutions India 1,161 42.0 1,673 44.2
CESC 89 56.3 113 27.5 Fermenta Biotech 297 (1.0) 421 41.6
Gati 150 149.6 187 24.5 Can Fin Homes 646 39.3 900 39.3
Cyient 1,105 169.8 1,371 24.1 Acrysil 749 426.4 950 26.9
Network18 Media & Inv. 86 154.8 106 23.6 SBI Cards & Payment Services 1,105 35.9 1,400 26.6
Hindustan Petroleum Corp 314 69.2 385 22.5 Sona BLW Precision Forgings 643 NA 800 24.4
RAM PRASAD SAHU fast-moving consumer spends, and and gradually improving asset quality
private banks) underperformed the of banks could sustain earnings Eris Lifesciences 803 55.0 966 20.3 Sanghi Industries 68 125.6 84 23.9

D
espite unprecedented levels of market in Samvat 2077, some of the growth. Brokerages expect the Nifty Reliance Industries 2,484 34.3 2,986 20.2 Navin Fluorine International 3,418 46.9 4,131 20.9
uncertainty in Samvat 2077, themes could do well in the future. earnings growth to be upwards of mid-
investors have little to com- Kotak Research believes banks teens in 2021-22.
Mahindra & Mahindra Fin. 195 55.4 227 16.2 Bharti Airtel 699 56.7 838 19.9
plain about on the returns front. The could be in focus, led by demand But the year is not without risks. OTHER STOCK PICKS: BHARTI AIRTEL, BANK OF BARODA, LARSEN & TOUBRO
BSE Sensex delivered returns of 38 per revival in the retail sector, such as Reliance Securities believes that RELIANCE SECURITIES
cent in this period, while the Nifty housing, automobile, and unsecured the key risks for global equities would ICICI DIRECT Kalpataru Power Transmission 411 62.6 678 64.9
registered a return of over 40 per cent. loans. The pharmaceutical sector also be a sharp rise in bond yields in the Vardhman Special Steels 274 280.2 340 24.3
As is the case in bull markets, looks promising, with the speedy US, the likelihood of reversal of the US Ramkrishna Forgings 1,051 181.7 1,700 61.7
Bank of Baroda 101 124.0 120 18.9 Gujarat Gas 632 113.9 967 53.0
companies in the small- introduction of generic Federal Reserve’s soft monetary pol-
and mid-capitalisation drugs, rural health pro- icies, and elevated energy prices. This, Action Construction Equipment 254 253.8 300 18.3 HCL Technologies 1,177 46.2 1,480 25.8
basket outperformed the grammes, life-saving together with high valuations at 22x Gateway Distriparks 296 217.1 350 18.2
benchmarks, with BROKERAGES drugs, preventive vac- the 2022-23 earnings for the Nifty, Nippon Life India Asset Mngt. 422 53.8 526 24.5
POINT OUT THAT Bata India 2,036 56.8 2,380 16.9
+ returns almost twice cines, and US Food and could result in periodic corrections. Infosys 1,703 60.3 2,120 24.5
those of frontliners. INVESTORS MUST Drug Administration Says an analyst at Kotak Research, Mahindra Lifespace Developers 283 216.6 325 14.8 Larsen & Toubro 1,889 103.1 2,303 21.9
What dominated the approvals, they add. “The rich valuations of the Indian TCNS Clothing Co 781 102.0 860 10.1
returns charts over the BE SELECTIVE The July-September market and of most sectors after the Varun Beverages 938 109.4 1,141 21.7
past year were realty, IN THEIR quarter results indicate sharp rerating in the multiples of most JM FINANCIAL UltraTech Cement 7,891 73.4 9,400 19.1
metal, and public sector that consumption stocks from their pre-pandemic levels
undertaking (PSU) bank
STOCK PICKS, demand is now close to raise the prospects of a pull-back in Jindal Steel & Power 423 109.8 533 26.0 Ashok Leyland 143 70.5 170 18.9
indices which doubled ESPECIALLY pre-pandemic levels. the market and/or modest returns for JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals 1,649 68.0 1,988 20.5 YES SECURITIES
shareholder value.
Brokerages believe some
IN THE This should help com-
panies in the multiplex,
a ‘longish’ period of time.”
In this context, brokerages point
Prism Johnson 122 61.3 145 19.2 CRISIL 2,821 40.4 4,460 58.1
of these themes — such MID-CAP SPACE quick service restau- out that investors must be selective in GAIL India 150 79.1 178 18.0 SBI Cards & Payment Services 1,105 35.9 1,625 47.0
as realty and banks — rant, amusement park, their stock picks, especially in the HCL Technologies 1,177 46.2 1,375 16.9
will continue into automobile, and avia- mid-capitalisation space, given that Prince Pipes & Fittings 754 222.7 1,091 44.6
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance 623 52.2 725 16.3 ICICI Bank 786 76.9 1,112 41.5
Samvat 2078. tion sectors. they tend to fall more sharply than
Say analysts at Motilal Oswal The rise in consumption is also their larger peers when selling Finolex Cables 488 78.8 565 15.9 Polycab India 2,338 151.7 3,300 41.2
Research, “We believe that real estate expected to help in the revival of the pressures intensify. Max Financial Services 980 62.7 1,135 15.8
is on the cusp of an upcycle with sev- capital expenditure cycle which, cou- While brokerages are bullish on IndiaMart InterMesh 7,325 55.0 10,200 39.3
eral macro factors supporting low pled with the government’s thrust on multiple themes, there are two stocks
Steel Authority of India 122 252.1 139 13.5 PNC Infratech 335 96.6 460 37.4
interest rates, benign prices, and ris- the infrastructure sector, will aid com- which find mention in the top Diwali Macrotech Developers 1,181 NA 1,165 (1.3) Gland Pharma 3,698 NA 4,925 33.2
ing affordability, coupled with low panies in the construction/infrastruc- picks of most brokerages: Infosys and
home ownership in India.” ture and capital goods space. Larsen and Toubro (L&T). KOTAK SECURITIES Acrysil 749 426.4 995 32.9
In addition to direct realty plays, There are multiple positives which While L&T’s value doubled over the Bharat Petroleum Corp 415 27.8 550 32.5 Dalmia Bharat 2,013 138.9 2,640 31.2
brokerages believe home improve- should sustain the earnings growth of past year, Infosys gained 60 per cent
ITC 223 30.8 275 23.6 OTHER STOCK PICKS: APOLLO PIPES, GREENPANEL INDUSTRIES
ment companies across sectors, such Corporate India. While key macroeco- during this period. PSU banks, infor-
as cement, pipes, tiles, consumer nomic indicators are showing a posi- mation technology companies, Hindustan Unilever 2,411 17.1 2,950 22.4 Current & target prices rounded off; top picks (max 10) of each brokerage
electricals, paints, and plywood, will tive trend and should help sustain cement makers, and consumption sorted on upside; companies mentioned below the table are additional picks
Hindalco Industries 478 165.9 565 18.2 (in excess of the top 10); NA: Not applicable as the company has listed in the
benefit from higher consumer spends. demand and revenue growth, delever- plays stand out as clear favourites last one year Compiled by BS Research Bureau
While defensives (pharmaceutical, aging of the corporate balance sheet among the picks for Samvat 2078. Infosys 1,703 60.3 2,000 17.5 Source: Brokerage reports

Chris Wood hikes exposure to [FUND PICK] CANARA ROBECO BLUECHIP EQUITY FUND

crypto; sells gold for bitcoin Long-term wealth creator Launched in August 2010,

PUNEET WADHWA
likely to be increased speculative focus
on ethereum.
“The reason for the growing focus
Canara Robeco Bluechip
Equity Fund has featured in
AHEAD ACROSS MOST TIME FRAMES Returns (%)
the top 30 percentile of the Fund
56.93

New Delhi, 4 November

54.80

on ethereum is that this protocol is at large-cap funds category of Category

52.12

The appeal of gold as a safe-haven asset the centre of the action in the fast- CRISIL Mutual Fund Benchmark
and a long-term investment seems to expanding decentralised finance (DeFi) Ranking (CMFR) for 13 con-
be diminishing with cryptocurrencies space. DeFi is where it is possible today secutive quarters through
27.05

taking centre stage. After taking expo- to see how crypto has begun to eat into September 2021.
23.89
24.52
22.63

20.96

sure to bitcoin in December 2020, conventional finance,” said Wood. Shridatta Bhandwaldar
19.98

17.47

16.78

Christopher Wood, global head of Gold demand, on the other hand, and Vishal Mishra have been
15.44
14.28
14.74
14.46

14.23

13.14
12.35

equity strategy at Jefferies, has now
increased exposure to the crypto by 5
percentage points (ppt) in his Asia ex-
Japan portfolio, and pared his invest-
ment in gold by equal measure.
“The arrival of the bitcoin
exchange-traded fund (ETF) in
America, and the growing mainstream
THE REASON FOR THE GROWING
FOCUS ON ETHEREUM IS THAT THIS
PROTOCOL IS AT THE CENTRE OF THE
has been faltering. In the third quarter managing the fund since July
of 2021, demand for gold globally 2016 and June 2021, respect-
dipped 7 per cent year-on-year and 13 ively. The fund’s month-end
per cent quarter-on-quarter to 831 assets under management
tonnes, primarily due to outflows from increased to ~4,702 crore in
gold-backed ETFs (gold ETFs), accord- September 2021, from 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 5 Years 7 Years 10 Years
ing to the World Gold Council’s (WGC’s) ~135 crore in October 2018.
latest Gold Demand Trends report. The fund’s investment
Note: Returns as on November 1, 2021. Returns for up to 1 year are absolute; rest annualised

acceptance of crypto, means that it is
timely for GREED & fear to make a
further adjustment to the global port-
folio for US-dollar denominated pen-
sion funds, set up at the end of 3Q02 as
a way of hedging risk of the collapse of
the US dollar paper standard. GREED &
fear will add another 5 ppt allocation to
bitcoin to the existing 5 per cent alloca-
tion initiated in December 2020. This
will be paid for by reducing the weight-
ing in gold by a further 5 ppts,” he wrote
in his weekly note to investors, GREED
& fear.
Wood believes bitcoin is a competi-
tor to the yellow metal as a store of value
and it is one with a built-in quantitative
tightening dynamic due to the halving
process roughly every four years.
ACTION IN THE FAST-EXPANDING
DECENTRALISED FINANCE (DeFi)
SPACE. DeFi IS WHERE IT IS
POSSIBLE TODAY TO SEE HOW CRYPTO
HAS BEGUN TO EAT INTO
CONVENTIONAL FINANCE
CHRIS WOOD
GLOBAL HEAD-EQUITY STRATEGY, JEFFERIES
After bitcoin’s astonishingly
rapid recovery from the Beijing clamp-
down on bitcoin mining in the main-
land in June, Wood believes there is
“The outflows themselves are part of
a bigger picture. A year ago, investors
were flocking to gold, seeking a hedge
against the pandemic. And gold ETFs
were particular beneficiaries of these
flows, adding more than 1,000 tonnes
over the first three quarters of 2020,”
said Louise Street, senior market ana-
lyst at the WGC.
Going ahead, WGC expects the full-
year picture for gold demand to look
very similar, where strong consumer
and central bank demand will mitigate
losses from ETFs.
“Jewellery demand will continue to
exceed last year’s levels, but investment
demand in total will be weaker in 2021,
despite healthy bar and coin demand,”
said the WGC report.
objective is to provide capital
appreciation by predomi-
nantly investing in com-
panies having a large market
capitalisation.
Trailing returns
The fund has outperformed
the benchmark (S&P BSE 100
TRI) and its peers (funds
ranked under the large-cap
funds category in September
2021 CMFR) in the past two-,
three-, five-, seven-, and 10-
year trailing periods.
An investment of ~10,000
in the fund on August 20,
2010, (inception of the fund)
would have grown to ~42,790
on November 1, 2021, at an compared with ~27.9 lakh the highest average allocation
annualised rate of 13.85 per (16.32 per cent) in the bench- of 24.7 per cent, followed by
cent, compared with the mark as on November 1, 2021. software (11.94 per cent), con-
growth of the category and the
Portfolio analysis
sumer non-durables (10.84
benchmark to ~35,674 (12.02 per cent), finance (9.44 per
per cent per annum) and In line with its investment cent), and petroleum products
~37,154 (12.42 per cent per objective, the fund has (6.21 per cent).
annum), respectively. maintained predominant The fund took exposure to
A systematic investment exposure to large-cap stocks 91 stocks and held 15 stocks
plan (SIP) is a disciplined (averaging 86.05 per cent) in consistently in the past three
mode of investing offered by the past three years. The years. ICICI Bank, Infosys,
mutual funds, through which allocation to mid-cap and HDFC Bank, Reliance
one can invest a certain small-cap stocks averaged Industries, and Divi’s
amount at regular intervals. A 8.99 per cent and 0.12 per Laboratories were the key
monthly SIP of ~10,000 for the cent, respectively, during the contributors to the fund’s per-
past 10 years in the fund, total- same period. formance and were consist-
ling ~12 lakh, would have The portfolio was diversi- ently held during the period
grown to ~29.08 lakh (17.11 per fied across 24 sectors in the of analysis.
cent annualised returns), past three years. Banks had CRISIL RESEARCH

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X
 ll.
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 STOCKS 11 <

> OFSTOCK
IN THE > SKF nd a > Shee a Foam > Genesys nternat ona Corp

NEWS Top ga ner among

A group stocks
H ts new a -t me
h gh at ~2 767
H ts upper c rcu t
or cont nuous THE DAY
on BSE 2 sess ons Endurance Techno ogies
~3 530 5 PR V OU O ~2 657 7 PR V OU O ~259 PR V OU O H t new a -t me h gh at
~3 860 O ~2 7 3 0 O ~272 O ~ 1,910, Up 22 per cent from
p 9 3% UP p 2 % UP p5 0% UP month ow

NIFTY 50
Company Close (~) % Wt PE Company Close (~) % Wt PE
ADVANCES/DECLINE F&O SNAPSHOT DAY’S TOP GAINERS DAY’S TOP LOSERS
04 Nov ’21 Chg (%) Con Std 04 Nov ’21 Chg (%) Con Std Futures Cash Premium Futures Cash Discount Company Day’s high Close % chg* 3mth high 52 wk high Company Day’s low Close % chg* 3mth low 52 wk low
Adani Ports 713.7 0.6 0.7 28.5 99.6 ITC 226.6 1.8 3.5 21.2 19.8 BSE 800 NSE 000 price price (%) price price (%)
Asian Paints 3159.3 -0.4 1.8 93.1 94.0 JSW Steel 678.7 -0.2 1.1 8.2 9.4 Eicher Motor 2700.8 2665.4 5.7 2995.4 3035.5 Hindalco 470.0 473.0 -1.1 399.8 178.1
MOST BULLISH MOST BEARISH
Axis Bank 753.0 0.3 2.6 32.1 25.4 Indian Hotel 216.7 215.4 5.7 237.5 237.5 Nazara techno 2270.0 2302.8 -1.1 1562.2 1412.5
Kotak Mah Bank 2057.0 1.0 3.8 40.8 56.6 00 00

2 609
Bajaj Auto 3759.4 1.6 0.6 16.8 20.8 Vodafone Idea 10.1 10.0 1.0 IOC 129.9 134.7 -3.6 Devyani Interna 147.9 146.6 4.6 149.0 149.0 Laxmi Organic 415.3 430.9 -0.8 265.4 143.0
L&T 1909.0 1.0 3.4 30.6 37.8
Strides Pharma 542.8 540.1 0.5 SAIL 119.6 123.3 -3.0 Easy Trip Plan 559.5 556.7 4.5 717.5 717.5 Gland Pharma 3651.0 3675.7 -0.6 3315.0 1701.0

6
Bajaj Fin 7525.1 0.1 2.5 102.8 104.2 Mah & Mah 872.9 2.8 1.1 59.9 107.2 400 000 Ramco Cements 1091.9 1086.6 0.5 Petronet LNG 225.6 231.8 -2.6 Happiest Minds 1290.0 1282.5 3.8 1568.0 1580.8 Adani Green En 1194.4 1199.3 -0.6 860.2 798.6
Bajaj Finsrv 17594.0 0.5 1.4 66.3 673.1 Maruti Suzuki 7747.4 0.2 1.3 53.3 58.2 Chambal Fert 353.0 351.3 0.5 Ipca Labs 2089.1 2133.8 -2.1 Sona BLW Precis 669.0 666.8 3.7 813.3 813.3 Pfizer 4988.4 5005.8 -0.4 4920.0 4200.0

578
Bharti Airtel 701.1 0.3 2.1 127.1 - Nestle India 18889.3 0.8 0.8 - 81.3 00 00

225
Glenmark 525.8 523.4 0.5 Metropolis Heal 2996.1 3046.5 -1.7 Indian Bank 174.3 173.0 3.4 194.8 194.8 ICICI Bank 779.0 782.4 -0.4 674.0 435.7
BPCL 419.8 1.2 0.5 5.6 4.8 NTPC 137.2 0.3 0.8 9.1 9.4
Britannia 3652.6 0.6 0.5 51.5 51.5 Delta Corp 284.0 282.2 3.3 305.6 305.6 Oberoi Relty 1021.3 1032.4 -0.3 644.0 424.0
Cipla 910.7 -0.2 0.6 28.4 27.3
ONGC 152.1 0.0 0.9 11.8 12.5 0 0 BSE NSE City Union Bk 175.3 174.3 3.2 183.7 199.8 Siemens 2285.6 2305.0 -0.3 1973.2 1322.7
Coal India 170.7 0.6 0.4 7.6 13.9
Power Grid 185.1 0.6 0.8 10.7 8.0
Ad an D n Ad an D n Index Stock Index Stock PUT-CALL RATIO Mah & Mah 875.3 873.0 2.9 971.0 971.0 Bandhan Bank 298.7 299.6 -0.3 259.4 259.4
Reliance Ind 2498.9 0.6 10.1 30.3 46.5 Trident 39.9 39.7 2.8 43.4 43.4 Adani Trans 1806.5 1827.0 -0.3 899.6 289.4
Divis Lab 5208.1 1.3 0.8 69.7 68.6 FUTURE (Open Interest in Mn) Put Call PC Ratio
SBI 530.5 0.5 2.6 16.5 18.4 IDBI Bank 55.4 55.1 2.7 65.3 65.3 JSW Steel 677.2 678.6 -0.2 628.2 317.8
Dr Reddys
Eicher Motor
4766.2
2661.6
-0.1
5.5
0.7
0.5
40.4 49.0
43.6 46.4
SBI Life Ins 1181.8 0.3 0.7 - 95.7 BSE M DCAP 00 BSE SMA CAP 00 Contracts
Open Int.(000)
-
-
-
-
57147
13469
128267
5081638
Market 987.5 2265.9 0.4 Manapp Finance 209.7 208.1 2.6 214.5 218.0 Cipla 909.1 910.7 -0.2 878.5 706.5
Shree Cement 29047.2 0.2 0.5 - 39.8 Indiab Real 184.7 181.3 2.6 186.0 186.0 JK Cement 3458.0 3502.9 -0.2 3006.0 1829.2
Grasim Ind 1791.6 0.3 0.9 34.4 70.1 Shares(In Mn) - - 2.2 236.5 Top 5 PC Ratio Bottom 5 PC Ratio

636
Sun Pharma 795.5 1.0 1.1 30.6 90.4 Zomato 132.3 131.6 2.5 152.8 152.8 Max Fin Sre 971.9 978.5 -0.2 943.9 599.2
88
HCL Techno 1183.1 0.6 1.6 27.8 35.3 Value(~ crore) - - 5373 10200
Tata Consumer P 827.4 0.1 0.6 105.1 107.4 Alkem Labs 2.8 L & T Infotech 0.0
HDFC 2899.7 0.1 6.6 28.0 40.7 OPTIONS * Ranked on the basis of percentage gain/loss on previous close
HDFC Bank 1594.0 0.8 8.7 27.7 26.3 Tata Motors 489.7 1.0 1.1 - - 0 0 Contracts - - 7503655 327994
Balkrishna I 1.4 JK Cement 0.1
Tata Steel 1325.9 0.0 1.3 7.7 8.3 Whirlpool 0.9 Metropolis Heal 0.1
HDFC Std Life 696.4 0.6 0.8 103.5 121.5
Hero MotoCorp 2677.5 1.4 0.4 18.3 16.4 TCS 3508.7 0.5 4.5 35.5 36.2
Open Int.(000)
Shares(In Mn)
-
-
-
-
166797
272.7
3086665
536.2
Coromndl Int 0.9 Persistent S 0.1 MOST TRADED TOP M-CAP TRENDS
2
Tech Mahindra 1505.9 0.5 1.2 28.7 29.4 Bandhan Bank 0.7 Oracle Fin 0.1
Hindalco 472.6 -1.2 0.9 30.5 54.7 Value(~ crore) - - 716986 27586

7
Value Volume Rank Company Mcap (~ cr) Company % change Company % change
HUL 2422.9 0.5 2.7 71.2 68.5 Titan Company 2431.8 0.6 1.3 221.9 130.8 0 0 BSE+NSE BSE+NSE
1 Reliance Ind 1585073.8
UltraTech 7880.8 -0.1 1.1 35.7 36.1 (~ crore) (Mn shrs) BS200 National Std 40.7
ICICI Bank 782.1 -0.5 6.8 29.5 27.9 Ad an D n Ad an D n ACTIVE CALLS ACTIVE PUTS 2 TCS 1298032.7 EKI Energy 40.7
IndusInd Bank 1189.1 0.9 1.0 - 24.1 UPL 737.7 0.1 0.5 17.8 147.2 SBI 544.0 10.2 UP 7 DAYS
Wipro 653.7 0.2 1.2 29.6 36.5 3 HDFC Bank 882980.4 TCI 40.7
Infosys 1708.7 0.4 7.8 34.4 36.4 Expiry Strike Traded Open % Chg Expiry Strike Traded Open % Chg Eicher Motor 375.6 1.4 ACC 8.9
4 Infosys 718891.6
IOC 134.7 1.6 0.8 5.9 4.9 Nifty 50 17916.8 á0.5 100.0 27.1 30.3 MARKET OVERVIEW (In Million) Date Price Qty Interest (OI) (In Million) Date Price Qty Interest (OI)
Tata Power 369.7 16.0 5 HUL 569460.8
Berge Paint 4.2 DOWN 7 DAYS
Gopala Poly -30.2
INDEX PE SHRS TRDS 1 YR Index Index Tata Motors 297.2 6.1 6 ICICI Bank 542829.1 Gita Rebewable -30.1
S&P BSE SENSEX AGGREGATES C/S MN ‘000 ADV DEC RETURN Nifty
Nifty
11/11/21
11/11/21
18000
17900
13.3
7.2
3.0
1.6
0.1
12.0
Nifty
Nifty
11/11/21
11/11/21
17900
17800
9.3
7.2
1.5 81.4
1.8 57.4
ICICI Bank 256.8 3.3 7 HDFC 524369.0
DOWN
Proseed India -30.1
SENSEX 30.8/34.1 1.8 114 25 5 47.9 Reliance Ind 212.8 0.9 8 SBI 473405.4 Globus Power G -29.9
Asian Paints 3158.8 -0.1 2.1 93.1 94.0 L&T 1908.7 1.1 3.9 30.6 37.8 Nifty 11/11/21 18300 7.0 2.5 80.3 Nifty 11/11/21 17700 6.0 1.7 121.0 UP 3 DAYS
Axis Bank 753.0 0.3 3.0 32.1 25.4 NIFTY 50 27.1/30.3 48.5 1426 42 8 50.5 Indiab Real 203.0 11.2 9 Bajaj Fin 454308.6 York Exports -29.9
Mah & Mah 873.0 2.9 1.3 59.9 107.2 Nifty Bank 11/11/21 40000 6.2 1.3 30.7 Nifty 11/11/21 17000 5.2 3.2 131.3 Devyani Interna 17.9
C = CONSOLIDATED; S = STANDALONE IRCTC 195.7 2.4 10 Kotak Mah Bank 407879.9
Bajaj Auto 3759.1 1.7 0.7 16.8 20.8 Maruti Suzuki 7744.5 0.1 1.5 53.3 58.1 Nifty 11/11/21 18100 6.0 1.6 14.5 Nifty Bank 11/11/21 39500 5.0 0.8 77.3 Easy Trip Plan 15.2 Sheetal Diam -29.9
Bajaj Fin 7526.7 0.2 2.9 102.8 104.2 Indian Hotel 193.1 9.0 11 Bharti Airtel 385045.5 Shriram TrFn 13.0 Adhinath Tex -29.9
Nestle India 18896.0 0.9 1.0 - 81.3 CASH DERIVATIVES Stock Stock
Bajaj Finsrv 17595.9 0.5 1.6 66.3 673.2 TURNOVER BSE NSE BSE NSE Poonawalla Finc 174.2 10.0 12 Wipro 358091.3 Indiab Real 12.3 UP 3 DAYS
NTPC 137.2 0.4 1.0 9.1 9.4 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 11 22.7 52.6 2.9 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 9 3.4 25.3 -3.5
Bharti Airtel 701.1 0.3 2.5 127.1 - ITC 173.9 7.7 13 HCL Techno 321065.5 Prestige Est 7.9 Odyssey Tech 58.1
Power Grid 185.1 0.7 0.9 10.7 8.0 VALUE(IN ~ CRORE) 1084 11544 - 760144 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 12 10.6 37.8 -1.5 ITC 25/11/21 220 3.2 9.2 0.9
Dr Reddys 4767.9 0.0 0.9 40.4 49.0 L&T 152.9 0.8 14 Avenue Supermar 309873.7 Manapp Finance 7.4 MBL Infra 31.9
Reliance Ind 2498.8 0.6 11.8 30.3 46.5 SHARES(IN MN) 143.2 570.0 - 1047.6 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 10 8.2 41.4 -0.2 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 6 3.2 7.1 23.2
HCL Techno 1183.2 0.6 1.9 27.8 35.3 15 Asian Paints 302992.1 Trent 6.8 Natural Caps 31.2
SBI 530.5 0.5 3.0 16.5 18.4 TRADES(000) 1247 6531 - 3991 ITC 25/11/21 230 7.7 16.9 -2.0 SBI 25/11/21 500 2.8 6.3 -0.6 CDSL 143.0 1.0
HDFC 2900.0 0.1 7.7 28.0 40.7 16 Bajaj Finsrv 280021.2 Allcargo Log 26.7
Sun Pharma 795.4 0.9 1.3 30.6 90.4 Indian Hotel 25/11/21 220 7.3 2.4 87.1 Vodafone Idea 25/11/21 10 2.5 34.7 1.4 Delta Corp 130.7 4.7
HDFC Bank 1594.0 0.8 10.2 27.7 26.4 MARKET-CAP (~ CR) TRADED TOTAL 17 ITC 279145.8 DOWN Ind Swift Lb 25.9
Tata Steel 1325.9 0.0 1.5 7.7 8.3 TCS 127.3 0.4
HUL 2423.7 0.5 3.2 71.2 68.5 18 L&T 268143.7 Nazara techno -8.4 Menon Piston 25.1
TCS 3509.1 0.5 5.3 35.5 36.2 BSE 26,623,098 26,763,375 Bank of Baroda 120.9 11.8
ICICI Bank 782.4 -0.4 7.9 29.5 27.9 19 Maruti Suzuki 233944.3 Captain Pipes 25.0
IndusInd Bank 1188.8 0.9 1.1 - 24.1 Tech Mahindra 1505.8 0.6 1.4 28.7 29.4 NSE 26,270,385 26,377,586 SPURT IN VOLUMES Sun TV Net 116.1 1.9 20 Axis Bank 230941.3
Alkem Labs
ICICI Bank
-3.1
-2.7 DOWN 3 DAYS
Titan Company 2432.5 0.6 1.5 221.9 130.9 DERIVATIVES 19,798,552 19,798,552 Canara Bank 105.7 4.6
Infosys 1709.4 0.4 9.1 34.4 36.4 Company Days 2-week Avg Change Close *Price 21 UltraTech 227387.6 Max Fin Sre -1.1 Ishita Drugs -21.3
ITC 226.6 1.8 4.1 21.2 19.8 UltraTech 7877.4 -0.2 1.3 35.7 36.0 Volume Volume % price %chg Vedanta 98.2 3.1 22 Titan Company 215952.9 Others Kwality Pharma -14.3
Kotak Mah Bank 2056.8 1.0 4.4 40.8 56.6 BSE SENSEX 60067.6 á0.5 100.0 30.8 34.1 TRADING ACTIVITY Vipul Ltd 146355.0 8707.9 1580.7 30.1 4.0
Devyani Interna 97.5 6.7 23 Adani Trans 200935.3 UP 7 DAYS Suumaya Corp -14.2
C = Consolidated; S = Standalone SAIL 95.6 7.8 24 ONGC 191220.3
(~ crore) FIIs MF RS Software 775602.0 55450.3 1298.7 37.5 19.8 06Ard 94.3 Flomic Global -14.2
Equity Debt Equity Debt HDFC Bank 94.5 0.6 25 Sun Pharma 190828.3 Digjam 61.3 Chennai Ferro -14.2
Net Net Net Net MBL Infra 1464308.0 157080.7 832.2 26.0 8.8
Tata Steel 93.8 0.7 26 Adani Green En 187571.7
WORLD INDICES On 02 Nov 1171 1015 - - Medicam Bio 163575.0 18109.9 803.2 698.8 15.3
IEX 91.9 1.2 27 Nestle India 182194.7
Amco India
Guj Craft I
58.5
49.2
Taaza Intern
Eiko Life
-14.1
-14.1
On 01 Nov -278 70 - - ICCNX-100-ETF 102578.0 11500.3 792.0 197.6 0.8 28á Adani Enter 164662.1
Indices Close % Chg* Indices Close % Chg* Infosys 91.0 0.5
On 29 Oct -5476 211 - - Mirza Intl 6101517.0 717131.5 750.8 71.7 14.0 29â JSW Steel 164031.2 (T+2) cycleStocks which rose/fell continuously
Americas (Nov 03,21) Asia/Pacific (Nov 04,21) On 28 Oct -2436 -510 -2627 -759 Digicontent 651158.0 77770.1 737.3 17.0 3.4
S&P/ TSX Composite 21265.1 0.5 Stock Exchange of Thai 1626.3 0.9 On 27 Oct -1819 70 289 -2697 Poonawalla Finc 9961905.0 1490181.8 568.5 179.1 4.3
Nov till date 893 1085 - - Modison Metals 186850.0 29630.5 530.6 73.6 6.8
Nasdaq Composite
Dow Jones
15864.7
36127.3
0.3
-0.1
Shanghai Se Comp
Jakarta Composite
3526.9
6586.4
0.8
0.5 2021 till date 43398 1114 29467 117576 Sanco Industrie 289467.0 48537.5 496.4 10.1 15.4
BOARD MEETINGS NTRA-DAY
Europe/Africa (Nov 03,21) Kospi 2983.2 0.3 Quarterly Saven Techno Pricol pro Yash Man
DAX 16038.8 0.5 Taiwan Taiex 17078.9 -0.3 FIIS IN DERIVATIVES 52 WEEK NEW HIGHS/LOWS Results Shivom Invest PTC I Financial Group MT Group XT
NOVEMBER 05 Sri Nacham Shankara Bld Trivikrama Ind Advance Li-
FTSE 100 7277.4 0.4 Straits Times (Nov 03) 3219.7 -0.4 Company Price Company Price Company Price Company Price
(~crore) Index Stock Index Index Stock BS 200 T & I Global Ujjivan Small B Group P feSty
CAC 40 6977.2 0.4 Kuala Lumpur Comp (Nov 03) 1531.3 -0.4 NET Net Fut OI Opt OI OI Sun TV Net TCI V-Mart Ret Flora Textil Best E Hotel
HIGH *Century Ply . . . . . . . . 655.6 *Jindal Photo . . . . . . . . 257.4 *India Grid Trus . . . . . . 145.0
IBEX 35 9046.8 0.2 Volatility (Nov 03,21) BS 200 *Pokarna . . . . . . . . . . . 645.0 *Gokaldas Exp . . . . . . . 256.0 *Panchm Steel . . . . . . . 142.6 Group B Group XT Wockhardt Group T Bijoy Hans
On 03 Nov -16 -987 0.2 1.0 2.0
Asia/Pacific (Nov 04,21) CBOE S&P 500 14.8 -2.1 On 02 Nov -2043 -672 0.2 1.5 1.9 *L & T . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1920.4 *Olectra Greente . . . . . 635.0 *Greenply Ind . . . . . . . 248.6 *Tinna Rub & Inf . . . . . 140.0 Gss Infotech Fredun Group B 3i Infotech Cinerad Comm
Nikkei 225 29794.4 0.9 CBOE Dow Jones 14.9 -4.5 On 01 Nov 3429 -1520 0.2 1.4 1.9 *TVS Motor . . . . . . . . . 715.4 *Allsec Tech . . . . . . . . . 592.0 *Aurionpro Sl . . . . . . . . 248.0 *Shiva Mills . . . . . . . . . 129.3 Group XT Pharma Andhra Paper Integra Gar- Ditco
On 29 Oct 1564 1312 0.2 1.3 1.9 *Sun TV Net . . . . . . . . . 610.0 *Infrabees . . . . . . . . . 583.0 *Waaree Renewabl . . . 245.0 *Shankar Lal Ram . . . . 127.2 Bombay Wire Incap Goldiam Intl ment e.Com Info
Hang Seng 25225.2 0.8 * Change over previous close
On 28 Oct -2214 -618 0.1 1.0 1.5 Canara Bank . . . . . . . . . 230.7 *Nahar Spg . . . . . . . . . 574.0 *Arvind SmartSpa . . . . 235.0 *Tejnaksh Health . . . . . 126.0 Rop Indovation M M Forgings Group X HB Estate D
Others *Pondy Oxides . . . . . . . 550.0 *R System Intl . . . . . . . 232.2 *Dhabriya Poly . . . . . . 122.0 Group Z Tech Moneyboxx 7Seas Enter- HB Leasing
MAJOR INDICES Nov till date
2021 till date
1370
218421
-3179
-17802
-
-
-
-
-
- *National Std . . . . . . 12672.0 *KPR Mills . . . . . . . . . . 521.5 *Jin Poly Inv . . . . . . . . . 225.5 *Sunil Agro F . . . . . . . . 120.9 N R Int’l Kailashpti Pitti Engg tain India Radi-
*SKF India . . . . . . . . . 4142.1 Raymond . . . . . . . . . . . 512.8 *Natural Caps . . . . . . . 225.0 UFO Moviez . . . . . . . . . 119.0 NOVEMBER 06 Group Z Poddar Pgmnt Amrit Corp ators
Previous Close Open High Low Close Change % chng OI in number of contracts(million)
*EKI Energy . . . . . . . . 3918.7 *Medico Remedies . . . 505.9 *Bhatia Communic . . . 210.0 *Pricol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115.8 BS 200 PVV Infra RGL Bimetal Bear J Taparia Pr
S&P BSE Sensex 59,771.9 60,208.0 60,208.0 60,011.5 60,067.6 295.7 0.5 *Eldeco Hog . . . . . . . . 3750.0 *Sindhu Trade . . . . . . . 476.3 *Comm Syn Bags . . . . . 209.0 Divis Lab Svam Softwar RS Software Chandni Mach Midwest Gold
*Sheela Foam . . . . . . 2766.7 *Manxt50-ETF . . . . . . . 475.0 *Reliance Chm . . . . . . . 205.4 Group A Group ZP RSWM Cochin Min Moongipa Cap
S&P BSE Sensex 50 18,679.7 18,821.8 18,821.8 18,757.0 18,773.4 93.7 0.5 S&P BSE SECTORAL INDICES *Ambika Cot . . . . . . . . 2297.9 *V R Films . . . . . . . . . . . 468.6 *S M Gold . . . . . . . . . . . 205.2
LOW
BS 200
Pilani In- PH Trading Shyam Met- Fortis Malar Moongipa Sec
*Endurance Tech . . . . 1910.0 *Asahi (I) Gl . . . . . . . . . 449.2 *Cosmo Ferr . . . . . . . . . 205.0 vestme NOVEMBER 07 alics Garware Mrin Multi-Purpos Bandhan Bank Godrej Agrovet Tata Invest Hilton Metal Pearl Poly
S&P BSE-100 18,112.5 18,251.1 18,251.1 18,193.2 18,208.9 96.4 0.5 Prev cls Close % Chng NONE
*Barbeque Nation . . . 1668.7 *VRL Logistics . . . . . . . 443.0 *Punjab Alkal . . . . . . . . 199.6 Suven Pharma Group X SMC Gobal Golden Carpet QGO Fina BHEL Greenply Ind VST Tillers Hind Nat Gl Prime Sec
S&P BSE-200 7,729.5 7,791.6 7,791.6 7,765.4 7,771.8 42.3 0.5 Auto 25,541.9 25,913.6 1.5 Others Group B Hind Mills STEL Holdings Jeevan Scient Ramsons Pro
*TCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475.5 INOX Leisure . . . . . . . . 441.2 *KPI Global Infr . . . . . . 195.4 Bosch HEG Group B Indraprst Md Rossell India
Bankex 44,937.0 45,146.1 0.5 Unichem Labs . . . . . . . 218.7 Ambika Cot Sukhit Strch Talbros Auto Lotus Choco Sellwin Trad
S&P BSE-500 24,295.6 24,491.2 24,491.2 24,428.7 24,447.2 151.6 0.6 *Relaxo Footwear . . . 1447.0 *Nirlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436.7 *MOSt Shares M50 . . . 187.0 Hind Copper IDFC Adity Vision Inspirsys Solut Sharda Motor
Cons. Durables 44,011.7 44,388.8 0.9 Vanta Biosci . . . . . . . . . 114.3 Selan Explor NOVEMBER 08 TN Petro Market Creat Siel
*Best Agro . . . . . . . . . 1399.7 *Sastasundar Ven . . . . 435.0 *Raghuvir Syn . . . . . . . 186.7 Indraprst Gs J Kumar Infr Amrutanjan Kesoram Ind Skipper
S&P BSE IPO 12,927.5 13,058.1 13,112.1 13,048.7 13,080.9 153.4 1.2 Cap. Goods 27,829.0 28,103.1 1.0 Magellanic Clo . . . . . . . 46.2 Vishnu Chem BS 200 Vidhi Specilty Mid East Pro Swagtam
*Ebbetf0423 . . . . . . . 1154.0 *Monte Carlo Fas . . . . 425.1 *Asit C Mhta . . . . . . . . . 185.0 Mah & Mah Kennametal Axiscades Engg Krebs Bio Super Spg
FMCG 14,050.6 14,176.4 0.9 *Dr Habeeb . . . . . . . . . . 24.6 Group M Aurob Pharma Vijaya Dia- Modipon Tuticorin Alkal
*RGL . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014.0 *Supershakti Met . . . . 410.0 *Orient Cement . . . . . . 185.0 Max Fin Sre Kitex Garmnt Banco Prod Manali Petro Sutlej Text
S&P Dollex-30 6,586.5 - - - 6,621.7 35.3 0.5 Healthcare 25,178.5 25,316.3 0.5 *ICICI 500-ETF . . . . . . . . 24.6 Franklin Leas Britannia gnost Otco Internalt Uniworth
*Amrutanjan . . . . . . . . 997.0 *Shivalik Bim . . . . . . . . 321.2 *Minda Corporati . . . . 179.3 MRF Marksans Ph BSL Manglor Chem Viji Finance
Infra 278.7 280.4 0.6 Palm Jewels . . . . . . . . . . 19.0 Group X Group A Group M Shri Dinesh Vikalp Securiti
Nifty 50 17,829.2 17,935.1 17,947.6 17,900.6 17,916.8 87.6 0.5 IT 34,242.0 34,419.5 0.5 *Inox Wind Energ . . . . 992.0 *Intern Comb . . . . . . . . 320.0 *Radhe Devlop . . . . . . . 173.1 Petronet LNG Mishra Dhatu Chaman Lal Manugraph I Group IF
*Trans Financ . . . . . . . . . 13.3 Abhinav Leas Action Const AA Plus Trade SR Ind Group Z
Metal 20,462.5 20,467.1 0.0 *Magalam Org . . . . . . . 985.4 *Kotak PSU Bank . . . . . 295.0 *Tiger Logistic . . . . . . . 169.7 Power Grid Ni Cyber Media Nahar Cap POwergrid Invit
Nifty next50 42,872.5 43,165.9 43,265.9 43,052.9 43,099.4 226.9 0.5 *Nutech Glob . . . . . . . . . . 8.8 Andhra Petro Autom Axle Atam Valves Tinna Trade GVK Power
Oil & Gas 18,274.8 18,390.8 0.6 *Sobha Ltd . . . . . . . . . . 973.8 *Deep Polymers . . . . . 279.0 *CG Power . . . . . . . . . . 169.4 Group A Nava Bh Vent DB Intl Stk Nahar Poly Group M
*Generic Phar . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Kanchi Kar- Balram Chini Group M Upsurge Inv Kobo Biotech
Nifty 500 15,282.8 15,381.0 15,396.9 15,363.4 15,376.9 94.2 0.6 Power 3,426.1 3,442.9 0.5 *Sarda Energy . . . . . . . 940.0 Atul Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . 270.0 *WAA tech . . . . . . . . . . 148.3 Astrazen Ph NCC Energy Devlp Nahar Spg ACML
*Raj.Petro . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 poora EID Parry Manomay Tex Vedavaag Sys Midas Infra
PSU 8,832.2 8,901.8 0.8 *Share India Sec . . . . . 914.5 *Garden Reach Sh . . . . 266.8 *Orissa Bengal . . . . . . . 145.6 Balaji Telef Nirlon Gokul Ref OnMobile Glob Group M
India VIX 16.1 16.1 16.4 14.3 15.7 -0.4 -2.4 *Sharanam Infra . . . . . . . 0.7 Prithvi Exch Elgi Equip Group M Vegetable NOVEMBER 09
Realty 4,351.8 4,365.2 0.3 *ANG Lifescience . . . . . 726.5 *Astra Micro . . . . . . . . . 261.6 *P.Polysac . . . . . . . . . . 145.3 CreditAccess P & G Health Gulshan Poly PDS Multina- Bansal Roof
Nifty CPSE 2,307.7 2,322.9 2,326.3 2,315.5 2,318.9 11.3 0.5 Restile Cera KRBL Prevest Den- Prod BS 200 Gr Redington Hercules Hst tion Group M
m m w w

> BS 200
WHAT THIS STOCK PAGE CONTAINS AND WHY The third sub-set of The table also contains the (F&O) section a wide set of an option may be exercised. becomes valueless while compared with the previous XD after the traded quotes M
BSE NSE BSE NSE
information is the stock’s company’s price-earnings data has been provided. An option is “in-the-money” futures contracts are close, the close price is indicate that the scrip has
market capitalisation. The (P/E) multiple. The P/E Open Interest: OI is the if the market price exceeds compulsorily settled on underlined. A significant gone ex-dividend after that l ~100 q ~3 Aarti Inds< Abbott India
BS 200 stocks account for over paid-up value . Four
market capitalisation is multiple is arrived at by number of contracts open at the SP (in case of a call option) expiry. On NSE, it is the last change means a 3 per cent date; XB denotes ex-bonus, PCLose (947.0) (947.7) (20272.3) (20296.0)
85 per cent of the volume of categories of information are m ~50 H ~2 Open 954.0 955.0 20500.0 20390.0
shares, value and trades on provided: First, the basic shown in ~crore and is arrived dividing the day’s closing end of day in the futures and and the market price is below Thursday of every month. rise or fall in scrips whose XR ex-rights; XO ex-indicator
High 961.0 960.9 20500.0 20469.5
the Bombay Stock Exchange information on the day’s at by multiplying the closing price by its reported earning options segment. OI thus SP (in case of a put). Put/call ratio: The ratio of market values are over 10 for other corporate actions n ~20 « ~1
Low 954.0 951.2 20245.8 20207.4
and National Stock Exchange. trading. Information is also prices of shares with equity per share (EPS) for trailing 12 indicates traders’ Otherwise it is “out-of- open interest in put options & times paid-up value or 15 per like AGM/EGM/ preference u ~6 Face value Close 958.9 958.6 20282.0 20295.1
+ For BS 200 stocks, the given on the number of capital. It changes either
because more shares have
months. EPS is calculated on
the basis of consolidated
expectations. High OI is
typical when traders see a
money”
Expiry date: The date on
call options.
ABBREVIATIONS: When a
cent for the rest of the shares.
The letters H or L appended
shares/mergers and others . M
denotes volume of shares in < ~5
of scrips is
~10 in all
Shares
PE
7389
55.2
159K
55.2
117
61.0
1687
61.1
company name is followed by shares traded, and also the 52 Wk H/L 1168/510 1168/509 23902/13970 23934/13960
been issued (or extinguished) earnings wherever available. continuing trend. which a derivative expires . significant change occurs in to prices indicate a new high million, L in lakhs & K in cases if not
its BSE group in brackets and price trend with 52-week Q ~4 specified. Mcap 34760 34747 43099 43127
the symbol indicating the highs and lows. or the price has moved. In the futures and options Strike Price: The price at which An unexercised option the day’s closing value or low in the scrip; the letters ‘000’.

BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE BSE NSE
ACC Adani Enter« Adani Green En Adani PortsH Aditya Bir Fa Alembic PharmaH m H m « m mH H < « « « « m m « m
(2420.5) (2420.5) (1486.2) (1485.9) (1206.4) (1204.5) (709.0) (709.2) (285.1) (285.1) (772.9) (773.2)
O 2430.0 2425.9 1499.9 1495.0 1211.0 1215.0 715.0 713.0 286.0 285.3 774.0 779.0 O O
2435.0 2437.5 1500.0 1511.5 1225.0 1224.8 716.8 716.5 292.0 292.0 781.2 780.2
w 2418.2 2419.1 1483.2 1483.0 1194.4 1195.1 713.0 713.0 282.4 282.5 772.8 773.4 w w
2431.1 2431.5 1497.2 1489.5 1199.3 1200.4 713.8 713.7 289.6 289.8 777.6 778.1
7981 68940 40905 272K 9385 37041 19270 453K 51407 1594K 2454 23498 K K K K K K K K
22.2 22.2 162.3 161.4 - - 28.5 28.5 - - 14.7 14.7
W 2506/1490 2509/1485 1718/345 1717/345 1394/799 1390/812 901/363 901/363 300/144 300/144 1150/721 1145/720 W W
M 45654 45660 164662 163810 187572 187744 145730 145720 27150 27168 15283 15293 M M

Axis BankH Bajaj Auto Bajaj FinH Bajaj Finsrv< Balkrishna IH Bandhan Bank Bank of BarodaH Bata India< Berge Paint« Bharat Elctn« Bharat ForgeH Bharti Airtel< BHELH Biocon< Bosch BPCL Britannia« Cadila Healt«
(750.7) (750.6) (3697.0) (3698.4) (7510.3) (7516.3) (17509.7) (17509.4) (2441.9) (2440.9) (300.4) (300.4) (100.9) (100.9) (2036.1) (2035.3) (761.3) (761.5) (200.4) (200.4) (775.0) (775.1) (699.0) (699.1) (71.4) (71.4) (348.3) (348.5) (17697.8) (17735.2) (415.0) (414.9) (3630.9) (3629.9) (490.2) (490.5)
O 759.0 757.0 3744.6 3718.5 7551.0 7561.0 17690.0 17650.0 2443.0 2454.7 303.1 305.0 O 102.5 102.4 2069.4 2055.0 770.0 768.7 202.5 202.2 775.0 774.0 705.9 704.0 O 72.0 72.0 350.0 350.0 17924.6 17800.0 420.0 419.9 3655.0 3658.0 491.1 493.8
759.0 757.1 3764.0 3764.9 7580.0 7569.0 17745.8 17750.0 2471.1 2459.9 304.5 305.0 103.4 103.3 2070.1 2064.9 770.0 769.5 202.5 202.3 784.2 784.8 705.9 704.8 72.5 72.4 352.2 352.0 17924.6 17864.8 420.0 420.3 3663.0 3666.5 494.3 493.9
w 751.6 751.4 3727.1 3718.5 7517.2 7515.0 17510.1 17500.0 2434.1 2432.6 298.7 298.5 w 102.2 102.0 2035.4 2035.4 760.1 760.0 201.5 201.3 772.0 772.1 699.5 699.2 w 71.4 71.5 347.8 347.2 17712.6 17707.7 417.8 418.1 3640.0 3639.4 490.2 490.1
753.0 753.0 3759.1 3759.4 7526.7 7525.1 17595.9 17594.0 2437.9 2437.3 299.6 299.5 102.6 102.6 2043.0 2043.0 763.3 763.0 201.9 201.9 781.1 781.4 701.1 701.1 71.7 71.7 348.8 348.7 17788.3 17779.9 419.8 419.8 3649.9 3652.6 492.3 491.8
41410 793K 2307 65679 3897 94033 1923 31506 2689 30732 75807 1327K 945K 10831K 7753 173K 6613 161K 37715 478K 4135 122K 38935 1065K 609K 5126K 11823 266K 200 3175 106K 988K 2162 23648 17750 222K
25.4 25.4 16.8 16.8 104.2 104.2 66.3 66.3 34.5 34.5 - - 18.3 18.3 1252.1 1252.1 96.8 96.7 22.0 22.0 68.0 68.0 127.1 127.1 - - 65.0 64.9 60.8 60.8 4.8 4.8 51.5 51.5 10.5 10.5
W 867/527 867/528 4361/2928 4361/2927 8020/3590 8050/3588 19320/5850 19325/5845 2724/1368 2724/1367 430/259 431/259 W 104/44 104/44 2213/1265 2213/1264 872/626 873/626 222/89 222/89 847/464 845/463 739/441 739/440 W 80/27 80/27 488/315 488/315 18557/11322 18570/11265 503/351 503/351 4152/3318 4153/3317 674/406 674/406
M 230941 230926 108776 108784 454309 454215 280021 279991 47124 47113 48249 48240 M 53058 53058 26256 26257 74134 74110 49183 49183 36366 36380 385046 385046 M 24966 24949 41871 41859 52458 52433 91065 91054 87926 87991 50392 50340

CAMS Can Fin HomeH Canara Bank CGCELH Chola InvH CiplaH City Union Bk« Coal India Coforge Colgate« Containr Crp< Coromndl Int« Cummins (I)H Dabur India« Dalmia BharatH Deepak NitrtH Delta Corp« Divis LabH
(2961.1) (2962.6) (645.9) (645.9) (225.9) (225.9) (467.6) (467.6) (612.5) (612.8) (912.7) (912.7) (168.8) (168.6) (169.7) (169.8) (5065.7) (5064.9) (1509.6) (1509.8) (681.2) (681.6) (775.0) (773.5) (895.5) (895.5) (610.4) (610.5) (2012.8) (2013.1) (2271.2) (2271.3) (273.1) (273.5) (5145.0) (5140.1)
O 2998.0 2989.7 649.9 648.8 227.3 227.7 468.0 468.5 618.7 615.8 914.9 912.7 O 172.0 172.5 171.4 171.2 5098.0 5085.0 1515.0 1520.4 692.0 688.0 776.0 775.5 O 900.2 906.5 617.0 616.0 2030.1 2035.0 2299.0 2291.8 280.0 279.0 5190.0 5174.0
3044.9 3043.0 651.4 650.9 230.7 231.0 474.8 476.0 619.0 619.0 914.9 914.3 175.3 175.3 171.4 171.4 5111.0 5108.3 1524.6 1524.4 692.0 688.5 783.6 784.0 905.0 906.5 617.8 616.2 2044.4 2048.8 2300.1 2299.0 284.0 283.9 5260.0 5225.0
w 2991.5 2982.2 642.5 642.3 227.3 227.0 468.0 468.0 612.5 609.6 909.1 908.9 w 170.2 170.0 170.5 169.8 5064.0 5065.3 1515.0 1511.9 682.0 684.0 776.0 768.0 w 890.0 891.0 612.0 611.8 2023.3 2017.9 2284.0 2280.0 276.8 276.0 5169.0 5170.1
3031.6 3032.4 648.9 649.0 228.8 228.8 473.5 473.6 615.0 615.1 910.7 910.7 174.3 174.3 170.8 170.7 5079.4 5081.4 1522.4 1521.9 687.0 686.6 780.9 780.6 899.5 899.6 612.6 612.6 2036.0 2034.9 2295.0 2294.3 282.2 282.1 5205.1 5208.1
2873 40352 8737 93585 230K 4384K 5740 76411 8040 228K 10830 96347 74719 1317K 45170 973K 1698 21617 4209 71525 8854 174K 3609 36513 3566 34666 11789 277K 728 26604 7378 155K 142K 4519K 2340 36424
- - 18.5 18.5 9.8 9.8 45.2 45.2 31.8 31.8 28.4 28.4 21.1 21.1 7.6 7.6 58.6 58.6 38.9 38.9 54.1 54.1 17.0 17.0 28.5 28.5 59.8 59.8 30.9 30.9 72.7 72.7 997.1 996.9 68.6 68.6
W 4064/1270 4067/1267 721/432 722/430 231/90 231/90 512/288 513/288 634/291 634/291 1005/706 1005/707 W 200/143 200/143 204/115 204/115 6029/2180 6030/2180 1823/1464 1823/1464 754/365 754/365 956/703 956/703 W 1065/443 1064/443 659/483 659/493 2547/830 2548/831 3020/715 3020/716 306/112 307/112 5425/3155 5425/3153
M 14824 14828 8639 8641 41507 41507 29738 29744 50473 50477 73466 73466 M 12884 12884 105259 105198 30796 30809 41409 41396 41856 41831 22912 22903 M 24934 24936 108302 108293 38093 38072 31303 31294 7528 7526 138168 138248

H H < M « Exide Ind« Federal BankH m « M « « Godrej Prpty< Granules« Grasim IndH Gujarat GasH HAL Havells I«
(178.5) (178.6) (100.2) (100.2) (2428.3) (2428.4) (319.2) (319.3) (1786.2) (1785.6) (632.0) (633.0) (1324.7) (1323.8) (1290.3) (1290.7)
O O 182.0 181.0 101.8 101.4 O 2449.7 2440.1 320.1 322.0 1799.0 1797.0 637.9 636.4 1337.0 1330.9 1306.9 1297.8
182.0 181.0 102.0 101.9 2464.0 2464.1 323.9 323.8 1800.5 1800.0 641.0 641.0 1345.0 1345.0 1306.9 1300.0
w w 179.5 179.0 100.9 100.9 w 2412.3 2412.5 319.1 320.0 1784.8 1785.6 635.0 635.0 1325.4 1325.0 1291.0 1290.0
179.9 179.9 101.1 101.1 2431.9 2429.9 321.8 321.4 1791.2 1791.6 636.9 636.9 1339.1 1340.1 1294.9 1294.5
K K K 45485 525K 298K 2913K K K K K 12195 176K 12508 305K 7128 95198 12713 133K 8671 73536 2482 56644
18.1 18.1 12.4 12.4 - - 14.3 14.3 34.4 34.4 29.9 29.9 13.7 13.7 68.3 68.3
W W 221/157 219/157 108/53 10 W 2598/902 2598/906 438/295 438/295 1805/781 1805/781 787/298 786/297 1568/664 1566/665 1504/797 1504/796
M M 15292 15287 M 67601 67546 7981 7971 117902 117932 43844 43841 44778 44812 81096 81071

H H H H H M < H « H H M H H « H H « H m « H H H M

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

H « H w < O H H « « m W « « M <

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

& H & « & H & H H m O H H H H M&M H M &M < M M H M « M < M H M H M

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

M H H M M « M M M N m< N H N N NM « N O ON < O < N

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

« « m H N H w w m m « « & m

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

m m H W &W « m m « N < m m « M H M H w « « M <

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

m « < w « « M « w« H H « « W W H H « m «

O O O

w w w

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

W W W
M M M

Th s PDF was or g na y up oaded o Bus ness S andard Newspaper - ePaper (h ps me bs_epaper) Subscr be now o ge h s ed on be ore anyone e se Backup channe @news_backup
X
 12
>
MUMBAI | FRIDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2021 1

Predatory, cloned journals

more rampant post-pandemic
lost due to predatory journals, which do
Among the highest nothing for researchers,” she says. “On
number of victims the other hand, when researchers can’t
afford open access, even if they publish
are from South Asian in a good journal, it’s behind paywall so
there is no visibility. As a digital-first pub-
countries, particularly
India, say academics
RITWIK SHARMA
lisher, our effort is to change this.”

Peer-review approach
Researchers in top-rung universities and
Musical horn
New Delhi, 4 November

T
wo years ago, a Pune-based PhD
student who is enrolled at a uni-
versity in Madhya Pradesh sub-
institutes find better guidance and are
less prone to fake journals, although it is
a challenge across tiers.
Suman Chakraborty, a faculty mem-
ber at the Indian Institute of Technology
OK please
mitted a paper to a social science journal
that promised to upload it online. She
Kharagpur, agrees that IITs don’t get
affected much due to their autonomy.
Gadkari’s idea of replacing vehicle horns with sounds of
only had to pay ~5,000 to publish the
paper, and immediately received a PDF
RED FLAGS IIT Kharagpur, for instance, has a list of
top journals and conferences set up by
Indian musical instruments might not be difficult to execute,
file of her paper and a certificate via mail.
RESEARCH BEFORE YOU PUBLISH independent committees that ensure but the question is will doing so reduce the cacophony
“But later when I searched online, I quality even though it may not be fool-
could neither find the paper nor the jour- > Most predatory/cloned journals > They have fake stamps of proof, he says. AKSHARA SRIVASTAVA & RITWIK SHARMA
nal’s website,” says the 32-year-old who
does not want to be identified.
do not have submission Scopus/Web of Science or While the UGC’s objective was good
as it sought to maintain a minimum stan-
New Delhi, 4 November BLEEP OUT THE HONKING
deadlines and publish topics other agencies In 2012, sick of the honking levels
It’s one of thousands of examples of out of their purview dard of what is published, various univer- Imagine being serenaded by the sitar while stuck
researchers falling prey to fake, cloned > Predatory/cloned journals have sities under it do not necessarily focus in traffic. Or bobbing your head to the sound of around where they lived, Anand Damani
or predatory journals — a phenomenon > They always charge money and less or no citation on quality indicators, says Chakraborty. tabla while waiting for the car in front to move and Mayur Tekchandaney, marketing
that has become more rampant in a dig- offer early publications “I think the onus should be on heads of as the light turns green. professionals at Mumbai-based design
> Check the UGC Care
ital age and especially in a post-pandem- institutes and departments. Whenever If Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport studio Briefcase, launched Bleep. The
> Most of them have multiple List/Scopus/Web of Science
ic scenario where academia has shifted we get applications, we may keep some and highways, is to have his way, this might be a project uses behavioural economics to
from the real to the virtual world. journals doing the same job; data before submitting to metrics like number of publications as a reality. Speaking at a highway inauguration cer- modify products – in this case, the horn.
Although there are no estimates avail- sometimes one is indexed any journal necessary condition. But there are em- emony in Nashik early October, the minister said This included fitting a little red button
able, the financial losses are immense. > They also use cloned websites > If it is an open access journal,
powered committees that look into det- he was planning to bring a law under which only with a frowning face on the dashboards
Researchers often end up paying up- ails in terms of quality, novelty and im- the sound of Indian musical instruments would of two cars. A microchip was wired up
wards of ~20,000 for an article, says
with same logo and ISSN look for DOAJ stamp pact. That’s not there in many institutes.” be used as vehicle horns. He added that he was with the car horn, the battery and the
Sumit Narula, a whistle-blower, adding >Most of them use Gmail and not > Most renowned journals are The best universities abroad, he adds, studying sirens used by ambulances and police red button. The cars were given to a host
that in India the number of research official accounts now integrating the ORCID ID rely on peer reviews. “They send papers vehicles, and considering replacing them with a of people — ranging from chauffeurs and
papers published in fraud journals could with research publications to a sufficient number of peers. If some- more pleasant tune played on the All India Radio.
> They lack contact details of the
office-goers to homemakers and even
be as high as 3,000 to 5,000 in a year. body is good, on an average there is a Under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989,
Narula, who heads the Amity School of chief editor and editor or give > Always check and recheck the chance that it will be a fair assessment. the noise range for horns has been fixed bet-
teenagers — for six days each. The system
Communication at Amity University, fake names details given on the website That is a better approach than targeting ween 93 decibel (dB) and 112dB. The decibel was activated after three days. Every
Gwalior, was also cheated by a predatory only UGC-recognised publications.” is measured at a distance of 7.5 metres from time the person behind the wheel
journal in March 2020. Since then, he Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the Brit- the horn and at a height of 0.5 to 1.5 metres. honked, the alarm went off and
has been tracking fraud journals and mote quality research in universities. It ment to have quality research output. So ish company that analyses higher edu- “The problem is not the horn; it’s the had to be turned
conducting workshops to help students also led to the creation of a UGC-CARE there is pressure that journals have to be cation and issues global university rank- behaviour,” says Tarun Garg, director for off manually.
and researchers identify them (see box). List of journals. The UGC-CARE List now Scopus indexed, with indicators of qual- ings annually, cautions academics and sales, marketing and service, Hyundai The project, which
Predatory publishing is one that has two groups: ity research, but researchers are some- students against engaging with any app- Motor India Ltd. “It is more of a human problem went on for six
charges publication fees from authors I. Journals found qualified through times unable to distinguish between gen- roach that appears to offer accelerated than a technology problem. People have a habit months and 4,000 km, helped reduce
without vetting articles for quality and UGC-CARE protocols uine and false impact factors created by advantages without diligent verification. (of blowing the horn); and the kind of road con- honking by almost 61 per cent. “Certain
legitimacy. Researchers are tricked into II. Journals indexed in globally recog- fake agencies. Because of these prob- Asked if it has noticed universities ditions and the traffic we face are also some con- honking is required and certain is not.
publishing with them, nised databases lems, we have seen a lot of predatory focusing more on quantity of research ditional issues.” Honking is a habit, where people driving
even though some authors The list is updated qua- journals flourish.” than quality in a bid to improve their The sound of the horn, he adds, is almost the on autopilot honk at anything and
may be aware that the jour- Researchers in top- rterly and includes the cor- Emerald signs up journals for open rankings, Ben Sowter, research director same in every country. And it hasn’t really chan- everything,” says Damani. “The button
nals are of poor quality or rung universities responding cloned journa- access and conducts workshops on it. It and senior vice president, QS, says a ged drastically since Oliver Lucas of Birmingham
and institutes find broke the pattern of honking and made
fraudulent. Cloned jour- ls that mirror the authentic calls itself a digital-first publisher with majority of the metrics used in rankings developed the standard electric car horn in 1910.
better guidance and ones. The latest list shows people more aware of whether or not
nals are a counterfeit mir- open access and doesn’t put the onus of are “proxies for quality or influence at There are, however, minor variations to suit the
ror of and exploit the title are less prone to 36 journals in Group I and making payments on researchers. It is scale, rather than purely of volume”. personality of the automobile. For instance, “in
they should really blow the horn.”
and ISSN (International fake journals but 40 in Group II. sponsored by institutes. “However, in trying to build a more the case of the Hyundai Grand i10 and i20, the Although the project started 10 years
Serial Standard Number) it is a challenge “Around 2010-11 publishers found research-intensive culture, institutions horn is on the lower side and the pitch is not ago, it remains in limbo. Damani says
of authentic journals; some across tiers Misguided or themselves in a position where they had themselves often create their own incen- high. In the Creta, like any other SUV, the horn’s the intention behind Bleep was to cond-
cloned journals actively misinformed to go open access (which offers unre- tives — sometimes financial, sometimes pitch is on the sharper side,” Garg explains. uct an experiment to drive home a point.
+
chase authors who may be The problem of fraud jour- stricted access online to research). When performance measures — that are “Electric cars, which used to be very silent earlier,
duped into paying an open-access pub- nals persisted earlier but it became bigger we are working with a fairly misguided designed to develop a culture of produc- had to be specially fitted with systems that create
lication fee, explains Narula. since publishers went digital, says Sang- or misinformed market about open tivity first, before intending to move to a a buzzing sound to alert pedestrians. Horns are law Gadkari has in mind were to come into force.
He flags suspect cases to leading cita- eeta Menon, who heads South Asia pub- access (that it’s all free or predatory), we more quality focus down the track,” he an important part of safety when the requirement Not much, it turns out.
tion databases such as Scopus (owned lishing for academic publisher Emerald. as publishers are struggling because says. “Though well-intentioned, these is high, but in India, the problem is behaviour.” A Delhi-based car horn manufacturer, who
by Dutch publisher Elsevier) and Web of Among the highest number of victims researchers are asking for open access incentives can apply a degree of pressure Vehicles largely use two types of these sound does not wish to be named, says customising a
Science (owned by analytics firm of predatory journals comes from South from us,” Menon says. and may have the unintended conse- devices — disc horns and trumpet horns, points horn is easy. “We use an electronic device called
Clarivate), which identify and discontin- Asian countries, mainly India, she adds. She points out that India is among quence of exposing vulnerabilities.” out Ramashankar Pandey, managing director of IC (integrated circuit) in horns, which can be fit-
ue predatory journals. There are multiple reasons for this. the top five nations in terms of the output As a rankings agency, QS relies main- Hella India Lighting, which supplies lighting and ted with any sound of choice. Decibel levels can
In November 2018, the University First, there is a lack of understanding of of scholarly publications, but its citation ly on the content policy and quality electronic products to the auto industry. be adjusted according to the kind of sound being
Grants Commission (UGC) announced open/paid access research and predatory share is barely above 3 per cent. “A big assurance processes of its bibliometric In case of disc horn, sound is created directly used,” he explains.
the setting up of a Consortium for Acad- publishing among researchers. “There part of the problem is where our resea- partner, Scopus/Elsevier, while evaluat- by oscillator plates (due to the oscillation of a Pandey believes that if regulations mandate
emic and Research Ethics (CARE) to pro- is a lot of focus from the Indian govern- rchers are publishing. A large portion is ing research published by universities. vibrating diaphragm, resulting in a metallic Indian musical sounds for car horns, technology
sound), while in a trumpet horn, air through a will follow suit. According to him, it will be easier
chute lets out a bellow. Depending on the size to “Indianise” sounds for sirens, which have a
and type, every horn has its own unique tone, different construct than horns.

How to block your phone from interrupting you
J D BIERSDORFER
4 November
Sometimes, you just need
to get stuff done — that
budget spreadsheet, your
novel or even a nap — but
your smartphone insists on
distracting you with noti-
fications, texts or the pull
of social media. Sure, the
Do Not Disturb setting can
temporarily stifle interrup-
tions when you need quiet
time or a mental break, but
recent versions of Android
and Apple’s new iOS 15
include a more flexible
Focus mode with other Focus; saying “Hey, Siri,
tools for concentration. open my Settings” works,
too. On the Focus screen,
Find your focus you’ll see that the old Do
In Android 12, look for the Not Disturb setting has
Digital Wellbeing icon in moved in, and you have a
your app drawer. If you button to share your set-
don’t see it, open the Set- tings across other Apple
tings icon and select Digital devices, including Macs.
Wellbeing & Parental Con-
trols; you can download Block interruptions
the app, too. For the hands- On Android’s Digital Well-
free approach, just say “OK, being screen, tap Focus
Google, open the Digital Mode. Choose the Set a Sc-
Wellbeing settings.” hedule option to block out
On an Apple device the timeout you need. In
running iOS 15, open the the “Your distracting apps”
Settings icon and scroll to list, select the programs
you’d like to disable when
Focus Mode is on. (The
Manage Notifications con-
trols in the Digital Well-
most calls, go back to the
main Digital Wellbeing scr-
een and select Do Not Dis-
turb. Tap the People option
and choose the contacts
allowed to bother you
when you have Do Not Dis-
turb enabled; you can do
the same for apps and turn
off alarms. (Some Android
phones have a Flip to Shhh
setting, which puts your
phone right into Do Not
Disturb when you place it
being settings let you dec- screen-side down.)
ide what types of alerts you
get in the first place.) @2021 The New York Times
To temporarily silence News Service
says Pandey. Though one might still spot the odd
rudimentary horn, essentially a trumpet with a
rubber air bladder, in the countryside, the auto
industry has moved on to electronic versions
that permit a variety of sounds.
“A major innovation has been the shift to elec-
tronic horns from purely electrically switched
horns earlier. Electronic horns have much more
longevity compared to electrical ones,” says
Pandey. “Manufacturers decide different sizes
and types of horns from a few limited choices
depending on space constraints of vehicles, con-
sumer preference and regulations.”
Original equipment manufacturers have to
adhere to strict regulations. All good aftermarket
brands also adhere to regulations on decibel lim-
its “but the Indian market is full of substandard
horns and many customers prefer these which
are also louder,” adds Pandey.
So, what would it take for car companies to
make the switch to musical instruments if the
Unnecessary and compulsive honking that
is a characteristic of people in India has made
the primary role of horns irrelevant, says Pandey.
Because at the end of the day, horns are emerg-
ency devices meant to alert other road users, and
not necessarily emit a pleasant musical sound.
The musical suggestion isn’t music to every-
one’s ears, which are more attuned to the verbal
volleys that often back up blaring horns in India.
Sweet sounding horns might not be the best
idea on Indian roads, says Sumaira Abdulali of
Mumbai-based NGO Awaaz Foundation, which
campaigns against noise pollution, among other
issues. People then might just start honking for
entertainment purposes. “We are one of the nois-
iest countries in the world,” she says. “At least
right now, we have horns that play a single sound.
Having horns with tunes will mean sounds at
different frequencies and sounds getting com-
pounded — almost like being in a street festival
every day, day and night.”

> CAR REVIEW N N N

door handles that pop open with the to smoothly push the 1,600-plus

Mahindra overtakes frugal past
With a smoother edge, the XUV700 makes a quantum leap
PAVAN LALL
Mumbai, 4 November
When a manufacturer has built a car
that has been tested on a special track
with modern tech kitted out to spot for
chinks in its developmental growth,
you know serious effort has gone into
the car. That is exactly the story with
the latest SUV from the Mahindra
stable — the XUV700, a car that’s
been getting M&M more attention
since its erstwhile bestseller of
yesteryear, the Scorpio.
Unequivocally, this is the best Ind-
ian car that I have been behind the
wheel of in a long time and, of course,
that doesn’t include the Jaguar or the
click of the key fob to the lane change
cameras that are positioned both in
front and behind the car, the 700 is
out to make a sweeping statement to
kilo five-seater into action. On the
road, it moves smoothly and with
confidence, although being built on a
monocoque chassis, there is more
ine is unlike any other M&M car. Mahi- the market. Namely, that it’s not rigidity. That also means the car is a
ndra big boss Anand Mahindra has leaving any stone unturned in little bouncy on uneven roads in
Land Rover. Why? There are a few rea- often repeated in the past that every reclaiming lost ground. After all, India, and can feel wobbly in the
sons, to start with. For one, the inter- M&M car shares a certain DNA, which Mahindra has been the big alpha dog beginning, but rev it up and that
iors don’t feel like that of a truck or a is rugged, with an off-roading quality when it comes to tapping the SUV smooths out in due course.
commercial vehicle. They are spiffy, and built for hard wear and tear. market that has been evolving and Once inside, there’s no giveaway
comfortable and aesthetically pleas- In that vein, the XUV700 goes a growing in leaps and bounds. That that this is a car made from the same
ing with dashes of wood-grained ven- step further. It is all those but also has king-of-the-hill position not only manufacturing mindset of the early
eer, leather and high-end plastics int- a smoother edge for those who want slipped but also saw the clear and 2000s. Auto lovers will remember that
erspersed in the front, side and rear. city comfort now offered in the likes of present danger of being dethroned M&M would tout “frugal manufactu-
Even the chrome-brushed handles competitive vehicles such as the MG forever with the onslaught of top-class ring” as a way to build great cars. The
in matte finish evoke a BMW kind of Hector, Hyundai Creta, Volkswagen products made by MG, Kia and more fact is such philosophies must evolve
fit, and that’s a good thing. Start the Tiguan and the Tata Harrier. in just the last 24 months. with time, and in this case frugal was
car and the smooth sound of the eng- Right from the nifty and unique Once you start up the 700 with a starting to mean cheap. Within the
start-stop button, its new-generation, 700, there is no shred of frugal
6-speed automatic transmission helps manufacturing. So much so that
Spec Sheet my neighbour, who sat in it, asked
> Power: 200 PS at 5000 rpm if it was an Acura!
> Torque: 380 Nm of Torque between That may be stretching it, and her
lack of awareness can be forgiven, but
1750 and 3000 rpm how the uninitiated see and perceive a
> Transmission: New Generation new car is sometimes a far greater
6-speed Automatic Transmission indication of a vehicle’s chances of
> Cylinders: 4 success than what auto pundits
> Displacement: 2 litre turbo predict. The Mahindra XUV700
completed 50,000 bookings worth
GDi mStallion engine (petrol) over a billion dollars in under three
> Kerb weight: 1,620 kg hours, the company had announced
> Price: ~19.19 lakh + ~1.8 lakh for the on Twitter. The challenge? To not
luxury pack (ex-showroom, all India) get complacent and keep the
bestsellers coming.

This PDF was originally uploaded to Business Standard Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/bs_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X