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RBI to blame supply-side issues Invesco to sell 5.51% in Zee for

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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

livemint.com

KKR in talks to QUICK EDIT

invest in fintech Market
firm Razorpay rebuke
As U-turns go, it was dramatic.
By Sneha Shah
Jeremy Hunt, the new British
sneha.shah@livemint.com
chancellor of the exchequer, on
Monday literally undid almost

P
rivate equity firm KKR is in
all the mini-budget proposals
talks to invest in fintech
startup Razorpay and will presented by his predecessor
likely buy out some of its Kwasi Kwarteng that had sent
existing early-stage inves- financial markets into a tizzy.
tors in a secondary transaction. Foremost, a controversial plan
The buyout fund is also likely to to cut the basic income tax rate,
invest in the company’s primary seen as a gift to the rich, has
funding round along with its other been put off indefinitely. Other
investors, four people with knowl- planned cuts to dividends taxes,
edge of the development said, off-payroll working changes, a
requesting anonymity.
new value-added tax-free shop-
KKR Digital, set up to scout for
opportunities in digital businesses, is Razorpay CEO Harshil Mathur said the ping scheme and a freeze on
going to lead the round, one of the firm will make more small acquisitions. some alcohol duties have also
four people said. been dropped. Further, in an
“The company is looking to raise a forms. attempt to slash spending and
$125 million round at a valuation of The company also operates a neo- boost revenues, Hunt said that
around $7.8 billion (its last transaction banking platform through which it the government’s plan to cap
value in December 2021),” the person offers credit cards and working capi- energy prices for two years will
added, requesting anonymity. tal to businesses. Last year, the com- work universally only up to
Of the $125 million, around $60-70 pany said it processed $60 billion in April and will be targeted at
million will go towards buying out transactions. It competes with online
poorer households thereafter.
shares from some early-stage inves- payment gateways such as BillDesk,
tors such as Y Combinator, the second Cashfree and PayU. These moves, he said, are aimed
person said. “The new funding round is at a flat at instilling “confidence and
“Existing investors are also likely to valuation, which itself is commenda- stability”. It was a relief for
participate in the round that will help ble given how the larger funding envi- investors alarmed by measures
the company mop up funds to execute ronment is,” the third person said. they saw as fiscally reckless in
its inorganic growth plans,” he added. Last month, Razorpay acquired the current context. It was also
Spokespeople for Razorpay and payments-linked loyalty and engage- a victory for markets, especially
KKR did not respond to ment solutions provider the market for government
emailed queries. The company is PoshVine for an undis- bonds, whose thumbs-down
In May, venture capi- looking to raise a closed amount, marking
caused a ruling-party uproar
tal firm Lightspeed Ven- $125 mn round at its fourth acquisition in
ture Partners, along with 2022 and seventh over- and forced this reversal amid
a valuation of whispers of moves to replace
Moore Strategic Ven- all.
tures, invested $75 mil-
around $7.8 bn, a In an interview, the Prime Minister Liz Truss. She
lion in a secondary trans- person aware of company’s chief execu- may have switched finance
action. In December the matter said tive Harshil Mathur said ministers, but the fact that the
2021, Razorpay said it it would continue to earlier proposals were patently
raised $375 million in its make small acquisitions. part of her economic agenda
Series F financing round co-led by Earlier this year, it acquired Ezetap in might haunt her leadership.
Lone Pine Capital, Alkeon Capital and a $200 million deal. KKR is trying to After Brexit, whose wonders
TCV. This round valued the company increase its bets on the high-growth
were vastly oversold by the
at a pre-money valuation of around digital businesses in India to diversify
$7.5 billion. The company has so far its investments. It recently picked up UK’s ruling Conservative party,
raised over $740 million from inves- a small stake in eyewear retailer Len- the country can hardly afford
tors such as Tiger Global, Sequoia skart. errors of policy. An ideological
Capital India and GIC. The digital team within KKR is scramble for low taxation at the
Founded in 2014 by Harshil Mathur sourcing more deals across consumer, wrong time signalled a belief in
and Shashank Kumar, Razorpay pro- fintech and health tech, the fourth the sort of “fairy tales” Rishi
vides payment gateway services to person with knowledge of the firm’s Sunak cautioned against.
businesses and e-commerce plat- plans said.

MINT
METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

For years a lady used

to pray
To a green Buddha statue
every day.
She is now shocked to find
This is Shrek, well designed.
But true faith never leads
to dismay.

QUOTE OF
THE DAY
We are confident
that Jio’s 5G network
will accelerate
India’s digitalization
and will serve as the
foundation for
achieving our
nation’s ‘Digital
India’ vision.

AKASH
AMBANI
CHAIRMAN,
RELIANCE JIO

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 PLAIN FACTS

Why gas prices will stay

high in the near term
BY HOWINDIALIVES.COM

E arlier this month, the government raised domestic gas prices to a historic high on the back of a seven-fold increase
in international prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over the past two years. The high prices are expected to hold
for at least the next six months and possibly more if the Russia-Ukraine war intensifies. This would add to the financial
outgo for industrial consumers, households and the central government.
The price of gas from older and more established gas fields, where production is dominated by public sector oil companies,
was raised to $8.57 per mmBtu (million metric British thermal units), nearly thrice of what it was a year ago. The ceiling price
of gas from more difficult deepwater fields, such as Reliance’s KG-D6 Basin, was raised to $12.46 per mmBtu, doubling over
a year.
The government regulates prices of gas and resets it every six months. This is based on global prices, which shot up in mid-
2021 as global demand picked up after lockdowns and again in early 2022 after the Ukraine war led to disruptions of gas sup-
plies to Europe. The International Monetary Fund’s gas price index has risen 72% in 2022, causing the average price of India’s
LNG imports to rise sharply as well. Global gas prices are now critically dependent on how quickly European demand for
natural gas for its heating and other requirements are satisfied. Futures gas contracts indicate that prices will stay high till
February 2023, before cooling off. However, if the Ukraine war situation worsens, high prices could persist.

Prices of domestic gas have risen up to Global gas prices are expected to
3 times over the past year rise further in the near term
Price of domestic gas ($/mmBtu) Price of natural gas futures contracts ($/mmBtu)
14 Ceiling for gas from 8
'difficult fields'
Gas from older fields
12 7

6
10

5
8

4
2

2
1

0 0
1 Apr 2019 1 Mar 2023 Oct 2022 Mar 2025
Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Source: Investing.com

The Gas Economy Fertilizer and city-gas sectors lead

in gas consumption in India
TOTAL DOMESTIC LNG production this August was 2,896 Sectoral share of natural gas consumption for Apr-Aug 2022
million standard cubic metres (mmscm), 1% less than in August
2021, according to government data. Given the spike in global Others
prices, imports have been hit more. India imported 2,369
mmscm in August, a year-on-year fall of 19%. India imports 45- 22
50% of its LNG requirement every month and thus relies on it to Petrochemicals
fill its demand-supply gap. However, Europe’s thirst for gas, 32
3 (in %) Fertilizer
following the disruption of Russian supplies, means customers
from that region are now outbidding customers from other 8
parts of the globe.
Refineries
The leading end-consumers of natural gas in India are the 14 21
fertilizer industry (32% of consumption in April-August 2022)
and city-gas projects (21%), which supply fuel to households for City gas
cooking and as a clean fuel for vehicles. They are followed by Power
the power sector (14%), and the refinery and petrochemicals Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell,
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
sector (11%).

Fertilizer subsidy has increased by

32% this year
Subsidy Surge
April-August 2021 NATURAL GAS is a critical feedstock for the fertilizer industry
April-August 2022 and is used to produce ammonia. Other fossil fuels such as coal
(in  crore) and oil can also be used, but are more expensive to process. In
58,768 India, a third of natural gas production is used by the fertilizer
industry.
20,762 A rise in the price of most major inputs for the fertilizer
industry, including natural gas, has led to the soaring cost of
production of fertilizers in the country.
Thus, the fertilizer subsidy, borne by the central government,
63,222
42,000 has jumped sharply. Between April and August this year, the
total fertilizer subsidy amounted to about ₹1.21 trillion, an
increase of 32% over the same period of the previous year. Costs
have risen so sharply that the government is reportedly
Nutrient-based fertilizer Urea subsidy considering the imposition of a windfall tax on natural gas
subsidy
producers, who are reaping a windfall because of global
Source: Controller General of Accounts, Ministry of Finance
disruptions in gas supply (https://bit.ly/3rYrfOS).

Household Stress CNG/PNG prices have risen 20-40%

in Mumbai and Delhi
HOUSEHOLDS, WHICH use gas for cooking and in vehicles, Dec 2021 Aug 2022
are also facing higher prices. Piped gas is also increasingly being CNG price (/kg)
used in industrial and commercial establishments in various
54
cities. The number of domestic piped natural gas (PNG) Delhi
connections for households has risen by 14% this year so far to 76
about 9.7 million connections. The number of CNG stations in Mumbai
66
India has risen by 28.5% to 4,664 in this period. 80
For such consumers, the price of natural gas has soared. Piped
gas prices have risen by 40-42% for consumers in Delhi and by 21- PNG price (/SCM)
23% for consumers in Mumbai. This is in a scenario when the rise 36
in domestic gas prices has trailed the rise in global gas prices. If Delhi
51
global prices stay high and the government reduces the
differential, domestic prices could rise further. How all this plays 40
Mumbai
out will depend primarily on the Russia-Ukraine war. 49
www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell,
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
public data.
PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

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 NEw DELhI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 16 NO. 249 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 10.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 20 PAGES

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Railway line plan derailed in UK reverses nearly all tax

livemint.com the green corridor uP10 plans to reassure marketsuP8

SENSEX 58,410.98 491.01 NIFTY 17,311.80 126.10 DOLLAR ₹82.36 ₹0.02 EURO ₹80.32 ₹0.16 OIL $91.49 $0.14 GOLD ₹50,219 ₹59

Byju’s raises $250 mn India may not join

US-led push to cap
RBI likely to cite
supply issues for
failure to meet
DON’T MISS

through rights issue prices of Russia oil

inflation target
Shayan Ghosh
shayan.g@livemint.com
Sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority participated in round, firm says Utpal Bhaskar MUMBAI
utpal.b@livemint.com
D. Y. Chandrachud appointed

T
NEW DELHI he Reserve Bank of
Aman Rawat India’s (RBI) letter to the next Chief Justice of India
tOPPING UP
I
aman.rawat@livemint.com ndia is averse to joining a government, triggered Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, the seniormost
NEW DELHI US-led global initiative to cap by its failure to keep inflation judge of the Supreme Court, was on Monday
prices of Russian crude oil, within the target band, will appointed the 50th Chief Justice of India and he will

B
yju’s on Monday
announced that the edtech
company raised $250 mil-
lion via a rights issue from
its existing investors. The
company said the sovereign wealth
fund Qatar Investment Authority par-
ticipated in the round, but did not
specify how much it invested.
“Byju’s is now at that sweet spot of its
growth story where the unit economics
and the economies of scale both are in
its favour. This means the capital we
now invest in our business will result in
profitable growth and create sustaina-
ble social impact. Regardless of the
adverse macroeconomic conditions,
2022-23 is set to be our best year in
terms of revenue, growth and profita-
bility. Continued support from our
esteemed investors reaffirms the
impact created by us so far and validates
our path to profitability,” Byju Raveen-
dran, founder and chief executive of
Byju’s, said in a statement.
Qatar Investment Authority led a
$150 million round in Byju’s in July
2019. Owl Ventures also invested in
the firm in the same round.
The latest funding mop-up comes
on heels of Byju’s last week
announcing a slew of steps to opti-
FUNDING BOOST
NEw round comes on BYJU’S plans to step thE firm is reworking its
heels of Byju’s announcing up marketing spend on sales strategy and plans
steps to optimize its ops overseas markets to hire 10,000 teachers
mize operations and achieve group- According to the company, the cost
level profitability by March 2023. cuts will help achieve better unit eco-
These measures include laying off nomics and prepare the ground for its
2,500 employees, accounting for 5% of initial public offering.
its workforce, over the next six months, Byju’s has completed the integration
integrating the companies it acquired of the companies it acquired over the
over the past three years, reworking its past three years, including Toppr, Mer-
sales machinery and hiring 10,000 itnation, TutorVista, Scholar and Hash-
more teachers in the coming year. Learn, into its core K-10 business.
The layoffs are planned across Aakash Institute and Great Learning will
product, content, media and technol-
ogy teams in a phased manner. TURN TO PAGE 6
two people aware of the matter
said, as it gets a steep discount
on oil cargoes from Russia and
wants to maintain the relation-
ship with its long-time strategic
partner. As the world’s third-
largest oil importer, India’s
stand is likely to influence the
efficacy of the price cap plan.
Finance ministers of G7
countries on 2 September pro-
posed that oil-related service
providers be allowed to trans-
act in Russian seaborne oil and
petroleum products only at the
price cap or lower. They said
the price cap is specifically
designed to reduce Russia’s
revenues and its ability to fund
the war in Ukraine and limit the
impact on global energy prices,
particularly for low and mid-
dle-income countries. Russia
has warned that it will snap oil
supplies to any country that
joins the price cap plan.
“Overall, the way the US
pitches is that a price cap is also
good for India. On the other
hand, Russia has threatened to
stop supplies to anyone partici-
pating in this plan. That doesn’t
Russia has warned that it will
snap oil supplies to any country
that joins the price cap plan.
leave us anywhere. In that case,
why would we want to be part
of it? The deal here is that we
have to balance our interests,” a
government official, one of the
two people cited above, said on
condition of anonymity.
Russia, which has never
been a major oil supplier to
India, emerged as the third
largest supplier to the energy
import-dependent nation in
FY23, as it snapped up supplies
shunned by many countries.
India gets Russian oil at an
average discount of around
$15-20 per barrel on a deliv-
ered-at-place (DAP) basis,
wherein the seller bears the
transportation risk for deliver-
TURN TO PAGE 6
likely blame supply-side issues
for the runaway price rise,
economists said.
Under Section 45ZA of the
RBI Act, the government, in
consultation with RBI, sets the
medium-term retail inflation
target once in five years. Fail-
ure to meet the current target
of 2-6% for three consecutive
quarters—January through to
September in this case—
requires RBI to write a letter to
the government, explaining
why it missed the goal. Retail
inflation for September accel-
erated to 7.41%, staying above
the 6% upper bound of the
inflation target for three
straight quarters.
The letter will have three
parts: reasons for failure to
achieve the inflation target;
remedial actions proposed by the
central bank; and an estimate of
the time within which the infla-
tion target shall be achieved.
Economists said RBI is
likely to tell the government
that it has raised interest rates
TURN TO PAGE 6
take oath on 9 November. Union law minister Kiren
Rijiju announced the appointment of Justice
Chandrachud, who will serve as CJI for two years.>P2
INSACOG sounds alarm bells
over new covid-19 variant
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics
(INSACOG), a network of scientists and labs
responsible for genome-sequencing strains of covid,
may meet this week to discuss the threat posed by
fast-mutating and virulent Omicron variant BF.7 that
is behind the recent surge in infections in China. >P2
Lava in talks with Chinese co for
manufacturing facility in India
Indian smartphone maker Lava International is in
talks with China’s Huaqin Technology Co. to
create an electronics manufacturing venture that
would aim to win contracts from US and Chinese
customers for research and development, design,
and manufacturing of electronics products. >P9
Reliance Jio to deploy 5G gear
from Nokia and Ericsson
Nokia and Ericsson have signed multi-year supply
contracts with Jio to supply network equipment
for its standalone 5G network, the two telecom
gear makers said. Reliance Jio, the top telco in
India, plans to deploy a 5G standalone network
which will interwork with its 4G network. >P3

Invesco to sell 5.51% Goldman plans

in Zee for $169.5 mn sweeping revamp
Swaraj Singh Dhanjal Justin Baer with Apple Inc. and General
swaraj.d@livemint.com feedback@livemint.com Motors Co., the people said.
MUMBAI The reorganization could be

G
oldman Sachs Group announced within days, the

I
nvesco Developing Markets
Fund will sell a 5.51% stake
in Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) in a
block trade that will fetch the
investor as much as $169.5 mil-
lion, according to deal terms
seen by Mint.
The block trade will see
Invesco offload over half of its
stake in Zee Entertainment,
which stood at 10.14% as of 30
June, held through OFI Global
China Fund LLC.
The block trade involves the
sale of 52.93 million shares at a
price range of ₹250 to ₹263.70
per share, a discount of up to
5.2% at the lower end of the
price range from the closing
price of ₹263.70 on Monday.
At the lower end, the stake
sale will fetch Invesco $160.7
The block trade will see Invesco
offload over half of its stake in Zee.
million, or ₹1,323.4 crore; at
the upper end, Invesco will
take home $169.5 million or
₹1,395.9 crore.
Kotak Securities Ltd is act-
ing as the sole broker for the
block trade.
In April, Invesco sold a
7.73% stake in ZEEL for ₹2,092
crore, which came after
Invesco withdrew its demand
for an extraordinary general
meeting (EGM), which it was
TURN TO PAGE 6
Inc. plans to fold its big-
gest businesses into
three divisions, undertaking
one of the biggest reshuffles in
the Wall Street firm’s history.
Goldman will combine its
flagship investment-banking
and trading businesses into one
unit, while
merging
asset and
wealth
management into another, peo-
ple familiar with the matter said.
Marcus, Goldman’s consumer-
banking arm, will be part of the
asset- and wealth-management
unit, the people said.
A third division will house
transaction banking, the bank’s
portfolio of financial-technol-
ogy platforms, specialty lender
GreenSky, and its ventures
people said. Goldman is sched-
uled to report third-quarter
earnings Tuesday. It is unclear
how the makeover will shake
up Goldman’s senior leader-
ship team, though at least a few
executives will have new roles,
the people said. Marc Nach-
mann, the
f i r m ’ s
co-head of
trading, will
slide over to help run the com-
bined asset- and wealth-man-
agement arm, they said.
The reorganization is the lat-
est step in Chief Executive
David Solomon’s push to shift
Goldman’s center of gravity
toward businesses that gener-
ate steady fees in any environ-
TURN TO PAGE 6

TV retains grip on kids despite streaming

MINT
Lata Jha Project and Michelle Obama’s 15-plus urban TV universe,
lata.j@htlive.com Waffle + Mochi. watched original content on
NEW DELHI “The way kids consume streaming platforms for the
content has changed over the first time during the lock-

T
elevision continues to be
the primary medium of
consumption for kids’
content, with more than half of
them preferring it over video
streaming, a Sony Pictures Net-
works India survey showed.
While overall viewership of
kids’ content had doubled dur-
ing the pandemic and has sta-
bilized now with children back
to school, companies are prep-
ping big slates to woo them,
especially during the ongoing
festive season.
While Sony YAY will pre-
miere comedies like Oggy and
the Cockroaches and Gokul-
dham Society of Tarak Mehta Ka
Chhota Chashmah, Discovery
Kids is launching a three-part
mini-series, Little Singham. On
video streaming platforms,
Netflix will stream titles like
Mighty Little Bheem, The Adam
last several years owing to mul-
tiple reasons, the pandemic
being one of them. However,
TV continues to be their
screen of choice when it comes
to the kids’ genre. There is no
other medium (like TV) to
reach out to millions of kids at
one time. Moreover, television
offers kids the comfort of
switching channels and
watching their favourite char-
acters at any point in time,”
said Leena Lele Dutta, execu-
tive vice-president and busi-
ness head of Sony Pictures
Networks India, who heads the
network’s kids entertainment
channel Sony YAY!
According to the company’s
survey earlier this year, about
57% of kids prefer watching TV
versus 10% who prefer OTT,
while 33% watched both,
Dutta said. The figure for view-
About 57% of kids prefer
watching TV versus 10% who
prefer OTT, a survey showed.
ers having transitioned to OTT
is more pronounced for genres
like English entertainment or
music and movies across lan-
guages. While a few English
language entertainment and
film channels, such as WB,
HBO, and Sony Pictures’ AXN
and AXN HD, have already
shut down, the latter has dis-
continued its music channel,
Sony Mix.
According to media con-
sultant Ormax, about 23 mil-
lion individuals, or 8% of the
down, and 57% of these were
women, the primary target for
general entertainment chan-
nels.
According to media indus-
try experts, during the pan-
demic, viewership of kids’ con-
tent doubled across TV and
OTT platforms, and has stabi-
lized now. “However, the over-
all spike for digital platforms is
led by other genres, and they
are focusing on programming
that caters to young adults, pri-
marily in the 16-35 age group,
so OTT services are not partic-
ularly interested in commis-
sioning original kids’ content
right now,” said Rajiv Chilaka,
founder and chief executive of
Green Gold Animation Pvt.
Ltd. When a paying subscriber
signs up for an OTT platform,
TURN TO PAGE 6

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 02 TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi
Battle against
inflation will be
lengthy, says RBI
Gopika Gopakumar
gopika.g@livemint.com
MUMBAI
T
he fight against inflation
will be dogged and pro-
longed, given the lags
with which monetary policy
operates and uncertainties
involved, said the Reserve Bank
of India in its monthly bulletin
released on Monday.
“While the persistence of
headline CPI (Consumer Price
Index) inflation above the tol-
erance band for three consecu-
tive quarters (up to September)
will trigger mandated account-
ability processes, monetary
policy remains focussed on
realigning inflation with the
target,” according to a paper
titled ‘State of the Economy’
published in the bulletin.
This may involve two mile-
stones, the paper showed. First,
bringing inflation within the
tolerance band and second,
lowering it to around its mid-
point. This trajectory will likely
be gradual in view of the
repeated shocks to which infla-
tion has been subjected by both
epidemiological and geopoliti-
cal causes, according to the
paper.
According to the bulletin,
headline inflation is set to ease
from its September high, albeit
stubbornly, on the back of eas-
ing momentum and favourable
base effects. These positive
developments are likely to be
driven by food and beverages,
which has undergone repeated
shocks in the first half of the
‘RBI should pause interest rate hikes’
PTI & Reuters
feedback@livemint.com
R
BI Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC)
member Jayanth R.
Varma on Monday said the
impact of monetary policy
tightening on inflation will be
felt after five-to-six quarters.
At the same time, also called
for a pause on interest rate
hikes for the sake of economic
growth.
In order to control rising
inflation, the Reserve Bank of
India on 30 September raised
the short-term lending rate for
the third consecutive time by
50 bps to take the repo rate to
5.9%. Since May it has cumula-
tively increased the key inter-
est rate by 190 bps.
“No doubt it (inflation) will
come down. Because we have
done monetary policy tighten-
ing. That tightening will have
its impact. The monetary pol-
icy takes, you know, five-to-six
quarters to have its impact and
cool prices,” he said.
India’s consumer price
index (CPI) based inflation in
September rose to five-month
high of 7.41%, well above the
RBI’s tolerance limit.
“We started only in April.
We will start seeing the effect
of that tightening later in the
m MINT SHORTS
Indian Railways earns over
₹2,500 cr from sale of scrap
New Delhi: Indian Railways earned over ₹2,500 crore
from sale of scrap in the first six months of this financial
year, up 28% on year.
“Through this sale, Indian
Railways has earned total
₹2,582 crore till September
2022 compared to ₹2,003
crore during the same period
of last FY 2021-22 which is
28.91% higher,” the ministry of
railways said. SAURAV ANAND
Govt to invite proposals under
PLI scheme for solar module
New Delhi: The new and renewable energy ministry will
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RBI expects inflation to average
at 6.7% in FY23. BLOOMBERG
year. Easing of international
price pressures due to com-
modity and supply chain issues
is also likely to contribute to the
softening of costs and prices.
Retail inflation has been
above the MPC’s 2-6% target
band for three consecutive
quarters, which is the defini-
tion of failure under the flexible
inflation targeting framework.
Headline retail inflation
measured by CPI rose to 7.41
percent in September from 7
percent in August.
RBI expects inflation to aver-
age at 6.7% in FY23 and to drop
to 5% in April-June 2024.
The bulletin also noted that
if the MPC succeeds, it will
boost India’s prospects of
becoming one of the fastest
growing economies of the
world enjoying a negative infla-
tion differential with the rest of
the world. “This happy out-
come will re-enthuse foreign
investors, stabilise markets and
secure financial stability on an
enduring basis,” it added.
RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Jayanth R.
Varma.
year,” said Varma, currently a that poses a difficult challenge
professor at Indian Institute for the monetary policy,” the
of Management (Ahmeda- economist said.
bad).
He noted that India’s eco- oritising inflation right now—
nomic growth
has actually been India’s CPI-based inflation under
depressed for inflation in
many years now. September rose move from that.
“We are not fear- to five-month
ing recession to
high of 7.41%, well
say but growth is
not what we above the RBI’s
would like,” tolerance limit
Varma said.
“So, that is the
dual challenge. Economic unacceptably high inflation, to
growth is below what we avoid stalling a recovery in
would like, inflation is higher economic growth.
than what we would like, and
ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM
Omicron sub-variant behind
China surge sparks concerns
Meeting of scientists and officials planned for this week, ahead of Diwali celebrations
Priyanka Sharma change in symptoms occurring in Telcos want the government to
priyanka.sharma@livemint.com patients. At this stage, people have bring OTTs under regulation. HT
NEW DELHI stopped using masks, but it’s impor-
tant to take a booster dose and follow
Govt and
T
he network of government government guidelines. It’s good prac-
scientists and labs responsi- tice to wear masks, for at least those
ble for genome-sequencing
strains of the covid-19 virus
who are immunocompromised and
suffering from respiratory problems,”
industry
may meet as early as this
week to discuss the threat posed by a
variant that is behind the recent surge
said Dr Neetu Jain, senior consultant at
the pulmonary and critical care
department at PSRI Hospital in New
set to meet
in infections in China.
The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consor-
Delhi.
India has reported 2,060 covid cases on draft
tium on Genomics (INSACOG) will dis- in the last 24 hours, and active cases
cuss the situation with the fast-mutat-
ing and virulent Omicron variant BF.7
rose to 26,834, health ministry data
showed on Monday. Since the onset of
telecom bill
in India. the pandemic in March 2020, India
Officials from the Department of has reported more than 44.6 million Gulveen Aulakh
Biotechnology (DBT), National Tech- Indian scientists are concerned that while India is showing a declining trend in new covid cases and 528,905 deaths. gulveen.aulakh@livemint.com
nical Group of Immunization (NTAGI), covid cases, the emergence of the new Omicron mutant may dilute all gains. AP According to INSACOG, Omicron NEW DELHI
Indian Council Medical Research and its sub-lineages continue to be the
T
(ICMR), National Institute Virology “As of now, nothing exciting is going of BF.7—the Omicron sub-variant that dominant variant in India. op officials in the telecom
(NIV-Pune) and health ministry will to happen given that the country is could pose a threat to the Indian popu- The country has reported different ministry are expected to
participate in the meeting to review reporting less than 2,000 covid cases lation once again. distributions of ‘Variants of Concern’ meet with industry asso-
and analyze the trend of BF.7 in terms and few fatalities. Yes, of course, festi- “BF.7 is a new variant of covid and such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, ciations for informal discus-
of hospitalization and deaths. vals are coming in a few days, and we has led to a surge of covid cases in B.1.6 series, AY series, Omicron Series, sions on the draft telecom bill
Indian scientists are concerned that need to act smart and cautious.” China. It has been recently reported XE, XM and XJ since the onset of the even as the government plans
while India is showing a declining pandemic. to extend the deadline for sub-
trend in new covid cases, the emer- POTENTIAL THREAT Queries sent to the Union health missions.
gence of the new Omicron mutant ministry did not elicit a response. A senior official said the min-
may dilute all gains that the coun- INSACOG is a GUJARAT Biotech EXPERTS from INSACOG says Commenting on the fresh surge istry will hold roundtables with
try has achieved so far. consortium of 54 Research Centre has biotech deptt, ICMR Omicron and its sub- in China, Dr Poonam Khetrapal industry organizations which
labs to monitor the reported the first and others will meet lineages continue to
“INSACOG was supposed to genomic variations case of sub-variant health ministry be the dominant Singh, regional director WHO will have representatives from
meet on Monday; however, the in SARS-CoV-2 BF.7 in India officials variant in India South-East Asia said, “The virus is several sectors other than tele-
meeting did not happen. Now the still circulating and the risk of new com to get a broader set of
experts from INSACOG may hold variants emerging and causing views. The roundtables are
a meeting anytime this week to discuss INSACOG is a consortium of 54 lab- from India. In our OPDs, the positivity surge in cases, remains.” likely to be chaired by the min-
the trend of covid cases in India and oratories to monitor the genomic vari- rate for covid is low despite a surge in “We have also seen that when public ister of communications Ash-
with respect to the emergence of BF.7 ations in SARS-CoV-2. patients with fever, nasal symptoms health and social measures are fol- wini Vaishnaw, two people
and strategies on it,” said an official Recently, Gujarat Biotechnology and cough. lowed, we deny the virus an opportu- familiar with the development
aware of the matter. Research Centre reported the first case “However, we have to monitor any nity to spread,” she added. said.
“Industry stakeholders and
associations will be called for
sharing their views on the bill,
Jindal Defence partners Brazil’s there will be several roundta-
bles that will be held, it is being
finalized,” the official said, ask-
inflation is unacceptably high
but the thing is that we have
Taurus Armas to make small arms ing not to be named.
He added that the ministry
had received several represen-
given a strong dose of medi- tations for extending the dead-
Shashank Mattoo
cine and the time has come to tory in Hissar,” said Agrawal. line for submitting their formal
wait and see if that medicine shashank.mattoo@livemint.com The joint venture between comments on the draft bill.
works or if we need something NEW DELHI Jindal Defence and Taurus “Most likely, there will be an
even more potent,” he said. Armas S.A has a 51:49 equity extension but a final call is yet
J
“It might conceivably be indal Defence and Aero- participation ratio. Taurus to be taken,” the official added.
adequate. We don’t know space is set to begin manu- Armas is a well-known name The last data for stakeholders to
because we started acting in facturing small arms in the defence industry, partic- give their submissions has been
April, the effects of which will domestically in partnership ularly renowned for its pistols kept at 20 October.
be seen only in early to mid- with Brazil’s Taurus Armas S.A and firearms for law enforce- Industry insiders said the
2023.” in a further step toward ment agencies. While it inclusion of over-the-top or
“So we need to let another defence indigenisation. entered defence in the 1940s, OTT communication services
quarter pass before we know Having entered into a joint the Jindal group is a relative within the definition of tele-
whether our medicine is work- venture agreement in 2020, newcomer to the industry. communication was set to
ing.” the two companies expect to Before this latest venture into become a bone of contention,
Varma, in his written MPC start production from January. small arms, the firm’s efforts where stakeholders may seek
minutes, had said the coun- “We have already set up our The two firms expect to start focused on special alloys and clarity on what defines OTT
try’s economic growth outlook plant in Hissar (Haryana) and production from January. blast-resistant armour for the communication apps which
is “very fragile” and warned it are now waiting for a plant aerospace and defence indus- may then be regulated by the
could be “dangerous” to push approval from the various Jindal Defence and Taurus tries. government.
He said that the MPC is pri- the policy rate much higher. stakeholders to begin produc- Armas are participating in the According to Agrawal, Tau- “It is going to be an issue,
“I am really worried about tion”, said C.P. Agrawal, head of latest Request for Information rus Armas initially came in possibly litigative, because
trying to bring the export engine stalling defence and composite busi- process initiated by the gov- with concerns about technol- OTT players will be against any
completely.” ness at Jindal Defence and ernment for this weapon. ogy transfers and the safety of kind of regulation under
control and then With private investments Aerospace. The plant was set Agrawal said that they, “also its technology. “However, the another Act,” said an industry
slackening over the last dec- up with an initial investment of have the 7.62 x 39mm which perspective has completely executive who did not want to
Separately, ade, the latest recovery in $5 million. will be a replacement for the changed now. We are going to be named.
Verma told Reu- growth is being fuelled by According to Agrawal, the AK platform and will be sup- have a completely Made in Telecom service providers
ters that India’s government expenditure and joint venture will look to man- plied to the CAPF and Indian India weapon”. By January have been seeking to bring
central bank retail consumer spending. ufacture 9mm pistols for the Armed Forces”. The firms plan 2023, Jindal expects to OTT apps under regulation as
should pause “Out of four engines, two Central Armed Police Forces to demonstrate these weapons achieve 92% indigenous con- they feel that apps that provide
interest rate are gone and we are running (CAPF) and the Indian Army. at the upcoming DefExpo tent in its 9mm pistols and services similar to them—for
hikes, despite on two. And there is a limit to The two companies are also 2022 which will be held in over 50% for its carbines. By instance, Whatsapp, Signal and
how far the government can planning to make a 5.56 x Gandhinagar. June 2023, it hopes to build other calling and messaging
keep that engine running 45mm carbine which is “We are looking to produce pistols with 100% indigenous apps—should be subject to the
because there are fiscal con- required in large numbers by whatever our forces need in content and carbines with 70% same license conditions that
“There is no denying that straints,” Varma said. the Indian Army. terms of small arms in our fac- indigenous content. govern the telcos.
Justice D. Y. Chandrachud
invite proposals under the second phase of ₹19,500-crore
production linked incentive (PLI-II) scheme for solar sec-
tor within a week, new & renewable energy secretary Indu
‘India has sufficient stocks
of grains, could sell wheat’ appointed as the next CJI
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Shekhar Chaturvedi told a CII conference on green New Delhi: Justice Dhanan- Mint welcomes comments,
energy. The Union cabinet on 21 September approved the jaya Y. Chandrachud, the sen- suggestions or complaints
proposal to implement PLI-II on high-efficiency solar PV iormost judge of the Supreme about errors.
modules with an outlay of ₹19,500 crore for achieving Court, was on Monday
Readers can alert the
manufacturing capacity of Gigawatt-scale. PTI appointed the 50th Chief Jus-
newsroom to any errors in the
tice of India and he will take paper by emailing us, with your
oath on 9 November. Union full name and address to
SBI reduces savings deposit law minister Kiren Rijiju feedback@livemint.com.
announced the appointment of Justice Chandrachud,
rate by 5 basis points to 2.70% who will serve as the CJI for two years. PTI It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) reduced the interest Readers dissatisfied with the
rate on savings accounts by a marginal 5 basis points to response or concerned about
2.70% effective from 15 October. The new saving rates are Britain in talks with British Mint’s journalistic integrity may
applicable on balances of less
than ₹10 crore, on which the New Delhi: India has sufficient stocks of rice and
Steel, Tata to secure future write directly to the editor by
sending an email to
bank earlier offered 2.75% per wheat and the government will sell wheat in the London: Britain said on Monday it was in talks with asktheeditor@livemint.com
annum interest. The lowering open market if needed to control prices, Sudhan- steelmakers, including British Steel, owned by China’s Mint’s journalistic Code of
of rates on savings accounts shu Pandey, secretary, ministry of consumer Jingye Group, and India’s Tata to help secure the indus- Conduct that governs our
by SBI comes at a time when affairs, food and public distribution, said on Mon- try’s long-term future. The government said British
the peer lenders have been day. REUTERS Steel had agreed to maintain current operations and job
newsroom is available at
www.livemint.com
raising deposit rates. PTI numbers while the talks were underway. REUTERS
 LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi 03

Consolidation may boost

cement cos’ pricing power
The industry may also witness improved utilization levels, said JM Financial analysts
Ujjval Jauhari
ujjval.j@livemint.com
NEw DELHI

I
nvestors are monitoring the chang-
ing dynamics in the cement sector
following Adani group’s acquisi-
tion of ACC and Ambuja Cements.
After the new owner of the of
Holcim Group companies announced
its fund raising plans to double cement
SII to produce experimental
manufacturing capacity by 2030 to 140
million tonnes per annum, analysts said
consolidation will be a likely outcome.
Ebola vaccine for Uganda
Analysts, however, said consolida-
tion will be beneficial for the industry. Reuters investigator on Oxford’s Ebola
For one, it will help improve the pricing feedback@livemint.com vaccine, told Reuters.
power of companies. Ambuja Cements A source at the Serum Insti-

T
and ACC have lagged in capacity addi- he Serum Institute of tute, the world’s biggest vac-
tion over the last few years and are run- India (SII) plans to pro- cine maker and part of a con-
ning at over 85% capacity. duce 20,000-30,000 glomerate run by Indian bil-
Considering that the two companies doses of an experimental lionaire Cyrus Poonawalla,
are operating at optimal capacities, the Ebola vaccine by the end of confirmed this information.
fight for market share gains may not get November for use in trials The source said the Ebola vac-
intense in the short term, considering against an outbreak in Uganda, cine doses would be supplied
that their expansion will take time to its developers and a company free of cost.
materialize. Furthermore, to achieve The Adani Group-led industry consolidation via inorganic growth is a possibility for the sector. ISTOCKPHOTO source said. Uganda’s Information Min-
the desired capacities, it is likely to take The response to Uganda’s ister Chris Baryomunsi said he
the inorganic route. has been visible, acquirers may look at mental demand-supply, which leads to 10-15% growth on a low base,” analysts outbreak has been blunted by did not have any information
JM Financials analysts said a disrup- companies with access to limestone a stable pricing environment, accord- at Antique Stock Broking said. the absence of a proven vac- Uganda reported at least 54 on a vaccine rollout.
tion in market dynamics due to Adani’s reserves and trading at cheaper valua- ing to analysts as JM Financial. “FY24E may also see strong demand cine against the Sudan strain confirmed cases and 19 deaths World Health Organization
entry is not likely as ACC and Ambuja tions (replacement cost of $90 a tonne). Cement demand is expected to grow. momentum continuing accelerated by of the virus. since last month. REUTERS (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom
have high utilization levels and are not While it is difficult to predict the tim- FY23 can see volume growth of over higher government spend on infra- There have been 54 con- Ghebreyesus said last week
likely to disturb pricing or volumes. ing of a merger or acquisition, top play- 10% considering that the first half of the structure owing to the general elec- firmed cases and 19 deaths shown to induce an immune that clinical trials of two vacci-
Besides, consolidation is mutually ers are getting aggressive, and analysts fiscal year saw good volume growth. tions and large states elections such as since last month and the first response to both the Sudan nes could begin in the coming
beneficial for both the acquirer and in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, case in the capital, Kampala, and Zaire strains in Phase 1 weeks pending Ugandan gov-
the target firm on account of valua- CEMENTING TIES and Telangana, in first half FY24,” was recorded last week. But trials. ernment approvals.
tion disparity (as mid-caps trade at analysts added. health authorities believe the Its developers said they There are at least six vacci-
a 40% discount compared to large- CEMENT demand is LARGE cement CONSOLIDATION INDUSTRY leaders Moderation in power and freight actual numbers could be were working with the Serum nes in development for the
caps on enterprise value per tonne), expected to grow,
volumes likely to
manufacturers
have aggressive
is beneficial for both
acquirer and target
likely to add over
50 million tonnes
costs may also lead to a subsequent higher. Institute to manufacture doses Sudan strain, according to
analysts said. Larger players have grow by over 10% in expansion and firm on account of of capacity within expansion in Ebitda per tonne, and Vaccines against the more that could be deployed in WHO.
net cash balance sheets, minimal this financial year acquisition plans valuation disparity 2-3 years structural improvement in Ebidta common Zaire strain of Ebola Uganda as part of a clinical trial The Oxford researchers
leverage and aggressive expansion per tonne, driven by better pros- have proven highly effective once the authorities there gave voiced frustration that their
and acquisition plans and the Adani pects and internal improvements during recent outbreaks in regulatory approval. vaccine was not ready to be
Group-led industry consolidation via at Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd believe over “FY23 could see strong more than 10% in the industry, said analysts. Ebidta is neighbouring Democratic “We are hoping to have a rolled out when the outbreak
inorganic growth is a possibility for the 50 million tonnes of capacity can year-on-year demand growth (incre- earnings before interest, taxes, depre- Republic of Congo. large number of doses, hit, saying governments
sector, JM Financial analysts said. change hands within 2-3 years. mental demand of sizeable over 35 mil- ciation, and amortization. Cement pri- Oxford University, which approximately 20,000 to around the world had not
An analyst at a domestic brokerage, The sector is also expected to do well lion tonnes per annum) with 1HFY23 ces are improving with the end of the developed a covid vaccine 30,000 or more by mid-to- made investing in vaccines
seeking anonymity, said that while no on many accounts, including improved demand already in excess of 12% year- monsoons. Cement demand will rise with AstraZeneca, has an end of November,” Teresa enough of a priority in the
major development on consolidation utilization backed by balance in incre- on-year and 3QFY23 also likely to see once the festive season ends, they said. Ebola vaccine that has been Lambe, the chief scientific wake of the pandemic.

Jio to deploy 5G gear from Nokia, Ericsson

Staff Writer deployment of its energy-effi- Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
feedback@livemint.com cient 5G RAN products and While Vodafone Idea is yet to
NEw DELHI solutions from the company’s announce its 5G strategy, both
portfolio and E-band micro- Airtel and Jio have said that

N
okia and Ericsson have
signed multi-year sup-
ply contracts with Reli-
ance Jio to supply network
equipment for its standalone
(SA) 5G network, the two
European telecom gear mak-
ers said in separate statements.
Finland’s Nokia said that it
will provide 5G Radio Access
Network (RAN) equipment
from its AirScale portfolio
including base stations, high-
capacity 5G Massive MIMO
antennas, and Remote Radio
Heads (RRH) to support differ-
ent spectrum bands, and self-
organizing network software.
Reliance Jio, the top telco in
India, plans to deploy a 5G
standalone network which will
interwork with its 4G network.
The network will enable Reli-
ance Jio to deliver advanced
5G services such as massive
machine-to-machine commu-
wave mobile transport solu- they will provide pan-India 5G
tions will be deployed in the coverage by 2024.
5G network for Jio. Akash Ambani, chairman,
Börje Ekholm, president Reliance Jio said, “Jio is com-
and CEO, Ericsson, said: “India mitted to continuously invest-
is building world- ing in the latest
class digital infra- Reliance Jio plans network technol-
structure that will to deploy a 5G ogies to enhance
drive innovation, standalone the experience of
job creation and network which all of its custom-
entrepreneur- ers. We are confi-
will interwork
Jio chairman Akash Ambani. PTI ship across the dent that our
country. We are with its 4G partnership with
nications, network slicing, and happy to partner network Nokia will deliver
ultra-low-latency, the com- with Jio in those one of the most
pany added. ambitions, advanced 5G net-
Pekka Lundmark, president through Ericsson 5G Standal- works globally.”
and CEO at Nokia stated: “This one connectivity, which will He added, “We are
is a significant win for Nokia in be a major catalyst in meeting delighted to partner with
an important market and a those digital transformation Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA roll-
new customer with one of the goals across society, enterprise out. We are confident that Jio’s
largest RAN footprints in the and industry.” 5G network will accelerate
world.” With this, both Nokia and India’s digitalization and will
Sweden’s Ericsson said its Ericsson are supplying to serve as the foundation for
long-term strategic 5G con- India’s three largest mobile achieving our nation’s ‘Digital
tract with Jio will include operators including Bharti India’ vision.”

V-Mart signs pact to acquire LimeRoad

Debjyoti Roy by the company. In July 2021,
debjyoti.roy@livemint.com it had picked up the Unlimited
NEw DELHI stores from Arvind Fashions
Ltd, the owner Flying Machine

V
-Mart Retail Ltd has
signed a definitive
agreement to buy out
social commerce platform
LimeRoad.com, the company
said in a statement on Monday.
V-Mart’s move comes days
after Bira91 acquired beverage
chain Beer Café, and seems to
be yet another instance of a
distressed transaction in the
consumer-facing sector, said
experts.
According to the statement
issued by the listed value retail
chain, the parties will leverage
each other’s strengths to offer
emerging fashion trends to 50
million digital-first shoppers.
With LimeRoad’s commu-
nity expertise V-Mart outlets
will transform into rich local-
experience centres and drive
higher repeat customers over-
time, it added. V-Mart oper-
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V-Mart’s move seems to be yet another instance of a distressed
transaction in the consumer-facing sector, according to experts.
ates 410 stores across Tier- II,
III and IV cities.
V-Mart committed to invest
₹150 crore into the Tiger Glob-
al-backed firm over 2-3 years.
However, the transaction size
could not be ascertained.
V-Mart sells clothing, acces-
sories and personal care prod-
ucts for men, women and chil-
dren. Its stores have an aver-
age size of 8,000 sqft.
“V-Mart is one of the strong-
est players in the value retail
segment, fulfilling the fashion
needs of the masses in India.
With this acquisition we aim to
acquire digital-first millenni-
als and build our omni-chan-
nel expertise.” said Agarwal,
managing director, V-Mart.
This is second acquisition
denims brand.
Suchi Mukherjee, founder
of LimeRoad, will join as chief
executive of LimeRoad and be
a part of the leadership team to
lead the omni-channel busi-
ness of V-Mart.
Ankush Mehra, co-founder
of LimeRoad, will continue as
the chief operating officer.
Mukherjee is a former execu-
tive in the management team
of Skype and Mehra is former
head of supply chain at Reli-
ance Hypermarkets.
LimeRoad sells unbranded
apparel and unique content to
its 17 million value shoppers,
with women contributing 65%
to its business. During its peak,
LimeRoad saw 250,000-plus
app downloads a day, achiev-
ing gross merchandise vol-
umes of ₹700 crore and con-
sistently strong margins.
 04 TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

S&P BSE Sensex Nifty 50 Nifty 500 Nifty Next 50 Nifty 100 S&P BSE Mid-cap S&P BSE Small Cap
CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE

58,410.98 0.85 17,311.80 0.73 14,906.15 0.61 41,555.80 0.65 17,560.50 0.73 24,775.03 0.26 28,548.08 0.09
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

57,919.97 57,752.50 17,185.70 17,144.80 14,815.10 14,783.20 41,287.80 41,239.75 17,432.55 17,395.20 24,709.86 24,606.56 28,522.85 28,444.42
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

58,449.00 57,639.80 17,328.55 17,098.55 14,920.70 14,718.80 41,611.35 40,953.65 17,580.25 17,335.50 24,806.99 24,458.06 28,588.05 28,273.67

m MINT SHORTS
Emerging markets hurt less as
DMart recovery lags pre-covid
dollar’s rise sinks rich nations Pallavi Pengonda & Vineetha Sampath
Yet to gather steam ing on the more profitable general Rising competitive intensity is a cause
Citigroup calls it a “head scratcher”. Goldman Sachs pallavi.pengonda@livemint.com merchandise and apparel sales. As of for worry. “We suspect the deteriorat-
terms it “striking resilience”. For Columbia Threadnee- Avenue Supermarts’ revenue per sq. ft in Q2FY23 is below the levels seen in September end, Avenue’s stores that ing unit economics is not just a func-

A
dle, it’s a “reward for proactiveness”. Whichever way one venue Supermarts Ltd’s
describes it, the relative resilience building up in emerg- September quarter (Q2
ing-market currencies over their advanced-nation peers FY23) results announced
has money managers sitting up and taking notice. The on Saturday have failed to
dollar’s rally to successive records has currencies across enthuse investors, leading
the world in a spiral of doom. However, a closer look to shares dropping 3.6%. Avenue runs
reveals the benchmark gauge for emerging-market the DMart retail store chain. Standal-
exchange rates is posting only half the losses seen in one revenue performance was already
developed countries. disclosed in the quarterly update
Uncharacteristically, this outperformance continues released earlier this month and there-
even as commodity prices, the mainstay of poorer fore all eyes were on margins in Q2.
nations, are tumbling. A commodity rally this year Furthermore, the company’s recovery
through 9 June helped MSCI Inc.’s benchmark for devel- on some parameters was also disap-
oping-nation currencies limit its drop to 2.5%, when the pointing.
gauge for developed nations retreated 7.4%. BLOOMBERG Margins were a sore point. Avenue’s
Ebitda margin contracted by 166 basis
points (bps) sequentially to 8.6%. One
basis point is 0.01%. Many analysts
were expecting the measure to surpass
9%. Two key factors impacted its
Ebitda performance. First, gross mar-
gin was disappointing, partly because
of a weaker sales mix, falling by 132bps
sequentially to 14.5%, though it
improved a bit year-on-year. Second,
operating margin was also hit by a
sharp jump in other expenses. The
upshot is Ebitda fell by 11% sequentially
to nearly ₹895 crore. The company
Q2FY20, a pre-pandemic quarter. are five years or older saw a decent like- tion of high inflation keeping discre-
45,000 for-like 6.5% compound annual growth tionary purchases in check but also a
Revenue per sq. ft (in )
rate, versus Q2FY20. However, in a consequence of a fair challenge to
quarter having no covid impact, this is DMart’s value proposition by deep-
36,000 much lower than the pre-covid double- pocketed peers within DMart’s top dis-
digit trends, potentially tricts,” said HDFC Securi-
27,000
hinting at a new normal, a REPORT ties. According to the brok-
Nuvama Research report CARD ing firm, working capital
on 15 October said. Thus, it days have deteriorated
remains to be seen if there AVENUE’S Ebitda from 22 days to 25 days in
18,000
is a structural shift in con- margin in Q2 was hit
by a weak gross
three years, despite the
sumers’ buying behaviour. margin and a rise in essential-heavy mix, which
9,000
As the chart shows, Ave- other expenses turns faster.
nue’s revenue per square To some extent, inves-
feet in Q2 is lower than pre- DISCRETIONARY tors seem to be aware of the
items in the non-
0 covid level (Q2FY20). FMCG segment and concerns. Avenue’s shares
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 This indicates, “(1) slower overall footfalls still are down nearly 30% from
FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 same store sales growth for lag pre-covid levels their 52-week highs in
Note: Standalone annualized figures Source: Company, Nuvama Research old stores, (2) slower-than- October 2021. But this
expected ramp-up of newer doesn’t mean valuations
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
stores (five years or less) – the company offer comfort. The stock trades at 81
said the fast-moving consumer goods of inflation is more pronounced at does not agree with this and maintains times FY24 estimated earnings,
(FMCG) and staples segments per- lower price points. Discretionary items that new stores are ramping up well according to Bloomberg. Notwith-
formed better than general merchan- in the non-FMCG segment and overall and (3) regional differences in peak standing growth prospects, many ana-
dise and apparel. The latter’s share of footfalls still lag pre-pandemic levels. throughputs of stores (metro stores in lysts remain cautious on the stock cit-
revenue is down from 27-28% in pre- The average basket values improved general will have much higher ing expensive valuations. Kotak’s sum-
covid (FY19 and FY20) to 24.75% in despite lower footfalls, which bodes throughput than non-metro stores),” of-the-parts based fair value for the
H1FY23. In Q2FY23, in discretionary well for the FMCG segment’s profita- said analysts from Kotak Institutional stock is ₹3725. On Monday, Avenue’s
non-FMCG categories, stress because bility, though this has a negative bear- Equities in a report dated 17 October. shares closed at ₹4,153.45 on the NSE.

President Xi Jinping renewed a pledge to grow China into

a “medium-developed country” by 2035.
China’s economy needs to
double to meet Xi’s plans
President Xi Jinping’s renewed pledge to grow China
AFP Shree Cement’s strong Sep quarter volumes fail to lift gloom
Harsha Jethmalani pany’s earnings before interest, annum capacity by FY25 and However, there is a flip-side.
Weak show
harsha.j@htlive.com taxes, depreciation, and amorti- Shree Cement’s Ebitda per tonne has fallen continuously in the
continues to expand across “Its cost benefits versus peers is
sation (Ebitda) per tonne to past five quarters, dropping to a multi-year low in Q2FY23. regions. shrinking as other cement com-

S
into a “medium-developed country” by 2035 implies a hree Cement Ltd put up a ₹701. This was the lowest in the Ebitda per tonne (in )
The good news is that there is panies increase green power
doubling in the size of the economy from 2020 levels, good show in volumes for last 28 quarters, according to 1,600 scope for volume growth. Ana- usage, and dependence on split
economists said, a challenging goal given the nation’s the September quarter analysts at Motilal Oswal Finan- lysts at Nirmal Bang Institu- grinding units,” the Motilal
1,200
slower growth path. Xi said in his report to the Commu- (Q2FY23). In a seasonally weak cial Services. tional Equities noted that the Oswal report said. The stock
nist Party congress on Sunday that per capita gross quarter, the company’s volumes Dealers’ channel checks 800 current utilisation level for the trades at a FY24 EV/Ebitda of
domestic product (GDP) will take a “new, giant leap” to rose 18% year-on-year to 7.46 showed that cement prices did company is at 62-64%, which 16.66x, showed Bloomberg data.
400
reach the level of a medium-developed country by 2035. million tonnes. Growth is not see a meaningful revival in offers plenty of growth oppor- This is a tad higher than close
There isn’t a clear definition of what level of income sharply higher that the esti- the monsoon quarter of Q2 in 0 tunities. “With the recent competitor Ultratech Cement’s
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
would qualify a country as medium-developed, but econ- mated industry growth of high Shree’s key markets of north capacity additions in the East 16.25x. So far in 2022, shares of
FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23
omists at UBS AG and Macquarie Group said it implies a single digit for Q2, Jefferies and east. However, the cost of and West markets and upcom- Shree have fallen by 23%,
doubling in GDP and per capita income in the 15 years India pointed out. international petroleum coke Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, Source: Company, ing capacity in North and South underperforming those of
depreciation and amortisation Motilal Oswal Financial Services
through 2035. That would require an annual average The street has overlooked and imported coal have moder- regions, we expect Shree Ultratech and the Nifty 50
GDP growth rate of around 4.7% in the period, which that as profitability has been in ated from their recent peaks. SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Cement to continue to deliver index. Gradual de-rating and
would be difficult to achieve, they said. “We think China’s focus in the light of cost pres- This will benefit Shree as well as Amid this, with the entry of market share, large-cap cement higher-than-industry volume underperformance should con-
potential growth may average 4-4.5% a year this decade sures. A double blow of poor the entire sector’s operating the Adani Group, the sector’s makers are in a capacity expan- growth, along with geographic tinue, considering its expensive
and lower after 2030,” UBS’s Tao Wang and Ning Zhang realizations and elevated oper- margins from H2FY23 as high- competitive intensity is sion mode. Shree intends to diversification,” the domestic valuation, said analysts at Kotak
wrote in a note Sunday. BLOOMBERG ating expenses pushed the com- cost inventory is exhausted. expected to rise. So, to protect reach 55.9 million tonnes per brokerage house said. Institutional Equities.

Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here

Electronics China delays release of Q3 GDP data PVR posts wider-than-expected

Mart shares Bloomberg investors around the world, ered on Sunday in detail. A Q2 loss on weak B’wood show
rise 43% in feedback@livemint.com said Jeremy Stevens, chief social media post by China’s
China economist at Standard statistics bureau on Monday
Reuters

C
hina delayed the publi- Bank Group Ltd. “But it showed staff from across the recovery in the business
stock debut cation of third-quarter
gross domestic product
doesn’t surprise me given the country watching Xi’s speech
importance of the event that’s “through various online and
feedback@livemint.com
BENGALURU
driven by the robust content
lineup for this year and the
data a day before the report going on. People are working offline methods ”. various initiatives that we are
PTI

I
was scheduled for release, a 24 hours a day on Indicators ndia’s top multiplex opera- implementing to rekindle the
feedback@livemint.com move which will add to inves- announcements The data was delayed include tor PVR Ltd on Monday cinema going habit among our
NEW DELHI tor uncertainty and which coming out of the scheduled to be quarterly GDP reported a bigger-than-ex- loyal patrons,” said Ajay Bijli,
analysts attributed to the congress and that released by the and monthly pected second quarter loss, as chairman and managing

S
hares of consumer dura-
bles retail chain Elec-
tronics Mart India on
Monday made a strong market
debut and ended over 43%
higher against the issue price
of ₹59.
The scrip made its debut at
₹89.40, registering a jump of
51.52% on the BSE. During the
day, it rallied 54.23% to ₹91. It
finally ended at ₹84.45 apiece,
higher by 43.13%. On the NSE,
it listed at ₹90. Shares of the
company ended at ₹83.70
apiece, a jump of 41.86%.
In volume terms, 5.932 mil-
lion shares of the firm were
traded on the BSE and over 88
million shares on the NSE dur-
ing the day. Its market valua-
tion remained at ₹3,249.20
crore on the BSE.
The initial public offering
(IPO) of Electronics Mart India
Communist Party’s ongoing
congress.
China’s National Bureau of
Statistics updated its release
schedule on Monday, with the
dates for major economic indi-
cators due the next day
marked as “delayed.” It didn’t
give a reason for the change,
and provided no information
about a new publication date.
The data was scheduled to
be released by the bureau in
the middle of China’s Commu-
Govt-owned fuel marketers lost $6.5-7 bn due to price freeze: Moody’s
Saurav Anand
saurav.anand@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
The delay will add to investor
uncertainty.
nist Party congress, a twice a
decade event which is
expected to hand President Xi
Jinping a third term as party
chief.
Pulling the data release
unexpectedly “isn’t a good
look” as China’s quarterly sta-
tistics are closely watched by
gas (LPG) between June 2020
and June 2022 is ‘credit posi-
tive’ for Indian Oil Corp. Ltd,
Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd
is where attention bureau in the industrial output, lacklustre Bollywood and Hol- director of PVR.
and capacity is
middle of China’s energy produc- lywood movie performances The multiplex chain is set to
focused,” he tion, fixed-asset drew fewer crowds, hitting merge with rival INOX Leisure
added. Communist Party i n v e s t m e n t , ticket prices. in an all-stock deal and
The event has congress property invest- PVR’s consolidated net loss PVR’s net loss for the Sept become the country’s largest
consumed the ment and sales, for the quarter ended Septem- quarter was ₹71.23 crore. MINT exhibition company with 1,546
attention of retail sales and ber narrowed to ₹71.23 crore screens across 109 cities.
China’s entire government, home prices. The GDP data ($8.64 million) from ₹153 crore ticket price during the quarter As the country inches
with thousands of top officials was expected by economists in in the pandemic-hit period a were impacted by the weak towards normalcy after a pro-
gathered in Beijing for event, a Bloomberg poll to show a year ago, but was bigger than performance of Bollywood longed period of pandemic,
and government staff at all lev- rebound in China’s third- analysts’ expectations for a loss and Hollywood movies, production houses have now
els required to halt their nor- quarter GDP to 3.3% after of ₹9.92 crore, according to according to an exchange fil- started going with “theatre
mal work to study Xi’s work near-zero growth in the April- IBES data from Refinitiv. ing by PVR. only” releases banking on top
report to the congress deliv- June period. Admissions and the average “I am confident of full celebrities.
earnings to remain weak in the account for almost 55% of total significant rise in crude oil pri-
fiscal year ending 31 March sales of petroleum products in ces, which averaged around
2023 (fiscal 2023) because of the country, did not increase at $104 a barrel between January
significant losses incurred by the same pace,” Moody’s said. and August 2022, compared to

received 71.93 times subscrip-
tion on the final day of the offer
on 7 October. The IPO had a
fresh issue of equity shares
aggregating to ₹500 crore
with no offer-for-sale compo-
nent. The price range for the
offer was ₹56-59 a share.
“ The company’s strong list-
ing can be attributed to strong
interest from investors, rea-
sonable valuations, and a san-
guine growth outlook,” said
Pravesh Gour, Senior Techni-
cal Analyst at Swastika Invest-
mart Ltd.
This PDF was originally uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel:@LBSNEWSPAPER
S
tate-owned oil market-
ing companies (OMCs) in
India have lost an esti-
mated $6.5-7 billion on petrol
and diesel sales because of a
freeze on retail fuel prices
between November 2021 and
August 2022, Moody’s Inves-
tors Services said. Their earn-
ings may be weak this year as
they are yet to be compensated
for these losses, Moody’s said.
The government’s recent
₹22,000 crore grant to cover
losses incurred by OMCs on
sales of liquefied petroleum
(BPCL) and Hindustan Petro-
leum Corp. Ltd (HPCL), but
the global rating firm signalled
this is not adequate.
“We estimate that state-
owned refining and marketing
companies have lost around
$6.5-7 billion in revenue on
the sale of petrol and diesel
from November 2021–August
2022,” Moody’s said in a report
titled ‘Government grant is
credit positive but will only
provide partial relief’.
Moody’s estimated that
IOCL’s revenue loss on petrol
Moody’s said OMCs’ earnings may remain weak this year as they
are yet to be compensated for these losses
and diesel sales at $3.0 bil-
lion-$3.2 billion, while that for
BPCL and HPCL is estimated
at $1.6-1.9 billion.
“The ₹220 billion grant is
MINT
credit-positive because it will
provide support to earnings
and cash flow for Indian refin-
ers. However, despite the
grant, we expect refiners’
these companies on sale of “Barring a small increase of around $80 a barrel in Novem-
petrol and diesel around ₹10 per ber 2021, Moody’s pointed out.
during the first The global rating litre between 22 “While crude oil and inter-
half of fiscal firm signalled that March and 6 April national transportation fuel
2022-23, for the government’s 2022, net realized prices have decreased from
which they have ₹22,000 crore prices for refiners the highs seen earlier in the
not received any have largely been year, they remain subject to
grant is credit
compensation so unchanged since the volatile industry environ-
far,” the report positive but is not November 2021,” ment and geopolitical devel-
said. adequate it said. opments. Any rise in crude oil
“Despite Over this or international product prices
higher feedstock period, the recov- without a commensurate
costs and an increase in inter- ery in demand following eas- increase in net realized prices
national petrol and diesel pri- ing of movement restrictions for the Indian refiners will fur-
ces, the selling prices of petrol and the onset of the Russia- ther weaken their earnings
and diesel in India, which Ukraine conflict has led to a and cash flow outlook,” it said.
 LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi 05

m MINT SHORTS
Ex-Infosys exec Ravi Kumar S to join
Our goal is to have 1 mn users on
Cognizant as president, Americas
New Delhi: Ravi Kumar S, who stepped down from his role as
president of technology services firm, Infosys, shortly ahead of
the company’s Q2FY23 financial results, is set to join US-based
Shardeum, says WazirX’s Shetty
multinational services firm Cognizant as president, Americas. Leslie D’Monte that scales and is cheap. No one wants sharded blockchains face a major
Kumar, who has over two decades of experience in process, con- leslie.d@livemint.com to pay $1 for a transaction. Our aim is problem when introducing sharding.
sulting and technology transformation, is set to join Cognizant BENgaLuru to reduce the transaction fee (also What about WazirX? Who actu-
on 16 January 2023, the company confirmed. SHOUVIK DAS known as gas fee) to ₹1-2. Shardeum ally runs it now— Binance or you?

N
ischal Shetty, increases the transactions per second I have said whatever is to be said in
co-founder and chief (TPS) and total capacity of the net- the public domain and have tweeted
5G, telecom jobs increase by executive officer of work to scale and ensures low trans- about it. I can’t comment on this topic
cryptocurreny action fees even as volumes grow. We any further. (US-based crypto
33.7% in last 12 months exchange WazirX, plans do so by adding more nodes (servers). exchange platform Binance publicly
HT
to launch Shardeum in the first quar- It can process more than a million announced that it had acquired
ter of next financial year. The Layer-1 transactions if needed unlike other WazirX in 2019 but on August 5, its
(L1) network, which is a sharded blockchains, without raising fees. CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that
blockchain being built from scratch, This has never been done before. his firm does not own Zanmai Labs—
is being tested at present. Headquar- My co-founder and chief technol- the entity operating WazirX. A day
tered in Switzerland, Shardeum is ogy officer, Omar Syed, began later in a series of tweets, Shetty

also expected to soon close an esti-
mated $20 million-seed round fund-
ing from multiple investors within
the Web3 and crypto industry at a
valuation of about $200 million. In a
recent interview in Dubai, Shard-
eum’s co-founder Nischal Shetty
declined to comment on his funding
New Delhi: Telecommunications and 5G jobs have plans for Shardeum or talk about the
increased by 33.7% between September 2021 and Septem- WazirX-Binance issue. However, he
ber 2022, said a report by jobs portal Indeed.On Indeed’s spoke about a host of other issues,
platform, job roles such as telecom engineer have grown by including the future of WazirX, the
16% from August to September 2022. The report has also roadmap for Shardeum and his out-
revealed that the average salary for top job roles such as look on Web3 and cryptocurrencies.
technical support, BPO executive and customer service Edited excerpts:
representatives is ₹3,53,298, ₹3,29,520 and ₹3,06,680 What inspired you to build
respectively. SOHINI BAGCHI Shardeum? Does Shardeum have
any customers? What’s the target
market?
Beams Fintech Fund joins Progcap I entered the crypto space in India
in 2018 when there were about 5 mil-
as new investor in $50 mn round
New Delhi: Venture Catalysts’ floated Beams Fintech Fund
lion crypto users and 7-8 exchanges.
People asked me then why I am
joined as new investor in Progcap as the small and mid-size busi- building another crypto exchange.
ness-focused financing provider fetched $50 million (around My answer was that this market is
₹400 crore) in its Series C round. The fundraise also saw partici- growing rapidly, which is why we
pation from existing investors including Google, Tiger Global, launched WazirX. The market grew
Creation Investments and Sequoia Capital, along with participa- from 5 million to 25 million in four
tion from GrowX, CIBIL Chairman MV Nair and 9Unicorns, years. As we were at the forefront, we
among others. SHUBHOBROTA DEV ROY acquired about 50% of the market,
‘
working on this technology in said, “WazirX was acquired by
2017. We plan to Binance. Zanmai
launch a full-fledged In India, only 2-3% of Labs is an India
network in the first entity owned by me
quarter of 2023. crypto users use a & my co-founders.
About 100,000 peo- blockchain. The rest Zanmai Labs has
ple have tested the use crypto exchanges, l i c e n c e from
platform (Testnet) Binance to operate
and most of them are providing a huge INR-Crypto pairs...”)
from India. People opportunity What about the
are, for instance, Nischal Shetty enforcement
sending test tokens Co-founder & CEO, WazirX directorate (ED)
to their friends. raids on the
which is about 12 million users. I see tunity is huge. Our goal is to have exchange in
these 25 million users (number of How big is Shardeum? We under- one million users, most of them from August?
users who have interacted with stand you plan to raise about $20 India, but we have not set a time for We have explained our position,
crypto in India in these years) touch- million to expand this network? this. We will need about 1,000 devel- are cooperating with the ED, and will
ing about 100 million in 3-4 years, Shardeum has 29 employees who opers (for applications). continue to provide whatever infor-
despite all the hurdles. sit across the world, including in pla- What's unique about sharding? mation they need.
That said, India has never seen a ces such as India, the US, the UK, and It's not a new concept... Why did you let go about 40%
Layer-1 blockchain as even Brazil. We will Sharding (breaking down larger your workforce at WazirX?
all blockchains have
been built outside
m INTERVIEW first focus on the US
and India and then
pieces of data into smaller ones that It is a function of what the crypto
are called ‘shards’ to prevent data market is seeing in the context of the
India by people from spread to the globe overload) as a concept is not new. In macroeconomics, taxation, and regu-
outside the country and for users out since this is an open-source project. 2017, Syed wanted to build a sharded latory spaces. There will be a few
of the country. A Layer-1 blockchain I can’t comment on the funding blockchain from scratch and it took years more of pain. This has
is where everything starts. In India, a plans. him four years. This helps reduce the prompted us to restructure our firm.
mere 2-3% of crypto users use a How much progress have you complexity for users. In Shardeum This will help us sail through the cur-
blockchain, the rest are on crypto made with Shardeum? we will also have a flat fee for users, rent rough scenario and emerge
exchanges, which is why the oppor- People in India want a blockchain which will be under one cent. Non- stronger.

Infra.Market to acquire building materials company by next quarter

Aman Rawat For its so-called “house of Founded in 2016 by Sen- ble debt from Liquidity order book and demand pipe- crore from ₹69 crore in FY21.
aman.rawat@livemint.com brands” approach, which gupta and Aaditya Sharda as a Group’s MARS Unicorn Fund. line to ensure continued Infra.Market’s revenue will
NEW DELHI involves acquiring multiple procurement marketplace, It was last valued at $2.5 bil- growth for the next year. witness a twofold growth in
brands in different niches, the Infra.Market went beyond the lion. The company has built a The Tiger Global-backed FY23 to ₹12,500 crore, on the

H
ella Infra Market Pvt.
Ltd, which runs an
on-demand construc-
tion materials marketplace
Infra.Market, is acquiring a
building materials company as
part of its brand aggregation
strategy, said co-founder Sou-
The pilot phase of Flipverse will involve 15 brands including vik Sengupta.
Puma, Nivea and Noise. ISTOCK The acquisition could be
completed by the next quarter,
company recently bought
concrete manufacturer RDC
Concrete from True North for
₹700 crore and
picked a strategic
stake in publicly
traded Shalimar
Paints.
Infra.Market will continue
to acquire more building
materials companies in the
business-to-business (B2B)
segment to focus on retail as
part of its strategy to diversify
revenue sources and
tap business-to-con-
sumer (B2C) oppor-
tunities.
The company counts Accel
Partners, Evolvence India, Sis-
tema Asia Fund, Foundamen-
tal Gmbh, Tiger Global and
portfolio of its private labelled
brands and started exporting
its products and services to the
Middle East, Europe and
South East Asian markets.
It is present across 18 states
in India, with 12 active fran-
chise outlets across Tier II cit-
ies and plans to scale this up to
50 stores by March 2023. The
firm has also recently set up its
company on Thursday
reported a fivefold growth in
its profit after tax to ₹186 crore
for the year ending 31 March
against ₹36 crore in FY21, on
the back of growing retail ver-
tical and domestic and inter-
national expansion.
Revenues also grew five-
fold to ₹6,236 crore in FY22
while operating profitability
back of growing retail and
international verticals, said
Sengupta. The company will
improve its Ebitda margin to
7.5% by FY23 from 6.6% in
FY22 and to 10% by FY25, Sen-
gupta said.
“The manufacturing margin
is critical for us. A minimum of
10% Ebitda is what a good
manufacturing company in

Flipkart taps into and the company wouldn’t

need external financing to
close the deal, Sengupta said.
space. However, it might tap
investors and external debt
financers for those purchases.
Nexus Venture Partners as its
other investors. In June, it
raised $50 million in converti-
global offices in Singapore and
Dubai. The company said that
it continues to enjoy a robust
or earnings before interest tax,
depreciation and amortiza-
tion, or Ebitda, grew to ₹410
India enjoys in the construc-
tion material business.” Sen-
gupta said.

metaverse to offer
virtual shopping Why SME IPOs are garnering
Shouvik Das
massive investor interest
shouvik.das@livemint.com
ings would be largely educa-
tional and promotional. Sanjay
NEW DELHI Kothari, associate partner at
market research firm Redseer, Malvika Maloo Co-creating for a
F self-reliant India
lipkart on Monday said, “There may not be imme- malvika.maloo@livemint.com
unveiled a metaverse- diate returns from metaverse NEW DELHI
based shopping platform experiences. However, given

T
called Flipverse, in partner- the reduced attention spans he initial public offer-
ship with decentralized music among users, brands aim to ings (IPOs) of small and Visit us at stand 12R.28
and entertainment firm eDAO. create more engaging experi- medium enterprises baesystems.com
The platform will be in an early ences for shoppers.” (SMEs) have garnered massive
adoption phase and will only As the experiences are at an investor interest, with ten of
be available to early stage, most of them getting subscribed a
Android users for a the user engage- hundred-fold amid challenges
week, the e-com- ments will be faced by bigger IPOs that trade
merce company driven by mature on the mainboard.
said. The first phase will users from tier-I markets, Since the beginning of the
involve 15 brands including Kothari said. “The early exam- year, about 88 SMEs have
apparel brand Puma, cosmet- ples of e-commerce metaverse opened for subscriptions on
ics and personal care brand adoptions will mostly come BSE’s SME and National Stock So far this year, about 88 SMEs have opened for subscriptions,
Nivea, and homegrown elec- from large companies such as Exchange’s Emerge segments, and at least 10 have been subscribed a hundred-fold. HT
tronics brand Noise. Flipkart, as even if a small per- raising more than ₹1,542.7
Flipverse is part of Flipkart centage of a platform’s mil- crore. In contrast, only 22 non-banking lenders at ₹1 SME issues was ₹17.53 crore.
Labs, which was unveiled in lion-odd user base tries it out, large companies went public crore. The largest, Rachana Infra-
April to build “blockchain and it will lead to a cumulatively on the mainboards of the two As a result, “a lot of HNI structure, was ₹72.4 crore.
metaverse use cases” includ- constructive pilot experience exchanges, according to data (high net worth individual) “Earlier, nobody even
ing virtual storefronts. Users for such projects,” he said. from Primedatabase.com. customers are now shifting thought of (this way). They
will get virtual As such, brands Listing gains for most of the largely into the other portion probably used to get in touch
avatars and a The Flipverse may aim to adopt SMEs have been positive and to make quick bucks out of the with some VC setup, bank
future version of platform will be in such experiences the stocks have performed IPO”, Ray said. financing or equity dilution.
the platform an early adoption in increasing fre- well too. At least 39 of these SMEs Now, for them, IPO has
would also phase and will quency as e-com- “About 12 of the 88 reported have been subscribed more become a cheaper source of
include collabo- merce platforms negative returns. This (seg- than 10 times. In comparison, raising money than getting
only be available seek to drive user
rative shopping ment) has given really good only five of the mainboard lis- through the VC source,” Ray
experiences, to Android users engagement and return,” said Suvajit Ray, head tings, Harsha Engineers, Cam- said.
where users will for a week awareness activi- of product and distri- pus Activewear, The mainboard IPOs had an
be able to interact ties towards new bution at IIFL Secu- DreamFolks, Syrma average size of ₹2,002.98
with each other’s technologies, rities. More compa- SGS, and Adani Wil- crore in comparison. To be
virtual avatars when shopping. Kothari said. nies will likely take mar, have been able fair, the IPO of Life Insurance
Flipkart said it does not plan The move marks the latest the route, he said. to garner enough investor Corporation of India’s sub-
features such as the ability to push for metaverse e-com- “There were a lot of brokers interest to be subscribed ten- scription, the largest one, by
link cryptocurrency wallets to merce experiences in India, a who never used to touch SME fold. itself was ₹20,557.23 crore.
the platform to migrate their nascent space now. Brands IPOs or even large companies. Another reason is the size of Thirteen of these 22 large
NFTs. Flipverse will also not such as home automotive We never used to do it. Last the issue. “It is tougher to get companies were looking to
feature its token for the time components brand Ceat Ltd, year, we started. I believe this high investor interest in a very raise more than ₹5,000 crore.
being. However, Flipkart said multi-brand footwear retailer is a very good market,” he said. big IPO than a smaller one,” Ten of these 39 SMEs have
that users shopping on the Metro Brands, and textile con- A part of this boom is said Aditya Kondawar, partner been subscribed more than
platform will win NFT glomerate Mafatlal Industries because of the change in IPO and vice president of key 100 times. IT service provider Copyright© 2022 BAE Systems. All Rights Reserved.
BAE SYSTEMS is a registered trademark.
rewards, which can be mone- had signed deals to be part of financing rules that came into accounts at Complete Circle OlaTech Solutions, which
tized for physical items. the metaverse space, said effect on 1 April. The Reserve Capital, a financial and wealth opened for subscription in
Industry experts said Toshendra Sharma, chief Bank of India capped borrow- management firm. August, was subscribed a stag-
metaverse e-commerce offer- executive of NFTically. ing for IPO financing from The average size of these gering 500 times.
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 06 TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Byju’s raises
RBI to pin blame on
supply-side issues
‘Rupee settlement to raise $250 mn
through
FROM PAGE 1

to control demand in the econ-

exports to Russia by $5 bn’ rights issue
FROM PAGE 1
omy and that the rest depends
on fiscal measures to rein in continue to function as separate
supply-side problems. These organizations.
include improving food supply Shipments to sanctions-hit nation may partially offset demand slowdown in key western economies Byju’s will now be targeting its
and building domestic capac- marketing budget towards its
ity for edible oil production. overseas markets, the company
“RBI would probably tell the Dilasha Seth said. The Tiger Global-backed
government that inflation has dilasha.seth@livemint.com firm is also increasing the
been going up primarily new delhI strength of its inside sales team
because of supply-side issues for more efficient and effective

I
over which it has little control. ndia’s shipments to sanctions-hit consumer-centric lead conver-
Food and fuel inflation going RBI has a strong case to say that Russia could grow by an additional sions, it added.
up are not directly under the supply-side issues are causing $5 billion once the rupee settlement Earlier, Oxshott Ventures and
purview of the central bank,” inflation and that it has already mechanism becomes functional, Sumeru Ventures were to invest
said Madan Sabnavis, chief taken corrective measures MINT partially offsetting the demand $250 million into Byju’s, but the
economist at Bank of Baroda. slowdown in key western economies, company said on 11 July that the
Sabnavis said RBI has a get it below 6% much more according to a study by the Federation of money from these two investors
strong case to say that supply- quickly,” an economist said on Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). was never wired in.
side issues are causing infla- condition of anonymity. The study shows that farm products, This was part of an $800 mil-
tion and that it has already He said the more interesting food, drugs and engineering equipment lion fundraising announced in
taken corrective measures. “As reference to watch out for in are the key areas where India could see March 2022, out of which the
a central bank, you can control the letter would be RBI’s for- a boost in exports to Russia, with sup- company said that founder Byju
liquidity and regulate demand ward guidance on the inflation plies from the European Union nearly Raveendran infused $400 mil-
by managing interest rates, trajectory, as it is expected to coming to a halt, especially for industrial lion at a $22 billion valuation.
both of which RBI has done,” have many more details than and engineering goods, thereby creating Last month, the startup also
he said. Beginning with a sur- what is in the public domain. opportunities for India. paid off its balance dues of $234
prise hike of 40 basis points On 30 September, RBI gov- “India’s exports to Russia can grow million to Blackstone, it said.
(bps) in May, RBI ernor Shaktik- by $5 billion once the rupee settlement Meanwhile, on Saturday,
has hiked rates in According to anta Das called mechanism comes into effect in the Byju’s formally filed its financial
every policy RBI’s estimates, the letter a “privi- next one year. While our exporters statements for FY21 with the
since, taking the inflation will cool leged communi- want to ship to Russia, the exchange Farm products, food, drugs and engineering equipment are the key areas where India could see a boost in exports to Russia. MINT ministry of corporate affairs,
total hike in this to 5.8%—within cation between rate risk is holding them back. Once the which included previously
cycle to 190 bps as RBI and the gov- rupee mechanism is in place, a slew of “With Russia, our imports are ten view that INR invoicing will be very (EPCG) to be available in case trade is undisclosed commentary over
of 30 September.
the target range— ernment” and sectors can gain, especially industrial times the imports. But there is a very process-driven and that there would be settled in rupee. Currently, it is allowed its auditor’s opinion. Deloitte,
In fact, RBI only by the March declined to make equipment and food and agro-process- good chance of increasing our exports RBI oversight over the entire process. only in case settlement is in freely con- the auditor for Byju’s, said it
deputy governor quarter of FY23 the letter public. ing. There is immense potential there,” to Russia. That’s because when they are RBI has approved the mechanism, but vertible currencies like the dollar, euro, identified “material weaknesses
Michael Patra is However, said Ajay Sahai, director-general and holding much of the Indian rupee, banks which will open Vostro accounts and British pound. in the internal financial controls
cited in the min- another econo- chief executive of FIEO. either they will want to invest in capital will have to take due permission. So we Nevertheless, imports from Russia over the financial reporting as on
utes of the monetary policy mist who spoke on condition Currently, exports to Rus- are talking about RBI grew by more than fivefold in the first 31 March 2021,” according to
committee’s 28-30 September of anonymity said it should be sia are being settled in euros. tRADE WINDS oversight over the five months of the current fiscal to documents provided by finan-
meeting as saying the modera- made public because failure to “Now, export orders to entire process, she $17.23 billion. Although crude oil cial data platform Tofler.
tion in domestic inflation that do so would defeat the whole Russia are picking up with CuRRENtlY Indian A slew of Russian firms ExPORtS to Russia highlighted. imports accounted for 85% of total This included “revenue rec-
began in May 2022 was inter- purpose of holding RBI supply partnerships in exports to Russia are in food and agro-
being settled in processing sectors has
have seen contraction
ease to 4.72% in August,
Exporters are also imports from Moscow, shipments of ognition relating to assessment
rupted by supply shocks. accountable for its actions. place for at least the food euros, with orders to tied up with Indian year-on-year, from a urging the department sunflower oil, fertilizers, silver, printed of terms of customer contracts,
According to RBI’s esti- “RBI will tell the Centre that items,” Sahai said. Russia picking up buyers for supplies decline of 13.1% in July of commerce to ask the books, coriander seeds, and furniture evaluation of the probability of
mates, inflation will cool to whatever it has done so far— A slew of Russian com- Reserve Bank of India to items reported a sharp spike, suggest- collection, determination of
5.8%—within the target raising rates and controlling panies has tied up with expedite the rupee set- ing that New Delhi was steadily the fair value of guarantees
range—only by the March liquidity—will continue. It is Indian buyers for supplies. in India or they would increase our tlement mechanism through the spe- expanding trade ties with Russia. given on behalf of customers,
quarter of FY23. also likely to state that the cen- India’s exports to Russia have seen exports,” a government official said. cial Vostro account. Besides, it has The prices of Russia and Ukraine’s estimation of sales returns, and
“In February and March, tral bank had gone into an ultra- the contraction ease to 4.72% in August Queries sent to the ministry of com- asked the government to also extend major exports, particularly food, fuels, related access and change
inflation looked to be more accommodative stance during on a year-on-year basis from a decline merce and industry remained unan- the export benefits from incentive and industrial metals, soared as the war management controls which
manageable, and had the covid and, therefore, liquidity is of 13.1% in July. New Delhi’s exports to swered till press time. schemes like Remission of Duties and has disrupted supplies of these essen- could potentially result in inap-
Ukraine war not happened, taking longer to withdraw,” the Moscow saw a 24% decline in the April Exim Bank managing director Taxes of Export Products (RODTEP) tial commodities,” the DHL Trade propriate recognition of reve-
RBI would have been able to second economist said. to August period to $992 million. Harsha Bangari said in an earlier inter- and Export Promotion Capital Goods Growth Atlas report said.. nues”, the auditor said.

TV retains Goldman plans sweeping revamp, PTC, PFS face

BSE action
Invesco to sell 5.51% stake in Zee
its grip on combining i-banking and trading over breach FROM PAGE 1 National Company Law Tribu-

kids despite FROM PAGE 1 book value as of June, accord-

Rituraj Baruah
rituraj.baruah@livemint.com
pursuing since September
2021, to push for the ouster of
nal (NCLT) in Mumbai, which
directed Zee to consider the
requisition.
streaming ment. It also reflects the firm’s
ing to FactSet. That compared
with 1.4 times at Morgan Stan-
new delhI Zee Entertainment’s chief
executive officer, Punit
Zee Entertainment
appealed the order in the high

sites’ draw
FROM PAGE 1
it is not specifically for kids
content, which at best, can be a
convenient add-on if there are
children in the family, Chilaka
added. Green Gold has part-
nered with the Warner Dis-
covery network for Chhota
Bheem movies airing on POGO
this festive season, besides
continuing work on a show
called Rudra: Boom Chik Chik
Boom on Nickelodeon.
The kids’ genre contributes
to about 4-5% of the total TV ad
spending, Sujata Dwibedy,
group trading director, Amplifi
India, Dentsu, said in an earlier
interview. “The Indian anima-
tion industry has been growing
by 18-20% in the last 2-3 years.
However, monetization
remains a challenge. There is
an appetite for more high-qual-
ity animation and content
which should be on par with
international content. The ad
revenue is disproportionately
lower than investment in con-
tent, “Dwibedy had said.
At the moment, a lot of kids’
content on OTT is acquired
because they prefer to invest in
established and proven charac-
ters that are known to increase
subscribers, said Praveen Raj
Jayachandran, co-founder of
Holocraft, a Chennai-based vir-
tual production and real-time
animation firm. While Telugu
streaming service Aha Video has
introduced a sub-brand dedi-
cated to children, Sony’s Dutta
said the company has partnered
with Netflix to deliver a 2D ani-
mated show—Sudha Murthy’s
Stories of Wit and Magic.
“While OTT viewership in
India is growing primarily in
urban tier-I and -II markets,
kids’ content on OTT will per-
sist in coexisting with TV, as it
has in other genres. Streaming
platforms, on the other hand,
provide the benefits that
appointment viewing does
not,” Jayachandran said.
This PDF was originally uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel:@LBSNEWSPAPER
struggle to overcome skepti-
cism, from investors and even
among some of its own execu-
tives, over its ambitions for
consumer banking.
The firm’s trading and
investment-banking acumen
has been Goldman’s calling
card for decades, churning out
massive profits when the mar-
kets favored risk-takers and
bold deals.
But investors often dis-
counted those successes, rea-
soning that they are harder to
sustain when market condi-
tions turn. And in recent years,
Goldman has sought to
sharpen its trading arm’s focus
on client service.
Following the changes, Gold-
man’s organizational chart will
look more like its peers.
A slide presentation from
Goldman’s 2020 investor day
offered a glimpse of what a
combined banking-and-trad-
ing business would look rela-
tive to peers. At Goldman, the
merged group would have
India may not join US-led initiative to cap prices of Russian crude oil
FROM PAGE 1
ing at the designated port. In
the current fiscal till August,
India imported crude oil worth
$11.41 billion from Russia,
shows data from the Union
ministry of commerce and
industry. With India depend-
ent on imports for as much as
85% of its oil needs and 55% of
its natural gas demand, record-
high energy prices are a big
concern for a major consumer
nation such as India.
“The discounts on Russian
crude oil to Indian refiners
depend on individual cargoes
and may vary,” said the second
person cited above, who did not
want to be named.
The price cap proposal also
comes against the backdrop of a
2 million barrels per day output
cut by the Organization of the
The firm’s trading and i-banking
acumen has been Goldman’s
calling card for decades. BLOOMBERG
delivered a return on equity of
9.2% in 2019, besting Morgan
Stanley and Bank of America
Corp. but below what JPMor-
gan Chase & Co. and Citigroup
Inc. earned that year.
Bloomberg News earlier
reported that Goldman had
planned to restructure its con-
sumer-banking arm and was
considering combining its
asset- and wealth-management
businesses.
Goldman’s shares have
struggled to keep pace with its
rivals, at least by one measure.
The firm traded at 0.9 times
Petroleum Exporting Countries
(Opec) and allies at a time of
record high fuel prices in India.
The US has been trying to
impress India to join the price
cap plan, with visiting US dep-
uty secretary of treasury Wally
Adeyemo in August stating that
a price cap on Russian oil will
help lower energy cost for
Indian consumers. India, on its
part, has remained steadfast in
its relationship with Russia,
choosing to neither pursue
arbitration with the Russian
government-owned Gazprom
nor accept a penalty from the
world’s largest explorer of nat-
ural gas over its failure to hon-
our the terms of a deal to supply
LNG to state-run GAIL (India)
Ltd as reported by Mint earlier.
A US embassy spokesperson
in New Delhi directed Mint to
the Indian government for its
ley and 1.3 times at JPMorgan.
Goldman has sought to nar-
row the gap by beefing up the
businesses that command
higher valuations on Wall
Street. Managing wealthy peo-
ple’s money and overseeing
funds for pensions and other
deep-pocketed institutions is
more profitable than other
financial services, and it usually
doesn’t put the firm’s balance
sheet at risk. And many inves-
tors view traditional consumer
banking—taking deposits and
making loans—as more pre-
dictable.
Goldman has invested heav-
ily in building its own con-
sumer bank, and folding the
unit into its asset- and wealth-
management arm should cre-
ate more opportunities to offer
banking services to wealthy
individuals.
Earlier this year, the bank
said it aimed to bring in $10 bil-
lion in asset and wealth-man-
agement fees by 2024.
©2022 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC
views. “For the US position, I
can share with you the tran-
script of a 14 October press con-
ference that US treasury secre-
tary Janet L. Yellen gave in con-
junction with 2022 IMF-World
Bank Annual Meetings,” the
spokesperson said in an
emailed response.
“It’s an innovative policy that
aims to cut Putin’s revenue
while keeping Russian oil flow-
ing onto global markets at low
prices. This policy has particu-
lar benefits for developing
countries. A price cap will help
stabilize global energy prices. It
will also provide developing
countries with greater leverage
to negotiate better prices for
Russian oil,” Yellen said,
according to the transcript.
The proposed ban on Rus-
sian Federation-origin crude
oil is to come into effect on 5
B
SE Ltd has warned state-
run power trading firm
PTC India and its subsidi-
ary PTC India Financial Services
(PFS) that it may transfer their
stocks to the trade-to-trade (T2T)
category after they failed to meet
disclosure and listing norms.
In a notice dated 12 October,
the exchange said if the firms fail
to comply by 19 October, their
scrip would be downgraded with
effect from 25 October. BSE said
the scrips will be transferred to
“‘Z’ / ‘ZP’/ ‘ZY’/ ’MT’ group with
effect from 25 October “due to
non-compliances for two con-
secutive quarters i.e March 2022
& June 2022.” The BSE action
follows the companies‘ inability
to file their earnings for FY22
and the first quarter of FY23.
A PTC India spokesperson said
the firm has finalized and published
its standalone results for FY22 on 5
July. However, consolidated results
can only be finalized after PFS board
nod. PTC said it has sought more
time. Queries sent to PFS remained
unanswered till press time.
Russia has emerged as the third
largest supplier to India. BLOOMBERG
December for maritime trans-
portation of crude oil and on 5
February next year for sea-
borne transportation of petro-
leum products. “The coalition
is essentially the G7, the EU ,
Goenka, and also rejig of the court, seeking a declaration
board.
On 23 March, Invesco said
that the requisition notice by
Invesco to hold the extraordi-
it decided not to pursue the nary general meeting was ille-
extraordinary general meet- gal and invalid.
ing to add six independent In October, Invesco
directors and instead reiter- revealed that it had facilitated
ated its support for the pro- merger talks between Zee and
posed merger of Zee Enter- Zee chief executive officer, Reliance Industries, which fell
tainment with Sony. Punit Goenka. MINT apart as the fund was not in
“We continue to believe this favour of Goenka and his fam-
deal in its current form has in the company. ily increasing their stake in the
great potential for Zee Enter- In September 2021, just company by subscribing to
tainment shareholders. We before Zee Entertainment’s preferential warrants.
also recognize that, following annual general meeting, The revelation came after
the merger, the board of the Invesco asked the Zee Entertain-
newly combined company will company to hold The block trade will ment had signed
be substantially reconstituted, an extraordinary see Invesco offload a non-binding
which will achieve our objec- general meeting over half of its deal to merge
tive of strengthening board and ask share- stake in Zee with Sony.
oversight of the company,” holders to vote on On 5 October,
Entertainment,
Invesco said in a statement in its recommenda- the Zee-Sony
April. tions of removing which stood at merger received
The US investor expressed Goenka a n d 10.14% as of 30 June the Competition
concerns over how the current inducting six Commission of
board and managing director independent India’s approval
Punit Goenka, son of founder directors. after the regulator accepted
Subhash Chandra, has run the After Zee Entertainment modifications proposed by the
company. rejected Invesco’s demands, companies to the deal they had
Chandra owns 3.99% shares the fund approached the announced last December.
and Australia... All of these suppliers of insurance, trade, thing, and of course, compa-
countries have agreed to ban finance and other financial servi- nies and governments can fight
the provision of services that ces that may be provided with subject to the cap if they
are involved that our country’s throughout the world can only can find ships. Insurance, trade,
firms in our countries supply be provided if the purchase of oil finance and so forth, which
for the transport of Russian oil, by whichever country occurs at provided by nine coalition
and the EU sanc- a price below the members that’s fine with the
tions package The price cap price cap,” Yellen very existence of this price cap
includes ship- proposal also added. really raises the leverage that
ping,” Yellen said. comes against the Q u e r i e s countries even that are like
“Beyond that, backdrop of a emailed to the using western services have
we’re not trying to spokespeople for when they negotiate with Rus-
2 million barrels
sign up additional India’s ministries sia,” Yellen said.
countries to a coa- per day output of external affairs State-owned firms such as
lition. None of the cut by the Opec and petroleum ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Bharat
coalition countries and natural gas, Petroresources Ltd, Indian Oil
are buying Russian the US Treasury Corp. Ltd (IOC) and Oil India Ltd
oil or will buy Russian oil. And Department, and the Russian (OIL) have also invested $16 bil-
none of the countries outside the Federation embassy in New lion in Russia to date, including
coalition are really important Delhi last Thursday remained in the Far East and East Siberia,
suppliers of any of those finan- unanswered till press time. in oil and gas assets such as
cial services. So, we, the mem- “We will be making sure that Sakhalin-1, Vankor and Taas-
bers of the coalition, will imple- Western firms abide by that, Yuryakh. OVL also acquired
ment the price cap once it’s but we honestly are not asking Imperial Energy Corp. Plc’s
adopted and make sure that the other governments to do any- Siberian deposits.
 LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi 07

Boom times return for Tanishq expects omnichannel sales in

FY23 to double from the previous year
wedding service sector Suneera Tandon
suneera.t@htlive.com
New Delhi
across its portfolio of brands.
“Digital continues to be the big
driver both for demand as well
as for fulfillment—both online

T
itan Co. Ltd’s flagship and omni. And we are continu-
jewellery brand Tanishq ing to see an aggressive trac-
Large gatherings had come to an abrupt halt following the covid outbreak is on track to double tion on that,” he added.
sales via omni-channel route India is the world’s second
in FY23 with its omnichannel biggest gold market. However,
Varuni Khosla strategy reaping dividends, online sales account for 3-5%
varuni.k@livemint.com In FY22, it recorded sales of of total jewellery sales in value,
₹1,100 crore through a combi- according to data by the World

A
fter two years blighted by the nation of orders placed on its Gold Council.
covid pandemic, wedding site as well as leads generated Besides, Indian consumers
services providers are pre- online that were converted in typically buy light-weight and
paring for a boom in opulent stores. “Digital continues to be small-ticket jewellery on the
weddings, at a time high a strong story. We continue to internet, it added.
demand drives up the cost of securing get good traction and growth While pure-play online sale accounts for 10% of all orders, 90% is With the two years of covid
gifts, garments and preferred venues. on our website visitors. Until leads generated online but concluded during in-store visits. MINT prompted shoppers to turn to
Every year, a large number of Hindu last year or so we were seeing online purchases, retailers are
weddings are scheduled during the auspi- 2-2.1 million monthly unique Zoya, reported sales of ₹24,313 around 1,000 chats are initi- also accelerating the adoption
cious period stretching between Novem- visitors on our site, but now we crore in the last fiscal year. ated daily on its platform. Con- of omnichannel sales, accord-
ber and early March, but the covid out- are seeing 3 million,” said Ajoy Chawla said omni-channel sumers are encouraged to log ing to a report by consulting
break had brought large gatherings to an Chawla, chief executive, jewel- sale for Tanishq stood at ₹1,100 on to live chats to choose from firm Deloitte.
abrupt halt. lery division, Titan Co. crore in FY22. “We are on our an array of products, and the According to World Gold
Neha Arora, co-founder of wedding While pure-play online sale course to doubling that num- information is passed on to its Council, most sales are driven
planning company Saffron String said accounts for 10% of all orders, ber this year.” The company stores. Within 30-45 days, the by consumers aged between 18
many people had opted for micro-wed- 90% is leads generated online actively pursues online orders customer can visit the store to and 45 years. However, inter-
dings in the past few years, but luxury but concluded during in-store and direct shoppers to nearby conclude the purchase. “It’s estingly, while online jewel-
weddings are making a comeback. “We visits. stores to conclude purchases, actively managed and driven,” lery purchases have risen , the
have also noticed many more people Titan’s jewellery division, he added. Chawla said. average ticket size remains flat
choosing weekend weddings with wel- Wedding planning website WedMeGood said the average booking amounts for vendors comprising brands such as Tanishq’s website generates As of September, Titan had and shoppers prefer jewellery
come parties and day-after brunches, has increased by at least 16%. ISTOCKPHOTO Caratlane, Mia, Tanishq and 80,000 leads per month while 488 jewellery stores in India pieces of 5-10 grams.
which only means that families are
expanding the scope of their weddings owned by Ferns N Petals Pvt. Ltd, said the The company said there has been a 40%
beyond the traditional events. There has amount spent on weddings has almost increase in the average guest list from last
been a drastic change in the way people doubled as compared to the pre-pan- year’s 180.
choose to celebrate occasions,” she said. demic spends. In the first half of the year, Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels &
Mumbai-based Achint Nag, founder of its wedding business saw a 20% increase in Resorts, a company that has upscale and
‘Action for moonlighting can ruin a career’
Krayonz Entertainment & Wedding Plan- revenue from 2019. Revenue from wed- luxury hotels, said he is looking forward to
ners said big fat weddings are certainly dings constituted 25% of its overall busi- a very busy wedding season. According to PTI officer N. Ganapathy Subra- ing the family member from fine with it.
back for now -- and hopefully here to stay. ness, which was about ₹650 crore. its estimates based on bookings and que- feedback@livemint.com maniam told PTI. going astray. Subramaniam said that
The company is facing a del- ries, Roseate Hotels will clock “The consequences (of tak- It can be noted that in the some IT companies work on a
SPENDING SPREE
A
uge of queries for the next higher revenues from wed- ction against moon- ing action) will be that the per- past few months, amid model where they are okay
season as well, starting dings this year as compared to lighting can ruin a per- son’s career will increased with freelancers but compa-
November 2023. COMPANIES have PEOPLE had opted CERTAIN categories 2019. son’s career and hence, be ruined. Back- “At a young age, demand for tal- nies like TCS, which work with
According to Nag, wedding noticed people are
choosing weekend
for micro-weddings
in past few years, but
are seeing increase
in costs, decorators
“We have witnessed a 30% it is important to show empa- ground check for we don’t want to ent, moonlight- top global corporations, can-
costs are up almost 30% from weddings with luxury weddings are are now charging increase in the number of thy while dealing with the the next future see them ing or side hustles not let such an activity like
2019, the last year of expan- welcome parties making a comeback 20% more queries, and expect at least issue, a top official from TCS job will fail for penalised, have come to the moonlighting continue
sive Indian weddings before 40% increase in revenues as has said. him...We have to fore in the over because the data of the cus-
violating the
covid struck. “Manpower and compared to 2019. Even Nothing prevents the coun- show some $220 billion tomer has to be safe.
logistics costs are at an all-time high. Wed- In a recent report, wedding planning though now there are no restrictions on try’s biggest IT services empathy,” Subra- value systems,” industry. Many “At a young age, we don’t
dings are more expensive since demand website WedMeGood said the average the number of guests, people are still pre- exporter from taking action maniam said. said TCS COO like TCS have want to see them penalised,
has gone up drastically. There are limited booking amounts for vendors has ferring intimate weddings and pre-wed- against employees for moon- He said the flagged concerns violating the value systems,”
venues for larger gatherings and there- increased by at least 16%. But certain cate- ding functions, and in turn, are spending lighting when it has evidence company looks at around it, some said the COO of the company
fore, the prices of good hotels have also gories are seeing a higher increase -- deco- more on food menu, drinks and décor by because it is a part of the ser- an employee like being a part like Wipro have also sus- which has over 6 lakh employ-
gone up by 30%. It’s purely a demand-sup- rators are now charging 20% more -- while opting for premium offerings,” he said. vice agreement, but young of the family and given the pended 300 staffers, while a ees on its rolls and has hired
ply function,” he said. invitation designers have not noticed any The hotel has increased its food prices to kids will have to be dissuaded, consequences of any action, few companies like Tech 1.35 lakh freshers in the last 18
FNP Venues and FNP Weddings, increase due to the popularity of e-invites. make up for costlier ingredients. the company’s chief operating would rather focus on dissuad- Mahindra have said they are months.

DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

OFFICE OF THE PR. CHIEF ENGINEER (WW)/EE(E&M)I
FLAT NO. E-1, TYPE -IV, STAFF QUARTERS
JHANDEWALAN, DELHI-110005
PRESS NOTICE INVITING TENDER NO. 11 (2022-23)
S. Subject Estimated Earnest Tender Date & ID of Last date of
No. Cost Money Fee release of tender in submission
(in Rs.) (in Rs.) e-procurement solution of tender
11.1 Engagement of staff/manpower for smooth Running Item rate 99000/- 500/- 14.10.2022 27.10.2022 at
Operation of filter House of Chandrawal Water works-I & II 2022_DJB_230886_1 12.15 P.M.
11.2 Engagement of staff/manpower for smooth Running Item rate 91500/- 500/- 14.10.2022 27.10.2022 at
Operation of Pump House of Chandrawal Water works-II 2022_DJB_230886_2 12.15 P.M.
11.3 Renovation/Repairing Turntable & structure etc. of HCC Item rate 92000/- 500/- 14.10.2022 27.10.2022 at
clariflocculator no. 02 at Chandrawal Water Works No.- II 2022_DJB_230886_3 12.15 P.M.
The tender is available at the E-Portal website : https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in
Sd/-
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) “Stop Corona: Wash Your Hands, Wear Mask & (S.P. Gautam)
Advt. No. J.S.V. 374 (2022-23) Maintain Social Distance” EE (E&M) I

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m MINT SHORTS
New Omicron subvariant evades
UK reverses nearly all its tax
plans to reassure markets
neutralising antibodies: Lancet
London: The BA.2.75.2 variant of Omicron largely evades neu-
tralising antibodies in the blood and is resistant to several cov-
id-19 antibody therapies, according to a study published in The
Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. The findings by researchers
at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden suggest a risk of increased SARS-
CoV-2 infections this winter, unless the new updated bivalent
vaccines help to boost immunity in the population. PTI
New package represents a near total U-turn on the measures announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss last month
Credit Suisse to pay $495 million
Max Colchester tors,” said Jane Foley, senior for-
to settle legacy US case feedback@livemint.com eign-exchange strategist at Rabob-
AP
LONDON ank.“That’s a move in the right
direction but there’s still a lot of

N
ew UK Treasury Chief
Jeremy Hunt said Mon-
day he is reversing
nearly all the govern-
ment’s proposed tax
cuts and would pare back an energy
price cap as he moves to reassure
markets about the stability of the
nation’s finances.
Mr Hunt, speaking ahead of an
emergency statement to Parliament
Zurich: Credit Suisse has agreed to pay $495 million to set- on the economy, reversed planned
tle a case related to mortgage-linked investments in the tax cuts and said they would raise
United States, the latest pay-out related to past blunders around £32 billion a year, equivalent
that have battered the Swiss bank’s reputation. The lender to around $36 billion, for the gov-
has been paying out billions of dollars to resolve legal cases ernment exchequer when added to
linked to its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) earlier u-turns. He also said the two-
business in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. The year energy price cap for households
decline in mortgage payments reduced the value of the would be scaled-back.
assets, leading to huge losses for investors. Switzerland’s “The most important objective for
second biggest bank is trying to move on from these legacy our country right now is stability,”
issues which have dogged its performance. REUTERS he said.
It represents a near total U-turn on
the package of measures that Prime
Green Dot, bank behind Walmart Minister Liz Truss announced last
month as Mr Hunt tries to reassure
and Apple debit cards, fires CEO financial markets, and lower UK bor-
Green Dot Corp., which operates the bank behind debit cards rowing costs and ease pressure on
offered by Walmart Inc. and Apple Inc., terminated its chief exec- the Bank of England to raise interest
utive officer. CEO Dan Henry will be replaced by George rates to control inflation. The gov-
Gresham, the company’s chief financial and operating officer, ernment had already U-turned on
according to a statement Monday. Henry also resigned from the two proposed tax cuts, including a
company’s board. Green Dot shares slumped as much as 10% planned reduction in corporate tax
before recovering to $19.57 at 11:08 am in New York. BLOOMBERG and the removal of a levy on top
earners.
Markets reacted positively, with
Kanye West to buy social media the pound rising 1.1% against the dol-
lar to $1.13 and the yield on U.K. gov-
app Parler by the end of FY 2022 ernment 10-year debt dropped 0.42
AP
percentage points to 3.96%.
Mr Hunt said that an income-tax
cut planned for next year would be
New UK Treasury Chief Jeremy Hunt said, “The most important objective for our country right now is stability.”
shelved indefinitely and that other
proposed tax reductions, including
freezing the duty on alcohol and a
levy on dividends, would be
dropped. Only the planned cut in
national insurance remains from the
original plan pub-
lished on Sept. 23.
The energy
subsidy package,
which was supposed to cap average
energy prices for British businesses
for six months and households for
two years, would become more tar-
geted from April next year, Mr. Hunt
said.
“It would be irresponsible to for
the government to continue expos-
ing the public finances to unlimited
volatility in the international gas pri-
ces,” Mr Hunt said. That energy
package was expected to cost £60
billion over the next six months.
Further spend-
ing cuts will be
presented on Oct.
31 along with an
independent analysis of the budget,
Treasury officials said. The Institute
of Fiscal Studies, an independent
economics research institute,
recently estimated that the govern-
ment’s initial plans would widen the
shortfall in government finances by
REUTERS
£60 billion. The cuts being outlined
Monday could go some way to filling
that shortfall.
Kwasi Kwartengwas fired as U.K.
Treasury chief on Friday, after both
the markets and Conservative law-
makers rejected the plan to borrow
to fund the biggest tax cuts since the
1970s. The ensuing chaos has left Ms.
Truss battling to save her job amid a
revolt in her party.
“Clearly the market likes the fact
that Jeremy Hunt has the sense to
bring forward the statement and that
shows that he does have an under-
standing of the importance of finan-
cial markets and speaking to inves-
uncertainty as to whether Truss can
remain in her job.”
Mr Hu nt ’s pr edec es s or
announced a series of tax cuts along-
side a costly package designed to
protect households and businesses
from surging energy costs as a result
of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Investors expressed concerns about
the scale of borrowing required at a
time of high inflation and fast-rising
interest rates. Higher interest rates
increase borrowing costs and put
government finances on a precari-
ous footing.
Uncertainty about the outlook for
borrowing led to a sharp fall in U.K.
government bond prices and the
Bank of England was forced to inter-
vene in the market to prevent what it
described as a “fire sale” driven by
UK pension funds.
That intervention ended Friday,
raising questions about investor
confidence in the weeks before the
planned statement on medium-term
borrowing plans on Oct. 31.
In a statement Monday, the BOE
confirmed that its bond purchases
had ended as planned and said it had
helped pension funds adjust to
higher interest rates.
“As previously announced, the
Bank terminated these operations
and ceased all bond purchases on
Friday 14 October,” it said. “As
intended, these operations have
enabled a significant increase in the
resilience of the sector.”
—Caitlin Ostroff contributed to this
article.
©2022 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC

BP to buy US biogas producer Waves of suicide drones strike

Archaea Energy for $4.1 billion Ukraine’s capital, three killed
Parlement Technologies, the parent company of social Bloomberg simply vent into the atmos- AP Prime Minister Denys Shmy-
media app Parler, said on Monday that it will be acquired by feedback@livemint.com phere. feedback@livemint.com hal. In the Kyiv region, at least
rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to sim- Under CEO Bernard Kyiv, UKraiNe: 13 were shot down, all of them

B
ply Ye last year. Parler, a popular app among conservatives, P Plc agreed to acquire Looney, BP has sought to posi- flying in from the south, said a

said it expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter of biogas producer
2022. It did not give a deal value. “In a world where con- Archaea Energy Inc. for
servative opinions are considered to be controversial we about $4.1 billion including
have to make sure we have the right to freely express our- debt, the latest step in the UK
selves,” Ye said in a statement. REUTERS energy giant’s expansion into
into lower-carbon fuels.
BP will pay $26 per share, a
S Korea kicks off military drills 38% premium to the average
share price in the 30 days to
amid talk of North’s nuclear test Oct. 14, Archaea said Monday
Seoul: South Korea’s troops kicked off their annual Hoguk in a statement. The Houston-
defence drills on Monday, designed to boost their ability to based company, which cap-
respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats amid sim- tures waste-gas emissions
mering tension. The drills, due to end on Saturday, are the latest from landfills and farms, will
in a series of military exercises by South Korea in recent weeks, become a key part of BP’s bio-
including joint activities with the US and Japan. The latest field energy business and acceler-
training came as North Korea has been carrying out weapons ate its growth, according to the
tests at an unprecedented pace this year. REUTERS statement.
Archaea fits with BP’s “stra-
tegic focus on bioenergy,”
NATO begins nuclear exercises Nick Stork, chief executive
officer and co-founder of
amid Russia war tensions Archaea, said in the statement.
Brussels: NATO on Monday began its long-planned annual The deal will “increase the role
nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe as tensions simmer of renewable natural gas in
over the war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin’s threat to helping customers reach their
use any means to defend Russian territory. Fourteen of NATO’s long-term climate goals.”
30 member countries were due to take part in the exercises, Archaea was formed in
which the military alliance said would involve around 60 aircraft 2021, when Rice Acquisition
including fighter jets and surveillance and refueling planes. AP Corp. merged with two other
BP will pay $26 per share, a
38% premium to the average
share price in the 30 days to
Oct. 14, GETTY
companies to create a giant in
so-called renewable natural
gas. The environmental bene-
fit of the fuel comes largely
from preventing emissions of
the powerful greenhouse gas
methane, which is created by
the decomposition of organic
waste under certain condi-
tions.
The company captures bio-
gas at landfills or farms and
processes it into pipeline-
quality natural gas. Burning
the fuel still releases carbon
dioxide, but has a lower overall
climate impact than if the
methane had been allowed to
tion itself at the leading edge of
major oil companies’ efforts to
curtail greenhouse gases and
transition to cleaner forms of
energy. It was one of the first to
promise to achieve net-zero
emissions by 2050 and has
made big bets on offshore
wind and electric cars.
Even as the industry made
record profits this year on the
surge in oil and gas prices after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
companies including BP,
TotalEnergies SE and Shell Plc
have said they will continue to
channel a growing portion of
their cash flow into low-car-
bon energy sources, while
transitioning away from fossil
fuels as the main source of
their revenue.
In its latest guidance,
Archaea said it planned to pro-
duce 10.9 billion cubic feet of
gas a year, about 0.5% of BP’s
total gas output. BP shares
erased earlier gains and were
0.5% lower at 452.7 pence as of
1:37 pm in London.
W
aves of explosive-
laden suicide
drones struck
Ukraine’s capital Monday, set-
ting buildings ablaze and tear-
ing a hole in one while sending
people scurrying for shelter or
attempting to shoot down the
kamikazes.
The concentrated use of
drones was the second barrage
in as many weeks — after
months where air attacks had
become a rarity in central Kyiv.
The assault sowed terror and
frayed nerves as blasts echoed
across the city. Energy facili-
ties were struck, and one
drone slammed into a residen-
tial building, killing three peo-
ple, authorities said.
The attack drones appeared
to include Iranian-made Sha-
heds. Intense, sustained bursts
of gunfire rang out as they
buzzed overhead, apparently
soldiers trying to shoot them
down. Others headed for shel-
ter, nervously scanning the
skies. But Ukraine has become
Firefighters work after drone
attack on buildings in Kyiv. AP
grimly accustomed to attacks
nearly eight months into the
Russian invasion and city life
resumed as rescuers picked
through the debris.
Previous Russian airstrikes
on Kyiv were mostly with mis-
siles. Mayor Vitali Klitschko
said Monday’s barrage came in
successive waves of 28 drones
— in what many fear could
become a more common
mode of attack as Russia seeks
to avoid depleting its stock-
piles of long-range precision
missiles.
Five drones plunged into
Kyiv itself, said Ukrainian
spokesman for the Ukrainian
Air Force, Yurii Ihnat.
One strike appeared to tar-
get the city’s heating network,
hitting an operations center.
Another slammed into a four-
story residential building, rip-
ping a large hole in it and col-
lapsing at least three apart-
ments on top of each other.
Three bodies were recovered
from the rubble, including
those of a woman who was
6-months pregnant and her
husband, said Klitschko. The
other person killed there was
an older woman.
An AP photographer who
was out shooting morning
scenes of Kyiv caught one of
the drones on camera, its tri-
angle-shaped wing and
pointed warhead clearly visi-
ble against the blue sky.
“The whole night, and the
whole morning, the enemy
terrorizes the civilian popula-
tion,” Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a
social media post.

Harley rethinking its headquarters as CEO rejects a return to office

Bloomberg time between homes in Mil- Zeitz spun off Harley’s e-bike walked back the mandate just we were on a screen,” he said.
feedback@livemint.com waukee and his ranch near business last month via a a few days later. The Detroit Earlier this year, the com-
Santa Fe, New Mexico. He says reverse merger, declaring automaker will gradually pany opened up the product

C
ompanies from Apple
Inc. to General Motors
Co. to Goldman Sachs
Group Inc. are grappling with
how to coax employees back to
the office. Harley-Davidson
Inc. is taking a different tack:
let them stay home.
The 119-year-old motorcy-
cle manufacturer shuttered its
Milwaukee headquarters in
March 2020 and hasn’t fully
opened it since. Chief Execu-
tive Officer Jochen Zeitz is
even planning to repurpose
the 500,000-square-foot
complex later this year, show-
ing just how serious Harley is
in its commitment to remote
work. Zeitz, who took over in
2020, is the father of two
young children and splits his
This PDF was originally uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel:@LBSNEWSPAPER
a combination of the pan-
demic and fatherhood con-
vinced him that the flexibility
of virtual meetings was far
preferable to “less inclusive”
physical office spaces.
“Having the ability to just
push a button wherever that
person sits, get that person
online, or create a meeting —
that is not defined by which
floor you sit on and who’s in
the corner office,” Zeitz said in
an interview at Bloomberg’s
New York headquarters. “It
democratizes the way we work
together and allows you to
bring the best talent into the
company, no matter where
they sit.”
That tolerance of nomadic
employees isn’t just altruism.
LiveWire Group Inc. the “first
virtual electric motorcycle
company.” With the global
auto industry going electric,
he’s in a fierce battle for engi-
neering talent, and he’s
recruited from places like Riv-
ian Automotive Inc. and Tesla
Inc.
LiveWire has a research and
development lab in Silicon
Valley and engineering and
product development in Mil-
waukee. The bikes are assem-
bled at Harley’s factory in
York, Pennsylvania. Harley
says its Milwaukee headquar-
ters will remain “integral” to
the company’s US footprint,
and Zeitz didn’t specify how he
plans to remake the space.
Zeitz’s philosophy is in stark
Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz is even planning to repurpose the 500,000-square-foot
complex later this year, showing just how serious Harley is in its commitment to remote work
contrast to that of Tesla CEO
Elon Musk, who told employ-
ees recently they had to spend
40 hours a week in the office,
and failure to show up would
be considered a resignation.
Other companies that have
tried to take that approach, or
even a hybrid option, have
faced blowback.
bring people back starting development center in Mil-
early in 2023, and allow man- waukee and brought in 2,000
agers to craft plans for individ- employees and their families.
ual employees, That’s the kind
said a letter Even though Zeitz of gathering Zeitz
signed by CEO is embracing envisions in a
Mary Barra and remote work, he world of remote
other members of thinks face-to- work. He says he
the executive
face meetings are m e a s u r e s
team. Plus, any employees by
employee hired valuable if there’s their “engage-
remotely will not a clear purpose ment” — what
be forced to relo- they deliver —
cate close to GM not by counting
facilities. how many hours they sit in
MINT Even though Zeitz is front of a screen. “You can sit
embracing remote work, he in an office and be very disen-
GM sent a letter to employ- still thinks face-to-face meet- gaged — instead of working on
ees in late September requir- ings are valuable — as long as your computer, you just play
ing them to return to the office there’s a clear purpose. with your games,” he said. “We
at least three days a week. The “I don’t want to see the exact need to trust our employees,
pushback was so strong, it same agenda we would have if that’s critical.”
 LIVEMINT.COM NEWS WRAP TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi 09

TWEETS & QUOTES

Ham Serunjogi Ravisutanjani Soumya Swaminathan
Suvankar Sen CEO, Chipper @Ravisutanjani Chief Scientist, WHO
CEO & MD, Senco Gold Ltd Just installed Starlink & quite VP, Testbook Digital technologies can trans-
...Consumer demand for impressed with initial Indian beauty & per- form health care, if properly
diamond jewellery has speeds & ease of setup.Most sonal care industry is implemented & WHO has a
increased at relatively excited about its potential growing very rapidly critical role to play in defining
higher rates compared to bring internet access to and currently valued standards, regulatory & ethi-
to the demand for gold remote & rural areas that at a whopping cal frameworks for deploy-
jewellery lack infrastructure $26.07 billion. ment of new technologies

ACC reports net READYING FOR DIWALI DGCA to inspect

loss of ₹91 cr in Q3 SpiceJet Q400 fleet

C A
ement maker ACC Ltd on Monday viation regulator Directorate General of
reported a standalone net loss of ₹91 Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday
crore for the quarter ended September directed embattled SpiceJet to carry out
compared to a net profit of ₹449 crore a year analysis of engine oil samples from its Q400
ago, the company said in a statement. fleet and other inspections, days after one of its
Analysts had largely expected the company to planes made an emergency landing at
report a profit of ₹133 crore for the quarter, Hyderabad airport due to smoke in the cabin.
according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The The DGCA has also asked the carrier to
company had posted a net profit of ₹222 crore in conduct an inspection of the bleed-off valve
the June quarter. Net sales rose 7% year-on-year screen and housing for evidence of oil witness.
(YoY) to ₹3,910 crore, ACC said in a filing to the Boroscopic inspection of all operational
stock exchanges. Ebitda (earnings before engines of all Q400 engines within one week,
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) immediate inspection of magnetic chip
stood at ₹16 crore against ₹712 crore YoY, detectors (MCD), drawing of engine oil samples
impacted largely due to a steep rise in fuel cost, it every 15 days for analysis and inspection of
said. Ebitda margin came in at 0.4%, sharply bleed-off valve screen and housing for evidence
below analysts’ expectations of 6%. In the of oil wetness in weekly check, are among the
quarter under review, ACC’s cement volume other directions.
rose 4% on year, while ready mix concrete The airline has a fleet of 14 operational Q400
recorded a volume growth of 10% year-on-year, planes and they have 28 PW 150A engines. PTI
the company said in a release. SAURAV ANAND

An artisan walks past earthen lamps laid out in the sun to dry in Mumbai’s Dharavi on Monday, ahead of ‘Diwali’ festival. AFP

Lava in talks with China co for Hetro has acquired the plant, which is spread
across 55.27 acres, for ₹130 crore. MINT
PDS operates over 50 offices in 22 countries.

PDS buys stake

PTI

manufacturing facility in India Hetero buys J&J’s

plant in Telangana
in DBS Lifestyle
P
harmaceuticals firm Hetero on Monday

F
ashion infrastructure company PDS Ltd on
Monday announced the acquisition of 51%
stake in Delhi-based design solutions
company DBS Lifestyle for an undisclosed
amount.
The move would provide PDS further access
to leading retailers and brands enabling it to
said it has acquired the manufacturing
Venture with China’s Huaqin Technology would employ more than 100,000 people plant of Johnson & Johnson at Penjerla in
Telangana and will invest additional ₹600 crore
on its upgradation. According to sources, the
Bloomberg India a manufacturing hub. global map for design, supply chain and manufac- company has acquired the plant for ₹130 crore.
feedback@livemint.com Shanghai-based Huaqin, with more than turing,” Lava said in the letter. Representatives The facility is spread across 55.27 acres and will
33,000 employees and sales topping $13 billion for Lava, Huaqin and the Indian technology min- be Hetero’s flagship sterile pharmaceutical and

I
penetrate the fashion and home categories in
the Indian market, said a joint statement.
As part of this transaction, PDS will invest ₹21
crore in the new entity Pangram Brands. The
majority of the proceeds will be used for funding
the growth plans of the company and to acquire
the existing businesses of DBS.
PDS offers product development, sourcing,
manufacturing, and distribution for major
brands and retailers worldwide. The company
operates over 50 offices in 22 countries and
reported consolidated revenues of ₹8,828 crore
in FY22. DBS Lifestyle, founded by Divya Suri
and Bhawnish Suri, is a design-led company
catering to fashion and home categories. It owns
over 20,000 original textile designs and
patterns and serves over 200 fashion and 150
home clients. PTI
ndian smartphone maker Lava International
Ltd. is in advanced talks with China’s Huaqin
Technology Co. to create an electronics man-
ufacturing venture in the South Asian nation.
The venture would aim to win contracts from
US and Chinese customers for research and
development, design, and manufacturing of elec-
tronics products, according to a letter from Lava
to India’s technology ministry. Talks for the part-
nership are close to being completed.
The pact would give the closely held companies
heft as they seek to take on rivals such as Foxconn
Technology Group. The Taiwanese giant, which
assembles phones for Apple Inc., is among elec-
tronics companies that have built out production
capacity in India to diversify beyond China and
take advantage of incentives that are part of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s aspirations to make
last year, designs and makes smartphones, lap- istry didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. biologics manufacturing unit and will generate
tops, tablets and smartwatches for customers A partnership agreement hasn’t been com- 2,000 new jobs, the company said in a
including Vivo, Xiaomi Corp., Samsung Electron- pleted as details such as shareholdings are being statement. “We are committed to an investment
ics, Lenovo Group finalized, people upwards of $75 million to upgrade and enhance
Ltd., Amazon.com familiar with the existing facilities at the site and expand
Inc. and Acer Inc. A A partnership with Lava would give matter said, asking manufacturing of our global biologics and
partnership with Huaqin deeper access to fastest- not to be named as sterile pharmaceutical products,” Hetero MD
Lava would give the plan isn’t public. Vamsi Krishna Bandi said. Hetero said the
Huaqin deeper growing India that has an abundance While the venture brownfield manufacturing facility together with
access to one of the of labour cheaper than that in China will be closely scru- land, plant and machinery has been acquired
world’s fastest- tinized by the Indian from Johnson & Johnson Pvt Ltd in a slump sale
growing major elec- government, it is without disclosing the financial details. PTI
tronics markets that has an abundance of labour likely to win approval because it would elevate the
cheaper than that in China. For Lava, the pact country’s status as an electronics manufacturing
would bring in much-needed capital and expert- hub and doesn’t threaten national security.
ise as the company seeks to become a formidable The Lava-Huaqin venture would have an
electronics player. The venture would employ advantage over other Chinese manufacturers by
Kulkarni to head
more than 100,000 people and “put India on the its association with a domestic producer.
JP Morgan India

W
all Street investment bank JP Morgan
SBI, Kotak, Federal has announced a slew of
PM releases ₹16k cr under PM-KISAN appointments, including a new India
hike lending rates head in Kaustubh Kulkarni to succeed the
incumbent Madhav Kalyan, who is moving to a
to around 11 crore beneficiaries is larger global role within the company. The bank

S
ate-owned SBI and private lenders Kotak
Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank have
revised their lending rates under
marginal cost of fund based lending rate
(MCLR), making consumer loans such as
personal, home and auto costlier.
The country’s largest lender SBI has revised
the MCLR for the benchmark one-year tenor
to 7.95%, up by 25 basis points from previous
rate. SBI said the new MCLR is effective from 15
October.
The one-year tenor MCLR is the rate against
which most consumer loans are tied to.
Besides, SBI has also raised the two- and
three-year tenor MCLRs to 8.15% and 8.25%
PM Modi released the amount at two-day
event ‘PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022’.
expected to cross ₹2.16 trillion.
Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman
Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are
provided with a financial benefit of
₹6,000 per year in three equal
installments of ₹2,000 each every four
months.
The income support is directly
transferred to bank accounts of the
beneficiaries.
The scheme was launched in February
2019 but is being implemented with effect
from December 2018.
PTI The prime minister released the 12th
installment at two-day event ‘PM Kisan
The 16-year-old beat the world No.1 Magnus
Carlsen in Aimchess Rapid tournament.
Gukesh youngest
said Kalyan will be heading the payments
division in Asia Pacific effective from 1
November and is succeeding Sridhar Kanthadai,
who will be moving into his new role as co-head
of global payment rails and payment V.A.S.
Kalyan, however, will continue as vice-chairman
of Asia Pacific. Kulkarni succeeds Kalyan as
senior country officer (country head) for India,
effective 1 November. In another appointment,
the bank said Navin Wadhwani has been
appointed as head of investment banking for JP
Morgan India. Wadhwani joins from Reliance
Industries where he headed M&A for the past 10
years. PTI

respectively, as against 7.90% and 8%.
The overnight, one-, three- and six-month
rates have been raised in the range of 7.60-
7.90%.
Kotak Mahindra Bank said the MCLR for
various tenors has been set in the range of 7.70-
8.95% with effect from 16 October. Its revised
A to beat Carlsen
head of Diwali, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Monday
released the 12th installment of
financial benefit worth ₹16,000 crore to
eligible farmers under the flagship PM-
KISAN scheme.
With this, the total amount transferred
Samman Sammelan 2022’ being held at
the Pusa campus in the national capital.
Addressing the event, Modi said
Biocon signs deal
T
benefits under PM-KISAN reach the eenaged Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh
accounts of farmers directly without
involving any middleman and
stunned Magnus Carlsen in the ninth
round of the preliminary phase of with Yoshindo
commission agents. PTI Aimchess Rapid online chess tournament,

one-year MCLR rate is 8.75%.
Congress set for a non-Gandhi president after 24 years
PTI becoming the youngest to beat the world
champion. The 16-year-old from Chennai beat
the world No.1 with white pieces early on
Monday to move up to third position behind
Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda (25 points) and
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 23 points)
with 21 points after the 12th round.
B
iocon Biologics has entered into a
strategic out-licensing agreement with
Japanese pharmaceuticals company,
Yoshindo Inc., for commercializing
bUstekinumab and bDenosumab, two of its
biosimilar assets in the pipeline, in the Japanese
market. As part of the agreement, Yoshindo will

V
oting ended on Monday in the Congress presidential poll as senior
leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor faced-off for the post of
AICC chief.
Over 9,000 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates form the electoral
college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot.
Voting began at 10 am at the AICC headquarters here and at the party’s
polling booths in state offices across the country.
As voting in the Congress presidential poll got underway, outgoing party
chief Sonia Gandhi said she had been waiting for a long time for this day.
Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came
together at the AICC headquarters and cast their vote.
When asked by reporters about the poll, Sonia Gandhi said, “I have been
waiting for a long time for this day.” Later, former prime minister Manmohan
Singh also cast his ballot in the poll at the party headquarters where the 68th
polling booth for the AICC presidential election was set up.
Gukesh’s 29-move dismantling of the world
champion comes a day after his 19-year-old
compatriot Arjun Erigaisi had posted a maiden
win over the world champion.
“Gukesh just became the youngest player to
ever beat Magnus after he became WC! Hats off
to the 16-Year-Old Indian superstar,” Meltwater
Champions Chess Tour, of which the Aimchess
Rapid event is a part of, said on its Twitter feed.
Gukesh is 16 years 4 months 20 days and the
previous record before his win was
R.Praggnanandhaa’s 39-move victory over
Carlsen in the Airthings Masters in February.
Pragg was 16 years 6 months and 10 days old
PTI Sonia Gandhi voted at AICC headquarters. PTI when he defeated the world No.1. PTI
get exclusive commercialization rights in Japan
for bUstekinumab and bDenosumab, developed
and manufactured by Biocon Biologics, for an
addressable market opportunity of over $700
million. Shreehas Tambe, deputy CEO, said,
“We are excited to partner with Yoshindo to
commercialize two of our pipeline biosimilar
products in Japan. This partnership is testament
to Biocon Biologics’ proven capabilities in R&D,
global scale manufacturing and quality
compliance.” Biocon Biologics will receive an
upfront licence fee as well as additional
payments on the achievement of certain
development milestones over the next few
years. PRIYANKA SHARMA

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REPORTaGE | TalKING POINTS | IDEaS | INSIGhT | ThE BOTTOmlINE

DERAILED IN THE
GREEN CORRIDOR
Why Kerala’s plan for train lines has run into opposition from Karnataka

Karnataka has rejected two proposed rail lines as they would pass through the Bandipur national park. MINT

Rajeev Ramachandran RunninG ouT of Roads as the Nilambur-Nanjangud railway line. Kerala officials argue this could have project had been put on hold, until the
feedback@livemint.com
kOcHi “F or a complete consumer state like The first survey for the line from
Kerala, which is nearing vehicle sat- Mysore to Wayanad was conducted in
uration on the highways, rail connectivity 1906 and a project report was submitted to
mint
SHORT
STORY
reduced the environmental and social
impacts to a minimum.
This was shot down by the Karnataka
states found a way to agree to it.
“The forest department of Karnataka
was never in approval of the Nilambur-

S
angeeth Raj, a 34-year-old engi- is a life-saver,” said advocate T.M. Rash- the railway board in 1920 after carrying government in the chief-minister-level Nanjangud project,” an officer in the Kar-
neer from Ponani, Malappuram eed, convenor of the Nilgiris-Wayanad NH out two more studies in 1917 and 1918. In discussions held on 18 September. nataka government forest department
district of Kerala, has been work- and railway action committee. this report, Sir J Izzat, the chief WHAT told Mint. Any sort of construction work,
ing with the Tata Consultancy Functional rail lines could engineer with the Railway GoinG off TRack be it underground or overhead, would
Kerala wants to build two rail
Services in Bengaluru for the last act as a corridor
12 years. Once or twice a month, he heads between Kochi and
home on one of the many private buses Bengaluru, reduc-
Thalassery-Mysuru
Nilambur-Mysuru
Mysuru
Board, had envisaged
this line as the link
between Bangalore
connections that connect it to
Karnataka, in order to ease
I t was a big strategic error on the part of
Kerala,” said advocate Rasheed.
“The government should have pressed
have drastically impacted the ecological
balance of the fragile region. The chief
wildlife conservator of Karnataka submit-
plying between Malappuram and Benga- ing travel time and and Kochi, to be pressure off its roads. But for the Nilambur-Nanjangud line which ted a report in this regard back in 2017
luru—and returns the same way. A train speeding up completed in its neighbouring state has had been sanctioned by the Union gov- itself, said the official.
journey from Kuttippuram, the rail station movement of three phases. rejected both projects. ernment instead of pushing for the Tha- The latest of the railway projects pro-
nearest his home, to Bengaluru will take 12 essential goods KERALA The project lassery-Mysuru line. It is a well- known posed, the Kanhangad- Kaniyur line too,
hours, cutting across two states – Shornur and commodi- stalled in the fact that the Karnataka government would met with the same fate. The line connect-
in Kerala, Salem and Hosur in Tamil Nadu ties from neigh- Thalassery 1930s when the WHY not accede to any proposal touching their ing Kasaragod and Dakshin Kannada dis-
—before finally entering Karnataka. A bus bouring states. Kalpetta KARNATAKA
British stopped wildlife sanctuaries. It would have been tricts passes through the Sullia region,
journey, though a hell ride, takes only Not only that, investing in rail- The rail lines will pass through harder for them to reject the Nilambur home to the Kukke Subramanya temple—
eight-and-a-half hours. “There are thou- with the Interna- way projects in Karnataka’s famous wildlife line,” said Rasheed. another ecologically sensitive region.
sands of Malayalis working in Bengaluru, tional Container India as part of their sanctuaries Bandipur and The matter could have been taken up But P. Karunakaran, the former MP of
Nilambur Nagarhole. Officials and
and most of them travel this way. For all of Trans-shipment Ter- exit plan. with the Centre if there was any opposi- Kasaragod and CPM leader, said Karna-
us, a shorter rail route to Bengaluru would minal (ICTT) in Kochi It took another six dec- environmental activists have tion from Karnataka, he said. “We feel the taka’s opposition is new. “When we carried
be ideal,” said Sangeeth. being fully operational, a ades for the project to get warned of ecological damage. state government had taken a negative out the initial survey for the project, I had
On 18 September 2022, Kerala chief shorter route to Bengaluru would back on track when O. Rajagopal, position towards the Nilambur-Nanjan- personally met the Karnataka leaders,
minister Pinarayi Vijayan met his Karna- benefit cargo movement big time. “Rail the BJP leader from Kerala who repre- gud rail project at the behest of some including former chief ministers Siddara-
taka counterpart BR Bommai at the lat- movement involves lower logistics costs sented Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, ALSO vested interests in Thalassery and Kan- maiah and Sadananda Gowda. None of
ter’s residence in Bengaluru. And on the and improved supply chain efficiency in became the minister of state for railways nur,” added Rasheed. Opposition parties them was against the project.”
agenda were two proposed rail links any given circumstance,” said a port offi- in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led govern- The rejection of this plan is one allege that the Left government has side-
between the states—these would have cial. ment of 1999. more setback to Kerala chief lined the Nilambur line in favour of the Beyond BiG pRojecTs
minister Pinarayi Vijayan, whose
shortened the distance between Kochi For instance, the Vallarpadam rail link, A project revision was carried out a few
and Bengaluru and helped commuters a 4.63-km long bridge, constructed in 2011 years later by the Delhi Metro Rail Corpo-
like Sangeeth. But Karnataka rejected exclusively for transporting containers to ration headed by E Sreedharan. The state
plan to construct a high-speed
Silverline rail project is facing
Thalassery-Mysuru connection. Thalas-
sery is the home turf of chief minister E verybody, including politicians on both
sides of the border, knows these pro-
Vijayan. The Nilambur-Nanjangud line jects are non-starters. Yet they are working
both, Bommai told reporters later. and from the ICTT remains underutilized government had expressed its willingness resistance at home. passes through a UDF stronghold, Waya- on fresh alignments and even bigger pro-
According to the Kar- for this reason, even to share 50% of the total cost with the nad Lok Sabha constitu- jects. It’s high time we
nataka chief minister, though transporting Indian Railways and subsequently the cal impact on an unimaginable scale,” ency, which is now rep- start thinking of better
the proposed railway The railway projects will containers via rail route project found its way to the “pink book” of Muthanna said. He also warned against resented by Congress Functional rail lines could alternatives than huge
lines—from Kasaragod involve felling thousands of is more economical, said sanctioned projects of the Indian railways the rail line’s impact on the demography leader Rahul Gandhi. act as a corridor between railway projects across
to Dakshin Kannada, at the same official. A in 2016-17. of this ecologically sensitive district, Former DMRC chief mountains and woods,”
an estimated cost of trees in the rain catchment shorter route to Benga- DMRC was asked to draft a detailed which might endanger indigenous com- Sreedharan too blames Kochi and Bengaluru, said M. Kamal, a Waya-
₹1,200 crore, and the area of the Cauvery luru, where the Inland project report, which failed to materialize munities. “There is excellent road con- the LDF government for reducing travel time and nad-based journalist.
second from Mysuru to Container Depot is due to alleged political differences nectivity between the two states and we “deliberately sabotag- “All of these projects
Thalassery (at over basin, say activists in located, would definitely between the Left government and Sreed- request Kerala not to push for these pro- ing” the Nilambur- speeding up movement of are only on paper. No
₹5,000 crore)—run give a much needed haran. Subsequently, the agency was jects, which could cause devastating Nanjangud project. real study—on either
through eco-sensitive Kodagu, Karnataka. boost to inter-state trade. taken off from the project. The study was effects on us,” he added. Both Nilambur- “Kerala sabotaged the essential goods. feasibility or environ-
zones in Karnataka. The freight move- then handed over to the joint venture Nanjangud and Thalassery-Mysuru lines project to push for the mental impact—has
Bommai did not mention it but the Karna- ment from Kerala via railways has been company formed between the rail minis- would have passed through Kodagu. CM’s choice,” alleged Sreedharan in a been carried out yet, except for the initial
taka government had also shown zero steadily on the rise. According to available try and the Kerala government—Kerala In keeping with the opposition, Kerala media statement. surveys. It would not be proper to com-
interest in an older proposal for a railway data from the Southern Railway, the Thir- Railway Development Corporation Ltd, went back to the table to revise the pro- ment on the merit of the matter, without
route connecting Nilambur in Malappu- uvananthapuram and Palakkad railway popularly known as K-Rail. posal. According to a letter written by The GReen aRGumenT even having a projection of environmen-
ram to Nanjangud in Mysuru. divisions in Kerala handled more than In 2016-17, a proposal for a Thalassery-
“We are sister states. But the three rail- 1,150 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in the Mysuru railway line picked up momentum
way projects will pass through national first two months of the current financial when the Left Democratic Front (LDF) gov-
Vijayan to Bommai before the most recent
meeting, the new plan would have taken
care of environmental concerns. It pro-
B ut those making this argument ignore tal impact,” says Hareesh Vasudevan, law-
how contentious the proposal was in yer and environmental activist.
Karnataka. The former Congress-led gov- The rejection from the Karnataka gov-
parks, tiger sanctuaries and elephant year, of which 560 mt was handled by Pal- ernment led by Vijayan gave it a go-ahead. posed that the train line would cut ernment in Karnataka had given approval ernment garners more significance as it
sanctuaries. We have to weigh the benefit akkad division in the month of May alone. But the protests were swift and vocal in Kar- through Nagarhole and Bandipur national for an initial survey but there was a string comes when Kerala chief minister Vijayan
for Karnataka passengers against the envi- In the last financial year, when rail freight nataka, especially in Kodagu district, which parks—Karnataka’s showcase wildlife des- of protests in Kodagu district. has been trying to rope in neighbouring
ronmental challenges due to the project,” was still reeling from the impact of the has resisted a rail line till now. tinations—but through an underground Political leaders of the likes of BJP’s states to mobilise support for the LDF’s
said Bommai. covid pandemic, the figure was roughly “The proposed railway lines between tunnel and subsequently through Krish- Pratap Simha, who is MP of Mysuru, had prize high-speed Silverline rail project,
The official response from the govern- 700mt. This is a clear indication of the Kerala and Karnataka are nothing but a harajapura and H.D. Kote of Mysuru dis- made it clear that they would not allow the connecting Thiruvananthapuram and
ment of Kerala was cautious; it said the potential rail freight traffic from the state. waste of money,” said Colonel C.P. Mut- trict, across the river Kabini. project at any cost. He had even termed Kasargod, which faces stiff opposition
projects are still under consideration, sub- hanna, a Kodagu-based environmentalist Not just that, Kerala also proposed join- Kerala’s move to go ahead with the project domestically for its potential ecological
ject to further discussions between the The old TRacks and the president of the Coorg Wildlife ing two alignments. The Nilambur-Nan- unconstitutional as the fundamental impact. The Union government is yet to
two states and the Union government.
But why do these rail lines matter to I n all, three rail lines have been proposed Society which opposed the plan. “The rail-
between the two regions. One of the old- way projects will involve felling thousands
Kerala? And how likely are they to see the est was a British plan to connect Malabar of trees in the rain catchment area of the
jangud and Thalassery-Mysuru lines
would converge at Kalpetta in Wayanad
district and take a common gateway to
rights of the people of South Kodagu give its assent to the project. Vijayan had
would have been severely affected. Even- proposed an extension of Silverline to
tually, in 2018, railway minister Piyush Mangaluru. The Karnataka chief minis-
light of day? and Bangalore via Mysore, what is known Cauvery basin, which could cause ecologi- Karnataka, proceeding as a single line. Goyal had said in Parliament that the ter’s no-go has cast a shadow over that too.
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NeW Delhi 11

Cause for concern: How inflation POWER

POINT
eats into your investment returns AZEEM AHMAD

We welcome your views and comments at

mintmoney@livemint.com

OUTPERFORMANCE
The costs of your financial goals increase at a faster rate, lowering the benefits that you get from investments
OF INDIAN EQUITIES
Satya Sontanam
Satya.sontanam@livemint.com
Residential real estate property has
been the worst performer with nega-
tive RRR during the 3-5 year period.
Reality check SET TO CONTINUE
Real rate of returns give a fair picture of inflation-adjusted returns. Equity—domestic or global—is a proven asset

W
hat is inflation? class that can deliver meaningful inflation-beating returns in the long run. Gold's ability to hedge against inflation is
This is one of the EQUITY: THE WINNER under debate; the purpose of debt is to just provide stability to the portfolio. Country weight in MSCI EM Index
questions that
seems to have per- E quity is s proven asset class that
can beat inflation in the long run
turbed internet as companies have the ability to pass
What is a real rate of return?
Return calculated after 1+ nominal rate Or, simply,
In last 20 months, India's weight in the index has gone up by
over 700 bps to 15%, which is the second highest.
Real return = -1 50 Dec 2020 Sep 2022 (in %)
users recently— It has seen a signifi- on the costs to their customers. In the adjusting for inflation 1 + inflation rate (actual rate of return - inflation rate) 43.2
cant increase in internet searches 5-year and 10-year time frames, the 40
across the world this year, as per Con- equity asset class represented by Most asset classes delivered negative real returns in the last one year 31.4
sumer Insights from Google. Nifty 50 has delivered real returns of Gold in rupee terms generated positive real return, but not in dollar terms 30
For the uninitiated, inflation is the 8-10%. “The pricing power exists with (Return in %) 23.1
20 19.7
rate of increase in prices of goods and the providers of the products we use. 15.3
-9.7 Nifty 500 TRI 12.7 13.8 11.9 10.7
services over a period of time. The When the costs of these products go With CPI 10 8.2
increased supply of money put in cir- up, it’s only natural that the source of inflation at -9.05 Nifty 50 TRI 4.4 5.8
culation by global central banks dur- inflation protection is likely to be 7.41% -2.4 Debt investment at 5% interest 0
in the last year China India Taiwan South Korea Brazil Other
ing the pandemic to save economies equities,” said Vishal Dhawan, Gold in ₹ 1.4 Source: Bloomberg, MSCI & Moneycontrol
from the covid-19 crisis has led to a founder & CEO of Plan Ahead Wealth
spike in costs, both globally and Advisors. -1.9 Residential property*

U
domestically. Within equities, investors must -15.9 International equity (S&P 500 Index)# nparalleled bids on interest rates and a strong dollar have
While a moderate inflation rate is focus on companies with higher CPI: Consumer Price Index; as on 30 September 2022; *RBI All India House Price Index - return from September 2021 to June 2022 annualised; #in ₹ terms triggered a simultaneous decline of more than 10% each
good for an economy, elevated levels earning potential, said Anish Teli, in global bonds and equities–the first ever in history.
are considered harmful. founder of QED Capital Advisors. “As Real return matters CPI inflation rates in While the bears suggest that this is an accident or a policy mistake
At an individual level, higher infla- long as the earnings are growing, An example India in the past made by central banks. the bulls believe that bulk of this is dis-
tion leaves lower money for savings despite volatility, it will generate counted by the precipitous decline in risk-free and risky assets.
10
and discretionary spending after returns in the long run”, he added. Risks are still abundant and a few recent instances include the
household expenses. Further, it also Further, having an international Bank of England action in UK Gilts, bid on credit default swaps
impacts the returns on your invest- equity exposure in the portfolio has 8 (CDS) of systematically important banks. The widening of
ments negatively. gained traction in the last few years TAKE monthly ONE month of 50,000 1-month Forward Rate Agreement - Overnight Index Swap (FRA-
expenses of expenses set aside invested in an FD at
And hence the phrase ‘inflation and an asset allocation without that is ₹50,000 as emergency fund 5% interest per annum OIS) Spread is indicative of dislocations. Hence, a debate on hard
eats into your returns’. This implies considered incomplete. As per the 6 versus soft landing is hysterical and most are betting on the
5.5
that the benefits from your invest- data on historical returns, interna- former, especially for key economies like the UK & EU.
ments, despite earning decent tional equity represented by S&P 500 4
Indian markets continued to display resilience (12% decline in
returns, come down if the costs also Index has outperformed both in dollar terms), even when key Emerging Market Index (MSCI-EM
increase at a faster rate terms of NRR and RRR. Index) has fallen 30% year-to-date. Even though the risk of rupee
due to inflation. INCREASED cost of MATURITY amount AFTER one year, say,
it is important for Kalpen Parekh, MD & expenses after a of investment in 2022; you need to use
2 depreciation-driven imported inflation, coupled with material
For example, say you CEO at DSP Mutual Deficit current account deficit deterioration or domestic food inflation
investors to ₹1,000 year; ₹53,500 ₹52,500 emergency funds
plan to go on a holiday understand the Fund, said that he cate- (with inflation of 7%) (with interest) (food has 55% weight in Indian CPI), remain, most of these are
0
next year and start sav- real rate of gorises international FY13 FY22 already moderately priced by rates and equity markets.
ing every month to cre- equity, too, under the On a top-down assessment, among the major economies, India
returns for
ate a corpus of ₹1 lakh. In equity bucket. “Over a Staying long-term in equity ensures inflation-beating returns is the only one expected to grow at 6% in CY23 and has one of the
the next year, if the costs effective financial very long period of time, Despite recent outperformance, gold generated subdued returns in the long run
High risk - high reward lowest negative real rates (policy rate – inflation rate) of minus
also go up at a faster rate planning global equity returns Volatility of an asset class plays a huge role 120 bps versus more than minus 500 bps in key developed mar-
CAGR (in %) Nominal return Real return in selecting an asset class and its weightage
than expected, you may will end up matching 3-years 5-years 10-years
kets. This is coupled with the mid-cycle spoils of rising tax collec-
in the portfolio
have to shell out more that of Indian equities tion, rising credit growth and improving capacity utilization .
Domestic equity 15.8 15.2 14.1 22.4
money to enjoy the vacation you and vice-versa. Because of some tem- 25 Standard deviation It is a promising scenario for mid-cycle plays like banking, cyc-
(Nifty 50) 10.1 10.4 8.3 19.4 based on 5-year
wanted, or you may have to compro- porary cyclical factors, there are years licals and consumption. Banking,
20 returns as of
mise on a few of the experiences. when global equities outperform Debt 6.7 6.3 9.3 August 2021 (in %) Indian markets which is one-third of stock market cap
Thus, it is very important to under- Indian equities and there are times investment* 1.0 1.5 3.5
15
are displaying weight, is coming out from a clean-up.
stand inflation-adjusted returns, oth- when it looks cheaper. I compare Asset quality issues have ebbed, and
erwise called the real rate of returns both of them only to decide which is Gold in ₹
17.3 12.4 6.4
10 7 resilience even the sector is seeing credit growth
(RRR), for effective financial plan- relatively cheaper to invest. For 11.6 7.6 0.6 5 2.1 1.7 as MSCI-EM resurging to the best in last five years
ning. The actual rate of return before example, now is a good time to invest Residential 2.8 3.8 8.1 0
Equity Gold Currency Bonds FD
Index fell 30% because of retail and MSME. Price per-
adjusting for inflation is called the in global equities, which have cor- property** -2.9 -1 2.3 risk ($/) year-to-date formance-wise, banking has still not
nominal rate of return (NMR). The rected 20-25%, while Indian equities Equity - BSE Sensex; Gold rate in Mumbai as released
fared as well as key sectors like IT and
real rate can be calculated by simply remained flat,” Parekh added. International equity 22.6 19.7 19.2 by RBI, Currency - INR USD rate, Bonds - G -sec, auto. With credit growth picking up to
subtracting the inflation rate from the (S&P 500 Index)# 16.9 14.9 13.4 FD - Long term deposit rates of five major banks
16% and loan growth to be around 13-14% in FY23-24, the banking
Standard deviation of FD is the change in FD rates
NMR. DEBT: A STABILIZER As on 31 March 2022; SBI deposit rates; **RBI All India House Price Index; #in rupee terms universe is expected to deliver 41% y-o-y growth in net profit.
We looked at the real rate of
returns that asset classes such as W e cannot expect significant
inflation-beating returns from
equity (including international), debt, the fixed-income segment. As per
Source: QED Capital Advisors, pib.gov.in, mutual fund factsheets, RBI website, Budget documents, Historical Nominal and
Real Asset Returns in India by Rajan Raju
GRAPHIC: PARAS JAIN/MINT
Auto and consumer discretionary that typically does well in
mid cycle, especially with India per capita income rising beyond
$2,000, is in the reckoning as well. Both these sectors were under
gold and real estate delivered in India historical data, real returns from FDs margin duress. While auto sector is likely to see margin improve-
in the short and long run. have been only 1-3%. with a higher return potential than extreme volatility, say experts. ing said that, it’s absolutely fine to buy ment of 300bps, coupled with strong volume growth (aided by
In the last one year, all asset classes, “Whether you’re making an ade- FDs a property for non-financial reasons. low base effects of Q2FY22), weakening global macros can limit
except gold, delivered negative RRR quate real return on debt or not, your REAL ESTATE: LOW RRR Life is not an excel spreadsheet,” said the magnitude of price performance. On the consumer discre-
as the inflation rate was higher than portfolio must have debt invest-
the investment returns (see table). ments, which will allow you to take
Gold, in rupee terms, could generate risks when investing in equity, which
GOLD: A DIVERSIFIER

G old, for long, has been consid-

ered a hedge against inflation.
I n India, real estate has been the
preferred asset class of investment
for years. However, it has not been a
Saraogi.
He further added that the argu-
ment for commercial real estate is dif-
tionary side, companies are expected to take price cuts and
thereby boost volumes in 2H of FY23.
The most compelling story comes from resilient fund flows. On
positive RRR only due to deprecia- will actually generate higher RRRs. But for many experts, gold is more of great performer. In the 10-year ferent. “For people, who want to the domestic money flow, while the role of SIPs is well docu-
tion in the rupee; gold in dollar terms Debt provides stability to the portfo- a diversifier than a hedging asset. period, as per the All India House invest in real estate, investments in mented (average ₹12,000 crore per month in the last four
delivered negative RRR as well as lio during market turbulence,” said This precious metal, which is con- Price Index of the Reserve Bank of Reits (real estate investment trusts) is months), the role of retirement fund allocation (the average
NRR, bringing into question its abil- Ravi Saraogi, co-founder of Samas- sidered a safe haven during times of India, the real return from the asset a better alternative.” equity ETF flow was ₹15,000 crore) is still not well understood,
ity to hedge against inflation. thiti Advisors. economic crisis has a long market was just 2.3% CAGR. as these are stable pools of money that will continue to come in.
In the long run, equity (including According to Parekh, a 70:30 cycle compared to equity, according The index has been calculated CONCLUSION Additionally, FII money flow also has witnessed a tectonic shift.
international stocks) obviously has equity: debt portfolio, with periodical
been the only asset class with mean- rebalancing to retain the weights as
ingful RRR. The real returns from is, will generate returns similar to
to Saraogi from Samasthiti. That is
reflected in the 10-year return from
the asset which has been just 6.4%,
based on data received from the
housing registration authorities in 10
major cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
E arning a negative real rate of
return on investments can erode
one’s purchasing power in the long
In the last 20 months, the weight of India in MSCI EM Index has
increased by over 700 bps to 15%, while that of China has reduced
by over 1,200 bps. With more than 90% of the FII money flow for
debt (fixed deposits, or FDs) are only equity but with volatility levels closer with real return even lower at 1%. Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, run. Paying attention to the expected India coming from EM dedicated funds, peaking out of interest
in the range of 1-3 % per annum, indi- to debt. “It is an emergency asset class in a Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Mum- RRR and using estimates of future rates and a stronger dollar is likely to trigger strong inflows into
cating that it only protects the capital. One way to enhance real returns portfolio, and behaves very well when bai). inflation, can help you decide how India. Additionally, India boasts of a profitable and clean banking
It may beat inflation marginally but from debt is to invest in instruments everything else doesn’t because of its “The rental yield in India hovers much to save and how to make an system in the EM space—the largest sector in MSCI-EM Index.
not significantly. Gold, despite bouts with credit risk (other than G-secs negative correlation with other around 3% with not much capital appropriate asset allocation, with due To sum up, even if the western world stock indices remain dis-
of intermittent outperformance, has and including debt instruments assets,” said Dhawan. A 5-10% expo- appreciation. If someone is buying a consideration to one’s risk appetite located, the India story will stay the course and recover faster.
been a laggard in the 10-year period issued by companies), said Dhawan. sure to gold could provide some property to make tremendous and inherent volatility of each asset Azeem Ahmad is head & principal officer, LICMF PMS. The views
with the least RRR of less than 1%. This is a slightly high-risk investment strength to the portfolio during returns, I think, that is not right. Hav- class. expressed here are personal.

Returns on my investments How is my UAE investment taxed in India?

Building a portfolio is a complex exercise, and it has to be maintained, too. A person’s portfolio holds different types of assets
based on his/her financial goals, and each asset class gives different types of returns, which is why a portfolio must have an ideal ISTOCK
mix of financial products. One must also keep in mind the volatility risk of the asset class, liquidity, lock-in rules and taxation. Archit Gupta interest on non-resident
Here's a look at how four commonly used asset types—equity, cash, gold and fixed income—have done in different periods. external (NRE) account be
I am a 40-year-old male exempt under the act?
Returns (in %) working in India and want —Name withheld on request

14re.tu8rn7th%at Equity (Sensex) Cash (liquid fund)

to invest in setting up a
company in Dubai. Will Usually, people who visit
Gold Fixed income (fixed deposit) this attract any tax in India temporarily and do not
The
s given India? Do we have a double intend to reside here perma-
Sensex ha -year 14.87 taxation avoidance agree- nently, may continue to claim
over a 3 ment (DTAA) with UAE? exemption on interest earned
period 12.3 11.98 —Name withheld on request from their NRE account.
11.31 Their status will also be that
9.62 Making an investment in of a non-resident, or resident
8.5 Dubai will not have any but not ordinarily resident for
7.39
6.25 6.25 6.65 income tax implication as tax purposes. Unless they
5.0 5.13 4.90 such. However, certain com- ASK MINT and regulations, depends decide to permanently reside
4.06 3.86 pliances will have to be met for m NRI TA X AT I O N mainly on the business in India, they may continue
rules laid out by the Reserve requirements. The legal form claiming exemption on inter-
Bank of India and FEMA (For- of the business must match the est on NRE account.
-5.52 eign Exchange Management The setting up of the com- business activity. Yes, we have Archit Gupta is founder and
Act) since the money is being pany in Dubai will be governed a DTAA with the UAE. CEO at Clear.in.
sent abroad. in accordance with the laws of
You may also need to con- UAE in the particular format If a permanent resident Do you have a personal
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS sider the LRS (Liberal Remit- or nature of organization that of a foreign country, who is finance query? Send in your
tance Scheme) for this situa- it allows for non-residents of also a non-resident as per queries at
Data as on 14 October. Equity is the benchmark Sensex return (price); cash refers to the average return for liquid funds category as defined by
Valueresearchonline; gold refers to domestic gold prices available on Valueresearchonline; and fixed income is historic SBI fixed deposit rates. tion. Once a return on invest- that country. FEMA, stays in India for mintmoney@livemint.com
All returns are annualized. and get them answered by
ment is received, then there A legal form, the basis for more than 182 days, will the
PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: BSE, SBI, Value Research industry experts.
will be a tax implication. identifying applicable laws income received by him as
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 12 TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
NeW DelhI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW THEIR VIEW

AP

What will the Indian economy’s

growth rate be in the years ahead?
Expect reforms and digital adoption to boost India’s economy after the effects of one-off shocks pass

cial system was undergoing balance
sheet repair, as was the corporate sector.
Debt levels had to be brought down. But,
beneath these issues, many structural
reforms were quietly afoot. Interest rates
were deregulated. Several government-
owned entities were privatized and
many of them have been performing far
better since then. Further, infrastructure
V. ANANthA NAgeSwArAN improvements began to be taken up in
is chief economic advisor to the the right earnest, with the announce-
Government of India ment of the Golden Quadrilateral project
of national highways, symbolizing
India’s focus on physical infrastructure.
duced in 2017 is maturing well. It deliv-
ers more than tax revenues for the states
and Union government. The Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code was introduced.
The Real Estate Regulation Act was
passed, and this sector is becoming less
cash-based. Privatization has made a
comeback. The government streamlined
and lowered direct taxes for businesses
and individuals. India’s public digital
infrastructure (India Stack) appears to
have crossed an inflexion point. It is
beginning to improve access to finance
for individuals and businesses and open

The Xi remix of China’s

However, these reforms did not mani- up growth opportunities for the latter.
fest themselves in higher economic Providing time and space for the private

T
he week that went by was of the growth as they were overshadowed by sector to repair balance sheets, the gov-
World Bank-International Mone- the temporary shocks detailed above. ernment ramped up capital spending.
tary Fund (IMF) annual meetings. Also, economic policies always operate Public investment spending grew 2.8

economy will be pivotal The IMF updated its growth forecasts

for the global economy and individual
countries. The estimates are sombre and
downside risks dominate. For India, it
with a lag. Eventually, sanctions eased,
droughts receded and balance sheets
became healthier. Infrastructure
improvements began to contribute to
times between 2015-16 and 2021-22.
Over the last two years, these meas-
ures have been overshadowed by one-off
shocks. As the impact of these shocks
has lowered its gross domestic product more significant economic activity. fades—as is the case with the pandemic
(GDP) growth forecast for 2022-23 to When a global boom started in 2003 on shock on India’s economy—growth out-
After decades of fast growth, Beijing risks a policy stumble over a shift in roles played by the 6.8% from 7.4%. Yet, India is growing the back of China’s admission to the comes will begin to reflect the cumula-
faster than other nations in the G20 World Trade Organization and synchro- tive effects of these reforms and other
state and market. This might impact its regional clout as much as our Indo-Pacific security except for Saudi Arabia. In 2023-24, nized interest rate reductions in the structural economic developments. The
according to IMF, India’s GDP is likely to developed world, India was ready to par- private sector will begin to invest in right
grow 6.1%, the highest in the G20. ticipate. Indian economic growth was earnest. It has already started to stir. It
In general, India’s trend growth is esti- between 8% and 9% between 2003 and can add 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points to

T
he 20th congress of the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) underway
in Beijing is under watch for a fait
accompli in a third term for Xi Jin-
ping as supreme leader, but it’s the
fate of the US-set world order as
China rises to power that frames the context of
global interest. Xi, whose grip has tightened
over the past decade, has taken on a daring risk
in striking a path apart from his post-Mao pre-
decessors. Enabled by China’s economic emer-
gence, he dumped Deng Xiaoping’s old dictum
of “Hide your strength, bide your time” on
the external front, even as he displayed an
ideological bent on “socialism with Chinese
characteristics for a new era” at home, cap-
tured best by his call for “common prosperity”.
Within the CCP, these policy shifts would have
been easier to explain than Deng’s adoption of
‘capitalist tools’ in the late 1970s, held up back
then as just a means to achieve socialist ends.
Today’s China is not communist. It does not
insist on state ownership of the means of pro-
duction to enforce either an earnest or puppet-
plan to contain China militarily seems to have a mated to be closer to 6% by many inter- 2008. As the subsequent banking crisis Indian growth, as would developments
new spearhead in the form of Aukus, an alli- national organizations. In the current showed, high economic growth resumed on the digital front, pushing growth to
global context and many likely scenarios in 2009, but was unsustainable. between 6.5% and 7.0%. If external
ance Washington has with Australia and the for the rest of the decade, it would be an Fast forward to between 2018 and demand turns favourable, at least in
UK that envisions submarine patrols in the achievement if real GDP growth in India 2022. In general, in the second half of some years, the growth outcome could
region. In focus are the waters around Taiwan, averages 6% and nominal GDP growth the last decade, India’s actual economic reach 8% and beyond.
a supplier of high-end digital chips that could averages 10% to 11%. But India can and growth was below its potential. The Therefore, there is a case for optimism
be the flashpoint of a conflict between China will likely do better. explanation is not far to seek. Financial overlaid with vigilance. Premature cele-
India’s average annual real growth sector stress coming on the back of a brations are avoidable. History, includ-
and the West. What Beijing calls a rebel prov- could be between 6.5% and 7.0% rather credit boom always leads to a long period ing ours, cautions against that. Risks are
ince, the US wants left alone to rule itself and than close to 6%. I make this case based of slower economic growth. India’s plenty. For one, being a global economic
hold elections. This stand-off grew tense in the on the remarkable parallel that the years banking, non-banking and non-financial power could elevate geopolitical risks.
run-up to the CCP congress, where Xi spoke of between 2018 (or 2016) and 2022 have corporate sectors had to fix balance There is no trade-off between economic
“complete reunification of the motherland” in with those between 1998 and 2002. sheets and shore up their equity. By the stability and economic growth beyond a
In 1998, India tested a nuclear device time this process was completed, the year. Stability warrants as much atten-
a speech hailing the country’s escape from and faced sanctions. There were two pandemic had struck, followed by a geo- tion as growth in these globally fraught
extreme poverty, justifying its ‘zero-covid’ successive droughts. A technology political shock and a synchronized tight- times. Delayed gratification will bring
curbs and rousing party members to back his investment boom ended and there was a ening of global financial conditions. lasting growth dividends. If we keep
agenda, among other things. Unless covid dis- recession in many countries in 2001. But, beneath these shocks, India’s plugging away as we have been since
content erupts into an unlikely uprising Then, 9/11 happened, creating fresh geo- structural reforms have proceeded 2014, economic results will speak for
political uncertainties. The Indian finan- apace. The goods and services tax intro- themselves, as they’ve already begun to.
against an autocracy that keeps people under
Orwellian control, the space China will get to
reshape global rules may well depend on its
economic success or failure from here on.
The Xi remix of China’s economy has meant
a sharp statist turn. While regulatory action in
China’s realty, credit and fintech sectors may www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Thursday, October 18, 2012 Vol.6 No.249 `3.00 in Delhi­NCR/`4.00 outside Delhi­NCR
+ 8 PAGES MEDIA +MARKETING
4 MARKETS
24 PAGES
24 PAGES + 4 MARKETS PAGES
INITIATIVE
PAGES

show version of “from each according to their have been needed to keep the perils of runa- WSJ: Obama, Romney tangle
in fractious debate >19
CORPORATE: HCL September quarter
profit jumps 78% to `885 cr >9

abilities and to each according to their needs”. way lending in check, it shook markets and EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
SPORTS: Deccan Chronicle seeks reprieve
for Deccan Chargers >8
AVIATION: Airfares may shoot up as winter
flights down 19% >6

But its covid-hit economy has lost pace after a stoked fears of a crackdown on private enter- SENSEX 18,610.77 Æ 33.07

REFARMING PROPOSAL
NIFTY 5,660.25 Æ 12.25

HIT LIST
DOLLAR `52.87 ® EURO `69.38 Æ `0.37 GOLD `30,950 Æ `150

QUICK EDIT
OIL $113.13 æ $1.47

Spectrum shift: Vadra, Khurshid, Gadkari... Lawless

nearly four-decade-long roar and risks stalling prise (think of Jack Ma’s Ant story) to reassert costs may rise
who will Kejriwal target next?
MOHD ZAKIR/HINDUSTAN TIMES
speech
I t is not unusual for
politicians to get upset

Our demographic
B Y A NUJA & L IZ M ATHEW at constant needling by
························· their rivals. Most take

for older telcos

NEW DELHI such matters in their

for other reasons too. the ruling party’s clout. After reducing its role,
Panel for replacing
900MHz band spectrum
with 1800MHz band
W hy are we doing this?” stride and move on.
Arvind Kejriwal asked On Tuesday night,
while answering a question Salman Khurshid, the
during a press conference or- law minister of India,
commission had said the move ganized by his India Against finally lost patience at
would result in the network in-
frastructure of incumbents be-
Corruption (IAC) campaign
that disclosed instances of an
Arvind Kejriwal, who has
levelled charges at the
coming redundant, forcing them alleged land-grab by Bharatiya functioning of a trust

dividend must get

once licences of telcos to make substantial investments Janata Party (BJP) president that Khurshid and his

China’s policy bets will have a bearing on the big Chinese state is clearly back, riding on
in new equipment if they failed Nitin Gadkari. wife are associated with.
come up for renewal to win back spectrum in the It was a rhetorical question, “I have been made the
900MHz auctions. The note also but true to style, Kejriwal in- law minister and asked
B Y S HAUVIK G HOSH said that if all spectrum was re- sisted on answering it. to work with the pen. I
shauvik.g@livemint.com farmed, the 900MHz auction “They are all the same,” he will work with the pen,
························· would get maximum participa- said, referring to political par- but also with blood,” he
NEW DELHI ties and rattling of the names said in a thinly veiled
tion and earnings for the govern-

T he Telecom Commission,
India’s highest telecom
ment.
The operators have pegged the
of several, the BJP, the Con-
gress, the Samajwadi Party, the
warning as his
supporters cheered him

how this century’s geopolitics unfolds, and the rhetoric of common lives and a less uneven
policy-making body, has investments becoming redun- Bahujan Samaj Party, the on. He added, “Let them

recommended that all spectrum
in the 900 megahertz (MHz)
band held by older operators—
including Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vo-
dafone India Ltd and Idea Cel-
lular Ltd—be taken back and re-
placed with spectrum in the
1800MHz band once their li-
digital strength.
dant, due to re-farming, at more Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, come to Farrukhabad
than `1.5 trillion. the All India Anna Dravida and visit Farrukhabad.
COAI cited a study on re-farm- Munnetra Kazhagam. “Part of But let him also return
ing by telecom strategy analysis the same family.” from Farrukhabad.”
firm Analysys Mason that said And he, Kejriwal insisted, Such language is the
operators with 900MHz band isn’t. preserve of the goon and
will need to replace 286,590 base Thanks to blanket coverage does grave discredit to
stations and install an additional by television channels—the the law minister of

effort it would take for India to help keep the society. Some foreign investors are put off,
cences come up for renewal, po-
tentially leading to a significant
increase in costs for them.
The affected operators, how-
ever, will have the opportunity to
bid for the spectrum in an auc-
tion next year, before their re-
newal date (in late 2014).
The government will auction
171,954 to provide equivalent India. No provocation
coverage on 1800MHz. TURN TO PAGE 3® can justify such
This would result in an incre- expressions. One can say
mental capital expenditure of ALSO SEE what one wants in
`54,739 crore and incremental > TALKING MEDIA: Media after Kejriwal
private, but in public,
annual operating expenditure of >P10 such remarks are
`11,762 crore. The Analysys Ma- Setting the agenda: Arvind Kejriwal during the press conference in New >Ourview: Halfway activism is not enough inexcusable.
son study further said that this Delhi on Wednesday. >P22

Indo-Pacific free and open for trade. Although giving India a chance to lure their business, but
the spectrum that will become
available in the first half of next
year and has also kept enough
spectrum in the 1800MHz band
available in case telcos, affected
by re-farming, fail to win the lost
spectrum in the auction, depart-
ment of telecommunications
we may need to erect better defences in the many have stayed put. Yet, Xi’s remix of roles
(DoT) officials said on condition
of anonymity.
The older GSM operators reit-
erated their opposition to the
move.
“Spectrum refarming in
900MHz band is against con-
sumer, industry as well as the
national interest and one that is
additional expenditure would
lead to overall tariffs rising by
around 64 paise per minute and
operators would have to write off
their existing 900MHz assets at Sale of pledged TRADE DYNAMICS
an estimated cost of `22,310
shares touches Syria, Turkey crisis spices up
N A R E N D R A MOD I
crore.
The GSM operators have also
said that the re-farming policy `600 cr, an
cumin exports from India
could impact network coverage
by as much as 40% in some are-
as, affecting some 70-80 million
all­time high
subscribers.
Bharti Airtel shares ended B Y A NIRUDH L ASKAR, B Y M AULIK P ATHAK largest producer after India,
trading on BSE at `270.15, up V YAS M OHAN & maulik.p@livemint.com
CROP PATTERN starts in June-July. The country
0.93%, while Idea Cellular closed J OEL R EBELLO ·························  Cumin accounts for 7-8% of has about 22,000-23,000
at `80.70, down 0.49%, on a day ························· AHMEDABAD
tonnes of cumin in the fields,
India’s total spice exports.
the benchmark Sensex closed at MUMBAI

T P rashant Shah, head of sales

 Last year, it exported 45,500
but could ship only 2,000

Himalayas against Chinese aggression, the assigned to the state and market represents a
discriminatory for the GSM in-
dustry,” the Cellular Operators
Association of India (COAI), the
primary lobby group of the GSM
operators, said in a release on
Wednesday.
The statement further said the
move was “tantamount to forci-
ble dislodgment of a legitimate
18,610.77 points, up 0.18%.
The 900MHz spectrum is con-
sidered more efficient, thereby
allowing operators greater cov-
erage using fewer towers.
The Telecom Commission is
chaired by the DoT secretary and
has representation from all the
major relevant ministries, as well
he inability of Indian pro-
moters to repay loans tak-
en against pledged shares has
resulted in stock worth about
`600 crore being sold in the
open market this year till date,
the highest ever in the history
of the capital market and al-
most seven times the amount
at Jitenkumar Vivek Kumar, tonnes so far due to the politi-
a proprietorship firm, keeps tonnes of cumin, valued at cal scenario there. Also, India
close watch on a computer R644 crore. offers one of the lowest prices.”
screen that keeps ticking over  Due to the surging conflict In a normal year, according
with live changes in commodi- in Syria, exports could to Mehta, Syria would have ex-
ty prices. But every now and rise by as much as 50% ported at least 10,000 tonnes in
then, his attention shifts to a the first two months. He ex-
news channel running on a tel-
this year. pects Indian exports to be
evision set on the wall that higher than last year despite

naval security burden may not be all that lurch back that could see it stumble on statism,
occupant and goes against li-
cence terms and conditions.
Networks are designed around
frequency bands, not the other
way round”.
The operators are expected to
file suits against the government
on the move.
An internal DoT note to the
as three full-time members.
The recommendations of the
commission will be forwarded to
the empowered group of minis-
ters (eGoM) on spectrum, head-
ed by finance minister P.
Chidambaram, which is expect-
ed to meet on Thursday. Howev-
er, DoT officials said the re-farm-
for all of 2011.
The promoters whose shares
have been sold include those
of JSW Steel Ltd, Unitech Ltd,
Orbit Corp. Ltd, S Kumars Na-
tionwide Ltd, OnMobile Global
Ltd, Ansal Properties Infra-
structure Ltd, Shriram EPC Ltd
and Andhra Cements Ltd
flashes news of the unrest in
Syria and the nation’s deterio-
rating relationship with Turkey.
Shah is one of the traders in
Unjha, a small town in Gujarat
that’s known as the Spice Bowl
of Asia, who have directly or
indirectly gained from exports
of cumin or jeera this year.
India’s total spice exports. Last
year, it exported 45,500 tonnes
of cumin, valued at `644 crore,
according to Spices Board In-
dia and many industry watch-
ers expect it to be much higher
this year. That could surge by
as much as 50% this year, ac-
cording to some in the trade.
slowdown in global demand.
Cumin traders in Gujarat saw
a similar boom in 2006 when
the conflict between Israel and
Lebanon resulted in the sea
routes from Syria and Turkey to
West Asia getting blocked.
Exports were high last year
and Indian exporters got a bet-

heavy. While Beijing has upgraded its armed that old folly. Party tyranny alone could do it.
NOTE TO READERS
The Media Marketing Initiatives
going with this edition are the
equivalent of paid­for
advertisements, and no Mint
journalists were involved in creating
these. Readers would do well to
ing issue was unlikely to be dis-
cussed, but the one-time fee,
which was decided last week,
may be revisited in light of attor-
ney general G.E. Vahanavati re-
fusing to change his stance on
the issue.
Interestingly, the reserve price
among several others, accord-
ing to stock exchange data.
Emails sent to JSW Steel, Or-
bit Corp., S Kumars, Ansal and
Shriram on Wednesday and
follow-up phone calls did not
elicit any response.
A Unitech spokesperson
said, “The promoter share-
The turmoil in Syria and its In India, cumin is a winter ter price due to crop failures in
worsening ties with Turkey
have hampered their efforts to
crop sown from October and
recent spells of rain in Gujarat
Syria and Turkey.
“The area under cultivation
trade in the spice, diverting have brightened the prospects in Syria has gone down drasti-
business to India, the largest of a good crop. cally,” said Bhaskar Shah,
producer of cumin in the “This year, till August, India managing director of Jabs In-
world. Syria and Turkey are In- has already exported 35,000 ternational Pvt. Ltd, the largest
dia’s closest rivals for cumin in tonnes of cumin (about 75% of exporter of cumin in India.
the international market. the export target set by the Syria used to produce about

forces and invested in a ‘blue-water’ navy to It has stifled economies before. What happens
treat them as advertisements.
Mint is also available for R7 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
TURN TO PAGE 3® holding continues to remain
the same and is unchanged.
ALSO SEE Unitech is focusing on execu-
>Ourview: Rewriting telecom policy >P22 TURN TO PAGE 2®
At least 60% of India’s cumin government),” said Yogesh 50,000 tonnes of cumin every
output is from Gujarat, and Mehta, chairman of the Indian year, he said. Turkey produces
Unjha is the world’s largest Spice and Foodstuffs Export- about 6,000 tonnes of cumin
trading yard for the spice. ers’ Association. “The arrival
Cumin accounts for 7-8% of for crop in Syria, the second TURN TO PAGE 2®

project power across the hemisphere, the US to China’s should stay on our watch list.

MY VIEW | IT MaTTErS

American demographic trends are favourable to India

vailing size, and China followed a one-child
SIDDHARTH PAI policy for long. In the same period, India’s
population will grow by over 250 million to
overtake China’s as the largest in the world.
I think the real story behind Musk’s con-
cerns involves shifting demographics closer
from a micro-demographics perspective. of technology services or products to that But the immigration reform that began in
These micro-demographics strongly affect country, or as potential émigrés. 1965 added quite a large number of non-
personal biases, the country’s political cal- The single fastest-growing segment of the Caucasian immigrant Americans to the mix
culus and of course the economy. US population is individuals who are 55 years of the population in the US. Indeed, 1965 was
I will draw my figures from the book Why of age and older. The baby boomers—the a banner year in the US. It saw: a) the arrival
Don’t You Like Me? by professor Mitchell generation that gave America its own demo- of true democracy in the US, with all its citi-

E
lon Musk, Twitter’s presumptive new
boss, is known to be outspoken, and has
millions of acolytes who hang onto his
every word. A recent tweet by him said,
“Population collapse due to low birth rates is
a much bigger risk to civilization than global
warming. Mark these words.” Some years
ago, he said, “Assuming there is a benevolent
to his home in the US. In what is admittedly
an uncharitable view, it also seems to me that
Musk’s comments are probably based only
on observations of the demographics of a
certain type of American—today’s major-
ity—which, like Musk, is Caucasian.
Lots has been said about India’s “demo-
graphic dividend”, which I do not need to
Springer, which is a deep analysis of US graphic dividend—were born between 1946 zens, regardless of race and national origin,
micro-demographic and the start of 1965. They finally getting equal rights to vote; and b) a
trends. At current growth began turning 65 (accepted modification of its immigration policy that
figures, the US will reach A post-Boomer retirement age) on 1 January removed national origin as a criterion, with
roughly 400 million peo- 2011, and are ageing past 65 the passage of the US Immigration and
ple in the year 2058. Amer- economy in the at the rate of 10,000 per Nationality Act of 1965 (the Hart-Celler Act).
ica reached an important day, through December Prior to 1965, the national origin crite-
milestone in 2011 when, for
US will need 2029. The last of the baby rion ensured that most immigration to the

is co-founder of Siana Capital,

future with Artificial Intelligence, I think the
biggest problem the world will face in 20
and the author of ‘Techproof
Me’.
years is population collapse.”
Short of Musk having prescience about an
asteroid hitting the planet and causing mas-
sive destruction of the human populace,
these words have no basis in fact. A 2022
United Nations report (bit.ly/3EO7YHI) pro-
jects that the world’s population will grow
from an approximate 8 billion today to 10.4
billion in 2100. Also, the only region that will
see an overall decline between 2022 and
2050 is eastern and south-eastern Asia.
Japan has a low fertility rate of 1.3 per woman
which is well below the accepted 2.1 that is
needed to sustain any population at its pre-
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repeat; most readers are well aware that we
have a very young population, and that soon,
the median working age of the Indian work-
ing professional will be 29, which means that
more than half of our educated workers will
still be in their twenties for many years to
come. Suffice to say, however, that sooner or
later, any demographic dividend must come
to an end, but in India’s case, we are unlikely
to worry on this score during our working
lifetimes.
Things are different in Musk’s home,
however. The US’s own demographic divi-
dend ended years ago, in 1965. We don’t
often dissect what is happening from a dem-
ographic perspective in the US, especially
the first time, more racial
minority babies than Cau-
Indian tech boomers will turn 65 in the
year 2029, marking 2030 as
US was from western Europe, which had
the consequence of ensuring that the racial
casian babies were born in
a year. After 2011, most
support and the first year all boomers
will be at least 65 years old.
make-up of immigrants was mainly Cauca-
sian. Abolishing the national-origin crite-
newborns have been racial other skills for Assuming that 1965 is rion opened up US doorways to nationals of
minorities: Hispanics, Afri- the hard cut-off which many other countries. Indians have been
can-Americans, Asians, decades on end defines this generation, beneficiaries of this key policy change for
and other non-Caucasians. then on 1 January 2030, 55 years now.
In about three decades, each one of the surviving Despite long queues at US embassies and
Caucasians will be a minority in the US. 78.8 million baby boomers will be at least 65 a large backlog in handling immigration
While this might explain some of the state years of age. In 2022, the age range of Boom- cases, this vacuum caused by America’s
of mind that Musk may have been in when ers is between 58 and 76 years. Following the vanishing demographic dividend is bound
he made his comments, there is actually a baby boomer demographic dividend, far to continue as a secular trend and will bene-
completely different set of numbers that we fewer Americans were born in succeeding fit India’s technology sector as well as those
should be looking at from an Indian technol- generations, causing a vacuum in the native- who want to emigrate to the US for quite
ogist’s perspective, whether as an exporter born working age population. some time to come.
 LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS TuesDAy, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi 13

THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R

Let’s step up strategic efforts to Fintech apps will outmode the

case for a pan-Asian currency
mobilize India’s labour potential Cheap digital conversion of currencies could serve the region better

Economic competitiveness requires us to make the most of our demographic-dividend opportunity as a key growth achiever

MINT

AnDy MuKhERjEE
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
industrial companies and financial services
in Asia.
AMit KApOOR & BiBEK DEBROy
are, respectively, chair, Institute for
Competitiveness, India and lecturer at Stanford
University; and chairman, Economic Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister.

U
nrealistic as it was, the idea of a pan-
Asian currency always had some
political support: Since 2005, the

F
or years, India’s demographic transition
has garnered significant attention. India
is at a stage where population growth is
expected to slow down markedly in the
next two decades along with a substantial
increase in the share of the working-age
population, providing us with a demographic
dividend opportunity window. While all stages of a
demographic transition must be understood well
to formulate policies accordingly, the stage
wherein the working-age population forms the
majority of the overall population is all the more
important to consider. A larger reservoir of
working-age people signifies a greater scope for
labour-force mobilization. As per the National
Sample Survey Office’s Periodic Labour Force
Survey 2020-21, India’s labour force participation
rate for all age groups is around 41.6% (57.5% for
males, 25% for females). With our working-age
population projected to grow by roughly 9.7
million per year from 2021 to 2031 and 4.2 million
annually in the 2031-41 period, there is immense
potential to mobilize the expanding working-age
population and elevate labour force participation.
When the age structure of the population shifts,
especially with an expanded share of the working-
age population, the economy can benefit from
increased income, investment and gross domestic
product (GDP) growth. However, to realize this
demographic dividend, the population in the
working-age bracket must find gainful employ-
ment. Mobilizing them into the workforce is key.
The competitiveness framework can be a firm
basis for India to understand the drivers of labour
force mobilization.
The competitiveness approach defines national
competitiveness in terms of the expected level of
output per potential worker. The ‘output per
potential worker’ aspect indicates a broader notion
of productivity that captures the productivity of
the employed as well as the ability of a country to
mobilize its working-age population. Both compo-
nents are important for creating prosperity. The
term ‘potential’ here adds depth to our approach to
economic growth by capturing the total workforce
that can potentially be harnessed by an economy,
and not just the employed portion. Competitive-
ness is, thus, linked to both components of output
per potential worker: output per employed person
and the ability of a country to mobilize its work-
force. The question then is, how does India
improve its ability to mobilize the working-age
population and get them into employment?
Particular dimensions of a nation’s socioeconomic
environment could be especially relevant for
understanding drivers of labour mobilization. The
competitiveness approach offers a perspective that
views potential workers in an economy as a crucial
aspect of the region’s competitiveness conditions.
Utilizing this approach would help focus efforts on
reaping the country’s demographic dividend, and
formulate policies accordingly.
The potential to mobilize the labour force
depends on a multitude of factors. Job creation
must keep pace with the increase in the working-
age population. Creating opportunities for gainful
employment is crucial.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated
that the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI)
scheme across 14 sectors has the potential to
generate 6 million jobs over the next five years.
India must prioritize the creation of opportunities
for gainful employment. In tandem with job
creation, it is necessary to promote employability
among potential labour force entrants. Empower-
ing the youth in terms of their education, skills
and health should be a critical priority to enhance
employability. India is witnessing a surge of effort
in this direction. Under the Skill India Mission and
through various skill development programmes,
around 55.6 million people have undergone skill
training since 2015.
Yet another crucial aspect of easing labour force
mobilization requires us to look at the issue
through the lens of an individual worker’s lifetime.
Individuals enter and exit the labour force for a
variety of reasons and at multiple points of time.
There should be multiple pathways leading into
the workforce. The working age bracket is roughly
considered to be from 20 to 65 years. However,
learning and skilling must be perceived as a life-
long endeavour. In this day and age, continual
skilling and upgrading of one’s skill-set have
become paramount to gaining remunerative
employment. In this light, India’s efforts to pro-
mote greater labour force mobilization should be
directed in a way that facilitates multiple entry
points for an individual into the labour force. It is
important to understand that barriers to the labour
force market vary for different communities and
regions, and especially for women. Social norms
have long been dictating the employment choices
of women, for example. As per the Periodic Labour
Force Survey Annual Report 2020-21, the all-India
female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in
usual status has increased to 25.1%, as compared to
22.8% a year ago. However, female workforce par-
ticipation continues to linger at a low level in India.
Low participation of Indian women in the work-
force could be attributed to a number of factors,
including lack of jobs, the burden of unpaid care
work, and cultural norms. Mobilizing the Indian
female labour force in particular calls for a greater
emphasis.
Efforts toward greater labour mobilization
should also consider the fact that the evolution of
the working-age population varies across Indian
states. According to the Economic Survey 2019-20,
the size of the working-age population will start to
decline in 11 out of 22 major states during 2031-41,
including states such as Punjab, Maharashtra,
West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, while it will
continue to rise through 2041 in states that find
themselves behind others in the demographic
transition. It is important to take into account
these variations, as they will have a bearing on the
labour-mobilization efforts of individual states.
A greater working-age population does not
bestow the advantages of a demographic dividend
automatically. These benefits have to be reaped
from favourable demographics. Ensuring that this
potential is harnessed should be the central axis of
India’s growth strategy.
Japanese have published the exchange
value of an Asian Monetary Unit, a precur-
sor to what could become Asia’s equivalent
of the euro. The debt crisis in southern
Europe ended that pipe dream. Now there’s
a more modest goal: Keep money national,
but let it hop borders effortlessly. This may
start becoming a reality in three years and
have a far-reaching impact on a continent
expected to account for half of the world’s
consumption growth this decade.
That’s a $10 trillion opportunity, accord-
ing to McKinsey. A big chunk of this addi-
tional consumption will be fulfilled by small
and medium-sized businesses, and a lot of it
will occur online. But credit cards and Pay-
Pal are expensive options for small mer-
chants. And while Indonesian sellers can
easily accept QR-code-based transfers from
local digital banking or fintech apps, they
can’t do the same for Singapore’s bank cus-
tomers. National boundaries get in the way.
As Ravi Menon, chief of the Monetary
Authority of Singapore, said in a recent
speech: “The current state of cross-border
payments is not fit for the 21st century.”
Thankfully, an upgrade is at hand. From
Singapore and Malaysia to Thailand, Indo-
nesia and the Philippines, countries in
Southeast Asia want a multilateral network
of payments by 2025. Their customers
already have access to mobile-phone apps
for settling claims in real time, but these are
local. The next step is to connect them via a
Nexus Scheme, conceived by the Bank for
International Settlements as a worldwide
web of payments, a set of rules that any
economy can adopt to set up a gateway.
The rules will harmonize compliance
standards and messaging formats—the
instructions that intermediaries send one
another to move money domestically. Once
the platform takes off, international banks
will be available on it with competitive cur-
rency conversion services. The experience
for the customer will be no different
whether they’re paying someone next door
or a thousand miles away.
Using a smartphone app, an individual or
business can already collect money
instantly and nearly cost-free from another
participant of the same national banking
system. In cross-border remittances, how-
ever, the average cost is still as high as 6%,
according to the World Bank. The technol-
ogy of correspondent banking, which
involves a lender providing a local account
to banks based overseas, has improved
vastly from when the practice evolved in the
Technology allows us to cheapen transfers
of money across borders AP
late 1800s. But transfers via the Swift mes-
saging system can still take more than two
days on several of the slowest.
International transfers with Nexus won’t
be totally free. For one thing, currencies will
still have to be exchanged. But it may be
possible to squeeze the average cost of pay-
ing a business in another country to 1% or
less and eliminate any corridor where costs
are higher than 3%, which is the G20’s goal
for end-2027.
Asian policymakers have two other rea-
sons to smash the status quo: One, access to
Swift is at the discretion of American and
European politicians; it could get cut off, as
it was for Russian institutions earlier this
year as punishment for the war in Ukraine.
Two, much of global commerce takes place
in dollars, and the US currency is expensive
right now. In regional trade, especially
where small firms in one country are selling
goods and services to retail customers in
another, it’s possible to reduce dependence
on a surging dollar with technology.
The banking industry’s annual payments
revenue pool is dominated by the Asia-Pa-
cific region, which churns out roughly $90
billion from cross-border commerce.
Financial institutions are resigned to the
idea that their fees per transaction will fall.
What they don’t want is for volumes to dis-
appear, which can happen if blockchain-
based private stablecoins or central bank
digital currencies (CBDCs) become the pre-
ferred route for international transfers.
From their standpoint, Nexus’s advantage
is that it won’t seek to bypass banks.
A single Asian currency would have
transformed the regional payments scene
and reduced the dollar’s dominance. Some
Chinese state researchers recently called for
a single digital token pegged to a basket of 13
regional currencies. But the Eurozone’s
troubles have shown that it’s impractical to
think about such a monetary arrangement
without a fiscal union.
Since a sharing of taxpayers’ resources
between rich Singapore and poor Myanmar
is hard to swallow even as a fantasy, the next
best option for reducing the friction caused
by different mediums of exchange may be to
harness the power of the smartphone.
When a Singapore bank app can be used to
pay someone in Jakarta in 60 seconds—at a
cost of 1% or less—the question of a single
currency becomes moot. ©BLOOMBERG

THEIR VIEW

Rupee volatility matters less than our broad policy aim

TULSI JAYAKUMAR
Would you tell me, please, which way I ought
to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you
want to get to.”—Lewis Caroll, Alice in
Wonderland
depreciation against the dollar does not
automatically translate to a diagnosis of
increased rupee volatility per se, with associ-
ated policy prescriptions or expectations.
The volatility of a currency, such as the
rupee, refers to the frequency and extent of
changes in its value vis-à-vis another coun-
try’s currency, say the dollar. To understand
such volatility, one may look at the daily (or
annual) standard deviation from the mean,
which is a statistical measure of variation in
a set of data indicating its scatter around the
days in January-October 2021. Again, while
the daily exchange rate exceeded the
1-sigma level on 33 days during January-Oc-
tober 2022, this number was 40 days in
2021. On the other hand, the daily rate
exceeded the 2-sigma level only on 5 days,
both in 2021 and 2022. We conclude that
compared to 2021, rupee
volatility has not signifi-
cantly worsened in dollar Our currency
terms; if at all, the rupee
has demonstrated lower has been less
days over January-October 2021 while they
remained below the 1 sigma level on 41 days
indicating an appreciation. In 2022, the
euro-rupee rate remained above the 1-sigma
level on 40 days, while on 39 days it
remained below 1-sigma. The overall days of
deviation were more or less similar over the
two years. The volatility has
reduced at the 2-sigma
movement level, with
euro-rupee rates deviating
from the 2-sigma level over
August 2022 stood at 103.86, while that of
the six-currency basket (trade-weighted)
stood at 103.77. At 100 or close to 100, the
currency is considered fairly valued. With
India’s imports being greater than its
exports, it is fine for the currency to remain
slightly overvalued, say in a range of 103-
104. However, calls for large interventions
by the country’s central bank to stem the
depreciating rupee against the dollar or
stem rupee volatility are misplaced.
A third concern expressed is about the

T
he rupee has moved from a rate of average. Using this, RBI data reveals that volatility of the deleterious 7 days in 2021 compared to depletion of ‘precious’ foreign exchange
₹74.51 to the US dollar on 1 January exchange-rate volatility over the 5-year sort in 2022.
volatile this year 1 day during January-Octo- reserves to stem rupee volatility. The key

is professor of economics and

executive director, Centre for
Family Business &
Entrepreneurship, Bhavan’s
SPJIMR
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2022, to ₹82.27 at the time of writing
this. This has led to concerns regarding
rupee volatility and the resultant deleterious
effects that such volatility is likely to have on
trade and investment, besides India’s overall
macroeconomic and financial stability. The
Reserve Bank of India has also faced strin-
gent calls to defend the rupee. Which way
should RBI go with the exchange rate?
It is true that the almost 10.5% deprecia-
tion of the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar in the
last 10 months is likely to hurt firms and indi-
viduals who have to pay in dollars. Their
concerns with such disorderly movements
of the exchange rate are then well appreci-
ated. However, the phenomenon of rupee
period 2018-2022 has actually reduced
compared to the post-Global Financial Crisis
period of 2008-2012 (bit.ly/3S8USYi).
We compared the changes in volatility of
the rupee vis-à-vis the dollar for the period
January–October 2021 and 2022, drawing
on Yahoo Finance data (yhoo.it/3gaG4v6).
We noted a decrease in rupee volatility in
2022 at the 1-sigma level (of a single standard
deviation), while volatility remained the
same at the 2-sigma level. This was even as
the average rupee-dollar rate has depreci-
ated by about 5%.
The dollar-rupee daily rate deviated from
the 1-sigma level on 72 days over the January
to October 2022 period, compared to 76
Looking at rupee move-
ments compared to the
than in 2021 and
euro, the rupee has signifi-
cantly strengthened
global trade
against the Eurozone cur- integration calls
rency both in calendar year
2021 and 2022, but more for a freer float
so in 2022. Thus, while the
rupee appreciated over the
euro by almost 2.5% over January-October
2021, it has appreciated by almost 5.8%
between January to October 2022. The
average euro-rupee rate rose from ₹87.89 in
2021 to ₹82.13 in 2022.
Turning to volatility, the euro-rupee daily
rates remained above the 1 sigma level on 29
ber 2022. Again, Thus, we
can conclude that com-
pared to 2021, the rupee
volatility has not signifi-
cantly worsened in euro
terms either.
While volatility hasn’t
dramatically increased in
2022, what about concerns
of rupee depreciation itself? The fact is that
the Indian rupee is currently overvalued
against the basket of both its six major trad-
ing partners and that of the 40 partners with
which we conduct bilateral trade. Thus, the
40-currency trade-weighted basket of the
Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) for
fact here, however, is that India’s net draw-
down of reserves is much smaller than the
headline figure suggests after accounting for
valuation losses. Also, the size of the dip in
forex reserves as a proportion of the total has
been much lower during the current episode
of forex management triggered by this year’s
Russia-Ukraine conflict and US Fed’s policy
tightening, compared to what happened
during the Global Financial Crisis.
If India’s goal is to move in the direction of
being part of a globalized world, rupee
movements need to be treated as a necessary
evil of such a course. There is no room for
misplaced paranoia when it comes to
exchange rate management.
 14 TuesDay, 18 OcTOber 2022
New Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE WELLNESS LIVEMINT.COM

ISTOCKPHOTO

No, that sugar-free whey

laddoo isn’t better for you
tion and less fear of food. Festivals are a time of
celebration, and food is an intrinsic part of it;
you obviously don’t want to be eating salad
while the rest of your family is enjoying a festive
meal, followed by plenty of sweets. However, as
always, control is key. The goal of healthy eating
should be to eat food that nourishes us 80-90%
of the time, with 10-20% wiggle room for foods
that bring us joy. We can still manage that equa-
tion even with our favourite, delicious snacks
showing up at our door.
Have you tried
IdenTIfy your TrIgger foodS
One of the exercises I love the most is to do a
“Trigger Food Triage” with my clients. It’s a
quick and easy food sorting system that is based
the kettlebell
on the traffic light system of green (go), yellow
(caution), and red (stop). Foods that fall under
the red category can be anything. For some peo-
ple, it’s chips; for others, it’s cookies. It could
drag yet?
also be something relatively healthy but high in
calories and fat, like peanut butter or cheese. If
If you want to get a strong and stable
it has a hold on you, and you find yourself help- core, it is a good move to master
less in its presence, label the food as “red.” Next,
the yellow foods. These are interesting ones
because they are caution foods. They are foods Pulasta Dhar
you enjoy, but if you’re in a particular situation, feedback@livemint.com
they may become red foods or won’t entice you

at all. An example of this specific type of food is
when you say, “I don’t even know why I’m eat-
ing it. But it’s here, and I’m hungry.” And finally,
green foods. These foods are healthy for you,
giving you nutrients, energy, and satisfaction,
and you don’t feel powerless. Items such as fresh
fruit and vegetables can fall into this category.
Keep red foodS ouT
If you’re powerless in the face of a particular
food, having them in your home isn’t wise. This
includes any Diwali sweets or treats that is trig-
Food is an intrinsic part of festivals and it is okay to indulge in moderation. ISTOCKPHOTO gering. My suggestion would be to eat one or
two and give away the rest as soon as the festival
Because eating ‘healthy’ ing me recipes of “vegan” desserts and “health- Working towards this level of moderation and
ier” cookie options, telling me that they actually acceptance of “treat” foods is a long process, and
is over. And yes, this sometimes means navigat-
ing difficult conversations with loved ones who
treats, instead of taste like “the real thing.” Some of these recipes till they get there, abstinence may be an option. don’t identify the same food as “red trigger
contain whey protein powder, others unpro- And yes, if you are working towards very spe- foods” and still want them in their pantry.
moderate quantities of cessed forms of sugar or stevia. More often than cific goals, it may be useful to reduce sugar or
not, these substitutes don’t taste as good as the calorie intake by mixing healthier food ingredi- Keep yellow foodS To mInImum
the real thing, often real thing, leaving you strangely unsatisfied and ents into your favourite treats. So much about the enjoyment of craving is the
leads to a bad reaching out for more (which often defeats the These caveats aside, enjoying our treats in
calorie/nutrition benefit these fake desserts moderation is possible – even when on a diet.
anticipation, not always the reward. When you
have a scarcity of your favourite food, you’re
relationship with food offered in the first place).I have categorically The problem with dieting culture is that we
refused to bake any of my friend’s recipes believe we must endure “all or nothing”,
more inclined to slow down and enjoy the expe-
rience of eating them rather than gulping it
because I’m a firm believer in teaching my son thereby adopting a constant deprivation mind- down without tasting it.
Jen Thomas how to enjoy his treats in moderation. set. We have created negative turns of phrases
feedback@livemint.com This notion of being deprived of a delicious like “cheat days” and “break my diet” or calling Try ouT The 3 - bITe STraTegy
treat got me thinking about how when we avoid “unhealthy” foods “sins” to morally direct us If you’re presented with a treat at someone’s
T
he plank has had an interesting evolution since it came to
prominence as one of the must-do exercises for the core.
From static holds, to adding weights, to creating different
angles using the high plank or the low plank, this is an exercise
that has come a long way. And one of those plank-plus exercises
that you should add to your fitness routine is the kettlebell drag.
Using the plank position as the base, this is an exercise that will
not just improve your core strength, but also work the abs,
increase your balance, and most importantly, test your muscle
coordination. Given that the exercise has to be performed with
stable shoulders and hips, it adds the all-important rotation factor
to your routine. And this means better oblique muscles.
So how does one do the kettlebell drag? The first step is to mas-
ter the high plank, or in simpler terms, know how to start in the
pushup position. Stability and engagement of the core is key here
because the second step is to take a kettlebell (or even a dumbbell)
and place it to the side just slightly behind either arm. Now while
in the plank position, reach with one hand across your body, past
the midline of the chest, and drag the weight to the other side.
Now the kettlebell is on the opposite side, so you will have to use
the other hand and drag it back to its original position.
This exercise
The added advantage to this exer-
cise is that the body enters a dynamic
improves your one-arm plank position for a couple of
seconds between every rep. Techni-
core strength, cally, the kettlebell drag is an ‘anti-ro-
works your abs tation’ exercise. “An anti-rotation
and increases movement is any movement that
your balance involves contracting your core and

T
he other day I was baking cook-
ies with my son – yummy, gooey,
delicious chocolate chip cookies.
These cookies were quickly
swiped off the plate and eaten
before they even had a chance to cool. Now
cookies are always popular at home, but these
went faster than anything I have baked before,
with various members of my family reaching
out for cookie after cookie, over and over again.
So, what was my secret ingredient? A simple
substitute: I used a banana instead of an egg,
keeping all the rest of the ingredients the
same.The swap was only made because my son
is allergic to egg, but he still loves cookies. Little
did I know that simple swap completely
changed the way my family saw those cookies.
One person even looked at me and said, “I keep
eating them because they are so healthy.”
What? My chocolate chip cookies healthy?
Not a chance! There was a cup of butter and
multiple cups of sugar used in the recipe. It was
barely held together by the precariously placed
banana.
As a fitness coach, I get this a lot: people send-
the foods we want, we often end up dissatisfied. towards a healthier way of eating. We begin to house, another strategy you can employ is my holding it completely still while keep-
That dissatisfaction can cause the pendulum to believe that not adhering to this way of thinking “3-bite” strategy. Only allowing yourself three ing the rest of your body within just
swing hard in towards compensating for the dis- means that we aren’t serious about our goals or bites of something you love means that you will one singular plane, or direction, of motion,” says a WeWorkForIt
appointment, and are destined to fail. naturally slow down and enjoy the flavours, tex- article on anti-rotation exercises .
eating more as a I don’t think this is tures, tastes and smell of your favourite food. By Like any other move, there are levels of progress to this exer-
result. I actively go The problem with dieting culture true. We really employing all of your senses when eating, cise. The most obvious one is the amount of weight to be dragged
against this behav- is that we believe we must should be teaching you’re truly practising mindfulness, and will be from one side to the other. To make things more difficult with the
iour and only seek
out the treats I love. endure ’all or nothing’, thereby people to aspire
toward mindfulness
more satisfied with the goods you eat. same weight, lower down to a forearm plank instead of a high
plank position. Variations include placing your feet on a bench
That strategy works adopting a deprivation mindset and moderation. embrace The power of wordS for the starting position, and if you really want to test your stabil-
for me because I Some people feel Finally, if negative phrases impact our view on ity, then place them on a medicine ball. Another small adjust-
rarely crave sweet they need absolute dieting, imagine what positive thinking can ment, for a higher degree of difficulty, is to place the arms under
foods. However, when I want chocolate, don’t rules of “yes” versus “no” to guide their deci- do. I often coach my clients to change their your shoulders rather than under your chest (like you would for
give me a rubbish cacao powder, low-sugar, sion-making around foods, but I think we need narratives around dieting. For example, a pushup).There is also no compulsion to use a kettlebell to do
cardboard-flavoured substitute. Only the real to get used to “maybe” and “sometimes” as well instead of saying, “I can’t have that,” practice this exercise. You could pretty much drag anything with a chal-
deal will do. If I was to swap my treat for some- – all in relation to the context and quantity of saying, “I can have that, but not right now. I’m lenging weight.
thing I only half-heartedly want, I’ll end up what we eat. Relying on “all or nothing” and not hungry,” or, “I would like to eat that, but I The most important element here is to make sure that your
rummaging through the fridge, scarfing up bits absolutes when it comes to our food can create will save some for tea time.” Giving yourself shoulders and hips are stable and not swinging from one side to
of food to scrabble together a little bit of pleas- a negative relationship with our bodies and food permission to enjoy the foods you like, but the other. No swinging, no sinking, and no rising up like you
ure that I missed out on. – which should never be the side effect of trying under the ideal conditions where you can truly would while attempting a static plank. It is suggested that this
Now I am aware that this may not be the real- to lose weight. enjoy them, will do wonders for your relation- exercise be done for time, rather than reps. Start with 30 seconds
ity for everyone. There are people out there who Now that Diwali is hovering around the cor- ship with food. and rest for 15 seconds at the first attempt and keep progressing
legitimately suffer from food addiction and ner, so close that we can almost smell the deli- to doing it up to one minute.
binge eating disorders; for those people, for cious treats, I want to guide you towards a Jen Thomas is a Chennai-based weight-loss
whom a tiny taste of a treat may set off a binge. peaceful feeling of permission through modera- coach. Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and a writer.

Why we need to talk a lot more about menopause

This World Menopause to her account but not everyone is even quences of oestrogen deficiency, she adds.
Day, 18 Oct, we explore aware of the complexities of this life
change. Often, it gets dismissed as just Start the “Some women face problems with mem-
ory loss and difficulty in concentration.
how one can manage another female problem that causes There may be difficulty in initiating and
physical and emotional
mood swings, leading women to ignore
that physical and emotional implications
conversation maintaining sleep,” says Gandhi, who
believes that lifestyle modifications and
wellness while going of it. The truth is that lack of timely man- JUST TALK adopting sleep hygiene measures should
agement and a prevalent lack of aware- Many people shy away from be recommended as the first line treat-
through this life change ness about its symptoms and signs leads talking about the changes ment.
to an increased risk of women being women’s bodies go through. In addition to lifestyle interventions,
prone to both poorer physical and men- Open, informed conversations there are also hormonal therapies. Swathi
Divya Naik tal health. help Kulkarni, the co-Founder & CEO of Elda
feedback@livemint.com For starters, the hormonal impact that Health, a mid–life and menopausal care
menopause has on a woman is colossal RESEARCH AND EDUCATION platform for women adds that, while both

A
51- year- old banker, who wants
to stay anonymous, recalls how
she started experiencing hot
flashes while shopping for her older
daughter’s wedding. In the wedding
rush, she didn’t understand what was
happening and why. She chose to ignore
it; the wedding was, after all, just two
weeks away, and there was not time to
pause and think.
She remembers being highly emotion-
ally charged all through those weeks. “I
was crying for no reason at times and the
next moment, I was yelling at someone for
a very silly thing.” It was only after a while
she realised that those had been symp-
toms of menopause, and admits to feeling
relieved that there was an explanation for
her mood swings.
A lot of women might be able to relate
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leading to the woman experiencing low
mood, anxiety, fatigue, mood changes,
anger and irritability, and self-esteem
issues.
Additionally, menopause in women
often coincides with a time when one’s life
undergoes significant other changes: chil-
dren leaving the nest, sudden weight gain
and financial concerns, among a host of
other issues. “Women may have to bal-
ance a work life and domestic responsibil-
ities along with managing their meno-
pause symptoms, which can increase
stress levels and low mood,” explains Tanu
Choksi, a psychologist & counsellor based
in Mumbai. According to her, depression
and anxiety are common during meno-
pause and so are irritability and crying
spells. She warns that anyone who experi-
ences a low mood for two weeks or longer
The hormonal impact that menopause has on a woman is huge.
should see a doctor.
Another issue that often pops up are
memory issues, which, in turn, makes the
symptoms of anxiety worse. “Cognitive
complaints in menopause are common
and are associated with anxiety in many
women as they fear that these changes
may later lead to dementia,” says Dr Ash-
wini Bhalerao Gandhi, a consultant
gynaecologist at P D Hinduja hospital &
MRC, Mahim, Mumbai, adding that mem-
ory issues at menopause should not be
ISTOCKPHOTO
confused with dementia, which is rare
before 64 years of age.
According to her, the significant physi-
cal and mental changes that menopause
can cause have different effects on differ-
ent women. For instance, some are
women are relieved that their fertile
period is over and hence the tension of
becoming pregnant is also over while oth-
ers completely start losing interest in sex.
In general, Asian women report fewer hot
flushes, but more ache and pains, insom-
Reading, research and updating
yourself can help in understand-
ing symptoms—mental and
physical—and can aid in sup-
porting women even further.
CREATE A SUPPORT SYSTEM
Menopause doesn’t happen in a
vacuum, and family and friends
can help in alleviating stress.
nia and mood changes, she says.
Women typically gain abdominal fat
and may lose muscle mass in early meno-
pause. Over time, other symptoms like
wrinkling of the skin and frontal balding
are seen due to reduction in the collagen
content of the skin. Issues like osteoporo-
sis and osteoarthritis are long-term conse-
help improve the quality of menopausal
women’s lives, lack of awareness often
leaves many women in the dark.
So how can you support someone going
through menopause? “Start by asking how
she is feeling, and check in with her regu-
larly,” she says. “Having a support system
can make the woman feel better,” Choksi
states.
And yes, the need to destigmatise
menopause is also a key factor in offering
support to women undergoing it, points
out Kulkarni. “ From couples and family
education to corporate workshops,
awareness initiatives would go a long
way in making our women’s lives better,”
she says.
Divya Naik is a Mumbai-based psycho-
therapist