NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 17 NO.

23

Friday, January 27, 2023

livemint.com

mint primer QUICK EDIT

How Google’s Autonomy

Android tweaks
might play out
BY PRASID BANERJEE
In a surprising move, Google said it is going to change some of its
policies specifically for India in order to abide by the directives issued
by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Mint examines the
changes:
What has Google
1 committed to do?
The key changes include allowing
handset makers to license
individual Google apps for pre-
installation on their devices;
providing Indian users with the
option to choose their default
search engine on Android phones;
updating Android compatibility
requirements to introduce
changes that will allow partners to
build non-compatible or ‘forked’
variants of its Android operating
system. Google is also extending
‘user choice billing’, piloted since
last September, to all users. It
means all app developers will be
able to use third-party payment
methods while distributing apps
through Play Store.
Which CCI orders will
2 Google comply with?
The CCI, in two different orders
issued in October last year, fined
Google ₹1,337.76 crore and ₹936
crore respectively—the first for
abusing dominance in the Android
marketplace through agreements
that limit access to its competitors,
and the second for abusing
dominance with its Play Store
policies, which required
developers to use Google’s built-in
payment systems to sell services
and digital items through the Play
Store, and pay a commission.
Through the two orders, CCI
asked Google to allow third party
payment systems and change
licensing agreements with device
makers and developers.
assurer
Among the grand showcases of
the Republic Day parade is the
might of our armed forces,
whose big war weaponry is put
on display each year. This year
was no different, but it did have
a twist. Only Made-in-India
weapon systems were on dis-
play. The indigenously devel-
oped light combat helicopter
Prachand, K-9 Vajra howitzers,
battle-tank Arjun, Nag anti-tank
guided missiles, Akash air
defence missiles and our quick-
reaction fighting vehicles were
among the show-pieces that
trundled along Kartavya Path.
There was also the Brahmos
missile. Our growing self-reli-
ance in military hardware is a
matter of pride, for being able to
defend the country without
importing supplies is a key
measure of strategic autonomy.
While India has played its geo-
political cards well, with equa-
tions maintained with countries
on both sides of a global divide
that deepened after Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, and neu-
trality has multiple advantages,
we must cover the risk of tech-
nology denial as well. A push for
equipment made at home also
boosts domestic manufacturing.
A country that makes its own
arms is not just more secure, it
has a better chance of enjoying
positive economic spillovers.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

Mulayam Singh Yadav played Ludo online

3 Do the changes adhere to
the directives of CCI?
Competition lawyers said the changes do
And met a Pakistani fiancée divine.
comply with CCI’s orders to an extent, but
Through Nepal he smuggled her in,
the company has itself said it will continue Caught in Bengaluru to his chagrin,
appealing against some directives. The
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal
Our man from UP can only pine.
is set to hear Google’s appeal soon.
Lawyers said this case could go on for over
a year, and hence it might be too early to
say the changes are permanent. QUOTE OF THE DAY
We are confident that under its
Are there concerns What does this mean
4 about these changes?
Concerns include a lack of clarity
5 for users?
In the EU, an antitrust fine led
G20 leadership, India will put
forth an agenda that is inclusive,
on how these new changes will be Google to start putting a “choice ambitious, action-oriented and
enforced. For instance, while screen” on Android phones,
Google has unbundled its own allowing users to pick their default decisive. Singapore will lend our
apps from Android, it’s unclear search engines and browsers. The strong support to India’s G20
how the company will charge for same is expected in India. The
these services and whether they operating system may also show priorities.
will be uninstallable. Also, it is not new warning messages when users
clear how security updates will be install apps from outside Play
delivered to forked versions of Store, as Android will now flag
Android. Startup founders pointed malicious apps, even those not
out that although Google offers downloaded from the default store. GAN KIM YONG
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
third-party payments now, the Devices from manufacturers with MINISTER, SINGAPORE
charges the company levies on the their own mobile operating
use of third party billing methods systems, may also choose to replace
is still a concern. some Google apps with their own.

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 PLAIN FACTS

Data recap: Women’s

IPL auctions, ‘Pathaan’
CURATED BY TANAY SUKUMAR

E very Friday, Plain Facts publishes a compilation of data-based insights, complete with easy-to-read charts, to help
you delve deeper into the stories reported by Mint in the week gone by. A US investing company made allegations
of corporate fraud against the Adani Group. Shah Rukh Khan is back with a new film that is all the rage in cinemas.
The auctions for five franchises took place for the Women’s Indian Premier League.

Good Going Rupee Deal

E-waybills generated per month (in millions) Trade surplus (+)/deficit (–) with key partners* ($ million)
90 84.14 -27,164 Russia Bhutan 378
80
70 -22,157 Saudi Arabia Pakistan 409
60 -16,128 UAE Iran 737
50
40 -1,140 Maldives Sri Lanka 2,922
30 -109 Myanmar Nepal 4,865
20
Mauritius 246 Bangladesh 6,743
10
Countries include those that are reported to be considering
0
Jan Dec rupee trade plus members of the Asian Clearing Union.
Source: Goods and Services Tax Network *Apr-Nov 2022 Source: Ministry of commerce and industry

A TOTAL of 84.1 million e-waybills were generated in
December 2022, an all-time high, data from Goods and
Services Tax (GST) Network showed. The numbers
suggest that the GST collections in January are likely to
be strong. E-waybills are electronic permits needed for
the shipment of goods within and across states, and are
seen as reflective of economic activity. E-waybill
generation dropped in October 2022 to 76.9 million,
but has been rising since.
INDIA’S PUSH to use the rupee in international trade
appears to be picking up. Reserve Bank of India
governor Shaktikanta Das will visit the United Arab
Emirates this month to thrash out a rupee-dirham trade
settlement system, Mint reported. The UAE is one of the
countries with which India runs a trade deficit, so rupee
trade settlement can save India dollars. Such a system
won’t be beneficial with partners with which India runs
a surplus, such as Bangladesh (https://bit.ly/3H5Xu61).

Adani vs Hindenburg

85,000
THAT’S THE collective loss in market value for Adani
Group companies on Wednesday after US investing
company Hindenburg Research released a report accusing
the group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting
fraud scheme over the course of decades”. Adani Group
crore denied the allegations as “baseless ” and questioned its
timing. (The report’s release coincided with the opening of
a follow-on public offer of Adani Enterprises.)

Bollywood’s Comeback Tax Rejig

Countries with highest Google search interest in "Pathaan" Share of taxpayers (%) by gross total income
₹0 lakh Up to ₹2 lakh ₹2-5 lakh ₹5-10 lakh ₹10-25 lakh
India 100 ₹25-50 lakh >₹50 lakh
Pakistan 92 100
90
Mauritius 91 80
Nepal 79 70
60
UAE 77 50
Qatar 58 40
30
Bangladesh 56 20
Search interest is measured on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 indicating top 10
popularity. Data for last 30 days; includes only searches for "Pathaan", the film. 0
2012-13 2018-19
Source: Google Trends Data not available since 2018-19. Source: Income tax department

PATHAAN, A Hindi spy thriller starring Shah Rukh
Khan and Deepika Padukone, opened to packed
cinemas on Wednesday, netting more than ₹50 crore
on the first day itself. This made the film one of the top
opening day grossers in Bollywood history. Khan is
returning to the big screen after a gap of four years, and
this comes at a time when Hindi films are losing their
charm at the box office to regional-language cinema.
Pathaan spells a remarkable revival of sorts.
THE GOVERNMENT may announce an overhaul of
the exemption-free personal tax regime in the Union
budget next week, Mint reported, citing unidentified
officials. The finance ministry is considering making
the tax slabs more acceptable while keeping it simple
and revenue-neutral. The exemption-free (“new”)
regime gives taxpayers the flexibility to pay tax on their
entire gross income at different slab rates. The older tax
regime, which allows exemptions, continues to exist.

Facing the Axe

THAT’S THE number of jobs, likely going up to 20,000,

15,000+ that could be lost in India’s IT and startup sectors in the

next six months, Mint reported, quoting recruitment
consultants. The sectors are facing slowing demand and
are unable to sustain the hiring sprees they undertook over
the last two years. In 2022-23 so far, the two sectors have
already laid off more than 20,000 employees, including
1,400 in the first two weeks of January.

Money Play Chart of the Week: Jobs Plank

Top bidder (city) Amount (in ₹ crore) % of respondents based on their most important issue
Adani Sportsline while voting ahead of general elections
1,289
(Ahmedabad) 2014 2019
18
Indiawin Sports* 19
913 15 15
(Mumbai)
12
Royal Challengers Sports
(Bengaluru)
901
7 7
Total
JSW GMR Cricket ₹4,670 3
(Delhi)
810
crore
Capri Global Holdings Unemployment, Development Price rise, high Corruption
757
(Lucknow) jobs fuel prices
*Owned by Reliance Industries Source: Lokniti CSDS pre-poll survey

AUCTIONS FOR five franchises of the Women’s JOBS, OR the lack of it, are again a talking point, with
Indian Premier League (WIPL) took place on recent private data showing an uptick in the urban
Wednesday, earning the Board of Control for Cricket in unemployment rate. Ahead of the 2024 general
India ₹4,670 crore in total. Adani Group, Reliance elections, jobs could heat up the
Industries, Diageo India, a JSW-GMR joint venture, and political climate. A survey held before
non-banking finance company Capri Global were the the 2019 polls showed unemployment
five successful bidders, winning the rights for was a key issue for Indian voters.
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Lucknow, Follow us on #MintCharts on our
respectively. social media handles.
PARAS JAIN/MINT

TOP FIVE COMEDIES TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL SHOWS

3 LOVE TODAY 3 THE LAST OF US
Language: Tamil 1 Language: English
1 Platform: Netflix
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar

FAUDA Language: Hebrew, Arabic

BHOOL BHULAIYYA 2
4 OLD MONK Platform: Netflix
4 KALEIDOSCOPE
Language: Hindi
Platform: Netflix Language: Kannada Language: English
Platform: Amazon Platform: Netflix
Prime Video

2 BALLABHPURER 2 JUNJI ITO MANIAC:

5 ROOPKOTHA
Language: Bangla
Language: Telugu Platform: Amazon Prime
DHAMAKA Platform: Netflix Video
5 JAPANESE TALES OF
THE MACABRE
THAT 90’S SHOW
Language: English Language: Japanese
Platform: Netflix Platform: Netflix
 NeW DeLHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 17 NO. 23 Rs 5.00 IN DELHI-NCR; Rs 6.00 OUTSIDE DELHI-NCR. PRICE WITH HINDUSTAN TIMES Rs 10.50 (FOR DELHI & NCR) 16 PAGES

Friday, January 27, 2023

How WeWork built its The humbling of

livemint.com India success story uP10 Goldman Sachs uP8

SENSEX 60,205.06 0.00 NIFTY 17,891.95 0.00 DOLLAR ₹81.59 ₹0.00 EURO ₹88.78 ₹0.00 OIL $86.85 $0.73 GOLD ₹56,903 ₹0

Pvt banks face govt Tata group plans to Tata Steel, JSPL,
others vie for
DON’T MISS

infuse up to $1.8 bn NMDC Steel

ire for missing goals in Air India-Vistara disinvestment
Gulveen Aulakh &
Subhash Narayan
No govt biz for banks lagging on Centre’s financial inclusion schemes Anirudh Laskar
anirudh.l@livemint.com NEW DELHI
MUMBAI SoftBank deals hit record low,
Subhash Narayan

T
ata Steel, Jindal Steel and sapping funding for startups
TurNING THe SCreWS
T
subhash.narayan@livemint.com ata Sons Ltd may invest Power, JSW Steel, Adani SoftBank’s new startup bets hit a record low last
NEW DELHI $1.5-1.8 billion in the pro- Group and Vedanta quarter. The largest tech investor—which at one
posed airline behemoth Group are likely to bid for the point took part in $30 bn worth of funding rounds in

T
he government has
warned private sector
banks that it will cut busi-
ness ties with them unless
they enthusiastically par-
ticipate in the Centre’s financial
inclusion programmes, such as the
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
(PMJDY), two people aware of the
development said, a move that may
potentially benefit state-run lenders.
Officials of the department of finan-
cial services have told private banks to
improve their performance on the
government’s financial inclusion initi-
atives or face sharp cuts in govern-
ment business, the people said,
requesting anonymity. The perform-
ance of private banks would be moni-
tored for the next six months, and if
they are still found wanting, a phased
cut in government business will start,
one of the two people said.
The decision follows a meeting of sec-
retary financial services Vivek Joshi with
representatives of private sector banks,
small finance banks and payment banks
on Tuesday to review the progress made
in various financial inclusion initiatives.
Despite repeated reminders, pri-
vate banks’ contribution to financial
inclusion programmes remains less
than 10%, and so the government
cautioned them that any further slip-
CRACKING THE WHIP
GOvT is set to monitor
pvt banks’ performance
for the next six months
page might result in withdrawal of
government business, an official of
the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA)
said, requesting anonymity.
The government has deposits of
over ₹12 trillion, making the business
very lucrative for private-sector
banks. These not only help banks
with earnings on commissions
(around ₹5,000 crore) but, more
importantly, help banks acquire new
customers and expand their low-cost
PvT banks’ current share CeNTre has deposits of
across financial inclusion over ₹12 tn, making the biz
schemes is under 10% lucrative for pvt lenders
CASA (current account and savings
account) deposits, boosting profits.
While private sector banks’ share of
total credit disbursal is now more than
40%, their participation in govern-
ment-run financial inclusion schemes
that seek to ensure access to financial
services and credit to vulnerable
groups has been lacklustre. For
instance, private sector banks’ contri-
TURN TO PAGE 6
created by the merger of Air
India and Vistara, two people
aware of the development said.
On 29 November, Singapore
Airlines and Tata Sons said they
plan to merge Air India and Vis-
tara, with Singapore Airlines
holding 25.1% of the merged
entity. The merger is expected to
be completed by March next year.
“The board (of Tata Sons) has
to decide on the exact amount to
be invested in Air India-Vistara,
among other initiatives by Tata
group. A significant portion
could be set aside for investment
into Air India-Vistara combined,”
said one of the two people cited
above, both of whom spoke on
condition of anonymity.
Both people said the invest-
ment would be primarily util-
ized to expand fleet; raise its
market share beyond 30%;
enhance customer service qual-
ity; increase global slot facilities
and achieve the highest flight
service quality worldwide.
“The investments by Tata
Sons will be done from the pro-
ceeds received as dividend
income from TCS (Tata Con-
sultancy Services) and other
group firms. About 80% of Tata
The funds may be primarily
used to expand fleet and raise
market share beyond 30%. MINT
Sons’ dividend income comes
from TCS. Aviation is one of the
key businesses under Tata
Sons. The capital being consid-
ered to be infused into the
entity is equivalent to 50-60%
of the dividend income
received from TCS in FY23,”
the person cited above added.
As part of its strategy, Tata
Sons may begin infusing capital
in tranches, beginning in the
first quarter of FY24.
“Most plans regarding fund-
ing requirements for various
areas of the aviation business
are ready. Once the regulatory
approvals for the merger come
in and the allocation is bud-
geted formally, the work will
start. A total infusion of around
$3 billion in phases should be
TURN TO PAGE 6
government’s majority stake in
NMDC Steel Ltd, a steel plant
separated from India’s largest
iron ore producer, NMDC Ltd,
three people familiar with the
development said.
The central government will
sell 50.79% of its 60.79% hold-
ing in the under-construction
steel plant at Nagarnar, Chhat-
tisgarh, that is being built with
an investment of ₹20,000
crore. The plant, with a capac-
ity to produce 3 million tonnes
per annum, is likely to be com-
missioned by the end of March.
“The plant will be a good
strategic asset, especially for
steelmakers looking to add
capacity and quickly start pro-
duction. With its proximity to
iron ore mines and connectivity
to ports, the steel plant presents
a good set-up for integrated
steel players,” one of the three
people aware of the develop-
ment said, seeking anonymity.
The government will trans-
fer the management control to
the winning bidder and list the
shares on BSE.
Spokespeople for Jindal
TURN TO PAGE 9
over 90 startups in a single quarter—participated in
just eight rounds totalling $2.1 bn in the three
months to December, Bloomberg data showed.>P9
Indian Oil, GAIL India in talks with
ADNOC for long-term LNG deal
To secure India’s energy needs at affordable
prices, state-run Indian Oil and GAIL India are in
talks with the UAE’s ADNOC for a long-term
liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract.
The talks are at a fairly advanced stage, Sunjay
Sudhir, India’s ambassador to the UAE, said. >P2
India, Nato to hold strategic talks;
focus on regional security, China
New Delhi is set to host a rare strategic dialogue
with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(Nato) focused on regional security issues in a
development with potential global ramifications.
The dialogue is expected to be held in early
March, said people aware of the matter. >P2
Adani exploring legal action;
bring it on, says Hindenburg
Adani Group is weighing legal action against
Hindenburg Research, whose report calling out the
conglomerate’s debt position and governance
issues led to shares of the group’s companies losing
₹85,000 crore in value. The group said it will publish
a more detailed reply on Friday. >P4

First day, first show

With a first-day gross of ₹106 crore, or $12.77 mn, worldwide, Pathaan
became the first Hindi film to collect more than ₹100 crore in a single day.
China gobbles up iron ore from Musk may raise up to $3 bn
Top Hindi releases
55 Day 1 earnings in
India (in ₹ cr)
Pathaan's earnings
in key international
markets (in $ mn)
India after govt withdraws duty to help pay off Twitter debt
UK and Europe UAE and
53.95 rest of Gulf Ravi Dutta Mishra Berber Jin keep advertisers on the platform. concerns about Twitter’s finan-
53.35 0.65 ravi.dutt@livemint.com
The dragon's share feedback@livemint.com In November, Mr. Musk said cial performance. The Musk
1.6 India’s iron-ore exports to China jumped 10 times in Dec from
0.75 Total NEW DELHI Twitter had suffered “a massive team didn’t specify a funding
4.5 Nov to $153 mn, which was 98% of its total iron ore exports.

E
52.25 lon Musk’s team has held drop in revenue” and was losing amount or purpose for the fun-
Share of total iron

A
1.5 reopening China trying Iron ore exports from India ($ mn) talks with investors about over $4 million a day. He also draise in the email.
North ore exports (%)
Rest of America to stoke domestic Nov Dec Change (%) raising up to $3 billion to said that month that bankruptcy Fidelity, one of the co-inves-
the world
demand scooped up China 14.26 153 972.9 0.1 repay some of the $13 billion in was a possibility for the com- tors that backed Mr. Musk’s take-
Pathaan KGF: Chapter 2 War Thugs of Overall first-day Nepal 97.7
(2023) (2022) (2019) Hindostan gross earnings nearly all of India’s iron ore Malaysia 0 2.27 0 0.8 China debt tacked onto Twitter Inc. as pany, although Mr. Musk later over of Twitter, wrote down its
(2018)
$ 12.77 mn (₹106 cr) exports in December after New Qatar part of his buyout of the com- shared more upbeat prospects stake in Twitter by 56% in
Source: Trade experts and Bollywood Hungama
Delhi lifted export duty on the Qatar 0.67 1.28 91 pany, people familiar with the for the company, saying he November, public filings show,
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
mineral a month earlier, com- Nepal 0.03 0.1 233.3 1.5 matter said. expects Twitter to be roughly suggesting Mr. Musk would face

Pathaan clocks merce ministry data showed.

India’s iron ore exports to
China jumped over 10 times to
Source: commerce and industry ministry
Malaysia

PARAS JAIN/MINT
In December, Mr. Musk’s rep-
resentatives discussed selling up
to $3 billion
cash-flow break-even in 2023 as
he has slashed some 6,000 jobs.
The state
an uphill battle raising funds at
the original valuation from out-
side investors. The banks holding

highest opening
$153 million in December from
$14.26 million in November when
the Union government withdrew
export duty on steel and iron ore.
similar trend continues in the according to China Index in new Twit- of the fun- the $13 billion in debt that backed
next two months, it will be a Academy, one of the country’s ter shares, draising his takeover of the company
good sign of recovery in China largest independent real estate people t a l k s haven’t yet received any formal
and elsewhere, too,” said Ajay research firms. familiar with the matter said. couldn’t be learned. In mid-De- notice of any repayments, people

for a Hindi film This was 98% of the total iron ore
exports in December. The export
in the category to China during
Sahai, director-general of the
Federation of Indian Export
Organisations.
China has ramped up sup-
port for the industry to relieve
a long-running liquidity
Mr. Musk’s team has said to
people familiar with the finan-
ces of the company that an
cember, Mr. Musk’s team
reached out to new and existing
backers about raising new equity
familiar with the matter said.

LAYOFFS ACROSS TECH

Lata Jha ing released on 8,000 screens December was also four times China’s home prices have squeeze that has hit develop- equity raise, if successful, could capital at the original Twitter Representatives for Mr. Musk
lata.j@htlive.com worldwide, including 5,500 in that in December 2021. been falling for the last six ers and delayed the comple- be used to pay down an unse- takeover price. didn’t respond to requests for
NEW DELHI India and 2,500 overseas, “Demand from China had months as rising covid-19 cases tion of many housing projects, cured portion of the debt that Mr. Musk’s advisers had comment.
Khan’s film saw shows being taken a hit, and as China depressed demand. Reuters further undermining buyers’ carries the highest interest rate hoped to reach a deal to raise Twitter’s unsecured bridge

S
hah Rukh Khan’s
Pathaan broke records
on its opening day, earn-
ing ₹55 crore in India on
Wednesday, the highest by
any Hindi film on the opening
day. The Siddharth Anand-di-
rected action drama, which
faced charges of hurting reli-
gious sentiments before theat-
rical release, trumped boycott
calls by various Hindu outfits
to set new records across India.
First-day earnings of
Pathaan are higher than KGF:
Chapter 2 (₹53.95 crore), a
added late Wednesday night begins to open up after the end reported that home prices in confidence, Reuters reported. within the $13 billion Twitter cash at the initial takeover price loans, which total $3 billion, are
to meet rising demand. of the zero covid-19 policy, 100 Chinese cities fell for the India’s decision to withdraw loan package, people familiar by the end of 2022, according the most expensive portion of the
Further, at $4.5 million, the there has been a spurt in sixth month in a row in export duty had come amid with the matter said. to an email sent to prospective $13 billion debt package Mr. Musk
film has registered the biggest demand. We are yet to see if it December, declining 0.08% signs of an export slowdown. Paying off the debt would pro- investors at the time. However, incurred as part of his $44 billion
opening day for a Hindi film in is pent-up demand or if the from a month earlier after fall- vide welcome financial relief to some prospective backers said
overseas markets. This includes demand is going to stay. If a ing 0.06% in November, TURN TO PAGE 6 Twitter, which has struggled to they balked at the terms, given TURN TO PAGE 6
$1.60 million in the United Arab
Emirates and the rest of the
Gulf, $1.50 million in North
America, $650,000 in the UK
and Europe and $750,000 in
the rest of the world. With a
High-earning men are cutting back on their working hours
first-day gross of ₹106 crore
($12.77 million) worldwide, Courtney Vinopal on the job each workweek, or a U.S. job market is even tighter Before the pandemic, Eli The downshift documented
Pathaan has become the first feedback@livemint.com 3% reduction in hours. Over the than what would be expected Albrecht, a lawyer in the Wash- by Dr. Shin and his colleagues
Hindi film to collect more than same three-year period, the given the current levels of ington, D.C., area, says he occurred as many professionals

Kannada action drama that,
with its dubbed version, now
ranks second in the list of all-
time top Hindi language open-
ing days. Action dramas War
and Thugs of Hindostan that
had made ₹53.35 crore and
₹52.25 crore in 2019 and 2018,
respectively, both produced
by Yash Raj Films (YRF), now
rank third and fourth on the
list. YRF has also produced
Pathaan.
The dubbed Tamil and Tel-
ugu versions of Pathaan made
an additional ₹2 crore upon
release on Wednesday. The
film is also the highest first-day
grosser for Khan, Deepika
Padukone as well as YRF. Hav-
₹100 crore in gross earnings
globally in a single day.
Trade website Box Office
India said the film is perform-
ing exceedingly well in Hindi-
speaking markets such as
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and
Maharashtra but has also bro-
ken records in south India,
with Andhra Pradesh and Tel-
angana markets leading the
race. Records of KGF 2 have
been broken in east India,
which was an impressive per-
former in the region.
“For Pathaan to shatter
records in this fashion on a
non-holiday just proves that
TURN TO PAGE 6
A
merican workers have
cut the number of hours
they spend in their jobs
since 2019, but no group has
dialed back its time on the clock
more than young, high-earning
men whose jobs typically
demand
long hours.
The top-
earning 10%
of men in the U.S. labor market
logged 77 fewer work hours in
2022, on average, than those in
the same earnings group in
2019, according to a new study
of federal data by the econom-
ics department at Washington
University in St. Louis. That
translates to 1.5 hours less time
top-earning 10% of women cut
back time at work by 29 hours,
which translates to about half
an hour less work each week, or
a 1% reduction.
High-earning men in the
25-to-39 age range who could
b e
described
as “worka-
holics”
were pulling back, often by
choice, says Yongseok Shin, a
professor of economics, who
co-wrote the paper. Since this
group already put in longer
hours than the typical U.S.
worker—and women at the
highest income levels—these
high earners had longer work
While most US workers are
putting in fewer hours, men in the
top 10% of earners cut back time
on the job the most, study says.
days to trim, Dr. Shin says, and
still worked more hours than
the average.
The drop in working hours
among high-earning men and
women helps explain why the
unemployment and labor-force
participation, Dr. Shin says.
“These are the people who
have that bargaining power,”
Dr. Shin says of the leverage
many workers have had over
their employers in a tight job
market. “They have the privi-
lege to decide how many hours
they want to work without wor-
rying too much about their
economic livelihood.”
The paper published by the
National Bureau of Economic
Research, which isn’t yet peer
reviewed, suggests high earn-
ers were more likely to benefit
from flexible working arrange-
ments, which could be a factor
in reduced work hours.
worked between 80 to 90
hours a week. Now, he says he
puts in 60 to 70 hours each
week. That’s still more than
most men in America, who
averaged 40.5 hours a week in
2021, according to federal data.
Mr. Albrecht’s schedule
changed when he shared Zoom
school duties for two of his
young children with his wife.
He’s maintained the reduced
hours because it’s making his
relationship more equitable, he
says, and gives him family time.
“I used to feel—and a lot of
dads used to feel—that just by
providing for the family finan-
cially, that was sufficient. And
it’s just not,” Mr. Albrecht says.
have been reassessing their
ambitions and the value of
working long hours. Embold-
ened by a strong job market,
millions of Americans quit their
jobs in search of better hours
and more flexibility.
Overall, U.S. employees
worked 18 fewer hours a year,
on average, in 2022 compared
with 2019, with employed men
putting in 28 fewer hours last
year and employed women cut-
ting their time by nine hours,
data from the U.S. Census
Bureau’s Current Population
Survey show. The average male
worker put in 2,006 hours last
TURN TO PAGE 8
02 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Global phone shipments plunge
India, Nato to hold strategic talks;
as consumers spend less
Global smartphone shipments suffered their worst quarterly
drop on record in a clear sign of cooling consumer demand that
signals more pain for manufacturing hubs like South Korea and
focus on regional security, China
Vietnam. Shipments declined 18.3% in the December quarter
compared to a year earlier, to a little over 300 million units, Need-
ham, Massachusetts-based IDC said Thursday. For the year, ship-
ments fell 11.3% and marked the lowest total for a decade, the Officials from ministries of defence and external affairs are expected to participate in talks scheduled for March
researchers said. BLOOMBERG

Shashank Mattoo occurs in a dramatically changed harm Alliance security,” reads the
Halwa ceremony held to mark shashank.mattoo@livemint.com strategic landscape. document.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, “The PRC seeks to control key
final stage of Budget preparation NEW DELHI
the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan technological and industrial sectors,

New Delhi: The traditional ‘halwa ceremony’ was held in
North Block on Thursday to mark the beginning of compila-
tion of documents for the Budget. Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, who was present at the ceremony, will present
the Union Budget on 1 February. SAURAV ANAND
Finance ministry contemplating
proposals to benefit middle class
New Delhi: The finance ministry is considering proposals to ben-
efit the middle class in the last full budget of the government to be
presented on 1 February in the Lok Sabha. The finance ministry is
looking into proposals sent by various government departments
on specific steps which may be announced in the budget, benefit-
ting a large section of the middle class, sources said. The govern-
ment has not raised the income tax exemption limit from ₹2.5 lakh
which was fixed in 2014 by the then finance minister Arun Jaitley
in his first budget.
RCap administrator seeks 90-day
extension to complete resolution
N
ew Delhi is set to host a and the escalating threat posed by critical infrastructure, and strategic
rare strategic dialogue China to India and other countries materials and supply chains. It uses
with the North Atlantic have altered calculations. its economic leverage to create stra-
Treaty Organization “In a dialogue such as this, China is tegic dependencies and enhance its
(Nato) focused on going to be an issue of mutual interest influence. It strives to subvert the
regional security issues in a devel- given that India continues to face rules-based international order,
opment with potential global rami- Chinese border aggression. Nato including in the space, cyber and
fications. might like to have a better under- maritime domains,” the document
The dialogue is expected to be held standing of the threat India faces and goes on to add.
in early March, said people aware of how China’s expansionist strategy The two sides are likely to look for
the matter. operates,” said Chellaney. common ground to address security
Senior officials from Nato, includ- This time around, Nato has challenges in the Indo-Pacific. In
ing from its policy planning division, adopted a more muscular approach recent years, individual European
and officials from India’s ministries of in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion nations like the UK, Germany and
defence and external affairs are of Ukraine. Beijing’s support for France have stepped up their mili-
expected to participate. The invasion of Ukraine, the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan and the threat Moscow and its unveiling of a tary footprint in the region. It
Within South Asia, the security alli- posed by China to India and other countries have altered geo-politics. PTI ‘no-limits’ partnership with Russia remains to be seen whether this
ance of 30 countries from North Amer- has hardened Nato’s outlook on the development will have any conse-
ica and Europe was present in Afghani- tion Organisation with Russia and indicated that the discussion had cen- Asian giant. Nato’s new Strategic quences for India’s relationship with
stan, where Nato forces fought for 20 China,” said Brahma Chellaney, pro- tred around China, the evolving situa- Concept, unveiled in June last year, Russia given Moscow’s acrimonious
years until the US-led withdrawal in fessor of strategic studies at the Centre tion in Afghanistan and terrorism. squarely addresses the China chal- relationship with Nato. Strategic
late 2021. for Policy Research. But Nato’s prioritization of Russia lenge. experts think not.
The dialogue will likely focus “The People’s Republic of “While India has made clear to
on a range of themes, including TALKING TERMS China’s (PRC) stated ambitions Russia that we will not take sides on
the possibility of a stronger and coercive policies challenge Ukraine with the West, we have also
partnership between India and THE talks will focus INDIA and NATO BEIJING’S support NATO’S Strategic our interests, security and val- made clear that we will continue our
Nato focused on geopolitical also on a
stronger partnership
held a political
dialogue aimed at
for Moscow
has hardened
Concept, unveiled in
June last year,
ues. The PRC employs a broad dialogue with the US, Nato and the
challenges in the Indo-Pacific. between India expanding NATO’s outlook on squarely addresses range of political, economic West on the Indo-Pacific and China.
“Given the fact that India is and NATO cooperation in 2019 the Asian giant the China challenge and military tools to increase There is a clear difference between
increasingly multi-aligned, con- its global footprint and project India and Russia over China,” said
sultations or dialogues with even power, while remaining Rajesh Rajagopalan, a professor of
PTI military alliances like Nato seem okay. Media reports had earlier indicated as a key threat and its relative ambiv- opaque about its strategy, intentions international politics at Jawaharlal
The goal of multi-alignment is the that India and Nato held a political alence about the security challenge and military build-up. The PRC’s Nehru University. Queries to the
preservation of India’s strategic auton- dialogue in 2019 aimed at expanding posed by China limited common malicious hybrid and cyber opera- ministry of external affairs and Nato
omy so New Delhi can talk to Nato and cooperation. ground between the two sides at the tions and its confrontational rhetoric on Wednesday remained unan-
also be a part of the Shanghai Coopera- The same reports, never denied, time. This latest round of talks and disinformation target Allies and swered till press time on Thursday.

It’s a digital budget, Govt, CIL consider coal price revision

for 3rd year in a row Rituraj Baruah &
Subhash Narayan
remained unanswered till
press time.
Addressing shareholders at
Zia Haq the previous two Union bud- NEW DELHI the 48th annual general meet-
Zia.haq@htlive.com gets, the official aware of the ing meeting in August last

I
NEW DELHI matter said. n anticipation of yet another year, Coal India CMD Pramod
The budget was first pre- high-demand season for Agrawal said the company has

T
Mumbai: The RBI-appointed administrator of Reliance Cap- he upcoming budget
ital on Wednesday filed an application seeking an extension will be a paperless one,
of 90 days from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) just as in the previous
for completion of the company’s corporate insolvency resolu- two years, and will be available
tion process. The deadline to complete the process was 31 Jan- in the digital form on an app
uary. The company had earlier sought extensions on multiple downloadable on Android and
occasions. PRIYANKA GAWANDE iOS platforms.
The app will have several
new features this year, an
Macleods recalls 10,000 bottles of official aware of the matter
said. All budget documents
anti-bacterial medication in US and annexures will be availa-
New Delhi: Macleods Pharmaceuticals is recalling around 10,000 ble in Hindi and
bottles of generic antibiotic medication in the US market due to a English on the
labelling error, according to the US health regulator. As per the latest app as soon as
enforcement report by the US Food and Drug Administration, finance minister
Macleods Pharma Inc, a US-based unit of the company, is recalling Nirmala Sithara-
10,052 bottles of Levofloxacin tablets, which are used to treat differ- man finishes her
ent types of bacterial infections. The firm is recalling the affected lot budget speech on 1 February,
due to “mismatching of embossing on tablets with the embossing according to the official cited
mentioned in the package insert in the distributed bottles.” PTI above.
On the updated app, made
by the National Informatics
Vi board to discuss ₹1,600 crore Centre under the supervision
of the department of eco-
debenture issue for ATC on 31 Jan nomic affairs, users will be
New Delhi: Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea’s board will meet on able to download the budget
Tuesday to discuss a proposal to issue ₹1,600 crore debentures to in PDF format and access spe-
mobile tower vendor ATC Telecom Infrastructure. Vodafone Idea cific data through dropdown
(VIL) and ATC had agreed to extend the last date to issue optionally fields.
convertible debentures till 28 February after the shareholder’s This time, users will also be
approval to issue the debentures lapsed in December. PTI able to compare data across
sented in a paperless form on 1
February 2021 due to covid
disruptions.
Union Budget 2023-24 will
be the Modi government’s last
full budget before the ruling
National Democratic Alliance
faces a general election in
2024.
According to analysts, the
government is expected to stay
the course on fiscal consolida-
tion, contain the
subsidy bill, while
stepping up capi-
tal investment and
domestic manu-
facturing capacity.
“The government will print
only 40-odd hard copies. This
is an eco-friendly step,” the
official said.
Before 2021, the finance
ministry would print several
hundred copies of the Union
budget, a process that had to
be stopped because of the
covid pandemic.
The printing of the budget
usually takes place inside the
North Block, which houses the
finance ministry.
electricity during April-
June, the central government
and state-run Coal India Ltd
are considering revising the
price of coal for the power sec-
tor and other industries that
consume the fossil fuel.
Two people aware of the
development said discussions
are preliminary and that no
decision has been taken yet.
Coal India has kept its prices
largely unchanged for nearly
five years now across different
grades of coal.
“Prices are mostly market-
driven for commercial, captive
and imported coal. They are
notified for the power sector.
High-level talks have taken
place. The revision would
depend on several factors,”
said one of the persons.
The talks come against the
backdrop of an increase in
input costs over the years, with
an accelerated hike in the past
two years. In the past one-year,
international coal prices have
surged to record levels.
“Coal India has kept prices
unchanged for five years now,
not raised prices in the previ-
ous four years to ensure its
supply at competitive prices to
consumers compared to inter-
national sellers. He said the
miner is committed to increas-
ing its production and supplies
to mandated levels to ensure
the country gets power at a just
Talks on a revision of coal prices come in the backdrop of price.
accelerated increase in input costs in the past two years. “At a time when interna-
HT
tional coal prices are much
despite the increase in various consider the impact on price of higher, Coal India continues to
cost inputs, especially diesel energy in the country because supply its coal to Indian con-
and explosives. Even in this coal price increase has a cas- sumers at highly competitive
backdrop CIL’s PAT (profit cading effect on various fac- prices, with no price increase
after tax) for H1 was at a record tors. We will take all our stake- over the last four years,” said
high,” said a Coal holders on board Agrawal.Any revision in price
India official in Coal India has and endeavour to is likely to have a cascading
response to an kept its prices balance the price effect on inflation as it would
emailed query. largely increase judi- impact power prices, thereby
The official unchanged for ciously. To draw a affecting both household and
further said:
nearly five years timeline on this is
industrial expenditure.
“However, the
across different
not possible.” The power sector would be
idea is we have to The final deci- the most impacted as India’s
be adequately grades of coal sion on the mat- power generation is still
compensated and ter would be mostly based on the fossil fuel.
whatever be the taken by the CIL Currently prices for the power
increase it should take care of board, which also includes sector are kept 20% lower than
our Ebitda (earnings before government nominees. the price of coal for other
interest, taxes, depreciation Queries mailed to the coal industrial sectors.
and amortization). We will also and power ministries rituraj.baruah@livemint.com

IOCL, GAIL in talks with UAE’s ADNOC for long-term LNG contract CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Dilasha Seth & Rituraj Baruah out a mechanism for long- the case with some other take from that plant as well. spot prices have been exorbi- suggestions or complaints
ABU DHABI/NEW DELHI term offtake from an upcom- countries. It is actually spot But then that plant is still in the tant and volatile as was seen in about errors.
ing LNG plant in Fujairah. LNG from the aggregators. We Greenfield stage at the CY2022,” said Vashisht.
Readers can alert the

I
n a bid to secure India’s
energy needs at affordable
prices, state-run Indian Oil
Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and
GAIL are in talks with the
UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company (ADNOC) for a long-
term liquefied natural gas
(LNG) supply contract. The
talks are at a fairly advanced
stage, according to India’s
ambassador to the UAE Sunjay
Sudhir.
In fact, given UAE’s limited
export capacity for natural gas
at the moment, India is hold-
ing talks with the UAE to work
“Two of our companies,
GAIL and IOCL are in discus-
sions with ADNOC for long-
term LNG contracts. Right
now, as we speak, discussions
have progressed very, very far.
And it’s just a question of get-
ting the right numbers. We are
very hopeful of concluding it
soon,” said Sudhir.
At the moment, the UAE is
the second largest source of
energy for India. However,
those are for spot purchases
and not long-term deals like in
the case with countries like
Qatar and Australia. Long-
are trying that the supply
becomes direct, more long
term. It helps both of us,” said
Sudhir.
India is working with the
UAE to forge long-term off-
take from an upcoming LNG
plant as well.
“At the moment, the UAE
UAE is already India’s second-largest source of energy, but these also has limited capacity to
are spot purchases and not long-term deals . BLOOMBERG export. But then gas is there
and the UAE is planning to
term contracts are generally purchases. come up with a 9.6 MMTPA
preferred by consuming coun- “So even now, UAE is the LNG plant in Fujairah. We are
tries or entities as gas is availa- second largest import source working with the UAE govern-
ble under these contracts at of energy for us. But it is not ment if we can work out some
cheaper prices than in spot part of long-term deals as it is mechanism for long-term off-
moment,” said Sudhir.
Queries sent to ministry of
petroleum, GAIL, and Indian
Oil remained unanswered till
press time.
Prashant Vashisht, VP and
Co-Group Head, ICRA said
that given the growth in natu-
ral gas consumption by the
Indian fertiliser and CGD sec-
tors, India will remain heavily
reliant on LNG imports
despite a projected increase in
domestic natural gas produc-
tion. “Accordingly, it is crucial
to tie up for additional long-
term LNG for the country as
The talks have come in the
newsroom to any errors in the
backdrop of Russian company paper by emailing us, with your
Gazprom’s former subsidiary, full name and address to
Gazprom Marketing and feedback@livemint.com.
Trading Singapore (GMTS)
defaulting on its long-term It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
contract for the supply of LNG Readers dissatisfied with the
to GAIL since May last year. response or concerned about
Attempts to secure more long- Mint’s journalistic integrity may
term contracts intensified write directly to the editor by
after state-run GAIL (India) sending an email to
Ltd had to make expensive asktheeditor@livemint.com
spot purchases of LNG at over Mint’s journalistic Code of
$40 per million British ther- Conduct that governs our
mal units (mBtu) in Septem- newsroom is available at
ber. www.livemint.com
dilasha.seth@livemint.com

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LIVEMINT.COM
FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi 03
04 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
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 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%)

60,205.06 -1.38 17,891.95 -1.51 15,171.95 -1.90 40,768.20 -3.31 17,974.35 -1.82 24,657.39 -2.10 28,154.89 -2.06
1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%)

0.60 1.11 0.48 1.33 0.84 0.09 0.04 -2.74 0.48 0.49 0.94 -1.53 3.31 -2.06
6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%)

7.96 4.06 7.58 3.55 6.25 2.29 1.61 -0.56 6.41 2.77 4.19 1.70 5.29 -2.47

m MINT SHORTS Tata Motors needs JLR Disappointing Q3 for

Hang Seng Index jumps to SBI Cards; not much
11-month high on holiday data
Bullish bets grew across stocks in Hong Kong as holiday
spending and tourism data suggested a recovery is gain-
ing traction in the city and mainland China. On the first
on cruise control now relief ahead on margin
trading day following the Lunar New Year break, the Vineetha Sampath Bavadharini KS
Picking up pace Heavy load Spiralling down
benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped 2.4% to close at its vineetha.s@livemint.com bavadharini.ks@livemint.com
highest since 1 March. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Jaguar Land Rover saw Tata Motors’ debt fell sequentially in Q3FY23, High cost of funds continued to take

A
sequential expansion in Ebitda but it is still high. toll on SBI Cards’ NIM in Q3FY23.

S
Index, which tracks mainland companies listed in Hong fter a muted show in the BI Cards and Payment Services
margin for the second Net auto debt (in ₹ crore)
Kong, rallied almost 3%. The offshore yuan also strength- first half of FY23 (H1FY23), consecutive time in Q3FY23.
Ltd’s earnings for the quarter Net interest margin
70,000
ened against the dollar as onshore markets remain closed Tata Motors Ltd’s UK-based ended 31 December were dis- Cost of funds (right-hand scale)
Jaguar Land Rover Ebitda margin (in %)
for the week. Traders were emboldened by China’s holi- subsidiary Jaguar Land appointing on many counts. Margin 16 7
day travel and box office data, which showed a strong Rover Automation Plc (JLR) 18 60,000 compression, higher costs and a
revival in demand and suggested the nation has emerged has impressed with a strong rebound in slight deterioration in the asset qual-
(in %)
from the worst of a covid zero exit wave. The holiday the December quarter (Q3FY23). But 15 50,000 ity were some of the pain points. Not 6.3
period also saw tourism rebound in Hong Kong and one swallow does not make a summer. surprisingly, shares of the company 14
Macau as cross-border travel revved up. The gaming hub This is why investors in the Tata Motors 11.9 fell by almost 7% since the results 14 6
12 40,000
greeted 40,000 visitors on the second day of the holiday, stock should be a tad bit cautious given were declared.
the most since the start of the pandemic. BLOOMBERG the looming recessionary threat in Net profit rose by 32% from a year 5.4
9 30,000
Europe, which could weigh on JLR vol- earlier to ₹509 crore, missing ana-
umes. Moreover, while the lockdowns in lysts’ expectations. The main culprit
China are easing now, a potential spurt 6 20,000 here is the sharp sequential com- 12 5
in covid cases does pose a risk. pression of 67 basis points (bps) in net
JLR’s solid Q3 meant Tata Motors’ 3.9 interest margin (NIM) to 11.6%. 11.6
3 10,000
consolidated earnings before interest, Q1FY21 Q3FY23 Higher cost of funds and low revolver
tax, depreciation and amortization Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, mix capped margin. One basis point
tax, depreciation and amortization; 0
(Ebitda) came in at ₹9,643 crore, a seven- Quarterly data Q1FY22 Q2FY22 Q3FY22 Q4FY22 Q1FY23 Q2FY23 Q3FY23 is 0.01%. 10 4
Q3FY22 Q3FY23
quarter high. The company swung to a Source: Company data, Jefferies Note: Figures as on quarter end Source: Company presentation
Card service providers benefit
Source: Company data
net profit in Q3 after reporting loss for when more users ‘revolve’ their
the past many quarters. Still, this may SATISH KUMAR/MINT
credit or pay some of their outstand- SATISH KUMAR/MINT

not offer a big respite on profitability for age. It aims to clock wholesales volume electric vehicle (EV) business continues ing in the next billing period instead improving EMI transactions to
the full year (FY23) given the net loss of of 310,000 units and expects positive to grow and formed almost 10% of PV of paying up all at one go. For SBI increase interest income and NIM in
₹5,951 crore in H1FY23. Analysts at Jef- Ebit margin in FY23. volumes in Q3. It began deliveries of its Cards, the recovery of the revolver the next few quarters would mean
feries India now expect a lower net loss Meanwhile, demand for the domestic latest offering Tiago EV this month and mix has been delayed and is one of the operating expenses are likely to
in FY23 and have raised FY24-25E earn- business continues to remain healthy the order book is robust. the concerns for the stock. In the remain elevated. The management
ings per share by a slight 3-5%. across Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles While all segments are on a strong December quarter, the revolver mix also expects the NIM compression to
Federal Reserve’s M2 money supply slid for a fifth straight Coming to Q3, JLR’s performance was (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV). Q3 saw footing, high debt levels are a cause of stood at 24%, flat sequentially. “The be lower as the company intends to
month in December, dropping by a record $147.4 bn. AFP driven by easing semiconductor short- a sequential margin expansion in both concern. It is comforting that net auto improvement in the revolver mix is offset the rising fund costs by re-pric-
age, improving volumes, favourable mix segments and the trend is expected to debt is trending down every quarter but key among the drivers for profitabil- ing the new loans.
and better pricing. The average weekly continue with softening input costs. But the company has a long way to go before ity growth, and we will have to wait In terms of asset quality, the com-
US inflation prompts fresh production of Range Rover and Range with increasing competitive intensity, it becomes debt-free, which it aims to do for a few quarters before pany’s GNPA ratio was
look at money supply Rover Sport, which are by FY24. this number starts to For SBI Cards, the at 2.22%, up 8bps. “The
New York: The amount of money sloshing around the US high-margin products, was ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY “India (CV and PV) and inch up,” said Nitin recovery of the marginal increase in
economy shrank last year for the first time on record, a higher by nearly 44% JLR have tailwinds of cycli- Aggarwal, senior group revolver mix has GNPA ratio is not worri-
development that some economists believe bolsters the sequentially. This meant JLR’S solid Q3 meant THE performance THE strong Q3 show cal recovery and product- vice president for insti- been delayed and some now. However, we
case for US inflation pressures continuing to abate. The JLR’s total volumes, Tata Motors’ was driven by easing should come as a cycle. This should aid bal- tutional research at are watchful of the
consolidated Ebitda semiconductor relief as JLR’s muted is one of the
Federal Reserve’s main measure of the nation’s money excluding the joint venture came in at ₹9,643 cr, shortage, improving performance had ance sheet improvement,” Motilal Oswal Financial longer-term trade-off
stock - known as M2 money supply - slid for a fifth straight with China, rose by almost a seven-quarter high volumes and pricing been a sore point said analysts at Nuvama Services. concerns for the from the incremental
month in December, dropping by a record $147.4 billion 6% sequentially. The Q3 Research in a report on 25 As such, the pressure stock cards-in-force issuance
to a seasonally adjusted $21.2 trillion from the month Ebitda margin was up by January. on NIM for SBI Cards is skew towards ‘self-em-
before, data from the US central bank released this week 160 basis points to 11.9%. One basis point trends in market share need to be Apart from reducing debt levels, sus- likely to continue owing ployed’ customers
showed. From a year earlier, the volume of cash, coins, is 0.01%. watched. Tata Motors’ CV market share taining the upbeat momentum in JLR is to elevated interest rates. Margin is aimed at improving near-term return
checking and savings deposits, other small time deposits The robust order book offers good is declining. In the nine-month period crucial to keep investor sentiments likely to remain under pressure in Q4 ratios,” Krishnan ASV, senior vice
and cash parked in money market funds fell by nearly revenue visibility. JLR’s order book ended December, the measure was 42% intact. JLR’s strong Q3 show should as well, Aggarwal said. SBI Cards’ president, institutional research,
$300 billion and has fallen by more than $530 billion stood at 215,000 units at the end of Q3 versus 44.7% as at FY22, according to the come as a relief as its muted perform- operating expenses increased, lead- HDFC Securities said. In the past
since last March when the Fed kicked off its aggressive - with 74% of bookings skewed towards company’s presentation. ance has been a sore point for some time ing to an increased cost-to-income year, SBI Cards’ shares are down
and ongoing - process to drain liquidity from the economy Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and The enquiry to retail time in the PV now. ratio. But the ratio is expected to about 16%. A reversal of the declining
to combat high inflation. M2 took off in March 2020 as the Defender. However, JLR has maintained business has increased, noted the man- Tata Motors’ shares are now down by moderate sequentially due to the trend could occur with an improving
Fed slashed rates and started buying trillions of dollars in the FY23 guidance given the gradual agement in the earnings call, although it about 19% from their 52-week high of lack of large festival spending. revolver mix, although forecasting
bonds to help support the economy . REUTERS improvement in semiconductor short- does not see an impact on demand. The ₹520 seen in January 2022. However, the company’s focus on the timeline for that is tough.

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

IGL profit Adani explores legal action; MINT MACRO TRACKER

dips 11% in bring it on, says Hindenburg Launched in October 2018, Mint’s macro tracker provides a monthly comprehensive report on
the state of the economy, based on trends in 16 high-frequency indicators. For each indicator,
Q3 as input Swaraj Singh Dhanjal the goodwill and reputation of the
the value in each month is assigned a colour-coding (red, amber and green) to denote
where it lies relative to the five-year average (worse, in line, or better). As of December 2022,
10 of the 16 indicators were in red, two in amber, and four in green—a deterioration from six Now 1 month ago 2 months ago 4 months ago 6 months ago

costs soar swaraj.d@htlive.com

MuMbAI
Adani Group and its leaders, and
sabotage the FPO from Adani
months ago.

Enterprises,” it added. The

PTI

T
he Adani Group is con- ₹20,000 crore FPO of group flag- CONSUMER ECONOMY PRODUCER ECONOMY
feedback@ilivemint.com sidering legal action ship Adani Enterprises, which
NEw DELhI against Hindenburg opens on Friday and closes on 31 Passenger vehicle sales Tractor sales PMI composite Core* output
(y-o-y change, %) (y-o-y change, %) (y-o-y change, %)
Research, whose report calling January, on Wednesday saw a 250 60 60

I
20
ndraprastha Gas Ltd, the out the conglomerate’s debt clutch of foreign and domestic -5.7 40 25.6 59.4 5.5
15
firm that retails CNG and position and governance issues investors buy shares worth almost 150 20
55 10
piped cooking gas in the led to shares of the group’s ₹6,000 crore as part of the anchor 50
0
-20 5
national capital and other cit- companies losing ₹85,000 book allocation. 0
0
-50 -40 50 *8 core infrastructure industries
ies, reported a 11% drop in Q3 crore in value. Adani Group calls the report In a statement on Twitter,
Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Nov 2022
net profit after it held retail “We are evaluating the rele- “maliciously mischievous” and Hindenburg said it fully stands
prices despite rise in input vant provisions under US and “unresearched”. REUTERS by its report and would in fact
Broadband subscriber base Domestic air passengers Banks’ non-food credit Rail freight traffic
cost. Indian laws for remedial and welcome any legal action by (y-o-y change, %) (y-o-y change, %) (y-o-y change, %) (y-o-y change, %)
Consolidated net profit of punitive action against Hinden- bonds and non-Indian-traded Adani group. “If Adani is seri- 30 500 14.2 20 17.4 16 3.1
2.8
₹334.06 crore in October-De- burg,” said Jatin Jalundhwala, derivative instruments. ous, it should also file suit in the 20
400
12
300 15
cember 2022 is compared group head, legal, in a state- Slamming Hindenburg, U.S. where we operate. We 10 200 8
with ₹374.76 crore a year back, ment issued by Adani Group. Adani Group said the “mali- have a long list of documents 0
100 10
4
0
according to the company’s fil- Companies linked to the ciously mischievous” and we would demand in a legal dis- -10 -100 5 0
ing with stock exchanges. group also said that they are “unresearched” report pub- covery process,” the statement Jan 2022 Oct 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Nov 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022
The firm saw more than planning a detailed response on lished on 24 January has posted on Twitter read.
doubling of the cost it incurs Friday to the short seller’s report adversely affected the group, its In the statement, Hinden-
on procuring natural gas, that they labelled as “bogus,” shareholders and investors. burg added that in the 36 hours
which is converted into CNG according to bondholders who “The volatility in Indian stock since it released the report, EXTERNAL SECTOR EASE OF LIVING
for sale to automobiles and participated in a conference call markets created by the report is Adani hasn’t addressed a single Import cover Rupee vs dollar CPI inflation Core CPI inflation
piped to household kitchens with Adani executives. of great concern and has led to substantive issue they raised. (forex reserves in months) (m-o-m change, %) (y-o-y, %) (y-o-y, %)
for cooking purposes. Hindenburg said in a 129-page unwanted anguish for Indian “At the conclusion of our 14 2 8 8
9.4 -0.9 5.7 6.3
Revenue from operations document that its two-year citizens,” it added.“Clearly, the report, we asked 88 straightfor- 1 7 7
12 0
soared to ₹4,089.03 crore in effort and investigations led to report and its unsubstantiated ward questions that we believe 6 6
-1
the third quarter from several countries, including the contents were designed to have give the company a chance to 10
-2 5 5
₹2,438.48 crore in the year- tax haven of Mauritius. a deleterious effect on the share be transparent. Thus far, Adani 8 -3 4 4
ago period. “For the quarter Researchers from Hinden- values of Adani Group compa- has answered none of these Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022
ending December 2022, IGL burg had pointed out the com- nies as Hindenburg Research, questions,” it said “Instead, as
registered an overall sales vol- plicated maze of transactions by their own admission, is posi- expected, Adani has resorted to Labour-intensive sector exports Trade balance Real rural wages Labour force participation rate
ume growth of 6% over the undertaken by many of the listed tioned to benefit from a slide in bluster and threats. In a state- (y-o-y change, %) (as a % of total trade) (y-o-y change, %) (in %)
30
corresponding quarter in the Adani Group firms. Adani shares. [“We hold short ment to media today, Adani -11.8 0 0 42
20 -25.6 -1.1 40.5
last fiscal, with the average “Even if you ignore the find- positions in Adani Group Com- referred to our 106 page, 10 -10 -1 41
0 -20 40
daily sale going up from 7.66 ings of our investigation and panies through US-traded 32,000 word report, with over -2
-10 -30 39
million standard cubic meters take the financials of Adani bonds and non-Indian-traded 720 citations and prepared -20
-3
-40 38
to 8.12 million standard cubic Group at face value, its seven derivatives, along with other over the course of 2 years, as -30 -4

meters per day,” a company key listed companies have 85% non-Indian-traded reference “unresearched” and said it is Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2022 Oct 2022 Jan 2022 Dec 2022

statement said. Product wise,
CNG recorded sales volume
growth of 8%, while piped nat-
ural gas recorded sales volume
growth of 1% in the quarter as
compared to a year ago.
downside purely on a funda-
mental basis owing to sky-high
valuations,” Hindenburg said.
It said the investment group
took a short position in Adani
companies through US-traded
securities.”],” it said.
“We are deeply disturbed by
this intentional and reckless
attempt by a foreign entity to mis-
lead the investor community and
the general public, undermine
“evaluating the relevant provi-
sions under US and Indian laws
for remedial and punitive
action” against us.”
Bloomberg contributed to the
story.
For each indicator, an average band (shown in grey) is constructed around the five-year average value. The size of the grey band rises with volatility. Values falling above this band
are in green, those falling below are red, and those within this band are coded amber (the red/green coding is reversed for inflation). Data for April and May 2022 for some
indicators such as air traffic and vehicle sales may show high numbers because of the base effect due to the covid-19 second wave in 2021. While calculating the five-year average,
data for some indicators for April-May 2020 and 2021 have been removed to eliminate lockdown-induced skews in the trend. All data as of 26 January 2023.
Source: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, Bloomberg, Mint calculations
Data: Tanay Sukumar; Graphics: Paras Jain
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi 05

m MINT SHORTS
Bain Capital sells JM Baxi stake to
Karnataka plans fintech Google gets mixed
views to India app
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd
Bengaluru: Private equity firm Bain Capital said its affiliate has
sold its stake in logistics platform JM Baxi Ports & Logistics Ltd
fund to back startups store policy changes
to German transportation company Hapag-Lloyd for an undis-
closed amount. Following a two-year investment by Bain Capital Shouvik Das & Abhijit Ahaskar
PE, JM Baxi has expanded its port capacity and logistics units, NEW DELHI
strengthening its financial standing despite macroeconomic and
Karnataka Digital Economy Mission forms fintech task group
C
supply chain obstacles, the firm said in a statement. ANUJ SUVARNA hanges made by Google
in its policy to comply
with directives of the
SirionLabs cuts 130 jobs globally Malvika Maloo & Aman Rawat Competition Commission of
India (CCI) have received
to realign business BENGALURU/NEW DELHI
mixed reactions. While its sup-

T
ISTOCK
he Karnataka government plans porters have hailed the changes
to create a fintech fund to spur as an “unprecedented” step and
growth of the startup ecosystem a “global precedent”, Google’s
in the state and achieve its aim of critics have termed it as a “half
becoming a global fintech hub. move” and believe that the
A fintech task group set up by the Karna- search giant should clarify its Google’s critics term the
taka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) has stance on items, including the changes a “half move”. BLOOMBERG
set a target of 50 startup unicorns and 100 rate of commission and fees.
soonicorns by 2030. Unicorns are startups In a blog post on Wednesday, “further clarification in order to
valued at $1 billion or more while sooni- Google detailed its efforts to demonstrate true democratiza-
corns are startups valued a little less than $1 comply with CCI’s recent tion of alternate access.”
billion and have the potential to become orders on how app installations Murugavel Janakiram,
unicorns. and billings are undertaken on founder and CEO of matrimo-
“We’ll first understand what type of fund Android devices. The changes nial site Matrimony.com said
Bengaluru: Sequoia-backed SirionLabs has fired nearly we need and what kind of investment we include enabling phone makers Google’s existing user-choice
130 employees globally, becoming the latest in a series of need, and then the ability to choose individual billing commission scheme is
technology companies to trim their workforce amid a approach the govern- Google apps to pre-install on “equally anti-competitive since
funding winter and a meltdown in tech stocks. “We are ment,” Sanjeev Gupta, their phones, and not making it it is a ploy to extract huge com-
positioning the company for a long-term profitable chief executive officer, Harshil Mathur, chairman of the fintech task group and CEO of fintech startup Razorpay. compulsorily for them to offer missions from developers even
growth based on sustainable cost structure. We are KDEM, said in an interview. He said the all Google services. Other steps when users avail third-party bill-
realigning our resources to achieve that goal,” Hiro fund’s corpus and other details are still to be some of the biggest fintech startups in “Most innovation in the world around include allowing users in India ing systems.”“We urge the CCI
Notaney, chief marketing officer at SirionLabs, said in a finalized. India. The ‘innovation corpus’ for fintech fintech is happening from India, and a lot of to choose their preferred to engage with app developers
statement. MALVIKA MALOO Karnataka is currently home to about 10 startups is one of the recommendations it is focused in Bengaluru,” said Mathur. search engine, announcing to see whether the supposed
fintech unicorns, including Razorpay, made by the task group in a report. “The idea is to create a wide ecosystem with compatibility for ‘forked’ (or user choice is at all an effective
Cred, PhonePe, Digit, Zerodha, Acko and Karnataka is not the only one. Maharash- the right set of support, tools, and policies modified) operat- choice—or another
Dell Technologies acquires cloud Open, besides 14 soonicorns such as Uni, Fi, tra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu have previ- so that more fintech companies can be ing systems based attempt by Google
Cashfree, Clear, and Rupeek. ously taken steps to support the fintech formed out of Karnataka.” on the Android to circumvent the
orchestration platform Cloudify Over the next few months, the fintech ecosystem in their regions. KDEM, a non-profit organization, is also platform, and offer- law,” he added.
New Delhi: US technology giant Dell Technologies has acquired task group intends to create the fund with The fintech task group is also focusing working with the state government to set up ing third-party billing services Prasanto Kumar Roy, a tech
Israeli startup Cloudify, which deals in cloud orchestration, a help from the government, the ‘Karnataka Centre of Fin- for any paid apps and in-app policy analyst, acknowledged
term used for combined automation of apps, workloads, support- venture capital investors, DRIVING GROwTH Tech Excellence’, a research products and services on the that Google’s policy update
ing resources, and infrastructure across one or more cloud plat- angel investors and business and innovation centre. Google Play Store platform. brings “major changes to its
forms. The company disclosed the purchase in a filing with the incubators to offer financial THE target is FUND to be created THE task group is “The fintech industry “It’s important to note that business model” but noted that
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As per Tech- support to new startups in the to create 50
unicorns and
with help from govt,
VCs, angel investors
also focusing on
having a dedicated
knows how we can grow Kar- Google has not clarified what the updated policy needs more
Crunch, Dell acquired Cloudify for $100 million.SOHINI BAGCHI state. 100 soonicorns and business fintech policy for nataka as the world’s hub of commissions it would continue clarity in terms of how Google
“I believe we have a large by 2030 incubators Karnataka the fintech industry. What the to charge, even as it opens up would “fill the Play Store reve-
private ecosystem in Karna- government can do is, we play third-party payment instru- nue void, if they don’t charge
Meta’s social media apps back up taka, which will be happy to an active role with them,” said ments for user-choice billing. brands and partners separate
contribute. If we bring the right set of eco- on having a dedicated fintech policy for Gupta, explaining the rationale behind set- The bigger issue here was Goo- license fees (for their apps).”
after brief outage systems, tools, and companies together, Karnataka to bolster the fintech ecosystem. ting up the task group. gle charging a hefty fee from Google did not respond to
Meta Platforms Inc.’s social media apps appeared to be back up creating a corpus won’t be a tough task,” It is aiming for Karnataka-based fintech KDEM had in November 2021 set up a third-party payment services emailed queries. Currently,
after facing a brief disruption in the US on Wednesday, data on said Harshil Mathur, chairman of the fin- firms to service about half of the $1 trillion fintech task force led by Razorpay’s Mathur too, which is what would affect Google charges a commission
Downdetector.com showed. At the peak of the outage, more than tech task group and CEO of fintech startup fintech market by 2030. This year, the task and which includes Zerodha’s Nithin developers the most,” said rate of 15-30% based on the rev-
17,000 user reports indicated issues with Instagram in the US, as Razorpay. The task group was formed by group aims to create a network of Karnata- Kamath, Cred’s Miten Sampat, Khata- Rameesh Kailasam, president enue made by a developer who
of 2352 GMT (6: 22 pm Indian time). Over 13,000 incidents were KDEM in partnership with industry leaders ka-based unicorn startups to extend their book’s Ravish Naresh and Karnataka and chief executive of industry has published apps on the Play
reported for the Facebook app and outage reports also briefly and stakeholders to foster the growing fin- ecosystems to support and nurture emerg- Bank’s M S Mahabaleshwara. body, IndiaTech.org. He said Store.
spiked for WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. REUTERS tech ecosystem in Karnataka, which has ing fintech startups. malvika.maloo@livemint.com the policy update would need shouvik.das@livemint.com
06 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Beijing
gobbles up Air India resets as it finishes m
MOVES
iron ore
from India
one year under the Tata fold A weekly list of C-Suiters who have moved up
the corporate ladder either within or outside
their companies.
Abhinav Appointed as chief marketing
FROM PAGE 1
Upadhyay officer at CollegeDekho

Akshat Appointed as managing director &

Overall exports in December
slipped 12%, led by flagging
exports of engineering goods,
gems and jewellery, cotton
yarn and man-made yarn, as
rising interest rates and fear of
a global recession hit demand.
The brand umbrella is to have one low-cost platform and one full-service platform by 2023 end Seth chief executive officer at HIL
Anil Appointed as chief financial officer
Anu Sharma and improved load factors. There have at Bata India
Somani
anu.sharma@livemint.com been no delays in making statutory
New DelhI payments. Banks also enjoy giving cap- Aparna Appointed as chief operating
Uppaluri officer at Tata Trust
ital to an airline at cheaper rates if the

In an attempt to arrest runa-
way commodity prices, the
government May 2022
imposed a 15% export duty on
a range of finished steel prod-
ucts and increased export duty
on 58%-and-above Fe-grade
iron ore fines and lumps from
30% to 50%.
Meanwhile, overall exports
to China between April and
December slowed to $11.03 bil-
lion against $17 billion in the
comparable period in 2021.
While the export slowdown
was largely broad-based, engi-
neering exports slipped
sharply to $1.98 billion from
$4.59 billion in 2021, com-
merce ministry data showed.
China’s trade deficit with New
T
ata Group took over the
operations of Air India a year
ago—on 27 January 2022—
marking the beginning of a
new chapter for the carrier.
The takeover has changed public per-
ception of the airline and improved its
performance, experts said. “The Tata
tag has brought in several tailwinds for
the airline,” a senior airline executive
said.
The government’s handover of Air
India to Tata Group marked the end of
the tedious process involved in the sale
of the debt-laden airline. Tata submit-
ted the winning bid of ₹18,000 crore as
the enterprise value of Air India against
a reserve price of ₹12,906 crore. The Air India also aims to focus on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its
bid comprised a payment of ₹2,700 customer proposition, reliability and on-time performance.
crore and retaining a debt of ₹15,300
crore.
promoter has a reputation and image Devndra Appointed as chief executive
like the Tatas,” said a senior industry Chawla officer at GreenCell Mobility
executive.
The airline is also working on Gautam Appointed as managing director
improving the work culture. It plans to Sewani private clients LGT Wealth India
reward employees based on merit
instead of seniority, the executive said, Karthik Appointed as head brand at The
Nagappan Hindu Group
and added that the recently announced
employee stock option scheme is an
attempt to improve productivity, loy-
Manish Appointed as head equities at IDFC
Gunwani Asset Management
alty and morale of employees.
Under this, Air India has offered Appointed as managing director &
Manish
chief executive officer at Zensar
the plan, the carrier also aims to focus for Aviation CAPA India.
AFP
around 980 million shares of the com-
pany to its permanent employees as
part of a stock option scheme. The
shares are also being offered to the per-
manent staff of Air India Express as part
of the Employees’ Share Benefit (ESB)
Scheme 2022 and are expected to ben-
efit around 8,000 staff.
Some industry experts, though,
Tandon
Naval
Seth
Nikhil
Advani
m Technologies
Appointed as head of investor
relations at Bharti Airtel
Appointed as managing director &
head - international business
at LGT Wealth India
Appointed as managing director

Delhi touched a record $87 bil-
lion last year.
According to a Morgan
Stanley report, the combina-
tion of an extended covid-zero
policy and a likely recession in
developed markets could
result in a drag of more than
300 basis points on 2023
growth in China, the second
largest economy in the world.
China’s slowdown assumes
significance as it is one of
India’s largest trade partners.
“China has already reduced
significantly as a contributor to
global growth both last year
and this year, while the US,
India and Indonesia, among
others, have increased in
importance. In fact, China con-
tributed less than 20% to global
nominal GDP growth in the
past five quarters and even fell
below 10% in 2Q22,” Morgan
Stanley said in a report.
MOVES
Under the government-led divest- on growing both its network and fleet, Air India, which has been among the expressed concern that the recent Nimish family office and portfolio
ment process, the group bought a 100% revamping its customer proposition, least punctual airlines in India over the flurry of unruly passenger incidents Shah analysis at LGT Wealth India
stake in full-service carrier Air India reliability and on-time performance, years, has been among the top three and violation of norms by the airline in
Appointed as chief financial officer
and its arm Air India Express. Since technology, sustainability, and innova- airlines in timekeeping in India since reporting the same may damage brand P Ganesh at FSN E-Commerce Ventures
then, AirAsia India, formerly a joint tion and wants to invest in the best tal- August. It was also crowned with the image. In two such cases, Air India was
venture of AirAsia and Tata Group, has ent in the industry. most punctual title for October. While fined ₹30 lakh and ₹10 lakh, respec- Appointed as head of corporate
become a 100% subsidiary of Air India. “It is a long haul. It will take some the airline is still in the process of tively, by the regulator. Rozelle communications and affairs
In November, the group also “The carrier might not have lived Laha at HT Media
announced that Vistara, a 51:49 SIgNS OF TurNArOuND up to the great expectations of the
Sandeep Appointed as head of people for
joint venture between Tata Sons public as the recent unfortunate
and Singapore Airlines, will be AIr India has been WhIlE the airline is ThE market share of FlIghT departures incidents have dented the image of Nainwal India at Revolut
merged with Air India; Singapore among the top three
airlines in
still in revamping its
fleet, the utilization
Air India stood at
9.2% in December
for the airline rose by Tata-run Air India, and it needs to
8% at 7,761 last
Airlines is to hold 25.1% stake in the timekeeping in India levels for aircraft 2022 from 10.2% in November from 7,187 be rebuilt. They need to take some
Saurabh Appointed as chief financial officer
merged entity. since August have gone up January 2022 last January steps, else they may suffer due to Bhudolia at Westlife Foodworld
Broadly, the Air India brand erosion of brand value,” a senior
umbrella will have a single low- government official said. Appointed as head- human
Srinivasan J resources at Pine Labs
cost platform and a single full-service time. I would think it will take three- revamping its fleet, the utilization lev- The airline is also in the process of
platform by the end of 2023. The five years. The benefits will start com- els for aircraft have gone up. The mar- placing a mega aircraft order for about
Appointed as chief human
former will be a merged entity between ing from FY24. FY23 will be more ket share of Air India stood at 9.2% in 500 jets—both wide-body and narrow- Subhashis
resources officer at TBZ – The
AirAsia India and Air India Express. about setting the ground, process-re- December 2022 from 10.2% in January body planes—and an announcement Sinha Original
The full-service carrier will be the lated issues, getting fleet, and market- 2022, but the flight departures for the on the same is expected next month, a
merged entity between Air India and ing. Integration is complex for one air- airline went up by 8% at 7,761 flight person aware of the development said. Appointed as global chief human
Vistara. The company has also imple- line, two airlines getting integrated departures in November 2022 from “If there is anyone who can do it, it is Tarun resources officer at Tata
mented a five-year plan called Vihaan with Air India itself, then there are 7,187 flight departures in January 2022. [Tata Group]. They have cash, and the Varma Consumer Products
to capture a 30% share in the domestic competitive factors,” said Kapil Kaul, “The cash flows have improved on right team; it is a question of putting the
Source: Accord India, executive search worldwide
and international markets. As part of chief executive and director of Centre account of better on-time performance structure together,” Kaul said.

Tata group plans to Banks missing goals face penalty Pathaan clocks Suzuki lines
infuse up to $1.8 bn highest opening FROM PAGE 1
up offensive
bution to the PMJDY was only 3% of six battery
in Air India-Vistara until mid-last year, and their con-
tribution to insurance schemes—
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti
FROM PAGE 1

the theatrical business is here EVs for India

FROM PAGE 1 amount from Singapore Air- Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri to stay, provided we make

good enough to start with. Fur-

lines,” said the first person.
Apart from the aviation busi-
Suraksha Bima Yojana—was 4%.
For Atal Pension Yojana and
films that entice people to
come to the cinemas to witness
market
ther funding can be done after ness, the conglomerate may Kisan Credit Card, private banks a never-seen-before-experi-
FY24 if the current investment invest a significant amount of accounted for 7%. ence that entertains them Alisha Sachdev
works as per the plan,” the per- its FY23 dividend income in Furthermore, an August thoroughly,” Akshaye Wid- alisha.sachdev@livemint.com
son cited earlier said. renewables, semiconductors Reserve Bank of India study As of the end of July, over 450 million beneficiaries had Jan Dhan bank hani, chief executive of YRF New DelhI
According to regulatory fil- and the group’s ambitious digi- found that state-run banks still accounts, with 78% of these accounts opened by state-run banks. HT said in a statement.

J
ings, Tata Sons earned a total div- tal initiative Tata Neu, accord- have more branches in rural The release of Pathaan has The release of Pathaan has apan’s Suzuki Motor Corp.
idend income of around $2.92 ing to the two people. areas (33.4%) than private allow more time to private and lion beneficiaries had Jan Dhan come as a ray of hope for strug- come as a ray of hope for on Thursday said it will
billion from TCS alone in FY23. For Tata Sons, TCS, India’s banks (20.8%). Additionally, small finance banks to expand bank accounts, with 78% of gling theatre owners, particu- struggling theatre owners. PTI introduce six battery elec-
Tata Sons is the principal largest IT and software services state-run banks’ share in rural their play on financial inclu- these accounts opened by larly in the Hindi-speaking tric vehicles (BEVs) in India
investment holding company company, has been the cash lending remains high at over sion,” said an executive at a con- state-run banks. PMJDY belt, many of whom have been action drama just the kind of by 2030, with BEVs accounting
of Tata group. Public charitable cow over the past decade. 70%, while private banks only sulting firm, asking not to be accounts with private sector hit hard by the pandemic and commercial entertainer audi- for 15% of its total sales in the
trusts hold 66% of the share Tata Sons, which holds account for a small 10-15%. named due to his business ties banks in rural and semi-urban are considering shutting down ences were starved of, trade country by the end of the dec-
capital of Tata Sons, which is around 73% of TCS, earned a div- “The performance of private with private banks. areas stood at a mere 7 million operations. Around 1,500 sin- experts said stars such as Khan ade.
registered as a core investment idend income of ₹19,832 crore in banks on financial inclusion Queries sent to the spokes- as of July and were even lower gle-screen cinemas are esti- already have well-established “In India, we will introduce
company with the Reserve the third quarter of FY23. This is parameter has been poor as the person for the finance ministry, in urban centres, at 6 million. mated to have shut during the fan bases and only need to the SUV battery EV announced
Bank of India. over and above income from two banks were looking to protect and IBA remained unanswered As of now, India has about 12 pandemic, worsening India’s keep feeding them the right at the Auto Expo 2023 in FY24,
According to an 8 December interim dividends of ₹8 per share whatever business they had dur- till press time. public sector banks and more theatrical screen count. products. “It’s all about the with six models to be launched
2022 report by Crisil, Tata Sons’ each, announced in the prece- ing the pandemic. This pre- The private sector’s per- than 20 private sector banks. Pathaan also marks the kind of film they give to audi- by FY30. To provide a full
financial strength comes from its ding two quarters. vented the expansion of services formance on PMJDY, which According to RBI, all banks, return of Khan to the big ences. If they are shown in the range of products and services,
ability to raise funds by the sale or According to the two people, in rural and unbanked areas. But aims to provide at least one including subsidiaries of foreign screen after more than four avatar people want to see them Suzuki will provide not only
pledge of its large Tata Sons may with banks posting healthy per- basic bank account per house- banks, are required to enhance years, post box office disasters in, nothing can stop them,” battery EVs but also carbon
portfolio of invest- Tata Sons earned also utilize formance now, financial inclu- hold, has also fallen short of the flow of bank finance to the such as Zero (₹88.74 crore), Jab independent Bihar-based neutral internal combustion
ments, mainly a total dividend another portion of sion plans may get the necessary government expectations. As of priority sector for the overall Harry Met Sejal (₹62 crore) and exhibitor Vishek Chauhan engine vehicles that use CNG,
equity shares in income of around the dividend speed. The government should the end of July, over 450 mil- development of rural areas. Fan (₹84.03 crore). Calling the said. biogas, and ethanol mixed
TCS. Tata Sons $2.92 billion from income from TCS fuels,” the parent of Maruti
holds equity stakes
TCS alone in FY23, to strengthen the Suzuki, India’s top carmaker,
in many other Tata Tata Neu app. said in a document outlining its
group firms, such according to
as Tata Motors Ltd, regulatory filings been taking a
Tata Steel Ltd and
Tata Digital has

number of initia-
Musk explores raising $3 bn to pay off Twitter debt growth strategy for 2030
across Japan and global mar-
kets.
Tata Power Co. tives to give Tata Suzuki aims to achieve car-
Ltd. As on 6 December 2022, the Neu a makeover so that it can FROM PAGE 1 Twitter’s total interest sell the debt to third-party inves- MUFG Bank Ltd. each have bon neutrality in its India oper-
market value of Tata Sons’ invest- compete with the likes of Reli- expense has been estimated to tors but changed course after approximately $623 million of ations by 2070 in line with the
ments was ₹11 trillion, of which ance Industries Ltd’s Jiomart, acquisition of the social-media be roughly $1.25 billion a year, deteriorating market conditions exposure, according to public government’s own timeline for
TCS accounted for around 80%, Amazon and Flipkart. company. They carry an interest according to a December analy- sank Wall Street’s appetite for documents and calculations by achieving net-zero emissions in
according to Crisil. However, it could not be rate of 10% plus the secured over- sis by Jeffrey Davies, a former exposure to risky bonds and The Wall Street Journal. the country.
Even though the dividend is ascertained how much Tata night financing rate, a benchmark credit analyst and founder of loans. Each of the four banks have At the recent Auto Expo,
Tata Sons’ income and is not part Sons will set aside for its busi- interest rate that has shot up in data provider Enersection LLC. The $13 billion of Twitter more than $2 billion in other Maruti Suzuki showcased its
of any plan to fund specific pro- ness ventures other than avia- recent months and currently sits By that estimate, Twitter is debt on bank bal- Twitter debt electric concept SUV, the eVX,
jects, there are several initiatives tion. at 4.3%. incurring roughly $3.4 million ance sheets, one of With every quarter commitments on with an expected range of 550
under Tata group that need “The company (Tata Sons) With every quarter that every day in interest-payment the biggest “hung that passes without their balance kilometres, which the com-
funding, according to the two remains adequately resourced, passes without Twitter refi- obligations. deals” of all time, Twitter refinancing sheets separate pany plans to launch in 2025.
people. And the aviation busi- which, along with regular divi- nancing the debt, the interest On Dec. 13, Mr. Musk tweeted has helped con- from the unse- The company said it will invest
the debt, the
ness is one of the primary initia- dend/buyback income from rate goes up by an additional “beware of debt in turbulent tribute to a drag in cured bridge ₹10,000 crore to make EVs and
tives expected to receive a major TCS, provides sizeable cash 0.50 percentage point, accord- macroeconomic conditions, the number of interest rate goes up facility, includ- batteries in India.
share of Tata Sons’ FY23 divi- flow for debt servicing. Annual ing to regulatory filings. Twit- especially when Fed keeps rais- mergers and by an additional 0.50 ing term loans India contributes 50-60%
dend income, they said. proceeds from dividend/buy- ter’s first quarterly interest pay- ing rates.” Repaying the unse- Paying off the debt would acquisitions as percentage point and other Suzuki’s global operations,
A Tata Sons spokesperson back were over ₹20,000 crore ment is due at the end of the cured bridge loans would leave provide welcome financial banks’ firepower secured debt, the making it the Japanese auto-
said the company does not in the last fiscal. Crisil Ratings month, the filings show. Twitter with a debt burden that relief to Twitter. AP to back deals is documents maker’s biggest market, Toshi-
want to comment. TCS, Air believes Tata Sons will con- Twitter’s annual interest bur- has much more manageable tied up. show. hiro Suzuki, president, Suzuki
India and Singapore Airlines tinue to manage its liabilities den has increased by over $100 interest rates. Twitter’s $6.5 bil- public filings. Morgan Stanley, the lead bank Representatives of those Motor said at the Auto Expo.
did not respond to queries. and cash prudently. Proposed million since he announced the lion in term loans and $3 billion A potential deal would also on Twitter’s debt deal, has banks declined to comment. Suzuki also expects BEVs to
“The merged entity may investments this fiscal are likely takeover deal last April, as the in secured bridge loans carry an provide a degree of relief for the approximately $807 million in Corrie Driebusch, Alexa Corse account for nearly the same
receive at least $1.5 billion from to be funded largely through overnight rate has increased. At annual interest burden of 4.75% banks that backed Mr. Musk’s unsecured bridge debt on its bal- and Laura Cooper contributed to proportion of sales in its home
Tata Sons, apart from an invest- dividends from group compa- the time of the announcement, and 6.75%, respectively, plus the takeover of the social-media ance sheet, while Bank of Amer- this article. market, Japan, as they will in
ment of almost an equal nies,” said the Crisil report. the overnight rate was 0.3%. overnight rate, according to company and that intended to ica Corp., Barclays PLC and ©2023 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC India by 2030.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE FRiDay, 27 JaNuaRy 2023
New Delhi 07

SBI looks to hire retd OF WAITING LISTS AND WOULD-BE CENSORS

sites consider.

engineers for EV risks A M AT T E R

OF NUMBERS
The module must take those into account, and these: the kinds
of berths that tend to remain vacant; the ways in which customers
buy their tickets; the traffic between various pairs of stations, and
how that varies through the year.
That last one brought back memories.
DILIP D’SOUZA A railway board official remarked that if a particular train jour-
ney has 60 halts, there are about 1,800 possible pairs of halts
Respond to this column at between which people might buy tickets on that train. If just 10,
Fixed salary of ₹300,000 per year, plus ₹75,000 per assignment feedback@livemint.com then only 45 possible pairs. Where did those numbers come
from?

T
wo phrases jumped out at me this week. Both have some
Shayan Ghosh numbers associated with them, so they make a case for an
shayan.g@livemint.com examination in this column. See what you make of them.
mumbaI First, there was news this week of an “AI module”; an AI mod-
ule produced by Indian Railways; an AI module produced by the
Well, take the journey with 10 halts. From any one of those, you
might buy a (wait-listed or not) ticket to any of nine others. Thus
a total of 10 x 9 = 90 possible tickets. But we divide that by 2—
because Raichur-Guntakal is the same pair as Guntakal-Rai-
chur—to get 45 possible pairs. Similarly, with 60 halts, we have

S
tate Bank of India (SBI) is looking Indian Railways that may lead to shorter waiting lists when you 60 x 59 / 2 = 1,770 possible pairs. This is the stuff—permutations
to hire retired employees from seek to buy a rail ticket. and combinations, “perms and combs” as we called them—of
the public and private sectors Good news. Train journeys are ordinarily a thorough delight. first- and second-year college mathematics. (That’s why the
with engineering background to Outside of walking—like many have been doing over the last five memories. Some of them fond.)
offer technical expertise on lend- months, actually—I believe there is no better way to see the coun- Railway officials have fed into the module three years’ data on
ing to emerging sectors such as electric try. Yet, those waiting lists truly are a bane of rail travel. Just the these lines, from 200 different long-distance trains. After a large
vehicles, green hydrogen, battery, and other day, I was trying to get myself a train ticket for an upcoming trial based on this, some might think of the result as a little under-
semiconductors, according to a document. jaunt, only to be met by waiting lists in nearly every class on whelming—waiting lists shrank by “five to six per cent”.
The country’s largest lender is looking nearly every train on nearly every day around when I wanted to But having done some programming on these lines myself, I
for domain experts who can assist its inter- travel. It’s frustrating. see that as an encouraging enough result for a trial. Certainly, we
nal appraisal and monitoring teams on I could have bought a ticket anyway, and taken my chances that can hope for further shrinking of waiting lists.
project finance proposals from these sec- I would have cleared the waiting list by the time the train leaves. In 2003, the photographer Kenneth Adelman extensively pho-
tors, showed a SBI notice seeking applica- Like many others, I’ve done that many times as well. It’s always tographed the coast of California for an
tions. Selected candidates will receive a a calculation you make, a gamble based on how long the waiting The effort to online exhibition called the California
fixed salary of ₹300,000 per year. In addi- list already is by the time you join it. censor a thing Coastal Records Project. One of over
tion, they will receive a variable pay of These days, there are even websites that will calculate the odds 12,000 images he posted contained
₹75,000 for every assignment. These that you will clear the list. I don’t know the formula that produces risks drawing the home of a famous actress, who had
experts would be hired on a one-year The bank wants these consultants to advise on the technical aspects, various these numbers, of course. orders of already faced years of unwelcome
retainership. assumptions of individual projects and that of the respective sectors. HT But I imagine it must use factors like these: the past history of magnitude more attention from fans. This image, she
SBI is also looking for experts in roads tickets sold for that train between those stations; your class of people to see it believed, violated her privacy and even
and telecom, apart from some of the advise on the technical aspects, various have already been funding renewable pro- travel; how many days are left to departure; and more. Perhaps showed fans the way to her home. She
emerging sectors cited earlier. assumptions of individual projects and that jects. However, newer avenues like EVs the time of year figures. Definitely your place on the waiting list sued Adelman for several million dol-
Eligible candidates include retired sen- of the respective sectors. They have to and green hydrogen would require expert- figures. lars, seeking to remove the image from public display.
ior executives from state-owned enter- attend meetings with consultants on tech- ise beyond their existing project finance For example, let’s say you’re 25th on the waiting list to travel Only, she perhaps should have thought this through. When
prises and private organizations, with an nical issues during appraisal or during the experience. sleeper class between Raichur and Guntakal on 15 March. You’re she sued Adelman, there had been just six—yes, six—downloads
engineering degree either from an Indian monitoring phase, and provide support The green transition also presents a also 10th on the waiting list for a 2nd AC trip between New Delhi of that particular photograph. (Two of those, by her own lawyers.)
Institute of Technology (IIT), the Indian during the implementation of these pro- lending opportunity for banks. In a speech and Bombay on 29 January. My hunch is that those websites will Had she simply ignored it, there might at best have been a few
School of Mines, or other colleges. SBI said jects. on 6 January, Reserve Bank of India gover- tell you that the chance the Raichur-Guntakal ticket gets con- more downloads and eventually Adelman’s photographs would
candidates should also have at nor Shaktikanta Das cited esti- firmed is higher than for the New Delhi-Bombay ticket. For one have been forgotten.
least 25 years of experience, SMART CHECKS mates of the International thing, the former is more than a month away, as opposed to just Instead, her suit prompted hordes to rush to Adelman’s Project
and ideally should have held Finance Corp. (IFC) on fund- two days. Much more time for cancellations to happen. Also, to gawk at and download that photograph. There were 420,000
senior positions like managing AS India shifts SBI and several NEWER avenues ing requirements for green there are probably fewer people travelling between Raichur and downloads in a month after she filed suit, and 20 years later, the
director, executive director, towards greener
fuels, lenders are
other local banks
have already been
would require
expertise beyond
transition in South Asia. He Guntakal than between New Delhi and Bombay; to go with that, image remains a simple Google search away. In fact, I just brought
director (technical/projects), preparing to finance funding renewable their existing project said that between 2018 and there are far more sleeper class tickets for sale, across the railway it up on my screen.
member (technical) and chief such initiatives projects finance experience 2030, the funding require- system, than 2AC tickets. Besides, she lost her suit anyway.
engineer. ments for investment in You get the picture, even if the lines above are really just guess- The lesson? The effort to censor something itself risks drawing
“State Bank of India is look- renewable energy, greening work on my part. The point: buying a wait-listed ticket is an orders of magnitude more people to see it. After all, compare six
ing for professionals with suitable domain Their role includes advising the “bank the vehicle fleet and making future build- essentially mathematical exercise. You make a quick calculation to 420,000.
expertise to provide relevant inputs….to on the impact of variations in the technical ing stock green and resilient to climate in your mind of the chances of confirmation. You do that because The actress is Barbara Streisand, this phenomenon is now
fully grasp the nuances of various assump- specifications of the plant and machinery change risks in South Asia alone would be you are a seasoned train traveller. Though if you had available to known as the ‘Streisand Effect’ and that’s the second phrase that
tions, events and situations which could and operating parameters on the project over $410 billion, $670 billion and $1.5 tril- you the data those websites do, your calculation would be more jumped out at me this week. I’ll leave you to deduce why it was in
have an implication on the risk parameters during the project implementation, moni- lion, respectively. accurate. the news, and what lessons there might be for those willing to
or mitigations, pace, and impact on the toring and control phases.” Earlier this month, the Union cabinet This AI module, it turns out, has mathematical features as well. learn.
actual implementation compared to As India shifts towards greener fuels, approved the National Green Hydrogen It’s called an “Ideal Train Profile” and it is designed to help Indian
project schedule…,” it said. lenders are preparing to finance such initi- Mission, with an initial outlay of ₹19,744 Railways, as one report put it, better “apportion its gigantic Once a computer scientist, Dilip D’Souza now lives in Mumbai
The bank wants these consultants to atives. SBI and several other local banks crore. inventory of berths”. I speculated above about factors those web- and writes for his dinners. His Twitter handle is @DeathEndsFun.

GEF Capital invests ₹500 cr in e-mobility

Swaraj Singh Dhanjal
swaraj.d@livemint.com
mumbaI
P
rivate equity firm GEF
Capital Partners said it
has invested a total of
more than ₹500 crore in e-mo-
bility companies, Electra EV
and Hero Motors Ltd.
This is part of the climate-fo-
cused investor’s strategy to
grow its bets on climate and
sustainability opportunities in
India. With this, GEF has made
eight investments in the past
four years.
Electra EV is an independent
EV powertrain solutions com-
pany backed by industrialist
Ratan Tata. Its offerings
include end-to-end powertrain
solutions, including battery
packs, e-traction systems, and
integrated electronics. Its solu-
tions are available for two and
three-wheelers, four-wheelers
as well as for EV applications
for farm and off-highway use.
Electra’s powertrain solutions
This is not the first bet by GEF
in India’s e-mobility space.
have been used in Tata Motors’
Xpres-T and Ace EV models.
Hero Motors is the flagship
EV-focused auto parts com-
pany of the HMC (Hero Motors
Company) Group. The fun-
draising is part of Hero Motors
plan to invest ₹1,500 crore over
the next three years to boost its
offerings of EV components. It
is the largest maker of e-bike
components in India. Both
transactions have been com- “The EV space today is a very
pleted out of GEF’s nearly $200 broad spectrum. In the early
million South Asia Growth stage, you have a lot of new So what are the
Fund II (SAGF II). technology innovation coming
Editor's Picks
This is not the first bet by in, people are experimenting
GEF in India’s e-mobility with battery technologies, new
space. The firm was one of the chemistry and materials. Then
initial investors in Chetan you have the OEMs who manu-
Maini’s electric car business facture the vehicles. What we
for today?
Reva. are looking at is
“We were early This is part of the where we can play Read stories curated by
investors in climate-focused with modest
India’s first EV amounts of good
the Editor, exclusively
investor’s
platform, Reva. strategy to grow growth capital to
on the Mint app
We were one of find companies
its bets on climate which are at an
the initial inves-
tors in 2007. That and sustainability inflection point,”
business was well opportunities said Pai.
ahead of its time In India, the EV
and none of the industry recently
tailwinds we talk about today achieved a milestone of one- Download Now
existed back then. The policy million-unit sales in 2022,
frameworks we have today comprising 4.7% of overall
were not there, the charging automobile sales. According to
infrastructure wasn’t there. the Society of Manufacturers of
But the company did a fantastic Electric Vehicles (SMEV), the
job experimenting with battery sector is likely to see a 30% con-
technology,” said Raj Pai, one version from vehicles powered
of GEF’s founders and manag- by internal combustion
ing partner. engines to EVs by 2025.

Jury out on PVR-Inox merger benefits

Lata Jha
lata.j@htlive.com
now a need for stronger com-
petition because this new
Predict the Sensex
new delhI entity will be three to four times

Play and win

larger than the next big player,”

P
VR Ltd and Inox Leisure Rahul Puri, managing director,
Ltd, India’s largest multi- Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cine-
plex chains, have secured mas said. Chains like Mukta will
court approval for their pro- not be competing for premium
posed merger, triggering properties in tier-1 cities, Puri
mixed reactions in the film and said but will continue to expand
exhibition industry. While in the Hindi heartland and the
some say the merger will lead to Mumbai and Gujarat markets,
the arm-twisting of producers besides Andhra Pradesh and

and distributors on the share of
box office revenues, others
believe it will open opportuni-
ties for smaller multiplex
chains like Cinepolis and Miraj
to expand and benefit from
lower rentals.
Single screen owners, how-
ever, fear producers may opt
for limited releases with the
merged theatre chain to cut
costs for niche films.
In March last year, the
boards of PVR and Inox Leisure
approved an all-stock merger
of the companies to create
While existing multiplex screens will retain their brands, new
cinemas opened post the merger will be branded as PVR Inox.
India’s largest film exhibition
entity, with a network of more
than 1,500 screens.
While existing multiplex
screens will retain their brands,
new cinemas opened post the
merger will be branded as PVR
Inox. The merged entity will be
named PVR Inox Ltd. With the
pandemic having devastated
the film exhibition business,
HT
the post-merger revenue of the
two companies fell below
₹1,000 crore, the limit under
which companies do not have
to seek approval from the anti-
trust regulator.
“There was already a certain
duopoly in the (film exhibition)
market. While we can argue on
the merits and demerits of the
merger, the truth is there is
subscription.
Telangana, where they already
have a presence.
Spokespeople for PVR and
Inox did not respond to queries
on the implications of the
merger. Cinepolis, the third
largest film exhibitor, too didn’t
respond.
Ashish Kanakia, chief execu-
tive of MovieMax Cinemas,
agreed that the merger would
pose tight competition for new
Download Now
and emerging cinema chains. *Exclusively on the Mint app
“Every cinema chain has its
plan of action and strong back-
ing with quality teams,” he said.
08 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Chevron to buy back $75 billion in
The humbling of Goldman Sachs
stock after record profit funds, and Citadel, an investing and
Chevron Corp. plans to buy back $75 billion of shares and trading house that made its clients
increase dividend payouts after a year of record profits that $16bn in 2022.
evoked angry denunciations from politicians around the world Another lesson is that it is hard to
as soaring energy prices squeezed consumers. The stock repur- compete in winner-takes-all digital

chase program will kick in April 1 and will be triple the size of the
previous authorization unveiled in early 2019, the company said
in a statement Wednesday. BLOOMBERG
$1 trillion green investment
matches fossil fuels for first time
AP
For the first time, the world invested as much money into
replacing fossil fuels as it spent on producing oil, gas and
coal, according to an analysis from BloombergNEF. Global
investments in the clean energy transition hit $1.1 trillion in
2022, roughly equal to the amount invested in fossil fuel
production, according to the research firm’s “Energy Tran-
sition Investment Trends 2023” report. BLOOMBERG
Renault-Nissan alliance reboot will
kick off with five projects
Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. are moving ahead with a plan
to recalibrate a two-decades-old alliance that had weakened over
time, starting with a range of industrial projects alongside an
agreement to rebalance capital ties, according to people familiar
with the situation. Top executives from the alliance partners held
an operating board meeting on Thursday, giving a nod to bring-
ing Nissan and Renault’s cross shareholdings to an equal level,
as well as common projects as part of the reshaped cooperation,
the people said. BLOOMBERG
Meta to reinstate Trump’s
Facebook, Instagram accounts
REUTERS
G
oldman sachs has always
seen itself as excep-
tional. When the bank
floated its shares in New
York in 1999 it declared:
“We have an uncompromising deter-
mination to achieve excellence in
everything we undertake.” Conspir-
acy theorists have long paid it the
backhanded compliment of imagin-
ing that it secretly runs the world. Yet
lately the only exceptional thing
about the Wall Street icon has been
its mistakes.
Since October Goldman has made
a u-turn on its plan to build a big con-
sumer bank; booked one of its worst
quarterly results for a decade, meas-
ured by return on equity; and
attracted a probe by the Federal
Reserve. The firm is not yet in serious
trouble, but it is trapped by its own
mythology. Its recent struggles show
how hard it will be to reform—and
illuminate a new balance of power in
global finance.
To understand Goldman today,
take a walk down Wall Street. After
the financial crisis of 2007-09, two
big American banks reinvented
themselves. JPMorgan Chase suc-
cessfully pursued vast scale across a
wide range of business lines. Morgan
Stanley built a thriving arm managing
the assets of the wealthy, which mints
reliable profits. Goldman, however,
stuck to its game of trading, advising
on deals and bespoke investing. Penal
new capital rules made this less lucra-
tive, but the firm staked a Darwinian
bet that the resulting shakeout would
kill off many competitors. Instead, it
badly underperformed the stockmar-
ket for years and got ensnared in the
1mdb scandal, in which officials in
Malaysia and Abu Dhabi received
$1.6bn of bribes in 2009-14. A Gold-
man subsidiary pleaded guilty to a
criminal charge and the firm admit-
ted “institutional failure”.
The firm’s boss, David Solomon,
took over in 2018. A man with a short
fuse, he has tried to rebrand himself
The firm is not yet in serious trouble, but it is trapped by its own mythology
and to renew the firm by expanding its
core and diversifying into new areas.
Goldman now offers transaction
banking to multinationals, helping
them move funds globally. It has
bulked up its asset- and wealth-man-
agement arm. And from their Man-
hattan skyscraper, flush Goldmanites
dreamed of growing a mass-market
digital bank for ordinary consumers,
including a credit-card operation.
Parts of Mr Solomon’s strategy
have paid off. Goldman’s market
share in mergers and bond trading
has risen, helping it make a monster
$21bn in profits in 2021 as markets
boomed. From taxpayers’ viewpoint,
it is safer, with more capital and
deposits. And, importantly, its share
price has recovered lost ground, ris-
ing more than the market and those
of most of its peers.
Yet look more closely and the
project to remake the bank is vexingly
incomplete. Diversification has been
patchy: transaction-banking revenues
are tiny and the asset-management
arm is often dragged down by opaque
proprietary bets. The dream of creat-
ing a consumer bank has soured.
Goldman has 15m customers, but has
also faced large losses and bad-debt
charges, which is why it is now wind-
ing down part of the operation.
As the prospects for a big new earn-
ings machine have receded, every-
thing still rests on the traditional
business. The profitability of the trad-
ing arm has improved but remains
volatile and, on average, pedestrian.
Overall, Goldman has made reasona-
ble use of its resources, generating a
return on tangible equity of 14% over
Mr Solomon’s tenure. But its per-
formance is erratic, veering from 33%
in early 2021 to just 5% in the latest
quarter.
It has lagged behind its American
peers half of the time, and the two
industry leaders, JPMorgan and Mor-
REUTERS
gan Stanley, two-thirds of the time.
Investors think that Goldman is
worth only the net book—or liquida-
tion—value of its assets, suggesting
they doubt that it can generate con-
sistently high returns or find lucrative
new areas.
Goldman’s struggles point to several
lessons.
One is that it still excels, but in a bad
industry. Investment banking com-
bines the drawbacks of a regulated
activity (capital requirements and red
tape) with the vices of a speculative one
(volatility and capture by employees).
The firm says it has become more dis-
ciplined on pay but last year forked out
$15bn, its second-highest salary and
bonus bill since the financial crisis,
even as profits halved to $11bn and the
firm barely beat its cost of capital. The
real action in finance is outside regu-
lated banking, where a new cohort of
stars rules, including Blackstone in pri-
vate markets, BlackRock in index
markets. Goldman thought that
brains and brand were enough. Not
true. It has spent billions, but its cus-
tomer base remains a fraction of that
of PayPal or Amazon. JPMorgan
reaches 66m American households,
but maintains a vast physical net-
work of branches. Goldman has
achieved digital scale by teaming up
with Apple to provide a credit card.
However, given that the tech giant
has almost a billion paying subscrib-
ers, Apple holds the whip hand in
that relationship.
A final lesson is that the stagnation
of globalisation has shrunk Wall
Street’s horizons. In the decade after
Goldman listed, international reve-
nues provided half of its growth, as its
bankers conquered Europe and then
broke into Asia. Today they supply a
third of growth, as local competitors
have emerged and some countries
have become wary of foreign finan-
ciers. The number-one arranger of
shares and bonds last year in China
was citic Securities; in India Kotak
Mahindra and Axis led the pack.
These are names that many on Wall
Street may not know.
Raging bulls
Can Goldman recover its swagger?
Mr Solomon is wisely laying off staff
and shrinking the bank’s proprietary
investments. Over time he may be
vindicated by prosaic changes—run-
ning its asset-management arm bet-
ter, say, or pioneering new tech to cut
exorbitant labour costs—or even by
orchestrating a merger.
Yet there is something uniquely
hard about reforming elite firms whose
unwritten code is that they are smarter
than everyone else. Just ask McKinsey,
a scandal-magnet once known as the
world’s most-admired consultancy.
Goldman’s culture of self-regard
remains at odds with the facts. Instead
it now needs to be self-critical. For yes-
terday’s masters of the universe, that
may be the hardest leap of all.
© 2023 The Economist Newspa-
per Limited. All rights reserved.

Men cut back on working hours US economy posts strong Q4,

Meta Platforms Inc said Wednesday it will reinstate former
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram
FROM PAGE 1
but growth momentum slows
boosted their hours worked by tens of thousands of dollars
52 last year compared with each year; such arrangements
accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year sus- year, while the average female 2019. were initially offered to aid
pension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on 6 January 2021. worker logged 1,758 hours. While women work fewer working mothers. Reuters While the labour market
The restoration of his accounts could provide a boost to Separate data from the Cen- hours than men, the unpaid Responding to new expecta- feedback@livemint.com remains strong, business sen-
Trump, who announced in November he will make another sus Bureau suggests that men labor they perform outside of tions of work-life balance may timent continues to sour,

run for the White House in 2024. REUTERS with families, in particular, are
working less. Between 2019
and 2021, married men
Hyundai unveils $8.5 billion devoted roughly 13 fewer
minutes, on average, to work
spending plan as EVs rise each day, according to the
Hyundai Motor Co. will invest 10.5 trillion won ($8.5 billion) over American Time Use Survey,
the course of 2023, according to an exchange filing Thursday, as which hasn’t yet published
it moves to electrify more of its fleet to sate rising consumer 2022 figures. They spent
demand for cleaner cars. The South Korean firm is also targeting more time on socializing and
revenue growth of as much as 11.5% this year after posting fourth- relaxing, as well as household
quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates. It also increased div- activities, according to men
idends in an unusual move for the carmaker. BLOOMBERG surveyed by the Census
Bureau. The amount of time
unmarried men spent on work
Toyota names Lexus chief its new changed little during that
same period.
CEO as auto firms face historic shift As high-earning workers in
Toyota Motor Corp. elevated Lexus President Koji Sato to chief the U.S. cut back, low-wage
executive officer, replacing the long-serving Akio Toyoda as the workers increased their hours,
the world’s No. 1 carmaker navigates the auto industry’s once-in- according to Dr. Shin’s
a-generation shift toward electrification and greater automation. research. The bottom-earning
Toyoda, grandson of the Japanese car giant’s founder, becomes 10% of working men logged 41
chairman effective 1 April, the company said on Thursday. He hours more in 2022, on aver-
became CEO more than a decade ago and oversaw the Toyota’s age, than in 2019. Women in
rise to become the world’s bigger maker of cars. BLOOMBERG the lowest earning group
T
their jobs has been well docu- be particularly vexing for he US economy main- which could eventually hurt
mented. Many working moth- industries already facing staff- tained a strong pace of hiring.
ers take what’s termed a “sec- ing shortages, such as those in growth in the fourth Robust second-half growth
ond shift,” devoting more time medicine. Dr. Lotte Dyrbye, the quarter as consumers boosted erased the 1.1% contraction in
outside work chief well-being spending on goods, but the first six months of the
hours to child care While women officer for the momentum appears to have year. For all for 2022, the
and housework. work fewer hours University of Col- slowed considerably towards economy expanded 2.1%,
Maryann B. than men, the orado School of the end of the year, with down from the 5.9% logged in
Zaki, a mother of unpaid labor they Medicine, said higher interest rates eroding 2021. The Fed last year raised
three who has
perform outside of she often hears demand. its policy rate by 425 basis
worked at several from early-career Gross domestic product points from near zero to a
firms, including in their jobs has been physicians and increased at a 2.9% annualized 4.25%-4.50% range, the high-
big law, recently well documented other medical rate last quarter, the Com- est since late 2007.
launched her own professionals who merce Department said in its GDP increased at a 2.9% Consumer spending,
practice in Hous- want to work advance fourth-quarter GDP annualized rate last qtr AFP which accounts for more
ton, giving her more control fewer hours to avoid burnout. growth estimate on Thursday. than two-thirds of U.S. eco-
over her hours. She says she’s These medical workers are The economy grew at a 3.2% the 1980s kick in. Most econo- nomic activity, was the main
noticed more men in her field deciding that to be in it for the pace in the third quarter. mists expect a recession by the driver of growth, mostly
opting for reduced schedules, long haul requires a day every Economists polled by Reuters second half of the year, though reflecting a surge in goods
sometimes working 80% of the week or two to decompress, had forecast GDP rising at a mild compared to previous spending at the start of the
hours normally expected— Dr. Dyrbye says. But as staff 2.6% rate. downturns. quarter.
which can range from 40 to cut back their hours, it costs That could be the last quar- Retail sales have weakened Spending has been under-
more than 80 a week—in medical organizations money ter of solid growth before the sharply over the last two pinned by labor market resil-
exchange for a 20% pay cut. For and may compromise access lagged effects of the Federal months and manufacturing ience as well as excess savings
the average lawyer, that would to care. Reserve’s fastest monetary looks to have joined the hous- accumulated during the cov-
amount to a salary reduction of ©2023 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC policy tightening cycle since ing market in recession. id-19 pandemic.

Dow, SAP, IBM announce job cuts as corporate America struggles

Agencies The maker of plastics, Germany’s chemical output furt on Thursday. The stock from Alphabet Inc., Microsoft lished on Wednesday, how-
feedback@livemint.com chemicals and agricultural dropped 10% this year and will has declined about 12% in the Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and ever, nor in a call with analysts
products cited macroeco- continue to languish in 2023 last 12 months. other major tech companies. to discuss the financial results.

B
ig Tech firms and Wall
Street titans are leading
a string of layoffs across
corporate America as compa-
nies look to rein in costs to ride
out a global economic down-
turn. Dow Inc., IBM, and soft-
ware maker SAP are the latest
members to join the list of
firms issuing pink slips to their
employees.
Dow Inc. plans to cut about
2,000 jobs as the chemical
maker seeks $1 billion in sav-
ings and confronts a flare up in
energy costs that followed
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company said it will
shut down certain operations,
“particularly in Europe” in
response to the challenges.
Dow is also reducing pur-
chases of raw materials and
seeking to cut logistics and
utilities costs, according to a
statement on Thursday.
nomic challenges as well as
higher energy costs. The com-
pany said it will take a charge
of $550 million to $725 million
in the first quarter related to
the measures, after net sales
fell 17% in the fourth quarter.
Dow shares fell 7.3% in pre-
market US trading.
The US company is joining
European rivals in seeking
savings in response to the
surge in energy costs. Ger-
many’s BASF SE last year
began a cost-cutting drive,
saying it would adjust its Euro-
pean production network after
domestic facilities began los-
ing money.
Although the energy crisis
has been easing in recent
months, the gas-intensive
chemical industry is getting
hit hard and production is fall-
ing at the fastest rate since the
financial crisis.
as soaring gas prices weigh on
the country’s most energy-in-
tensive industries, according
to an association of producers.
The retrenchment at Dow
also adds to a growing wave of
corporate job cuts that started
with technology companies
and has spread to other sec-
tors.
As of the end of 2021, Dow
said it had about 35,700 full-
time employees.
The company’s European
headquarters is in Horgen,
Switzerland, and it has 37
manufacturing sites across 15
countries in the Europe, Mid-
dle East and Africa region,
according to its website. It
didn’t identify specific sites
where the cuts will take place.
Software maker SAP SE said
on Thursday that it plans
about 3,000 job cuts this year,
a day after International Busi-
SAP SE said on Thursday that it plans about 3,000 job cuts this
year, a day after IBM Corp. announced 3,900 reductions
ness Machines Corp.
announced 3,900 reductions.
The German software com-
pany expects adjusted operat-
ing profit for 2023 to rise to a
range of €8.8 billion ($9.6 bil-
lion) to €9.1 billion at constant
currencies, according to a
statement on Thursday. That
beat the average €8.65 billion
AP
forecast by analysts in a
Bloomberg survey.
SAP chief executive officer
Christian Klein said in a call
with reporters that the job cuts
were a strategic move and “not
related to our business
momentum.”
The shares dropped 3.3% to
€102.48 at 9:14 a.m. in Frank-
The company said that the The tech sector announced IBM said it would take a
purpose of the reorganization 97,171 job cuts in 2022, up one-time $300 million charge
and a motivation for the Qual- 649% compared to the previ- in its first quarter this year,
trics sale is to refocus on its ous year, according to consult- which the source said was
largest business, cloud servi- ing firm Challenger, Gray & related to the layoffs.
ces. The cloud Christmas Inc. This cost is “entirely
business became The tech sector The restruc- related” to the spin-off of Kyn-
SAP’s largest rev- announced 97,171 turing will cost dryl and the disposal of health
enue stream last job cuts in 2022, the company data and analysis businesses,
year. Earlier this up 649% €250 million to an IBM spokesperson told
month, Moody’s
compared to the €300 million,
AFP. The more than century
improved SAP’s with most of that old technology firm reported
outlook to posi- last year, as per a recognized in the profit of $2.9 billion in the final
tive because of consulting firm first quarter of three months of last year, some
the company’s this year. “The 17% higher than the same
transition. program is period in 2021 despite revenue
The job cuts represent 2.5% expected to provide a moder- remaining flat at $16.7 billion.
of its staff. SAP is joining a ate cost benefit” for the full “Clients in all geographies
growing list of tech companies year and will save €300 mil- increasingly embraced our
that are eliminating jobs and lion to €350 million in annual hybrid cloud and AI solutions
looking for ways to cut costs costs in 2024, the company as technology remains a differ-
after share prices dropped last said. entiating force in today’s busi-
year. IBM announced it was The computing company ness environment,” IBM chief
cutting 3,900 jobs in a state- based in New York state did executive officer Arvind
ment on Wednesday, follow- not talk of job cuts in its quar- Krishna said in an earnings
ing similar cuts this month terly earnings report pub- release.
LIVEMINT.COM NeWs Wrap FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi 09

TWEETS & QUOTES

Sunil Jhaveri Gautam Singhania Kristalina Georgieva
Varinder Bansal Founder, MSJ MisterBond Chairman & MD, Raymond Managing director, IMF
@varinder_bansal Senior citizens have already With its countless @KGeorgieva
Founder, Omkara Capital paid taxes throughout their possibilities and end- Rwandan women are at the
lives. Make their investment less opportunities, forefront of policy action in
India could be a great income (from their retire- India’s glorious growth
manufacturing story. the fight against climate
ment corpus) tax free (irre- journey will be the
Great to see that the spective of investment vehi- defining story in the change and building a bet-
world is noticing the cle - be it interest, dividend, world in the decades to ter future.
same. capital gains, etc). come.

Nasal covid vaccine COLOURS OF JOY Last batch of stocks

launched at ₹325 enters T+1 today

U I
nion health minister Mansukh
Mandaviya and science and technology
minister Jitendra Singh launched
Bharat Biotech’s nasal covid vaccine,
iNCOVACC, on the occasion of Republic Day
on Thursday.
The world’s first made-in-India intranasal
vaccine was launched at Mandaviya’s residence
here. The nasal vaccine—BBV154—had
received the Drugs Controller General of
India’s (DCGI) approval in November for
restricted emergency use among adults as a
heterologous booster dose.
According to a statement issued by Bharat
Biotech earlier, ‘iNCOVACC’ is priced at ₹800
for private markets and at ₹325 for supplies to
the government of India and state
governments iNCOVACC is a recombinant
replication deficient adenovirus vectored
vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilised spike
protein.
ndian stock markets are embarking on a
shorter settlement cycle, or T+1 regime, for
the final list of large stocks from today, a move
that will help reduce margin requirements for
clients and boost retail investment. T+1 (trade
plus one) means that market trade-related
settlements will need to be cleared within one
day of the actual transactions taking place.
Earlier, trades on the Indian stock exchanges are
settled in two working days after the transaction
is done (T+2).
The stock exchanges NSE and BSE in
November 2021 in a joint statement announced
that they will implement the T+1 settlement
cycle in a phased manner, starting February 25,
2022, with the bottom 100 stocks in terms of
market value. Thereafter, 500 stocks were
added based on the same market value criteria
from the last Friday of March and so on every
following month. PTI
PTI

Folk artists perform during the 74th Republic Day parade at the Kartavya Path, in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI

SoftBank deals hit record low, DLF’s sales bookings stood at ₹4,544 crore in the
year-ago period. MINT
The bookings for Jimny crossed 11k units. BLOOMBERG

Maruti’s pending sapping funding for startups DLF bookings rise

45% in Apr-Dec
orders hit 400,000
R
ealty major DLF Ltd has achieved a 45%

M
aruti Suzuki India’s (MSI) pending
orders have jumped to around
405,000 units this month as the
inflow of bookings continues to be steady,
while newly introduced SUVs Jimny and Fronx
also added to the numbers, according to a
senior company official. The bookings for
growth in sales bookings to ₹6,599 crore
The group participated in just eight investment rounds totalling $2.1 bn in Dec quarter in April-December this fiscal on better
demand and is on track to achieve its annual
sales guidance of ₹8,000 crore, a senior
Bloomberg more than $6 billion per quarter. according to market research firm Preqin. company official said.
feedback@livemint.com SoftBank is not alone. Rivals Tiger Global Man- SoftBank’s Vision Funds transformed the ven- DLF’s—the country’s largest realty firm in
agement, Sequoia Capital and Coatue Manage- ture capital ecosystem, directing billions of dol- terms of market capitalization—sales bookings

S
Jimny have crossed 11,000 units, while that of
Fronx is around 4,000 units. In the third quarter
ended December 2022, the company’s pending
customer orders stood at about 363,000
vehicles, out of which about 119,000 orders
were for newly launched models. “We are at
around 405,000 bookings (at present), which
are pending, and that means that we are seeing
in the flow of bookings and of inquiries at a
pretty good level,” MSI senior executive officer,
marketing & sales, Shashank Srivastava said.
Compared to January 2022, the inquiry is
higher by 28% and bookings by 16% in the same
month this year, he said. The increase in
pending orders has also been accelerated by the
company’s two newly introduced SUVs—Jimny
and Fronx—which were unveiled at the Auto
Expo 2023 earlier this month, Srivastava said. PTI
oftBank Group Corp.’s new startup bets
hit a record low last quarter as valua-
tions continued to slide, chilling an
already frosty startup winter.
The world’s largest tech investor —
which at one point took part in $30 billion worth
of financing rounds in more than 90 startups in a
single quarter — participated in just eight invest-
ment rounds totalling $2.1 billion in the three
months ending in December, data compiled by
Bloomberg showed. It was the first time the num-
ber of SoftBank’s deals fell to single digits since
the launch of its Vision Fund.
Startup investments by SoftBank’s Vision Fund
unit came below $350 million in the quarter just
ended, a person familiar with the matter said. In
total, the segment invested more than $144 billion
in five-and-a-half years, which averages out to
ment have also tightened their spigots after lars into hundreds of startups and forcing other stood at ₹4,544 crore in the year-ago period.
shouldering big writedowns in 2022. Denied investors to match their big bets. By flooding pri- “We have achieved robust growth in our
lucrative exits by a rout in tech valuations, deep- vate markets with easy money, SoftBank and its sales bookings in the first nine months of this
pocketed investors rivals allowed com- fiscal year. The sales are driven by demand for
have pulled back, panies to chase good quality products,” DLF group executive
hitting pause on bil- The world’s largest tech investor at growth while avoid- director and chief business officer Aakash Ohri
lion-dollar funding one point took part in $30 billion ing the scrutiny of said.
rounds that had
become common in worth of financing rounds in more public listings. Ear-
ly-stage investors
He said the company has launched
apartments and independent floors at different
recent years. than 90 startups in a single quarter could hope for a price points, which helped in achieving better
“With all these lucrative exit as late- sales. DLF has launched residential projects in
players slowing stage investors Delhi, Gurugram, Panchkula and Chennai. PTI
down, we’ll see fewer headlines about newly- fought to buy their stakes, lifting valuations
anointed unicorns, but I would argue that this is throughout an opaque corner of investment.
a healthy recovery period after partying a bit too Those bets have soured, along with promises of
hard these last three years,” said Coral Capital Inc. quick gains via big initial public offerings. Soft-
chief executive officer James Riney. Globally, VC Bank’s Vision Funds have been underperforming
Campari to bring 9
investments fell 37% to $527 billion last year, the rest of the VC sector. One fund is underwater.
new spirits to India

S
pirits maker Campari is set to launch nine
‘Worst impacts of sea level rise will hit earlier than thought’ Capex growth may new products across different categories in
India, where it sees rising consumption
rise in states in FY24 and greater premiumization.

T
he biggest increases in induntation will occur after the first two metres The maker of Aperol, Campari, Skyy Vodka
of sea level rise, covering more than twice as much land as older and Wild Turkey in India said it will bring its

elevation models predicted, according to a study.
The current models of sea level rise suggest the most widespread impacts
will occur after sea level has risen by several metres. The study, published in
the journal Earth’s Future, used high-resolution measurements of land
elevation from NASA’s ICESat-2 lidar satellite, launched in 2018, to improve
upon models of sea level rise and inundation.
Previous assessments typically relied on radar-based data, which are less
precise, the researchers said. “Radar is unable to fully penetrate vegetation
and therefore overestimates surface elevation,” said Ronald Vernimmen, a
researcher at the research firm Data for Sustainability in The Netherlands.
Many coastal areas are lower than scientists thought they were. The
underestimates of land elevation mean coastal communities have less time to
prepare for sea level rise than expected, with the biggest impacts of rising seas
occurring earlier than previously thought. PTI
Many coastal areas are lower than scientists thought they were.
C
apital expenditure growth of states is likely
to improve in FY24, according to a Jefferies
Equity Research report. The report
predicted capex growth of the Centre may
witness a slowdown in FY24. It said that a low
base of spending and ensuing fiscal consolidation
in states has brought fiscal deficit of the states to
pre-covid level much ahead of the Centre. “Also,
states’ FY24 revenue growth should be a tad
higher. Better state fiscal is already reflected in
lower bond spreads. With private capex also
looking up, any potential slowdown in centre
should not impact the direction of the capex
HT cycle,” it said. SAURAV ANAND
Bisquit & Dubouché cognac, Appleton Aged
rum, The Glen Grant 21 Arboralis whisky, agave
spirit Montelobos Mezcal, Espolon Tequila, a
liqueur Frangelico, and bitter aperitif Cynar.
Thomas Mayr, Campari’s marketing director
for Asia said in an interview that the company’s
primary market remains in the brown spirits
portfolio, where it sold 35% more cases in FY22
than the previous year. Other spirits have grown
100% in FY22, but on a lower base. The
company is focusing more on the Asia Pacific to
fuel growth. “India is a key market within the
Asia Pacific and is also recognized globally as a
very important market,” he said. VARUNI KHOSLA

Russia oil imports to hit new high Tata Steel, JSPL, Adani, others vie for NMDC Steel
Bloomberg the key OPEC+ producer. sian crude that Western buy- FROM PAGE 1 The eligibility criteria set by The ministry of corporate bids, determining eligibility,
feedback@livemint.com India and China have ers don’t want and refining it the government specify that affairs approved the demerger opening up virtual data rooms
become a crucial destination into products for resale to the Steel and Power and JSW Steel central, state or joint PSEs where of the steel plant from NMDC in and allowing qualified bidders

I
ndia’s oil processors are
open to buying even more
Russian crude if the price is
right, said refinery executives,
potentially providing a bigger
outlet for Moscow almost a
year after its invasion of
Ukraine.
The South Asian nation
increased Russian oil imports
in 2022, ending the year with
record monthly volumes as
discounted barrels enticed
buying. Executives said more
cheap crude may be available
to India from early next
month, with a European
Union ban on seaborne Rus-
sian fuel shipments possibly
weighing on refining rates in
for Russian oil after many West,” said Mukesh Sahdev, declined to comment. Adani the government has more than October. In December, the to begin due diligence, are
others shunned shipments the head of downstream oil Group, Vedanta Group, the 51% ownership would not be government received an likely to push the transaction
due to the war in Ukraine. trading at Rystad Energy. ministry of finance, depart- permitted to participate in the in-principle approval from BSE over to the next financial year.
Indian refiners India’s crude ment of investment and public bidding. The conditions also for listing NMDC Steel and has For FY23, the government has
are able to turn India and China imports rose to a asset management (Dipam) did mention that interested bidders, since started the process. set a disinvestment target of
cheap Russian have become a record last year, not respond to queries till press either sole or consortium, The Centre first approved ₹65,000 crore and currently has
crude into fuels crucial destination a l t h o u g h time. “Tata Steel, as a principle, should have a minimum net the disinvestment in October generated receipts worth ₹31,106
such as diesel for Russian oil increased buying does not comment on specula- worth of ₹5,000 crore. 2020 when the Cabinet Com- crore, of which ₹20,516 crore has
and then sell to
after many others of Russian bar- tive information regarding its Interested bidders have till mittee on Economic Affairs come from the listing of India’s
regions includ- rels has crimped future strategy,” a company 27 January to submit bids. The Centre will sell 50.79% of its gave its ‘in-principle’ approval largest insurer, the Life Insur-
i ng Eu r ope, shunned flows from spokesperson said. Some of them sought clarity on 60.79% in the under-construction to the demerger of the Nagar- ance Corp. of India (LIC), in the
boosting profit shipments OPEC. The Chhattisgarh govern- issues such as the possibility plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh. nar steel manufacturing unit first quarter of FY23.
margins for pro- Cartel mem- ment has opposed the plant’s and timing of the sale of the 10% from NMDC and strategic dis- For FY24, the government is
cessors. bers accounted privatization and passed a reso- equity NMDC will hold in the response to queries from investment of the entity by sell- expected to keep the target the
The impending EU sanc- for about 62% of total oil lution last year to purchase the plant post the transaction. In potential bidders, the depart- ing the entire stake held by the same or lower than FY23’s tar-
tions are expected to ratchet imports from April to Decem- plant if the Centre were to pri- the preliminary information ment said details regarding government. get, as several of the ongoing
up demand for fuels from ber, compared with around vatize it. However, it was unclear memorandum, Dipam said the supplementary transactions With the initial expression of transactions, including IDBI
Asia. 71% in the previous corre- whether the state intended to remaining 10% stake of the gov- would be provided to short- interest coming in by the Bank, HLL Lifecare, BEML, and
“It’s bit of a circular trade sponding period, according to submit a bid or had submitted ernment in NMDC Steel would listed bidders during the sec- month-end, the next steps, Shipping Corp. of India, are set
going on as India takes Rus- government data. the bid as of Thursday. be offered to NMDC. In a recent ond stage of the transaction. including combing through the to spill over into the next year.
10 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

REpORTAgE | TAlkINg pOINTS | IDEAS | INSIghT | ThE BOTTOM lINE

HOW WEWORK BUILT

ITS INDIA SuccESS STORY
With the flex-working industry taking off yet again, the company has reported encouraging growth

Madhurima Nandy
madhurima.n@htlive.com
beNgAluru

Y
ou could say the pre-pandemic
years were a time of excess for
flex-working companies.
Many had free beer on tap; a
few came up with sleeping
pods. Well, anything to keep the millen-
nial employee— the heart of the busi-
ness—happy.
Now, such excesses are not that com-
mon. But the flex-working spaces of
WeWork, the company that pioneered the
element of ‘community’ in shared work-
places, continue to remain colourful and
exciting. More so in India.
On a Tuesday morning in January, the
13th floor office of WeWork India, at the
Salarpuria Sattva Magnificia building, in
Bengaluru’s Old Madras Road, buzzes.
Here, for a ₹450 day-pass, one can work
from any of the three floors the company
operates. The sprawling open area in one
of the floors has a reception at one end and
an open pantry at the other side. Techies
and designers are busy at work, sitting on
long tables. Some work out of a lounge
area. A foosball table and a table tennis
room await anyone who needs a break.
The buzz is a sure sign that flex-working
has made a comeback in India after a pan-
demic-induced slump. Flex-work has
numerous nuances and one of them is
co-working—it means individuals and
small teams of companies sharing workspa-
ces. Flex working spaces, overall, also
include private offices and managed offices.
All shared businesses were written-off
when covid-19 struck. But the critics, we
now know, underestimated the need for a
‘community’. Also, flex-working gave
enterprises the flexibility to scale-up and
down quickly, quite a handy solution in
uncertain times.
WeWork India, in which parent
WeWork Inc owns about 27%, is certainly
riding high. The India business started in
2017 when the New York-headquartered
company entered into a joint venture
with Indian developer Embassy Group. In
five years, the office space provider has
grown to operate over six million sq ft, File photo of a WeWork shared office space in Mumbai. MINT
across six cities—Bengaluru, Mumbai,
Pune, Hyderabad, Gurugram and Noida.
While many flex-working companies
went after just startups, enterprise cus- EyE on unit Economics the remote work model. “The focus on mint almost doubled the footprint,” said
BIGGER PIE, BIGGER SHARE
tomers constitute 70% of WeWork India’s
clients. This mix is important for both R ahul Jadhav, 34, has always worked unit economics and profitability has
remotely, renting tiny office spaces, helped WeWork, unlike the aggressive
revenues and profitability. Remember, until he went to WeWork’s Koramangala expansion mode it was planning pre-pan-
SHORT
STORY The stock of flex spaces has more than
doubled in the last four years
founder Neetish Sarda.
Meanwhile, Awfis, which operates 150
live centres, plans to double the count by
startups are in the middle of a funding centre in Bengaluru two years ago. Jadhav demic,” said a person familiar with the Leasing (in million sq ft) 2023-end.
winter and are retrenching. Larger cor- rents a hot desk, and pays about ₹14,500 a company’s plans. WHAT Flex / co-working Total (gross) “WeWork today is putting its global
porates in the mix cushion such a hit. In month, including goods and services tax. In earlier media interviews, Virwani 48.5
65.1 56.6 tools to use, in terms of the product offer-
2022, the company hinted it is progress- Although WeWork turned out to be a tad had underlined that the key to profitabil- WeWork India has turned 35.4 40.9 ings, technology, experience and curating
ing towards profitability. While its reve- more expensive than his earlier arrange- ity is in how a flex-working operator man- around. By March this year, it solutions for clients. But it will come down
nues grew to ₹1,300 crore from ₹760 ment, he is happy. ages the rental—before offering flexible expects to operate 6.5 million sq 8.9 10.3 6 6.9 10 to execution and delivery, as it also faces
crore in 2021, WeWork India stated that “It’s a good place for networking; has spaces to clients, flex-working companies ft, or about 75,000 desks. By 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 competition from Table Space and oth-
it turned in an Ebitda of ₹175 crore in open spaces; a terrace garden,” said Jad- have to first lease office spaces themselves March 2024, it expects to add ers,” said another person with knowledge
2022, from a loss of ₹120 crore the previ- hav, a content publisher, focused on the unless they are also the developer of the another 20,000 desks. Stock (in million sq ft) of the company’s plans.
Flex / co-working Total
ous year. Ebitda is earnings before inter- Game of Thrones series. “It offers the best property. Office landlords themselves, the Does more competition lead to pricing
est, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. work environment for someone like me Embassy Group knows how to get the best 2018 pressure in this business?
The company continues to make who has always worked remotely. Now, I deal on rentals. And even before the pan- AND 633 2019
WeWork, experts said, has not compro-
aggressive but measured forays. By am looking for a place to stay but it has to demic, the company maintained an mised on the quality of buildings or tech
March this year, it expects to operate 6.5 be close to this WeWork centre.” eagle’s eye on the efficiency of operations. Its growth and profitability parks it leases. Therefore, it continues to
numbers are even more striking 21 686
million sq ft, or about 75,000 desks. By WeWork India, ever since it started, It focussed on keeping the cost of clean- command a premium pricing. However,
March 2024, it expects to add another focussed on catering to a space that allows ing, the consumables, to a level that made when one compares it to the 2020 the company does discount in other ways.
20,000 desks. interactions; allows people to create a busi- economic sense. troubles of the parent entity— 32.3 Currently, it is offering a 20% discount on
While claims in India’s flex-working ness or social relationship. Jadhav alludes WeWork India also has a wider basket WeWork Inc is closing locations 728 2021 day pass bundles (5-10 days).
industry should be taken to this. What he does not of offerings, which helps the company ride and cutting roles. Some of WeWork’s rivals do have the
with a pinch of salt, say but has a strong out volatility better than rivals. Today, it 36.9 777 financial muscle needed to stay relevant.
WeWork India stated in While WeWork India’s underplay in making offers day passes, hot desks, dedicated Take the case of Table Space, which last
a media statement from revenues grew to these relationships possi- desks, ready-to-move-in private offices, HOW 2022 42.3 year, raised about $300 million from
October 2022 that it was ble are three things. managed offices and virtual offices. 828 global investment fund Hill House Capi-
“India’s largest office ₹1,300 crore in 2022 from Operationally, flex- “Larger operators who moved towards The company in India focussed tal—one of the largest investments in the
space provider, aimed at working is a combination managed offices, will likely benefit, on execution, optimizing costs, sector. The funding helped the firm to
₹760 crore in 2021, it and unit economics. It also has a 52.2
creating flexible work- of real estate, hospitality, because that’s where demand is moving,” expand rapidly.
space solutions for com- reported an Ebitda of and technology. Operat- said Viral Desai, senior executive director, wider basket of offerings Flex data are for grades A, B and C. Gross figures include Property consultants, however, said
panies of all sizes”. And ing the three requires transactions, Knight Frank India. compared to rivals, which helps pre-commitments of lease deeds signed that year. that in view of the growth momentum,
outside the US, India is ₹175 crore last year. expertise and creates a The company, meanwhile, is exploring the firm ride out volatility. Source: CBRE
operators would need to raise even more
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
probably the fastest natural barrier to scale. new revenue streams. Besides desks, it capital to fortify their positions. Given
growing market for WeWork Inc. The In 2019, there were over 300 flex-work- rents out its spaces for shoots and events. the funding winter, this may not come
Indian affiliate is now evaluating an initial ing operators in India—in a bubble, the And in October last year, it invested in fidence of the investment community in Some of them are expanding aggres- easily now. Expect further consolidation
public offering (IPO), according to people barrier to entry seems low. According to Zoapi, a Bengaluru-based conferencing the growth prospects of India’s flex work- sively—they have launched operations in in the market, they added. The big will
in the know. some estimates, about 60-70% of these and collaboration platform. As companies space sector. This would be one of the multiple cities—beyond the metros. While gobble up the small. Those who stay rel-
The growth and profitability numbers businesses have now consolidated among mostly have a hybrid work policy—a mix largest transactions in this sector and we IndiQube, Table Space, and Smartworks evant over the next 24 months, may
are even more striking when one com- the top 8-10 players. of working from office and remotely— are confident that it will open up many focus on enterprises and explore public offer-
pares it to the troubles of the parent Operators with strong management Zoapi can help WeWork offer video con- such investment opportunities,” Prateek managed offices, Awfis ings to give their inves-
entity. Adam Neumann, the co-founder and sound financial muscle, like WeWork ferencing and related services. “By com- Jhawar, managing director and head of maintains a mix of WeWork has largely stuck to tors an exit while rais-
of WeWork, stepped down as the chief India, gained. Through the pandemic, the bining our technologies, we wish to take infrastructure & real assets investment co-working space. its six-to-eight city expansion ing money.
executive in 2019, after the company’s company focussed on execution and opti- Zoapi to a larger audience, and facilitate banking, Avendus Capital, had said after IndiQube’s revenue “Any business that is
stock market listing ran into trouble and mizing costs. “We are a bit conservative seamless communication for businesses the fundraise. shot up 50% last year strategy. Most other profitable would interest
investors aired concerns about govern- now and focusing on profitable growth,” of all sizes,” Virwani had commented last In 2019, WeWork had raised ₹500 compared to 2021, with flex-working operators, in investors. It is a branded
ance. In 2020, Sandeep Mathrani was CEO Karan Virwani told Mint last year. year. crore debt and then, $100 million from growth driven by Indian business model that
appointed as WeWork’s global CEO with WeWork did not respond to this publi- WeWork Global in 2020—the capital companies. The com- comparison, have started promises long-term cash
a mandate to stabilize the business. But cation’s request for comments or a meet- FlExing musclEs offered reinforcement at the peak of pany has an operational flows and high returns.
centres in tier-2 cities.
profitability remains elusive. In the three ing for this story.
months to September 2022, the com- WeWork wants to make sure they are I nvestors often side with businesses
whose business plans can hit a scale.
pany reported a net loss of $629 million. providing meaningful spaces, without They definitely see a potential in WeWork
covid. Next, the company raised ₹200
crore in debt and equity in 2021.
The financial muscle it worked on kept
footprint of about 5 mil-
lion sq ft; it expects to add
It’s a contractual service
business, which should
another 1 million sq ft this year, co-founder not be mistaken for real estate. We are
In the first nine months of 2022, the firm going after every opportunity, said Ram India. the company ahead of the game. and chairman Rishi Das said. likely to see public listings of such service
lost $1.8 billion. Chandnani, managing director, advisory In December last year, the company Smartworks, backed by Singapore’s providers of scale in two years’ time,”
In November, the company said it is and transactions services, CBRE India, a raised ₹550 crore, or around $66.5 mil- DoEs compEtition mattEr? Keppel Land, said it currently has an oper- Jhawar told Mint.
closing 40 locations in the US to cut costs real estate advisory firm.
and turn a profit, The Wall Street Journal The company, which is planning to platform.
reported. And earlier this month, open a centre in Delhi now, has largely
lion, from BPEA Credit, a private credit

Avendus Capital was financial advisor

W ith the flex working industry con-
solidating since 2019, WeWork
India probably has stronger competition
WeWork Inc said it plans to cut about 300 stuck to its six-to-eight city expansion to WeWork India on the transaction. now. Rivals include Table Space, Smart-
roles globally. strategy. Most other operators have “This fundraise by WeWork India works, IndiQube, Awfis, Simpliwork Offi-
How did WeWork India do so well? started centres in tier-2 cities, to leverage strongly underscores the increasing con- ces and CoWrks.
ational portfolio of 6.5 million sq ft; 1 mil- As WeWork India prepares for a possi-
lion sq ft more is in the pipeline. A year ble IPO, it would have learnt its lessons
ago, Smartworks only operated about 4 from WeWork Inc’s debacle in 2019, when
million sq ft. The company plans to grow it aborted its public offer. And from the
to 10 million sq ft by the end of 2023. beating the company’s stock has taken,
“Demand in 2022 was so robust, we more recently.
LIVEMINT.COM
Here’s how to track all your
investments in one place
Fintech platforms aggregate your investments using data imports and manual entries
Maulik M
maulik.madhu@livemint.com
H
ow do you know that you
are making the right
investments? For that, it is
crucial to know the right
financial products. And,
how do you assess the performance of
your overall portfolio and the assets
within it? Well, you need to keep track
of all your investments. But this can be
tough unless you can aggregate the
data on all investments in one place.
Fret not, for help is at hand. Modern-
day investing platforms or fintech apps
can not only aggregate your data on
most investments but also provide val-
uable insights on your portfolio that
help you invest better. Mint reached
out to MProfit, Kuvera, and Value
Research, and to a few users of IND-
money to understand how it works.
Investments and more
Today, most fintech platforms facili-
tate easy import of investment data
related to stocks and mutual funds
(MFs). Data on fixed deposits, bonds,
gold, and public provident fund (PPF)
have to be entered manually.
MProfit, however, goes a step fur-
ther—it facilitates auto-import of data
from a user’s PMS (portfolio manage-
ment service) and AIF (Alternate
Investment Fund) email transaction
statements . This can be particularly
useful for high networth individuals.
MProfit also seems to be the only plat-
form that facilitates import of data from
contract notes. A contract note pro-
vides you details (such as price, quan-
tity, etc.) of all stock trades conducted
on a day, and is emailed by your broker.
“You have to first download your his-
torical trade file from your broker
account and upload that to your
MProfit account. After that, you can
use the auto forward feature in your
email settings to update your trades on
a daily basis,” says Atik Shah, an
MProfit co-founder. As a result, not
only do its users have access to their
stock holdings (which is possible on
other platforms) but also their detailed
stock transactions. For someone inter-
ested in analysing their stock trades,
this can be a useful feature. You can
also track your F&O (futures and
options) trades on MProfit.
Most fintech platforms also allow
you to add the investment details of
your family members, thus enabling a
consolidated view of the entire family’s
investment portfolio. This can be a
good way to keep your family informed
about investments which may other-
wise be spread across different finan-
cial institutions. Abhishek Aggarwal,
an e-commerce professional, says,
“Kuvera and INDmoney allow me to
combine my family’s user accounts. I
have read-only access to my wife’s
investments, and she has similar access
to mine. If something untoward were to
happen me, she will be aware of all my
investments.”
Many investing platforms also offer
a range of deep insights into your port-
folio that help you invest better. These
insights can vary across platforms, and
within the same platform between paid
and free subscribers. For example, only
premium members on Value
Research’s ‘My Investments’ have
access to its liquidity analysis. This tells
users how much of their portfolio is liq-
uid—that is, redeemable without any
exit load.
WHY THE BUDGET SHOULD OFFER SEPARATE DEDUCTION FOR TERM INSURANCE
THE MONEY
MIND
VIVEK KAUL
We welcome your views and comments at
mintmoney@livemint.com
I
t is often pointed out that life insurance penetration in India is
low. In 2020, it stood at 3.2% of the gross domestic product
(GDP), slightly lower than the global average of 3.3%. Insur-
ance penetration is defined as the ratio of the total premiums paid
during a given year to the GDP of the country. The interesting
thing is that from 2006 to 2010, India’s insurance penetration
was 4% or higher, and it was at less than 3% between 2014 and
2019.
Further, most of the life-insurance premium paid by policy-
holders goes towards investment policies which have some
insurance built into them. Most individuals who buy such poli-
cies do not have an adequate amount of insurance cover for their
families.
Pure term insurance, where a specific amount is paid out only
on the death of the policyholder, is barely sold. This can be
gauged from the data that Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of
MINT MONEY FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
NeW Delhi 11
WHAT'S THE FOREX RATE?
Whether you are planning
overseas travel or want to
send money abroad, it is
always a good idea to shop
around for the best forex
exchange rate. From banks,
travel aggregators to money
changers, various small and
big players sell foreign
exchange. To simplify your
work, here is a list of INR to
USD forex rates offered by
some of the major banks
and travel aggregators. We
recommend that you also
check the commission being
charged by these players to
Keeping a tab on your investments ensure that you are getting
Today, many investing platforms or fintech apps are helping you aggregate all your investment data in one place. the best deal.
This way you can track your portfolio performance and get many other insights.
FOREX RATES (/$)
MProfit Value Research Kuvera INDmoney^ Wire transfer* Buy forex
Bank/travel
Investment tracking & reporting Mutual fund Online investment Online investment
About aggregator inward Outward Forex/travel card Cash
software firm tracking platform platform (40,000 cr platform (2.5 trillion of
assets under advice) assets tracked) SBI 80.85 82.35 NA 83.00
Founders Kiran Shah, Pallav Bhatt, Atik Shah, Dhirendra Kumar Gaurav Rastogi Ashish Kashyap 
Ashin Shah and Manish Jain Bank of Baroda 81.17 81.99 82.40 82.80
Founded when 2009 (then, a desktop platform) 1992 2016 2019 Canara Bank 81.25 81.99 82.20 NA
What you can track
IndusInd Bank 80.16 83.16 83.95 84.25
Stocks, mutual funds, Yes
NPS, fixed deposits, PPF Yes (except PPF) Yes (except bonds and Yes Kotak Bank 80.11 83.02 83.42 83.99
and bonds certain FDs#)
Data can be auto-imported HDFC 80.38 82.96 83.20 83.77
PMS and AIF from PMS and AIF email No No No
transaction statements. ICICI 79.81 83.41 83.20 84.75
Historical data can be uploaded,
Stock transactions and daily trade updates can be Axis Bank 79.28 84.05 84.75 84.05
You can see your stock holdings, but not historical stock transactions.
imported from contract notes via
email auto-forward. Yes Bank 80.17 83.01 83.91 83.91
Expenses and loans No No No Yes Thomas Cook 80.07 82.98 82.81 83.20
"Easy import of stock and mutual fund investments data from broker and RTA* statements. Note: Data collected from website of respective entities as on 25 January 2023; Rate denotes INR/USD;
Data import/ Rates are as mentioned on the website of the bank/FI and it may vary according to different amount slabs;
(MProfit imports stock data from broker contract notes). Data on products such as fixed deposits#,
manual entry *Telegraphic Transfer (TT) buying and selling rates used.
bonds, PPF can be entered manually. Compiled by BankBazaar.com
Capital gains tax report Yes Yes Yes Yes
^INDmoney has a partnership with SBM Bank (India) which has been ordered by the Reserve Bank of India to stop liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) transactions.
#Not possible for fixed deposits made outside of Kuvera; *CAMS and Karvy Fintech are registrar and transfer agents (RTA) for mutual funds.
Note: Value Research, Kuvera and INDmoney have a registered investment advisor licence. PMS is short for portfolio management service
and AIF is alternate investment fund.
Impact of account aggregator (AA) framework
Once the AA framework* is operationalized, it could impact
What type of insurance cover
A checklist before you sign up
What are the investment products where data import is
possible?
Does a platform facilitate manual data entry for other
these platforms, say experts.
DATA sharing will happen between institutions (safer)
instead of being sourced from investors (chances of
should a senior citizen buy?
data getting exposed).
investments?
Are you comfortable with the data sharing process RETRIEVING data from one place rather than from Abhishek Bondia
followed by a platform? multiple institutions will make the process seamless.
Apart from the return metrics, what other insights does Data reporting formats will be standardised across
a platform provide? I am a senior citizen. How
institutions making data aggregation easier.
Does the platform have a user-friendly interface?
much cover should I opt for
*The RBI approved AA framework will enable exchange of a customer's
data between financial institutions with the former's consent.
the first time? Will there be
With transactional platforms, there's a risk of products
being pushed to you based on your data. Source: Based on company and user inputs
a four-year waiting period
(INDmoney- only based on user inputs). for pre-existing diseases
(PEDs)? Should I buy a less
sum-insured policy to save
A few platforms go beyond tracking Value Research, you can upload your on many platforms, though there could on the premium and
only your investments—they can keep CAS onto the platform. With MProfit, a be variations. For example, Kuvera increase it after four years?
track of expenses including credit card user can set up an automatic email for- allows users to manually enter data on —Name withheld on request
spends and loans, as well as display ward for the CAS from their Gmail or gold investments, but not on fixed
your updated credit score. To track Outlook mail accounts to MProfit. deposits. On Value Research, once you It will help if you buy a sum
your expenses, you will have to provide Note that the RTA CAS only has a manually key in the details on your sov- assured equal to your last ASK MINT can underwrite the policy in
consent to the fintech app to access rel- record of MF holdings held in non-de- ereign gold bonds (series and amount annual income with a mini- m INSURANCE other ways. For instance, the
evant SMSs from your mobile phone. mat form. Any MF investments made invested) and PPF (amount and date of mum amount of ₹10 lakh. insurance company may spec-
Most investing platforms also pro- via your brokerage account (held in investment) investments, the platform There is a limited advantage to ify ‘nephrotic syndrome’ as a
vide a capital gains tax report which can demat form) will not reflect in this CAS. will calculate how your investment has buying sum assured in parts. smoker is reclassified as a non- pre-existing ailment and
be very useful at the time of filing your CDSL or NSDL, which has a record of grown over time. In fact, the risk may be that at a smoker. The best would be to exclude it for the specific wait-
income tax returns. Shashank Bhar- all your investments in the securities Data privacy concerns later stage, the insurer may check with the specific insurer ing period, between 2 and 4
adwaj, a communications and market- markets, however, will show such MF Sharing of data with investing plat- refuse to enhance the sum and completely disclose your years. Second, insurers may
ing professional, says the holdings in its CAS. For a forms may, however, raises concerns assured. The advantage of smoking status. want to issue the policy with a
challenge of tracking his To seamlessly platform to be able to around data privacy. A user who had buying sum assured together Non-Disclosure or wrong certain loading on standard
investments drove him to import all your seamlessly import all your signed up for a fintech platform a few is that the waiting period on classification can lead to claim premium, exclude the ailment
be an INDmoney pre- MF data, the MF data, it must be able to years ago was concerned by how key- PEDs would run together. So, repudiation. At the time of as a pre-existing disease, and
mium subscriber. “I’m platform must be support data import from ing in his few basic details had fetched after a block of 4 years, you will claim, the insurer may do nec- cover after 2 to 4 years. Third,
now able to see my latest all such sources. This may all his EPF (employee provident fund) have the full sum assured. essary investigations to ascer- the insurer could permanently
able to support
data on net worth along not always be the case. investment details on the platform. Also, with a higher sum tain your smoking history. If exclude some illnesses and
with a consolidated data import from When it comes to stock While no data import into these plat- assured, you get no claim the smoking status is found to issue the policy. This would
investment portfolio CAMS and NSDL investments, many plat- forms happens without user consent, bonus on the full sum assured. be incorrectly declared, the allow you to claim for all other
across platforms. In addi- forms require you to there could still be potential risks to insurer can repudiate the ailments except the specifi-
tion, I get access to IND- authorize your broker to watch out for. “The case where fintech I want to buy a term life claim, particularly in the first cally named exclusion.
money’s financial planners, so I find it share data that needs to be imported to platforms import data from entities insurance policy. I have five years of the insurance. You must apply for a policy
very affordable.” the platform. “Users have to login to such as brokers after authorization recently quit smoking. It with one of the larger health
How to aggregate data their demat accounts and provide an from the user is better from a data pri- has been around six My child is ten years old insurers. Given their size, their
Most platforms or their users that authorization to the broker to share vacy point of view than where users months now. Can I buy it as and has had nephrotic syn- ability to accommodate devia-
Mint spoke with said that MF and stock access of their holdings with the plat- provide access to investment updates a non-smoker from an drome for around three tions from standard risk is
investments data can be easily form,” explains Jatin Bhatia, VP busi- on their email account via automatic online portal? Also, will my years. Will he get a health more.
imported to these platforms. “One can ness, smallcase. Alternatively, you can forwards,” says Tejas Maniar, chief dig- nominee face any issues at policy? Abhishek Bondia is principal
easily import data from an investor’s download the statement, and then ital officer, Fino Payments Bank. times of claim? —Name withheld on request officer and managing director,
consolidated account statement (CAS) upload it on to the platform. “There could be chances of data getting —Name withheld on request SecureNow.in.
from an RTA (registrar and transfer A platform that enables NPS exposed in the latter situation,” he You can get a health insur-
agent) such as CAMS or KFintech, or (national pension system) to be tracked adds. Insurers ‘policies vary ance policy for your son. While Do you have a personal
from NSDL and CDSL,” says Ashutosh will typically require you to download Before you sign up for any platform, regarding the reclassification the presence of a major health finance query? Send in your
Gupta, senior vice president, Value the transactions statement from NSDL, clearly understand the extent of access of smokers into non-smokers. condition reduces the chance queries at
Research. and then upload it into the platform. to personal data that you are providing. Some insurers consider up to of issuance of a health policy, it mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
The process of how this is done can For most other investments however, (To read an extended version of this five years as the minimum gap does not make it zero. In such
industry experts.
vary across platforms. In the case of one may have to rely on manual entries story, go to livemint.com) required before an erstwhile a case, the insurance company
India had shared in its red herring prospectus before its initial term insurance.
public offering. So, what can be done about this? At the end of the day, a pure
In 2020-21, the new business premium (NBP) for term insur-
ance stood at ₹190 crore, a growth of 15% from 2019-20. Nonethe-
term cover is a very important part of financial planning for the
future. And families should be encouraged to buy it. One way of
less, this formed just 0.33% of the total NBP for 2020-21. The doing this is to tap into the behaviour of people. Many people
numbers were slightly better in the first nine months of 2021-22, simply buy life insurance religiously every year in order to save
when the NBP for term insurance formed around 0.42% of the tax. Of course, what they buy are investment-oriented life insur-
overall NBP. ance policies. Under Section 80-C of the Income Tax Act, the pre-
Given that LIC sells a bulk of the life insurance policies sold in mium of up to ₹1,50,000, paid on a life
the country, what is true for LIC must be true for the insurance A deduction of insurance policy can be deducted from
industry as a whole as well. up to ₹20,000 the taxable income.
Given this, the Indian life insurance industry really doesn’t really Hence, in order to encourage people
sell pure term insurance. Broadly, there are three reasons for the every year will to buy pure term insurance, a separate
lack of popularity of term insurance. boost buying of deduction of up to ₹15,000-20,000
First, most people who buy life insurance policies expect some term insurance every year should be offered. This will
sum of money when the policy matures. There is no payout in policies be like the deduction offered on the
case a policyholder survives the term of a pure term insurance premium towards a health insurance
policy. In that sense, people really don’t understand the real policy.
objective of life insurance. To correct this anomaly, the insurance While it will still not incentivize insurance agents to sell pure-
regulator and the life insurance companies need to run a sus- term insurance, the idea of saving more tax might encourage
tained education campaign highlighting the benefits of buying individuals to buy pure term insurance policies to adequately
pure term insurance, along the lines of the mutual fund industry’s insure their families. If the supply problem can’t be addressed,
mutual fund sahi hai campaign. the demand problem should be addressed.
Second, the idea of buying term insurance makes many people nificantly lower than the investment-oriented insurance policies. With the budget for the financial year 2023-24 due on Febru-
uncomfortable given that it reminds them of their mortality. This essentially leads to a situation where insurance agents do not ary 1, this is an idea that the finance minister and the government
There is nothing really that can be done about this. have enough incentive to push term insurance, given that they might want to consider.
Third, the premium of term insurance policies tends to be sig- don’t make large commissions in absolute terms when they sell Vivek Kaul is the author of Bad Money.
12 FrIDAy, 27 JANuAry 2023
New DelhI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | Farm TrUTHS

ISTOCKPHOTO

An urban middle-class revival is

key to India’s economic recovery
Their distress has been neglected and the budget must help reverse it to get aggregate demand up

This decline was a continuation of the
trend seen earlier between 2011-12 and
2017-18 when wages of regular worker
wages declined by 1.7% per annum.
Essentially, a regular worker was earn-
ing 14% lower wages than a decade ago.
Much of this decline was among highly
educated workers.
A better way to understand the eco-
HIMANSHU nomic situation in urban areas is to look
is associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru at the consumer confidence surveys of
University and visiting fellow at the Centre the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These
de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi are conducted in major urban centres
and are fairly representative of the
nomic situation has worsened. But it
turned positive after the government
changed in 2014 and remained so until
December 2016. Since then, it has
remained negative. In November 2022,
56% respondents reported that their
economic situation has worsened, while
only 28% reported improvement. The
situation on employment is no differ-
ent, with the net response having stayed
negative throughout the last six years
beginning December 2016. On
incomes, net responses turned negative
from September 2019 onwards. This is

Get into mission mode

mood of urban consumers. The RBI also reflected in the intention to spend
survey asks a variety of questions to on essentials and non-essentials. The

I
t is now well known that India’s rural gauge how respondents perceive their net response on spending intention on
economy has been in distress for economic situation on different param- non-essentials started declining after
quite some time. There is enough eters and their expectations a year 2017 and has been negative since Sep-

on the ease of charging data that points to this distress worsen-

ing. However, unlike the rural econ-
omy, there is not much data on what is
happening to the urban economy. This
ahead. While these are available for
most parameters since September 2012,
data on spending intentions is available
from September 2015. For every ques-
tember 2019. Given the sharp slow-
down in the Indian economy after
2017, these data trends are reasonable
indicators of the situation in the urban
is partly because there is not much tion, respondents report whether economy. Most of these suggest that
regular data on wages or incomes in the current situation has improved, the urban economic situation started
Early adopters of EVs living in urban apartment blocks have run into RWA resistance over urban areas, but also because of the worsened or remained same. The gap worsening well before the pandemic,
heterogenous nature of urban eco- between those reporting improvements which only worsened matters.
charging amenities. For mass-market EV adoption, such knots need to be untangled swiftly nomic activity. However, there is still versus those who report worsening is Further, economic vulnerability is
enough evidence to suggest that rural treated as the net response. high in urban areas due to a lack of com-
distress has spilled over to the urban As expected, during the turbulent prehensive social security, unlike in
economy, particularly the middle class. years of the ‘taper tantrum’, high infla- rural areas, which benefitted from gov-

I
f you live in an urban apartment complex
and own an electric vehicle, or plan to buy
an EV, your biggest worry of ownership
isn’t range anxiety. Rather, it is probably
your resident welfare association (RWA).
Across major Indian cities, EV owners are
sparring with housing complex associations
that refuse to let them install chargers on the
premises, citing building bylaws, parking lots
with no plans for it and lack of space, among
other pretexts. How will electricity drawn from
plug-points in common areas be paid for? And
what if a vehicle bursts into flames? Since
power metering exist and fires are only a small
risk, these objections are weak. Sadly, so are EV
users as a lobby group. As EVs form hardly 1% of
India’s new car sales and no more than 5% of the
two-wheeler offtake, EV users remain too few.
While this may explain why so many RWAs are
deaf to their demands, it is scandalous in the
context of our need for cleaner mobility.
The country’s charging infrastructure is still
dismal. According to a BNP Paribas report,
China has been adding as many charging
long cords or shift residence. In some cases, Unlike wage data from the labour tion and policy paralysis before 2014, ernment largesse by way of increased
exasperated EV owners have been driven to bureau which tracks the rural economy net responses were mostly negative. So food allocation, direct cash transfers to
on a monthly basis, there is no such data most respondents felt that their eco- farmers and the employment guarantee
breach thickets of red tape at electricity boards for the urban economy. But there are scheme. Even for food schemes, most
and municipal bodies, even approach courts, to periodic labour force surveys (PLFS) migrants remained out of it.
set up chargers where they park overnight. which provide wage earnings of urban Yet, it is urban areas that hold the key
Early adopters of EVs deserve to be com- workers. These are available for four QUICK READ to an economic revival. The distress is
mended for charting a course that others must years starting 2017-18, with the most an indicator of declining demand in the
recent being 2020-21. Unlike rural Lack of reliable data and urban economy. A large part of the demand for
follow in the global effort to choke carbon emis- areas, almost half the workers in urban heterogeneity have meant that discretionary or non-essential spending
sions that trap heat and threaten the planet. But areas are regular workers who receive the plight of our urban middle comes from urban India. With inflation
anecdotal evidence suggests that the hoops that regular wages/salaries. They are also class has gone largely unnoticed further eroding the purchasing power
EV owners must leap through to recharge their part of the so-called urban middle class. and state attention has been of urban consumers, we are facing the
batteries has disheartened others who might While wage earnings of casual work- aimed mostly at the poor. biggest demand crisis we have seen in
ers in urban areas increased by 3.3% per recent times. Given that our exports are
have sought electric options. It is also evident annum between 2017-18 and 2020-21, Given how heavily we depend declining, a revival in external demand
that residents of housing societies whose RWAs these actually declined for regular on the Indian middle class for is unlikely amid signs of a global reces-
have installed chargers are much better dis- workers by 0.8% per annum. In fact, the discretionary spending, money sion. If the budget’s priority is a revival
posed to the prospect of going electric. All this earnings of a regular worker in the placed in its hands by the budget of India’s economy, helping increase
should push RWAs out of their inertia on April-June quarter of 2021 were 3% could boost aggregate demand the incomes of our middle class to drive
lower than in the same quarter of 2018. and thus the entire economy. demand is the only option.
charging amenities. Since it could take costly
transformer upgrades and rewiring of circuitry,
fixed costs may prove steep, but RWAs may find
it worthwhile to work with charging set-up
providers. Inviting private operators to offer
services on the premises, however, could keep
recharge costs high (on low volumes) and work www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Thursday, January 31, 2013 Vol.7 No.27 `3.00 in Delhi­NCR/`4.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24
32
32 PAGES
+++12
+ 4 MARKETS
PAGES
8 PAGES
12 PAGES

stations every week as our entire nationwide against the appeal of EVs. The math can be WSJ:US economy contracts
in December quarter >23
BANKING: SBI pares base rate; others may
follow suit >5

count of these. Yes, chargers have come up tricky. Could a government effort untangle EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
NATION: PM­led panel sets one­month
deadline on oil block issue >22
VIEWS: A.V. Rajwade on currency
devaluation >31

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QUICK EDIT
A winner-takes-all
Five trends that will In recent days, India has made significant strides towards unifying
Judge on

solve the problem for the vast majority of EV policy response. Most urban dwellers who use economy that offers only
the country into a single market with a goods and services tax (GST)
regime. Here’s a quick primer on what it is and what it will do.
merit
drive growth in 2013 What is GST?
GST is a unified tax on
Why GST?
I ndia is perhaps alone
among democracies
with a pluralistic flavour
where artists, poets and
scholars get regularly

owners, who drive these vehicles within the city their own vehicles do not park beside a usable
sale/supply of goods and singed by the ire of the
India’s consumption services; will subsume It economically unifies the righteous. The latest to
HOLDING UP

limited access to the

story remains intact, different central country, removes distortions feel the burn is producer,
director and actor Kamal
though the pace of and state taxes and eliminates the
growth has slowed Why India can’t afford cascading effect
of taxes
Hassan, who has been
having a hard time with
his movie Vishwaroopam.
against previous years
a consumer slowdown What will it do
First, he couldn’t get it
premiered on the direct-

and must charge their batteries at home. A plug point, which is a luxury of bungalow living.
B Y S APNA A GARWAL
sapna.a@livemint.com
·························
MUMBAI
to-home platform ahead
for the economy? of a theatrical release. He
B Y N IRANJAN It will save costs for traders and had to scrap that and go
R AJADHYAKSHA THE CONSUMER REVOLT with a more conventional
retailers, prevent double taxation

I
The growth in private

middle class is a recipe

ndia, Asia’s third largest
economy, saw urban con-
sumers spend less in calen-
dar year 2012 due to high infla-
tion, muted salary hikes, and
niranjan.r@livemint.com cinema hall premiere for
······················· consumption expenditure and could lower the end-price for the movie, thus delaying
MUMBAI Growth 6.4
consumers. It will also reduce its debut. As if that battle
rate in (%)
administrative costs and
T he Indian consumer has
been the first line of
6.1
dramatically reduce
wasn’t bruising enough,
certain Muslim groups in

Twitter poll of EV owners held by a Mint writer This could justify some funds from outlays on
slowing economic growth that defence against a total tax litigation Tamil Nadu brought the
affected both real wages and economic collapse. It is 4.9 film’s release to a
sentiment. now increasingly clear that 4.6 grinding halt, accusing
Yet, the fast moving con-
sumer goods index (the BSE
several years of high
inflation are taking their
4
3.7
What are the the veteran film-maker of
being communal.
FMCG index) was the third toll on private consumer hurdles? It’s bad enough that
The Constitution has

for democratic malaise

biggest gainer among sectoral spending. That is not good Hassan says he may have
indices on BSE, surging 47%, news at a time when the to be amended and a to shift to a “secular
while ITC Ltd figured among other drivers of effective When will it be state” or even quit India.

asking if they faced RWA resistance in getting urban development on a ‘go electric’ package
the top 10 best-performing demand are fragile. consensus with In an ideal world, all
stocks, rising 43.64% in the pe- Investment spending is states reached rolled out? artistic expression should
riod. down. Global demand Scheduled for be judged on merit. By
Compared with other sec- continues to stutter. And 1 April 2014 this standard, the
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
tors, the consumption story re- consumption spending by solution is simple. If a
mains intact, though the pace the government is likely to 2011-12 2012-13 film is bad or even
Source: CSO
of growth has slowed com- weaken if the fiscal deficit tendentious, don’t see it.
PRAJAKTA PATIL/MINT Source: BMR Advisors
pared with previous years. is to be contained.
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
Consumer spending reached There are early signs that

and dereliction.
ANALYSIS

nods for charger installation got 57% affirma- for apartment blocks. As EV makers have a keen
an eight-year low in the Sep-
tember quarter of fiscal 2013
(FY13). Private final consump-
tion expenditure (PFCE), an
official estimate of consumer
spending, slowed to 3.68%, ac-
cording to India Ratings, a part
of the Fitch Group. That’s not
an isolated number—in the
tive responses from a self-selected sample of interest in the ease of charging, they could be
last six quarters, four recorded
the lowest PFCE growth rate
seen in the last 34 quarters, In-
dia Ratings said in its January
report.
“This time, the slowdown in
consumption spending is visi-
ble in some categories in the
private consumer demand
is under pressure. Car sales
slumped in November, and
the Society of Indian
shows a deterioration in
popular perceptions on Between now INDIA STRATEGY
Automobile Manufacturers,
an industry lobby group,
has slashed its forecast for
current economic
conditions, current
household circumstances
& 4 June: two Stuck in Orissa, Posco
sales this fiscal. Hindustan
Unilever Ltd reported weak
and current spending.
Macroeconomic data also
floats a day? scripts a success story
volume growth in the third tells us that while private
quarter as the company has consumer demand is still B Y A NIRUDH L ASKAR
had to raise product prices the main driver of Indian anirudh.l@livemint.com B Y R UCHIRA S INGH near automobile hubs. He did
to protect its profit margins. economic growth, it is ························· ruchira.s@livemint.com not give a time frame.
The latest consumer significantly slowing. (See MUMBAI ························· “There is the Bangalore area
confidence survey by the
Reserve Bank of India
conducted in December
chart).

TURN TO PAGE 14®

B etween now and 4 June, an
average of two share sales
will hit the Indian markets eve-
RAIGAD/ TALEGAON (MAHARASHTRA)

P osco’s steel plant in Orissa,

hailed in 2005 as the big-
and the Indore area, and there
are so many others,” he said.
In Gujarat, a new processing

324. Multiple instances have come to light of EV co-opted too. Perhaps private-public partner-
higher SECs (socio-economic
classifications) of urban In-
dia,” analysts Anand Mour and
Gagan Borana said in an ICICI
ry day if 170-odd listed private gest overseas investment in In- centre would make it Posco’s
sector companies are to com- dia, has since languished on second in the state.
consumption suggests that perts expect five trends to ply with the minimum public account of delays in environ- Posco, the world’s fourth
consumption at the bottom of dominate in 2013: rural and shareholding norms set by the mental approvals and land ac- largest steel producer, had

Securities Ltd December re-
port.
The trends seen in 2012 are
likely to accelerate in 2013.
Growth will come from rural
the income pyramid is likely to
stay strong,” said analysts
Neelkanth Mishra and Ravi
Shankar in a 7 January report
titled India Market Strategy by
new consumer segments, sales
and discounts, new launches
and expansion, emerging seg-
ments and trade channels, and
premiumization.
stock market regulator before
the deadline expires.
If indeed all these firms sell
shares in the next 84 days
(that’s the number of trading
quisition.
But in sharp contrast with
other foreign companies that
haven’t been able to overcome
such setbacks, the South Kore-
K L AUS SC HWA B
signed a memorandum of un-
derstanding with India for a
$12 billion (around `64,300
crore today) steel plant—In-
dia’s largest foreign direct in-

users resorting to cable extensions from their ships can take up this task at scale. All in all,
dwellers who are expected to
see a rise in disposable in-
comes due to the direct cash
transfer scheme, while urban
consumers will continue to be
affected by the macroeconom-
ic environment, analysts said.
“Our analysis of the impact
of government spending on
Credit Suisse Securities (India)
Pvt. Ltd. “The squeeze of the
urban middle-class, on the
other hand, is likely to contin-
ue.”
Muted salary increases will
also add to the pressure on ur-
ban consumption, it said.
Besides that, food inflation
Rural and new
consumer segments
The consumer packaged
goods market growth will be
aided by a rise in government
final consumption expenditure
(GFCE), as was witnessed two
years before the general elec-
days, excluding Saturdays,
Sundays and market holidays,
till 4 June), the market will be
flooded with equity worth at
least `25,000 crore, going by
the closing stock prices on
Wednesday.
According to the Securities
and Exchange Board of India
an company’s India strategy vestment—in 2005, but the
appears to be thriving. company hasn’t gained control
The company is looking to of the 4,004 acres of land in
open new steel processing cen- Jagatsinghpur in Orissa need-
tres in Karnataka, Madhya ed to start construction. In the
Pradesh and Gujarat after meantime, Posco has em-
starting five such centres and a barked upon an ambitious
manufacturing unit as it ex- downstream expansion on the
pands in India. expectation that when the in-

high-rise flats to ground-level parking slots. for EVs to sell in volumes that can make a real
NOTE TO READERS
The Media Marketing Initiatives on
Pages 26 and 27 are the equivalent
of paid­for advertisements, and no
Mint journalists were involved in
creating these. Readers would do
well to treat them as
remains persistent, forcing
consumers to spend more.
“Food inflation, which had de-
clined to 6.6% in October, has
re-entered the double-digit
zone after four months,” said a
January report by Crisil Ltd.
Yet, there are bright spots,
with analysts expecting con-
tion in 2009, and the likely roll-
out of policies such as the food
security Bill and the direct
cash transfer of subsidies to
about 40% households in In-
dia, said analysts.
In the two years preceding
the 2009 general election, the
consumer packaged goods
(Sebi), every listed firm in the
private sector has to ensure
that at least 25% of sharehold-
ing is held in public hands be-
fore June; every listed state-
run company needs to have at
least 10% of itself owned by the
public before August.
None of these companies
“India is a big country and
we continuously find opportu-
nities to expand volumes,” said
Cheol Min Kim, chairman and
managing director of Posco’s
India Pune Processing Centre
Pvt. Ltd. “We are continuously
studying market conditions…
to invest more and more.”
tegrated steel plant comes up,
it will be the final, critical
piece of its India strategy.
“The Indian market has a
potential for automotive mate-
rials,” said In Gweon Lee, gen-
eral manager (corporate rela-
tions) at Posco India’s head of-
fice in Gurgaon. “That is why

This is a nuisance for everyone, but left to fend difference, chargers must be placed within the
advertisements.
Mint is also available for R7 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
sumer companies to continue
seeing growth from shoppers
buying branded goods for the
first time, and by sales, dis-
counts and promotions. Ex-
market grew in excess of 1.4
times the nominal GDP (gross
domestic product) growth,
TURN TO PAGE 14®
has approached the regulator
as yet for approval to sell
shares, but that does not mean
TURN TO PAGE 4®
The head of the Talegaon
processing plant that aims to
produce 260,000 tonnes of spe-
cial steel this year said Posco is
looking to build similar units
Posco has been investing in
this segment through process-
ing centres, galvanizing unit
TURN TO PAGE 5®

for themselves, many have either had to use routine reach of would-be users.

THEIR VIEW

The country needs a rational crypto regulatory regime

deep pools of technical talent, a dynamic
ArunA ShArmA startup ecosystem and a government that
was pursuing a digital revolution on a war-
footing. According to a 2022 Nasscom
report, 11% of the world’s Web3 workers are
in India, with a remarkable 138% rise in
disproportionate to the tax regime for other regressive tax structure, there is no way of developed have been discouraged, and most
asset classes, like mutual funds and shares, knowing precisely how effective these self- importantly, India faces the risk of losing out
for which the equivalent tax is 15% and a set- imposed regulatory measures will be. on a fast-rising Web 3.0 market as invest-
off against losses is allowed. These moves How did Indian investors react to the new ments shift to other destinations.
were meant to disincentivize people from policy? Evidence suggests that instead of Indian policymakers and the Reserve
speculating on crypto assets, while giving exercising greater caution in trades, many Bank of India have taken the stance that

is a practitioner development
economist and former
secretary, Government of India.
V
irtual digital assets, or VDAs, have
emerged in recent years as a global
phenomenon, with investors fasci-
nated by their potential, tech firms looking at
use cases for blockchain technology with
VDAs as equity, and governments apprehen-
sive about their perceived risks to monetary
and fiscal policy. VDAs have already gone
through three boom-and-bust cycles. Not
long ago, around early 2021, expectations had
begun to get frothy, as the potential of this
technology seemed endless, with tech-savvy
experts fervently anticipating how crypto
would transform every aspect of society.
Investors in crypto appeared to be earning
profits that traditional investment could not
hope to rival. Even today, despite a crash in
crypto prices and the collapse of crypto
exchanges like FTX, India’s tax-deducted-at-
source (TDS) record shows transactions of
about ₹6,000 crore, a steep fall year-on-year,
but significant nonetheless.
In this nascent ecosystem, India was fast
emerging as a global front-runner, with its
blockchain and crypto-related jobs since
2018.World-class crypto-products were
being developed here. Those exciting days
have since come to an early end, partly
because crypto exuberance was punctured
by a series of scams, but also because our
regulatory responses made it untenable.
This was exacerbated by friendlier policies
in other countries causing a brain-drain and
cross-border diversion of investments.
At the start of 2022, India’s government
was looking to take a cautious approach to
the crypto ecosystem. Instead of fashioning
a regulatory framework for investments in
VDAs with appropriate guard-rails for the
protection of investors, it chose to impose a
heavy tax burden on crypto transactions.
On 1 February 2022, the government
announced two new taxes: the first was a flat
30% tax on any gains from crypto transac-
tions that could not be set off against losses
in other crypto transactions; the second was
a 1% TDS, effective 1 July 2022, on any trans-
action over ₹10,000. These measures were
the government a mechanism to monitor migrated to offshore VDA exchanges that VDAs offer no inherent value. While this can
transactions. But they also delivered a criti- were seen to be shielded from the scanners be debated endlessly, there is still increasing
cal blow to the Indian crypto ecosystem, of revenue officials. As a result, they are now demand for such assets. The purpose of reg-
with domestic crypto exchanges faced with at the mercy of foreign regulatory systems. ulation is to protect investors and not just
decimation as their Indian users shifted to An estimated half a million Indian investors punish bad investment products.
foreign exchanges to avoid scrutiny. were impacted by the FTX crash. Regulators Despite 2022 being a year of crypto disas-
While investors needed to be protected like Japan’s Financial Services Agency are ters and clean up, it is unlikely that invest-
from poorly-managed working on ring-fencing ments in this space will cease entirely. The
products and occasion- Japanese investors from responsibility of Indian financial regulation,
ally also outright fraud, QUICK READ the FTX fallout. India, therefore, is to ensure that future invest-
the government’s tax however, by starving ments are guided responsibly and bad out-
policy instead of regula- Our disproportionately heavy local VDA exchanges, has comes are managed.
tion and investor educa- crypto tax regime has wrecked lost space to manoeuvre. While India tries to create a global con-
tion had an adverse Indian exchanges, exposed Recent experience sensus around VDA regulation, investments
impact on India’s entire investors to foreign rules and put exposes the fact that by must be brought back to Indian exchanges,
VDA ecosystem. While at threat the possibility of India not bringing out regula- where they can be monitored effectively. To
Indian VDA exchanges leading the Web 3.0 revolution. tion to treat crypto as an do so, our hostile taxation regime for crypto-
are strengthening sys- asset class for investment currencies must be rationalized and brought
tems and processes by What India really needs is a and instead imposing a at par with other asset classes. Regulation
introducing KYC norms, regulatory regime that doesn’t disproportionately heavy should also streamline how crypto
educating investors and deter investment inflows even as tax regime, Indian VDA exchanges adhere to KYC and anti-money
even resorting to audits it encourages self-monitoring exchanges have lost out, laundering principles, and ask them to pub-
to publish proof of initiatives by exchanges so that potential new use cases lish proof of reserves. This ecosystem needs
reserves, with such a investor interests are protected. for blockchain being logical taxation and sensible rules.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS FrIDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New DelhI 13

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

A Bengal school shows how pride India should not be caught by

surprise on its ageing people
can be a source of service quality A China-like population decline may happen sooner than expected

What often separates learning losses from gains is self-motivation among educators displaying Socratic levels of dedication

MIhIR ShARMA
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and
author of ‘Restart: The Last Chance for the
Indian Economy’.
KAuShIK BASu
is a professor of economics at Cornell
University and a former chief economic adviser
to the Government of India.

I
ndia is now the world’s largest country by
population—or, at least, it will be at some
point this year. While this shift has been

T
he world has reached a major turning
point. As AI edges out traditional
labour, it becomes clear that the future
belongs to countries that can adapt to
the changing nature of work. But adapt-
ability requires an education system
that nurtures creativity. This is particularly true in
countries like India, where the growing digital
divide threatens to widen existing inequalities. I
have been on the road in India over the past
month, interacting with people engaged in
education and research. I happened to reach Delhi
just as the 2022 Annual Status of Education Report
(ASER) was released.
This year’s report, the first to rely on in-person
interviews since the onset of the covid pandemic, is
based on the accounts of volunteers who visited
more than 17,000 schools across the country. Given
the four-year gap, this report provides the first
meaningful glimpse of the pandemic’s devastating
effect on learning outcomes for Indian children. It
also provides crucial insights into the experience of
millions more pupils in other developing and
emerging economies.
The report shows that Indian children’s basic
reading skills have dropped to pre-2012 levels
across all ages, reversing the slow improvement that
was achieved before the pandemic began. For
example, the share of third-grade students who can
read at a second-grade level dropped from 27.3% in
2018 to 20.5% in 2022.
One area where India did make progress is in
public-school enrolment. While the share of chil-
dren aged 6-14 enrolled in government schools had
been dropping steadily between 2006 and 2014, the
trend has reversed. In 2018, 65.6% of children in
that age group were enrolled in public schools; in
2022, this figure increased to 72.9%. Current
initiatives to reform education in India, if adopted
and fully implemented, offer cause for optimism.
During my journey, what encouraged me the
most was the progress made in one poor region, the
Purulia district, a tribal hinterland in West Bengal
that is home to a large number of Santals, an Austro-
Asiatic tribe that moved into India from Southeast
Asia some 10,000 years ago.
I arrived at the Filix School, located in the middle
of this impoverished rural area, to give some
lectures to tenth-grade students on game theory.
The Filix School is an ambitious experiment that
aims to provide modern, English-language educa-
tion covering mathematics, science, and the
humanities—the full range of subjects that a child
would learn at a top school in New York City or
New Delhi. Established in 2014, the school now has
more than 500 students, almost half of them girls.
Most of the pupils come from households below the
official poverty line, a disproportionate number of
whom are Santals.
a long time coming, it arrived sooner than New Delhi must prepare for the scenario of
anyone expected because China’s popula- a shrinking workforce MINT
tion appears to have begun shrinking in
advance of projections. Undivided India fallen below replacement levels overall.
and China have vied across history for the Moreover, that figure masks big differences
population crown. India’s 1947 partition across regions: Population growth is con-
appeared to put China permanently ahead. centrated in a few northern and central
But India’s new position will likely last into states while many others, particularly in the
mid-century and beyond. The Lancet’s east and south, have fertility rates that are
projections for population in 2100 suggest more like Japan’s or Russia’s.
India will still have over a billion people, Such uneven demographic trends within
while China will have slipped to third, with one country aren’t unprecedented. Unfor-
730 million to Nigeria’s 750 million. tunately, in India’s case, inter-regional
Moreover, this shift is likely permanent. migration, which would normally act as a
A UN report points out that in 1980, 42% of stabilizing factor, isn’t as easy as elsewhere.
Asians lived in East Asia; that proportion India is too heterogenous, and ethnic and
will be well under a third by 2050. Indeed, sub-national politics mean that internal
by that date almost half of Asians will be migration—while a right, as in China—is
South (and Southwest) Asians. From now rarely a preference.
until 2050, therefore, South Asia should As we know from China’s case, an ageing
enjoy an enviable demographic dividend, population means that the government
boosted by a rapidly growing working-age suddenly faces more calls on its resources
population. Former Asian Tigers such as with fewer taxpayers to support them. The
South Korea used this same moment to balance between savings, consumption,
transition to rich-country status. investment, and growth must change.
Purulia is quite remote. To get there, I had to fly focus on financial incentives, such as monetary We have long known, however, that the Most importantly, entitlements and
from Bangalore to the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in penalties and rewards. While such measures can nations of South Asia will be unable to take state services designed for an expanding
Durgapur. From there, we drove on the highway help, my four-day stay and earlier visits to Purulia full advantage of this demographic oppor- working-age population might become
crossing the Damodar River before veering off to convinced me that instilling professional pride tunity because they haven’t prepared their unaffordable for countries that have more
narrow country roads that meander through ram- among educators matters as much, if not more. populations for it. Indicators for the health retirees than expected. The US, for exam-
shackle villages and fields. After more than two As economists, we underplay the power of self- and education of the workforce are too low. ple, is perennially worried about the finan-
hours, we arrived at the school. monitoring. The truth is that innate pride in the If the world is less open to trade than it was ces of Social Security and Medicare for
The lecture itself turned out to work is a more powerful motiva- when the Tigers emerged, many of South good reason.
be a revelation. The bright-eyed tor than financial sanctions. Asia’s governments must also accept their India’s military and state pensions them-
students took in every word, QUICK READ The Filix School is a case in share of blame for failing to support trade, selves are enough to tip the country into fis-
were troubled by the Prisoner’s point. In their efforts to export investment, and worker welfare. The likeli- cal disaster as and when its demographic
Dilemma, delighted by the Sur- As India tries to recover from their model to other regions, the hood that we will waste this moment is bad structure changes slightly. For state govern-
prise Test paradox, and argued its pandemic-induced learning school’s teachers reached out to enough. What would be worse is if we com- ments, paying pensions already takes up
with me about my logic before losses, it could learn from the their community and asked for pounded the error by failing to think now almost 30% of their tax revenue.
playing an animated game of Hex experience of a remote West the support of the local police, about what happens when our societies Attempts have been made over the past
on the blackboard. They seemed Bengal school where students taking advantage of the unique begin to age. two decades to shift to more fiscally respon-
to me to be significantly ahead of seem to be ahead of their peers. civic police volunteer force that That prospect might seem as though it sible entitlement schemes. But all these
their peers in other schools. was started in 2012. One cannot lies in the ridiculously distant future. For keep on being rolled back by politicians
An ongoing statistical study by The school gained from foreign generalize this to all, but the anyone arriving in South or Southwest Asia looking for votes from retired soldiers or
C-Drasta, a research group in teaching methods but the real police officers who are helping from, say, Europe, the feeling is one of being government employees.
Kolkata, appears to confirm my story of its success is about the teachers set up learning surrounded by youth. India’s average age is As Indian officials prepare to present the
intuition. The Filix School’s suc- the sense of pride that teachers centres in the remote tea gardens around 28, compared to 38 in China or 47 in new Union budget next week, the country’s
cess is now being emulated via harbour in pursuing excellence of northern West Bengal are Germany. But, as we have seen with China, status as the world’s largest must be on their
the Education for All programme in the face of challenging odds. exemplary in terms of enthusi- those numbers can change more rapidly minds. New entitlements must be fully
in schools for poor children in asm and a sense of mission. than expected. Originally, neither the UN financed, and old ones must be re-examined
the jungles of the Sundarbans and the foothills of Such anecdotal evidence suggests that employ- nor leaders in Beijing expected China’s pop- for their fiscal implications. Preparations
the Himalayas in northern West Bengal. But what is ees’ pride in their work and personal identification ulation to start shrinking until the 2030s. will have to be made for an India that pays
it that makes this school’s model a success? with a mission are critical sources of service and Instead, it began last year, perhaps earlier. less taxes and wants to run down savings
It is true that the school has capitalized on ideas product quality. The Greek military leader and When the demographic turn comes, its instead of setting them aside.
for education from around the world, perhaps most historian Xenophon made the case powerfully swiftness tends to take us by surprise. South Asia may not have prepared for its
importantly from Finland. But another explanation when he noted that Socrates not only did not charge Within India, there are already signs that decades with a growing workforce. It must
has to do with India’s ongoing struggle with teacher his students any fees, but enjoyed teaching so much this pivot is going to happen sooner than not repeat that mistake when it comes to the
apathy and absenteeism in public schools. In their that he would have been willing to pay to give was projected just a couple of years ago. The dangerous decades in which that workforce
efforts to address this problem, economists typically his lessons. ©2023/PROJECT SYNDICATE country’s total fertility rate (TFR) has now will shrink. ©BLOOMBERG

GUEST VIEW

B-schools ought to manage their diversity deficit better

and learn-by-doing projects are popularly
BISWAJITA PArIdA & WAllAce JAcoB used. However, these methods enhance
learning only if instructors are perfect spring-
board to bounce diverse ideas. Discussions
become all-inclusive when instructors are
capable, willing, flexible, progressive and
diverse economic, social, educational and ulty members to be sounding boards for spe- count of male professors. Data collected from
cultural backgrounds develop different cific issues, interests and campus activities. the websites of 20 IIMs between 25 May 2022
world-views that businesses need to know of. That campuses must have all-round diversity and 29 June 2022 revealed that the total
Research areas need to be more diverse of sensitivity and sensibility goes for all edu- number of core male and female faculty
and inclusive of taboo topics and domains. cational institutes. India’s top B-schools, members were around 852 and 264, respec-
Diverse coverage will make research more sadly, still lack instructors and facilitators tively, while the approximate number of male

are, respectively, an assistant
professor at IIT Delhi and an
associate professor at Tolani
Maritime Institute, Pune.
T
here has been an increasing demand
for student diversity in colleges and
universities, and B-schools are no
exception. Management institutions in India
are working to improve diversity with every
incoming batch. Rigorous group discussion
and interview-based evaluation has diversity
indicators to go with it. For B-schools, the aim
is diversity among all stakeholders, including
students, staff and faculty members. Student
diversity is half the battle won, so why should
we be worry about the rest?
Management education is both multi-di-
mensional and multi-directional. It is a judi-
cious mixture of science, social sciences,
mathematics, statistics, humanities, com-
merce and technology. Both hard and soft
skills are essential to managerial and leader-
ship roles. Recruiters look for a combination
of quantitative, analytical and humane skills.
Hence, learning both inside and outside the
classroom and experiential learning are cru-
cial for B-school students. The case-study
method, group activities, flipped classrooms
receptive to all possible product, business or
research ideas catering to all demographic,
geographic, psychographic and behavioural
segments of a market.
India is opening its borders for top higher-
education institutes across the world to set up
extension campuses and Indian B-schools
will have to compete head-on with globally
reputed ones. Online education has already
blurred boundaries; every B-school offers
online certification programmes, and the
market for online management education is
highly competitive and accessible. In such a
scenario, offline or residential programmes
need to offer more than just knowledge and
skills. Meanwhile, as AI threatens many mun-
dane, mechanical and repetitive jobs, soft
skills, empathy, judgement, etc, will be even
more sought after. How these skills can be
taught and learnt in a B-school setup will be
driven by faculty diversity to a large extent.
Research has shown that communication,
leadership, social and coping skills vary
across genders. Similarly, people from
useful, but this requires diversity among the who adequately reflect our national diversity. and female faculty members in premier pri-
faculty members who do it. Researchers with It appears that the number of female fac- vate B-schools stood at 137 and 69 respec-
diverse backgrounds will be organically ulty members in management institutes is tively. The number of core male and female
inclined to solving challenges experienced alarmingly less than that of women who had faculty in seven of the IITs which have their
either by them or peer cohorts that might planned academic careers. According to the own management schools/departments
otherwise suffer neglect. For example, fem- All India Survey on Higher Education 2017-18 stood at 125 and 58 respectively in the time
tech, as a growing product category, will by report: 4,930 males and 4,389 females were frame under consideration. We did not con-
default be less under- enrolled in PhD pro- sider adjunct professors, visiting faculty, pro-
stood by males. Research grammes in various sub- fessors emeritus, professors on deputation,
on menstrual hygiene, QUICK READ fields of business educa- and professors of practice.
care and reproductive tion in India. In some dis- The situation is even bleaker if we consider
health and wellness came Student diversity is half the battle ciplines, women pursuing diversity of background and ethnicity. It is
into prominence only won but efforts must be made PhDs exceeded men. time we paid closer attention to the needs of
after gender diversity to ensure that instructors at India has 20 Indian modern business and entrepreneurship
among researchers management institutes are Institutes of Management while hiring professionals for B-schools.
improved. Similarly, sex- exposed to the kaleidoscopic (IIMs), 23 Indian Insti- Management education in India remains
tech as an emerging busi- realities businesses must engage. tutes of Technology (IITs, excessively homogenous in its human-
ness field would need the many of which offer man- resource composition. However, in the face
involvement of more The teaching faculties at major agement programmes) of emerging competition, from online ave-
than one gender for dis- Indian B-schools display a and several premier pri- nues to foreign B-schools that attract Indian
cussion and innovation. distinct gender imbalance and vate B-schools. However, students, our institutes offering campus edu-
Also, as student diversity their homogeneity is even more the number of female pro- cation must act to diversify the experimental
increases, we need diver- striking if other measures of fessors in these institutes and experiential learning ambience that
sity among staff and fac- diversity are taken into account. is far less than that their serves as a point of differentiation.
14 FriDay, 27 JaNuary 2023
New Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE INDULGE LIVEMINT.COM

A cruiser motorcycle
that munches the miles
Royal Enfield’s new
RISHAD SAAM MEHTA

Super Meteor 650 is easy

and comfortable to ride
both on highways and
country roads
A model by Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille. AFP
Rishad Saam Mehta
feedback@livemint.com

he last time I was in Jaisalmer, I

Gen Z looks to
T was astride a Harley-Davidson,
its oodles of chrome reflecting
the winter sun. This time, I am
here to ride Royal Enfield’s new
Super Meteor 650, which was showcased at
EICMA in Italy and unveiled at the Rider Mania
in Goa. It was let loose in Jaisalmer on 9 January
second-hand
luxury watches
to media from all over the world and I was fortu-
nate enough to swing a leg over its saddle.
My first ride on the Super Meteor 650 was out Generation Z buyers want luxury items
on a straight open road bordered by the Thar
desert on the outskirts of Jaisalmer. As I put the but are also sustainability-minded
Super Meteor through its paces on that cold
winter morning I found myself inadvertently
smiling. First, the seat was generous both in sur- AFP
face area and sponginess. Secondly, the ergo- feedback@livemint.com
nomics seemed fine tuned for me. I have large

S
hands that stretch out even 2XL size gloves, and wiss watches are in high demand these days, but sales of
the designers of the Super Meteor seem to have second-hand timepieces are also booming, driven by Gen-
taken into consideration the fact that even Hag- eration Z buyers who want luxury goods but are also sus-
rid is an avid motorcyclist and so the handlebar tainability-minded.
grips and the brake and clutch levers are not The global second-hand watch market is estimated at nearly
delicate but rather meaty and nicely kerned like 20 billion Swiss francs ($21.7 billion) and could reach 35 billion
the pommel of a sword. The switchgear on both francs by 2030, according to a study out in October by the audit-
sides feels uncluttered. ing and consulting giant Deloitte.
The chrome is restricted to the twin exhaust Royal Enfield’s new Super Historically the province of collectors scouting for rare
pipes, and even the clutch and the gearbox cover Meteor 650 was showcased at watches at auction, the second-hand market is turning increas-
of the engine are finished in a matt black as EICMA in Italy and unveiled at ingly professional with the proliferation of online sales sites that
opposed to the buffed aluminium on the Conti- the Rider Mania in Goa verify authenticity -- with even the watch manufacturers them-
nental GT and the Interceptor that have the selves getting involved.
FACEBOOK/BHATIA ALLOY FORGI

same engine. Ask anybody who owns an Inter- “Nowadays, there is a realisation that we need to consume
ceptor or a Continental GT and they will tell you riding position caused my hips to cramp. But as more responsibly,” said Fabienne Lupo, the former head of the
that Royal Enfield’s 650cc twin cylinder engine the seat is ample, a slight change in position was Foundation High Horology, who organised a second-hand luxury
is a work of art. Fitted into the frame of the Super possible, and that would melt away the cramp. watch salon in Geneva in November.
Meteor that has been designed by the company’s Unlike the previous day’s arrow straight road, The event was attended by the online auction giant eBay, the
UK technology centre in association with Harris today there were high-speed corners to go watch sales platform Watchbox, and Swiss brands such as Zenith.
Performance, this engine makes this motorcycle around and I could do that with confidence even Lupo said the craze for second-hand watches could be
a delight to ride. Deliveries for this motorcycle— managing to lean enough to scrape foot pegs at explained by the consumer choices of
available in three variants, Astral, Interstellar a few. A nilgai broke through the foliage and The global Millennials (born between 1980 and
NGS PVT LTD

and Celestial (between ₹3,48,900 and
₹3,78,900 ex-showroom)—begin in February.
Once the engine had warmed up sufficiently
and I was on an arrow straight road with great
visibility to warn me in advance of a darting dog
or a crossing cow, I twisted open the throttle and
the motorcycle accelerated all the way to
120kph without a shudder and with supreme
smoothness devoid of vibrations. The vibrations
were a characteristic of Royal Enfields of the
past but have been done away with. The acid
test is the fact that the reflection in my rear-view
mirrors was pin-sharp even at 130kph.
But cruising is not about whacking open the
throttle to three-digit speeds. It’s about enjoy-
ing the ride. So I throttled down to 90kph and
this is where the Super Meteor becomes sheer
poetry in motion. The exhaust note is a rhyth-
mic rumble and the suspension feels confi-
dently planted. Best of all, when I had to feather
the brakes to shave off some speed to give a cow
its personal space as it sauntered across the state
highway, I did not feel the need to shift down
from the sixth gear. There was heaps of torque
even at 60kph in the sixth gear for me to quickly
accelerate back up to 100kph.
Later that morning I headed back into Jais-
almer to potter around its magnificent fort. I was
worried that the motorcycle might be a bit
bolted across in front of me but thanks to the second-hand the late 1990s) and Generation Z
sharp bite of the brakes and the dual channel
ABS everything stayed upright, except maybe watch market is (born between 1997 and 2010) who
are “very concerned about the future
for a spike in the heart rate for both, the nilgai estimated at of the planet, and no longer want to
and me. nearly $21.7 buy new”.
There were plenty of speed breakers too and billion There is also the fashion for vintage
over a particularly high one, the motorcycle objects “that you can’t find every-
scraped its underbelly. That got me thinking where”, she said.
about how this motorcycle with its 135mm And furthermore, buying certain Swiss luxury watches new is
ground clearance might tackle that mighty getting harder, as the booming market means longer waiting lists.
mother road for all Royal Enfield owners—the Swiss watch exports hit a new record in 2022, climbing 11.4
ungainly to handle in the narrow streets but tries and souvenirs. road from Manali to Leh. This motorcycle percent year-on-year to 24.8 billion Swiss francs, the Federation
there was no reason to worry. It is balanced well That first day was meant for me to get familiar would be a blast on the road to Leh simply of the Swiss Watch Industry announced Tuesday. “And then
to handle slow speed directional changes, once with the Super Meteor and on the next day I had because it is now in great shape, unlike a decade there is the digitalisation which has accelerated with the pan-
again without the need of constantly changing the opportunity to make it answer its true call- ago. However, it might fall short when called demic,” Lupo told AFP.
gears. When I asked the policeman positioned ing with a 350km ride from Jaisalmer to Khim- upon to explore the other regions in Ladakh— The growth in the pre-owned watch market is such that the
at the fort’s first gate if I may ride into the fort he sar through a mix of national and state highways Zanskar, for example. For that, nothing beats British online platform Subdial has developed an index tracking
shrugged and said, “If and little country the Royal Enfield Himalayan whose ground the 50 most-traded models. The average price fell from a record
you can, then go roads. clearance is 220mm. 45,000 Swiss francs in February 2022 to 35,000 francs in Sep-
ahead”. Deliveries for this motorcycle— On that seven-hour Having said that, if I were riding to Ladakh tember, which Deloitte called a “correction” rather than a sign
And I could. Even available in three variants, ride I realized that this from Bombay, I would rather ride a Super that the market was shrinking.
over slippery flag- motorcycle truly Meteor over the 2500km to Leh rather than a Sales platforms for certified pre-owned (CPO) watches are
stones and up steep Astral, Interstellar and munches miles with Himalayan. For my adventurous off-road riding multiplying online, with the sector still attracting new entrants,
slopes designed all Celestial—begin in February consummate ease. in Ladakh, I would simply park my Super including the US site Bezel, which counts former Disney presi-
those centuries ago to Scores of kilometres Meteor in Leh and hire a Himalayan. dent Michael Ovitz, comedian Kevin Hart and singer John Leg-
slow down charging would flash by Horses for courses! end among its investors.
war elephants, the Super Meteor climbed sinu- between two glances at the trip meter. I also The luxury giant Richemont -- which owns the Cartier, IWC
ously, dodging pedestrians and tourists, past the realized that every once in a while, I needed to Rishad Saam Mehta is a travel writer and pho- and Piaget brands -- entered the field as early as 2018, buying the
honey-coloured fort walls adorned with tapes- shift about in the seat because the foot-forward tographer British platform Watchfinder.

‘Even in this super digital world, writing is not a lost art’

Montblanc India’s chief changemakers), and watches. Edited The Montblanc watchmaking story
excerpts: began in 1858, when Charles-Yvan Robert
executive on the joy founded his workshop in Villeret, in the
of writing, the new Jimi With the increased use of digital Swiss Jura Mountains. Though he didn’t
tools, what kind of change have you realise it at the time, this marked the
Hendrix collection of witnessed in the way people consume beginning of the historic Minerva era.
pens and watches stationery? Over the century and a half that followed,
Writing is like meditation. It is a way to Minerva would become one of the world’s
spend time with yourself. Even in this leading specialists in precision chronome-
Pooja Singh super digital world, writing is not a lost art. try for professionals.
pooja.s@htlive.com Covid was an unprecedented time for Today, Montblanc timepieces continue
everyone across the world. However, it the journey of Minerva’s over 160-year

I
n today’s world of digital signatures,
transcription services, online forms and
e-journals, do we really need a pen or
even stationery? Neeraj Walia insists we
do. He’s the managing director and chief
executive of Montblanc India, a brand
known for decades to produce the finest of
writing instruments, luggage and
watches, all dipped in luxury and style.
“Writing with a pen allows you to log off
and spend time with yourself,” he told me
recently when we met over coffee at
Delhi’s Chanakya mall. “You can’t possi-
bly derive a similar joy from any app or
digital tool, and people are realising this
more now, especially after covid.”
In an interview, Walia talks about the
change in consumption patterns of writ-
ing instruments, the recent Jimi Hendrix
collection (part of the brand’s Great Char-
acters Edition, a series of limited edition
writing instruments that celebrate
was also a time to reconnect with our-
selves, slow down and spend time on self-
reflection. This was the time we connected
with several writing instrument collectors
who mentioned how much time they were
spending on journaling and writing.
As a brand where writing instruments
are at the heart of everything that we do,
we try to engage our audience with art of
calligraphy workshops to nurture their
love for handwriting.
When it comes to writing instru-
ments, how important is the role of
Gens Y and Z? Are they even buying
them?
Surprising as it may seem, we have cus-
tomers spanning generations. A writing
instrument is like a family heirloom,
handed down from one generation to the
next. Our younger clients may often go for
leather as their first purchase, however
they do purchase across categories,
Montblanc India’s head Neeraj Walia; and (right) from the Jimi Hendrix collection.
including writing instruments.
You recently launched the Jimi Hen-
drix collection. Could you tell us
about it?
The Great Characters Edition this year
is dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, one of the
best guitarists that ever lived. We took the
iconic Meisterstuck shape and broke it to
make it something new. When he was a
kid, Jimi would stare at the dormant vol-
cano Mount Rainier that dominated Seat-
tle and imagined that one day he would
break it down and make something new.
This was exactly where he got inspiration
for his song Voodoo Child.
From the shape of the writing instru-
ment inspired by his electric guitar, to his
portrait engraved on the nib of the foun-
tain pen and, of course, references to the
Tremolo bar and the iconic Purple Haze,
it’s a collection meant to celebrate one of
the biggest artists of the 20th century.
What’s the role of a pen in the era of
digital signatures?
It’s a completely different experience
using a fountain pen to sign, isn’t it?
There’s something more intimate about it.
While Montblanc has a rich legacy
when it comes to producing instru-
ments, it’s a relative newcomer to the
world of horology in its current guise.
How has been the response, consider-
ing watches are now slowly moving
towards the gender-neutral category
and sustainable materials.
Actually, this is a misconception. Writ-
ing instruments may be at the core of our
business but we have an equally rich leg-
acy when it comes to horology.
legacy in four fine watchmaking explora-
tions: Star Legacy, 1858, Bohème and Her-
itage. Each links the past and the present
through design, style and technical inno-
vation.
Your favourite pen?
My favourite writing instrument is the
Writer’s Edition Rudyard Kipling that
takes its main inspiration from Kipling’s
The Jungle Book. The overall colour is
inspired by the cover of the book’s first US
edition, with the clip taking inspiration
from the wolf pack featuring Akela. The
cap is engraved with Kipling’s handwrit-
ten initials R.K. The beginning and end of
the poem “If” is engraved on the cap top
and cone ring—“If you can keep your head
when all about you are losing theirs…You’ll
be a man my son”.
The level of detailing captured in one
writing instrument is one of the reasons it
is my favourite.