MUMBAI, New deLHi, beNGALuru, kOLkAtA, cHeNNAi, AHmedAbAd, HyderAbAd, cHANdiGArH*, PuNe*, LuckNOw* VOL. 7 NO.

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Burman vs Religare: Sebi Capex plans to cool after FY25

livemint.com kicks off probe uP1 as govt chases deficit goal uP1
 MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HyDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, pUNE*, LUCKNOW* VOL. 7 NO. 9

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

India Club: what Safety lies

it means for our
shipping firms
BY SUBHASH NARAYAN
India plans to set up its own protection and indemnity (P&l) entity—
the India Club—for providing insurance to ships operating in Indian
coasts and waterways. Currently, the shipping industry relies on global
firms for insurance. Mint explains the significance:
What is a P&I entity or
1 club?
A P&I entity or a P&I club is a
mutual insurance association that
provides risk-pooling information
and representation for its
members. Unlike a marine
insurance company, which reports
to its shareholders, a P&I club
reports only to its members that
include ship owners, operators,
charterers, freight folders and
warehouses. These act as both
insurer providers and insurance
receivers for its members and
provide coverage for a carrier’s
third-party open-ended risks such
as damage to cargo, war, and
environmental damage such as oil
spills. Traditional insurers are
reluctant to provide such cover.
BLOOMBERG
How many such clubs
2 operate globally?
The International Group of P&I
Clubs, based in London, comprises
13 clubs, which provide cover for
approximately 90% of the world’s
ocean-going ships. These include
clubs from the UK, US, Korea,
Singapore, Japan, the Netherlands,
China, Bermuda, Norway and
Sweden. These clubs cooperate to
provide funds in the event of huge
claims using a complex system to
determine liability. Club members
contribute to the club’s common
risk-pool according to the pooling
agreement rules. Several Indian
shippers operating on global
routes also take P&I cover from
these clubs, which allows them to
operate in global maritime zones.
in details
Safety checks on 39 of the 40
Boeing 737 Max aircraft being
flown in India have revealed a
“missing washer” in one,
according to the country’s avia-
tion regulator. All the rest were
found to be in order, while the
inspection of one plane was still
underway. Needless to say, rec-
tification measures have been
taken. It is reassuring that the
authorities have responded
promptly to bad news on this
particular Boeing model. Fliers
in the US had a scare last week
when an emergency door of an
Alaska Airlines plane blew off
mid-air. Subsequent inspec-
tions of the model worldwide
have found faults. Given that
the 737 Max has had such a che-
quered safety record, and with a
Netflix documentary on Boeing
portraying it as a slapdash job,
an eye for detail is critical in
checking the air-worthiness of
every unit. As aviation history is
replete with examples of faults
in otherwise minor-sounding
parts causing major disasters,
nothing can be left to chance.
Ever since the US space shuttle
Challenger blew up after lift-off
on account of a failure traced to
a small circular gasket called an
O-ring, even washers are taken
seriously. That’s exactly how it
should be. In aircraft design,
everything has a purpose.
MINT METRIC
by Bibek Debroy

Restaurants constantly lose face

3 Why is India looking to set
up its own P&I entity?
An India-focused local entity may reduce
And never cease to amaze.
the country’s vulnerability to international
Leopold Cafe in Mumbai now,
sanctions and pressures, as coverage is With a medicine strip in food row,
denied to ships operating between
countries facing sanctions. The Russia-
The chicken dish a sorry disgrace.
Ukraine war, and its fallout, have
reinforced the need for such a coverage.
The coverage, initially, will mostly be for
domestic movement of ships.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
In an era where hybrid and
4 How will an India
focused P&I function? 5
The ministry of ports, shipping
What challenges will
such an entity face?
The move will only benefit players
flexible work culture take
and waterways is leading a move to like the Shipping Corporation of
centre stage, space
form a coalition of domestic fleet India and some small shipping management plays a
owners operating on coastal and lines as 90% of Indian-owned
inland waterways routes. The ships are operating under foreign
very crucial role for
locally-owned P&I entity will only flags—of countries like Panama, enterprises.
cater to vessels operating within Liberia and Kazakhstan. Many ship
the country on coastal routes and owners opt for foreign flags to
inland waterways system. Also, a avoid regulations like stricter
traditional insurance and safety standards. Also, the India
reinsurance company may be Club may face the problem of its
involved in the Indian P&I entity to cover not being accepted by global KARAN VIRWANI
CEO, WEWORK INDIA
underwrite claims and offer traders. Moreover, coverage for a
services to fleet owners. Such an crude-carrying tanker can run into
entity would fall under the $8 billion or more. Providing such
purview of the regulator Irdai. a huge cover could be difficult.

MINT NEWSLETTERS

TOP OF THE MORNING TWICH+ SATURDAY FEELING

A daily guide to Mint’s best offerings, By VARUN SOOD By SHALINI UMACHANDRAN
‘Top of the Morning’ is a power A newsletter on India’s top five IT Work and life need balance. ‘Saturday
breakfast for your services compa- Feeling’ helps the
mind. Start the day nies—TCS, Wipro, well-heeled, con-
with nutritious Infosys, Cognizant scious business
insights and a clear and HCL Technolo- leader unwind over
overview of the gies—and more. the weekend. Com-
world of business, ‘TWICH+’ is your piled by Shalini
markets, investing weekly guide to Umachandran, the
and finance. A weekday newsletter understanding the industry that editor of Mint Lounge, this newsletter
produced for the curious business put India on the global technology is your weekly guide to an intelligent
leader in you. map. lifestyle.
 PLAIN FACTS

Will ease of commute

draw women to work?
BY PRAGYA SRIVASTAVA

A new Uber-commissioned study suggests ride-hailing can bring more women to paid work. While safer com-
mutes could indeed help somewhat, they address only part of the problem.

Women's presence in labour market is Ride-hailing has had a positive impact on

abysmally low, worse in urban areas urban women's workforce participation
Female labour force participation rate (in %) Share of working women who agreed/strongly agreed that ride-hailing
had enabled them to join the workforce, %
Urban Rural
Employment and unemployment surveys Overall Women with young children

1993-94 52
Chennai
71
1999-00
2005-05 Delhi
46
55
2009-10
Bengaluru 36
2011-12 53
Periodic labour force surveys 29
2017-18 Mumbai
49
2018-19 44
Kolkata
2019-20 47
2020-21 40
Overall
53
2021-22
2022-23 Based on a sub-sample of active Uber riders (i.e. 1,594 women, including 130
women with young children; sub-sample sizes in some cities were very small)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 in a survey done by Uber and Oxford Economics.
Source: Ministry of statistics and programme implementation Source: Uber, Oxford Economics

Bicycles, 2-wheelers common modes for men; women walk or take bus to work
Modes of travel for working Indians, as % of those who commute to work
On foot Bicycle/two-wheeler Car/Jeep/Van Tempo/Auto/Taxi Bus Other
Rural men

Urban men

Rural women

Urban women
0 20 40 60 80 100
This excludes agricultural work and those in household industries. Source: Census 2011

Women's mobility restricted by gender Gender-based industrial segregation

norms; safety, distance key factors has got worse since the early 1980s
Key differences in mobility patterns for women and men Duncan Index for industrial segregation in India based
on national jobs survey reports
Women Men
0.4 0.39 0.42 0.41 0.41
Engage in more Travel mostly for paid
non-work-related travel work activities 0.34 0.35
Cover short Cover long distances
distances to work to work
Travel during Travel during
off-peak hours peak hours
Pay additional travel Spend less on transport, prefer 1983 1993 2004 2011 2017 2018 2021
costs for safety saving time over safety The index value indicates the share of the workforce that needs
Use public Have access to and use to be reallocated between industries to achieve a state of no
transport personal modes of transport segregation (e.g. 0.3 means 30% of the workforce needs to be
reallocated; 0 represents no segregation and 1 represents
Source: "India – Toolkit for Enabling Gender Responsive Urban complete segregation.)
Mobility and Public Spaces" (2022), World Bank Source: State of Working India 2023 report, Azim Premji University

B
ehind every working woman is an enormous pile of and public transport safer—and more accessible, as some
unwashed laundry.” This quote from American state governments have tried with free bus rides for
cartoonist Barbara Dale humorously describes the women—could unlock greater potential in helping
struggles of women who, despite going out to work, find women enter the workforce.
no respite from unpaid domestic household and care
work. Take this with gender bias at work, restrictions on THE PINK TAX
mobility, and safety concerns, and it becomes incredibly Apart from spending more than twice the time on unpaid
challenging for women to juggle work with all else. The household and care work compared to men, women also
result: many withdraw from the labour market. end up paying the price for the lack of suitable
Despite a recent uptick, India’s female labour force infrastructure. The Uber-Oxford Economics survey
participation rate is abysmally low (around 30%) by global showed that safety trumped price for non-working
standards (47%). Modern-day facilities of urban life may women when considering travel to a prospective
offer possible solutions (urban women are less likely to go workplace, and the trend was opposite for men. A 2022
out to work than rural women). Take, for example, ride- World Bank report called Toolkit for Enabling Gender
hailing services, which can make commutes safer and Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces mapped out
convenient for women who can afford it (rich women are the divergent mobility patterns for men and women that
less likely to work). An Uber-commissioned survey by limited women’s participation outside their homes.
Oxford Economics released last month showed that a large Women’s travel is often limited to non-work-related
chunk of working women in metro cities activities, and they take short trips,
(between 29% in Mumbai and 52% in mostly during off-peak hours, use more
Chennai) agreed that the ride-hailing had A World Bank public transport and pay extra to feel
enabled them to join work or turn into safer. “Lack of safe public transport
full-time workers. The share was higher report likened lack options deters women from accessing
among women with kids. of safe commute to promising opportunities and amounts to
The study also projected that ride- levying a ‘pink tax’ on them,” the report
hailing services could bring 0.32–0.56 a ‘pink tax’ on said.
million more of women into the women
workforce in five big Indian cities by THE DEMAND SIDE
2028, translating into a 4–6.9% increase However, while looking for solutions to
in the female labour force of those cities. mobility or any other puzzle piece in women’s work, it’s
While a potent option for many women, this only solves important to note that not all problems are “supply-side”.
a part of the problem. That means it’s not always about women skipping paid
work due to societal realities, but also about fewer jobs
THE LONG WALK available to them, experts argue. In a 2021 article
“Greater availability of ride-hailing services will certainly countering the viewpoint that women were quitting paid
help highly-educated and high-earning urban women, but work owing to increased sexual violence, Ashwini
it cannot be looked at in isolation,” said feminist economist Deshpande, professor of economics at Ashoka University,
Mitali Nikore. “We need to make public transportation wrote that the decline in the participation rate could also
and roads safer, too, for the majority of women who be “a manifestation of the changing nature of work
struggle to afford these services.” availability, especially for rural and less educated women”.
Many surveys have listed limited mobility as one of the This is possibly marked by women working less often due
reasons keeping women off formal work. According to the to lack of availability rather than fewer women working.
2011 Census, among the working women who travel for Industrial segregation, i.e. the prominent presence of one
work, walking and bus rides are the two most popular gender over the other, has also risen over the years. While
modes of commute. Among men, using two-wheelers safer mobility, and ride-hailing services for affluent urban
(including bicycles) is the most common mode. (This is the women, do offer ways to solve some problems, demand-
latest available national-level data.) Since frequent use of side issues from employers and undue burden of unpaid
expensive ride-hailing services can benefit only a tiny household work remain larger puzzles to be addressed
chunk in the upper socio-economic strata, making streets through policy interventions and social awareness.

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCKNOW*
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
SENSEX 71,386.19 30.97
Burman vs Religare:
Sebi kicks off probe
Regulator seeks info from both sides on meetings, open offer
Anirudh Laskar
anirudh.l@livemint.com
T
MUMBAI
he battle for Religare
Enterprises Ltd (REL) has
takenanewturn,withthe
Securities and Exchange
Board of India (Sebi)
beginning an inquiry into a sale of
sharesbychairpersonRashmiSaluja
immediatelybeforetheBurmanfam-
ily announced an open offer for the
financial services conglomerate.
TheBurmans,wholeadconsumer
goods company Dabur Ltd, have
called it an insider trade and sought
regulatory action. REL has said the
sale was planned earlier.
Ina20Decemberletter,theregu-
lator sought wide-ranging informa-
tionfrombothRELandtheBurman
entities on all events leading up to
the open offer and after. Mint has
seen a copy of the letter.
TheSebilettersaiditisinvestigat-
ing a case related to the “corporate
announcement” dated 25 Septem-
ber, the date JM Financial Ltd
announced the REL open offer on
behalf of the Burman family.
The regulator has asked REL and
the Burman family to respond with
evidence about the details of events
and discussions related to the pro-
posed open offer between January
Co-work in Gift City Ola bikes get a lift
as space turns scarce from group firm
Nehal Chaliawala
& Pavan Burugula
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI
B
usinesses looking to
open shop in Gujarat’s
Gift City are struggling
for office space, as the demand
for real estate has far out-
stripped supply in the special
economic zone (SEZ).
Companies are staring at
wait times of several months to
a few years before new office
space opens up for leasing,
multiple real estate executives,
consultants and business own-
ers said. They also said
monthly office rentals have
more than doubled from
₹40-50 per square foot two
years ago to around ₹90-120
per sq. ft.
In the interim, authorities of
the Gujarat International
Finance Tec-City (Gift City)
Latest dirty word in corporate US: ESG
Chip Cutter
feedback@livemint.com
M
any companies no
longer utter these
three letters: E-S-G.
Following years of simmer-
ing investor backlash, political
pressure and legal threats over
environmental,socialandgov-
ernance efforts, a number of
business leaders are now mak-
ing a conscious effort to avoid
the once widely used acronym
for such initiatives.
On earnings calls, many
chief executives now employ
newapproaches.Somecompa-
nies, including Coca-Cola, are
rebranding corporate reports
andcommittees,strippingESG
from titles. Advisers are coach-
ing executives on alternative
ways to describe their efforts,
proposing new terms like
“responsible business.” On
Wall Street, meanwhile, some
firms are closing once-popular
ESG funds as interest fades.
livemint.com
NIFTY 21,544.85
CLOSE WATCH
Sebi has asked REL and the Burmans to respond with evidence about
the details of events related to the open offer between Jan and Dec ’23.
(in ₹ crore)
REL market
cap
7,164
10,000
Care Health
estimated value*
^REL stock saw the highest intraday levels of 2023 on those two days; *Conservative estimate
based on proxy advisory report
TWISTS AND TURNS
16 Aug 25-26 Sep
THE Burmans THEY announce
buy additional open offer for
7.5% in Religare Religare; RFL
Enterprises okays 21.4 mn
worth ₹534 cr Esops to Saluja
Source: Company filings, stock exchanges, Mint research
and December 2023.
In its letter, Sebi has asked for
“complete details of all the persons
involved (from both Burman group
side and REL side) in the discussion
such as their complete names, their
PANs, their personal and official
mobileandlandlinenumbers,emails
addresses,bankaccountdetails,resi-
dentialaddressesduringlast3years.
Firms are facing wait times of
up to a few years for offices.
are asking companies to rent
seats in co-working spaces to
start business even as they
continue to scout for dedi-
cated office space.
The International Financial
Services Centres Authority
(IFSCA) did not respond to an
email seeking comment.
TURN TO PAGE 6
On Wall Street, some companies are closing once-popular ESG
funds as interest fades.
The shift in messaging
reflects a reality: “ESG is com-
plicated,”saidDarylBrewster,a
formerKraftFoodsandNabisco
executive
who now
headsChief
Executives
for Corporate Purpose, a non-
profitofmorethan200compa-
nies focused on social impact.
The movement to bake
accountability into business
31.85 DOLLAR ₹83.11
REL STOCK PRICE ON
(in ₹)
279.9 280.3
175.6
2 Jan 2023 21 Sep 22 Sep
(weighted (The two days when
average) Saluja sold her REL
shares^)
26 Oct 7-9 Nov
THE Burmans
write to REL
board that
Rashmi Saluja
had insider info
Rashmi Saluja
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
Same details also to be provided for
their immediate relatives including
spouse, children, parents, brother/
sisters and their spouses (even if
PANsarenotavailable,theirnamesto
provided) as per SEBI (PIT) Regula-
tions.”PITreferstoSebi’sProhibition
of Insider Trading rules.
Alisha Sachdev
alisha.sachdev@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
B
havish Aggarwal-led Ola
Electric has sold more
than 8,200 scooters to
promoter group company ANI
Technologies Ltd, which is
looking to launch and expand
its electric bike taxi service in
various Indian cities. Ola Elec-
tric, which has filed draft
papers for an initial public
offering, confirmed the num-
bers to Mint.
However,OlaElectric’sdraft
papers, filed on 22 December
and that cite financials till 30
June, make no mention of the
related-party transaction,
implyingthesesalesoccurredin
the six months after June.
According to three people
awareofthematter,whospoke
ontheconditionofanonymity,
OlaElectricsoldatleast12,000
ISTOCKPHOTO
decisionsstretchesbackcentu-
ries; the term ESG gained
momentum after the United
Nations used it about 20 years
ago. Over
time, the
e f f o r t
became
divisive—deridedbysomestate
officials as “woke capitalism,”
andcriticizedbyothersforput-
ting too much focus on meas-
urement and disclosure
VOL. 7 NO. 9 Rs. 10.00 18 PAGES
OTT in India: Between a rock New-age
g firms to lead $13 bn
and a hard place uP12 IPOs: Kotak's Jayasankar uP3
₹0.02 EURO ₹90.97 ₹0.03 OIL $78.28 $1.55 POUND ₹105.84 ₹0.30
Capex plans to cool
after FY25 as govt
Inverted duty
structure
DON’T MISS
ISTOCKPHOTO
likely to get
chases deficit goal a budget fix
Rhik Kundu
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
On track rhik.kundu@livemint.com
& Subhash Narayan The Centre is keen to bring
NEW DELHI
T
the fiscal deficit below the
Crackdown on offshore crypto
NEW DELHI targeted 4.5% by FY26. he Central government
exchanges bodes ill for local cos
A
may consider correcting
F
Fiscal deficit of the central
fter an expected spurt ggovernment as a percentage of GDP the inverted duty struc- Action against offshore crypto exchanges
in the next fiscal year, The Centre's capex (in tn) ture in certain sectors in the operating in India under money laundering
government capital upcoming budget to increase laws will deprive local exchanges of much-
expenditure (capex) may 4.6 9.2 6.7 6.4 5.9 the competitiveness of Indian needed liquidity and complicate their
grow at a more sedate pace in manufacturers, two people plans to move abroad, three industry
258.1 the years ahead as the Centre aware of the matter said. executives said. >P5
208.75 10.0
sets its sights on fiscal consoli- The Union commerce min-
dation, two people aware of 7.3 istry reached out to the finance Inflation likely to have crept up
5.9
the plans said. ministry last month to address to 5.9% in December: Mint poll
4.3
The Union government 3.4 this problem for over a dozen
India’s retail inflation likely rose for the
25 Sep 9 Jan may boost capex allocation by items in the Union Budget second straight month to 5.9% in December
The day of The last FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23* FY24**
open-offer trading day 25% to a record ₹12.5 trillion 2024-25, the people added. 2023 mainly on account of an unfavourable
announcement *Revised estimate, **Budget estimate
in 2024-25, Mint reported in These items mostly pertain to base effect, according to the median
Source: Budget documents
November. However, the the textiles, leather and engi- estimate given by 19 economists in a
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Centre is also keen to bring neering goods industries. Mint poll. >P2
the fiscal deficit below the tar- not impossible, said the sec- An inverted duty structure
geted 4.5% by 2025-26. ond person, adding the gov- exists where the duties for
THEY complain
Bots storm BPOs, but hiring
Accordingly, it prefers a ernment could bring down local inputs or raw materials
to Sebi; REL more moderate capex growth fiscal deficit from 9.2% in are higher than the rates for
on the rise for complex jobs
independent
after 2024-25, one of the two 2020-21 to 6.4% in 2022-23. imported finished products. In India’s call centres, the first level of calls are
directors accuse
them of fraud people said on the condition A second reason for the This makes local products increasingly being handled by bots. And so,
of anonymity. By then, private m o d e s t more expen- firms are now hiring employees who can do
what bots can’t—speak several languages,
investments are expected to increase in sive than understand complex financial processes,
do the heavy lifting as well. capex after imported, upsell products,work across platforms. >P6
“The fiscal consolidation 2024-25 is finished
target is sacrosanct,” the per- the saturat- ones, and
son said. While the govern- ing fund absorption capacity disincentivizes domestic man-
ment’s capex will continue to of central ministries, barring ufacturing.
increase after 2024-25 in Railways, the first person said. The finance ministry is NOTE TO READERS The Media
absolute terms, the rate of A strategy for meeting the fis- likely to take the advice of Niti Marketing Initiative on Page 9 is the equivalent
increase will not be as steep as cal consolidation target by Aayog, which is looking at tax- of a paid-for advertisement, and no Mint
it is now, the person added. 2025-26, including expected related issues, including journalist was involved in creating it. Readers
Meeting the fiscal consoli- would do well to treat it as an advertisement.
TURN TO PAGE 6 dation target is difficult, but TURN TO PAGE 6 TURN TO PAGE 6
REUTERS
Ola plans to expand its newly
launched bike taxi service.
scooters to ANI Technologies
and its subsidiaries from April
2022 to December 2023, with
the majority of these sales tak-
ing place in December. Ola,
however, denied the bump in
registrations in December. It
alsopointedtoitsownfigureof
8,206 scooters registered by
TURN TO PAGE 4
requirements.
Many CEOs stress that they
continuetofollowsustainability
commitmentsmadeyearsago—
even if they are no longer talk-
ing about them as often pub-
licly.ADecembersurveybythe
advisoryfirmTeneofoundthat
about 8% of CEOs are ramping
down their ESG programs; the
rest are staying the course but
often making changes to how
they handle them.
Many leaders are more
closely examining disclosures,
wanting to avoid regulatory
scrutiny or political criticism.
In lieu of lofty pronounce-
ments, advisers are telling
CEOstobemorepreciseandto
set goals that can be achieved.
Saying as little as possible is
recommended.
“We’ve seen a great deal of
reframing and adjusting by
CEOs in the ESG arena. Not
only of what they say, but also
TURN TO PAGE 4
02 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Global economy will slow for third
Brics ‘snub’ scuppers L&T ‘Women
farmers set
straight year in 2024: World Bank
Washington: Hobbled by high interest rates, persistent infla-
tion, slumping trade and a diminished China, the global economy
will slow for a third consecutive year in 2024. That is the picture
bid for project in Algeria for pre-poll
payout’
sketched by the World Bank, which forecast Tuesday that the
world economy will expand just 2.4% this year. That would be Reuters
down from 2.6% growth in 2023, 3% in 2022 and a galloping 6.2% feedback@livemint.com
in 2021. PTI Algeria was keen to join the grouping; its president had pledged $1.5 bn for the Brics Bank
T
he government is con-
sidering doubling the
PM holds meeting with Rituraj Baruah & Shashank Mattoo “We officially applied to join the annual payout to land-
Brics group, we sent a letter asking to owning female farmers to
President of Timor-Leste NEW DELHI
be shareholder members in the ₹12,000, three people with

A
AFP
failed bid by Algeria to join bank...Algeria’s first contribution in the knowledge of the matter said,
the Brics grouping has bank will be $1.5 billion,” Algerian Pres- a move likely to appeal to
impacted a $1.5 billion oil ident Abdelmadjid Tebboune was women voters ahead of gen-
and gas project between quoted as saying by the country’s eral elections.
the country’s state-run media. The plan is likely to be
Sonatrach and Indian conglomerate The Brics grouping initially com- announced in the budget on 1
Larsen & Toubro Ltd, three people prised Brazil, Russia, India, China and February and could cost the
aware of the development said. South Africa. government an additional
Despite the engineering multina- In August 2023, six countries were ₹12,000 crore, said two of the
tional in a favourable position to bag invited to join—Argentina, Saudi Ara- people, all of whom declined
the contract, the award did not go bia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, to be named discussing a bud-
through and the tender was cancelled. Iran and Ethiopia. Algeria was not get proposal.
In response to a mailed query, Subra- invited. It will build on the ‘Pradhan
Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a manian Sarma, whole-time director Barring Argentina, which declined, Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi’
bilateral meeting with President Jose Ramos-Horta of Tim- and senior executive vice president for the other five countries joined the Brics programme announced
or-Leste in Gandhinagar on Tuesday with the discussions energy at L&T, confirmed the cancella- grouping as full members on 1 January. before the last general election
covering cooperation in various fields including health, tra- tion of the tender by Sonatrach and said Despite the engineering multinational being in a favourable position to bag the Earlier, in November, L&T in 2019, under which the gov-
ditional medicine, energy, IT, fintech and capacity build- that the project was only at the evalua- contract, the award did not go through, and the tender was cancelled. MINT announced the commissioning and ernment transfers ₹6,000
ing, an MEA official said. Modi reached Ahmedabad on tion stage, even while emphasising that handover of three gas plants in Algeria annually to both men and
Monday night. On Tuesday morning, he reached the L&T had completed another project for Queries emailed to Sonatrach, the ing to expand their presence in the as part of the South-West Gas Fields women farmers.
Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in the company recently, and was in the ministry of external affairs and the Algerian energy sector. Development (SWGFD) project of The agriculture ministry
Gandhinagar to hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, race for several other upcoming pro- Algerian Embassy in New Delhi Prior to the Brics leaders’ summit in Sonatrach. declined to comment while
a day before the inauguration of the 10th edition of Vibrant jects remained unanswered at press time. New Delhi in August, Algeria had It was L&T’s maiden oil and gas ven- the finance ministry did not
Gujarat Global Summit. PTI “We had submitted a bid for one ture in partnership with Sonatrach. respond to an email seeking
such large contract and were PROjECT DERAILED The project involved the com- comment.
placed favourably as per the public prehensive execution of engineer- In Madhya Pradesh, where
Coal India extends fuel supply bid opening proceedings. How- L&T official said the AN earlier project PRIOR to the Brics IN August 2023, six ing, procurement, construction, the BJP government ran a cash
ever, as per our understanding, project was only at involved gas leaders’ summit in countries were and commissioning for gas treat- transfer programme for mar-
agreement tenure the evaluation stage
after further evaluation of the and isn’t part of the
treatment units at Aug, Algeria had invited to join BRICS.
processing plants in expressed interest in Algeria wasn’t among ment units at three processing ried women, the party last year
New Delhi: State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Tuesday said project’s economic viability based co’s order book central Algeria joining the grouping them facilities in central Algeria. L&T won about 51% of the female
it has extended the tenure of its fuel supply pact to 10 years from on the submitted prices, the client had won the bid in 2019. vote in assembly elections,
the earlier five years for the non-regulated sector. The move aims has decided to cancel the tender,” L&T has been an active EPC according to pollster C-Voter.
at ensuring long-term assurance of coal supply through linkage Sarma added. According to the three people cited expressed an interest in joining the (engineering, procurement, construc- Women account for 60% of
auction to the non-regulated sector. CIL has begun the seventh He said the project was only at the above, Algeria’s inability to secure grouping. Algerian media reported that tion) player in the energy space in Alge- total farmers but less than 13%
tranche of the linkage auction to the non-regulated sector within evaluation stage and isn’t part of the membership in Brics led to diplomatic the country was eyeing increased eco- ria, in line with its global presence of them own the land they sow,
days of completion of the sixth round. pti company’s order book announced till tensions with India, which had a spill- nomic opportunities and was inter- across 50 countries. according to the existing gov-
date. over effect on Indian businesses look- ested in contributing to the Brics bank. rituraj.baruah@livemint.com ernment data.

Commerce ministry sets up task

force to resolve trade issues
HT
Inflation likely to have crept AI eyed to stem red onion rot
to 5.9% in Dec: Mint poll Dhirendra Kumar & Puja Das
NEW DELHI
officials said.
While the officials didn’t dis-
close how much the govern-
Manjul Paul

T
Edged up pick-up in headline inflation in he government plans to ment plans to spend on the
manjul.paul@livemint.com November-December due to fit warehouses with project, they said it would be
The pickup in inflation is
NEW DELHI mainly on account of higher uncertainties in food prices. AI-based tools to try and cost-effective.
vegetable inflation If the poll prediction proves keep onions from rotting in The perishable nature of

I
ndia’s retail inflation likely
rose for the second straight
month to 5.9% in December
New Delhi: The commerce ministry has set up a task force 2023 mainly on account of an
to resolve trade barriers being faced by Indian exporters in unfavourable base effect,
other countries, a move which would help provide greater according to the median esti-
market access to domestic goods, an official said. The devel- mate given by 19 economists in
opment assumes significance as many of India’s exports a Mint poll. The uptick, which
suffer from these barriers. PTI comes after a 5.55% print in
November, could support the
Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)
Indian coffee exports set to surge decision to hold the repo rate
steady at 6.5% for the fifth time
thanks to global price rally in a row last month.
Mumbai: India’s coffee exports are likely to rise as much as 10% The predictions in the poll
in 2024 as a rally in global prices prompts European buyers to pay ranged between 5.5% and 6.4%,
premiums in order to increase purchases from the country, with six economists expecting
industry officials said. India, famous as a tea producer, is also the inflation to be at or above 6%,
world’s eighth-largest coffee grower, mainly churning out the the upper tolerance limit of the
robusta beans used to make instant coffee. It also produces the RBI’s inflation targeting man-
more expensive arabica variety. REUTERS date. The official data will be
released on 12 January. “The
expected pickup in inflation is
India, UK to launch next round of mainly on account of higher
vegetable inflation compared to
free trade talks on Wed the same month previous year,
New Delhi: The next round of talks for a proposed Free Trade even as prices have started to
Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK will start from soften sequentially,” said
Wednesday. The 13th round of negotiations for the proposed pact Abhishek Upadhyay, senior
was held between 18 September and 15 December. “The UK and economist at ICICI Securities
India will continue to negotiate towards a comprehensive and Primary Dealership.
ambitious FTA,” an official said. PTI In December 2022, the veg-
Consumer price inflation,
year-on-year (in %)
8 averaged 5.4% in the third
7 RBI’s projection of 5.6%.
6 5.9
6.01
5 be less pronounced compared
4
Jan 2022 Dec 2023*
Note: *December 2023 figure is the median
estimate of 19 economists in a Mint poll.
Source: MoSPI, Mint poll
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
etable index had declined 12.7%
sequentially, while the prices in
December 2023 are expected
to have remained sharply
higher despite the moderation
from November.
Food items, which account
for nearly 40% of the inflation
basket, had seen their inflation
ease in the three months prior
to November. However, it
increased in November due to
a sharp rise in vegetable prices.
The central bank, too, in its lat-
est policy meeting, warned of a
correct, inflation would have
quarter of fiscal year 2023-24,
which is still lower than the
Despite the pick-up in the year-
on-year inflation rate in
December, a few economists
said that the rise in prices will
with the last month.
A reversal in vegetable pri-
ces as well as a supportive base
going forward is expected to
cool the inflation prints to an
average of 5% in the March-
ending quarter, said Aditi
Nayar, chief economist at ICRA
Ltd. The RBI sees average
inflation in this quarter at 5.2%.
In this financial year, the cen-
tral government has also taken
supply-side measures to help
keep food prices under control.
The central bank is widely
expected to cut policy rates in
2024.
Core inflation, which
excludes volatile items such as
food and fuel, is expected to
have remained moderate last
month
storage. Wastage of the kitchen
staple is estimated at ₹11,000
crore annually—around one-
fourth of rabi onions, or onions
sown during winters, rot in
conventional storage facilities,
two officials said.
Warehouses fitted with arti-
ficial intelligence (AI) tools may
bring down wastage by 5%, one
of them said. The plan is to
install AI sensors that will gen-
erate real-time data on stored
onions.
The pilot project is expected
to begin in March.
“The data will be collected
through IoT (internet of
things). Farmers will get spe-
cific data like dryness and per-
centage of rot with the help of
AI-based sensors,” the second
official said. “Farmers will even
come to know which onion in a
batch of 100 is getting rot.”
This will also allow the gov-
ernment to maintain its buffer
stock of onions, which it typi-
cally uses to stabilize retail pri-
ces when demand surges, this
official said. Indians consume
about 1.3 million tonnes of
Wastage of the perishable
kitchen staple is estimated at
₹11,000 cr annually. MINT
onions every month, making
the crop one of the most impor-
tant household vegetables.
The first such storage facility
will be established in Nashik
with the support of the
National Cooperative Consum-
ers Federation (NCCF), fol-
lowed by Bheed, Latur and
other onion-growing regions,
including Madhya Pradesh and
Karnataka. The consumer
affairs department and NCCF
didn’t reply to queries seeking
comments.
In the pilot run, about 100
AI-based storage facilities are
likely to be established in
onion-growing states, to be
expanded by about 500 more
over the next three years, the
onions, combined with fewer
processing facilities and sub-
optimal storage infrastructure,
causes huge post-harvest
losses. This despite the rabi
variety, which accounts for
about 65% of onions harvested
in India, having a longer shelf
life of 5-7 months.
The kharif and late kharif
onion, or red onion that’s sown
in summers, is highly perisha-
ble and cannot be stored for
longer than a month. Farmers
in most states harvest rabi
onion in April-May and sell
these in June-July.
Kharif harvesting takes place
in October-November and the
crop is available in the market
till the rabi harvest.
This isn’t the government’s
first attempt to cut onion wast-
age in warehouses. In
March, Mint reported that the
government was planning to
irradiate onions with gamma
rays before sending them into
storage on a pilot basis, hoping
to cut post-harvest losses to
10-12%, from 25%.
dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com

Govt plans ISI certification for Nepali products to boost economic ties CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Dhirendra Kumar & affairs.The certification ber 2023 from $5.42 billion in Abhash Kumar, assistant pro- der with Nepal, we have to lev- suggestions or complaints
ensures that imported prod-
Himalayan goods the same period a year ago. fessor of economics at Delhi erage the fact that it has to be about errors.
Shashank Mattoo
ucts meet Indian standards. Top imports from Nepal ($ million), 2022-23 Nepal mainly imports petro- University, said. seen from an economic oppor-
Readers can alert the
NEW DELHI Queries emailed to the min- leum product, engineering “If we aim to redirect trade tunity prism instead of an
Edible vegetable oils 252.1 newsroom to any errors in the
istries of commerce, consumer goods, drugs and pharmaceuti- flow from South exclusively secu- paper by emailing us, with your

I
ndia is considering granting affairs, the director general of Textiles (excluding cals, electronic goods, textiles, Asia towards rity prism,” Paru-
readymade garments) 139.8 The ISI-mark full name and address to
ISI certification to Nepal- BIS and the Embassy of Nepal rice, vegetable, fruit and China, it has to be a certification lekar said. feedback@livemint.com.
made cement, pavers blocks, in New Delhi, did not elicit a Engineering goods 93.2 tobacco from India. tangible economic “If the govern-
ensures It is our policy to promptly
and electrical products, two response till press time. Spices 68.4 Indian partners of Nepali diplomacy, ensur- that imported ment allows ISI
respond to all complaints.
officials said, in a bid to One of the officials cited Jute manufactures firms are eager to import ing an assured certification to
59.5 products Readers dissatisfied with the
enhance strategic and eco- above said the consumer affairs (excluding floor coverings) cement and other products to market for our Nepali cement response or concerned about
nomic relations with its South ministry is reviewing proposals Chemicals and related assert their ownership in the smaller neigh- meet Indian and electrical
48.6 Mint’s journalistic integrity may
Asian neighbours. from Nepali manufacturers, products firms, said the second person. bours like Nepal. It standards products, it will write directly to the editor by
Source: CMIE
The Indian Standards Insti- who have also urged their gov- “Given the geopolitical is one way to bring add to the govern- sending an email to
tute (ISI) mark, mandated for ernment to support these dis- PARAS JAIN/MINT
importance of Nepal in South strategic partners ment coffers asktheeditor@livemint.com
imports, requires a quality vali- cussions. “The ministry is vet- India mainly imports vegeta- imports from Nepal fell from Asia, India is making its efforts in the core of our policy frame- (through duty),” said Ashish Mint’s journalistic Code of
dation certificate from the ting the provisions for granting ble oil, textiles, engineering $1.3 billion in 20210-22 to $838 to iron out the differences and work,” said Dattesh Parulekar, Singh, a cement trader from Conduct that governs our
Bureau of Indian Standards ISI certification, which is man- goods, spices, jute products and million in 2022-23. cement a strong strategic rela- assistant professor, interna- Bihar’s Katihar, which shares a newsroom is available at
(BIS), which operates under the datory for introducing foreign chemicals from the landlocked Indian exports to Nepal fell tionship to restrict the inter- tional relations, Goa University. border with Nepal. www.livemint.com
ministry of consumer goods in Indian markets.” Himalayan nation. Indian to $4.7 billion in April-Novem- ventions in Nepal by China,” “Given we have a long bor- dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com

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LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai 03

m MINT SHORTS
B2B platform Karkhana.io raises
‘New-age tech firms to Gruhas, Collective
Artists launch fund
$6.3 million Series A funding
Bengaluru: Business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing plat-
form Karkhana.io has raised $6.3 million (₹52.37 crore) in a
Series A funding round co-led by homegrown venture capital
lead $13 bn IPO boom‘ for consumer firms
firm Arkam Ventures and Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital. Gaurav Laghate
The round also saw participation of existing investor Vertex gaurav.laghate@livemint.com
Ventures Southeast Asia and India. The fresh capital will be mumbaI
deployed to fuel the expansion of its supplier base, establish an Kotak Investment expects a significant uptick in average deal size in 2024
I
electronics supply chain, and increase its presence across the ndia-focused venture capital
US and Europe. fund Gruhas, backed by
Sneha Shah Nikhil Kamath, and creator
sneha.shah@livemint.com marketplace Collective Artists
Fittr secures $3.5 million from mumbaI Network have launched Gru-
has Collective Consumer Fund
Zerodha-backed Rainmatter

T
MINT
he Indian markets are poised to (GCCF) to back emerging con-
witness initial public offerings sumer-focussed companies.
(IPOs) worth $12-13 billion in GCCF will raise and deploy
2024, V. Jayasankar, managing ₹150 crore initially, with both Nikhil Kamath, co-founder,
director and a board member at Gruhas and Collective Artists venture capital fund Gruhas.
Kotak Investment Banking, said. contributing an equal amount
IPOs of new-age tech companies, such to the fund, and subsequently the right fundamentals, we are
as Ola Electric, FirstCry and Swiggy, are securing additional fund from happy to look at it,” he added.
likely to fuel a significant part of this activ- external sources. The fund will A little over year ago, when
ity, according to the company. seek to sustain an average deal Subramaniam met Kamath the
During its annual media round up, the size of about ₹8 crore ($1 mil- conversation was around con-
firm’s investment banking team said it lion) each. necting India’s Silicon Valley
was expecting equity capital market Nikhil Kamath, co-founder, (Bangaluru) and the entertain-
activity to double from 2023. “With Gruhas, highlighted the collab- ment capital Mumbai. “If you see
Bengaluru: Squats Fitness Pvt. Ltd, which operates online inflows from domestic institutional orative nature of the fund, say- there is no organized connec-
fitness portal Fittr, has raised $3.5 million (₹28 crore) from investors and foreign institutional inves- ing: “This is the very beginning tion between media and enter-
Zerodha-backed venture fund Rainmatter. Founded by Jit- tors put together we expect more than and, initially, we will raise and tainment business with venture
endra Chouksey, Sonal Singh, Jyoti Dabas, Rohit Chatto- $50 billion worth of equity capital market deploy about ₹150 crore. It will capital. It has never happened.
padhyay and Bala Krishna Reddy in 2016, Fittr is a commu- demand in 2024.” likely scale significantly with We shook hands on that one-
nity-based fitness education platform, based out of Pune. In 2023, DIIs contributed $22.3 billion, time. It’s not a proprietary fund. line thesis to come together to
The firm offers online coaching, personal training, corpo- while FIIs added $20.5 billion, resulting in Both partners will form probably the
rate wellness, fitness and nutrition courses. In 2021, the a combined inflow of around $42.8 billion. invest equal capi- GCCF will raise most effective net-
Pune-based firm had secured $11.5 million in a Series A Kotak expects IPO volumes to surge in V. Jayasankar, managing director and a board member at Kotak Investment Banking. tal, and we will and deploy ₹150 work capital fund
round from US-based private investment firm Elysian Park, 2024 with a significant uptick in average also have third- cr initially, with in India, which is
Surge, the early-stage accelerator of Peak XV Partners and deal size compared to 2023. The momen- ing into emerging areas such as electric Besides driving volumes, new-age com- party capital, both Gruhas and directly focused
Dream Capital. It also counts Better Capital as one of its tum in sell-downs is also expected to per- vehicles, fintech and consumer tech. The panies are also going to bulk up the aver- which we will be
Collective Artists on consumers,”
early investors. sist, driven by private equity and venture shift showcases a broader spectrum of age IPO size in 2024, he said. “In 2024, the deploying.” Subramaniam
capital (PE-VC) exits amid robust institu- investment opportunities, it added. average IPO sizes are likely to inch up to It will primarily contributing said.
tional flows. However, in 2024, it expects more than $200 million, against around $109.5 mil- focus on identify- equal amounts “We are look-
MyMuse gets pre-Series A funding In 2023, around $6.35 billion was raised half a dozen new-age tech unicorns to list lion in 2023.” ing, mentoring ing at this as the
by companies, including Tata Within 12-24 months, and investing in coming together
from Saama Capital, others Technology, Mankind SuNNY HORIZONS Kotak also anticipates new- promising startups and crea- of Bengaluru and Bombay for
Bengaluru: MyMuse raised $2.7 million (₹22.4 crore) in a pre- Pharma, Doms and Flair age firms to facilitate exits and tors from diverse consumer the first time without any inter-
Series A funding round. The round, which saw a mix of equity Writing, among others via THE firm said it KOTAK expects the BESIDES driving block deals exceeding $10 bil- industry segments. mediaries. So far, it has been a
and debt infusion witnessed participation from existing institu- public issues. However new- was expecting
equity capital
funding winter to
end in 2024, marking
volumes, new-age
firms are also going
lion in value. Vijay Subramaniam, group very inefficient ecosystem
tional investors Saama Capital, Sauce VC and Whiteboard Capi- age technology companies market activity to the return of public to bulk up average In 2023, a significant share chief executive and founder, because one has to go to an
tal along with venture debt firm Trifecta Capital and angel made up 2% of IPO volumes, double from 2023 market dynamism IPO size in 2024 of equity capital market activ- Collective Artists Network, said intermediary who in turn con-
investor Kunal Shah, among others. Founded by Sahil Gupta with beauty and personal care ity was driven by sell-downs the first five companies have nects with somebody and con-
and Anushka Gupta in 2021, MyMuse is a sexual wellness-fo- brand Mamaearth’s parent by financial sponsors. The been selected from wellness, nects to somebody. I think the
cused consumer brand. It has around 25 products, spanning full Honasa Consumer, making its debut on on the bourses, driving up volumes, Jayas- year also witnessed more than $24 billion beverages, fashion, lifestyle, key differentiation we are hop-
body massagers, lubricants, oils, couple’s games and others. The the stock exchanges towards the end of ankar said. The companies, that are inch- in sell-downs, while follow-ons amounted hospitality and mothercare ing to bring is to merge the two
fresh capital will be used to finance inventory, strengthen the the year. ing towards profitability with cleaner bal- to around $7.7 billion. sectors. “The broad idea is to worlds in a very symbiotic fash-
brand’s omnichannel presence, and scale its distribution opera- According to Kotak Investment Bank- ance sheets are expected to hit the market Overall, Kotak expects the funding win- invest in addressable consumer ion so things happen a lot faster
tions nationally. It also plans to increase its product portfolio ing, India’s IPO market is evolving beyond after the general elections. ter to end during 2024, marking the space. The purpose is to power and lot more efficiently,” said
and brand awareness through online and offline advertising and the traditional banking, financial service “In all, we expect $12-3 billion worth of return of public market dynamism and overall consumption. So, if Kamath, adding he is bullish on
activations. COMPILED BY K AMOGHAVARSHA and insurance (BFSI) sector, and expand- IPOs in 2024,” he added. improved equity returns. there is a business, which has India’s long-term outlook.

MAKE YOUR
MONDAY MORNING
PLAYFUL
Catch the latest section of

to solve a set of intriguing puzzles.

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04 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

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

71,386.21 0.04 21,544.85 0.15 19,459.55 0.22 53,960.65 0.43 21,815.15 0.20 37,404.32 0.07 43,821.16 0.37
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

71,355.22 71,770.91 21,513.00 21,653.60 19,417.70 19,549.50 53,728.90 54,115.20 21,770.75 21,915.65 37,377.95 37,647.35 43,660.04 43,978.56
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

72,035.47 71,307.27 21,724.45 21,517.85 19,596.05 19,439.10 54,297.60 53,891.65 21,986.60 21,788.70 37,722.03 37,355.62 44,110.68 43,771.38

m MINT SHORTS Good view for hotel Nykaa’s fashion biz

Nikkei hits highest since early to add more glitter
1990s in sign deflation ending
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed to its highest
since the nation’s bubble economy era more than three
decades ago, reflecting investor optimism that growth is
operators in ’24 too? in December quarter
returning after the country’s long battle with deflation.The Dipti Sharma Vineetha Sampath
Revved up Trendy
blue-chip gauge rose 1.2% to close at 33,763.18 in Tokyo, dipti.sharma@livemint.com vineetha.s@livemint.com
Shares of Lemon Tree Hotels, IHCL Nykaa's fashion vertical is expected to
a level unseen since March 1990, lifted by a rebound in and Chalet Hotels have given stellar see strong growth in GMV in Q3FY24

O F
technology shares and a drop in Treasury yields. The ver the past two years, the returns to investors SN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd’s Year-on-year change in fashion
benchmark Topix index, which some funds prefer to fol- Indian hospitality indus- Lemon Tree Hotels wardrobe is seeing an upgrade. business GMV* (in %)
low because it’s more comprehensive, gained 0.8%. Both try has thrived on recov- The Indian Hotels Company Chalet Hotels The fashion business of the par- 60 59
the Nikkei 225 and Topix completed an annual advance of ery trends, led by a surge 220 ent company of Nykaa is likely to put
more than 25% last year, their best performance in a dec- in leisure demand in 2022 208.5 on a better-than-expected show for
50
ade. The measures were among the world’s biggest gainers and a boom in corporate travel in 2023. 200 the second consecutive time in the
in 2023 as authorities pushed companies to improve This upswing resulted in impressive December quarter (Q3FY24).
40
shareholder value, while decades-long deflation faded and stock performance for hotel companies. 180 The Q3 business update released 40
was replaced by mild price gains. A yen rate that remains For instance, in 2023, shares of The by the company says that the indus-
weak historically despite a recent rebound has supported Indian Hotels Co. Ltd (IHCL), Lemon 160
try level consumption in fashion 30
151.84
exporters, and optimism. BLOOMBERG Tree Hotels Ltd, and Chalet Hotels Ltd remained muted. Even so, Nykaa’s
witnessed gains of 38%, 40%, and 100%, 140
fashion vertical saw strong growth
20
respectively. and as such, the gross merchandise
Looking ahead to 2024, investors are 143.9 value (GMV) is expected to rise at
120
keenly waiting for the December quarter around 40% year-on-year in Q3. This 10
(Q3FY24) results, with solid expecta- measure had increased by about 12%
100
tions. While a slight dip in occupancy and 27% in Q1 and Q2, respectively. 0
rates is anticipated, this is expected to be Investors are pleased. Nykaa’s Q1FY23 Q3FY24
offset by a rise in holiday travel, the ICC 80 shares hit a new 52-week high of Note: *GMV is gross merchandise value;
30 Dec 2022 09 Jan 2024
Q3FY24 figure is preliminary
Men’s Cricket World Cup, and the wed- The hospitality industry has thrived on ₹191.60 apiece on Tuesday and were
Note: Values rebased to 100 Source: Capitaline Source: Company, Nomura research
ding season. Lemon Tree Hotels is set to recovery trends over the last 2 years. MINT up by 8% since the update was
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
benefit from the launch of Aurika Mum- released.
bai, and Tata group’s IHCL, known for RevPAR growth in FY25 (we estimate Citing the report India Hospitality However, the performance of ing. “There has been a slight negative
its Taj brand, is projected to achieve high single-digit) is key for the current Industry Overview 2022 by HVS Ana- Nykaa’s mainstay beauty and per- impact on growth rates of the online
double-digit sales growth. valuations and optimism to sustain,” said rock, ICICI Securities notes that indus- sonal care (BPC) segment is likely to BPC segment, as per our analysis,
Additionally, Chalet Hotels, which analysts from Dolat Capital Market in a try level occupancies that rebounded to be unexciting. The BPC vertical’s given the competition from Tira, and
includes JW Marriott and Four Points by report on 2 January. This is especially as 60% in 2022, are estimated to reach 66% GMV growth was already moderat- quick commerce platforms,” said
Sheraton, is likely to see robust growth growth starts to moderate on high base, in 2023 and to 68% in 2024. At the same ing and the picture in Q3 does not analysts at Elara Securities (India) in
A spike in US interest rates has also encouraged firms to in Q3, driven by capacity expansion, a key risk, they said. RevPAR is revenue time, industry ARR is anticipated to rise seem any different despite Nykaa’s a Q3 preview report. Tira is an omni-
borrow in yuan instead of dollars. AP operating leverage, and average room per available room. The big event for the to ₹7,106 in 2023 and ₹7,639 in 2024 Pink sale. Nykaa expects to clock channel beauty retail platform under
rate (ARR) growth. industry to look out for in 2024 is the from ₹6,100 in 2022. GMV growth in the mid-twenties, Reliance Industries Ltd.
The industry’s ARR is poised for an Indian Premier League. The tourna- Despite a year-on-year increase in for- which is roughly in line with Q1 and Coming to profitability, Nykaa’s
Dim sum loans rebound after a uptick in Q4 with the resumption of ment is scheduled from 23 March to 29 eign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India from Q2. Moreover, dis- Ebitda (earnings before
decade on cheaper costs business travel post-holi- January to October 2023, counting in the mass The fashion interest, tax, deprecia-
Corporate loans denominated in offshore yuan are making days. The period from Jan- SuNNY SIDE numbers are still below categories would weigh segment’s path to tion and amortization)
a comeback after a decade-long hiatus. Dim sum loans, uary to March will also be pre-pandemic levels. A fur- on the net sales value. profitability is margin is expected to
which emerged around 2010 but were largely dormant buoyed by weddings and FY24 is shaping up INDuStRY’S ARR is FOREIGN tourist ther uptick in foreign tour- Now that the demand one key factor see an increase from the
since, roared back in 2023 as lenders offer more flexible conferences. to be a strong year poised for an uptick arrival is expected to ist arrivals is expected in trends are subdued in Q2 levels of over 5% but
for hotels cos in Q4 with pick up further in that would aid
terms. A spike in US interest rates has also encouraged “Our channel checks for aided by demand, resumption of biz 2024, leaving room 2024, indicating potential the industry, naturally here the quantum needs
firms to borrow in yuan instead of dollars. There were at forward hotel room rates revenue growth travel post holidays for more growth for growth and driving there is a risk to earn- investor to be seen. While there
least 12 dim sum loan deals cut in the offshore yuan (CNH), for Jan’24-Mar’24 com- demand and revenue. ings estimates. “Given sentiment are not many levers for
totalling about $2.5 billion-equivalent, that closed during pared to the Jan’23-Mar’23 However, risks include a the weak industry expansion in the BPC
2023, up from just $112 million a year earlier, according to period (previous year) indicate that May, with cricket matches to be held in shift in consumer preference towards growth trends, there segment’s margin, the
Bloomberg data. The actual tally may be higher as some of hotels continue to follow a strategy of various locations across India. international holidays and a sharp rise in can be some risk to our 26% year-on- fashion vertical may see a drop in
the borrowings are either club or bilateral deals where keeping rates at least 10% higher than As such, for the quarter-ending June domestic airfares, which could dampen year (net sales value) growth estimate losses. In fact, the fashion segment’s
details are kept confidential.The blooming of the dim sum previous year levels,” said an ICICI Secu- (Q1FY25) and Q2FY25, year-on-year demand. for FY24,” said Nomura Financial path to profitability is one key factor
loan market—stymied in the past by a lack of liquidity in rities report dated 2 January. revenue growth is expected to be rea- Jinesh Joshi, an analyst at Prabhudas Advisory and Securities (India) in a that would aid investor sentiment.
the offshore yuan—means more options for Chinese com- As such, FY24 is shaping up to be a sonable even as the half-year ending Lilladher, advises caution regarding the report on 8 January. Besides margin, one needs to keep an
panies trying to refinance dollar or other currency debt strong year for the hospitality sector. September is a traditionally slow period. extent of room rate hikes possible in However, it is encouraging that eye on discretionary demand, which
without incurring higher rates. Borrowing costs may be However, the stock rally suggests that Plus, operating leverage should kick in 2024. As such, investors would do well the growth in Nykaa’s BPC is ahead is yet to pick up pace. In the past year,
more than 200 basis points cheaper, with lenders keen to much of this optimism has already been for hotel operators that have added new to keep an eye on the trend in occupancy of the industry’s. Nykaa’s shares have gained nearly
utilize a growing pile of offshore yuan. BLOOMBERG factored into valuations. “Sustenance of properties. rates, a crucial indicator for growth. But the competition is intensify- 23%.

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

ESG becomes the latest dirty Moody’s downgrades Vedanta as bond rejig imminent
word in corporate America Nehal Chaliawala
nehal.chaliawala@livemint.com
REUTERS
turing as default avoidance and of its outstanding corporate
assess that the creditors have bonds. The liability manage-
The restructuring aims to
reduce the company’s immedi-
MuMbAi incurred an economic loss with ment exercise involves making a ate debt load and give it a longer
FROM PAGE 1 pulled money in 2022 over the 130 factories across the world respect to the partial upfront repayment cycle. This is

M
firm’s ESG emphasis. State and there isn’t a question of oody’s downgraded original promise. The co had last payment and then expected to help it break out of
where they say it and how they Street in November announced whether they need to operate the credit rating of We consider the week received delaying by 29-52 its loop of running against
characterize it,” said Brad Karp, a new voting policy for investors in a sustainable way. Vedanta Resources transaction to be a investor consent months the matur- deadline to refinance debt
chair of law firm Paul Weiss who who may not want to emphasize “It’s not as though I got a Ltd (VRL), the London-based distressed to restructure ity of three of its maturities every few months
advises a number of CEOs. ESG as heavily. Fidelity last year whole bunch of new investors parent of Vedanta Ltd, as the exchange under outstanding bond and better meet its obligations
about $3.8 bn
“Most companies are moving removed language considering because we had a sustainability company goes ahead with its our criteria, series—those through cash flows and the
forward operationally with their potential ESG impacts from its report or we were ESG-fo- bond restructuring exercise which underpins outstanding maturing in Janu- planned asset sales. “…VRL’s
ESG programs, but not publicly proxy-review process. cused,” she said. “We didn’t do that will delay its immediate Vedanta’s corporate family our downgrade of corporate bonds ary 2024, August near-term liquidity will
touting them, or describing On earnings calls, mentions it for that purpose…. We wanted debt obligations. rating was downgraded to Caa3. VRL’s ratings,” 2024 and March improve only slightly and its
them in different ways.” of ESG rose steadily until 2021 to focus on water reduction, The company’s corporate said Moody’s SVP 2025. The firm refinancing wall will start build-
When Thomas Buberl, CEO and have declined since, power reduction, all those family rating (CFR) was down- to Ca from Caa3. It has main- Kaustubh Chaubal. also took the consent of holders ing up as it approaches its next
of Paris-based insurer AXA, met according to a FactSet analysis. things. So I don’t view it as, hey, graded to Caa3 from Caa2. tained a negative outlook on Vedanta Resources had last of its bonds maturing in April bond maturity in April 2026,”
in the U.S. last year with the lead- In the fourth quarter of 2021, it’s a trend that came today and Moody’s also downgraded the the new ratings. week received investor consent 2026, although its repayment said Chaubal, who is also
ers of an asset manager, a fertil- 155 companies in the S&P 500 it’s gonna go off tomorrow.” rating of the company’s bonds “We view the debt restruc- to restructure about $3.8 billion timelines remain unchanged. Moody’s lead analyst for VRL.
izer maker and a tech company, mentioned ESG initiatives; by Some of the changes leaders
executives suggested that he the second quarter of 2023, are making are subtle. At Coca-
reflect the newfound caution. “I that had fallen to 61 mentions. Cola, the company published a
used the abbreviation ESG, and
people taught me
Adding to the challenges for

not to use that On earnings calls, some dimensions

companies is that
“Business & ESG” report in
2022; in 2023, it was released as
the “Business and Sustainabil-
Ola Electric bikes get a lift from group company
word,” Buberl mentions of ESG of ESG, particu- ity” report. The beverage giant
said. “I said, ‘What rose steadily until larly the social also renamed committees on its FROM PAGE 1 December, and sales plans for Going electric and our own S1 scooters! ₹25 for
do you want me to 2021 and have goals, can be diffi- board of directors. January. Registration data in 5km, ₹50 for 10km. Lowest
States with biggest jump in sales for Ola’s e-2-wheelers in Dec.
call it?’” Few peo- cult to quantify. The fiercest critics of ESG say ANI Technologies. According the Vahan portal typically lag cost, very comfortable and
declined since, they welcome less discussion of Nov 2023 Dec 2023 Change
ple had a ready Corporate diver- to Vahan data, Ola Electric sold billings, or sales, by a few days, great for the environment...
answer. Buberl according to a sity programs, it. “If this trend is decreasing, around 376,000 electric scoot- or even weeks in some cases.
Other states
Will scale across India over
FactSet analysis 5,262
said the impor- often part of an these CEOs must have realized ers since inception till end of Ola Electric was founded in Delhi 1,915 next few months,” Aggarwal’s
tance of environ- ESG agenda, face that this puts them at greater December 2023. 2017 as an electric vehicle (EV) 23,061 post read. Ola Electric plans to
mental efforts and new scrutiny fol- legal risk and costs them cus- Ola accounted for four out of manufacturing arm of cab West 17,499 expand bike taxi service in vari-
Bengal 1,719
other goals shouldn’t be under- lowing a Supreme Court deci- tomers,” said Texas Attorney every 10 electric scooters sold operator ANI Technologies. ous cities, and an announce-
played. “We need to move from sion on affirmative action and General Ken Paxton, who has in India in December, data Later, Aggarwal bought out Odisha 802
ment is expected over the next
intentions to actions,” he said. legal challenges from largely pushed back against ESG poli- released on 1 January showed. more than 92% stake of Ola Electric Other few weeks, the people said.
ESG became even more polit- conservative groups. cies, in a statement. An Ola Electric spokesper- ANI Technologies in Ola Elec- Uttar e-2W sales, companies’ e-2W “As a group, we have strong
Pradesh 426 all-India sales, all-India
icized following a spat in 2022 Executives and their advisers What to call such efforts now son said demand for electric tric. The firm has been synergies between Ola and Ola
between Disney and Florida say companies remain more remains a debate. Brewster’s two-wheelers has been selling e-scooters since Electric with large scale EV
Haryana 314
Gov. Ron DeSantis. That opened committed to the “E” in ESG, nonprofit CEO group advises rising in ride-hailing and last- December 2021. 29,922 61,865 manufacturing capabilities and
the door to sharp commentary wanting to respond to climate leaders to discuss initiatives in mile logistics. “Till date, 8,206 ANI Technologies recently Andhra deep mobility network insights
on ESG efforts broadly by more change. Some CEOs say that clear language, explaining Ola Electric scooters have launched a bike taxi service in Pradesh 305 337 across India, which we will lev-
than a dozen other state officials environmental factors are cru- efforts to cut water use, for been registered under ANI Bengaluru with Ola Electric 30,259
erage to accelerate this transi-
Jharkhand 45,228
and a pullback by some asset cial to their business, one rea- example, or to use terms such as Technologies for its e-bike, scooters. According to the peo- 118 tion...we will scale aggressively
16,637
managers. Investors yanked son many went to Dubai for “our people” or “our natural parcel and other delivery ple cited above, Ola Electric has 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
across multiple cities in the
more than $14 billion from ESG COP28, the U.N.’s climate con- resources.” Brewster said he services. In total, 2.17% of amped up sales to ANI Tech- near future”, an ANI Technolo-
Source: Vahan database, Mint analysis
funds in the first nine months of ference. Climate change is also wants more leaders to adopt the our overall registrations till nologies, with about 1,500 gies spokesperson said in an
ANALYSIS: TANAY SUKUMAR & MANJUL PAUL; GRAPHIC: PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
2023, according to Morningstar. likely to be a key theme at the phrase “responsible business.” date have been under scooters registered each month emailed response to Mint’s
BlackRock’s Larry Fink World Economic Forum in “You can be anti-ESG,” ANI Technologies.” between September and Mint’s query, Ola Electric Aggarwal posted on X in questions about whether Ola
wrote a letter to investors in Davos, Switzerland, next week. Brewster said. “It’s hard to be The spokesperson declined November, a number that had declined to share how many September that the company Cabs will continue to buy
2023 that didn’t explicitly refer- Revathi Advaithi, CEO of anti-responsibility.” to answer Mint’s questions on stood at 100–150 scooters per scooters it sold in any specific had restarted ‘Ola bike’ in Ben- scooters from Ola Electric to
ence ESG, after some states Flex, said the manufacturer has © 2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC. sales to ANI Technologies in month till then. In a response to month to ANI Technologies. galuru. “This time, all electric build its eBike service.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai 05

FIU action bodes ill for Renault in revamp mode in India: CEO
Alisha Sachdev market presence, the French

local crypto exchanges alisha.sachdev@livemint.com

New DelhI
carmaker will introduce new
variants, including accessible
automatic options in the Kwid,

R
enault is revamping its making it the most accessible
existing products in automatic transmission model
India, adding new fea- in the market, and an
tures to an ageing portfolio of enhanced CVT (continuously
small cars and compact sports varying transmission) variant
FIU has asked Binance, 8 other exchanges to file statements with I-T dept utility vehicles before it invests in Kiger.
in launching brand-new mod- “The whole segment is
els here, in an interim plan that shrinking significantly, with
Shouvik Das will help the French carmaker only two players left...we are
shouvik.das@livemint.com achieve a “double-digit” not going to exit that segment
New DelhI growth in 2024, a top com- before our competition does,
pany official said. and that’s an advantage,”

A
ction against offshore crypto The company, currently Venkatram Mamillapalle, CEO & MD, Renault India. Mamillapalle said.
exchanges operating in India competing in a shrinking Meanwhile, Renault is
under money laundering small-car segment and facing these three models,” Mamilla- saying that I want to become a actively advancing its electric
laws may deprive local competitive pressures, is palle said. Mini Cooper. But I am tending vehicle (EV) strategy in India.
exchanges of much-needed refining its offerings to amplify “We are operating in the towards it, that’s our thought Mamillapalle confirmed the
liquidity and complicate their plans to value for consumers without sub-₹10 lakh segment. In the process,” he added. company’s plans to introduce
move abroad, three industry executives escalating prices, Venkatram A-segment (entry-level cars), Renault’s immediate strat- an EV in the country within
said. Mamillapalle, country CEO & which is shrinking very fast, egy involves an upgrade of its the next three years, forming
The finance ministry’s Financial Intelli- managing director of Renault I’m one out of two players and existing product portfolio one of the five product
gence Unit (FIU) on 28 December wrote to India, told Mint in an inter- my competition is giving huge comprising the Kiger, Triber, launches the company has
Binance, KuCoin and seven others that view. discounts. I am not going to and Kwid models. These vehi- lined up for the country till
any exchange offering services to He likened the company’s play a discount game. The cles will be equipped with 2027 as part of the Renault-
Indian users must register as a ‘reporting new approach to the “Mini intention is to give more value advanced safety and conve- Nissan alliance, before
entity’, and file statements with the Cooper” way, emphasizing the to the customer by adding fea- nience features, including tyre embarking on a full-blown
income tax department. The FIU also rec- enhancement of the value tures, variants, safety and pressure monitoring sensors international game plan, in
ommended blocking the web addresses of proposition for small cars comfort. And so that’s what (TPMS), electronic power which Renault will invest €3
these exchanges in India. Attracting liquidity has historically been one of the biggest challenges for crypto while avoiding price hikes. we’re doing—the customer steering (EPS), and airbags to billion to launch eight prod-
“Exchanges like Binance remain the exchanges worldwide, including the defunct FTX. ISTOCKPHOTO “The whole idea is, we are may not recognize it today, but align with expected regula- ucts across five key hubs,
key source of liquidity for most Indian changing the proposition of tomorrow they will. I’m not tions. To further bolster its including India.
exchanges, who also use an arbitrage mar- 1% tax deduction at source (TDS) is man- healthy trade in the industry,” the execu-
gin of nearly 10% in any crypto token trade dated on every transaction conducted tive said.
through them, since they do not really through India-based crypto exchanges. CoinDCX and CoinSwitch did not
hold crypto reserves. This makes them Since the introduction of these taxes, in respond to queries till press time.
reliant on major global exchanges, who 2022, crypto trading volumes in India
are also at a beneficial place when it comes have plummeted.
The FIU action has complicated
exchanges’ plans to move offshore, a sec-
Arkam Ventures bets on manufacturing, EV
to the overall taxation regime. India also Data sourced by Mint from Crebaco ond person added.
does not have a dedicated crypto law, all of showed a drop of 93% and 60% in daily “For most of these crypto exchanges, Samiksha Goel zation thesis. We have added On Tuesday, Arkam marked ity needs to be done through
which points to an unfavourable, average trading volumes in the offshore moves were largely designed samiksha.goel@livemint.com manufacturing and EVs as we its first investment in the man- technology, and that’s what
unsustainable situation that WazirX and CoinDCX—two of to ease compliance and taxation issues, beNgAluRu just think there are more ufacturing space, jointly lead- drove us into investing in a
India’s crypto exchanges India’s top crypto firms— which have been significantly compli- urgent themes that need to be ing a $6.3 million Series A fund- platform like Karkhana,” said
30%
D
need to first solve,” said between March 2022 and cated in India. The latest notice wouldn’t igital tech-focused justified.” ing round in custom manufac- Srinivasa.
Sidharth Sogani, founder now. Volumes could fall fur- make a big difference to the likes of Arkam Ventures has Arkam Ven- turing platform The funding into Karkhana
and chief executive of Cre- tax is levied on ther with the action against Binance or KuCoin—they are anyway not included electric vehi- tures, which has On Tuesday, Karkhana.io, was from Arkam’s first fund.
baco, a cryptocurrency crypto trades and the foreign exchanges. keen on setting up elaborate India opera- cles and manufacturing as invested in com- Arkam marked its along with Sus- Arkam–founded by former
research firm. profits in India One of the executives cited tions or go out of their way to comply with areas of focus for its second panies including first investment in quehanna Asia Kalaari Capital partner Sriniv-
Attracting liquidity has his- above also agreed that taxa- regulations in India. What this will affect venture capital fund, in addi- business-to-busi- manufacturing Venture Capital. asa and former Helion Venture
torically been one of the biggest tion and liquidity pose signifi- are Indian exchanges and startups, who tion to fintech, skilling, soft- ness marketplace Karkhana.io managing director Rahul
space, jointly
challenges for crypto exchanges cant challenges in an already-ragged will likely cancel their moves abroad since ware-as-a-service, logistics, Jumbotail, invest- offers solutions Chandra–closed its first fund at
worldwide, including the defunct FTX. crypto market in India. that will not make any difference to a large and food agriculture, a top ment startup Jar, leading a $6.3 mn for contract man- $106 million in April 2022.
Exchanges, including many in India, “The 1% TDS on all crypto trades is a extent—strategically or financially,” the executive said. and lending plat- Series A round ufacturing across About the manufacturing
accept orders in Indian rupees to hold massive hit for exchanges in India, since it executive said. The second fund, themati- form Kreditbee, categories like sector, Srinivasa said while ges-
crypto token orders, using larger takes away heavily from the prospect of Both executives agreed that a move cally, has a multi-fund thesis, launched its product assembly tation periods are long and bar-
exchanges such as Binance to get access to arbitrage trading. This leaves exchanges abroad would only make sense if India’s said Bala Srinivasa, managing $180 million second fund last and product localization. riers to entry could be hard to
being able to buy or sell any crypto token. such as CoinSwitch and CoinDCX at a pre- exchanges were able to proliferate the director at Arkam Ventures. “In year. The firm is in the process “Everybody has come to the crack, customer stickiness
Crypto trades and profits in India are carious spot in terms of liquidity—which crypto-forward global markets, and build this fund, you will see a mix of of closing the fundraising for conclusion that more transpar- tends to be higher than for
subject to 30% income tax, while a further is primarily derived only when there is their own liquidity and reserves. sectors connected by the digiti- this fund. ency, visibility and higher qual- other kinds of tech startups.
06 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

MINT

Capex plans to cool Bots storm BPOs, but hiring

after FY25 as govt
chases deficit goal on the rise for complex jobs
FROM PAGE 1

tax buoyancy—rate of tax col-

lection growth over economic Companies are hiring in bigger numbers for more sophisticated work that bots cannot do
growth rate—and disinvest-
ments will be specified in the The finance ministry is likely to
budget documents, the per- Devina Sengupta take the advice of Niti Aayog.
son added. devina.sengupta@livemint.com
Among infrastructure sec-
tor ministries, Railways has
MuMbaI
Inverted

I
multiple plans to strengthen n India’s call centres, the first level of
its network and introduce
high-speed trains, including
calls are increasingly being handled
by bots. And so, companies are now
duty
b u llet t r a i ns . T hes e
capital-intensive and long
gestation projects would keep Railways has multiple plans to
hiring employees who can do what
bots can’t—speak several languages,
understand complex financial pro-
structure
the growth appetite of Rail- strengthen its network. MINT
ways alive for a longer period
cesses, upsell products, and work across
platforms. likely to get
of time. D.K. Srivastava, chief policy Arjun Ramaraju, chief executive of
For the third straight year, advisor at EY India.
the government extended a Srivastava also said there
Conneqt Business Solutions, said, “The
IT, BFSI, and retail sectors have some of
a budget fix
massive budgetary capex sup- are signs that private sector our top clients in India. The bots help
port to Railways with ₹2.4 tril- investments are already pick- with first-stage, transaction-level com- FROM PAGE 1
lion for 2023-24, up 50% ing up. The statistics ministry munication with customers and are
on-year, which accounted for said last month that the econ- taken over by people when the pro- inverted duty structure, in the
a fourth of the Centre’s omy is set to witness ₹88.3 cesses become more complex.” Three three sectors of engineering,
₹10-trillion capex outlay. trillion investments in fixed years ago, the digital IT and business leather and textiles, one of the
With Railways all set to utilize assets, accounting for capex process management services provider people mentioned above said
its entire capex by February- by the Centre, states and pri- employed 20,000 call-centre agents. on the condition of anonymity.
end and ready with the next vate sector companies. This is Today it has 30,000 agents, which is Issues on inverted duty
set of projects for execution, an improvement of over 11% symbolic of the shift that is happening. structure on textiles could also
additional funds are expected from that of the year ago Interestingly, the push to recruit be taken up in upcoming GST
to be made available in the period, without adjusting for more agents is coming in from non-met- Bots help with first-stage, transaction-level communication with customers. People take over only complex processes. ISOTCKPHOTO (goods and services tax) Coun-
budget for inflation. ros. “Tier II and Tier III towns are prom- cil meetings, the person added.
2024-25 as well. The Union A Goldman inent drivers of the growth of call cen- lated queries that bots can’t handle. “Customers now tweet, send a text which would impact career transitions. The other person men-
Experts said government may Sachs report in tres, as people from these places still The tug-of-war between bots and message, WhatsApp or call phonebank- “Automation technologies are tioned above said the inverted
an eventual boost capex October 2023 want to interact with customer service human employees at call centres is due ing staff. We have now unified these cus- reshaping the BPO industry, impacting duty structure existing in cer-
moderation of allocation by said the rapid in regional languages,” Ramaraju said. to digitization across profiles as compa- tomer-care channels, and through contact centres and call centres globally. tain sectors can be addressed
the Centre’s pace in capex Business process management com- nies look to become more cost-efficient. WhatsApp banking, one could have a Robotic process automation (RPA), nat- by rationalizing input and out-
capex growth is
25% to a put GST rates, or by allowing
growth in the pany WNS noted that call centre agents For instance, HDFC has compiled rea- more meaningful conversation than ural language processing (NLP)-pow-
necessary. record ₹12.5 tn past few years now need domain knowledge to ered chatbots, machine learning specific industries to claim
“The fiscal in 2024-25 cannot be sus- handle complex questions from cus- TRANSFORMED BY TECH (ML), intelligent data processing cash refund from accumulated
consolidation tained for long tomers. “Query management has (IDP) and cognitive virtual assistants input tax credit. Spokesper-
path has to be going forward, changed, and resolutions are no CALL center agents B2C startups are THREE years ago, TIER-II and -III (CVA) are some of the automation sons of the commerce and
spelt out and consistent with and private investments will longer binary. Business-to-con- now need domain now utilizing bots as
knowledge to handle well as the services
Conneqt employed
20,000 call-center
towns are key drivers tools disrupting the outsourcing
of call center growth
finance ministries didn’t
that, the overall growth in need to pick up as public sumer (B2C) startups now use both complex questions of agents to handle agents. Today it has as people there have world,” said Ritu Sethi, partner, respond to emailed queries.
government expenditure and capex peaks. bots and agents to handle their cus- from customers their customers 30,000 agents not taken to bots yet technology practice, at recruitment As things stand, the govern-
the adjustments needed, both “We expect a pick-up in tomers,” said R. Swaminathan, chief firm ABC Consultants. ment faces the twin challenge
on the revenue side and on private investment activity in people officer at WNS. “Amid widespread fears that of revenue implications and
the capex side will have to be coming years to be driven The company said that while reve- sons why a customer would want to before,” Anjani Rathor, chief digital offi- automation will wipe away repetitive keeping industries competi-
spelt out. Going by the more by domestic demand, nues are growing at 12% a year, hiring reach out, and allows them to perform cer of the bank, had said in an earlier roles in the BPO industry, it has been tive, said Biswajit Dhar, pro-
present tax collection growth and easing of supply-side has risen by 5–6% annually. Swaminat- more than 200 types of transactions interview with Mint. observed that technology has in fact fessor at the Centre for Eco-
rate, it seems that there may bottlenecks,” the report han pointed out that especially for BFSI over WhatsApp. It has about 10 million Although the jobs at the lower end of helped increase productivity and effi- nomic Studies and Planning,
have to be some reduction in had added. clients, consumers in smaller towns customers registered on WhatsApp the hierarchy are increasing, senior ciency, thus augmenting the perform- School of Social Sciences, Jaw-
capex after 2024-25,” said gireesh.p@livemint.com need to talk to agents for equities-re- banking. roles are petering out in call centres, ance of employees,” Sethi added. aharlal Nehru University.
“The government has hesi-
tated to bring down the duty.
Not bringing duties in sync

Co-work in Gift City as office space turns scarce ICICI hires bankers to with what the industry needs is
hurting the industry,” Dhar
said. “In textiles, the global

FROM PAGE 1 smaller constructions where co-working setup was con-

companies can rent out work- structed in just three months,
handle funding boom market is extremely competi-
tive. Addressing the inverted
duty structure will give impe-
“Three years ago, there was stations as required. There are Shah said. Savvy’s second tus to our domestic industry.”
little demand. But since then, around three such temporary co-working space, Pragya Bloomberg Correcting inverted duty
a lot of companies have started co-working spaces opera- Accelerator-2, is expected to feedback@livemint.com structures in key sectors and
coming,” said Dhruv Patel, tional in the SEZ and more are be operational by March. goods is important to keep

president of the Ahmedabad
chapter of the Confederation
of Real Estate Developers
Associations of India.
“When the bullion
exchange, currency exchange,
and Gift Nifty started here, a
lot of traders, funds and bank-
ers came along. Today, the
demand is far greater than the
supply,” he added.
Demand is expected to rise
further after the government
recently allowed the sale of
liquor in Gift City, which is sit-
uated in the dry state of Guj-
arat. A ban on alcohol sales was
a deterrent for many profes-
sionals considering a transfer
to Gift City, and that could
now change.
According to latest data
from the IFSCA, as of Septem-
ber 2023, Gift City had 23 off-
shore banking units (OBUs),
70 brokers, 19 clearing mem-
bers and five global custodians.
Gift City also has 68 schemes
operated by various alternative
investment funds and 73
insurance funds registered.
There are also 136 asset leas-
Gift City does not allow virtual registrations.
ing entities that are typically
into aircraft, engines and ship
leasing. There are also 54 enti-
ties providing ancillary servi-
ces such as law firms and con-
sultants.
Originally, the government
had envisaged a limited scope
for Gift City, in rivalling global
hubs for fund management
and banking like Singapore
and Luxembourg. The widen-
ing scope of Gift City has made
it more attractive to businesses
from diverse sectors.
“In the last few years, the
government has started to
position Gift City as an innova-
tion hub not just for the BFSI
(banking, financial services
and insurance) sector but also
for sectors like higher educa-
tion,” said a senior consultant.
REUTERS
“Suddenly, a diverse set of
entities ranging from domes-
tic brokers to aircraft leasing
entities want to open shop. It
will take some time for the
commercial space to catch up
with the demand,” he said.
Gift City does not allow vir-
tual registrations, unlike some
other global financial hubs,
making it mandatory for com-
panies to have a physical pres-
ence there. To alleviate the
shortage of available office
space, the authorities have
made an interim provision to
allow companies to get regis-
tered in the SEZ by leasing out
a minimum of four seats in
co-working spaces.
Unlike the shiny skyscrap-
ers adorning the skyline of Gift
City, these are relatively
I
under construction. Several firms have taken the ndia’s second-largest private domestic businesses competi-
Companies operating from co-working option to get their lender ICICI Bank Ltd. is on a tive, especially against exter-
co-working spaces, available at operations running in Gift hiring spree, anticipating nal competitors, at a time
around ₹20,000 per seat, can City, including Australia’s Dea- that fundraising by companies when the government is push-
get a licence to operate in Gift kin University. The institution will hit a record high this year ing manufacturing.
City for up to five years. is setting up a campus in Gift and next. Since 2015, Union budgets
“To cater to immediate City and has leased 25,000 sq. The firm plans 15 new hires have sought to address this by
space needs, a temporary space ft of real estate space in a in its investment banking divi- removing duty exemptions
was set up in a co-working sion this year to beef up its More than $18 billion is and lowering the duty on vari-
dome structure, Demand is space, one of the mergers and acquisitions, pri- expected to be raised in IPOs ous raw materials.
featuring locka- expected to rise people cited vate equity and fundraising in India in 2024 and 2025. MINT India has also been increas-
ble cubicles,” said further after the above said. practices, and another 15 in ing import duties since 2014-15
Jaxay Shah, government The IFSCA has sales, trading and research, said Others including JM Finan- to correct the inverted duty
founder and CMD
recently allowed given permits for Ajay Saraf, head of investment cial Ltd and Jefferies Financial structure for non-free trade
of Savvy Group. several new build- banking and institutional equi- Group Inc. are also planning to agreement countries, with the
“Initially, there the sale of liquor ings to alleviate ties at the lender’s ICICI Securi- expand their India operations average tariff rising from 13.5%
was some scepti- in Gift City the space crunch, ties Ltd unit. to capitalize on the boom in in 2014 to 15% in 2020 and
cism and uncer- and the situation Positions range from associ- deals. About $27 billion was 18.3% in 2021, according to the
tainty among is expected to ease ate to executive vice president raised in initial public offerings World Trade Organization.
prospects regarding the con- in couple of years. level, with most of the senior and follow-on share sales in For instance, in the 2022-23
cept and the construction “There are 20-25 buildings hires coming from rival banks, India last year, exceeding Hong budget, the government had
timeline. However, once the under development and Saraf said in a recent interview Kong for the first time in at least raised import tariffs on imita-
structure was built and opera- around 25-30 more applica- held in Mumbai. “Over the next three decades, according to tion jewellery, umbrellas and
tional, people understood the tions are pending. In 2-3 years, three, four years we’ll see very data compiled by Bloomberg. earphones to encourage local
innovative approach and the the shortage will be under robust deal activity, both on the Of that total, $7.5 billion was manufacture. Import tariffs on
practicality of the setup.” control and resolved,” said private and public side,” Saraf raised from IPOs, still well off gold were raised in 2022 to
The Savvy Group has multi- Taral Shah, the MD of Shivalik said. “India is becoming a very the 2021 record of $18 billion. curtail imports of yellow metal.
ple commercial and residen- Group, a leading real estate favourable investment destina- Saraf expects more than $18 India’s goods trade deficit
tial real estate projects in Gift developer in Ahmedabad. It tion—the market where every- billion to be raised in IPOs in shrank almost 35% in Novem-
City, including Pragya Accel- has four projects in Gift City. body wants to be.” India in 2024 and 2025, with at ber compared with the record
erator-1, a co-working space nehal.chaliawala@live- The moves will raise ICICI least four listings topping the high in October, primarily due
with 500 seats. The temporary mint.com Securities’ headcount to 190. billion-dollar mark. to a sharp fall in imports.

The Burman family vs Religare: Sebi kicks off investigation

FROM PAGE 1
Emails sent to Saluja, the
Burman family and Sebi
remained unanswered.
The Burmans claim their
representative Arjun Lamba
stated the open offer plans to
Saluja in a meeting over 45
minutes at Delhi’s Oberoi hotel
on 20 September. According to
the Burmans, this made Saluja
privy to unpublished price sen-
sitive information (UPSI). In
the next two days—Thursday,
21 September and Friday, 22
September—Saluja sold a big
chunk of her REL shares for
₹34.71 crore. The REL stock
was trading close to its 52-week
high of ₹280 on the two days
when Saluja sold the shares.
On the next trading day—
Monday, 25 September—the
Burman family announced an
open offer worth ₹2,116 crore to
take control of REL, where it
holds more than 21%. The Bur-
mans, who believe that Saluja
was in possession of UPSI while
she sold her shares, flagged the
matter to Sebi on 7 November,
stating they had not received
any response after raising the
issue with REL board. Mint
reported the complaint on 10
November.
After selling REL shares, Sal-
uja currently holds 1.42% in
the company.
“This announcement (the 25
September open offer) itself is a
privileged insider trading
information if it was known in
advance to Saluja or anyone
else before the 25 September
exchange filing. If anyone
transacted in REL shares
before 25 September on the
basis of this information, it is a
serious violation,” a veteran
market advisor said on the con-
dition of anonymity.
Under Section 15 of the Sebi
Act, the regulator can impose a
fine of up to ₹25 crore or three
times the profit made from
insider trading transactions,
whichever is higher. If found
guilty, Saluja could also be
barred from holding any posi-
tion as a director or key man-
agement personnel (KMP) in
any Indian company. Saluja has
been often credited for driving
a miraculous turnaround of
invitation sent for meeting,
details of bookings/payment
made in this regard and/or any
other proofs in this regard”.
The regulator also called for
“proofs as to whether details of
open offer by the Burman
group were disclosed to KMPs/
designated persons of REL
along with all relevant details”.
The Burman family owns at
least 21.25% in REL through
four entities—Puran Associates
Pvt. Ltd, M.B. Finmart Pvt. Ltd,
Sebi has asked REL and the Burmans to respond with evidence.MINT VIC Enterprises Pvt. Ltd and
Milky Investment & Trading Co.
REL’s fortunes after its original Sebi has asked both parties to The dispute between Saluja
promoters—the tainted broth- provide “all relevant details of and the Burmans has worsened
ers Shivinder and Malvinder meeting held at Oberoi Hotel, after the Burman family last
Singh, were arrested on the New Delhi on 20 September week alleged unfair allotment
grounds of fraud and money 2023 such as the list of attend- of a significant stake in Religare
laundering at REL in 2018. ees along with proof, proof of Finvest Ltd (RFL), a subsidiary
of REL, to Saluja via stock
options just a day after the open
offer in the listed flagship was
announced.
On 3 January, the Burman
family, in a public statement,
said the allotment of 8% RFL
stake, which could be worth
₹150-200 crore, to Saluja will
also require an investigation
with regards to breach of take-
over norms.
The Burmans have termed
the allotment of the 21.4 million
shares to Saluja as “unfortu-
nate” since the latter merely as a
solitary executive has cornered
“significant quantum of remu-
neration through Esops” not
only at RFL but also at REL and
Care Health Insurance Ltd (a
key REL subsidiary), all “with-
out approval and requisite dis-
closure to REL shareholders”.
The Burmans said such unfair
remuneration to Saluja puts a
question mark on the manage-
ment and the independence of
independent directors and their
complicity in the matter.
Shareholder advisory firm
InGovern Research has valued
stock options of REL and its
subsidiary Care Health Insur-
ance issued to Saluja over the
past 3-4 years at over ₹480
crore, based on the shares of
the two firms as per their earlier
deals. Saluja’s overall compen-
sation may be close to ₹700
crore, including REL Esops
worth ₹480 crore, RFL Esops
worth ₹150-200 crore and sal-
ary of ₹42 crore.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai 07

Zee likely missed

Indian media set for shake-up $200 mn cricket
Viacom18-Disney merger, clarity on Zee-Sony deal could reshape the entertainment ecosystem in 2024
fee date to Disney
Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
Lata Jha balanced competitive environment, and the rest Viacom. The combined

Z
lata.j@htlive.com preventing a single entity from domi- resources and content libraries of Dis- ee Entertainment Enter-
New Delhi nating the market. ney and Reliance could impact tradi- prises Ltd has missed a
A senior media industry executive tional TV networks, especially if the deadline to pay $200

T
he likely coming together of
Reliance Industries Chair-
man Mukesh Ambani’s Via-
com18 with Walt Disney’s
India operations, and clarity
over the long-drawn Zee-Sony merger
deal could reshape the country’s
entertainment ecosystem in 2024,
helping revive investments held up
due to the prevailing uncertainties.
The three groups—assuming the
Viacom18 and Walt Disney deal goes
through, and Sony and Zee go their
separate ways—would command
65-70% of the TV market and around
40% of the OTT market. However,
only one (Viacom-Disney combined)
could have the necessary heft to drive
innovation in content that the linear
medium has lacked these past few
years.
Surely, the combined might of Reli-
ance and Disney could set competition
up at a disadvantage as far as bargain-
ing power for ad rates goes, and OTT
industry rivals might be forced to
introduce more free models to remain
relevant to consumers. Further, new
players could crop up to explore niche
language markets or demographics,
said the impact of the two potential deal leads to shifts in advertising reve- million to Walt Disney Co.’s
mergers would be massive from a dis- nue and viewer preferences. Smaller India unit for TV rights of
tribution point of view, with other media companies may find it chal- cricket matches, according to
broadcasters squeezed for carriage lenging to compete with the scale and people familiar with the matter,
fees and operators forced to keep the resources of a merged Disney-Reli- as the firm tries to preserve
bigger entities happy. ance entity. They might cash ahead of a likely collapse of
“Sports rights too could IMPACTFUL need to explore strategic its mega merger with Sony
come down since there FUSION partnerships or focus on Group Corp. The Mumbai- The firm didn’t pay installment
would be fewer players niche markets to maintain based media firm didn’t pay the due early January. REUTERS
competing now,” the per- THE 3 groups would their positions,” Ross installment due early January
son added. command 65-70% of pointed out. citing a cash crunch, the people the persons familiar.
the TV market and
Japan’s Sony group is around 40% of the Harit Nagpal, chief said, asking not to be named as Spokespersons for Zee and
reportedly planning to OTT market executive and managing the information is not public. Disney didn’t respond to
scrap the agreement to director, Tata Play, said Disney has sought explanation requests for comment.
merge its India business RELIANCE, Disney consolidation of the big from Zee on why the payment Bloomberg News reported on
would ensure they
with Zee Entertainment have 40-45% of TV four broadcasters will was skipped, they said, adding Monday that Sony was plan-
Viacom-Disney merger could force OTT industry rivals to introduce more free Enterprises over stalemate ad market once the make the businesses the tranche was part of the over ning to send a deal termination
models to remain relevant to consumers. MINT on who would lead the merger takes place healthy while retaining $1.4 billion Zee agreed to pay notice to Zee, which said on
$10-billion merged entity. competitiveness. “The for the license agreement Tuesday that it was still work-
distinguishing themselves from the eise Ross, associate vice-president at It reportedly no longer process has taken longer signed in August 2022. ing toward closing the merger.
big boys. media agency Mudra Max said. wants Zee’s current CEO Punit than it should, and should now settle Defaulting on the payment Disney Star had entered a
“Mergers and deals can lead to the “This could be one of the threats for Goenka to helm the merged entity. so that the broadcasters can start look- to Disney unit poses fresh pact with Zee in August 2022 to
creation of larger entities with rivals,” Ross said. Whether the Zee-Sony deal goes ing at the customer instead of each headaches for Zee, including license exclusive TV rights for
enhanced resources and capabilities. She added that the failure of the through or not, it would directly other. It’s been a while since any new possible legal wrangles, even as International Cricket Council
This increased scale can intensify merger, though, could present oppor- impact rivals Reliance and Disney, format or a large soap was launched. it deals with the fallout of a col- men’s matches in India till
competition within the Indian media tunities for other media companies to whose merger, meanwhile, would Recent times have seen blockbuster lapsing merger with the Sony 2027, while Disney’s streaming
and entertainment (M&E) industry, as explore strategic partnerships, acqui- ensure they have the biggest pie of the movies being released on TV with little Group. Zee hasn’t furnished platform in the country
these entities may have more negoti- sitions or investments to strengthen TV ad market at 40-45%. “The merged fanfare. This can’t be good for the bank guarantees for the sum retained digital rights for the
ating power, larger content libraries, their position in the market. The lack entity will have approximately 100 TV industry if it goes on any longer,” Nag- that was to be paid as per the property, according to an
and diversified revenue streams,” Del- of consolidation could ensure a more channels, of which 70 will be Disney pal added. contract, according to one of exchange filing then.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited

139P, Sector - 44, Gurugram-122003, Haryana (India)
Tel: 0124-4535500, Email: procurement@canarahsbclife.in
NOTICE INVITING BIDS/OFFERS
Open Tender is invited against RFP for Facility Management and Housekeeping Services
dated 09-January-2024. Above tender has been uploaded on https://www.canarahsbclife.
com/tenders-notices.html, website of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Ltd. All
prospective bidders are advised to visit the aforesaid website for downloading the RFP.

SPECIAL AMNESTY SCHEME

FOR CONDONING DELAY IN
FILING GST APPEAL
JALGAON CITY MUNICIPAL CORPORATION JALGAON
Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel, administrative building, M.G. Road Jalgaon 425001 Who can apply under this Amnesty Scheme?
TENDER NOTICE No. 447 /2023-2024
TENDER NOTICE No. 448/2023-2024 The taxable persons who could not file an appeal,
On-line tenders for 1) Construction of within the specified time period, against the demand
Concrete Windrow platform, Drainage order passed by the proper officer on or before
arrangement, leachate tank Rs.4,58,53,018/- the 31.03.2023, and
2) Construction of Precast compound wall
and concrete roads at avhane shiwar S.No.864 The taxable persons whose appeal against the said order was
dumping yard Jalgaon Rs.4,01,50,545/- under rejected solely on the grounds that the said appeal was not
SBM are invited by Jalgaon City Municipal filed within the specified time period
Corporation Jalgaon. The details of work &
eligibility criteria is available in the tender
Document.
The detailed Tender Document with Terms To avail this Amnesty Scheme, you can now file an appeal in Form GST-APL-01 against
and Conditions will be available on website the said order on or before 31.01.2024, subject to the payment of:
http://mahatenders.gov.in from Dt. 09.01.2024
to Dt. 24.01.2024 up to 17.00 hrs. On-line Admitted liability (tax, interest, fine and penalty) arising out of the impugned order
tenders shall be received on the website
http://mahatenders.gov.in on Dt.24.01.2024 upto
16.00 hrs. Sd/- A sum equal to 12.5% of the remaining amount of tax in dispute, out of which
(Dr.Vidya Gaikwad) at least 20% should have been debited from electronic cash ledger
Date:09.01.2024 Commissioner,
Jalgaon City Municipal Corporation Jalgaon
Please Note

No refund shall be granted on account of this amnesty scheme till the disposal of the appeal
Have fun
cbc15502/13/0024/2324

No appeal under this amnesty scheme shall be admissible in respect of a demand not involving tax

with facts
on Sundays
Catch the latest column of
This is an Exclusive Opportunity for Taxpayers Who Missed Appeal Deadline!

A For details please refer,

A quiz on the week’s development.
Notification No. 53/2023-Central Tax dated 02.11.2023

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs

hindustantimes htTweets www.hindustantimes.com
@cbicindia @CBIC INDIA
08 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai NEWS WRAP LIVEMINT.COM

NEWS
100
THE NUMBER of AI-based storage
64 mn
THE NUMBER of smartphones Huawei is
$13 bn
THE AMOUNT that Hewlett Packard has
₹488 cr
THE TOTAL highway tolls collected by
6,75,000
THE NUMBER of single malt cases sold
IN facilities that the Indian government plans estimated to ship in 2024 globally, up from set aside for buying network equipment IRB Infrastructure Developers in in India in 2023, of which 345,000, or 51%,
NUMBERS to set up as a pilot to reduce the wastage
of onions across warehouses.
around 35 million it had dispatched in
2023, according to Jefferies.
maker Juniper, pushing up the latter’s
shares up by 21% in extended trading.
December 2023, up 26% from
₹388 crore in December 2022.
were made by domestic firms, surpassing
global brand sales.

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

‘NCGTC undertakes HONOURING TALENT EV sales jumps 49%

loan claims audit’ in 2023: FADA

B E
andhan Bank said on Tuesday that the lectric vehicle sales in India jumped 49.25%
National Credit Guarantee Trustee year-on-year to 1,529,947 units in 2023,
Company (NCGTC) has decided to according to a data released by the
undertake an audit of loan claims filed by the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association
lender under a guarantee scheme. (FADA) on Tuesday.
The bank clarified in an exchange filing that The electric vehicle industry had recorded
the regulator has not initiated a broader audit. total sales of 1,025,063 units in 2022, as per the
After receiving the first tranche of recovery data.
from the Credit Guarantee Fund of Micro Units Sales of electric two-wheelers grew 36.09% to
(CGFMU), Bandhan Bank had applied for a 859,376 units in the just-concluded year against
second tranche of about ₹12.90 billion, the 631,464 units in 2022, the industry body said,
lender said in an exchange filing. while electric three-wheeler sales volumes
CGFMU is a government-established trust surged 65.23% year-on-year to 582,793 units
fund to ensure payment against default for from 352,710 units the year before.
micro loans extended to eligible small Electric commercial vehicles sales rose
borrowers. NCGTC, also set up by the 114.16% year-on-year to 5,673 units in 2023
government, oversees these guarantee schemes. compared to 2,649 vehicles in the preceding
The NCGTC has further intimated its year. Electric passenger vehicle sales grew
decision to conduct a detailed audit of the 114.71% to 82,105 units last year against 38,240
CGFMU portfolio for the fiscal year 2020-21, the vehicles in 2022, as per the data. PTI
filing showed. REUTERS

President Droupadi Murmu presents the Arjuna Award to para-archer Sheetal Devi during the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2023 at the
Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. Devi, the only international para-archery champion without upper limbs, won three gold medals at the
Para Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. PTI

Tata Starbucks will double its workforce to 8,600

Maldives Prez courts Chinese SBI initiated insolvency proceedings in June 2023
against PC Jewellers for the default. MINT
employees, it said.

Tata Starbucks eyes

REUTERS

investors amid tense India ties ‘SBI, PC Jeweller get

settlement time’
expansion of stores
T
he National Company Law Tribunal

T
ata Starbucks on Tuesday announced that
it will expand presence to 1,000 stores by
2028 from the present 390.
The company, an equal joint venture between
the Tata Group and the global coffee chain
Starbucks, has plans to open a new store every
three days and also enter tier-2 and tier-3 cities,
an official statement said.
(NCLT) has granted PC Jeweller and
Chinese firms invested $1.37 bn in the Maldives since its decision to join BRI in 2014 State Bank of India (SBI) an additional 20
days to resolve the matter concerning a default
on a loan payment of ₹1,180.2 crore by PC
Reuters Increasing export of fish products to China Chinese firms have invested $1.37 billion in the Jeweller.
feedback@livemint.com under the two countries’ free trade agreement will Maldives since its decision to join the Belt and Road The NCLT adjourned the case until 29
BEIJING be a key priority, Muizzu added. Initiative in 2014, data from the American Enter- January after considering the ongoing
Fishing is the largest source of employment in prise Institute think tank shows. settlement talks.

For Starbucks, India, which is poised to be the
third largest economy globally by 2030, is one of
the fastest growing markets globally and it is
doubling down on its presence in the market,
the statement said. With the aim to take the
overall presence to 1,000 stores by 2028, Tata
Starbucks will double its workforce to 8,600
employees, it said. The JV plans to enter tier 2
and 3 Indian cities, expand drive-thrus, airports
and its 24-hour store footprint, the statement
said. “As we move into the next chapter of
growth, we will continue to develop India’s
coffee culture to deepen connections with our
customers, while innovating to bring our unique
Indian offerings to the global stage,” Sunil
D’Souza, chief executive and managing director
at Tata Consumer Products, said. PTI
A
t an ‘Invest Maldives’ forum in a south-
ern Chinese port city, Maldivian Presi-
dent Mohamed Muizzu shook hands
and exchanged words with smiling
local officials on a China visit set to
deepen bilateral ties as the archipelagic nation pir-
ouettes away from India.
After the forum in Fuzhou on Tuesday, Muizzu
and his delegation were to meet Chinese President
Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing during
his week-long visit, where pacts from infrastruc-
ture to tourism are expected to be signed.
In Fuzhou, the Chinese city designated as the
start of China’s maritime ‘Silk Road’, Muizzu said
China remained one of his country’s “closest allies
and developmental partners”, according to a state-
ment released by his office.
the Maldives, where 99% of its territory comprises In 2019, Chinese tourists represented 19.7% of SBI initiated insolvency proceedings
the sea. Aquatic products account for over 98% of foreign visitors, making them the biggest tourist in June 2023 against PC Jeweller for the default
exports by volume group, but slipped to and, apart from NCLT, the bank has
and value. third position by approached the Debt Recovery Appellate
Muizzu also said Muizzu said China remained one of 2022 during the Tribunal to expedite the recovery process.
his government was his country’s “closest allies and pandemic. It’s noteworthy that PC Jeweller has a total
keen to explore part- But the World outstanding debt of ₹3,278 crore to various
nerships under Xi’s developmental partners”, according Bank, in a report in banks, with SBI being the largest defaulter.
Belt and Road Initia- to a statement released by his office October, warned Other creditors include Union Bank of India
tive (BRI), including further cosying up to (₹530 crore), Punjab National Bank (₹478 crore),
the expansion of the China could spell and Indian Bank (₹226 crore). KRISHNA YADAV
country’s central airport and commercial port. trouble in the Maldives, since the $1.37 billion it
Under the Belt and Road Initiative aimed at already owes China represents around 20% of its
building a global trade and infrastructure network, public debt.
China has already helped expand the Velana Inter- China is the Maldives’ biggest bilateral creditor,
national Airport in Male and built the cross-sea ahead of Saudi Arabia and India, which it owes $124
JSW Steel’s crude
China-Maldives Friendship Bridge. million and $123 million, respectively.
steel output up 12%

J
SW Steel on Tuesday reported a 12% year-
‘64 mn homes on-year rise in its consolidated crude steel
Active covid cases recorded at 3,919 production to 6.87 million tonnes (mt) in
required by 2036’ October-December period of ongoing
fiscal.
according to the ministry’s data updated Its consolidated crude steel production was

A
n additional 64 million homes are
required by 2036 because of growth in
population, according to CREDAI-
Liases Foras.
Realtors’ apex body CREDAI, in
collaboration with data analytic firm Liases
Foras, launched an industry report at the New
India Summit held in Varanasi.
“The additional housing requirement by
2036 due to the population growth is 64
million in India,” the joint report said.
In 2018, the housing shortage in India was 29
million houses, it pointed out.
“Therefore, the total estimated housing
demand by 2036 in India is 93 million,”
Six deaths have been reported in a span of
24 hours as per the health ministry. PTI
at 8 am.
The number of daily cases had dropped
to double-digits till 5 December 2023 but
cases began to increase after emergence
of a new variant and cold weather
conditions. After 5 December, 841 new
cases were reported on 31 December 2023
which was 0.2% of the peak cases reported
in May 2021, official sources said.
Of the total active cases, a large majority
of these (around 92%) are recovering
under home isolation.
“The currently available data suggests
that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to
an exponential rise in the new cases nor a
Boeing recommended one-time inspection of all
Boeing 737 Max planes before 10 January. BLOOMBERG
Airlines wrap up
at 6.14mt in the same period last financial
year, according to a statement.
From its India operations, the company
produced 6.63 million tonnes of steel in
October-December, up 9% over 6.06 million
tonnes in the year-ago period.
In India, the capacity utilization level stood
at 94% in the third quarter.
JSW Steel USA-Ohio produced 0.24 million
tonnes steel, up three-fold from 0.8 million
tonnes produced in October-December
2022-23.
JSW Steel is the flagship business of the
diversified $23 billion JSW Group. PTI

I
CREDAI-Liases Foras report said.
The report mentioned that it is widely
expected that the next wave of real estate
growth will stem from Tier II, III regions.
Housing demand was strong last year, which
also witnessed over 19,050 RERA registrations
at Pan-India level with 45% projects falling in
ndia has logged 475 new cases of covid,
while the number of active cases of the
infection stood at 3,919, the health
ministry said on Tuesday.
Six deaths—three from Karnataka, two
from Chhattisgarh and one from Assam—
have been reported in a span of 24 hours,
checks of 40 planes
surge in the hospitalisation and
mortality,” the sources stated.
India has witnessed three waves of
Gensol Engineering
A
covid-19 in the past with the peak viation regulator DGCA on Tuesday
incidence of daily new cases and deaths
being reported during the Delta wave in
said 40 Boeing 737 Max planes of
domestic carriers have been inspected to invest in EV plant
April-June 2021. PTI for possible loose hardware, and a washer was

the residential segment.
Music maestro Ustad Rashid Khan dies at 55 in Kolkata hospital
PTI missing in one aircraft where rectification was
done.
Akasa Air, Air India Express and SpiceJet
together have 40 Boeing 737 Max planes in
their fleets.
Boeing had recommended a one-time
inspection of all Boeing 737 Max planes for
G
ensol Engineering on Tuesday said it will
invest ₹2,000 crore to set up an EV
manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
this effect was signed with the Gujarat
government as part of the investment
promotion activity for Vibrant Gujarat Global

U
stad Rashid Khan, the celebrated voice that made Hindustani classical possible loose hardware before 10 January. Summit 2024.
music accessible to countless listeners, died at a Kolkata hospital on The aircraft maker’s move had come The project will generate around 1,500 jobs in
Tuesday after a four-year battle with prostate cancer. based on information from an operator the region, Gensol said in a regulatory filing.
The classical singer was 55. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a of a missing nut and washer in the Aft The memorandum of understanding was
daughter. “We tried our best but failed. He passed away at around 3:45 pm,” an Rudder Quadrant on the Boeing 737 Max signed in the presence of chief minister
official of the private hospital where Khan was admitted said. The classical plane. Bhupendra Patel.
singer, who belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana, is the great-grandson This inspection was recommended before The proposed EV manufacturing plant will
of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. “I heard about his death. This is a the Alaska Airlines incident and is not related be a powerhouse of innovation, churning out
great loss for the entire country and the entire music fraternity. I am in a lot of to it. a diverse range of cutting-edge EVs across
pain as I still can’t believe that Rashid Khan is no more,” chief minister Mamata A senior DGCA official on Tuesday said out segments, catering to both commercial and
Banerjee said at the hospital while standing beside his family members. The of the 40 Boeing 737 Max planes of the three personal vehicle space, Gensol Engineering
chief minister said Khan will be given a gun salute and state honours before his Indian carriers, inspections on 39 aircraft said.
last rites are performed on Wednesday. “His body will be kept at a mortuary have been completed with nil findings, except The 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global
today. It will be taken to Rabindra Sadan on Wednesday where his admirers can Singers Rashid Khan (left) and Hariharan perform during ‘Surmai on one aircraft wherein a missing washer was Summit is scheduled from 10 to 12 January,
pay him last respects,” she said. PTI Sham’, a musical tribute to Master Dinanath Mangeshkar. PTI found. PTI 2024. PTI
 MINT MEDIA MARKETING INITIATIVE

YEARS
OF SUCCESS

PM NARENDRA MODI INAUGURATES DIVERSE PAVILIONS

The main pavilion focuses on key areas for economic
advancement, including new technology, green and smart

‘VIBRANT GUJARAT GLOBAL TRADE SHOW 2024’

infrastructure, and sustainable energy.

TechEd Pavilion: Innovation TechEd Pavilion

Startups in IT (Information Technology) and ITES (Information
Technology-based Services) presents their research and
accomplishments in this special pavilion.

Gujarat Experience Zone

The Gujarat Experience Zone highlights the extensive cultural
impact of Gujarat globally, featuring the state's diverse and rich
cultural heritage.

MSME, Startups, and Women Entrepreneurs

Encouraging the growth of women entrepreneurs and Micro,
Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is crucial for the
empowerment of the industrial sector. The dedication to
development, with a particular focus on these areas, has
become increasingly apparent. Over 350 MSMEs have been
allocated stalls in this exhibition.

E-Mobility
The E-mobility pavilion unveils the future of transportation,
providing information on advanced electric vehicles, charging
infrastructure, and sustainable mobility.

Blue Economy
The pavilion aims to showcase the sustainable and dynamic
development of maritime industries, to the world. Focusing on
logistics and marine technology it highlights India’s strength in
responsibly utilizing marine resources.

Knowledge Economy and Startups

The dome presents pioneering ideas and emerging ventures
that integrate new technologies for innovation. Institutions such
as CEPT University - Ahmedabad, DAIICT - Gandhinagar, IIT
Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and President of the Gandhinagar, Gati Shakti University, and GTU, Ahmedabad
offer a platform for networking, mentorship, and knowledge-
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta were present at the inaugural event. The Global Trade sharing seminars on the latest topics in this pavilion.
Show will be open for business visitors from January 10-11 and for the general public from January 12-13
Make in Gujarat and AatmaNirbhar Gujarat

P
rime Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday
inaugurated the
‘Vibrant Gujarat Global
Trade Show 2024’, being held
at Helipad Ground,
Gandhinagar.
Chief Minister Bhupendra
Patel, along with Indian and
international dignitaries as well
as industrialists were present
at this inaugural event. The
global trade show will be open
for business visitors on
January 10-11 and to the
public on January 12-13.
As part of the 10th Vibrant
Gujarat Global Summit, held
biennially in the state, the
Gujarat Government is hosting
the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global
Trade Show 2024’.
The show is an exhibition
spread across 2 lakh square
metres in multiple halls. A total
of 20 countries are
participating in the show,
including Australia, Tanzania,
Morocco, Mozambique, South
Korea, Thailand, Estonia,
Bangladesh, Singapore, UAE
(United Arab Emirates), UK,
Germany, Norway, Finland,
Netherlands, Russia, Rwanda,
Japan, Indonesia, and
Vietnam.
The event hosts over 1,000
exhibitors from the research
sector, highlighting ongoing
research and innovations
across various fields.
The trade show presents
cutting-edge products and
services across various
sectors, including agro and
food processing, automobiles
and auto components,
ceramics, chemicals and
petrochemicals, gems and
jewellery, pharmaceuticals,
ports and marine.
Gujarat holds a prominent position in
Key industries like textiles
and garments, electric
vehicles, green hydrogen,
aircraft and allied industries,
renewable energy,
semiconductors and ESDM,
fintech, cybersecurity, AI, and
machine learning are the focal
points of this trade show.
The expo features 13 halls
dedicated to 13 different
themes, including ‘Make in
Gujarat’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar
Bharat’. Around 450 MSME
units are actively participating
to contribute to the realization
of the Prime Minister's vision
of ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’.
Women empowerment, MSME
development, new technology,
green and smart infrastructure,
sustainable energy are the
special focus areas for the
show.
The TechEd Pavilion is
specifically designed to
showcase IT and ITES startups
along with their innovative
products and services. Various
activities such as reverse
buyer-seller meets and vendor
development programmes are
scheduled during the trade
show.
The pavilion showcases the state’s organisational and industrial
excellence in manufacturing. The exhibition will display a varied
range of products, innovations, and advancements from
industries based in Gujarat, showcasing the state's position as
a manufacturing hub.
AatmaNirbhar Bharat
This pavilion embodies PM Narendra Modi’s vision, promoting
India’s AatmaNirbhar initiatives across various industries. The
dome contributes to the dynamism of AatmaNirbhar Bharat,
with the participation of industrial groups such as Adani,
Torrent, Reliance Industries, and more.
Sustainability and Climate Change Pavilion
In the pavilion, dedicated to renewable energy and climate-
positive initiatives, the benefits of hydrogen fuel for
transportation are showcased.
Hydrogen Fuel and Electric Vehicles Pavilion
The exhibit highlights advancements in electric vehicle
technology, offering visitors an exploration of the advantages of
hydrogen fuel for transportation. The dome includes a

national and global ‘Blue Economy’: CM comparative analysis of various EV models, emphasizing their
environmental impact.

Keith Svendsen, CEO of APM Terminals, held talks with CM Bhupendra Patel
focusing on the expansion and upgradation of the company at Pipavav Port
Smart Infrastructure
The pavilion showcases interactive models, featuring high-tech
displays that highlight the progress and advantages of high-
speed rail and bullet train technology, along with modern civil
infrastructure.

Japanese Cos Keen to Start Operations

in the Semiconductor Sector in India
CM Bhupendra Patel met with Kazuya Nakajo,

PM Modi meets
Executive VP of JETRO, accompanied by a delegation
from the Japan External Trade Organisation

Prez of Timor-Leste
P C
rime Minister Narendra
Modi met with the
President of Timor-Leste
Jose Ramos Horta in
Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
The PM extended a warm
welcome to President Horta and
his delegation to the Vibrant
Gujarat Summit on what is the
first-ever Head of State or
Government level visit between
the two countries.
PM Modi re-affirmed India’s
congratulated President Horta
for ASEAN’s in-principle
decision to admit Timor-Leste
as its 11th member and
expressed hope for its
attainment of full membership
soon.
President Horta thanked PM
Modi for the invitation to
participate in the Summit. He
sought support from India in
meeting its development
priorities, particularly in the
hief Minister
Bhupendra Patel met
with Keith Svendsen,
CEO, APM Terminals
— a Netherlands-based port
operating company — at the
Vibrant Gujarat Global
Summit-2024 (VGGS-2024).
During the meeting, the
CM holds talks with representatives of DSM Firmenich
CM highlighted Gujarat’s
prominent status in the
maritime sector, given its
extensive 1,600 km coastline,
positioning the state as a
frontrunner in contributing to
the global ‘blue economy’ and
India’s maritime industry.
Svendsen mentioned about
the expansion and upgradation
of the company’s operations at
Pipavav Port. He also noted
that APM Terminals pioneered
its establishment in Gujarat in
1998 by establishing India’s
inaugural private port, known
as Gujarat Pipavav Port
Limited.
K
azuya Nakajo San, with Gujarat, India.

commitment to build a vibrant
“Delhi-Dili” connect. In
September 2023, he had
announced the opening of the
Indian Mission in the country.
He offered assistance to Timor-
Leste in capacity building,
human resource development,
IT, fintech, energy and
healthcare including traditional
medicine and pharma.
PM Modi also invited Timor-
Leste to join the International
Solar Alliance (ISA) and the
Coalition for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure (CDRI). He
R
ahul Jalan, President of Firmenich Executive Vice President JETRO representatives
areas of healthcare and capacity
Company India, said that the company of JETRO, met with the have shown their willingness
building in IT.
is involved in the manufacturing of Chief Minister of Gujarat to export not only to India’s
The two leaders also
human nutrition, animal nutrition, perfumery, Bhupendra Patel in domestic market but also to
discussed regional issues and
and texture products in India. Gandhinagar. global markets through the
developments in the Indo-
During his interaction with Chief Minister A Japanese delegation ‘Make in India’ initiative. They
Pacific. They committed to
Bhupendra Patel, Jalan appreciated the comprising 200 companies expressed their interest in
continue their excellent
extensive support provided by the state (approx.) arrived in Gujarat to exploring opportunities in
cooperation in the multilateral
government for the operation of the participate in the Vibrant emerging sectors, such as
arena.
company’s plant in Dahej. Gujarat Global Summit-2024 deep tech.
The PM appreciated Timor-
Praising Gujarat’s proactive policies, he (VGGS-2024). The CM conveyed his
Leste’s active participation in
expressed a strong interest in expanding the Japanese companies have commitment to strengthening
the two editions of the Voice of
company’s capacity within the state and shown keen interest in the Japan-Gujarat relations
Global South Summit. They
conveyed the intention to enter into a commencing operations in the and assured the Japanese
agreed that countries of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with semiconductor sector, companies of the full support
Global South should synergize
the state government for this purpose. particularly in collaboration of the state government.
their position on global issues.
10 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

OTT IN INDIA: BETWEEN

A ROck AnD A hARD plAce
Massive budget cuts have forced streaming platforms to eschew content from newcomers and go with the bankable

Clockwise from left: Stills from Koffee With Karan (Disney+Hotstar); Lucky Guy (Amazon miniTV) and The Archies (Netflix). After an initial rush of bullish spending to consolidate their presence in India, video-streaming platforms are slowing investments in the country.

Lata Jha revenue possibilities, since a major chunk quality entertainment leaves a lot of room to see episodes dropping every day,” Ban- CoNSolidatioN faCtor
mint
lata.j@htlive.com
neW delHi
of digital advertising goes to YouTube and
Facebook, even with paid subscriptions
slowly taking off.
for digital growth, he said.
In Hotstar’s case, for instance, local lan-
guage content in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu
SHORT
STORY
erjee said, citing the example of shows
like Kana Kaanum Kaalangal and Aashi-
qana, which were made in this fashion
W ithout doubt, the impending
industry consolidation also played
havoc with plans in the OTT ecosystem

T
he head of a leading content The audience for OTT platforms rose by and Malayalam, along with reality pro- and launched on Hotstar last year. The last year. The $10-billion mega-merger of
studio has found herself in an 13.5% in 2023, reaching 481.1 million peo- gramming (Koffee With Karan, Dance WHAT platform has seen value in the free Sony Pictures Entertainment and Zee
awkward position more than ple, up from 423.8 million in 2022, accord- Plus), has paid rich dividends. The stream- streaming of sports content in 2023 and Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has plod-
once when out in public ing to a recent report by media consulting ing platform will continue to focus on When they arrived on the scene, will look at more entertainment-based ded along for two years but the two com-
recently. It has become com- firm Ormax. While this growth rate is signif- these, said Banerjee. over-the-top streaming offerings outside of the paywall in the panies have failed to find common ground
monplace for aspiring writers and direct- icant, it falls short of the 20% surge seen in Meanwhile, other major players such as platforms democratized coming months. despite protracted discussions, securing
ors to walk up to the industry veteran and 2022. The growth rate isn’t low, Ormax had Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, media opportunities for those who did regulatory approvals, and spending over
ask why the doors of major streaming plat- said, especially since penetration in rural industry experts say, are increasingly not have a lineage or lacked Not the goldeN gooSe ₹300 crore in merger-related expenses.
forms, which she works closely with, have
suddenly shut for most newcomers with a
pitch. “I have no idea how to tell them it’s
areas and small towns, which make up a
sizeable part of the population, stands only
at 23% compared to the pan-India figure of
focusing a big chunk of their content bud-
gets on acquiring high-budget, star vehi-
cles that have released in theatres. The
backing to showcase their talent.
T o be sure, several premium platforms In December 2021, Sony had agreed to
see value in advertising supporting take over Zee and merge it with its Indian
their overall business in India. While arm to create an entertainment behemoth
a terrible time to be new in the (over-the- 34%. But OTT platforms now face the chal- rates for such Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu BUT Amazon has developed a separate with over 28% market share. According to
top, or OTT) industry. These platforms, lenge of whether consumption can grow movies have escalated to ₹125-130 crore in ad-based offering called miniTV, others, the original agreement, Punit Goenka, the
which were meant to democratize oppor- beyond the top 20 cities. the past year, a trend that has led to Slowing demand has led to OTT such as aha Video, offer both ad-sup- current managing director and CEO of
tunities for all those who came without On the ground, several filmmakers are reduced opportunities for low-budget budgets being slashed. Top ported and subscription-based access to Zee, was meant to head the merged entity.
lineage or backing, have seen massive cuts not finding fair value for films that didn’t films or those with lacklustre box office executives have become risk the same content. ZEE5 also has free But given the allegations of funds diver-
in budgets,” said the producer who didn’t manage to break out at the box office. performances. averse and are taking bankable streaming of select shows and short-form sion from Zee via certain promoter group
want to be identified. Many others, who stood to benefit from “All platforms have started looking at routes, such as by paying big videos. firms against Goenka and his father Sub-
“Opportunities have shrunk and top democratization of the medium and could pricing differently, but it is the mid-level bucks for box-office hits. Globally, Netflix, too, has launched an hash Chandra, Sony is unwilling to have
executives have to be accountable to create premium web series with solid titles that will suffer. That is why for the ad-supported plan. However, it isn’t avail- him head the merged company.
global parents, so they will obviously writing and new, unconventional faces, overall health of the industry, the depend- able in India yet. Industry insiders said Meanwhile, there has been rising
adopt more reliable, bankable routes. It’s find themselves out in the cold. ence on theatrical revenues has to return,” SO production budgets for ad-supported speculation around Walt Disney selling
all part of a larger mandate.” said Shariq Patel, chief business officer, content can be nearly 40% lower than its business in India, even though chief
For now, that translates into greater SwitChiNg StrategieS Zee Studios. The company is making an Makers of films that failed at the long-format subscription-based video on executive officer Bob Iger had said in the
dependence on mainstream Bollywood
and southern language films that can be
acquired post theatrical
I ndustry experts point out it isn’t
entirely surprising that after an initial
rush of bullish spending
effort to this end by releasing small-bud-
get films in cinemas, as it did with the
recent Manoj Bajpayee-starrer Joram,
box office are not getting fair
value. And those who have the
talent to create premium web
demand (SVoD) shows. company’s September quarter earnings
That said, not all is well within the call that it would like to stay on in the
AVoD (advertising sup- Indian market. Accord-
release, more time to get when they looked to which would have presumably gone series with new faces find ported) universe. Adver- ing to media reports,
back on scripts for origi- The audience for OTT consolidate their pres- directly to OTT otherwise. themselves out in the cold. tising is good news in a Industry consolidation—be it Disney and Reliance
nals, a bunch of low- platforms rose by 13.5% in ence in India, video- However, while Joram still has the market like India, which the Zee-Sony merger, or the Industries have entered
cost, tightly packaged streaming platforms are backing of Zee, a corporate, there are cannot afford to have a non-binding agree-
shows that can be 2023, reaching 481.1 million slowing investments in about 200 Tamil and Malayalam films making of projects on a mass scale has ARPU (average revenue possible sale of Disney’s ment for a merger of
streamed for free to people, up from 423.8 million the country. Introspec- alone that have no takers at the moment, dropped. This also means a threat to inde- per user) drop further. assets to Reliance Industries their Indian media
attract advertisers, and tion and correction, they as platforms have veered towards big star pendently made titles that do not have However, nearly 65-70% operations, under
most importantly, fewer in 2022, when it grew 20%, note, are part and parcel and action films that assure returns. anywhere to go,” Kumar explained. of the digital advertising —is leading to a slowdown in which Reliance will
risks. Even producers of any business. By 2022, According to a recent report by Ormax, hit At the same time, to build volume, market is dominated by own a 51% stake via a
who have access, the according to Ormax. spending had dipped by movies such as Jawan, Gadar 2 and OMG streaming services are experimenting Google, Facebook and commissioning decisions. combination of shares
person added, are hold- 50%, as the parent com- 2, starring A-listers, have done better on with shows that drop episodes regularly, e-commerce players. and cash, while Disney
ing on to pitches to be able to get a fair panies of foreign platforms reeled from OTT platforms compared to web origi- a la conventional television, diverging Several analysts feel the model will give will hold the remaining 49%.
value, or secure at least a portion of what the global downturn, with subscriber nals. Between April and November 2023, from their established practice of drop- the best results if web originals remain Uncertainty around the fate of these big
they’ve spent on the project. additions in India remaining tepid. only 11 web originals managed a buzz ping entire seasons at one go. Platforms behind a paywall and catch-up television firms has slowed greenlighting decisions
As tough as it is to break it to those lower In 2018, these players, in their earliest above 20% (a measure of the proportion of hope the change in strategy will keep content continues to stream for free. Fur- as several content creators wait for things
down the value chain, things are far from phase of India operations, were spending the audience that could recall a film or audiences hooked for longer, and control ther, government policies have killed to ease out.
rosy in the video streaming industry, heavily, seeing land grab opportunities. show without being prompted, when expenses at a time of pressure on advertis- nearly 25-30% of advertising revenue, “A lot of things have remained up in
which is said to have reached a mature Investments were spurred by the covid-19 asked to recall recently-launched OTT ing and subscriptions. such as that from gaming. Start-up fund- the air owing to these mergers with a big
phase of consolidation in India. On the lockdown, when Indians tasted OTT titles). In contrast, as many as 23 theatrical Going forward, some shows may have ing, too, has dried up. All of this in a year part of company budgets currently just
one hand, global giants such as Netflix, blood, and its growth was advanced by films achieved this level of recall. 30-50 episodes, even up to 100, and will when monetization has suffered with going to returning seasons of established
Amazon Prime Video and Disney are fac- several years. This is definitely a time for caution, said be released in a staggered manner. Made sports rights such as the Indian Premier franchises. Hopefully, OTT buying will
ing pressure on profitability, impacting “India is a complex and unique story. Siddharth Anand Kumar, senior vice pres- with less-known faces, they will help League (which streamed on JioCinema), resume after things stabilize,” said a sen-
their bullishness and spends in the coun- While we continue to invest in digital in a ident of films and events at Saregama control costs and improve viewer sticki- the Asia Cup (cricket) and the ICC Men’s ior content producer, declining to be
try. On the other, industry consolida- big way, the early years of (OTT) con- India Ltd, which owns boutique studio ness by keeping interest alive over a Cricket World Cup (for mobile users of named.
tion—be it the Zee-Sony merger, or the sumption that were spurred by the pan- Yoodlee Films. However, that has meant longer period. A lot of content will Hotstar) going free. Like the producer, several others in the
possible sale of Disney’s assets to Mukesh demic have now stabilized. At the same bad news for many who don’t happen to increasingly be free, supported by adver- “AVoD can be an initial ploy to acquire industry are waiting to know the fate of
Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd—is time, platforms have data and insights on be marquee producers but had banked on tising, and follow the appointment view- new users, but for profitability and recov- their ready projects or ones they had
leading to a slowdown in commissioning what works for them and requires dou- initial industry enthusiasm to put projects ing model, akin to TV serials airing at a ery to kick in, SVoD is the only way for- hoped to put together to cash in on the
and greenlighting decisions. Conse- bling down, and what doesn’t,” said Gau- together. “Once any market constricts, a particular time. ward. Moreover, retention and loyalty are emerging digital entertainment ecosys-
quently, many producers are stuck with rav Banerjee, head, content, Disney+ Hot- lot of people are stuck holding projects “We’re constantly experimenting and in no way guaranteed with AVoD, so it is tem. The platforms are equally anxious, as
ready projects or ideas they want to pitch star and HSM (Hindi-speaking markets), because it takes a minimum of two years to trying newer formats and content drop best for platforms to follow a freemium the opportunity to cater to the world’s
and take to the floors. entertainment network, Disney Star. That conceive and ultimately stream a show. A strategies because the Indian market is model,” said Sourjya Mohanty, chief oper- largest content viewing audience segment
Meanwhile, new advertising-driven said, the rise of connected television, lot of bullishness present in the sector two unique. Indians like to consume their ating officer of EPIC ON, the OTT plat- comes with more challenges than they
models are emerging with little clarity on higher disposable income and demand for years ago that led to commissioning and drama in a much longer format—we like form owned by IN10 Media Network. had imagined.
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai 11

Hedge funds look to target Compare your bank FD rates

B ank fixed deposits (FDs) continue to be popular investment products not just
among senior citizens, who are looking for guaranteed income, but also among

ESG lapses for mega returns investors who can’t stomach risk. But overexposure to FDs is not good, and you need
to assess your asset allocation and goals to decide how much money you should
park in them. For instance, saving for your child’s
higher education that’s 15 years away through FDs
may not be effective as the post-tax interest rate
of an FD may not give you a real return (return
that’s above the rate of inflation). But if you plan to
take a holiday in two years, an FD can help. Before
choosing an FD, you should compare the interest
These funds are backing litigation against broken environmental pledges, corporate misdeeds rates on offer. Here is a list of banks that offer the
highest FD rates for deposits up to ₹1 crore over
various tenures.
Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
Interest rates (%) for fixed deposits up to ₹1 crore

I
n a corner of finance that rarely
generates headlines, investors are 6 months 1 to < 2 2 to < 3 3 to < 5 5 years
busy mapping out paths to huge to < 1 year years years years and above
returns as they contemplate the
fallout of new laws in Europe. DCB Bank 6.25-7.25 7.15- 7.85 7.55-8.00 7.40-7.90 7.25-7.65
The area in question is litigation
Axis Bank 5.75-6.00 6.70-7.10 7.10 7.10 7.00
finance, and the focus is alleged ESG
transgressions. Regularly bankrolled HDFC Bank 4.50-6.00 6.60-7.10 7.00-7.15 7.00-7.20 7.00
by hedge funds and other alternative
investors, the lawsuits target supposed IndusInd Bank 5.00-6.35 7.50 7.25-7.50 7.25 7.00-7.25
corporate misdeeds such as broken
environmental pledges, exploited IDFC First Bank 4.50-5.75 6.50-7.75 7.25-7.75 7.00-7.25 7.00
workers or corporate governance fail-
RBL Bank 5.50-6.05 7.50-8.00 7.50-8.00 7.10-7.50 7.00-7.10
ings. A successful case can leave a litiga-
tion funder with returns well in excess YES Bank 5.00-6.35 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.25 7.00-7.25
of 25%.
Last year, citizens in the European ICICI Bank 4.75-6.00 6.70-7.10 7.00-7.10 7.00 6.90-7.00
Union won access to the kinds of class-
action lawsuits that have long fueled Canara Bank 6.15-6.25 6.85-7.25 6.85 6.80 6.70
litigation in the US. Another piece of
Dhanlaxmi Bank 6.50 6.75-7.25 6.50-6.75 6.50-6.60 6.60
EU legislation close to finalization
exposes firms to unprecedented legal Federal Bank 5.00-6.00 6.80-7.50 7.05 7.00 6.60
risk if environmental or human-rights
AP
violations are detected in their supply Bank of Baroda 5.60-6.25 6.85-7.15 7.25 6.50-7.25 6.50
chains. And in the UK, litigation fund- monitoring” the regulatory develop- holders or customers. We mobilize raking in a disproportionate share of
ers face a “spike” in inquiries thanks to ment in Europe, which he says is them, engage with the company, seek any award. He’s the architect of a legis- Indian Overseas Bank 4.95-5.35 6.80-7.10 6.80 6.50 6.50
new ESG fund rules, according to Kate “highly likely” to shape his firm’s work. a settlement or litigate.” lative proposal now before the EU Par-
Punjab National Bank 6.00-6.25 6.75-7.25 6.80-7.00 6.50-7.00 6.50
Gee, a partner at Signature Litigation. Cases currently on Woodsford’s Litigation funding surfaced two dec- liament that seeks to rein in overzeal-
Among hedge fund managers allocat- books include a suit against Airbus SE, ades ago in Australia, and has since ous litigation funders. Among recom- State Bank of India 5.75-6.00 6.80-7.10 7.00 6.75 6.50
ing capital to litigation funding is Con- in which institutional investors are become prominent in the US and mendations is a cap of 40% on any
Union Bank of India 4.40-5.25 6.50-7.25 6.50 6.50 6.50
necticut-based Gramercy Funds Man- fighting out their claim in front of a increasingly in the UK. Swiss Re says litigation finance award.
agement, which recently unveiled a Dutch court. They want compensation the industry may reach $31 billion of Corporate insurers, meanwhile, fear Jammu & Kashmir Bank 4.75- 6.00 7.10 7.00 6.50 6.50
£450 million ($570 million) investment after claiming the com- investments by 2028 as that third-party financing can prolong Data taken from respective bank's website as on 8 January 2024; Only main entity of the merged banks are taken. Banks which merged
with its main entity are removed from the table; The list of 15 banks is based on highest fixed deposit rates available for 5 years and above
in London law firm Pogust Goodhead. pany’s shares slumped A successful investors are lured by a lawsuit, increase the cost of claims
Source: www.Bankbazaar.com
The money is intended to help pursue because of a bribery and case can returns of 25% or more. and drive up premiums. Swiss Re Insti-
mass claims against carmakers involved corruption scandal that leave a litigation In some cases, returns tute has estimated that in US cases, up
in the so-called Dieselgate scandal, as was settled in 2020. funder with can be hundreds of times to 57% of legal costs and compensation
well as investor suits against BHP Group Woodsford also is helping an initial investment. Bur- go to lawyers and funders.
returns well
Ltd. and Vale SA for their role in the
Mariana dam disaster in Brazil.
More regulation in Europe “will
investors fight a case
against Standard Char-
tered Plc related to sanc-
in excess
of 25%
ford Capital, a litigation
funder based in New York,
stands to collect more than
In the UK, the supreme court ruled
last year that litigation funders aren’t
allowed to strike deals in antitrust
Can NRIs execute a tenancy
bring more litigation,” Ana Carolina tions violations, as well as $6 billion after allocating class-action cases in return for a cut of
Salomão, chief investment officer and
partner at Pogust Goodhead, said in an
interview. Increasingly, investors are
an investor lawsuit $16.6 million to help fund a
against Boohoo Group Plc tied to alle- case targeting Argentina’s nationaliza-
gations of modern slavery. tion of energy company YPF.
the damages won. .
Even in the US, there’s growing pres-
sure on litigation funders to operate in
agreement through SPAs? ISTOCKPHOTO

also drawn to the “feel-good factor” of
such cases, she also said.
Steven Friel, chief executive officer
of Woodsford Group Ltd., which oper-
ates a large litigation funding busi-
nesses, says his ESG team is “closely
The work represents a “high-risk With such huge sums at stake, litiga- less opaque ways. A bipartisan bill has Aradhana Bhansali
venture for which handsome rewards tion funders are starting to draw the been introduced in Congress seeking
are available if it’s done well,” Friel said attention of lawmakers. the disclosure of foreign entities that Can a non-resident Indian
in an interview. “We go in when there’s Axel Voss, a member of the Euro- invest in litigation in federal courts. (NRI), who owns several
a catastrophic breakdown in ESG in pean Parliament, accuses the industry So far, investor cash is continuing to properties in India but is
major companies with losses for share- of operating “in the shadows,” while flow into ESG litigation. not able to visit the country
often, execute a tenancy
agreement through a spe-
cial power of attorney

Janus Henderson eyes India’s funds industry (SPA) holder.

—Name withheld on request

ISTOCKPHOTO As an owner of immovable

Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
J
anus Henderson Group Plc
is on the lookout for deals
to expand its asset man-
agement business into
India, as the country’s boom-
ing stock market and heady
growth attract more and more
attention from global inves-
tors.
The $308 billion asset man-
ager is in early-stage discus-
sions with Indian mutual
funds on options ranging from
buying midsized companies to
inking a joint venture or doing
research partnerships, said
Andrew Hendry, head of dis-
tribution for Asia and chief
executive officer for Singa-
pore, in an interview.
He declined to elaborate on
the potential deal size, but said
the firm is aiming to finalize an
agreement within the next two
years.
“It’s just the huge, huge bur-
geoning wealth in India and
investments into mutual
funds” that has motivated the
decision to enter the country,
Hendry said. “India is a market
of emerging and growing mid-
dle class, increasing disposable
income, increasing invest-
ment, increasing pension fund
allocations and that’s not
going to change for the next 50
years.”
India’s $4.2 trillion stock
market has been all the rage in
recent years, with benchmark
indexes capping a record
eighth straight annual
increase in 2023. That’s made
equity mutual funds the go-to
investment for millions of
young Indians with an insatia-
ble thirst for financial gains.
Foreign investors too are for example, BlackRock Inc. is properties, an NRI is allowed
flocking in as the world’s fast- joining forces with Reliance to enter into an agreement
est-growing major economy is Industries Ltd’s financial ser- either on rental basis or sell the ASK MINT tenant. The agreement may
m
getting a boost from high-pro- vices unit to set up a local ven- properties on such terms and LEGAL also include an arrangement in
file manufacturing contracts ture, returning to the country conditions as may be agreed relation to sub-letting of the
and an improving capital-ex- after exiting in 2018. between the seller and the tenanted premises. Under the
penditure cycle, just as China Even some investors that purchaser subject to provi- applicable state laws. given circumstances, in
struggles. Overseas funds in had stopped paying attention sions of the applicable laws. absence of a contract to the
2023 pumped more than $20 to India are now interested, The NRI can execute a SPA in As a landlord, how does contrary, the landlord may
billion into the Hendry said. favour of the attorney based in unauthorized subletting either ratify the action of the
Indian stock mar- Overseas Some Korean India and where the immova- affect the original lease tenant in subletting the ten-
ket, which is clos- funds in pension funds’ ble properties are located, agreement, and what obli- anted premises or may alter-
ing in on Hong 2023 pumped allocations to the empowering the constituted gations does the tenant natively recover possession of
Kong’s capitali- more than $20 country’s stocks attorney to execute the agree- have under landlord-ten- the tenanted premises by
zation and could neared zero in ment with proposed tenant, ant laws? Moreover, are seeking appropriate relief of
become the
billion into the recent years, but licensee or purchaser (as the there any preventive meas- eviction of the tenant as well as
fourth-largest Indian stock they’re once case may be) along with vari- ures or legal clauses that I sub-tenant from the tenanted
globally. market again asking ous other incidental powers to can include in my lease premises.
Global invest- about India amid execute and register the deed. agreements to address and Aradhana Bhansali is a
ment firms a reallocation Since the issue in hand discourage unauthorized partner at Rajani Associates.
haven’t always had a smooth away from China, he said. involves immovable proper- subletting?
time in India. Costs and regu- “Every single meeting I’ve ties and since we are unaware —Name withheld on request Do you have a personal
latory concerns spurred an had for the last eight, nine of the specific details of the finance query? Send in your
exodus of foreign money man- years has just been about jurisdiction of the immovable Ideally, the terms of tenancy queries at
agers like UBS AG and Morgan China,” Hendry said. Now, property, the special power of are be governed by the ten- mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
Stanley about a decade ago. “people want to talk about attorney will have to be regis- ancy agreement executed
industry experts.
Now they’re coming back — India.” tered and stamped as per the between the landlord and the

FINANCIAL DECISIONS, DIVERSITY OF VIEWS AND THE ROLE OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS

when making decisions, usually the first piece of information cognitive diversity becomes crucial in refining the investment
obtained on the subject. An investor buys a stock because it has decision-making process. Investment decisions are inherently
POWER fallen by 20-30% in, say, last 3-6 months. Here the investor is incor-
rectly anchoring to the stock price prior to the decline, or to the
probabilistic, uncertain, and complex - though it may look simple
due to biases mentioned above. A decision-making approach that
POINT price trend in the last 12-26 weeks. In reality, the stock may fall fur- embraces diverse views on economies and investment products,
ther and the right anchor should be the fair value of the stock. incorporating signals from various perspectives, is essential for
HARSIMRAN SANDHU Familiarity/home bias: Tendency to overweight an out- achieving good investment outcomes.
come based on perceived familiarity with it. Investors holding Amid all this, what is the role of the investment adviser?
We welcome your views and comments at India or sector- or funds-centric portfolio because of their famili- To remain relevant, investment
mintmoney@livemint.com arity with the same. The views advisers must consider not just the
Cognitive biases when deciding on an investment are: available in investor’s financial goals and risk tol-

I
nvestors are inundated with an unprecedented volume of data
that does not necessarily help them in making sound invest-
ment decisions. The views available in public domain are
mostly global in nature and does not account for the general and
cultural preferences of an investor. This is further skewed by
biases, leading to a lack of diversity in input and instead fostering
overconfidence. Cognitive biases are systematic mistakes that
affect the way investors reason, evaluate, remember, and make
untimely decisions.
The cognitive biases when gathering information are:
Confirmation bias: This is the tendency to search for, inter-
pret, focus on and remember in a way that confirms our precon-
ception. An investor whose investment holdings are concen-
trated in a specific sector or group of stocks may only absorb good
news and ignore bad news regarding these investments.
Anchoring: Tendency to focus on one piece of information
Endowment effect: Individuals often ascribe a higher value
to their possessions merely because they own them, which can
influence decision-making, particularly in economic transac-
tions and negotiations. Employees of a company might continue
to invest in its share because they work for the company and they
see the vision, disregarding the valuation of the company, or even
the financials.
Overconfidence bias: The tendency to overestimate the
precision of our own valuation abilities. A trader operating in
financial markets is certain that their prediction about a stock
trending upwards is accurate. Even though market predictions
are uncertain by nature, the trader invests heavily. This confident
risk-taking, despite the volatility of markets, is a typical showcase
of overconfidence bias
Hindsight bias: This is the inclination to see past events as
being more predictable than they actually were before they hap-
erance but also the investor’s culture
public domain and aspects of their personality as they
are mostly play a key role in appropriate advice.
global in The investment adviser should steer
nature investors away from overemphasizing
what’s familiar in investment, so that
ISTOCKPHOTO investors don’t miss the opportunity to
pened. enhance return or reduce risk. They should recognize the impor-
Here is what an investor should do to manage cognitive biases. tance of cognitive diversity in navigating the intricate landscape
Stick to a time horizon as per risk appetite and asset allocation; of investment decisions, incorporating a broad range of views to
time in the market is better than timing the market; stick to the enhance the overall decision-making. A decision making process
defined strategic asset allocation; and manage extreme emotions that embraces diversity of views regarding investment views,
during market volatility leads to correcting biases and a better decision outcome for
Investors, rather than seeking more information, should look investors.
out for high-quality and diverse insights that enhance their deci- Harsimran Sandhu is professor & area chairperson finance,
sion-making capabilities. The more intricate a problem, the more IMT, Ghaziabad.
12 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMBai VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | On THE OTHEr HAnd

ISTOCKPHOTO

Bank retail credit at ₹50 trillion

is not an economic achievement
It’s a matter of concern that consumer loans have run ahead of business credit that generates jobs

extending loans to industry. In March ments (EMIs) to repay loans, leading to

2008, loans to industry stood at 38.9%
of non-food credit, growing to 45.8% by
March 2013. Corporates defaulted on a
lot of these loans, especially loans taken
from PSBs, changing the structure of
Indian banking in the process.
First, the ability of many PSBs to con-
tinue lending came down, particularly
VIVEK KAUL after 2015 when the Reserve Bank of
is the author of ‘Bad Money’. India (RBI) insisted that banks start
cleaning up their balance sheets,
instead of continuing to kick the can of
bad loans down the road. Bad loans are
lower savings. This isn’t a good long-
term trend for India’s economy.
Third, while bank lending in absolute
terms has grown, the same cannot be
said once we adjust for an increase in
size of the Indian economy, measured
in terms of gross domestic product
(GDP). In March 2013, the ratio of non-
food credit by economic activity to
GDP stood at 49%. As of March 2023,
it stood at 50.1%. By September 2023,
it grew to 53.3%, with a good
proportion of this jump coming from

India’s K-shaped revival

largely loans that haven’t been repaid the HDFC merger.
for a period of 90 days or more. When it comes to retail lending by

I
n November, retail lending by banks Second, this let private banks expand banks, it has grown from 9% of GDP in
crossed ₹50 trillion for the first time. their share of the banking sector. In March 2013 to 15% as of March 2023.
As of 30 November, it stood at ₹50.6 March 2013, PSBs accounted for 75.5% Industrial lending by banks has con-

is a rather resilient story trillion. Retail lending comprises

housing and vehicle loans, credit card
receivables, loans against gold jewel-
lery, personal loans, etc.
of all loans given out by scheduled com-
mercial banks (excluding regional rural
banks). Private banks accounted for
19.5%. In September 2023, these figures
tracted from 22.4% to 12.2%. This comes
with the caveat that large businesses
have access to sources of borrowing
other than banks. Nonetheless, bank
In fact, retail lending now constitutes stood at 53% and 42.1%, respectively. So, lending to micro, small and medium
around 32.5% of the non-food credit (by while PSBs haven’t been privatized, the businesses, which wasn’t large enough
A report by SBI Research aims to debunk the notion of a rich-versus-poor divergence in how economic activity) given by banks. sector has increasingly got privatized. to begin with, has contracted further.
Banks give loans to Food Corporation of Further, private banks prefer to give Lending by banks to micro, small and
we have fared but the overall weight of evidence doesn’t justify rejecting the K hypothesis India and other state procurement out retail loans. In fact, the same is true medium enterprises stood at 4.1% of
agencies to buy rice and wheat directly for PSBs now. In March 2013, retail GDP in March 2013. It has since con-
from farmers. This is referred to as food loans accounted for 14.3% of the overall tracted to 3.1% in March 2023, though it
credit. When these loans are subtracted loans given out by PSBs. By March is an improvement from 2.5% in March

T
he letter ‘K’, whose shape is often
used to denote a divergence in how
the rich and poor are faring, has
animated India’s economic dis-
course of late. Now, SBI Research, a
department of the government-run
State Bank of India, has weighed in with a
report that attempts to debunk the notion of a
‘K-shaped recovery,’ calling this label “ill-con-
cocted” and flawed for overlooking data that
points to reduced inequality in what Indians
earn, as recorded by the Central Board of Direct
Taxes (CBDT). As its chief exhibit, the report
spotlights an income escalation over seven
years since 2013-14 among lower-bracket tax-
payers, with top earners having seen their share
of the total reduce. “Income inequality cap-
tured through the Gini coefficient… of taxable
income has declined from 0.472 to 0.402
during FY14–FY22,” it says, referring to a statis-
tical formula that would yield 0 under perfect
equality and 1 if a single person earned it all. The
SBI report speaks of a “great migration at the
bottom of the pyramid.” Its observations, how-
sales trends across consumer markets were from overall bank lending, what 2023, this had jumped to 28.3%. 2019 and March 2020.
seen to diverge between stuff bought by the remains is non-food credit. There are a few other issues that So, the size of the Indian banking sec-
About a decade ago, as of March come to the fore here. First, the overall tor has barely grown in the last 10 years
wealthy and poorer folks. Clearly, we need 2013, bank loans to industry stood at retail lending by banks is actually and much of its growth has been on
up-to-date tax data for a clear picture. Second, 45.8% of non-food credit, a proportion greater than 32.5% of non-food credit. account of an increase in retail lending.
and far more critically, our lowest tax brackets that has shrunk to 23.1% as of Novem- Banks lend to non-banking financial Also, non-retail lending by banks has
do not qualify as ‘bottom of the pyramid,’ given ber. During the same period, the pro- companies (NBFCs), which in turn give shrunk from 39.9% of GDP in March
that taxpayers form what is itself the apex of a portion of retail lending jumped from out retail loans, everything from home 2013 to 35.1% in March 2023. It stood at
18.4% to 32.5%. loans to unsecured personal loans. In 36.3% in September, with retail lending
much larger base of households. The SBI report There is an immediate reason. As of March 2013, lending by banks to NBFCs at 17% of GDP, again as a result of the
cites CBDT data to state that 74 million people March 2023, retail lending by banks stood at 5.3% of non-food credit. This HDFC merger.
filed Income Tax Returns in 2022-23 (for fiscal had stood at 29.9% of non-food credit. A went up to 9.6% as of November 2023, This fall is a worrying trend, given
2021-22 earnings), up from about 70 million the significant portion of the jump since which explains why RBI has lately been that ultimately non-retail lending by
previous year. Although we have no census then has happened because the home slightly worried about the growth in banks finances economic activity,
loan lender HDFC merged with HDFC unsecured personal loans. which in turn creates jobs that pay,
update, a population of over 1.4 billion would Bank on 1 July 2023. The entire home Second, growth in retail lending by encouraging people to take loans and
suggest the country has at least 280 million loan portfolio of HDFC now comes banks is one of the reasons behind repay them. This dynamic has still not
‘chief wage earners’ (at five members per under the ambit of banks. the fall in household financial savings, recovered from the corporate over-
home). Count out double-income homes and Then there are long-term reasons. with people taking on more retail loans lending carried out by banks more than
assume that only a sliver of non-filers are tax Indian banks, in particular public sector and having to use a greater proportion a decade back. Sometimes, time is the
banks (PSBs), had gone overboard of their income as equal monthly instal- only healer, and that takes time.
dodgers, and at least three-fourths of all earners
are found below the taxable tip of the pyramid
under review. As poorer folks don’t file returns,
tax data cannot tell us how they have fared.
A third point has to do with Gini’s weakness as a
gauge of inequality. Although its 0-1 scale may
suggest high sensitivity to disparity, its bulk www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Friday, January 10, 2014 Vol.8 No.9 `4.00 in Delhi­NCR/`5.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24 PAGES

ever, do not dispel suspicions of the hard-up
comparison rarely alarms anyone as outsized ECB’s Draghi
INTERNATIONAL:
strengthens rate pledge >24
ECONOMY: Moody’s says low growth, high
inflation may hurt India’s credit profile >4

having faced heavy financial hardships in
rake-ins by a few people—relatively speaking— CONTENT PARTNER
POLICY: EC rejects Google’s proposal for
electoral services tie­up >3
CORPORATE: SC asks Sahara to reveal source
of funds used to refund investors >24

recent years while the well-off prospered. do not move its needle all that much. SENSEX 20,713.37 æ 16.01

POLICY STEPS
NIFTY 6,168.35 æ 6.25 DOLLAR `62.08 Æ `0.01

STEPPING UP
EURO `84.44 Æ `0.08 GOLD `29,630 ® OIL $107.69 Æ $0.54

QUICK EDIT

UPA goes into Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra Feeble

First, as tax data is released with a lag, 2021-22 The SBI report has other findings that exhort overdrive emerges from the shadows INDIA TODAY GROUP/GETTY IMAGES
B Y L IZ M ATHEW
response
T he first sign that the
new inflation-indexed
bonds offered by the Re-
serve Bank of India were
A bank is a place that
ahead of polls
liz.m@livemint.com not popular came a few

is the latest fiscal year taken into account by the us to reject the K-shaped hypothesis. Savings,
························· days ago, when the central
NEW DELHI
bank extended the sale

I ndia got the first glimpse of

her as the grieving, teenaged
duration by three months.
Now deputy governor H.R.

will lend you money

granddaughter of Indira Gandhi Khan has admitted that
consoling her cousin Varun after the bonds have not been
Cabinet clears number the 1984 assassination of the able to attract retail inves-
of long­pending 10,000 seats prime minister. What comes to
mind when one thinks of the
tors.
The immediate reason is

study. While it spans a period that saw a cash- consumption and expenditure trends, for
proposals, including
sale of SUUTI’s 13% to be added adult Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra,
who turns 42 on 12 January, are
not hard to figure out: the
post-tax returns on these
stake in Axis Bank in medical images of her accompanying her
mother Sonia Gandhi or her hus-
band Robert Vadra and their two
bonds are very low, espe-
cially when they are not
very liquid either. But
B Y R AGINI V ERMA, colleges children. there is a bigger issue at

if you can prove that

A SIT R ANJAN M ISHRA & Now, Gandhi-Vadra, as part of play. The government has
V ENKATESH U PADHYAY a desperate strategy by the cor- reason to keep interest
························· B Y V IDYA K RISHNAN nered Congress party, may be rates low so that it can

scarcity shock, with India’s informal sector example, and the salutary effect of public poli-
NEW DELHI vidya.k@livemint.com readying for a fresh makeover: easily fund its massive fis-

G oing into overdrive, the
Congress-led United
Progress Alliance (UPA)
on Thursday cleared a raft of
long-pending proposals to ease
the fiscal pressure on the gov-
ernment on the one hand and
····················· transition to politics as the politi- cal deficit—a classic case
NEW DELHI
cal manager of Rahul Gandhi, of financial repression.
T he Cabinet Commit-
tee on Economic Af-
fairs (CCEA) on Thursday
party vice-president and heir to
Sonia Gandhi, the president,
ahead of general elections ex-
Bank depositors have suf-
fered because of the re-
sultant toxic combination
cleared a health ministry pected in April-May. of high inflation and nega-
proposal to add 10,000 At once, she will be the daugh- tive real rates of returns.

you don’t need it.

address the aspirational mid- seats in state and central ter, sister, wife, mother and of Indian savers have re-

bearing the brunt of it, 2021-22 was when our cies and welfare handouts. Here again, for every
dle class on the other, ahead of
the general elections due in
April.
It signed off on a proposal,
which together with an approv-
al effected last week, will add
nearly 16,000 medical seats to
state and central government
government medical col-
leges in a move aimed at
reducing the nation’s dis-
ease burden.
The decision comes a
week after CCEA cleared
a proposal to set up 58
government medical col-
course, the politician, who will volted in the past few
have to balance her own very years, preferring gold and
popular persona in a manner real estate to financial sav-
that would complement Rahul ings. The inflation-indexed
Gandhi’s efforts and not over- bonds were designed to
Balancing act: Priyanka Gandhi­Vadra will have to balance her own shadow him. beat this problem—unsuc-
popular persona in a manner that would complement Rahul Gandhi’s cessfully for now.
efforts and not overshadow him. TURN TO PAGE 7®

economy made up for its covid contraction and indication of an even recovery from the covid
medical colleges. It will im-
prove the prospects of students
aspiring to join courses in med-
icine, and contribute in a small
way to improving the doctor-
patient ratio in the country.
Similarly, in a bid to meet its
ambitious divestment target
and adhere to its fiscal deficit
leges with 100 seats each.
Currently, there are
around 50,000 Bachelor
of Medicine and Bachelor
of Surgery (MBBS) seats Leg­up for India BLEAK OUTLOOK
across the country. The
addition of 15,800 new in establishing
first­user rights
Automobile industry seen stuck
in prolonged slump till October
TURN TO BACK PAGE ®

regained its pre-pandemic size of 2019-20 (plus crisis, there is some sign either of the badly-off
target of 4.8% of gross domestic
product (GDP), the Cabinet
Committee on Economic Af- services” by the agencies, an
to Brahmaputra

fairs (CCEA) cleared the decks
for the divestment of a 13%
stake held by the Specified Un-
dertaking of the Unit Trust of
India (SUUTI) in Axis Bank Ltd,
which could raise about `7,000
B OB HOP E
official statement said.
The government in March B Y N EHA S ETHI B Y A MRIT R AJ
2012 had decided to dismantle neha.s@livemint.com amrit.r@livemint.com ROCKY ROAD
SUUTI and transfer its sizeable ························· ························· In December, car sales declined for the third month in succession after having grown
NEW DELHI NEW DELHI marginally in September. Car sales fell 4.52% to 132,561.
assets under management to a
new asset management firm,
I ndia’s move to establish im-
I ndia’s automobile industry (Year-on-year change, in %)

a bit). Most readings of the rich getting dispro- being left worse off or the well-off getting far
crore for the government.
“The proposal of the finance
ministry has been approved,”
information and broadcasting
minister Manish Tewari said.
UPA also approved a policy
to regulate television rating
agencies in a move aimed at
ensuring “fair competition,
with the intention of pledging portant first user rights to has to wait at least until the Sales in
Segments December December April-December
the shares with banks to raise the waters of the Brahmaputra second half of the next financial
money that can be used to buy has received a modest leg-up, year for sales to bounce back, -4.52%
Passenger cars 132,561
the government’s stakes in potentially posing a challenge two top lobby groups said on -4.92%
public sector undertakings. to China. Thursday, confirming that the -10%
SUUTI was formed to over- The boost came on Tuesday, sector will end the current ac- Utility vehicles 40,348 -4.39%
see the assured-return plans of when the environment minis- counting year with the first -36.08%
the erstwhile Unit Trust of In- try granted in-principle forest sales decline in more than a Vans 13,252 -15.06%
dia, which was bifurcated after clearance—approval of plans decade.

portionately richer, however, relate to rather wealthier. If home delivery services have
better standards and quality of running into financial trouble to use forest land for industrial The prognosis by the Society -9.02%
Total PVs* 186,161
in 2001. It owns significant projects—to the 800 megawatt of Indian Automobile Manufac- -5.72%
stakes in well-run companies (MW) Tawang-II hydroelectric turers (Siam) and Automotive -25.53%
such as ITC Ltd, Larsen and power project on the Tawang Component Manufacturers As- Total CVs** 46,757 -18.38%
Toubro Ltd and Axis Bank. Chu river in Arunachal sociation (Acma) is that sales -21.18%
The government has gar- Pradesh. growth will only return in the Total 3-wheelers 35,249 -9.31%
nered `1,325 crore through the China has planned more six months starting October.
disinvestment process so far than 35 projects on rivers up- “Negative sentiment has 2.32%
Total 2-wheelers 1,163,465
this fiscal year, against a target stream of the Brahmaputra, of deepened due to the current 5.4%

more recent signs, like a sharp profit pick-up reached a mass market, home buying has gone
of `40,000 crore.
Separately, a group of minis-
ters headed by finance minis-
ter P. Chidambaram on Thurs-
day deferred a decision on dis-
investment in Indian Oil Corp.
(IOC) following strong opposi-
tion to the stake sale by the oil
ministry.
which 30 have already been
completed.
Two under-construction
projects are located at Zangmu
and Phudo Dzong; the remain-
ing sites are Jiexu, Zhongda, Ji-
acha and the Great Bend of the
Brahmaputra.
Of the 2,880km length of the
state of the economy. We only -1.21%
expect some growth in the sec- Grand total 1,431,632 2.3%
ond half of next fiscal. I do not
*Passenger vehicles; **Commercial vehicles Source: Siam
expect it to happen before that,”
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
said Vishnu Mathur, director-
general of Siam, the automobile current fiscal, the pace of the first three quarters of this
industry’s lobby group. growth was 4.6%. fiscal year declined 5.72% to
Economic growth in the cur- The downturn has been ac- 1.83 million units from the year-
rent fiscal year is forecast by an- companied by obstinately high earlier period. In December,

and dividend bounce-back that went with a sky-high with flat prices at the upper end. All
“It has been deferred,” oil Brahmaputra, 1,625km is in alysts to fall even short of the inflation, high borrowing costs passenger vehicles sales fell
minister M. Veerappa Moily the autonomous Chinese re- 5% achieved in the last fiscal and rising fuel prices that have 9.02% while overall automobile
told reporters after the meet- gion of Tibet, 918km in India year, when the economy ex- made potential car buyers post- sales, including scooters and
Mint is also available for R8 with panded 5%, the slowest pace in pone purchases.
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only TURN TO BACK PAGE ® TURN TO PAGE 3® a decade. In the first half of the Sales of passenger vehicles in TURN TO PAGE 2®

pacy recovery in 2022-23 and this year, even as said, the K story retains its resilience.

GUEST VIEW

China aims for a quality boost as its economy recovers

have also increased their estimates for the
MA JIA Chinese economy to above 5.4%. During the
recent New Year holiday, 135 million domes-
tic trips were made, up 9.4% on a compara-
ble basis from the same period in 2019; and
domestic tourism generated 5.6% higher
cruise ship made China the fifth largest investment from France (121.7%), the UK Also, in 2023, BRI cooperation ushered in
cruise ship builder in the world. All these (116.9%), Canada (109.2%), Switzerland its second “Golden Decade”. The sixth
indicate that China’s economy has been (76.9%) and the Netherlands (32.6%), respec- China International Import Expo and the
transitioning from high-speed growth to tively. Data shows that foreign companies first China International Supply Chain Expo
high-quality development. have not slowed down their deployment in were successfully held. China is taking more
China remains a promising land for global China, but continue to add new investments proactive and promising actions to build a

T
he year 2023 marked the beginning of
China’s push to promote its moderni-
zation. It was also a year of economic
recovery following three years of covid pre-
vention and control. Towards the end of the
year, we saw many discussions about China’s
economy. The annual Central Economic
Work Conference held in Beijing on 11 and 12
revenue than it did in the same period of
2019. Market institutions widely expect that
China can achieve its annual growth target
of around 5%, which was set at the beginning
of last year.
A shift from high-speed to high-quality
growth has greatly improved the efficiency of
development in China: In 2023, China’s total
investment: China strives to foster a market- and launch new projects, casting a vote of broader agenda of opening up its economy
oriented, law-based and confidence in the Chinese across more areas and in greater depth.
world-class business envi- economy. In 2024, China aims to apply its new
ronment for global enter- Its aim has China’s door to the out- development philosophy on all fronts, speed
prises, and create as well as side world will only open up the building of a new development para-
share development divi- shifted from wider: China is applying digm, promote high-quality development,
dends with the world. high standards to its imple- and continue to harness its strong innova-
Since 2017, China has
high speed to mentation of the Regional tion capacity, huge market, sound infra-

is Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the

Chinese Embassy in India.
December reviewed China’s economic situ-
ation and decided 2024’s priorities. It con-
cluded that the fundamental trend of
China’s economic recovery and long-term
positive outlook has not changed.
China’s economic growth momentum
remains strong: In the first three quarters of
last year, China’s gross domestic product
(GDP) reached more than RMB 91.3 trillion
(about $12.7 trillion), growing 5.2% year-on-
year, which is among the highest for fast-
growing economies. China will contribute a
third of global economic growth in 2023.
The International Monetary Fund raised
China’s growth estimate to 5.4% for 2023.
JPMorgan Chase, UBS and Deutsche Bank
automobile exports will rank first in the
world. In the first three quarters, combined
exports of new-energy vehicles, lithium-ion
batteries and photovoltaic products
equalled more than $110 billion, up more
than 40% year-on-year. The total installed
capacity of renewable energy has histori-
cally exceeded coal power. Key components
of clean energy equipment such as photo-
voltaic modules and wind turbines account
for 70% of the global share. The green indus-
try’s development has leapfrogged. China’s
self-developed large passenger aircraft,
C919, is set to go into commercial operation
and enter a new phase of development.
Delivery of the first domestically-built large
revised the negative list on
foreign investment access
high-quality Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP), while
structure, complete industrial chains and
high-quality human resources. China will
for five consecutive years,
making it shorter and
development it works to align with the
high-standard economic
expand high-level opening up, further ease
market access, and share with the rest of the
shorter. Last year, Chinese and is ready for and trade rules of the Com- world new opportunities created by Chinese
President Xi Jinping prehensive and Progres- modernization.
announced the removal of renewed growth sive Agreement for Trans- China is a source of certainty and positive
all restrictive measures on Pacific Partnership and energy in a world battling economic uncer-
foreign investment in Digital Economy Partner- tainties. It complements the outstanding
manufacturing at the third Belt and Road ship Agreement to advance the process of performance of India’s economy, creating
International Cooperation Summit Forum acceding to these two agreements and an eye-catching scenario in the East. China
in October. Actually-utilized foreign direct expand a globally-oriented network of high- and India can give countries around the
investment (FDI) in China increased by 5% standard free-trade areas. Since the estab- world new opportunities and the world
to reach an annual record of $189.1 billion in lishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free economy a stronger impetus by cooperating
2022. In the first three quarters of 2023, Trade Zone 10 years ago, China has set up 22 with each other while maintaining rapid
there have been year-on-year increases in pilot FTZs. economic growth.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai 13

MY VIEW | CAfE ECONOMICs M I N T C U R AT O R

Five years of India’s fiscal policy: People need a nudge towards

adopting sustainable lifestyles
Much of it is truly commendable Policymakers should not shy away from pushing us the right way

Union budgets have done a worthy job under tough circumstances although our public debt burden now requires reduction

PTI

LARA WILLIAMS
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
climate change.

NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA
is executive director at Artha India Research
Advisors.

I
f there’s a month dedicated to self-bet-
terment, it’s January. The gyms are full,
the pubs are empty, and green juices are

N
irmala Sitharaman will soon
present the final budget of the sec-
ond government led by Narendra
Modi. It will be an interim budget,
primarily prepared to keep the
wheels of administration moving
till a new government takes charge after the
national elections. Interim budgets are usually
simple accounting exercises, but they can some-
times be used to either cut taxes or increase
spending commitments to win brownie points
with specific voter groups, as was the case in the
interim budget presented in February 2019.
This is a good time to look back at the five years
of fiscal policy steered by India’s finance minister,
which included dealing with the consequences of
the massive economic shock from the covid pan-
demic. Three salient points stand out.
First, the budgets over the past five years have
fewer accounting tricks that try to hide the true
fiscal costs of items such as bank recapitalization,
fuel subsidies and food subsidies.
Second, fiscal policy did reasonably well in terms
of avoiding the twin pitfalls of mindless austerity
and needless profligacy, especially in the after-
math of the pandemic. This has helped India avoid
the balance-of-payments crises that hit many
economies in the region as well as the bursts of
high inflation that most rich countries had to
deal with.
Third, the actual process of budget-making has
been realistic in terms of the assumptions made of
both nominal GDP growth and tax elasticity that
are the building blocks. Tax elasticity measures
how much net tax collections of the government
increase for every one percentage-point increase
in the value of output in the economy.
The combination of more transparent account-
ing, a calibrated policy approach and more realistic
assumptions has meant that Indian budgets over
the past five years have been generally credible.
The government has been able to keep the fiscal
deficit near target for most years, other than the
massive slippage during the pandemic year, when
the eventual fiscal deficit as a proportion of GDP
was six percentage points above the budget esti-
mate (see accompanying table).
However, it is not a story of realistic budgeting
alone. The underlying economic conditions also
lent a helping hand for the government to meet its
fiscal targets, especially after the pandemic year.
Nominal GDP growth was very strong in the con-
secutive fiscal years ending March 2022 and
March 2023. High economic growth in nominal
terms—which is a combination of increased real
output as well as inflation—ensured that actual tax
collections that came into the coffers of the Union
government were higher than what was budgeted.
The decision to keep domestic fuel prices steady
flying off the shelves. Even with the best of Behaviour modification is always easier to
intentions, the vast majority of New Year’s achieve with policy support ISTOCKPHOTO
resolutions don’t last very long. Many goal-
setters give up within just three months. If we all committed to doing better for
We’re now in the second week of January, the planet, it’d help shift demand to cleaner
and some of you may have already slipped technologies, show clear policy support for
up on promises. Your columnist has green measures and reduce our energy
already watered down one of her ambitions consumption. But there are plenty of issues
(we’re doing ‘damp’ January now). with relying purely on individual agency.
But such faltering is notable because For example, consider the effects of ine-
we’re going to need permanent behaviour quality on our individual abilities to
changes to meet emission targets. Con- change. Insulation measures, heat pumps
sumer decisions alone won’t halt climate and EVs all require sizable investments.
change, but collectively we can make the Supermarkets in poorer neighbourhoods
Fiscal snapshot task much easier by, for example, reducing often have fewer varieties of fresh produce
The government’s budgets have mostly made realistic assumptions and its finances have not created demand for fossil fuels or carbon-intensive which inhibits the ability of residents to
macro instability, although favourable nominal growth and tax elasticity are partly to thank for it. products. The question is how to make that adopt healthier, more plant-based diets.
happen, especially when our psychology Changing or forming better habits requires
Year Nominal GDP Nominal Net taxes Net taxes Fiscal deficit Fiscal deficit Tax elasticity
growth GDP growth (Budget (Revised (Budget (Revised (Budget
makes it hard to change habits. a cognitive effort which will be harder for
(Budget estimate) (Actual) estimate) estimate) estimate) estimate) estimate) One reason for our collective annual fail- some than it is for others. While one house-
ure is that we don’t tend to set goals for our- hold may have the time to commit to
2019-20 12.0 6.4 19.6 18.5 3.3 3.8 1.1 selves in a useful way, making them large cycling to work or meatless Mondays,
2020-21 10.0 -1.4 20.2 13.4 3.5 9.5 0.9
without specificity or accountability. Set- another might simply be focused on eco-
ting a goal to ‘save money’ is nearly useless nomic survival.
2021-22 14.4 18.3 15.5 17.7 6.8 6.9 1.0 without a target and an action plan to sup- That’s why we need policy—carbon
port it—such as, for example, setting aside taxes, subsidies and public information
2022-23 11.1 16.1 19.3 20.9 6.4 6.4 0.9 a fixed sum every month. With that in campaigns—to support behaviour change.
mind, here is what can be done to reduce But it’s a touchy subject that many politi-
2023-24 10.5 8.9* 23.3 NA 5.9 6.0* 1.1
one’s carbon impact: cians are reluctant to act forcefully on. In
Nominal GDP growth in %, Net taxes in  trillion, Fiscal deficit as % of GDP; *Denotes estimates Instead of vowing to eat a more planet- the UK, the importance of behaviour
Source: Budget documents; Mospi; RBI
friendly diet, you should narrow down change is officially recognized, with the
what that means. If you’re not already a stated goal being to make it “easier and
vegetarian or vegan, the best thing you more affordable for people to shift towards
despite a decline in international prices also brought to a standstill in 2020. That constitutes a could do to reduce your emissions is to cut a more sustainable lifestyle while at the
helped the exchequer. permanent loss of output. There is a persistent fis- out red meat. It might be more achievable same time maintain[ing] freedom or choice
Strong growth in taxes over the past three years cal burden as well. What matters for fiscal policy in to focus on a positive action rather than a and fairness,” according to energy minister
not only helped the government keep its borrow- the longer term is not the annual deficit number— subtractive one: Instead of the main target Lord Callanan. There are grants for heat
ing in check, but also gave it financial space to which will naturally move with economic cycles— being to drop red meat from your diet pumps and the Great British Insulation
increase spending on infrastructure. Fiscal policy but the stability of public debt. Indian public debt entirely, you could set a target to eat, say, Scheme, which offers free or cheaper insu-
pivoted towards more capital spending, something as a proportion of GDP has inched down from its five plant-based meals a week and find lation measures, for example. But that
that has been on the wish list of policymakers for immediate post-pandemic high of 89%, but it is recipes or menus that you’re excited to try. doesn’t go far enough, with the House of
several years. This pivot is as much a political still at a level that has rarely been seen in Indian Likewise, food waste is responsible for Lords Environment and Climate Change
achievement as it is an economic one. fiscal history. around 6% of total greenhouse gas emis- Committee calling the government’s
The big question is whether this rise in public There is no reason to fear a solvency crisis, since sions—three times that of aviation. But it’s approach “seriously inadequate.” It doesn’t
investment will spark off a much-awaited increase most of the debt is held by domestic investors. But quite hard to measure how much you’re help that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
in investments in new capacity by the private sec- interest costs will continue to soak up nearly half of wasting at home—or it’s easy to shut your arguably made it a point of pride in
tor. There have been several false dawns over the net tax revenues, while the Reserve Bank of India eyes as you drop bags of slimy salad, long announcing last year—while gearing up for
past decade, though the painful deleveraging of may have a tough time managing interest rates as forgotten at the back of the fridge, into the national elections—that he had “scrapped”
the corporate sector as well as a clean-up of bank the private investment cycle strengthens further. bin—making it a difficult target to remain several imaginary policies like a ‘meat tax’
balance sheets should help. Residential invest- Public debt as a proportion of GDP is still around accountable to. But setting a goal to create and compulsory car-sharing.
ment is also looking up, which is important not five percentage points above its level before the meal plans, or batch cook, or find ways to Good policy to support sustainable lifes-
just for its links with the rest of the economy, pandemic, though it has trended down in the be creative with leftovers should naturally tyle choices will not unfairly burden those
but also its ability to create jobs. The most recent past two years as nominal GDP growth has been lead to a reduction in wastage. who can least afford it, but will make green
data released by the government does show that much higher than the average cost of government Other behavioural changes we need to options a no-brainer. Governments should
the contribution of capital formation to GDP is borrowing. However, as nominal GDP growth see widely adopted include investing in an not shy away from nudging people to
growing. normalizes, the role of primary budgetary balances electric vehicle or heat pump, insulating behave more greenly with public engage-
The pandemic has left behind some scars. Indian in bringing down the burden of public debt will homes, buying energy-efficient appliances ment and price signals. After all, some-
economic output is still around $400 billion below become more important. But that is something for and using public transport or active modes times we all need a little bit of help to do
what it would have been if the world had not been the next government to think about. like cycling for appropriate journeys. the right thing. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | EX MACHINA

Medical micro-bots would require regulatory acumen

For instance, micro-bots could be used for
RAHUL MATTHAN precisely targeted drug delivery. Scientists
at the University of California, San Diego,
have created micro-bots to deliver chemo-
therapy drugs directly to cancer cells, and
have apparently shown promising results in
chronic diseases, delivering medications to
patients as and when required—offering
improved techniques for the management
of ailments like diabetes and heart disease.
As wonderful as this might sound, there
are a number of concerns that need to be
There is no doubt that micro-bots fall
within the definition of medical devices
under existing regulations. However, none
of these rules had autonomous nano-devices
in mind when written and are unlikely to be
capable of covering all the issues this will
more complex ecosystems where it would be
hard to pinpoint liability. Since much of
what caused the device to fail will have taken
place inside the body, the solution might be
to require the establishment of post-market
surveillance systems to monitor operations

I
n the 1988 Steven Spielberg film Inner
Space, Dennis Quaid’s character uses
some sort of miniaturization technology
to shrink himself so small that he can be
injected into the body of a human being in a
tiny submersible to reach various organs and
systems. While our ability to miniaturize
humans remains within the realm of science
treating tumours in mice. When precisely addressed before micro-bots can be com- raise. Regulators will probably need to and identify potential safety concerns early
measured doses can be delivered directly to mercially deployed. Since establish fresh standard- enough, so that they can be addressed before
diseased cells, it is possible to significantly many of the potential uses ized testing protocols and it gets too late.
reduce the side effects of traditional chemo- of micro-bots lie in tar- Tiny new health performance criteria in And then there are ethical considerations
therapy, where there is no option but to dis- geted treatment, they need order to ensure safety and that need to be taken into account. It goes
tribute the drugs throughout the body. to be designed so they can devices that can consistency, and facilitate without saying that patients must duly be
Micro-bots can also be used for minimally function within the harsh comparisons across differ- informed about risks and benefits, and they
invasive surgery. This means that we can and complex environment
be inserted in ent platforms. This will must consent to the use of these devices.

is a partner at Trilegal and the

author of ‘The Third Way:
India’s Revolutionary Approach
to Data Governance’. His X
(formerly Twitter) handle is
@matthan.
fiction, thanks to remarkable advancements
in nanotechnology, it is becoming possible
for us to achieve some of what was described
in the movie through the use of tiny
machines capable of operating at that scale.
Micro-robots are tiny specialized devices
capable of performing a range of different
tasks at hard-to-reach sites—typically in
micro-tubes and bio-chips, but also within
the blood vessels of living organisms, which
is relevant to medical applications. Even
though this technology is still at an early
stage, the opportunities it offers for early
diagnosis, microsurgery, targeted drug
delivery and disease surveillance are already
becoming evident.
now think of undertaking extremely delicate
procedures from within the body using tiny
incisions. This will allow us to radically
reduce surgical trauma and recovery times.
For instance, micro-bots used for retinal sur-
gery can repair delicate structures within
the eye with minimal invasiveness, offering
new approaches to a range of eye conditions,
from macular degeneration to diabetic reti-
nopathy.
Micro-bots armed with the right sensors
can conduct advanced diagnostics, using
real-time imaging and in-situ tissue analysis
to identify diseases earlier than is currently
possible. Implantable micro-bots can con-
tinuously monitor the progression of
of the human body. Apart
from anything else, this
our bodies are inevitably lead to delays in
approvals for use and
However, having consented, it is even more
important that they continue to retain
means ensuring bio-com-
patibility, so that these
on their way uncertainty over the viabil-
ity of this industry as a
autonomy over the operation of devices
inserted into their bodies. Of particular con-
devices do not evoke and will need whole. To make matters cern would be the risks of hacking or remote
aggressive immune worse, since these devices manipulation of micro-bots by someone
responses when placed wise regulation process sensitive personal other than the patient or doctor.
inside a body. data from within the Finally, even if this is not an immediate
Care needs to be taken human body, it will raise concern, we should aim to ensure equitable
to supply medical micro-bots with efficient new concerns about the ownership, privacy access to these therapies so that they are
sources of power, so that they can operate and security of data that will force a relook at widely available to patients, regardless of
reliably for the entire duration that they data protection regulations. socioeconomic status. If this technology
remain within the body. Care must also be We have traditionally held manufacturers becomes integral to future healthcare, we
taken to ensure that their manufacturing liable for devices that malfunction or fail to will need to ensure that we do not end up in
and eventual disposal do not saddle us with perform as they are supposed to. However, a situation where only the wealthiest among
unintended environmental consequences. it is likely that micro-bots will be part of us can afford these devices.
14 Wednesday, 10 January 2024
MuMbai BUSINESS OF LIFE SPORTS LIVEMINT.COM

A grace note for Naomi Osaka

The four-time Grand never shied away from starting conversa-
tions on difficult subjects. She had taken a
Slam winner Naomi OSAKA’S sustained stand on police brutality against
African-Americans at the 2020 US
Osaka is back for the SLAM WINS Open—wearing masks with names of vic-
tims engraved on them for each of her
Australian Open after 2018 US OPEN seven matches. In the spring of 2021,
a long layoff from Beat Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4
in the final
Osaka became the poster child and advo-
cate for mental health and well-being of
international tennis 2019 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
athletes, after she withdrew from the
French Open. The Japanese player had
Beat Petra Kvitova 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in then admitted that she suffered from
Deepti Patwardhan the final bouts of depression after winning her first
feedback@livemint.com major—2018 US Open.
2020 US OPEN After a first-round exit at the 2022 US
Beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3,

T
his time, Naomi Osaka
walked on to the court with
the headphones slightly
askew. The famously intro-
verted tennis star wanted
to take in all the sounds and sights as she
walked the familiar path from locker room
to centre court. In September 2022, after
a surprising first-round exit from the US
Open, Osaka had stepped away from the
game that she had once loved—and domi-
nated—for a little while. But the fans
stayed. Ready when you are.
They welcomed her back with resound-
ing support as she returned from a
15-month hiatus from the sport on 1 Janu-
ary at the Brisbane International. Old
champion, new mom. She endured a diffi-
cult pregnancy and childbirth before her
daughter Shai was born on 7 July, last year.
Within six months, after a particularly
gruelling pre-season of training, the Japa-
nese player returned to the court.
“The last couple of years that I played
before I had my daughter, I didn’t return
as much love as I was given,” the
26-year-old said during her on-court
interview in Brisbane. “So, I really feel
like that’s what I want to do in this chap-
ter. I just really appreciate people com-
ing out and cheering for me.”
In her comeback match, Osaka defeated
Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 (9) in the first
round. The consistency will come with
time, but Osaka was crushing the ball like
she always did. Osaka doesn’t have the
smoothest of techniques, but the split-
second down-to-up whip is what gener-
ates the power, speed and top-spin. An
aggressive baseliner, Osaka’s forehands
have regularly clocked 100mph, which is
not a norm on the women’s tour. Against
Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.
Korpatsch, she unveiled the full range of
groundstrokes to make a winning return.
She lost the closest of matches to Karo-
lina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 in the second
round. One of the best servers on the tour,
Osaka recorded a menacing 14 aces during
the match. But a competition rusty Osaka,
converted only two of the 12 break point
opportunities she created.
“I think for me, even stepping on the
court is a personal win because a couple of
weeks ago I was even doubting if I could
play,” she said. “I guess these two matches
that I’ve had kind of prove to me that I am
doing okay, and the year is just going to
get better for me.”
2024 began with a wave of nostalgia as
former champions Osaka, Rafael Nadal
and Angelique Kerber returned to court.
Kerber, like Osaka, is returning after
childbirth. But Nadal’s comeback lasted
only one tournament, and the Spaniard
has pulled out of the year’s first major,
6-3 in the final
2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in
the final
2022, gave birth to a baby girl, Liana, in
February 2023. The 2016 Australian Open
champion made a comeback at the United
Cup, which is an 18-nation mixed-team
event. For Kerber, the highlight of the
United Cup, considered more of an exhi-
bition tournament, was a hard-fought 4-6,
6-4, 7-6 win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljan-
ovic in the semi-final.
REUTERS Kerber and Osaka were two, out of
four, players who had stopped Serena
Australian Open 2024, which begins on Remember the 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 Williams in her quest for a record 24th
Monday, 14 January, due to a muscle tear. win over local favourite Thanasi Kokkin- singles Grand Slam title—which would
Last year, Nadal had hinted that 2024 akis in the Australian Open second round have made her the most successful player
could be his last year on tour, but the latest last year? As exhilarating as that was, it in the Open Era—after returning from
injury could spoil plans of a fairytale fare- wasn’t enough for Murray. Not for some- childbirth. It was Williams’ comeback
well. The Spaniard has been knocked one who has won three Grand Slam titles that had prompted the WTA (Women’s
down by injuries regularly through his and competed in the greatest era of men’s Tennis Association) to revisit their
career. But at 37, tennis. maternity policy.
there are ques- “If I was in a According to the rules introduced in
tions of how The consistency will come with situation like I 2019, “If a player is out of competition due
many come- time, but Osaka is crushing the was at the end of to pregnancy or a medical condition, she
backs he has left
in him. ball, and her power, speed and last year, then I
probably
is allowed 3 years to use her special rank-
ing. In the event of pregnancy, the time
It could also deadly top-spin endures wouldn’t go period is calculated from the birth of the
be the last trip again,” Murray, child.” Players can thus use this special
Down Under for who ended protected ranking—which is frozen the
former World No. 1 Andy Murray. The Brit 2023 with two wins in the last five events day they stop playing—to enter events and
has never been the same since returning of the year, told BBC. “We’ll see how the ease their way back into competition.
from hip resurfacing surgery in 2019. The year goes, see how the body holds up. If Osaka and Kerber are now a part of grow-
man with the metal hip and iron heart has things are going well, I’d love to keep ing breed of sporting ‘working moms’,
sent occasional reminders of the cham- going. But if they’re not, and I’m not who believe childbirth doesn’t need to get
pion he was, fighting lost causes and turn- enjoying it, it could be the last year, yes.” in the way of their athletic ambitions.
ing them into winning ones. Kerber, who last played at Wimbledon Though a reticent superstar, Osaka has
Open, a teary-eyed Osaka told reporters
that she was taking an indefinite break
from tennis. It was a time when she felt
more relief than joy on winning. “For so
long I’ve tied winning to my worth as a
person.” Osaka had said in the Netflix doc-
umentary on her life. “What am I if I’m not
a good tennis player?” With the birth of
her daughter, the axis of her life has
changed. And it has forced her to evolve.
“I would say she’s (her daughter) helped
me grow up so much so quickly,” Osaka
said in Brisbane last week. “I’m more con-
fident with who I am as a person. I never
tried to have conversations with other
players before. I definitely put a large wall
up. Off the court I’m more aware of people
and I appreciate them a lot more, even my
opponents and everything.”
During the Brisbane tourney, Osaka
punctuated her matches with the regular
thigh slaps and clenched fist come-ons,
but she was quick to clap for her oppo-
nents whenever they came up with an
ingenious shot too. Over the years, Osaka
has divided opinion simply by choosing
not to adhere to the straitjacket do’s and
don’ts projected on athletes. But her aura
on a tennis court in undeniable.
In the fifteen months she was away,
women’s tennis has gone through another
round of champions. Aryna Sabalenka
won the 2023 Australian Open, Marketa
Vondrousova captured Wimbledon, Coco
Gauff came of age at the US Open and Iga
Swiatek raised her Grand Slam tally to
four—the same as Osaka—and the most
for active women’s tennis players.
Whether Osaka has a realistic chance at
this year’s Australian Open or not, she has
the star power to supercharge an already
exciting women’s field in Melbourne.

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BFS
SUMMIT&
AWARDS
16th Edition

11th January 2024 | Mumbai

Shri Shaktikanta Das Shri Debasish Panda KV Kamath
Governor, Chairperson, Chairman,
Reserve Bank of India Insurance Regulatory National Bank for
Financial Wellness in a Changing World and Development Financing Infrastructure
Authority of India and Development

As India marches towards its goal of a $5-trillion economy,

banks, non-banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and
fintech firms will need to find ways to quench the country's
ever-growing thirst for financial support to push growth.
How they can do that, affordably, with maximum reach and
efficiency, is the story that will play out at the Mint BFSI
Shri Kamlesh Radhika Gupta Shiv Bhasin Nirav Shah
Summit & Awards. Come, join us on this journey on 11th Jan. Varshney MD & CEO, Chief Transformation MD,
Whole Time Member, Edelweiss Mutual Officer, IndusInd Bank Equirus Capital
SEBI Fund

Baldev Prakash Ramesh Iyer Mahesh Richa Choudhary

MD & CEO, Vice-Chairman & Balasubramanian Partner - Capital
J&K Bank MD, Mahindra MD, Kotak Mahindra Markets,
Finance Life Insurance Trilegal
Scan the QR
code and book And many more
your seat now #MintBFSI2024

Associate Partners Enterprise Partners Knowledge Partners

Reinvention Partner