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MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 4 NO. 202

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

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MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 4 NO. 202

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

livemint.com

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Lessons in CCI’s FDI gate

fine on Maruti for to LIC
The government is reportedly
other companies considering an okay for foreign
direct investment (FDI) in the
state-owned Life Insurance
BY GIREESH CHANDRA PRASAD Corp. (LIC) of India. If it goes
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered Maruti ahead with the reported plan, it
Suzuki India Ltd to pay a fine of ₹200 crore for allegedly controlling would let any single foreign
discounts offered by its dealers, stifling market competition. The investor buy a large stake in the
carmaker has denied the allegations. Mint takes a look: company, perhaps ahead of its
much-awaited share sale
Regulatory matters through an initial public offer-
CCI seeks to check behaviour among enterprises that are anti competitive in ing (IPO). According to the
nature, including cartelization, predatory pricing, bid-rigging, and the abuse report, any strategic investment
of dominance. in the country’s largest insurer
EXCLUSIVE by a foreign entity would be
BUNDLING REFUSAL
of products so
distribution deals
to deal that subject to an equity cap, though.
limiting supply
that buyer is or allocating
limits buyers Large pension funds in the West
forced to buy or sellers are among the entities that may
markets
certain items
be keen on a slice of our top
Exception:
insurer, whose hold on our mar-
DEALS
between parties Types of Reasonable ket was not weakened by the
restrictions to entry of foreign insurers.
in supply chain anti-competitive
on resale price protect intellectual
agreements prohibited property rights Earlier this year, India raised
maintenance under competition law its FDI cap in insurance from
49% to 74%, but it didn’t apply
to LIC, as it’s governed by a sep-
What is the Maruti Why did CCI find it arate act of Parliament. LIC,
1 Suzuki discount case?
It involves a discount control policy
2 anti-competitive?
According to the CCI order, resale
which could be valued at ₹12-15
trillion, aims to hawk a 10%
that allegedly restricted its dealers price maintenance can prevent stake. Whether an IPO could
from giving discounts without its effective competition both at the rake in over ₹1 trillion in a span
permission, over certain pre- intra-brand level as well as at the of a few days has been a matter
restricted level. CCI found that this inter-brand level. When a producer of debate, especially with tech
amounted to ‘resale price imposes a minimum resale price unicorns competing for public
maintenance’ which is banned maintenance obligation on dealers,
money. An FDI invitation could
under the Competition Act. The they are prevented from lowering
law prohibits agreements between the sale prices beyond the imposed make sense in that context. The
enterprises at different stages of limit. This prevents them from control implications, especially
+ after further rounds of divest-
the production chain regarding competing effectively on price.
aspects such as supply, storage or Stifling intra-brand competition ment, will need to be spelt out.
price that causes appreciable among dealers of the same firm
adverse effect on competition. That results in higher prices. When a
includes carmakers and dealers too. firm with significant market share
CCI’s case is that curbing discounts imposes minimum selling price on
affects the final price to consumers
as well as intra-company and inter-
dealers, it can decrease the pricing
pressure on competing firms and
MINT METRIC
company competition. thus affect inter-brand competition. by Bibek Debroy
MINT

Robbers used an Apple watch to track

3 What does the carmaker
say about the order?
Maruti has denied the charges and told the
A victim with greenback.
regulator that no discount control policy
Under his car’s bumper
was placed in effect by it and that dealers They fixed this location thumper,
were free to offer any discounts. A Maruti
spokesperson said the firm is examining
In Connecticut, a novel form of attack.
the order and would take appropriate
actions under the law. Maruti has always
worked in the best interests of consumers
and will continue to do so in the future. QUOTE OF THE DAY
Reverse migration during
4 How important is
market share?
“The scope of CCI’s probe is
5 What are the key areas
CCI regulates?
CCI seeks to check behaviour
covid-19 has only accelerated
confined to the extent to which a among enterprises that are
the adoption of branded wear.
discount offered by a firm lessens anticompetitive in nature, The Indian middle-class
or eliminates competition. Given including cartelization, predatory
that Maruti owns more than 50% pricing, bid-rigging, and the abuse
consumer in these locations is
of the market, any reductions of dominance. In certain seeking quality fashion at
imposed by it will undoubtedly industries where there are fewer
affect market competitiveness,” players and cross-holdings among
affordable price
said Sonam Chandwani, managing them, chances of anti-competitive
partner, KS Legal & Associates. The practices are high. The cement
firm informed CCI that the probe industry has in the past faced
has erroneously concluded that probes by CCI. The changing
because it has 51% market share, it nature of the economy, especially SANJAY LALBHAI
CHAIRMAN AND MD,
has market power. CCI can levy a the rise of digital economy, has ARVIND LTD
fine up to 10% of the average turn- brought new areas for it to keep a
over of past 3 years in such a case. close watch. CCI also clears M&As.

S TO C K TA L K DOWNLOAD THE
MINT APP
BHARAT FORGE AVANTI FEEDS
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ings, focus on diver- will be a net benefi-
sification and an expected recovery in ciary of the RoDTEP incentive
the core segments. scheme.
Emkay Global Financial Services (on 23 Aug) ICICI Securities (on 23 Aug)

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rebound in the US business is likely to business. We factor in an opportunity
boost its margins. from the Covid-19 vaccine .
Anand Rathi Securities (on 23 Aug) Motilal Oswal Financial Services (on 24 Aug)

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PLAIN FACTS

Ixigo’s public issue will

turn MMT into key rival
BY HOWINDIALIVES.COM

O
nline travel company Ixigo was born in 2007 as a meta-search site for flights. Meaning, its algorithm would trawl
websites selling tickets for a search query—say, Delhi-Mumbai flight—and direct users to options like MakeMyTrip
(MMT). In 2011, drawn by synergies in that user journey, MMT invested $4.8 million in Ixigo. However, in 2019, ixigo
started selling its own tickets. Earlier this year, it facilitated a bumper 8X exit for MMT. Now, if it completes its ₹1,600 crore
public issue, Ixigo’s next set of plans with the largest cash chest it has ever had could see it square up against its former share-
holder. The likely site for that face-off will be bus tickets—the mode of transport that is the least penetrated online. MMT,
the goliath in Indian online travel with a 60% share, owns RedBus, the leader in online bus ticketing in India. In pandemic-hit
2020-21, MMT sold bus tickets worth $25 million (about ₹186 crore). This was only 40% of its previous year’s bus revenues,
but still about 35% more than the entire revenues of Ixigo that year.
This size mismatch should be seen in the context of two recent developments at Ixigo. Earlier this month, Ixigo acquired
AbhiBus, an online bus aggregator. Further, after raising ₹270 crore in July, Ixigo could add another ₹750 crore to its cash
pile from its public issue (₹850 crore will go to current shareholders). While Ixigo founders stress on the importance of capital
efficiency, the initial public offering (IPO) will reduce the gap to MMT on a metric important in this space: spending power.

MakeMyTrip's pandemic-hit bus ticketing

revenues alone exceed all revenues of Ixigo
Revenues ( crore) 2019-20 2020-21
Post-IPO, Ixigo could have a cash chest
MakeMyTrip Ixigo that is one-third of MakeMyTrip's
Cash, cash equivalents, bank balances ( crore)
Hotels and All
Air tickets packages Bus tickets Others segments MakeMyTrip Ixigo

1,673 3,124
2,912

1,233

1,266
1,051

505 32 31
423 461
March 2020 March 2021 Latest
255
186 138 1. The latest period for MakeMyTrip is June 2021. For the latest
113 period for Ixigo, it is assumed the company raises 750 crore
104 from its initial public offering (IPO). 2. For MakeMyTrip, the sum
is the total of term deposits, cash and cash equivalents. The
dollar amount has been converted into rupees using the
MakeMyTrip reports its revenues in dollars. To enable comparison, the dollar amounts reported by exchange rate from the Reserve Bank of India on that date.
it have been converted into rupees using the average exchange rate from the Reserve Bank of
India for the respective year. Source: Company filings

+
Spending Needs Ixigo's ad-spend has been
relatively frugal
MMT AND IXIGO are multi-modal online travel aggregators Share of operating expenses (in %)
(OTAs). As is EaseMyTrip, the other listed company in this Advertising and Employee Payment
space besides MMT. OTAs broadly cover air, rail and bus sales promotion gateway
ticketing, and hotel bookings. While they all cast a wide net,
only MMT has pickings that mirror that wide net. The other two MakeMyTrip
operate in niches they have carved for themselves or are 2019-20 32 25 11
focused on. EaseMyTrip’s focus is air tickets. In 2019-20, 94% of 2020-21 11 50 6
its revenues came from flight tickets. Ixigo’s focus is the ‘next
EaseMyTrip
billion users’—or users beyond tier-I cities.
In the travel space, discounts and promotional offers to 2019-20 20 22 26
acquire customers, and retain them, is par for the course. Even 2020-21 22 31 22
Ixigo has been doing it, and intends to continue doing so.
However, in general, it has been more tight-fisted in spending Ixigo
on marketing and advertising than, say, MMT and EaseMyTrip. 2019-20 12 25 10
Going public brings with it the pressure to grow, which will also 2020-21 6 26 5
necessitate spending. Source: Company filings

The bus ticketing segment, which Ixigo is

eyeing, has the lowest online penetration
Road to Growth
Online penetration (in %) 2020 2025 IXIGO SEES rail and road, and not air, as its pathway to
90 growth. In 2020-21, in 93% of its transactions, either the
85 origin or destination city was a non-tier I city. This March, its
top two cities by monthly active users were Lucknow and
65 Patna. To continue with this focus, it has made two
55 acquisitions this year. In February, it acquired Confirm
Ticket, a train utility and booking platform. In August, it
acquired AbhiBus.
30 30
In its draft red herring prospectus, Ixigo gives three nuggets
20 of data to build its case for road transport. First, of the 100
15
million journeys Indians make each day, 70% are road and
24% by train. Second, there is 65% overlap between bus and
Rail Air Hotel Bus rail routes, suggesting a good user experience can encourage
Data for 2025 are estimates. substitutability. Third, during the pandemic, 35% of bus
Source: Ixigo draft red herring prospectus (citing Frost and Sullivan research) tickets were booked online, against 15% in 2020.

Stock Challenge In spite of growth, MakeMyTrip has

not delivered shareholder returns
IXIGO AND EaseMyTrip, by virtue of being smaller and having MakeMyTrip share price (in $)
their niches, weathered the pandemic better. They even
managed to grow and do so profitably. By comparison, market 40
leader MMT bore the brunt, seeing revenues reduced to a third.
But MMT also threw down the gauntlet in February 2021, when
30
it raised $224 million via a zero-coupon instrument that is
convertible into MMT shares in 2028 at a price of $38.75 per
share. This is 55% higher than its current share price of $25. 20
MMT listed on US exchange Nasdaq in August 2010. In its 11-
year history, it has built size and clout in the Indian online travel
space, but it has not delivered profits or shareholder returns. On 10 26 25
its issue price of $14, the compounded annual return works out
to 5.4%. EaseMyTrip, which listed this March, has more than
doubled since then. If Ixigo lists, how it balances spending and 0
profitability will influence the kind of shareholder returns it is 12 Aug 2010 20 Aug 2021
able to deliver in the long run.
Source: Yahoo Finance
www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
public data.

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

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MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 4 NO. 202 Rs 6.00 18 PAGES

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

The sudden lure of workout How India learnt to win Test

livemint.com from home uP10 matches in England uP14

SENSEX 55,958.98 403.19 NIFTY 16,624.60 128.15 DOLLAR ₹74.19 ₹0.02 EURO ₹87.06 ₹0.02 OIL $69.84 $1.09 GOLD ₹47,502 ₹303

RBI puts new payment Exit path

The departure of Jeh Wadia, once presumed to be Nusli Wadia’s
successor, from all publicly traded group firms is unexplained.
Wadia group's listed firms
Air travel
bookings pick
DON’T MISS

network plan on hold

Market cap (in $ bn)
Britannia 12.7 up as festive
1.12
Bombay Burmah Trading
Bombay Dyeing 0.24
Total
$14.3 bn
season nears
National Peroxide 0.17 Rhik Kundu
Data safety woes behind regulator’s move not to go ahead with plan Jeh Wadia's exit from the boards of group firms
rhik.k@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
March August Union minister Narayan Rane held
 Bombay Dyeing  Bombay Burmah Trading
Gopika Gopakumar

A
ir travel bookings in over remarks against Maha CM
EYEING A SLICE OF THE PIE
 Go Airlines  Britannia
gopika.g@livemint.com Jeh Wadia is no longer on the boards of any of the four India have gathered Union minister Narayan Rane was arrested on
listed firms and privately held Go Airlines
MUMBAI pace ahead of the festive Tuesday over his remarks against Maharashtra
Digital payments jumped 88% to 43.7 bn transactions in FY21 from 23.3 bn in FY19. PARAS JAIN/MINT
season, offering hopes of a full chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, which triggered

A
Lured by the rapid growth, many companies are making a beeline for the sector
plan to allow new enti-
ties to create digital
payment platforms
Total digital payments
Value (₹ trillion) Volume (in million)
IN DEMAND
Jeh Wadia leaves revival for the sector battered
by the pandemic.
Airlines, however, remain
a political row. Rane had said he would have
slapped Thackeray over the latter’s ignorance of
the year of India’s independence. >P9
AT least six consortiums had
and end the National
Payments Council of
India’s (NPCI) dominance in online
23,260 34,124 43,712 applied for the new umbrella
entities licences after RBI
opened the process last year
boards of Bombay cautious of a potential third
wave of covid-19, mindful of the
severe dent to business during
Government weighs plan to allow
foreign direct investment in LIC
transactions has been put on hold May and June this year when
by the regulator over data safety
concerns, two people directly
aware of the development said.
1,637.1 1,620.9
1,414.9 AMAZON, Google and
Facebook were among those
Burmah, Britannia the second wave erased gains
made in the months before.
Domestic passenger traffic
The government is considering a plan to
allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC), a move which
who applied for licences with would help overseas investors take part in
At least six consortiums, includ- Varun Sood unexplained. Jeh Wadia, as well as improved to about 4.52 million the company’s proposed mega initial public
RIL and ICICI Bank
ing those led by Amazon, Google, feedback@livemint.com a spokesperson for Wadia Group in the first three weeks of offering (IPO). >P7
Facebook and the Tata group, PUBLIC sector lenders and Nusli Wadia, did not respond August, up from 3.31 million,

applied for the so-called new
umbrella entities (NUEs) licences,
in partnership with companies such
as Reliance Industries Ltd and ICICI
Bank Ltd after the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) invited expressions of
interest last year.
Public sector lenders such as State
Bank of India and Union Bank were,
however, barred by the finance min-
istry from seeking licences as they
were shareholders in NPCI.
“RBI feels the issue of data secu-
rity involving foreign entities
remains a key concern and, there-
+ fore, has decided to not go ahead
with the new licences for now,’’ one
of the two people cited above said
on the condition of anonymity.
2018-19 2019-20
RBI’s move was, however, met
with criticism from bank unions
from the start, and neither were
state-run lenders happy about
their exclusion. The unions raised
concerns about allowing foreign
entities to set up payment net-
works in India.
The All India State Bank of India
(SBI) Staff Federation and the UNI
Global Union urged RBI to scrap
the licensing process and focus on
strengthening NPCI, Reuters
such as SBI were barred
from seeking licences as
they were investors in NPCI
Source: RBI
2020-21
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
reported in June.
The recent ban on Mastercard for
non-compliance with data localiza-
tion norms could also have led RBI
to take a relook at the NUE propos-
als. Global payments firms such as
Mastercard, Amex and Diners Club
have failed to furnish the audit
report certifying compliance with
Indian rules even after three years
since the rules were issued.
TURN TO PAGE 6
J
ehangir Wadia, the younger
son of Wadia Group patriarch
Nusli Wadia, has quit the
boards of Britannia Indus-
tries Ltd and Bombay Burmah
Trading Corp., stepping down
from responsibilities at all listed
businesses of the $15 billion
Wadia Group.
In March, he resigned as man-
aging director at family con-
trolled airline Go First (then Go
Airlines) and Bombay Dyeing and
Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
The departure of the 48-year-
old business executive once pre-
sumed to be Nusli Wadia’s succes-
sor from all the marquee publicly
traded companies of the group is
to questions from Mint.
In its latest annual report
released last week, Britannia said
Jeh did not offer himself for
reappointment to the board
“Mr. Jehangir N. Wadia, non-
executive director, who retires by
rotation at the ensuing AGM
(annual general meeting) in terms
of Section 152 of the Companies
Act, 2013, has not offered himself
for reappointment. The board of
directors at their meeting held on
30 July 2021 resolved not to fill
the resulting vacancy, and the
same is placed before the mem-
bers at the ensuing AGM for their
TURN TO PAGE 6
1.91 million and 1.41 million pas-
sengers in the same period dur-
ing July, June and May, respec-
tively, according to data col-
lated by aviation website
NetworkThoughts.
Air traffic in the same period
during February, March and
April stood at 5.73 million, 5.30
million and 4.40 million pas-
sengers, respectively.
“Advance bookings (espe-
cially for travel beyond the
14-day window after booking)
have picked up in August. This
shows that people are more
confident to travel now, which
TURN TO PAGE 6
Infosys becomes fourth Indian
firm to reach $100 bn market cap
Infosys Ltd became the fourth Indian company to
reach $100 billion in market valuation. The stock hit
a record high of ₹1,755.60 on BSE with a market
value of ₹7.44 trillion, or $100 billion. At close, the
scrip erased all gains to end the day down 1.06%
from its previous close. >P6
Focus on internal resources, not
exec pay, says Maruti’s Bhargava
Investor concerns about compensation of top
executives are good for the industry and
managements should focus on building internal
resources rather than raising their remunerations,
Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava said at the
firm’s 40th annual general meeting. >P7

SC: Don’t encash Airtel E-com rules likely

guarantees for 3 weeks to spare logistics
Abraham Thomas Asit Ranjan Mishra
abraham.thomas@hindustantimes.com asit.m@livemint.com
NEW DELHI NEW DELHI

T T
he Supreme Court on
Tuesday directed the
government not to
encash bank guarantees of
Bharti Airtel Ltd for three weeks
over the payment of adjusted
gross revenue (AGR) dues to
allow the company to approach
a telecom appeals tribunal.
The department of telecom-
munications (DoT), in a 17
August letter to Bharti Airtel,
demanded payment of ₹1,376
crore as AGR dues within a
week, failing which DoT
threatened to invoke the bank
guarantees furnished by the
telecom operator.
Airtel then approached the
Supreme Court, claiming that
the dues were to be paid by the
now-defunct Videocon Tele-
communications Ltd. Airtel
Airtel said it complied with the
Sep 2020 order by depositing
₹18,004 cr by 31 March 2021. MINT
said it agreed to buy the spec-
trum held by Videocon in
March 2016, and according to
the agreement, all dues prior
to this period were to be set-
tled by the seller.
Allowing Airtel to withdraw
its application and approach
the Telecom Disputes Settle-
TURN TO PAGE 5
he government may
keep logistics suppliers
to e-commerce compa-
nies outside the definition of
“related parties”, conceding a
major demand of online retail-
ers who had opposed such
classification.
“Recently, the CEO of a Logistics suppliers to online
major e-commerce player met retail firms may fall outside the
senior commerce ministry definition of ‘related parties’. MINT
officials. He said he does not
have major problems with the ing clarity on the new defini-
e-commerce rules and sug- tion of e-commerce proposed
gested a few small changes like in the Consumer Protection
logistics suppliers shouldn’t be (e-commerce) Rules, 2020,
considered related parties of and the clause mentioning
e-commerce companies. This ‘related parties’.
can be easily accommodated,” Mint reported on Monday
a senior commerce and indus- that the Internet and Mobile
try ministry official said on Association of India (IAMAI),
condition of anonymity.
Companies have been seek- TURN TO PAGE 5

Indian startups’ race to orbit is no easy ride

Shubham Sharma cost $30,000-80,000 per kg,
On the launch pad
shubham.sharma@livemint.com
Hyderabad-based Skyroot's satellite launch vehicle is called depending on the weight of the
NEW DELHI Vikram and Chennai-based Agnikul's is called Agnibaan. A payload (higher per kg cost for
look at their payloads smaller payloads). Skyroot aims

A
t least two Indian rocket
startups are racing to put
small satellites into
orbits next year, joining scores
of others, including deep-pock-
eted ventures run by Elon Musk
and Jeff Bezos, for a slice of the
growing market for transporta-
tion of payloads to space.
Hyderabad-based Skyroot has
named its satellite launch vehicle
Vikram, while Chennai-based
Agnikul calls its Agnibaan. If their
test flights are successful, the
companies plan to provide
launch services for sending small
satellites to space for applications
such as Earth observation and
communication.
India opened up its space pro-
gramme to the private sector last
year, hoping to encourage local
firms to enter the burgeoning
market for small satellite
launches. Since then, several
Vikram 1 Vikram 2
225-315kg 410-520kg
startups have announced their
ambition to enter the market,
including Bengaluru-based Bella-
trix Aerospace and Mumbai-
based Urvyam. Both are working
on rockets but haven’t
announced their plans for launch.
In all, there are over 24
space-tech companies in India
developing satellites, rockets,
engines, propulsion systems,
Vikram 3 Agnibaan
580-720kg 100kg
Source: Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos
GRAPHIC BY SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
communication solutions, and
other space-tech related work.
Agnikul’s focus is on building
a single customizable vehicle
with four to seven 3D-printed
engines for payloads up to
100kg. Skyroot plans to build
three Vikram series vehicles to
support payloads, ranging
between 225kg and 720kg.
Currently, satellite launches
to cut that down by at least a
third with its Vikram rocket,
while Agnikul plans to establish
a single reasonable cost across all
payload sizes. However, the lat-
ter did not share specifics.
The sector has drawn early
interest from investors such as Pi
Ventures, Speciale Invest, Lets-
Venture, Graph Ventures, and
Omnivore. According to
VCCEdge data, Agnikul has
raised around $14.5 million,
while Skyroot has raised about
$12.5 million. Even with ample
funding, launching a rocket is
fraught with operational and
technical challenges. Attempting
to build a launcher with venture
capital money and a shoestring
budget is even more demanding.
According to the Korea Aero-
space Research Institute, out of
TURN TO PAGE 6

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02 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
Govt urges investors to verify the
Govt set to fast-track asset India, Russia
form 2-way
background of Nidhi companies
New Delhi: The corporate affairs ministry on Tuesday cautioned
people about non-compliance by Nidhi companies, also called
‘mutual benefit societies’. The ministry said entities have been
monetization drive in FY22 channel on
Afghanistan
applying for declaration as ‘Nidhi companies’ but a scrutiny up
to 24 August showed that of the 348 forms examined, none satis- Elizabeth Roche
fied the criteria for such a tag. Also, a large number of entities elizabeth.r@livemint.com
operating as Nidhi companies have not applied for recognition By revamping railway stations and monetizing warehouses, govt looks to raise ₹88,000 cr NEW DELHI
in this category, the ministry added. It urged people to verify the

I
background of the entities before investing in them. STAFF WRITER ndia and Russia on Tuesday
Asit Ranjan Mishra Ltd (PGCIL) infrastructure investment agreed to form a permanent
asit.m@livemint.com trust (InvIT), which was listed in the bilateral channel for consul-
Finance minister to meet heads NEW DELHI stock market in the June quarter. tations on Afghanistan, a Rus-
For FY22, two natural gas pipelines sian statement said, following
of public sector banks today

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will
meet the heads of PSU banks on Wednesday to review
financial performance of the lenders, and the progress they
have made in supporting the pandemic-hit economy, per-
sons aware of the development said.The meeting with man-
aging directors and chief executive officers of PSBs assumes
significance, given the importance of the banking sector in
generating demand and boosting consumption.
PFC inks pact with NHPC to finance
development of hydro projects
New Delhi: State-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC)
on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with NHPC Ltd to
lend funds for the development of hydro projects. “PFC has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NHPC Ltd
to lend funds for the development of hydro projects by NHPC.
PFC will also provide financial assistance for the acquisition of
stressed projects,” it said in a statement.
Govt move to make unique ID
must for hallmarked jewellery
T
he redevelopment of 40 rail- with a total length of 2,229km namely, a telephone conversation
BLOOMBERG
way stations, tendering out Dabhol-Bengaluru pipeline and Dahej- between Indian Prime Minis-
of six airports, two natural Uran-Panvel-Dabhol pipeline have ter Narendra Modi and Rus-
gas pipelines, warehousing been identified for monetization to sian President Vladimir Putin.
facilities of Food Corp. of raise ₹6,687 crore. Petroleum product “During the exchange of
India (FCI) and Central Warehousing pipelines of 755km for ₹2,697 crore and views on the situation in
Corp. (CWC), port projects in Paradip, one hydrogen generation plant for Afghanistan, the sides noted
Mumbai, Kandla, Visakhapatnam are in ₹600 crore will also be monetized. the importance of coordinated
the government’s asset monetization By leveraging environment, social efforts which would contrib-
plan to raise ₹88,000 crore in FY22. and governance (ESG) assets, the gov- ute to the establishment of
Under the ₹6 trillion National Mone- ernment targets to raise ₹2,000 crore. peace and stability in this
tization Pipeline (NMP) unveiled on The potential asset base considered country, ensuring security in
Monday, a total of ₹17,810 crore is for monetization under warehousing the region as a whole,” the
expected to be garnered by redevelop- assets consists of storage depots and Russian statement said.
ing 40 railway stations in FY22 out of A total of ₹17,810 crore is expected to be garnered by redeveloping 40 railway warehouses under central sector agen- India, Russia, and Iran were
the total 400 up for grabs by FY25. stations in FY22 out of the total 400 stations up for grabs by FY25. MINT cies FCI and CWC. The NMP docu- previously the main backers of
The railways has initiated the rede- ments said the rising demand for an anti-Taliban alliance when
velopment with the primary objectives India (AAI) has identified six airports in ports with the six bigger airports and e-commerce space offers a new set of the Islamist group was last in
of providing world-class passenger tier-2 and 3 cities—Amritsar, Varanasi, leasing out as a package is being opportunities for logistics players. power in Kabul during 1996-
amenities, making them hubs of eco- Bhubaneswar, Indore, Raipur and Tri- explored,” the NMP documents said. Out of ₹5,780 crore targeted to be 2001. Since the overthrow of
nomic development and re-establish- chy—for the purpose of monetization Further, divestment of AAI’s residual raised in FY22, FCI storage infra may the Taliban in 2001, Russia
PTI ing them as the nerve centres of cities. through brownfield PPP models. stake in four airport joint ventures has fetch ₹3,500 crore, while CWC storage and Iran have been wary of the
The government also also been considered infra is likely to garner ₹2,280 crore. presence of the US in Afghani-
targets to redevelop two RAISING FUNDS under the monetization The government expects to garner stan. The two countries have
hill railway stations for pipeline. This includes ₹3,394 crore as royalty through coal also been holding talks with
₹460 crore. The moun- THE stake sale and BY leveraging THE govt plans to the private sector oper- mining auctions in FY22. The govern- the Taliban, with speculation
tain railways of India con- monetization of environment, social tender out four port ated airports in Mumbai ment’s recent initiative towards open- rife that Moscow and Tehran
six airports are and governance projects, including
sists of fully functional expected to fetch assets, the govt looks Mumbai and Kandla, (26% stake), Delhi (26% ing up commercial mining to the pri- could recognize the group that
and operational railway ₹5,720 cr in FY22 to raise ₹2,000 cr to raise ₹6,942 cr stake), Hyderabad (13% vate sector in India is expected to prove took control of Kabul on 15
networks. The key assets stake) and Bengaluru key to asset monetization in the sector. August.
are Darjeeling Himalayan (13% stake). The stake sale Port projects that will be tendered On its part, New Delhi has
Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Rail- “To ensure commensurate develop- and monetization of the six airports are out include Paradip, Mumbai, Kandla been very cautious on issues
ways, the Kalka Shimla Railway and the ment of non-profitable airports along expected to fetch ₹5,720 crore in FY22. and Visakhapatnam to raise ₹6,942 relating to the Taliban. It said
PTI Matheran Railway. These are tourism with profitable ones with the help of In the power sector, ₹7,700 crore is crore. By leasing out stadiums for a the group would have issues
hubs with a heritage-based appeal. private sector investment and partici- expected to be raised, including period of 30 years, the government also relating to legitimacy if it took
For FY22, Airports Authority of pation, pairing/clubbing of smaller air- through the Power Grid Corp. of India expects to garner ₹1,650 crore in FY22. power by force.
Govt unveils virtual school to boost access IICA to report skills
REUTERS

+ Prashant K. Nanda
prashant.n@livemint.com
of directors to firms Council of Educational
Research and Training
NEW DELHI (NCERT) to “facilitate teachers
and parents to assess the Gireesh Chandra Prasad The annual report will spec-

T
he Union government progress in the learning of gireesh.p@livemint.com ify whether the directors have
on Tuesday formally children. This initiative con- NEW DELHI cleared the required online-
launched the virtual tains week-wise plan of “chal- proficiency test and details of

T
school concept that will allow lenging activities, with refer- he Indian Institute of various e-learning modules
millions of eligible students ence to learning outcomes, Corporate Affairs (IICA), and other training courses
New Delhi: India is overhauling its gold-jewellery stan- outside the school system to themes and chapters taken an agency under the offered by IICA and the extent
dards to acquire the status of a global business hub, with complete their studies without from syllabus or textbook”. ministry of corporate affairs, to which the independent
a fresh federal push to provide unique hallmarking ID to physically attending a brick- He said the National Educa- will annually report to compa- directors have utilized them.
ornaments in the world’s second-largest gold market, a and-mortar school. tion Policy has suggested the nies the extent of new skills The annual report is
top official has said. The unique ID enables consumers to This will be implemented adoption of digital and physi- acquired by independent expected to help companies
independently verify the genuineness and quality of gold through the National Institute The availability of digital mode of schooling will benefit those cal modes of education and his directors on their board, assess the skills developed by
jewellery. ZIA HAQ of Open Schooling (NIOS) but who are out of the existing system, the government said. REUTERS ministry is trying to build the according to a new rule issued independent directors, who are
will be entirely digital in required infrastructure and by the ministry. considered gatekeepers of
nature, said education minis- Anita Karwal said students’ world-class education to enabling environment to offer According to the Companies good governance in the corpo-
Gennova’s mRNA-based covid-19 ter Dharmendra Pradhan. assessments and examinations enhance learning outcomes”. education in all three modes— (Creation and rate sector.
jab gets nod for phase 2/3 trials The availability of digital will also happen via remote Students will “attend live physical, digital and hybrid. Maintenance of IICA will prepare Since inde-
schooling will benefit those proctoring under this initia- interactive classes, watch The pandemic has led to a databank of Inde- an annual report pendent directors
New Delhi: India’s first mRNA-based covid-19 vaccine candidate who are out of the existing sys- tive. She said that students in recorded sessions, submit surge in the adoption of tech- pendent Direct- about the are expected to
HGCO19 by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd has been granted tem, the minister said. Classes 9 to 12 will tutor marked nology in delivering educa- ors) Second capacity building help protect the
approval for Phase 2/3 clinical trails, the department of biotech- The move underscores the have options to The move assignments tion. To be sure, just 24% of Amendment
of independent interests of
nology (DBT) said on Tuesday. The Pune-based biotechnology government’s push towards join a virtual underscores (TMAs), assess- Indian households have inter- Rules, 2021, minority share-
company had submitted the interim clinical data of the vaccine’s increasing adoption of tech- school. In such ments and net connections to access issued by the min- directors, and holders, the gov-
the govt’s push send it to firms
Phase 1 study to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation nology in the education sector. schools, classes towards exams”. e-education, and there is a istry on Monday, ernment wants to
(CDSCO), it said. PTI “This school is a new model will be conducted The virtual or large rural-urban and gender IICA will prepare continuously
of learning and is an example
increasing
virtually but will digital school will divide that is likely to widen an annual report improve the qual-
how leveraging technology be activity based, adoption of tech also offer certifi- the learning gap across high, about the capacity building of ity of the professionals serving
Chemplast Sanmar, Aptus Value and innovation can facilitate textbook based in education cations to middle and low-income fami- independent directors. in this capacity. Their contin-
greater inclusion in educa- and experiential enhance student lies, as per a Unicef report Within 60 days from the end ued education will equip them
Housing shares make tepid listing tion,” Pradhan said. “The in nature, she employability released in August 2020. of a financial year, IICA will to scrutinize board resolutions
Mumbai: Shares of Chemplast Sanmar Ltd and Aptus Value school is the first-of-its-kind said, adding that the results and may be offered access to The education ministry also send an annual report to all thoroughly so that corporate
Housing Finance India Ltd made a tepid listing on the stock initiative in India, which will will also be declared digitally. job boards and job portals for unveiled an initiative to boost those whose names feature in decision-making remains
exchanges on Tuesday. Shares of Chemplast ended the day at provide advanced digital According to NIOS, the vir- career-related issues. early childhood learning from the independent director data robust. IICA maintains a data-
₹534.90 on the BSE, down 1.13% from its issue price of ₹541, while learning platforms via virtual tual school is like an online Pradhan also unveiled an preschool to Class 5 to bank and companies in which base of people who are eligible
the Aptus Value stock closed at ₹346.50, down 1.84% from its live classrooms and labs, etc.” platform “with a mission to alternative academic calendar improve literacy and numer- they are on the boards, accord- and are willing to be appointed
issue price of ₹353 apiece. RAVINDRA N. SONAVANE School education secretary enable access to affordable, developed by the National acy skills among early graders. ing to the new rules. as independent directors.

Govt to link insurance, pension schemes with informal workers’ database CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Prashant K. Nanda The database will be rolled Chandra said. informal workers. It’s a volun- welfare benefits to the suggestions or complaints
prashant.n@livemint.com out on 26 August after months Ajay Tiwari, director general tary and contributory pension migrants and construction about errors.
NEW DELHI of delay and Supreme Court of labour welfare and a joint scheme on a 50:50 basis. workers”. While registering, a
Readers can alert the
criticism over the labour min- secretary in the ministry said it Workers in the 18-40 age group worker will need to mandato-
newsroom to any errors in the

T
he government on Tues- istry’s slow pace of action. All will have multiple usage —the are eligible for enrolment. rily share their Aadhaar details, paper by emailing us, with your
day announced plans to informal sector and gig work- database will see integration of The labour ministry also primary occupation, home full name and address to
integrate four pension ers to be enrolled in the data- social security (pension, insur- said it may also share informa- state and host state address, feedback@livemint.com.
and insurance schemes, base—around 380 million at ance) schemes including tion with “other ministries, and bank account details.
including health assurance this point of time—will be PMSYM, PMJJBY, PMSBY and departments, boards, agen- Chandra said he and his It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
scheme Ayushman Bharat, given a 12-digit Universal PM-JAY (Ayushman Bharat). cies, and organizations of the team have spoken to state chief Readers dissatisfied with the
with the informal sector data- Account Number (UAN) and a Informal sector workers can central and state governments secretaries and states will have response or concerned about
base that is in the works. card that will allow portability access, avail, and enrol through for delivery of various social monitoring committees to Mint’s journalistic integrity may
The other three are: The of schemes and flow of welfare All informal sector and gig workers in the database will be given a this database platform. security and welfare schemes keep a tab on enrolment and write directly to the editor by
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi benefits. 12-digit UAN and a card that will allow portability of schemes. Ayushman Bharat provides a being administered by them”. ground-level implementation. sending an email to
Maandhan Yojana (PMSYM), “Targeted delivery and last- health cover of ₹500,000 per The database, Tiwari said, The secretary also said trade asktheeditor@livemint.com
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima mile delivery has been a major Bhupendra Yadav. workers. Besides, workers in family per year for secondary will also track the movement of unions will be taken along for Mint’s journalistic Code of
Yojana (PMSBY), and the Prad- focus… and the National Data- “Years of effort is finally get- small firms having less than 10 and tertiary care hospitaliza- migrants from informal to for- the exercise as they will be key Conduct that governs our
han Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima base of Unorganized workers ting materialized, and you will workers can enrol in the data- tion to poor and vulnerable mal sector or vice versa and for making the scheme popular newsroom is available at
Yojana (PMJJBY), the labour is another key step towards see it benefiting informal base for availing several bene- families. PMSYM assures a also within occupations and and influencing workers to get www.livemint.com
and employment ministry said. that,” said labour minister workers, gig, and platform fits,” labour secretary Apurva minimum pension of ₹3,000 to shall facilitate “portability of registered with the database.

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First published in February 2007 to serve as an unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of the Indian Dream.

SRUTHIJITH KURUPICHANKANDY (EDITOR); PUBLISHED/PRINTED BY DINESH MITTAL ON BEHALF OF HT MEDIA LTD, 9th Floor, Tower 3, Indiabulls Finance Centre, Senapati Bapat Marg, Elphinstone Road (West), Mumbai-400013
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LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 03

m MINT SHORTS
Furlenco parent raises $15 mn in
Khatabook raises $100 mn,
asset financing from TradeCred
New Delhi: House of Kieraya, the newly christened umbrella
brand of lifestyle rental startup Furlenco, on Tuesday said it has
entered into a $15 million (about ₹111 crore) asset financing deal
announces ESOP buyback Mobile phone imports fell 80%
in June quarter, said ICEA. MINT

with TradeCred, an alternative debt platform. Over eight large

family offices participated in the deal, according to a statement.
Mobile phone
“Our partnership with TradeCred will help fuel the asset demand
that is coming on the back of our aggressive growth and expan-
sion plans,” Vaibhav Laddha, head of corporate finance at House
Tribe Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures lead funding round at a valuation of $600 mn exports up
of Kieraya, said. SUPRIYA ROY
Tarush Bhalla power of the network effect and how it 250% in Q1
tarush.b@livemint.com can create moats for businesses. Khata-
Infosys signs 3-year tech pact BENGALURU book has successfully built such a net- Prasid Banerjee
work by empowering this seismic shift prasid.b@livemint.com
with admissions service UCAS

K
irana-tech startup Khata- among MSME businesses to move from NEW DELHI
MINT
book on Tuesday said it has paper to digital, literally. Despite its

I
raised $100 million as part of large early success and fast adoption to ndia’s mobile phone exports
its Series C funding round, date, the company is early in its path to in the June quarter touched
led by US-based venture power the segment,” said Arjun Sethi, ₹4,600 crore, up 250% from
capital firms Tribe Capital and Moore co-founder and partner, Tribe Capital. ₹1,300 crore a year ago, the
Strategic Ventures. The capital was Without disclosing absolute figures, India Cellular and Electronics
raised at a valuation of $600 million. Khatabook said it had recorded 150% Association (ICEA) said.
Other investors who took part in the growth in revenue in the financial year Pankaj Mohindroo, chair-
round include Alkeon Capital and ended March 2021. man, ICEA, credited govern-
existing investors B Capital Group, “We are excited to partner with ment policies and the produc-
Sequoia Capital, Tencent, RTP Global, Khatabook as they continue to provide tion-linked incentive (PLI)
Unilever Ventures and Better Capital. millions of small and medium-sized scheme for the jump in manu-
It also saw participation from former retailers in India with outstanding soft- facturing and exports.
Bengaluru: Infosys Ltd said on Tuesday it has signed a and current general partners of ware products. This round will acceler- During the same period,
new minimum three-year contract with UCAS, the admis- Andreessen Horowitz, including Balaji ate the growth of technology products imports fell 80%, from ₹3,100
sions service for UK higher education. UCAS and Infosys Srinivasan and Sriram Krishnan, who with which Khatabook’s customers can crore to ₹600 crore. “This is an
have been in a technology partnership since 2015 but the invested in their personal capacities. better serve consumers. Additionally, all-time low since 2014-15,”
new contract represents a “major step change in the rela- Alongside this round, Khatabook this round enables the launch of a next- Mohindroo said. The industry
tionship, focusing on delivering seamless customer service will also be buying back $10 million generation financial services platform body counts companies like
experiences through greater automation, innovation and worth of employee stock ownership Khatabook provides digital tools to kiranas and MSMEs to grow efficiency. MINT to escalate the growth of those same Apple and Foxconn among its
efficiency,” Infosys said. AYUSHMAN BARUAH plan (ESOP) shares to acknowledge and customers,” said James McIntyre, sen- members.
reward employees, ex-employees and start focusing on monetization through officer and co-founder, Khatabook. ior managing director and chief operat- “Export of electronic goods
early investors who contributed to the the distribution of financial services. The startup currently provides digi- ing officer, Moore Strategic Ventures. jumped 100% during the quar-
Breathe Well-being raises $5.5 mn company’s growth. Eligible employees “The first phase of our journey was tal tools to kiranas and enables MSMEs Khatabook is currently available in 13 ter to cross ₹20,000 crore,” he
will be able to sell as much as 30% of enabling digital transformation by to grow efficiency and recover dues. languages and claims to have more noted.
in Accel-led Series A funding round their vested options, the company said. building a tech ecosystem for Indian This includes staff and salary manage- than 10 million monthly active users on Increase in mobile phone
Mumbai: Digital Therapeutics company Breathe Well-being With the fundraise, Khatabook has also MSMEs (micro, small and medium ment platform Pagarkhata, and its flag- its platform. exports is a key goal for the
that helps people prevent, manage and reverse Type 2 Diabetes expanded its ESOP pool to $50 million. enterprises). Now that we have created ship bookkeeping app and digital With covid inducing a shift towards government’s PLI scheme,
has raised $5.5 million (about ₹40 crore)in Series A led by Accel. The two-and-a-half-year-old digital, the competition in the kira- which aims to build scale in
The round saw participation from investors including General startup plans to strengthen its tal- BIG PLANS na-tech space has heated up. Khat- Indian electronics manufac-
Catalyst (early investors in Livongo, $20B+ US-based digital ther- ent base by accelerating hiring abook competes directly with turing. A scheme to attract
apeutic company, Airbnb & Stripe) and Scott Shleifer, Global MD, across engineering, product, THE firm will buy WITH the latest IT will tap proceeds KHATABOOK said it Lightspeed and Tiger Global- semiconductor and display
Tiger Global. The Company will invest the funds to scale up the design, analytics and data science back $10 mn worth
of ESOP shares to
fundraise, the
startup has also
from the fundraise
to launch financial
had recorded 150%
growth in revenue in
backed OkCredit and Matrix- manufacturers is also expected
tech platform and for team expansion. KALPANA PATHAK functions. Currently, Khatabook reward employees expanded its ESOP services offerings for the financial year backed Dukaan. soon, with companies like the
has more than 200 employees. and early investors pool to $50 mn its merchant partners ended March 2021 Dukaan is also in the midst of a Tata Group planning to enter
Khatabook will also tap proceeds fundraise and is in talks to raise its the space.
Enterprise tech startup Syook from the fundraise to launch finan- new round from Tiger Global. The PLI scheme gives eligi-
cial services offerings for its merchant a widely accepted digital platform, the online storefront for kiranas MyStore. Khatabook also faces stiff competi- ble manufacturing companies
raises $1 mn from IPV and ONGC partners. Mint had earlier reported that next step will be digitally-enabled Earlier this year, it also acquired soft- tion from incumbents such as Paytm, a 4-6% incentive on incremen-
Mumbai: Bengaluru-based enterprise tech startup Syook has the firm was looking to enter the finan- financial services for small businesses. ware-as-a-service accounting software which has launched Business Khata for tal sales over the base year of
raised $1 million (about ₹7 crore) from Inflection point ventures cial services space and launch insur- We are humbled by our investors’ con- Biz Analyst for $10 million to offer pre- its 17 million merchant base. 2019-20 for a five-year period.
+ and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in a Series A round. ance and credit offerings for partners. fidence in our mission to help local mium value-added services like on-de- PhonePe, which claims to have 17.5 It is a kind of subsidy being
Funds raised in this round will be used to pursue growth in the For FY20, the startup posted losses businesses succeed by providing them mand access to sales, purchase, inven- million merchants on its platform, is provided by direct payment
international markets especially in the middle east and southeast of ₹126 crore, with nil operating reve- with the right digital empowerment,” tory management and more. focusing on enabling hyperlocal com- from the budget for domesti-
Asia. KALPANA PATHAK nue. However, the company plans to said Ravish Naresh, chief executive “At Tribe, we believe strongly in the merce for kiranas and small businesses. cally manufactured goods.

‘We won’t be driven by what others are doing’

Joseph Rai & Ranjani Raghavan
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI

C
ars24, an online mar-
ketplace to buy and sell
used cars, raised $200
million in November from
Cars24 had raised $200 in owning a car. Many people
million in November. Does want to buy a pre-owned car,
that mean you still have a but are worried about the
bulk of corpus left from it? vehicle’s quality. That is what
How have you been using we are trying to solve. With the
the funds? pandemic, we have seen very
We used the funds mainly strong growth. We are almost CONVERSATIONS
CX
investors such as DST Global.
But Cars24 co-founder and
for the growth of our core twice the size of where we
business of selling used cars in were before the first wave. IN ASSOCIATION WITH 25 Aug 2021

‘
CEO Vikram Chopra is in no India. We also used the To what extent is there a
hurry to go public even as money for threat from
some of its rivals prepare for an new initia- your rivals
initial public offering or are in tives like With the pandemic, in undercut-
the process of doing so. Car- entering the we have seen very ting your

Trade started trading on
exchanges last week, while
Droom said it is raising a pre-
IPO round. In an interview,
Chopra said Cars24’s IPO
CX FUELING
used bike cat- strong growth. We are margins?
egory and We tend to
for an IPO depends on your foraying into almost twice the size of paint all used
preparedness and whether it i n t e r n a - where we were before car companies
strategically makes sense to tional mar- the first covid wave with the same

THE GROWTH
plans would depend on its pre- you or not. We will make our kets such as brush. A lot of
Vikram Chopra
paredness. Edited excerpts: own assessment and not be Australia and Co-founder & CEO, Cars24
them are clas-
driven by what others the UAE. sified players,
CarTrade has are doing. What are and we are
gone public and But what would be your expansion plans? into e-commerce, which is
Droom will be fil- the factors that In India, we have an under very different. In our business,

ing for an IPO soon. Does
that put pressure on you?
The way to think about this
is more inward than outward.
I can’t go and start lifting heavy
weights just because others
are doing it. The decision to go
would drive your next
round of fundraising?
We have raised capital every
12-18 months. We look at our
capital requirements to jump
onto the next phase of growth
for the next two to three years.
AMBITION
5% market share at present, so pricing is not the biggest lever;
there is a big growth opportu- the biggest lever is the selec-
nity in the domestic market. tion and how big the scale is.
What was the impact of the We make money on every car
pandemic on Cars24? that we sell. On a unit econom-
In India, car ownership is ics level, we are profitable.
low. Affordability is a big factor joseph.rai@livemint.com

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Tinder co-founders, others invest in Hike
Tarush Bhalla interact in the virtual world,” EMINENT SPEAKERS
tarush.b@livemint.com said Kavin Bharti Mittal,
BENGALURU founder and CEO, Hike.
In January, Mittal had said

H
ike, which pivoted
from instant messag-
ing to social offerings
recently, said on Tuesday that
it has raised fresh funds from a
clutch of investors to expand
its social, gaming and crypto
portfolio.
The funding was led by Tin-
der co-founders Justin Mateen
and Sean Rad; SoftBank Vision
Fund’s chief executive officer
Rajeev Misra; Tribe Capital
co-founder Arjun Sethi; Zeta
co-founder Bhavin Turakhia;
Flipkart co-founder Binny
Bansal, Cred founder Kunal
Shah, besides Kunal Bahl and
Rohit Kumar Bansal, the
co-founders of Snapdeal.
In 2016, Hike had raised a
$175-million Series D round
led Tencent and Foxconn, at a
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Gaming has evolved into a new way for people to hang out and
interact online, said Kavin Bharti Mittal, chief executive, Hike. MINT
valuation of $1.4 billion.
According to the company,
the funds will be deployed to
expand Hike’s product strat-
egy, besides hiring high-qual-
ity talent across functions.
Hike has a cross-functional
team of more than 160
employees who are working
remotely. “We are thrilled to
have some of the world’s most
that the company will be shut-
ting its eight-year-old instant
messaging app, Hike. Instead,
the company has shifted focus
to its community-based prod-
uct HikeLand and rebranded it Nitin Jain
Manisha Gaurav Khare Jatin Bhasin Akshay Beerud
to Vibe by Hike. Vibe offers a Khadge VP, Operations Co-founder, Senior Vice Singh Sheth
virtual space for individuals to Director – Excellence & OfBusiness President, Chief Strategy CEO, Gupshup
interact with other users hav- Marketing APAC Customer Capital Float Officer, Droom
ing similar interests and watch & MEA, Icertis Experience
content. It also announced its Licious
virtual gaming foray with the
iconic product builders and launch of Rush, a new bite-
investors join us in our jour- sized gaming service.
ney. The rapid technological “We have been building
evolution over the last few new ways for people to express Register Now
years has paved the way for themselves online, building
massive disruption in social new ways for them to hang out
and gaming. There’s little to online. We are building new
separate these two categories. ways for people to participate
Gaming is now inherently in the networks they help www.livemint.com mint.live livemint livemint live_mint
social, evolving into a new way build, in ways that weren’t
for people to hang out and possible before,” said Mittal.
X X

04 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

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

55,958.98 0.73 16,624.60 0.78 14,063.25 0.95 39,601.80 0.97 16,808.00 0.81 22,816.35 1.52 25,786.96 1.69
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

55,555.79 55,647.11 16,496.45 16,561.40 13,930.55 13,986.95 39,220.15 39,460.35 16,673.35 16,744.60 22,475.30 22,554.90 25,358.02 25,385.14
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

56,023.22 55,536.84 16,647.10 16,495.30 14,075.90 13,942.50 39,655.60 39,233.30 16,825.70 16,678.40 22,842.46 22,547.32 25,808.95 25,379.78

m MINT SHORTS
Bitcoin rally has it on the cusp
Beyond the splash, monetization
of breaching technical limit
Bitcoin briefly rallied above $50,000 on Monday for the
first time since May as investor sentiment improves after
a recent crackdown by the Chinese government. In the
plan doesn’t impress markets much
process, the cryptocurrency drew closer to the upper Aparna Iyer & Harsha Jethmalani been set for the current fiscal year.ship (PPP) would be built.
limit of its trading envelope—a technical measure built aparna.i@livemint.com Higher targets have been set progres- Reits and InvITs have seen reasona-
Bringing big bucks
around moving price averages—a breach of which can ble interest from investors so far, and
sively over the next three fiscal years to The National Monetization Pipeline involves leasing of core central government

T
often lead to a pullback. Daniela Hathorn, an analyst at he national monetization
DailyFx.com, thinks that it may be a while before we see plan announced on Monday
any further bullish momentum because $50,000 is a key is the next logical step by the
psychological level for the currency. “A pullback towards government towards its
the $48,000 area would be the first sign of trouble,” she ambitious infrastructure
wrote in a note on Monday. “But the positive trend isn’t spending plan that it announced in
in any trouble as long as bitcoin stays above its 200-day 2020. In essence, though, the pro-
analysts believe that the government
achieve a total of ₹6 trillion worth of assets worth around 2.6% of the GDP from FY22 to FY25.
investments. can expect investors to come easier Projected revenue (in ₹ crore) % share in total revenue (right-hand scale)
Some market participants believe here. What’s more, the rules here were 1,80,000 30
the target itself looks ambitious. eased to allow retail investors to partic- 1,50,000 25
“The national monetization plan ipate too. Ergo, the government can
1,20,000 20
seems to be a bit aspirational, consider-
hope to unlock revenue here faster.
ing the target set to be achieved in just
The PPP model, though, has had its 90,000 15

moving average at $45,750.” In April, bitcoin had hit a gramme is nothing but a new funding four years. I don’t think we have a track
challenges in the past, and some of 60,000 10
record of almost $65,000, driven by a tide of liquidity, route with a fancy name for a cash- record in meeting such a target, so it is
these still remain. PPP contracts are 30,000 5
fast-money bets and optimism about growing demand strapped government. long, usually stretching
0 0
from institutional investors. BLOOMBERG The Street’s lukewarm AMBITIOUS PLANS to more than 20 years, Roads Telecom Power
tranmission
Petroleum* Mining Ports
response to the ₹6 trillion involving complicated
Railways Power Natural Warehousing Airports Others
worth plan, therefore, THE Centre plans to THE Centre is eyeing HOWEVER, some and sometimes daunting generation gas
shouldn’t be surprising. lease out its core ₹6 trillion in next market participants clauses. In many instan-
Upward revision assets in key sectors three fiscals, with the believe that the target
As such, the intention such as roads, power target for this fiscal ces, PPP hasn’t given the
*Comprises petroleum product pipelines, LPG pipelines, hydrogen generation plants and ESG assets.
set by the Union govt Note: The readings are rounded off. Source: PIB and Nomura Global Economics
German economy records faster-than-expected of monetizing assets was and railways being ₹88,000 crore is ambitious desired results on reve-
growth amid a surge in private spending. already made clear in the nues. SATISH KUMAR/MINT

German quarterly Private Government Union budget and priced Either way, the success Markets Research in a note. leasing of its roads, railway lines, power
GDP growth consumption spending (in %) in by the markets. Monday’s a tall task,” said Sahil Kapoor, head of of the government’s plan to get private Kapoor of DSP pointed out that find- grids, telecom fibres and airports and
15 announcement essentially contained products and market strategy at DSP participation hinges on the details. ing investors would also depend on the use the same for new projects.
10 the contours of the scheme through Investment Managers. “We believe the appetite of the pri- internal rate of return and other granu- Tanvee Gupta Jain, an economist at
which the government will unlock The government intends to use vate sector will also depend on other lar details. Above all, market conditions UBS Securities India, points out that
5
value in its assets. infrastructure investment trusts factors like the duration of the conces- must be conducive, he added. fiscal consolidation won’t be impacted.
0 Over four years, it plans to lease out (InvITs) and real estate investment sions, institutional mechanism for dis- On the whole, the monetization plan Short on details, the monetization plan
-5
a bunch of its core assets, mostly trusts (Reits) in projects where cash pute resolution, ability to operate the ensures that the government does not for now just reiterates the Union gov-
brownfield projects in key sectors such flows are clear. In sectors such as min- projects at commercial rates, regula- have to blow up its fiscal deficit in order ernment’s intention for capital spend-
-10 as roads, power and railways. To begin ing and aviation, where cash flows are tory and taxation issues, among oth- to spend on infrastructure. It intends to ing. The jury is still out on the imple-
-15 with, a target of ₹88,000 crore has not visible, a public-private partner- ers,” wrote analysts at Nomura Global use the revenues garnered from the mentation part.
31 Mar 2018 30 Jun 2021
Source: Federal Statistics Office, Bloomberg

SATISH KUMAR/MINT

Consumer spending is the key
to Germany’s swift growth
Strong consumer spending in Europe’s largest economy
fuelled a faster-than-expected recovery in the second
+ quarter—one that is now looking increasingly uncertain.
German output increased 1.6% in the three months
through June, compared with an earlier estimate of 1.5%,
the statistics office said on Tuesday. The rebound was
Buffer provisions support big As global iron ore prices crack,
banks’ valuations amid covid state-run NMDC feels the heat
Aparna Iyer Ujjval Jauhari
Falling international prices has the average prices of lumps and
aparna.i@livemint.com
Puffed up protection ujjval.j@livemint.com meant that NMDC too cut prices. fines at ₹3,679 a tonne and ₹3,231
Banks that have made adequate buffer provisions against the It had reduced prices for its pro- a tonne seen during FY21.
pandemic are better placed to ward off future stress.

A N
driven by a 3.2% jump in household spending, strong fis- critical factor that dif- MDC Ltd, India’s largest duce (lump ore and fines) by 3-4% What’s more is that the outlook
cal support and rising capital investment. While this puts ferentiated strong, vul- (as % of loan book) iron ore producer, has during the month of August. on volume remains good. The
the economy on track to reach pre-crisis levels in the next nerable and weak Buffer Restructured Restructured + low-rated loans seen its fortunes turn for Therefore, the pressure on mar- strong steel demand in the coun-
few months, according to the Bundesbank, risks to the banks is the extent of provi- provision loans (right-hand scale) the worse after iron ore prices gins is palpable. “We expect both try and resumption of Donimalai
outlook are emerging, which mean this year’s rebound sions lenders have made 2 60 cracked this month. Shares of seaborne and domestic iron ore mines (7 million tonnes per
may not be as strong as previously anticipated. Manufac- towards the impact of the pan- NMDC are down 16% so far this prices to correct as annum or mtpa) in
1.5 45
turers have faced challenges with shortages of raw mate- demic. Within this, buffer pro- month, in tandem with a plunge in supply constraints China’s move in Karnataka as well as
rials and other supply-chain bottlenecks. Rising covid visioning—which is over and 1 30 international iron ore prices. The ease and margins July to cut steel ongoing expansions
infections also pose an additional threat. BLOOMBERG above the regulatory require- effect of NMDC’s strong June- climb down from the production has are expected to sup-
0.5 15
ment—has made a big differ- quarter performance didn’t seem peak from 2QFY22 hit expectations port volume.
ence in terms of valuations for 0 0 to last on its shares. onwards,” analysts at “We expect a
on demand,
Saudi Arabia’s exports rise on lenders. State Bank
of India
HDFC
Bank
ICICI
Bank
Axis
Bank
Kotak
Mahindra Bank
Iron ore prices (ex-China) that Kotak Institutional strong (13%) volume
normalizing iron CAGR to 42 mt (mil-
Indeed, lenders such as were on a surge so far have Equities wrote in a
eased lockdown and oil rally State Bank of India (SBI),
Source: Jefferies report
cracked in August, falling to $160 note. ore supplies lion tonnes) over
Saudi Arabia’s exports rose 99.4% during the second HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, SATISH KUMAR/MINT
a tonne from over $210 at the To be sure, on a FY21-23, aided by
quarter of the year on an annual basis, driven mainly by despite a spike in stress, have True, the lender has multiple level, dragging incomes of month’s start. Iron ore prices had year-on-year basis, the resumption of
the easing of covid lockdown measures and a recovery in won over investors due to positives besides provisioning most lenders. risen sharply, crossing the $200 a NMDC’s realizations do remain the Donimalai mines and
oil prices. Total revenue was 238.6 billion riyals ($63.6 their high provisions. that support its valuation. Furthermore, some lenders tonne mark during April, trig- conducive to its earnings. Analysts increased volumes at Chhattis-
billion), up from around 120 billion riyals a year ago, Other private sector lenders Close competitor Axis Bank, had dipped into their buffer gered by a rebound in demand at Kotak Institutional Equities garh,” analysts at Motilal Oswal
according to a statement by the General Authority for that investors warmed up to too, has been able to boost provisions to offset the impact and disruption in supplies. estimate realizations of iron ore Financial Services Ltd said in a
Statistics on Tuesday. Oil exports rose 126% during the were Axis Bank, Kotak Mahin- investor interest through pru- of the second covid wave on China’s move in July to cut steel lump and fines to average at note. Export contracts have not
quarter. Non-oil exports increased by 52% year-on-year dra Bank and IndusInd Bank. dent provisioning. Conserva- asset quality. production has dampened the ₹4,926 a tonne and ₹4,526 a been renewed, which means that
to about 66 billion riyals from nearly 43 billion riyals. The lenders have one thing tive lender Kotak Mahindra Analysts at Jefferies India expectations on demand, normal- tonne, respectively, during FY22. NMDC would sell iron ore more in
Plastic and rubber products accounted for over 34%, the in common— Bank’s valuation Pvt. Ltd expect provisions to izing iron ore supplies. This is significantly better than the domestic market. The iron ore
biggest share in non-oil exports. The share of oil exports high provisions. Lenders such as has also drawn fall in FY22 for banks as fresh demand in the domestic market
in the total number increased to 72.5% from 64% a year As the adjoin- State Bank of considerable sup- stress emerges from the pan- would ensure an increase in vol-
ago. China was the biggest export destination in the sec- ing chart shows, India, HDFC Bank port from the pro- demic. This would mean that
Robust show ume, according to analysts.
ond quarter, followed by India, Japan, South Korea, the ICICI Bank wins tection of provi- credit costs may also temper Rising realizations and improving volumes are driving NMDC’s earnings. That said, the 22.5% additional
and ICICI Bank (in ₹ per tonne) (in million tonnes)
US and the United Arab Emirates. BLOOMBERG hands down on sioning. for banks. royalty on NMDC’s iron ore sales
have won over would dilute the margin. How-
the extent of Does that mean “If lenders utilize buffer Blended realizations Ebitda* Sales volume (right-hand scale)
buffer provision- investors despite that these lenders provision, it could lift our 8,000 12 ever, analysts at Motilal Oswal still
ing it has against a spike in stress are not vulnerable earnings forecasts as we estimate Ebitda and net profit
Limited options stressed loans. to the pandemic haven’t factored these in earn- 6,000 9
CAGR of 12%/16% over FY21-23,
A record 1,144 hedge funds have stopped accepting The private sec- anymore? The ings,” a Jefferies report said. respectively. Another factor that
new money, the most since compilation began. 4,000 6
tor lender has a buffer provi- answer is not a straight yes, The upshot is that proactive could support the state-run com-
Number of funds sion of 1.2% of its loan book as here. provisioning by lenders meant 2,000 3 pany’s valuations is the progress
1,200
against a restructured loan To be sure, the impact of valuations remain unscathed on the potential demerger and
0 0
pile of just 0.5%. another potential covid wave during the second wave. From Q1FY21 Q2FY21 Q3FY21 Q4FY21 Q1FY22 subsequent strategic stake sale of
900 ICICI Bank’s shares have and possible lockdowns is still here on, though, the pace of *Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
the Nagarmal steel plant. But for
outperformed the sector index unclear. As such, loan growth stress pile-up would deter- Source: Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd
now, iron ore prices are spoiling
600
by a wide margin so far in 2021. has decelerated at the industry mine how safe the lenders are. the party for NMDC here.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT

300

0
2013 2021
Investors in IndiGo, SpiceJet await rebound after turbulent Q1
Note: 2021 data is through 12 August. Source: Preqin, Bloomberg
Pallavi Pengonda For perspective: average conditions, shares of IndiGo ings under pressure, we remain
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
pallavi.p@livemint.com daily passenger traffic in July
Pandemic blues and SpiceJet have underper- concerned about its fragile
was around 158,000. Naturally, Average daily passenger traffic is recovering gradually after dropping formed the broader Nifty 500 liquidity position,” they said.
Hedge funds are hot but most to a low in May 2021 due to second covid wave’s restrictions.

T
he aviation industry has
are not accepting new money been in pain since the
Across the industry, a record 1,144 hedge funds have beginning of the covid-19
stopped accepting new money, the most since data pandemic, as traffic took a sharp
tracker Preqin started compiling the information. Of 20 beating and understandably so.
multi-manager firms managing more than $220 billion The second covid wave
collectively, 13 are no longer taking in more cash, accord- stalled the recovery that was in
ing to Julius Baer Group Ltd. Crucially, those closures are progress after lockdown restric-
happening at some of the biggest and sought-after firms. tions were eased last year. This
“The reality is the best performers are dictating terms,” meant average daily passengers
Ivan Iliev, head of alternative funds at Julius Baer, said in declined to a low in May and,
an interview. For investors, “the easy way of making since then, traffic is gradually
money by buying two or three multi-manager platforms improving.
is closed”, he said, referring to the practice of investing “Weekly average daily fliers
with a handful of hedge funds that give clients access to came in at 205k in the week
an array of strategies. Of course, only a small fraction of ended 21 August versus 213k in
the 8,000 or so hedge funds globally are in a position to the W.E. 14 August,” said ana-
be demanding. As a group, hedge funds are off to their lysts from ICICI Securities Ltd
best start since 1999 after posting big gains.BLOOMBERG in a report on 24 August.
the upward traffic trend bodes
well for the sector. The rising
pace of vaccinations helps, too.
But much depends on the
potential third covid wave and
its impact. As such, investors in
aviation firms InterGlobe Avia-
tion Ltd and SpiceJet Ltd would
keep a close eye on that in the
days to come. InterGlobe runs
IndiGo, India’s largest airline.
Both firms reported losses for
the financial year 2021 and it’s
not as if this year has begun well.
For the quarter ended June
(Q1FY22), IndiGo and SpiceJet
posted net loss of ₹3,179 crore
and ₹729 crore, respectively.
Higher crude oil prices were an
index in this calendar year. SpiceJet’s shares are 41%
3,00,000
Average daily passengers Even so, market share gains lower than its pre-covid highs
have augured well for the seen in January 2020. For Spi-
2,50,000
IndiGo stock, which is trading ceJet, recapitalization and com-
2,00,000 above its pre-covid highs seen pensation from Boeing are key
1,50,000 in early 2020. But valuations factors to watch out for, said
1,00,000 are pricey. analysts.
50,000
“IndiGo’s stock at 10.7 times “The expected compensation
FY23E Ebitdar already factors from Boeing continues to be
0
June 2020 July 2021 in strong traffic/earnings recov- added every quarter at a run-
Source: Ministry of civil aviation, ICICI Securities
ery and leaves little room for rate of ₹140 crore; however,
error,” said analysts from Cen- with more delay, the chances of
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
trum Broking Ltd in a report on realization of the cumulative
additional burden for airlines, ence call, the management said: 21 August. Ebitdar is earnings amount (approximately ₹1,400
as they were already coping “July (revenue) is projected to before interest, tax, deprecia- crore till date and it changes
with subdued demand. recover back to April levels.” On tion, amortization and lease with forex fluctuation) becomes
Note that IndiGo’s net worth a monthly basis, IndiGo’s April rentals. The broker has a doubtful,” said ICICI Securities’
turned negative after the Q1 revenues were the highest in Q1. ‘reduce’ rating on both the analysts in their SpiceJet results
results. In its earnings confer- Given the tough business stocks. “With (SpiceJet’s) earn- review report.

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

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LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 05

Skewed corporate earnings NTPC looking to sell

stake in JV with SAIL
show revival may take longer Utpal Bhaskar
utpal.b@livemint.com
NEW DELHI

I
ndia’s largest power genera-
tion utility NTPC Ltd is in
Sectors linked to global demand such as commodities and exports posted healthy growth in Q1 talks with state-run Steel
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) to
and CEO, Paytm. MINT sell its stake in NTPC-SAIL
Nasrin Sultana & Ravindra Sonavane Power Co. Pvt. Ltd (NSPCL),
Low earnings
Paytm allots MUMBAI
While net sales fell 9.9%, adjusted
the 50:50 joint venture to the
steel maker, two people aware

C
orporate earnings for the net profit slipped 18.44% of the development said, seek-
166 former June quarter showed
skewed growth in select
sequentially in Q1.

200
Net sales Adjusted net profit
ing anonymity.
The development comes at a
The joint venture between the
firms started in 2001. MINT

and current sectors, suggesting that a

broad-based revival may
take longer than previously expected. 150
Q-o-Q growth (in %) time when NTPC is pivoting
towards green energy with a
growing focus on environmen-
The government on Monday
unveiled the ₹6 trillion
staff shares The quarter saw sectors that are
linked to global demand such as com-
tal, social and governance
(ESG) investing. “NTPC is look-
National Monetization Pipeline
(NMP) for leasing infrastruc-
modities and exports post healthy 100 ing to offload its stake in NSPCL ture assets of the government
before IPO growth as the second covid wave and
regional lockdowns hurt domestic con-
and is in talks with SAIL,” said
one of the two people cited
ministries and state-run firms.
The power sector comprises
50
sumption. Companies benefited from above. 15% of the total assets on offer.
Tarush Bhalla a low base, posting better earnings in 15.8 Queries to the spokesper- While power transmission
tarush.bhalla@livemint.com the first quarter (Q1) compared to last 5.4 sons of NTPC and SAIL on assets totalling 28,608 circuit
0
BENGALURU year, but sequentially, earnings con- -9.9 Thursday afternoon remained km for monetization account
tracted as margin pressure intensified -18.4 unanswered till press time. for ₹45,200 crore, the power

O
ne97 Communica-
tions Ltd, which runs
digital payments firm
Paytm, has allotted shares to
166 former and current
employees ahead of its planned
public listing, according to the
company’s filings with the min-
istry of corporate affairs.
More than 1.01 million shares
have been allotted to these
individuals, the filings showed.
The list includes Paytm’s
president Amit Nayyar who
was heading the financial servi-
ces division at the Noida-based
startup. Nayyar, who resigned
in June this year and is cur-
rently serving his notice period,
has been allotted 116,000
shares at an exercise price of
₹10.5 lakh.
According to the company’s
draft red herring prospectus,
Paytm had a total paid-up share
capital of 606,941,722 shares at
a face value of ₹1 each.
+ The share allotment plan
comes at a time when Paytm
plans to alter One 97 Employee
Stock Option Scheme 2019 by
more than doubling the exist-
ing ESOP pool from
24,094,280 equity options to
61,094,280 equity options at a
face value of ₹1 each. It is
expected to seek shareholder
approval on the changes to its
ESOP pool at an extraordinary
general meeting slated for 2
September.
“At present, there would be
roughly 1,000 employees at
Paytm who have vested ESOPs
in the company with approxi-
mately 14 million options
vested,” a person aware of the
discussions said on condition of
with high input prices and reversal of -50
Q4FY19 Q1FY22
NSPCL, which was formed in generation assets totaling 6
cost rationalization measures. Data for 322 BSE 500 companies, excludes March 2001, supplies electric- gigawatts (GW) of hydropower
A Mint analysis of 322 companies in Prices of basic raw materials such as oil and metals rose sharply in the June BFSI, oil & gas sectors.
Source: Capitaline
ity to Chhattisgarh, besides and renewable energy assets
the BSE 500 index showed net sales quarter, hurting the margins of consumer and auto companies. REUTERS Union territories of Dadra and account for ₹39,832 crore.
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
fell 9.9% sequentially in the June quar- Nagar Haveli, and Daman and “Monetization of coal and
ter compared to 11.45% growth in the on revenue, but missed on margins companies by 1-2% on aggregate. ces. In the case of banks, the retail part Diu, and SAIL. The JV took gas assets has not been consid-
March quarter. Net profit, after adjust- with higher commodity costs impact- V. Srivatsa, a fund manager at UTI of the loan book showed stress and over the captive power plants of ered during the NMP period.
ing for a one-time profit or loss, also ing consumer and auto margins. Large- AMC said a large part of earnings incremental higher provisions were SAIL’s steel plants at Durgapur The interest of global investors
slipped 18.44% sequentially in the June cap IT stocks missed on both revenue growth in the June quarter was driven made for this part and also, future in West Bengal, Rourkela steel in these assets is limited by the
quarter against a rise of 13.10% in previ- and margin, while the reverse was true by cyclicals such as metals which were reserves were built up and NBFCs in Odisha and Bhilai in Chhat- strict ESG guidelines under
ous three months. The analysis for the mid-cap IT companies. How- large absolute contributors to incre- showed worse outcomes as they saw tisgarh. which they operate and the
excluded banking, financial services ever, deal wins remained strong; (it) mental profits, driven by high metal higher slippages and credit losses,” he NTPC is also preparing for uncertain long-term potential
and insurance, and oil and gas firms as should keep growth intact,” Shah said. prices and volume recovery. said. initial public offerings (IPOs) of the assets,” said NITI Aayog.
they follow a different revenue Prices of basic raw materials for its clean energy subsidiaries NTPC plans to reach 60 GW
model. SECOND WAVE EFFECT such as oil and metals rose sharply NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam renewable energy capacity by
Last year, there was a strict in the June quarter. Brent crude Ltd (NVVN) and NTPC Renew- 2032 from the existing 4GW
nationwide lockdown in most parts FIRMS gained from a CONSUMER and LARGE-cap IT stocks 246 manufacturing rose 18%, while aluminium, copper, able Energy Ltd (NTPC REL) and invest₹1 trillion between
of the June quarter, hence, this low base, posting auto companies
better earnings in Q1, surprised on
missed on both
revenue and margin,
firms in the BSE 500
showed adjusted net
zinc, and lead were up 5-16%. and has appointed merchant 2019 and 2024 to become a
year’s earnings are not comparable but sequentially revenue, but missed while the reverse was profit falling 26.37% During the quarter, 246 manu- bankers to run the process, 130GW power producer by
on a year-on-year basis. earnings contracted on margins true for the mid-cap sequentially facturing firms in the BSE 500 Mint had reported. It has also 2032. NTPC Group posted a
Amit Shah, head, equity showed adjusted net profit declin- floated a global tender for set- net profit of $1.85 billion in
research, India at BNP Paribas, said ing 26.37% sequentially, while net ting up a 1GWh grid-scale bat- FY21. It has also announced its
Q1 earnings showed the economic Commodities such as crude, palm oil, “Cement, oil and gas, and consumer sales fell 13.19%. This compares to a tery storage system. target of 10% reduction in net
recovery is still at a delicate stage as and tea saw high inflation which hurt durables showed positive surprises 22.85% rise in adjusted net profit and Torrent Power has placed energy intensity as part of its
seen by the almost immediate impact margins of consumer companies. How- while auto, banks, and non-banking 13.72% rise in the March quarter. the highest bid for power distri- energy compact goals. The
on demand due to the second wave. ever, with price hikes and stabilizing financial companies (NBFCs) showed In FY21, earnings growth was rela- bution companies (discoms) of public sector unit has an
“Overall, on operational profitabil- raw material costs, Shah believes the negative surprises as compared to tively broad-based, but in Q1FY22, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and installed capacity of around
ity, most companies disappointed on worst of margin pressure is behind. He expectations. The effect of lockdown growth has been a bit more skewed, Daman and Diu as part of the 67GW across 70 power pro-
account of margin compression. Con- has cut his FY23 earnings estimates for has been higher on auto and this sector said Edelweiss Securities. discom privatization exercise jects, and 18GW under con-
sumer and auto companies surprised fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) has been impacted by high metal pri- nasrin.s@livemint.com for the eight Union territories. struction.
E-com rules may SC: Don’t encash Airtel guarantees for 3 weeks ReNew
keep logistics out FROM PAGE 1 ment could hold on for a brief
completes
FROM PAGE 1 MSMEs will also be resolved at
ment and Appellate Tribunal,
the bench of Justices L. Nages-
period to enable the company
to approach to TDSAT. Mehta
said it was up to the company
merger with
in a letter to the government,
the time of finalizing the
e-commerce rules. However,
wara Rao, S. Abdul Nazeer and
M.R. Shah said: “The depart-
to approach a forum of its
choice, but it should be left RMG II
said the proposal to include the government is insistent ment of telecommunications open to the Centre to raise all
manufacturing entities or that e-commerce data can’t be shall not invoke the financial contentions, including juris- Staff Writer
logistics players as “related used by group companies of bank guarantees of respondent diction, as, in its opinion, no feedback@livemint.com
parties and associate enter- the e-commerce player with- No.53 (Bharti Airtel) for a forum except the Supreme NEW DELHI
prises” goes beyond the scope out the explicit approval of the period of three weeks from Court had jurisdiction to pass

anonymity.
A Paytm spokesperson
declined comment.
Mint earlier reported that
Paytm was also in talks with five
lenders to help employees bor-
row money to exercise their
stock options before the public
listing. The company wanted to
help employees pay for buying
their vested options and make
tax payments if required, and
was in talks with IIFL, ICICI
Securities, and Edelweiss Capi-
tal. Paytm is expected to facili-
tate a loan size of around ₹100
crore towards this end, helping
300-500 employees who hold
stock options, Mint reported,
citing people familiar with the
matter.
Paytm is currently awaiting
approval from the Securities
and Exchange Board of India
for its draft prospectus. It is
expected to list on the Indian
exchanges by November.
of the Consumer Protection
Act, 2019. “Merely being a
related party of an e-com-
merce entity cannot automati-
cally be construed that such
entity be also classified as
‘e-commerce entity’, espe-
cially since such a related party
may not have any online busi-
ness at all,” the letter said.
According to the proposed
norms, even people engaged
by e-commerce entities for the
fulfilment of orders, such as for
storage, inventory and order
management, will be con-
strued as e-commerce entities.
Any outsourcing service pro-
vider or a vendor, too, will be
deemed an e-commerce
entity, thereby curtailing such
entities’ right to access the
market through e-commerce,
the letter said.
The official said the sugges-
tion to reduce the compliance
burden on startups and
consumer. The fall-back liabil-
ity prescribed in the rules is
unlikely to be changed, the
official said.
The rules define “fall back
liability” as the liability of a
marketplace e-commerce
entity where a seller registered
with such entity fails to
“deliver the goods or services
ordered by a consumer due to
negligent conduct, omission
or commission of any act by
such seller in fulfilling the
duties and liabilities in the
manner as prescribed by the
marketplace e-commerce
entity, which causes loss to the
consumer.”
The official said the govern-
ment wants to make these
changes through e-commerce
rules, rather than FDI policy
for e-commerce, as it wants
these to be applicable to all
e-retailers uniformly, whether
they are domestic or foreign.
today.”
Appearing for Airtel, senior
advocate Shyam Divan said DoT
had wrongfully fastened the lia-
bility of ₹1,376 crore on it, and
the fresh demand was based on
the 1 September 2020 judge-
ment by the top court.
The September 2020 order
refused any further reassess-
ment of AGR dues and
directed telecom service pro-
viders to pay 10% of their dues
by 31 March and thereafter pay
the rest in 10 yearly install-
ments by March 2031. The
existing bank guarantees sub-
mitted by telcos regarding the
spectrum were to be kept alive
until any default in payment.
Divan submitted that under
the spectrum trading agree-
ment, Airtel will be liable to
pay only such dues that were
incurred after the date of
agreement which came into
operation on 16 May 2016. The
R
orders on this aspect. eNew Power Pvt. Ltd on
The bench allowed Airtel to Tuesday announced the
Currently, the balance of AGR dues payable by all telecom firms approach the appropriate completion of its merger
adds up to more than ₹1.43 trillion. MINT forum for redressal of its griev- with Nasdaq-listed special pur-
ances and directed that the pose acquisition company
AGR dues, according to him, entertaining his request, DoT will also be at liberty to (SPAC) RMG Acquisition Corp.
pertained to the period prior Divan submitted that he raise all contentions before the II (RMG II).
to the agreement, liable to be should be allowed to raise this said forum. The merger puts an enter-
paid by Videocon. dispute before TDSAT, and his In July, the top court prise value of around $8 billion
The company claimed to have bank guarantees should not be refused to entertain the plea (about ₹59,354 crore) and an
fully complied invoked till then. by telecom companies com- equity value of $4.4 billion on
with the Septem- The bench has On this condition, plaining about arithmetical the new entity, ReNew Energy
ber 2020 order by allowed Airtel to Divan agreed to errors committed by DoT in Global Plc.
depositing approach the withdraw his calculating dues. “As a result of the business
₹18,004 crore by appropriate application. The In October 2019, the combination, RMG II has
31 March 2021, bench said, “We Supreme Court directed the become a wholly owned sub-
forum for
which was far are not going to telecom companies—Voda- sidiary of ReNew Energy
more than the 10% redressal of its revisit our judge- fone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Tata Global Plc. Commencing at the
due payable out of grievances ment.” Teleservices, among others— open of trading on 24 August,
the total AGR dues Solicitor gen- to pay up AGR dues. Cur- ReNew’s Class A ordinary
of ₹43,980 crore eral Tushar rently, the balance of AGR shares and ReNew’s warrants
calculated by DoT. Mehta, appearing for DoT, dues payable by private tele- are expected to commence
“The demand notice dis- opposed the application say- com firms, state-owned tele- trading on Nasdaq under the
rupts my working, and I seek a ing, “The demand is consistent com providers—MTNL and symbols ‘RNW’ and
stay of such precipitative order with the Supreme Court BSNL—and telecom compa- ‘RNWWW’, respectively,”
passed by DoT,” Divan argued. judgement.” The bench nies under liquidation adds up ReNew Power said in a state-
With the bench not keen on wanted to know if the govern- to more than ₹1.43 trillion. ment on Tuesday.
The $1.2 billion equity pro-
ceeds from the ReNew Power
merger with RMG II includes a

Actis starts sale process for Sprng Energy, to appoint i-banker shortly private investment in public
equity (PIPE) deal of $855 mil-
lion. The PIPE investors
include BlackRock, BNP Pari-
Utpal Bhaskar This follows Actis’ earlier industrial (C&I) segment. purchase of 19.4% stake in The pipeline looks promising bas Energy Transition Fund,
utpal.b@livemint.com deal where it sold Ostro These investments will be NYSE-listed Azure Power with a total of ₹4.7 trillion Chamath Palihapitiya, Sylebra
NEW DELHI Energy Pvt. Ltd to ReNew made from Actis Energy 5 LP Global Ltd for $219 million invested in the country’s Capital, TT Environmental
Power Ventures in 2018 at an fund. from IFC and IFC GIF Invest- renewable energy space in the Solutions Fund and Zimmer

P
rivate equity firm Actis
Llp has started the sale
process of its renewable
energy platform Sprng
Energy, and will shortly
appoint an investment banker
for what could be one of the
largest green energy deals in
India, said two people aware of
the development.
Mint couldn’t ascertain the
size of the deal.
Sprng Energy is expected to
have an operational portfolio
of 1.7 gigawatts (GW) by the
year-end and has 400 mega-
watts (MW) under construc-
tion. It has a 2.5GW pipeline.
This PDF was originally uploaded to Mint Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/mint_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X X
enterprise value of $1.5 billion.
The proposed deal for Sprng
Energy comes amid a growing
focus on environmental, social
and governance (ESG) invest-
ing.
“The banker to run the sale
process will be appointed
shortly,” said one of the two
people cited above requesting
anonymity.
Some of the other clean
energy platforms in India
backed by private equity
investors include KKR’s Vire-
scent Infrastructure and Euro-
pean alternative asset man-
ager EQT and Singapore’s
An Actis spokesperson
declined comment.
Actis, which invests only in
emerging markets, has com-
mitted $2.1 billion in the
Indian market so far spanning
energy, financial services and
real estate.
The global investors inter-
est in India’s green economy
Actis plans to invest $850 million in India to build two green continues unabated despite
energy platforms. HT the coronavirus pandemic,
with India’s power demand
state investment firm Tem- first platform will focus on set- being on an upward trajectory.
asek Holdings Pte.’s O2 Power. ting up grid-connected solar A recent case in point being
Actis plans to invest $850 and wind power parks while Canadian pension fund
million in India to build two the second will cater to the Ontario Municipal Employees’
green energy platforms. The growing commercial and Retirement System’ (OMERS)
ment Company. Recently past six years, and an expected Partners.
Thailand’s state-owned ₹1 trillion investment opportu- Mint reported on 15 Febru-
energy major nity annually till ary about ReNew Power’s
PTT Group also Sprng Energy is 2030. SPAC plans at a valuation of
announced its expected to have India is running almost $4 billion, and its discus-
acquisition of an operational the world’s largest sions with RMG Acquisition
41.6% stake in portfolio of 1.7GW clean energy pro- owned by Riverside Capital
Avaada Energy gramme to Management. ReNew Power
by year-end and
Pvt. Ltd for achieve 175GW of had shelved its Indian IPO plan
around $454 mil- has 400MW under renewable capac- in 2019 amid volatility.
lion. construction ity. “As a result of this transac-
India’s solar According to tion, ReNew has received $610
and wind gener- the Central Elec- million in net proceeds, con-
ation recorded an all-time tricity Authority, by 2030, the sisting of funds from RMG II’s
high of 43.1GW on 27 July. country’s power requirement former trust account and from
India has also crossed the would be 817GW, more than a PIPE, after redemptions and
100GW milestone of installed half of which would be clean transaction fees,” the statement
renewable energy capacity. energy. said.
X X

06 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Regulator puts
new payment
network plan
on back-burner
FROM PAGE 1
Further, the recent data
breaches at MobiKwik and
Bigbasket could have made
RBI take cognisance of the
risks involved in allowing pri-
vate sector manage payment
transactions.
Last year, RBI had invited
I
companies to bid for licences
to set up for-profit digital pay-
ments processing platforms to
cut concentration risks in the
payments sector and offer
users more options.
RBI had then said the pay-
ments network would be
allowed to charge fees for
Markets remain buoyant amid Jeh Wadia leaves
boards of Bombay
widespread investor optimism Burmah, Britannia
FROM PAGE 1 that has worked well for the group
in its other ventures including
approval,” the annual report said. Britannia. Consequently, Jeh
The benchmark indices gained nearly 1% on Tuesday on the back of a rise in global equities The latest annual report of Wadia, part of the promoter fam-
Bombay Burmah carries an iden- ily, stepped down from his posi-
tical notice, and the resolution tion of managing director while
Nasrin Sultana will be brought before its share- continuing as promoter,” it said.
Bullish momentum
nasrin.s@livemint.com
MUMBAI The BSE Sensex gained 403.19
points to end at 55,958.98
Infosys hits holders at its annual meeting. Bombay Dyeing made an
Bombay Burmah was the com- identical statement in a regula-
pany Jeh joined when he entered tory filing. “In keeping with the
on Tuesday.
$100 bn in
ndian stocks continued to climb for the family business in July 2001. objective of professionalization
the second consecutive day, buoyed Sensex He was inducted into the board of of the management, Jeh Wadia,
56,100
by global buying in equities. The
benchmark indices gained nearly 1% on
Tuesday amid widespread investor opti-
55,958.98
market cap Britannia in September 2005. MD of Bombay Dyeing and Man-
National Peroxide is the fourth ufacturing Co. Ltd, has stepped
listed firm of the Wadia Group, down and will not be renewing
mism. The BSE Sensex gained 403.19 Ravindra Sonavane but Jeh was also not on the board his contract... which has expired
55,900
points, or 0.73%, to end the day at ravindra.s@livemint.com of the specialty chemical firm. on 31 March 2021.”
55,958.98, while the NSE’s Nifty index MUMBAI While neither Wadia nor the However, elder brother Ness,
gained 128.15 points, or 0.78%, to 55,652.67 group has commented on the 50, continues to be the managing

transactions. The new entities
would also earn interest from
the float that customers main-
tain in their online payments
accounts.
“Banks didn’t want to be left
out. Due to pressure from the
government, banks are push-
ing that NUE without state-
run banks is not something
they would be happy with.
There is a lot of work going on
behind the scenes,” the sec-
ond person said, also request-
ing anonymity. “It’s likely that
RBI will wait and watch before
proceeding with this.”
A large part of the retail
payments is processed by
NPCI. For example, the popu-
lar unified payments inter-
face, or UPI, the Immediate
Payment Service, or IMPS,
Bharat Bill Pay, Aadhaar-ena-
bled Payment System, and
RuPay are some retail pay-
ment platforms operated by
NPCI, which is incorporated
as a non-profit.
With digital payments
growing rapidly, many com-
panies are eying a slice of this
growing business through the
+ NUE. Digital payments
jumped 88% to 43.7 billion in
fiscal year 2020-21 from 23.26
billion in 2018-19.
S
16,624.60. hares of Infosys Ltd on development, two people aware director of Bombay Burmah and
55,700
Stocks in other markets in the Asia- Tuesday crossed the $100- of developments said the depar- chairman of National Peroxide.
Pacific region also gained after the US billion market capitaliza- ture is connected to differences Ness is also a board member at
Food and Drug Administration tion mark, to become the fourth with father, Nusli Wadia. Bombay Dyeing, Britannia, and
accorded full approval to Pfizer’s and company in India to achieve the Signs of strain in familial ties Go First. Markets regulator Secu-
BioNTech’s covid-19 vaccine, lifting 55,500 milestone. The stock hit a record came in May, when Go First, in its rities and Exchange Board of
9.16am 3.30pm
investors’ sentiment. Hong Kong’s Hang Benchmark indices have witnessed Source: BSE high of ₹1,755.60 on the BSE with draft share sale documents ahead India (Sebi) placed the airline’s
Seng index rose 2.46%, while China’s high volatility recently. ABHIJIT BHATLEKAR a market cap of ₹7.44 trillion, or of an initial public proposed IPO on
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
Shanghai Composite index gained $100 billion. At close, the scrip offering, said it was When Jeh Wadia quit hold in June with-
1.07%. Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.8%, The India volatility index (VIX) fell ties has sustained. “The swift and steady erased all gains to end the day at exploring legal Go Air and Bombay out assigning rea-
and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.6%. 3.6%, closing trading at 13.19, indicating recovery post the second covid wave of ₹1,720.75, down 1.06% from its action against Jeh Dyeing in March, the sons.
Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail that the nervousness and anxiety of infections has been led by the sustained previous close. Wadia, who was the group said it was The Wadia
research at Motilal Oswal Financial Ser- investors have eased significantly. state-level easing of restrictions and Reliance Industries Ltd has a company’s manag- group is one of
part of a move to
vices Ltd, said global markets were posi- “Benchmark indices witnessed high Google mobility regaining all of its lost m-cap of $140 billion, Tata Con- ing director till India’s most storied
tive after witnessing a sharp fall in the volatility in the recent period, especially ground since February 2021, especially sultancy Services Ltd is at $115 bil- March, over owner- hand over control to conglomerates,
previous week. “Sentiments were also after Federal Open Market Committee for categories such as retail and recrea- lion and HDFC Bank Ltd at $100.1 ship of the Go Air professional execs with a presence in
boosted by the government’s (FOMC) meeting minutes, which indi- tion, transit stations and parks,” said billion in m-cap. brand name and packaged con-
announcement of the National Moneti- cated the likelihood of reversal of QuantEco Research in a report. Over the past few years, Info- other such assets. sumer goods, tex-
zation Pipeline on Mon- As Indians head into sys has been among the top two Jeh Wadia owns the Go Air brand tiles, chemicals and food process-
day through which the SIGNS OF RECOVERY the festive season, there is fastest-growing companies in name through a privately held ing. Britannia and Bombay Dyeing
government will list out a risk of the third wave of India among large caps. It is wit- firm, and the company’s IPO pro- are more than a century old. Bom-
its infrastructure assets INDIAN stocks rose MARKETS in the WHILE China’s covid-19 infections as nessing broad-based traction, spectus said he has made owner- bay Burmah is 158 years old.
worth around ₹6 trillion for the second
consecutive day,
Asia-Pacific region
also gained; Hong
Shanghai Composite
index gained 1.07%,
social interactions nor- including cloud, and other areas ship claims over the brand and The whiff of differences at the
to be given to the private buoyed by global Kong’s Hang Seng Japan’s Nikkei index malize. Improving vacci- such as customer experience and related trademarks. firm comes about half a century
sector over the next four buying in equities index rose 2.46% advanced 0.8% nation coverage remains cyber security, analysts said. When Jeh Wadia quit Go Air after Nusli Wadia battled his
years on a long-term key with an increase in Infosys is gaining market share and Bombay Dyeing in March, father, Neville Wadia, over the lat-
lease,” Khemka added. supplies and growing vac- and its investments in new areas the group said it was part of a ter’s decision to sell Bombay Dye-
Global cues, including the all-impor- monthly asset purchase programme by cine acceptance. A weak monsoon is also helped it increase the total move to hand over control to ing to R.P. Goenka. In 1971, Nusli
tant US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole the end of this year,” said Binod Modi, a risk for markets. On Monday, weather addressable market and target a professional executives. thwarted the deal by enlisting sup-
symposium, will be closely watched to head of strategy at Reliance Securities. analytics firm Skymet had downgraded bigger chunk of clients’ IT bud- A statement from the airline port from the rest of the family,
see where the market is headed. The While concerns over global growth monsoon forecast for this year to below gets. Its seeks to increase pricing said: “Among other initiatives, a employees and J.R.D. Tata.
market has been witnessing a rotation continue amid rising threat from the normal. Skymet believes that there is a in new-age technologies and take key element of this plan, forged If Jeh Wadia’s departure from
from mid-to-large caps, a phenomenon delta variant of coronavirus, the under- 60% chance of below normal rainfall, client specific hikes in areas over weeks of discussions and the boards is indeed linked to dif-
that could continue in the near term, lying strength of the domestic market forecasting monsoon rains to be at 94% where it has better negotiating consultation, was to strengthen ferences with his father, history
given the sharp outperformance of the remains intact, Modi said. of the long period average with an error power in the next 12-24 months, the management of the company would be repeating itself at the
broader market in the last 18 months, Various economic indicators show margin of +/- 4% from June to Septem- analysts said. by bringing on-board proven conglomerate that traces its ori-
Khemka said. that the resumption of business activi- ber. industry professionals, a strategy gins back to 1736.

Startups’ race to Domestic air travel bookings pick up pace amid festive season
orbit is no easy ride FROM PAGE 1

is due to the declining number

the official said.
Meanwhile, airlines are
shoring up their liquidity to
The government currently the pandemic, leading the gov-
allows domestic airlines to sell ernment to further ease the cap
seats up to 72.5% of their pre- on seat capacity.
nan, chief commercial officer,
Vistara. “The demand in
August is expected to return to
tion consultancy Capa India
said in a recent report.
The senior airline executive
FROM PAGE 1 of active covid cases and the prepare for any business dis- covid capacity, “We are pre-covid levels barring any cited above said a recovery in
Investor interest removal of travel restrictions by ruption from a potential third and has also Airlines are shoring encouraged by further shocks.” leisure travel will be key for air-
Agnikul has raised around
the 11 countries that launched $14.5 million, while Skyroot
states,” a senior executive at a wave. increased the up their liquidity to the demand in the Spokespersons at IndiGo, lines to bounce back to pre-
locally assembled rockets has raised about $12.5 million. Gurugram-based budget air- Two of the country’s listed minimum and prepare for any last few weeks SpiceJet, GoFirst and AirAsia covid levels.
between 1957 and 2008, only Funds raised
line said, requesting anonym- airlines—InterGlobe Aviation maximum limits business which is demon- India did not respond to “As of now, most air travel
three managed to place their sat- ity. Ltd operated IndiGo and Spice- on fares.
(in $ million)
disruption from a strated by the fact emailed queries. falls under the VFR (visiting
ellites successfully into orbit in 12.50 “Going by the current fig- Jet Ltd—have both received Passenger traf- that our market India’s domestic air passen- friends and relatives) segment.
the first attempt. Skyroot ures, we are hoping for air approval from their respective fic is expected to potential third share is now 8.1%. ger traffic is expected to jump However, we are hopeful that
In 2010, Bengaluru-based ticket sales to pick up further boards to raise capital through sustain its growth covid wave Also, the capacity 52% this financial year, while leisure and business travel will
Team Indus made headlines during the festive season. If the qualified institutional place- momentum in and passenger international passenger traf- pick up during the festive sea-
when it started working on a mis- current growth continues ments. the coming carriage this fic will surge 60%, though son. This will, however,
sion to send a rover to the Moon 14.50 Agnikul unhindered, we could see a IndiGo and SpiceJet plan to months. month should be close to overall passenger traffic is depend a lot on the occur-
as part of the Google Lunar recovery to pre-covid levels by raise up to ₹3,000 crore and up This would hinge upon the March 2021 based on the cur- expected to remain well rence of the third coronavirus
XPrize competition. It is yet to October-December period,” to ₹2,500 crore, respectively. country averting a third wave of rent trends,” said Vinod Kan- below the FY20 figures, avia- wave,” the executive added.
achieve the feat. The competition
ended with no winner as no par- Bootstrapped
ticipant could have met the dead-
line. Team Indus continues to
work on platforms for mobility,
orbital and landing systems.
Source:
VCCEdge Data Urvyam
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
Bachpan ka pyar is a viral hit, but its creators await fame
“Statistically, based on past Organization (Isro) to leverage
data, getting right to orbit in the their expertise, facilities. Isro has Shephali Bhatt regional music industry. Hindi content except for the fes- appeal that explains why, in
first attempt is almost nil,” said built much of its rocketry supply shephali.bhatt@htdigital.in Two weeks ago, Dirdo fea- tival time and that affects ad spite of all the frenzy, the origi-
Pawan Kumar Chandana, chain locally in India. MUMBAI tured as a singer and model in rates and overall pay-outs,” says nal track still has less than one-
co-founder and chief executive Both startups have also hired rapper Badshah’s version of the record label head. tenth the views that Badshah’s
of Skyroot, acknowledging the talent that worked previously on Bachpan ka pyar, whose rights Nevertheless, the artistes more mainstream version has

S
aarani koi vyaakhya na
challenge. “Most flights fail due Isro’s projects. Agnikul has a hoye, kharaab na dus Universal Music Group, the remain optimistic that come garnered within 10 days of
to silly mistakes such as a tech- panel of retired scientists from kaaran hoye is a Gujarati record label representing the festive season, they’ll be able to release. Without this niche
nician forgetting a piece of cloth Isro to approve the designs. saying that roughly translates pop singer, has acquired from leverage the popularity of this appeal though, Dirdo may
in a fuel line, or an electrical “These people have built and to: Success has no explanation, Meshwa Electronics for an song. A sequel to the song is never have discovered the song
cable snapping or a bolt break- launched PSLV (Polar Satellite failure has ten. Dhiren Trivedi undisclosed amount. already in the pipeline, we hear, in the first place.
ing due to vibration and struc- Launch Vehicle). So, for them, and Mahendra Patel, Badshah’s video had clocked and this one may feature As Barot recalls: “We had
tural loads during launch, or this would be like a toy because co-founders of Meshwa Elec- over 106 million views as of Barot’s son as a singer. done shows in tribal areas in
even an inertial it’s a very small tronics, use it to justify the inex- reporting time and was the top “Let another song become a the past and people had
sensor being rocket compared plicable success of Bachpan ka trending video on YouTube hit and maybe then I’ll charge requested we make songs in
assembled in the India opened its to PSLV,” he said. pyar (childhood love), a now-vi- India under the music cate- (From left): Sahdev Dirdo, who turned #BachpanKaPyar into a viral ₹50,000,” says a hopeful Bar- Hindi. Bachpan ka pyar was the
opposite direction space programme But what about ral song whose original version gory. The producers at Meshwa trend, Kamlesh Barot, the singer of the original track, songwriter iya from Godhra municipality only Hindi song in an entire
by mistake—any- last year, hoping to contingencies to their Ahmedabad-based film said they were happy with the PP Bariya, and music composer Mayur Nadiya. IMAGING: ROHIT GOYAL in Panchmahal district of Guj- Gujarati album when it was
thing can go encourage firms to deal with a possible production and distribution deal with Universal without arat. Barot, too, released.”
wrong.”
enter the burgeoning failure? “In all our company had released in April divulging specifics. doesn’t own the rights to the Meanwhile, Gujarati song- says he’s learning Dirdo is all over The song is
Srinath Ravi- pricing models, in 2019. As part of the agreement, the song. He admits that things writer Bariya says he’s getting to negotiate bet- social media, but effectively a testi-
chandran, market for small all our fundraises, For the uninitiated, Bachpan core team of the original track would have been different “if requests to pen lyrics in Hindi ter deals while the original singer, mony to how
co-founder and satellite launches we have built into ka pyar became an internet was given due credit in the only he had the better sense” to now. His market rate has gone focusing on his short-video-shar-
composer and
chief executive of account runway sensation recently after an old description of Badshah’s video release the song on his own up from ₹5,000 to a mere own studio. ing platforms
Agnikul, corrobo- for at least one or video of Sahdev Dirdo, a young as well as during the Indian Idol YouTube channel back in 2019. ₹8,000 per song. A fair bit of
lyricist are still redefine music
rates that developing system two failures,” Ravichandran said. boy from Chhattisgarh’s episode featuring Dirdo. The These are the commercial Songwriters are paid on the learning had waiting for their promotion in
designs for the first time and set- Similarly, Chandana wants to Sukma district, singing the acknowledgement got the mak- realities of the music industry, lower side these days, as “the gone into com- big break these times, mak-
ting up infrastructure to test raise more funds to be self-suffi- refrain in his school went viral ers mainstream attention and says the head of a record label overall Indian music consump- posing Bachpan ing it near impos-
everything accounts for the cient for 3-4 launches. “We hope on Instagram Reels. Since then, put to rest several false claims of who chose to stay anonymous. tion trend has moved from ka pyar in sible for anyone to
major cost. As a result, they it is successful on the first Dirdo has amassed the love of ownership to the original “Most artistes prefer to take a higher lyrical quality to higher 2017-18, too. Bariya had just predict when, and in which
must operate on tight margins attempt, but in case it is not, we the masses for his innocent soundtrack. But the gains aren’t one-time payment instead of musical quality,” says the delivered a hit track in Gujarati form, a song will gain traction.
while ensuring there’s no short- will be gathering the data and rendition, besides being felici- as large as one would imagine betting on the song for the long record label executive. Unlike back then which also hinged on Do the makers of the original
age in the supply of electronic coming back stronger in the next tated by his state’s chief minis- for singer Kamlesh Barot, song- term by acquiring stake and singers, who make most of their childhood love. So he knew this song grudge Dirdo his fame?
components. “The team has to attempt,” Chandana added. ter, Bhupesh Baghel, and writer P.P. Bariya, and music encashing royalty.” income from live events, lyri- theme resonates with their The artistes say they hope they
think together of a unified prod- The global launch services appearing as a guest on music- composer Mayur Nadiya. The singer-songwriter did cists don’t have multiple ave- audience. Barot had observed can get some of the love that
uct,” he said, adding that they market is valued at $6 billion and centric reality shows like Singer Barot from Halol, a get a portion of the rights pay- nues to make money off a song. that their songs had appeal in Dirdo has got from the main-
have to manage a very lean is slated to grow six times over the Indian Idol. But the creators of small town in Gujarat’s Panch- out from Meshwa, but since Bariya’s abysmally low mar- regions where adivasis live, stream entertainment indus-
process in terms of getting com- next decade. India has captured the original song—singer Kam- mahal district, says many labels they do not own any rights to ket rate is also a function of Guj- including the area Dirdo is try. “If it were an adult in his
ponents, assembling them, test- just 1% of this opportunity and lesh Barot, songwriter P.P. Bar- are eager to sign him now, but the song, that amount was but a arati music being one of the low- from. Hence, Bachpan ka pyar place, we may have felt bad. But
ing them on the ground, and can raise its share 10-fold to about iya, music composer Mayur they turn non-committal the gesture of goodwill. Nadiya, the est among regional music indus- was tuned to the rhythm of the because he’s a kid, we feel
then moving towards launch. $600 million by 2030-31. The Nadiya—aren’t getting as much moment he tells them he can- music composer of the song, tries. Punjabi, Bhojpuri and timli and gafuli, both popular happy for him and are thankful
Both startups are also working shift will be driven by startups exposure, largely due to the not use the Bachpan ka pyar could not speak to Mint as he is Telugu are the leading ones. tribal dance routines. to him,” says Patel of Meshwa
with the Indian Space Research such as Agnikul and Skyroot. commercial realities of the refrain in any new tracks as he unwell. “Gujarati audience is happy with It is perhaps this niche Electronics.
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LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 07

Govt plans
‘India cannot afford to miss ‘Focus on building
to open LIC internal resources
to foreign
investments
out on the crypto revolution’ than exec salaries’
Abhinav Kaul three million users. We were at about Malyaban Ghosh
PTI abhinav.kaul@livemint.com 1.5 million users at the end of Decem- malyaban.g@livemint.com
feedback@livemint.com NEW DELHI ber. In terms of volumes, though we NEW DELHI
NEW DELHI don’t reveal our actual numbers, we

L R
ongtime friends—Ashish Sing- have grown 10-12 times in daily trans- ecent shareholder con-

T
he government is consid-
ering a plan to allow for-
eign direct investment
(FDI) in the country’s largest
insurer Life Insurance Corpo-
ration of India (LIC), a move
which would help overseas
investors take part in the com-
pany’s proposed mega initial
public offering (IPO), people
aware of the development
said.The proposal is under dis-
cussion between the Depart-
ment of Financial Services and
Department of Investment and
Public Asset Management
(Dipam).”
Discussions have been going
on for the proposal for the last
few weeks. It would also go for
inter-ministerial discussions
and would also require Cabinet
nod,” a source said.According
to the current FDI policy, 74%
foreign investment is permit-
ted under the automatic route
in the insurance sector. How-
ever, these rules do not apply to
LIC, which is administered
through a separate LIC Act.
As per Sebi rules, both FPI
and FDI are permitted under
public offer. However, sources
said since LIC Act has no provi-
sion for foreign investments,
there is a need to align the pro-
posed LIC IPO with Sebi norms
regarding foreign investor par-
ticipation. The Cabinet had in
July approved the IPO of
LIC.The Dipam in January
appointed actuarial firm Milli-
man Advisors LLP India to
assess the embedded value of
LIC ahead of the IPO, which is
touted to be the biggest public
issue in Indian corporate his-
+ tory.The government expects
to come out with the LIC IPO
by the end of current fiscal.
hal, Govind Soni and Vimal
Sagar Tiwari—founded Coin-
Switch Kuber in 2017 as a
global aggregator of crypto-
currency exchanges, where users could
compare prices of different digital
assets. The solution gained traction and
within a month of the launch, the
startup was doing business of around $1
million in gross merchandise value
(GMV) a day. This subsequently led to
the funding by Sequoia. The journey
changed a lot after the Reserve Bank of
India’s ban on cryptocurrencies was
overturned by the Supreme Court in
March 2020. CoinSwitch Kuber
launched an India exchange in June
last year with an aim to make crypto
buying and selling as easy as ordering
food online.
Today, the company claims to have
nine million users in India with a 60%
market share, and almost 90% of its
revenue, against 60% at the beginning
of the year. The startup was funded by
the likes of Ribbit Capital, Paradigm
and recently by Tiger Global Manage-
ment, giving it a valuation of around
$500 million. CoinSwitch Kuber’s
co-founder and chief executive Sing-
hal, and chief business officer Sharan
Nair, talked to Mint on the company’s
fundraising plans, new product
launches and business targets. Edited
excerpts:
What is your next step?
Singhal: We want to go deeper into
crypto, launch more products and
innovations in crypto, as well as ven-
ture into other asset classes. We can
delve into that when the plans are more
concrete. However, we aim to create a
more comprehensive portfolio man-
agement for our users who are really
young and come from Tier-2 and
Tier-3 cities. These people are trying to
invest in crypto as the first investment
of their life. There are multiple prod-
ucts in the pipeline that will come up in
the next two months.
actions. Now, a lot of our users are the cern about compensa-
youth from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, tion for senior manage-
who are trying to get into crypto as ment of companies is good for
their first investment class. Today, 60% industry and managements
of our users come from these cities, should focus on building inter-
which is around 5.5 million users. With nal resources rather than
internet penetration, there has been a increasing their own remuner- R.C. Bhargava, chairman,
greater boost in crypto. Crypto was ations, said R.C. Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki India. MINT
banned till April last year in India, while chairman, Maruti Suzuki India
the entire world was moving towards it. Ltd at the 40th annual general “Recent shareholder actions
There was a big untapped market that meeting on Tuesday. indicate that shareholders
was just waiting to enter crypto. Bhargava’s remarks come share this view and are voting
What are the major focus areas? after institutional shareholders on this line. I think it is a good
Nair: Today, the entire focus is on of Eicher Motors Ltd last week development for the whole
policy and regulations. So, a lot of work voted against a special resolu- industry,” said Bhargava.
has been around creating awareness for tion to reappoint Siddhartha He added that companies
stakeholders in the government, Lal as the managing director at which have been successful in
because a lot of their concerns are gen- the annual general meeting. building internal resources
uine to be honest. The resolution was rejected have been able to withstand
CoinSwitch Kuber’s chief business officer Sharan Nair (left), and co-founder and Second, when the crypto industry due to a proposed increase in pandemic-induced disruptions
chief executive officer Ashish Singhal. tries to move, there are a lot of people Lal’s remuneration at a time better than others and been
who want to make quick money from when sales and overall opera- able to take better care of their
Finance minister Nirmala Sithara- try, where there have been some pro- scamming people. So, the most impor- tional performance are sub- employees.
man said the crypto bill is awaiting active talking with exchanges. So, we’re tant thing that most people don’t talk dued. With the government push-
cabinet approval. What makes you hopeful, and things are looking way about is the security of funds. We are The company re-appointed ing for adoption of electric
hopeful that the final regulations better than they were before. working on that. Lal as the managing director on vehicles especially in the two-
will be favourable? You raised $15 million in Series A What is your target for this year Monday, albeit with a small wheelers, three- wheelers and
Singhal: Crypto is a new innovation. funding in January, and another and what steps are you taking to raise, and will seek shareholder bus segments, Bhargava said
Every new innovation has its draw- round of $25 million in April. Are achieve it? approval through a postal bal- India shouldn’t follow devel-
backs, and has pros and cons. Crypto you in talks with investors for the Singhal: This year, we want to reach lot. oped countries while formulat-
will be the next revolution in the inter- more funding? $100 million in revenue. That’s the big In 2018, Onkar S. Kanwar ing climate and energy transi-
net age, which would build more digital Singhal: We are in talks at the goal we have set for ourselves. We had and Neeraj Kanwar, promoters tion policies.
savvy products and push countries moment, and there is definitely some set a 10-million user goal for the end of of Apollo Tyres Ltd, were “If India has to provide
towards more digital economies. India exciting news for the company, and the the year, but I’m sure we’ll cross that in forced to take a salary cut of respectful lifestyle to bulk of its
cannot afford to miss out on this revo- products that we are building and the next month, and it would be a much around 30% after minority people and reduce the gap in
lution. We had missed launching, and the kind of bigger goal that we would set for our- shareholders rejected appoint- living standards with the rest of
out on Internet 1.0. At m INTERVIEW way in which we are selves till the end of 2021. The first step ment of Neeraj Kanwar as the the world it will require higher
least some of the compa- growing. You can defi- to achieve that is educating people. The managing director of the com- level of per capita energy con-
nies, like Google and Facebook could nitely expect something good coming biggest hurdles in this industry are mis- pany, as a result of a subdued sumption. We cannot follow
have originated in India but we weren’t out of CoinSwitch Kuber soon. nomers and misinformation. People financial performance of the the West and need to make our
able to do that well enough. We believe How have ad campaigns aided your generally don’t know what cryptocur- company. own schedules and pro-
that countries will be able to figure out growth? rencies are all about. There are con- According to Bhargava, the gramme, and ensure that we
the regulations to reduce the cons and Singhal: Since April we have grown cerns that are genuine, but there is a lot covid-19 pandemic has showed don’t get pressurized into
focus on the pros. overall by 3-4 times, not just because of of good that is happening, and our job that building internal resources adopting regulations that will
Nair: Most of the comments coming the ad campaigns, but because the team as an industry leader is to propagate has to be the priority for com- result in people of India not
from Nirmala Sitharaman are optimis- has done some brilliant exercises in that, to partner with the best, creating panies and the style of manage- being reduce the gap with the
tic, specifically talking about how there partnering with some media organiza- the best content, and informing users ment should also be frugal, rest of the world. We should
has to be a way out for dealing with tions. Through these initiatives, we about cryptocurrencies, and making where managements need to take longer than the developed
cryptocurrencies. Also, there seems to have gone to over nine million users. I sure we give them enough substance to curtail expenditure on them- world to get to carbon neutral-
be movement internally in the minis- think, in March, we were at around decide whether it is right or wrong. selves. ity,” said Bhargava.

Shift to EVs is inevitable, says Amitabh Kant

MINT
Malyaban Ghosh The automobile industry has electric two-wheelers to
malyaban.g@livemint.com already started preparing for a ₹15,000 per kilowatt hour
NEW DELHI transition to electric mobility (kWh) from ₹10,000 per kWh. NOTICE
with companies like Tata According to the new rules,
Notice is hereby given to the members of NAMCO Bank

I
ndia’s automobile industry
will have to transition to
electric mobility in the com-
ing decades and automobile
manufacturers and component
suppliers will have to become
part of the new value chain to
survive, Amitabh Kant, chief
executive of NITI Aayog, told
the Auto Retail Conclave orga-
nized by the Federation of
Automobile Dealers Associa-
tions (Fada).
A successful transition to
electric mobility is crucial for
India’s efforts to reduce carbon
emissions, meet COP 21 targets,
and reduce its dependence on
oil imports. Hence, the Union
and state governments have
been incentivizing the adop-
tion of electric vehicles in the
public transport system.
“The shift to electric mobil-
ity is inevitable now, and it is
important for the sector to indi-
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.
genize the value chain in the
coming years. The number of
startups in the EV ecosystem is
also very encouraging. The
government has re-strategized
the Fame incentive scheme to
reduce the upfront cost of elec-
tric two- and three-wheelers.
The recently announced pro-
duction-linked incentive
scheme for advanced chemis-
try cell batteries will also be a
game changer,” Kant said.
Motors Ltd, Mahindra and the cap on incentives will be
Ltd. that the Bank may proposing to cunduct its 63th
Mahindra Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, limited to 40% of the total price
Annual General Meeting (AGM) through Other Audio
TVS Motor Co. Ltd and others compared to the earlier cap of Visual Means (OAVM). Due to outbraek of corona (Covid-
launching electric vehicles 20%. The ministry of heavy 19) infection. All the members registered with NAMCO
across segments. Multiple industries has also mandated Bank Ltd. on or before 31.03.2021 are requested to mail
startups like Ather Energy, Ola Energy Efficiency Services Ltd the following details: 1) Name 2) Membership Number 3)
Electric, Okinawa (EESL) to procure Mobile Number and 4) Email ID to the Bank's Email ID Viz:-
and others are ‘The shift to 300,000 electric member@namcobank.in or submit these details to'
also trying to dis- electric mobility three-wheelers nearest NAMCO Bank Branch on or Before 02-09-2021.
rupt the current is inevitable, and for use by differ- This will help the Bank in seamlessly communicating the
structure of the it is important for ent authorities. notice of the AGM through OAVM to all the members on
auto industry with “Growth of their registered Mobile Nos. or Email IDs.
the sector to sd/
their product shared, con-
indigenize the Trigun Kulkarni
offerings and nected, and elec- Date: Aug.,24,2021 In-charge Chief Executive Officer
other solutions. value chain’ tric vehicles pro-
The govern- vide a huge
ment extended opportunity to the
the second phase of the Faster domestic industry. India is a
Adoption and Manufacturing signatory to the COP 21 agree-
of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle ment and the road transport
(Fame) scheme by two years to sector contributes to a fourth of
31 March 2024, to push the the carbon emissions. The
sales of electric vehicles. advent of electric mobility pro-
The department of heavy vides new opportunity, and the
industries also announced a auto sector should capture it,”
50% increase in incentives for Kant added.

Hindustan Media Ventures Limited

Lockheed wins $328 mn contract from IAF

Elizabeth Roche common spareable items,
elizabeth.r@livemint.com engines, propellers, software,
NEW DELHI publication services, ground
handling equipment (GHE),
CIN: L21090BR1918PLC000013
Registered Office: Budh Marg, P. S. Kotwali, Patna - 800 001, Bihar
Tel: +91 612 222 3434 Fax: +91 612 222 1545
Corporate Office: Hindustan Times House (2nd Floor),
18-20, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi - 110 001
Tel: +91 11 6656 1234 Fax: +91 11 6656 1445
Website: www.hmvl.in E-mail: hmvlinvestor@livehindustan.com
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (11TH POST – IPO) (“AGM”) OF
HINDUSTAN MEDIA VENTURES LIMITED (“HMVL”)
The AGM (11th post – IPO) of HMVL will be held on Friday, September 24, 2021 at
11:00 AM (IST) through Video Conferencing/Other Audio-Visual Means (“VC/OAVM”)

I
ndian Air Force (IAF) has
awarded Lockheed Martin a
$328.8 million five-year
contract to provide support for
its fleet of a dozen C-130J
Super Hercules transport air-
craft, the US aerospace com-
pany said on Tuesday.
Lockheed Martin is the
manufacturer of C-130Js, the
tactical airlift employed by 26
operators in 22 nations, the
company said.
“Through this Follow On
Support II (FOS) contract,
Lockheed Martin teams man-
age the program, logistics and
engineering support elements
necessary to sustain the IAF’s
C-130J fleet. The contract
spans a five-year-period, is a
Direct Commercial Sale, and is
a continuation of a prior five-
year FOS I contract where
Lockheed Martin provided
similar support for the IAF’s
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Lockheed Martin will provide logistics and engineering support
for IAF’s fleet of a dozen C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.
C-130J fleet,” the statement
said.
India announced the pur-
chase of six C-130J Super Her-
cules airlifters via a foreign
military sale with the US Air
Force in 2008. All aircraft
were delivered between 2010
and 2011. India received six
more C-130Js in 2017 and in
2019.
“Through an integrated
team and dedicated support,
Lockheed Martin ensures the
IAF’s C-130J fleet is available
and ready for every mission,”
Rod McLean, vice president
and general manager, Air
Mobility and Maritime Mis-
sions, Lockheed Martin, said.
The FOS II contract
includes Lockheed Martin’s
support for IAF’s entire Super
Hercules fleet, as well as
extended options including
support for the C-130J air-
frame, contractor furnished
equipment (CFE), peculiar and
ground support equipment
(GSE) and test equipment.
A total of eight employees
representing Lockheed Mar-
tin, GE (propeller manufac-
turer) and Rolls-Royce (engine
manufacturer) will serve as
on-site technical support for
the duration of the contract.
Additionally through the FOS
II contract, five C-130J aircraft
will undergo 12-year servicing
(depot maintenance) at a
Lockheed Martin-approved
Heavy Maintenance Center
(HMC) beginning in 2022, the
statement added.
Lockheed is also one of the
contenders for a tender to sup-
ply 114 medium multi-role
combat aircraft (MMRCA) to
IAF. It is competing with Boe-
ing’s F-18, SAAB’s Gripen,
Dassault Aviation’s Rafale,
EADS’ Eurofighter Typhoon
and Russian MiG-35.
pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act”) read with General
Circular Nos. 14/2020, 17/2020, 20/2020 & 02/2021 issued by Ministry of Corporate
Affairs on April 8, 2020, April 13, 2020, May 5, 2020 and January 13, 2021, respectively,
and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, to transact
the businesses set out in the Notice convening the AGM.
Electronic copy of the Notice convening the AGM, procedure & instructions for e-voting
and the Annual Report for FY-21 will be sent to those Members whose email ID is registered
with the Company/Depository Participants (DP).
Members who have not registered their e-mail address are requested to register the
same:
• in respect of shares held in demat form - with their Depository Participant(s); and
• in respect of shares held in physical form - (i) by writing to the Company’s Registrar and
Share Transfer Agent (RTA) viz. KFin Technologies Private Limited, with details of folio
number and self-attested copy of PAN card at KFin Technologies Private Limited, Unit:
Hindustan Media Ventures Limited, Selenium Tower B, Plot No. 31 – 32 Gachibowli,
Financial District, Nanakramguda Serilingampally Mandal, Hyderabad – 500032, OR
(ii) by sending email to einward.ris@kfintech.com, OR (iii) by clicking on link
https://ris.kfintech.com/clientservices/mobilereg/mobileemailreg.aspx.
Members holding shares in demat form can also use the aforesaid link to register their
e-mail address for the limited purpose of receiving the Notice of AGM and Annual Report
for FY-21.
The Company will provide facility to the Members to exercise their right to vote by
electronic means. The instructions for joining the AGM through VC/OAVM and the process
of e-voting, (including the manner in which Members holding shares in physical form or
who have not registered their e-mail address can cast their vote through e-voting), will
form part of the Notice of AGM.
Notice convening the AGM and Annual Report for FY-21 will also be available on the
website of the Company at www.hmvl.in, and the stock exchanges viz. BSE and NSE at
www.bseindia.com and www.nseindia.com in due course.
For Hindustan Media Ventures Limited
Place: New Delhi (Tridib Barat)
Date: August 24, 2021 Company Secretary
X X

08 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

G7 members may press US to

extend Afghanistan presence
Biden likely to face pressure at meeting to keep US troops in Afghanistan past 31 Aug to allow more evacuations
Samsung has said the investment will help strengthen the group’s
global standing in key industries such as chip-making. REUTERS
Saeed Shah green-card holders, and the spouses
feedback@livemint.com and children of those individuals.

Samsung to invest LONDON Afghans who were employed by the

embassy or other US agencies in

K
ey US allies are expected to Afghanistan haven’t yet been evacu-

$206 bn by ’23 for pressure President Biden

on Tuesday to prolong US
operations in Afghanistan
ated in significant numbers.
The Taliban see the international
effort at the airport, which includes
past 31 August to evacuate almost 6,000 American soldiers, as a
post-covid growth more Westerners and Afghans,
despite warnings from the Taliban
that they won’t accept the continued
continuation of what they view as the
foreign “occupation” they have battled
for two decades. They also see the
Reuters factory. The plan is 30% larger presence of international forces scenes of Afghans desperate to flee
feedback@livemint.com than Samsung’s previous beyond the end of the month. their rule at the airport as undermin-
SEOUL three-year strategy floated in The UK has convened an emer- ing their attempts to show they have
2018. The group decided to gency meeting of the Group of Seven brought stability and peace to Afghan-

S
amsung Group will
invest 240 trillion won
($206 billion) in the next
three years to expand its foot-
print in biopharmaceuticals,
artificial intelligence, semi-
conductors and robotics in the
post-pandemic era, Samsung
Electronics Co. Ltd said.
The jewel of South Korea’s
biggest conglomerate on
Tuesday said the investment
through 2023 will help
strengthen the group’s global
standing in key industries such
as chip-making, while allow-
ing it to seek growth opportu-
nities in new areas such as
robotics and next-generation
telecommunications.
Samsung Electronics, the
world’s largest memory chip
maker, said the group plans to
solidify technology and mar-
ket leadership through merg-
ers and acquisitions. It did not
provide a breakdown of the
investment figures.
The firm did not say
+ whether the latest investment
figure includes the $17 billion
it was reportedly spending on
a new US chip contract chip
increase investment to retain
technological leadership,
especially during “emergency
situations” at home and
abroad.
“The chip industry is the
safety plate of the Korean
economy...Our aggressive
investment is a survival strat-
egy in a sense that once we lose
our competitiveness, it is
almost impossible to make a
comeback,” Samsung Elec-
tronics said in a statement.
Chip rivals including Tai-
wan Semiconductor Manufac-
turing Co Ltd and Intel Corp
are making large investments
amid a global chip shortage
and intensifying competition
in the advanced chip segment.
Samsung Group has 59 affil-
iates with assets totalling 457
trillion won, according to
South Korea’s Fair Trade
Commission.
The investment plan comes
just over a week since Sam-
sung Group leader Jay Y. Lee
was released from jail on
parole following convictions
for bribery and embezzle-
ment.
advanced economies over the Afghan-
istan crisis, which will consider
whether to prolong evacuation opera-
tions past the 31 August deadline the
Biden administration has set to end
the US presence in the country.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
also hopes to hammer out a united
approach to the country and the Tali-
ban regime in the longer term, accord-
ing to British officials. The UK cur-
rently holds the rotating presidency of
the G7.
Western officials say the Taliban are
seeking international recognition of
their takeover as well as foreign aid,
points of leverage that could be used to
extract concessions from the group as
the US and others race to evacuate
their own citizens and Afghan allies
amid chaos at Kabul airport, which is
currently controlled by US troops. The
Taliban are also seeking to avoid new
sanctions that could hit the impover-
ished country’s finances.
The Taliban say they won’t allow
international troops to remain past the
deadline and can’t guarantee that any
troops who stay won’t be subject to
attack.
Behind the top-level diplomacy
hangs the fate of tens of thousands of
Afghans, with Britain and some Euro-
The UK has convened an emergency meeting of the Group of Seven advanced economies over the Afghanistan crisis
pean nations warning there isn’t
enough time to get everyone they
want out of Afghanistan by 31 August.
In Kabul, thousands of Afghans are
still struggling to get into the airport,
while thousands more are inside wait-
ing for flights. There are also thou-
sands of US and allied troops, as well as
equipment, to also take out from Kabul
airport by the deadline, meaning that
the civilian evacuation has to effec-
tively end before 31 August.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wal-
lace signaled the
UK is resigned to
the deadline, say-
ing Tuesday that
an extension seems unlikely, citing
public statements by the Taliban and
Mr. Biden. He said G7 leaders would
nonetheless press the US president for
extra time.
“It is definitely worth us all trying,
and we will,” Mr. Wallace said in a
broadcast interview with Sky News.
Mr. Wallace also said the threat
from Islamic State and other militants
was increasing as the clock ticks down.
He said that the international troops
have benefited from a ring of security
provided by the Taliban around the
airport to keep Islamic State out. The
Taliban are in a violent rivalry with
Islamic State, which has a local branch
in Afghanistan.
“Terrorist groups such as ISIS
would like to be seen to take credit or
like to be seen to chase the West out of
the airport,” said
Mr. Wallace. “We
are very, very vul-
nerable should
these terrorists choose to do some-
thing.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko
Maas said the US and its allies were
preparing to continue the rescue mis-
sion after the deadline.
“Because of this, we, together with
the US and Great Britain, have started
AP
to work on scenarios on how to take
people out of Afghanistan also after
the end of the military evacuation,” he
said in an interview with Bild TV. He
added that negotiations with the Tali-
ban were already under way.
On Monday, an Afghan soldier,
from the remnants of the Afghan secu-
rity forces that didn’t surrender to the
Taliban, was shot dead by an unknown
assailant while on perimeter security
duty at the airport. Afghan, German
and US troops returned fire, with at
least three more Afghan soldiers
wounded in the shootout.
Washington says there is time to get
every American out. But Mr. Biden’s
national security adviser, Jake Sulli-
van, said Monday that the US is still
scrambling to figure out how many
Americans are left on the ground in
Afghanistan.
A US official involved in the effort
said Monday that the US is currently
evacuating mostly American citizens,
istan.
Under a February 2020 agreement
between the US and the Taliban,
Washington agreed that all interna-
tional troops would leave by 1 May
2021. The US and the Taliban accuse
each other of violating the terms of
that agreement. Mr. Biden, who inher-
ited the accord when he came into
office this year, originally said he
would withdraw US troops by 11 Sep-
tember—a deadline some allies would
like to see reinstated—but later moved
that to 31 August.
After 1 May, the Taliban unleashed
a nationwide offensive, racing through
the country and seizing Kabul on 15
August.
About 21,600 people were evacu-
ated from Kabul in the 24-hour period
ending at 3 a.m. Eastern time, accord-
ing to the White House, a significant
pickup from a day earlier. US military
flights carried 12,700 people while
coalition flights carried another 8,900
people. Since the airlift operation
began 14 August, the US has helped
evacuate about 58,700 people, the
White House said.
Bojan Pancevski in Berlin and Alex
Leary in Washington contributed to this
article.
©2021 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC

DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

Afghans fleeing Taliban get desperate
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (NW) III
OVER HEAD TANK, ASHOK VIHAR, DELHI Elizabeth Findell inside or fleeing the Taliban.
“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene” feedback@livemint.com “I don’t know what he’s
PRESS NIT NO. 22 (2021-22) going to do,” said Ms. Niazi,

T
Item Name of work Estimated Date of release of Last Date/Time of he family of Naqibullah who filled out a State Depart-
No. Cost tender in E-procurement receipt of tender through Laghmanai, a former ment evacuation application
solution e-procurement
interpreter for the US for her fiancé last week and
1. Replacement of old deep/damaged water line Rs. Tender ID 07.09.2021
by D.I water line dia (100 mm/150 mm dia) in 43,10,172/- 2021_DJB_207388_2 Up to 3.00 PM military, spent days waiting contacted elected officials for
Meera Bagh B-Block Paschim Vihar under the on 23.08.2021 at 11.41 AM outside Kabul’s airport, hop- help. “I don’t know how he’s
EE (NW) III in AC-15.
ing to catch a flight out of the going to leave the country.”
Further details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in
country before the Biden On Friday night, Ms. Niazi’s
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (Mukesh Jindal) administration ends its evacu- fiancé finally made it inside the
Advt. No. J.S.V. 312(2021-22) Ex. Engineer (NW) III
ation operation. airport and reached a gate. He
People were beaten. The showed US soldiers an airport
family’s youngest member, a admissions pass that the State
5-year-old, fell ill in the heat Department had emailed him
and chaos. The family finally Families board a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster during an last week and his visa paper-
gave up and returned home, evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. AFP work, but they wouldn’t let
says Mr. Laghmanai, a US citi- him through.
“STOP CORONA; Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene” zen now living in Houston. applications for his family to by The Wall Street Journal that He spent the next 48 hours
DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI Thousands of Afghans seek- join him in the US have been said she was stopped more at the gate without food and
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (SDW) XIV
KILOKARI SPS, JAL VIHAR, LAJPAT NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110024 ing to flee their homeland face pending for more than a year. than once by unknown men exposed to the sun, hoping the
Mob- 9650574488, Email: eesdwxiv@gmail.com a series of ordeals as they try to In the early hours last telling her to quit her job. The soldiers would reconsider, Ms.
Press N.I.T. No. 01 (2021-22)
reach Kabul’s airport and con- Thursday, the family headed men also warned her father Niazi said. On Sunday night,
tend for a spot on a departing to the airport hoping to use a that she and her family would her fiancé fled the area when
S. Name of work (EMD)
Date of release Last date/time of receipt
No. in INR
of tender in of tender through flight. They are avoiding visa in Mr. Laghmanai’s name. have to “face the consequen- fighting broke out between US
e-procurement solution e-procurement solution checkpoints manned by Tali- By nightfall, the gate still ces” if she didn’t resign. soldiers and the Taliban, she
1. Operation and Comprehensive Maintenance of EXEMPTED 2021_DJB_207453_1 23.09.2021
1 MGD STP Based On Membrane Bio-Reactor Dt. 24.08.2021 up to
ban fighters who have sur- hadn’t opened. Mr. Lagh- The family reached the air- said. He had to jump over a
(MBR) Technology at, Common Wealth Games 3.00 PM rounded the facility. They are manai’s father, a doctor who port last Thursday and slept barbed-wire fence as Taliban
Village, Akshardaam for the period of 30 months. also navigating bureaucratic worked for the Afghan govern- there overnight. On Friday, forces beat him with sticks, she
NIT along with all terms & condition is available on website https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in obstacles in hopes that they ment, continued to wait with they got pulled into the facil- said. Her fiancé is now back at
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) won’t be turned back upon his other five children, hiding ity, and the daughter used the his apartment, unsure of what
Advt. No. J.S.V. 319(2021-22) Executive Engineer (SDW) XIV
reaching the airport’s heavily his face under a mask, before letter from her former to do.
guarded gates. And they are returning home. employer to get past airport Mohammad, a 40-year-old
doing it on the clock. Over the weekend, his security checkpoints. At the Afghan who worked as an
The Biden administration is father’s Special Immigrant fourth and final one, she interpreter for the US military
considering whether to extend Visa was approved. But the visa showed the letter but was from 2005 to 2012, hustled his
the evacuation effort past an 31 is of little help if the family turned back. family to the airport shortly
August deadline when all US can’t get to the airport. The family is now hiding at a after the Taliban swept into
troops are set to leave. Grow- Worried that his family relative’s house near the air- Kabul only to confront a heav-
ing disorder, however, has won’t make it out before 31 port. “People know who they ily guarded entrance. By then,
engulfed the operation, inclu- August, Mr. Laghmanai has are. People know where they Mohammad was already in






   e/;izns'k jkT; i;ZVu fodkl fuxe e;kZ- ding a gunbattle that broke out begun to live,” Man- touch with Lt. Col. Mark
!! # '$# %   $!"  ! 
 

  
 
0265-2334751 &&&$%  i;ZVu Hkou] HknHknk jksM] Hkksiky&462003 at the airport Monday, killing agonize sur said. Sabroski, who he had assisted
Qksu % +91 755&4027100] 2774340] 42] www.mpstdc.com at least one Afghan soldier. o v e r Mujgon more than a decade ago.
NOTICE REGARDING TENDER Thousands of people have whether he N i a z i “I love him like a brother,”
Øekad 106@;kaf=kdh@ifofu@21 fnukad % 24-08-2021
Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited intends to invite bids for thronged the airport since the should find a way back to expected to spend August said Lt. Col. Sabroski, who is
procurement of 3000 MW power on long term basis through fufonk lwpuk Taliban seized Kabul on 15 Afghanistan and try help his studying for the Medical Col- now retired from the military
Tariff based Competitive Bidding process as per Ministry of August. A force of 6,000 US family evacuate in person. lege Admission Test and pick- and lives in Alaska. Lt. Col.
Power Guidelines dated 06-03-2019 for Procurement of elec- e/;izn's k jkT; i;ZVu fodkl fuxe Hkksiky }kjk fuEufyf[kr dk;Z gsrq vkWuykbu
¼Online½ fufonk fufonk izi=k APPENDIX2.10 ij e-iz- yksd fuekZ.k troops has allowed the US and “I know it’s risky. I know I’d ing out venues for her wed- Sabroski worked behind the
tricity from Thermal Power Stations set up on DBFOO Basis its allies to airlift Westerners be playing with my life,” he ding. Instead, she has been on scenes to find out who could
and sourcing coal allocated under SHAKTI Policy. The draft of foHkkx esa mi;qDr Js.kh esa iathd`r Bsdsnkjksa ls vkeaf=kr dh tkrh gSA 55/
from the country along with said. “I can’t just wait to see the phone day and night trying let his former interpreter get
tender documents (RfQ, RfP and PSA) shall be available at 2021_STDC_156498_1 / rqylh uxj Hkksiky fLFkr uohu ou Hkou esa
thousands of Afghans who them, going through this to help her fiancé escape through. He ended up on the
www.mstcecommerce.com & www.guvnl.com from 26-08- 'ks"k dk;ksaZ dks iw.kZ djus dk dk;ZA dk;Z dh vuqekfur ykxr jkf'k #- 78-00 assisted them over the course chaos every day.” Kabul. phone with one Afghan soldier
2021 for stakeholders' consultation. The stakeholders may djksM]+ dk;Z iw.kZRkk dk le; 12 ekgA of two decades. Mansur, a 29-year-old Ms. Niazi, a 25-year-old who was manning the gate.
submit their queries / comments on the draft tender docu- osclkbV ij vkWuykbu Hkqxrku dj fufonk izi=k ¼Vs.Mj MkD;qesaV½ osclkbV ds Months ago, Mr. Lagh- Afghan who lives in Torrance, Afghan-American who lives in “Look, this is who I am. I am,
ments to GUVNL on or before 13.09.2021. ek/;e ls Ø; fd;s tk ldrs gaAS fufonk izi=k vkWuykbu Ø; o izLrqr djus dh manai’s family received a Calif., is working to get his Elk Grove, Calif., has spent you know, Colonel Sabroski,
Date: 25/08/2021 General Manager (Commerce) vafre frfFk 15-09-2021 le; lk;a 05%00 cts rd fu/kkZfjr gSA dk;Z dk threatening letter from the uncle, aunt and their two hours each day on WhatsApp United States Air Force. I
foLr` r fooj.k os c lkbV https://mptenders.gov.in ij fnuka d Taliban, referencing his ties to daughters out of Kabul. with her fiancé, keeping him worked with him. He needs to
26-08-2021 ls ns[kk tk ldrk gSA the Americans. After the fun- One of his uncle’s daughters apprised of any State Depart- get through the gate,” the
e-iz- ek/;e@101731@2021 dk;Zikyu ;a=kh damentalist Islamic force worked for a high-ranking ment alerts and steadying his retired officer recalled telling
entered Kabul, its members official in the Afghan govern- nerves. the Afghan soldier.
searched one of his relatives’ ment, Mansur says, a job she Her fiancé made a half- Mohammad made it onto a
homes while the men of the quit in March after receiving dozen trips to the airport flight bound for Doha, Qatar,
family hid. numerous threats. between last Wednesday and with his wife, children, mother
Mr. Laghmanai, who left Upon her resignation, the Sunday but gave up each time, and sister.
Afghanistan in 2013, said visa official issued a letter viewed after either failing to make it ©2021 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC

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LIVEMINT.COM NEWS WRAP WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 09

TWEETS OF THE DAY Ursula von der Leyen Tedros Adhanom Narendra Modi
Barbara Corcoran @vonderleyen Ghebreyesus @narendramodi
@BarbaraCorcoran We need to help those most @DrTedros As the @Paralympics begin,
One miserable person at risk and step up contribu- The fastest way out of my best wishes to the Indian
will spoil a team of tions to humanitarian aid. the pandemic is to contingent. We are proud of
happy people. Fire The @EU_Commission will equip countries with all the athletes representing
negative people. almost quadruple aid from the tools needed to our nation at the #Paralym-
the EU budget to meet the protect people’s pics
urgent needs of Afghans. health.

SBI pegs Q1 GDP GUNNING FOR GLORY Data centre volume

growth at 18.5% to rise 4.5x by FY26

T T
he country’s gross domestic product ech major Honeywell said on Tuesday that
(GDP) is expected to grow at around India’s data centre capacity is forecast to
18.5% with an upward bias in the first rise 4.5x by FY25-26. “In India, we have
quarter of the current financial year, according about 600 megawatt (MW) capacity... and today,
to State Bank of India (SBI) research report capital for roughly about 1,000MW capacity is
Ecowrap. This estimate is lower than the committed... another about 1,350MW of
Reserve Bank of India’s GDP growth projection capacity is in final stages of finalization; the two
of 21.4% for the April-June quarter. together what we see is about 4x growth of the
The report expects gross value added (GVA) data centre capacity in the next four or five
to be at 15% in Q1FY22. The corporate results years,” said Ashish Modi, president at
announced so far indicate that there is a Honeywell Building Technologies Asia.
substantial recovery in corporate GVA Ebitda Honeywell’s data centre solutions have a
(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, presence in more than 62 countries and its
and amortization) plus employee cost) in platform for data centre is used in about 5,000
Q1FY22, it said. data centres globally, he added.
The report said the corporate GVA of 4,069 “A big part of our technology play is around
companies registered a growth of 28.4% in how we can save energy, bring efficiency to data
Q1FY22. The report further said it is globally centre operations,” he said. Many of
noted that lower mobility leads to lower GDP Honeywell’s connected data centre solutions
and higher mobility to higher GDP, but the are being developed in India, he noted. PTI
response is asymmetric. PTI

Indian athletes enter the arena during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympics at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Tuesday. AP

Union minister Narayan Rane Smytten co-founders Swagat Sarangi (left) and

The regulator had invited applications in May.

Sebi picks 16 firms

arrested over Maha CM insult Siddhartha Nangia.

Smytten gets $6 mn
for forensic audits in Series A funding

S
mytten, an online platform for consumer

M
+ arkets regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has
empanelled as many as 16 entities,
including BDO India, EY and Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu India, for conducting forensic audits
of financial statements of listed companies as
part of efforts to curb frauds.
The other empanelled entities are
product discovery and trials, on Tuesday
Three first information reports were filed against Rane in Mahad, Nashik and Pune announced that it has raised $6 million in a
Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures.
The round saw participation from Sharrp
Surendra P. Gangan after the leader complained of high blood pressure He leaned back to enquire (with his aides) about the Ventures (Mariwala family office), Survam
letters@hindustantimes.com and sugar level. He was produced before a magis- count of years of Independence during his speech. Partners (Suman Kant Munjal family office) and
MUMBAI trate’s court at Mahad late on Tuesday night, PTI Had I been there, I would have given him a slap,” Waao Partners (Pratul Shroff family office).
reported. As many as three first information Rane said. Existing investor Roots Ventures also

Chaturvedi & Co., Chokshi & Chokshi LLP,
Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, Haribhakti & Co.
LLP, KPMG Assurance & Consulting Services
LLP, Mukund M Chitale & Co. and Protiviti
India Member Pvt. Ltd, according to a public
notice.
In May, Sebi had invited applications from
eligible CA firms “for empanelment to take up
assignments relating to forensic audit of
financial statements of listed companies”.
Pursuant to the completion of the empanelment
process, these CA firms have been empanelled.
Lately, Sebi has ordered a forensic audit of
certain companies. In October 2020, Sebi asked
listed firms to disclose the initiation of a forensic
audit to exchanges as part of an effort to address
the gaps in the availability of information.
M
aharashtra Police arrested Union
minister Narayan Rane on Tuesday
for saying he wanted to slap chief
minister Uddhav Thackeray—com-
ments that prompted a rampage by
ruling Shiv Sena workers against the opposition
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rane, who holds the micro, small and medium
enterprises portfolio, is the first central minister to
be arrested in two decades, after Murasoli Maran
and T.R. Baalu in 2001.
The senior BJP leader was arrested in Galavali in
Ratnagiri district, where he was travelling as part
of rallies that newly inducted Union ministers are
addressing across the country. He was arrested
during his lunch break and was handed over to Rai-
PTI gad Police around 2.45 pm. A doctor examined him
reports were filed against the minister in Mahad, His comments sparked immediate outrage. participated in the round. The platform was
Nashik and Pune. Sena workers hit the streets, put up posters founded by ex-Googler Swagat Sarangi, and ex-
The Mahad FIR against Rane, and Unilever executive Siddhartha Nangia in 2015 as
was registered slapped photos of the a luxury product sampling service, but later
under Indian Penal In a speech on Monday, Rane had minister with shoes pivoted to focus largely on direct-to-consumer
Code Sections 189 criticised Thackeray for allegedly in Pune. Sena work- (D2C) as well as premium brand sampling.
(threat of injury to
public servant), 504 being confused about the number ers vandalized BJP’s
office In Amravati,
A significant amount of funding will go into
technology development, which will help D2C
(intentional insult to of years of India’s Independence set the party’s post- brands with rich consumer data in new product
provoke breach of ers on fire, protested development, acquiring customers, consumer
public peace), and outside Rane’s Juhu marketing and achieving scale. SAUMYA TEWARI
505 (statements conducive to public mischief). bungalow and clashed violently with BJP mem-
In a speech on Monday, Rane criticized Thack- bers. Sena’s Ratanagiri-Sindhudurg MP Vinayak
eray for allegedly confusing the number of years Raut wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
since India’s independence during the chief minis- demanding Rane’s expulsion from the Cabinet.
ter’s 15 August address. “It is shameful that the chief “Rane has belittled the constitutional framework
India’s domestic oil
minister does not know the year of Independence. by his statement,” Raut said.
output falls in July

I
ndia’s domestic oil production continued to
Simple Energy plans RBI nod for Bakhshi’s reappointment
falter in July, with crude oil production down
3.78% compared with the corresponding
to raise $100 million period last year. However, according to the
monthly production report released by the
managing director and chief executive ministry of petroleum and natural gas, there was

B
engaluru-based electric vehicle (EV)
maker Simple Energy on Tuesday
announced its plans to raise funds to the
tune of $100 million in Series A funding. The
startup, which earlier this month launched its
flagship electric scooter, Simple One, also said it
is in talks with some global investors for this
round, which is expected to be completed by
later this year. Simple Energy eyes to become a
unicorn firm as the valuation would increase
post-closing Series A, it said in a release.
The company has been aggressive about its
expansion plans and has raised a total sum of $15
million before the launch, Simple Energy said.
“Now, Simple Energy aims at furthering the
ICICI Bank CEO Sandeep Bakhshi’s tenure
has been extended until October 2023. MINT
officer of the bank with effect from 15
October 2021 till 3 October 2023,” it said.
The bank said that its shareholders at the
annual general meeting held on 9 August
2019 had already approved the
appointment of Bakhshi for a period
effective from 15 October 2018 up to 3
October 2023.
Bakhshi has been at the helm of ICICI
Bank since 15 October 2018, prior to which
he was a whole-time director and the chief
operating officer (COO) of the bank. That
said, Bakhshi has been with the ICICI
Group since 1986 and has handled various
assignments across the group in ICICI Ltd,
John Kerry’s visit is aimed at furthering the
India-US partnership on clean energy.
John Kerry to visit
an 18.36% increase in gas production in July.
“Crude oil production during July 2021 was
2,548.78 thousand metric tonnes (tmt), which is
3.78% lower than the target for the month, and
3.22% lower when compared with production of
July 2020. Cumulative crude oil production
during April-July 2021 was 9,961.65 tmt, which
is 2.64% and 3.37% lower than the target for the
period and production during corresponding
period of last year respectively,” it said.
In what doesn’t bode well for the country’s
AP energy security, India’s crude and oil and gas
production fell by 5.22% and 8.06% respectively
in the last financial year. STAFF WRITER

India next month

post-launch plans as it is in talks to raise $100
million in Series A,” it said.
The firm said it plans to utilize the funds to
increase its footprint along with setting up the
second phase of the Hosur unit and investing in
R&D. The lead investors of the pre-series round
are existing investors Manish Bharti, Raghunath
T
he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
approved the reappointment of
Sandeep Bakhshi as the chief
executive of ICICI Bank till October 2023,
the bank said in a regulatory statement on
Tuesday. “RBI vide its letter has approved
the reappointment of Sandeep Bakhshi as
ICICI Lombard General Insurance, ICICI
Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
According to the bank, Bakhshi has
OEL, Wistron tie up
U
attended several schools and colleges S Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
across India before completing his
management studies from XLRI,
(SPEC) John Kerry is expected to visit
India next month to boost ties between to make gadgets
Jamshedpur. STAFF WRITER the two countries on clean energy, an Indian

Subramanian, among others.
India ranks second in most attractive manufacturing hubs list
PTI government statement said on Tuesday.
The visit, the second by Kerry since being
named special envoy by US President Joe Biden,
is expected to happen ahead of the UN Climate
Change Conference to be hosted by the UK in
November. Kerry had earlier visited India in
April. The announcement followed a phone call
C
ontract manufacturer Optiemus
Electronics Ltd (OEL) on Tuesday
announced a strategic partnership with
Taiwanese manufacturing giant Wistron for
manufacturing electronics products in India.
Both companies have received approval
under the government’s production-linked

I
ndia has overtaken the US to become the world’s second most sought-after between minister of environment, forest and incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile and
manufacturing destination, driven mainly by cost competitiveness, climate change Bhupender Yadav and Kerry. electronics manufacturing. A. Gururaj,
according to real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield. China remains The call was aimed to further the “climate managing director of OEL, said the deal will
at No. 1 spot, the consultant said in its 2021 Global Manufacturing Risk Index, action and finance mobilization dialogue” under allow Wistron to take advantage of the firm’s
which assessed the most advantageous locations for global manufacturing the India-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda plants in Noida to manufacture products.
among 47 countries in Europe, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific (APAC). 2030 Partnership. “Both sides agreed that India Gururaj added that unlike global companies
“India takes the second spot after China as the most sought-after and the US will engage for a constructive such as Wistron, Foxconn and Pegatron, Indian
manufacturing destination globally,” Cushman and Wakefield said in a engagement under the India-US Climate and manufacturers do not get PLI benefits on
statement. The US is at third position, followed by Canada, Czech Republic, Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership. The phones priced above ₹15,000. As a result,
Indonesia, Lithuania, Thailand, Malaysia and Poland. In last year’s report, the environment minister stated that these Wistron can pass on orders for such devices to
US was at second position, while India ranked third. platforms provide greater opportunities for Optiemus’ plants. He also said that the
“The growing focus on India can be attributed to India’s operating working together for climate actions and companies will use the partnership to produce
conditions and cost competitiveness. Also, the country’s proven success in emphasized that India stands committed to information technology (IT) hardware products
meeting outsourcing requirements has led to the increase in the ranking working with the US on clean energy,” the such as laptops, and automotive products to
year-on-year,” the statement said. PTI India pipped the US to second spot; China retains the No. 1 spot. MINT government statement added. ELIZABETH ROCHE electric vehicles. PRASID BANERJEE

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10 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

REPORTAGE | TALKING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOMLINE

THE SUDDEN LURE OF

WORKOUT FROM HOME
The home fitness biz has been booming since late 2020, with Indians splurging on accessories and fitness equipment

India is still an early-stage market for home gym equipment with most of its users coming from largely premium households. However, many domestic market players feel that this is going to change soon.

Saumya Tewari shift. Whether Indians go back to their offi- Cult.fit acquired the Bengaluru-based con- yoga for those diagnosed with polycystic officer at fitness chain Gold’s Gym. “Going
mint
saumya.t@livemint.com ces soon or not, it seems the other WFH— nected fitness startup—Tread—that has SHORT ovarian disease (PCOD) or diabetes, and to a gym is also about socializing, making
LUCKNOW workout from home—is here to stay, espe- launched a smart fitness bike, often dubbed STORY written content on various topics—differ- friends and doing business. People will def-
cially in the metros. as India’s answer to the popular US bike ent asanas, wellness tips and nutritional initely hit the gym. We are extremely bull-

A
lthough he is a long-time mar- Understandably, retailers are counting brand Peloton. However, Tread bike is guidance—through the website. The ish and confident about it.”
athoner and CrossFitter, San- on the fact that the spurt in sales of fitness designed specifically for India. It is said to WHAT monthly plan starts from ₹550 on the app. Gold’s Gym, which currently operates
deep Sharma, 37, ended up equipment may last for a while. While have a smaller footprint and is movable. Sequoia-backed Fiitr, a Pune-based digi- 150 gyms across 95 cities, said that its focus
gaining 10 kilograms (kgs) sports retailers such as Decathlon and HRX The smart bike comes with a movable In March 2021, there were 20% tal fitness and wellness startup, started live is now on tier II and III towns, where expan-
after gyms were forced to shut have been busy stocking up, several smaller screen. When one is not using the bike, the more downloads across apps in personal training during the lockdown. sion is underway. Grand Slam Fitness, a
following the nationwide lockdown in the firms that have entered the sports market same screen can be used as a TV to live the health and fitness category During the initial months of the lockdown, premium fitness equipment firm, also
spring of 2020 in India. Once the restric- in recent months are looking to trigger dis- stream fitness classes. compared to the prior month, although there weren’t many paid mem- claimed that tier II and III towns are show-
tions eased, he knew that the gym was no ruption across categories. The aim is to Cult.fit’s acquisition of Tread is strategic. according to mobile and data bers, the company claims engagement lev- ing a demand boom with more people
longer a viable option. Instead, Sharma, offer a differentiated product— one that is It is supposed to help the firm, already in analytics company App Annie. els were off the chart—registering a 200% expressing interest in starting a brand new
who was based in Rajasthan’s Jaipur city not available on any e-commerce site. the middle of a digital transition, launch its growth in the number of users exploring gym facility.
last year, started investing in a home gym Product innovation is already taking off hardware-at-home business vertical—a the app or accessing the videos. “As people “The way Indians perceive covid and the
set-up. “I have spent around ₹6 lakh in the in some verticals. After all, installing fitness potentially large business segment that is AND realized this is the new norm, we also wit- threat level is different in tier I versus tier II
last one year. I have actively started taking equipment inside a cramped house is a yet to take off in a big way in India. nessed a spike in our paid user base. Cur- and III towns,” said Prateek Sood, director,
online training as it offers flexibility and unique challenge. Thus, at a time when There’s a huge penetration of home gym Retailers are counting on the fact rently, Fittr has over 200,000 paid users, of Grand Slam Fitness. “While in tier I (towns),
peace of mind (in my daily routine). I don’t gyms and the organized fitness industry equipment (treadmill/spinning bike/ that the spurt in sales of fitness which 75,000 have switched to paid mem- (our) commercial sales died completely,
think I’m going back to a gym,” he said. have only been sporadically active, a slew of bench press/row machines/squat equipment may last for a while. bership in FY2020-21 alone,” said Sonal smaller towns have done an exceptional
Sharma’s new residence—a 3BHK (bed- startups are showing a sudden interest in machines) in Western and Chinese mar- Sports retailers such as Singh, co-founder and director, Fittr. amount of business. (This is) because (of
room, hall and kitchen) apartment in Luc- the segment. kets, said Shamik Sharma, head of digital Decathlon and HRX have been The community angle, said Dipanjan two reasons): one, their level of fear is less
know, Uttar Pradesh—has all the equip- health at Cult.fit. Almost 30-40% of the busy stocking up. Basu, partner and chief financial officer at and secondly, they don’t have the resources
ment one might need to set up a home gym, MADE FOR INDIA homes in the West actually have some form Fireside Ventures, keeps people connected to invest in a home gym.” Sood also said
including weights, dumbbells, machines
and a smart bike. There are many other F itness technology startup Flexnest was
launched by a husband-wife duo—
Indians who have arrived at the same con- Rhea and Raunaq Singh Anand—a couple
of home fitness equipment.
“In India, it is still an early-stage market
which is currently confined to largely pre-
MOREOVER
and motivated. This would ensure that
online fitness becomes more of a perma-
nent change because one can share their
that small towns such as Moga in Punjab,
Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar
are all emerging hubs for gyms, with new
clusion as Sharma. of months into pandemic. They noticed a mium households. Having said that, it is Several startups that have progress with friends, he said. Fireside facilities coming up rapidly.
Since late 2020, the home-fitness busi- curious gap in the fitness equipment mar- soon going to become commonplace for recently entered the market are Ventures has invested in Sarva Yoga. According to Cult.fit’s Sharma, the off-
ness has been on a wild ride, with Indians ket in India. Rhea Singh Anand said that Indian homes to have fitness equipment looking to trigger a disruption by Basu also said that this shift has already line business is bound to return but it will
spending heavily on sports apparel, acces- people either had to rely on Amazon or too,” Sharma said. Cult.fit is currently offering a differentiated product taken place in other countries. US-based mostly be driven by gym goers falling
sories and fitness equipment, ranging from import prohibitively expensive equipment focusing on Indian consumers and build- —one that is not available on any exercise tracking platforms such as Strava under the age bracket of 25–35 years.
dumbbells and resistance bands to yoga from the US. To serve this underserved ing products that will cater to the country’s e-commerce site. and Nike Run have created communities of Meanwhile, the online platform will facili-
mats. market, Flexnest began selling 10 to 12 specific conditions. “Tread is our first prod- like-minded fitness enthusiasts. People are tate the offering of workout and fitness rou-
GoPaisa, an online cashback platform products in January 2021, comprising light uct, but we envision a long suite of products willing to pay for an engaged fitness experi- tines to a more diverse user base—from 15
with 3.5 million users, dug through its dumbbells, kinet cable pullers, yoga mats, that will fulfil all other use cases,” he added. vertical called Cult Live,” said Cult.fit’s ence. “This is a permanent shift that has to 50 years—including homemakers, new
transactional data to find that health and recovery bands, blocks and foam rollers. Sharma. Cult Live currently offers cardio, happened in Indian consumer mindset as mothers, and older people who don’t fit
fitness is among the top five categories However, what set them apart from exist- CREATING VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES dance, yoga, strength and conditioning, well,” Basu said. “Peloton’s real revenue is into the offline gym goer’s segment.
driving online purchases in 2021. Fitness ing players was their adjustable flexibells
bands, for instance, have registered a 400% and flexikettles, whose weights can be
growth, according to the GoPaisa survey. adjusted based on the user’s need (any-
M anorama Pandey, 50, who used to
religiously follow her routine for
evening walks, has been homebound for
and meditation. It is interactive, live and
often offers immediate feedback to its
users. That is what many users missed dur-
coming from the app. It’s an interesting
shift in the Indian landscape when compa-
nies like Sarva or Cult.fit venture down the
“Overtime, I believe that there will be
three kinds of users—people who will go
(for a) workout only in a gym, users who will
There has been a ripple effect on elec- where from 2.5kg to 24kg). the last few months. The diabetic home- ing the pandemic—a social workout expe- path of building a community to create prefer at-home workouts and a third
tronic wearables too. “Fitness wearables “Even in a Decathlon, they don’t carry maker, hailing from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh rience. The presence of such virtual com- shared experiences,” he added. bucket (comprising users who) will (prefer
like headphones have approximately products that are especially designed for was recently introduced to online yoga munities is a big reason behind the rapid a) mix (of ) the two. Therefore, fitness firms
grown 150%; smart- home use. What one classes by her daughter who had moved adoption of at-home fitness. FUTURE IS HYBRID will have to stick to the
watches by 470% over
the last one year,” said Health and fitness is among
would get are the iron
dumbbells which are
Ayyappan Rajagopal, the top five categories driving used in gyms. Our dumb-
back home to work remotely. “Now, I regu-
larly do live yoga classes with my daughter.
I’m not conscious about working out any-
Backed by celebrities such as Malaika
Arora Khan, yoga and wellness startup
Sarva Yoga, for instance, transitioned com-
W ith covid-induced
restrictions eas- Small towns such as Moga in added.
ing across the country, Punjab, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh
hybrid approach,” he

The biggest untapped

chief business officer, bells are not bulky and more because no one is watching me. pletely into a digital business during the gyms in several states opportunity in India,
Myntra, an online fash- online purchases in 2021, can be adjusted. They can These classes have helped improved my pandemic. Sarva has only two physical stu- have been allowed to and Patna in Bihar are all however, is in the mental
ion shopping platform. according to a survey by be used by multiple back pain and lethargy,” she added. dios in Mumbai and Chennai—the capital reopen. However, emerging hubs for gyms, with wellness space. Depres-
In March 2021, there members in the same Clearly, live and on demand content of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, respec- restrictions on timings sion and sleep depriva-
were 20% more down- GoPaisa—an online cashback family depending on seems to be playing a huge part in driving tively. “In the last 15 months, over 750,000 and footfalls remain. new facilities coming up tion is at its peak and has
loads across apps in the their strength and the business of online fitness platforms. people accessed our app. They have com- Although many branded become acute because of
health and fitness cate- platform requirements. They are Experts say that while a humongous pleted 4 billion live classes,” Sarvesh gym chains were left rapidly the pandemic. Small
gory compared to the also aesthetically amount of fitness content is available for Shashi, founder, Sarva and Diva Yoga. bruised in what had been homes, job and income
prior month, according to mobile and data designed,” said Rhea of Flexnest. Beyond free online, watching a YouTube video is Sarva currently offers on-demand content a rather disruptive year due the pandemic, loss, and rising economic stress are all fac-
analytics company App Annie. The firm’s basic equipment such as weights, con- not as motivating as working out in a class and pre-recoded content, as well as live they claim that business is already reviving, tors that have amplified the need for effec-
global report stated that 2020 saw about sumer interest is surging in some new cate- format with others. content for goal-based programmes and and the offline fitness industry is not going tive mental wellness services.
71,000 new fitness and health apps being gories including smart bikes. Recently, “Over the course of the pandemic, we one-on-one training. The average time anywhere. “It has been a suppressed category,” said
launched, marking a 13% rise over 2019. Flexnest launched a Bluetooth-enabled have realized that people don’t just want to spent on the yoga firm’s website is 25 min- “I already see a surge in footfalls. I feel the Fireside Venture’s Basu. “Mental wellness
What many had initially assumed to be a smart bike called Flexbike. access content on their own, but they are utes and on the app, it is 10 minutes. future is hybrid. It would be largely physi- is going to be a big proposition in the coun-
temporary arrangement has now slowly Sensing the huge potential in this cate- (also) looking for class format content. Paid users on the platform get access to cal (85%), with a healthy dose of digital try. We will soon witness companies lever-
turned into a fundamental behavioural gory, in June 2021, hybrid fitness chain That’s why we created an online training guided goal-based programmes such as (15%),” said Nikhil Kakkar, chief operating aging this untapped opportunity as well.”
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LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 11

Tax experts bat for restoration of THE MONEY

MIND
old site until new one is fighting fit VIVEK KAUL

Respond to this column at

mintmoney@livemint.com

MENTAL ACCOUNT
According to experts, the new tax filing portal is causing great inconvenience to taxpayers due to many glitches
LESSONS FROM
Renu Yadav
renu.yadav@livemint.com DUSTIN HOFFMAN

T
he ministry of finance sum- ISTOCKPHOTO

moned Salil Parekh, man-

aging director and chief
executive officer, Infosys,
on Monday to explain to
the finance minister why the new tax
portal is not functioning properly
even after about two-and-a-half
months of its launch. The finance
minister has given Infosys time till 15
September to resolve the issues.
Against this backdrop, we asked a
few experts if switching back to the
old portal was a possible solution to

taxpayers’ woes right now. Here is
what they said.
Ved Jain, former president of the
Institute of Chartered Account-
ants of India (Icai)
The income tax portal is not a social
platform. It is a tax portal that creates
financial obligations as well as penal
obligations, including prosecution, in
case of default. Thus, a tax portal can’t
be put to use with so many glitches
and bugs with so many failures in
uploading information and doing
compliances.
Hence, it will be advisable to go
back to the old portal. For a tax portal
like this, there was a need to involve
people who understand not only the
basics but all the complexities and the
nitty-gritty of income tax.
In the absence of involvement of
these persons, the new portal is a total
mess. As I understand, the basic
structure itself will have to be
changed. That is why I will suggest
that this new portal be taken off for
the time being.
+ Let the old portal be revived for this
year so that the agony of taxpayers
and tax administrators is not pro-
longed. Meanwhile, working on the
new portal to restructure the same
can continue offline. This new portal
may need drastic changes from the
basic level.
Take the help of those who under-
stand the complexity of income tax
laws and compliances thereof and
D
ecades ago, when Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman
were struggling actors, Hackman visited Hoffman’s home
and Hoffman asked him for a loan. Hackman agreed to
give the loan.
After this, Hackman went into his host’s kitchen only to find
(From left) Ved Jain, Amit Maheswari, Prakash Hegde and Tarun Kumar. various mason jars labelled as rent and entertainment and so on
stuffed with some money in them. Of course, Hackman asked
also all stakeholders (taxpayers , char- on the portal and also while logging in glitches. It has failed to live up to all since the start and the portal has Hoffman, if there was money in the jars, why did he need a loan?
tered accountants and tax officers) through TAN, the taxpayer’s name is the hype. Even after 2.5 months, the failed to stabilize even after more To which, Hoffman explained that the food jar was empty.
who have been and will be using the not visible and ITR only post AY portal is not stable, many of the func- than two months of its launch. Not This is a story that Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein write
income tax portal. After all their 2013-14 can be downloaded. Hence, it tionalities are not enabled and the only is the portal having glitches but about in their new book Nudge: The Final Edition. While this
inputs are received and changes are becomes difficult for taxpayers who functionalities enabled are not work- many functionalities such as the filing might sound like many of those film anecdotes that come out
incorporated, let there be a mock trial want to extract old ITR records. ing up to expectations. of rectification application and regis- once the actors become successful, it has serious personal finance
of the new portal for at least one or The outstanding demands are not Professionals and taxpayers are tration of legal heir on behalf of lessons in it.
two months by select taxpayers, con- visible. Also, it does not provide with wasting enormous amount of time deceased to file the deceased’s return Money is fungible. It doesn’t distinguish between being stored
sultants, tax administrators and the pre-filled salary or other sources and energy to carry out very simple of income have not yet been enabled. in the rent jar or the food jar. If Hoffman had had $20 in the rent
assessing officers to address any data, which were mentioned in the tasks such as uploading forms or sub- This is delaying the compliances jar, it would have bought him $20 worth of food as well. So, Hoff-
glitches or bugs. Union budget earlier missions. Due to their helplessness, and a lot of man-hours have already man wasn’t really short of money to buy food. Just that he had
After passing the The new portal this year. the frustration of 6.5 crore Indian tax- been wasted. divided the money he had into different mental accounts in his
mock trial , the new por- will need to be Problems are still payers is building up. Seeing the current situation, tax head, which led to him asking for a loan from his friend Hackman.
tal may be made live rebuilt from basic being faced while filing The functioning of the old portal professionals are in a wait-and-watch The interesting thing is that almost all of us indulge in a bit of
from next year, that is level by involving forms for overseas was very stable, predictable and mode for the portal to stabilize. mental accounting. Take the case of a tax refund. People tend to
from 1 April 2022. This remittance, i.e., Form smooth. The main reason attributed The way the portal is working is categorize it as found money in their
people who
will ensure that the new
understand tax,
15CA/15CB. Taxpayers to the shift from the old portal to the causing immense inconvenience to A tax refund is mind and then spend it freely, like they
portal will function are not able to file any new portal was to cut down the proc- taxpayers as the tax filing deadline is also your have just received a windfall.
smoothly without any said an expert rectification and are also essing time of the returns. However, approaching. This is the rush time as As Thaler and Sunstein write: “Peo-
glitches. not able to see the status if the returns cannot be filed on time the last date of filing personal tax income. It ple are far more likely to splurge
of those filed earlier. or other compliance activities cannot returns is 30 September. Quick needs to be impulsively on a big luxury purchase
Amit Maheswari, tax partner, One is also not able to file the ITR be carried out on time due to the redressal is the need of the hour. treated just as when they receive an unexpected
AKM Global, a tax and consulting against any reassessment proceed- issues in the portal, there is no point Either they need to provide the stabi- regular income windfall than they are with savings that
firm ings. Hence, the problems are in expecting a speedier processing of lized tax portal immediately or the they have accumulated over time.”
The intent behind the new e-filing immense, and the government the return. Without a second government may have to extend the But if you think about it, a tax refund
portal was to make the life of the tax- should consider the option to revert thought, I would say that we need to deadline to salvage the situation. is also your income. It’s just that it was stuck with the government
payer easy at the end of the day, to the old portal, if it is possible. return to the old portal. The older portal was easy to use and the government took its time giving it back to you. Hence, it
which has not been entirely fulfilled. and no one had any issues with that needs to be treated in the same way as regular income.
Login issues are the most common Prakash Hegde, Bengaluru- Tarun Kumar, New Delhi-based portal. The government may also Then there are cases of people having outstanding credit card
ones on the new portal. There are based chartered accountant chartered accountant consider restoring the old portal and debt and a lot of money in their savings account earning an inter-
other issues such as new companies The new income tax portal has Tax professionals have been launch the newer one from 1 April est of 3-4%, at the same time. This is because credit card debt goes
being unable to register themselves been delivered with too many reporting glitches in the new portal 2022 after proper testing. into the loan ‘mental’ account and money in the savings account
goes into the savings ‘mental’ account. This leads to a situation
where people end up paying a huge amount of interest on credit
card debt while earning an interest of 3-4% on savings accounts.

Will, if it is executed TAX ON YOUR GOLD AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

Real estate and gold have traditionally formed a large chunk of Indian investors' portfolios. However, over the past few years,
As Thaler writes in Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural
Economics: “Money is fungible, meaning that it has no labels
restricting what it can be spent on... The failure to treat various

under duress, can be
legally challenged
Aradhana Bhansali
My father and mother each
held a 50% share in a prop-
erty. My father died intes-
tate 10 years ago. At that
time, my brother asked my
sister and I to sign a prop-
erty transfer no-objection
certificate (NOC) in our
mother’s name. The sole
purpose was to transfer the
electricity and water bills
to her name. But instead,
he stealthily used the NOCs
to mutate the shares of my
sister and I in the property
in my mother’s name. He
also forged the signature of
our maternal uncle as a
witness in the indemnity
bond submitted to the
authorities. Later, my
mother made a Will, leav-
ing the whole property to
my brother. What is our
ISTOCKPHOTO
m ASK MINT
E S TAT E P L A N N I N G
fication document and his
death certificate?
—Name withheld on request
returns from real estate have been poor to negative. On the other hand, gold does not give attractive returns in the long term
and has high transaction cost. Apart from keeping gold or real estate for own use, investments in these two asset classes don’t
make much financial sense. But if you choose to reduce exposure to gold and real estate, do pay attention to the tax rules that
will apply. Here is a look at the taxes that apply to short-term and long-term gains from these two asset classes.
pots of money as fungible... is what makes... [mental] account-
ing... feasible.”
Insurance companies also play on this by selling different
investment plans to save for children and for retirement. Ulti-
SOVEREIGN REAL
mately, one needs to save and that is the most important part, but
people have different savings mental accounts in their heads and
insurance companies capitalize on that.
GOLD
GOLD BOND ESTATE Thaler and Sunstein talk about the dotcom bubble of the 1990s
and the real estate bubble of the 2000s in the US, and how mental
What is long term? More than 3 years What is long term? More than 1 year, if What is long term? More than 2 years
accounting contributed to it. As they write: “Mental accounting
listed; more than 3 years, if unlisted contributed to the large increase in stock prices in the 1990s, as
many people took on more and more risk with the justification
Short-term capital gains tax that they were playing only with their gains from the past few
Short-term capital gains tax Tax on interest Short-term capital gains tax
Slab rate years. The same thing happened with speculative real estate
Slab rate Slab rate Slab rate investors a few years later.”
Long-term capital gains tax
In fact, it is safe to say that the same thing is happening in the
Long-term capital gains tax Long-term capital gains tax stock market in India and other parts of the world right now, with
20.8% people increasingly taking on more and more risk with having
20.8% 20.8% with indexation (use Cost
categorized their gains into a separate mental account.
with indexation (use Cost with indexation (for unlisted bonds and Inflation Index to calculate)
Inflation Index to calculate) listed bonds transferred before maturity); To conclude, mental accounting is something that we need to
no tax on maturity be aware of when it comes to managing our hard-earned money
and then ensure that we don’t make the basic mistakes that we
Listed gold bonds are taxed at the rate of 10.4% if sold in the secondary market after one year
end up making because of it.
Tax rates include cess; For further details on taxation, go to bit.ly/2pOeeH9 Source: EY, Mint Research
Vivek Kaul is the author of Bad Money.
PARAS JAIN/MINT
How to choose the right travel insurance policy amid covid-19
ISTOCKPHOTO
Navneet Dubey and many other countries are claims settlement ratio, over- is a mandatory norm for peo-
navneet.d@livemint.com likely to follow suit.” seas network hospital tie-ups, ple travelling from other states
That would mean travel solvency ratio, and its track or countries, a few companies

legal recourse?
—Name withheld on request
Without getting into the
veracity and critical issues
involved in your case, you
must note that fraud vitiates
everything. You may proceed
against your brother by taking
suitable civil and/or criminal
action for forgery before the
appropriate court of law and,
therefore, to declare the NOC
as null and void. Also, there is a
possibility that the Will of the
mother has also been signed
under duress or coercion,
which can be also challenged.
I am the nominee of my
uncle’s (my mother’s
brother) fixed deposit in a
PSU bank. What are the
documents that are
required to claim the
amount besides my identi-
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Generally, banks require a
legal heir certificate, indem-
nity bond along with the death
certificate of the deceased.
However, at times, the proce-
dure followed by the banks
may differ from bank to bank
as also the region it is located.
The transfer of the fixed
deposit would also depend
upon the fact of existence of a
Will and the bequests therein.
Nomination is just a stop
gap/interim arrangement and
it is the Will that will govern
the disposition of his assets.
Aradhana Bhansali is part-
ner, Rajani Associates.
Do you have a personal
finance query? Send in your
queries at
mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
industry experts.
O
f all the industries,
travel and hospitality
were the most
impacted by the covid-19 pan-
demic. Both domestic and
international travel have been
poor since 2020, and the
industry is still trying to revive.
Along with travel, the travel
insurance industry was
equally impacted by covid.
Aatur Thakkar, co-founder
and director at Alliance Insur-
ance Brokers, said, “Post
November 2020, the travel
market had witnessed some
growth; however, after the
second covid wave, there was a
steep decline in the travel seg-
ment again.”
Thakkar added, “Since most
countries have not opened
borders for international
travel, that market is still slow.
Some countries have made
travel insurance compulsory,
insurance may have to be fac-
tored into every travel plan
from now on.
Travel ban burdened
insurance industry: The
travel and hospitality indus-
tries are correlated, and the
impact on one has involuntary
effects on the other. “The
insurance industry has been
impacted during covid. How-
ever, all of this will change in
the next few months. We can
foresee a gradual movement in
travel,” Thakkar said.
Once that happens, travel
insurance policies that provide
cover for expenses that may
arise due to covid-19 should
always be given priority.
According to insurance
experts, a few insurers that can
help consumers with hassle-
free and smooth journey expe-
riences are: TATA AIG, HDFC
ERGO, Bajaj Allianz, Go-digit,
Care Insurance and Bharti
AXA.
The right travel policy:
You have to be choosy when
buying travel insurance so that
it will cover any expenses
incurred on account of cov-
id-19.
“Basic medical expenses,
baggage loss/theft/delayed
expenses, flight missed/
delayed/cancelled expenses,
any loss of belongings
expenses should be consid-
ered while buying travel insur-
ance,” said Thakkar.
When consumers have so
many options available in the
market, they should consider
product features. Along with
that, they should also consider
the insurance company’s
record in the market.
Naval Goel, founder and
chief executive officer, Poli-
cyX.com, said that amid the
pandemic, the risk of catching
the covid-19 virus is multifold
as the entire world is grappling
with this highly infectious dis-
ease.
Keeping this in mind, peo-
ple are required to be more
careful in making a right selec-
tion of travel insurance as it
should serve a broader pur-
pose than just loss of luggage
or passport.
“People must opt for a travel
insurance that offers health
protection and stand-in sup-
port to cater to medical
expenses, along with various
other medical facilities such as
air ambulance, daily hospital
cash allowance and accidental
coverage,” Goel said.
Moreover, since quarantine
are also paying for quarantine
expenses.
“Apart from this, the chan-
ces of flight cancellation are
more these days, so people
planning to buy travel insur-
ance should opt for Cancel for
Any Reason (CFAR) add-on as
well to avail accommodation
and flight cancellation bene-
fits during the coronavirus,”
said Goel.
CFAR allows the insured to
leverage the opportunity to
cancel travel plans for reasons
other than those listed as “cov-
ered reasons” on a policy.
CFAR permits the insured to
bypass that list, giving greater
flexibility and freedom when
making decisions about travel
reservations.
It comes only as an add-on
rider offered with a compre-
hensive policy, but only if the
insured meets specific criteria.
X X

12 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | CAFE ECONOMICS

BLOOMBERG

Inflation in India isn’t quite the

same as in other large economies
Even as the nature of our inflation gets debated, RBI would do well to reiterate that its target is 4%

the ongoing fiscal year. depending on the formal mandate).

Central banks around the world say
that the recent increase in price pres-
sures is because of disruptions in supply
chains, rather than excess demand.
They are also wary of premature with-
drawal of monetary policy support from
economies that are not yet out of the
woods. The Indian central bank broadly
NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA makes the same argument, though the
is a member of the academic board of the minutes of the latest meeting of the
Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics monetary policy committee (MPC)
clearly shows that there are now con-
cerns about staying on the current path
Among the handful of exceptions that
managed to keep inflation close to tar-
get were China, Japan, Britain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Indonesia, Thailand and
Israel. It will be interesting to see how
many countries will eventually be able
to keep average inflation for this year
below or close to target.
The data presented above points to
two facts. First, India has an inflation
problem that has persisted for well over
a year. Second, most other major econo-
mies are also struggling to keep inflation

A push for competition

for too long. The bond-market consen- near their formal targets. The one big
sus is that monetary policy normaliza- difference is that Indian inflation has

I
ndian inflation has been outside the tion will move forward in four steps: been high right through the pandemic;
tolerance band of the Reserve Bank of Money-market rates rising to get back most other major economies have seen
India (RBI) for 10 out of the 16 months into the policy corridor, an increase in resurgent inflation only after their eco-

with marginal benefits since April 2020, which was the first full
month after the pandemic hit economic
activity. The new monetary policy
framework says that the Indian central
the reverse repo rate, a change in the
monetary policy stance from accommo-
dative to neutral, and finally an increase
in the repo rate. This will unfold very
nomic recoveries accelerated. Most
central banks will begin to pivot towards
monetary policy normalization in 2022,
assuming that the pandemic is under
bank has failed in its main task of keep- gradually, rather than in sudden leaps control. They have a difficult balancing
ing inflation under control if average that can unsettle the bond market as act to manage. They must not act so rap-
The CCI penalty on Maruti for rivalry-reducing clamps on dealer discounts was technically inflation is more than 6% for three con- well as the underlying economy. idly that an economic recovery is halted
secutive quarters. That did happen in the This is also a good time to see where in its tracks, but also not act so late that
sound. India’s big antitrust concern, however, should be the cramping of economic efficiency first three quarters of fiscal year 2020-21, India stands on the inflation front com- inflation expectations rise to levels that
from April to December, but the fact that pared to the other major economies. trigger a self-fulfilling cycle of price
government statisticians were unable to The sharp spike in US inflation has obvi- pressures.
collect enough data from retail markets ously captured a lot of attention. There Inflation expectations in India have

I
t can be hard to determine when a manu-
facturer’s pricing policy begins to stifle
competition. Maruti Suzuki’s discount
controls on its car retailers are a case in
point. On Monday, the Competition Com-
mission of India (CCI) fined the country’s
top carmaker ₹200 crore after finding it guilty
of an anti-competitive practice. The company
was found to have capped the price-offs that its
dealers could offer customers under its policy
of ‘resale price maintenance’. This meant that
+ retail tags could not drop below a certain point,
even if a dealer wanted to gain sales on lower
overheads and self-squeezed margins. To get
around that restriction, deals with disguised
discounts were sneakily being offered. It was
Maruti’s crackdown on these petty games,
with stiff penalties imposed on dealers that
were caught in the act on spy-cams by sleuths
posing as car-buyers, as reported, that landed
its policy in court for CCI scrutiny.
Technically, our regulator’s knuckle-rap of
Maruti is justified. This is only incidentally on
account of its large market share. That it makes
passenger cars sold had slumped well before during the first national lockdown are rising inflation concerns in some begun to rise. There are now doubts
our covid lockdown got in the way. Volumes meant that inflation estimates for those other countries, such as Germany. over how the Indian central bank is
months were not considered reliable Indian inflation is still comparatively interpreting its inflation targeting man-
slid below 2.8 million units in 2019-20 from 3.4 enough to go into RBI’s record. That is high compared to other major econo- date. Has the inflation target in effect
million the year earlier, and then slipped to just understandable. mies, both in developed and emerging been moved from 4% to 6%, or from the
over 2.7 million in 2020-21, with jagged offtake Price pressures did seem to ease markets. Countries such as Brazil, Mex- mid-point to the upper end of the man-
from one month to the next. Labour shortages during December 2020 and January ico, Turkey, Pakistan and Russia have dated range? The latter has been put in
and supply-chain disruptions added their own 2021. There was also a sharp fall in April higher inflation than India does. Argen- place for RBI to have some manoeu-
2021. However, inflation jumped again tina is a clear outlier, with an inflation vring space to deal with issues such as
uncertainty to operations. While newly-bought after these short respites. The July data rate for July in excess of 51%. weather shocks or incorrect inflation
cars resumed rolling onto our streets as covid also offers some hope. Inflation in con- Another way to examine the interna- forecasts. The minutes of various recent
curbs were gradually lifted, with extra demand sumer prices came down more sharply tional price situation is to look at where MPC meetings show that members
generated by some refuge-seekers from public than expected. It is quite likely that it inflation is compared to the targets have been careful to make a distinction
transport, the market’s path ahead doesn’t look will continue to drift downwards over given to central banks in various coun- between the inflation target and its tol-
the next few months, helped by the high tries. I took a look at 35 major econo- erance band, a subtle yet important dis-
smooth. A third wave of infections could take base of the corresponding months in mies with formal inflation targets, tinction. It is thus important that the
shape as another spanner in its wheel. Our auto the previous year. RBI estimates that including the multinational euro area. Indian central bank reiterates that its
industry is also in the throes of an electric tran- average inflation will come down from In July, inflation in 24 of these econo- inflation target is 4%, which it will pur-
sition that may have led to some car replace- 5.9% in the second quarter to 5.3% in mies was running ahead of their respec- sue once the pandemic shock eases.
ments being pushed forward for a wider range the third quarter, before it accelerates tive inflation targets (either their point Sanika Akolkar, an intern at IDFC
again to 5.8% in the fourth quarter of targets or the middle of a range, Institute, contributed to this column.
of battery-run options to show up. Given all
this, it would do the market a good turn if its
leader’s dealers had the leeway to dangle dis-
count deals, even if just to clear inventory.
While Maruti’s price controls deserved to be
scrapped, let’s not overvalue this CCI ruling. It
shows that points of principle are being applied www.livemint.com New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Thursday, August 25, 2011 Vol.5 No.202 `3.00 32
24 PAGES
+ 4 MARKETS PAGES

every second car sold in India matters only to to the way business is done, which is welcome. SPORTS: A new road for
Bhaichung Bhutia >12-13
LIBYA: Bounty placed on
Moammar Gadhafi’s head >19

the extent that its exclusive dealers can’t easily But rivalry among Maruti dealers would only EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
AGRICULTURE: Plan panel seeks
to ensure rise in farm productivity >5
CAPITAL ACCOUNT: India merely
postponed the cyclical downturn >17

switch suppliers. Clamps on discounts by a car- have a marginal impact on broad economic
SENSEX 16,284.98 æ 213.49 NIFTY 4,888.90 æ 60.00 DOLLAR `45.99 Æ `0.37 EURO `66.31 Æ `0.64 GOLD `27,510 æ `295 OIL $110.79 Æ $1.73

Anna Hazare REMOVING HURDLES

MOODY’S CUTS JAPAN RATING
QUICK EDIT
continues
IDRs likely Moody’s downgraded Japan’s sovereign debt rating on Wednesday, nearly
three weeks after S&P stripped the US of its ‘AAA’ status. Moody's cited
Number

maker, however, serve to constrict competition efficiency, the pursuit of which is the chief aim fast amid crunching
large budget deficits and the build-up in government debt since the 2009
recession, but said the outlook on its new rating is stable. Asian markets fell.

hectic parleys Most European indices were in the green, but Wall Street dropped after early

to get a I
gains in intraday trade. s the credit that’s
supposed to be fuelling

Without the spur of

B Y L IZ M ATHEW & India’s agriculture actually
R UHI T EWARI Long-term sovereign debt ratings going to the farmers who
························· need it the most? This is
NEW DELHI
Moody’s S&P Fitch

among dealers by denying them space to com- of an antitrust authority. Cheaper vehicles will
the question that Nabard

W
makeover
ith the Congress-led Germany Aaa AAA AAA chairman Prakash Bakshi
United Progressive Alli- raised on Tuesday when
ance (UPA) government failing he pointed out that
to muster support from politi- France Aaa AAA AAA one-fourth of the money
cal parties over the Lokpal Bill is disbursed in February
and the health of anti-corrup- and March, which isn’t
tion campaigner Anna Hazare US Aaa AA+ AAA
farming season. Besides

competition we’d loaf

a concern on the ninth day of Proposed changes aim ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT that, only one-third of the
Japan Aa3 AA- AA

pete on prices, and as this keeps vehicles dearer not spur manufacturing efficiency and innova-
his fast, the political crisis over
the issue continued to esca-
at kindling investor THE NEWS
amount is loaned during
the peak kharif season
late. interest in the The norms for Indian depository
Spain Aa2 AA AA+ (see Page 15).
Both sides seemed to harden instrument, which receipts (IDRs) may be changed
to allow two-way fungibility and
The Reserve Bank of
their positions amid criticism India said earlier that
of the government from within has seen just one issue participation of local insurance Italy Aa2 A+ AA- there was a need for
its own ranks. Two separate companies. better data on the farm
meetings were held between B Y A NIRUDH L ASKAR THE BACKGROUND sector, which is of a piece
the campaigners and the gov- anirudh.l@livemint.com Standard Chartered is the only foreign
India Baa3 BBB- BBB-
with the oft-repeated

than they would otherwise have been, it clearly tion in the country’s auto sector, nor will they
ernment—one with law minis- ························· firm to have IDRs. No other foreign sentiment that the

out our life.

MUMBAI
ter Salman Khursheed and the entity is willing to float IDRs currently. Ireland Ba1 BBB+ BBB+ quality of official figures
other with both Khursheed
and finance minister Pranab
Mukherjee late on Wednesday.
With no breakthrough emerg-
ing, Khursheed said discus-
R ules on Indian deposito-
ry receipts (IDRs) may
see a makeover with fi-
nancial sector regulators plan-
ning to eliminate two critical
The UK bank's IDRs have lost 42%
since their peak.
THE IMPACT
Changes in norms will make IDRs
Greece Ca CC CCC
has to be drastically
improved so that they
can be safely used when
drawing up policy.
attractive for investors. Participation Ratings scale The need for better
sions would continue on roadblocks that have been dis- of insurers will bring liquidity as this information is critical
Thursday. couraging foreign firms from class of investors is considered Aaa/AAA Aa/AA A/A Baa/BBB Ba/BB B/B Caa/CCC given that the Planning

goes against the interest of Indian car-buyers. have notable knock-on effects on other sectors.
An all-party meeting con-
vened by Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh earlier in the
evening to evolve a consensus
to end the public stand-off
with Hazare and his campaign
decided to give the Jan Lokpal
Bill, proposed by the anti-graft
campaigners, “due consider-
listing in India and kept the the biggest in the domestic Minimal Very low Low risk Moderate Substantial High risk Very high Commission is pushing
market dull for such instru- institutional category. risk risk risk to ensure that the sector
ments. Standard Chartered Plc Source: Reuters grows at 4% in 2012-17.
is the only company that has At stake are food
issued IDRs thus far. Any foreign firm with an ex- inflation and getting
Discussions are on and once isting business in India can ALSO SEE the economic growth
the Securities and Exchange float IDRs if it has a pre-issue >Moody’s cuts Japan’s credit rating >P24 >WSJ: Market bets trajectory back on track.
Board of India (Sebi), the Re- paid-up capital and free re- >Sensex drops as CLSA cuts target >P15 on a Fed miracle >P19
serve Bank of India (RBI) and serves of at least $50 million

In an ideal market, consumers would benefit For us to maximize the benefits of a regulatory
ation so that the final draft of
the (government’s) Lokpal Bill
provides for a strong and effec-
tive Lokpal which is supported
the Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (Irda)
agree, the IDR norms will be
amended to allow two-way
(`230 crore) and its parent
company has at least $100 mil-
lion average market capitaliza-
tion during the last three years. Dollar loans BANKING PUSH

get scarce While awaiting bank

by a broad national consen-
sus”. All parties unanimously
requested Hazare to end his
hunger strike.
However, the government
from an interplay of competitive forces at every apparatus that insists on competitive markets
did not accept opposition de-
mands for withdrawal of the
current Bill, introduced in the
Lok Sabha earlier this month.
The main opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) said it was
unhappy with the rejection of
its demand.
“We regret there was no con-
fungibility and investment by
local insurers in these instru-
ments, said a person familiar
with the development.
The present regulations
don’t permit such fungibility.
Besides, Irda norms prohibit
insurance firms from investing
in such securities.
Two-way fungibility is the
ability to purchase existing
shares of the issuer foreign
company on foreign bourses
where its shares are listed and
Standard Chartered raised
`2,486 crore in its IDR offering
in June 2010. No other foreign
entity has entered the market
in the absence of two-way fun-
gibility. Besides, without the
participation of local insurers,
the biggest domestic investors
in the institutional category, it
is not easy to make an IDR is-
sue a success as foreign inves-
tors can anyway buy shares of
these firms overseas where
they are listed.
for companies
B Y A NUP R OY & P .R . S ANJAI
·························
MUMBAI
T he cost of dollar loans is at
a historic low, but compa-
nies are finding it difficult to
raise such funds from banks
because of an acute shortage
A R N OL D G L ASOW
rules, REC vets allies
B Y U TPAL B HASKAR & ulls Financial Services Ltd, Bir-
la Capital and Financial Serv-
D INESH U NNIKRISHNAN
·························
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI
ices Ltd, Tata Capital Ltd and
Reliance Capital Ltd.
S tate-owned Rural Electrifi-
cation Corp. Ltd (REC) is in
talks with two foreign banks
An analyst wasn’t too enthu-
siastic about the idea of REC
entering banking.

level. Retail pricing freedom would allow that. for the sake of better outcomes overall, vigi-
sensus. Opposition parties, in-
cluding us, the Rashtriya Lok
Dal, the Janata Dal (United)
and the Left parties, wanted
the government to withdraw
the current Bill, but the ruling
parties and some others were
TURN TO PAGE 2®
deposit them into the IDR
holding and vice-versa.
An IDR is a rupee-denomi-
nated instrument, like an equi-
ty share, in the form of a de-
pository receipt created by a
domestic depository against
the underlying equity of issu-
ing company. It enables for-
The monthly turnover of
Standard Chartered’s IDRs has
slumped from `335.33 crore a
year ago to `3.37 crore now on
BSE.
Priced at `104, Standard
Chartered’s IDR hit a high of
`134.50 in March, but has
since fallen at least 42%. On
of the US currency in the mar-
ket. Only companies with the
highest rating have been get-
ting loans from the overseas
branches of Indian banks, the
avenue through which they
raise most of their trade fi-
nance loans.
Such loans typically have a
for setting up a commercial
bank through the joint venture
(JV) route in India.
There’s only one problem.
The country’s banking regula-
tor is yet to finalize rules for
the grant of licences and start
the process of issuing them,
but REC wants to be prepared.
“It is not clear why a firm
like REC needs to set up a
bank. It is too early to even
think about the chances of
REC securing a licence,” said
Santosh Singh, analyst with Es-
pirito Santo Securities. “Also,
converting itself into a bank
does not really makes sense for

Such flexibility is crucial in crunch times. Sales lance should be exercised on the rivalrous
eign firms to raise funds from
the Indian capital market.
Note to readers
maturity of up to three years.
TURN TO PAGE 2® For longer tenures, banks opt
for syndication, which involves
a group of lenders.
In the past few weeks, ever
since the euro zone debt crisis
and the US downgrade, lower-
rated firms have been finding it
“As we are awaiting the
guidelines, we are in discus-
sions for the partnership. Of
the banks that we are in dis-
cussions with, we will be se-
lecting one as a partner,” said
H.D. Khunteta, chairman and
managing director of REC.
REC as it will only increase its
operational costs compared to
what they are today.”
Another analyst said becom-
ing a bank would help REC
grow. “Remaining a non-bank-
ing financial company
wouldn’t allow it to expand

D ear Reader, difficult to raise trade finance Of the two banks, one is a and grow. Also, the Indian

have been volatile over the pandemic period intensity—or lack thereof—of a vast array of
From time to time, you will see a page or a feature in Mint clearly because Indian banks have be- Japanese lender and the other banking sector is extremely lu-
labelled as Media Marketing Initiative. Such content is entirely generated come selective owing to the is European. Khunteta, howev- crative,” said a Delhi-based
by an advertiser or Mint’s marketing department on behalf of an advertiser, shortage of dollar in the sys- er, declined to name the banks power sector analyst who did
and does not involve any editorial staff. tem. citing confidentiality. “The (fi- not want to be identified.
Such pages/features also have a different font and style to help you identify The spread between the nal) contours of the JV will be Shares of REC rose 0.85% on
that they are not part of Mint’s editorial content. As clearly stated in Mint’s one-year overnight index swap decided after the policy guide- Wednesday to close at `177.95
journalistic Code of Conduct, available on our website www.livemint.com, (OIS), a good indicator of Indi- lines are in place,” he said. on BSE. The benchmark
there is an inviolable line between news and advertising at Mint. an interest rates, and the one- REC joins aspirants that in- Sensex dropped 1.3%.
We thought it would be useful for us to reiterate this to you. year Mumbai interbank for- clude Srei Infrastructure Fi- utpal.b@livemint.com

and stock projections must not have been easy Indian markets. Several are seen on a decline.
As always, feel free to contact us at feedback@livemint.com ward offer rate (Mifor) is at its nance Ltd, Religare Enterpris-
R. Sukumar highest since at least October es Ltd, Shriram Transport Fi- ALSO SEE
Mint is also available for R5.50 with Editor nance Co. Ltd, L&T Finance Six companies bid to advise on Power
Hindustan Times under a combo offer TURN TO PAGE 3® Ltd, Bajaj FinServ Ltd, Indiab- Finance Corp.’s bank plan >P3

for retail managers to make. India’s count of Let’s arrest and reverse these trends.

MY VIEW | EX MACHINA

Our new e-com rules could dampen online innovation

from dozens of different sources, when just
RAHUL MATTHAN a couple of years ago, the only way I’d get to
experience any of these cuisines was if a new
restaurant opened up. Where were all these
chefs for so long and what suddenly spurred
them to surface in such numbers?
sales, triggering a frenzy as customers vie to large food-delivery services that have cor- implies that services such as those described
get their orders in before stocks run out. nered the market. Other similar services above would fall within its ambit—as they
Payments are almost always through Google have started to take advantage of India’s rad- make “digital or electronic facilities” for elec-
Pay or other UPI apps that offer the most ically unbundled ecosystem to enable end- tronic commerce available to small home
efficient money-transfer option. Doorstep to-end commercial workflows that suit chefs and micro businesses.
delivery is left to Swiggy, Dunzo or any one every business—at a fraction of the cost. What this means is that all these services

F
or me, one of the bright spots of the
utterly miserable past year-and-a-half
has been the spontaneous proliferation
of home cooks in Bangalore. All of a sudden,
almost out of nowhere, a wide variety of din-
ing options have become available. Every
fortnight, I can choose from a range of exotic
sausages and cold cuts that Bala makes him-
The internet has made it easier for us to
monetize our passions than ever before. Any-
one can post a product online and dozens of
people will be willing to buy it. Services like
Shopify seized upon this and built online ser-
vices that small entrepreneurs can use to
quickly open a web store, giving them an
end-to-end solution for the entire retail
of the many delivery services that are availa- This is why we have seen such a prolifera- that stitched together digital workflows for
ble in almost every Indian tion of home businesses small entrepreneurs will have to appoint
city. Unlike elsewhere in over the past year and a nodal and grievance officers in much the
the world where small Small internet half, and why I have been same way as big e-commerce players do.
businesses need to sign up so spoilt for food choices. They will have to set up consumer grievance
to large digital platforms, outlets have But behind every silver redressal mechanisms and maintain lists of
in India they can assemble lining, there is a dark cloud, sellers who repeatedly violate intellectual
the services they need into
flourished lately and in the case of India’s property laws. While all these compliances

is a partner at Trilegal and also

has a podcast by the name Ex
Machina. His Twitter handle is
@matthan
This PDF was originally uploaded to Mint Newspaper - ePaper (https://t.me/mint_epaper). Subscribe now to get this edition before anyone else!! Backup channel: @news_backup
X X
self and shares by word of mouth. Roughly
thrice a week, Rohan sends out a WhatsApp
alert telling me what pies and quiches he
plans to make in a couple of days so I can
choose what I want. Every weekend, Ulo
spins up a batch of artisanal ice-creams that
sell out so quickly that it is fastest-finger-first
every week. And when I am in the mood for
something fermented, I look no further than
Local Ferment Company, which sends me
everything from kombucha to a selection of
dry-aged cheeses.
I have tried to figure out what caused this
Cambrian explosion of options. How is it that
today I can order Bhutanese, Tibetan, East
Asian, Middle Eastern and Japanese food
workflow. This removed much of the pain
once associated with starting a new business.
In India, if anything, we have gone much
further. Thanks to the proliferation of digital
platforms, every element of the commercial
workflow has been unbundled and is readily
available as a disaggregated service that any-
one who cares to use can access. This has
made it possible for small businesses to lev-
erage the web without the help of platforms
like Shopify.
Most home-food businesses use Insta-
gram as their menu, displaying their dishes
on the app as a series of images or short vid-
eos to select from. Others use Instagram Sto-
ries or WhatsApp Blasters to announce spot
bespoke digital workflows
tailored to meet the unique
but may find unbundled commercial
architecture, this has taken
make sense in the context of large market-
place websites that display the goods of mul-
requirements of their busi-
nesses. This allows them to
their operations the shape of the Consumer
Protection (E-Commerce)
tiple sellers on their website, they are coun-
terproductive when applied to digital servi-
set up fully functional bogged down by Rules, 2020. The ostensible ces that offer commercial workflows to help
stores at a fraction of the purpose of these rules is to small businesses manage their orders, pay-
cost that platforms like compliance lists extend to e-commerce cus- ments and deliveries.
Shopify charge. But not tomers the protections The cost of putting in place these proc-
everyone has the technical available under the con- esses will shutter these services, leaving the
ability to put something like this together. sumer protection law. While I have no quar- small businesses that rely on them bereft of
A while back, I’d written about Beckn, a rel with holding large e-commerce platforms the technical support they need to sustain
set of protocols that offered a range of com- to the same standards as traditional retail, the their operations. More importantly, it will
mercial functionalities by laying down spec- E-Commerce Rules extend much further. mean that the wide choice of cuisine I have
ifications for various interoperable services. They apply to all entities that “own, operate grown accustomed to over the pandemic
Today, Beckn-enabled services offer restau- or manage digital or electronic facilities or will no longer be available.
rants and home chefs alternatives to the platforms for electronic commerce”, which And that’s a big disappointment.
X X

LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 13

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

The digital future of our country A broader agenda for central

banks will risk their autonomy
is distinctly being re-imagined Mixing up stability goals with others will invite political control

Talent, technology solutions and online platforms offering services at scale are converging for the success of Digital India

DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION

MERVYN KING & DAN KATZ

are, respectively, former governor of the
Bank of England; and a former senior
advisor at the US Treasury Department.
DEBJANI GHOSH
is president of the National Association of
Software and Services Companies (Nasscom)

C
entral bankers and journalists will
assemble for the virtual Jackson
Hole conference later this week.

I
f you ask a group of people what ‘Digital India’
means to them, it is really interesting to see
the variety of responses you get. For some, it is
about Indian tech startups—Zomato, Ola,
Urban Company, etc, that are redefining how
we consume goods or services; for some it’s
the legendary tech services companies—TCS,
Infosys and the like that have built India’s mam-
moth $200 billion tech sector; for many, it is the
power of social media and how it’s giving every
Indian a voice; and for others, it is the increasing
ease of use as more and more services, including
government facilities, go online—UPI payments,
Direct Benefit Transfers through Aadhaar, CoWin
for vaccination, etc.
It’s the 75th year of India’s independence, and
as I sit back to reflect on what is Digital India and
what is unique in this journey, for me it is the
transformation of lives and livelihoods that we are
seeing at the grassroots, powered by technology
and the ingenuity of India’s innovation ecosystem.
And enabling the same is a quiet revolution that is
at the heart of India’s transformation into Digital
India—India’s ‘platformization’ story, that is, how
the country has built one of the world’s most
+ robust and comprehensive digital public-good
platforms as the foundation of Digital India.
They say that good technology is invisible.
India’s platformization strategy has quietly begun
to impact each and every one of our lives: for
instance, each time we use the UPI (Unified Pay-
ments Interface) to make a payment, or book a
vaccination slot using CoWin, or use Aadhaar to
access a service. It is the highway on which Digital
India runs. And with over 20 platforms impacting
over a billion lives, India is truly leading the world
on building the substratum for a strong and scala-
ble digital economy.
A digital public-good platform creates enor-
mous value by enabling seamless transactions,
catalysing innovation and generating efficiency
and transparency for users. India’s 20-plus public
digital platforms have successfully built scale
across multiple citizen services and also helped
create a vibrant tech startup ecosystem that is
making good use of this digital infrastructure. The
rise of public digital platforms also represents a
productive engagement between the government
and Indian industry to work together in tackling
crucial socio-economic challenges.
Aadhaar has been India’s most visible digital
platform. When you speak with Nandan Nilekani,
the visionary behind Aadhaar, even he is amazed
by how rapidly this ecosystem has attained 1.3
billion registrations and how a unique identity has
become the foundation for digital transformation
across sectors.
The state-run Bhim UPI app clocked over 3.2
billion transactions in July 2021, marking a game-
changing penetration of digital payments in India.
FastTag, which became mandatory earlier this
year and enables online toll collection, has already
facilitated 192 million transactions. The Umang
app, which offers a one-stop platform for multiple
government services, has witnessed a cumulative
1.7 billion transactions.
Digital platforms have also played a key role in
India’s response to the covid crisis. Think of the
MyGov Chatbot, which has provided validated
information on key resources, or eSanjeevani,
which has so far enabled 9 million telemedicine
consultations, or CoWin, our vaccination gateway
that has logged over 500 million vaccine doses.
So why is this important and unique to India?
First is the design principles: Affordability
through low-cost development, interoperability
with an API-driven backend, and the driving of
large-scale reach. Secondly, access infrastructure:
Mobile-first suitability even for the country’s non-
smartphone segment, multi-lingual interfaces,
and, most importantly, the leveraging of offline
infrastructure of Common Service Centres in
remote areas. Lastly, it is about innovation,
enabling entrepreneurs to leverage these plat-
forms and create truly unique solutions for India’s
opportunities and challenges.
Open digital ecosystems today have the potential
to unlock opportunities worth $700 billion for
India by 2030, as per a report by BCG. The environ-
mental, societal and governance (ECG) impact
across sectors like healthcare, talent, urban govern-
ance, agriculture, law and justice, education and
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can
create new value of $500 billion-plus, and over
$200 billion in savings for the country.
From enabling farmers to sell their produce
through e-commerce platforms, to facilitating
education and healthcare in the remotest parts of
our nation, digitalization offers enormous trans-
formative opportunities for India. The upcoming
National Digital Health Mission: Universal Health
Initiative, for example, can be a game-changer for
healthcare services in the country.
In the last 75 years, India has made a tremendous
leap to become a robust digital economy, and the
future of our country will be defined by how well
we can integrate digital solutions across platforms.
By the 100th year of our independence, plenty
more can be achieved, for which we must strive
towards developing a seamless, transparent, and
inclusive digital ecosystem that is driven by India’s
world-class innovation capabilities.
The country must build on its digital advantage
and pivot towards a more data-driven structure of
governance. These platforms have laid a strong
foundation for India to attain digital maturity. For
many years, the country was known as the world’s
“back office”. That is rapidly changing, with the
Indian tech industry pivoting to become the
world’s digital solutions partner. In my view, the
triage of digital tech solutions, digital talent and
digital platforms at scale constitute Digital India.
The next few years will be decisive for India’s
potential to stimulate employment and get back to
being one of the world’s fasting-growing large
economies. As we say at Nasscom, when the world
thinks ‘digital’, the world must think ‘India’.
Their agenda will be broad. The future path
of quantitative easing (QE), the health of the
labour market, and other critical monetary
and regulatory matters will command cen-
tre stage. But we can also expect pro-
nouncements on issues once considered the
domain of elected politicians, including cli-
mate change, racial justice and inequality.
Central-bank commentary on political
issues is a significant departure from the
practice just a generation ago. Central bank-
ers who lived through the 1970s’ high and
volatile inflation saw independence as
essential to the ability of central banks to
maintain economic stability. And this
autonomy went hand in hand with clear
goals and mandates, like inflation targets.
The global financial crisis and its after-
math greatly expanded the role of central
banks. Large-scale asset purchases, or QE,
went beyond money creation and extended
to allocating credit through the purchase of
non-federal government instruments and
private obligations such as corporate bonds.
And the scale of money creation created a
political interest in its continuation. The
stock of assets purchased under QE now
stands at 30% of gross domestic product in
the US and 40% in the UK.
Amid widespread frustration with the
inability of elected policymakers to address
critical issues of the day, influential voices
increasingly called on central banks to step
in. Central banks became “the only game in
town”. Central bankers responded will-
ingly, moving into the political arena. This
began most notably with climate change
and the formation of the Network for
Greening the Financial System (NGFS). But
it didn’t stop there. Central-bank officials
now concern themselves with a wide array
of policy issues, from racial justice to ine-
quality, from education to public health.
These are serious challenges to societies.
But the gravity of an issue is not the sole, nor
even the most important, criterion for cen-
tral-bank involvement. Some problems
warrant a monetary response. Most do not.
It is true that many of those new issues
have economic implications. Pollution, cli-
mate change and declining biodiversity
affect the economy. But attempts to shoe-
horn these matters into the domain of mon-
etary policy ask too much of central banks.
In a world of radical uncertainty, their econ-
omists struggle to handle even their usual
responsibilities of economic forecasting.
Recent inflation overshoots, following a
decade of persistent undershoots, suggest
The Bank of England has recently had a
change in its remit REUTERS
a need for greater humility. Central banks’
increasing focus on climate change is par-
ticularly odd. As the pandemic has shown,
the financial system faces a range of tail risks
ranging from cyberattacks to political insta-
bility around the world. But central banks
have little expertise in any of these areas. A
recent paper from the Bank of England
noted, for instance, the lack of any objective
metric by which to ‘tilt’ its purchase of cor-
porate bonds to influence companies’
efforts to reduce their carbon emissions.
Regulators can best deal with financial
risk with robust capital and liquidity regula-
tion, and by insisting on operational resil-
ience. And central banks’ most effective tool
for protecting people with low incomes and
few financial assets is already embedded in
existing monetary practice: namely, ensur-
ing low and stable inflation so that living
standards aren’t eroded.
The new and broader ambitions of cen-
tral banks have profound implications for
their independence. Consider recent calls
in the US to target the unemployment rate
of particular groups and regions. The mere
appearance of joining debates on public-
health measures or state supports for the
unemployed makes it harder to maintain
the independence necessary for the effec-
tive conduct of monetary policy. Already,
central banks seem attuned to the preferen-
ces of elected leaders even without actual
changes to their mandates. Was it a coinci-
dence that in the weeks after President Joe
Biden’s election, the Fed joined the NGFS?
Such offerings are unlikely to satisfy par-
tisan political actors. Once politicians see
that central banks bend to pressure, they’ll
push harder. Concessions will then spur
demands for more and central banks will be
pressed to go beyond managing money sup-
ply and overseeing the financial system.
Wider central-bank mandates, as with the
Bank of England’s recently-changed remit
and the European Central Bank’s commit-
ment to a role confronting climate change,
may become more frequent. And, as politics
weighs more heavily in their calculations,
central banks will find it harder to do what
they are uniquely qualified to do: provide
financial stability. Economies are most
likely to flourish when central banks are
free to act independently, guided by sound
economic judgement and not short-term
political expediency. ©BLOOMBERG

GUEST VIEW

Why business families fight and how to resolve disputes

family as arising on account of ‘soft issues’.
JANMEJAYA SINHA & Fights occur on account of differences over
BRITTANY MONTGOMERY sharing the family wealth, which largely
resides in their business. We call these fights
within a family as fights over ‘hard issues’.
Finally, families that own listed businesses
often disagree on business strategy. We call
Hard issues arise at the family-business
interface. These are rooted in the material
consequences of family choices about how
they will distribute the rights and benefits of
owning a business, as well as the restrictions
they place on members who enjoy these.
Using an iceberg analogy, ‘hard’ issues are
or how to allocate capital. Given the required
governance structure of listed companies,
families must align views on how their own-
ership finds joint expression in the com-
pany’s board deliberations. The family must
agree on how it uses its voting power on the
business choices coming up for a decision.
Soft issues need to be resolved with empa-
thy by members within the family. At times,
they may even need the good offices of a
family ombudsmen (a respected aunt) who
can hear the hurt and get the offending fam-
ily member to be told off or made to apolo-
gize. An open culture built through clear

A
patriarch of a family business once
told me, “Running a business is easy.
Running a family is difficult. Running
a family business is the most difficult.” About
300 of our top 500 companies are family
businesses. They contribute over 25% of
India’s gross domestic product and employ
large numbers of people. Yet, we know that
all families fight. If these fights are not con-
are, respectively, chairman BCG
- India and consultant BCG.
tained, they disrupt the business, its employ-
ees, its investors, its partners, and the overall
economy. If what the patriarch asserted is
true, it is a worthy exploration to uncover the
various reasons that can provide tinder for
family fights. If business families watch out
for these, a brewing fight will not surprise
them, and can often be prevented or at least
managed in a non-disruptive manner.
We find three different spheres in which
fights arise. Fights occur within a family,
something we all experience when people
get hurt emotionally by actions of other fam-
ily members. We call these fights within a
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X X
these fights in the family as fights about
‘business issues’. The causes and cures for
these fights differ. They need to be under-
stood and handled differently to maintain
family harmony.
Soft issues are laden with emotion and arise
out of things like fairness, equality and
respect. They can occur when family mem-
bers break family norms or conventions,
especially as families evolve. An elder could
feel disrespected by a foreign-educated neph-
ews’ comments or manner. The younger gen-
eration could find family norms too intrusive
or restrictive, be it the need to marry within
the community or not to challenge an elder
openly. Embedded in soft issues is the ques-
tion of ‘why’, which involves a quest to deter-
mine an underlying motivation for an action
or decision that another family member takes.
It leads to some family member getting hurt.
If such issues are ignored and not discussed,
as they often are, they create simmering dis-
content that later leads to bitter fights.
the visible ones that can
easily be viewed by exter-
nal observers. Common The causes vary
hard issues include succes-
sion or family fights over but appropriate
dividend distribution.
What roles family mem-
mechanisms can
bers can get within the
business, the speed of their
be employed to
progression, and decision
rights within the firm
attain harmony
could also cause friction. once they are
Fights over these are the
most reported and are identified
often the reason cited for
splitting the business
among various wings of the family.
Finally, family members need alignment
over the business decisions and strategy of a
listed company in which they have substan-
tive ownership. Differences can arise on
issues like how quickly to grow, which com-
panies to acquire, how much risk to take on,
How does the family align
itself so that a unified view
is communicated at the
board level? When the
founder patriarch is alive,
this is not a big problem,
but subsequent genera-
tions need to find a mecha-
nism to find alignment.
Despite distinctions in
the root causes of conflicts,
dynamic conflicts are rarely
so crisply slotted into pure
‘soft’, ‘hard’, or ‘business’
issues. Friction from dec-
ades ago over unfair treat-
ment within the family, for example, could
show up today as disputes over succession.
Business decisions may be coloured with
overtones of past emotional strife between
family members. Issues blend into each other.
But the ways they are anticipated, identified,
governed and resolved are distinct.
messaging about extant soft rules and the
stewardship shown by elders in explaining
decisions and managing grievances goes a
long way in assuaging pain. Hard issues are
easier to manage. They are easy to antici-
pate, and rules and structures (family assem-
blies and family councils together with a
family charter) can be put in place before
they arise, to deal with them objectively and
fairly. This will not always satisfy everyone,
but can help prevent disruptive conflict.
Similarly, structures for family alignment on
business strategy can be created. For exam-
ple, a family business board where issues are
discussed (especially after the patriarch’s
departure) can smoothen decisions. If nec-
essary, trusted external advisors can be
invited to join these forums and help facili-
tate decision-making.
Families would do well to heed Mahatma
Gandhi’s words: “Peace is not the absence of
conflict, but the ability to cope with it.”
These are the authors’ personal views.
X X

14 WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI BUSINESS OF LIFE SPORTS LIVEMINT.COM

How India learnt to

win Tests in England
India’s bowling tactics
against England have
been spot on. There’s no
need to change
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon won the Hungarian GP. GETTY IMAGES

Sumit Chakraberty
feedback@livemint.com
F1 resumes after
O
ne of the talking points at the
beginning of the ongoing Test
series in England was Ravichan-
dran Ashwin’s absence from the
a summer break
playing XI. It was a tough call for
India’s captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shas- This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix is
tri to leave out the off-spinner who is the sec-
ond-ranked Test bowler in the world currently.
the first in a crucial triple header
But Kohli and Shastri had decided to fight fire
with fire. They were not going to put themselves Nitin Sreedhar
at a disadvantage in pace-friendly conditions by nitin.s@htlive.com
fielding three pace bowlers against the opposi-

tion’s four, which has usually been the case on
past tours. They had learnt their lesson in the
World Test Championship (WTC) final they lost
to New Zealand in June at Lord’s, when they
made the blunder of playing two spinners and
three pace bowlers while the Kiwis went in with
a five-man pace battery.
Still, most pundits criticised the move to drop
Ashwin after the WTC final. They argued that
+ he should have at least found a place ahead of
Ravindra Jadeja, the sole spinner India picked
in the first two Tests against England.
But again, the Kohli-Shastri logic in picking
Jadeja was sound. No doubt, Ashwin is the more
accomplished spinner, but Jadeja was in the
team as a batting all-rounder. Ashwin too has
played some doughty knocks, but in easier bat-
ting conditions. To stick him at No.7 on English
wickets would give too big an advantage to a
rival whose batting lineup extends to No.9.
Jadeja has proved his worth with the bat,
walking out to the centre when India were at a
precarious 142-5 in the first innings of the first
Test at Nottingham, and scoring 56 to give India
a vital lead of 95. He repeated the feat in the first
innings of the second Test at Lord’s, scoring 40
with the tailenders for company and taking
India to a respectable total after a slump.
With Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya
Rahane averaging less than 30 over the last
10-15 Tests, the Indian middle order is vulnera-
ble. And the team can’t rely on the pace bowlers
to bail them out with the bat again, like Moham-
med Shami and Jasprit Bumrah did on the final
day’s morning at Lord’s. It’s the batting ability
of Jadeja and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant that
has given the team the luxury of playing five
bowlers. So the think tank did the sensible thing
by picking Jadeja , and a pace quartet to match
England’s in English conditions.
The results so far have more than vindicated
the selection. A washout on the last day denied
India a great chance to win the first Test. Then
India came out on top in a see-saw battle in the
second Test at Lord’s, when the Indian pace
quartet skittled England out for 120 in the final
innings.
The fourth pace bowler—Shardul Thakur in
Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul celebrate the fall of England’s final wicket at Lord’s. GETTY IMAGES
the first Test and Ishant Sharma in the second the previous series against England in 2018, from all corners.
Test—accounted for nine out of the 40 English with batting all-rounder Hardik Pandya chip- Admittedly, it’s tough to leave out a bowler of
wickets in the first two Tests. But that’s not all. ping in as a third seamer. Not surprisingly, India Ashwin’s class, who has been in peak form since
What a pace quartet gives a captain is the ability were outgunned by a four-man English pace the Australia series. What’s more important,
to maintain relentless pressure from both ends unit in conditions ideal for that type of bowling. however, is giving the team the best chance to
when clouds overhead and grass underfoot Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test win. Kohli and Shastri would do well to stick to
make swing and seam a constant threat. If Kohli captain on paper, but only five out of his 37 Test their winning combination, because Heading-
is forced to bring on a spinner after 10-12 overs wins have been in SENA countries, where he has ley, the venue for the third Test starting on
of pace with the new ball, that’s a big relief to lost 12 Tests (counting the WTC final) and Wednesday, has been a seam-friendly ground.
batsmen on a seaming wicket. drawn three. His first SENA Test win came England will come harder at the Indians, with
Test match batting is as much a matter of con- against South Africa in Johannesburg in Janu- a rejuvenated Jimmy Anderson raring for
centration and belief as skill. England’s collapse ary 2018. And India’s team composition that revenge after a nine-day break. India’s middle
on the last day at Lord’s, when the pitch was in time? Four pace bowlers plus a batting all- order is shaky, but Pujara and Rahane should
fact more placid rounder who retain their spots with their crucial century
than on previous bowled medium stand on the fourth day of the second Test, after
days, came about Kohli and Shastri did the sensible pace, which was rash shots by Rohit Sharma and Kohli had
because of the thing by picking Jadeja for his batting exactly the same reduced them to 55 for 3.
psychological
pressure of facing ability, and a pace quartet to match as that of the
South Africans.
Kohli should heed Sunil Gavaskar’s advice,
which he shared while commentating, to avoid
one testing spell England’s in English conditions India’s famous shuffling across so much that he’s playing at
after another. A win in Brisbane in balls outside off stump he can leave well alone.
four-pronged January this year, Meanwhile, Sharma should realise there’s no
pace attack could keep that up for over 50 overs which clinched the Australia series under percentage in a hook shot that produces two or
without losing its zing, unlike several occasions Rahane’s captaincy, is best remembered for three sixes before giving away what is at the
in the past when a winded unit could not polish Pant’s 89 not out on the final day. What was moment the most valuable wicket in the Indian
off the lower order as the ball got older. equally important was that India’s four pace lineup. And how many more times will
Test wins in the so-called SENA countries bowlers and a spinner took 20 Aussie wickets. England’s mainstay Joe Root edge through a
(South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Aus- It’s odd then that India opt so rarely for a pace vacant second slip or third slip before the Indian
tralia) don’t come easy for teams from the sub- attack to match that of the home team on away captain starts attacking him more with fielders
continent. One reason is that the latter have tours, even though there’s no dearth of pace in catching positions? So the good news is that
lacked the gumption to pick horses for courses. bowlers in the country now. And when the cap- there’s still ample room for improvement in the
India fielded only two pace bowlers at Lord’s in tain and coach do make that call, they take flak Indian team, tactically.
T
here’s perhaps no better circuit than Spa-Francorchamps
to resume this year’s Formula One (F1) season after a sum-
mer break. Home to the Belgian Grand Prix, this iconic and
scenic circuit will see Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Red Bull’s
Max Verstappen fight it out again as the battle for the 2021 cham-
pionships picks up pace. The 44-lap race will take place on 29
August. Before the two-week summer break, Alpine’s Esteban
Ocon became the 111th driver to win a world championship race
with his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month.
The 24-year-old French driver will hope to capitalise on his win
heading into Spa, where he has performed well in recent seasons.
At one point, Hamilton was trailing in the final position in Hun-
gary but managed to fight back into the podium places, while
Verstappen finished 9th after his Red Bull car suffered considera-
ble damage in an opening lap crash that saw five drivers retire
from the race. The gap between Hamilton and Verstappen in the
drivers’ championship now sits at just 8 points.
This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix is also the first in a crucial
triple header, with back-to-back races in the Netherlands (Dutch
Grand Prix) and Italy’s Monza circuit (Italian Grand Prix) to fol-
low. Whoever (between Hamilton and
This weekend’s Verstappen) manages to emerge from
Belgian Grand the three races with maximum points
could have a massive advantage for the
Prix is the first remainder of the season.
of a crucial and The 2021 season had a total of 23
decisive triple races planned, but that now looks set
header to be modified after the recent
announcement that the Japanese
Grand Prix slated for October had been
cancelled due to covid-19. This could mean a further reshuffle to
the calendar after races in Australia, Canada, Singapore and
China were also called off earlier this year due to the pandemic.
This summer break also added further intrigue to what might
finally happen at Mercedes: who will partner Hamilton for the
2022 season? Will it be his current teammate Valtteri Bottas? Or,
will George Russell finally make the long-anticipated switch to
the Silver Arrows from his current team Williams? Recent news
reports have suggested that a decision has already been made, but
that we might have to wait till September to find out.
Whatever transpires at Mercedes could have a cascading effect
across F1. If Russell joins Mercedes, where does Bottas go? Does
he head back to his former team Williams or will another outfit
take a punt on him? Alfa Romeo is another team that faces a deci-
sion around the futures of their current drivers Kimi Räikkönen
and Antonio Giovinazzii. Could Bottas possibly be an option for
Alfa Romeo next year? It’s set to be an intriguing second half in
the 2021 F1 season, and it all starts at Spa this weekend.

Devendra Jhajharia, the gold standard for Indian para athletes

The gold-winning tere kaam kin ahi hai. (It’s of no use to you.) available, like medicine ball. I used to keep Jhajharia threw down the gauntlet for the
But Jhajharia picked up the javelin none- doing core exercises. I used to do weight rest of the field, by recording a throw of
Paralympian speaks theless. “It was something I could do with training with a gas cylinder, or would 65.71m during the national selection trials
about his struggles and one arm,” he says. He began competing in remove the tyres from the car and use that to seal his place for the Tokyo Paralym-
district competitions with able-bodied as weight.” His wife, a former kabaddi pics, which began on 24 August. Though
his love for the javelin athletes, and then started beating them. player, doubled up as his fitness trainer. it was a world record distance, he wasn’t
“Javelin mera junoon hai (Javelin is an Jhajharia returned to his training base, ratified since it didn’t happen in an official
obsession for me),” he says. the Sports Authority of India centre in tournament.
Deepti Patwardhan Things spun out of control again in Gandhinagar, as soon as the lockdown was However, it has given Jhajharia the con-
feedback@livemint.com 2020, when the world was shut down due lifted but was struck by tragedy within a fidence that he can continue his streak of
to the covid-19 outbreak. In October that few weeks. winning gold with a world record throw in

I
t’s easy to understand why the javelin
holds a special place in Jhajharia’s
heart. Not just because it brought him
two Paralympic gold medals, 12 years
apart, each with a world record. But
because it has been the one thing he could
always rely on and take charge of, when
the world around him was spinning out of
control—as it had happened when Jhaj-
haria had first started playing the sport at
the age of 12.
When he was eight years old in his vil-
lage Churu, in Rajasthan, he touched a live
cable and was electrocuted. His left arm
had to be amputated due to the accident.
Villagers, including kids his age, taunted
him for attempting to take up sports, his
parents were told their son’s life was as
good as over, and he was told ye (javelin)
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year, Jhajharia lost his father to cancer.
The man who had stood with him like a
rock in the face of his early struggles; the
man who had been his pillar of strength
and his biggest supporter. “That time was
very challenging,” recalls Jhajharia. “I was
in Gandhinagar when the doctor
informed my father that he had cancer.
The doctor told him he had 10-15 days to
live. My father sent me back to training.
He told me I should focus on my sport, and
that his wish was that I’d win one more
medal.”
At the age of 23, when Jhajharia left for
his maiden Paralympics, the 2004 Games
in Athens, his father was the only one
who’d seen him off at the airport. At
Athens, Jhajharia won the gold medal in
men’s F46 category with a world record
“In October, I got the dreaded message
that my father was very critical. Before I
could reach home, he passed away,” he
says. “The tradition is that we have to stay
at home for 12 days. Once I had done that,
my mother told me to return to training.
The first week I couldn’t work, I was not fit
physically or mentally. My coach and I
would just go to the ground, he would talk
Devendra Jhajharia is aiming for his third Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo. GETTY IMAGES to me, maybe jog around the ground.”
But at the age of 40, despite having
throw of 62.15 metres. The Indian javelin third Paralympics when the pandemic already won two gold medals in Paralym-
star had to wait 12 years for a shot at Para- struck. “Training during covid was very pics and with very little left to prove, Jhaj-
lympics again, as the F46 event was tough,” he says. “You couldn’t get out of haria kept going back to his sport.
excluded from the Games in 2008 and the house, but had to remain fit. It’s like “I don’t think I can live without it,” he
2012. He stepped up again in Rio, winning you have to clear the UPSC exam but are says. “You can call it my weakness or my
the gold with another world record throw not allowed to read the textbooks! helplessness. I didn’t once think about
of 63.97 meters. “I was at home, so started working out leaving the sport. As long as my arm and
In 2020, Jhajharia was training for his in the house itself, with whatever I had feet work, I will keep doing it.” This June,
Tokyo. “I feel happy that people are
expecting a lot from me, but I am also
aware that I need to deliver on those
expectations. I don’t think pressure really
affects me.”
All para athletes come with their own
stories of struggle and strife. How often
does the double Olympic champion and
Padma Shri awardee look back on his
own? “I do think of it sometimes,” he says.
“I feel very sad. “The kind of things that
people used to say, they should have given
a little thought to what they were saying to
a young kid.They would tell me, ‘tere
kaam ki nahi hai ye. But now that I think
about it, mere hi kaam ki thi wo! (It was
meant for me!)”
As far as Indian para athletes go, Jhaj-
haria is the gold standard.