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MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 4 NO. 203

Thursday, August 26, 2021

livemint.com

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Will NMP succeed Bhargava’s

in helping govt despair
Maruti Suzuki India chairman
earn revenues? R.C. Bhargava’s critical review
of policies for the automobile
sector should prompt a rethink.
BY ASIT RANJAN MISHRA At an industry event on
The ₹6 trillion National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) unveiled by Wednesday, the veteran busi-
finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday has captured ness leader flagged the indus-
everybody’s attention. However, the Opposition has alleged that try’s declining trend in evidence
the government is trying to sell India’s crown jewels. Mint explains: for some years now, noting that
there has been little concrete
Unlocking capital action to reverse it. He blamed
high taxes for hurting vehicle
The NMP will help the authorities ease fiscal constraints and free up the
balance sheets for more greenfield infrastructure creation.
affordability, arguing that the
industry would not see a revival
Sectoral share of NMP for FY22-FY25 (in  crore)
Roads 160,200
unless this is addressed.
Railways 152,496
It is true that taxes in India
Power transmission 45,200 imposed by the Centre and
Power generation 39,832 states are cumulatively among
NMP will be
Telecom 35,100 Total
co-terminous with the
the highest in the world, on cars
Warehousing 28,900
₹6 trillion National Infrastructure especially. The cost burden of
Mining 28,747 Pipeline for four years new emission norms and
Natural gas pipelines 24,462 recently-raised upfront insur-
Product pipelines 22,504 ance charges have further put
Aviation 20,782 car purchases out of the reach
Others 39,278 Source: NITI Aayog for large numbers. Covid-com-
pressed incomes may have
Why is there a need to Is the pipeline a new dampened demand as well, not
1 monetize assets?
In a country like India, with
2 concept?
No. India has been monetizing
to mention would-be vehicle
replacers waiting for reachably
massive infrastructure deficit, assets for a long time through priced electric options, with
finding resources to build physical public-private partnerships (PPP). carbon-exhaust sensitivities on
assets is a daunting task. Hence, The Delhi airport has been built the rise in the context of climate
the government wants to monetize through the PPP mode. The change. Given the big role of
existing infrastructure assets by concession period is 30 years after automobile manufacturing in
leasing them out to private firms which it will either be renewed or
our economy, we should find
for a fixed tenure under a revenue transferred to the Airports
sharing model. It will help the Authority of India (AAI). The ways for the industry to drive
authorities ease fiscal constraints project that started in 2006 has itself out of its slump. A relook at
+ some of our policies might be a
and free up balance sheets for been completed at a total cost of
more greenfield infrastructure ₹12,500 crore, enabling world- good place to start.
creation. For example, a stadium class infrastructure creation with
built by the government that no additional cost to AAI. In 2020,
remains idle for most part of the the Maharashtra State Road
year can be leased to a private party Development Corp. Ltd awarded
that can efficiently manage it by
organizing cultural functions and
the tolling rights of the Mumbai-
Pune Expressway and old Mumbai-
MINT METRIC
allowing the public to use it for a fee. Pune corridor for ₹8,262 crore. by Bibek Debroy
MINT

In Belgium, a lady’s love affair

3 Will the money go directly
to the government?
Money from projects monetized by central
Is Antwerp zoo’s bugbear.
government departments will go to the
Chita the chimp is her beau,
government. As most of the projects to be Simian relationships he will forego.
monetized are under various central public
sector enterprises (CPSEs), the money
The woman barred from ever going there.
accrued will be received by them. But the
Centre often forces CPSEs to declare larger
dividends so that this money can be trans-
ferred to the Consolidated Fund of India. QUOTE OF THE DAY
The 21st century India remains
4 Has this worked for
other countries?
Asset recycling has been enacted
5 Is the ₹6 trillion target
achievable in 4 years?
Achieving ₹6 trillion through asset
firmly committed to move
in Australia through the Asset monetization in four years is a
forward with the goal of clean
Recycling Initiative (ARI) of the daunting task. This will need a and modern mobility
federal government, which during coordinated effort and push from
the 2014-15 budget announced the the top. A lot will also depend on
Infrastructure Growth Package market conditions. The Centre
(IGP), a 10-year vision of infra- expects the global liquidity surplus
structure investment in the nation. to help it achieve the target. As
ARI was aimed at encouraging these are de-risked infrastructure
states to recycle assets and utilize projects, it may be easier to NARENDRA MODI
the sale proceeds for productivity- monetize than sell Air India or PRIME MINISTER OF
enhancing infrastructure by asking Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd INDIA
private firms to fund and run public through strategic disinvestment.
infrastructure. This helped unlock However, the government needs to
more than $17 billion in infrastruc- avoid a situation where a few firms
ture development across Australia. capture most of the assets.

S TO C K TA L K DOWNLOAD THE
MINT APP
CANARA BANK BERGER PAINTS
The bank raised While Berger Paints
₹2,500 crore this continues to execute
week via the second well, its topline vari-
BUY SELL
tranche of QIP at a ance vis-à-vis Asian
TARGET PRICE TARGET PRICE
better price. The Paints has not been
₹185 ₹670
fund raise will meaningful over
CURRENT PRICE CURRENT PRICE
₹151.05 mainly shore up its ₹784.30 FY19-21. Hence, in
capital ratios, which our view, the pre-
remain sub-par compared to peers mium it enjoys over Asian Paints is
after the merger with Syndicate Bank. unjustified.
Emkay Global Financial Services (on 25 Aug) HDFC Securities (on 24 Aug)

SRF GAIL
The specialty chemi- The company will SUBSCRIBE TO
cals business main- gain from high spot OUR NEWSLETTER
tained its growth LNG and volumes TOP OF THE MORNING
NEUTRAL BUY
momentum during tied up when oil is
TARGET PRICE TARGET PRICE
the year. We are higher. GAIL has
₹8,075 ₹207
encouraged by the indicated that 20%
CURRENT PRICE CURRENT PRICE
₹8,929.65 long-term structural ₹144.95 of its FY22-FY23
opportunity in the LNG volumes have
chemicals sector and the company’s not been tied up, which we expect to
ability to participate in the same. be sold at spot prices.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services (on 24 Aug) ICICI Securities (on 24 Aug)

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint.

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PLAIN FACTS

Recovery on track, but

progress slows down
BY TANAY SUKUMAR

MINT MACRO TRACKER

MACRO TRACKER SNAPSHOT
Parameter value Average band (five-year mean) As of June, six of the 16 indicators in the
Performance better than five-year average tracker are above the five-year trend (highlighted
in green) and nine are below (red). One
Performance worse than five-year average maintained the trend (amber). This is worse than
Performance in line with five-year average the reading from six months ago. Now 6 months ago 1 year ago 2 years ago 3 years ago

CONSUMER ECONOMY PRODUCER ECONOMY

Passenger vehicle sales Tractor sales PMI composite Core* growth
(growth in %) (growth in %) (in %)
20 5 20 19.6 60 49.2 10 -2.4
0 0
40 0
-20 -20
-40 -40 20 -10
-60 -60 -20
-80 0 *8 core infrastructure industries
Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jun 2021
-100

Broadband subscriber base Domestic air passengers Banks’ non-food credit Rail freight traffic
(growth in %) (growth in %) (growth in %) (growth in %)
60 15.5 20 -35 15 6.1 10 6.3
50 0
40 -20 0
10
30 -40 -10
20 -60 5
10 -20
Aug 2019 Jun 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jun 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021
-100

EXTERNAL SECTOR EASE OF LIVING

Import cover Rupee vs dollar CPI Core CPI
(forex reserves in months) (m-o-m in %) (inflation in %) (inflation in %)
20 2 8 6
14.3 -1.3 6.2 5.7
1
15 0 6 5
-1
10 -2 4 4
-3
5 -4 2 3
Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021

Labour-intensive sector exports Trade balance Real wage growth Labour force participation rate
(growth in %) (as a % of total trade) (in %) (in %)
10 10 2 45 40.2
4.7 -13.4 -1.2
0 0
40
-20 -10 0
-40 35
-20
-60 -30 -2 30
Aug 2019 -77.4 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021 Aug 2019 Jun 2021 Aug 2019 Jul 2021

All growth/inflation figures (except for rupee vs dollar) are calculated as the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) since the
same month two years ago. The rupee vs dollar growth is with reference to the previous month. The grey band denotes an average
range constructed around the five-year mean value. A wider grey band reflects higher volatility.
+
Source: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, Bloomberg, Mint calculations

AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT

T
he economic shock of the second wave of covid-19 is tions in year-on-year comparisons.
fading away, well in line with forecasts that it would Even as the pandemic subsided, Indians stayed wary of
be short-lived. India’s recovery continued in July, led air travel. Domestic airlines carried 5 million passengers in
by improving consumption and trade figures. But progress July, a 61% sequential jump but still lower than April. Com-
was marginal, slowing down from the swift post-lockdown pared with the same month two years ago, the gap was an
turnaround of June, shows the latest update to Mint’s annualized 35% in July.
monthly macro tracker. The third straight contraction in the composite PMI was
The tracker turned a shade greener—as green as it was led by the contact-intensive services sector, which is strug-
before the second wave—but red flags remained. As in gling to pick itself up amid elevated input costs and muted
June, nine of the 16 high-frequency indicators considered demand. A decline in new orders and poor employment in
in the tracker were in the red, or below their five-year the sector also kept businesses pessimistic. The manufac-
trend, with household-level stress still acute. Six were in the turing sector, however, came out of a brief contraction to
green, or above the five-year trend, while one was in line post a healthy growth figure in July.
with it.
Launched in October 2018, Mint’s macro tracker pro- STRESS POINTS
vides a comprehensive state-of-the-economy report based THE EXTERNAL sector got a boost from improving trade
on trends in 16 high-frequency indicators across four seg- momentum, with three indicators in the segment above
ments: consumer economy, producer economy, external their five-year trend. Aided by recovering global growth as
sector, and the ease of living. The tracker hit its lowest lev- well as a weak month for the rupee, India’s exports climbed
els during the lockdowns of April 2020 (13 indicators in red) to a record $35.4 billion in July—a two-year growth of 16%.
and May 2021 (12 in red). Both exports and imports were lifted somewhat by rising
The July readings show that the economy, despite rapid crude oil prices. Exports in labour-intensive sectors also
gains, still has some ground to cover. Business activity, as posted growth—only the second time since October 2019,
measured by the composite purchasing managers’ index indicating that some parts of the labour market could be
(PMI), remained a sore point in July healing. The rupee’s decline (1.3%) was in
despite rising mobility and market confi- July readings show line with trends from other emerging mar-
dence. Retail inflation cooled but was on kets (EMs), which faced uncertainty over
the higher side, even as data on employ- that the economy, the US Federal Reserve’s policy moves.
ment and wages were subdued. despite rapid gains, The ease of living segment stands all red
High-frequency data for August availa- for the fourth straight month. Annual
ble so far suggest a pick-up in momentum still has some retail inflation eased but was above the 6%
since July. Nomura’s business resumption ground to cover mark when compared over a two-year
index, which uses data on mobility, elec- period. Food prices came down due to
tricity demand, and workforce, now exceeds pre-pandemic supply-side government measures, but fuel prices were a
levels. But a clearer picture will emerge only next month pain point. Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel,
when data for a broader set of indicators will be available. saw only a modest dip.
Recovery in the coming months will be driven by festival Not much relief is likely for now as input prices stay high
season demand, payment of arrears to government staff, and demand recovers. In its August meeting, the Reserve
the pace of vaccinations, and easy financial conditions, Bank of India’s rate-setting committee raised its near-term
economists at Nomura said in a 23 August note to clients. inflation forecasts—an indication that the problem will per-
sist and policymakers will tolerate it to support economic
GREEN SHOOTS growth. However, dissent is creeping up in the committee,
THE CONSUMER economy segment staged a remarkable as one member warned of inflation persisting if the easy
recovery: for the first time since March 2019, two of its four money policy stayed for long.
indicators were in the green. This was led by tractor sales, Meanwhile, rural wages declined 1.2% in real terms over
a barometer of rural demand that has been the quickest to the two-year-ago period, which could keep incomes and
rebound from lockdowns since last year. consumption under stress. The labour force participation
Passenger vehicle dispatches to showrooms posted their rate, as measured in a survey by the Centre for Monitoring
first growth in nearly three years, rising an annualized 5% Indian Economy, stayed at a modest 40%.
over the two-year-ago period. But vehicle registrations, The vaccination drive and India’s ability to contain the
which bear a closer link with retail sales, were still behind third wave will determine the sustainability of the ongoing
pre-second wave levels and declined 7%. recovery. But the improvement in the vaccination pace has
The tracker now considers annualized growth over the been very slow, and India is a long way from its target of vac-
past two years to compare current levels of activity with the cinating all adults by December.
pre-pandemic period and to avoid the base effect distor- tanay.sukumar@livemint.com

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

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MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, KOLKATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*
Thursday, August 26, 2021
SENSEX 55,944.21 14.77
Fairfax gets govt ok
for ₹15k cr FDI plan
Move boosts Centre’s bid to kick-start its ambitious ₹6 tn NMP scheme
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
gireesh.p@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
I
ndia on Wednesday approved
Canada’s Fairfax Financial
Holdings Ltd’s proposal to
invest ₹15,000 crore in infra-
structure projects through its
local arm, boosting the govern-
ment’s efforts to kick-start its ambi-
tious ₹6 trillion infrastructure asset
monetization programme.
Anchorage Infrastructure Invest-
ment Holding Ltd, set up by Fairfax,
will eventually become its flagship
investment vehicle for airports and
other infrastructure investments in
India. Fairfax plans to transfer its
shares in Bangalore International
Airport Ltd (BIAL) to Anchorage
and infuse more capital into the
holding company by bringing in
more investors, showed the 2020
annual report of the Toronto-based
Fairfax India Holdings Corp. India-
born billionaire Prem Watsa is the
chairman of Fairfax.
Fairfax India has a 54% stake in
BIAL, which runs the Kempegowda
International Airport in Bengaluru,
one of India’s busiest. Siemens Pro-
+ jects Ventures owns 20% of the air-
port operator, while Karnataka State
Industrial and Infrastructure Devel-
opment Corp. Ltd and Airports
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livemint.com
NIFTY 16,634.65
INFRA THRUST
Fairfax plans to transfer its 54% stake in Bangalore airport to Anchorage.
ACTION PLAN
CANADA’S Fairfax has ANCHORAGE will be
set up Anchorage Infra Fairfax’s flagship invest-
Investment in India ment vehicle in India
Authority of India hold 13% each.
As part of the investments,
Anchorage will receive ₹950 crore
from an arm of OAC, which runs
Canadian pension fund OMERS
Administration Corp., according to
an official press release after the
Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs cleared the FDI plan.
OMERS has a deal with Fairfax to
VOL. 4 NO. 203
10.05 DOLLAR₹74.24
MINT
FAIRFAX has plans
for an eventual public
listing of Anchorage
invest about $130 million to acquire
from Fairfax India an 11.5% stake in
Anchorage on a fully diluted basis.
Fairfax also has plans for an even-
tual public listing of Anchorage in
India, according to its 2020 annual
report. Fairfax India did not
respond to an emailed query.
TURN TO PAGE 6
Inside the Reserve Bank’s
digital currency plan
₹0.05 EURO ₹87.13
Loan melas to return
in Oct as govt nudges
banks to push credit
Shayan Ghosh
shayan.g@livemint.com
MUMBAI
S
tate-run banks will con-
duct the second round
of the so-called loan
melas to boost credit flow to
retail borrowers and small
businesses during the festive
season, finance minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman said on
Wednesday, as the govern-
ment seeks to lift weak private
consumption and economic
growth.
Sitharaman first nudged
lenders to reach out to cus-
tomers and signal their will-
ingness to lend during the fes-
tive season in September 2019.
That year, the loan melas were
conducted in October across
250 districts to make credit
easily available during the fes-
tive season.
The programme was part of
measures to boost demand
amid concerns about tepid
economic growth.
The government is again
pushing banks to expand their
lending programmes, despite
sluggish demand, and is boost-
ing spending on infrastructure
projects to accelerate eco-
nomic recovery after the coun-
try was ravaged by two waves
of coronavirus infections.
uP10
₹0.04 OIL $71.33
Union finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman. PTI
“In order to keep up the
momentum of the stimulus we
are giving, we have also asked
the banks to go out there and
give credit to people who want
to borrow,” she told reporters
after meeting heads of public
sector banks.
In the previous round, the
finance ministry claimed that
state-run banks disbursed
loans worth ₹2.39 trillion in
November to non-bank len-
ders, large and small busi-
nesses, as well as farmers, and
₹2.52 trillion in October, for a
total of ₹4.91 trillion in the two
months.
TURN TO PAGE 6
Rs 6.00
J&J says booster prompts
strong immune response uP8
$0.28 GOLD ₹47,287
Demand for
blue-collar
workers up as
festivals near
Kalpana Pathak
kalpana.p@livemint.com
MUMBAI
C
ompanies such as Ama-
zon India, Flipkart and
Zomato are busy
recruiting blue-collar workers
ahead of the festive season,
luring them with joining and
performance-linked bonuses,
as pandemic-era curbs have
fuelled strong growth in
online ordering.
E-commerce companies
and logistics operators are
expecting a bumper season,
with sales estimated to rise as
much as 15% more than the
pre-pandemic festive season
in 2019, said Nilabh Kapoor,
business head, OLX People, a
recruitment service provider.
“With businesses recover-
ing in most parts, hiring of
temporary workers has seen
3-4X growth in the recent past
and is expected to double dur-
ing the festive season to keep
up with rising demand across
platforms,” Kapoor said.
Although shoppers are
slowly returning to malls after
the lockdown restrictions were
eased following the second
wave, e-commerce companies
are betting that consumers will
keep adding products and ser-
TURN TO PAGE 6
16 PAGES
₹215
DON’T MISS
Delhivery co-founder Sahil Barua. MINT
Delhivery acquires rival Spoton
for ₹1,750 crore ahead of IPO
Logistics services startup Delhivery said it has
acquired Bengaluru-based rival Spoton Logistics,
in a move expected to strengthen their consumer
and business portfolios. The acquisition comes
ahead of its planned IPO. Delhivery paid ₹1,750 cr
for Spoton, a person in the know said. >P3
Google Pay to offer Equitas SFB’s
FDs in tie-up with fintech Setu
Google has teamed up with Setu, a fintech that
provides application programming interfaces
(APIs), to allow its users to book fixed deposits
(FDs) via GPay. In the initial roll-out, FDs of
Equitas SFB will be offered for up to one year at a
maximum interest rate of 6.35%. >P9
Pension scheme for informal sector
stagnates; enrolment at all-time low
The contributory pension scheme for informal
sector workers is stagnating, with the number of
people joining the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi
Maan-dhan scheme at an all-time low. Hardships
faced by the working class in the wake of covid
behind the low enrolments, analysts said. >P2
Airtel board to meet on 29 August
to discuss fundraising options
Bharti Airtel Ltd on Wednesday said its
board will take a call on raising funds at a
meeting on 29 August. The telco did not
disclose the size of the fund-raise, which
comes after it raised $1.25 billion earlier this
year. >P5
X X

02 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
SC allows Unitech Group sub-panel
Pension scheme for informal Govt plans
to let cos to
to discuss claims with three ARCs
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the new
board of management of Unitech Group to hold negotiations
with three Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs), which are
workers hits stagnation point directly list
secs abroad
assigned around 8,000 out of the 15,000 total flats for one-time
settlement of the mutually agreed dues. A bench of justices D.Y. PTI
Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said a sub-committee of four direct- feedback@livemint.com
ors constituted by the new board of management will hold nego- Fresh enrolment in PM-SYM in first four months of FY22 is at 15,283, or just 3,821 per month MUMBAI
tiations with Suraksha ARC, JM Financial ARC and Edelweiss

T
ARC, about the outstanding dues and the settlement agreement he government may
and apprise it in four weeks. PTI Prashant K. Nanda ized sector workers who are in the introduce legislative
prashant.n@livemint.com 18-40 age group and are earning less amendments in the Bud-
NEW DELHI than ₹15,000 per month. Under the get session of Parliament to
Carol Furtado to be interim scheme, a worker pays a monthly con- enable Indian companies to

T
he marquee contributory tribution between ₹55 and ₹200 and a directly list certain prescribed
CEO of Ujjivan SFB from Oct pension scheme for matching contribution is offered by classes of securities abroad,
informal sector workers is the government. The government has Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj
stagnating, with the num- promised a ₹3,000 monthly pension said on Wednesday.
ber of people joining the once the workers are 60 years old, Direct listing of securities
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan- irrespective of the contribution made overseas by Indian entities is
dhan (PM-SYM) scheme hitting an all- in the scheme. allowed but there are certain
time low. Experts and economists say that the issues which need to be sorted
Fresh enrolment in PM-SYM in the low enrolments reflect the hardship of out for this to become a success,
first four months of the current finan- the working class following the two he said, without elaborating on
cial year is a mere 15,283 or just 3,821 waves of the pandemic that battered the hurdles.”Direct listing is
per month. In July, the number was the economy and the jobs environ- under consideration of the gov-
3,176, lower than the monthly average ment in the country. ernment (but it would require )
this fiscal. In the first 24 days of Besides, multiple schemes in the some amendments to legisla-
August, fresh registration by informal same space and constraints in scope as tion to ensure there is smooth
New Delhi: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Wednes- sector workers in PM-SYM is a mere compared to the Atal Pension Yojana trading of securities outside
day announced the appointment of Carol Furtado as an offi- 1,223, according to official data of the is also one factor for stagnation in India.” We are in discussions
cer on special duty (OSD) till 30 September, and said she ministry of labour and employment. The stagnation came as workers in the informal sector faced income and job loss, PM-SYM enrolment. with the players asking for this.
will take charge as the interim chief executive officer (CEO) There was an average enrolment of following the two waves of the coronavirus pandemic that ravaged the country. MINT “The targeted beneficiaries of Maybe in the Budget session
from October.The move follows resignation of the lender’s 10,843 per month in PM-SYM in FY21 PM-SYM have been through a tough we will see what we can do,”
managing director and CEO Nitin Chugh last week, who and at least 115,000 in FY20, accord- “The enrolment in recent months ignore the fact that the people that one-and-a-half year since the pan- Bajaj said.The two-part Budget
will stay with the bank till 30 September. PTI ing to ministry data available pub- has been very low. If you look at the PMSYM targets are in a difficult situa- demic outbreak. I have been telling session of Parliament usually
licly. first year of its existence (2018-19), tion post the pandemic, and we hope that in a crisis situation, poor and commences in the last week of
The stagnation came the situation will recover underprivileged segments struggle to January every year.
Mfg would contribute 25% of the as workers in the CRISIS-HIT SECTOR gradually as it promises save as the choice is between living Bajaj also said there is no
informal sector faced ₹3,000 pension per and saving. The high unemployment mandatory requirement of list-
GDP by the end of 2022: govt income and job loss, fol- THERE was an avg SO far, 4.51 million THE targeted month,” said a govern- rate, the shift of workers from the for- ing of such securities at the
New Delhi: The government’s focus on manufacturing through lowing the two waves of enrolment of 10,843
per month in PM-
informal workers
have been enrolled
beneficiaries of
PM-SYM suffered the
ment official who did not mal to the informal agri sector, and International Financial Servi-
programmes such as ‘Make in India’ and policies such as the the coronavirus pan- SYM in FY21 and since the scheme was most from pandemic, want to be named. dwindling income have all contrib- ces Centre (IFSC) at present.
‘National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing’ could play a key demic that ravaged the 115,000 in FY20 rolled out in 2018-19 surveys showed Cumulatively, so far uted to this stagnation,” said K.R. However, he said, it will be
role in boosting the manufacturing sector’s share in the country’s country. Surveys have 4.51 million informal Shyam Sundar, a labour economist. looked at when the regulations
GDP to 25% by 2022 from the current 17%, said Mahendra Nath shown that citizens in workers have been Unlike PM-SYM, the Atal Pension are framed. Currently, quite a
Pandey, minister of heavy industries and public enterprises. He the lower rung of the income strata, about 2.9 million people came on enrolled since the scheme was rolled Yojana got better branding and visibil- few Indian companies have
was speaking at a virtual conference on “Global Value Chains- the target audience of the PM-SYM, board. The numbers fell subsequently. out in 2018-19. The contributory pen- ity, and it has a wider scope as it does American Depository Receipts
Backward and Forward integration” organized by The Associated suffered the most because of the pan- However, in 2021-22 the registration sion scheme, billed as a key social not have an income cap of ₹15,000 per (ADRs) that are traded in the
Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. STAFF WRITER demic. is almost at a standstill. You cannot security initiative, caters to unorgan- month for people to join the scheme. US.

Cipla, Kemwell Biopharma JV to

develop, produce biosimilars Govt hikes sugarcane price to DGCA proposes testing aviation
+
₹290/quintal for new season personnel for substance abuse
Gireesh Chandra Prasad account various factors, Rhik Kundu This shall ensure that at least shall be subjected to a rehabil-
gireesh.p@livemint.com including interests of sugar rhik.k@livemint.com 5% of the employees of an itation process by the organi-
NEW DELHI mills, farmers and consumers. NEW DELHI organization are covered in a zation before they can return
The decision was taken at a year, it said. to active duty.

T I
he government on
Wednesday set a price of
₹290 a quintal for sugar-
cane purchased by mills for
Mumbai: Drug maker Cipla Ltd and Kemwell Biopharma the 2021-22 season that runs
Pvt. Ltd, a biopharmaceutical contract development and from October to next Septem-
manufacturing organization, on Wednesday announced ber, up from ₹285 a quintal in
execution of a joint venture (JV) pact to develop, manufac- the previous season.
ture and commercialize biosimilars for global markets. The Union minister Piyush
two companies will incorporate a JV with an aim to enter Goyal said at a briefing that the
the respiratory biosimilars space, they said. STAFF WRITER so-called fair and remunera-
tive price was fixed based on a
10% rate of sugar recovery
NSE bans members from selling from sugarcane and that it
incentivized additional sugar
digital gold as Sebi flags concerns recovery from the raw mate-
New Delhi: National Stock Exchange (NSE) has directed its rial with a premium of ₹2.9 a
members, including stockbrokers, to discontinue sale of digital quintal for every 0.1% increase
gold on their platforms by 10 September. The direction came in recovery over the bench-
after Sebi said certain members were providing a platform to mark of 10%. Even where the
their clients to buy and sell digital gold. PTI sugar recovery is below 9.5%,
the price will not go below
₹275.50 per quintal.
RBI extends scope of tokenization The decision to set the high-
est ever fair and remunerative
to laptops and wearable devices price for sugarcane comes as
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday the largest sugar producing
extended the scope of ‘tokenization’ to several consumer devices, state Uttar Pradesh is prepar-
including laptops, desktops, and wearables such as wristwatches ing for assembly polls in 2022.
and bands, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The RBI Goyal, who holds the port-
had earlier permitted ‘tokenization’ services on mobiles and tab- folios of commerce and indus-
lets of cardholders. PTI try and consumer affairs, food
Union minister Piyush Goyal
made the announcement.
HT
and public distribution, said
that it was heartening that
domestic producers’ sugar
recovery has been improving
because of new production
practices and deployment of
modern technology. Last year,
exports were at a record level
with a contract for 7 million
tonnes (mt), of which 5.5 mt
have been exported and 1.5 mt
were in the pipeline, he said.
The fair and remunerative
price for sugarcane is set based
on a recommendation from an
expert panel, which takes into
meeting of the cabinet com- n a first, the directorate A copy of the draft regula- The testing process will
mittee of economic affairs. general of civil aviation tion has been reviewed by include psychoactive sub-
The cost of sugar produc- (DGCA) has released a draft Mint. stances such as amphetamine,
tion is likely to increase by procedure for drug testing of The draft also encourages methamphtamine, cannabis,
₹0.5 a kg with the ₹5 per quin- crew members and other avi- airlines, ANS providers, and cocaine, opioids, barbitu-
tal increase in fair and remu- ation personnel. flight training organizations rates, benzodizipine, and
nerative price, as per an analy- The aviation regulator has (FTO) to conduct random MDMA/ecstasy, DGCA said in
sis by rating agency ICRA Ltd. sought comments from stake- drug testing of employees and the draft document.
An official statement said holders over the next 30 days trainee pilots. “Testing will be done on
the cost of sugarcane produc- before it moves ahead with Airlines, ANS providers, urine samples collected from
tion for the 2021-22 sugar sea- implementing the procedure and FTOs will also need to randomly selected employ-
son is ₹155 a quintal. The fair as regulation. ensure that flight ees,” DGCA said.
and remunerative price of At present, aviation person- crew members, The draft also “If the test is
₹290 a quintal at a recovery nel are examined by breath air traffic control encourages positive, the
rate of 10% is higher by 87.1% analyzers to check the alcohol officers, aircraft employee shall
over production cost, thereby content in their bodies before maintenance
airlines, ANS
be immediately
providers, and
giving the farmers a return of commencing flight duties. engineers, certi-
FTOs to conduct removed from
much more than 50% over The draft regulation entails fying staff, the safety sensi-
their cost, said the statement. all scheduled commercial air- trainee pilots, random drug tive duty till a
In the ongoing sugar season, craft operators and air naviga- instructors, and testing confirmatory
about 297.6 mt of sugarcane tion service (ANS) providers examiners are report is
worth ₹91,000 crore has been carrying out random drug tested for drug received,” it
purchased by sugar mills, testing of flight crew mem- abuse, drug dependence, and added.
which is an all-time high. Due bers and air traffic controllers addiction before employ- If a person refuses to
to the expected increase in employed by them at facilities ment. undergo the test a second
production in the coming sea- established by them using the They will also need to do time or tests positive after
son of 2021-22, about 308.8 mt services of an appropriate lab- follow-up testing of con- refusing to undergo the test
of sugarcane is likely to be pur- oratory. firmed cases. once, his or her licence shall
chased by sugar mills. The medical personnel of All positive cases will have be suspended for three years
The total remittance to sug- the organization concerned to be reported to DGCA head- and any subsequent violation
arcane farmers will be about ₹1 shall be involved in the proc- quarters within 24 hours and shall lead to the cancellation
trillion, the statement said. ess, according to the draft. employees with positive cases of the licence.

Centre to supply 20 mn more doses to vaccinate teachers before 5 Sep CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Prashant K. Nanda dents. tries to prioritize teachers in allowed to reopen in phases by 12 years by the end of Septem- suggestions or complaints
prashant.n@livemint.com States are gradually allowing their inoculation drive. “While several states including Karna- ber, the drive is expected to pick about errors.
NEW DELHI schools to open for Classes IX the protection of teachers is taka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar up pace. The plan to open
Readers can alert the
to XII. Education minister essential for schools to reopen Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and schools for students below 12
newsroom to any errors in the

T
he Centre seeks to vacci-
nate all teachers before
Teachers’ Day on 5 Sep-
tember and will supply 20 mil-
lion more doses in addition to
the states’ quota for August, as
schools in most parts of India
have resumed physical classes
for secondary and senior sec-
ondary students.
Officials from the health and
education ministries said the
move will facilitate smooth
operation of physical schools,
by providing a safe environ-
ment for both teachers and stu-
Dharmendra Pradhan said the
vaccination drive for teachers
will help the sector, which was
severely impacted since mid-
March 2020, to recover.
“Besides the scheme of pro-
viding vaccines to every state
this month, over 20 million
additional doses of vaccine are
being made available. We have
requested all states to try to get
all school teachers vaccinated
on priority by 5 September–
Teachers’ Day,” health minister
Mansukh Mandaviya said on
Wednesday.
safely, just 21 out of 197 coun- Punjab. An expert committee years is yet to be considered as a paper by emailing us, with your
tries—account- has also submitted vaccine for them is not yet avail- full name and address to
ing for 18 million The move will its report to Delhi able. feedback@livemint.com.
primary and sec- facilitate smooth chief minister Arv- Schools in India were closed
ondary teachers— ind Kejriwal advis- from 15 March 2020 following It is our policy to promptly
operation of respond to all complaints.
prioritized teach- physical schools ing him to reopen the outbreak of the pandemic. Readers dissatisfied with the
ers in the first schools in the Subsequently, most schools
across states, response or concerned about
Schools in most parts of India have resumed physical classes for phase of vaccina- national capital. started delivering lessons via Mint’s journalistic integrity may
secondary and senior secondary students. REUTERS tion efforts. the health Though immu- online classes, but the digital write directly to the editor by
Another 37 coun- ministry said nizing teachers divide, especially in rural sending an email to
While India has over 9.5 mil- did not declare teachers as tries included has been consid- India, led to many students asktheeditor@livemint.com
lion teachers in schools and few frontline workers, some states teachers as a pri- ered a priority, falling off the grid, leading to Mint’s journalistic Code of
millions more in higher educa- immunized teachers on a prior- ority group for the second non-availability of vaccines for loss in academic outcomes for Conduct that governs our
tional institutes, a majority was ity considering their role in phase of vaccinations,” the UN students have been a concern. those who did not have access newsroom is available at
reported to have already been resuming physical classes. body had said earlier this year. However, once covid-19 vacci- to digital devices or the inter- www.livemint.com
vaccinated. Though the Centre Even Unesco urged coun- Schools and colleges were nes are available for those above net.

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LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 03

m MINT SHORTS
Curefoods raises $13 mn funding
Delhivery acquires rival
from Iron Pillar, Bansal, others
New Delhi: Curefoods, which operates the cloud kitchen brand
EatFit, on Wednesday said it has raised $13 million (about ₹96.4
crore) in funding, led by Iron Pillar. The series A round also saw
Spoton for ₹1,750 crore
participation from Nordstar and Flipkart co-founder Binny Ban-
sal, a statement said. Leading angel investors Adil Allana, Rashmi
Kwatra, Lydia Jett, and Kunal Shah also participated in the round,
it added. PTI Samara Capital, Xponentia Capital make complete exit with high returns
D2C fashion brand Bewakoof Joseph Rai & Ranjani Raghavan
raises ₹60 cr additional funding NEW DELHI/MUMBAI

Mumbai: D2C (direct-to-customer) fashion brand Bewak-
oof.com has raised additional funding of ₹60 crore in a
round led by InvestCorp. IvyCap Ventures and Spring Mar-
keting Capital have also participated in the round. The
company has so far raised ₹170 crore and is planning to
accelerate its growth trajectory by investing in marketing,
branding, technology, and talent acquisition with an aim to
clock ₹2,000 crore in sales by 2025. . KALPANA PATHAK
Edtech Camp K12 raises $12 mn in
Matrix, Elevation Capital led round
L
ogistics and supply chain services
startup Delhivery on Wednesday
said it has acquired Bengaluru-
based rival Spoton Logistics, in a
move expected to strengthen their
consumer and business portfolios.
Financial details of the transaction were
not revealed; however, two people familiar
with the deal said Samara Capital and Xpo-
nentia Capital, which had bought Spoton
three years ago, have made a complete exit
with over three-and-a-half times returns.
Delhivery, which is backed by SoftBank
Group Corp., The Carlyle Group, Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB),
and GIC, paid ₹1,750 crore, including debt,
to purchase Spoton, one of the persons
cited above said. Samara Capital, which had Sahil Barua, co-founder and CEO, Delhivery.
led a consortium to buy Spoton in 2018, has
MINT Prime raises $75 mn
walked away with ₹1,125 crore from the our B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B respectively, it said.
deal, the people said on condition of ano- express businesses to the customers of both Samara and Xponentia declined to com-
nymity. The private equity (PE) firm had Delhivery and Spoton, and further ment on the financial details of the transac-
for 1st close of Fund IV
invested in Spoton via its second fund and enhance our end-to-end supply chain tion. An email sent to Spoton remained Tarush Bhalla Prime told Mint.
a co-investment vehicle. capabilities,” said Barua. unanswered. tarush.b@livemint.com “The market has a lot more
Xponentia, which was floated Samara Capital and Xponentia “Spoton is known for its focus on cus- players on the VC side and that
in 2018 by PE industry veteran Capital said in a statement that tomer relationships and service quality,
BENGALURU
is dwarfed in front of the oppor-

E
Bengaluru: Edtech startup Camp K12 has raised $12 million as Ajay Relan after leaving CX Part- they have exited Spoton, “exceed- professional management and technology arly-stage venture capital tunities and high quality entre-
a part of its Series A funding round co-led by Matrix Partners ners, made gains worth around ₹375 crore ing typical internal rate of return (IRR) and and engineering, which are values shared (VC) firm Prime Venture preneurs which the ecosystem
India and Elevation Capital. According to the company, it will use from the exit, the two people added. This is money multiple expectations”. by Delhivery as well, and that sets us up to Partners, which has is seeing. Certainly valuations
the funds to foray into two new geographies and deepen its reach the first exit for Xponentia from its fund. The statement added that Spoton together be one of India’s leading logistics backed startups like MyGate have moved up, but our ability
in existing ones by introducing group class learning format. The The Spoton Logistics management also acquired a supply chain solutions business companies,” said Abhik Mitra, managing and Mfine, announced on to support founders and work
proceeds from the current fundraise will also be used to hyper- stands to make ₹80-100 crore after unlock- RTS and built two new verticals focused on director, Spoton Logistics. Wednesday the first close of its closely with them continues to
scale its operations, and for hiring leaders across functions of ing their employee stock own- The acquisition strengthens fourth fund at $75 million. keep us differentiated,” stated
marketing, engineering and product team. TARUSH BHALLA ership plan (ESOP). DEAL SIZE Delhivery’s position ahead of The fund is Prime’s largest Swamy.
“This development is con- its planned initial public offer- till date with a total corpus of Prime closed its first fund
sistent with our objective of DELHIVERY paid SAMARA Capital, XPONENTIA , which ing (IPO). It is likely to sell a $100 million. Institutional worth $8 million in 2012, its
Battery Smart inks strategic being growth-oriented and ₹1,750 crore to
purchase Spoton,
which had led a
consortium to buy
was floated in 2018 by 10-15% stake for $500-600
Ajay Relan, made
investors such as the Interna- second fund worth $46 million
building scale in each of our said people aware of Spoton in 2018, got gains of worth around million through the planned tional Finance Corporation in 2016 and its Fund III in 2018
partnership with GoMechanic business lines,” Delhivery chief the development ₹1,125 cr from the deal ₹375 cr from the exit IPO, Mint had reported on 9 (IFC), part of the World Bank worth $72 million. With Fund
Mumbai: Battery Smart, a battery swapping network for electric executive Sahil Barua said in a June. This would value the Group, have joined as limited IV, the firm expects to continue
two and three-wheelers, on Wednesday announced its partner- statement. He added that it will startup at around $4 billion. partners. to make four to six investments
ship with GoMechanic, a network of tech-enabled car service and help them strengthen their business-to- air express and non-corporate customers in Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that IFC contributed $15 million a year and looks to exhaust the
spares centres. Through this partnership, Battery Smart will set business (B2B) capabilities by combining the past three years. These initiatives the startup plans to file a draft prospectus “as to Prime’s Fund IV, which also corpus of Fund IV over the next
+ up its battery swapping stations in 100+ GoMechanic garages the truckload businesses of both firms. helped the company grew its net sales and soon as October for its IPO that could raise saw participation from a large three years. Overall, it looks to
across India, with the first one live in West Delhi, the company “More importantly, we are well-placed operating profit at a compound annual about $1 billion”, citing unnamed people. endowment fund, Sanjay back between 16-20 companies
said. KALPANA PATHAK to provide benefits of synergies between growth rate (CAGR) of 24% and 30%, joseph.rai@livemint.com Swamy, managing partner at with the new fund.

ICTIPL eyes ‘Covid boosted the adoption of

raising up digital-first consumer brands’
to $200 mn Madhurima Nandy

from IPO madhurima.n@livemint.com

BENGALURU

Ranjani Raghavan

F
ireside Ventures made its
ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com 10th investment from its
MUMBAI $118 million second fund
this week, in sampling and

B
ain Capital-backed Inter-
national Cargo Termi-
nals and Infrastructure
Pvt. Ltd (ICTIPL), part of the JM
Baxi Group, has initiated talks
with merchant bankers for an
initial public offering (IPO),
three people with knowledge of
the development told VCCircle.
ICTIPL is considering at least
a $100-200 million IPO, which
may include a small offer for
sale from Bain Capital, the per-
sons said on condition of ano-
nymity. It has invited merchant
bankers for a pitch meeting to
crystallize the size of the issue
and the valuation, they said.
Talks are at a “preliminary
stage”, said one of the persons
mentioned above.
Bain Capital and JM Baxi
G r o u p
chairman
Krishna
Kotak did
not comment.
ICTIPL is a logistics and port
infrastructure company and
has operations in container
engagement platform for
direct-to-consumer (D2C)
brands Smytten, as the early
stage venture capital firm con-
tinues to bet on digital-first
consumer brands. Launched
in 2017 by Kanwaljit Singh,
who co-founded Helion Ven- the offline world opens up, to deeper markets. Second,
ture Partners, Fireside raised omnichannel play will be sig- these markets may require a
$50 million for its first fund in nificant to access the con- different approach in design-
2018 and counts Unilever Ven- sumer. If we can leverage D2C, ing brands, looking at pack
tures, ITC and Premji Invest as e-commerce and offline trade sizes, price points and formu-
some of its investors. In an and wrap it all with a strong lation. We can’t rule out the
interview, Singh, founder and value and brand proposition, possibility that some of our
MD, Fireside Ventures, spoke we can build mega brands. brands will create ‘made for
about the higher adoption of This omnichannel play will Bharat’ sub-brands or we will
online consumer brands, the allow us to leverage a very dif- invest with brands that start
IPO frenzy and changing con- ferent size of the market and with Bharat as the market and
sumer mindset. consumer defi- look at that sensibility. It’s an
Edited excerpts: m INTERVIEW nition. We have evolution that’s happening
breakthroughs and will only become larger.
How different is the invest- with companies such as boaT Global markets are another
ment strategy for the sec- and Mamaearth, which have exciting opportunity for us.
ond fund? gone to a different level. How- Amazon has been a great part-
We still believe that our ever, we are also seeing other ner for us through its global
forte is consumer brands. companies reaching ₹100 seller programme. Today, the
Nothing has changed at a fun- crore to ₹300 crore revenue idea of building different
damental level, but at the the- level in 4-5 years. brands for different consum-
matic level, we are finding What about tier-2 markets ers is there because digital
newer spaces that are starting where e-commerce has allows you that efficiency and

handling, bulk cargo, container
freight stations, and rail busi-
ness, according to the firm.
The company could be val-
ued at 15-20X of its earnings
before interest, taxes, deprecia-
tion, and amortization, said
Prateek Jhawar, executive
director, investment banking,
Avendus Capital. “With the sec-
tor consolidating over last the
decade and very few high qual-
ity players operating, JM Baxi
will benefit as economy revives
post covid,” said Jhawar.
Bain Capital acquired a
minority stake in ICTIPL in
February. A credit report filed
by Care Ratings in May said
that of the ₹1,317 crore commit-
ted by Bain Capital for a 35-39%
stake in ICTIPL, ₹1,117 crore
had already been infused in the
company. The remaining ₹200
crore will be transferred in
FY22, the report said.
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X X
‘
to evolve. We found the con- made big inroads? not much investment in
cept of wellness has become all The canvas distribution
pervading across categories. of the playing and market-
We are seeing many health field is grow- ing is
and health-related businesses ing. We are Today, the idea of needed.
coming up targeting direct looking at building different What is
consumers. We have invested opportunities brands for different your view
in 10 companies all through in what we call
customers is there on the
covid and our pace of investing Bharat, which ongoing
has been active. is tier-2 and 3 because digital allows IPO frenzy?
Has covid opened up more m a r k e t s , you that efficiency There will
opportunities for digital where we have Kanwaljit Singh be a spate of
first, consumer-focused firms such as Founder, Fireside Ventures IPOs. More
investors? Amazon, than half of
The pandemic has almost improved pay- the unicorns
force-multiplied the adoption ment systems and organized formed in the last five years
of e-commerce and digital logistics support. The aspira- and particularly in the last 18
brands. The ecosystem took a tions of these users are no dif- months are in the consumer
massive leap forward and the ferent in consuming brands. tech space. The big build-out
opportunity to leverage a dis- This can be addressed with of infrastructure will hugely
tribution system in an efficient one’s current brand and value benefit brands. The transition
way was established. That’s proposition to the consumer. from unorganized to orga-
where we think we add a lot of The best example in our port- nized and unbranded to
value. Infrastructure around folio would be boaT. They branded is ready to happen.
D2C brands became more have found acceptance of what Read the full interview on
robust. As covid recedes and they stand for and are moving livemint.com
X X

04 THURSDAY, 26 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

55,944.21 -0.03 16,634.65 0.06 14,093.60 0.22 39,784.95 0.46 16,830.10 0.13 22,947.56 0.58 25,961.50 0.68
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

55,958.98 56,067.06 16,624.60 16,654.00 14,063.25 14,103.10 39,601.80 39,777.20 16,808.00 16,844.80 22,816.35 22,945.08 25,786.96 25,965.11
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

56,198.13 55,899.96 16,712.45 16,617.50 14,145.45 14,070.55 39,842.05 39,645.95 16,896.45 16,809.40 22,973.67 22,881.40 26,052.64 25,907.70

m MINT SHORTS On valuation, ICICI Bank is in a sweet

The clock is ticking on delisting
Chinese stocks, says SEC chief
Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler
has a warning for hundreds of Chinese companies that
have raised billions of dollars in US markets: Submit to
spot but further upside looks limited
more scrutiny soon or get kicked out. In a Tuesday inter- Aparna Iyer An important factor supporting val- Interestingly, what was ICICI Bank’s
view, he pledged to strictly enforce a three-year deadline aparna.i@livemint.com uations so far, of course, is ICICI Bank’s
weak point has become its strength.
Keeping it up
that requires Chinese firms to permit inspections of their performance. Both on balance sheet The lender’s corporate loan book, the Despite the pandemic, ICICI Bank has reported a consistent improvement in its

financial audits. If businesses refuse, their shares could
be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange and Nas-
daq as soon as 2024. “The path is clear,” Gensler said.
“The clock is ticking.” The tough stance would seem to
squash the hopes of some on Wall Street that Gensler
might drag his feet in implementing the mandate from
Congress and give Beijing more time to strike a deal with
Washington regulators that allows the gravy train of Chi-
nese stock sales to continue. They have been lucrative for
big banks, exchanges and asset managers. BLOOMBERG
Dire outlook
German businesses are starting to worry about
the pace of economic recovery.
German business climate Expectations
110
100
90
80
70
Jan 2017
Source: Ifo institute, Bloomberg
I
ndia’s lenders have had a good run growth and asset quality improvement,
biggest source of stress in the past few profitability, supporting valuations.
so far in FY22 but one bank, in par- the lender has trumped some peers and
years, is now helping it offset the pan- Net interest income Pre-provisioning operating profit Net profit (in ₹ crore)
ticular, has shined brighter. Shares matched others. demic’s blow. 12,000
of ICICI Bank Ltd have outpaced The lender reported 17.2% growth in Even as the lender has begun to shed
the broader market by a huge mar- core interest income on the back of legacy asset-quality problems, the
gin. The lender seems to be in a sweet 13.7% loan growth during FY21, a year
large borrowers have been relatively 9,000
spot as far as valuations go, especially in characterized by the pandemic’s unscathed by the pandemic. Even the
the wake of the pandemic. adverse impact. more vulnerable small and medium 6,000
On Tuesday, a key overhang was also For the June quarter of FY22, which
enterprises (SMEs) seem to withstand
lifted. The Reserve Bank the covid blow.
of India (RBI) approved MARCHING AHEAD Analysts are now look- 3,000
an extension of tenure ing at the corporate book
for managing director SHARES of ICICI THE lender reported MOREOVER, the as a key source of growth.
Sandeep Bakhshi by two Bank Ltd have 17.2% growth in core bank’s proactive “SME/business-bank-
0
Q1FY21 Q2FY21 Q3FY21 Q4FY21 Q1FY22
outpaced the interest income on provisioning and high
years. broader market by a the back of 13.7% buffer provisions ing loans grew strongly at Source: Bank presentations
Analysts have taken huge margin loan growth in FY21 have served it well 49% year-on-year in
Current conditions SATISH KUMAR/MINT
this as a sign of stable Q1FY22 and we believe
Index points leadership. Those at that segment can con- This brings us to asset quality. pandemic has been retail, while its
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd gave a déjà vu to investors due to the tinue to grow at 24% CAGR over MSME (micro, small and medium MSME loan portfolio has remained
point out that Bakhshi is eligible for second covid wave, ICICI Bank was FY21-24 as the bank leverages its plat- enterprise) loans have been a hotbed of steady.
two more full tenures at the helm of the able to keep incremental stress under form. This should lift the share of such delinquencies and 12.6% of them were The upshot is that investors have
bank. check. That meant that provisioning loans to 11% by FY24 that will aid NIMs bad in FY21 for the banking industry as liked the streak of positive news so far.
“Mr. Bakhshi has brought in long- requirements were low, which (net interest margins) and fees, but a whole. From here on, though, the private sec-
awaited management credibility/sta- enhanced profitability further. credit costs and RWA (risk-weighted That said, private sector lenders tor lender may find it tough to hold on
bility. Thus, we believe that his longer The bank’s proactive provisioning assets) may be a bit higher,” wrote ana- have been able to manage stress far bet- to investor interest. The bank would
association with the bank will be essen- and high buffer provisions over and lysts at Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd in a note. ter than their public sector peers or need to maintain its asset quality in a
tial for the stock’s re-rating hereon,” above the regulatory requirement have CAGR is compounded annual growth even non-bank lenders. For ICICI potential third wave for investors to
Aug 2021 the brokerage said in a report. also served it well. rate. Bank, the source of stress during the keep their faith in it.

SATISH KUMAR/MINT

Shortages from chips to paper

threaten Germany’s recovery
ABFRL’s stock is factoring Bharti Airtel and Jio to gain from
German businesses are growing increasingly concerned
that a global supply squeeze and rising covid infections
will damp the economic recovery. A gauge by the
the risks ahead sufficiently strong traction in FTTH segment
+ Munich-based Ifo Institute fell to 99.4 in August from Pallavi Pengonda Harsha Jethmalani
100.7 in July, more than economists predicted in a Pandemic pain have been providing FTTH/fixed- network to over 2,000 towns
Bloomberg survey. An index measuring expectations also pallavi.p@livemint.com harsha.j@livemint.com line broadband service in partner- across India to cover over 35 mil-
fell, while current conditions were judged more favoura- ABFRL’s revenues in Q1FY22 have meaningfully declined on a ship with local cable operators lion home passes in three years.
sequential basis as covid restrictions weighed on demand.

R E
bly. A poll among some 3,000 German firms last week etail companies have levated demand for high- (LCOs) given the latter’s proximity According to Reliance Indus-
showed that a majority expects supply-chain problems had a challenging time Standalone revenue (in ₹crore) quality broadband triggered to the consumer. tries Ltd’s 2021 annual general
to improve next year. Businesses have also started to pass during the covid-19 pan- 2,500 by work-from-home and In the post June quarter earn- report, until March, over 2.5 mil-
on rising costs for intermediate products to customers, demic that is ravaging the online education has led to robust ings conference call, Bharti Air- lion homes were connected by
according to the survey. Strong consumer spending country and Aditya Birla Fash- 2,000 subscriber addition for the fiber- tel’s management had said that JioFiber services. Jio looks at
boosted Europe’s largest economy more strongly than ion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) is to-the-home (FTTH) segment. In during the quarter FTTH services as a
1500
initially expected in the second quarter, as services came no exception. Shares of the fact, the latest official data showed the firm continued In the month of significant green-
roaring back after pandemic curbs were loosened. Yet, company are now 29% lower 1,000 that the total subscriber base to expand its pres- June, the active field opportunity to
with the delta variant causing cases to rise, concerns are than its pre-covid highs seen touched a historic high of 23.52 ence by rolling out subscriber base connect 50 million
growing for these sectors as well, Ifo said. BLOOMBERG in February 2020. 500 million in June. an additional 1 mil- of telcos Bharti homes across more
One worry for investors has Bharti Airtel’s FTTH subscriber lion home passes. than 1,600 cities in
Airtel and
been the debt. As on 30 June, 0 base improved from 3.24 million The innovative part- India, said the report.
in May to 3.37 million in June, as nership model with Reliance Jio grew
Q1FY21 Q2FY21 Q3FY21 Q4FY21 Q1FY22
Europe’s riskiest junk bonds ABFRL’s net debt stood at Source: Company
by 2.4 million
Even though this
₹1,200 crore, up from around per Telecom Regulatory Author- LCOs allowed it to segment currently
are yielding handsome returns ₹650 crore at the end of FY21. SATISH KUMAR/MINT
ity of India (Trai) data. Close com- extend services to an contributes a small
Taking a punt on the riskiest class of junk bonds is paying The sequential increase in nues fell as much as 57% vis-à- design/casualization across petitor Reliance Jio saw additions additional 98 towns, portion to the overall
off handsomely for Europe’s investors this year. The low- debt is because of the losses vis Q4FY21. The performance brands, aggressive expansion of around 22,000 to 3.22 million taking the LCO presence to over revenues of both telcos, analysts
est rank of junk bonds, those rated CCC and below, are incurred in the June quarter of Pantaloons was subdued. with 400/60 store additions FTTH subscribers in June. In the 300-plus towns. The manage- said the upbeat outlook for FTTH
handing investors annualized returns of 16.3%, outstrip- (Q1FY22) and increase in Further, earnings before inter- for Lifestyle/Pantaloons in June quarter, Jio’s FTTH addi- ment also said that the temporary bodes well for them.
ping last year’s 11.7%. It puts them among the best per- working capital requirements. est, tax, depreciation and FY22, and expansion into a tions, at 0.62 million, were the disconnections made by small “The resilience of FTTH addi-
forming asset classes in 2021, according to Bank of Amer- However, some experts amortization (Ebitda) slipped new segment, ethnic wear,” highest ever. businesses/SOHOs were being tions further reaffirms the under-
ica Corp. analysts. That’s a bonus for the growing number believe that ABFRL’s debt is into a loss of ₹162 crore versus said the broker. Analysts said the ongoing trac- activated again. In a bid to tap this lying secular tailwinds for fixed-
of funds that have moved down the ratings spectrum to not as troublesome now as ear- a profit of ₹257 crore in Q4. Even so, uncertainty sur- tion in this segment bodes well for opportunity, the firm is looking to line broadband services, and we
boost returns in the face of historically low interest rates lier. “ABFRL’s However, the rounding the potential both companies. After all, they step up investments to take its believe that both Jio and Bharti
and a growing pile of negative-yielding debt. Recent sales debt has histori- So far in 2021, the recovery has been adverse impact of the third are well-positioned to participate
from the likes of CCC-rated McLaren Finance Plc were cally been a con- ABFRL stock has encouraging after covid wave that could hit the Impressive growth in the strong demand cycle,
snapped up, even as other markets show signs of weak- cern, as investors jumped by Q1 and the out- country is a risk for all retail driven by their tie-ups with
Subscriber addition for the fibre-to-the-home or FTTH segment was
ness, with equity volatility gauge VIX recently jumping typically don’t around 20%, l o o k i s a l s o firms and ABFRL isn’t LCOs,” said analysts at JM Finan-
strong in the June quarter.
the most since May. prefer apparel
BLOOMBERG
close to the gains upbeat. “We immune to this. So far this cal- BSNL Bharti Airtel Reliance Jio Others Total (right-hand scale)
cial Institutional Securities Ltd.
firms with a lot of believe that endar year, the ABFRL stock The Trai data also showed that
debt. However, seen in the Nifty ABFRL is likely to has increased by around 20%, 12 24
telcos continued to recover from
(in million)
ABFRL’s debt 200 index sustain a stronger pretty much similar to the gain covid blues. In June, Bharti Air-
Steady gains seems more than recovery versus in the Nifty 200 index. 9 23.5
tel’s active subscriber base
Brent stabilizes after a strong rally in recent days. manageable after peers and faster Analysts reckon valuations expanded by 2.4 million to 344
6 23
Brent futures (in $ per barrel) the recent fund raise,” said Jay growth ahead,” said analysts of the ABFRL stock are rea- million. Jio’s active subscriber
80 Gandhi, analyst at HDFC Sec- from Emkay Global Financial sonable. “For investors, execu- base grew by 2.4 million to 340
3 22.5
urities Institutional Research. Services Ltd in a report on 25 tion remains the key. It would million in June. However, Voda-
76 Meanwhile, ABFRL’s Q1 August. “(This would be) also help if the company man- fone Idea continued to struggle
0 22
sales were severely hit because driven by strong digital pres- ages to improve profitability January February March April May June
for survival with its active sub-
72 70.88 of the impact of the second ence (up 2.5 times year-on- and efficiency of the Panta- scribers falling by 4.9 million to
Source: JM Financial, Trai
66.88 covid wave. Standalone reve- year in Q1FY22), agility in loons format,” said Gandhi. 242 million.
68 SATISH KUMAR/MINT

64

60
25 Feb 2021 25 Aug 2021
Price hikes likely to keep prospects of CGD companies intact
Source: ICE Futures Europe, Bloomberg
Ujjval Jauhari hike will be viewed positively by the price increase to PNG (piped tions in FY22, taking the total to
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
ujjval.j@livemint.com the market, it is essential to pass
Healthy performance natural gas) industrial consum- 700 plus stations. This would
on a near quarter-on-quarter Strong gas demand is driving volume growth while price hikes are ers and likely to maintain Ebitda make it comparable to IGL,
Oil holds on to two-day rally ensuring sustained profitability for Gujarat Gas.

C
ity gas distribution (CGD)
with covid impact in focus company Gujarat Gas Ltd
Oil clung to the gains from its biggest two-day advance is in the news for taking a
since November, with prices continuing to fluctuate price hike of about 15% for its
amid concerns about the impact of the coronavirus on industrial gas sales in the Morbi
global consumption. Futures in London climbed above region as well as some price
$70 on Tuesday, and were little changed near $71 on increases in the CNG (com-
Wednesday. Top crude importer China has brought its pressed natural gas) segment.
latest virus outbreak under control, though covid-19 con- Not without reason. The price
tinues to make its presence felt in other big oil consum- hikes are aimed at passing on
ers, with Japan expected to announce an expansion of its higher gas costs to customers.
state of emergency. Oil has had a volatile August so far. Spot gas prices are rising consist-
The stellar year-to-date rally cooled in the first half of the ently. Further, domestically pro-
month as concerns grew that the virus’s delta variant duced gas is also likely to see
would hit consumption, while the Federal Reserve price hikes in the six-monthly
flagged plans to taper stimulus measures. Since then pri- review with rising spot and inter-
ces have recovered, with banks from Goldman Sachs national gas prices. These will be
Group Inc. to UBS Group AG underlining bullish calls on applicable from 1 October.
the market. BLOOMBERG “While we believe the price
doubling in spot LNG input cost
(to $16/mmbtu),” said analysts at
Edelweiss Securities Ltd in a
note. Mmbtu is million British
thermal units and LNG is liqui-
fied natural gas. This will not
only keep margin and input gas
cost in check, but will also aid
profitability, said the analysts.
Price hikes apart, the com-
pany has already been adjusting
its gas sourcing to cope with the
rising gas costs. Its efforts are
directed towards changing the
gas-sourcing mix towards
domestic gas and contract LNG
from spot LNG.
Analysts point out that the
company is now sourcing more
per scm (standard cubic metre) which has a large CNG distribu-
Ebitda* (in ₹ crore) Margin (in %) (right-hand scale) of more than ₹6 in Q2FY22,” he tion network in the Delhi-NCR
800 722.9 30 added. market.
What’s more, Gujarat Gas’ vol- To be sure, IGL and MGL have
600 25
ume prospects are bright. been sourcing more gas from the
17.2
400 24.0 20 According to Motilal Oswal domestic market and would also
Financial Services Ltd, the addi- need to pass on any increase in
200 15
185.7 tion of new units in the Morbi domestic gas prices. However,
0 10 region, expansions of current CNG prices are expected to stay
Q1FY21 Q2FY21 Q3FY21 Q4FY21 Q1FY22
units, and the emergence of a competitive to petrol and diesel,
*Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
Source: Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd
new ceramic cluster could result keeping growth prospects firm.
in a volume growth surprise. IGL sees strong growth
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Gujarat Gas’ dependence on prospects driven by rising geo-
from low-cost domestically pro- has now increased to $7.2/ industrial sales is higher com- graphical penetration. MGL,
duced gas and contracting more mmbtu in Q2FY22 till date, said pared to peers such as Indra- however, faces space constraints
volumes from domestic sellers. Yogesh Patil, research analyst at prastha Gas Ltd (IGL) and Maha- in Mumbai for new CNG stations
The average cost of the gas- Reliance Securities Ltd. “As per nagar Gas Ltd (MGL). However, and also growth concerns post
sourcing basket was $6.3 per our understanding, the com- it is expanding its CNG network completion of the metro rail
mmbtu in Q1FY22 and the cost pany has completely passed on and plans to add 150 CNG sta- project.

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

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LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 05

Belstar inks
deal to raise Auto firms want policy shift
₹350 crore
Staff Writer
feedback@livemint.com
to make vehicles affordable
MUMBAI

B
elstar Microfinance Ltd,
a subsidiary of Muthoot
Finance Ltd, on
Wednesday said that it has
signed definitive agreements
to raise ₹350 crore of equity
capital from new investor
Affirma Capital and existing
investors Muthoot Finance
and Maj Invest.
Affirma Capital will invest
₹300 crore out of the total
round of ₹350 crore.
Since Muthoot Group’s ini-
tial capital infusion of ₹55.40
crore in 2016 for a 57.16%
stake, Belstar has expanded its
branch network to 650 in 19
states with over ₹3,100 crore
in assets under management.
BS-VI norms, high taxes have made buying vehicles an expensive affair, say industry leaders
A few weeks ago, Airtel had raised ₹1,004.8 cr via a transfer of the
‘right to use’ of its 800MHz spectrum in 3 circles to Reliance Jio. MINT
Malyaban Ghosh
malyaban.g@livemint.com
NEW DELHI Airtel board to meet
I on 29 Aug to discuss
ndia’s automobile industry on
Wednesday asked the government
to frame policies that would make
vehicle purchases more affordable
for customers in a bid to revive
sales, impacted by factors such as high
prices and the covid pandemic.
fundraising options
Speaking at the annual convention of
Society of Indian Automobile Manufac- Swaraj Singh Dhanjal yield of 187.5 basis points for
turers (Siam), senior executives at top swaraj.d@livemint.com an implied coupon of 3.250%.
automakers said that such a move MUMBAI Network i2i, its wholly owned
would help the industry stage a recov- subsidiary, priced $500 mil-

“This funding will help Bel-
star to grow its loan book and
accomplish its vision of
becoming a socially responsi-
ble microfinance institution
working towards entrepre-
neurship and economic
empowerment of women,”
said George Alexander Mut-
hoot, managing director of
Muthoot Finance.
Kalpana Sankar, managing
director of Belstar, added, “We
are pleased to welcome a mar-
quee global investor like
Affirma Capital joining us in
our growth journey. Their
investment during such a diffi-
cult pandemic period validates
the large market opportunity
in the microfinance space and
Belstar’s potential to capitalize
on the opportunity.”
This is the second private
equity investment into Belstar,
after the investment by Maj
Invest in 2018. Maj Invest is a
Danish asset management
company with about $17 bil-
lion under management.
+
B
ery in sales, especially of passenger cars harti Airtel Ltd on lion of guaranteed subordi-
and two-wheelers. Wednesday said its nated perpetual bonds at a
Automobile sales in India have been board will take a call on coupon of 3.975%.
on the downtrend since the second half raising funds at a meeting on 29 In January 2020, Airtel had
of FY19 when the bankruptcy of Infra- August. The telco did not dis- raised $2 billion through a QIP
structure Leasing and Financial Servi- close the size of the fund-raise, (qualified institutional place-
ces caused a liquidity crisis among non- which comes after it raised ment). An additional $1 billion
banking financial companies (NBFCs), $1.25 billion earlier this year. was raised through an issue of
which are some of the major lenders to Auto sales have been falling since H2FY19 when the bankruptcy of IL&FS caused a liquidity crisis among lenders. MINT “The board of foreign currency
the auto industry. directors of the It did not disclose c o n v e r t i b l e
Higher fuel prices, weak consumer sion norms and higher taxes imposed entry-level car like Alto and Wagon R. fiscals due to an economic slowdown company is the quantum of bonds (FCCBs).
sentiment in a slowing economy and an by states have made entry-level cars This coupled with taxes imposed by and increase in ownership cost. scheduled to capital it is The bonds were
increase in vehicle prices to meet new unaffordable for buyers. states have made the increase substan- Venu Srinivasan, chairman, TVS meet on Sunday looking to raise. In issued at a cou-
regulations on safety and emissions led “We have to take into account the tial for a price-sensitive customer. Motor Company, said the cost of own- to, inter alia, con-
Feb, Airtel raised pon of 1.5% per
to a decline in car sales in FY20. economic status of people of India. I India’s two-wheeler makers have ing a moped has jumped by 45-50% in sider various cap- annum and will
The outbreak of the pandemic from don’t think the industry will revive, be also been urging the Union govern- the past few years due to the transition ital raising $1.25 bn via debt mature in 2025.
March 2020 led to another double- to BS-VI norms, addition of anti- options through instruments FCCBs are debt
digit decline in sales in FY21 as sales BUMPY RIDE lock braking system and levy of equity or equity- instruments
and manufacturing operations 28% GST. “We have given away too linked or debt denominated in a
came to a halt till May due to a strict HIGHER fuel prices THE outbreak of the THE second covid COMPANIES have many low tax structures for other instruments or any combina- foreign currency, which can
nationwide lockdown. The second and weak consumer
sentiment led to a
pandemic from
March 2020 led to
wave that ravaged the been urging the govt
country derailed a to reduce the GST
products,” Srinivasan said. tion thereof, as the board may be converted to shares.
covid wave derailed a possible decline in vehicle another double-digit possible recovery in imposed on entry- Srinivasan urged the Union gov- deem appropriate,” the Sunil A few weeks ago, the com-
recovery in the June quarter. sales in FY20 drop in sales in FY21 the June quarter level two-wheelers ernment to come up with policy Mittal-led company informed pany had raised another
R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Mar- support to encourage the recycling stock exchanges. ₹1,004.8 crore through a
uti Suzuki, said automobile sales of components such as lithium bat- In February, Airtel had transfer of the ‘right to use’ of
had been declining even before the it internal combustion engine or elec- ment to reduce goods and services tax teries and motors used in electric and raised $1.25 billion through Airtel’s 800MHz spectrum in
outbreak of covid and not many policy tric, unless we tackle the question of (GST) imposed on entry-level two- combustion engine vehicles. debt instruments, ahead of the three circles to Reliance Jio,
measures have been announced to affordability of customers,” he said. wheelers to 18% from the existing 28%. The policy should take into account spectrum auctions in March. It which assumes future liabili-
arrest the decline. New regulations He said new regulations like BS-VI Sales of entry-level two-wheelers have the carbon footprint of a product in its had raised $750 million via ties of ₹469.3 crore related to
such as Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emis- have added ₹22,000 to the cost of an remained subdued over the past two entire lifecycle, Srinivasan said. senior 10.25-year bonds at a the spectrum.

Indian consumers prioritize saving money over saving the planet

Saumya Tewari doing good, with 48% of con- tainability in their busy day-to- MAC Cosmetics, which runs a behaviour and meet them
saumya.t@livemint.com sumers actively pursuing sus- day lives. scheme wherein if a customer midway. All the changes have
NEW DELHI tainability issues. However, “Consumers are looking for returns six product empties, to become more mainstream,”
77% said though they were brands that have social and they get a free lipstick. Like- added Minocha.

I
ndian consumers are look-
ing at brands committed to
social and environmental
issues, but will prefer to save
more money over making sus-
tainable choices, said a study
conducted by analytics and
Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer, Walmart,
said India is among the most exciting markets in the world. REUTERS brand consulting firm Kantar.
For its Asia Sustainability
‘In Indian markets, Foundational Study, Kantar
interviewed 10,000 consum-
ers from across nine countries,
prepared to back firms that are environmental purpose, so wise, Hindustan Unilever is Despite the challenges as a
trying to do good, their intent from a marketing standpoint, running a pilot, ‘Smart Fill’, at developing nation, Indians are
did not translate into action as purpose is Reliance Smart concerned beyond their basic
an overwhelming majority imperative, and There is also Acme Mall in rights, as sustainability issues
said they would rather save sustainability high trust deficit Mumbai, where are interlinked with daily lives,
money in real-world actions. will potentially among Indian consumers get a it said. The top concerns for
The ‘value-action gap’ is still drive consumer
consumers about refill of Surf Excel consumers include water pol-
significant for Indian consum- choice. While and Comfort lution (pesticides, oil spills),
ers with good intentions, the brands are taking the sustainability using empty bot- poverty and hunger, defores-
practices by
report said. For example, 65%
of participants said they threw
recyclable waste in the trash.
Sustainable practices are yet
to go mainstream. ISTOCK
steps in the right
direction in
India, but it’s not
companies
tles or purchasing
a Smart Fill bottle.
Users are offered a
tation (beef farming, palm oil
and soya), lack of access to
quality healthcare and vacci-

we’ve to think local including 1,000 from India. It

spoke to consumers in Delhi,
Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai,
Kantar measured three fac-
tors undermining sustainable
consumer behaviour, includ-
purchase; comfort: wherein
76% said they do not have
yet mainstream. ₹30 discount on
In developed markets, sustain- the MRP if they use their own
able practices by brands are lot bottle and ₹15 off for those who
nation, and air pollution.
There is also high trust defi-
cit among consumers about
Kolkata and Hyderabad. ing cost: wherein 84% of study enough information to choose stronger,” said Paru Minocha, purchase the Smart Fill bottle. the sustainability practices by
and execute locally’ The report said Indian con-
sumers prefer to back compa-
nies that are committed to
participants said they priori-
tized saving money over sav-
ing the planet at the time of a
sustainable options; and con-
venience: with 72% saying
they tend to forget about sus-
head of sustainable transfor- “These are ways that brands
mation practice, India, Kantar. should make it meaningful for
Minocha said brands such as consumers to change their
companies, with 68% saying
that brands back social causes
just for commercial benefits.
Tarush Bhalla mortar store. So, we operate in
tarush.b@livemint.com a different way[...] I do believe
BENGALURU we will see generations skip-
ping in India, which will be

I
ndia’s retail market offers exciting,” he added.
unique and diverse oppor- Today, Walmart-owned
tunities to build a business Flipkart has more than
and could breach the $1 trillion 300,000 sellers on its plat-
mark by 2025, said Doug form, while PhonePe, its pay-
McMillon, president and chief ments arm, caters to 300 mil-
executive officer, Walmart Inc. lion users. “My key takeaway
“It’s one of the most exciting was this team (Flipkart and
markets around the world— PhonePe) can problem-solve
one of the top three, along and overcome things. And no
with the US and China. We are doubt in every market we
really excited and proud of the operate in, especially India, we
history that we’ve had in the are going to have challenges.
country as we work to build a It’s a very dynamic environ-
business. We think the future ment—rules are changing,
is very bright and are going to customers are changing, com-
see a market (in petition is chang-
India) north of a India’s retail ing. So, where
trillion US dollars market offers you sit at this
by 2025,” McMil- unique moment is only a
lion said at the opportunities and partial picture of
Converge@Wal-
could breach the the business. The
mart event on real question is,
Wednesday. $1 trillion mark by can you show up
Walmart 2025: McMillon every day and
pulled out of its have an engaged
wholesale joint set of leaders that
venture with Bharti Enter- want to solve tomorrow’s
prises in 2013, before acquir- problems,” he said.
ing Flipkart for $16 billion in Last year, Walmart
2018 to set its sight on India’s announced its plans to triple
rapidly growing e-commerce its exports from India to $10
market. billion annually by 2027. India
“India is such a diverse mar- continues to be the top sour-
ket and not one country in cing market for the Benton-
some ways. So, we have to ville-headquartered retail
think local and execute locally. conglomerate, with annual
It has its own rules and we have exports of around $3 billion.
to comply with those rules. In July, Flipkart raised $3.6
Today, we’re not allowed to billion led by parent Walmart
make a foreign direct invest- Inc. and existing investor Soft-
ment in a multi-brand retail Bank Group Corp., at a valua-
store, the physical brick-and- tion of $38 billion.
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06 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Sebi orders
HNI, retail interest in IPOs Nifty hits life-time
defreezing high as investors
of Kapoor’s
accounts
wanes after a 2-month blitz remain bullish
PTI Nasrin Sultana
feedback@livemint.com nasrin.s@livemint.com
NEW DELHI The stocks of five companies closed below their issue price on the first day of trading MUMBAI

T I
he Securities and ndian stocks touched a
Exchange Board of India Swaraj Singh Dhanjal record high on Wednesday
(Sebi) on Wednesday swaraj.d@livemint.com before a late sell-off dragged
ordered defreezing of bank MUMBAI the Sensex down 14.77 points
accounts as well as share and or 0.03% to end the day at

mutual fund holdings of Rana
Kapoor, former managing
director and chief executive of
Yes Bank.
Kapoor is currently in judi-
cial custody after being
arrested in March 2020 in the
alleged Yes Bank fraud case.
The regulator, in March,
had attached bank accounts,
share, and mutual fund hold-
ings of Kapoor to recover dues
of over ₹1 crore. The decision
was taken after Kapoor failed
to pay the fine imposed on
him. Sebi, in September 2020,
had levied a fine of ₹1 crore on
Kapoor for not making disclo-
sures regarding a transaction
of Morgan Credit, which was
an unlisted promoter entity of
Yes Bank.
By not disclosing about the
transaction to Yes Bank’s
board of directors, Kapoor cre-
ated an opaque layer between
him and stakeholders and vio-
lated the provision of the
LODR (Listing Obligations
and Dislcosure Requirements)
Regulation, Sebi had said in
the order.
The release order came
after Supreme Court, on 2
August, stayed the Securities
Appellate Tribunal (SAT)
order which had upheld a pen-
alty of ₹1 crore on Kapoor. The
stay was subject to payment of
₹50 lakh by Kapoor.
In compliance of Supreme
Court’s interim order, he has
+ deposited the amount, the reg-
ulator noted.
A
fter a two-month blitz of 55,944.21. The Nifty, however,
initial public offerings closed at a record high, up
(IPOs) with heavy sub- 10.05 points or 0.06% at
scriptions and steep listing 16,634.65.
gains, retail investors and Other markets in the Asia- The Nifty closed at a record
wealthy individuals have slowed down Pacific responded differently high, up 0.06% at 16,634.65. MINT
the pace of investing in the primary to the rally in US stocks. Hong
market in the last couple of weeks, with Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell be subdued, with large-caps
lacklustre listings and weakness in the 0.13%, but the Shanghai Com- outperforming mid- and
small and midcap segments eroding posite Index in China jumped small-caps. “While retail seg-
investor interest. 0.74%. ment long positioning is com-
Since mid-June, as many as 19 com- “Markets opened positively, ing down, FII net long posi-
panies have launched IPOs, with eight but main indices closed on a tioning in single stock futures
deals launched in just a week in early flattish note due to muted per- has gone up to nearly eight-
August. However, after the eye-pop- formance by large-caps. The month highs. Narrow market
ping subscriptions and listing gains in broader market was higher, as breadth has tended in past
the early days of this rally, when the mid-caps bounced back after instances to lead to pull-backs,
shares of GR Infraprojects and Tatva the correction during August, however, extremely accom-
Chintan Pharma Chem Ltd more than which lifted investors morale. modative monetary condi-
doubled on debut, the latest deals have Global markets traded positive tions in India, as well as glo-
received a lukewarm response from The BSE MidCap index is down 0.6% so far in August, even as the benchmark Sensex is up 6.4%. HT on covid vaccine bally, have pro-
investors, leaving many of these com- approval and in Enthusiasm in vided conditions
panies disappointed. we have seen that if the sentiment However, the current break in activ- thus far,” he said. anticipation of primary markets of extremely shal-
Among the 10 stocks that listed this changes in the secondary market, then ity or the recent underperformance of Others feel that the recent lacklustre dovish comment cooled off with low corrections,”
month, five companies closed below there is a consequent impact on the pri- IPOs is not a sign of fatigue, according performance could have a bearing on by the US Federal three out of the he said.
their issue price on the first day of trad- mary market,” said Pranav Haldea, to Haldea of Prime Database. the plans of other companies that may Reserve chair in Enthusiasm in
ing, while the rest eked out meagre managing director of Prime Database. “I don’t think there is a fatigue in the want to wait for an improvement in
last four listings
the upcoming primary markets
gains, with Devyani International The BSE MidCap index is down 0.6% primary market just yet. There are investor sentiment. meeting,” said opening below also cooled off
delivering the best performance of so far in August, while the BSE Small- enough investors and enough money “IPO demand, to a large extent, is a Vinod Nair, head, issue price significantly, with
closing 37% higher. game of listing day pop. If retail and research, Geojit three out of the
The IPOs of Nuvoco Vistas and LOSING STEAM HNIs don’t see strong returns, then Financial Servi- last four listings
Chemplast Sanmar, on the other they won’t be that enthusiastic for ces Ltd, said. opening below their issue
hand, saw the weakest demand SINCE mid-June, 19 HOWEVER, a tepid BUT some of them NUVOCO Vistas and upcoming deals. Especially for The observations by Sou- price despite the initial public
from high net-worth individuals firms have launched
IPOs, with eight of
response for the
recent IPOs has left
eked out meagre
gains, with Devyani
Chemplast Sanmar
have recorded the
HNIs, as there is a lot of leverage in mya Swaminathan, the chief offerings (IPOs) being over-
(HNIs) and retail investors, with the them being launched many of these firms International posting weakest demand for their bets, good listing day gains are scientist of the World Health subscribed. “This sets up a
former offer failing to see these seg- within a week in Aug disappointed the best performance their IPOs very important to drive their appe- Organization, on India possi- challenging prospect for the
ments completely subscribed, tite,” said a Mumbai-based invest- bly entering the endemic stage line-up of issues, amounting to
while the latter saw just 103% and ment banker who advises compa- of the coronavirus pandemic ₹30,000 crore over the com-
229% subscription in the HNI and retail Cap index has lost 3.1%, even as the available to chase good quality IPOs at nies on IPOs. may have also boosted inves- ing month. We can expect
categories, respectively. benchmark Sensex is up 6.4%. attractive valuations. On the supply “The interest will return soon once tor sentiment, analysts said. extremely oversold conditions
“You have seen a bit of weakness in Year-to-date, the BSE MidCap index side, of course, you have seen a spate of you see a couple of good-quality and According to S. Hariharan, in the small-cap universe to
the last few weeks in the small and mid- is up 28%, while BSE SmallCap is up filings with Sebi (the Securities and well-priced IPOs hit the market and head of sales trading, Emkay ease, while broader markets
cap space, which is where most of the 43.45%, compared to the Sensex, which Exchange Board of India) for approval, manage to deliver a good listing pop,” Global Financial Services Ltd, will continue to trade range-
IPO companies belong. In the past, too, has climbed 17.16% so far this year. 12 in July and (as many as) 27 in August he said. market breadth continued to bound,” Hariharan said.

Govt clears ₹15,000 crore FDI Sadashiv Nayak is new FRL CEO
plan to boost asset lease policy Suneera Tandon
suneera.t@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
Heritage, Nilgiris in the coun-
try.
Its business was part of the
FROM PAGE 1 “Assets in the NMP are deal that saw Reliance Indus-

F
already operating and are reve- uture Retail Ltd, which tries Ltd acquire the retail,
The government statement nue earning, and hence banks operates large and small wholesale, logistics and ware-
said the investment will be a sig- would be happy to finance pro- format stores under the housing business of the debt-
nificant boost to the recently jects, unlike greenfield projects Big Bazaar, Fashion at Big laden Future Group for
announced national monetiza- which may entail uncertainties Bazaar, Foodhall and Easy ₹24,713 crore in 2020. The
tion pipeline (NMP). around land acquisition and Day formats on Wednesday deal, however, is facing legal
“Anchorage Infrastructure environment-related issues. named Sadashiv Nayak as hurdles. Amazon has initiated
Investment is proposing to Assets held by professionally chief executive officer (CEO). arbitration proceedings
The Centre is pushing banks to expand lending schemes, despite make downstream investment managed enterprises in sectors Nayak, who takes charge against Future Group’s deci-
sluggish demand, and is boosting spending on infra projects. HT in some of the sectors covered like power transmission and oil with immediate effect, has sion to sell its business to Reli-
under the NMP,” according to and gas are expected to see been associated with Future ance Industries. Earlier this

Loan melas to return the statement. It said the

investment will considerably
substantiate the Indian gov-
The I-T dept this year okayed tax
robust investor interest,” said
Abhaya Agarwal, partner, infra-
structure practice, EY India.
Group over 17 years. Out of
this, in the last eight years, he
was CEO of Big Bazaar, the
Nayak was CEO of Big Bazaar
for the last 8 years.
month, the Supreme Court
upheld a Singapore emer-
gency arbitrator’s order

in Oct as govt nudges ernment’s plan to develop

world-class airports and trans-
port-related infrastructure
relief to funds on infrastructure
investments. MINT
The government is also keen
to attract long-term financing
for infrastructure projects from
company’s flagship large-for-
mat retail chain.
“As recommended by the
said in a stock exchange filing.
Nayak shall also act as key
blocking the acquisition.
Nayak succeeds Sanjay
Jain, who was briefly named
through private partnerships. key element of the government’s investors such as pension and nomination and remunera- managerial personnel for the CEO of Future Retail in
banks to push credit The government intends to
raise ₹88,000 crore this fiscal by
leasing out roads, railways, air-
economic recovery strategy, but
the biggest challenge is finding
long-term capital required in
sovereign wealth funds. Tax
exemption is given on earnings
from infrastructure investments
tion committee, the Board of
Directors of the company at
their meeting held today i.e.
purpose of compliance under
applicable provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013, it
March 2020. Jain, however,
never formally took on the
role.
FROM PAGE 1 she asked banks to look into ports, sports stadiums, power this industry where projects made till March 2024. The on 25th August 2021 had added. Prior to Future Group,
the credit requirements of transmission lines and gas pipe- have long gestation periods. income tax department earlier inter-alia considered and Future Retail, part of Nayak was associated with
“This year, too, sometime in sunrise sectors. lines to private operators. It will Experts said there would be this year approved tax relief to approved the appointment of Future Group, operates large fast moving consumer goods
October, there will be credit Fintech, she said, is an area help raise funds for further infra- no dearth of investor interest if several funds, including Mr. Sadashiv Nayak as chief formats under Big Bazaar, fbb major Hindustan Unilever Ltd
outreach in every district of where banks have done quite a structure investments in the the initial projects are packaged Canada’s OMERS and others executive officer of the com- Fashion at Big Bazaar, Hyper- and Asian Paints Ltd. He has
the country,” she added. lot of work, and it is a sector form of recycling of capital. the right way and are rolled out from the UK and Australia, on pany with effect from 25th city, Foodhall as well as small close to three decades of
Asked if the tepid loan that requires a lot of assistance. Infrastructure investment is a in a hassle-free manner. infrastructure investments. August 2021,” the company store formats like Easyday, experience.
growth despite a plethora of That apart, she said banks
schemes indicated a lack of were requested to come up
credit demand, Sitharaman with specific plans for the
said it was too early to come to northeastern states.
a conclusion. “There is a matter of con- Demand for blue-collar workers up as festivals near PM reviews 8
“We have been addressing cern that banks have recog-
credit requirements of small nized. In eastern states such as projects worth
and medium businesses in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and the only reason for the Companies in the e-commerce
particular in various ways. somewhat even West Bengal,
FROM PAGE 1
demand-supply gap. The lack and logistics industry are ₹1.26 trillion
Banks have where current vices to their digital carts. of skilled resources to meet the reducing their fixed costs by
shown extreme The Centre and savings Overall consumption demand demands also contributes to offering bigger performance- Staff Writer
nimbleness in removed the cap of account deposits has trailed behind the uptick in the shortage,” Dutta said. With linked incentives to attract feedback@livemint.com
reaching out. I am ₹9,284 for PSU bank are piling up, e-commerce sales, and that business expansion plans tak- workers, said Thomas of NEW DELHI
telling banks to family pension and banks should now trend is unlikely to change this ing shape and government TeamLease Services.

P
go ahead with give the facility of year. projects on the upswing, the “Companies have also rime Minister Narendra
has put a uniform
credit outreach greater credit Companies that have bene- labour market is witnessing started investing in people Modi reviewed eight rail,
from October. I limit of 30% of the e x p a n s i o n , ” fited from the pandemic-era very high demand. capital by upskilling their road, and power projects
do not think it is salary drawn Sitharaman said. consumer habits are recruit- Salaries of employees and worth ₹1.26 trillion across 14
time yet to con- Collectively, ing heavily. According to workers have, Companies that enabling them states using the information
clude that there is public sector industry estimates, 300,000 however, not have benefited with new skill and communication technol-
no credit pick-up,” Sithara- banks have all done well, she to 500,000 blue-collar work- increased in line from the sets. Rise in ogy (ICT)-based multi-modal
man said. added. ers will be hired in 2021. As Some companies are offering benefits such as joining bonuses, with the demand pandemic-era demand, expan- platform ‘Pragati’.
Non-food credit grew Meanwhile, the govern- many as 40 million new cus- surge. In some
retention bonuses and attendance bonuses to recruit workers. MINT
consumer habits sion across busi- The PM stressed on the sig-
6.17% as of 30 July from a year ment has decided to remove tomers are expected to shop cases, salaries have nesses and other nificance of timely completion
earlier, data from the Reserve the cap of ₹9,284 for PSU bank on e-commerce platforms this workers were better prepared around,” said Ajoy Thomas, been restructured are recruiting variables such as of all the projects, besides the
Bank of India (RBI) showed. family pension and has put a year, taking the overall user during the second wave, with business head (retail, e-com- to offer a higher heavily engine fuel price importance of the One Nation,
While bankers blame it on uniform limit of 30% of the sal- base to 190 million users, lower labour migration and merce, logistics and transpor- performance- hike, etc., is One Ration Card scheme of the
the lack of demand and ary drawn. according to staffing firm timely lifting of lockdowns. tation) at TeamLease Services. based payout as expected to Centre. Of the eight projects,
stronger credit underwriting, Department of financial ser- TeamLease Services. The “The second covid wave has Suchita Dutta, executive compared to pre-covid times, increase blue-collar workers’ three each were under the min-
analysts believe it is a mix of vices secretary Debasish growth in users will continue not impacted the availability of director of the Indian Staffing reducing the take-home pay, salaries. With digitization, it istry of railways and the minis-
that and banks’ reluctance to Panda said on Wednesday that to boost hiring in the remain- migrant workers as much as Federation, said there is a said Kapoor of OLX People. has also become important to try of road transport and high-
lend. However, banks expect the earlier scheme had slabs of ing half of the year, especially last year. Many migrant work- shortage of manpower as Some companies are, how- help this segment with more ways, and two projects from the
demand for credit to witness 15%, 20% and 30% of the pay the coming festive season, ers returned once the lock- migrant workers are still hesi- ever, offering benefits such as and more learning opportuni- ministry of power, the Prime
an uptick as economic activ- that the pensioner drew at that industry executives said. downs were lifted in their tant to return because of the joining bonuses, retention ties so that this new normal Minister’s Office said in a state-
ity revives. point in time and was capped Unlike in the first wave of native districts, helping com- fear of a potential third wave. bonuses and attendance doesn’t turn out to be a bane ment, but did not give details of
The finance minister said at ₹9,284. the pandemic, companies and panies scale up faster this time “However, the return is not bonuses to recruit workers. for them,” Kapoor said. the projects.
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LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 07

SBI MF nets
₹12,000 cr FMCG cos not worried BARC MESS REMAINS UNRESOLVED
Shekhar Vempati to review the existing guide-
lines for TV ratings and come up with recom-

in highest
ever NFO
about monsoon deficit ORDINARY
POST
SHUCHI BANSAL
mendations. Vempati, incidentally, is also a
BARC board member. The committee submitted
its report to the ministry in January, though its
details have not been made public.
BARC and its officials are, perhaps, still caught in
the crossfire between the Centre and states over
Neil Borate Respond to this column at the TRP controversy, which became a public spat,
neil.b@livemint.com shuchi.b@livemint.com said the media industry expert mentioned above.
MUMBAI Companies see limited impact on the sale of packed goods in rural India TV ratings are the only currency on the basis of

E
ffective 25 August, the Broadcast Audience which advertising worth ₹30,000 crore per year

S
BI Mutual Fund (SBI MF)
has set a record by col-
lecting more than
₹12,000 crore in the new fund
offer (NFO) of its Balanced
Suneera Tandon below normal, leading to 94% overall.
suneera.t@livemint.com What matters in the monsoon are two
NEW DELHI things—the timing of shortfall, which
impacts sowing, and geographic spread.
Research Council (BARC) India, the viewer-
ship measurement body for television, has
a new CEO, Nakul Chopra, who has been the past
chairman of BARC. The exit of Sunil Lulla, who
was the CEO since October 2019, is abrupt and
is decided. About 85% of trading in TV is still hap-
pening on the basis of this. So it’s business as
usual, he said. Yet others feel that without
BARC’s integrity being restored, it cannot be
business as usual. “Even the biggest advertisers

Advantage Fund, a person
aware of the development
said.
This beats the previous
record of ₹10,000 crore col-
lected by ICICI Prudential
Asset Management Company
for its flexi-cap fund NFO in
July, and comes at a time when
benchmark indices are at all-
time highs.
The NFO, which opened on
12 August, concluded on
Wednesday. Being an open-
ended fund, investors can sub-
scribe to the fund later as well.
A balanced advantage fund
can modify its allocation to
equity and debt according to
market conditions. This is
likely to have increased the
appeal of the fund for investors
wary of stretched valuations.
SBI MF had also introduced
a unique percentage with-
drawal feature in order to pro-
vide a steady steam of cash
flows to investors.
Under this feature, investors
can opt for a withdrawal of
0.5% of the invested amount
every month, 3% every six
months or 6% per annum.
However, in case the fund is
unable to deliver returns
above these rates, the with-
drawals would come out of the
investor’s capital.
A
fter Skymet lowered its fore- States with large population have already troubling. Clearly, the organization, which has remained silent when the scam surfaced,” said an
cast for the southwest mon- got decent rainfall and the sowing season been in the eye of a storm due to the alleged tele- expert who was part of a BARC panel. “The data
soon, fast-moving consumer for kharif has gone well; and that’s a good vision rating points (TRP) scam since October was fudged a year ago. What was the nature of the
goods (FMCG) companies said sign and overall yields may not suffer,” said 2020, is still not out of the woods. fudge? Was it rectified? There are no answers to
concerns of a possible drought Sunil Kataria, chief executive, India and To recap: Mumbai police had acted on a com- these questions still,” he said.
in Gujarat and west Rajasthan are likely to SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd plaint by BARC and one of its vendors Hansa, a Also, entertainment channels cannot be exon-
impact pockets of consumption, but the (GCPL). “Overall, the tail of the monsoon research firm, and said it had busted an alleged erated from using their influence and pressure
effect is set to be limited on the sale of season is getting impacted. There should TRP racket involving a few broadcasters who over BARC from time to time. For instance, a
packed goods in rural India. be no material impact on rural growth,” he were manipulating viewership ratings of their large broadcasting company with a streaming
On 23 August, the weather forecaster added. channels by bribing panel homes where meas- service consistently thwarted the efforts of BARC
said the monsoon will be at 94% of the long- Rural markets drive 36% of demand for urement meters are placed. The police had to launch a measure-
period average (LPA) between June and FMCG products. The markets have shown named Republic TV, among others, in the case. It’s imperative ment for digital plat-
September. It had earlier predicted a nor- A normal monsoon is beneficial for the steady growth in demand in the aftermath As Republic runs both English and Hindi news for the biggest forms, he said.
mal monsoon. LPA is the average rainfall rural economy and helps drive the of the pandemic due to a variety of reasons channels, BARC suspended the ratings for all In an earlier chat
over a 50-year period between 1951 and consumption of packaged goods. AFP such as extension of the government’s rural news channels in October. The measurement stakeholders with Mint, Chinta-
2001. The southwest monsoon made a stimulus programmes and hike in mini- company had then said the exercise “to improve to defend and mani Rao, who was
timely onset and had a good start with June Pradesh have been “adequate”. mum support prices of certain crops. their statistical robustness and to significantly maintain the closely associated
ending at 110% of the LPA. However, July “Accordingly, the food production in the Electronics company Usha Interna- hamper the potential attempts of infiltrating the body’s integrity with the formation of
started on a weak note, with a pronged agri bowl of central parts may not be tional, which sells fans and smaller home panel homes”, could take 8-12 weeks. However, BARC, had pointed to
break till 11 July, it added. stressed and skewed,” it added. appliances, said while a weakening mon- news genre ratings are yet to be restored. the flaw in BARC’s
“The southwest monsoon encountered A normal monsoon is beneficial for soon was visible in parts of India, the com- Late last year, Mumbai police’s crime branch ownership structure, which is 60% held by
the second ‘break monsoon’ phase during India’s rural economy and helps drive con- pany is hopeful of recovering any loss in had also arrested several people, including a broadcasters and 20% each by advertisers and
the first fortnight of August. Extended sumption of packaged goods and other dis- sales momentum in those regions during former BARC chief operating officer and CEO, advertising agencies. This gives broadcasters an
weak monsoon conditions resulted in pan- cretionary products. the upcoming festive season. for their alleged role in gaming TV viewership. undue advantage and influence over the body.
India seasonal rainfall defi- “In certain parts of the Several people Mint spoke to said Lulla’s resig- To mitigate some of this influence, experts
ciency settling at 9% till the BRAVING THE WEATHER country, the monsoon has nation last week raises more questions than it suggest that board and other committee posi-
middle of August. The below been really bad as far as the answers. He had commissioned a forensic audit tions should be on a rotation basis so that the
normal status of monsoon has MARKETS in SKYMET said rainfall COMPANIES hope to agricultural economy is con- to figure out the extent of rigging of ratings. The seats are not occupied only by large broadcasters.
not improved till now,” rural areas drive 36% over the agri bowl of recover loss in sales
of demand for fast- central India like momentum in rural
cerned. Those pockets actu- findings, which had leaked, showed instances of When big broadcasters, who pay the most,
Skymet said. It also flagged the moving consumer Madhya Pradesh regions during the ally account for 15-20% of the TRP manipulation. “Lulla didn’t take sides and occupy important positions, it gives rise to con-
risk of deficient rains in Guj- goods products have been adequate festive season total rural economy. We was tough. Obviously not all were pleased with flict of interest, they said.
arat, Rajasthan, Odisha, Kerala expect with the festive season, it,” said a person working with BARC, declining It is imperative for the biggest stakeholders to
and Northeast India. “The we will make up for whatever to be named given the sensitivity of the matter. defend and maintain the integrity of BARC, build
chance of drought over Gujarat and West FMCG firms said states with large popu- shortfall that occur now,” said Ajay Sharma, “He was cleaning up the place,” the person said. in transparency, and institute checks and balan-
Rajasthan appears imminent.” lations had adequate rainfall in the run-up senior vice-president, head, rural division, Interestingly, in the aftermath of unearthing ces for things to fall in place.
Skymet, however, said that distribution to kharif sowing. “The three months of the Usha International. Any impact on demand the alleged scam, last November, the information Shuchi Bansal is Mint’s media, marketing and
of rainfall over more populous states such monsoon have been pretty decent and it’s will be visible within a month from now, he and broadcasting ministry also constituted a advertising editor. Ordinary Post will look at pre-
as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar the last month, which is predicted to be added. committee headed by Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi ssing issues related to all three. Or just fun stuff.

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08 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

J&J covid booster dose prompts

strong immune response: study
Booster recipients showed ninefold increase in antibody levels compared with one month after first dose of J&J’s jab The World Bank has more than two dozen development projects
ongoing in Afghanistan. GETTY

Felicia Schwartz
feedback@livemint.com
have received a single-dose J&J vac-
cine, according to CDC data.
“The single-dose vaccine is still
‘Deeply concerned’
J World Bank halts
ohnson & Johnson said highly protective, and we know that—
Wednesday that a second dose that is not diminished, but now we
of its covid-19 vaccine was also know that a second dose given at
found in a study to generate a six months boosts immune responses

months.
strong immune response, justi-
fying a booster shot after eight
substantially,” said Dr. Dan Barouch,
who contributed to the development
of the J&J vaccine but wasn’t directly
aid to Afghanistan
The Centers for Disease Control involved in the booster information AFP receive from Monday’s release
and Prevention has said it expects sin- shared Wednesday. He was part of feedback@livemint.com of Special Drawing Rights
gle-dose J&J vaccine recipients the New England Journal of Medicine WASHINGTON (SDR), the lender’s basket of
would need boosters but has held off study showing the vaccine’s protec- currencies.

on making recommendations as it
awaits more data. Wednesday’s find-
ings are expected to inform the US
booster strategy set to begin in Sep-
tember, when the US plans to begin
offering boosters to people who
received messenger-RNA vaccines.
Later it is likely to expand the pro-
gram to include J&J’s viral-vector
vaccine.
J&J said researchers found anti-
body levels increased ninefold among
people who received a second dose of
its vaccine, compared with one
month after they received a first dose.
The company didn’t specify exactly
when or how many subjects received
the second dose, though information
posted about the clinical trial in an
online government database indi-
cates it was administered six months
after the first shot.
J&J said that it will submit data
from two studies to a preprint server,
meaning that the data haven’t been
peer-reviewed or published in a sci-
entific journal.
The company said researchers
observed significant increases in anti-
body responses in participants
between ages 18 and 55 and in those
+ 65 and older who received a lower
booster dose.
J&J also said a booster is needed
after eight months based on interim
Currently boosters are only authorized for people who received two-dose messenger-RNA vaccines.
data it reported in the New England
Journal of Medicine in July, which
showed strong antibody responses
through eight months after immuni-
zation with the J&J one-dose shot.
“We look forward to discussing
with public health
officials a poten-
tial strategy for
our Johnson &
Johnson covid-19 vaccine, boosting
eight months or longer after the pri-
mary single-dose vaccination,” Dr.
Mathai Mammen, global head of R&D
at Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. of
Johnson & Johnson, said Wednesday.
The Biden administration said last
week that people ages 18 and older
who got the covid-19 vaccines from
Pfizer Inc. or Moderna Inc. should get
an extra dose eight months later,
reflecting heightened concern over
the highly contagious Delta variant
and data showing initial immunity to
covid-19 diminishes over time. J&J’s
suggested time-
line would be in
sync with that
broader strategy.
Currently boosters are only autho-
rized for immunocompromised peo-
ple who received two-dose messen-
ger-RNA vaccines. The Food and
Drug Administration must authorize
extra doses before they can be offered
more broadly as recommended by
the Biden administration to those 18
and older who received two-dose
AFP
messenger-RNA vaccines, and it is
expected to do so before 20 Septem-
ber, when health authorities said
messenger-RNA boosters would
become available
The CDC’s expert advisory panel
on vaccines will meet next week to
discuss the Biden administration’s
plans for booster shots.
The J&J vaccine is authorized for
emergency use in people 18 and
older.
Only Pfizer and partner BioNTech
SE’s vaccine is fully approved by the
FDA for those 16 and older. Mod-
erna’s two-shot messenger-RNA vac-
cine has emergency authorization for
people 18 and over.
Nearly 14 million people in the U.S.
tions held for eight months.
Use of the J&J shot dropped after
US health authorities in April tempo-
rarily paused rollout of the shots to
investigate reports of a rare blood-
clotting condition.
The company added a warning to
its label in July saying its vaccine is
linked to a very small incidence of
cases of a rare neurological disorder
seen with other vaccines or viral
infections, called Guillain-Barré syn-
drome.
Early studies have mostly shown
that J&J’s vaccine holds up well
against the Delta variant. A recent
study from South Africa including
nearly 480,000 healthcare workers
found that the J&J vaccine has an effi-
cacy of up to 71% against hospitaliza-
tion resulting from the Delta variant,
67% against hospitalization from the
Beta strain and up to 96% against
death overall, though another study
suggested a single dose elicited a rela-
tively weak antibody response against
Delta.
J&J is also studying the efficacy of
two doses of its vaccine, in an effort
separate from the results released
Wednesday. That data will analyze
two shots given closer together,
rather than the six-month interval of
a booster dose.
©2021 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC
T
he World Bank has sus-
pended aid to Afghani-
stan, saying it is “deeply
concerned” by the situation
there, especially regarding
women’s rights, after the Tali-
ban seized power, a bank
spokesperson told AFP.
“We have paused disburse-
ments in our operations in
Afghanistan and we are closely
monitoring and assessing the
situation,” the official said.
“We are deeply concerned
about the situation in Afghani-
stan and the impact on the
country’s development
prospects, especially for
women.”
The suspension follows the
Taliban’s swift takeover of
Afghanistan, as US forces pre-
pared to complete a withdrawal
with a deadline of 31 August.
Washington last week
announced it would deny the
Taliban access to the country’s
gold and cash reserves, most of
which are held overseas.
The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) also suspended
operations with the country,
including an existing $370 mil-
lion loan programme, as well as
$340 million Kabul was due to
The swift takeover has led to
heart-wrenching scenes of
people trying to flee the coun-
try, including women fearing a
return to the kind of Taliban
rule of their 1990s regime that
saw women confined to their
homes, most entertainment
banned, and stonings and pub-
lic executions used as punish-
ments.
The World Bank held off on
making a statement until it had
pulled its personnel out of the
country, an operation com-
pleted on Friday, according to a
bank source. The spokesper-
son said the development len-
der “will continue to consult
closely with the international
community and development
partners.”
“Together with our partners,
we are exploring ways we can
remain engaged to preserve
hard-won development gains
and continue to support the
people of Afghanistan.”
The World Bank has more
than two dozen development
projects ongoing in the country
and has provided $5.3 billion
since 2002, mostly in grants,
according to the bank’s web-
site.

Overcoming
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF
GREATER MUMBAI, MUMBAI.
e-Tender Notice

fragilities in
Department Chief Engineer (Sewerage Operations)
Sub- Department Deputy Chief Engineer Sewerage
Operations (Civil)

manufacturing :
Bid No. 7200005658
Subject General Civil and Structural Repair works
to Matunga Pumping station, Dadar staff
quarters building No-1, 2 and 3, Mumbai

Megatrends
under the Jurisdiction of Ch.E.(SO)
Department
e-Tender sale From 26.08.2021 from 11.00 am

pushing
Till 07.09.2021 upto 12.00 pm
website http://portal.mcgm.gov.in
Contact persons Shri G.T. Dhotre,
Ex. Engr.(Civil)SO (P&C)

manufacturers
a) Name of Officers
b) Telephone No. 24946713/24960756
(Office)

towards
c) Mobile No. 8788725953 /9004809409
d) email address aepnccivil.so@mcgm.gov.in
PRO/916/ADV/2021-22

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LIVEMINT.COM NEWS WRAP THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 09

TWEETS OF THE DAY Kamala Harris Vikram Kirloskar Malala Yousafzai

Nirmala Sitharaman @KamalaHarris @vikramkirloskar @Malala
@nsitharaman Joe Biden made a commit- India must promote Grateful to see the govern-
A sensitive and timely ment to the American peo- technologies related ment of Qatar helping stu-
decision taken by @pm ple when he ran for presi- to a hydrogen-based dents, women’s rights advo-
@narendramodi in dent that he would bring society, that can cates, journalists safely evacu-
bringing in a special America’s military involve- provide energy stor- ate Afghanistan. I hope more
flight from Kabul the ment in Afghanistan to an age for #Renewa- countries will accelerate their
Shri Guru Granth Sahib . end. It’s the right decision. bleEnergy efforts and support

IOC to use drones THE COVID PROTOCOL Rane gets notice

to check fuel theft from Nashik Police

I U
ndian Oil Corp. (IOC) is deploying drones to
monitor its network of pipelines across the
country as it doubles down on the use of
technology to thwart attempts to steal fuel,
helping not just save the commodity but also
avoid accidents. The country’s top oil company
already uses a combination of technology and
patrolling to detect any leakage from a pipeline
network spanning over 15,000km, officials said.
Use of technology helped throttle 34 attempts
to pilfer fuel and arrest 53 persons in the last
fiscal year, they said, adding the latest incident
was in Sonipat, Haryana, on 17 August.
IOC recently started drone monitoring of the
120km Delhi-Panipat section of the Mathura-
Jalandhar pipeline. The company has deployed
a supervisory control and data acquisition-based
system to closely monitor the flow in the
pipeline network and is using a leak detection
system to identify tentative vulnerable points,
officials said.
nion minister Narayan Rane has
received a notice to appear before the
Nashik Police on 2 September for
questioning in a case relating to remarks made
against Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav
Thackeray, a person familiar with the matter
said on Wednesday.
An FIR was registered against Rane under
Indian Penal Code Sections 500 (defamation),
505(2), (public mischief) and 153(B) (1) (c)
(remarks likely to cause disharmony, or feeling
of enmity or hatred or ill-will), the person said.
The Maharashtra government told the
Bombay high court on Wednesday that it
would not take any coercive action against
Rane over the controversial remarks. A
division bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and N.J.
Jamadar was hearing a petition filed by Rane
seeking to quash the FIR registered in Nashik
and other cases that may be lodged in future.PTI
PTI

Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command John Christopher Aquilino (left) inspects the guard of honour prior to a meeting in New Delhi. AFP

Google ties up with fintech to The steelmaker plans to raise its total crude steel

ICICI Bank had filed the case against Karvy.

₹563 cr fraud case

let its users open FDs on GPay capacity to 15.9 million tonnes by March 2025. MINT

JSPL to spend $2.4 bn

filed against KSBL to double output

J
indal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) plans to

A
+ case has been registered against Karvy
Stock Broking Ltd (KSBL) promoter C.
Parthasarathy and others for allegedly
cheating ICICI Bank of ₹563 crore. According
to a police statement on Tuesday, the case was
booked under Sections 406 (criminal breach of
trust), 420, read with 34 ( cheating) of the
Indian Penal Code against the accused.
spend $2.4 billion over the next six years to
In the initial roll-out, FDs of Equitas Small Finance Bank will be offered for up to 1 year ramp up capacity, joining its peers in
announcing massive expansions as a
recovery from the pandemic boosts demand.
Neil Borate “The beauty of the system is that you can book interest rates ranging from 3.5% for the shortest The steelmaker plans to raise total crude steel
neil.b@livemint.com an Equitas FD on Google Pay even if you do not FD to 6.35% for the one-year FD. According to capacity to 15.9 million tonnes by March 2025
MUMBAI have a savings account in Equitas Small Finance media reports, Google Pay has 150 million from 8.6 million tonnes, the New Delhi-based
Bank. The money will flow out of your existing monthly active users in India. company said in an investor presentation on

Funds raised by KSBL by pledging shares of
its six bankers were transferred to the firm’s
own bank accounts, and not into ‘stock broker
client account’, which contravenes Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) guidelines,
the police said.
“Further, all pledges on securities were
closed without approval… and securities were
transferred to end clients of KSBL thereby
severely impacting security of all lenders
including ICICI Bank,” it said. The case was
transferred to the economic offences wing of
Cyberabad and a special team was formed for
the investigation. Parthasarathy was arrested
by the city police on 19 August on charges of
defaulting on a ₹137 crore loan taken from
IndusInd Bank.
G
oogle has teamed up with Setu, a fin-
tech specialising in providing appli-
cation programming interfaces
(APIs), to allow its users to book fixed
deposits (FDs) through Google Pay,
a person with knowledge of the matter said on the
condition of anonymity.
In the initial roll-out, FDs of Equitas Small
Finance Bank will be offered for up to one year.
The maximum interest rate is 6.35%. Users will
have to complete an Aadhaar-based KYC (know
your customer) through a one-time password
(OTP).
Setu has already created a beta version for the
API, which Mint has reviewed. A second person
with knowledge of the matter confirmed the
PTI development.
account and back into your existing savings Small finance banks have aggressively teamed Tuesday. The expenditure also includes plans to
account. Other banks, including Ujjivan Small up with fintechs to offer high-interest savings more than double pellet production capacity to
Finance Bank and accounts and fixed 21 million tonnes by 2024, it said.
AU Small Finance deposits. Equitas The Naveen Jindal-led company, once India’s
Bank, are also in the Users will have to complete an Small Finance Bank biggest steelmaker by market value, is set to
pipeline. If success- Aadhaar-based KYC through a has partnered with make fresh investments for growth, after
ful, the system will fintechs such as aggressively slashing its debt levels by over 60%
also be extended to one-time password. Setu has already NiYO and Freo since 2018. The expansion plan is driven by
other payment created a beta version of the API (Moneytap) to offer expectations of robust consumption as India
apps,” said the sec- its savings accounts aims to invest ₹100 trillion in infra to boost
ond person. “While with interest rates of economic growth and create jobs. BLOOMBERG
attention is usually focused on mutual funds and 7% for balances more than ₹1 lakh. Under Reserve
stocks, FDs are the largest component of savings Bank of India rules, small finance banks have to
in India. They are largely overlooked,” he said. lend at least 75% of their adjusted net bank credit
The beta version of the API offers FDs of vari- to priority sectors compared with 40% for sched-
ous tenors including 7-29 days, 30-45 days, 46-90 uled commercial banks. At least 50% of their port-
‘Solar power tariffs
days, 91-180 days, 181-364 days, and 365 days, with folios must consist of loans up to ₹25 lakh.
remain competitive’

S
olar tariffs discovered through the recent
We aren’t sidelining auctions remain competitive and below ₹3
MeitY to fund 300 budding startups per unit, despite the imposition of 40%
offline retail: Xiaomi basic customs duty on solar modules and 25% on
solar cells from 1 April next year, according to
announced in the annual report of MeitY rating agency Icra Ltd.

C
hinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has hit
back at mobile retailers in India, refuting
allegations that the company broke
agreements by striking exclusive deals with
online marketplaces.
Mobile phone retailers under the All India
Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) had
threatened to go to the Competition
Commission of India (CCI) against Xiaomi,
accusing the company of favouring online
marketplaces over offline retailers.
“Over the years, we have made substantial
investments in our retail channel and with the
love and support of our Mi fans and partners has
delivered stellar growth for all of us. As per GFK,
The government has also invited existing
startup accelerators to partner with it. MINT
earlier this year and was under approval at
the time. “The part when an idea is being
converted into a product, and the product
is being scaled is the most vulnerable part
(of a startup)... More than 50% of startups
are not able to cross this bridge due to
various reasons,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw,
minister of electronics and IT.
The government has invited existing
startup accelerators to partner with it and
plans to provide funding of up to ₹40 lakh
to them. The scheme aims to fund 300
early stage startups that are close to the
product development stage over a period.
Only accelerators in the incubation
Jet Airways employees’ associations have flagged
concerns about pending salaries.
Jet owners get 2 wks
“Tariff competitiveness offered by solar and
wind power projects in utility auction route
continued to remain superior, with tariffs
remaining below ₹3.0 per unit, despite the
upward pressure arising from the imposition of
customs duty on imported cells and modules,
w.e.f. April 2022,” it said in a statement.
The recent findings assume significance
given that India is running the world’s largest
clean energy programme, with the government
turning the screws on Chinese solar power
MINT equipment firms, keeping on hold decisions to
grant approval to solar photovoltaic models and
manufacturers based in China. STAFF WRITER

our offline retail market share has increased by
5% since the start of 2021, which could not have
happened without improved supplies and
endless support and trust by our partners in our
brand,” said the letter from Xiaomi, signed by
Sunil Baby, the company’s director of offline
sales, to AIMRA. Mint has seen a copy of the
T
he ministry of electronics and
information technology (MeitY) on
Wednesday announced the Startup
Accelerator for Product Innovation,
Development and Growth (SAMRIDH)
programme, which aims to help growing
startups in India. The programme was
to address concerns
business for at least three years and which
have supported more than 50 startups,
with at least 10 having non-public business,
‘Covid prompted
T
will be able to apply for the scheme. They he National Company Law Appellate
must also have operations in India and the
necessary space and infrastructure to be
Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday gave
two weeks’ time to the counsel of a home upgrades’
eligible. PRASID BANERJEE consortium of Kalrock Capital and Dubai-based

letter. PRASID BANERJEE entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan to respond to
concerns raised by Jet Airways employees’
associations.
A principal bench of New Delhi’s National
Afghan nationals coming to India need e-visas, says govt Company Appellate Law Tribunal (NCLAT),
consisting of Justice Jarat Kumar Jain and
Ashok Kumar Mishra (member, technical), also
U
pgrading one’s primary residence
emerged as the main reason for people
purchasing new homes across categories
this year, according to property advisory Knight
Frank India’s new ‘India Buyer Survey 2021’.
The survey findings represent the views of
558 respondents in two segments across the top

A
fghan nationals wishing to travel to India can now do so only using an directed the resolution professional for Jet eight Indian cities, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
e-visa, the ministry of home affairs said on Wednesday, stating that Airways to produce the copies of minutes of Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai
this was due to the security situation in the war-ravaged country since committee of creditor meetings to the corporate and Pune. Respondents in the high-end income
the return of the Taliban earlier this month. The decision comes days after debtor before the next hearing, which is slated segment have been referred to as the “Global
the government said it had introduced a new category of visa called “e- for 8 October. A copy of the order has been Indian Segment”, while buyer sentiment in the
Emergency X-Misc visa” for Afghan nationals. reviewed by Mint. mid-end income segment is referred to as the
These visas would initially be valid for six months. “Owing to the situation The employees’ group of Jet Airways, the “Mainstream Indian Segment”.
in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introduction of the ‘e- Bharatiya Kamgar Sena and Jet Airways Cabin About 26% of Mainstream Indians moved
Emergency X-Misc visa,’ it has been decided that all Afghan nationals must Crew Association, had last week filed a petition residences during the pandemic, wherein the
travel to India only on e-visa,” the home ministry said. before the NCLAT flagging concerns about relocations were motivated by factors such as
This has necessitated the move to immediately cancel all previously issued pending salaries and retirement benefits under want of more open space and proximity to
visas to Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India. With all Indian the successful resolution plan for the grounded friends and family. In the Global Indian
missions in Afghanistan not manned by Indian staff after the evacuation of airlines by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium, which segment, 32% expect prices to rise, while 61%
Indian embassy staffers, the applications will be examined and processed in was approved by the Mumbai bench of the respondents in the Mainstream Indian segment
New Delhi. ELIZABETH ROCHE These visas would initially be valid for six months. REUTERS National Company Law Tribunal. RHIK KUNDU expect a rise in the next year. MADHURIMA NANDY
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10 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

REPORTAGE | TALKING POINTS | IDEAS | INSIGHT | THE BOTTOMLINE

INSIDE THE RBI’S

DIGITAL CURRENCY DREAM
CBDCs have suddenly become the flavour of the season. And it could very well be the future of money.

JAYACHANDRAN

Abhinav Kaul ter. “The immediate usage (of CBDCs) is of
abhinav.kaul@livemint.com course as the replacement of (existing) cur-
NEW DELHI rency notes,” said Ananth Narayan, an
associate professor at the S P Jain Institute
and second, the proposed launch of a Face-
book-backed digital stablecoin called Diem
(formerly known as Libra). A stablecoin is a
digital currency that is linked to an under-
be limited to wholesale payments (among
mint
SHORT FUTURE OF MONEY banks and financial institutions for the set-
STORY In the global quest to launch digital tlement of transactions); and whether
fiat currencies, China has raced ahead CBDC units will be interest bearing,” said

H
ow justified is it that today of Management and Research (SPJIMR) lying asset, such as a national currency like with the launch of a digital yuan. Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia, head of fintech
while it takes only a few sec- and an expert on international banking and the US dollar or a precious metal like gold. WHAT Status of CBDC*
at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.
onds to send an email or a textfinancial markets. “But the bigger possibil- For example, Tether, the largest stablecoin, Cryptocurrencies were founded on the
message from Mumbai in ity and aspiration for (many) countries, is backed by the US dollar on a 1:1 basis. India is somewhat late in joining India principle of decentralization, privacy and
India to New York in the US, especially China, could be to replace and The broad aim for most central banks is the list of countries eyeing the In research stage inclusion. That is precisely why concerns
transferring money between these cities upend the SWIFT system. This system of to introduce a new form of money, which is launch of a government-issued US abound about the nature of central bank
can take anywhere between 2-3 days? On (international) money transfer ensures that programmable, smarter and KYC-enabled. digital currency. Russia, Japan and In research stage intervention in this realm since centralized
top of this delay, transfer fees are also the US has a disproportionate control of the KYC or know your customer guidelines are China have been working on their ownership would make all money tracea-
South Africa
involved—which could be inexplicably (current) global settlement process.” meant to check and verify the identity of plans for several years. Being developed ble by the government. According to Policy
high (about ₹500-1,000). “What China may be exploring is to see if clients or owners of a bank account. There Thailand 4.0’s Ratna, all the major Indian entities
Now, imagine a world where banknotes (the) CBDC can be a way to internationalize is intense competition between central In pilot stage that she has worked with are aware of the
have become extinct. Imagine that you are the yuan,” Narayan added. authorities and private players who are AND China
privacy concerns. “In (the) case of India, it
a business owner and you receive payment Several domestic priorities are also driv- simultaneously attempting to bring in In pilot stage is unlikely that RBI will sanction a full sur-
for a service via “programmable money”. ing India’s quest. Currently, government greater efficiency to payments, and central Several domestic priorities are veillance-like system,” she said.
The money that is received carries a piece authorities can send money straight to a banks certainly don’t want to end up on the also driving India’s quest. The Antigua and Barbuda There are also several business challen-
of computer code that could potentially person’s bank account via the direct benefit losing side. DBT scheme is currently marred Already launched ges that need to be analysed while develop-
make accounting and tax compliance transfer (DBT) system, but they can’t track with tracking-related challenges. *CBDC is central bank digital currency ing a viable framework for a CBDC. “Based
unnecessary. The money automatically whether the money is being used for the NEW TYPE OF MONEY Programmable money would just on the particular CBDC model which may
make this a whole lot easier. 81 countries, representing over 90%
diverts a portion of the proceeds to the tax
department.
Both of these futuristic dreams—swift
intended purpose. As a stop-gap solution,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently
launched the e-RUPI, an electronic vouch-
C entral bank digital currency, as the
name suggests, is essentially a legal
tender issued in a digital form, which is
of the global gross domestic product,
are now actively exploring a CBDC.
be adopted in India, banks will need to
carefully think through the impact on their
business model, devise a nimble product
money transfer at low cost and a reduction er-based digital payment system. Program- managed on a digital ledger (a blockchain). MOREOVER 5 countries have already launched a strategy and accordingly develop requisite
in the compliance burden—are suddenly mable money would just make this a whole A central bank-issued digital currency will technology & operations capabilities. This
A 2020 survey showed that 60% digital currency. Most of them are
within the realm of possibility, if the lot easier. be using the same blockchain technology small island nations in the Caribbean.
would eventually need to extend to cross-
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to be as cryptocurrencies, but will be deployed in of the global sovereign monetary border CBDC rails. Further, governance
institutions were experimenting
believed. RBI may come out with a model THE WAY AHEAD a way so that central banks can be in control
with the technology related to
14 other countries, including major and control structures will need to be
for the implementation of a government-
backed digital currency by the end of this T he modern iteration of money came
about with the advent of coins some-
year. “Central bank-issued digital curren- time in the 7th century BC, and then, paper
of the money and, thus, the monetary pol-
icy. Therefore, a central bank-issued digital
currency—whether it is a rupee or US dol-
CBDCs; 14% were in the process
of deploying pilot projects.
economies like Sweden and China, are
now in the pilot stage with their CBDCs.
updated to manage the unique risks which
will arise with CBDC,” said Vijay Mani,
partner at Deloitte India.
cies (CBDCs) are desirable not just for the money was introduced in China in the 11th lar—will always need the Federal Reserve In terms of the legal framework, the roll
benefits they create in payments systems, century. This concept took a giant leap in or RBI, unlike a cryptocurrency which is out of a digital currency by RBI will require
but also (because CBDCs) might be neces- the 17th century when the Bank of England traded on multiple private exchanges and growth of digital finance,” he said. Crypto “The first key use case of CBDC will be in the central bank to clearly set out the roles
sary to protect the general public in an became the first public bank to issue bank- doesn’t need any central authority. Simul- proponents, including Gupta, hope that lowering the cost of KYCs because today, and responsibilities of not just RBI but also
environment of volatile private virtual cur- notes. Since then, most central banks taneously, a CBDC would also be different India will slowly move towards a cashless the banks are spending a lot of money on banks, financial intermediaries and fintech
rencies,” said RBI deputy governor T. Rabi including RBI have been working with the from existing forms of cashless instruments economy, with its foundations built on such procedures,” said Charles d’Haussy, platforms to enable such entities to provide
Sankar in a keynote speech recently. objective of regulating the issue of bank- such as credit transfers, direct debits and CBDCs and cryptocurrencies working in managing director (Asia Pacific) at Consen- an interface and layer products onto the
“CBDC is likely to be in the arsenal of every notes and operating the credit and cur- card payments. parallel. Sys, a blockchain engineering company CBDC ecosystem. Several amendments to
central bank going forward.” rency system. However, today, policymak- According to Tanvi Ratna, founder and Over the years, one major shortcoming providing advisory services to Hong Kong existing banking norms will be required to
The action is not restricted to India. If ers seem to be ready for a new form of chief executive officer of Policy 4.0, an of traditional money has been in the area of Monetary Authority and Bank of Thailand enable a digital currency (as opposed to
anything, the country is somewhat late to money that cannot be seen or touched— independent research and strategic advi- delivering welfare schemes. This was fur- on how to make a transition to digital paper currency).
arrive at the party. Rus- CBDC. sory body, CBDCs have the potential to ther highlighted by the lockdowns induced tokens. “Looking at a “Right now, most
sia, Japan and China had A survey conducted in change the foundation of the baking eco- by the covid-19 pandemic. To soften the transaction to check countries will be looking
all started working on a While the traditional financial late 2020 by the Bank for system. “A CBDC changes the way money economic blow, the US government pro- whether it is legitimate or While the launch of a digital to keep their banking
government-issued digi- system has helped globalize International Settle- is issued, the way it reaches the citizen from vided direct stimulus payments to millions not is complicated and currency by RBI will no doubt infrastructure (since) it
tal currency much ear- ments (BIS)—also known the central bank, and the capabilities that of American families. But it was found that involves a lot of money. will be too disruptive to
lier. In October 2020, the the world economy, its ability as the central bank of the money has—it can be tokenized, code in many cases, the payment took weeks or But this is a requirement be a fundamental shift, the replace them, but it will
Bahamas launched the to handle cross-border trade central banks — showed can be embedded into it,” she said. Ratna even months to reach the beneficiary. imposed by most central precise nature of its eventually get to a place
world’s first state-backed that 86% of the global has helped design the blockchain policy In India, the DBT program is currently in banks,” added d’Haussy. where banks will be
digital token. CBDCs and movement has reached a sovereign monetary framework of Karnataka and advises the place to enable the transfer of subsidies implications will largely there, but their functions
have suddenly become institutions were actively Indian government on its blockchain regu- directly to a person’s bank accounts. How- THE CHALLENGES will be very different.
stagnation point hile the introduc- depend on the design choices Banks and fintech could
the flavour of the season.
And it could very well be
the future of money.
researching the potential
for CBDCs, 60% were
experimenting with the technology and
lations.
Sumit Gupta, founder and chief execu-
tive officer of crypto exchange CoinDCX,
ever, sending money via traditional bank-
ing channels is costly, as banks have to
adhere to KYC and anti-money laundering
W tion of a CBDC
will no doubt be a fundamental shift, the ble,” said Ratna.
become indistinguisha-

Many experts believe that while the tra- 14% were in the process of deploying pilot believes that both CBDCs and cryptocur- requirements. Since CBDCs are program- precise nature of its implications will Ultimately, while CBDCs may still be at
ditional financial system has helped global- projects. China was one of the first major rencies will play an important role in intro- mable money and can be embedded with a largely depend on the design choices that a nascent stage and the roll-out, use case,
ize the world economy, its potential to countries to step into the field with the ducing people to digital assets. “While both computer code, a digital rupee can hold the Reserve Bank of India makes. design and functionality of the currency
effectively handle cross-border trade and launch of its digital yuan last year. CBDCs and cryptos constitute a dichotomy KYC information within itself. Therefore, “The RBI will need to think about the may all differ from one country to another,
movement has reached a point of stagna- Globally, there are two factors behind (one is issued by the state while the other a central bank-issued digital currency can degree of anonymity when transacting via experts do agree on one thing—money is
tion. Now, a race is on to find a replace- this sudden interest in CBDCs. First is the isn’t), both still have close similarities that ultimately lower the cost incurred by CBDC; whether CBDC can be utilized for evolving and the next iteration will inevita-
ment. And who gets there first might mat- rise of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, continue to offer opportunities for the banks. both retail payments (peer to peer) or will it bly be a digital form of currency.
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LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 11

Know how your health insurance POWER

POINT
covers organ transplant surgeries RAJESH KRISHNAMOORTHY

Respond to this column at

mintmoney@livemint.com

IT IS IMPORTANT TO
While health policies provide cover for the recipient’s treatment expenses, they may not cover donor’s expenses PLAN FINANCES FOR
ISTOCKPHOTO
Navneet Dubey
navneet.d@livemint.com
claim for organ donor is payable only
if the claim for an organ transplant of
the insured is accepted under in-pa-
DIFFERENTLY ABLED

O
rgan donations can tient hospitalization.”

make a significant dif-
ference to someone’s
life. But most people
shy away from this
noble cause owing to safety concerns
and the exorbitant cost of organ
transplant surgeries.
Though organ transplant surgeries
are costly, health insurance policies
and critical illness policies do cover
them. Nowadays, many health insur-
ers have included organ transplant
surgeries in their standard plans.
Aatur Thakkar, co-founder and
director, Alliance Insurance Brokers,
said, “The health policies provide a
cashless or reimbursement facility up
to a specified amount incurred by the
insured recipient towards the organ
donor and gives tax benefit under
Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.
Besides, with this organ transplant
coverage, both donor and insured
recipient can get the benefit.”
HOW THE POLICY WORKS
Let us assume that you are an insured
recipient in the hospital awaiting a
kidney transplant, and your friend is
the kidney donor. The policy will not
only cover all your costs, including
medical, surgical, and pre-and post-
hospitalization expenses, it will also
cover the expenses for your friend’s
surgery and organ storage. While the
health policy will completely cover
your treatment expenses up to the
sum insured, the coverage for your
friend’s expenses can vary from
insurer to insurer.
Indraneel Chatterjee, co-founder,
+ RenewBuy, an insurtech firm, said,
“Most health insurers cover organ
transplants as part of their regular
health insurance policies. Some also
cover the organ donor’s expenses.
The most commonly transplanted
organs are kidney, lung, heart and
liver. The cost of these can range from
O
ne key challenge that most families having persons with
EXCLUSION FOR RECIPIENT disabilities face is fully understanding the nature of special
In the case of the recipient, most needs. Before any discussion on how one could make a
expenses of the sum insured are cov- financial plan in such scenarios, forcing oneself to define what
ered under standard health policies could be the best care possible for the person with disability is the
(considering the recipient has taken true foundation for all things that follow.
a health insurance cover). After discussions and due consultations with medical and reha-
Thakkar said, “Insured recipient bilitation professionals who would be supporting the person with
should know about the sub-limits or special needs, one must make a conscious effort to write down the
expenses which are allowed to meet big picture. Writing brings in amazing levels of clarity in thought.
these additional costs. One should Very often, the big picture of best care possible and how it ends up
read the policy documents in detail to translating into specific action items can substantially save not just
understand what all is covered under time, but also avoid dissonance.
organ receiving.” It is but natural that one places the person with disability at the
“Organ transfer is a highly expen- centre of all such planning. However, to force oneself to think of
sive medical affair, and thus it is the rest of the family members and the self may need external sup-
important for the recipient to under- port. As humans, we tend to think more for our family member
stand all the hidden medical expenses who needs help more than ourselves.
so that there is no financial burden With the advancement in healthcare and support, the life span
after the surgery. It is equally impor- of persons with disabilities is increasing. From a financial perspec-
tant to understand all the compo- tive, one needs to be cognizant that historical averages may not
nents that are included in the insur- work while putting together today’s financial plan towards plan-
ance policy,” he added. ning the future of the family. Once this clarity emerges, then some
of the most obvious questions are:
MINT TAKEAWAY What are the funding sources for the treatment of a person with
₹5 lakh to ₹35 lakh.” vider to decide whether or not to may have to bear such costs, making The insured recipient should have a disability? Are there government schemes that provide any sup-
Adding to it, Amit Chhabra, head - cover the individual.” it critical to understand admissible comprehensive health insurance pol- port or relief? Would this change once the person with disability
health insurance, Policybazaar.com, and excluded expenses, as well as icy or a critical health insurance pol- becomes an adult? Where will the person with disability live and
said the approximate package for a EXCLUSION FOR DONORS sub-limits. icy, which can cover the exorbitant who will oversee his or her care in scenarios where other family
heart transplant costs ₹6 lakh to ₹10 The donors usually cannot get their Chhabra said, “The organ donor’s costs of organ transplant if there is members are no more?
lakh, and the figure for a liver trans- hospitalization costs covered under treatment cost is only covered for sur- such a crucial requirement in life. A big takeaway from a recent discussion I hosted on this topic
plant can range from ₹24 lakh to ₹28 their regular health insurance policy. gery and organ storage. Other The comprehensive health policy was that financial planning in such scenarios spans across two gen-
lakh. Mayank Kale, chief exec- expenses related to the donor’s hospi- simply covers all the expenses from erations. It sums up the effort involved in putting together this
“Taking these alarm- Organ donors are utive officer and talization are typically not covered. medical, surgical, pre- and post-hos- plan. With rising costs and longevity,
ing costs into account, considered high- founder, Loop Health, Typical exclusions include the cost of pitalization, donor’s surgery and A financial plan another comment I have heard is that
some Indian insurers risk individuals said, “Since there are screening the donor, pre-and post- organ storage. for those with such planning can at a base case provide
have taken the initiative and it is up to the post-surgery complica- hospitalization expenses for the The treatment expenses of the a life vest to keep the family afloat. That
to provide policyholders special needs
insurer to decide tions, the hospitalization donor, and post-surgical complica- insured recipient are fully paid for up
must address
is also a win in itself.
with an in-built cover for costs of the donor are tions.” to the sum insured, but the cover of The above are practical considera-
organ donor expenses,” whether or not to not covered by most Further, Gurdeep Singh Batra, the donor expenses varies from financial and tions, and one shouldn’t get bogged
cover them
said Chhabra. insurance policies in head - retail underwriting, Bajaj Alli- insurer to insurer. emotional sides down by the clarity needed. I have
However, the donor India as of date. Further, anz General Insurance, said, “You can Hence, one must ask hospitals for a always heard from my friends who are
must usually be in good any other medical treat- claim for an organ donor expenses if full breakdown of donor and recipi- financial planners that creating a plan
health when an organ is donated. ment for the donor consequent on the organ donor has been made avail- ent expenses if they undergo any sur- can ease anxiety. The finance plan must address both aspects—the
Chatterjee said, “In medicine, the the harvesting is not covered. Also, able in accordance and in compliance gery. It is also critical for the organ financial aspect and the emotional aspect. So, building savings is
organ donor is a high-risk individual. costs directly or indirectly associated with The Transplantation of Human recipient to get a detailed analysis of a given. That must be done. Besides that, most other matters focus
Thus, if one wishes to acquire a new with the acquisition of the donor’s Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011. Also, donor’s fees to understand the finan- on the ring-fencing and protection of the person with disability
health policy and is already an organ organ is not covered.” the organ donated has to be used by cial implications of the exclusions from a financial perspective. Let us take a quick look at those.
donor, it is up to the insurance pro- As a result, the insured recipient the insured recipient. Moreover, the completely. Indian law recognizes the parents as the legal guardian of their
child. However, once the child attains 18 years of age, in cases of
those with disabilities, one needs to specifically register as a guard-
ISTOCKPHOTO ian. There are two key reasons for appointing a guardian—to fill a
legal vacuum, and to make informed decisions for persons with
HOW NRIs ARE TAXED IN INDIA disabilities as they have impaired capacity to do so themselves.
While the above takes care of guardianship in the context of the
Whether a person’s income will be taxed in India or not will depend on the residential status of that person. Even if the parents being alive, the connected question is, what if the child
residential status is non-resident Indian (NRI), any income earned by such a person in India will be taxed. The rate of tax will with disability survives the parents? In such cases, it is very impor-
depend on the source of Income. Income of NRIs in India are subject to TDS (tax deducted at source). Anyone making
payment to an NRI is required to deduct TDS. In case TDS is deducted at a higher rate, NRI can claim refund by filing income
tant not just to write a Will, but also to name a guardian in the same
tax return. The following table shows the rates of tax and TDS that NRIs are charged in India. document. Besides writing a Will, the India Trust Act also provides
for creation of a private trust. There are many families that create
a special needs trust and name a trustee. The parents can be a trus-
SHORT-TERM CAPITAL LONG-TERM CAPITAL TENURE*
ASSET GAINS (STCG) GAINS (LTCG) (MONTHS) TDS RATES (%) tee and define who will replace them should there be a demise.
These aspects cover not just the financial perspective, but also
Listed equity shares/Equity
10% require logical thinking and dispassionate creation of contents.
without indexation on amount
oriented mutual funds–STT based 15% exceeding ₹1 lakh 12 STCG: 15; LTCG: 10 The support of a seasoned estate planning professional will be very
useful in such circumstances.
Unlisted shares As per applicable slab rate 10% 24 STCG: 30; LTCG: 10 It is important to write a letter of intent; do remember, this is not
without indexation
a legal document, but it provides valuable information, including
Debt-oriented mutual funds
As per applicable slab rate 20% 36 STCG: 30; LTCG: 20
the child’s medical history, doctors’ information and other per-

Freo’s savings account (listed)

Debt-oriented mutual funds
(unlisted)
As per applicable slab rate
with indexation

10%
(unlisted) without indexation
36 STCG: 30; LTCG: 10
sonal information (such as his/her preferences and habits).
Planning for your child’s independence is an overarching
thought in all the above decisions. Given that context, it would also

offers 7% interest rate Bonds/debentures As per applicable slab rate 10%

without indexation

20%
36 STCG: 30; LTCG (unlisted): 10
LTCG (listed): 20
serve well for the guardian to educate all family members about the
needs of the person with disability.
This not only helps in the future, if the parents are deceased, but
Staff Writer ter that reflects their financial Gold As per applicable slab rate 36 STCG: 30; LTCG: 20 also in the present day context; it makes sure that during social
with indexation
mintmoney@livemint.com credibility and likelihood of gatherings and interactions that involve a person with disability,
default. The only way to build a
Real estate As per applicable slab rate 20% 24 STCG: 30; LTCG: 20 everyone around are aware about his/her needs, and a conscious
with indexation

I
ndia’s first credit-led neo- credit history is by getting a *For long term  effort is made to include the person with disability as much as pos-
bank, Freo, has tied up with credit card or loan. These have Slab benefit is not available to non-residents on capital gains income chargeable to tax as per the provisions of section 112, section 112A and section 111A of The Income Tax sible in the celebration of life.
Act, 1961; The rates given are exclusive of surcharges, and health and education cess. 
Equitas Small Finance Bank very different eligibility criteria Source: EY, Mint Research Rajesh Krishnamoorthy is country head-India liaison office of
to launch a zero-balance sav- and not everyone qualifies for FPSB Ltd.
PARAS JAIN/MINT
ings account that will offer an these options. According to the
interest rate of 7% on a mini- company, Freo Save has been
mum balance of ₹1 lakh. Accor- designed to help individuals to
ding to the neobank, the new build a better credit score.
product, Freo Save, will allow As per Vaibhav Joshi, chief
customers to make informed digital officer, Equitas Small
What the bar on digital gold sale by stock brokers means for you
BLOOMBERG
financial decisions and Finance Bank, this partnership
strengthen their credit profile with Freo will help elevate the Renu Yadav Digital gold has gained pop- MMTC-PAMP directly. We sell rate of the gold) to the
in the process. future of financial renu.yadav@livemint.com ularity in recent years as inves- have communicated the same investor apart from 3% goods
Besides facili- Besides facilities services by reach- tors can buy gold, even worth to investors who have invested and services tax.

I
ties such as zero- such as zero ing out to the f you are planning to buy or one rupee, in this form. The in digital gold through us,” “Customers should not
balance and inter- balance, the youth, families have already been investing product is sold through dis- said Kishore Narne, associate worry about anything if they
est rate of 7%, Freo account will and business peo- in digital gold through your tributors, including stock bro- director and head, commodi- have bought digital gold from
Save will enable ple across India broker, you may not be able to kers, investment platforms ties and currencies, MOFSL, our partnered authenticated
enable seamless and introduce
seamless integra- do so going forward as the and mobile wallets. one of the distributors of digi- intermediary and their digital
tion with UPI to integration them to a new exchanges have asked stock There are currently three tal gold offered by MMTC- gold is safe in our vaults. They
make funds trans- with UPI way to the bank brokers to stop selling digital companies offering digital PAMP. need not liquidate their posi-
fer and bill pay- via app-based gold, an instrument which gold in India: Augmont Gold; “Post 10 September, inves- tion. Our partner intermedia-
ments easier. banking solu- allows one to invest in physical MMTC-PAMP India Pvt. Ltd, a tors will have to deal directly ries are already abiding by the
Commenting on the launch, tions. gold digitally. joint venture between state- with MMTC-PAMP. Investor’s framework and guidelines
Anuj Kacker, co-founder, Freo, So far, under its MoneyTap Industry experts told us that run MMTC Ltd and Swiss firm details are anyways registered prescribed by the exchange
said: “People have the power to service, Freo has disbursed the directive has come to the MKS PAMP; and Digital Gold with MMTC-PAMP. We are and regulator,” said Renisha
analyze their spending patterns loans of over ₹4,400 crore to its exchanges from the stock mar- India Pvt. Ltd with its SafeGold providing the customers with Chainani, head of research,
and take small steps that can users. MoneyTap offers a credit ket regulator, the Securities brand. These companies sell toll-free numbers to contact Augmont. However, if you are
help them build and bolster line of up to ₹5 lakh. Its services and Exchange Board of India the product through stock MMTC-PAMP,” he added. planning to invest in gold, you
their credit score with just a lit- also include Freo Pay, which (Sebi). Therefore, exchanges brokers, investment platforms tor, there is no need to panic as product after 10 August when In the case of digital gold may explore other digital ways
tle help. All our features are offers a buy now pay later fea- have sent a circular to brokers and mobile wallets. you can exit your investments we received the communica- investing, when an investor of investing in gold which are
designed to achieve this pur- ture. To make banking more to comply with the guidelines. Now, stock brokers will stop through your broker. tion from the exchange to buys digital gold, the manufac- better regulated such as gold
pose and provide users with the convenient and meaningful, There are no regulations selling digital gold, while wal- If you want to hold your refrain from selling the prod- turer of the product buys exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
freedom to spend without fear financial technology startups around digital gold. It is not lets and platforms will con- investments, you will have to uct. Stock brokers have been physical gold on the behalf of and gold funds.
and give them the added con- are launching neobanks, which regulated by Sebi as it doesn’t tinue to sell it. directly get in touch with the given one month by the the investors and keeps it in If you want to invest for the
venience to meet their aspira- partner with traditional banks come under the purview of So, what will happen to the manufacturer of the product, exchanges to close the prod- vaults operated by a third long term, sovereign gold
tions.” and offer better solutions by Securities Contracts (Regula- existing customers who have that is MMTC-PAMP, Aug- uct. Investors can continue to party. The gold is insured for bonds can be a good option as
To access credit, users right using technology such as artifi- tion) Rules, 1957. Therefore, invested in digital gold mont or Digital Gold India Pvt. hold or exit by selling the gold any loss. The manufacturer they not only provide the ben-
now have to maintain a good cial intelligence (AI) and Sebi doesn’t want entities reg- through these stock brokers? Ltd after the deadline. or taking physical gold deliv- charges around 3% as spread efit of capital appreciation but
credit score, which is a parame- machine learning (ML). ulated by it to sell the product. If you are a digital gold inves- “We stopped selling the ery even post this from (difference between buy and pay interest to the investor.
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
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12 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | OTHER SPHERE

ISTOCKPHOTO

The class divide that threatens

to thwart our educational goals
The digitally-enabled must empathize with the rest for us to secure the future of all Indian children

This learning loss is the product of two
factors: what should have been taught
and learnt in the past 17 months and
what children knew in March 2020 but
have forgotten because of an extended
school break.
This learning loss in all its severity was
anticipatable and is apparent now. Even
if you observe children cursorily, you
ANURAG BEHAR can see it. The phenomenon is much
is CEO of Azim Premji Foundation written about and researched, but the
point needs to be made clear. If children
don’t go to school for 17 months, they
will not learn what they should have
reality along with an unwillingness to
listen to those on the real frontline.
But, with Indian education ablaze
with a crisis which even the deaf can
hear, blind can see, and the heat of which
would awaken the dead, how can the
country be this delusional?
The answer is not complicated. Our
actions and inactions, and narratives, are
undergirded by a class divide.
Of India’s 250 million school children,
perhaps 20-30 million children have
continued with a semblance of educa-
tion in these 17 months. Online educa-

The least that a CEO is

learnt in that period and will also forget tion is ineffective for children because of
much of what they knew earlier. the nature of education and how they

W
hich class do you go to? I asked Why is it then that most states are learn; nevertheless, middle-class homes
him. I don’t go to school, he preparing to start or are starting schools (especially upper) have better access to
said. Why? Why should I go, I as though this learning loss did not hap- digital tools, which are augmented by

ready to do the job for like to play. Before the pandemic, you
were going to school? Yes, class 3; now
the school is shut any way. But today
they have opened, so why won’t you go?
pen? Even the few states that are trying
to address this matter are doing so in a
grossly inadequate manner. Not recov-
ering this lost learning undermines all
personal tutoring and other learning
resources. Critically, these students also
have the support of family members. So,
their loss of learning has been less. Even
I will not go. With that, he lost patience, future education of our children. Do we more importantly, these children go to
riding his cycle recklessly fast in the need any fancy reasoning or research to schools that are well resourced; parents
It’s in the interest of every profit-oriented company to maximize gains and minimize costs. monsoon slush of clean mud just outside understand that if a child has not learnt expect these schools to ensure that a
the school compound. I went in. the class 6 syllabus and forgotten much substantial part of the loss is recovered
This applies to top salaries too, even if corporate governance can’t seem to put it into practice On that first day of school after a of what she knew in class 5, she cannot with the extra efforts that their resources
16-month hiatus, 50% children had been learn the class 7 syllabus; the loss will get enable once they reopen.
called from a few batches, with classes compounded with each year beyond. India’s top 10% are not engulfed by
held in an open corridor. The state had Why then this travesty with the future of this crisis as far as they understand. So,

H
ow much is too much pay for a
chief executive? This question
has animated much debate in the
country. The latest company to
confront this classic conundrum
of the corporate world has been
Eicher Motors, maker of Royal Enfield motor-
cycles, whose shareholders rejected last week a
resolution to re-appoint Siddhartha Lal as its
managing director with a remuneration pack-
age one-tenth larger than his current one. For
+ witnesses of the cult appeal that this brand
acquired on his watch among hobbyist bikers,
with Harley-Davidson’s thunder stolen on
arrival by it, this was a clearer sign than ever of a
shift in shareholder sensibilities on top salaries.
Before covid, Royal Enfield had done extremely
well. On Monday, Eicher’s board of directors
renamed Lal as MD, but capped his potential
pay at 1.5% of profits, against 3% mooted earlier.
This proposal will need the approval of equity-
holders who seem keen on compensation that
tracks performance. Eicher’s attempt to award
Lal a hike of 10% had run into an argument—as
sive exercise, and that’s that. What remains
unclear, however, is whether companies use
the same standard to determine CEO pay as
they typically do for others: What is the least
their chosen candidate would accept for the
job? This is not parsimony, but market pres-
sure. Any deal must strike a balance that is in
mutual interest. It is for the value-seeker, as
every profit-seeking company is, to maximize
value and minimize cost. When the dividing
line between both sides of a trade gets blurry,
though, as often seen in top appointments, then
the cost goal could lose all salience. On paper,
corporate boards frame appointment resolu-
tions and special panels draft pay packages,
but it’s no secret that top bosses tend to have a
weighty say in what they get. In cases of owner-
CEOs, the minimum they’d be ready to work for
is particularly hard to assess. If dividends make
up the bulk of their earnings from the firms they
run, then this may be enough to hold them in
corner offices even if their slice of payrolls is
modest. A recent shift in tax rules would hardly
have altered that. As for professional CEOs,
let panchayats decide whether or not to over 200 million children? most of them either don’t notice or are
open local schools; this one had decided The education ministers of two states apathetic to the ravaging of the educa-
to re-begin. I sat with class 9. and administrative leaders of a few more, tional future of 210-220 million chil-
When did you last come to school? I of the 15 that I have some feedback from, dren. Many are proactive in countering
asked. March 2020. What class were you are acutely conscious of this crisis and actions towards the most fundamental
in then? Class 7. What do you remember are far from apathetic. But, as of now, requirement for any solution in this
from class 7? Squeals of laughter rico- even they have not been able to act with situation—that after schools open, many
cheted across the group, with two boys at the comprehensiveness that is required. months or perhaps the entire year must
the back actually rolling on the ground. I hope that at least these people will get be spent on recovering lost learning.
The serious types, right in front, tried to their act together before schools open. They raise the bogey of a ‘lost year’. In
comfort me: Thoda to yaad hai, sir, we do But what is going on? this cruelly ironic equation, the lost
remember a bit. The inflexibility and poor coordina- future of 210-220 million children
In the past 15 days, I have had 20 tion of our system is stalling the align- becomes a non-issue.
similar conversations with children in ment of all elements needed for the The catastrophic deepening and
schools which have started, if only par- recovery of lost learning as top priority. hardening of every aspect of inequity
tially, across several states. The ‘learning Such a sudden, all-encompassing crisis and injustice in our country because of
loss’ from school closures of the past 17 has never confronted our system ever the pandemic is for all to see. Not doing
months is obvious without even talking before. Both these are part explanations. everything to recover this lost learning
to children, but if you do, you cannot but As is the poor grasp of many leaders of for 210-220 million children will be an
be astounded by the absence of any sys- the scale and depth of this emergency, outrageous exacerbation of this tragedy.
temic effort to recover this lost learning. fed by their disconnection from ground And we will all be complicit.
www.livemint.com New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Friday, August 26, 2011 Vol.5 No.203 `3.00 32
24 PAGES
+ 4 MARKETS PAGES

voiced by a few minority-stake owners—that they may reckon that the risk of a role switch in WSJ: Buffett to invest
$5 billion in BofA >21

The salary of the chief

ECONOMY: Won’t accept high
inflation as new normal: RBI >4

Enfield’s sales had skidded over 12% in 2020-21,
troubled times outweighs the money missed on EXCLUSIVE PARTNER
MARKETS: Jitters over Germany
hit overseas stocks >2
TECHNOLOGY: HP’s India PC unit ramps
up investment amid spin-off plans >6

and while he deserved credit for 19 units selling account of a poor pay hike. Infamously, wages SENSEX 16,146.33 æ 138.65

EXTRAORDINARY CAREER
NIFTY 4,839.60 æ 49.30 DOLLAR `46.04 Æ `0.05 EURO `66.29 æ `0.02

UPA climbs
GOLD `25,670 æ `1,840 OIL $109.33 æ $1.46

QUICK EDIT
Copycat
executive of a large
End of an era at Apple as down, willing

for each unit sold when he took charge back in are ‘sticky’; unlike in most markets, these prices Steve Jobs quits as CEO
to meet
Anna halfway
B Y L IZ M ATHEW
liz.m@livemint.com
·························
climate
I t’s ironic that China’s
telecom companies are
on a patent overdrive.
For years now, India’s
mobile market has been
flooded with cheap
corporation is not a market
2006-07, a double-digit drop in business could almost always go up, but rarely down. Yet, CEO
NEW DELHI Chinese phones, including

Apple founder says he

AP VIA WSJ
T he Congress-led United Pro-
gressive Alliance (UPA) gov-
imitations of iPhones and
other high-end devices.

award for achievement.

can no longer fulfil ernment on Thursday signalled
its willingness to relent and set
duties, expectations; the stage for a possible end to its
chief operating officer 10-day stand-off with anti-graft
Tim Cook takes over Apple’s product tree activist Anna Hazare.
After Parliament made a joint
(see Page 5)
Last year, China ranked
third in filing patents after
the US and Japan. The
country’s two big telecom
companies contributed

not justify such an increment over the ₹21.1 roles are sticky too; they’re not easily given up.
B Y Y UKARI I WATANI K ANE
The Wall Street Journal
·························
Steve Jobs planted a seed of exponential growth appeal to Hazare to end his fast, significantly to this—ZTE
which has seen the activist lose was No. 2 and Huawei
when he rejoined the company in 1997. 6kg, the UPA moved halfway to No. 4 in international
meet the three conditions put patent filings, according
1 98 4 1 998 201 0

S teve Jobs, the ailing tech (in $ bn) Macintosh iMac iPad before the government by Team to Reuters. All this comes

It is frequently in the
visionary who founded The first The candy Apple said Anna. While the UPA has agreed against the backdrop of
70 computer, -coloured it sold over patent wars involving the
Apple Inc., said he was to a debate in Parliament on the
priced at all-in-one 300,000 iPads likes of Google, Apple and
unable to continue as chief ex- $2,500, to Macs signalled in its first day of Jan Lokpal Bill, though along
ecutive officer (CEO) of the with other versions of the anti- Samsung. Google bought

crore he was paid last fiscal year. An inflation- In theory, it comes down to corporate govern-
introduce the a new vitality for sale in the US.
technology giant and handed mouse and Apple after Steve graft Bill, it bought itself some Motorola’s smartphone
60 graphical Jobs returned to the
the reins to chief operating of- user company. extra time on the other de- business for $12.5 billion
ficer Tim Cook. 1 97 7 interface to
2007 mands—the Lokpal should ex- drawn by its 17,000
iPhone
Apple said Jobs submitted Apple II a mass 1 992 2001 tend to all government employ- patents soon after
audience. Its touch-sensing
his resignation to the board of 50 With its beige
case and colour
Newton iPod screen and ees and also cover the states—by Apple and Microsoft
directors on Wednesday and This personal The digital sophisticated saying that it had to discuss it picked up Nortel’s 6,000
graphics, the digital music player
“strongly recommended” that $1,300 software with the opposition parties in patents for $4.5 billion.
assistant’s that made

nature of a warm
the board name Cook as his machine poor transformed Parliament. Intellectual property
showed waves
successor. Jobs, 56, has been 40 computers handwriting Apple into in the A lot will now depend on is a touchy issue globally,

plus increase, in their view, ought to go with an ance: a nomination and remuneration commit-
recognition an electronics- mobile
elected chairman of the board could appeal to made it a and- whether Hazare, who held direct but perhaps a climate that
more than phone
and Cook will join the board, technology entertainment market. was initially conducive
hobbyists. dud. powerhouse. to copycats was at least
effective immediately, the TURN TO PAGE 2®
company said. 30 partly responsible for the
“I have always said if there WWW.LIVEMINT.COM genuine innovation that
1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
ever came a day when I could Log on to our website to keep track seems to be taking place
JOBS LEAVES APPLE
no longer meet my duties and of latest developments. in China now.
expectations as Apple’s CEO, I 20
ANNUAL

incline in financial results. tee drawn from the board must exercise its
would be the first to let you

personal gesture by
know,” Jobs said in his resig-
nation letter. “Unfortunately, SALES
10
that day has come.” SATURATION COVERAGE
Art Levinson, chairman of
Genentech Inc. and an Apple
board member, said in a state-
ment that the board “has com-
0
1980 1985
Jobs leaves Apple

1990 1995 2000

Jobs rejoins Apple

2005 2010
Anna Hazare drives
plete confidence that Tim is
up news viewership
It is rare for shareholders to openly grudge judgement on top pay. Under our law, this panel
the right person to be our next
CEO”. He added that Jobs will APPLE'S APPLE SHARE
“continue to serve Apple with
15 ANNUAL NET $400
PRICE, WEEKLY
INCOME CLOSE

the individual to himself.

his unique insights, creativity
and inspiration”.
After a brief halt, Apple’s
shares slid 5.13% to $355.70
(`16,398) in after-hours trad-
(in $ bn) B Y A BHILASHA O JHA, &
10 300 A NUSHREE C HANDRAN
·························
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI
5 200
M illions of Indians are
hooked on the drama sur-
ed 20 August), according to data
provided by weekly television
viewership measurement com-
pany TAM Media Research. The
genre share of English news
channels also went up—to 0.54%

what top bosses take home. The rationale of big must have three non-executive directors at
TURN TO PAGE 21® 0 100 rounding the dimunitive from 0.31%. Viewers have been
74-year-old man at the centre of hooked since 16 August, when
ALSO SEE –5 0 the latest crisis that’s hit the gov- Hazare began his fast.
>Without its master of design,
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 ernment. The average daily time spent
Apple will face challenges >P18 Large swathes of the televi- on Hindi news channels has ris-
> Seven failures >P18 sion-viewing public are switch- en to 16.9 minutes from 8.5.
>The evolution of Jobs >P19 ing on to the saturation coverage Viewership of Star News rose
>Mum on Job’s succession, of Anna Hazare and his anti-cor- 15% in the past week, said Neer-
board got heat >P20 ruption campaign by the news aj Sanan, vice-president and

rewards for big leaps in market value is widely least, two of them independent. But in practice,
>OurView: Captain courageous >P22 channels, especially those in head (marketing and distribu-
Source: company; FactSet Photo: Getty Images, Bloomberg Steve Jobs
Hindi. For once, real life is more tion) at Media Content and
riveting. Communications Services India
While viewership has in- Pvt. Ltd, which runs the channel.
TRANSPARENCY MOVE creased for most of the news “From 26 million viewers, we
channels, the time spent on (Star News) are reaching out to
UMPP coal usage rules may be revised them has doubled in just one 31 million,” he said. “We have

JOHN K E N N E TH GA L B R A I TH
week, with audiences eager for noticed a strong surge in viewer-
every little twist and turn. ship across tier II and tier III

accepted by investors, its validity affirmed by authority is usually too concentrated for salary
B Y U TPAL B HASKAR any potential controversy. power project for another project It’s possible that news has eat- towns in Punjab, Haryana and
utpal.b@livemint.com The move to amend the stan- it has. Earlier, the Delhi high en into the sports market, which Rajasthan in the past week.”
························· dard bid documents (SBD) for court had upheld the govern- dropped 33%, and Hindi movies, Piyush Jain, chief operating
NEW DELHI future UMPPs comes in the ment’s decision. which showed a 12% fall from officer of IBN7, Network18

T he government may amend

the rules governing bids for
ultra mega power projects
(UMPPs), where the usage of ex-
cess coal from captive mines
backdrop of a legal challenge by
Tata Power Co. Ltd. It has ap-
pealed to the Supreme Court
against a decision by a so-called
empowered group of ministers
“This issue has been raised.
Whenever coal reserves are
worked out, they are estimated
quantities. To assume that there
will be a matching quantity is
16.37% genre share to 14.44%
last week. The Bollywood genre
typically thrives on reruns, ac-
cording to an independent study
by media servicing agency Ze-
Group’s Hindi news channel,
agreed: “The Hindi news genre
has grown 80-90% in barely a
week.”
News channels gain viewers

countless cases of the difference made by able moderation. What we need is a reminder of cost
meant for these large-sized
plants may have to be clearly
specified upfront.
Mint is also available for R6 with This is being done to usher in
Hindustan Times under a combo offer transparency and, hence, avoid
(eGoM) in 2008, to allow the
winning bidder, Reliance Power
Ltd, to use excess coal from cap-
tive mines allotted to it for the
4,000 megawatts (MW) Sasan
wrong. If it is more, then what is
to be done with the coal? It can
be used for other projects that
TURN TO PAGE 3®
nithOptimedia Pvt. Ltd.
The genre share of Hindi news
channels has increased from
5.9% in week 33 (ended 13 Au-
gust) to 11.02% in week 34 (end-
when big stories break, said Su-
nil Lulla, chief executive of
Times Global Broadcasting Co
TURN TO PAGE 3®

leadership. Wealth generation can be an expen- control as a cause common to all owners.

GUEST VIEW

Urban millennials are taking it on the chin once again

find getting access to covid tests, vaccines
DEEPA BHATIA and hospitalization? Did it shake their belief
in institutions? And who did they seek help
from? Last month, readers of Mint would
have seen the results in the newspaper’s
Plain Facts section.
15 months of living with some form of covid 36% reported it as extremely good. one might expect, it’s the older 40-plus
restriction, 70% are now looking forward to Will covid impact Indian politics and cohort that rates allopathy above ayurveda.
resuming normal life. And yet, 40% claim leave lasting effects? We don’t know for sure, Home remedies are popular, with over half
they would look for a government advisory as this study wasn’t designed to answer these the survey’s respondents claiming to have
before resuming normal life, which shows questions. But small cracks have started to been using them since the start of the second
that the public posture of our government appear. A third of the ruling Bharatiya Janata wave, and more so in families with children.

S
ince 2018, Mint and YouGov have col-
laborated to conduct a biannual survey
on urban Indian youth perceptions
and preoccupations, especially how today’s
news and events impact them. We expanded
this relationship to include the Centre for
Policy Research a year later, and together we
have tried to both produce data-backed
As a Mumbaikar, I recall every black swan
event—or at least every unpredictable event,
and sometimes not all that unpredictable,
from bombings and terror attacks to mon-
soon floods—being followed by media
exhortations for city folks to display resil-
ience, our ‘get up and go’ spirit, our ‘take it
on the chin’ attitude. Mumbai residents, like
and leaders is important in nudging covid- Party’s self-declared supporters believe the For the digital urban Indian, social media
appropriate behaviour. Centre’s handling of covid played a positive role in the pandemic, with
Being urban Indians was responsible for the sec- these platforms seen as a source of help, got
online, a large number Our latest ond wave, while a similar from family far more than from civil society
reported having taken the number unaffiliated with organizations, politicians, etc. Social media
vaccine already, with only survey shows any party were also found let people step up to help one another and
8% unsure about vaccina- to agree with that state- come together as a community when there
tion or having decided
urban Indians ment. As expected, ques- was little aid from authorities. Interestingly,

is general manager at
YouGov India
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
journalism and contribute to a public data
initiative. YouGov believes that public data
is a form of public good, and the more that
people can participate in the decisions made
by institutions that serve them, the better
these decisions will be. In this spirit, this year
the team decided to make all the data sets
available for researchers interested in India’s
online population here (bit.ly/3ygFXRS).
In mid-June, we embarked on the sixth
round of the YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial
Survey. As this coincided with the fag end of
a devastating second covid wave in India, the
topic chosen was how this wave impacted
young urban Indians. Did they feel person-
ally impacted? How easy or difficult did they
other Indians across the country, often don’t
have a choice, especially when faced with
natural disasters or man-made violence that
disrupt daily life but return periodically
without any allowance of space and time for
people to sit back and contemplate their fate.
We see hints of this attitude across the
10,285 people who responded to our survey
in July. Although shaken and faced with diffi-
cult circumstances, 44% think people’s lack
of social distancing is more to blame for the
second covid wave than their leaders. Even
though 65% report an increase in personal
economic worries such as running out of
money, 42% believe India’s economic situa-
tion will improve within a year. After close to
against it. Some 61% agreed
that vaccines are com-
ready to display tions on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s handling
local police ranked second on this after fam-
ily in Tier 3 cities, especially in south India.
pletely safe, while 67%
understood that vaccina-
resilience as of covid got answers
divided along party affilia-
The resilient Indian spirit seems to live on
despite what people have gone through.
tion does not prevent infec- they ride out tions. Interestingly, over There seems to be a sense of disappointment
tion but provides immunity 53% claim to know or have with the Prime Minister’s leadership, but
against severe disease. The the pandemic interacted with someone most still believe that he made the required
data shows that vaccine who is angry with Modi’s efforts to rectify the situation. A free vaccine
hesitancy in urban India is a handling of covid. drive certainly helped reduce some misgiv-
smaller issue than many had expected. About Indians are taking responsibility for their ings. Just as Indians by and large haven’t
20% reported the experience of registering well-being—the best they know—relying on blamed their government for past natural or
and getting a slot on the CoWin app as home remedies and holistic medicine to unnatural disasters, once again we seem to
extremely poor, perhaps indicating the short- boost immunity. Trust in ayurveda is higher have moved on with the hope that the Centre
age of vaccine slots at the beginning of our than in allopathy in terms of efficacy against will prioritize healthcare and that India’s
vaccination drive. On the other hand, 50% covid, and this is true across city tiers, even economic situation will improve soon. As
thought the cost of vaccines was good and among Indian millennials. Contrary to what they say, we are taking it on the chin.
X X

LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI 13

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

Another US failure that has little Some lessons from Australia

for India’s asset recycling plan
beyond blood in the sand to show We must balance public and private interests well for it to succeed

It’s startling how America has continued with military interventions even though its efforts have won few hearts and minds

AFP

ANDY MUKHERJEE
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
industrial companies and financial services

JEFFREY D. SACHS
is professor at Columbia University, director of
the Center for Sustainable Development at
Columbia University and president of the UN
Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

T
he asset recycling craze that got
under way in Australia with the 2013
leasing of Port Kembla and Port Bot-

T
he magnitude of the American failure in
Afghanistan is breathtaking. It is not a
failure of Democrats or Republicans,
but an abiding failure of US political
culture, reflected in policymakers’ lack
of interest in understanding different
societies. And it is all too typical. Almost every
modern US military intervention in the developing
world has come to rot. It’s hard to think of an
exception since the Korean War. In the 1960s and
first half of the 1970s, the US fought in Indochina—
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia—eventually with-
drawing in defeat after a decade of grotesque car-
nage. President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat,
and his successor, the Republican Richard Nixon,
share the blame.
In roughly the same years, the US installed dicta-
tors throughout Latin America and parts of Africa,
with disastrous consequences that lasted decades.
Think of the Mobutu dictatorship in the Democratic
Republic of Congo after the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA)-backed assassination of Patrice
Lumumba in early 1961, or of general Augusto Pino-
chet’s murderous military junta in Chile after the
US-backed overthrow of Salvador Allende in 1973.
+ In the 1980s, the US under Ronald Reagan ravaged
Central America in proxy wars to forestall or topple
leftist governments. The region still has not healed.
Since 1979, the Middle East and Western Asia
have felt the brunt of US foreign policy’s foolishness
and cruelty. The Afghanistan war started 42 years
ago, in 1979, when the Jimmy Carter administration
covertly supported jihadists to fight a Soviet-backed
regime. Soon, the CIA-backed mujahideen helped to
provoke a Soviet invasion, trapping the Soviet
Union in a debilitating conflict, while pushing
Afghanistan into what became a 40-year-long
downward spiral of violence and bloodshed.
Across the region, US foreign policy produced
growing mayhem. In response to the 1979 toppling
of the Shah of Iran (another US-installed dictator),
the Reagan administration armed Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein in his war on Iran’s fledgling
Islamic Republic. Mass bloodshed and US-backed
chemical warfare ensued. This bloody episode was
followed by Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait, and then
two US-led Gulf Wars, in 1990 and 2003.
The latest round of the Afghan tragedy began in
2001. Barely a month after the terror attacks of 11
September, president George W. Bush ordered a
US-led invasion to overthrow the jihadists that the
US had backed previously. His Democrat successor,
president Barack Obama, not only continued the
war and added more troops, but also ordered the
CIA to work with Saudi Arabia to topple Syrian pres-
ident Bashar al-Assad, leading to a vicious Syrian
civil war that continues to this day. As if that was not
enough, Obama ordered NATO to oust Libyan
leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, inciting a decade of
instability in that country and its neighbours
(including Mali, which has been destabilized by
inflows of fighters and weapons from Libya).
What these cases have in common is not just US
policy failure. Underlying all of them is the Ameri-
can foreign-policy establishment’s belief that the
solution to every political challenge is military
intervention or CIA-backed destabilization.
That belief speaks of the US foreign-policy elite’s
utter disregard of other countries’ desire to escape
grinding poverty. Most US military and CIA inter-
ventions have occurred in countries that are strug-
gling to overcome severe economic deprivation.
Yet, instead of alleviating suffering and winning
public support, the US typically blows up the small
amount of infrastructure the country possesses,
while causing educated professionals to flee for
their lives.
Even a cursory look at America’s spending in
Afghanistan reveals the stupidity of its policy there.
According to a recent report by the Special Inspec-
tor General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, the US
invested roughly $946 billion between 2001 and
2021. Yet, almost $1 trillion in outlays won the US
few hearts and minds.
Here’s why. Of that $946 billion, fully $816 billion,
or 86%, went to military outlays for US troops. And
the Afghan people saw little of the remaining $130
billion, with $83 billion going to the Afghan Secu-
rity Forces. Another $10 billion or so was spent on
drug interdiction operations, while $15 billion was
for US agencies operating in Afghanistan. That left a
meagre $21 billion in ‘economic support’ funding.
Yet, even much of this spending left little if any
development on the ground, because the pro-
grammes actually “support counterterrorism;
bolster national economies; and assist in the devel-
opment of effective, accessible, and independent
legal systems.”
In short, less than 2% of the US spending on
Afghanistan, and probably far less than 2%, reached
the Afghan people in the form of basic infrastruc-
ture or poverty-reducing services. The US could
have invested in clean water and sanitation, school
buildings, clinics, digital connectivity, agricultural
equipment and extension, nutrition programmes,
and many other programmes to lift the country
from economic deprivation. Instead, it leaves
behind a country with a life expectancy of 63 years,
a maternal mortality rate of 638 per 100,000 births,
and a child stunting rate of 38%.
The US should never have intervened militarily
in Afghanistan—not in 1979, nor in 2001, and not for
the 20 years since. But once there, the US could and
should have fostered a more stable and prosperous
Afghanistan by investing in maternal health,
schools, safe water, nutrition, and the like. Such
humane investments—especially financed together
with other countries through institutions such as
the Asian Development Bank—would have helped
to end the bloodshed in Afghanistan, and in other
impoverished regions, forestalling future wars.
Yet, American leaders go out of their way to
emphasize to the American public that we won’t
waste money on such trivialities. The sad truth is
that the American political class and mass media
hold the people of poorer nations in contempt, even
as they intervene relentlessly and recklessly in those
countries. Of course, much of America’s elite holds
America’s own poor in similar contempt.
In the aftermath of the fall of Kabul, the US mass
media is, predictably, blaming the American failure
on Afghanistan’s incorrigible corruption. The
lack of American self-awareness on all this is indeed
startling. It’s no surprise that after trillions of dollars
spent on wars in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and beyond,
the US has nothing to show for its efforts but
blood in the sand. ©2021/PROJECT SYNDICATE
any near Sydney is reaching India. So is the
fear that handing over control of public util-
ities to a small private sector will hurt con-
sumers. India’s cash-strapped government
has identified ₹6 trillion in existing reve-
nue-generating assets, which it will mone-
tize over four years to fund an ambitious
$1.5 trillion pipeline of new infrastructure.
But while New Delhi aims to replicate the
fund-raising success overseas, it also needs
to heed the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission Chairman Rod
Sims’s warning last month: Privatize to
increase the efficiency of the economy, or
don’t privatize at all.
India envisages parting with revenue-
earning operating concessions in exchange
for upfront payments or investments. The
deals will be structured as “contractual part-
nerships”, with the state retaining owner-
ship. However, to maximize their profit over
a limited time frame, investors would want
to raise prices, limit competition or cut back
on upkeep. Singapore had to nationalize its
suburban trains and signalling systems
because their main private operator had
underinvested in maintenance, leading to
breakdowns and stranded passengers.
Similarly, it’s important to prevent
today’s lump-sum gains to the government
from becoming a cost tomorrow. In New
South Wales, where electricity prices dou-
bled in five years after poles and wires were
privatized, the government had to step in to
lower the burden on consumers. The Indian
taxpayer, already struggling under [heavy]
levies on energy, can’t afford such largesse.
Without bureaucratic capability and reg-
ulatory acumen, the Indian programme
could become a transfer of taxpayer-funded
assets to a handful of business groups. This
is a concern because of the rising concentra-
tion of economic power in everything from
transport to telecom. Airports and seaports
are the stranglehold of billionaire Gautam
Adani’s group, which also wants to acquire
Container Corp of India Ltd, a state-owned
logistics firm. The wireless carriage busi-
ness, once teeming with a dozen operators,
has effectively turned into a duopoly, led by
Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man.
Privatization of a state-owned aluminium
maker only causes job-loss anxieties among
its workers. Once control over utilities is out
of the government’s hands for years, even
decades, the broader public will worry
about higher user charges slapped by opera-
tors of roads, railways, airports, power grids
and gas pipelines.
Consumer interests getting short shrift is a
major concern Down Under ISTOCKPHOTO
The other takeaway from the Australian
experience is to let consumers see for them-
selves if they’re getting a fair shake. As the
Sydney Morning Herald wrote this year, the
2018 sale of 51% of WestConnex, a contro-
versial motorway in Australia’s largest
metropolis, limits the network’s “exposure
to freedom of information requests and
budget estimates hearings” besides diluting
“the ability of the state Auditor-General to
keep the project under scrutiny.”
Then there are gaps in institutional
maturity. For an emerging market, India
already has fairly well established invest-
ment trusts and toll-operate-transfer struc-
tures. But does it have the legal and regula-
tory mechanisms to truly de-risk politically
sensitive infrastructure before asking the
private sector in? Even [once clearances are
in order], weak regulators can introduce
their own hard-to-price risks.
Take aviation. India is still enforcing
covid capacity caps and [price controls] on
flights, denying airports passenger footfall
to save some inefficient airlines. Such arbi-
trariness results from political economy
considerations, which won’t go away in a
hurry. [Foreign investors that bid for assets]
may never be on a par with entrenched
domestic business groups and their ability
to sway regulations.
Then there’s the state’s execution capa-
bility, called into question by long delays in
selling government-run businesses. Frothy
equity markets had presented India with a
golden opportunity to extract great value
for assets. But while startups with no cur-
rent profits swooped in on public capital
markets, the government kept waiting.
Bureaucratic delays might blight asset
concessions, too. By the time New Delhi
starts hawking them, the US Federal
Reserve could already be tapering its
bloated balance sheet. Emerging-market
assets may get short shrift. More so if it turns
out that coronavirus will keep coming back
in waves to countries slow to reach universal
vaccination, or unable to afford repeated
boosters.
Timing, though, isn’t everything. Finding
the right balance between public and pri-
vate interests will determine success of a
patient asset recycling programme, not just
the amount of money raised this year or
next. That’s perhaps the most important les-
son from Down Under. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | BEHAVIOUR BY BRAIN

Amazon and covid could redefine the way people shop

egy as to what category of products will be
BIJU DOMINIC sold through digital channels and what cate-
gory mostly through the company’s physical
stores. There are several products that are
bought by consumers routinely without
much thinking. There is not much joy in
response that is ‘high touch’. So, as digital
shopping gets more high-tech, brick-and-
mortar shopping could turn out to be the
‘high touch’ face of it. This new combination
of a high-tech digital experience with a high-
touch brick-and-mortar one could help
vailed during the crisis. While World War II
was raging, the predominant emotion was
one of retribution. People affected wanted to
avenge the lives and material losses caused
by the enemy. But immediately after the
war, the big emotion that gained ascendance
demic scenario may be no exception.
As a result of the pandemic, people have
been closeted within the four walls of their
homes for far too long. Most are waiting to
step out of the claustrophobic circumstances
created by covid and are yearning for breaths

L
ast week’s New York Times article, ‘Peo-
ple Now Spend More at Amazon Than
at Walmart’, announced that the
world’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer
had been unseated by the e-commerce
giant. Lest anyone starts writing an obituary
for brick-and-mortar retail based on this,
one should take note of another article that
shopping for them. It won’t be a surprise if
most of this sort of shopping moves fully into
the digital space, a format that allows quick
shopping.
There are categories where the shopper
would like to try out products in person
before deciding to purchase them. This is
particularly beneficial in the apparel cate-
retailers create a more holistic and fulfilling was one of reconciliation. The victors took of fresh air. So, as soon as the pandemic is
experience overall. the initiative to rebuild the over, there will be a tendency for people to
Another significant fac- nations they themselves rush out of their homes.
tor that will determine the A post-covid had wrecked during the Shopping malls will surely be a popular
future of marketing will be war’s hostilities. relief destination. It will be worth watching
how consumers behave hybrid retail Assembly-line produc- what new strategies brick-and-mortar out-
after the pandemic. Due to tion and overcrowded lets adopt to make shopping more exciting
rampant lockdowns, a
model is set to ghettos that arose during and fun as they take advantage of this retail

is the chief evangelist, Fractal

was published last week. The Wall Street
Journal reported that ‘Amazon Plans to
Analytics and chairman,
FinalMile Consulting
Open Large Retail Locations Akin to Depart-
ment Stores’. The finer details of Amazon’s
planned entry to the regular retail sector, the
very business that it disrupted, are not yet
known. But one thing is for sure. How Ama-
zon combines its digital and brick-and-mor-
tar retailing strategies will define the future
of shopping.
The entry of a digital leader to the busi-
ness of brick-and-mortar retailing is bound
to give rise to several interesting develop-
ments. It is unlikely that Amazon will sell the
same products in the two shopping environ-
ments. There could be a demarcation strat-
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
gory, which can often be a guessing game for
customers shopping online because of size
and fit concerns. These are also categories
where personal advice from an expert on
what suits the customer best can add a lot of
value. Such products are best shopped for in
a brick-and-mortar store.
Big data analytics and artificial intelli-
gence are already the backbone of both digi-
tal and physical-format shopping. In the
future, the role of technology will only get
more prominent, more so in the case of
online shopping. The futurologist John
Naisbitt had long predicted that whenever
high technology is introduced to society,
there must be a counterbalancing human
large number of people
who have got into the habit
emerge that’ll
of shopping online. The
sudden rise in prominence
combine high
of Amazon, for example, tech with ‘high
can be surely attributed to
a spurt in digital shopping touch’ options
during this pandemic. But
the big question is whether
digital-shopping behaviour will continue
even after the covid scare is gone.
Past disasters have shown that an emo-
tional state that’s dominant while a crisis is
on does not last beyond it. For that matter,
the post-crisis emotional state of people
tends to be the exact opposite of what pre-
the industrial revolution
led to a loss of individual
identity. But soon, meas-
ures were taken to counter
the ill-effects of it. The
concept of public parks,
for example, was intro-
duced. Trade unions and
social organizations like
YMCA were started to help individuals gain
personal space and develop meaningful
connections with fellow humans. These
developments did help individuals offset
their loss of personal identity.
Every social force seems to create an
equal and opposite force, and our post-pan-
rush. A major focus of the revised retail strat-
egies of physical stores should be to elimi-
nate the multiple pain points that shoppers
typically encounter. Amazon is moving in
this direction already. The trial stores that it
opened in a few US cities used technology to
do away with check-out counters, one of the
biggest and most obvious pain points of
brick-and-mortar shopping.
Amazon entering the brick-and-mortar
space and the new shopping experience that
customers will want after the pandemic is
over are significant forces that could change
the face of shopping. Retail spaces may
never be the same again. We have truly
interesting times ahead.
X X

14 THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST 2021

MUMBAI BUSINESS OF LIFE CULTURE LIVEMINT.COM

A RETRO VIEW OF TWO

STYLES OF PRACTICE
Simultaneous solo
shows by Reena Saini
and Jitish Kallat highlight
their unique styles and
the philosophy and
politics of their work
A Delhi street with painted murals RAJIV BAJAJ/UNSPLASH
Avantika Bhuyan
avantika.bhuyan@htlive.com

A driver’s son
A
t the Norrtalje Konsthall, Swe-
den, two concurrent solo exhibi-
tions are taking place—of artists
Reena Saini Kallat and Jitish
Kallat. With works spanning
takes on an elite
more than a decade, the shows—their first
institutional solos in Sweden—offer retro views
of their practice. They provide an intimate
glimpse of Jitish’s engagement with time and and space touches a new chord. “As artists and
Delhi family
space, infinity and transience, and Reena’s observers of life, we tend to think of time con-
with man-made boundaries and free-flowing sciously. But everyone has observed shifting Somak Ghoshal
ecological forces. temporalities during these recent times. Nor- somak.g@livemint.com
“The contemporary art scene in India has mally we think of time as nothing but durations.

been thriving with a remarkable generation of
artists producing rigorous work of deep art-his-
torical, political and philosophical significance.
Norrtälje Konsthall participates in this vital
scene by presenting simultaneous solo exhibi-
tions by two of India’s most successful and inter-
esting artists,” writes Helén Hedensjö, director,
Norrtälje Konsthall in the exhibition note. The
two exhibitions, Deep Rivers Run Quiet and Epi-
cycles 19/6-26/9, have been hosted on two sepa-
rate floors, creating interesting juxtapositions
of their wide-ranging practices.
Epicycles starts with a single-channel video by
Jitish, titled Forensic Trail of the Grand Banquet
from 2009, wherein galactic clusters and nebu-
lae are replaced by hundreds of x-ray scans of
food. “In the video titled The Eternal Gradient
(2015), 365 rotis morph with the waxing and
waning images of the moon as if aeons of time
were passing through an ever-changing annual
lunar almanac,” states the exhibition note. “The
+ rotis transform slowly and as each one com-
pletes its life cycle, the entire lunar year will also
have transformed.”
It begins as a parenthesis of time—a year or
365 moons—but if you spend more than three
minutes in that space, you will see an eternity of
time move. “Every passing second feels like you
are looking at a still image. When you shut your
eyes and open again, you will see the gradient
has moved. The moon phases in every moment
correspond to lunar configurations in the dis-
tant past or future,” says Jitish. There is The Infi-
nite Episode, which shows various animal spe-
cies—a rhinoceros, a swan, a cow, a chimpan-
zee—cast in dental plaster, curled up in sleep.
Sleep is evoked here as a state that negates con-
ventional ideas of time—a ‘brief’ interlude of
eternity into which we recede every night.
Though created over the past decade, Jitish’s
works continue to be relevant. There has been
no other time in recent history when the tran-
sient nature of life and time has become more
apparent. When viewed in the current context
of the pandemic, Jitish’s engagement with time
I
That’s a kind of domesticated version of time,” n 2008, the Booker Prize catapulted Aravind Adiga’s novel The
says Jitish. “Time is this mysterious medium White Tiger to international attention and spawned a whole
through which life transitions. Through the new sub-genre of cringe fiction. Writers of high social privilege
space and time, we progress and transform.” started taking it upon themselves to speak on behalf of the
It’s interesting that the show begins with ‘oppressed’ —usually through a sorry mimicry of what the former
Forensic Trails, which was a starting point in presumed to be the latter’s ticks, accents, quirks, and inherently
Jitish’s career for many ideas that followed. In venal streak. In Adiga’s debut novel, a chauffeur (familiarly
the video, you could be looking inside the referred to as ‘driver’ by South Asians of all classes) is a villain-
human body or vast intergalactic space. “Given hero who trumps his ‘master’ to scale peaks of amoral glory. In
the kind of situations that the world has Shivani Sibal’s debut novel, Equations, the same formula is given
encountered now, we are all asking deeper a different twist. Her protagonist Rajesh is the son of the driver
questions of our mortality, habits and habitats. of a wealthy business family from Delhi, a man who turns the
Without giving direct pointers, these subtle tables on his father’s employers as he reinvents himself as a politi-
questions are imbued in the works,” adds Jitish. cian through grit, canny intelligence, and craftiness.
Reena’s show too focuses on her long-stand- Unlike Adiga’s attempt at forging a distinctive style, albeit one
ing engagement with ideas of borders, territory that involved mocking Indian English, Sibal steers away from lin-
and maps. The title, Deep Rivers Run Quiet, has guistic bravados. Her story is told in bluntly realistic details, rein-
been derived from Haruki Murakami’s book forced by the occasional use of colloquial Hindi which, to her
Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the (left) Detail from Reena Saini Kallat’s ‘River Drawing’ (2021); (above) detail from ‘Palindrome/ credit, is left untranslated in a bid
World. “I’ve been interested in the ways people Anagram’ (2017-18) by Jitish Kallat; (below) and his ‘The Infinite Episode’ (2015-16) COURTESY THE ARTISTS to bring authenticity to the plot.
continue to remain linked across geographies The markers of wealth are laid on
through language, culture, trade and technol- a river and make it their own; and the manners we manipulate the course of the river through with a trowel, though the Sikand
ogy... and that these long civilizational histories in which governments don’t look at sharing but dams and hydroelectric projects. We are con- family have fallen on hard times.
run far deeper than the political divisions,” she dividing heritage. This new work encapsulates stantly making interventions in the landscape. Aahan, the spoilt scion, is crushed
says. The exhibition includes a site-specific wall Reena’s continual questioning of human inter- These lines, while unseen in many ways, are by alcoholism, bad business deci-
drawing, which uses electrical cables, a recur- ventions on a natural landscape. “Like the very prevalent and have an impact on citizens sions, and his father’s bigamous
ring motif in her work that is seen as a conduit anthropogenic memory of past human activities on either side. In River Drawing, electrical life. He is reduced to showing off
for energy and ideas. that have altered landscape forms, processes in cables come together, unify and then get rear- second-hand BMWs to guests,
“The exhibition also includes the 8-channel a manner that continue to affect the land- ranged in lines of separation to transform and foreign booze no longer over-
video Blind Spots scape…” she says. create a new topography,” elaborates Reena. flows at his parties, and the whole
that deploys the Reena has Her attempt is to look beyond the divisive his- world is sniggering behind his
preambles of the When viewed in the current context always drawn tories and social barriers that these innocuous back about his father’s ‘secret’
constitutions of of the pandemic, Jitish Kallat’s a n a l o g i e s looking lines create. “The show is about draw- marriage to a Muslim divorcee.
warring nations between the body ing deep connections between the various Rajesh, on the other hand, is
from around the engagement with time and space and the land, riv- works, which are not always apparent.For Equations going from strength to strength,
world as Snellen touches a new chord. ers and veins, and instance, Blind Spots is about how we seem to By Shivani Sibal, thanks to his education (sup-
eye charts used by how dependence have lost sight of our shared values and com- HarperCollins, ported by the Sikands), which led
optometrists to o n a n a t u r a l mon aspirations as nations. Even as we tighten 208 pages, Rs 299 him to a career in student politics,
measure vision,” mentions the curatorial note. resource often leads to its partitioning. But riv- national borders amid fears of the pandemic, at before elevating him to the berth
One of the most interesting works on display is ers don’t recognize political demarcations, no other moment have we been more acutely of a state minister. For an Adiga copycat, Rajesh’s ascent would
Vortex, formed by the borders of countries in whether it’s the Danube, the Nile, the Imjin aware of our interdependence, and our relation- have been the sufficient cue for him to avenge the humiliations
conflict over the sharing of the river waters. between North and South Korea, the Rio ship to the natural world,” she says. hurled at his family by the Sikands, most of which were unthink-
These come together as a thumb print, showing Grande between the US and Mexico, the Shatt- ingly internalized by his parents or bounced off their seemingly
the human imprint on the landscape—how Al-Arab between Iran and Iraq, or the Indus The exhibitions are on view at Norrtalje Kon- thick skin, as is the case with every other “servant” in the house-
countries and states try to ascribe identities to between India and Pakistan. ”Look at the ways sthall in Sweden till 26 September. hold. But Sibal is more subtle in her treatment of the plot, and
ends it with, literally, a sweet revenge.
Clever intentions notwithstanding, Equations moves rather
like a whimsical creature, painting a sharp-eyed portrait of Delhi
elites but never quite able to sustain the narrative coherence. The
last third of the book, when Rajesh marries an Indian American
girl, is the most interesting, but it is prefaced with pages upon
pages of repetitive monologue. The flashbacks are clunky and
feel mistimed, more like interruptions than transitional passages.
Sibal’s lifelessness prose, even when it is well paced, makes
chunks of Equations read like bland notes towards a novel, setting
up dramatic moments but never unpacking their fullest poten-
tial, which better dialogue and more spirited action could have
improved. The result, alas, feels closer to a promising first draft
of a first novel rather than one that has been, for inexplicable rea-
sons, fulsomely praised by the Who’s Who of the literary world.

Easy recipes for homemade mithais in 30 minutes WWW.CHETNAMAKAN.CO.UK

Chetna Makan mum makes these all the time and I Heat the ghee in a pan. Once it has
feedback@livemint.com remember helping her to roll them out melted, add the gram flour and cook over
when I was growing up. I have added some a low heat for 8 minutes, stirring often,

O
f all the recipes in desi kitchens,
mithais are seen as some of the
most demanding. There’s the
tedious process of turning milk into khoya
and the long wait for mithais to set. Time,
it seems, is the most precious ingredient in
making these sweets.
A new cookbook by food writer Chetna
Makan simplifies this process. It features
about 80 Indian dishes which take no
longer than 30 minutes to make. She
writes that the idea occurred to her via
feedback from social media. Through the
lockdown, she shared recipes on her You-
Tube channel, Food with Chetna, and
realised that while people invested a lot of
time and effort in making lavish meals
about a year ago, it was a short-lived phase.
The release of Chetna’s 30 Minute Indian
is well-timed: offices are reopening and the
festive season is around the corner—Jan-
masthami is on Monday. Here are two
mithai recipes excerpted from the book.
CHOCOLATE NARIYAL LADDOO
These coconutty laddoos are the best little
sweet ever, and so quick to prepare. My
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
chocolate to make them even more
appealing for kids, and you can also roll
them in chocolate sprinkles or colourful
cake sprinkles instead of the pistachios if
you have little people to please.
MAKES ABOUT 12
100g (3.5 oz) desiccated coconut
30g (1 oz) pistachio nuts
200ml (7fl oz) condensed milk
30g (1 oz) 70% cocoa dark chocolate,
melted
Blitz the coconut in a food processor
until finely ground and set aside. Then
blitz the pistachios until coarsely ground
and spread out on a plate.
Heat a pan, add the coconut and cook
over a low heat for 2 minutes, stirring con-
stantly so that it doesn’t colour at all.
Add the condensed milk and cook for 2
minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the
melted chocolate, mix well and cook for a
minute or so until the mixture starts to
leave the sides of the pan and come
together in a clump. Take off the heat.
Let the mixture cool slightly. Take a
small portion of the mixture at a time and
Chocolate nariyal laddoo from ‘Chetna’s 30 Minute Indian’, (right) author Chetna Makan
roll it into a walnut-sized ball, then roll in
the ground pistachios to coat. Don’t let the
mixture cool down too much, otherwise it
will be too hard to form into balls. Let the
balls rest for 5 minutes and serve warm, or
let them cool completely before serving.
The laddoos will keep in an airtight con-
tainer in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
BESAN BARFI
My mum makes a few Indian sweets at
home and this is one of them. She uses
something called khoya (a thick milk con-
centrate) to make them, but since I
couldn’t get hold of any, I have started
making them without it and they still taste
amazing.
SERVES 8–10
100g (3.5 oz) ghee, plus extra for greasing
170g (6 oz) gram flour (besan/chickpea
flour)
60g (2 and one-fourth oz) icing sugar
20g (three-fourth oz) ground almonds
One-fourth teaspoon ground cardamom
10g(one-fourth oz) toasted flaked almonds
until it starts to change colour and smell
toasted. The mixture will start off clumpy
but will gradually bubble and become
smooth and creamy.
Take the pan off the heat and let the
mixture cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, grease a 20cm (8 inch)
square cake tin and line with non-stick
baking paper.
Mix the icing sugar, ground almonds
and cardamom together in a bowl, then
add the toasted gram flour mixture and
stir to combine.
Transfer the mixture to the lined tin,
then spread it out and level the surface
with a spatula. Sprinkle the toasted flaked
almonds on top and let it cool in the refrig-
erator for 5–10 minutes until firm.
Cut it into small squares and serve.
These sweets will keep in an airtight
container in the refrigerator for up to 2
weeks. Let them sit at room temperature
for an hour before serving.
Excerpted with permission from
Chetna’s 30 Minute Indian by Chetna
Makan, published by Octopus Publishing,
distributed by Hachette India.