CHENNAI, New deLHi, mumbAi, beNGALuru, kOLkAtA, AHmedAbAd, HyderAbAd, cHANdiGArH*, PuNe* VOL. 17 NO.

81

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Adani targets debt cuts, Coastal shipping to get infra

livemint.com income boost uP1 status, says Sonowal uP1
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 CHENNAI, NEw DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE* VOL. 17 NO. 81

Thursday, April 6, 2023

livemint.com

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Here’s what to No gags

expect from the please
On Wednesday, the Supreme
MPC meeting Court quashed the Centre’s
refusal of security clearance to
MediaOne, which knocked the
BY JAGADISH SHETTIGAR & POOJA MISRA Malayalam news channel off air.
The monetary policy committee (MPC), which is responsible for The apex court pulled up the
fixing the benchmark interest rate in India, is currently meeting. What government for raising a
are the odds the committee would further hike key policy rates? Mint national security alarm out of
explains the options and their implications. “thin air” and said that critical
views should not be termed
7 Repo rate in India (in %) 6.5 anti-establishment. Its observa-
tion is a scathing indictment of
6
4.0 the government’s citation of
national security to justify what
5
effectively served as a gag order.
4
The channel had been critical of
the government’s citizenship
3 policy after a controversial 2019
amendment that featured reli-
2 gion as a criterion. The Centre
failed to convince the court of
1
the validity of its action. For a
democracy to thrive, the media
0
2020 2021 2022 2023 needs to be free, and all govern-
Source: Reserve Bank of India ment actions must always be
SATISH KUMAR/MINT open to criticism. Media has an
What happened at the What is the US Fed’s important role in questioning
1 last MPC meeting?
The MPC, in its February meeting,
2 view on rate hikes?
March 2023 witnessed the
authority so that elected repre-
sentatives can be held account-
hiked the repo rate by 25 basis collapse of the sixteenth largest able, as envisioned by India’s
points to 6.5% and continued with bank in the US, the Silicon Valley democratic system. Media also
its policy stance of ‘withdrawal of Bank. This was followed by serves as the voice of our citi-
accommodation’. This was the Signature Bank. New York-based zens. Diverse perspectives on
sixth successive hike by a total of First Republic Bank also plunged public affairs are also vital so
250 basis points since May 2022. into a crisis with its shares
that voters can make up their
Repo rate is the rate at which the crashing. Share prices in European
central bank lends money to banks, too, were hit hard by the minds after exposure to a wide
commercial banks against banking turmoil. The US Federal variety of arguments. Smother
government securities. The Reserve last month increased its the media, and democracy itself
decision came in the backdrop of key benchmark interest rates in would begin to gasp.
persistently high inflation; spite of this turmoil. However, it
expectations of slowing global did give indications of the rate
growth; weak external demand in hike spree nearing its end. The US
major economies; and debt treasury secretary recently said
distress. Persisting global
uncertainty has complicated the
there is a need to “consider
whether deregulation may have
MINT METRIC
fight against inflation. gone too far”. by Bibek Debroy

A British man’s addiction

3 How is India’s inflation
trending?
Retail inflation eased to 6.44% in February
Has led to an odd affliction.
after a three-month high of 6.52% in
He tries car handles,
January. Food inflation remained close to To prevent further scandals,
6% due to cereal and milk prices. The
worrying factor? Core inflation (inflation
Barred from touching cars for 5-year duration.
excluding food and fuel) remained sticky at
6.1%, the upper limit of the central bank’s
tolerance band. However, WPI-based
inflation eased in February.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
The message to policymakers
4 What factors should
the MPC heed?
It needs to keep an eye on price
5 What could be the
course of action?
In February, MPC members voted
right now is ‘do fiscal
stability. However, considering 4:2 for continuing with the hike.
tightening, and do it in a way
that monetary policy acts with a Two members advocated relaxing that provides support to the
lag, it might be time for the central liquidity considerations to support
bank to focus on the impact of economic growth. Since monetary
more vulnerable groups.
rising interest rates on economic policy works with a lag, the billion-
growth. While global financial dollar question now is: what’s the
contagion concerns have come to right time to call a halt? With core
the forefront, India’s financial inflation being sticky, the MPC
sector has not given out any could probably tilt toward another PAOLO MAURO
distress signals yet. Besides, one 25-basis point increase but change DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF
IMF’S FISCAL AFFAIRS
cannot ignore gloomy prospects— its stance to neutral. It is likely the
DEPARTMENT
deceleration in world trade, committee could hint at a pause in
specifically in India’s major export rate hikes thereafter.
destinations,unseasonal rains and Jagadish Shettigar and Pooja Misra
OPEC production cut. are faculty members at BIMTECH.

MINT PODCASTS

TECH-CETRA THE WORKING LIFE THE SKETCH

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virtual private net-
works, crypto cur-
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Here is what you need to know about
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and the latest com-
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retention trends
adopted by India
Inc. This podcast
also tells you why
the right HR poli-
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aggressive business strategies and
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In this podcast, Mint’s editor-in-chief
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about the perform-
ance of their busi-
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conversations, the podcast aims to
paint in the listeners’ mind, a sketch.

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 PLAIN FACTS

The big tests of India’s

healthcare ambitions
BY NANDITA VENKATESAN & SHUJA ASRAR

F
riday, 7 April, will mark World Health Day. Nothing in recent memory has brought health to the public discourse like cov-
id-19. It showed us that beyond just eating healthy or adopting diet fads, health is also about a whole range of measures
from effective delivery of health services to improving quality of life. Despite public health milestones such as the eradica-
tion of polio and neonatal tetanus, India still has miles to go in achieving universal healthcare. At 2.1% of GDP, our health expendi-
ture lags all other G20 nations and our health system is largely financed out-of-pocket by citizens. Here’s a status check.

India's doctor-population ratio among

the lowest in the world 1 Creaky Infrastructure
Medical doctors per 10,000 population IS INDIA’S health infrastructure prepared and sufficient to fight
the next pandemic? Consider these stats while mulling over this
10 20 30 40 question. India has one of the smallest doctor-to-population and
China
23 nurses-to-population ratios, implying a shortage of trained
medical professionals to cater to citizens. For every 10,000
persons, India has 7.27 doctors, against the World Health
Cuba
84 Organization’s minimum recommendation of 10.
USA India The progress on health infrastructure has been uneven with a
35 7 stark rural-urban divide. A health ministry report for 2021-22
showed that community health centres—the third and top tier of
public healthcare service in rural India—have an 82% shortfall in
paediatricians and 80% for general physicians. The number of
WHO recommendation:
10 doctors/10,000 people auxiliary nurses and midwives (ANMs) at health sub-centres—the
first focal point of care—fell to 207,587 in March 2022 from
Latest available data for each country
used. For most countries, it is from the Source: World Health 214,820 in the year before that. Moreover, fewer than half of
period 2014 to 2021. Organisation primary health centres (the middle tier) function round the clock.

2 Organ Paucity Kerala, Delhi and Maharashtra have

the most organ pledges
ORGAN DONATIONS are still rare in India. Just 15,561 organ Number of registered pledges* for organ donation, state, and UT-wise
transplants took place last year, led by kidney, liver and heart Jammu & Kashmir
48 1,30,992
transplantation. This, even as 49,745 Indians are waiting for an 8,873
organ replacement, according to data presented in the Rajya Delhi
Sabha last month. India has an organ donation rate of about 0.52 57,969
per million population. In comparison, Spain leads the world
with close to 47 donors per million population.
The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act allows
two types of donor transplants—cadaveric and brain-dead
transplants, and living-donor transplants through relatives. A
whopping 82% of transplants in 2022 were by living donors. West Bengal
19,849
Experts point out that cultural and religious beliefs, low Maharashtra
awareness, infrastructure issues and cumbersome laws are 49,168
*Indicates number of pledges and
hampering deceased organ donations. Recently, the government not actual donation of organs
Kerala
did away with the domicile requirement for registration of 130,992 Source: Rajya Sabha question
patients requiring organ transplantation from deceased donors. dated 14 March 2023

3 Superbugs Threat As AMR threat looms, India must step

up investments to nip it in the bud
THE TENDENCY to pop a pill like candies to treat that minor No. of
Country Total investment ($ b) funders
cold or cough is a lurking threat. No doubt, effective antibiotics
1. United States 4.97 19
have enabled increased lifespans and cured deadly infections.
But several bacteria, viruses, and fungi are no longer responding 2. European Union 1.85 5
to existing medicines, making infections harder to treat. India has 3. United Kingdom 1.47 36
one of the highest burdens of infections driven by such 4. Global Partnership 0.47 3
antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 5. Germany 0.3 15
This has been seen in widely-prevalent diseases such as 6. Australia 0.24 12
malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and E. coli. An Indian Council 7. Sweden 0.19 3
for Medical Research report last year showed that only 43% of the 8. Canada 0.15 15
pneumonia samples containing one particular pathogen in India 9. Switzerland 0.14 6
could be treated with the first line of antibiotics in 2021, lower 10. France 2
0.11
than 65% in 2016. A similar trend was in E. coli. Tackling this
27. India 0.01 3
threat requires investments in new class antibiotics on war
AMR: Antimicrobial resistance | Data as of May 2021 | Includes both public
footing. But India has been woefully falling short. Moreover, little and private investments
data is available on the funding allocated to AMR research. Source: Global AMR R&D Hub

Universal immunization: Close but

still some way to go 4 Vaccine Wonders
NFHS-5 (2019-21) NFHS-4 (2015-16)
IN LAST four decades, India has put in place a robust public
Total vaccine infrastructure, which not only immunized millions of
Fully people annually but has also managed to eradicate polio (2014) and
vaccinated*
maternal and neonatal tetanus (2015). India’s immunization
By vaccination programme vaccinates 26.7 million newborns and 29 million
BCG pregnant women annually. The programme has also been
successful in bringing down the mortality rate of under-five
Polio** children from 74 per 1,000 live births in 2015-16 to 41.9 in 2019-21,
according to the National Family Health Survey.
DPT
A well-established vaccine infrastructure also helped to
Measles
successfully produce, administer, and export covid-19 vaccines
rapidly. According to a Lancet study, the immunization
0 20 40 60 80 100 programme helped prevent over 4.2 million deaths in India.
*Information based on either vaccination card or mother's recall. Fully
vaccinated includes BCG, measles-containing vaccine (MCV)/MR/MMR/mea- However, people’s trust in vaccines, and lack of trained staff,
sles and 3 doses each of polio and DPT or penta vaccine. ** Excludes polio efficient logistics and cold storage have left the country short of
vaccination given at birth.
Source: National Family Health Survey
achieving its goal of universal immunization.

5 Ayushman Bhava? Ayushman Bharat has under-utilized

allocated funds since inception
AROUND 63% of all health expenses are borne out of pocket by Allocation and spending of funds under Ayushman Bharat
Indian households, according to the WHO. This leaves an unjust (in ₹ crore)
Budget estimate Funds utilized
stress on household earnings in what is still a largely poor country.
Government-paid health insurance has come as a relief to many. 2018-19
Over a dozen state- and centrally-sponsored health insurance
schemes provide financial assistance. 2019-20
The Centre’s Ayushman Bharat, launched in 2018, has emerged
as one of the flagship schemes, with over 370 million registered 2020-21

users. It has so far catered to 43.4 million hospital admissions

worth ₹51,749 crore, according to the health ministry. However, a 2021-22
consistent, gross under-utilization of funds allocated underlines
2022-23*
the challenges faced in implementing such a large-scale scheme.
The burden of the increasing population, the concentration of 0 2000 4000 6000 8000
health services in urban areas, and the lack of awareness about the * Funds utilized data is till 2 February 2023
scheme are the major roadblocks in its implementation. Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lok Sabha
nandita.venkatesan@livemint.com question dated 10 Feb 2023
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

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 ChennAi, NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*
Thursday, April 6, 2023
SENSEX 59,689.31 582.87
Adani targets debt
cuts, income boost
In plan outlined to calm creditors, group sets aggressive goals
Anirudh Laskar & Ram Sahgal
anirudh.l@htlive.com
MUMBAI
T
he Adani group aims to
boost group-level operat-
ing earnings by nearly
50% to around ₹91,000
crore over the next two
fiscal years, helping lower its lever-
age ratios and assuaging the con-
cerns of investors and creditors to
whom it owes around $23 billion.
In recent meetings with credit-
ors, Adani officials outlined plans to
lower the group’s leverage ratio
from 4.2 times now to 3.1 by the end
of FY24, chiefly by increasing earn-
ings rather than reducing debt, two
people with direct knowledge of
Adani’s strategy said on the condi-
tion of anonymity.
Adani’s new strategy is notewor-
thy, coming on the heels of short-
seller Hindenburg Research term-
ing the group as over-leveraged and
raising allegations about corporate
governance in a scathing report on
24 January that set off a steep
decline in the share prices of group
companies.
According to the latest plan, the
group is targeting to accelerate
earnings growth.
“The group’s overall debt may be
brought down slightly by 5-10%
from $23 billion during FY2024.
Instead, Adani Group plans to grow
Strong surge
Analysts said the markets are not expecting any surprises from
Thursday’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
59,800
59,600
59,106.44
Previous close
59,400
59,200
59,094.71 Open
59,000
9:30am
Stocks up almost
1% on robust
credit, tax data
Ujjval Jauhari
New Delhi
NEW DELHI
B
uoyed by encouraging
data on credit, tax and
deficit data, stocks rose
for a fourth straight day on
Wednesday, unaffected by the
weakness in global markets.
The Sensex ended almost 1% up
ahead of the Reserve Bank of
India’s (RBI) policy decision on
Thursday, while the Nifty rose
0.91%.
Analysts said the markets are
not expecting any surprises
from Thursday’s Monetary Pol-
icy Committee (MPC) meeting.
Declining fiscal and current
account deficits, as well as
deposit and loan growth, are
seen as positive indications for
growth.
“The domestic market is dis-
playing resilience, unaffected
by the weaker global peers,
thanks to strong banks and
NBFCs’ quarterly numbers and
the windfall tax cut,” said Vinod
Nair, head of research at Geojit
Financial Services. According
to Nair, investors expect RBI to
make a 25-basis point (bps) rate
hike before taking a pause, a
move seen as positive for the
markets.
Data on deposit growth and
loan disbursements indicate
robust credit demand, rein-
forcing the view that economic
growth will cross 6% in FY24,
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livemint.com
NIFTY 17,557.05
GROwTh GAmbiT
Adani’s new strategy is noteworthy, coming on the heels of short-seller
Hindenburg Research terming the group as over-leveraged
Total market Cap
$ 8.8 trillion
Total Debt
$ 2.27 trillion
4x
Current
leverage
level
(net debt/run
rate EBITDA)
NEW STRATEGY
AdAni plans to grow
its EBITDA by 20-22%
y-o-y to cut leverage
its EBITDA (earnings before inter-
est, depreciation, tax and amortiza-
tion) by 20-22% year-on-year to fur-
ther reduce the leverage ratio,” said
one of the two people, adding that
the group plans to bring in higher
efficiency across its eight key busi-
nesses.
The group’s net debt-to-EBITDA
ratio in 2013 was 7.6 times, declin-
ing to 3.2 in March 2022 but later
increasing to around 4.2 again dur-
59,689.31
Close
3:30pm
Source: Bloomberg
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
analysts said.
Manufacturing activity ris-
ing to a three-month high of
56.4 is also encouraging and
indicates strong demand, said
Siddhartha Khemka, head of
retail research at Motilal Oswal
Financial Services Ltd. Addi-
tionally, net direct tax collec-
tions have exceeded Union
budget estimates by 17%, con-
firming robust growth, he
added. Khemka expects more
market upmove as, after a long
period, midcaps have shown
momentum, and hence action
can be seen in the broader mar-
kets.
Foreign portfolio investors
(FPIs) provisionally bought
₹806.82 crore worth of stocks
on Wednesday. Some short-
covering by FPIs ahead of the
monetary policy committee
(MPC) decision is also likely to
have helped, analysts said, with
profit-booking seen in the auto
and banking sectors.
Domestic institutional
investors (DIIs) provisionally
sold ₹947.21 crore on Wednes-
day. FMCG, IT and financial
services stocks saw a flurry of
buying, and all sectoral indices
except auto and energy ended
in the green.
Shares of Adani Group com-
panies showed a mixed trend.
Among Nifty stocks, Adani
Enterprises saw a decline of
TURN TO PAGE 6
159.00 DOLLAR ₹82.00
Target debt
3.1 x
Target leverage
reduction ( by
FY2025 end)
₹ 20,000
Current total EBITDA crore
₹ 61,500
crore
AEL stock
trend
55%
Target EBITDA (by
FY2025 end)
₹ 91,000
crore
down YTD
at ₹1,698
Source: Stock exchanges, Mint research
The group aims to PORTs business will
bring in higher primarily drive the
efficiency in business earnings target
ing FY23, the people cited above
said. The group debt stands at ₹2.27
trillion as on 31 March 2023.
Thirty-nine percent of debts are
through bonds, 29% from interna-
tional banks and 32% from domestic
banks and NBFCs, according to a
presentation made by the group to
its investors.
The group will bring in higher
TURN TO PAGE 6
SC quashes Centre’s ban on
news broadcaster MediaOne
Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI
C T
riticism of government
action cannot be called
“anti-establishment”,
and a homogenized view on
issues ranging from socio-eco-
nomic polity to political ideolo-
gies poses “grave dangers to
democracy”, the Supreme
Court emphasized on Wednes-
day, as it quashed the Union
government’s telecast ban on
Malayalam news channel
MediaOne, and held that
national security claims
couldn’t be “made out of thin
air” to deny citizens remedies
provided under the law.
In a judgment that under-
lined the importance of free
speech and media freedom
when pitted against the State’s
assertions of national security
and confidentiality of materials
to justify restrictions, the top
court ruled in favour of princi-
ples of natural and open justice
and an independent press,
Apple stores are almost here; Mumbai to host India’s first
Gulveen Aulakh
gulveen.aulakh@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
A
pple Inc. will open its
first flagship retail store
in India in Mumbai,
marking a significant milestone
for the US giant as part of its
efforts to ramp up both sales
and manufacturing activities in
the country.
The highly anticipated
Apple store will come up at the
Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio
World Drive Mall in Mumbai’s
upscale Bandra Kurla Complex
commercial hub. The company
already sells directly to custom-
ers through its online platform
and third-party resellers.
The launch of the Apple
store is part of its efforts to
VOL. 17 NO. 81 Rs. 15.00 18 PAGES
Amid farm suicides, a gold Oil rally continues as focus
rush in blogs uP10 shifts to inventories uP4
₹0.33 EURO ₹89.81 ₹0.47 OIL $84.78 $0.16 GOLD ₹60,546 ₹1,142
Coastal shipping to
get infrastructure
Unseasonal
rains may
DON’T MISS
boost hydro
status: Sonowal power supply
Rituraj Baruah
Subhash Narayan & rituraj.baruah@livemint.com
Rituraj Baruah NEW DELHI
Private banks post strong
U
nseasonal rains in Q4 loans, deposits growth
NEW DELHI
March have lifted reser- Private sector banks posted strong growth
T
he union ministry for voir levels, easing tem- in credit and deposits in Q4 with a few
ports, shipping and peratures and boosting hydro- beating the industry average, according to
business updates by individual lenders.
waterways has proposed power supply, offering some
giving infrastructure status to respite from the impending Indusind Bank posted the highest growth in
coastal shipping, a government
priority. The status entitles a
sector to several benefits and
summer heat, even as the wet
weather destroyed winter
crops in their wake.
loans at 21.3% from a year ago. >P7
concessions, including cheaper Hydropower usually comes Reliance Retail launches Tira
beauty online store
bank loans. In an interview, the into play in June as rains begin;
Union minister of ports, ship- Sarbananda Sonowal, Union
ping and waterways, Sarba- minister of ports, shipping and
however, as of 31 March, live
storage at 146 reservoirs moni-
Reliance Retail Ltd, on Wednesday
announced the launch of Tira, an omni-
nanda Sonowal, said the minis- waterways tored by the Central Water channel beauty retail platform further fuelling
MINT
try is holding stakeholder con- Commission (CWC) was competition in India’s beauty and personal
sultations for developing Our aim is to boost the per- 76.058 billion cubic meters care market.The firm could scale up the Tira
coastal shipping in a public-pri- formance and productivity of (BCM), which is 94% of the stor- store format across 100 cities in India. >P7
vate partnership mode. ports, shipping and waterways age a year ago, and 118% of the
He also said that stakeholder and to strengthen our position average of last 10 years. Of these
consultation is underway for of eminence in the global mari- 146 reservoirs, 18 are hydro- Firms have to be more open
proposed viability-gap funding time sector. Targets set out in power projects with a total live about accounting policies
(VGF) for coastal shipping— Maritime India Vision-2030 storage capacity of 34.960 Companies will have to be more transparent,
when ships move between provide a clear roadmap for BCM. starting from the reporting period on 1 April
ports within a country. bringing all-round improve- The rise in reservoir levels by disclosing the accounting policies used in
On the devel- ment in port will support more production preparing financial statements that can
opment of Cha- m INTERVIEW modernization and ease power demand as the influence the decisions of investors,
bahar Port, the and automa- temperature rises in the days shareholders and lenders. >P6
minister said tion, coastal ahead, analysts said. Hydro-
Iran and India are moving shipping, shipbuilding, ship power constitutes around 11.4%
toward finalization of the repair, transition to renewable of India’s total installed power J&J to pay $8.9 billion to settle
amended provisions of the energy, increasing share of capacity. As of 28 February, talc-cancer lawsuits
long-term contract. Edited Indian seafarers across the installed hydropower capacity
Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $8.9 billion
excerpts: globe, improving vessel turn- in the country stood at to resolve all cancer lawsuits tied to its talc-
around time, developing tran- 46.85GW. based powders and will make a fresh attempt
There has been a major shipment hubs, cruise shipping The Pong Dam on the Beas to contain the liability within a bankruptcy
push on shipping and and augmenting capacities at River in Himachal Pradesh, filing by one of its units. It has already
waterways. What has been withdrawn its talc-based baby powder. >P9
the progress? TURN TO PAGE 6 TURN TO PAGE 6
Govt may offer up to ₹50/kg
support for green hydrogen
Rituraj Baruah
same tangent. A homogenized scheme will kick off in FY26.
view on issues that range from rituraj.baruah@livemint.com The second person said that
socio-economic polity to politi- NEW DELHI around 400,000 tonnes of
cal ideologies would pose grave capacity would be tendered
dangers to democracy,” said he Union government each in the first and third quar-
the bench, headed by Chief plans to provide incen- ters of FY24 and another
Justice of India Dhananjaya Y. tives worth ₹13,050 crore 400,000 in the first quarter of
Chandrachud. out of the ₹19,744 crore support the next fiscal (FY25). In a bid to
Noting that the Centre under the National Green promote different pathways to
denied security clearance to
Media One in December 2021,
citing the alleged anti-estab-
Hydrogen Mission, two people
aware of the development said.
It plans to provide incentives
produce green hydrogen, sepa-
rate technology-specific bids
may also be called.
lishment stand of the channel totalling ₹17,490 crore to pro- For electrolyzer manufac-
The top court said criticism of as a prime ground, the bench duce green hydrogen and elec- India plans to become green turing, the Centre plans to allo-
the govt can’t be called “anti- said that critical views of the trolyzers under the mission hydrogen production hub. cate ₹4,440 crore for a period
establishment” channel on government poli- announced in February. Of of five years. In the first year,
MINT
cies cannot be termed ‘anti-es- this, ₹4,440 crore would be petitive bidding process. In the the incentive is likely to be
which, it said, is vital for the tablishment’. allocated for the manufactur- first year, the incentive would ₹4,440 per kilowatt (kW),
robust functioning of a demo- “The use of such terminol- ing of electrolyzers. be the highest and would grad- which would be reduced every
cratic republic. ogy in itself represents an For green hydrogen, the ually be lowered in the follow- year. Applicants should have
“Its role in a democratic soci- expectation that the press must government plans to provide ing two years,” one of the two experience producing at least
ety is crucial, for it shines a light support the establishment. The an incentive of up to ₹50 per kg people cited above said on con- 100MW of electrolyzers over
on the functioning of the State. action of the ministry by deny- in the first year, which will be dition of anonymity.Applicants the previous two years or
The press has a duty to speak ing security clearance to a brought down and capped at need to have experience devel- should demonstrate technol-
truth to power and present citi- media channel on the basis of ₹30 per kg in the third year. oping at least 500 MW of ogy partnerships with an entity
zens with hard facts enabling the views which the channel is “According to a draft pro- renewable energy capacity which has produced at least
them to make choices that pro- constitutionally entitled to posal, the Centre plans to give over the past four years, or a 100 MW of electrolyzers dur-
pel democracy in the right hold produces a chilling effect direct incentives in terms of minimum of 500,000 tonnes ing the same period. Bids for
direction. The restriction on on free speech, and in particu- rupees per kilogram, and the of ammonia or methanol, or 1500 MW per annum each may
the freedom of the press com- beneficiaries under the scheme 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen
pels citizens to think along the TURN TO PAGE 6 will be selected through a com- over the last four years. The TURN TO PAGE 6
attract India’s burgeoning 2.7 million in 2020. Apple’s models, such as the iPhone 14,
affluent population and cap- unique brand experience MacBooks, iPads, AirPods,
ture a sizeable chunk of the through its stores is expected to Apple Watches and Apple TVs.
market for premium smart- appeal to the premium con- Apple’s trade-in programme
phones, computers and elec- sumer segment in India. will also be available to Indian
tronic gadgets. “While Apple has taken time consumers at the store, using
“Inspired by the iconic Kaali for its retail store foray in India, which consumers can
Peeli (black and yellow) taxi art it makes sense now more than exchange an iPhone, an iPad,
unique to Mumbai, the Apple ever. The premium Indian con- an Apple Watch or Mac at the
BKC creative includes colour- sumer is maturing and spend- Apple Store for credit on their
ful interpretations of the decals ing more, especially at the pre- next purchase.
combined with many Apple mium end, which makes India Analysts said that Apple’s
products and services that will the next big growth market in decision to proceed with its
be available for our customers the next decade for Apple,” said owned stores in India was tan-
to discover,” the company said The highly anticipated Apple store will come up at the Mukesh Navkendar Singh, associate tamount to India becoming a
on Tuesday, without disclosing Ambani-owned Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai’s BKC vice president of devices strategic market for the iPhone
when the store will open. research at IDC India, South maker, where it has seen sales
Apple’s website also features with the development said. sales across categories in recent Asia, Australia and New Zea- of its pricey smartphones surge
Apple BKC as one of its store Apple did not respond to years, particularly iPhones, land. over the past couple of years.
options for consumers to pur- queries sent on Wednesday. according to IDC data. The tech Like all Apple stores globally, Apple has identified India as
chase products directly. A sec- The Cupertino, California- giant sold approximately 6.7 the Mumbai store will offer a a significant market as it
ond store is likely to come up in based multinational has wit- million units in 2022, com- range of products and services,
New Delhi, people familiar nessed a considerable surge in pared to 4.8 million in 2021 and including the latest iPhone TURN TO PAGE 6
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 02 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi
Global trade may
grow 1.7% in 2023
despite war: WTO
Ravi Dutta Mishra
ravi.dutt@livemint.com
T
he world trade organiza-
tion (WTO) on Wednes-
day revised its global
trade growth outlook for 2023
upwards to 1.7% from last Octo-
ber’s estimate of 1% even as the
war in Ukraine, stubbornly
high inflation, tighter mone-
tary policy and financial uncer-
tainty continue to be a worry.
The projected growth rate
for the current year is much
below the average rate for the
12 years since the trade collapse
that followed the global finan-
cial crisis.
“The outlook for the global
economy has slightly improved
since the WTO’s most recent
trade forecast was issued in
October of last year but the
pace of trade expansion in 2023
is still expected to be subpar,
weighed down by the ongoing
war in Ukraine, stubbornly
high inflation, tighter mone-
tary policy and financial uncer-
tainty,” WTO said in a state-
ment.
Trade growth should
rebound to 3.2% in 2024 as
GDP growth picks up to 2.6%,
but this estimate is more uncer-
tain than usual due to the pres-
ence of substantial downside
risks, including rising geopoli-
tical tensions and global food
insecurity, the trade body said.
Cautioning governments
and regulators about financial
risks in the coming months,
WTO said recent bank failures
in the US and Europe highlight
‘US-China conflict could hit global GDP’ Services sector growth slows in
Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
March after 12-year high in Feb
G
eopolitical fragmenta-
tion, driven by tensions
between the US and
China, risks damaging the
global economy, with foreign
direct investment and other
capital increasingly being
channelled toward aligned
blocs of countries, the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund (IMF)
warns.
Long-term investments on
things like factories or financial
markets have begun to show
the effects of the growing mis-
trust between Washington and
Beijing.
“A fragmented world is likely
to be a poorer one,” the IMF
said in an excerpt released on
Wednesday of its upcoming
World Economic Outlook.
In one scenario it modelled,
a world splintered into US and
China-centred camps, with
some countries including India
and Indonesia non-aligned,
could see global output fall by
1% in five years and 2% long
term.
The investment risk outlook
is among the IMF’s loudest
warnings since the pandemic
regarding global economic
damage, particularly to poorer
countries, from the US-China
m MINT SHORTS
Bill to decriminalize offences
in coastal aquaculture biz
New Delhi: Union minister Parshottam K. Rupala on
Wednesday introduced an amendment bill in the Lok
Sabha to decriminalize offen-
ces committed in carrying out
coastal aquaculture activities
and ensure ease of doing
business. The Coastal Aqua-
culture Authority (Amend-
ment) Bill, 2023, was intro-
duced in the Lower House
amid a din. PTI
Koduri explores data centre
deals for AI startup in India
Bengaluru: Intel Corp’s former chief architect Raja
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First published in February 2007 to serve as an unbiased and clear-minded chronicler of the Indian Dream.
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WTO has cautioned regulators
about financial risks in the
coming months. AP
possible further vulnerabilities
stemming from a changed
interest rate environment.
“Reversing course on low
interest rates was never going
to be easy, and the road ahead is
likely to be bumpy. Upside sur-
prises in inflation could raise
the prospect of bigger rate
hikes but these would come at
the risk of broader financial
contagion that would reduce
output and trade,” WTO said.
North America is expected to
record the strongest merchan-
dise export growth of any WTO
region in 2023 (3.3%), followed
by the CIS (2.8%), Asia (2.5%)
and Europe (1.8%).
Weaker export growth is
expected in West Asia (0.9%)
and South America (0.3%)
while Africa’s goods exports are
expected to decline (-1.4%).
“Europe’s expected GDP
growth has been revised up by
0.7 percentage points while
Asia’s has been revised down by
0.4 points,” WTO added.
“A fragmented world is likely to be a poorer one,” the IMF said in
an excerpt of its upcoming World Economic Outlook. BLOOMBERG
geopolitical rift.
Relations between the
world’s two biggest economies emerged in recent years,
have deteriorated in recent according to the IMF analysis
years as they increasingly see that showed foreign direct
each other as the
top strategic and Relations
economic threat. between the
While the coun- world’s two
tries’ leaders, Joe biggest
Biden and Xi Jin-
economies have by almost 20%
ping, sought a
smoother path deteriorated in
since meeting recent years
face-to-face last
November, fresh
disputes have arisen over issues ing at strategies for moving
including the security of Tai- production processes to
wan, spying allegations, tech- trusted countries with aligned
nology security and Russia’s political preferences to make
ECONOMY & POLICY
Disclose accounting policies
in financial statements: Govt
New disclosure requirement is part of Indian Accounting Standards Amendment Rules, 2023
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
gireesh.p@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
C
ompanies will have to be
more transparent, starting
from the reporting period
on 1 April by disclosing the
accounting policies used
in preparing financial statements that
can influence the decisions of inves-
tors, shareholders and lenders.
As part of their financial statements,
companies have to disclose the
accounting policies adopted in making
the statements.
The new disclosure requirement is
part of Indian Accounting Standards
Amendment Rules, 2023 brought out Managements will have to revisit their approach of disclosing ‘boiler-plate
by the ministry of corporate affairs, accounting policies’ in the annual reports and make disclosures more relevant.MINT
aligning these standards with changes
in global best practices.
The new rules mandate that busi-
nesses have to disclose the “material revisit their approach of disclosing further amending the Companies Act
accounting policy information” in their ‘boiler-plate accounting policies’ in the to make the regulatory regime for stat-
financial statements, replacing the ear- annual reports and make disclosures utory auditors more robust.
lier requirement of hav-
ing to disclose “signifi- TOwARDS TRANSPARENCY
cant accounting poli-
cies”. COMPANIES will
‘Material policies’ indi- have to be more
transparent, starting
cate the ability to influ- from the reporting
ence decisions of finan- period on 1 April
cial statement users such
as shareholders, inves-
tors and lenders. This, along with the more relevant and appropriate.
new guidelines on deciding what is a
material accounting policy information improve the quality of financial report- International Accounting Standards,”
will go a long way in giving a clearer ing. The National Financial Reporting said Bhavin Kapadia, partner, N.A.
picture of the affairs of the company, Authority (NFRA) is taking up audit Shah Associates, a tax advisory firm.
invasion of Ukraine.
The shift had already
investment from
the second quar-
ter of 2020 to the
fourth quarter of
last year declined
from pre-pan-
demic levels.
“Firms and pol-
icymakers are
increasingly look-
Koduri is in talks with Hiranandani-backed data centre
operator Yotta for a deal for his generative artificial intel-
ligence startup, which he said will have a big presence in
India. His yet-to-be-named firm would either partner or
acquire Yotta, which has data centres in Mumbai and
Noida, said Koduri, whose aim is to challenge Nvidia
Corp’s grip on the digital movie and video game markets.
REUTERS
I&B ministry, Amazon to
promote creative economy
New Delhi: Amazon India and the information and
broadcasting (I&B) ministry said they signed a pact to
boost India’s creative economy. As part of the letter of
engagement Amazon and the
ministry will help build path-
ways to promote creative tal-
ent in India, create capacity
across eminent film and TV
institutes, and globally show-
case Made in India creative
content. PTI
experts said.
In addition, managements have to ties and the government is working on
BUSINESSES will THE move comes
have to disclose
“material accounting
amid efforts to
improve the
policy information” quality of financial
under new rule reporting
The move comes amid efforts to ‘immaterial’. This is to align with the
supply chains less vulnerable to
geopolitical tensions,” the IMF
said.
New strategic policies, such
as the sourcing and production
requirements in the Inflation
Reduction Act and the CHIPS
and Science Act in the US, “sug-
gest that a shift in cross-border
capital flows is about to take
place,” the IMF said. The
report also pointed to a surge
during company earnings calls
of references to reshoring and
“friend-shoring,” which refers
to moving suppliers into
aligned countries.
In January, the IMF esti-
mated that longer-term trade
fragmentation—including
restrictions on migration, capi-
tal flows and in international
cooperation—should lop
nearly 7% off global gross
domestic product (GDP). A sep-
arate IMF analysis released on
Wednesday of financial system
fragmentation, in its upcoming
Global Financial Stability
Report, warned that rising ten-
sions could trigger cross-bor-
der outflows that would
threaten financial stability.
A split such as that between
the US and China since 2016
could cut bilateral cross-border
investment portfolios and bank
allocations by about 15%, the
IMF said.
Govt says no plan to use
Aadhaar data for census
New Delhi: The government has no plan to use
Aadhaar data for census, Union minister Rajeev
Chandrasekhar told Lok Sabha. “The Office of the
Registrar General and Census Commissioner of
India has informed that there is no plan to use Aad-
haar data for census,” he said in a written reply.PTI
quality reviews of public interest enti-
“Auditors will have to
evaluate and have a dia-
logue with the manage-
ment about the subjec-
tive criteria for consider-
ing the accounting
policies for preparation
of Ind AS financial state-
ment as ‘material
accounting policy information’ and
Ravi Dutta Mishra &
Saurav Anand
ravi.dutt@livemint.com
T
he service sector contin-
ued to grow at a healthy
pace but softened slightly
in March compared with the
previous month, a private sur-
vey showed on Wednesday.
The S&P Global India Servi-
ces Purchasing Managers‘
Index stayed above the
50-mark for the 20th consecu-
tive month even as it slipped to
57.8 last month from a 12-year
high of 59.4 in February. The
50-mark separates growth
from contraction.
India’s services sector has
witnessed a strong rebound
driven by pent-up demand for
contact intensive activities
such as tourism, retail trade,
hotel, entertainment and rec-
reation which took the biggest
hit from the pandemic.
However, despite rising for
the tenth month in a row, servi-
ces employment grew only
fractionally in March. Close to
98% of survey participants left
payroll numbers unchanged
amid sufficient staff levels for
current requirements, S&P said
LIVEMINT.COM
India spent $5.1 bn to import
The concept of ‘material accounting 8.1 mt urea in 2022-23 MINT
policy’ will improve the overall reada-
bility of the financial statement, said
Shah. This amendment is introduced in Nano-urea
the accounting standard on presenta-
tion of financial statements (Ind AS1).
The amendments allow companies
will help
to make information contained in
financial statements more relevant and
less cluttered, according to Sai Ven-
India save
kateshwaran, partner, KPMG in India.
There were also concerns about dis- ₹15-20k cr,
closures being done in a manner that
obscures relevant information, Ven-
kateshwaran said.
claims govt
“Accounting policies are amongst
the most detailed sections, and often Puja Das
contain boilerplate disclosures, which puja.das@livemint.com
are essentially reproduction of gui-
W
dance from the standard itself. The ith the production
amendments now require companies of 170 million bot-
to instead provide more contextualized tles of nano urea,
commentary on how accounting poli- around ₹15,000-20,000
cies have been applied specifically in crore could be saved on urea
the company’s context to one or more imports, Union fertilizer sec-
transactions or related transactions,” retary Arun Singhal said.
said Venkateshwaran. The focus is also The Centre is trying to cut
on preventing relevant information dependency on imported
from being obscured. urea by replacing it with the
The revised Ind AS1 requires compa- locally produced nano urea
nies to review their accounting policies fertilizers by 2025. As part of
and ensure their relevance to their the plan, about 8.5 million
operations. This will lead to enhanced tonnes (mt) of urea would be
disclosure practices and improved replaced with 170 million bot-
transparency, which will benefit stake- tles of nano urea.
holders such as investors, creditors and “Achieving 100% replace-
regulators, said Sandip Khetan, global ment of urea with nano-urea
head of accounting and reporting con- by 2025 may not be possible
sulting at Uniqus Consultech, a global as farmers have their own
consulting firm. pace. However, we are certain
that 25% replacement will be
done by the set time. This will
save around ₹15,000-20,000
crore on imports annually,
but we also need to take gas
prices into consideration,”
Singhal said in an interview.
If 25% replacement
achieved, the production of
indigenous local urea con-
Brakes on Future business expecta- taining nanoparticles of urea
tions slipped to their lowest in or nano urea would be 5 mil-
Services PMI growth softened
in March. eight months. lion tonnes by 2025.
60
Mint had reported that mac- Gas prices have shot up in
55.5 roeconomic headwinds could due to the Russia-Ukraine war
50 59.4 play a spoilsport for informa- and 80% of the gas is used as
tion technology (IT) services feedstock for fertilizer.
40 firms this quarter, leading to Last November, fertilizer
PMI services
sharply lower revenue growth minister Mansukh Mandaviya
30
for most companies. said that five plants would be
According to industry stake- commissioned to produce 6.5
20
holders, a slowdown in the mt urea each year.
10 banking and financial services In 2021-22 (April-March),
sector in the US, and greater urea production in India was
0 caution in discretionary tech a little over 26 million tonnes,
Jan 2020 Feb 2023
Source: S&P Global
spending globally, may lead to and the annual consumption
a drop of around 700 basis of the fertilizer is 3.5 million
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
points in the revenue growth tonnes.
in the survey report. rate this financial year. India, the top importer of
“India’s service sector built “Weakness was seen with the crop nutrient, currently
on to the momentum gained in regards to jobs...as a general meets 30% of its demand for
February with further lack of pressure on operating urea through imports from
increases in new business capacities and diminished con- countries such as Oman,
intakes and output...However, fidence towards growth pros- Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
manufacturing has retaken the pects prevented hiring activ- UAE.
mantle as the main driver of ity,” De Lima said. India spent $5.1 billion to
growth,” said Pollyanna De Lima added that a sizable import 8.1 million tonnes urea
Lima, economics associate proportion of services firms in 2022-23 (April-January)
director at S&P Global Market hiked their selling prices to against 10.2 million tonnes at
Intelligence. hedge against rising costs, $6.5 billion in FY22.
A sub-index tracking new emboldened by favourable The government has ear-
business inflows in the services demand conditions. The rate of marked ₹1.75 trillion for fertil-
industry declined to 58.1 from charge inflation was moderate izer subsidy in the FY24 bud-
59.5 in February and firms hired but quickened since February, get compared with ₹2.25 tril-
at the slowest pace in 10 months, a trend that was matched by lion in the revised estimate of
citing adequate capacity. manufacturing, 2022-23.
Grid Trust launches battery
energy storage system
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
New Delhi: India Grid Trust Mint welcomes comments,
on Wednesday said it has suggestions or complaints
commissioned its first battery about errors.
energy storage system (BESS)
Readers can alert the
project coupled with its solar
newsroom to any errors in the
panels at the Dhule substa- paper by emailing us, with your
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 LIVEMINT.COM
ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 03

This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
 04 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 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

59,689.31 0.99 17,557.05 0.91 14,709.40 0.74 38,094.30 0.54 17,373.95 0.87 24,178.87 0.11 27,531.62 0.95
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

59,106.44 59,094.71 17,398.05 17,422.30 14,601.95 14,620.70 37,891.35 37,905.30 17,224.75 17,245.65 24,152.47 24,124.73 27,271.27 27,278.44
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

59,747.12 59,094.40 17,570.55 17,402.70 14,718.90 14,611.25 38,125.95 37,828.20 17,387.80 17,232.65 24,194.92 24,099.56 27,553.79 27,263.62

m MINT SHORTS
UK service firms report
Hindalco mixes capex with caution
second month of growth Vineetha Sampath
In growth mode Comfortable change in classification could also be a Ebitda per tonne bottomed out in the
Britain’s economy looks set to have grown in early 2023 vineetha.s@livemint.com softer way of saying that the company December quarter at $376 .
after firms in the dominant service sector in March Over FY24-28, Hindalco Industries has $4.4 The company targets to keep the net debt will take up these projects when market “We believe Hindalco’s approach

H
reported the strongest new business expansion in a year indalco Industries Ltd
and the best export performance since at least 2014, an plans to build the right
industry survey showed. Adding to signs of recovery in capacities, which would
the economy, Wednesday’s final reading of the S&P aid in margin expansion. In
Global/CIPS UK Services Purchasing Managers’ Index its Investors Day 2023 held
(PMI) of 52.9 was below February’s 53.5 but above the 50 on Tuesday, the company announced
mark denoting growth for a second month in a row. It was capital expenditure (capex) plans. A key
also a touch higher than a preliminary March reading of focus area was expanding the alumin-
52.8 and contrasted with a more downbeat picture for the ium downstream capacities. Here, in the
smaller manufacturing sector last month.” March data India business, $735 million worth of
confirmed that the UK service sector returned to growth projects are under execution over
during the first quarter of 2023, supported by a sustained FY24-26. Downstream products are val-
rebound in new orders as business and consumer confi- ue-added items and hence, less
dence improved,” Tim Moore, economics director at S&P impacted by the volatility seen in alu-
Global Market Intelligence, said. REUTERS minium prices on the London Metal
Exchange (LME). This would boost Hin-
dalco’s margin performance.
“Hindalco’s India operations are
likely to benefit from increased focus on
downstream capital allocation. This will
not only allow the company to garner a
leading market share in aluminium
rolled products but also transform into
a leading solutions provider,” said ana-
lysts at JM Financial Institutional Secu-
rities in a report on 4 April.
Additionally, the investment towards
Chakla coal mines totalling $186 million
would lead to cost benefits in the India
billion worth of projects under execution to Ebitda ratio under 2 times. conditions are better,” said an analyst towards slower expansion policy to
and has identified future growth Consolidated net debt to Ebitda (in times) requesting anonymity. match its cash flows is a prudent one,”
opportunities of $4 billion. Given this, Hindalco’s cash flow gen- said analysts at PhillipCapital (India).
Cost (in $ billion) eration and market conditions need to The company plans to spend 90% of its
31 Dec 2020 3.09
Projects under execution
be closely monitored. Coming to its cash flow towards growth capex. Hin-
Identified future growth opportunities
wholly -owned overseas dalco doesn’t intend to
6
31 Mar 2021 2.59 unit, Novelis Inc., it has $3.3 ROAD deleverage further as the
billion worth of projects AHEAD balance 10% of its cash flow
5 under execution, and the would be used to generate
4 31 Dec 2021 1.62 company has identified ExpAnSIOn in the shareholder returns. In any
3 $1.5-1.8 billion projects as aluminium
downstream
case, the debt levels are
2 future growth opportuni- capacities would aid comfortable with net debt to
1
31 Mar 2022 1.36 ties. Hindalco’s India biz Ebitda ratio of 1.6 times as of
0
“Novelis has a long-term 31 December. Hindalco aims
Novelis Aluminium Aluminium Other rolling capacity target of 5.8 SUbSIDIARy to maintain the ratio below
upstream downstream business 31 Dec 2022 1.60 Novelis faces near-
(India) (India) (India) million tonnes with recy- term headwinds two times.
Note: Other business in India includes copper, cling contributing 65-70%. from inflation and Hindalco’s shares are
specialty alumina and energy business Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxes, As recycling aluminium volatile energy costs down by almost 32% from
The upper end of the capex range has been depreciation and amortization
considered wherever applicable Source: Company presentation
utilizes almost 85-95% less their 52-week highs. An
electricity, it will help Nov- improvement in Novelis’
SATISH KUMAR/MINT elis improve the spreads,” said analysts operating conditions is crucial as it
business. The mine is expected to be likely to be operational by FY28 versus at Motilal Oswal Financial Services in a formed 61% of consolidated reported
operational by FY26 versus the earlier FY27 earlier. 5 April report. This would help it move Ebitda in 9MFY23.
timeline of FY25. In the case of the Collectively, over FY24-28, the com- closer to its long-term Ebitda per tonne Further, rise in LME aluminium pri-
Meenakshi coal mine, regulatory pany has identified $2.3 billion worth of target of $525. ces would aid Hindalco’s overall India
approvals are pending, and the com- future growth opportunities in the India But Novelis faces near-term challen- operations.
pany has identified this project as a business. In 2022, Hindalco had ges from inflation and volatile energy In 2023 so far, prices have been flat-
future growth opportunity. Once Hin- labelled some of these growth opportu- costs. Destocking in the beverage can tish. Here, an improvement in global
dalco receives clearances, the mine is nities as ‘under appraisal’ projects. “This market is another worry. It believes that demand conditions could help.

Heatwaves, a colder-than-usual winter in north India and

economic recovery are fuelling power demand. Rising competition can put a spoke in Bajaj Finance’s wheel
India’s power output grows at Bavadharini KS & March. IPO refers to initial public auto loans, and SME, bode well Q4. As of March-end, its deposit
Steady show
fastest pace in 33 years Harsha Jethmalani offering. Strong disbursements
Bajaj Finance has seen consistent growth in assets under management
for long-term AUM growth. book increased 45% y-o-y, but on
India’s power generation grew at the fastest pace in over bavadharini.ks@livemint.com across segments is likely to have However, rising competition a sequential basis, it grew only 4%.
in the past two years.
three decades in the just-ended fiscal year, a Reuters driven the rise in core AUM. and the fight for deposits are In Q3 and Q2, sequential growth
Assets under management (in  crore) Year-on-year growth (in %) (right-hand scale)
analysis of government data showed, fuelling a sharp The customer franchise for seen as potential dampeners in was 9% and 16%, respectively.

B
surge in emissions as output from coal-fired and renewa- ajaj Finance Ltd’s pre-
ble plants hit records. Intense heatwaves, a colder-than- quarter update for the
usual winter in northern India and an economic recovery three months ended
led to a jump in electricity demand, forcing India to crank March (Q4FY23) has a slew of
up output from coal plants and solar farms as it scrambled positive takeaways. The non-
to avoid power cuts. Power generation rose 11.5% to banking financial company’s
1,591.11 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), or units, in the fiscal new loans booked rose 20% year-
year ended March 2023, an analysis of daily load data on-year (y-o-y) during the quar-
from regulator Grid-India showed, the sharpest increase ter. With this, Bajaj Finance has
since year ended March 1990. Output from plants run- clocked its highest ever new
ning on fossil fuels rose 11.2%, the quickest growth in over loans for a full year in FY23. Core
three decades, thanks to a 12.4% surge in electricity pro- assets under management
duction from coal, the analysis showed, offsetting a 28.7% (AUM), which excludes short-
decline in generation from cleaner gas-fired plants as a term IPO financing, surged 29%
global spike in LNG prices deterred usage. REUTERS y-o-y to Rs2.47 trillion as of 31
Bajaj Finance saw a record
increase in FY23. The company
acquired 3.1 million new cus-
tomers in Q4, taking the total
customer base as of March-end
to 69.1 million, representing 20%
growth from the previous year.
This indicates that efforts to
drive digital initiatives and
omnichannel strategy to sustain
its market share are starting to
pay off. “In a competitive land-
scape, it is difficult to acquire
new customers, and Bajaj
Finance has shown good growth.
3,00,000 35 the near term. “While the diver- The sequential slowdown in
2,40,000 28 sification into new segments can deposits indicates that the com-
help with AUM, sustaining the pany might have to look for alter-
1,80,000 21
same levels of growth could be native sources of borrowing, said
1,20,000 14 challenging. It is a new territory Dnyanada Vaidya, research ana-
for Bajaj Finance, and it could lyst at Axis Securities. “With
60,000 7
face competition, particularly increased competition, manage-
0 0 from banks,” said Shweta Dap- ment commentary on how they
FY21 Q1FY22 H1FY22 9MFY22 FY22 Q1FY23 H1FY23 9MFY23 FY23
tardar, VP, institutional equity aim to maintain margins is crucial
Source: Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Company data
research, Elara Securities India. for the stock’s near-term move-
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
With elevated competition ment,“ she added. While Bajaj
The key monitorable is whether research analyst at Prabhudas and rising cost of funds, the net Finance’s shares reacted posi-
the company can utilize the cus- Lilladher. To be sure, Bajaj interest margin trajectory is cru- tively to the business update on
tomer base to cross-sell its prod- Finance’s plans to diversify into cial. Also, the company’s deposit Wednesday, they have declined
ucts,” said Akshay Ashok, segments such as microfinance, growth moderated sequentially in by about 12% so far in 2023.

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

SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT

Four companies secure Sebi approval to go public How auto sales fared in FY23, in charts
By Manjul Paul
manjul.paul@livemint.com
Mayur Bhalerao raise up to ₹200 crore and an repayment among other pur- in January, plans to raise ₹ 750
Retail sales growth in most vehicle Passenger vehicle sales hit a
mayur.bhalerao@livemint.com offer for sale (OFS) of about poses. crore in a fresh issue. The com-
segments was in double digits in fiscal year record high of 3.6 million in FY23
MuMBaI 56.25 million shares by selling Cyient DLM, a wholly- pany plans to use ₹400 crore
2022-23, when compared to the same Passenger vehicle retail sales over the years
shareholders, according to its owned unit of listed IT services from the IPO proceeds to repay
period a year ago, showed the recently (in million)

H
ealthvista India, which draft red herring prospectus. firm Cyient, filed draft papers debt and ₹200 crore to meet 3.6
released report by the Federation of
runs home healthcare Venture capital and private in January to raise ₹740 crore working capital needs. The pub-
Automobile Dealers Associations. Only
business Portea Medi- equity investors via an IPO. The lic issue is a fresh issue of shares 2.9
sales of tractors grew by less than 10%. 2.8
cal, and Cyient DLM, a unit of such as Accel The companies offer will solely with no OFS component. The
Passenger vehicles sales hit a record high of 2.4
IT services firm Cyient, are Partners, Ventu- filed their comprise a fresh company may consider a private
3.6 million and the three-wheeler category
among the four companies that reast, Qualcomm draft papers issue and the placement of equity shares for
grew by nearly 84% from a year ago.
have received approval from Asia, MEMG CDC with the regulator entire funds, up to ₹150 crore.
However, compared to the last
the Securities and Exchange Healthvista India, Cyient DLM, Ventures, a joint excluding issue The IPO of fintech firm Zag-
between pre-pandemic year (2019-20), the average
Board of India (Sebi) to raise Rashi Peripherals and Zaggle fund of British expenses, will be gle Prepaid Ocean Services will
funds through initial public Prepaid Ocean Services got Sebi International July 2022 and utilized by the consist of a fresh issue of equity annual sales growth across segments was
offerings (IPOs). nod for IPO. ISTOCK Investment and January 2023 company. The shares worth ₹490 crore, as only about 0.6%, and the two-wheeler
Rashi Peripherals and fin- Manipal Educa- electronic manu- well as an OFS of over 10.5 mil- segment remained depressed. Mint
tech firm Zaggle Prepaid Ocean ary 2023, and received tion and Medical facturing services lion shares. Those offering examines the trend in vehicle sales in FY23: FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23

Services are the other two com-
panies, according to a Sebi
update on Wednesday. The
companies filed their draft
papers with the regulator
between July 2022 and Janu-
approval during 29-31 March.
Since January, 44 Indian
companies have launched IPOs
worth ₹22,245.3 crore.
Healthvista is planning a
fresh issue of equity shares to
Group, and Sabre Partners will and solutions provider may also shares in the OFS include pro-
offload shares in the IPO. consider a pre-IPO placement moters Raj P Narayanam and Tractor sales growth has slowed down Two-wheeler sales have not
Net proceeds from the fresh of up to ₹148 crore, which will Avinash Ramesh Godkhindi, since the pandemic period recovered to the levels seen
issue will be used for working reduce the IPO size. and its investors VentureEast Year-on-year change (%) in vehicle retail sales before the pandemic
capital needs of unit Medybiz Mumbai-based Rashi Periph- Investment Advisors and GKFF FY21 FY22 FY23 CAGR (%) between 2019-20 and 2022-23
vehicle sales
Pharma Pvt. Ltd and debt erals, which also filed for an IPO Ventures. Two-wheelers Two-wheelers -1.7
Three-wheelers Three-wheelers 2.2

Oil rally continues as focus shifts to inventories Passenger vehicles

Tractors
Passenger vehicles

Tractors
9.3
14.2
Commercial vehicles 2.1
Bloomberg aimed at investors betting labour market, with the fig- Commercial vehicles
Overall sales 0.6
feedback@livemint.com against gains, reinvigorated ures adding to speculation that -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 CAGR = Compound annual growth rate.
the debate among leading the Federal Reserve may pause

O
il rose as signs of a fur-
ther drawdown in US
inventories helped
prices to extend a rally driven
by an unexpected Opec+ sup-
ply cut.
West Texas Intermediate
rose toward $81 a barrel after
closing at the highest level in
almost 10 weeks.
The industry-funded Amer-
ican Petroleum Institute
reported nationwide crude
stockpiles fell 4.3 million bar-
rels, including a drop at the
key storage hub in Cushing,
Oklahoma, according to peo-
ple familiar with the data.
The breakdown also
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
banks about whether crude
can rally back to $100 a barrel.
Oil has also risen by more
than a quarter since its lows in
March, when a banking crisis
harmed appetite for risk assets
including oil.
Before the lift from the
Opec+ cut, the upswing was
underpinned by expectations
for a rebound in Chinese
Crude rallied by almost 7% in the first two days of the week after demand after Covid Zero was
OPEC and its allies announced a surprise supply cut. AP abandoned. In addition, a
weaker dollar has helped to
pointed to lower gasoline and the Petroleum Exporting boost the allure of commodi-
distillate holdings. Countries and its allies includ- ties priced in the US currency.
Crude rallied by almost 7% ing Russia blindsided the mar- Crude’s gain came despite
in the first two days of the ket with a surprise supply cut. US data on Tuesday that
week after the Organization of The cartel’s move, which was pointed to a slowdown in the
its run of rate hikes as inflation Two-wheeler sales still languish after pandemic effect, PVs gain traction
cools.
Vehicle sales as a share (%) of total sales over the years FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23
“It looks like oil has noted,
but is not daunted by, the ram- Two-wheelers Three-wheelers Passenger vehicles Commercial vehicles
ifications of a weaker jobs mar- 77.4 75.5
ket,” said Vishnu Varathan, the 73.6 72.2
Asia head of economics and
strategy at Mizuho Bank Ltd.
“First-order inflation risks are 15.6 16.1 16.3
overblown.” 12.7
Key market metrics pointed
to expectations for a tighter mar-
ket. Brent’s December-Decem-
ber spread—the difference 4.1 4.2
between the contract for the 3.3 3.5 2.9 3.9
1.7 2.3
final month of this year and in
2024—widened to $5.72 a barrel. The FADA data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 may not be strictly comparable with the data for previous
That’s up from about $3 a years as sales in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were not part of the national totals earlier.
However, the year-on-year growth rates are calculated only with comparable figures. Source: FADA reports, Mint analysis
barrel a week ago.
 LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 05

m MINT SHORTS
Morgan Stanley fund, BP Ventures
‘Many investors choose ‘Official stores will
help Apple’s brand,
invest $22 million in Magenta
Bengaluru: Electric mobility solutions provider Magenta
Mobility raised $22 million (around ₹ 180 crore) as part of its
Series A1 round of funding from Morgan Stanley’s India-fo-
to avoid hospital sector’ not market share’
cussed infrastructure fund, and British oil and gas major BP’s Anuj Suvarna Abhijit Ahaskar
venture capital arm. Of the total equity investment, Morgan Anuj.s@livemint.com abhijit.ahaskar@livemint.com
Stanley and BP Ventures infused $11 million each into BENGALURU NEw DELhi
Magenta, two people with knowledge of the matter said

S A
requesting anonymity. SHUBHOBROTA DEV ROY omerset Indus Capital Partners,
a healthcare-focused private
equity investor in startups such
Accion leads $30 mn round in as Krsnaa Diagnostics, Sandor
Medicaids, and Genworks, is
non-bank lender IKF Finance looking to raise $200 million (₹1,640
ISTOCK
crore) for its third fund.
Ahead of the rollout, the firm also plans
to make a couple of exits, said Ramesh
Kannan, partner at Somerset.
In an interview, Kannan spoke about
how the firm deploys capital and explores
new healthcare themes, and why many
investors avoid the hospital sector. Edited
excerpts:
What is the update with the third
fund and have you fully deployed the
second fund?
Mumbai: Global impact investor Accion, which backs We are raising $200 million for our
inclusive fintech startups, microfinance institutions third fund, and there is
and other financial services providers with equity and a lot of interest from
quasi-equity investments across Asia, Latin America existing and new LPs.
and US, made its latest bet in an Andhra Pradesh- To date, we have a
based non-bank lender. The investor, also a backer of 100% track record, good MOIC (multiples
Indian B2B supply chain enablement platform of invested capital), and a good IRR (inter-
Magma, led with a nearly $15.2 million (₹120 crore) nal rate of return) in fund one. The second
investment in used commercial vehicle-focused len- fund will be completely deployed in the
der, IKF Finance, as part of a nearly $30 million round. next few months. The second fund has
Accion will make the investment from its Digital invested in Genworks, Apex Hospitals,
Transformation Fund. BEENA PARMAR Global Pharma, and Sterling Hospitals.
pple, on Wednesday,
announced its first
Apple Store in India,
which will open at Bandra Kurla
Complex in Mumbai. While
having its own stores won’t
have an immediate impact on
the company’s market share in
the country, experts said the
stores may improve its brand
positioning, and help expand
business opportunities. They
will also allow Apple to offer an
end-to-end consumer experi-
ence, which has been a key part
of the company’s global strat-
egy for years.
“With India’s overall GDP
and growth story continuing,
investing in retail will expand
the business opportunity for
Apple and improve the availa-
bility of products. It will help
them in brand positioning,”
to an LP. Somerset has also exited Brown- should have a good talent pool. The said Rajesh Goenka, chief exec-
dove by selling it to its second fund portfo- potential to acquire smaller groups and utive of RP Tech, a national dis-
lio company Genworks. scale them in a sustainable fashion is tributor for electronics firms.
How do you evaluate hospital deals? another factor. Further, Tarun Pathak,
As you may know, many investors This, I feel, is one of the segments where research director at Counter-
avoid this segment. you can measure a direct impact, espe- point Research noted that
Many investors prefer not to invest in cially in smaller cities and towns. opening more self-
Having its own store will allow
Apple to offer an end-to-end
consumer experience. AFP
shipped around 6.5 million
iPhones in India in 2022, up
from 4.8 million in 2021.
“Offline retail continues to
be key in a large, diverse market
like India, where consumers
love to touch, feel and explore
the products,” said Prabhu
Ram, head of industry intelli-
gence group at CyberMedia
Research.
Ram added that Apple will
try to replicate its “famed Apple
retail experience” known for its
consumer experience, staff
expertise, and service stan-
dards, in India.
Navkendar

We are investing soon (documentation is
in progress) in two pharma companies.
Sequoia Capital leads $8.5 mn One more investment is in the offing.
What type of deals are you evaluat-
investment in LightMetrics ing?
Bengaluru: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based video telematics We are evaluating a large nutrition
startup LightMetrics has raised $8.5 million (₹69.8 crore) in a manufacturer with about ₹250 crore in
Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India. The startup revenue. We are also building a healthy
plans to deploy the funds in product development, hiring and deal flow for our next fund, where typical
domain expansion focused on auto insurance. K AMOGHAVARSHA cheque sizes will be higher, about $20
million.
What are the exits that you are look-
Spain’s Calidad Pascual joins Zero ing at?
We are looking at two secondary exits,
Cow Factory’s $4 mn seed round one full and one part, from fund two.
Bengaluru: Biotechnology startup Zero Cow Factory has These will come to fruition in the next
raised $4 million (₹32 crore) in a seed funding round co-led few months. From the maiden fund, we
by Green Frontier Capital, GVFL and pi Ventures. The round exited Krsnaa Diagnostics partially; it
also saw participation from Pascual Innoventures, the invest- holds some listed stock which it will off-
ment arm of Spanish dairy group Calidad Pascual. The funds load in due course.
will be used for research. K AMOGHAVARSHA The firm exited Prognosys by selling it
‘
hospitals mainly because they [hospi- What are the major challenges you owned stores “will Singh, associate
tals] are dealing with face when you talk to further strengthen vice president, IDC
human beings and they founders? Apple’s premium India, however, said
[investors] don’t want to Hospitals deal with The management part image and experience”. “With the current retail partnerships
take a chance. But this is humans, and investors of business in India, espe- the new store, Apple will be will continue to drive volumes
an important sector don’t want to take a cially hospitals, lacks good able to control the end-to-end for Apple, and its own store will
where more money governance. When we experience and purchase jour- cannibalize some part of large
should go into. When we chance. But this is an evaluate a company, the ney,” he said. To be sure, India format retail sales eventually.
are investing in a hospi- important sector where clinical side will be excel- has been among the fastest- He added that “stock and vari-
tal, we see whether it can more money should go lent, but when it comes to growing markets for Apple in ant availability” might be better
focus more on tier-2 cit- HR, finance, etc., they lack the past few quarters, even as in Apple Stores, just like its
Ramesh Kannan
ies, preferably with a spe- Partner, Somerset Indus
good governance. demand has slumped in many online store.
cialty hospital, and how A lot of these busi- of its traditional markets. Apple Currently, Apple sells its
tech-savvy they are. nesses are also family posted a 5% drop in revenue devices via partner retail stores
In terms of due diligence, the first owned, which is not a bad thing, to be from a year earlier in the such as Imagine and Future
importance we give is to whether this hos- honest. But they need to bring some pro- December quarter but posted World as well as multi-brand
pital can get into tier-2 and 3 markets at a fessional management to it. We have a double-digit growth in India, small and large format stores.
competitive and sustainable cost. Next saying that a good promoter and bad busi- setting a quarterly revenue But despite growth in India,
comes governance and ESG norms. From ness can be set right but it is very rare that record for itself. Apple still has about a 4% mar-
a clinical side, we like to see that it should a bad promoter can run a good business According to data from IDC, ket share in the country, which
be doctor-driven. In management, they for long. Apple is estimated to have means there’s room to grow.

MADHYA PRADESH URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED

(Department of Urban Development and Housing, Government of Madhya Pradesh)
Amarkantak Bhavan, Indra Complex, M.P. Nagar Zone 1, Bhopal-462011, Phone : +91-755-2763060,
61, 62, Fax : +91-755-2763868, Email : mpusipbpl@gmail.com (CIN No. U75110MP2015SGC034139)
No. MPUDC/UDHD/ADB/2707 Dated : 05.04.2023
MADHYA PRADESH URBAN SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (ADB ASSISTED) INVITATION FOR BIDS
Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Company Limited (MPUDC) invites online bids on www.mptenders.
gov.in/nicgep/app MPUDC-MDB tenders from eligible bidders for the following sub-projects :-
S. Package Description Bid Start Bid Closing
No. Date Date

Keep a watch on your favorite 1. MPUSIP 1F Improvement of Sewerage System in Sanchi Nagar
(Fourth Call) Parishad in Raisen District in Madhya Pradesh
06.04.2023 10.05.2023

2. MPUSIP 6F Improvement of Water Supply in Barigarh & Chandla 06.04.2023 10.05.2023

stocks with the (Third Call) Nagar Parishads in Chhatarpur District and Ajaygarh
& Devedranagar Nagar Parishads in Panna District in
Madhya Pradesh
2. Interested bidders may visit the website www.mptenders.gov.in/nicgep/app MPUDC-MDB tenders
for further information and details. Invitation for Bids (IFB) for above packages can be viewed on website

All-new Market Watchlist of MPUDC www.mpudc.co.in and on UDHD website www.mpurban.gov.in. 3. Any clarifications/further
information or addenda to the Bidding Document shall be uploaded only on the above website and shall not
be published separately in the newspapers.
M.P. Madhyam/109278/2023 DEPUTY PROJECT DIRECTOR (TECH.)

ICA- T7291(3)/2023

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 06 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Coastal shipping to get infra Refining margins jump Unseasonal

status: Sarbananda Sonowal rains may
FROM PAGE 1

the major ports. Focus is also on

eral European clients, includ-
ing Norwegian shipping enti-
ties.The ministry is also
developing and operationaliz- launching ‘Green Tug Transi-
ing inland waterways for tion Programme (GTTP)’, in
improved connectivity and ports starting with ‘Green
creating an environment for a Hybrid Tugs’ adopting Green
positive modal shift from road Hybrid propulsion systems
and rail to waterways. (using Battery+ Diesel Electric
What steps can we expect in OR Battery+ Diesel Mechani-
coastal shipping? cal), and subsequently adopt-
Coastal shipping shall be pro- ing non-fossil fuel solutions
moted as an energy-efficient, (Methanol, Ammonia, Hydro-
on product demand lift supply of
hydro power
FROM PAGE 1
All major state-run refiners at least doubled their gross refining margins with a capacity of 396MW as of
31 March was 34% of the total
capacity, against 29% last year
Rituraj Baruah and the 10-year average of 24%.
rituraj.baruah@livemint.com The 800MW Kol Dam in Him-
New DeLHi achal Pradesh had a storage
level of 79% of the live capacity.

low-cost mode of transporta-
tion through PPP with VGF
(Viability Gap Funding) sup-
port. A number of initiatives
have already been taken by the
ministry to promote coastal
shipping. Facilities like dedi-
cated coastal berths, priority
berthing, cabotage relaxation to
Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax vessels, conces-
sions in berth and handling
charges, and bunkering, among
others, are already being pro-
vided to motivate all stakehold-
ers to adopt coastal transporta-
tion for the transport of passen-
ger and goods in the country.
Ministry is proposing to include
‘coastal shipping’ as an eligible
sector in the existing VGF
scheme of the ministry of
finance. The inclusion of coastal
shipping as a sector in the ‘Har-
monized List of Infrastructure’
is also being proposed. These
steps will make the sector eligi-
ble for various concessions to
enhance the overall viability of
the sector and help in attracting
cargo and passengers to this
mode of transport.
What is the update on Cha-
bahar port? Is a long-term
agreement in place there?
The long-term agreement
(10-year term) with the Iranian
authorities was executed in the
presence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in Tehran, but
it could not be activated due to
subsequent modifications sug-
gested by the Iranian side in
certain provisions of the con-
tract. The government has
Focus is also on developing
and operationalizing inland
waterways, Sonowal said PTI
been making efforts to finalize
and activate the long-term con-
tract. Meanwhile, short-term
contracts have been under exe-
cution, enabling us to operate
the terminals. Recently, during
the visit of the Iranian delega-
tion to India (in January), the
activation of a long-term con-
tract was also discussed, and
both sides have made substan-
tial progress towards finaliza-
tion of the amended provisions
of the long-term contract. Once
finalized, the long-term con-
tract will be activated.
How are we moving
towards making the coun-
try a global hub for manu-
facturing green ships? Will
the initiative on tug ships
impact the plan to develop
large ships?
The financial support by
means of the Shipbuilding
Financial Assistance (SBFA)
scheme for shipbuilding given
to Indian shipyards by the gov-
ernment to make India a
sought-after destination for
technologically advanced
green ships is the primary rea-
son why Indian shipbuilding is
competitive with international
yards. The recent acquisition of
new projects by Indian ship-
yards serves as proof of this.
The orders have been received
by Cochin Shipyards from sev-
gen) to be built at Indian Ship-
yards. Tug-building projects
will aid and probably comple-
ment the production of large
vessels.
What is happening with the
plan to develop mega ports
in the country? Are we look-
ing at attracting global
investments in such pro-
jects?
A modern deep draft (20
metres) all-weather port has
been sanctioned at Vadhavan.
It will be located in Dahanu
Taluka in Maharashtra. The
port will be developed as a Land
Lord model and shall have a
capacity of 308 MTPA once
completed and fully functional.
The port will be developed by
an SPV having JNPA and
Maharashtra Maritime Board
as members (with equity share
of 74% and 26%, respectively).
In-principle approval for the
project was granted in Febru-
ary 2020. Basic infrastructure,
including breakwater, recla-
mation, rail and road connec-
tivity linkages, power, water
lines, and common utilities,
among others, will be devel-
oped by the SPV (Special Pur-
pose Vehicle). Terminal opera-
tions & Cargo handling infra-
structure shall be offered to
Private agencies under PPP
mode. The project is currently
in the stage of obtaining NOC
from DTEPA (Dahanu Taluka
Ecologically Fragile Area).
subhash.narayan@live-
mint.com
S
State-run oil refiners more than Although it is lower than last
doubled their refining margins in year’s 91%, it is way above the
the nine months to December, 10-year average of 58%.
benefiting from the lower costs of Similarly, the 80MW Pan-
imported crude oil from Russia, chet Hill project in Jharkhand
official data showed. had a storage of 93%, against
All major state-run refiners at least dou- 100% a year ago and the 10-year
bled their gross refining margins (GRM) in average of 68%.
the nine-month period, according to data In Maharashtra, the state
from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis with the highest number of
Cell (PPAC). Indian Oil Corp.’s GRM rose large dams, the 300MW Mul-
from $8.52 to $21.08 per barrel, Hindustan shi dam had a storage level of
Petroleum Corp. from $4.50 to $11.40, Bha- 42% against 28% a year ago.
rat Petroleum Corp. from $6.78 to $20.08, The Koyna dam, with a capacity
and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemi- of 1,920MW, had a storage level
cals Ltd from $5.80 to $11.70. of 57% of the capacity, com-
India managed to partially mitigate the Cheap crude oil imports from Russia aided the rise in margins MINT pared to 60% during the same
impact of soaring global energy prices by period last year and the 10-year
diversifying its sources of crude oil imports, fic increased jet fuel sales. Refiners have good. These have uplifted the overall refin- average of 50% of the capacity.
with Russia emerging as a key supplier, also seen improvement in crack spreads, ing margins. Cheaper Russian imports Vikram V., vice president and
offering oil at a discount to market prices. which refer to the price difference between have also led to higher margins,” said Pra- sector head of corporate rat-
As a result, Russia surpassed other nations a barrel of crude oil and the petroleum shant Vasisht, co-head of corporate ratings ings, ICRA, said: “Although
to become India’s second-largest oil sup- products refined from it. at ICRA.On Tuesday, however, due to the most of the hydropower pro-
plier for the previous fiscal year, with crude A recent ICRA report said that although ease in crude prices in March, the Centre jects in the north and north-
oil imports valued at $24.69 billion as of GRMs have increased in the past several cut the so-called windfall tax on the sale of eastern parts of the country are
February. months, they have started to moderate, locally produced crude to nil from ₹3,500 dependent on the riverine eco-
Rising demand for petroleum products even as the cracks for diesel and jet fuel per tonne during a fortnightly review. system, several hydro projects
also aided margins. Oil prod- However, analysts expect the in the west and south may have
uct consumption increased DEMAND BOOST duty to return as crude prices been supported by the recent
11% to 201.8 million tonnes have surged in the past two rains.”
during April-February from OIL product IT was led by an 8.9% IOC’S GRM rose to days after the Organization of The rains also eased power
182.18 million tonnes a year consumption
increased 11% to
growth in petrol
sales, a 7.5% rise in
$21.08 per barrel;
HPCL’s to $11.40;
the Petroleum Exporting demand. In the first two weeks
earlier, according to PPAC 201.8 million tonnes gasoil, and a 43% BPCL’s to $20.08; Countries and its allies, known of March, the peak power
data. This was led by an 8.9% during April-Feb growth in jet fuel use MRPL’s to $11.70 as Opec+, announced an addi- demand met was around
growth in petrol sales, a 7.5% tional output cut of 1.16 million 205GW, which has now fallen
rise in gasoil and a 43% growth barrels per day from May till below 190GW. According to
in jet fuel consumption. In February, con- continue to remain healthy. It noted that the end of 2023. the latest data from the Grid
sumption grew 5.7% to 18.5 million tonnes amid elevated refining margins, the Centre Experts said Brent might touch $100 Controller of India, the maxi-
from the previous year. imposed special additional excise duty on with the production cuts. “Upstream com- mum peak power demand met
Benchmark Singapore GRMs have been certain refinery products with effect from panies are expected to benefit owing to during the day was 187.73GW.
rising since December 2021 as the resump- 1 July 2022, reducing the profitability of higher profits and cash accruals, though a Peak power demand this
tion of economic activity across manufac- refiners to some extent. “Crack spreads large part of the same is likely to be shared year is expected to reach
turing, industrial and other sectors boosted have been healthy since May 2022. Both with the government in the form of special 229GW, against 211GW
fuel demand. In addition, growing air traf- diesel and ATF spreads have been quite additional excise duties,” said Vasisht. recorded last year.

‘Criticism of govt not anti-establishment’ Apple to soon Stocks up 1% amid

The scheme will kick off in
FY26. REUTERS
Centre may
offer₹50/kg
support for
green
hydrogen
FROM PAGE 1
be awarded in the second and
fourth quarters of FY24.
Queries sent to the Union
ministry of new and renewable
energy remained unanswered
till press time.
The Union cabinet in Janu-
ary approved the National
Green Hydrogen Mission with
an initial outlay of ₹19,744
crore, including ₹17,490 crore
for the Strategic Interventions
for Green Hydrogen Transition
(SIGHT) programme to sup-
port domestic manufacturing,
₹1,466 crore for pilot projects,
₹400 crore for R&D, and ₹388
crore towards other mission
components.The government
is hoping to turn India into a
global hub for the production,
use and export of green hydro-
gen and its derivatives. For this,
it expects to enable the produc-
tion of 5 million tonnes (mt) of
green hydrogen per annum by
2030, with the potential to
reach 10 million tonnes per
annum with the growth of
export markets. Green hydro-
gen is likely to replace hydro-
gen produced from fossil fuel
sources in ammonia produc-
tion and petroleum refining. It
would also be used in city gas
distribution systems, the pro-
duction of steel and the use of
green hydrogen-derived syn-
thetic fuels, including green
ammonia and green methanol,
among others.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
FROM PAGE 1
lar on press freedom. Criticism
of governmental policy can by
no stretch of imagination be
brought within the fold of any
of the grounds stipulated in
Article 19(2),” added the bench,
which also included Justice
Hima Kohli.
The television channel went
off the air in January 2022 after
the government refused to
renew its licence, citing secu-
rity concerns.
In February 2022, the Kerala
high court upheld the govern-
ment order after the Centre
submitted a sealed envelope
detailing its stand to the divi-
sion bench. But in March 2022,
while admitting the appeal by
Madhyamam Broadcasting
Ltd, the channel’s owner, the
top court temporarily lifted the
ban.In its order on Wednesday,
the apex court directed the
central government to grant
security clearance and other
necessary approvals to Media
One within four weeks and
pulled up the Centre for deny-
ing the security clearance with-
out there being any substantial
ground to justify the ban and
claiming absolute immunity
Adani group targets earnings boost to calm creditors and investors
FROM PAGE 1
efficiency in business and
bring down the debt, said the
group in the presentation.
“We expect 20% growth (in
EBITDA),” the group told
investors in the presentation.
Once the revenue increases,
the debt-earnings ratio will
come down.
Analysts said that increasing
the overall profitability of the
group is the only other option
apart from paring debt to bring
down the net debt to EBITDA
ratio in the wake of the Hin-
denburg report. “The group
will have to strengthen its bal-
ance sheet, which will be a
challenge given the rising cost
of money and its impact on
growth,” said Rajesh Palviya,
vice president (technical and
derivatives research) at Axis
The press has a duty to speak
truth to power, SC said MINT
against disclosure of the
reports given by the Intelli-
gence Bureau (IB) regarding
the channel.
“Protection from disclosure
must not be granted to docu-
ments merely because disclo-
sure would lead to political crit-
icism. The right to access infor-
mation cannot be limited due
to fear of criticism of the actions
of the government in a demo-
cratic society premised on
open government...The State is
using national security as a tool
to deny citizens remedies that
are provided under the law.
This is not compatible with the
rule of law,” the top court said.
Securities.
“Profitability can be raised
in areas like ports and cement
to increase the EBITDA with
debt remaining more or less
constant.”
The group’s current
EBIDTA stands at ₹61,200
crore, while current debt
stands at $23 billion.
Much of the growth will
come from ports, cement,
renewables, solar panel and
roads business during
FY24-25,” the first person said.
Around 81% of the group’s
income comes from utility and
infrastructure businesses, and
these are the areas where the
group is planning to enhance
its EBITDA.
According to the people
cited above the group has told
its creditors that during
FY2024, to bring down the
Snubbing the Centre’s argu-
ment on secrecy of IB reports,
the SC bench highlighted that
reports by investigative agen-
cies impact decisions on the
life, liberty, and profession of
individuals and entities, and to
give such reports absolute
immunity from disclosure is
antithetical to a transparent
and accountable system.
It also took a grim view of the
2022 Kerala high court order
that affirmed the ban based on
confidential reports shown
only to the judges. The SC
bench lamented that this form
of adjudication perpetuates a
culture of secrecy and opaque-
ness and places the judgment
beyond the reach of challenge.
“The non-disclosure of rea-
sons for the denial of security
clearance which is the sole
ground for denying the permis-
sion to renew the licence, and
the disclosure of relevant mate-
rial only to the court in a sealed
cover has rendered the appel-
lant’s procedural guarantees
under the Constitution otiose.
The procedure that was fol-
lowed by the high court has left
the appellants in a maze where
they are attempting strenu-
ously to fight in the dark,” it
The group’s current EBIDTA stands at ₹61,200 crore, while current
debt stands at $23 billion.
leverage, the group plans to
increase the annual EBITDA
growth rate of Adani Ports,
Adani Green, Adani Power,
Adani Total Gas and Adani
said.
The SC court further held
that a public interest immunity
claim is a less restrictive means
than the sealed cover proce-
dure since the documents are
completely removed from the
proceedings, and both the par-
ties and the adjudicator cannot
rely on such materials in a pub-
lic interest immunity claim.
It laid down a broad proce-
dure for the courts to deal with
cases where the State presses
for the confidentiality of docu-
ments. The bench said that a
court should apply the propor-
tionality test to adjudge public
interest immunity claim and
appoint an amicus curiae, who
would be given access to the
secret material to assist the
court in balancing the concerns
of confidentiality with the need
to preserve public confidence
in the objectivity of the justice
delivery process.
At the same time, the bench
said that the courts could take
the course of redacting confi-
dential portions of the docu-
ment and providing a summary
of the contents of the docu-
ment to fairly exclude materials
after a successful public inter-
est immunity claim.
REUTERS
Transmission by 20-22%.
This essentially means the
group’s EBITDA may grow
from ₹61,500 crore now to at
least ₹75,000 crore in FY24
open its first
store in India global headwinds
FROM PAGE 1 FROM PAGE 1 increasing the likelihood of a
pause in rate hikes by the Fed-
increases market share in the 0.93%, while Adani Ports and eral Reserve, analysts said. This
premium phones category and Special Economic Zone rose is also leading to softness in the
as the country emerges as a key 1.3%. Among the remaining dollar index and a decline in US
manufacturing alternative to eight Adani group stocks, two bond yields.
China, with the Indian govern- ended with gains, while six The rupee on Wednesday
ment doling out incentives for ended in the red. closed 33 paise stronger at ₹82
iPhone contract manufacturers The HDFC twins led to a dollar. Anindya Banerjee,
such as Foxconn, Pegatron and
Wistron.“The Apple-owned
Wednesday’s gains among
Nifty stocks, followed by ITC
vice-president of currency
derivatives and interest rate
retail stores are a key pillar in Ltd, which ended with gains of derivatives at Kotak Securities
Apple India’s playbook to win
in a strategic growth market.
more than 2%. Hindustan Uni-
lever Ltd, Grasim Industries
Ltd, attributed this to selling by
exporters and triggering of
The premium smartphone seg-
ment in India continues to be
Ltd and Sun Pharmaceuticals
Ltd too were major gainers,
speculators’ stop losses.
With the dollar index trading
immune to macro-economic ending the day more than 1.8% at the lowest levels since early
pressures and has been grow-
ing in double digits,” said
higher.
Deepak Jasani, head of retail
February, the rupee remains in
demand, said Banerjee. In the
Prabhu Ram, head of the indus-
try intelligence group at
research at HDFC Securities
Ltd, said, “Nifty rose well on
near term, RBI policy and the
US jobs report will be key to
researcher at CyberMedia Wednesday, and from its intra- currency movement, and Ban-
Research. day high, it was just short of erjee expects a range of 81.70
Apple has been selling in three points in filling the down and 82.30 on spot rupee trad-
India for years through its gap made on 10 March. Once it ing.
authorised resellers, but direct rises above 17,574, it could open Brent crude, which was trad-
offline retail continues to be up further (and) rise towards ing below the $70 a barrel mark
key in a large market like India, 17800. On falls, the last week, however, continued
where Apple would seek to rep- 17,428-17,451 band could pro- to trade close to $85 on
licate the famed Apple retail vide support”. Wednesday after Opec+ coun-
experience. This would steer Recent US data revealed a tries announced additional
greater market growth in the softening in the labour market production cuts of 1.66 million
years ahead, Ram added. and declining factory orders, barrels per day.
and ₹91,500 crore in FY25. FY23-25. FY23-25.
“The group may use some of This cash is likely to be used Adani Total Gas Ltd has
the cash flows to reduce debts to fund capex or reduce debt. installed a rooftop solar capac-
to around $21 billion by The company’s logistics ity of 870 kW in 36 sites and an
FY2024 end. This will bring arm Adani Logistics Ltd is additional 330 kW capacity
down the group’s leverage planning to double its train has been completed this
ratio (net debt/ capacity, increase March. ATGL is increasing EV
EBITDA) to Much of the the multi-level charging stations from 32 to
around three group’s growth logistics park 500, with a plan to increase it
times from the will come from count to 15 from to 1,500 in the next two years;
current four ports, cement, nine currently, the company’s second biogas
times,” the first
renewables, solar increase grain plant will be commissioned by
person said. silos capacity by January 2024.
“APSEZ is panel and roads 2.5 times to 2.5 In Adani Green, energy
likely to focus on business in FY25 million tonnes, sales increased by 59% to
sweating the and increase 10,235 million units during the
acquired assets, warehousing April-December period.
which will sustain strong cash capacity by 40 times from 1.5 Adani’s increased earnings
flows in the coming years as mn sq ft currently. growth target will, however,
well,” said equities research “Adani Logistics is likely to be primarily driven by the
group JM Financial in a 27 be one of the key, next growth ports business. “We estimate
January report on Adani Ports drivers,” said JM Financial, APSEZ to generate cumulative
while estimating the com- adding that Adani Ports’ net operating cash flow Rs.26,100
pany’s operating cash flow to profit is expected to grow at crore in FY24-25,” said JM
grow at 32% CAGR over over 13% CAGR during Financial.
 LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 07

Delhi Metro
Private banks post strong moves Delhi
Q4 credit, deposit growth govt, Centre
for loans
Priyanka Gawande
priyanka.gawande@livemint.com
Most private sector lenders fared better than the industry average, provisional numbers show
D
elhi Metro Rail Corp.
The Tira Red section of the app is where shoppers can find more (DMRC) has written to
luxury brands such as Estee Lauder and L’Occitane. ISTOCK
Shayan Ghosh leading to a 100-basis point increase in the Centre and Delhi
shayan.g@livemint.com Going good deposit growth in September-March. government, its shareholders,

Reliance Retail in MuMBAI Deposit growth revived after lenders began increasing interest rates and
introduced special offers for customers.
HDFC Bank’s deposit growth could
have ended FY23 with an incremental
urging them to provide subor-
dinate debt to repay the dues

P
rivate sector banks posted Loan growth Deposit growth March quarter of FY23 market share of 20%, Ganapathy said. to Reliance Infrastructure, as

beauty, personal strong growth in credit and

deposits in the fiscal fourth
quarter with a few beating the 20.8 21.3
Year-on-year change (in %)

20.2
Incremental deposits of ₹3.2 trillion
raised in FY23 was 45% higher than the
₹2.2 trillion in FY22, and was a “com-
directed by Delhi High court
in a recent order.
Mint has reviewed a copy of
industry average, according to mendable achievement”, he added. the letter dated 28 March.
care biz with Tira business updates by individual lenders.
HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Yes
Bank, Federal Bank and Bandhan Bank
16.9

Suneera Tandon shoppers, as well as driven
suneera.t@livemint.com engagement with beauty
new DelHI influencers to drive sales.
Shares of FSN E-commerce
14.6
17.2 Industry experts said credit growth
will remain buoyant in FY23, before
moderating in fiscal 2024.
Reliance Infrastructure unit
Delhi Airport Metro Express
had moved the HC to recover
reported provisional business numbers Analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial unpaid arbitral award dues of
ahead of financial results for the three 12.2 Services expect credit growth of 15.7% in ₹7,200 crore from DMRC.
11.3
months ended 31 March. 10.6
9.8
FY23, and 13.3% in FY24. In a note to cli- Until now, DMRC has made
IndusInd Bank posted the highest ents on 4 April, Motilal analysts said repeated requests to the union

R
eliance Retail Ltd, on Ventures, that operates the growth in loans at 21.3% from a year ago, deposit rates have risen sharply over the and Delhi governments to pro-
Wednesday announced Nykaa beauty site closed at followed by Federal Bank at 20.2%, and past few months, but the gap between vide interest free subordinate
the launch of Tira, an ₹136.55 a piece on Wednesday HDFC Bank at 16.9%. credit and deposit growth still remains debt to liquidate its liability
omni-channel beauty retail up 7.86% on BSE. Despite owning the largest deposit high. “While we expect a stable-positive and pay the arbitral award to
platform further fueling com- “Tira’s launch is in line with base among private lenders, HDFC bias in margins in Q4 FY23, a rise in the Delhi Airport Metro Express.
petition in India’s beauty and Reliance Retail’s overall vision Bank posted a 20.8% deposit growth in cost of deposits and further rate hikes On 17 March, Justice Yash-
personal care market. of bringing high quality prod- the January to March period, while Fed- would influence the margin trajectory in want Varma directed the Cen-
The retailer that now has a ucts to Indian consumers eral Bank’s deposits grew 17.4%, and FY24. Margins are likely to see some tre and Delhi government to
presence across apparel, gro- through multiple retail for- IndusInd Bank at 14.6%. Source: Stock exchange filings pressure in FY24.” immediately address DMRC’s
cery, luxury, footwear, elec- mats,” the company said in a A majority of these lenders fared bet- Meanwhile, stagnating interest rates request for extending sover-
tronics and jewellery retail statement on Wednesday ter than the industry. Reserve Bank of SATISH KUMAR/MINT
on savings accounts despite rising term eign guarantee or interest-free
also announced the opening of announcing the launch. India (RBI) data on bank loans and stood at 15% in April-December 2022, ging credit growth for the past several deposit rates led to a decline in current debt. “The decision must be
the flagship Tira store at Jio The move marks growing deposits available up to 10 March from 23% in FY20 when Sumant Kath- months with customers looking out for and savings account (Casa) ratio—low- taken within a period of two
World Drive in Mumbai’s Ban- clout of the company that has showed that while non-food credit grew palia took charge as the chief executive better returns on their investments. cost funds as a percentage of total depos- weeks from today. If permis-
dra Kurla Complex. more recently made aggres- 16% from a year ago, deposits its—of private banks. sion is accorded to DMRC...it
The company could poten- sive bets on India’s retail and increased 10.3%. “IndusInd Bank’s ON FIRM FOOTING Typically, lenders seek a strong shall proceed to deposit entire
tially scale up the Tira store packaged goods market. loan growth at 21% yoy for FY23 was pipeline of low-cost Casa funds con- amount along with interest
format across 100 cities in While the company has for 500 bps ahead of system loan INDUSIND Bank HDFC Bank had RBI data on bank LENDERS raised sidering that savings account inter- within a period of one month.”
India; formats could change years had a deep presence in growth of 16% as of 10 March. We posted highest loan
growth followed by
highest deposit
growth Jan-Mar, with
loans and deposits
up to 10 Mar show
deposit rates
leading to a 100-bps
est rates are lower than fixed depos- “As the period of two weeks
according to locations, said India’s retail market—its also like the bank’s focus on retail Federal Bank and Federal Bank next non-food credit up increase in deposit its, and current accounts do not pay given by the court is expiring
people familiar recent efforts to deposits which has been steadily then HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank 16% from year ago growth in Sep-Mar any interest. For instance, HDFC’s on 31 March, the government
with the retailer’s The company acquire home- going up,” said Suresh Ganapathy, Casa ratio fell by 420 basis points in is requested to issue directions
plan. could scale up the grown brands, as head, financials research and asso- a year and was at 44% as of 31 March. to DMRC in light of the court’s
A quick look at Tira stores across well as expand its ciate director, Macquarie Capital. officer, Ganapathy said in a note on 4 Subsequently, lenders started raising At IndusInd Bank, the ratio was at 40.1% order. A similar request was
the Tira app— 100 cities in India; footprint in the The share of top 20 depositors of April. deposit rates and introduced special in FY23, down from 42.8% in the previ- made to Delhi government,”
presents brands fast moving con- IndusInd Bank has been declining and Banks’ deposit growth has been lag- offers for customers to park their funds, ous year. DMRC said in the letter.
formats could
available across sumer goods
price points and change according market is being
other websites to locations viewed as a
selling beauty
products. For
potential threat
to several large
instance, on sale are Lakme established businesses. Reli-
Aditya Birla’s TMRW to float ESOPs to retain top executives
lipcolours, Mac lipsticks, Col- ance Retail is a subsidiary of
ourbar cheek blusher and Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. Devina Sengupta structure of global startups to shanth Aluru, the chief execu- designing an attractive com- and Veirdo.
Maybelline lipcolours. Several RRVL, through its subsidiaries devina.sengupta@livemint.com design its equity plan for sen- tive officer and co-founder of pensation package, including While floating the venture
brands were available to order and affiliates, operates inte- MuMBAI ior executives, said an execu- the venture. stock options. in June 2022, the cement to
at discounts ranging from grated omni channel network tive requesting anonymity. The venture is attempting to TMRW has also been on an textile business house said that

I
5-20%. The Tira Red section of of 17,225 stores and digital n its effort to drive aggres- “TMRW will have competi- create a ‘House of Brands’ and aggressive acqui- the move was in
the app is where shoppers can commerce platforms across sive growth and retain sen- tive equity plans for top man- invest in brands that are born sition spree. In The equity plans line with the
find more up-market luxury grocery, consumer electron- ior executives, Aditya Birla agement and it is designed to online and draw a large part of December, after are structured group’s strategy
brands such as Estee Lauder, ics, fashion and lifestyle and Group’s fashion and lifestyle attract talent from global start- sales via the internet. acquiring a con- along the lines of to launch and
L’Occitane, Bobbi Brown, and pharma consumption baskets. venture, TMRW, will offer ups. While other group com- The move follows rival Tata trolling stake in startups such as back new-age
Clinique, among others. Tira’s online platform also stock options for its top brass. panies have regular employee Digital’s efforts to woo senior B e w a k o o f digital ventures.
Honasa
Reliance’s entry is set to showcases shoppable videos, The direct-to-consumer plat- stock option plans (ESOP) and talent with long-term incen- Brands, it infused It aims to cre-
shake up the country’s beauty blogs, tutorials, personal rec- form, founded by Aryaman restricted stock units (RSU), tives, including stock options. ₹200 crore to fuel Consumer and ate the largest
and personal care market that ommendations and a virtual Vikram Birla, is also looking to the equity plan here has higher TMRW was also on an It is the e-commerce unit of the growth of the GlobalBees portfolio of dis-
is estimated to reach ₹2.2.tril- try-on features. The Tira store hire senior talent from start- stakes in the firm, and gives acquisition spree. ISTOCK the $103 billion Tata group. D2C brand. ruptor brands in
lion by 2025. Incumbents such at Jio World Drive is spread ups as well as consumer firms. more ownership,” he said. Executives aware of the Within a year of fashion and lifes-
as Nykaa, Sephora and Shop- across 4,300 square feet and TMRW, the wholly-owned The equity plans are struc- For the first time TMRW is development said TMRW took launch, it owns eight brands, tyle and be part of the D2C
pers Stop have for long built a has been designed by London- unit of Aditya Birla Fashion tured along the lines of start- offering equity to its top lead- the help of senior Aditya Birla including Berrylush, Bewak- growth story in India, which is
wide assortment of products— headquartered innovation and Retail Ltd, has taken a leaf ups such as Honasa Consumer ers, including former Face- executives to meet industry oof, Juneberry, Natilene, estimated to be at $100 billion
a key ingredient to woo young studio, Dalziel & Pow. out of the policies and salary Ltd and GlobalBees. book and Bain executive Pra- experts for 6-8 months before Nauti Nati, Nobero, Urbano, by 2025.

Audio platforms bet big on Course5 to raise $75 mn from Temasek, shelves IPO
podcasts with new tie-ups Sneha Shah
sneha.shah@livemint.com
million in the company. This
will be a mix of primary and
decided to raise funds from
PE investors. The capital will
industry specific domain
experience and latest tech-
MuMBAI secondary fund raise,” said be used for inorganic nologies, as it aims to help
Lata Jha with digital storytelling plat- one of the three people, growth,” the second person organizations with solutions

D
lata.j@htlive.com form, Pratilipi, to adapt their ata analytics company requesting anonymity. said, seeking anonymity. to complex issues related to
new DelHI titles across genres like Course5 Intelligence is Course5, which caters to Apart from expanding to their customers, markets and
romance, horror, thriller and in talks with Singa- fortune 500 companies newer markets, the firm is competition at speed and

A
udio streaming plat- mystery for exclusive distribu- pore’s private investment across retail, technology, looking at acquiring adjacent scale.
forms are increasingly tion, she said. arm, Temasek, to raise $75 media and entertainment, capabilities through acquisi- Its clients include Lenovo,
looking at podcasts to “Even if a content receives million, following its decision and telecommunications and tions. Colgate-Palmolive Co, Ameri-
expand the user base and ring validation in one format it may to shelve its listing plans due pharmaceuticals, among oth- Founded in 2007 by Ash- can Regent, Inc (a member of
in the next phase of growth. not guarantee that it will work to muted market conditions, ers, was looking to raise up to win Mittal, Course5 Intelli- the Daiichi Sanyo Group) and
While podcast genre is at a for another,” said Amit Doshi, three people in the know said. ₹600 crore through its IPO Course5 was looking to raise up gence is a digital, marketing the National Bank of Fujairah
nascent stage in India, audio head, IVM podcasts, Pratilipi. In January 2022, the com- and an additional ₹60 crore in to ₹600 cr through its IPO. ISTOCK and customer analytics com- PJSC. According to its draft
streaming services say partner- There are challenges consid- pany filed its draft prospectus pre-IPO placements. It had pany. Its artificial intelligence prospectus, data and analytics
ing with video streaming servi- ering that each medium is dif- with Securities and Exchange appointed investment bank issue. (AI) driven products and is likely to account for 13.9% of
ces and publishers to adapt ferent and execution matters a Board of India. “Temasek is Axis Capital and ICICI Securi- “Due to the muted market intellectual property-led its estimated digital spending
audio formats of books and web Audible collaborated with The great deal, he added. looking to invest up to $75 ties to manage the public conditions, the company has solutions are supported by at $2.3 trillion by 2024.
shows will draw listeners. Viral Fever and Dice Media. IVM, which was acquired by
Audible, an audio streaming Pratilipi in 2020, is in various
platform owned by Amazon, ble. Adding a variation to the stages of talks on adaptations or
for instance, has collaborated story (through an audio), helps
with The Viral Fever and Dice build on the love that the series
Media for their shows. Execu- received and offers audiences
companion pieces for audio.
The costs of acquisition can
also vary from a couple of lakhs
AC annual sales to grow 25% till ’28: Blue Star MD
tives said it will help them cash an extension of what they have to a couple of crores depending
in on popularity of existing IPs experienced till now, he said. on how big an IP is. Therefore, Mihir Mishra in sales, he added. “Earlier, an and their percentage is rising
but there are challenges on The firm also released books platforms usually prefer a reve- mihir.mishra@livemint.com AC would consume 100 units every year.
offering something new to for James Bond series like nue-sharing model. new DelHI of electricity , now it con- Contribution of smaller cit-
users as an audio narration of a Casino Royale and Live and Let It is important for audio ser- sumes 15 units for similar ies is also set to grow and it will

I
video may not Die in Hindi and is vices to remember that adapta- ndia’s air conditioner mar- usage on the back of energy be further aided by ‘affordable
attract new users. It is important to looking at more tions are still in an early stage ket is in a high growth phase efficient rules.” air conditioners’. As part of the
“The audio for- remember that collaborations. and await validation from lis- and is expected to grow 25% About 95% of initiative, Blue
mat is unique and adaptations are The company teners, said Ashu Behl, senior annually for at least five years, the AC market is Contribution of Star launched
provides a porta- still in an early has seen 39% vice-president, content and Blue Star managing director B. of first-time buy- smaller cities is affordable prod-
ble yet immersive growth in listen- strategy, Pocket FM, an audio Thiagarajan said. ers and 65% is in also set to grow ucts, which will
stage and await
experience to the ing hours in India series platform. It is talking to “It is in the cusp of an explo- tier 3, 4 and 5 cit- and it will be not only help
listeners, offering validation from in the past year, sion. We have entered a period ies.“That dynam-
listeners
writers to adapt their work for
further aided by increase volumes
a break from on- Karen Appathurai audio series. where it will grow by 25% per ics is set to but also increase
screen entertain- Wiggins, head of While it may make sense to year, at least, for five years. The change and the affordable air its market share.
ment. Known IPs content, Asia-Pa- adapt existing success stories, industry sold about 8 million Energy-efficient AC is also contributing to the increase in sales, industry will see conditioners On Wednesday,
are a great way to engage with cific, Audible, said. The com- there are complications to IP units last financial year and is Thiagarajan said. MINT contributions the firm unveiled
fans as storylines are new, pany has partnered with Pen- ownership and podcasts in set to cross 10 million this fiscal from repeat buy- its new compre-
simultaneously allowing them guin Random House, Pan Mac- India are yet to guarantee full year,” Thiagarajan said. will bring down prices. sales happen, companies will ers increasingly.” hensive range of ACs includ-
to experience magic of audio millan, HarperCollins and monetization plans for acquisi- The Centre’s productivity- “Under PLI scheme, a com- get competitive and offer dis- Though there’s no authen- ing a best-in-class affordable
storytelling, besides, encourag- Hachette, as well as local pub- tions, said Sreeraman Thiaga- linked incentive schemes will pany can’t claim incentives counts to be able to sell it, and tic data on average age of buy- range as well as a flagship pre-
ing their imagination to build lishers Srishti, Hind Yugm, rajan, chief executive officer, assist the growth of air condi- unless it sells ACs. So, incen- thus, more sales.” ers, one thing is certain that mium range, for this summer.
stories,” said Shailesh Sawlani, Manjul, Rupa and Rajpal, and aawaz.com, a podcast and spo- tioners, and lead to price wars tives are linked to my produc- Energy-efficient AC is also the average age is down to “We must offer affordable ACs
country manager, India, Audi- has entered into an agreement ken-word network. among companies and this tion as well as sales. To make contributing to the increase 35-40 years in recent times to gain market share,” he said.
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 08 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

m MINT SHORTS
US trade deficit widens for a third
Violence in Jerusalem Foxconn founder
Gou set to run for
month straight to $70.5 billion
The US trade deficit widened for a third-straight month in Febru-
ary as the value of exports fell more than imports. The gap in
goods and services trade grew 2.7% to $70.5 billion, the widest in
threatens to escalate Taiwan presidency
four months, commerce department data showed on Wednes- Reuters
day. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. The value of feedback@livemint.com
imports decreased 1.5%, while exports fell 2.7% — both reflecting Taoyuan, TaIwan
weaker merchandise trade. On an inflation-adjusted basis, the Israeli police action at Al-Aqsa mosque drew retaliation from Palestinians
T
goods-trade deficit increased to $104.6 billion, also the widest in erry Gou, the billionaire
four months. BLOOMBERG founder of major Apple
AP Inc. supplier Foxconn,
feedback@livemint.com said on Wednesday he would
Meta releases AI model that can Jerusalem seek the presidential nomina-
tion for Taiwan’s main opposi-
identify items within images

REUTERS
Facebook-owner Meta published an artificial intelligence
model on Wednesday that can pick out individual objects
from within an image, along with a dataset of image annota-
tions that it said was the largest ever of its kind.The com-
pany’s research division said in a blog post that its Segment
Anything Model, or SAM, could identify objects in images
and videos even in cases where it had not encountered
those items in its training. REUTERS
FedEx targets $4 billion cost cuts
by merging delivery networks
FedEx Corp. is seeking to cut $4 billion in costs by combining its
two main delivery networks, in an ambitious plan by new chief
executive officer Raj Subramaniam to increase profit mar-
gins.The company has for decades operated an express package
business separately from its ground unit. As of June of 2024, it
will be “a single company operating a unified, fully integrated air-
ground network under the respected FedEx brand”, FedEx said
Wednesday in a statement. BLOOMBERG
Amazon looks to grow diamonds in
bid to boost computer networks
Amazon.com Inc. and a unit of De Beers Group are collaborating
to grow artificial diamonds, which could help revolutionize com-
puter networks. De Beers’s Element Six division will work on the
project with Amazon Web Services’ Center for Quantum Net-
working. The diamonds would be part of a component that lets
data travel farther without breaking down. BLOOMBERG
I
sraeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early
Wednesday, firing stun grenades at
Palestinians who hurled stones and
firecrackers in a burst of violence dur-
ing a sensitive holiday season. Palestinian
militants in Gaza responded with rocket
fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated
Israeli airstrikes.
The fighting, which comes as Muslims
mark the holiday month of Ramadan and
Jews prepare to begin the Passover festival,
raised fears of a wider conflagration. By
early morning, the Jerusalem compound,
which is typically packed with worshippers
during Ramadan, had quieted down.
The mosque sits in a hilltop compound
sacred to both Jews and Muslims, and con-
flicting claims over it have spilled into vio-
lence before, including a bloody 11-day war
between Israel and Hamas, the Islamic mil-
itant group that rules Gaza. Al-Aqsa is the
third-holiest site in Islam and stands in a
spot known to Jews as the Temple Mount,
which is the holiest site in Judaism.
Palestinian militant groups warned that
further confrontation was coming, but a
Palestinian official said the Palestinian
Authority was in contact with officials in
Egypt, Jordan, the US and at the UN to
de-escalate tensions. He spoke on the con-
dition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to brief the media.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netan-
yahu said Israel was working to “calm ten-
sions” at the holy site.
People who were detained at the com-
pound and later released said police used
batons, chairs, rifles and whatever else they
could find to strike Palestinians, including
women and children, who responded by
hurling stones and setting off firecrackers
that they’d brought to evening prayers for
fear of possible clashes. Outside the
mosque’s gate, police dispersed crowds of
young men with stun grenades and rubber
tion party, the Kuomintang
(KMT), for a second time.
Gou stepped down as Fox-
conn chief in 2019 and made a
presidential bid that year, but Foxconn founder Terry Gou.
dropped out after he failed to REUTERS
win the nomination for the
KMT, which traditionally retaliation. The KMT in the
favours close ties with China. process of choosing its candi-
Speaking to reporters at a date for the next presidential
hotel next to Taiwan’s main election, in January 2024, with
international airport at Tao- Hou Yu-ih, mayor of New Tai-
yuan on his return from a pei City, broadly considered
weeklong trip to the US, Gou the current favourite.
said the only way to avoid war The run up to the election is
Palestinians confront Israeli security forces inside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque with China was to reduce taking place at a time of
compound early on Wednesday. AFP Sino-US tensions and get Tai- increased tensions between
wan’s ruling Democratic Pro- Taipei and Beijing, as China
bullets. with dozens of others, his hands zip-tied gressive Party (DPP) out of stages regular military exer-
Medics from the Palestinian Red Crescent behind his back, he was taken to the police office. cises near the island to assert its
said that at least 50 people were injured. station where he said he did not have access “We must hon- sovereignty
Israeli police said they were not immediately to a toilet, medical attention or water for estly tell young Gou said to avoid claims.
able to confirm the reports and videos show- over six hours. “They treated us like ani- people that it is war with China, The KMT
ing officers beating Palestinians but said 350 mals,” he said. dangerous to vote Sino-US tensions denies being pro-
were arrested. They added that one officer Since Ramadan began March 22, scores for the DPP, had to be reduced Beijing, though it
was injured in the leg. of Muslim worshippers have repeatedly which ‘exalts Tai- supports main-
Separately, the Israeli military said one tried to stay overnight in the mosque, a wan independ-
and Taiwan’s taining good rela-
soldier was shot and moder- practice that is typically per- ence and hates ruling DPP had to tions with China.
ately wounded in the occu- Tensions have mitted only during the last 10 and opposes be ousted The DPP champi-
pied West Bank. mounted days of the monthlong holi- China’,” Gou said, ons Taiwan’s sep-
Crowds of Palestinians as Jewish day. Israeli police have citing a wording arate identity
gathered around a police sta- ultranationalists entered nightly to evict the Taiwan opposition parties typi- from China, but the govern-
tion in Jerusalem on Wednes-
called for a ritual worshippers. cally use to describe the DPP’s ment it leads has repeatedly
day, waiting anxiously for Tensions have been further politics. offered talks with China that
their loved ones — many of sacrifice on heightened by calls from Jew- “Peace is not taken for have been rebuffed.
them wearing blood-stained Al-Aqsa premises ish ultranationalists to carry granted, and people need to Gou said he had to stand up
shirts and limping on ban- out a ritual slaughter of a goat make the correct choice,” and “resolve the crisis” tradi-
daged legs — to trickle out of in the compound, as hap- added Gou, who did not take tional politicians have been
detention. pened in ancient times. questions. unable to, adding he was sorry
Amin Risheq, a 19-year-old from east Israel bars ritual slaughter on the site, He made his announcement he left the KMT four years ago.
Jerusalem, lifted his bloodied shirt to show but calls by Jewish extremists to revive the the same day Taiwan President “If I am nominated by the
his worried mother red blotches all over his practice, including offers of cash rewards to Tsai Ing-wen is due to meet KMT, I will do my best to unite
back and his bandaged arm, which he said anyone who even attempts to bring an ani- U.S. House Speaker Kevin all the non-green camps and
was struck by a tear gas canister. mal into the compound, have amplified McCarthy in Los Angeles, a win the 2024 presidential elec-
He said that after being beaten and fears among Muslims that Israel is plotting meeting China has threatened tion,” he added, referring to the
forced to lay on the floor of the mosque to take over the site. to respond to with unspecified DPP’s party colours.

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 LIVEMINT.COM NEWS WRAP ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 09

TWEETS & QUOTES

Kamala Harris Lydia Zigomo Nandan Nilekani
Alicia Garcia-Herrero @VP Director, East & South- Co-founder, Infosys
Chief economist for Asia Vice president, the US ern Africa, UNFPA As the paper from IMF notes,
Pacific, Natixis NATO is the greatest defensive Our brothers & sisters in India’s journey in developing a
HK’s population down 2.4% military alliance the world has the Horn of Africa are in world-class digital public
(more than 94,000 people) ever seen. And today as we crisis. Drought affected infrastructure has lessons for
in 2022. Basically, 2/3’s of welcome Finland into NATO, our millions of families other countries embarking on
HK’s recession last year are alliance is stronger, safer, and bearing a disproportion- their own digital transforma-
due to depopulation. Scary more united than ever ate burden tion.

Chalasani named GLOWING RECOGNITION Covid positivity up;

Suzlon Energy CEO 4,435 new cases

T I
he board of clean energy solution ndia has recorded 4,435 new covid cases in
provider Suzlon Energy has appointed the last 24 hours, taking the total number of
J. P. Chalasani as the company’s chief active cases to 23,091, the Union health
executive officer following the resignation of ministry said on Wednesday. With 44.9 million
Ashwani Kumar from the post. Ashwani Kumar cases so far, the country has reported 530,916
has resigned as the CEO with effect from 5 covid related deaths.
April on account of personal reasons, a BSE The daily positivity rate has reached 6.12% as
filing stated. Chalasani had been Group CEO of the increase in the pace of testing is reflected in
Suzlon for the period from April 2016 to July the uptick in covid cases. According to
2020 and continued as strategic adviser to the epidemiologists, the increasing number of covid
Suzlon Group thereafter. Chalasani has over cases is not doubling every 4-5 days. This has
40 years of experience in the public and private now led to the reporting of 4,000 covid cases
sector across the entire gamut of the power each day. The trajectory of covid cases has
sector (power generation projects, increased gradually across the country with
transmission, distribution, trading and coal Karnataka reporting 1,411 active cases while
mining).Prior to his earlier stint as the group Kerala has 6,824 active cases. Maharashtra has
CEO of the company, Chalasani was the group 3,792 active cases, Gujarat with 2,220 cases,
CEO and MD of Punj Lloyd since January 2014 Delhi has recorded 1,710 cases, Tamil Nadu has
and was responsible for the energy, 1,086 active cases; Himachal Pradesh with 1,493
infrastructure and defence business for the cases so far. STAFF WRITER
group globally, which is close to $1.8 billion. PTI

President Droupadi Murmu confers Padma Bhushan on philanthropist and author Sudha Murty in recognition of her contribution to the field of
social work, at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri 17 years ago in 2006.
Medical professional Dilip Mahalanabis, physicist Deepak Dhar, and novelist S.L.Bhyrappa were among those conferred with the Padma Bhushan,
while music composer M. M. Keeravani received the Padma Shri during the ceremony. PTI

The firm handled about 32 million tonne of total

J&J settles talc case for $9 bn, The company said the voluntary retirement
scheme is applicable to all staff members

easing consumer health IPO

MINT
cargo in March. REUTERS

Adani Ports cargo Hero MotoCorp

grows 9% in FY 23 announces VRS

T
wo-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp Ltd on

B
illionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Ports and
Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) on
Wednesday reported 9% growth in cargo
handling at seaports it operates for fiscal year
ended 31 March. At 339 million tonnes, this is
the largest port cargo ever, APSEZ said in a
statement. The firm handled about 32 million
Wednesday announced a voluntary
Johnson & Johnson’s shares rose nearly 4% in early trade to hit a near two-month high retirement scheme for its staff with an aim
to improve efficiency and become a lean and
more productive organization.
Reuters scientific merit and accused plaintiffs’ lawyers of The support of 60,000 plaintiffs represents a The scheme has been designed in line with
feedback@livemint.com continuing to advertise for clients in the hopes of supermajority of 75% required for a judge to the vision to make the organization agile and
extracting large financial sums. approve J&J’s restructuring plans, TD Cowen ‘future-ready’, consolidating roles and reducing

tonnes of total cargo in March, up 9.5% year-on-
year. This is the first time since July 2022 that
the volumes crossed the 30-million tonnes
mark.
“With 339 million tonnes in FY23 (April 2022
to March 2023), APSEZ recorded its largest port
cargo volumes ever, which is a good 9% year-on-
year growth,” it said. “Adani Ports has been
continuously increasing its market share for the
past years, outperforming all of India’s cargo
volume growth.” The nation’s largest port
operator, which operates six ports on the west
coast and five on the east, continues to add ports
to its portfolio. Earlier this week, it completed
the acquisition of Karaikal Port. While 11 ports it
operates handle 25% of total port volumes, the
firm is also developing two transshipment ports
at Vizhinjam, Kerala and Colombo, Sri Lanka. PTI
J
ohnson & Johnson’s shares rose nearly 4%
in early trading to hit a near two-month
high of $164.48 on Wednesday as the com-
pany’s $8.9 billion offer to settle talc-related
lawsuits gained support of thousands of
claimants, easing an overhang on its plans
to list consumer health unit Kenvue.
Some analysts were positive about the new set-
tlement that is far bigger than the original offer of
$2 billion, as they believe it could bring an end to
the lawsuit. J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott said
in a note the settlement amount was in-line with
the brokerage’s estimate of $8 billion to $10 bil-
lion. The company late Tuesday said it secured
the support of about 60,000 claimants for the
offer who had alleged that talc in its iconic baby
powder and other products caused cancer.
J&J lawyers reiterated that talc claims lacked
The settlement follows a January appeals court analyst Joshua Jennings said in a note. layers to increase empowerment and agility,
ruling invalidating J&J’s controversial “Texas A Bloomberg report added that J&J has already Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.
two-step” manoeuvre, in which it sought to off- withdrawn its talc-based baby powder and others, “We expect this to improve efficiency within
load the talc liability including Shower to the company through a lean and more
onto a subsidiary Shower, from the productive organization,” it added.
LTL Management Women and men blamed J&J’s 129- market. Women and The company said the voluntary retirement
that immediately year-old baby powder for causing men blamed J&J’s scheme (VRS) is applicable to all staff members
filed for Chapter 11 129-year-old baby and it “offers a generous package that includes -
bankruptcy. Under ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a powder for causing among other benefits - a one-time lump-sum
the agreement, cancer tied to asbestos exposure ovarian cancer and amount, variable pay, gifts, medical coverage,
while J&J and LTL mesothelioma, a retention of company car, relocation assistance
would have retained cancer specifically and career support”, among others. PTI
the talc-related liabilities for products sold in the tied to asbestos exposure. Victims allege internal
US and Canada, Kenvue would be responsible for J&J documents dating back to the early 1970s
liabilities outside those regions. “We believe show workers warning managers about traces of
today’s announcement should help the IPO of asbestos found in talc bottled for baby powder.
20% of the consumer unit,” Credit Suisse analyst The victims contend J&J executives should have
Edelweiss to raise
Trung Huynh said in a note. warned consumers about the health risks.
₹400 cr via NCD

E
delweiss Financial Services Ltd (EFSL),
Godrej Cons expects launched the second tranche of secured
Credit growth is moderating: Kotak redeemable non-convertible debentures
double-digit growth (NCDs) worth ₹400 crore . The proceeds will be
used to pare debt and for general corporate
reversal from high loan growth levels. A purposes, the company informed the exchanges

G
odrej Consumer Products Ltd on
Wednesday estimated its sales grew in
double digits in the fourth quarter, led
by strong domestic demand for its home and
personal care products.
The company’s India business, which
contributed over 55% of its overall revenue in
the last quarter, had “exceeded” expectations,
while in Indonesia, it was recovering gradually.
Growth in its Africa and United States markets,
however, has slowed.
The Cinthol soap and Goodknight mosquito
repellent maker said profits should “improve”
as the gross margin has recovered and
continued marketing investments are
According to RBI data, non-food bank credit
grew 15.9% in February.
similar trend is also seen even in ticket sizes
as well.
According to RBI data, non-food bank
credit grew 15.9% in February, much
higher than 9.2% in the year-ago period.
However, the rise was lower than the 16.7%
year- on-year(y-o-y) growth seen in
January.
“Nearly all the states are showing trends
of slowing down, with sharp decelerating
trends in North India; demand for working
capital-linked products too is showing a
similar trend of reversing from peak levels;
HT from a ticket size perspective, the
slowdown is highest in the ₹10-40 million
Overseas gold and silver were quoting higher at
$2,027 and $24.04 per ounce.
Gold jumps ₹1,025 to
through a filing on Wednesday.
The NCDs, with a face value of ₹1,000 and a
total value of ₹200 crore (the base issue), come
with an option of retaining over-subscription up
to ₹200 crore, taking the total issue size to ₹400
crore.
There are 10 different series of NCDs available
with fixed coupons and tenures of 24, 36, 60,
and 120 months, with options for annual,
monthly, and cumulative interest. The effective
annual yield for the NCDs ranges from 8.94% to
MINT 10.46%. The issue opens on 6 April, and closes
on 21 April, with an option for early closure.
MAYUR BHALERAO

touch life-time high

translating into a “strong double-digit” growth
in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
and amortisation.
Indian consumer goods companies are
seeing some benefits from easing commodity
costs. Parachute coconut oil maker Marico on
Monday forecast stronger margins for the
C
redit growth is moderating from its
post covid highs as the Reserve
Bank of India’s rate hikes begins to
hit demand. According to the latest
analysis by Kotak Institutional Equities
based on RBI data, nearly all the key
markets by geography are showing a
ticket size, while it is holding up in the
smaller and larger ticket sizes,” said Kotak
in its report released on 3 April.
Economists say that credit growth has
muted albeit the slowdown is not so
significant enough to impede economic
growth. GOPIKA GOPAKUMAR
Sebi issues new advt
G
old price rallied ₹1,025 to touch a life-
time high of ₹61,080 per 10 grams in the
national capital on Wednesday amid
code for IAs, RAs
strong global trends, according to HDFC

fourth quarter. REUTERS Securities.
In the previous trade, the precious metal
had settled at ₹60,055 per 10 grams.
Silver also zoomed ₹1,810 to ₹73,950 per kg.
Mastercard to require banks to use recycled materials for cards “Spot gold prices in the Delhi markets
traded at ₹61,080 per 10 grams, up ₹1,025 per
10 grams. In domestic market gold prices
M
arkets regulator Sebi on Wednesday
came out with an advertisement code
for investment advisers and research
analysts whereby they have been prohibited
from issuing statements which may mislead
investors as well as from using superlative terms
in their advertisements.

M
astercard Inc. wants the plastic in consumers’ wallets to do less damage crossed the ₹61,000 level per 10 grams to a They have also been restrained from using
to the environment. fresh life-time high,” Saumil Gandhi, senior complex language in an advertisement.
Starting in 2028, the company will require all banks issuing one of its analyst - commodities at HDFC Securities, According to the watchdog, advertisements
payment cards to use sustainable materials as it seeks to remove first–use, PVC said. by Investment Advisers (IAs) and Research
plastics from its network, according to a statement Wednesday. Acceptable In the overseas market, both gold and silver Analysts (RAs) should not contain superlative
alternatives include recycled or bio-sourced plastics. were quoting higher at $2,027 per ounce and terms such as “best, No 1, top adviser/research
The move comes as experts increasingly worry about the toll the global $24.04 per ounce, respectively. analyst, leading”.
addiction to plastic will take on worldwide efforts to limit greenhouse gas Comex gold prices rallied in Asian trading However, factual details of any award
emissions. Plastic was responsible for 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse hours on Wednesday and have surged more received by them can be included.
gas emissions in 2019, or 3.4%, of the global total, more than the percentage than 1.80% since March 2022 amid data The new code, aimed at further
contributed by the aviation sector. “Mastercard is committed to advancing showing lower than estimated US jobs strengthgening the conduct of IAs and RAs, will
climate action and reducing waste by driving our business toward net zero openings. Additionally, US Dollar index and come into force from 1 May, the Securities and
emissions and leveraging our network and scale to accelerate the transition to a bond yields declined post US macro data Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.
low-carbon, regenerative economy,” Ellen Jackowski, Mastercard’s chief which boosted bullish sentiment in bullion, Copies of advertisements should be retained
sustainability officer, said in the statement. BLOOMBERG Ellen Jackowski, Mastercard’s chief sustainability officer. Gandhi said. PTI by them for a period of five years. PTI

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 10 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

AMIDST FARM SUICIDES,

A gOld RuSH In blOgS
In a village in Marathwada, a region rife with farm suicides, hundreds are making a living off blogging

(Clockwise from left:) Akshay Raskar, who lives in Kolgaon, started

blogging over a decade back. He is now a role model in the village;
Raskar’s workplace; Saurabh Londhe, a blogger, purchased a sports
bike worth ₹2 lakh; Aditya Patil recently bought an iPhone 14.

Parth M.N. $222 had been credited to his account time the farmers got to know of it, the after we joined his team. Had it not been ent on monsoons.
mint
feedback@livemint.com just in time. deadline would have passed and they SHORT for the lockdown, we would have never “I have struggled to break even for three
MuMbAi “I thought about how I can use the wouldn’t be able to avail any benefits.” STORY met Raskar.” years straight,” Nimbalkar said. “Farming
internet to make money,” Raskar Therefore, Raskar started simplifying Three years on, Patil and Londhe have is no longer a reliable source of income.”

A
bout 10 years ago, Akshay recalled. “I was too shy to be in front of government orders that were written in both paid off their parents’ farm loan. Patil However, Nimbalkar is relatively less
Raskar, 34, received an SMS the camera. I would get conscious. The complicated language and uploaded it on WHAT even bought an iPhone 14, and Londhe worried about it. In December 2021, he
that changed his life. He was smartphones in those days didn’t have his blog. “I also included the promises purchased a sports bike worth ₹2 lakh. took to blogging, too. “Raskar’s example
sitting in his small electronics great cameras either. So, YouTube was political leaders made to farmers in their Kolgaon in Maharashtra has “I have never seen my parents as was right in front of me,” he said. “I had
store, fiddling with the stock, out of the question.” speeches and visits,” he said. “The growth emerged as a ‘bloggers village’. relieved and at peace,” said Patil. “For the seen his journey, so I took the plunge.”
when his mobile phone beeped. $222 had He explored if there was a text-based was alright in the first three years. Not Hundreds of people here have first time in their life, they have money at Nimbalkar runs two blogs–one focus-
been credited to his account. “I wasn’t medium that could be his livelihood, many people had access to the internet in taken to blogging. Some make home. They don’t have to depend on the ing on sporting updates and the other on
expecting any money,” he said. “Definitely which is when he discovered blogging. “I rural areas at the time. But my blog took more money compared to what farmland to ensure two meals a day.” government schemes. It has been just
not in dollars. It took me a while to figure watched dozens of videos on YouTube to off after 2015.” others make from farming. Patil said his parents feel incredibly over a year, so his traffic isn’t as high as
out what it was for.” understand how it worked,” said Raskar. In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proud of him, especially when relatives Raskar. But 1.5 lakh page views a month
The payment was from YouTube for “And I started blogging even as I ran my launched Digital India, a campaign to call him up and ask him to take their kids is still impressive. “From December
a video he had uploaded about three mobile shop. I learnt on the go. Three improve online infrastructure and inter- WHO under his wing. He has also been covered 2021 to December 2022, I earned ₹15
years ago. months into it, I got $112. It wasn’t a lot. But net connectivity, especially in rural areas, by the local media in Beed. lakh,” he said.
Nearly 300 kilometers from his village it made me stick with it.” where 70% of India’s population lives. Akshay Raskar was the earliest of But both Patil and Londhe understand Nimbalkar is now considering mak-
of Kolgaon in Maharashtra’s Beed district, Over 10 years later, Raskar runs eight India’s internet penetration at the time them and has been an inspiration that they can’t afford to be complacent. ing blogging his full-time job, and
Raskar, in 2009, had visited a village in blogs—all in Marathi. Among the popular stood at 15%. Eight years on, it has risen to the youth. He runs eight blogs “We are now studying for a bachelor’s slowly phasing out his farmland. He
Nashik where he stumbled upon a farmer ones are ‘Krushi News’ or agricultural exponentially to 47%. in Marathi, employs a team of degree in computer science,” said wants to see if he can expand his new
unconventionally plowing his farm. The news and ‘Sarkari News’ or government In terms of absolute numbers, India has 30, and generates a monthly Londhe. “It will help us in the field of blog- venture. “Most importantly, it gives
farmer had attached a plow to the back of news. One of his recent posts told farmers 692 million active internet users, accord- revenue of around $50,000. ging. We want to expand, and maybe start me excitement,” he said. “Farming, on
his bike. ‘what to watch out for while buying farm- ing to the Internet and Mobile Association our blogs in Hindi and English. We feel the other hand, only gives anxiety. I
Raskar was amused. He took out his land’—a headline the mainstream media of India (IAMAI) report of 2022. About 351 like the sky’s the limit for us. Never made more money in one year of blog-
smartphone and shot would love to carry. Ras- million out of them are in rural areas. 2022 SO thought we would get to ging than I did in the
the video for fun. With a kar employs a team of 30 was the first year when active internet this stage. Growing up, past five or seven years
caption that said The India has 692 million active youngsters, and claims users in the hinterland outnumbered the Over 100 of them built houses we only saw poverty The bloggers of Kolgaon blog in farming. My parents
Great Indian Jugaad, he internet users, according to generate a monthly ones in cities. with the earnings they generated around us.” about government circulars, s e e m extremely
put it up on YouTube revenue of around More and more people downloaded from blogs. This ensured regular relaxed.”
and forgot all about it. to the Internet and Mobile $50,000, or over ₹40 WhatsApp and Facebook on their mobile work for contractors and RAskAR’s home government schemes, Nimbalkar wants to
The video went viral.
Today, it has garnered
just under six million
Association of India. About
351 million out of them
lakh. It allows him to pay
handsome salaries to his
employees, whom he has
phones in Kolgaon, too, making it easier
for Raskar to circulate his blog.
“Farmers started finding my blog
labourers in the village. Many
have paid off their farm loans. T he agrarian region promises politicians make, job save up to build a con-
of Marathwada, in
which Kolgaon falls, has
crete house and to send
openings, crop loans, home his three-year-old son
views. But it served its taught blogging. He has extremely helpful,” he said. “So, I emerged as a hotbed of to a private school. “I
purpose long ago. are in rural areas. inspired several others in expanded. Today, I also blog about possi- And then, came the covid-19 pandemic farm suicides in Maha- loans, and sporting events. currently live in a make-
Sometime in 2012, Ras- his village—Kolgaon has ble job openings, crop loans, home loans and the lockdown, which turned out to be rashtra over the past 15 shift hut made of soil
kar received the dollars mentioned above hundreds of bloggers today whose posts and so on. On an average, I get 30 lakh a blessing in disguise. years. In 2022, 1,023 farmers reportedly and hay,” he said. “I want to ensure my
in his account, which set him on a path are now read all across Maharashtra. They viewers per day. The more traffic the blogs “We were studying in Aurangabad at died by suicide in the region, at the rate of parents and son have more comfort in
nobody in his village had traversed (You- write on a range of themes. While farmer get, the more advertisements Google the time,” said Patil. “We managed to get over 85 suicides per month. Even before life.”
Tube pays its content creators a certain issues appear to be a common thread, sends my way. That’s how we generate back to our village three or four months covid-19, Marathwada accounted for 34% Raskar said that when people in the vil-
sum based on views. The sum depends on there are those who blog on labour, sports, revenue.” after the lockdown.” of the state’s nearly 12,000 farm suicides, lage earn money, it doesn’t remain limited
not just the number of views but also the loans, and entrance tests such as the civil Back then, both of them wanted to between 2015-2018. to those people. It uplifts the economy of
region from where the views come). services examination. An iPhone And A bike pursue medicine as a profession and Vinod Nimbalkar, 32, a farmer from the whole village. “Until a few years ago,
“That was the first time I thought of the
internet as a legitimate source of income,” Jobs And cRoPs R askar’s entrepreneurship has
changed the face of the village. It has
were preparing for the National Eligibil-
ity cum Entrance Test (NEET) at a private
Kolgaon, is still sitting on his 40 quintals you wouldn’t have seen a single house
of cotton because the current rate of made of cement and concrete in the vil-
he said.
Born in a poor farmer family in the B ut the journey wasn’t easy. It took
perseverance, determination and
agrarian region of Marathwada, Raskar unwavering faith. “People often made fun
emerged as a ‘bloggers village’, where
evening discussions, in its lanes and
by-lanes, largely revolve around who
tuition centre in that city. NEET is a test
for admission to the undergraduate med-
ical courses.
₹7,000 per quintal won’t even help him lage,” he said. “Today, over 100 bloggers
break even. “I invested nearly ₹3 lakh in have built their own houses. It ensured
my 10 acres of farmland,” he said. “But the regular work for contractors and labou-
didn’t know what he wanted to do. of me,” he recalled. “They would laugh at made how much money. Because of covid-19, Patil couldn’t con- harvest wasn’t up to the mark because of rers. Otherwise, farmers couldn’t afford to
However, he knew what he didn’t want me when I said the internet pays you for The hundreds of bloggers he has centrate on his studies. “There was a lot inconsistent rain. It poured heavily at the employ labourers in their farmlands.”
to do: farming. your work. I don’t blame them. Very few inspired now earn a respectable of anxiety, loss and destruction around time of the harvest and destroyed some of Raskar, himself, has bought a four-
Ever since he could remember, Raskar people in rural areas were aware of it back amount of money. “They make at least us,” he said. “I spent my time watching the stock.” wheeler and paid off all the loans his par-
had seen his parents struggling with their then. But I was confident.” ₹50,000 a month,” Raskar said. “Every movies, TV serials and playing video Climate change has led to variations ents took—up to ₹7 lakh. His parents
farmland, often reeling under the stress of When Raskar decided to get into it, he member of my team earns around ₹1 games. When the exams arrived, I knew in temperature and precipitation, couldn’t be more proud of him. But he is
debt. “I didn’t want to inherit that,” he had to choose an area to focus on. He lakh per month.” I wouldn’t do well.” reducing farm income by 15-18% for irri- most relieved with the fact that his three-
said. “I was always thinking about a busi- looked around, and only saw farmers— Two of them are Aditya Patil and Sau- Around the same time, Patil and gated areas, according to the OECD’s year-old daughter will have a comfortable
ness I could do.” which made him realize his blog had to rabh Londhe, aged 19 and 20, children of Londhe met Raskar. He explained blog- Economic Survey of 2017-18. The losses, childhood, and the resources to study as
In his early 20s, he set up a mobile and cater to that audience. “Several farmers farmers struggling in poverty. Their par- ging to them and they were on board. the survey states, could be as high as much as she wants to. He grew up in a
electronics shop in his village, which often complained about not being aware ents had slogged day in and day out to “We just followed his lead,” said Londhe. 25% in non-irrigated areas, like Kol- house made of mud with a tin-roof shed.
hadn’t taken off. It didn’t have to. The of government schemes,” he said. “By the ensure the kids study further after school. “He taught us everything from scratch gaon, where farmers are solely depend- She is growing up in a bungalow.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
 LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi 11

Why asset allocation should be

key to your financial planning?
Gold was best performer in FY23 but equity is the best asset class in the long term, show data compiled by Mint
Satya Sontanam rise in yields impacted the returns of
Changed identity.
satya.sontanam@livemint.com Financial year-wise performance long-tenure debt instruments, which Unchanged commitment.
Winners among asset classes keep rotating. Suitable asset allocation is important in meeting the are more prone to be volatile with IDFC Mutual Fund is now Bandhan Mutual Fund.

H
Backed by the legacy, goodwill and inclusiveness of the Bandhan Group,
ere’s something that financial goals. yield movements. we are stepping confidently into the future with the same passion,
people who invest for The Crisil 10-year Gilt Index, expertise and investor-first approach you have come to expect of us.
Here’s to fresh new beginnings.
the long term would FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 returned 3.4% in FY23, better than
love to hear: Equity out- the 1.1% delivered in FY22. While the
Nifty Nifty Nifty Nifty Nifty Nifty
performs other asset S&P Gold Gold Crisil 91-day T-Bill index gave 5.5% in
500 Smallcap Gold Smallcap Smallcap 50 Smallcap Smallcap I S NOW
classes in the long term and has the 31.7
250 10.5 250 250
16.4 37.2 250 250 13.6 FY23 (versus 3.7% in FY22).
ability to beat inflation. But it is also a 62.8 40.6 12.9 118.7 37.0 “Debt markets are mean reverting. www.bandhanmutual.com

highly volatile asset class in the short Nifty Nifty Nifty S&P S&P
Nifty Nifty Thus, a bout of underperformance is Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

Smallcap Midcap G-Sec Midcap G-Sec Midcap Midcap T-Bill

term. As per data compiled by Mint 500 500 usually followed by extraordinary
250 100 8.0 100
12.3 14.7 100 100 5.5
that covered various asset classes 22.9 52.5 36.5 13.9 103.9 26.7 gains as the yield oscillates through
over a period of 10 years (see table), the rate cycles. We have seen yields
equity (including large-, mid-, and Nifty Nifty Nifty Nifty T-Bill T-Bill Nifty Nifty spike in the last one year and this was
50 50 T-Bill 50 50 50 G-Sec
50 6.2
small-cap) was the worst-performing
19.5 28.2 7.8 20.2 11.8 7.1 72.5 20.3 3.4 reflected in the underperformance of
asset class for the fiscal year (FY)
ended 31 March. This comes in the Nifty Nifty Nifty
the 10-year maturity category. Going
ahead, as rates stabilize, and even fall,
POWER
wake of equity being a ‘best’ asset Midcap
100
S&P
500
S&P
500
S&P
500
Midcap
100
G-Sec
6.8
S&P
500
S&P
500
S&P
500
Midcap
100
we should see the performance of the POINT
class in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 18.3 15.3 5.6 12.3 10.3 -0.4 48.8 18.2 2.0 10-year maturity fund make up for
delivering handsome returns. last year’s underperformance,” said JOYDEEP SEN
Nifty
With the hike in interest rates over T-Bill G-Sec Midcap G-Sec T-Bill Gold Nifty T-Bill Gold Nifty Sandeep Yadav, head - fixed Income,
50 50
the last few months, the valuation of 8.6 14.6 100 11.9 6.4 1.4 3.8 16.7 DSP Mutual Fund. We welcome your views and comments at
Indian stock markets came down, -0.6 -25.0 0.6 Having said that Yadav also high- mintmoney@livemint.com
albeit with a bit of a lag compared to Nifty Nifty Nifty lights that investing in long-tenue
S&P
global peers.
Separately, global banking woes
and a depreciation in the rupee drove
G-Sec
-1.0
T-Bill
8.8
Smallcap
250
-5.9
T-Bill
6.7
Gold
5.6
Midcap
100
-1.9
Midcap
100
-35.1
G-Sec
3.6
T-Bill
3.7
500
-1.6
papers is not for everyone. “The asset
allocation between these two funds is
dependent on investors’ risk profile.
FINANCE ACT AND
Indian gold prices to a record high.
The yellow metal was the best-per-
forming asset class in FY23 with a
Gold
-7.9
Gold
-6.4
Nifty
50
-7.8
Gold
-2.3
G-Sec
-0.4
Nifty
Smallcap
250
-12.4
Nifty
Smallcap
250
-40.2
Gold
-0.2
G-Sec
1.1
Nifty
Smallcap
250
-6.0
While I believe that the 10-year cate-
gory could outperform the 91-day
T-bill, but a more risk-conscious
THE WAY FORWARD
one-year return of about 14%.
With yields remaining at high lev-
els, the long-term maturity fixed-in-
Returns as of March 31, 2023. T-Bill: treasury bills; G-sec: government securities; For large-cap, we have used Nifty 50 TRI data; for mid-cap, Nifty
Midcap 100 - TRI data; for small-cap, Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI data; for T-Bill, Crisil 91 Day T-Bill Index data; for G-sec, Crisil 10 Year Gilt Index data, for
international, S&P 500 index data (converted to rupee returns). Nippon India ETF Gold BeES is used as a proxy for gold asset class
investor could prefer the latter,”
added Yadav.
Another important development
FOR DEBT FUNDS
come instruments underperformed. S&P 500 returns are converted to INR for all the years – based on exchange rates at the beginning and end of the financial year on the debt side is the removal of con-
No single asset class outperformed Also for S&P 500, price returns are taken instead of total returns. Souce: ACE MF cessional capital gains tax treatment
or underperformed in all the fiscal for debt funds. For investments
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
years during the said period. beginning this current fiscal year,
This highlights the importance of sented by Nifty Small-cap 250 TRI) depreciation of nearly 8% has helped the worst performer in four years and income from debt funds will be taxed
having a diversified portfolio and a was the worst performer in FY23, the rupee-denominated index to be the best performer in three years. at a slab rate, irrespective of the hold-
suitable asset allocation. The last with negative returns of 6% on a total nearly flat. Talking about the poor Further, the best years for gold were ing period, which is in line with the
thing investors want to see is their return basis. performance of US equity, Sahil the worst for equity. tax treatment on income earned from
investments depreciate when they Interestingly, the small-cap seg- Kapoor, markets strategist and head- Again, it was the rupee deprecia- fixed deposits.
actually need it. ment, which comes with a higher risk Products, DSP Mutual Fund, said “an tion that supported Indian gold prices Asset allocation is the key
Equity: long-term game in terms of volatility, outperformed uncertainty around growth and 475 to deliver double-digit returns in The performance of each asset
Domestic equity languished in fis- all other asset classes in five of the 10 basis points (bps) of rate hike by Fed FY23. But. international gold prices class depends on various factors that
cal 2023. “The Indian markets were fiscal years. But in the years that it saw has dragged US equity returns. Over remained volatile. small retail investors may not keep
affected by many factors including a correction, returns from this seg- the past years, the valuation of the “International gold prices started track of all the time.
higher valuations, supply-chain con- ment fell sharply, with mostly a dou- index on a PE (price to earnings) basis FY23 on a high note on the back of Thus, a diversified portfolio with
straints, hyperinflation, and the col- ble-digit decline in percentage terms. has declined by 400bps.” risk aversion created by the Russia- suitable asset allocation is essential
lapse of international banks due to Since small-caps have corrected in The short-term outlook from here Ukraine war. Tailwinds to the price for an investor for a good financial
mounting interest rates,” said Vinod multiples compared to the broad doesn’t look attractive either for US also included multi-year decade-high planning. Asset allocation has been a

Nair, head of Research at Geojit
Financial Services.
The market has been trading with
a negative bias for a longer period (18
months) now. Nifty 50 delivered a
return of negative 5% from 21 October
2021 to 31 March this year on a price
return basis.
With this time correction, Nair
believes that the market has factored
in the negatives to an extent and the
valuations moderated on a long-term
basis.
“While the expected reversal in the
monetary policy from a hawkish to a
neutral tone in the coming quarters
would be a positive trigger, one of the
biggest perils is the slowdown in the
economy not being completely fac-
tored in future earnings growth and
its impact,” according to Nair.
A closer look at the returns reveals
that the small-cap segment (repre-
I
market, Nair believes equity. “Going ahead, inflation in the developed world and time-tested method to contain losses n a growing economy like India, with an expanding base of
that the small-cap seg- Asset allocation the volatility is likely to pullback in risk assets. But headwinds in any market scenario as it balances investors, any investment vehicle that is built on a solid base
ment looks attractive on has been a continue as growth in in the form of a stronger dollar and risk and reward aspects of the portfo- will find a way to grow. All the more so, for an investment cate-
a long-term basis as it time-tested the US economy slows higher interest rates during the rest of lio. It is nothing but apportioning a gory that is well regulated, transparent and provides liquidity in
provides a better risk-re- method to and corporate profita- the year put downward pressure on portfolio’s assets across asset classes an otherwise not-so-liquid underlying market. It is in this context
ward ratio. Do note that according to an individual’s goals,
contain losses in bility resets to a lower gold,” said Ghazal Jain, fund manag- that one should take note of the tax changes introduced by the
this segment is only for level. Expect the index er- Alternative Investments, Quan- risk tolerance and investment hori- government recently. The Finance Act 2023 mandates that
those with high risk-tak- any market to remain in a broad tum AMC. zon. investments in growth option of debt schemes, irrespective of
ing ability. scenario range for the next few Going ahead, economic slowdown Talking about the importance of their holding period, be taxed as STCG, or short-term capital
For international months,” added due to aggressive monetary policy asset allocation, Renu Maheshwari, gains. STCG is taxed at the marginal slab rate of the investor.
equity, which acts as a Kapoor. tightening in the last fiscal year com- co-founder, Finscholarz Wealth Other than people in lower income tax brackets, for most inves-
good diversifier for a domestic equi- However, those investing for the ing into play and the Federal Reserve Managers, said, “moving the assets tors, it is the highest slab rate. What it effectively means is that the
ty-heavy portfolio, we looked at the long term must utilize the current being very close to the end of its tight- into the winning asset class is a mis- benefit of indexation, which was available for investments in debt
S&P 500 Index data. The index deliv- correction opportunity through a SIP ening cycle will bode well for gold in take most people make while manag- funds till 31 March, has been taken away.
ered double-digit one-year returns (systematic investment plan) route to the near future,” believes Jain. Invest- ing their portfolios. Chasing a win- All fixed income investment options have now been brought
(in rupee terms) in seven of the last 10 tide over overall volatility, said ment advisers suggest having a ning asset class results in sub-optimal on the same platform. Debt mutual funds (MFs) have lost their
fiscal years. A meaningful portion of Kapoor. Note that very few global 5%-10% allocation to gold in the port- returns on the portfolio. Appropriate earlier advantage. Now, the comparison between fixed income
such return can be attributed to the funds are accepting fresh inflows cur- folio to withstand volatility. asset allocation ensures that full investments will happen on merit. Bank term deposits are taxable
depreciation of the rupee. rently. Debt: mean reversion advantage of the rally in that particu- as interest at your marginal slab rate. Bond coupon is taxable as
This rupee depreciation came to its Gold: higher volatility The year saw the fastest clip of lar asset class comes to the portfolio.” interest at your marginal slab rate but the capital gains compo-
rescue even in FY23 as well. Over the Gold, as an asset class, is highly vol- interest rate hikes by central banks She reiterated that asset allocation nent, if you sell at a higher price prior to maturity, is taxed as capi-
last 12 months, the S&P500 Index has atile compared to equity. across the world. As a result, yields on forms the basis of portfolio manage- tal gains at a lower rate. Debt MFs dividend option, now known
declined nearly 10%, but the rupee Over the last 10 years, it has been debt instruments spiked sharply. The ment and holistic financial planning. as income distribution-cum-capital withdrawal option, was any-
way taxable in the hands of the investor at the marginal slab rate.
Now, the growth option will be taxed as STCG. Market linked
debentures also will be taxed as STCG

Compare company FD rates and ratings PPF: Know how your The recent tax
changes have
from 1 April.
Taxation being the same, the indus-
try will find a path to grow. Here is an
created three
orporate FDs are popular among investors who want fixed returns that are slightly
higher than what bank FDs give, even at a slightly higher risk. However, just like FDs,
interest is calculated categories in
mutual fund
analogy that proves this. On 11 Septem-
ber 2020, markets regulator Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
interest payment on corporate FDs is fully taxable at your income tax slab rate, so factor taxation issued a circular on asset allocation in
in the post-tax returns. Mint does not recommend corporate FDs to an average investor multi-cap funds, mandating minimum
Satya Sontanam The interest rates applicable 25% allocation in large-cap, mid-cap
because of the risk involved. But if you like to invest in them, nevertheless, you must satya.sontanam@livemint.com on investments in PPF are and small-cap stocks. That would have meant drastic changes in
minimize the risk by choosing issuers with high ratings. An AA rating indicates notified by the government on the allocation of existing multi-cap funds. In less than two
that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong; the higher the rating,

H
ere is what investors a quarterly basis. Interest at months, on 6 November 2020, Sebi issued a circular allowing a
the better the risk capacity of the issuer. Also, make sure the terms for premature should know about the applicable rates for each quar- new fund category called flexi-cap fund. Something similar can
redemption are not very stringent. Here's a list of corporate FDs that are rated Public Provident Fund ter gets credited to the inves- be done in the current situation as well. The recent tax changes
AA and above. (PPF) and why they need to put tors’ account at the end of each have created three categories in MF taxation. The first one will
in funds into this scheme financial year and compounds have equity allocation of less than 35%, which are mostly debt
Highest interest Change in before the fifth of any month. annually. funds, apart from gold funds or international fund-of-funds.
Tenor range Securities rating as on Issuer rating as
rate for monthly
(in months)
rating over past
on 23 March 2023
Recently, the government The interest calculation for These will be taxed as STCG. The second will have equity alloca-
frequency (%) March 2023 one year raised interest rates on most each calendar month takes tion of more than 65%, which is taxed as in the case of equity. And,
small saving schemes, except into account the lowest bal- a third category, created by the amendment in the Finance Bill:
Bajaj Finance 7.67 12-60 CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL [ICRA] No change LT: ‘BB+’ and ST: ‘B’ by
AAA/Stable by ICRA S&P Global Ratings the PPF. Do note that the prov- ance in the account between Funds with equity allocation between 35% and 65% that will be
ident fund comes with a long the fifth day and the end of the taxed as debt as earlier i.e. with indexation benefit for a holding
Mahindra Finance 7.25 12-60 " IND AAA / Stable, No change LT: IND AAA/Stable by
CRISIL AAA/Stable" Ind-Ra tenure of 15 years. month. period of more than three years.
"CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL, The interest rate on PPF at For example, consider that So, a category of funds can be positioned in the 35-65% equity
ICICI Home Finance 7.45 12-120 [ICRA] AAA/Stable by ICRA No change [ICRA]AAA (Stable) by
ICRA 7.1% per annum for the quarter you have a closing PPF balance bracket. If equity is kept on the lower side, say 35-40%, it would
and CARE AAA by CARE"
of April to June 2023 has of ₹1 lakh as of 31 March. If you largely retain the debt character. This would be suitable for inves-
PNB Housing Finance 7.44 12-120 "CRISIL AA Stable, CARE AA/Stable " No change Not rated remained static since April invest ₹50,000 further in tors looking for a 3-year holding period and indexation benefit.
2020. April, the closing balance for The potential fund categories that may fit here are as follows:
LIC Housing Finance 7.35 12-60 CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL No change Not rated Despite there being no hike April would be ₹1.5 lakh. Inter- Balanced hybrid funds: A Sebi circular issued on 6 October
in rates, the PPF scheme still est for the month of April will 2017 on fund categorization mentions a balanced hybrid fund
CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL, [ICRA] AAA by CARE and
HDFC 7.70 12-120 AAA/Stable by ICRA No change
AAA by ICRA looks attractive on a post-tax be calculated on ₹1.5 lakh if with equity allocation of 40-60% of portfolio. The same circular
basis as the interest earned on ₹50,000 is invested on or allowed the category of aggressive hybrid funds with equity allo-
CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL, [ICRA] Not rated
Sundaram Home Finance 7.63 36-60 AAA/Stable by ICRA Upgrade this investment is exempt before 5 April. Otherwise, it cation of 65-80%. The circular, however, allowed only one of
from tax under both the old would be calculated on ₹1 lakh these two, i.e. balanced or aggressive. The MF industry opted for
"CRISIL AAA/Stable by CRISIL Not rated
Sundaram Finance 7.49 12-36 [ICRA] AAA by ICRA" No change and the new tax regime. only. the aggressive variety as equity taxation is preferred. In view of the
Under the old tax regime, Thus, to maximise the recent tax changes, Sebi may consider allowing both these catego-
"[ICRA]AA+ (Stable)
Shriram Finance 8.18 12-60 IND AA+/Stable by Ind-Ra" No change LT: IND AA+/Stable the investment amount in PPF returns on PPF, one must ries, with balanced hybrid equity allocation at, say, 35-50%.
is also eligible for tax deduc- invest in PPF on or before fifth Conservative hybrid fund: This category will have equity
tion under Section 80C of the of any month. allocation of 10-25%. If a little higher equity allocation is allowed,
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Income Tax Act of up to ₹1.5 The minimum and the max- this category can be repositioned as 35% or more in equity.
LT: Long-term; ST: Short-term; Data as on 23 March 2023. All issuers give an additional 0.25% interest rate to senior citizens, whereas Shriram Finance, lakh per annum. Further, PPF imum limits of investment in a Equity savings: In this, the combined allocation to equity
Sundaram Home Finance and Sundaram Finance that give 0.50%.
interest rates are generally PPF account per financial year (unhedged) and equity (hedged) is 65% or more. This can be sof-
Source: BankBazaar.com higher than long-tenure fixed are ₹500 and ₹1.5 lakh, respec- tened so that the description is akin to debt funds.
deposits offered by banks. tively. Joydeep Sen is a corporate trainer and author.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
 12 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW GUEST VIEW

ISTOCKPHOTO

Our new foreign trade policy is

transformational and futuristic
It marks a departure from previous policies and has numerous novel measures to facilitate trade

ments from time to time that the essence
of the initial document got altered. An
FTP with no end date addresses the
needs of international trade dynamics,
providing enormous flexibility for policy
measures as and when required.
Lending export competitiveness to
Indian products is the key focus of the
new policy. It puts behind us the era of
RAKESH MOHAN JOSHI incentives, with remission of duties
is a professor at the Indian Institute of emphasized instead to go with moves
Foreign Trade aimed at easing taxation and operations
along the entire trade cycle. It is no
secret that a substantial part of financial
Apparel Parks (PM Mitra) scheme for
benefits under the Common Service
Provider (CSP) label as part of the EPCH
scheme. Extension of the special
advance authorization scheme to the
apparel and clothing sector would also
facilitate speedy exports.
Special measures have been taken to
support the dairy industry to upgrade
technology by way of an exemption from
export obligations otherwise applicable.
This would go a long way in the export-
orientation of this sector. India is the
world’s largest milk producer, with a

We need reforms that’ll

subsidies have considerable seepage 24% global share of milk production but
before they reach the intended benefici- less than 0.5 % of world dairy exports.

I
ndia’s new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) aries. Moreover, even importers hardly To promote sustainability and climate
exhibits a transformational departure hesitate to get a share in such subsidies, change, the latest FTP provides for
from earlier trade policies in multiple by forcing price cuts in many a case. reduced export obligations for battery

ensure justice prevails ways, making it futuristic, flexible and

dynamic in addressing the ever-chang-
ing needs of international business and
our trading community. The policy sets
Key policy measures that will benefit
exporters include the digitization of
applications for export-import licences
as well as several export promotion
electric vehicles, vertical farming equip-
ment, wastewater treatment and recy-
cling, rainwater harvesting systems and
green-technology products.
a target of achieving exports worth $2 schemes, such as advanced authoriza- A special emphasis has been laid on
trillion by 2030 and outlines a broad tion, the exports promotion capital promoting e-commerce exports. These
The latest ‘India Justice Report’ lays bare how far behind we are on satisfying basic ideals strategy to achieve it. Given India’s total goods (EPCG) scheme, duty-free import are expected to reach $200-300 billion
exports of goods and services have authorization (DFIA) scheme. All these by 2030, with the setting up of e-com
of the rule of law. To uphold this promise, judicial and police reforms in India are a must touched over $760 billion, and with will be paperless and online. Also, rules- export hubs backed by a separate policy
futuristic policy measures unveiled in based automatic approval systems that framework. Extending FTP benefits to
the FTP, it seems India may achieve that use business-analytic tools are being e-commerce exports, doubling the value
target earlier than expected. Targeted implemented by the Directorate General limit for exports through courier servi-

T
he rule of law is integral to a just
order. As an idea, its institution sets
the modernity of equal rights apart
from the inequity of being at the
mercy of someone’s whim. What
we institute to govern our lives,
however, needs a constant vigil. The India
Justice Report of 2022 released by Tata Trusts
this week offers a wealth of data which aids
that cause by laying bare the inadequacies of
our justice system. Covid slowed India’s pace
of case-clearance by courts, with the result that
our pile-up rose from 41 million in 2020 to 49
million in 2022. We had 5.6 million pending
for longer than a decade, with 190,000 for
over 30 years. The judiciary remains acutely
short of capacity. With 20,093 judges at work,
we barely have 15 for every million Indians, less
than a third of the 50 recommended by the
Law Commission in 1987. Meanwhile, Indian
prisons saw a sharp rise in overcrowding to
about 30 extra inmates in 2021 for every 100
they were built to hold. Only a minority were
convicts, as 77% of them were under-trials yet
anyone. Except in Union territories governed interventions have already resulted in of Foreign Trade (DGFT), with a promise ces to ₹10 lakh and special outreach and
by the Centre (Delhi included for this pur- exports of electronic goods jumping by of single-day processing. This is likely to training activities for small e-commerce
162% from $6 billion in 2015-16 to $16 speed up export operations. exporters would help the country
pose), law-enforcers operate directly under billion in 2021-22, of engineering goods The benefits of India’s self-ratification achieve that target.
state governments, so politics has a structural by 81% to $112 billion, and of toys by 89% scheme for fixing input-output norms The internationalization of trade in
role in justice delivery at the khaki level. Lack to $546 million. being extended to two-star and above the Indian rupee, with enabling provi-
of police diversity is a common problem across The FTP 2023 is a unified document, status holders would greatly reduce sions for the grant of export incentives
states, whether it’s gender, caste or other delineating with impressive precision operational hassles for exporters. More- and fulfilment of export obligations in
the vision of the government, unlike over, the export-performance threshold rupees, is also commendable.
markers of identity. Be it constables or officers, earlier policies that had multiple parts, for recognition of status holders has The new FTP envisages active partici-
too few women cops is a notable worry, for it detailing incentive schemes and rebates, been considerably lowered, especially at pation by Indian states in export promo-
feeds an anxiety over safety which imposes procedural modalities and even input- the higher end. For instance, five-star tion; it encourages this at the district
unseen social and economic costs. All police output norms. Thus, earlier trade poli- export houses would now require just level through the One-District-One-
stations are supposed to have women’s help- cies were largely confined to short-term $800 million in exports, down from Product scheme and its promotion of
measures primarily focused on a few $2,000 million, to qualify for that status. district export hubs. The FTP also calls
desks, but 28% do not and many others don’t incentives that were hardly sustainable This would help more beneficiaries and for the proactive involvement of Indian
have women cops ready to respond round-the- and showed little strategic intent. reduce transaction costs. missions abroad not only in market iden-
clock, although fail-proof help is the least we That the FTP has no end date is also a To boost exports of manufactured tification but also facilitating the entry of
should expect. No less worrisome are other significant departure from earlier poli- goods, a host of targeted interventions, Indian products to overseas markets,
biases that could arise within a force whose cies that tended to have a duration of 3 to such as the inclusion of the Prime Minis- marking a strategic transformation in
5 years, but required so many amend- ter Mega Integrated Textile Region and India’s export strategy.
composition doesn’t reflect that of the people
being policed. Should political pressure come
to bear in, say, politically sensitive situations,
then the law’s long arm can get misused. The
way out of this perplexity would be de facto
autonomy for the police. Unfortunately, this
reform looks very hard to achieve, given how www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Saturday, April 6, 2013 Vol.7 No.82 `5.00 in Delhi­NCR/`6.00 outside Delhi­NCR 12 PAGES
16
+ 20 PAGES LOUNGE

to be found either guilty or innocent, up from little appeal the idea of power dispersal Arthur C. Brooks on
Q&A:
promoting free enterprise >4
TELECOM: DoT issues notices to Vodafone,

about 69% two years earlier. This figure should
appears to hold among those who wield it. In
Idea Cellular >2
CORPORATE: DLF sells more wind energy assets >3
CONTENT PARTNER INTERNATIONAL: Floodgates open as BoJ joins
easing odyssey >12

weigh upon our conscience. Not only does it this milieu, asking politicians to empower SENSEX 18,450.23 æ 59.47

CONTENT REGULATION
NIFTY 5,553.25 æ 21.50 DOLLAR `54.81 æ `0.06

SENSEX COMPLETES
EURO `71.26 Æ `0.15 GOLD `29,100 Æ `115

India’s fledgling
OIL $104.90 æ $0.74

QUICK EDIT

Govt hints at WEEKLY DECLINE start­up sector Cash flood

make “bail not jail” sound hollow as the norm,
police officers so that they can freely obey only broadcasting
Indian stocks fell for the third day after the sale of shares by overseas
funds for three straight days weakened the outlook for the nation’s
equities. BSE’s 30-share benchmark Sensex index slid 0.3% to 18,450.23
on Friday, taking the week’s loss to 2.1%. Foreign investors sold a net
$45.4 million of Indian shares on 4 April, a third day of net outflows,
data from the regulator shows. Overseas investors are paring this
seeing exodus
B Y A NIRBAN S EN
M ARK B ERGEN
·························
BANGALORE

F
&

or Sampad Swain, founder

coming
T he biggest economic
news of the week
comes from Japan. Its
central bank intends to
Justice will not be served
reform agenda
year’s record equity purchases as sales of goods from cars to cement

since some prisoners surely deserve to be their calls of duty might be too steep an ask.
of e-commerce start-up In- double the amount of
drop amid the slowest economic growth in a decade, a record current stamojo, it was an obvious de- money in circulation in a
account deficit and the fastest inflation among major emerging nations. cision to move his entire team bid to finally defeat the

until those who are

I&B minister raises
prospect of independent
broadcasting authority,
19,200 from Mumbai to the San Fran- debilitating deflation that
cisco Bay Area. has bugged what was once
“In India, I have to do hazaar the most dynamic
clearly pointed out that the (thousand) things to catch the economy in the world.
government had no intention of
putting a “regulator on content
attention of a company,” said
Swain, who founded Instamojo
Ever since Shinzo Abe
became Prime Minister in
18,890.81

freed, it also speaks of apathy to their plight. Judicial reforms may make for a significantly
in the statutory space”, which
says govt may be forced would have abated some of the
concern regarding censorship,
to set up ratings system on which the record of the gov-
ernment hasn’t been unblem-
19,000 in October 2010 when he start- December, there have
ed a newsletter containing vid- been expectations of a
eo interviews of entrepreneurs. massive stimulus to the
“It’s a much tougher market Japanese economy, but
to crack than the US,” Swain the sheer scale of the

unaffected are as outraged

B Y S HUCHI B ANSAL ished. said. There he expects to find a proposed monetary easing
shuchi.b@livemint.com The expert committee 18,800 larger customer base in compa- is still a surprise.
························· chaired by Sam Pitroda, adviser nies more amenable to trying Two things in particular
NEW DELHI to the Prime Minister on public new products. Instamojo is an have to be watched. One,

I
Unless there’s a good reason, accusations alone less dismal bet. Chief Justice of India D.Y.
nformation and broadcast-
ing (I&B) minister Manish
Tewari on Friday raised the
prospect of an independent
broadcasting authority and said
the government may be forced
to set up a ratings system un-
information infrastructure and
innovations, was constituted by
the I&B ministry in January to
review the institutional frame-
work of Prasar Bharati, includ-
ing its relationship with the
government, its role as a public
online store where companies whether the Japanese
and individuals can sell prod- export engine whirs back
18,600
ucts such as e-books or soft- to life because of a
18,450.23 ware. cheaper yen. Two, whether
Swain plans to shift his entire the carry trade funded in
team—currently Instamojo has the Japanese currency
only four members, including guides some of this new

as those who are.

less the industry took steps to broadcaster, and the technical him—to the Bay Area within 18 gush of liquidity into
put in place a credible method upgrade of the organization. 18,400 months. He didn’t say how big regional financial markets.

shouldn’t get people locked up, especially not Chandrachud promised action upon taking
of ranking television pro-
grammes, in a series of state-
ments that appeared to set out
a comprehensive agenda of re-
form for the sector.
Another significant policy
point, which may have caused
some disquiet among sections
of the industry, was made by in-
Prasar Bharati’s role as a the expanded team will be. The impact of the
public broadcaster is the sub- Swain is among at least a stimulus will be felt
ject of intense debate amid de- dozen young Indian entrepre- around the world, and
clining viewership and adver- neurs who have joined an exo- India will be no exception.
tising revenue, and an inability dus of local talent to Silicon One small indication:
to engage with its role in raising 18,200 Valley, the world’s biggest shares of Maruti Suzuki
knowledge levels, analysts said. 1 Apr 5 Apr technology hub, over the past have climbed steeply in a
Verma said that if the broad- Source: Bloomberg falling market.
casting sector does not put to- TURN TO PAGE 2®

when so many laws allow false charges a wide charge last year and the apex court has indeed
formation secretary Uday Ku-
mar Verma, who said the in-
dustry will have to come to
grips with the issue of content
regulation given the explosion
in the number of channels. In-
dia is one of the few countries
that doesn’t have such a con-
tent regulator, he added.
PARAS JAIN/MINT
gether an independent televi-
sion rating system soon, the
government will intervene and
offer viewership data on its
own. Restructured TRIMMING DOWN
“We have given a clear signal
to the broadcasting and adver-
tising industries that they have
loans cross Buffeted by debt, Suzlon
an independent television rat-
`2.27 trillion;

berth. We cannot ignore this truth of justice: If seen a few welcome initiatives in a reformist
“The broadcasting universe
has grown and expanded in
such an exponential manner
that a time has come, on the
techno-commercial side, for a
separate broadcasting authori-
ty,” Tewari said in his keynote
address on Friday at a meeting
ing system in place by the mid-
dle of next year, failing which
the government will not hesi-
tate in asking Trai—in fact we
have already made a reference
to the authority—to make sure
that there are adequate guide-
lines in place for any TRP (tele-
tries to turn itself around
pace slows
B E N JA MI N F R A N K L I N
RAMESH PATHANIA/MINT
B Y D INESH U NNIKRISHNAN B Y P .R . S ANJAI
dinesh.n@livemint.com pr.sanjai@livemint.com
························· ·························
MUMBAI MUMBAI

of the expert committee on re- vision rating point) generating

T he pace of growth in the
T he Suzlon Energy Ltd ini-

it isn’t meted out fairly, it doesn’t exist. direction. Yet, a standoff between the judiciary
structuring Prasar Bharati in
New Delhi. “Broadcasting was
never supposed to be part of
the Trai (Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India) remit.”
Prasar Bharati is the state-
run organization that runs
Doordarshan and All India Ra-
dio.
entity,” said Verma, addressing
the members of the 11 expert
groups studying different as-
pects of Prasar Bharati.
Tewari pointed out that the
broadcasting industry was
dragging its feet over the
Broadcast Audience Research
Council (BARC), the body joint-
restructured loan pile of
India’s `75 trillion banking in-
dustry on the so-called corpo-
rate debt restructuring (CDR)
platform declined in the three
months ended March for the
first time in four quarters, sig-
nalling a gradual improvement
in the financial health of Indi-
tial public offering (IPO)
opened on 23 September 2008
and closed six days later, over-
subscribed by more than 40
times and raising $340 million
(around `1,870 crore today).
Shares of the wind turbine
maker listed at `510 at the up-
per end of the price band, then

The report also places police forces under its
and the government over judge selection has
The references by Tewari and
Verma are to regulators of two
kinds. One covers technical and
commercial aspects currently
overseen by Trai, and the other
refers to content.
Referring to the proliferation
of television channels, which
ly formed by television chan-
nels with the advertising indus-
try for creating a new television
viewership mapping system.
BARC was proposed some years
ago by channel owners unhap-
py with the rating system put in
place by TAM Media Research,
an companies. Yet, the recov-
ery is too nascent to deem it
sustainable, experts say.
CDR refers to the practice of
banks assisting stressed bor-
rowers by stretching their loan
repayment periods, offering a
moratorium on repayment,
surged to `1,407.60 in six
months before the stock split,
turning founder Tulsi Tanti
into a billionaire. Citigroup
and other investors also did
extremely well out of the IPO.
Six years down the line,
things have changed. The
Reversing slide: Founder Tulsi Tanti says given that Suzlon is present in
30 countries and has arguably the widest product portfolio, there is
scope for conservative optimism.
also converted the interest loans to improve cash flows.
payable on loans for two years It’s also building wind turbines

lens. State-wise variation is visible on several placed a limit on the scope of what we can
numbered more than 800 cur-
rently, and the growth of new
media including social media,
Tewari said there was a need
for an independent regulator in
the media space. However, he
NOTE TO READERS
a joint venture between Nielsen
(India) Pvt. Ltd and Kantar
Market Research.
The issue has led to a squab-
ble between at least one broad-
caster and TAM. The start of
digitization in 2012 also led to a
suspension in the ratings as
broadcasters were concerned
and/or even slashing the bor-
rowing cost.
Banks set aside 2.75% of the
loan amount to cover such re-
structuring, but the provision-
ing shoots up to 15% when a
restructured loan turns bad.
The latest data from the CDR
cell suggests that Indian banks
stock ended Friday at `13.59.
The difference between that
close and its all-time high rep-
resents a loss of `65,650.5
crore in market value. From
$17.33 billion at its height, Su-
zlon now has a market cap of
$440.59 million.
There is a mountain of
into equity of 32.1% in the
company. The lenders, a con-
sortium of 19 banks, have also
agreed to enhance working
capital facilities to the group
by `1,800 crore and a 10-year,
back-ended repayment plan as
part of the exercise. The com-
pany is also India’s biggest
to order, unlike the previous
practice of making them first
and then trying to sell the de-
vices. The company is aiming
for a 20% cut each in operating
expenditure, staff costs and
headcount, besides selling
non-critical assets.
Chairman and managing di-

counts, like vacancies, training budgets, police expect. Anyhow, for justice to prevail, change
There is no Markets Watch
with today’s edition.
Mint is also available for R9.50 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
the numbers would be too low
as the switch-over took place
and until the process stabilized.
“One of the benefits of digiti-
TURN TO BACK PAGE ®
added `15,016 crore of re-
structured loans in the March
quarter, about `9,000 crore
less than what they had done
TURN TO PAGE 3®
debt—`13,017 crore at the end
of June last year. Lenders
agreed on 24 January to recast
`9,500 crore of this as part of a
corporate debt restructuring
(CDR) programme. They have
convertible bond defaulter.
Suzlon’s revival strategy is a
multi-pronged one—it’s re-
ducing debt through promot-
ers, bringing in equity and sell-
ing bonds to refinance existing
rector Tanti, 55, rarely speaks
to the media these days as he
battles to rescue the company
from financial ruin.
TURN TO PAGE 3®

station cameras, etc. This should not surprise is a must. The status quo just won’t do.

MY VIEW | MUSING MACRO

Is monopoly pricing by India’s ‘Big 5’ stoking inflation?

According to a report by wealth manage-
AJIT RANADE ment firm Marcellus, the top 20 profit gener-
ators earn a staggering 80% of the nation’s
profits. This is twice the share a decade ago,
reflecting increasing concentration of profits.
The same is true of wealth creation. About
prices can be sustained in monopolistic mar- is short-lived, thanks to the phenomenon of ‘Make In India’ or as part of the production-
kets even if demand slackens. The aggregate ‘creative destruction’. Schumpeter described linked incentive scheme. Such protection is
‘consumer surplus’ is appropriated much it as a “process of industrial mutation that also part of an implicit attempt by the Indian
more by the supply side. Under perfect com- incessantly revolutionizes the economic government to develop global champions
petition, there is no surplus left to appropri- structure from within”, destroying the old based in India, much like what was done in
ate, since prices go down to marginal costs. one and creating a new one. Japan and South Korea in the last century.

F
ormer Reserve Bank of India deputy
governor Viral Acharya has set the cat
among the pigeons, arguing that the five
biggest private business groups in India are
contributing to persistently high core infla-
tion. Their dominance in the economy is
indicated in several ways that he details in a
research paper published by Brookings Insti-
80% of the decadal increase in stock-market
wealth measured as the value of the Nifty
index was captured by just 20 companies.
There is similar polarization in the free cash
flow generation at companies, where the top
dozen-and-a-half account for the major
share. If we triangulate data in the Marcellus
report with Acharya’s paper, it becomes clear
Fair competition is also nurtured by a vigi- Does India’s experience with today’s Big 5 Are we trying to mimic the history of keiretsu
lant watchdog—the Com- concentration, as hypothe- and chaebols which led to the creation of
petition Commission of sized by Acharya, corrobo- firms like Mitsubishi, Sumitomo and Sam-
India. Our competition law We don’t need rate Schumpeter’s thesis or sung? It worked in a different context about
penalizes abuse of domi- contradict it? If the playing half a century ago, but is not workable in the
nance. It replaced the older to buy Acharya’s field is not level or entry globalized world of today.
Monopolistic and Restrict- barriers are stiff, then crea- Acharya’s thesis is persuasive and needs
ive Trade Practices Act;
thesis to initiate tive destruction will not careful examination. Formalization of the

is a Pune-based economist
tution. The five groups have amassed assets,
doubling their share of non-financial assets in
the country over the past 30 years. They also
doubled their share of merger and acquisi-
tion deals since 2011, even as the aggregate
number of deals declined. Their economic
expansion is manifest both in their breadth
and depth of presence in the economy. The
former is captured by the fact that firms
belonging to these groups now operate in half
of all industries, as per National Industrial
Classification codes. The latter is captured by
increasing market and profit share, especially
since 2015. Their rise also coincides with a
relative decline in the respective shares of the
next big five (i.e., the Big 6 to 10).
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
that market power is getting concentrated.
That in turn leads to pricing power. This is at
the heart of Acharya’s thesis. In the standard
lexicon of financial analysts, this is called the
‘pricing power’ of firms, which usually comes
in a rising business cycle. When incomes and
demand are rising, firms respond by raising
prices. This is basic economics.
But elementary economics also tells us that
the ability to sell at a mark-up over marginal
costs, and the power to sustain monopolistic
prices does not depend only on the status of
the business cycle. It is not only under condi-
tions of excess demand that firms enjoy pric-
ing power. It could be on account of a basic
feature of the existing market structure. High
even the tech giant Google
has not been spared a pen-
a deep study happen and incumbents
will get bigger. Acharya
economy, a wider goods and services tax net,
demonetization and fiscal pump-priming
alty for abusing its domi-
nance in the Android mar-
of how market warns that the Big 5 may
become too big to fail, and
during the pandemic have helped larger
firms disproportionately, while smaller firms
ket. The competition law structure may receive largesse and rescue suffered. But inflation has also been driven by
framework is more con- even if over-leveraged. repeated hikes in the prices of food items
cerned about anti-competi- impact prices Bigness can also manifest such as milk, eggs and pulses, and commodi-
tive behaviour and less in other ways. What if a big ties like oil and energy. Not all of this can be
about monopolies per se. firm with deep pockets is attributed to a monopolistic market structure
This thinking goes back to economist Joseph able to resort to predatory pricing and can enjoyed by the Big 5. Further, even with high
Schumpeter, who said that a competitive pro- block off new entrants? It was evident in the tariffs, we cannot ignore the competitive
cess is one where every entrepreneur wants telecom sector, where there was zero-pricing pressure of imports on big firms in India.
to be a monopolist, at least temporarily. for long that did not attract the Competition Nevertheless, Acharya’s paper is a good trig-
Sooner or later, the monopoly gets con- Commission’s ire. What if a few big firms ger for the Competition Commission to initi-
tested as rivals enter by either under-pricing enjoy duty protection from imports? We have ate broad-based research on the inflationary
it or innovating. The reign of the monopolist seen this too as part of the strategy to promote impact of the market structure in India.
 LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
CheNNAi 13

MY VIEW | CAFE ECOnOMICs M I N T C U R AT O R

India’s post-pandemic potential Top-end art and luxury zoom

while crypto bros dump NFTs
growth could be pushed higher Global art market patterns reflect the flow and ebb of easy money

We need deeper structural changes to drive more investments, raise productivity and enhance women’s labour participation

BLOOMBERG

ANDREA FELSTED
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
consumer goods and the retail industry.

NIRANJAN RAJADHYAKSHA
is CEO and senior fellow at Artha India
Research Advisors, and a member of the
academic advisory board of the Meghnad
Desai Academy of Economics.

T
he rich are living in a different eco-
nomic world right now. You can see
that from all the Dior handbags and
Cartier watches they are buying—but it Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days

T
hree years have now passed since the
pandemic brought the world to a
standstill. Economic activity collapsed.
India was no exception. The economic
recovery around the world has been
uneven. India has managed to avoid
the inflationary surge that many rich countries are
battling as well as the balance-of-payments crises
that have brought many of our neighbours to
their knees.
However, economic output is still below where it
would have been in case there had been no pan-
demic—a gap of around $350 billion. Think of this
as a permanent output loss. Millions who left the
labour force have not yet rejoined it. The labour
force participation ratio is still below its level
before the pandemic. Despite such lingering pain,
India managed to negotiate the storm better than
most countries.
How does the road ahead look? It is sometimes
useful to peer into the rear-view mirror before
focusing on what can be seen through the
windshield. Indian economic growth began to
accelerate in 1980. The average speed of economic
progress in the three decades since then has been
6.3%. This anchor number needs to be kept in
mind by those who expect the Indian economy
to accelerate during this decade as well as those
who write about a deceleration.
The pandemic shock had created four worries
for the medium term. First, a persistence of weak
private-sector investment activity that began
around 10 years ago. Second, a drop in the labour
force participation rate. Third, a decline in the
quality of human capital because of learning losses
when schools were shut. Fourth, lower labour
productivity because of the movement of people
back to agriculture. Some of these have started to
correct themselves, but they can still weigh down
on potential growth—or the rate at which the
Indian economy can sustainably grow without
either intolerably high inflation or an unsustaina-
ble balance of payments.
The World Bank has this week released a large
database with estimates of potential growth over
the years for various countries. There are different
ways that economists estimate potential growth.
The World Bank economists have used six statisti-
cal techniques. This column uses the estimates
derived from production functions, which con-
sider the growth in capital stock, the labour force
and productivity in a country to figure out levels of
sustainable growth. (The other common set of
techniques come from the use of time series filters,
which may underestimate potential growth, given
that India went through a sequential slowdown
before the sharp decline in output during the first
stage of the pandemic.)
becomes even clearer when you look at all sold for $69.3 million two years ago AFP
the art they’re collecting.
Global art sales rose to $67.8 billion in blockchain technology. With crypto bros
2022, according to art economist Clare spending their gains on NFTs alongside
McAndrew’s latest state-of-the-industry Audemars Piguet watches, sales of art-re-
report for Art Basel and UBS Group. That lated tokens surged to $2.9 billion in 2021,
marked a 3% increase from 2021, which saw from $20 million in the year earlier,
a 31% rebound in sales from the pandemic- according to Arts Economics, with data
induced low point in 2020. from Nonfungible.com. The boom was
As in the global luxury sector, it was the best exemplified by Beeple’s Everydays: the
US market that drove the art industry last First 5000 Days, which sold for $69.3 mil-
year. Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Mari- lion two years ago.
lyn, which sold for $195 million in New York After peaking in August 2021, demand
in May, became the second-most expensive for art-related NFTs cooled as the price of
work ever to sell at auction behind Leon- Ethereum—the cryptocurrency of choice
ardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for trading most of these tokens—fell. Art-
for $450 million in New York in 2017. related NFT sales roughly halved in 2022
Although the US retained its premier from the year earlier, though sales of col-
pared to: Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, the position in the global ranks, it’s notable that lectibles NFTs have continued to expand.
Aim higher Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and China. Bangla- the UK also strengthened. The British art Some young people are buying art as
India’s potential for economic expansion has desh is a rare example of a country that the World market hasn’t quite recovered to pre-pan- much as ever, but a separate report from
overtaken China’s but we must mobilize more Bank estimates can grow sustainably at the same demic levels, but it is still attracting interna- McAndrew for Art Basel and UBS found
capital and labour while raising productivity.
rate as India in the coming years. This broadly tional buyers post-Brexit. The slump in that they were high-net-worth individuals,
10 backs the widespread belief that India is one of the sterling last autumn didn’t hurt either. with more than $1 million of assets exclud-
China India (in %) few bright spots in a slowing global economy. Across all regions, the most expensive ing real estate and private businesses, and
9 Third, the sources of Indian growth are worri- artworks were the strongest sellers, accord- they had spent at least $10,000 on art in
some. Of the 7% growth rate, four percentage ing to McAndrew’s Arts Economics. Pieces each of the past three years. These millen-
8
points are accounted for by productivity growth, selling for more than $10 million were the nial and Gen Z buyers look a bit different
two percentage points come from investment only segment to increase the value of sales from crypto bros.
7 activity, and only one percentage point from last year. This category includes Georges The question now is: How will the recent
7 growth of the labour force. This is in tune with Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite Ver- banking turmoil affect the art market?
7 other similar exercises in ‘growth accounting’. The sion), which sold for $149.2 million, and In troubled times, art can be seen as a
6 contribution of labour to economic growth should Paul Cezanne’s La Montagne Sainte-Vic- tangible store of value. But stock-market
6 be higher, given India’s bulge in the working-age toire, which fetched $137.8 million. This volatility and layoffs in the tech sector and
5 population, aka the demographic dividend. top-end surge reflects increasing stores of beyond can hurt demand. External crises
5 The tea leaves suggest that India will outperform wealth among the very richest collectors. can also deter sellers of valuable works from
4
most other large economies over the rest of the In contrast, stalled demand for lower- bringing them to market, another impor-
decade. However, any hubris should be tempered end works suggests that fear of recession, tant factor in determining the strength of
with an uncomfortable fact. India currently has a sky-high inflation and rising interest rates art sales globally.
3 per capita income of around $2,500. Last May, this crimped the style of those merely affluent. Either way, with the US cooling, China
2000 2021
column had examined how fast other countries in The market began to cool in the final quar- now holds the key to transforming both art
Source: World Bank
the region had doubled their per capita income ter of 2022. and luxury.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT from an initial level of $2,000. Countries such as What’s happening in art echoes what’s Arts Economics notes that after the 2008
There are three significant takeaways from the China, South Korea and Taiwan took four, five and happening in the luxury sector more crisis, a booming market in China was one
data for an Indian audience. First, the World Bank six years respectively. The Philippines needed 16 broadly. of the key factors behind the recovery, with
estimates Indian potential growth at 7% a year. years. Indonesia and Malaysia took 12 years. India After soaring stock markets and crypto- sales rebounding in 2010. Already the signs
This is close to the 30-year average mentioned is currently looking more like Indonesia than currencies boosted wealth in 2021, more there are promising. Art Basel Hong Kong
earlier in this column, as well as in the same range China in this context, albeit against the backdrop people, particularly in the US, discovered last month was busy, indicating that there
as many private-sector estimates, which tend to be of a very different global situation. the joys of upmarket shopping. But with the is significant pent-up demand for art.
between 6-6.5%. In its Report on Currency and How to raise potential growth by at least another slump in tech stocks and Bitcoin, as well as This adds to positive signals from brands
Finance released earlier this year, the Reserve percentage point should thus be a matter of serious higher borrowing costs, luxury companies including Prada and Moncler that luxury
Bank of India settled on a range of between 6.5% debate. The job cannot be done by fiscal or mone- including Britain’s Burberry Group and shoppers are back in force too. Analysts at
and 8.5%. The International Monetary Fund puts tary stimulus. Deeper structural changes are Gucci-owner Kering have noted that some Bernstein even noted that some Chinese
its estimate at 6%, with a 0.5 percentage-point needed to drive more investments, greater labour younger, more aspirational buyers, are fashionistas had begun to travel abroad
reduction in potential growth because of the force participation by women and also higher reining in their extravagant purchases. again. For sellers of creations by Balenciaga
effects of the pandemic. productivity across the economy. These are the In art, this is glaringly evident when it and Basquiat, Chinese shoppers unleashing
Second, Indian potential growth is higher than structural challenges for policymakers to address comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digi- another wave of revenge spending can’t
that of most emerging economies it is usually com- over the rest of this decade and beyond. tal certificates of authenticity that run on come too soon. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | BEhAvIOuR By BRAIn

We should harness the emotional energy of India’s DPI

is most heartening is that all these services are
BIJU DOMINIC built on the solid foundations of Aadhaar, the
world’s largest and possibly most sophisti-
cated digital identity programme, involving
1.35 billion people, Jan Dhan, a massive effort
that enabled as many as 478 million people to
The technology on display at the confer-
ence was as good or better than that in other
parts of the world. New technological devel-
opments like conversational artificial intelli-
gence and machine learning were the forces
driving much of what was on display in the
These technological solutions have not been
brought together to create a unified new
image for the country. This is the lacuna I find
in India’s DPI programme. If ordinary citi-
zens do not know about the excellent techno-
logical foundations of our DPI programmes,
evoke several positive emotions in many a
user’s mind. This emotional energy gener-
ated by various DPI programmes in every
nook and corner of this country should be
harnessed by using the services of India’s best
communication professionals.

L
ast week, I attended the second G20
Sherpa meeting held at Kumarakom,
Kerala. The focus of the meeting was
on India’s Digital Public Infrastructure
(DPI). The panel discussions during the
conference and the displays in the confer-
ence hall were about India’s most significant
DPI programmes like UPI, CoWin, Diksha
get bank accounts, and on a mobile user base hall. It is clear that India has travelled much
of 1.2 billion across the country (‘Jam trinity’). ahead from the time it was
The quality of public infrastructure in largely seen overseas as a
India is nothing to write home about. We still land of snake charmers and Our successful
hear news about pot-holed roads, newly built elephants.
bridges collapsing and poor-quality school There standing in that digital public
buildings. But the story is very different with G20 conference hall, I felt
the country’s DPI. Chances of a UPI transac- proud of our country’s
infrastructure
I would not blame anyone. Because it is not
easy to explain the intrica-
cies of those sophisticated
technologies.
But there is lot more to
communication than that.
Communication is not a
rational process of citing
The Apollo 11 mission that let humans put
their feet on the moon’s surface in 1969 estab-
lished US hegemony during the Cold War.
The sophistication of its engineering indus-
try also helped rebuild war-torn Germany. In
terms of technological sophistication, scale
and impact, India’s DPI is as good or better
than many other technical projects around

is chief evangelist, Fractal

and DigiLocker. These are clearly excellent
examples of how technology has been used
Analytics, and chairman,
FinalMile Consulting.
to deliver affordable citizen services at pop-
ulation scale.
UPI has over 350 banks on its network with
over 260 million unique users and the net-
work has grown to become world’s fifth larg-
est digital-payment network by volume.
CoWin has more than 1.1 billion registered
users and every step of their vaccination pro-
cess is captured by it. More than 500 million
learning sessions have been conducted using
the Diksha app and it was the key tool for
teachers to impart knowledge to students
during the covid pandemic. Digilocker has
more than 150 million registered users. What
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tion going wrong or a person not being able
to download a covid vaccination certificate
are low. Unlike the other infrastructure in
India, the technical back-ends of India’s DPI
platforms are robust and performing at very
high quality standards.
The core spirit of the country’s digital
economy is co-operation between the gov-
ernment and the private sector. This confer-
ence was a result of the combined effort of the
government and Nasscom. At the conference,
six prominent private-sector companies too
had displayed their contributions to the
strength of India’s DPI (the open protocols
and digital public goods underlying which
are referred to as the ‘India stack’).
progress on the digital
front. Benefits accruing
could well be
even to less-fortunate citi-
zens of our country, thanks
advertised as
to the democratization of a giant leap
technology, were obvious.
I felt very optimistic about for mankind
the technological future of
our country. But at the
same time, I also felt there was something
amiss in this whole DPI game.
Our technocrats have done an excellent
job of building world-class but affordable dig-
ital infrastructure. But we have failed so far to
effectively communicate these great achieve-
ments on the DPI front to a wider audience.
scientific facts and statistics.
Good communication is all
about emotions. It is about
real-life stories from ordi-
nary people’s lives.
The G20 conference was
held in Kumarakom, Kerala.
The state’s tagline ‘God’s
Own Country’, which
encapsulates the essence of all its tourist
attractions and infrastructure, is an excellent
example of good communication. What is
most appealing about the tagline is that it per-
fectly captures the emotions a tourist would
experience while visiting any part of Kerala.
Similarly, various DPI programmes can
the world. Just like in the case of America’s
lunar mission, communication about India’s
DPI could help uplift the emotional quotient
of the whole country.
A few weeks back, I had written an article
in this column about the tendency of many
youngsters in our country to migrate to other
countries in the belief that the grass is
greener on the other side. Years of colonial
rule had dented confidence in our abilities.
Now there is no need to argue whether the
glass is half full or half empty. While standing
in the conference room in Kumarakom, I was
convinced that the glass is clearly more than
half full. We just need to communicate that
fact more evocatively.
 14 ThursdAy, 6 April 2023
ChennAi BUSINESS OF LIFE CULTURE LIVEMINT.COM

The pulsating energy

of Ambadas’ canvases
Affleck, Damon
and the most
famous shoe ever
With their new film, ‘Air’, Ben Affleck
and Matt Damon are again a team
(clockwise from top) Ambadas and Hege at Rauland, Norway, published in the book “Celebrating
Ambadas”; ’Untitled’,2001, oil on canvas;,’Untitled’,1975, colour drawing COURTESY:DHOOMIMAL ART GALLERY
Agencies
A new exhibition at the feedback@livemint.com

Dhoomimal Art Gallery

W
hile Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were writing The
Last Duel, their first screenplay together since their
celebrates the unique 1997 breakthrough, Good Will Hunting, they noticed
that something in their winding and usually separate careers had
legacy of modernist been missing. “I remember my wife said to me one day: ‘I haven’t
painter Ambadas and his heard you laugh like that in 15 years,’” says Damon. “We came out
of that experience going: Why aren’t we doing this more often?”
exuberant canvases Now, more than 25 years after they set out to make it in Holly-
wood—so entwined that they once shared a bank account—
Affleck and Damon are once again a team. Affleck directs and
Meera Menezes Damon stars in Air” the new film about Nike’s courting of Michael
feedback@livemint.com Jordan that opens in theatres this week.
That film, Amazon Studios’ first theatrical release in nearly

H
as everyone in India forgotten
Ambadas?” The painter’s wife,
Hege Backe, posed this ques-
tion to noted Hindi poet and
art writer Prayag Shukla on
Ambadas’s birth centenary last year. Her
remark led to a bout of introspection and a
series of conversations between the writer and
Dr Shruti Lakhanpal Tandon, founder of
Ushaarth Art Foundation. The question deeply
bothered Tandon, a dermatologist by profes-
sion, who felt that “it was tragic and shameful for
us, as an educated, art=loving society, that this
question should even be asked.” Ambadas
slipped out of public memory largely because
the occasions to engage with his art in India
were infrequent; he was based in Norway for
nearly 50 years. His abstract works were also
eclipsed by the more narrative-figurative tend-
encies gaining ground in Indian art.
In tandem with Shukla, Tandon decided to
pay tribute and revive interest in the modernist
artist through her foundation. They got Uday
Jain of the Delhi-based Dhoomimal gallery on
board, since Ambadas had shown with them on
several occasions when he was alive. The collab-
oration culminated in a day-long event, a book
and a compact solo show, “Celebrating Amba-
das”. Apart from an address by the Norwegian
ambassador, Hans Jacob Frydenlund, at the
event held at the India International Centre in
Delhi, there were presentations and poetry
reading sessions with artists, writers and poets,
as well as the screening of two films that shed
light on the artist and his life.
The discourse around him continues this
year as well with a new show, ‘Celebrating
Ambadas—A tribute on his birth centenary’,
which is on view at Dhoomimal till 24 April. The
current exhibition presents both oil paintings
instant plunging, flirting and merging with life, in Madras, from where he was transferred to the
with its being and becoming it. All that is there centre in Delhi. It was in the capital that he met
on the canvas is but a charge in celebration.” artists Jagdish Swaminathan and Rajesh Mehra
The artist’s journey has been fascinating. and in 1962 banded together with Jeram Patel,
Ambadas Khobragade was born in Telegaon in Himmat Shah and Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
Maharasthra on 1 July 1922. When he was about to form the artist collective “Group 1890.’ While
10, the family moved to Akola. At school his the group had only one show together, Amba-
and ink-on-paper colour drawings. favourite subjects were drawing and maths, and das’s pursuit of abstraction did not go unno-
In a striking untitled oil on canvas created in he was keen to take up art. But given his family’s ticed. The American critic Clement Greenberg,
1975, shades of orange, ochre and red are strained circumstances, this seemed like a who had visited India in 1967, arranged a three-
orchestrated, suffusing the painting with a dream. Luckily for him, some family friends month tour of the US to deepen his understand-
warm glow. A circular mass of strokes hovers in came to the rescue and helped him study at a ing of American Abstract Expressionism. In
the top half of the canvas, reminiscent of the set- private art school run by Ravishankar Raval in 1972, after his marriage to Backe, Ambadas
ting sun or perhaps even a seething cauldron of Ahmedabad. Later he enrolled as a third-year moved to Norway, continuing to exhibit his
molten lava. In a later phase, there was a percep- student at the renowned Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeb- paintings internationally as well as in India. He
tible shift in the artist’s palette, as can be seen in hoy School of Art in Bombay. His fellow stu- finally passed away in Norway in 2012, just short
another untitled painting from 2001. Here the dents included Tyeb Mehta, Mohan Samant and of his 90th birthday.
warm and vibrant tones reflective of hot Indian Akbar Padamsee. Like many of the students Ambadas developed a special technique to
climes give way to a there, Ambadas too create his distinctive ribbon-like forms and
more cool, Nordic came under the sway rhythmic, wavelike patterns. He would mix ker-
palette of blues, greys Ambadas developed a special of European modern- osene with paint to break it up. This process of
and even mauves. technique to create his ist artists such as Was- breaking and binding the paint produced long,
Ambadas’ canvases sily Kandinsky and thin lines running the length of the brush strokes
throb with exuberant distinctive ribbon-like forms and Paul Klee. Even then, while imparting a smooth and satiny finish to the
energy, his fast and rhythmic, wavelike patterns he displayed a keen surface. In a manner that seemed almost per-
furious brushstrokes interest in abstraction formative, the artist would place the canvas on
cover every inch of with no desire to tread the ground and move around it while painting.
the canvas. They appear to be spontaneous acts, a figurative-narrative path. This enabled him to approach the canvas from
a seismograph of the artist’s emotional fluctua- After graduating in 1952, Ambadas worked in any point that he desired. As Swaminathan wrote
tions. The outer world that he perceives is trans- a toy factory with other artists , till he was fired in the catalogue for Ambadas’s solo show at
formed within him, only to be regurgitated in for organising a strike. Much later he got a job as Dhoomimal Gallery, Delhi and Gallery Che-
visual transcriptions that thwart language and a textile designer for the All India Handloom mould, Bombay, in 1987, “There is no beginning
meaning. There is no attempt at producing rep- Board, at the Weavers’ Service Centre, develop- and no end to an Ambadas painting, no particu-
resentational forms or creating a narrative. In a ing a friendship with fellow artist Prabhakar lar point of departure and particular point of
catalogue accompanying one of his earlier solo Barwe. Pupul Jayakar, who headed the Handi- arrival, the canvas invoking the eternal flux of
exhibitions at Dhoomimal, the artist had said, crafts and Handloom Corporation of India, the universe outside it and palpitating with a cos-
“Art to me is a happening and a performance, an asked him to join the Weavers’ Service Centre mic movement and passage within the frame.”
four years, is only part of their new collaboration. It’s the first
release from their new production company, Artists Equity.
Affleck is the chief executive, Damon is head of content. Part of
its mission is to give prominent crew and cast members a piece
of profits.
To Affleck, Air—in which the then-upstart Nike pursues a
sneaker deal with Jordan while his mother (played by Viola Davis)
advocates for his worth—represents what they hope to do with
their new company. “We believe there are a lot of really meaning-
ful artists on the crew who are underappreciated and underval-
ued and make a huge difference in the quality of the experience
in a film,” Affleck said in an interview
The Los alongside Damon. “We want to sort of
Angeles-based take the approach taken towards
Artists Equity is Michael Jordan, which is to recognize
the artists and say: You’re the ones who
a kind of deserve to be compensated for this.
bookend to the You’re generating the art, the beauty,
duo’s beginning the majesty.”
After a tumultuous run as Batman
and another turbulent run in the tab-
loids, Affleck is back to making the kinds of movies that won him
best picture a decade ago, with Argo. The Los Angeles-based Art-
ists Equity is a kind of bookend to the duo’s fabled beginning.
They launched it to help set the course for their next chapter
(Damon is 52, Affleck 50) and make spending time together more
of a requisite.
The notion of personal branding is at the center of Air. Nike at
the time was a distant third to Converse and Adidas, but its execu-
tives hit on a concept that would presage much of what’s since
followed in marketing: The shoe wouldn’t just be worn by Jordan
but epitomize him. Now, Affleck notes, people take for granted
that they’re brands.
“I’ve always found that idea confusing and kind of anathema.
People are very complicated and contrary and nuanced, and
brands are simple,” says Affleck. “So the idea that a person can be
a brand is a hard thing for me to reconcile. I’ve never been good
at it or had interest in it. Obviously, Michael’s brand—excellence,
greatness, majesty—if you’re going to have a brand, that’s one to
have.”

Heat vs heat: Why chilli in summer makes perfect sense

From a chilli food festival known for its fiery curries and spicy roasts abounding. Goa-based artisanal rum a few foreign ones, the US and Caribbean
that always have the Guntur chilli at the brand Maka Zai’s brand ambassador, ones like the Carolina reaper and the
to spicy cocktails, the forefront. This, of course—along with Abhirup Bhattacharyya recently came up scotch bonnet have eluded them. Thus
summer of 2023 is tropical countries like Thailand’s (bird eye with a spicy cocktail called Pepper Ridley. far, that is.
chilli) and Mexico’s (habanero, jalapeño, “This one sees our white rum with a yel- Introducing us to another kind of
poised to be a hot ancho, Poblano chillies) obsession with low bell pepper cordial, jalapeños, and chilli heat (that of the cayenne pepper
chilli—prompts the question: “Why do the carbonated water. We balanced the (spicy) kind) this summer is the recently
and rewarding one spiciest foods come from hot weather cul- favours with a subtle smoky finish,” says launched, Mumbai-based Hangry Bird’s
tures?” Bhattacharyya. Nashville-style hot chicken burgers.
Raul Dias The simple answer is one that is moored It is this balance that is vital in crafting These have spice levels ranging from
feedback@livemint.com in pure logic. Spicy foods make us sweat, a good chilli cocktail say experts. RCB Bar mild to searing hot, using our very own
which actually cools us off more efficiently & Café, Bengaluru’s Tito Santana Sour, Indian bhut jolokia and Guntur chilli

O
ver the past weekend, the tem-
perature went up to a soul-
scorching hot 38°C in Guntur.
And it probably won’t be the last time this
season, either.
No wonder, then, that this district in the
state of Andhra Pradesh is infamous for
being one the country’s hottest. But there
is also one more equally searing reason:
the Guntur mirchi.
Apart from the Kashmiri chilli—known
mainly for its bright red hue, not heat—it
is the Guntur chilli, that, most of us here in
India, and around the world where it is
exported to, refer to as the de facto “Indian
chilli”. The main trading place for it is the
Guntur Mirchi Yard, which is Asia’s larg-
est dried chilli market. Only recently have
we also seen the super hot, tiny Mizoram
bird eye chilli being exported to places
like the US.
Interestingly, Andhra Pradesh is also
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than that ice gola or tall glass of cold shi-
kanji ever could.
Interestingly, over the last few weeks
we have been seeing a whole host of prac-
tical applications of this logic by a few of
India’s F&B players, with everything from
food festivals and seasonal menu over-
hauls to new fast food brand launches, all
pivoting around the axis of the chilli. Back
this year with their annual Fiery Edit
Menu, 2023 No Chill edition, Mumbai’s
Pan Asian restobar Foo claims this April-
only menu to be “an unforgettable experi-
ence for those who crave that spicy kick in
their food”.
“We love spicy food and so, every year,
we introduce The Fiery Edit as a month-
long festival at Foo,” says Keenan Tham,
Foo’s managing director and co-founder.
“Our endeavour year on year has been to
up the flavour, and make the menu as var-
ied as possible.”
created by ace Delhi-based mixologist
Yangdup Lama is another example of a
careful blend of chilli flavours followed by
a sweet finish that perfectly balances the
heat. Here, Jose Cuervo Tequila is infused
with jalapeños, while the tart tamarind
and sweet-sour passion fruit offer a
refreshing contrast. An optional egg white
adds a layer of creaminess.
“This sour is a great example of non-tra-
Hangry Bird’s Nashville-style hot chicken burgers ditional flavours being celebrated in cock-
tails. While spice has always been enjoyed
To that end, one finds 14 dishes, two Firecracker, which features whiskey, in food, it’s a flavour that can often be diffi-
desserts, and four cocktails imbued with orange-wasabi marmalade and a hint of cult to hone when it comes to cocktails,”
chillies from India, Mexico and Thailand. bird eye chilli tincture, seek to deliver liq- says Justin Dias, head mixologist at RCB.
These include the bhut jolokia, habanero, uid heat. “Today, it’s great to see cocktails no longer
and bird eye in dishes like the ghost pep- Speaking of which, each item on this being limited to sweet and fruity flavours.
per salmon roll, fire fried rice, and even in menu has a corresponding ‘Scoville Scale’ We are increasingly incorporating more
desserts like the strawberry and habanero for measuring their spiciness, allowing savoury and spicy elements, which have
ice cream. diners to test their limits. always appealed to Indian palates.”
Cocktails like Gunpowder, which com- The chili cocktail truly seems to be the And while our palates are all too familiar
bines gin with green chilli tincture, and drink of the season, with several iterations with home-grown chilli variants and even
along with cayenne pepper.
“The reasoning for this launch was that
a place like Mumbai never had any real hot
chicken place. Something that is very
common all over the world,” says Suvraj
Bhurjee, the co-founder of Hangry Bird.
Radhika Khandelwal, the chef-owner of
Fig & Maple restaurant, is an advocate of
bringing Indian chillies, techniques and
cuisines to global light. A champion of the
Mizo bird eye chilli, she has begun incor-
porating it into her menus at the restau-
rant’s Goa and New Delhi outposts
recently, after a kitchen colleague got
some back from his hometown in Mizo-
ram’s Siaha District.
“When the Mizoram bird eye chilli
obtained the GI (Geographical Indica-
tions) tag, the initiative to export it to the
US expanded the market and increased
income for small-scale farmers, which is
always great,” says Khandelwal.
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Indian Express, Financial Express, The Hindu, Business Line, The Times of India, The Economic Times,
Hindustan Times, ET wealth, Business Standard, First India, Mint, Greater Kashmir, Greater Jammu, The
Himalayan, The Tribune, Brill Express, The Sikh Times, Avenue Mail, Western Times, Millennium Post, The
Statesman, State Times, The Pioneer, Hans India, Free Press, Orissa Post, Mumbai Mirror, Mid-Day, Deccan
Chronicle, Deccan Herald, Telangana Today, Financial Times, The Asian Age, The Telegraph, Oheraldo, Gulf of
Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal,
The Guardian, The Times

Hindi Newspapers»»
,
दै �नक जागरण, राजस्थान प�त्रका, दै �नक भास्कर, �दव्यभास्कर, �हंदस्
ु तान, नवभारत टाइम्स, �बज़नस स्ट�

अमर उजाला, जनस�ा, द पायोनीर, राष्ट्र�य सहारा, प्रभातखबर, लोकस�ा

Others»»
Hindi & English Editorial, Employment News, Malayalam Newspapers, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Gujarati

Type in Search box of Telegram English_Newspaper_platform And

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