NEW DElHI, MuMBAI, BENGALuRu, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HyDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PuNE*, LuCkNOw* VOL. 17 NO.

282

Monday, November 27, 2023

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Israel-Hamas Marry at
truce: what home
Taking the “Vocal for Local”
brought it on theme forward, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said on Sunday
that he has been troubled by a
BY SHASHANK MATTOO rising trend of Indians holding
Scores of hostages have been freed, and the pause in the fighting has weddings outside India. If these
also allowed humanitarian relief to reach thousands. This may not be celebrations are held domesti-
the end of the conflict, which has claimed over 11,000 lives since cally, then Indian money will
Hamas’ 7 October terror attack. But how exactly did we get here? stay within the country and “the
people of the country will get an
opportunity to be of some ser-
vice at your weddings,” he said
in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address.
Modi did not elaborate, but it
would be interesting to know if
official data underlies his obser-
vation or it’s based on anecdotal
evidence of what the rich and
famous are inclined towards.
True, the economic argument
in favour of local weddings may
hold merit, especially if the
trend is starting to encompass
Released Israeli hostage Ohad Munder (9) plays inside an army chopper, shortly more than just India’s elite. The
after arrival in Israel on Friday. (Below) Hamas fighters accompany released
question, however, is whether
hostage Maya Regev in Gaza Strip early on Sunday. REUTERS
moral tabs are needed. Some-
What are the terms of How has the world times, a key motivation behind
1 the truce?
The truce was brokered by the
2 responded?
Many welcomed it. US President
overseas knot-tying is a simple
desire to secure some privacy by
United States, Qatar, and Egypt. Joe Biden hailed the deal. China, escaping an intrusive public
Under its terms, a pause in fighting Russia, the European Union, glare. Even otherwise, we
was put into place for four days, France, the UK, Egypt and Qatar needn’t begrudge people who
giving both sides time to exchange all saw the truce as a positive want to celebrate their special
hostages. The truce came into development. Other countries occasions in places they con-
effect on Friday and 24 captives such as Jordan, Iran, and Saudi
sider special. How they spend
held in Gaza were released while Arabia weighed in and stated that
Israel released 39 Palestinians humanitarian aid should continue. their money, and where, should
from prison. On Sunday, a second However, a worrying constituency be their very own prerogative.
group of hostages were released by of opposition has come up in Let’s not send well-off to-be-
Hamas. In total, 50 Israeli hostages Israel. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the weds on a guilt trip.
are expected to be exchanged for hardline minister for national
150 Palestinians prisoners. The security, opposed the truce and
truce will also allow deliveries of stated that it would only give
fuel and aid to flow into Gaza, Hamas more time to regroup. He
which has faced an acute
humanitarian crisis since the
also stated that the truce deal
would cause “great harm for
MINT METRIC
fighting began. generations”. by Bibek Debroy
AFP

In Japan, handsome weeping boys

3 What was the motivation
for the truce?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Improve a company’s poise.
Netanyahu has faced mounting pressure at
They help employees cry,
home to secure the release of hostages. Wiping tears from every eye,
Israel’s longtime leader has seen public
support erode after the attacks. Many
Weeping together one of life’s varied joys.
believe the objective of securing hostages
has been given short shrift. Public
sentiment combined with international
pressure made the deal happen.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Any incursion into the exclusive
4 How long will this
truce hold?
While it has held up so far, it is still
5 What has India’s
position been?
New Delhi has tried to follow a
domain of Parliament will be a
fragile. For example, the second balanced position on the conflict.
constitutional aberration and
batch of hostage releases was It condemned Hamas’ attacks as an antithetical to democratic
delayed by Hamas, which accused act of terrorism. However, it has
Israel of violating the agreement. also called for humanitarian law to
essence and values.
Intervention by Qatar and Egypt be respected and for aid to be
reportedly kept the exchange of allowed into Gaza as Israel’s
prisoners going. Israel has offered military campaign there has
to extend the truce if more escalated. India may welcome the
hostages are released. “We are not truce, given its emphasis on JAGDEEP DHANKHAr
ending the war. We will continue dialogue and diplomacy for VICE PRESIDENT
until we are victorious,” said Lt resolving conflicts. Indeed, its UN
Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of the envoy has called for humanitarian
Israeli general staff, just days ago. aid to continue and for all parties
Israel has not yet achieved its to work for “early restoration of
stated goal of destroying Hamas. peace and stability”.

THE WEEK AHEAD

30 NOv
29 NOv

B’luru TECH SuMMIT INDIA GDP DATA

Over 50 countries likely to participate in this Data for September-ended quarter to be released
three-day event at Bangalore Palace. by statistics ministry. Last figure: 7.8% in Q1.
29-30 NOv

30 NOv

FOur IPOS OPEN OPEC+ MEETING

AMIC Forging and Deepak Chemtex open 29 Nov; Oil producers’ cartel to meet to reach consensus
Net Avenue Tech and Graphisads on 30 Nov. on production targets. Oil prices will be watched.
30 NOv

TElANGANA ElECTION WATCH YOur GMAIl

1 DEC

The state votes to elect its 119-member Assembly. Google starts deleting accounts that have been
Private pollsters to release exit polls for five states. inactive for two years.
30 NOv

ClIMATE CHANGE CONFAB ElECTION rESulTS

3 DEC

COP28, the annual UN conference, starts in Counting of votes for elections held in five states.
Dubai, UAE. Prime Minister Modi likely to attend. Follow Mint website for live updates.
 PLAIN FACTS

Top-line growth slows,

margins improve in Q2
BY PAYAL BHATTACHARYA AND NITI KIRAN

T
he July-September earnings season has ended on a mixed note with slowing expansion in revenue even as profit growth
remained robust. A Mint analysis of 3,559 BSE- listed firms showed that their combined bottom line has been soaring:
aggregate net profits grew nearly 36% year-on-year (y-o-y) compared to a 32% rise in the June quarter. On the flip side,
top-line growth has been on a slowdown path for five quarters, tapering off to low single digits in the September quarter.
That growth, too, is courtesy banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) firms. Excluding that sector from the sample,
revenues contracted 1.6% and 0.8% in the June and September quarter, respectively, on a y-o-y basis. Net profit of this sub-sam-
ple was up 40% in the last quarter.
While banking firms have held up corporate earnings through their healthy business growth and improving asset quality,
oil and metal firms were responsible for the downward drag. Excluding them, top-line growth swelled to almost 11%. “Top-line
growth for the quarter came in muted largely led by decline in commodity prices in metals, and oil and gas space,” said Pankaj
Pandey, head of research, ICICI Securities.
Small-sized companies (revenue less than ₹500 crore) were the hardest hit with a 1.3% and 20% decline in revenues and profits,
respectively. Revenues of large- and mid-sized firms rose nearly 5% and 5.6%, while their profits rose 4.9% and
5.6%, respectively.

Volume growth of Indian companies Smaller firms continue to bear a

has been slowing down greater brunt
Year-on-year change (%) in aggregate revenues and profits Year-on-year change (%) in revenues, by company size
Large-sized Mid-sized Small-sized
Q3FY23 Q4FY23 Q1FY24 Q2FY24 30

Total revenue
25

Net profit 20

Total revenue 15
(excluding BFSI)

10
Net profit
(excluding BFSI)
5
Total revenue
(excluding metal, oil & gas)
0

Net profit
(excluding metal, oil & gas) -5
Q2FY23 Q3FY23 Q4FY23 Q1FY24 Q2FY24
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
Analysis based on a sample of 3,559 BSE listed companies
Analysis based on a sample of 3,559 BSE-listed companies. Companies' size is based on revenue in Q2FY24: large (above ₹10,000 cr),
BFSI: Banking, financial services and insurance firms medium (₹500 cr to ₹10,000 cr), small (below ₹500 cr).
Source: Capitaline, Mint calculations

Sectoral Show BFSI gained the most in Q2, agri firms

were the biggest laggards
FROM A VOLUME perspective, the sectoral show was again a Year-on-year growth in Q2FY24 (%)
mixed bag. Apart from robust growth in the BFSI segment, sectors Top 5 sectors Total revenue Net profit
such as hospitality, construction and real estate, and auto exhibited BFSI 24.7 29.6
a healthy performance, on a y-o-y basis. But some consumption- Media and entertainment 24.5 54
led segments were weak: consumer durables’ revenues shrank 4%, Hospitality 16.4 42.3
while fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) registered growth of Construction and real estate 15.4 112
just 5%. “Listed consumer FMCG and durables firms are facing Capital goods 15.3 41.4
heightened competitive intensity,” said Jitendra Gohil, chief
Bottom 5 sectors
investment officer, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd. -12.5 -21.9
Agri and allied
Pandey said the muted top-line performance, especially in -10.4 164.5
Oil and gas
consumer-facing firms, was also a function of the shift in the key -7 -7.7
Chemicals
festive Diwali season from October last year to November this -4.1 -51.5
Consumer durables
year. This moved the festive inventory build-up to October, -1.7 -18.7
Textiles
instead of September last year. Weakness in the export market for Analysis based on a sample of 3,559 BSE listed companies. Sectors
segments such as IT, and de-stocking in the chemicals sector also sorted on the basis of revenue growth.
contributed to the weaker revenue growth, added Gohil. Source: Capitaline, Mint calculations

Aggregate expenses show a consistent

downward trend
Abating Pressures
Expenses as a % of total revenues THE PAIN on the expense front appears to be subsiding. The
Total expenses combined total expenses of the firms in the sample, as a share
80
70.7 of revenues, dropped nearly 650 basis points (bps) in the past
one year, while it has declined 73bps since the June quarter.
60 Total expenses peaked to 77.3% of overall revenues in the
September quarter of the previous fiscal. A sharp deflation in
Raw material cost 37.4 raw material prices (for non-finance companies) has also
40
helped as this expense head slid from a high of 41% of revenues
in June quarter of 2022-23 to 37.4% now. Other cost heads
20 such as employee expenses have remained almost stable for
Employee expenses 8.7 the last four quarters, at an average 8.5% of revenue. Moving
ahead, higher domestic capacity utilization levels should help
0
Q2FY22 Q2FY24 as the cost absorption improves, notes Gohil.
Analysis based on a sample of 3,559 BSE listed companies “We expect robust performance in Q3 and Q4 due to the
Raw material cost excludes 561 BFSI companies. festive season and government spending ahead of the
Source: Capitaline, Mint calculations
elections,” he said.

Margins Recovery Margins have shown an

impressive recovery Net profit
THE HEALTHY corporate earnings were largely supported by Operating profit margin (%) margin (%)
a steady rise in margins over the past four quarters. The aggregate
Q2FY22 27.1 10.6
operating margin of the firms has reached at least a nine-quarter
high of 29.3% in the September quarter and has expanded 6.5 Q3FY22 25.8 9.7
percentage points since the corresponding quarter of the last Q4FY22 25.2 10.2
fiscal, while net profit margins have risen 234bps during the
period. “Margin recovery is encouraging and is largely driven by Q1FY23 23.3 8.4
softer commodity prices with most of the companies witnessing Q2FY23 22.7 7.9
healthy gross margin expansion,” Pandey noted. “With (Ebitda)
Q3FY23 24.2 8.3
margins of ~17% in H2FY23, we expect corporate earnings growth
to sustain in H2FY24,” he added. In the coming quarters, analysts Q4FY23 26.1 9.9
are upbeat on the corporate earnings trajectory with increased Q1FY24 28.5 10.4
infrastructure push from the government likely to boost
economic activity. But they are also cautious on the consumption Q2FY24 29.3 10.3
cycle with worrying signals from the job market. Analysis based on a sample of 3,559 BSE listed companies
payal.bhattacharya@livemint.com Source: Capitaline, Mint calculations
PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 New DelhI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCkNOw*
Monday, November 27, 2023
SENSEX 65,970.04 0.00
MCX move opens a
rift with gold body
Change in settlement procedure irks top bullion association
Ram Sahgal
ram.sahgal@livemint.com
MUMBAI
N
odal gold trade body
India Bullion and Jew-
ellers Association
(IBJA) has locked
horns with MCXCCL,
the clearing corporation of India’s
largest commodity derivatives
exchange MCX, over a crucial revi-
sion in the platform’s settlement
procedure for gold and silver con-
tracts traded on the bourse.
The revision puts the onus of col-
lecting goods and services tax (GST)
on the seller and buyer, who give
and take delivery on the exchange
platform. Up until now, MCXCCL
would facilitate the payment of GST
from buyer to seller through the
exchange’s clearing members.
However, the clearing corporation
last week said beginning 29 Decem-
ber, the seller must directly collect
GST from the buyer.
“As part of the revised settlement
process, MCXCCL will facilitate
sharing GST details of the buyer
with seller. The payment of funds
pertaining to tax component of the
invoice will have to be done by
buyer to seller directly. The buyer/
seller clearing member or their
associates would be solely responsi-
VOL. 17 NO. 282 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 16 PAGES
Behind the fall of Airbus to scale up defence
livemint.com Credit Suisse uP10 production with Tata arm uP7
NIFTY 19,794.70 0.00 DOLLAR ₹83.38 ₹0.00 EURO ₹90.90 ₹0.00 OIL $80.23 $0.97 GOLD ₹61,229 ₹0.00
India can be export
engine for telecom,
Plan to plug
logistics gaps
DON’T MISS
in tomato,
rail tech: Vaishnaw PTI
onion, potato
Puja Das
Gulveen Aulakh & puja.das@livemint.com
Subhash Narayan NEw DELHI
Pfizer India’s operations to grow
T
omato, onion and potato despite parent’s cost-cutting
BullIoN AveNue NEw DELHI
(TOP) farmers battling Pfizer India is set to expand its operations
I
ndia will look at exporting frequent price crashes despite the massive cost-cutting initiative
Since inception in 2003 till June 2023, MCX has seen delivery volumes
indigenously designed and may have relief at hand, with by its parent, Meenakshi Nevatia, country
of 136 tonnes in gold and 4,672 tonnes in silver. president and MD of Pfizer India has said.
developed technologies in the Centre working on a pilot
MCXCCL DELIVERY VOLUMES (last one year) railways and telecom, even as scheme to remove logistics The plans include manufacturing, sales and
334 (in tonnes)
it expects to clock a record bottlenecks in these crucial research and development. >P5
2.9 (in tonnes)
year in mobile phone exports,
and telecom equipment and
perishable crops. The pilot will
be conducted under the agri- Cyprus wins cheese trademark
132.9
1.2 electronics manufacturing,
Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of
culture ministry’s market
intervention scheme (MIS), two
case against Indian company
The government of Cyprus has successfully
railways, communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of IT, officials aware of the plan said. restrained Ahmedabad-based Flavi Dairy
electronics and IT, said in his railways and communications. India’s Operation Greens Solutions from getting Halloumi registered
first comprehensive interview project supports hiring of stor- as a trademark in India. The firm had applied
Cumulative gold Highest gold
delivery delivery Cumulative Highest covering all three ministries. said India’s digital economy age facilities and provides a to register the figurative trademark
Source: MCX
on 5 October silver delivery silver delivery
on 3 March
In railways, the effort is to required both a broader regu- 50% upfront subsidy to farm- containing the expression “Halloumi”. >P7
develop a standard in the train lation and also a modular ers on freight for TOP crops,
collision-avoidance system approach to deal with exigen- supported by the ministry of Bain Capital set to focus on
Kavach that could then be cies when the need arises. food processing industries.
exported. The railways will Global dynamics also point to According to one of the two
late-stage tech deals in India
invest close to ₹12 trillion in the irrelevance of safe harbour officials, storage has not been Private equity firm Bain Capital may spend
SPLIT METAL increasing capacity, including immunity for intermediaries an issue thanks to the food more time looking at late-stage tech deals
strengthening its manufactur- when platforms were taking processing ministry’s mega next year in India as opportunities in the
MCX has put onus of So fAr, MCXCCL IBJA will send its segment widen, partner Pavninder Singh has
GST collection on the would facilitate the representation to ing capabilities, over the next down content on their own. food park scheme; however, said. It also expects to widen scope of its
seller and buyer payment of GST MCX on Monday six to seven years. This year, it With global companies like transport subsidy hasn’t investments in India in the coming years. >P3
is in the process of investing Apple Inc. bringing their sup- worked out well, since there
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
₹2.4 trillion in capex, which it ply chains into India, the gov- are no cooperatives or nodal
ble for all statutory compliances IBJA, whose gold rates are used expects to complete by mid- ernment could consider an agencies to purchase the New draft bill gets broadcasters
applicable to their transactions... by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) February or mid-March. incentive scheme for compo- crops, transport them and sell worried about creative freedom
MCXCCL will not be held responsi- in pricing sovereign gold bonds, He said Kavach would adopt nents that are multi-use across them at another place when The draft Broadcast Services (Regulation)
ble or liable for any default due to will send its representation against 4G/5G tech and then upgrade industries and sectors. prices crash, the official said Bill, 2023 has sparked concerns around the
non-compliance from buyer or the revision to the exchange and to 5G and 6G, and a similar gulveen.aulakh@live- on the condition of anonymity. creative freedom of streaming platforms.
seller clearing member or their its clearing corporation on Mon- approach would be taken for mint.com “At present, unlike PSS Several provisions, broadcasters say, seem
associates on tax matters,” the day, national secretary Surendra internet of things, industrial (price support scheme) and to border on censorship, which OTT services
clearing corporation said in a circu- automation and industry 4.0. have so far been exempt from. >P6
See full interview on Page 6.
lar seen by Mint. TURN TO PAGE 6 On deepfakes, Vaishnaw TURN TO PAGE 6
02 MoNDay, 27 NoveMbeR 2023
New Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

STRAIGHT
F O R WA R D
India to push for biofuels at IITs, IIMs
asked to
SHASHI SHEKHAR

Respond to this column at

feedback@livemint.com
COP28 in oil-producing UAE turn multi-
disciplinary
INDIA’S ACTION POST Lighting of iconic Burj Khalifa with GBA, industry roundtable on alliance also planned
PTI
feedback@livemint.com

26/11 IS A TEMPLATE Utpal Bhaskar ment Bank, International Energy E

ducation minister Dhar-
mendra Pradhan on Sun-
day said the Centre has

ISRAEL CAN FOLLOW utpal.b@livemint.com

NEW DELHI
Agency, and International Civil Aviation
Organization.
“India has only 3% of the total global
advised IITs and IIMs to
become multi-disciplinary to
venture beyond their respec-

I
ndia plans to showcase the Global biofuel market in the world, yet we are tive areas of specialization.

Y
esterday marked the 15th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, Biofuels Alliance (GBA) at the becoming a leader in that. How did we Pradhan, while speaking at
wherein 10 terrorists from Pakistan had wreaked havoc in upcoming UN Climate Conference create a niche space for India? One is the the inauguration of the Odisha
Mumbai. The 60-odd hours that followed wrote a saga of (COP28) in the UAE, one of the trajectory of uptake of biofuels. That in Research Centre (ORC), said
struggle and helplessness. world’s leading oil-producing itself is a heartening experience from priority has been given to
First came the struggle. The initial moments of the assault mis- nations. where we were to where we are now. imparting multi-disciplinary
led the police; they mistook it to be a gang war. However, reality As part of the advocacy, the govern- The second thing is if we get to have the education through the national
soon dawned on them as eight different locations came under ment also plans to light up the iconic standards, the way in which the industry education policy and that IITs
attack. Chaos ensued, and members of the anti-terrorism squad Burj Khalifa with ‘GBA’, said two people in India will get to benefit, then we have and IIMs will also move in this
of Maharashtra Police, and civilian officers were seen frantically aware of the development. created a space for our companies,” the direction. Odisha governor
running about where the attacks occurred. Indian Police Service The marquee alliance with India, the first official said. Raghubar Das, his Chhattis-
officers Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, and Ashok Kamte lost US and Brazil as its founding members Queries emailed to the spokespersons garh counterpart Biswa
their lives in the attacks—an unprecedented loss in any encoun- was launched at the G20 summit hosted of India’s ministries of petroleum and Bhusan Harichandan and
ter in any Indian metropolis. by New Delhi in September, and has natural gas, external affairs and environ- Pradhan jointly inaugurated
Despite the loss, the morale of the Mumbai Police remained grown rapidly, with a total of 22 coun- Prime Minister Narendra Modi with world leaders at the launch of the Global ment, forest and climate change on the centre at an event.
high. They valiantly fought on multiple fronts, despite a paucity tries having agreed to join the GBA. Biofuels Alliance, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, on 9 Sep. PIB Wednesday evening remained unan- The centre will conduct
of resources. ASI Tukaram Omble’s confrontation of Ajmal The alliance has an eye on the Orga- swered at press time. research in art, culture, archae-
Kasab, armed with only a baton, became a historic moment. nization of the Petroleum Exporting global economic recovery has been frag- tribute 85% to ethanol production and The GBA’s focus is on speeding up ology, tradition and literature,
Kasab’s capture was a milestone in the history of counter-terror Countries (Opec)-plus grouping, of ile. “We will showcase GBA at COP as make up 81% of consumption.Within a biofuel adoption, creating new biofuels, sociology of Odisha, political
operations. It was the first instance of a terrorist being appre- which the UAE is a member, but is yet advocacy. While we are the latest short period, a total of 12 international setting internationally recognized stan- process and political culture,
hended alive after such an attack and provided undeniable evi- to fInd support from Saudi Arabia and entrant, we are here and we are actually organizations have also agreed to join dards and codes, identifying global best agriculture, commerce, busi-
dence of Pakistan’s sinister intentions. Russia. going to help you in decarboni- the GBA. practices, and ensuring industry ness and industry, develop-
Now, let us come to the helplessness experienced during the The plan also involves zation. Also, we will light up These include eight participation to have quanti- ment trends of contemporary
attacks. holding an industry round- Burj Khalifa with GBA. We countries of the G20 fiable outputs. Odisha, science and technol-
Initially, the navy’s marine commandos (Marcos) were sum-
moned to end the Taj Hotel siege. Eventually, the National Secu-
table on what the GBA
would mean for the
countries have
22are looking at booking a grouping—USA, Brazil,
slot,” said one of the two India, South Africa,
India share of the
While first generation
biofuels are produced 3% ogy and healthcare, and future
technology. It will also work on
rity Guard (NSG) took charge and ended the siege three days later industry. government officials Argentina, Italy, Canada from sugar, starch, corn, smart cities, climate change,
with the elimination of all the terrorists there. The significant loss The move also gives a agreed to join cited above requesting and Japan. The other total global wheat and broken rice, sustainable development,
of life and property in the attack dealt a severe blow to Indian signal to the Opec+ group- the GBA anonymity. countries include the biofuel market among others, 2G or sec- semiconductors, rare earths
pride and dignity. It raised concerns about the vulnerabilities of ing, which has ignored calls There is a growing trac- UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka, ond-generation biofuels and advanced minerals, the
our security apparatus, neglect of maritime borders, and the by New Delhi to increase pro- tion for biofuels, with the Bangladesh, Mauritius, Phil- are produced from various minister said. In 2036, when
deployment of anti-terrorism squads. duction amid record high prices of global ethanol market valued at ippines, Paraguay, Guyana, Ice- types of non-food biomass, such Odisha will celebrate the cen-
It was a learning experience for the government. For instance, petroleum products. $99.06 billion in 2022 and predicted to land, Uganda, Finland, Kenya, Tanza- as plant materials and animal waste. tenary of its formation, ORC
the NSG was previously stationed solely in Gurugram, which Russia, meanwhile, is part of the grow at a CAGR of 5.1% to reach $162.12 nia and Seychelles. And 3G biofuel is produced from will prepare a roadmap for the
caused delays in its deployment in Mumbai. After the attack, four Opec+ that has been announcing suc- billion by 2032 . GBA founders USA A dozen international organizations microorganisms such as bacteria and development of Odisha and
centres were established in different parts of the country. Anti- cessive production cuts at a time when (52%), Brazil (30%) and India (3%) con- include the World Bank, Asian Develop- algae. Odia language, he said.
terrorism squads and intelligence units across various states were
fortified. Also, essential equipment
Effective was allocated to the navy and coast
governance
demands not
guard to bolster security along mari-
time borders.
The capture of Kasab gave the for-
Modi to visit UAE for Tea export volumes and earnings fall
just fervour but eign affairs ministry a strategic advan-
also strategic
acumen
tage. The evidence it handed over to
major countries unmasked Pakistan’s
climate change meet Rhik Kundu
rhik.kundu@livemint.com
Indian produce as their pro-
duction is expected to rebound
deceitful nature, and resulted in the NEW DELHI following better availability of
diplomatic isolation of that country. Puja Das COP28, which will take place fertilizers and pesticides, the

I
Today, I am not recalling 26/11 as a ritual. On 7 October, as I was puja.das@livemint.com from 30 November until 12 ndia saw a slump in its tea report added.
watching the Hamas attack on Israel on TV, the Mumbai attack NEW DELHI December, under the leader- shipments during April-Oc- Sri Lanka, which mainly pro-
kept coming to my mind. For decades, Israel’s army, and its spy ship of the UAE is expected to tober and export earnings duces orthodox tea, accounts

P
agency Mossad have been epitomes of efficiency. Despite this, rime Minister Narendra focus on the urgency of keep- also took a beating amid softer for about 50% of the global
they were unable to halt the attack. The police and security forces Modi will visit Dubai for ing the target of limiting tem- prices and challenges in tradi- trade in orthodox tea. India is
in Israel were too slow to respond, taking a few hours in some from 30 November to 1 peratures to 1.5-degree Celsius tional markets Russia and Iran. also a major producer of ortho-
cases. December for the 28th Confer- above the pre-industrial aver- According to official data dox tea—loose-leaf tea pro-
Doubts have also been raised about Israel’s retaliatory meas- ence of the Parties (COP28) at age within reach. from the commerce ministry, duced using traditional meth-
ures. I’m not saying Tel Aviv didn’t have the right to retaliate, but the UN Climate Change Con- It is expected to suggest India exported tea worth ods.
Netanyahu and his associates displayed the same arrogance that ference (UNCC), held under the urgent, aggressive, and ambi- $463.58 million between April Indian exporters have tried
George W. Bush had shown in declaring war on Afghanistan after United Nations Framework tious action by 2030 to reduce and October, down from to to capture newer markets after
9/11. Israel now is locked in Gaza indefinitely. It will have to invest Convention on Climate emissions, build climate resil- $482.78 million in the year-ago the Sri Lankan economic crisis,
an enormous amount of resources for a long time to sustain its Change (UNFCCC) ience, and transform climate period. besides strengthening foot-
offensive. Would it have been better if Israel had used intelli- He will deliver finance as a In terms of volume, India’s India exported tea worth $463.58 mn, between April-October prints in traditional tea markets
gence and diplomatic tactics to eliminate Hamas? a national state- The upcoming response to the tea exports stood at 133.32 mil- 2023, down from $482.78 mn in the year-ago period. MINT like Iran, and Russia. However,
India’s approach in this regard serves as a notable example. ment highlight- visit reflects global stocktake. lion kg during the January-Au- alternative payment mecha-
Following 26/11, then prime minister Manmohan Singh had con- ing India’s climate India’s dedication Additionally, gust 2023 period, down 4.22% to the island-nation. This along 1,100 million kg this fiscal. nisms for trade with sanctions-
veyed to Pakistan’s then president, Asif Ali Zardari: “I am happy action. to advancing COP28 is antici- yearly, according to the data. with aid from several countries, However, exports, which make hit Russia and Iran continue to
to meet you, but my mandate is to tell you that the territory of The ministry of
its climate agenda pated to deliver an Competitor Sri Lanka including India, has given up 18% by volume and about be a challenge.
Pakistan must not be used for terrorism.” Also, various direct and external affairs urgent call for exported 211.91 million kg of tea impetus to revive its economy, 30% by value, may slide about A commerce ministry
indirect messages directed at Islamabad proved to be impactful. (MEA) in its state- on the decisive action to between January-October including its tea 12% on-year to spokesperson didn’t respond to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has continued to bolster this ment said, “H.H. global stage bridge critical 2023, down 5.6% from the same industry. China is about 200 million emailed queries.
stance more resolutely. Following the loss of 18 soldiers in Uri, the Sheikh Mohamed gaps by 2030, set- period of the previous year. Jan- Rating agency the world’s kg. Last fiscal, the “An increase in domestic
Indian government executed a surgical strike, and after the sacri- bin Zayed Al ting a path to uary-October figures for vol- Crisil expects the largest exporter export volume demand, amid a global slow-
fice of 40 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers in Pulwama, an Nahyan, President of the UAE deliver the most ambitious umes are not available for India. Indian tea indus- of tea followed had increased 14% down, has led to tea producers
air strike on Balakot sent a clear message that talks would be and ruler of Abu Dhabi, has response to the global stock- China is the world’s largest try to witness an due to lower pro- selling more in the domestic
replaced by decisive action. Both strikes were closely overseen invited the Prime Minister to take. exporter of tea followed by Sri
by Sri Lanka,
8% decline in rev- duction in Sri markets,” said Arpita Mukher-
by Modi himself, marking a distinct and effective shift in India’s the summit.” It may have extensive nego- Lanka, Kenya and India. enue this fiscal Kenya and Lanka, a major tea jee, trade expert and Professor
policy. It’s noteworthy that since Pulwama, there hasn’t been a The upcoming visit reflects tiations on a ‘loss and damage Sri Lankan tea production year. India exporting coun- at the Indian Council for
major terrorist incident of that magnitude in the country. India’s “dedication to advanc- fund’ amid encouraging signs was hurt due to the economic During FY23, try,” Crisil said in a Research on International Eco-
Consider the ramifications if India had responded with an all- ing its climate agenda on the on a years-old pledge by devel- crisis in the country, which India’s tea exports September report nomic Relations (ICRIER).
out attack. It underscores that effective governance demands not global stage and contributing oped countries to fund devel- started in 2019 and intensified stood at $817.54 million. on the Indian tea industry. “The flooding of Chinese
just fervour but also strategic acumen. meaningfully to the dialogue oping nations to the tune of in 2022. However, the Interna- “Domestic demand, which In the months ahead, green and white tea in the mar-
Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are per- on environmental sustainabil- $100bn every year to fight cli- tional Monetary Fund accounts for 82% of sales vol- increased supply of Sri Lankan ket is also impacting the sale of
sonal. ity,” the ministry said. mate change. approved financial assistance ume, should remain steady at tea will impact demand for orthodox tea,” she added.

Eat less meat is FAO message for rich world in food’s first net zero plan CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
Mint welcomes comments,
Bloomberg oping countries—where “Livestock is politically sen- no more than 15.7 kg of meat a ingly erratic weather to tack- suggestions or complaints
feedback@livemint.com under-consumption of meat sitive, but we need to deal with year. ling key sources of emissions about errors.
adds to a prevalent nutrition sensitive issues to solve the The Rome-based UN like food waste and post-har-
Readers can alert the

T
he world’s wealthiest
nations will be told to
curb their excessive
appetite for meat as part of the
first comprehensive plan to
bring the global agrifood
industry into line with the
Paris climate agreement.
The global food systems’
road map to 1.5 degrees C is
expected to be published by
the United Nations’ Food &
Agriculture Organization dur-
ing the COP28 summit next
month. Nations that over-con-
sume meat will be advised to
limit their intake, while devel-
challenge—will need to
improve their livestock farm-
ing, according to the FAO.
From farm to fork, food sys-
tems account for about a third
of global greenhouse gas emis-
sions and much of that foot-
print is linked to livestock
farming—a major source of
methane, deforestation and
biodiversity loss. Although
non-binding, the FAO’s plan is
expected to inform policy and
investment decisions and give
a push to the food industry’s
climate transition which has
lagged other sectors in com-
problem,” said Dhanush
Dinesh, the founder of Clim-
Eat, which works to accelerate
climate action in food systems.
“If we don’t tackle the live-
stock problem, we are not
going to solve climate change.
The key problem is overcon-
sumption.”
Livestock farming is a major source of methane, deforestation The average American con-
and biodiversity loss. BLOOMBERG sumes about 127 kg of meat a
year compared with 7 kg in
mitments. cally shy away from policies Nigeria and just 3 kg in the
The guidance on meat is aimed at influencing con- Democratic Republic of
intended to send a clear mes- sumer behaviour, especially Congo, according to FAO data.
sage to governments. But poli- where it involves cutting con- The Eat-Lancet Commission
ticians in richer nations typi- sumption of everyday items. recommends people consume
agency, tasked with improving
the agricultural sector and
nutrition, is seeking to strike a
balance between climate tran-
sition and ensuring food secu-
rity for the growing global
population. So as well as call-
ing for less meat consumption
for the world’s well- fed, the
plan would also encourage
farmers in developing coun-
tries to bolster productivity of
their livestock and supply
more sustainably.
Other recommendations
will cover issues from how
farmers adapt to an increas-
vest loss or fertilizer use,
newsroom to any errors in the
according to the FAO. The paper by emailing us, with your
plan will be rolled out in three full name and address to
parts over the next few years to feedback@livemint.com.
eventually include country-
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The road map has the Readers dissatisfied with the
potential to offer a “shared response or concerned about
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intensive animal production.

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LIVEMINT.COM
m THE MONDAY QUIZ
1) WHAT is the name of
the artificial intelligence-
based video firm recently
acquired by Adobe?
3) WITH which global giant did Wipro collaborate to
accelerate generative AI adoption in healthcare sector?
4) WHICH former
Accenture exec did Info-
sys hire to lead its engi-
neering ops in Europe?
GLOSSARY
Greentech: Short for
green technology, green-
tech refers to the use of
technology in a way that
there is minimum to no
harm to the environment,
based on its production or
supply chain process. Also
often referred to as clean
technology, it involves the
use of alternative fuels and
technologies that are less
detrimental as compared
to fossil fuels.
GAN: Generative adversa-
rial network or GAN is a
machine learning concept
that pertains to generating
new data from an existing
training dataset. For exam-
ple, one can generate real-
istic images from a given
image database. A GAN
system comprises two
deep neural networks
Chaurasia 5) Paytm
1) Rephrase.ai 2) 5paisa 3) Nvidia 4) Rajesh Prasad
THE MONDAY QUIZ ANSWERS:
E-bike co EMotorad Digital push gets Accenture up MNC list
raises $20 mn funds Growing in leaps and bounds
K Amoghavarsha
k.amoghavarsha@livemint.com
BENGAluRu
I
nkodop Technologies Pvt
Ltd, which operates electric
vehicle startup EMotorad,
said on Monday that it has
raised around $20 million
(₹164 crore) in a Series B fund-
ing round.
The round which com-
prised $17.5 million in equity
investment and the remaining
$2.5 million of debt infusion,
was led by Singapo-
re-based Panthera
Growth Partners and
saw participation
from xto10x, Alteria Capital,
and existing investors Green
Frontier Capital.
Alongwith the present
funding infusion, the com-
pany has raised a total of ₹188
crore to date.
The Pune-based company
will use the fresh funding to
ratchet up product develop-
ment and expansion across
geographies.
Deals Digest: PE/VC deals bounce back after yr’s worst show
K Amoghavarsha &
Priyal Mahtta
BENGAluRu
T
he private equity and
venture capital deal flow
regained some momen-
tum last week, after Diwali
when deal activity slumped to
the lowest recorded numbers
this year both in terms of value
as well as volume.
Similarly, mergers
and acquisition
(M&A) activity also
saw a substantial recovery in
terms of transaction volume.
Last week saw startups
securing $155 million, on the
back of a couple of mid-sized
fundings by foreign investors in
the healthcare and financial
services sectors. That’s up eight
times from $19 million in the
week before.
Parallelly, deal volume last
2) WHICH online trad-
ing firm has appointed
former Paytm executive
Ameya Agnihotri as CTO?
5) WHICH Indian
online payments firm did
Berkshire Hathaway exit
in a $165 million deal?
called generator and dis-
criminator that are pitted
against each other to gen-
erate the most authentic
new data.
Run rate: In business, run
rate is used to refer to the
financial performance of a
company based on its cur-
rent financial perform-
ance to predict its future,
while assuming that the
current conditions will
remain the same. It is par-
ticularly useful for compa-
nies that have been oper-
ating for a short period of
time.
Confidential comput-
ing: Often used in the con-
text of the public cloud,
confidential computing is
a computational technique
focused on data privacy. In
this method, data is pro-
cessed in a protected zone
of a computer’s processor
while limiting access to it.
It uses cryptographic
keys which are linked to
the processors to create
a secure execution envi-
ronment.
Additionally, as part of its
growth strategy, the startup
will expand inorganically,
through investments in com-
ponent manufacturing com-
panies to improve the scope of
their business.
Founded in 2020 by Rajib
Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta,
Aditya Oza and Sumedh Bat-
tewar, EMotorad is an EV
startup that designs and pro-
duces electric cycles.
It managed to clock ₹130
crore in revenues in FY23 and
claims to have sold
80,000 electric
cycles to date.
“The infusion of
funds will pave the way for the
brand’s expansion across
international boundaries,”
said Gangopadhyay,
co-founder and managing
director, EMotorad.
Before this funding round,
the startup had raised ₹24
crore in a pre-Series A funding
round from Green Frontier
Capital (GFC), LetsVenture
and Ivy Growth Associates.
week increased significantly to
18 PE/VC transactions from
seven deals previously.
In last week’s largest transac-
tion, Global Dental Services
Ltd, which operates the home-
grown dental chain Clove Den-
tal, secured $50 million in
funding from Qatari sovereign
wealth fund Qatar Investment
Authority (QIA).
The transaction was closely
followed by Interna-
tional Finance Cor-
poration’s (IFC) $40
million investment in
non-bank lender Vastu Hous-
ing Finance Corp. Ltd.
IFC’s investment in Vastu
Housing Finance comes a
month after PE firm Faering
Capital bought a stake in the
non-bank lender from Multi-
ples PE in a secondary share
purchase for $30 million.
The fintech space saw two
mid-sized deals inked last
DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi 03
hBits Asset
Bain Capital set to focus on to raise
late-stage tech deals in India
₹500 crore
under AIF
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
The firm expects to widen the scope of its investments in India over the next few years NEW dElHI
h
Bits Asset Management, a
Ranjani Raghavan & Sneha Shah last 18 months across all asset classes, wholly-owned subsidiary
mumBAI Singh said. of fractional ownership
Of the $3 billion, around $1.5 billion platform for commercial real
B
oston-based private equity
firm Bain Capital, which has
was specifically deployed in private
equity deals across deals such as Citius
estate hBits, is planning to raise
₹500 crore under its AIF (alter-
over $160 billion of assets Tech, IIFL Wealth (now 360 One Asset nate investment fund) by
under management, may Management Ltd), Porus Labs, and March 2025, a top company
spend more time looking at Adani Capital. official said.
late-stage tech deals next year in India, Bain Capital is also looking to deploy “We started the marketing
as the opportunities in the segment more in consumer retail, a segment process for AIF recently, about
widen for traditional private equity where it has historically been less a month ago, and already have
firms, a top executive said. focussed in India, besides investing in about ₹50 crore in soft commit-
The PE firm closed a $7.1 billion fifth other favoured segments such as ments. So the idea is to reach
Asian fund last week, up from $4.5 bil- industrials, financial services and IT first close by March and then
lion which it raised for its fourth Asia services, he said. close out the fund maybe in 9 to
fund. It expects to widen the scope of its In private equity, the firm has histor- 12 months to raise the full ₹500
investments in India over the next few ically made large investments in finan- crore,” hBits founder and CEO
years, including in newer sectors. cial services, industrials and IT servi- Shiv Parekh told PTI.
A lot of startups have historically ces. “I think those (segments) will con- Parekh informed that he is
been backed by venture capital firms in tinue to be active. And of those three, I targeting about ₹200-250
India and globally. But private equity would say the one that we see a lot of crore by March 2024, before
firms may find opportunities in this activity in, and focus is industrials,” the first close of the AIF.
segment in India, going forward, Pav- Singh said. “... By March, once we do the
ninder Singh, a partner said. “The other sector, which historically first close, we should start
“Many of them (technology startups) Bain Capital is also looking to deploy more in consumer retail in India besides has been less active for us in India, but acquiring properties for the
are now further along in their business investing in other favoured segments, said Pavninder Singh, a partner. is a big focus right now is consumer AIF in the new financial year
model evolution. Some of them do have retail. It’s one of our top three verticals (2024-25),” he said.
a need for primary capital. Many of over the next 10 years, just as we saw a Separately, Bain Capital has invested globally,” Singh said, adding that the He further noted that the
them have a need for a capital structure lot of activity in the tech enabled ser- significantly in the payments sector firm was putting in a lot of effort to minimum ticket size for invest-
realignment, where early investors vice sector, I think SaaS and product globally and expects to look more secure deals in this segment. ment in the AIF is ₹1 crore and it
need exits. I think all of that has created companies from India will be the next deeply in that segment in India as well, About a quarter of the capital that it is open for individual investors,
some interesting opportunities. We are wave. We are spending time in this seg- he added. has raised for Asia has been deployed in institutions, and foreign insti-
spending time selectively in that India. tutions. “We are targeting
(startup/ tech) area. A lot of those INvesTING foR GRoWTH “There are opportunities to raise HNIS (high net worth Indians),
deals were going to a set of inves- that percentage (of investment) for family offices and institutions
tors that didn’t look like traditional THe PE firm closed a BAIN Capital IT expects to invest ABouT a quarter India,” Singh said. While deal activ- to invest in the AIF,” he stated.
PE, a year or two ago—I think some $7.1 bn fifth Asian
fund last week, up
expects to look
more deeply in the
more in India after of the capital that it
deploying $3 bn over has raised for Asia
ity has been down globally, includ- He also explained that it is a
of those deals could be relevant from $4.5 bn raised payment segment last 18 months across has been deployed ing in India, in 2023, the firm closed-ended fund and
for us and our peer set in 2024,” for fourth Asia fund in India all asset classes in India expects it to be better in 2024. invested capital would be
Singh said. In 2023, the firm invested in returned back to the investor
Specifically, Bain Capital would other asset classes through the after seven years. On geograph-
be greatly interested in tech and tech ment,” Singh said. The PE firm will invest in scaled up firm’s special situations fund, and ies for investment, he said the
enabled segments, product and soft- Software products and Software-as-a businesses. “I think companies where credit vehicles. Earlier in June, Bain firm is looking at top six cities
ware services companies, in addition to Service (SaaS) companies—which unit economics are still unproven are a Capital’s special situations fund for investment in commercial
fintech companies, Singh said. mostly cater to overseas clients—have harder fit for late stage private equity,” invested in Embassy REIT—its first real estate including Mumbai,
“That market actually will be quite seen a dip in their revenues because of he said. such investment in this segment in Pune, National Capital Region,
interesting and not just in the near term cost cutting in the US and the European The firm expects to invest more in India. Bengaluru, Hyderabad and
because there’s a dislocation. If I look markets over fears of global recession. India after deploying $3 billion over the ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com Chennai.
Sohini Bagchi
sohini.bagchi@livemint.com
Accenture financial performance from 2018 to 2023.
bled services. It provides con-
sultancy services, which is
NEW dElHI under a tenth of total revenue.
Revenue (in  Crore) Profit after tax (in  Crore) Accenture declined to com-
G
lobal technology servi- 61,620.5 ment for this article, but the
Mar 2018 2,577.3
ces, consulting, and rapid pace of digital transfor-
47,586.6
outsourcing company Mar 2019 2,872.2 mation projects around the
Accenture’s growth has been world, including India, is
31,417 32,970.1 2,707.8
particularly sharp over the last 28,048.4 Mar 2020 believed to be the prime driver
24,607.1
two years. Although the growth Mar 2021 2,785.5
of this growth.
rate moderated last year from Over the years, the Irish-
44% in the year ended March Mar 2022 4,339.2 American tech firm has hired Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty said in the first phase, the
2022, when it was boosted by and nurtured the Indian talent customer acquisition part is going to be transformed. REUTERS
the low base and pent-up client 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Mar 2023 6,323.7 pool as part of growth plans
LIC plans to set up
March
projects from the first year Source: VCCEdge data 2018-2023, TechCircle
and has undertaken digital
under the pandemic, to nearly transformation initiatives.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
30% in FY23, Accenture Services rendered to
crossed some other MNCs in
terms of size in the country.
Accenture, had planned to
went past FMCG major Uni-
lever’s India unit Hindustan
Unilever after having over-
Globally, Accenture’s reve-
nue in the fiscal year ended 31
August 2023 grew 4% to $64.1
domestic clients in India, how-
ever, comprise a small propor-
tion of roughly 8% of the total
fintech arm, says
make its India operations one taken Korean carmaker Hyun- billion and 8% in local cur- revenues, TechCircle has gath-
of the largest in the world
nearly a decade ago. It was
already a big name back then
dai in FY22 itself, information
compiled by data platform
VCCEdge shows.
rency. The company’s finan-
cial year started on 1 Septem-
ber 2022. Net
ered. For perspective, Accen-
ture’s big domestic peers are
bigger in size but not growing
chairman Mohanty
among multinational compa- Notably, Accen- income was at $7 as fast and it is gaining market PTI to the office. Sitting at home
nies operating in India, but the ture has nearly billion, almost flat share from some of India’s feedback@livemint.com through his mobile he can
firm has grown in leaps and doubled in size in compared to 2022. largest digital service provid- NEW dElHI access our required servi-
bounds since then. the last three years having Accenture Solutions, the ers, including Infosys, TCS, ces...we are focussing on fin-
A
Indeed, Accenture is now ended FY23 with ₹61,620.50 flagship Indian holding com- and Wipro. s part of its digital trans- tech as well and will harness its
believed to be the fifth largest crore or around $7.3 billion. pany, largely provides service Infosys, TCS and Wipro formation exercise, potential in expanding busi-
MNC in India by revenues, By net profit, it is among the delivery capabilities to Accen- grew their rupee revenues by insurance behemoth ness,” he said.
behind Suzuki controlled top 50 companies in the coun- ture Group through its deliv- 20.7%, 17.6% and 14.4%, Life Insurance Corporation LIC is also exploring options
Maruti, Samsung, Nayara try having pumped in $800 ery centres in the form of soft- respectively, in the year ended (LIC) is exploring the possibil- of having its own fintech arm
Energy and Oppo. Last year, it million into India last year. ware development and IT ena- March 2023. ity of setting up a fintech unit. that can be developed as a busi-
LIC has initiated a total digi- ness model, he said. Asked to
tal transformation project share further details on fintech,
DIVE (Digital Innovation and he said, it is premature to talk
Value Enhancement) and about it.
appointed a consultant to steer It is to be noted that LIC has
the project, LIC chairman Sid- added three fintech companies
dhartha Mohanty told PTI in an as corporate agents so far in the
also stabilised last week as all compared to one the week interview. “Our objective is to current year for product distri-
PE/VC deals
but four transactions fell within before. In the largest M&A get best in class bution. The
Companies raised $155 mn last week
50 the sub-$10 million value transaction of last week, MGM digital initiatives LIC has initiated a insurer has lined
Deal value ($ mn) Investors bracket, a trend which has been Healthcare Pvt Ltd acquired for all our stake- up three-four new
Clove Dental total digital
 Qatar Investment consistent throughout the year. one of Fortis Healthcare Ltd’s holders, custom- transformation product launches
Kiwi Authority Some of the notable deals hospitals, Fortis Malar Hospi- ers, intermedia- project DIVE and during the cur-
 Omidyar include e-mobility startup Baaz tal, in Chennai for ₹128 crore. ries, marketing rent financial year
appointed a
Network, Nexus 40 Bikes’ $8 million Series A fund- In another M&A, Tiger Glob- people and every- to accelerate new
Venture Partners ing round, which al-backed vendor body through the consultant to business pre-
was led by Singa- Deal volume last digitisation plat- project DIVE,” he steer the project mium growth in
Vastu Housing
23 Finance pore-based Big week increased form Bizongo said. the double digit.
Baaz Bikes
Scapia  International Capital, and vir- significantly to acquired Titan In the first LIC is going to
 Big
13  Elevation Finance Corp tual spirituality Capital-backed phase, the customer acquisi- launch one product in the first
Capital
Capital, 3STATE 18 PE/VC
platform Vama’s
8 Purple Style Labs Ventures transactions from FactoryPlus. tion part is going to be trans- week of December, he said.
8 $1.5 million fund- During the formed, he said. Customer Sharing some features of the
 Sanket Parekh, Note: List of deals is not comprehensive.
ing round, led by seven deals week, VCCircle acquisition is done through new product, Mohanty said it
Pidilite Family Office Source: VCCEdge, VCCircle, Media Reports
early-stage ven- previously reported on a cou- three modes—agent, bancas- will provide assured returns
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
ture capital firm ple of new venture surance and direct sale. and after maturity, the policy-
week. Fintech startups Scapia ure Partners joined the round. Wavemaker Part- capital firms. LIC gets most of its new cus- holder will get 10% of the sum
and Kiwi raised large Series A Meanwhile, Kiwi secured $13 ners and participation from Former banker Nimesh Kam- tomers through its agents. Sub- assured life long.
funding rounds from marquee million in funding. The round micro-VC investors Blume pani, who previously worked sequently, other areas would He exuded confidence that
venture capital firms. was led by Omidyar Network Founders Fund, Alluvium, and with Kotak Mahindra Bank and see transformation, he said, the new product will create dis-
Scapia raised $23 million, India. Existing investors Nexus Untitled VC. ICICI Bank, has set up a venture adding, services like claims set- ruption in the market as every-
from VC firms Elevation Capi- Venture Partners and Stellaris The M&A space saw a spike capital firm called 108.VC to bet tlement, loan and other servi- body wants to know how much
tal and 3STATE Ventures. Venture Partners also partici- in transaction volume on a on growth-stage startups. ces will be made available at the he or she is paying and the
Existing investors Matrix Part- pated in this round. week-on-week basis, as five k.amoghavarsha@live- click of a button. returns one would get after
ners India and Tanglin Vent- The number of small deals deals were inked last week mint.com “Customers need not come 20-25 years.
04 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi
S&P BSE Sensex
ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%)
65970.04
1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%)
2.17
6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%)
6.79
CIL set to shine in second half
Dipti Sharma
dipti.sharma@livemint.com
C
oal India Ltd’s (CIL)
shares are 7% below their
52-week high of ₹359
apiece seen in mid-No-
vember. There is opti-
mism on earnings outlook led by vol-
ume growth and better e-auction
realizations.
The coal producer has a production
and sales offtake target of 780 million
tonnes (mt) each for FY24. This means
CIL would have to clock 10% and 16%
growth, respectively, in the remaining
five months to meet its production and
offtake targets. The company expects
offtake to pick up in the second half of
FY24, partly aided by seasonality (lack
of monsoon). In a recent investor call,
the company’s management said it
expects demand for coal to be strong
in the coming years. CIL’s production
target for FY25 is 850 mt.
Apart from volumes, the trend in
e-auction price realisations is a crucial
variable. The company sells coal
through two main routes–fuel supply
Paint cos look set to beat competition blues
Harsha Jethmalani
harsha.j@htlive.com
L
isted paint companies
should sail through
Q3FY24 with decent vol-
ume growth aided by the fes-
tive and wedding season. The
litmus test for paint stocks
would be in Q4, though, when
competition woes spike.
Grasim Industries is scheduled
to make its paint launch under
brand Birla Opus next quarter.
The paint sector has high
entry barriers. But lately, com-
panies with robust financial
muscle, such as Grasim and
Pidilite Industries, have
entered the sector, which has
seen an oligopolistic structure
for many years now with a
handful of companies domi-
FPIs reverse selling trend; invest
₹378 cr in equities in November
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
new DeLhi
F
oreign Portfolio Investors
(FPIs) have pared their
bearish stance on Indian
equities during November as
they made a net investment of
₹378 crore on the sharp decline
in US treasury bond yields.
This came after FPIs
dumped Indian equities worth
₹24,548 crore in October and
₹14,767 crore in September,
data with the depositories
showed. Before the outflow,
FPIs were incessantly buying
Indian equities in the last six
months from March to August
when they brought in ₹1.74 tril-
lion.
Overall, the trend for 2023
remains healthy, with FPIs
pouring in ₹96,340 crore so far
this year.
Top 4 cos m-cap up ₹65,671 cr
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
new DeLhi
T
he combined market val-
uation of four of the
top-10 most-valued firms
climbed a massive ₹65,671.35
crore last week, with Reliance
Industries emerging as the big-
gest gainer.
Last week, the BSE bench-
mark climbed 175.31 points, or
0.26%.
While Reliance Industries,
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and
MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM
Nifty 50 Nifty 500 Nifty Next 50 Nifty 100 S&P BSE Mid-cap S&P BSE Small Cap
ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%) ClOsE 1-WEEK CHANGE (%)
0.27 19794.70 0.32 17643.50 0.24 46607.75 -0.49 19812.10 0.20 33610.39 0.69 39807.29 0.53
1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-MONTH CHANGE (%) 3-MONTH CHANGE (%)
1.10 2.66 2.10 4.47 4.21 6.69 4.73 3.25 2.53 8.13 8.49 8.75 10.14
6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%) 6-MONTH CHANGE (%) 1-YEAR CHANGE (%)
5.94 8.25 7.09 13.71 12.52 13.72 9.11 9.04 6.36 26.89 32.33 32.98 37.26
Turning tide
Bharat Dynamics saw year-on-year revenue growth in Q2FY24
after clocking a drop for the past three quarters
900
Revenue (in  crore) Year-on-year change (in %) (right-hand scale)
30
measure, reflecting the fall in interna- incidences of power shortages has 750 15
Cooling off tional coal prices. E-auction premium strengthened the demand outlook for 600 0
Coal India’s e-auction realization fell for the fourth straight quarter in to FSA price fell to 84% in Q2, but has coal,” he added.
Q2FY24 to 2,838 per tonne. 450 -15
now risen to 90%. For perspective, this Nuvama Institutional Equities pre-
7,500
E-auction realization (in  per tonne) was 144% in Q1 and a high of 329% in dicts an 118% e-auction premium for 300 -30
6,000
Q2FY23. October with higher volumes to drive 150 -45
4,500
2,838 What has kept the optimism alive earnings in H2. CIL is targeting an
3,000 0 -60
1,594 despite the drop in e-auc- e-auction volume of 15% of Q2FY23 Q2FY24
1,500 Source: Company, Elara Securities
tion premiums in Q2 is CIL ENHANCING production in H2. Further,
0 PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
Q2FY22 Q2FY24 managing to clock a 12% INFRA any potential rise in FSA
year-on-year growth in
Ebitda. This was led by CIL is actively
higher offtake and lower enhancing rail infra
to accommodate
prices could buttress CIL’s
earnings.
Meanwhile, employee
Bharat Dynamics
input costs. CIL’s Q2 an expected rise
results challenge the com- in volumes
mon belief that e-auction
cost is a huge burden for
CIL, and it expects about a
5% drop in staff count
must execute well
prices alone dictate the INVESTORS should every year over the next
closely watch Vineetha Sampath
company’s profitability, e-auction and FSA 5-10 years. Moreover, the Bharat Dynamics, and it would
said Dixit. prices, and delivery coal major is actively vineetha.s@livemint.com see significant ramp-up in exe-
Nonetheless, the e-auc- on volume growth enhancing rail infrastruc- cution, thus aiding the com-
D
tion premium is expected ture to accommodate an efence stocks grabbed pany to achieve its revenue tar-
to inch higher in the com- expected rise in volumes. attention on Friday get,” said Harshit Kapadia, ana-
Source: Company, Kotak Institutional Equities
ing months. “E-auction premiums To be sure, the sharp 46% gain in thanks to reports that lyst, Elara Securities (India).
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
mimic the trend in international coal CIL’s shares in the past year suggests the Defence Acquisitions Further, it augurs well Bha-
agreement (FSA) and e-auction. The ICICI Securities. prices, which have started moving investors are factoring in the brighter Council is expected to give pre- rat Dynamics’s order book was
realisation of e-auction coal is typically In the September quarter higher from October after hitting a low picture adequately. But investors liminary approval for three robust at ₹20,766 crore as at
higher than that of FSA, which is heav- (Q2FY24), CIL’s e-auction realisation in July,” said Rupesh Sankhe, an ana- should closely watch e-auction and crucial projects amounting to September-end, up 3.6% versus
ily discounted to keep electricity pri- fell to ₹2,838 per tonne, making it the lyst at Elara Securities. “Additionally, FSA price realizations, along with ₹1.4 trillion at the end of this six months earlier. This pro-
ces low, said Amit Dixit, an analyst at fourth straight quarter of drop in the peak power demand amid increasing delivery on volume growth. month. Bharat Dynamics Ltd’s vides revenue visibility of 9.6
shares closed 5% up. In any times on a trailing 12-month
case, its prospects are on a bet- basis. “We believe Bharat
ter footing now. Worries about Dynamics has the ability to exe-
m CHART BEAT delayed execution despite a
strong order book appear to
cute its current order book by
FY27E, and considering the
Slowing pace have eased to an extent. company is DRDO’s (Defence
Midcap, smallcap outperformance versus largecap has
True, in the first half of FY24 Research and Development
nating the market. Some of the The decorative paints major incur a total capex of ₹12,000 (H1FY24), revenue fell by Organisation) production
slowed down lately.
new entrants also have a distri- plans to invest around ₹8,750 crore in fiscals 2023 and 2024 Sensex Nifty50 BSE Midcap BSE Smallcap Returns (in %) almost 26%, hurt by supply agency, it will maintain a steady
bution channel, a key factor for crore over the next three years. against about ₹7,000 crore 40
chain challenges. But in the inflow of orders and growth
penetration and success in this Berger Paints India, Kansai incurred in the four fiscals September quarter (Q2FY24), will be uninterrupted,” said
30
business. Nerolac Paints and Akzo Nobel through 2022,” said Anuj Sethi, Bharat Dynamics’ revenues Antique’s analysts.
In response, incumbent India are also focussed on capex senior director, Crisil Ratings. 20 grew by 15% year-on-year to As such, so far in 2023, Bharat
listed paint mak- and increasing Not just capex, brand build- 10 ₹610 crore after three straight Dynamics’s shares are up 23%.
ers have increased Paint sector has production ing, too, is crucial to grab cus- 0 quarters of revenue drop. Still, The fact that it has not cut its rev-
thrust on capital capacities. tomer attention. Interestingly, 1 year Six months Three months it must register an 81.5% growth enue guidance has cheered inve-
high entry Source: Prabhudas Lilladher
e x p e n d i t u r e . barriers, but now Grasim, too, is Fevicol-maker Pidilite, which in the second half to meet the stor sentiment, says Kapadia.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
Recent manage- cos with robust bracing itself with enjoys strong brand recall full-year revenue target of Plus, valuations aren’t too dema-
ment commen-
tary indicates that
financial muscle, three out of its six
paint plants to
value, launched an interior
paint named Haisha. “Adver-
Slipping down ₹3,200 crore.
The company doesn’t appear
nding, with the stock trading at
almost 23 times its FY26 esti-
capacity addition such as Grasim become opera- tisement spends to boost brand to be losing sleep over this. mated earnings. One must moni-
have forayed
M
plans are pro- tional in Q4, the recognition are expected to id- and small-cap stocks continue to outper- When Antique Stock Broking tor the ongoing Israel war as that
gressing well. For management said stay elevated at 9-10% of reve- form larger peers, but returns have taken a recently met the management could delay supply of compo-
instance, of the in its Q2 earnings nue going ahead,” added Sethi. bit of a breather. A key concern here is that of Bharat Dynamics, the com- nents for one of Bharat Dynam-
₹3,400 crore outlined for call. Grasim has committed Further, to cash-in on exist- most of the mid- and small-cap stocks may have run pany said it was confident of ics’s key projects—medium
brownfield expansion in the ₹10,000 crore of capex for its ing brand value, paint compa- ahead of their fundamentals. Thus, sustaining the meeting its revenue guidance, range surface to air missile. In this
medium term, Asian Paints has paints business. nies have entered adjacent outperformance would hinge on earnings improve- aided by timely availability of backdrop, poor execution by the
already spent close to ₹1,500 “Our analysis shows that product categories of water ment. Further, before the general elections if mar- components. Analysts are company and failure to meet its
crore, the management said in existing (top five companies) proofing/home decor through ket sentiment is hit, correction can be steep. broadly optimistic. “Q4 is gen- revenue target may pour cold
its Q2 earnings call. and new entrants are likely to the same distribution network. erally the strongest quarter for water on investor hopes.
Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here
EMERGING MARKETS TRACKER
Launched in September 2019, Mint’s Emerging Markets Tracker provides a summary of economic activity
across 10 large emerging markets* based on seven high-frequency indicators. With a composite score of 89,
₹378.2 crore in Indian equities India topped the EM league table in October. The Philippines and Brazil were second and third, respectively. Better performance
this month (till 24 November).
Notably, foreign investors
were buyers on four days this TOP COUNTRIES
month with a big buying of
1 2 3
INDIA topped the chart for the eighth THE PHILIPPINES gained two spots to BRAZIL slipped one spot to third
₹2,625 crore on Friday. straight month with a record high score reach second. The peso escaped unhurt in mainly because Philippines went past
“The better-than-expected of 89. It was the best economy on GDP, a month when all other currencies slipped, it. But its score improved thanks to
decline in inflation in mid-Oc- PMI, and exports growth. (Sep-qtr GDP and inflation remained in control. the second-best exports growth.
tober for US has given the mar- data is yet to be released.)
ket confidence to assume that
the Fed is done with a rate hike.
Consequently, the US bond Composite Real GDP PMI Export CPI Import Exchange rate Stock market
yields have declined sharply index score, growth manufacturing growth inflation cover movement** capitalization**
Country October 2023 (y-o-y, in %) (y-o-y, in %) (y-o-y, in %) (no. of months) (m-o-m, in %) (m-o-m, in %)
FPIs poured in ₹96,340 crore with the 10-year benchmark
this year. MINT bond yield correcting from
“On the way ahead, we think
5% in mid-October to 4.40%
now. This has forced FPIs to
INDIA 89 7.8 55.5 12.7 4.9 16.8 -0.2 -2.5
that improving risk appetite in slow down their selling,” VK
the EM (emerging markets) and
falling risk-free yields in the US
Vijayakumar, chief investment
strategist at Geojit Financial
PHILIPPINES 64 5.9 52.4 -6.3 4.9 9.3 0.0 -0.9
will draw FPI flows towards Services, said.
India,” Hitesh Jain, strategist,
Institutional Equities Research
Additionally, the debt mar-
ket attracted ₹12,400 crore in
BRAZIL 58 3.4 48.6 9.5 4.8 18.3 -2.3 -4.7
at YES Securities India, said. the period under review after
According to the data, FPIs
made a net investment of
receiving ₹6,381 crore in Octo-
ber, data showed.
CHINA 56 4.9 49.5 -7.9 0.2 10.6 -0.1 -2.6
MALAYSIA 45 3.3 46.8 -4.1 1.9 9.6 -1.4 -2.3
INDONESIA 44 4.9 51.5 -10.4 2.6 2.7 -2.5 -1.0
Bharti Airtel were the gainers, that of ICICI Bank gained
Tata Consultancy Services ₹5,030.88 crore to ₹6.51 tril-
TURKEY 42 3.8 48.4 7.4 61.4 8.5 -3.1 4.2
(TCS), Infosys, Hindustan Uni- lion.
lever, ITC, State Bank of India, However, the market capi- THAILAND 34 1.5 47.5 2.2 0.3 5.3 -1.7 -8.5
(SBI) and Bajaj Finance faced talisation (m-cap) of TCS
erosion in valuation. eroded by ₹16,484.03 crore to
The market valuation of ₹12.65 trillion. The valuation of
oil-to retail juggernaut Reli- Bajaj Finance fell ₹12,202.87 MEXICO 34 3.3 52.1 -5.1 4.3 7.3 -4.3 -8.4
ance Industries jumped crore to ₹4.33 trillion. #The rankings are based on the exact scores up to one decimal place.
₹26,014.36 crore to reach Reliance Industries contin-
₹16.19 trillion. HDFC Bank ued to hold the title of the most- Scoring method: The best-performing economy's value on any given indicator gets a score of 100, the worst one gets zero, and the rest are interpolated linearly for their relative scores.
A country's composite index score is the simple average of its seven indicator scores. Latest available data used (as of 22 November 2023). Scores/ranks may change as more data
added ₹20,490.9 crore, taking valued firm followed by TCS, comes in. *Russia has been dropped from the tracker temporarily as some data has not been reliably available since the Ukraine war began.
its valuation to ₹11.62 trillion. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Info-
Source: Bloomberg, Mint calculations **Change in monthly average. Exchange rate is against US dollar.
The market valuation of sys, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti
Bharti Airtel rose ₹14,135.21 Airtel, ITC, State Bank of India, Data: Tanay Sukumar; Graphics: Paras Jain
crore to ₹5.46 trillion, while and Bajaj Finance.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi 05

‘India priority mkt for growth’

Campbell Wilson, CEO&MD, Air India.
Pfizer India country president and MD says manufacturing, sales, R&D will grow, amid parent’s plan to cut costs
Naman Suri with Zydus in Gujarat, which makes contributing around 50% of its sales.
naman.suri@livemint.com oncology products. In fact, there we The company also plans to move its
New DelhI are bringing more and more prod- other pharmaceutical sciences small
MINT ucts. We transferred some from other molecule sites to Chennai from Con-

P
fizer India Ltd, a subsidiary parts of the world to the Gujarat plant. necticut in the US. With this move, it

‘Impose limits on of the American pharma-

ceutical major, is set to
expand its operations
One is happening as we speak. Across hopes that the regulatory bodies will
the board, we are looking to expand simplify the process of bringing and
our manufacturing footprint.” launching more products in India.

foreign carriers to despite the massive cost-

boost local airlines’
Neha L.M. Tripathi
letters@hindustantimes.com
MuMbAI
ficial thing you can do for the
economy.” Wilson was reply-
ing to a question about India
restricting an increase in bilat-
cutting initiative by its parent, Meen-
akshi Nevatia, country president and
managing director of Pfizer India said
in an interview.
“India is a priority market. And
Pfizer will only expand in India. So,
next year continues to be an expan-
sion, despite the global challenge.
The intent right now is to look at how
we can expand further and grow
Nevatia, however, did not divulge
the investment amount for its
capacity expansion. “We
have not set aside num-
bers as such. But of
course, capex (capital
expenditure) lines have
certain targets.”
The company is also
seeking to recruit individ-
Meenakshi Nevatia, country president and MD, Pfizer India. uals for research and devel-
Similar plans by companies are set
to help the government
achieve its target to expand
the pharmaceutical
70%
of Pfizer’s drug
industry by four times
to $200 billion by
2030. The sector
sales in India is should be able to
produced locally achieve the target with
the help of industrial, aca-
demia and production-

T
o promote the growth of eral arrangements with several manufacturing. We are also looking opment. “Similarly, on R&D linked incentives announced
homegrown airlines, it is countries. “The idea is to sup- to expand our sales, as we focus on drugmaker had reported a third- pany is looking to expand manufac- side, we are continuously hiring more for industrial research and develop-
important to contain the port Indian aviation. I think it’s driving this growth next year and quarter loss of $2.4 billion, compared turing at its facilities in Goa, Visakha- people. Our R&D centre is based in ment, Arunish Chawla, secretary at
expansion of foreign carriers the right thing to do for devel- making us commercially grow , too,” with $8.6 billion profit a year ago. Its patnam and Ahmedabad, having a Chennai.” the Department of Pharmaceuticals,
by restricting any increase in oping Indian aviation, and also Nevatia added. earnings took a hit with a $5.6 billion combined capacity of 4.5 billion Pfizer’s biggest research and devel- had said earlier.
their flying rights in India, Air Indian businesses and interna- The move assumes significance, as inventory write-down in covid-19 units. opment facility outside the US is According to an EY Parthenon and
India’s chief executive officer tional connectivity.” its parent, Pfizer Inc. is reportedly therapeutic Paxlovid and vaccine “We’re expanding in Goa and Vis- located at IIT Madras research park, Organization of Pharmaceutical Pro-
and managing director Camp- The Centre received several looking to cut jobs at its Sandwich, Comirnaty. Its Q3 revenue fell 42% hakhapatnam. We’re looking to add where it has over 3,000 employees. ducers of India report, India’s pharma
bell Wilson said on Sunday. requests for additional bilat- Kent site in the UK, as part of its $3.5 from a year earlier to $13.2 billion. manufacturing lines, to extend Pfizer’s 70% drug sales in India are industry has the potential to grow to
“The strategy is to contain eral air service agreements or billion cost-cutting initiative. The As part of its India plan, the com- capacity. We also have a partnership produced locally, with the Goa plant $450 billion by 2047.
traffic rights expansion, so that flying rights from the UAE,
local airlines have Indonesia, Qatar,
the opportunity The government Singapore, Turk-
to spin up and believes airports iye and Malaysia.
attain scale and
become competi-
in places such as So, far none has
Dubai have been considered.
Bankrupt firms fetch only a fifth of their value after 3 years: IBBI
tive...and then While India has
actual liberaliza-
developed at the agreements with Gireesh Chandra Prasad mately 21% of recognized reali- capital expenditure in time. “It the value could get eroded if operational requirement on have undergone a restructur-
tion will happen. expense of Indian 109 countries, it gireesh.p@livemint.com zable value, a person aware of varies from sector to sector. In the concession or licence time, whether for regular ing plan, and 2,249 have con-
It’s very difficult airlines has not updated New DelhI the findings said. steel sector, there is demand for remains unutilized during cor- working capital or for quick cluded in liquidation. About
for us to fill an air- bilateral arrange- IBBI’s internal assessment assets. However, in sectors porate insolvency resolution upgradation of technology.” In 2,000 cases are still pending.

A
craft to North ments with avia- ssets of distressed firms confirms the widely accepted such as white period,” Anoop certain cases, however, value The remaining admitted cases
America, if there’s a surplus of tion hubs since 2014. The Cen- in bankruptcy realize outlook for distressed firms in goods or telecom The Centre aims Rawat, partner, could appreciate over time if a have either been settled or
capacity that allows people to tre believes that airports in only about 41% of their bankruptcy: a gradual fall in timely technol- to resolve 300 insolvency and business has premium land stand withdrawn.
travel out by someone (airline) places such as Dubai have estimated value within 330 value of assets. The longer the ogy upgrade is cases in 2023 and bankruptcy, at law holdings, he said. The Centre expects resolu-
else, and so too much just leaks developed by catering to days of commencement of the delays, the more significant the crucial and if the for institutional firm Shardul According to IBBI data, the tion of 300 cases in 2023, up
out. India will not get the non- Indian passengers, at the cost bankruptcy process, dropping loss in asset value, leading to required capital Amarchand Man- average time for a restructuring from 180 last year. It is looking
stop capacity from an Indian of Indian airlines. Wilson said
capacity to
significantly in case of further higher haircuts for creditors. expenditure for galdas & Co., said. plan for distressed firms under to step up institutional capacity
operator to these markets,” he Dubai is carrying 60-70% of delays, according to an assess- The report relies on data from upgrading tech- handle 1,000 IBC That said, there IBC to be approved has been to handle 1,000 cases each
said in an interview with HT. the traffic from India to other ment by Insolvency and Bank- tribunals. nology has not cases a year is a crucial factor 653 days, while the closure of year. An estimated 5,000
“So it’s a balance that has to countries via Dubai, which ruptcy Board of India (IBBI). Experts said value erosion is been made on that could retain bankruptcy resolution leading bankruptcy cases are initiated
be struck, allowing the market Indian carriers would have According to IBBI’s evalua- common in distressed compa- time, value ero- the asset’s value, to liquidation takes an average every year. Email queries to the
to grow. But also incubate your carried. He said these hubs tion, if debt resolution extends nies, especially those with out- sion could happen. Also, in he said, “One way to retain of 472 days. As of September corporate affairs ministry and
local market, because that’s must not seek more rights for beyond 1,200 days (over three dated machinery and technol- concession-based projects in value is by making available end, out of over 7,050 cases IBBI on Friday didn’t elicit any
fundamentally the most bene- sixth freedom traffic. years), the assets fetch approxi- ogy, failing to make required oil and gas or infrastructure, interim funding for critical admitted in the tribunals, 808 response till press time.

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06 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

REUTERS

Plan to fix logistics ‘The intent is to make India

hurdles in tomato,
potato, onion soon an export engine of tech’
FROM PAGE 1 Gulveen Aulakh & Subhash Narayan dence. The second pillar is to take the
New DelhI lead in 6G development. We have
PSF (price stabilisation fund), taken the industry and academia along

I
proposals (for making market n an extensive interview covering with us, created bodies that are focused
interventions) have to come railways, information technology, on the specific subsystems on which we Zhongzhi reported a shortfall of
from state governments and and telecom, Union minister Ash- need to work. We already have about $36.4 billion in its balance sheet.
farmer bodies, which rarely wini Vaishnaw spelt out the gov- 200 odd patents in 6G technologies.
happens,” the official said.
The government has
ernment’s vision on multiple
fronts—from making India an export
The third big part is inclusive growth,
for which close to ₹36,000 crore has China opens
formed a committee under the engine of indigenous technologies, to been sanctioned for taking 4G and 5G
agriculture ministry to exam-
ine the matter and draft a plan
strengthening and expanding the rail-
way network with the right technolo-
services to the remotest parts of the
country. Close to ₹130,000 crore has
probes into
to implement the TOP scheme
effectively, the second official
said. “One meeting has already
gies to ensure safe and efficient opera-
tions, to ensuring that regulation keeps
up with technology and therefore the
been sanctioned for taking broadband
to every village. For example, in the
case of 4G and 5G services in uncon-
shadow
taken place and the findings
are yet to come. Based on the
Digital India Bill, to planning for India
to take the lead in 6G where standards
nected areas, out of 38,000 odd towers,
close to 14,000 towers are already banking co
committee’s recommenda- The pilot will be conducted are yet to be set. New financial incen- installed.
tions, the matter will be taken under the agriculture ministry’s
forward,” the official said on market intervention scheme. PTI
tives for the components ecosystem
may also be considered going forward.
Can the global adoption of 4G/5G
stack lead us to develop more
Zhongzhi
the condition of anonymity. Edited excerpts: stacks and products that can again
Bumper harvests tend to announced MSP; however, be exported, so we become an Bloomberg
drive down prices of crops that there is no concept of What is the Railways’ plan to export engine? feedback@livemint.com
are not covered by minimum government procurement at strengthen safety and security of That’s the intent, to become an

C
support price (MSP), prompt- MSP for vegetables. Expenses operations after we saw three export engine of products, of technolo- hinese authorities said
ing farmers to dump crops or for the MIS operation are major rail accidents/derailments gies. That’s the prime minister’s very they recently opened
sell them at a loss. Under the equally shared by the agricul- in the past few months? clear vision; even when he launched criminal investigations
Union agriculture ministry’s ture ministry and the state In every aspect of Railway safety, in the private 6G alliance, his vision is that into the money management
MIS, government agencies government. the past nine-and-a-half-years, we have about 2,000km a year now. In the last Kavach is very good and the results are India must become a leader in telecom business of Zhongzhi Enter-
purchase such crops to pre- Mint reported on 25 July invested huge amounts. Compared to 9.5 years, against the promise of invest- amazing. The system started in 2016. technology, because this is one indus- prise Group Co., days after the
vent distress sales. The that the agriculture ministry the 2004-14 period, where the acci- ing ₹1 trillion on Railway safety, we Our target is that by 2025, we should be try which is global, and everybody fol- embattled shadow banking
National Agricul- was in talks with dents on average used to be more than have actually exceeded the target and doing 4,000km a year of Kavach. lows the same standard. So, this is a giant revealed a shortfall of
tural Cooperative The government the food process- 150 per year, the number has today invested ₹1.08 trillion. We have also Thereafter, it would be implemented in great opportunity for us to lead. The $36.4 billion in its balance sheet.
Marketing Feder- has formed a ing industries come down to 47-50 per year. This is a taken Railway’s share in transportation mission mode. All the required por- 4G/5G stack, for example, (when) we Police in Beijing said in a
ation of India Ltd committee under ministry to take big reduction. With regard to replace- to 29% and will take it up to 35% by tions of the network will be covered roll it out on our government-BSNL statement on WeChat that they

‘
(Nafed) and the the agriculture over a scheme ment of tracks, we did 7,000-odd km 2030. Railways was investing (overall, with Kavach in a few years’ time. network with 30,000-40,000 tow- took “criminal mandatory
National Cooper- aimed at the inte- last year. We have introduced a prac- including on safety) ₹30,000 crore– Our effort has also been ers, that forms the base, measures” against multiple
ative Consumers’
ministry
grated develop- tice called Rolling Block system where, ₹35,000 crore annually before 2014. to develop a standard for and gives huge confi- suspects, identifying one by the
Federation of to examine ment of the TOP like the developed world, we plan 12 Now it is ₹2.4 trillion (in FY24 only). Kavach that will become The demand and dence to the world. last name Xie. They urged
India Ltd (NCCF) the matter value chain. The weeks ahead for mainte- Under Prime minister an export product. supply scenario is That’s the way we are investors to report cases or pro-
are two of the TOP scheme is nance work. It has m INTERVIEW Narendra Modi’s lead- What’s the govern- today balanced. working in every tech- vide leads to the authorities,
government part of Operation brought a fundamental ership, government ment’s vision for the nology. For example, including filing complaints
agencies usually engaged in Greens, announced for these change in our mainte- focus has come back to telecom sector in Telcos have once we have the 4G/ 5G online. Xie Zhikun, the group’s
crop procurement and sales. three crops in the Union Bud- nance ability and quality. Regarding Railways. That’s why we see the kind of 2024? significant quantity technology stack, we’re founder, died in 2021, but sev-
As prices of tomato and get 2018-19 with an outlay of manpower, we have given close to investment, the kind of pace of work, We’re working on of spectrum. taking it to railway eral of his relatives are cur-
onions shot up earlier this ₹500 crore, which was 500,000 jobs in the past 9.5 years. We the focus on safety and the focus on get- three elements. First is to Kavach. We have archi- rently executives at the firm.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
year, the government pur- enlarged to 22 perishable have done several technological infu- ting the right technologies. make India a telecom Union minister for
tect-ed Kavach in a way The statement didn’t elabo-
chased them from regions crops, including fruits, in the sions (such as) electronic interlocking What is happening on the imple- technology developer electronics & IT that the train’s produc- rate on what the measures
where they were cheaper and Union Budget 2021-22. of stations, which is one of the most mentation of the Kavach train col- and exporter in a signifi- tion and communication entail or what crimes they may
sold them at concessional rates Queries sent to the ministry important safety technologies. Inter- lision avoidance system that would cantly advanced way. Our layers are different. So, have committed.
in places where they were of agriculture and farmers’ locking on the entire network would be make Railways journeys safer? telecom manufacturing production is from 4G, the communication layer can The legal terminology used
costlier, to cool prices. welfare and the ministry of completed within three years. Then, The adoption of Kavach system on picking up, and we have started export- become 5G and 6G. That’s the way we to describe the situation was
The government currently food processing industries with regard to our own train collision Railway network is going very well. ing some of the very complex equip- can take it to IoT, industrial automation similar to that in the case of
procures cereals, pulses and remained unanswered till avoidance system Kavach, we have The progress on the first about ment to Europe and the US. Our work and industry 4.0. China Evergrande Group’s bil-
oilseeds at the government- press time. ramped up to a level where we can do 1,500km where we started installing on the 4G/5G stack has given us confi- gulveen.aulakh@livemint.com lionaire chairman Hui Ka Yan.
Evergrande said in September
that Hui was suspected of com-
mitting crimes.

Nodal gold body spars with MCX over settlements Pvt general insurers’ The mandatory, or coercive
measures, can take several
forms, including summons,

FROM PAGE 1
mkt share expands
BLOOMBERG
Once the jeweller melts the
gold, makes jewellery and sells
Mehta said. it, he collects 3% GST on the
“It is very surprising that the ornament from the buyer.
clearing corporation wants to While depositing tax with the
settle delivery of goods even GST authorities, he claims the
when full payment is not credit on the tax he paid to the
like GST number of buyer, claims were disallowed after a
invoice details of seller, etc., year or a year and a half.
release on bail and residential
surveillance, detention and
arrest, according to the Chi-
will still be provided by Though MCX was not made a nese procedure law. The meas-
MCXCCL to the clearing party to any of these cases, the PTI ures can be enforced by the
members of the buyer and circular is an attempt to pre- feedback@livemint.com police, courts or prosecutors.
seller. But, come December- vent any such possibility, the New DelhI Prior to China Evergrande’s
end, the payment of tax will person said on the condition of Hui, similar measures were

received by the seller. The
seller opts to trade on the
exchange for the reason that
full payment is guaranteed by
the exchange. If full payment
is not guaranteed by the
exchange, as per the new cir-
cular, why would someone
trade on the exchange?”
Mehta questioned.
A Multi Commodity
Exchange of India Ltd (MCX)
official was not immediately
available for comment.
However, a person aware of
the development said on the
condition of anonymity that
the revision would shield the
clearing corporation from
becoming party to any
potential legal case involving
non-grant of input tax credit
(ITC) by GST authorities to
the buyers.
When a jeweller buys a gold
bar on the exchange platform,
he first pays the seller the set-
tlement price of the contract
MCX will have no role in GST
collection from 29 December.
on a T+1 basis, or the day after
the trade, in exchange for the
title of goods lying in the
exchange vault. However,
before removing the goods
from the exchange vault, the
jeweller has to pay 3% GST on
gold to the seller on the second
day after the settlement of the
trade against an invoice raised
by the seller. Both the primary
(settlement price) and the sec-
ondary (GST payment) trans-
actions are currently facili-
tated by MCXCCL through the
respective clearing members
of the buyer and the seller.
seller while taking delivery on
MCX. If for any reason, GST
authorities refuse the ITC
claim and the jeweller
seeks legal redress, he can
make the MCXCCL a party to
the case as the settlement
between the jeweller and the
seller was facilitated by the
clearing corporation.
“The exchange is a market-
place where buyers and sellers
trade and give or take delivery
anonymously. Despite not
knowing one another, they
trade because settlement is
guaranteed by the exchange’s
clearing corporation; in short,
counterparty risk is mitigated,”
the person cited above said.
“However, concerns over
getting dragged into legal
cases involving ITC being
denied has led to MCXCCL
opting out of facilitating pay-
ment of tax component
between the buyer and seller,
though the exchange of details
P
have to be done directly anonymity. rivate general insurers taken against some staff of the
between seller and buyer with Though the revised circular increased their combined money management business
no role of the clearing corpora- will also apply to base metals market share to 53.58% in of the developer at the centre
tion in this aspect,” he added. and certain agri non-pro- gross direct premium under- of China’s property crisis,
“If this issue cessed contracts written in the first half of the according to a police statement
precipitates, it The change would traded on MCX, current fiscal year from 50.81% in September.
could impact shield MCXCCL the most vocifer- in the year-ago period. Privately owned Zhongzhi
trading volumes from becoming ous protests are As many as 31 insurers from earlier this week revealed the
on MCX and, party to any legal from the pre- the non-life industry had Private insurers registered an depth of its financial difficul-
consequently, cious metals underwritten gross direct pre- annual rise of 14.86% in gross ties, telling investors it is
case involving
revenues of the trade, given the miums of ₹1.43 trillion in the direct premiums. ISTOCKPHOTO “severely insolvent” with a
exchange,” said non-grant of high-value first half of the current fiscal shortfall of $36.4 billion.
Naveen Mathur, input tax credit nature of their year, according to data on seg- of 53.58% YTD (year to date) The wealth manager said
director (com- transactions. ment-wise gross direct premi- September 2023 with a liquidity has dried up and the
modities and cur- The publicly ums up to September 2023 growth rate of 21.13% as com- recoverable amount from asset
rencies), Anand Rathi Share traded metals and energy released by the Insurance Reg- pared to a market share of disposals is expected to be low,
and Stock Brokers Ltd. bourse MCX had a 99.14% ulatory and Development 50.81% YTD September 2022 according to a letter sent to
“Initially, there could be an market share in commodity Authority of India (Irdai). with a growth rate of 21.33%,” investors on Wednesday and
impact on volumes, but in the derivatives segment in Sep- Private insurers registered Irdai said. seen by Bloomberg News.
long term, I guess things tember, followed by agri an annual increase of 14.86% in State-run general insurers Zhongzhi first triggered con-
should settle down,” said derivatives bourse NCDEX gross direct premiums. had a combined market share cern in August after one of its
Deven Choksey, managing (0.82%) and NSE (0.03%), The non-life industry had of 31.99% during April-Sep- trust-company affiliates failed
director, KRChoksey Shares according to latest regulatory underwritten gross direct pre- tember 2023 with a growth to make payments to customers
and Securities Pvt. Ltd. data. Overall commodity mium of ₹1,25,194 crore in the rate of 12.16% as compared to a on high-yield investment prod-
A person familiar with derivatives turnover in Sep- April-September period of market share of 32.76% in the ucts. The group’s financial diffi-
MCX’s thinking said there tember stood at ₹24.53 tril- 2022-23. corresponding period of the culties add to President Xi Jin-
were a few cases among base lion, of which MCX accounted “Private general insurers last fiscal year, with a growth ping’s challenges as officials
metals traders where ITC for ₹24.32 trillion. have a combined market share rate of 6.43%. grapple with a property crisis.

Draft broadcast bill sparks fears on creative freedom in streaming

Lata Jha the Broadcast Advisory Coun- the information and broad- right now to even make repre- news,” the person added. Vikrant Kumar, senior part-
lata.j@htlive.com cil—to hear complaints casting (I&B) ministry. sentations to the government. According to the draft Bill, ner at Saraf and Partners,
New DelhI regarding violation of the Pro- “While the mandate so far A senior executive at a every broadcaster and broad- agreed penalties and enforce-
gramme Code or Advertise- was one of self-regulation, broadcast network pointed casting network operator shall ment powers in the draft Bill

T
he draft Broadcast Ser-
vices (Regulation) Bill,
2023, floated by the
ministry of information and
broadcasting earlier this
month, has sparked concerns
around the creative freedom
of streaming platforms.
Several provisions appear to
border on censorship, which
OTT (over-the-top) services
have so far been exempted
from. Further, while there is
no clarity on penalties for non-
compliance with several draft
provisions loosely worded for
now, risks for platforms have
increased manifold with sei-
zure of equipment of broad-
casting services also included
in the Bill. The formation of
ment Code—is also being
questioned, since it shall com-
prise representatives of the
government itself.
“Given that this Council will
be the last port of call for rec-
ommending any decisions to
be taken by the central gov-
ernment against any violation
of the proposed draft, it is very
critical to get the composition
right in order to ensure sus-
tained independence of any
recommendations flowing to
the government,” Shreya Suri,
partner, INDUSLAW, said.
The concerns and the lack
of clarity have caused most
broadcasters to ask for an
extension beyond the deadline
of 10 December proposed by
there will be great repercus-
sions on the creative front
now. Even basic things such as
whether an ‘A’ rated film can
run on a streaming platform
given that it has to adhere to
programme and advertise-
ment codes, is a concern. The
same would apply to liquor,
gambling or condom ads. We
understand the intention is to
consolidate all media plat-
forms but the compliances
coming in will make sure OTT
bleeds,” said the legal head of a
streaming platform on the
condition of anonymity.
A lot of the content on an
OTT platform is acquired from
third-party sources and pro-
ducers, but they could be held
Several provisions appear to border on censorship, which OTT
(over-the-top) services have so far been exempted from.ISTOCKPHOTO
liable for something they may
not have originally made, the
person said, adding that gen-
res such as English entertain-
ment or documentaries could
take a major hit, given that
they are anyway not suited to
the palate of common audien-
ces in India and can feature
explicit content. Further,
while audit records on sub-
scriber count and so on means
additional work for platforms,
unlike satellite television,
lobby groups in the OTT eco-
system aren’t unified enough
out that the Bill requires OTT ensure that “the transmission do appear to be more rigorous
platforms to come together to or re-transmission of any than previous laws. “The pro-
create a Content Evaluation broadcasting service provided posed provisions currently
Committee, by them is in con- include the power to inspect
which will pre- The concerns and formity with the and seize equipment of net-
certify content the lack of clarity Programme Code works including OTT services,
before it can be have caused most and the Adver- ordering content takedown,
released, essen- broadcasters to tisement Code”. deletion and censorship pow-
tially functioning Further, if any ers, in addition to substantial
ask for an
as an internal authorised officer fines,” Kumar said, adding that
censor board. A extension beyond has reason to while the Bill does encourage
pre-certification the deadline of believe that “pro- autonomy within the broad-
process will have 10 December visions under this casting industry, the penal
an adverse effect Act, rules or provisions could lead to a cau-
on the novelty of OTT content, guidelines are being contra- tious approach to content cre-
in turn stifling creative expres- vened by the operator of ation and dissemination.
sion. “At a time when there is broadcasting network or Ruby Singh Ahuja, senior
already international focus broadcasting services... they partner at Karanjawala & Co.,
and reportage on the lack of may seize the equipment of agreed that the draft Bill walks
freedom for streaming plat- such broadcasting network or precariously on the thin line of
forms in India, this isn’t good broadcasting services”. censorship.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi 07

IOC, GAIL
fined for
second
straight qtr
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
S
tate-owned oil and gas
giants including Indian
Oil and GAIL (India) Ltd
have been slapped with fines
for the second quarter in a row
for failing to meet listing
requirements of having the
requisite number of independ-
ent directors on board.
Stock exchanges have fined
oil refining and fuel marketing
giant Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC), explorers Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation (ONGC) and
Airbus to scale up defence
production with Tata arm
Initially, it will focus on sourcing components like metallic & composite manufacturing tech
Expansion planned over the next one year as the company looks
Shashank Mattoo to cater to customers at multiple price points. HT
shashank.mattoo@livemint.com
NEw DElHI
TVS Motor to expand
A
irbus S.A.S. is planning to
enhance its partnership
with Tata Advanced Sys-
tems to broaden India’s
its e-scooter range
defence supply chain, as
well as launch new products to cater to PTI Radhakrishnan said TVS
the country’s defence needs, Jorge feedback@livemint.com has close to 400 touchpoints
Tamarit-Degenhardt, who heads the for e-scooters, and the com-

Oil India Ltd (OIL), gas utility
GAIL, refiners Bharat Petro-
leum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)
and Hindustan Petroleum Cor-
poration Ltd (HPCL), and Engi-
neers India Ltd ₹5.42 lakh,
stock exchange filings showed.
In separate filings, the com-
panies detailed the fines
imposed by the BSE and NSE
but were quick to point out that
appointment of directors was
done by the government and
they had no role in it.
The fines were for not having
the requisite independent
directors in the second quarter.
They had faced fines for the
same reason in the first quarter
as well.
While the companies have
now been slapped with a uni-
form ₹5,42,800 fine, ONGC
was previously slapped with
₹3.36 lakh fine, IOC ₹5.36 lakh
and GAIL ₹2.71 lakh.
HPCL and BPCL were each
asked to pay ₹3.6 lakh fine,
while Oil India faced a penalty
of ₹5.37 lakh.
Listing norms require com-
panies to have independent
directors in the same propor-
tion as executive or functional
directors.
They are also required to
have at least one woman
director on the board.
T
C295 transport aircraft programme for VS Motor Company pany is continuously expand-
Airbus, said in an interview. aims to expand its elec- ing the same.
According to Tamarit, Airbus and tric two-wheeler portfo- “With the product lineup
Tata will invest in developing capabili- lio over the next one year as it planned from TVS and contin-
ties, including acquiring raw material looks to cater to customers at uous improvement in infra-
and manufacturing detailed parts, or multiple price points, accord- structure, we are confident
subcomponents, as well as establishing ing to a top company official. that we will continue to be a
sub-assembly and assembly facilities. The Chennai-based com- strong player in the EV seg-
The programme will be in phases, with pany, which currently has two ment,” he noted.
an initial focus on sourcing components e-scooters in its portfolio, also Replying to a query regard-
such as metallic and composite manu- In 2021, IAF signed an agreement with Airbus for 56 C295 military transport aircraft, for ₹21,395 crore. plans to expand its electric ing exports, Radhakrishnan
facturing technologies, he added. vehicle sales infrastructure said that “in the next two to
“We work with Tata and we train condition from the final assembly line at final assembly line in Vadodara, which defence supply chain. New Delhi’s initia- going ahead. three-quarters iQube should
Tata. Then, it’s up to them to decide San Pablo Sur site in Seville, Spain. The will be operational by November 2024. tives include releasing indigenization It is also developing an elec- be available in many markets”.
whether they make or buy the compo- first aircraft was handed over by Airbus Component production for the air- lists, boosting domestic procurement in tric three- He further said:
nents. Whenever they are selecting a earlier this year in the presence of Air craft has started at the main constituent Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, wheeler. The company, “We want to take
supplier or MSME (micro, small, and Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhuri. assembly facility in Hyderabad, Airbus and promoting defence industrial corri- “We are plan- which currently it to many mar-
medium enterprises), they need to sat- Around 40 C295s will be manufactured said. Other foreign defence firms, such dors. These measures aim to facilitate ning to launch a has two kets and at some
isfy some requirements which have locally requiring investments from both as Brazil’s aviation major Embraer, are the entry of foreign firms into the Indian series of products e-scooters in its point of time
been set up by Airbus. So, we are doing Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems to also exploring establishing manufactur- market, support defence startups, and in the range of 5 iQube will also
portfolio, also
the assessment of the suppliers. We boost research within the country. to 25 kilowatts in get into Europe.
plans to expand
are qualifying them and whenever SOARING AMBITIONS “Airbus and Tata partnering is an the next year,”
its EV sales infra
So, there is a very
there is a gap, supporting them. In example of two giants coming TVS Motor Com- clear strategy,
the first stage, most resourcing will AIM to broaden AIRBUS and Tata to THE firm will also THE government is together and building synergies to pany Director plan and very
be metallic and composite manufac- India’s defence
supply chain, said
invest in developing
capabilities,
prioritize electric
harnesses in its
working towards
replacing India’s
come up with something remarka- and CEO K.N. clear network
turing technologies.” The firm will Jorge Tamarit- including acquiring efforts to strengthen ageing military ble and much needed for economic Radhakrishnan said in an ana- plan we have put, and we will
also prioritize electric harnesses in Degenhardt of Airbus raw material India’s supply chain transport fleet growth. Such partnerships are lyst call. take our EV in every market.”
its efforts to strengthen India’s sup- bringing in capital from the global He noted that with robust TVS X would play a key role in
ply chain, he said without providing market and immense global experi- demand in the market, the both domestic and interna-
details of the investments. It aims to ful- establish the defence supply chain. ing facilities in India. Mint earlier ence and in turn getting access to skilled company has ramped up the tional markets, he added.
fil the demand for military transport air- According to Tamarit, Airbus aims to reported that Embraer is in talks with manpower, market, local trust of capa- production capacity of electric When asked about the elec-
craft as India works towards replacing its leverage this supply chain not only for the Tatas and Hindustan Aeronautics bility and delivery and a brand which scooter iQube to 25,000 units tric three-wheeler, Rad-
aging military transport fleet. additional transport aircraft but also for Ltd to manufacture defence transport has been synonymous of delivering per month and plans to hakrishnan said: “The product
In 2021, the Indian Air Force had other defence platforms and offerings, aircraft in India. business for the greater good,” said Bra- enhance it further going is getting ready.”The company
signed an agreement with Airbus for 56 given that the Indian military requires Following the Centre’s push to jesh Singh, president, Arthur D. Little ahead. is focusing on the three-
C295 military transport aircraft, for an estimated 100 aircraft. Airbus and encourage global defence companies to India. TVS plans to commence wheeler segment “because
₹21,395 crore. Around 16 of these air- Tata expect to deliver the first India- “Make in India”, there’s a concerted Tata Advanced Systems Limited did sales of its new electric scooter this is one area we need to
craft will be acquired in a ready-to-fly manufactured C295 in 2026 from their effort to establish a robust domestic not comment on the matter. TVS X in the current quarter. improve”, he added.

Don’t move my Halloumi: Cyprus wins case NAGAR NIGAM HALDWANI

KATHGODAM
Reference No.: 1741 Date : 25/11/2023
Varuni Khosla cheese with some unique tected, monitored, enforced E-Tender Notice
varuni.k@livemint.com characteristics. and commercialized,” said Request for proposal are invited for the Treatment of Legacy
NEw DElHI Flavi had initiated the pro- Safir Anand, Senior Partner, Waste under SWM With Bio- Remediation and Bio-Mining
cess of registration of Hal- Anand and Anand, a law firm Techniques At Haldwani(Nainital) from the eligible Consortium/

H
alloumi, the globally
renowned, distinctive
variety of cheese pro-
duced in Cyprus, had the
country’s government saying
there’s no moving their
cheese. Cyprus successfully
restrained an Indian entity
from getting Halloumi regis-
tered as a trademark in India.
The government of Cyprus
objected to Ahmedabad-based
Flavi Dairy Solutions’ applica-
tion to register the figurative
trademark containing the
expression ‘Halloumi’. The
application was potentially
related to a consultancy ser-
vice to develop technology
and recipe formulation to pro-
duce cheese for its clients.
Flavi is a dairy and food pro-
cessing consultancy firm.
Countries have always
backed their ‘original’ trade-
marks. In 2006, Canada sued
Halloumi is a trademark
owned by the government of
Cyprus, pertaining to only
Cypriot cheese.
Molson Coors over the use of
the word “Canadian” on a line
of beers. In 2007, the Austra-
lian government sued the EU
over the use of the word “feta”
on cheese products. And in
2009, India sued RiceTec over
the use of the word “basmati”
on a line of rice products.
Halloumi is a trademark
owned by the government of
Cyprus and pertains to Cypriot
loumi in December 2021. The that specializes in fighting IP developers/ Agencies/ Firms through online portal
Cyprus government swung cases. The company fought
www.uktenders.gov.in from 29/11/2023 (12.30 P.M.)
into action in May 2022. The the case for the Cyprus gov-
Details/RFP/Tender/ Tender programme can also be
Ministry of Energy, Com- ernment. Though Halloumi is
downloaded from this portal from 29/11/2023 (12.30 P.M.).
merce and Industry of the not a registered trademark in
RFP/Tender can also be purchased by cash from Cash
Republic of India, the Cyprus
Cyprus, responsi- Flavi initiated the government in its department Nagar nigam Haldwani-Kathgodam.
ble for “protec- registration opposition relied (Pankaj Kumar Upadhyay) (Dr.Jogendra Pal Singh Rautela)
tion” of the process for on its well-known Nagar Aayukta, Honourable Chairman,
cheese and for ‘Halloumi’ in Dec nature and dis- Nagar Nigam HRCSWMS/ Nagar Nigam
enforcing the tinctiveness of Haldwani-Kathgodam Haldwani-Kathgodam
2021 and in May
mark against the trademark as
u n a u t h o r i z e d 2022, Cyprus govt well as the inex-
users, filed an swung into action tricable associa-
opposition before tion of the mark
the Trade Marks with Cyprus.
Registry, Ahmedabad. Finally, a year and a half
“It is a documented fact that after the application was filed,
intangibles like trademarks the Indian entity did not con-
are in focus and becoming test the opposition, and aban-
‘wealth’ or ‘value’ creators. doned the application for the
Today, intangible assets have trademark. The office of the
an over 90% share in market Trade Marks Registry has, as
valuations around the world. on 20 November 2023, passed
This is all the more reason why an order treating the applica-
trademarks should be pro- tion as abandoned.

ONGC charges premium over Brent deals

PTI While the company got a
feedback@livemint.com slight premium over Brent—
the crude oil its Mumbai off-

I
ndia’s top oil and gas pro-
ducer ONGC has signed
term contracts with refiners
to sell crude oil it produces
from Mumbai offshore fields at
a premium to international
benchmark Brent, sources
said.
Oil and Natural Gas Corpo-
ration (ONGC) has signed
deals to sell about 4.5 million
tonne of crude oil each to Bha-
rat Petroleum Corporation Ltd
(BPCL) and Hindustan Petro-
leum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).
The oil has been priced at
the prevailing Brent crude oil
price plus 1%, company sour-
ces said.
Brent, the world’s best
known benchmark for the raw
material that is converted into
fuels like petrol and diesel in
refineries, is trading at $80 per
barrel. As per the pricing in the
term contracts, ONGC would
ONGC inks contracts with BPCL and HPCL, pricing crude at 1%
above Brent benchmark.
get $80 plus $0.8 for the oil it
will sell to HPCL and BPCL.
ONGC produces 13-14 mil-
lion tonne per annum of crude
oil from its fields in the Ara-
bian Sea, off the Mumbai coast.
In June last year, the govern-
ment abolished a rule that said
oil from blocks awarded prior
to 1999 must be sold to gov-
ernment-nominated custom-
BLOOMBERG
ers, mostly state refiners. The
old rule had led to producers
such as ONGC and Oil India
not getting the best market
price.
Subsequent to that rule
change, ONGC started quar-
terly auctions of crude oil pro-
duced from Mumbai High and
Panna/Mukta fields in the
western offshore.
shore is closest in quality to—
in the initial auction, refiners
like Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC) started seeking dis-
counts equivalent to one they
got on Russian oil, sources
said.
Following Moscow’s inva-
sion of Ukraine in February
last year, Russian oil was sanc-
tioned and shunned by Euro-
pean buyers and some in Asia,
such as Japan. This led to Rus-
sian Urals crude being traded
at a discount to Brent crude
(the global benchmark).
The discount on Russian
Urals grade was as high as $ 30
a barrel in the middle of last
year and now around $6-7.
Sources said refiners like IOC
argued that they needed dis-
counts as they suffered losses
on selling petrol and diesel at
below cost to keep inflation in
check.
08 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi NEWS WRAP LIVEMINT.COM

NEWS
110
THE NUMBER of MDs and CEOs of NSE-
50
THE NUMBER of hostages Hamas is set
$102 bn
THE AMOUNT Brazilian state energy
₹50 lakh
THE MINIMUM issue size for Zero
₹378 cr
THE VALUE of equities bought by foreign
IN listed companies who resigned in the first to release during the four-day truce company Petrobras plans to invest over Coupon Zero Principal Instruments by portfolio investors in the Indian market so
NUMBERS ten months of 2023, the same as last year,
but higher than in the pre-Covid era.
between Hamas and Israel, while Israel is
set to release 150 Palestinian prisoners.
the next five years to boost its output by
about 15% by 2028.
non-profits on Social Stock Exchanges,
from ₹1 crore now, according to Sebi.
far this month, reversing their selling
streak in the previous three months.

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

Efforts to rescue REMEMBERING 26/11 Four Indians missing

miners continue after cargo ship sinks

T A
he National Disaster Management cargo ship sank off the Greek island of
Authority (NDMA) on Sunday said work Lesbos in stormy seas early Sunday,
is on to retrieve broken parts of the leaving 13 crew members, including
auger machine and start manual digging four Indians, missing and one rescued,
while vertical drilling has also started to bring authorities said.
out 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel in The Raptor, registered in the Comoros, was
Uttarkashi for the last 14 days. on its way to Istanbul from Alexandria, Egypt,
NDMA Member Lt General (retd) Syed Ata carrying 6,000 tonnes of salt, the coast guard
Hasnain told reporters here that all efforts are said. It had a crew of 14, including eight
going on to rescue the workers. Egyptians, four Indians and two Syrians, the
Considered as the second best option, the coast guard said.
work on vertical drilling started around noon The ship reported a mechanical problem at 7
and 15 metres of drilling has already been am on Sunday, sent a distress signal and shortly
completed, Hasnain said. after disappeared about 4 1/2 nautical miles (8
“Six plans are being adopted in a km) southwest of Lesbos, authorities said.
synchronised manner. The operation wasn’t One Egyptian was rescued, a coast guard
put on halt and is still underway in terms of spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
repair work,” he said. Machines for She said eight merchant ships, two
undertaking sideways drilling (perpendicular helicopters and one Greek navy frigate were
drilling) are expected to reach the rescue site searching for survivors. PTI
during the night, Hasnain said. PTI

A police officer pays her respects at a police memorial for martyrs on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai on
Sunday. As many as 166 people, including 18 security personnel, were killed by terrorists from Pakistan who landed in Mumbai by sea. PTI

Thermal plants account for about 8% of the PM 2.5

China says surge in respiratory In October, India registered more than 11 billion
UPI transactions worth ₹1,7.16 trillion. MINT
pollution in Delhi-NCR, according to studies. AFP

‘Air pollution due illnesses is caused by flu virus PM Modi bats for
UPI payments
to thermal plants’
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi urged

N
on-compliance of thermal power plants
in Delhi-NCR with emission standards
is contributing significantly to air
pollution in the region, according to a new
analysis.
The study by environmental think tank
Centre for Science and Environment focuses
on particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and
people to stop making cash payments and
WHO had sought information about a potentially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses go digital instead, in line with the
government’s digital economy push.
Delivering his ‘Maan ki Baat’ radio address,
AP grapples with a wave of respiratory illnesses in its by several media reports and a global infectious Modi urged Indians to make payments only
feedback@livemint.com first full winter since the removal of Covid-19 disease monitoring service. through the digital mode for at least a month.
BEIjINg restrictions. The emergence of new flu strains or other “Decide for yourself that for one month you
“Efforts should be made to increase the open- viruses capable of triggering pandemics typically will make payments only through UPI (Unified

sulphur dioxide emissions from the 11 thermal
power plants (TPPs) in Delhi-NCR and is based
on their environmental status reports sourced
from the website of the Central Electricity
Authority , a technical arm of the Union
ministry of power, from April 2022 to August
2023.
The TPPs account for around 8% of the PM
2.5 pollution in Delhi-NCR, according to
studies.
The CSE report said despite multiple
deadline extensions and revised
categorizations by the Union environment
ministry, many plants in the region are
struggling to meet prescribed norms for
emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide
and particulate matter. PTI
A
surge in respiratory illnesses across ing of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend starts with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory ill- Payments Interface) or any digital medium, and
China that has drawn the attention of service hours and increase the supply of medici- ness. Both SARS and Covid-19 were first reported not through cash,” he said. “The success of the
the World Health Organisation is nes,” said ministry as unusual types of digital revolution in India has made this
caused by the flu and other known spokesman Mi pneumonia. absolutely possible.” UPI transactions are
pathogens and not by a novel virus, Feng. The emergence of new flu strains Chinese authori- gradually becoming more widespread across
the country’s health ministry said on Sunday. He advised peo- or other viruses typically starts ties earlier this the country, and cash in circulation is finally
Recent clusters of respiratory infections are ple to wear masks month blamed the seeing a decline. In October, as the festive
caused by an overlap of common viruses such as and called on local with undiagnosed clusters of increase in respira- season leading up to Diwali began, India
the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, the respiratory authorities to focus respiratory illness tory diseases on the registered more than 11 billion UPI transactions
syncytial virus, or RSV, the adenovirus as well as on preventing the lifting of Covid-19 worth ₹17.16 trillion, according to the National
bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, which spread of illnesses in lockdown restric- Payments Corporation of India. RHIK KUNDU
is a common culprit for respiratory tract infec- crowded places such as schools and nursing tions. Other countries also saw a jump in respira-
tions, a national health commission spokesperson homes. tory diseases such as RSV when pandemic restric-
said. The WHO earlier this week formally requested tions ended.
The ministry called on local authorities to open
more fever clinics and promote vaccinations
that China provide information about a poten- The WHO said Chinese health officials on
tially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses and Thursday provided the data it requested during
Macrotech aims to
among children and the elderly as the country clusters of pneumonia in children, as mentioned a teleconference.
trim net debt: CEO

R
ealty firm Macrotech Developers aims to
‘Milk, egg output up, bring down its net debt to below ₹6,000
‘Space economy at $40 bn by 2040’ crore by March next year from ₹6,730
wool output down’ crore at the end of the September quarter with
the help of better cash flow.
(Independent Charge) said some foreign Macrotech Developers, which markets its

P
roduction of milk, egg and meat has
significantly gone up in 2022-23 over the
past five years, although wool output in
the same period has had negative growth,
according to a report released by the Union
minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and
dairying Parshottam Rupala on Sunday.
The Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023
report, which was released on the National
Milk Day event in Guwahati, is based on the
Animal Integrated Sample Survey results
collected between March 2022 and February
2023. The survey is conducted across the
country in three seasons, summer (March-
June), monsoon (July-October) and winter
MoS Jitendra Singh (right) and Isro chair
S. Somanath at VSSC on Saturday.
agencies like the AKD have predicted that
this figure could even go up to $100 billion
by 2040.
“At present, our space economy is not
very impressive, as we have just about $8
million. But we are moving in quantum
jumps, and in the foreign satellite launch
alone, we have earned about €230–240
million for launching European satellites
and about $170-180 million for launching
American satellites,” Singh said. He was
speaking to PTI after inaugurating the
60th-anniversary celebrations of Isro’s
PTI rocket launch at Vikram Sarabhai Space
Centre (VSSC) on Saturday. Singh said with
Canadian PM Trudeau alleged in September that
India had a hand in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing. AP
Canada ‘convicted’
properties under Lodha brand, has a presence in
Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and
Bengaluru markets. “We have reduced our net
debt by about ₹540 crore in the second quarter
of this fiscal to ₹6,730 crore. Our target would be
to reduce debt to below ₹6,000 crore by end of
this fiscal year,” Macrotech Developers
managing director and chief executive officer
Abhishek Lodha told PTI. The aim is to keep net
debt below operating cash flow, which is
estimated to be ₹6,000 crore during 2023-24,
he said. Macrotech Developers launched 3.7
million sq. ft area worth nearly ₹4,000 crore in
April-September. PTI

before probe: Envoy

S
(November-February), Rupala informed.
India’s milk production rose 3.8% on year to
230.58 million tonnes (mt) in 2022-23 with
Uttar Pradesh contributing the highest share of
15.7%, followed by Rajasthan (14.44%), Madhya
Pradesh (8.73%), Gujarat (7.49%), and Andhra
Pradesh (6.70%), according to the report. PUJA
pace economy is poised to reach $40
billion by 2040, and scientists will
also enjoy a better working
environment, Union minister Jitendra
Singh said in Thiruvananthapuram.
The minister of state for science and
technology & atomic energy and space
the establishment of the National Research
Foundation, Anu Sandhan, a better model
of similar foundations existing in US, a
significant industry presence could be
established. He said the opening up of the
sector also helped popularize the concept
of space science in the country.
Indians get visa-free
I
ndia was “absolutely” and “decidedly” not
involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist
Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and Ottawa has
entry in Malaysia
PTI “convicted” New Delhi even before completing

DAS the investigation, India’s high commissioner in
Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma has said.
Verma’s remarks came during an interview
with CTV News, Canada’s largest privately owned
Study bilateral FTA with Singapore and as part of Asean: GTRI television network.
Canada and India ties were strained
following Canadian prime minister Justin
M
alaysia will scrap entry visa
requirements for citizens of China
and India visiting the nation
beginning 1 December, according to Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Chinese and Indian nationals may stay for
up to 30 days visa-free, Anwar said in a speech

T
hink tank GTRI on Sunday suggested that the government study the Trudeau’s allegations in September of the at his People’s Justice Party’s annual congress
bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore and as part of the Asean “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the in Putrajaya on Sunday. Malaysia is counting
bloc together while reviewing its trade pact with the 10-nation killing of Nijjar on 18 June in British Columbia. on extra tourist arrivals—and their spending
grouping. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in —to support economic growth. Anwar last
Singapore is a member of 10-nation Asean bloc with which India has a free 2020. India has rejected Trudeau’s allegations month announced plans to improve visa
trade agreement in goods since 2010. as “absurd” and “motivated”. facilities next year to encourage the entry of
Separately, India also implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement During the interview which will be aired on tourists and investors, “especially from India
(FTA) with Singapore in 2005. Sunday, Verma was asked why India was not and China.” China on Friday said it would
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also suggested a similar cooperating with Canada in the investigation. To allow citizens of six countries including
exercise with Thailand, another member of Association of Southeast Asian this, he said, “...even without an investigation Malaysia to enter the country without a visa.
Nations (Asean). India signed a limited free trade pact with Thailand in 2006. being concluded, India was convicted.” The move takes effect from 1 December and
These suggestions assume significance as India and Asean have agreed to “I can assure you and your viewers that there will last until 30 November of next year, and
review their trade pact and are aiming to conclude the exercise by 2025. was no government hand in the shooting of a will allow leisure, business and family
Asean members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Asean secretary general Kao Kim Hourn at an interaction with Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, as it is always travellers from those nations to stay in China
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. PTI Indian media personnel in Jakarta last week. PTI called,” he said. PTI for up to 15 days visa-free. BLOOMBERG
LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi 09

m MINT SHORTS
Tanker linked to Israel seized
Israel-Hamas ready for South Korea, Japan
and China agree to
off coast of Yemen
Attackers seized a tanker linked to Israel off the coast of Aden,
Yemen, on Sunday, authorities said. While no group immediately
claimed responsibility, it comes as at least two other maritime
more hostage releases restart cooperation
attacks in recent days have been linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Reuters
The attackers seized the Central Park, managed by Zodiac Mari- feedback@livemint.com
time, in the Gulf of Aden, the company and private intelligence seoul, south korea
firm Ambrey said. “Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew Releases made in several stages are key to deal brokered by Qatar & Egypt
C
onboard,” Zodiac said in a statement. “The Turkish-captained hina, Japan and South
vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Korea agreed on Sun-
Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals. Bloomberg day to restart coopera-
The vessel is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid.” AFP feedback@livemint.com tion and pave the way for a
summit in the latest move to

Sierra Leone under curfew after
military armoury attacked
REUTERS
Armed clashes erupted in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown
on Sunday after what the government said was an attack on
a military armoury, as it imposed an immediate national
curfew. Witnesses told AFP they heard gunshots and explo-
sions in the city’s Wilberforce district, where the armoury
is located along with a number of embassies. Other wit-
nesses reported exchanges of fire near a barracks in Murray
Town district, home to the navy, as well as outside another
military site in Freetown. Video posted on social networks
suggested numerous prisoners had escaped from the cen-
tral jail. One man who was in a group filmed on the street by
an AFP correspondent said they had escaped from the
prison. Drone video taken by AFP showed otherwise empty
streets in the capital. AFP
Australia edges closer to meeting
2030 greenhouse emissions target
Australia is on track to cut its greenhouse emissions by 42% below
2005 levels by 2030, climate and energy minister Chris Bowen
said, citing new projections that will be released formally this
week. That’s less than the Labor government’s 43% reduction
target, but still an improvement from last year 40% estimate. The
improved outlook comes after Australia ramped up plans to boost
spending on renewable energy. The government has faced
repeated calls from green groups to speed up the pace of change.
Its emissions reduction targets lag behind many developed econ-
omies and Australia is still one of the world’s largest exporters of
fossil fuels. BLOOMBERG
I
srael and Hamas prepared for a third
day of hostage releases from Gaza, after
a last-minute dispute on Saturday
threatened to derail a fragile truce,
while talks continued behind the
scenes to extend the four-day cease-fire.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
office said on Sunday it had received a list of
names of abductees whom Hamas is due to
hand over later in the day. American citi-
zens are expected to be part of the next
group of hostages released. Since Friday,
the Palestinian militant group that governs
Gaza has freed 26 Israelis, some with dual
nationalities, as well as 14 Thai nationals
and one Filipino citizen.
The releases made in several stages are
key to a deal brokered by Qatar and Egypt
that’s brought a pause of fighting in the
more than six-week war, and allowed the
flow of further humanitarian aid into
besieged Gaza. As part of the pact, Israel has
so far released 78 Palestinian women and
children held in its prisons.
Lolwah Al-Khater, Qatar’s minister of
state for international cooperation, told
Al-Jazeera TV on Sunday that work is con-
tinuing on the political level to extend the
current truce, now into its third day.
Saturday’s releases came hours later
than expected after Hamas said Israel has
violated the terms of the truce—accusa-
tions it denied. The snag underscored the
shakiness of the agreement between Israel
and Hamas, which the US and European
Union designate a terrorist group. The mil-
itants infiltrated Israel on 7 October, killing
1,200 people and abducting about 240 oth-
ers.
Israel has unleashed its military might on
the small, crowded Gaza Strip since the
attack. At least 15,000 people have been
killed, according to the Hamas-run health
ministry. The four-day truce is contingent
on Hamas releasing a total of 50 hostages
and Israel freeing 150 women and minors
held in the nation’s prisons.
ease tensions between the
Asian neighbours.
Even as China and the US
seek to mend frayed ties,
including a summit this month The three foreign ministers met
between Presidents Xi Jinping in Busan for their first such
and Joe Biden, Beijing is con- meeting since 2019. AFP
cerned that Washington and its
key regional allies are strength- including security, economy
ening their three-way partner- and technology, and promote
ship. concrete discussions to prepare
Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo for the summit, Japan’s foreign
had agreed on annual summits ministry said in a statement.
from 2008 to bolster diplo- South Korean foreign minis-
matic and economic ter Park Jin, who was also con-
exchanges, but two-way rows cerned about North Korean
and the covid pandemic inter- issues, told his counterparts it
rupted the plan, with the three was “important to further insti-
leaders last meeting in 2019. tutionalise trilateral coopera-
Palestinians prisoners cheer among supporters after being released from Israeli jails. AFP The three foreign ministers tion so that it will develop into a
met in the South Korean port of stable and sustainable system”,
The humanitarian pause in Gaza has nian and US currencies have been found Busan for their first such meet- his ministry said in a statement.
“largely held” since going into effect on Fri- primarily in Hamas strongholds and sus- ing since 2019, China’s Wang
day, allowing the United Nations to boost pects’ homes. after officials of The three nations Yi said the three
the delivery of crucial aid into and across Seven Palestinians were killed in a mis- the three coun- had agreed on countries should
Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of sile attack by Israeli forces on the occupied tries agreed in annual summits “oppose ideologi-
Humanitarian Affairs said in an update. West Bank, the Voice of Palestine radio sta- September to from 2008, but cal demarcation
All the same, the agency said many peo- tion reported. Israel’s army hasn’t com- arrange a trilateral
two-way rows and and resist putting
ple still have no food—or fuel to cook it mented on the events. summit at the regional coopera-
with—and bakeries aren’t US President Joe Biden “earliest conve- covid interrupted tion into camps”,
operating, raising concerns As part of the earlier Saturday spoke with nient time”. the plan in comments
about nutrition, especially in pact, Israel has Qatari leaders “on potential The three min- aimed at Seoul
northern Gaza, the focus of so far released holdups to the deal and mech- isters did not and Tokyo’s alli-
Israel’s ground offensive. It 78 Palestinian anisms to resolve them,” said specify a timeframe for the ance with Washington.
also reported that Israeli for- Adrienne Watson, a spokes- summit. Wang also called on the
ces had arrested some Pales-
women and
woman for the National Secu- China’s Xi, Japanese Prime three countries to restart nego-
tinians travelling along the children held in rity Council. Minister Fumio Kishida and tiations on a trilateral free trade
Israeli-designated safe “corri- its prisons Biden, who said the first South Korean President Yoon agreement as soon as possible,
dor” from the territory’s north day of hostage releases had Suk Yeol may not be able to according to a Chinese foreign
to south. “gone well,” was kept meet this year, but their sum- ministry readout.
Israel’s defence forces warned on Sun- informed of developments on Saturday mit is likely in the near future, Japan’s Yoko Kamikawa said
day that civilians in Gaza are prohibited and, after his call with the Qatari leaders, South Korea’s national security greater trilateral cooperation
from entering the sea or to approach within senior US officials were in “regular contact adviser, Cho Tae-yong, told would contribute to regional
1 kilometre of the border with Israel. The with the Israelis, Qataris, and EgyAntony Yonhap news TV. peace as the international secu-
defence ministry said Israel’s army has Blinkenptians to overcome hurdles,” Wat- The ministers agreed in their rity situation has become
seized about 5 million shekels from Hamas son said. US secretary of state Antony 100-minute talks to advance “more severe and complex than
during the ground invasion. Iraqi, Jorda- Blinken is expected to visit Israel this week. cooperation in six areas, ever”.
10 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

BEHIND THE FALL OF

CREdIt SUISSE
Insiders and investors say the bank’s board, headed by Urs Rohner, was responsible for its fate

Margot Patrick
feedback@livemint.com

W
hen Credit Suisse’s
board met to approve
the bank’s forced sale to
UBS in March, paint-
ings of every bank
chairman since 1856 lined the boardroom.
A lawyer from Zurich, Urs Rohner, was
the last to get a portrait. Chairman
between 2011 and 2021, he wasn’t there in
person that day. But his tenure loomed
over the proceedings. He had helped turn
one of Switzerland’s most solid institu-
tions into a tinderbox.
In the immediate aftermath of Credit
Suisse’s demise, blame focused on exter-
nal forces for causing the bank’s rich cli-
ents to flee, especially the panic that
ensued after the surprise collapse of Sili-
con Valley Bank. Switzerland’s patchy
financial regulation played a role too.
But insiders and investors combing
over the wreckage say that Credit Suisse’s
board, headed by Rohner, was ultimately
responsible. It was the bearer of a flawed
culture that led the bank into a series of
calamities.A Swiss parliamentary com-
mission is studying the government’s role
in the Credit Suisse rescue, including its
oversight of the bank’s leadership.
In a speech this week, UBS Chief Exec-
utive Officer Sergio Ermotti said Credit
Suisse kicked its problems down the
road and had “repeated risk-manage-
ment and operational failures which
undermined the credibility of its leader-
ship and the board.”
Former executives say that Rohner
didn’t set the right tone from the top to
contain risks, and that he and his board
resisted making sweeping changes when
there was still time.
“The chairman’s track record was atro-
cious,” said David Herro, a partner at
Chicago-based Harris Associates, once
Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder with
holdings of around 10%. “It was a failure in
risk management. The whole thing was
stacked against the shareholders,” he said.
Rohner, who currently sits on the
board of drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline,
said the strategy was working when he
left and pointed to a ratings upgrade the
bank received in December 2020. He said
that decisions made after his departure
created the breakdown in customer con-
fidence.
He and other former board members
rejected that the board set the wrong A Swiss parliamentary commission is studying the government’s role in the Credit Suisse rescue, including its oversight of the bank’s leadership. REITERS
tone or didn’t do enough to address its
challenges. Rohner’s supporters said he
behaved professionally and appropri-
ately as chairman. on Financial Stability. “When you’re a bank’s inadequate cooperation and delays mint A person close to Rohner said he never to a rival.
“We had a strong capital base. We had a bank, you have to cut risk early. At every spurred the government to force the bank SHORT asked for margin calls to be waived. Bouée worried Khan might poach cli-
very high liquidity base. And we had func- scandal, they could have started the clock into a guilty plea. STORY The chairman introduced a client to ents or staff and had him followed by pri-
tioning businesses at that time that were then,” Kelly said. Rohner, who headed legal and compli- open an account, a billionaire he had met vate detectives. Khan spotted one, and the
all performing and were profitable,” Roh- This account is based on interviews ance during some of the alleged criminal- at an Eden Roc resort. According to the spying made international headlines. An
ner said. “We were on a path where the with former board members and execu- ity, said he was personally clean in the WHAT former executives, the account might intermediary who hired the investigators
business could continue to be further tives and people who matter. The bank have been approved previously, but com- killed himself.
developed.” worked with the bank, blamed a small set of Credit Suisse’s board, headed pliance employees rejected it. Rohner said the spying was unaccepta-
He said that Credit Suisse delivered plus public and private employees. by Urs Rohner, was responsible Something else interested new com- ble, and not part of the bank’s toolbox.
more than 37 billion Swiss francs of pretax documents. “We have a zero-tol- for its demise, many believe. It pliance managers. Credit Suisse was Thiam said he had no knowledge of the
profit in his board tenure, equivalent to When Rohner became chairman in erance approach to misconduct,” the was the bearer of a flawed the main sponsor of the Zurich Film spying. The financial regulator later found
$42 billion, and that legacy issues costing 2011, Credit Suisse’s fortunes appeared chairman said at the 2015 annual meeting. culture that led the bank into Festival, co-founded by Rohner’s part- that the bank ordered spying at least seven
the bank more than 12 billion Swiss francs robust. The bank had sailed through the The bank’s CEO at the time, Brady a series of calamities. ner, Nadja Schildknecht. The chairman times between 2016 and 2019.
dated from before his time. financial crisis while UBS needed a gov- Dougan, left not long after the bank’s appeared with her and Hollywood stars. That October, a senior bank execu-
Over 167 years, the Credit Suisse name ernment bailout. guilty plea. Rohner stayed. Some employees in compliance tive filed a whistleblowing complaint.
was woven into Switzerland, Wall Street The Swiss lawyer cut an urbane figure His fellow directors included a Harvard WHY thought it put the bank in a tricky spot, The executive claimed that the bank
and the wealth markets of Asia and the around Zurich. He didn’t have a back- professor studying workplace gender a conflict of interest. Rohner said he had Thiam followed around London
Middle East. It represented smart solu- ground in banking. But he impressed an equality and a former inventor at Google. Former executives say that wasn’t involved in the sponsorship before Rohner hired him, and that the
tions, a penchant for risk and Swiss dis- earlier chairman as Credit Suisse’s top His vice chairman was the CEO of drug- Rohner didn’t set the right tone decisions. The sponsorship of the festi- executive got the information from a
cretion. lawyer and chief operating officer in maker Roche. A Qatari royal joined for a from the top to contain risks, and val continued. senior human-resources employee.
The image flipped from financial forti- charge of compliance. Rohner’s tactic was while, as did the son of a former Credit that he and his board resisted Other perks were questioned by execu- When interviewed by bank-hired law-
tude to danger on Rohner’s watch. to dispute or delay payouts in probes and Suisse chairman. making sweeping changes when tives. Rohner told a guard at Credit yers, the human-resources employee
During his tenure, Credit Suisse’s stock lawsuits, boosting short-term profit. Few had any experience at a large global there was still time. Suisse’s headquarters to let a friend of his, denied having discussed the alleged
lost three-quarters of its As a young man, he bank, but their pay could be more than $1 a former bank board spying. The lawyers
value. A series of scan- hurdled for Switzerland million a year. Perks included invitations member, use its coveted didn’t find evidence it
dals—corrupt loans in Other banks broke with the past at European champion- to horse racing on snow in St. Moritz and AND employee parking in Some royal family members happened.
Mozambique, a rogue after scandals and losses by ships, and later said he leadership sessions with brand ambassa- central Zurich. Thiam’s were clients, and Rohner Thiam wasn’t inter-
wealth manager who wanted to write screen- dor Roger Federer. A series of scandals culminated chief operating officer viewed by the lawyers
stole a billionaire’s changing leadership. plays when he retired. “It was clear that the chairman and in Rohner’s final days with one of found out and said no, it wanted their margin calls but suspected he was
money, the unraveling Former colleagues other board members did not have the the biggest sudden losses in was against the rules. surveilled.
Rohner remained one of banking, an over $5 billion hit waived on loans, according to
of a financing partner— describe him as well- right skill set,” said David Samra, found- Rohner asked the COO, While the spying
culminated in Rohner’s European banking’s longest- mannered, intelligent ing partner of the Artisan Partners Inter- from the collapse of family office Pierre-Olivier Bouée, to former executives with scandal raged, Rohner
final days with one of the and an excellent lawyer. national Value Team, which briefly Archegos Capital Management. think about the request invited Thiam to his
biggest sudden losses in tenured and best-paid chairmen. His tenure got off to a invested in Credit Suisse after Rohner’s carefully. knowledge of the request. 60th birthday party. The
banking, a more-than $5 rocky start, in what some departure. In mid-2019, Bouée entertainment included
billion hit from the collapse of family internally thought was an overly defiant Rohner recruited Tidjane Thiam, the things to stay as they are, things will have balked at a plan by the chairman to fly the a Black performer with a broom. Thiam
office Archegos Capital Management. attitude toward regulators. CEO of U.K. insurer Prudential, to take to change.” bank’s supervisory and executive boards felt it was a message that he was handling
Other banks broke with the past after In 2012, Switzerland’s central bank over from Dougan. The Ivory Coast- The new CEO hired hundreds of com- and spouses, around 50 people, to New Rohner’s messes. Rohner had no say on
scandals and losses by changing leader- blindsided Credit Suisse with a public born executive was a nonbanker, but the pliance officers and set up a conduct and York that fall to celebrate the bank’s the entertainment, according to a person
ship. Rohner remained as one of Euro- call to quickly raise capital. Rohner idea was he would pivot Credit Suisse to ethics panel to assess transgressions. He restructuring. Bouée, in charge of the familiar with the evening.
pean banking’s longest-tenured and best- fought back in a statement. The board help manage the wealth of Asia’s bur- reviewed client lists and ejected tens of bank’s costs, thought it was extravagant. Nevertheless, the bank was in profit
paid chairmen. was comfortable with the bank’s health. geoning rich. billions of dollars from customers who The celebration went ahead. again. Asia growth was back on the table.
Credit Suisse’s existential crisis couldn’t Weeks later, Credit Suisse did as the cen- In his first days, Thiam was briefed that raised red flags. That summer of 2019, Credit Suisse’s Herro, the Harris Associates partner, and
be steadied after he left at a board term tral bank asked. the bank needed $10 billion or more for Relations chilled between the chairman most promising young executive, Iqbal two other investors called for Rohner to
limit. His successor, António Horta-Os- Around the same time, U.S. prosecutors legal settlements stemming from lax con- and CEO. Ushers on Credit Suisse’s sec- Khan, left for UBS after a personal dispute back Thiam or resign.
ório, pledged a cultural overhaul but stepped up a criminal probe into how the trols. It badly needed capital, with less ond-floor executive suite learned to sta- with Thiam. Khan had moved into the Instead, Rohner and the board asked
resigned after nine months following a bank helped Americans conceal untaxed than 3% equity to total assets. Thiam felt tion their meetings in different areas. house next to Thiam’s in an exclusive sub- Thiam to leave in February 2020, without
board investigation into his travel. The assets. UBS swiftly cooperated in a similar he was misled into being Rohner’s Thiam’s compliance net closed in on urb, and their partners argued about trees a handover.
final chairman, Axel Lehmann, couldn’t case in 2009 and paid a $780 million fine. cleanup guy and presented net losses for informal bank practices—including the affecting sight lines to Lake Zurich. Herro said he considered selling the
see through a last-gasp restructuring. Rohner and the bank’s lawyers stalledand three years. chairman’s. Rohner was close to the The departure had the potential to stock then, but knew Rohner would soon
“It’s ultimately a governance issue prosecutors said the bank gave only par- Rohner told shareholders that Credit bank’s Qatari shareholders. Some royal destabilize Credit Suisse’s international hit a term limit.
going back to the board of an inability to tial information. Suisse needed to evolve, but with the family members were clients, and Rohner wealth-management unit, which Khan “It was only one more year,” Herro said.
root out scandal and an unwillingness The gambit backfired. Credit Suisse was utmost care. He quoted from Giuseppe wanted their margin calls waived on loans, led. To keep him from leaving immedi- “What could happen?”
much earlier to wind down problematic criminally convicted in 2014 for conspir- Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel “The according to former executives with ately, Rohner agreed to cut his break Patricia Kowsmann contributed to this
units,” said Steven Kelly, associate ing to aid tax evasion, paying $2.6 billion. Leopard” about the compromises of a knowledge of the request. Bank execu- period from six months to three, unusu- article.
director of research at the Yale Program Justice Department prosecutors said the fading aristocratic family: “If we want tives said no. ally short for a senior executive heading ©2023 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
NeW Delhi 11

‘We are bullish on Indian equities POWER

POINT
but expect volatility to increase’ NITESH BUDDHADEV

We welcome your views and comments at

mintmoney@livemint.com
Sashind Ningthoukhongjam investment horizon will find our fund
sashindnj@livemint.com

Asset allocation in equities should

reflect the changes in market condi-
tions. Unfortunately, a lot of investors
have misinterpreted this as selling
when the market goes up and buying
when the market goes down,” says
Nimesh Chandan, chief investment
officer, Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund.
What Bajaj Finserv AMC's Balanced
Advantage Fund (BAF) is all about
a useful addition to the investment
portfolio.
There are already 25 funds in the
WHEN DO MINORS
WHY BAJAJ BAF? THERE ARE ALREADY 25 FUNDS IN THAT
CATEGORY.
BAF category? Why should any-
one choose Bajaj Finserv over
others?
HAVE TO PAY TAX
We not only use fundamental analysis but also behavioral
analysis to determine asset allocation. We have studied across
markets to understand how the crowd expresses its sentiments.
We use not only fundamental anal-
ysis but also behavioural analysis for
determining the asset allocation
ON THEIR INCOME?
WHAT WILL BE YOUR STRATEGY IN THE CURRENT between equity and fixed income.

I
The asset management firm was in MARKET CONDITION? Crowd psychology or behaviour is an t is common to invest in your minor child’s name–be it making
the news recently for launching a bal- Large caps are now available at attractive valuations although important determinant of market a fixed deposit (FD), buying an insurance policy or investing in
anced advantage fund (BAF), a type of we expect volatility due to global & geo-political setup. On the movement. We have studied across Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme for a girl child. But what if any of
debt side, we believe it's a good time to lock in good prevailing
hybrid mutual fund that invests in a many markets and different timelines these investments result in income, say interest from an FD?
yields.
mix of equity and debt securities. The to understand how the crowd What are the tax implications on children’s income?
Bajaj Finserv Balanced Advantage HOW WILL YOU ALLOCATE BETWEEN EQUITY AND DEBT? expresses its sentiment, expectations, Any person under the age of 18 is considered a minor. Minors
Fund is an all-seasons product, which At Bajaj MF, we believe the crowd is right on trends but wrong at and perceptions. Like a smart tailor can earn an income from savings in a bank account, fixed deposits
suits a large population of investors, ends. The crowd tends to overreact and cause extremes. So the stitches together more than 30 parts or other investments made in their names by their parents. Any
Chandan tells Mint. Edited excerpts ideal strategy is to sell when the market overreacted with fear and 3-4 different fabrics to ultimately income a minor receives is included in the parent’s income. This
from an interview: and vice-versa. made a two-piece suit, a jacket and a is known as clubbing of income. Thus the taxes on that income
trouser, in the same way we take will be paid the same way as the tax on the parent’s income.
Why have you decided to go WHAT'S YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF CHOOSING STOCKS? many indicators to stitch together Let’s take the case of Alka. Her grandfather gifts her a FD of ₹6
We define our philosophy as INQUBE. It stands for three
ahead with a BAF? sources of alpha generation: Information age,
two pieces, a fundamental value, and lakh and she earns interest income of ₹45,000 from that. Alka’s
A dynamic asset allocation model quantitative edge, and behavioral edge. a behavioural indicator. These two father’s income is ₹26 lakh and mother’s income is ₹24 lakh. If the
for a conservative investor has been pieces provide us with a suitable allo- mother and father are both earning, the child’s income will be
recommended now for many dec- WHAT ABOUT DEBT? cation in any market condition. clubbed with the that of the parent whose income is greater.
ades. It was first formally suggested in We follow the same INQUBE. We believe in What will be your strategy con- Hence, Alka’s interest income of ₹45,000 will be added to her
a book by Benjamin Graham in 1949, prioritizing safety over returns. sidering current market condi- father’s income.
when he said that investors should tions? However, if the parents are divorced, the minor’s income is
move allocation to equity between We are bullish on Indian equities for added to that of the parent who has custody of the child. It is note-
25% and 75% of the portfolio based on the long term. Currently, large cap worthy that the parent can claim an exemption of ₹1,500 for each
market conditions. So, this is really an change with change in market condi- We define our investment philoso- low the same INQUBE philosophy. As companies are available at attractive minor child whose income is clubbed.
all-seasons product, which suits a tions. Unfortunately, a lot of investors phy as INQUBE. It stands for the three a house, we believe in giving priority valuations. However, we do expect a The taxation is also different in the case of a child who earns
large population of investors. If we misinterpreted this as selling when sources of alpha generation—infor- to safety over returns. In this fund, the volatile time considering the global from acting, advertisements, etc. There are a few exceptions
come to why we chose to launch it the market goes up and buying when mation edge, quantitative edge and fixed income part will have good political and geo-political set up. On where the income of minors will be taxed in their own hands

‘
particularly in this period, that’s the market goes down. This has an behavioural edge. We use tools quality low credit risk securities. the fixed income side, we believe this instead of clubbing of income. If the minor has earned the income
because we need opportunity both in implied assumption that the crowd is that have the potential We find ourselves at an is a good time to lock in good prevail- on her skills, i.e., through her knowledge or talent, a separate
equity as well as fixed income side. always wrong. We believe the crowd to provide these three opportune time at the ing yields. Over the medium term, we income tax return shall be filed by the minor’s parent or guardian
Indian economy is showing robust is right on trends but wrong at ends. for long-term invest- On the fixed launch to pick up assets could also see benefit of capital gains as as representative assessee of such minor. Thus, in the case of
growth and corporate The crowd is not ment success. The income side, we with good credit ratings interest rates turn downwards. We are child artists, their parents will have to file a separate return of
sector is delivering m INTERVIEW always wrong but it stock selection process believe this is a as well as prevailing hence launching a balance advantage income.
good numbers. How- tends to overreact involves top down as healthy yields. fund which has the potential to benefit Typically, any A similar situation will be applicable
ever, there are politi- with emotions and well as bottom-up good time to lock Who should go for from the current market conditions. income that for children who are winners of TV
cal and geo-political events that may cause market extremes. So, ideal screening to identify in good prevailing this BAF?
cause volatility. A balanced advantage strategy is to sell when market has strong business models Through the BAF,
How is the fund management
team positioned? minors get from shows like Little Champ, Master Chef
Junior, and others. If the income
yields
fund will use this volatility to gener- overreacted with greed and buy when with good management one is taking profes- Currently we are a 15-member investments is earned by the minor is through manual
NIMESH CHANDAN
ate returns for our investors. On the the market has overreacted with fear. teams. For the BAF, the CIO, Bajaj AMC sional expertise on asset strong investment team. This clubbed with a work, this kind of income will also be
fixed income side, we believe we are Hence when we created our balanced portfolio would be allocation between includes fixed income and equity. For parent’s income reported in the minor’s return only
at the peak of interest rates. These are advantage asset allocation model, we dominated by large-cap equity and fixed our BAF, we have Sorbh Gupta, who and will be taxable in his own hands.
attractive levels to lock-in a good used fundamental factors as well as companies. Typically, mid-caps and income. Typically, these funds have is a senior fund manager for equities, Now suppose, Umesh has received
potential yield and seek to enjoy the behavioural factors that influence the small-caps add to the volatility, which lower volatility than the equity index and Siddharth Chaudhary, senior ₹12 lakh inheritance from his grandmother’s will. His parents
benefits when the cycle starts turning market to determine which part of we would like to avoid. A large-cap and opportunity for long term com- fund manager for fixed income. Each have invested this amount in bonds. Interest on bonds is ₹60,000
downwards. the cycle we are in. This helps us portfolio will also improve our accu- pounding. So it is an all-seasons fund of our fund managers are supported per annum. Umesh has a hearing impairment disability. The
How are you going to allocate make better allocation decision. racy while hedging. suitable for many investors who have by a strong research team as well as Income Tax Act has specific provisions for taxation of income of
between debt and equity? What’s your philosophy of choos- What about debt? these financial goals. However, a con- quantitative and behavioural invest- a child who is disabled as per the rules under Section 80U of the
Asset allocation in equities should ing stocks? In the fixed income side too, we fol- servative investor with a long term ment tools. Income Tax Act 1961. Such a child’s income will not be clubbed
with the parent’s income. In such cases, the minor must have
more than 40% disability due to diseases like locomotor disabil-
ity, hearing impairment, poor vision, mental illness, blindness,

ESG fund managers increasingly anxious about ‘AI blowback’ etc. Here the income will be reported separately in the child’s
return only.
One needs to get a certificate for the hearing impairment disa-
bility and if it is more than 40%, then the interest income will be
Bloomberg Stotzel said he’s “worried that can be activated if the the industry should take—and Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., taxed in the child’s hands only and since it is below the basic
feedback@livemint.com we’ll get an AI blowback,” world one day wakes up to “AI the speed at which it should have agreed to enact voluntary exemption limit, there will be no tax. However, if the hearing
which he describes as a situa- systems going rogue in a dra- move — recently erupted into safeguards to minimize abuse impairment is less than 40%, then the interest income will be

E
SG fund managers who
turned to big tech as a
low-carbon, high-return
bet are growing increasingly
anxious over the sector’s
experimentation with artificial
intelligence (AI).
ESG is short for environ-
ment, social and governance.
Exposure to AI now repre-
sents a “short-term risk to
investors,” said Marcel Stotzel,
a London-based portfolio
manager at Fidelity Interna-
tional.
tion in which something unex-
pected triggers a meaningful
market decline. “It takes just
one incident for something to
go wrong and the material
impact could be significant,”
he said.
Examples that Stotzel says
warrant concern are fighter
jets with self-learning AI sys-
tems. Fidelity is now among
fund managers talking to the
companies developing such
technologies to discuss safety
features such as a “kill switch”
matic way,” he said.
The ESG investing industry
may be more exposed to such
risks than most, after taking to
tech in a big way. Funds regis-
tered as having an outright
environmental, social and
good governance objective
hold more tech assets than any
other sector, according to
Bloomberg Intelligence. And
the world’s biggest ESG
exchange-traded fund is dom-
inated by tech, led by Apple
Inc., Microsoft Corp., Ama-
zon.com Inc. and Nvidia Corp.
Those companies are now at
the forefront of developing AI.
Tensions over the direction
full public view.
The reinstatement of Open
AI chief executive Sam Altman
puts the company on track to
pursue his growth plans,
including faster commerciali-
zation of AI.
Apple has said it plans to
tread cautiously in the field of
AI, with CEO Tim Cook saying
in May that there are “a num-
ber of issues that need to be
sorted” with the technology.
And companies, including
Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet
of and bias within AI.
Stotzel said he’s less worried
about the risks stemming from
small-scale AI startups than
about those lurking in the
world’s tech giants. “The big-
gest companies could do the
most damage,” he said.
Other investors share those
concerns. The New York City
Employees’ Retirement Sys-
tem, one of the biggest US
public pension plans, said it’s
“actively monitoring” how
portfolio companies use AI
clubbed in the parent’s income.
Suppose, Kishore has inherited ₹55 lakh from his parents. Both
the parents have unfortunately died and Reena is his legal guard-
ian. Reena has invested the inheritance amount in various securi-
ties, bonds, etc. and Kishore’s earnings from the investment is ₹4
lakh. How will this be taxed?
In this case, since both parents are deceased, a separate income
tax return needs to be filed for Kishore. It is not clubbed with the
guardian’s income. Reena will have to register as a ‘representa-
tive assessee’ by logging in to the income tax website and upload-
ing the specified documents to prove her credentials. Once the
request is approved and she is registered, she can file the income
tax returns of the minor.
All the examples are hypothetical.
Nitesh Buddhadev is founder of Nimit Consultancy.

What a personal loan costs you What fees are associated with a home loan?
P ersonal loans are a way to use tomorrow’s income today, and the process involved
is simple. But you must note that the interest rates are much higher than, say, for a
car loan. This is because personal loans are unsecured loans. This means that the loan Anuj Sharma name. Stamp duty is a state- score is a crucial factor. A good
is not backed by any asset. The loan amount and interest rate depend on parameters specific charge, and registra- credit history indicates finan-
such as your income, existing credit, repayment capacity, and others. As personal loans What are the various fees tion charges are based on the cial discipline and enhances
come with high interest rates, continuous default will put you on a downward spiral. associated with a home property’s value. your chances of approval for a
Here are some of the lowest personal loan interest rates offered by various banks. loan application? Insurance premiums: higher loan amount. Lenders
—Sanyam Verma Lenders may require you to typically prefer applicants
Loan amount: ₹1 lakh; tenure: 5 years take insurance, such as home with a credit score above a
Understanding the various loan insurance or mortgage specified threshold, often
Interest fees associated with a home protection insurance, to safe- around 750 or higher.
Lender EMI (₹) Processing fee
rate (%) loan application is crucial for a guard against unforeseen Employment stability:
Union Bank of India 9.30-13.40 2,090-2,296 Up to 0.50% (min ₹500) + applicable GST; Nil for women professionals comprehensive view of the events. The premium is an Job stability and a steady
overall cost. Here are the key additional cost that needs to be income are pivotal. Lenders
Bank of Maharashtra 10.00-12.80 2,125-2,265 1% + GST (min ₹1,000) components: considered. prefer borrowers with a con-
Processing fees: This is a Please note there are no sistent employment history.
Indian Bank 10.00-11.40 2,125-2,194 1% (max ₹10,000); Nil for Govt/PSU employees
one-time, non-refundable foreclosure/prepayment char- Age and loan tenure:
Bank of Baroda 10.10-18.25 2,130-2,553 1% to 2% (min ₹1,000 and max ₹10,000) + GST# charge payable at the time of ges on home loans. Your age plays a role in deter-
loan application processing, ASK MINT mining the maximum loan
Punjab & Sind Bank 10.15-12.80 2,132-2,265 0.50% to 1% + GST typically ranging from 0.5% to What percentage of the m LOANS tenure, which, in turn, affects
Bank of India 10.25-14.75 2,137-2,366 2% (min ₹1,000 and ax ₹10,000) 1% of the loan amount. property’s value can I the loan amount. Younger
Legal charges and valua- expect to be approved for a applicants may have the
CSB Bank 10.25-22.00 21,37-2,762 1% (min ₹250) tion fees: These cover the cost home loan? India offer an LTV ratio of 75- advantage of longer loan ten-
of legal scrutiny of property —Name withheld on request 90%, with 80% being a com- ures, potentially increasing
Axis Bank 10.49-22.00 2,149-2,762 Not available*
documents. It ensures the mon benchmark. The remain- the eligible loan amount.
HDFC Bank 10.50-24.00 2,149-2,777 upto ₹4,999 property is free from legal In the Indian market, the ing amount, known as the Understanding these factors
encumbrances. Legal charges percentage of the property’s down payment, needs to be and working towards
ICICI Bank 10.50-16.00 2,162-2,432 Upto 2.5% + GST vary and depend on the com- value that you can be approved funded by the homebuyer. strengthening your financial
Kotak Mahindra Bank 10.5-24.00 2,159-2,877 Upto 2.5% + GST & other charges plexity of the legal verification for as a home loan typically Income and repayment profile can improve your eligi-
process. Valuation fees involve ranges from 75% to 90%. How- capacity: Lenders evaluate bility for a higher loan amount,
Canara Bank 10.65-16.25 2,157-2,445 Nil the valuation of the property ever, this can vary based on your income to determine allowing you to make a well-
IDFC First Bank 10.75-24.00 2,212-2,877 Min. ₹6,999 upto 3.5% (PF+ Insurance)+ GST
to determine its market worth. several factors that lenders your repayment capacity. A informed decision.
It is charged by the lender to consider when assessing your higher income often results in Anuj Sharma is chief opera-
Indian Overseas Bank 10.85-13.00 2,167-2,275 0.40% to 0.75% ensure that the property’s eligibility. a larger loan approval. They tions officer, IMGC
value aligns with the loan Loan-to-Value Ratio may consider your fixed
IDBI Bank 11.00-15.50 2,174-2,405 1% (min ₹2,500) + applicable taxes
amount sought. (LTV): The LTV ratio is a criti- monthly obligations, such as Do you have a personal
#Nil for select categories under Festival Bonanza Offer; *technical issue Stamp duty and registra- cal factor influencing the loan existing loan repayments and finance query? Send in your
Data as on 23 November 2023, as per banks’ websites. The EMI range is indicative and calculated on the basis of interest rate range. In an actual situation, it tion charges: These fees vary amount. It represents the per- other liabilities, to ensure that queries at
may include other fees and charges. The interest rates are for salaried individuals and pensioners for unsecured personal loan. Actual applicable interest rate across states in India and are centage of the property’s value you can comfortably manage mintmoney@livemint.com
may vary based on the credit profile, loan amount, tenure, company you work for and as per bank’s discretion. The processing fee is a % of the loan amount and get them answered by
associated with legally regis- that the lender is willing to the proposed home loan.
PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: MyMoneyMantra.com & bank websites industry experts.
tering the property in your finance. Generally, lenders in · Credit History: Your credit
12 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New DelhI VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW GUEST VIEW

BLOOMBERG

DPI could help unlock a massive

opportunity in the purple sector
Disability-inclusive infrastructure can generate a special market boom and help India’s economy

widespread adoption of disability- Trust: We must ensure that the right

inclusive infrastructure in India,
including in mobility, housing, health-
care, financial services and commerce.
The Impact Future Project estimates
such infrastructure could generate sig-
nificant revenues by 2030. Another
report, by the Return on Disability
Group, estimates that persons with dis-
SHANTI RAGHAVAN abilities, along with their friends and
is founder, Enable India. families, command large quantums of
spending power.
Tapping this economic opportunity,
however, requires a massive rewiring.
persons are identified for various servi-
ces and initiatives.
Access: It’s important for products
and services to be accessible in both
physical and digital formats.
Cost of Innovation: We must help
lower the cost of innovation or devel-
oping novel products and services for
persons with special needs.
Efforts are on to ensure that this
framework is implemented for various
digital public goods, so that persons
with disabilities can actively contribute

Enact laws which have a

The ‘purple sector’—purple being the to the country’s economic growth,
colour of disability—represents a work- both as consumers and value creators.

M
eena is far more comfortable force that includes not only persons In healthcare, for instance, various
now with hailing an autorick- with disabilities, but also special educa- disability-focused apps can be built
shaw in Bengaluru. Namma tors, rehabilitation experts, healthcare linked to the Unified Health Interface

good chance to endure Yatri, the Bengaluru-based autorick-

shaw service built on a digital public
goods framework, knows she needs a
ride that’s disability-friendly. The
personnel, and entrepreneurs and
innovators catering to products and
services for special needs. In other
words, it’s a large and highly frag-
(UHI), a network of open protocols
designed to enable interoperability in
health services.
This would let users such as Meena
autorickshaw driver who goes to pick mented sector. not only discover specialist healthcare
her up is trained and aware of the needs It’s this problem that India’s globally experts, but also associated service pro-
Proposals for India’s criminal law overhaul need close scrutiny. In casting off a colonial of persons with disabilities, a factor acclaimed digital public infrastructure viders and products that can help them
that allows Meena to be more mobile could potentially solve for, given its overcome their disabilities.
legacy, we must adopt a Constitutional legal framework that can survive political tides and independent. remarkable capability for enabling Enable India’s Blimey computer-
Namma Yatri’s disability-friendly such fragments to work together seam- learning tool for people with visual
feature is an early indicator of how lessly across sectors. This is why Enable impairment is already integrated in
India’s digital public infrastructure is India is adopting Beckn Protocol for ONEST, the Beckn-enabled protocol

T
he case for shedding a colonial-era
penal code rests not just on how
outdated some of its provisions are,
but on a need to actualize our 1947
liberation from foreign rule. Indi-
vidual liberty, it was hoped, could
be maximized within the constraint of neither
depriving others of it, nor causing anyone
harm—a live-and-let-live model. A recent let-
down for such a liberal order was the news of a
parliamentary panel asking for adultery to be
listed as an offence under the Bharatiya Nyaya
Sanhita (BNS), which India’s government plans
to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860
with. As a weapon designed for males to wield
against their wives’ lovers, the old IPC version
denied women sexual agency and was struck
down by the Supreme Court in 2018. Should
marital infidelity now be outlawed by a gender-
neutral provision? While this may satisfy the
equality test, the judicial ruling that scrapped
the Victorian ban also held it to be in violation
of Article 21—our right, i.e., to life and liberty.
As adultery can split families and cause pain, it
the alleged masking of a minority faith to evolving to tap a massive opportunity India’s digital public infrastructure to for education, skilling and employ-
‘entrap’ women, and its validity could well be that remained hidden in plain sight for be disability-inclusive. Beckn Protocol ment opportunities. Via ONEST,
too long. The autorickshaw service has helped shape the technology layer persons with disabilities can take up
challenged in court. That loosely worded laws shares the same genes as Aadhaar, the on which digital public goods including skill-development programmes and
can be interpreted widely to suit the day’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), ONDC, Namma Yatri, Open Network other more advanced courses, avail
regime was a lesson we learnt long ago from a Open Network for Digital Commerce for Education and Skilling Transactions financing to be able to take up these
British whip in the shape of Section 124A on (ONDC) and several other open and (ONEST) and Unified Health Interface courses, and ultimately look for
sedition in the IPC. Its misuse has been ram- inclusive protocols that are unlocking (UHI) have been developed—all key in employment as well.
vast untapped societal and economic evolving a disability-inclusive digital Meena, who already uses Namma
pant, its role in keeping us secure remains potential. economy. Yatri for mobility and UPI for bank
unclear, and it’s a colonial relic that’s best By conservative estimates, India has Pramod Varma, a co-founder of transactions, now has reliable infra-
dropped. Unfortunately, it may live on in the about 30 million people living with Beckn Foundation and a key architect structure to help her with her health,
guise of Clause 150 in the BNS. The dangers it some form of disability. The World of Aadhaar and UPI, says a DPI-ap- education and employment needs. Her
criminalizes in defence of India’s sovereignty, Health Organization pegs this number proach is critical for achieving this mis- work allows her to set aside money
five times higher, at closer to 150 mil- sion. There are four key aspects of disa- towards savings and some personal
unity and integrity are no less badly defined, lion. Many of them are employable, but bility-inclusion that must be addressed: indulgences as well. On ONDC, she can
making them a tad too easy for law-enforcers to several struggle to find an opportunity Discoverability: The ability to dis- shop not only for routine groceries,
apply. Other aspects of the proposed BNS may or access to tools that would enable cover appropriate products and servi- products and food from restaurants,
also need a review. Its tough-on-terror aim is them to be more active as tax-paying ces that cater to special needs as well as but also for special disability-related
unlikely to be served accurately by an enlarged citizens contributing to our economy. help highlight those offered by persons tools and services. Or she can be the
So imagine a future that features with disabilities to a wider market. one selling these.
definition of it. Even a non-violent act that is
deemed a “disturbance of public order” or a
threat to “political, economic or social struc-
tures” could count as a terrorist act under the
BNS, it seems, with stiff penalties to follow.
Again, the bill casts this dragnet too wide.
Clarity in law is key to justice. No legal system www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Vol.7 No.282 `3.00 in Delhi­NCR/`4.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24
28 PAGES

PROFILE: Nikesh Arora—

requires some restraint, no doubt, but every can afford a burden of false-guilt errors, but the man with a plan >18­19
CORPORATE: Murthy says Infosys may
move towards flexible pricing >10

misdeed is not a crime. Prison for consensual India’s politics, social schisms and lack of police
AVIATION: Govt scrambles on aviation Bill
amid downgrade threat >11

Recall the face of the

CONTENT PARTNER
POLICY: Adopt Aadhaar authentication
for transactions, RBI tells banks >11

sex is not just too harsh, it would also legitimize autonomy make it particularly vital to draft
SENSEX 20,425.02 æ 180.06 NIFTY 6,059.10 æ 56.25 DOLLAR `62.50 ® EURO `84.64 Æ 0.25 GOLD `30,740 Æ `315 OIL $110.66 æ $0.34

D-6 BLOCK
Voter list QUICK EDIT

poorest and weakest

RURAL WAGE GROWTH PICKS UP

RIL may be Growth in rural wages gathered pace for the second straight month,
new data from the labour ministry shows. The rural wage survey, errors could Flare-up

a nosey state with likely disregard for privacy. laws clearly. Law enforcement will also turn roil elections at the Fed
often referred to as the barometer of India’s rural economy and hence
a keenly watched statistic, showed that rural wages grew in excess of
16% in September 2013 as against the same period in 2012.
in Delhi
allowed to T he Minneapolis Fed
fired economists
Average agriculture wages Year-on -year growth Patrick Kehoe and Ellen
(in%)

person you have seen,

(in R) B Y L IZ M ATHEW McGrattan last month.
195 18.2
liz.m@livemint.com The event was speculated
192.22 ························· to be linked to the

Ideally, for gender justice to be served, the harsher if the Centre’s proposals on criminal raise prices
Oil minister says
confident of securing
NEW DELHI
changing economic views
17.6
190 17.5 O ne in five names in Del-
hi’s list of voters should
not be there, says a study, and
of bank president
Narayana Kocherlakota,
who once opposed the
17.1 17.4 the fact that it is could emerge easy money policies of
as a significant factor in the the US Fed under Ben
upcoming elections in the city- Bernanke. Then, in 2012,
bitration proceedings pending. 185 16.7 16.8 state, which is likely to be a he switched his views to
Till that is settled, they will close fight between the incum- highlight worries about

committee that has the BNS under scrutiny procedures are enacted. These seek to over- and ask yourself if this
submit bank guarantees,” bent Congress and the opposi- persistent unemployment
bank guarantees from Moily said at an industry event tion Bharatiya Janata Party and the positive role
RIL; matter to be on Tuesday in Mumbai. 16.1 (BJP). monetary policy could
180 16.1
settled in 15 days He added that a proposal 15.9 15.9 15.9 The fledgling Aam Aadmi play. This was a major
would be put before the Union Party (AAP) and the Bahujan shift in the thinking of a
cabinet on this and the matter Samaj Party (BSP) have turned conservative economist.
B Y A VEEK D ATTA resolved in the next 15 days the 4 December assembly elec- The incoming Fed
aveek.d@livemint.com The event is a part of India’s 175 15.4 tions in the national capital chairperson, Janet Yellen,
·························

should focus on the draft’s misses and mis- empower the police. The limit on how long an
efforts to ensure that investors into a four-cornered contest. is known for her
MUMBAI participate in the 10th auction The study says the errors in belief in the positive

R eliance Industries Ltd of the country’s oil and gas as- 14.9 the list have arisen because of impact of monetary

step you contemplate

(RIL) may finally get its
way and be allowed by
the government to increase the
price of gas from its D-6 block
in the Krishna-Godavari basin
from 1 April, after petroleum
sets under the New Explora- 173.07 the inclusion of voters who easing. This comes from
tion Licensing Policy (Nelp) in 170 14.7 have died, shifted or cannot be her academic work on
January. traced. The so-called “phan- the nature of
Moily and officials from his tom voters” are not deleted unemployment. Perhaps
ministry spent two days in from the voters’ list because she has a fellow believer
Mumbai to meet oil and gas the current practice focuses on in Kocherlakota now.
165 14

steps, as outlined by Mint (bit.ly/488xLWz) in accused can be held in police custody, for
minister Veerappa Moily said
on Tuesday that he is confi-
dent of securing bank guaran-
tees from the company for a
potential settlement of any
companies, investors and ana- making only additions to the While it may be
lysts to ease concerns about oil list, the study adds. Of the 12.3 completely speculative to
and gas exploration in the million registered voters in say that quantitative
country. easing may be here to
All the immediate concerns 13.3 TURN TO PAGE 5® stay, it is worth asking

is going to be any
160
claims that arise from the of oil and gas firms in India Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep what is the nature of the
shortfall so far in the supply of will be addressed in the next ALSO SEE churn in the US Fed.
Source: Labour Bureau
gas. two months, the minister said. >Promises to keep >P8
NAVEEN KUMAR SAINI/MINT
In June, India approved a Some of the issues around

August. The bill fails to outlaw marital rape, instance, will be extended in ways that could
move to higher, market-relat-
ed rates for locally produced
gas from April 2014, but the fi-
nance ministry later said pric-
es should be capped because
the company’s gas production
from the offshore D6 block was
which the oil ministry is form-
ing new and better policies ap-
pear to be inspired by its tussle
with RIL. Maruti plans
For instance, one of the most
significant initiatives taken by
the oil ministry is to come to
to make an
Innova rival

use to him.
far below its supply commit- an understanding with the
ment. Comptroller and Auditor Gen-

for example, a missed chance to protect female make ‘interrogations’ in lock-ups even more
RIL, which operates the D6
block off India’s eastern coast,
has reported a sharp decline in
gas output since 2010. RIL and
partner BP Plc. have cited geo-
logical complexities for the fall
in output, but the oil regulator
believes they failed to drill
by 2017
eral (CAG) of India that there
won’t be any performance au-
dits of individual oil and gas
contractors, unless the minis-
try specifically calls upon it to B Y A MRIT R AJ
conduct one. amrit.r@livemint.com
The CAG had sought to con- ·························
duct exhaustive audits of RIL’s NEW DELHI

enough wells. operations in the D6 gas reser-

I ndia’s best-selling multi-

free will from undue male privilege. But it fearsome. It fits in with the rightist lurch of the
Falling output has already
prompted the government to
disallow proportionate cost re-
covery to RIL, leading to arbi-
tration proceedings over the
issue.
“They have come forward
with the proposal for bank
guarantees. There are some ar-
voir on grounds of alleged in-
flation of costs by the Mukesh
Ambani-led company.
In the wake of falling gas
output from D6, the govern-
ment has since moved to disal-
low a substantial portion of the
costs incurred by the company
for the purpose of recovery be-
utility vehicle Innova, made
by Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt.
Ltd, may face competition
from a new vehicle that car
market leader Maruti Suzuki
India Ltd plans to launch in
2017.
Maruti is developing the ve-
hicle, code-named RX, to take

would make it illegal to use “deceitful means” BNS, which not only retains the death penalty,
fore calculating the govern- on the Innova, according to a

ment’s share of profit—a mat-
ter that is under arbitration.
RIL had maintained that in
accordance with the provi-
sions of the production-shar-
ing contract (PSC)—the legal
agreement signed between the
government and itself—he
MA HATMA GA N D HI
company document reviewed
by Mint and four people famil-
iar with the development.
The Innova, launched in
2005, is akin to a mini-van of
the sort popular with soccer
moms in the US and has found
favour with both taxi operators

for marriage, with deceit defined to cover not but enlarges its scope. This, however, is neither
CAG could only conduct a fi-
nancial audit and not one on
its operational decisions.
During the Mumbai visit, oil
secretary Vivek Rae said the
controversy surrounding cost
recovery and CAG audits was
one that was “bedevilling” the
sector.
and families. Toyota sold
430,000 units of the vehicles
till October, with the latest
models priced between `12.45
lakh and `15.06 lakh, ex-show-
room Delhi.
The Innova is the market
leader in its category, easily
holding its own against rivals

just false avowals, but “suppressing identity.” the legal rehaul we need, nor a legislative bent
He explained that the CAG such as Mahindra and Mahin-
had the constitutional respon- dra Ltd’s Xylo and XUV 500,
Mint is also available for R7 with
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only TURN TO PAGE 4® TURN TO PAGE 24®

This part looks aimed at so-called ‘love jihad,’ that’s likely to survive the test of time.

THEIR VIEW

Starting up? Remember that the idea is the easiest part

elevator pitch. And detractors really think
RITA MCGRATH & M MUNEER the startup world is full of egomaniacs and
dishonest ‘vulture capitalists.’ Both camps
are mistaken. As it stands, the startup world
is a captivating realm, filled with innovation,
ambition and the promise of disruptive
Another misplaced belief is that one needs and Elon Musk, have faced setbacks and fail- original idea. Initially, its founders struggled
a unique idea. While uniqueness can provide ures before achieving what they did. An abil- to attract users. Then they decided to per-
a competitive advantage, it’s not a pre-requi- ity to learn from failure and persevere is key. sonally meet hosts, take professional photos
site for success. Many successful startups Another piece of misplaced wisdom is the and provide a more personalized experi-
entered established markets by offering 24/7 work requirement for entrepreneurs. ence. This transformed the platform.
superior execution, better user experiences The ‘hustle culture’ myth suggests that they Market validation is key: The importance

S
tartup India got started in 2016, and by
2018, had been proclaimed a success
by the Niti Aayog’s then CEO. As a
startup, let alone an ecosystem, takes more
than two years to succeed, perhaps he was
using the number of startups getting regis-
tered (nearly 10,000 within two years) as a
yardstick. Registering a business with
change—even if copied and pasted. It is also
a world rife with myths and misconceptions
that can mislead aspiring entrepreneurs.
That the idea is the most critical aspect of a
startup’s success is one such myth.
The notion that the idea is everything has
led many aspiring entrepreneurs to believe
that a novel concept alone guarantees suc-
or more efficient solutions. For example, must work around the clock to succeed. of market validation cannot be overstated.
Slack and Zoom didn’t While dedication and hard Startups must gather real-world data, seek
invent team communica- work are essential, burnout customer feedback, and adapt their ideas
tion, but they redefined it Startups often is counterproductive. accordingly. Uber emerged after its
by focusing on useability Maintaining a healthy founders validated the demand for a more
and integration. fail because work-life balance is crucial convenient and reliable transportation
Some seem to think that for sustaining creativity option. BigBasket (part of the Tata Group)
more funding will assure
they don’t and long-term growth. succeeded because it focused on a particular

are, respectively, professor at

Columbia Business School
and founder of Valize, and
co-founder of Medici Institute
for Innovation.
Startup India, however, is just the beginning.
In absolute numbers, India has emerged as
the world’s third largest startup ecosystem
(with 115,000 of them, as per government
data), but there’s a long way to go.
As Brian Dovey’s book title says, The Idea
is the Easy Part. Given that more than 95% of
startups don’t survive five years (between
80-95% in India, depending on how you
cherry-pick your data), we can’t agree more.
Part of his motivation for writing this book
was that myths and false impressions about
entrepreneurship and startup culture had
continued to spread. Fans of reality TV
shows like Shark Tank still think they can
make a fortune from a clever idea and a slick
cess. More than the idea itself, a genuine
insight into a customer pain point is critical.
This may explain why 39 of the 54 Indian
startups that published financial results for
2022-23 reported a combined loss of
₹26,000 crore. Usually, 20% of startups fail
in the first two years.
The second myth is that one can become
an overnight success. The media often sen-
sationalizes such stories, giving the impres-
sion that startups can achieve rapid growth
and great valuations almost effortlessly. In
reality, success involves years of hard work,
perseverance and overcoming countless
challenges. But exorbitant valuations get
more popular attention than value creation.
success. Securing funding
is pivotal, but that’s it.
acknowledge A final misconception is
that entrepreneurs are soli-
pain-point for customers: an unsatisfied
need for reliably quick groceries delivery.
Running out of cash is one
of the top reasons startups
that execution tary geniuses. In reality,
successful startups thrive
Timing is crucial: Timing often plays a
pivotal role in startup success. Instagram,
fail. Mismanagement of trumps the on collaboration, diverse initially a location-based app called Burbn,
funds or a lack of sustaina- teams and mentorship. pivoted to become a photo-sharing platform
ble revenue will lead even business idea Seeking guidance from at the right moment, capitalizing on a boom
well-funded startups to experienced mentors and in smartphone photography. WhatsApp,
collapse. Edtech firm building a strong team with which became the darling of over a billion in
Byju’s is faltering despite being heavily complementary skills are vital. their daily lives, came just when texting was
funded. Funding should be used strategi- In our experience as startup mentors, the growing, cumbersome and costly.
cally to support growth and development. following are more critical than just the idea Team dynamics matter: Creating the right
Another myth is that successful entrepre- if startups want to be among the 5% that sur- team is as critical as having a great idea. The
neurs never fail. Failure is common and vive their first 5 years: success of Apple goes beyond Steve Jobs’
often considered a valuable learning experi- Execution trumps the idea: The success of visionary ideas; it relied on a team that could
ence. Many successes, including Steve Jobs Airbnb shows how execution outshines the execute those ideas effectively.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS MoNDAy, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi 13

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

Development distances among A ‘killer app’ could help crypto

evolve past its current troubles
states should drive reforms now A chastened Binance will not be enough to revive a crypto boom

Large development gaps among states present challenges but also opportunities to learn from others and address weaknesses

MINT

AARON BROWN
is a former head of financial market research
at AQR Capital Management.

SUDIPTO MUNDLE
is chairman, Centre for Development Studies.

H
ere’s a question few of us will ever
have to answer. Would you rather
have $23 billion living in the UAE

T
he 1991 structural reforms, designed to
transform India’s economic policy
framework from a highly dirigiste sys-
tem to a more liberalized, market-ori-
ented system, mainly addressed the
policy and regulatory framework at the
national level. Much still remains to be done at that
level. However, the next phase of reforms will have
to be directed at reforms in the states. Structural
reforms at this level have hardly been addressed,
barring some piecemeal efforts in a few states.
It is important to note in this context that there
are very large differences in levels of development
across Indian states, in some ways larger differen-
ces than those among different countries of
Europe. To illustrate, the per capita income in Goa
is seven times higher than in Bihar. Even if we
exclude small states like Goa and Delhi as ‘special
cases’, huge gaps remain, Haryana’s per capita
income is five times that of Bihar.
Per capita income by itself is an inadequate
measure of development, but similar large differ-
ences are seen in levels of social development and
infrastructure services as well. At 75 years, the life-
expectancy in Kerala is ten years longer than 65
years in Uttar Pradesh (UP). In education, primary
level enrolment rates are 90-100% in most states,
but large differences appear at higher levels. Enrol-
ment in higher education is over 51% in Tamil
Nadu, compared to less than 15% in Bihar. Power
consumption in Gujarat is seven times higher than
in Bihar, while road density (state highways and
district roads) is again seven times higher in Kerala
than in Jharkhand.
These large inter-state differences in levels
of social and economic development are both a
challenge and an opportunity. They are a chal-
lenge because they point to the huge distance
which some of these states have to travel, espe-
cially the so-called BIMARU states of Bihar,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Rajasthan, UP and Uttarakhand, for India to
achieve its aspirational goal of becoming a devel-
oped country by 2050, i.e., within a hundred
years after independence from colonial rule.
These large differences are also a challenge
because the states are diverging, not converging.
In particular, the southern and western states of
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,
Telengana, Maharashtra and Gujarat are pulling
away from the other states, especially the BIMARU
cluster. However, BIMARU states remain demo-
graphically dominant. Their share of India’s popu-
lation is well over 40% and rising. This translates
politically into a very large share of Members of
Parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha. This growing
geographic cleavage between economic power
and political heft may worsen after the expected
delimitation exercise. It is likely to make India’s
politics even more fractious than it already is.
However, as stated, apart from challenges, these
large inter-state differences also present opportu-
nities. It is a long-established tradition in develop-
ment economics, led by the pioneering work of
Colin Clarke and Simon Kuznets, to test theories
and identify robust regularities in development
processes from inter-country comparisons. It was
evocatively captured by the Japanese economist
Akamatsu in his pre-World War II ‘flying geese’
paradigm, where the geese following in line learn
lessons from the geese ahead in line, culminating
in a single leading goose—which, of course, was
Japan in his thinking. Multilateral development
institutions often advise less developed countries
on strengthening policies, processes and institu-
tions based on the ’best practices’ observed in
more developed countries.
The difficulty with this approach in the interna-
tional context is that often there are large differen-
ces in historical legacy or the prevailing develop-
mental ecosystems across countries which make
lessons from such inter-country comparisons
infructuous. Policies and processes that work well
in one country may not work in another.
However, these legacy or ecosystem differences
mostly disappear in inter-state comparisons within
a country. States have a shared historical legacy,
the same administrative and judicial system, the
same tax system and a common market. These
natural controls provide a much more robust basis
for learning development lessons.
It must be emphasized that these lessons are to
be learnt and reforms prioritized not in some over-
arching sense, but at the level of individual sectors
or services. This is because a state which may be
leading in some sectors or services may be lagging
behind in others. Reform priorities will not be the
same for all states. Thus, Gujarat is a leading state
in power supply, other infrastructure and indus-
trial development, but it lags on social develop-
ment. Maharashtra, a leading state in life expect-
ancy and road density, lags in power consumption
and per capita government spending. A state needs
to prioritize reforms in areas where it is lagging.
That said, no single state can aspire to excel in
everything. In some key areas like education,
health and infrastructure, all states should aspire to
catch up with the best. Beyond that, the principal
of comparative advantage should apply, and every
state should leverage its relative strengths com-
pared to others. Even states which are lagging
behind in many fields will be lagging more in some
fields than others. Those should point to their
reform priorities, especially in education, health
and infrastructure.
To conclude, large development differences
across Indian states pose challenges as well as
opportunities. The opportunities can be leveraged
to overcome the challenges. But whether state-
level political leaderships have the necessary
vision and humility to learn reform lessons from
other states is a key question.
These are the author’s personal views.
with no US extradition treaty, or sacrifice a
chunk of your wealth and perhaps spend 18
months behind bars to resolve all your
issues with the US Department of Justice
and Securities and Exchange Commission?
Binance Holdings chief executive officer
Changpeng Zhao appears to have chosen
the latter. We don’t know all the details of
the deal—most importantly the length of
time, if any, Zhao must spend in prison—
but it appears to clear the way for Binance
to continue as the world’s largest crypto
exchange and for Zhao to keep his top-100
status on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
I see a major risk that the deal itself, and
the strengthened controls it will require,
will taint Binance among many of its cus-
tomers, especially outside the US. People
who want US-compliant crypto exchanges
have established alternatives such as Coin-
base Global.
The larger issue is the relationship
between the traditional and crypto finan-
cial systems. Nearly all the news coverage
of crypto focuses on the frontier, where
people exchange fiat money for crypto cur-
rencies, or trade crypto assets to earn fiat
currency profits, or raise fiat cash for
crypto projects, or use crypto to buy con-
ventional goods and services. This is no
doubt due to all the public excitement
[over all the conflict] and crime and pun-
ishment and fortunes won and lost [in the
cryptosphere].
But it’s a skewed perspective, since it
misses the much bigger story of relatively
peaceful and steady development of crypto
protocols that do not require any interac-
tion with the traditional financial or legal
system. Hot areas are projects in the
Metaverse, Web 3.0, Layer 2 and Layer 3,
and don’t count out DeFi despite the set-
backs of 2022. While all of those things
have technical definitions, they’re thrown
around loosely as buzzwords, more useful
for marketing and hype than categorizing
and tracking actual projects. But there is
real progress in all those things, and more.
Binance grew up on the frontier, navi-
gating murky and inconsistent regulations
in multiple jurisdictions, satisfying cus-
tomers and angering regulators. It appears
to have now chosen to reconstitute itself in
civilized and known territory on the legal
side of the border. US regulators appear to
be ready to accept it as a legal immigrant.
Along with other settlements this year
and expected developments such as SEC
approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, this sug-
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is under
trial for money laundering AP
gests a negotiated truce between regula-
tors and people who want to move fiat cur-
rencies in and out of crypto. Financial sec-
tor watchdogs seem ready to allow trans-
fers if effective safeguards against fraud,
money laundering, tax evasion and sanc-
tions violations can be put in place.
Many old-time crypto purists—and I
lean in this direction—are sceptical of this.
We think the future of crypto is divorced
from traditional finance, that the protocols
that will revolutionize society will not be
funded with fiat cash, and their value will
not be easily translated into fiat. Many peo-
ple in crypto want to reduce the coercive
power of government and big finance, not
get in bed with them, and certainly not get
in bed on their terms.
But there are many others in crypto
who welcome peace on the frontier, with
clarified rules. One reason is they think
this will reduce fraud and the enabling of
crimes from ransomware to terrorism.
Another is that it will lower the cost of fiat
capital to underwrite crypto projects and
increase the fiat currency value that can be
extracted from successful ones. But per-
haps the biggest reason is it will allow hon-
est people to follow safe-harbour provi-
sions to work in crypto without fear of
prosecution.
There is a parallel split on the regula-
tory side between people who want to
bring crypto into the existing legal regime,
and those who prefer to isolate crypto
from fiat money as much as possible.
Zhao’s deal with US regulators appears to
be a victory for the former group. If the
deal satisfies both sides, we can expect
other crypto frontier gunslingers to come
in from the cold.
The future of crypto will be determined
by the technology, not by billionaires and
lawyers negotiating over frontier real
estate. If crypto comes up with a ‘killer app’
that will convince hundreds of millions of
people to learn real crypto—not just hold-
ing crypto coins in portfolios or speculate
in NFTs—then it will take off on its own,
without needing to ask regulators for per-
mission or traditional investors for capital.
Without a killer app, crypto will remain a
useful technical tool for niche projects and
true believers. There won’t be enough eco-
nomic value in it to interest lawyers or most
investors. ©BLOOMBERG

guEsT VIEW

Indian higher education must get globally competitive

IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi have made their
SANDEEP KRISHNAN mark in the global top 200, with IIT Bombay
placed 149th by the 2024 QS Rankings. Pri-
vate institutions like OP Jindal, Manipal
Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), VIT,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical
questions of whether adequately diverse
voices are being heard. Foreign universities
have no say either, even as India opens its
doors for them.
One of the panel’s recommendations is a
‘One Nation, One Data’ model, with sugges-
distance learning programmes. The report
suggests replacing peer teams in the NAAC
methodology with other agencies, which
could potentially undermine the acceptance
and capacity-building efforts established
within the university system. As Henry Ford
added benefit of conditional periodicity of
assessments.
The report takes a compassionate view of
philanthropic institutions in remote areas
with limited funding, proposing support and
facilitation for accreditation. It also recog-

T
he landscape of Indian higher educa-
tion institutions (HEIs) is experiencing
rapid evolution, propelled by factors
such as changing student expectations, a
renewed emphasis on research quality and
innovation, burgeoning global collabora-
tions, a fervent desire for international rec-
ognition and intense competition in the aca-
Sciences and Shoolini University have also
carved out top-1,000 positions globally.
Highly relevant in this context is a report
published this May titled, ‘Transformative
Reforms for Strengthening Periodic Assess-
ment and Accreditation of All Higher Educa-
tional Institutions in India’ by a committee
appointed by the ministry of education, led
tions on its implementation. HEIs currently famously said, “We do not make changes for nizes that a one-size-fits-all approach does
spend much time provid- the sake of making them.” not work, distinguishing between research-
ing data separately for vari- HEIs have been striving to focused and teaching-based institutions, as
ous ratings and rankings. Accreditation attain A+ or A++ rankings to well as new and established ones. But it over-
However, the report lacks showcase their excellence, looks the complexity of multidisciplinary
specifics on the data to be changes must but the report aligns with HEIs that blend research and teaching. The
collated, measurable NEP recommendations by report falls short in addressing how aspira-
parameters, or how data
help and not proposing a binary ranking tional HEIs aiming for global recognition,

is CEO at People Business and

demic sector among both public and private
players. This transformation is also fuelled
visiting faculty member at
IIM Ahmedabad.
by accrediting bodies and ranking entities
like NAAC, NBA, NIRF, UGC and AICTE,
which wield substantial influence, shaping
the academic landscape in terms of peer
standing, access to grants and funding, stu-
dent preferences, branding, faculty recruit-
ment and development, and the introduc-
tion of new courses.
With the New Education Policy (NEP) and
establishment of Institutions of Eminence
(IOEs) playing catalyst, a palpable sense of
change has engulfed the industry. Institu-
tions are investing to achieve better national
and global ranks. Notable institutions like
by K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of IIT Kan-
pur’s board of governors. While the panel’s
recommendations could cause a stir in the
HEI sector, a critical examination of these is
necessary to determine whether they can
serve India’s global aspirations well or are
merely cosmetic changes.
The current committee has experts from
IITs and representatives from public univer-
sities as well as accreditation and ranking
agencies. However, it lacks representation
from private universities, deemed universi-
ties, multi-disciplinary institutions and
other reputed universities. With more than
400 private and over 100 deemed universi-
ties in the country, their exclusion raises
alignment between various
agencies will work. While a
hinder this
proposal to simplify appli-
cation forms is welcome, its
sector’s
practical implementation international
remains vague.
Critiques have emerged aspirations
of the report’s assessment
of existing efforts. While it
mentions that the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC) has accred-
ited only 30% of HEIs in India, this is still a
large number, and many renowned institu-
tions have embraced the NAAC framework.
The NAAC score is also considered a qualify-
ing criterion for universities to run online
system with modifications,
offering fewer incentives
for institutions to excel.
Globally renowned insti-
tutions operate with a high
degree of autonomy; they
view government bodies as
enablers rather than regu-
lators. The Indian scenario,
however, is burdened with governmental
bureaucracy, given the need for university
and course accreditation among other peri-
odic compliance requirements. A positive
recommendation from this committee is the
amalgamation of various accreditations (pro-
gramme/institution) into one, with the
such as IISc, IITs, Anna University, Savitribai
Phule and MG University or deemed private
universities like MAHE, OP Jindal and Shoo-
lini, can be nurtured for it. Also, oddly, it
does not touch upon IOEs at all, although it’s
a major government initiative.
Nurturing both public and private univer-
sities will not only offer students access to
the best education in India, but also curtail
the outflow of funds for studies abroad. Our
higher education sector is an opaque space,
but today’s HEI competition is global and
this requires a competitive mindset. With
broader consultations, let’s hope this report
will be refined to better reflect the evolving
HEI landscape and our global aspirations.
14 MoNDay, 27 NoveMber 2023
New Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE WORKPLACE LIVEMINT.COM

Chronic pain during One of today’s biggest

threats to productivity is
employee absence,
owing to injuries caused

work is a big concern

Geetika Sachdev
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ISTOCKPHOTO
by long work hours that
result in repetitive strain

THE ART AND

P
ushpendra Sahni, a software
engineer from Mumbai, has been
struggling with a frozen shoulder
and chronic backache for the past
two years. When work from
SCIENCE OF
home was a norm during the covid-19 pan-
demic, he didn’t pay much attention to his pos-
ture and hunched over his laptop for long hours.
He continues to bear the brunt of his actions.
OFFICE DESIGN
“When the pandemic hit, there was intense Amit Aurora
pressure to keep our jobs. I would sit on my bed

all day long without taking a break; there were
times when I’d even miss my meals,” recalls
Sahni, 36. “It’s been a while but my back pain
continues to trouble me. In fact, it has worsened
over time.”
Sahni consulted an orthopaedic surgeon a
few months after he first experienced the pain
but the damage had already been done. While
he was told to do range-of-motion and stretch-
ing exercises, he could hardly follow through
because of his increasing workload.
Unfortunately, he is due for surgery now.
“Upon our return to the physical workspace
in the latter half of 2021, I discussed my medical
issues with the senior management but no
action was taken,” he says. “We are expected to
work eight to nine hours at a stretch without
many breaks. My colleagues have been facing
similar issues, complaining of frequent aches
and pains.”
Sahni isn’t alone. If you listen closely to con-
versations inside and outside India Inc., you will
realize that many are suffering from work-re-
lated injuries, pains and aches. Someone’s fro-
zen shoulder forces them to take frequent
breaks, someone can’t sit for long hours so they matters,” she adds.
are completing PPTs while lying in bed, watery
eyes, wrist pain, lower back pain. One of today’s sory Work From Home Situation On Musculo-
biggest threats to productivity is employee skeletal Disorders In India, published in the
ports or backrests to ensure added lower back
A study, Effect of Covid-19 Lockdown/Compul-
Taking care support, says Suman Kumar Ghosh, the com-
pany’s chief human resources officer. The com-
pany focuses on the smaller aspects of the work-
T
he modern office is evolving into an environment
that prioritizes employee health. This shift is driven
by the growing recognition that physical pain, often
caused by prolonged sitting and improper posture, can sig-
nificantly impact employee productivity and health.
The foundation of an office designed to reduce physical
pain lies in ergonomics, the science of designing workpla-
ces to fit the natural contours of the human body. Ergo-
nomics aims to minimize strain on muscles and joints, pro-
mote proper posture, and encourage movement, thereby
preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), a common
ailment among office workers.
In the past decade or so, there’s been a paradigm shift in
the composition of workplaces, especially for the younger
generation. From my experience, most companies want
offices that are flexible, promote interaction and are
employee-centric–and all of this can be achieve with simple
steps and interventions.
THE BACKBONE OF A PAIN-FREE OFFICE
Ergonomic workstations incorporate features that support
proper posture, alignment, and movement, reducing strain
on the body and promoting overall comfort.
Key components of ergonomic workstations include:
Chairs: Adjustable chairs with lumbar support, adjustable
seat height, and swivel functionality are essential for main-
taining proper posture and preventing back pain.

absence, owing to injuries that are not the result Journal Of Bodywork And Movement Therapies
of falls or lifting heavy equipment, but caused by in September 2022, analyzed 281 responses
long work hours, resulting in repetitive strain from Indian working professionals between 18
of workers station as well, besides hosting regular sessions
of yoga and workshops on sitting correctly
while working.
on a daily basis. and 60 years. Among the many musculoskeletal Ritu Goregaoker, director of Inte- Since the chair yoga sessions are conducted
In 2022, Godrej Interio’s Workplace and disorders that persist, neck pain emerged as the rior Design at GA Design, a Mumbai- at the respective workstations of employees,
Ergonomics Research Cell conducted an inves- most common of all aches, the study concluded. based architectural and interior most employees end up participating in it. How-
tigative study to delve into the role of a struc- Before the lockdown, 25% of the respondents design firm, suggests some tips that ever, the attendance largely dips during critical
tured approach to ergonomics training in were suffering from neck pain, but the percent- offices can embrace to minimize periods like the quarter-end, before a product
reducing the incidence of work-related muscu- age has gone up to 29% post-covid. the risk of WSMDs. launch or campaign period.
loskeletal disorders (WSMDs) among office Shoulder pain is another concern, with 20% “Employees also have an option to use the
u Use supportive anti-fatigue mats
goers. An alarming 82% out of the 500 office of the participants facing it now as compared to keyboard and mouse tray, monitor arms and
goers who were sur- 18% before the lock- to ease pressure on the feet adjustable laptop stand to set it to the correct
veyed across India in down. Upper back and joints in staff areas with high viewing height. These can help reduce any chal-
the age group Inappropriate posture, lack of pain and lower back footfall. lenges of the back and neck,” Ghosh says.
between 21 and 40 postural breaks, absence of pain are the two other u Factor in the height and the These efforts are meaningless unless employ-
years reported body
pain while working ergonomic furniture, and long recurring issues.
“These aches are
depth of the work table to enable ees don’t take the initiative to take care of their
health. Most aches and pains can be brought
comfort during work hours.
from home, while work hours can cause such pain. growing because of down by simply modifying how one works at Desks: Adjustable desks allow employees to customize
76% of the respon- the wrong ergonomi- u Incorporate adequate, non-glare their desk, says Cherawala. For starters, it is their workspace to their individual height, ensuring opti-
dents complained cal postures of the lighting to prevent eye strain and important to evaluate the height of the table and mal elbow angles while typing and reducing neck and
about WSMDs while working from office. Why? employees. The employer can provide fancy accidents. chair to ensure that when the arms are on the shoulder strain.
Inappropriate posture, lack of postural breaks, chairs but the position in which an employee table, the shoulders are completely relaxed. Footrests: Footrests provide support for the feet, reducing
absence of ergonomic furniture, and prolonged sits is the most important,” informs Cherawala. u Take care of the acoustics at the “Whichever chair you are using, make sure pressure on the back and legs and for better circulation.
working hours. workplace, for noise pollution can your buttock is scooted in and touches the back Here are some key principles of ergonomics:
“In recent years, we have witnessed a rise in THE WAY OUT have a negative impact on the psy- of the chair completely. Push yourself into the Neutral posture: Your body should be in a neutral posi-
the incidence of neck and back aches, particu- With enough awareness around the prevalence che of the employees. chair and relax. Then push your chair right into tion when you are working. This means that your spine
larly among the young generation who are in of chronic pain and its impact on employee pro- your desk, such that the edge of your desk should be straight, your elbows and knees should be bent
their 20s and 30s,” says Masuma Cherawala, a ductivity, some workplaces across India have almost touches your chest,” she advises, adding at a 90-degree angle, and your feet should be flat on the
Mumbai-based consultant physiotherapist who some components of ergonomically sound exercises through on-site or virtual sessions, that this posture will prevent any protrusion of floor.
specialises in musculoskeletal disorders. “Gen- office furniture. including gym, yoga, meditation, and stretching your head forward to look at the screen. Support: Your chair should provide support for your lower
erally, home environments do not have proper US-based Kenvue, a consumer health com- with qualified trainers,” says Shipra Saraf, head At the end of the day, it’s all about working back and neck. Your keyboard and mouse should be at a
work desks. People sit on their beds and slouch pany with its corporate office in Mumbai, for of human resources at Kenvue, which also offers smartly and putting one’s health first. height that allows you to type with your wrists straight.
while working, which causes severe damage to instance, works closely with ergonomists to ergonomic workstation setup options for “I don’t think pressure will reduce in jobs but Variety: Take breaks from sitting and moving around reg-
the spine, neck and back.” prevent musculoskeletal disorders in and out- remote work. “Employees have ergonomic my advice is to take frequent breaks, say every ularly.
Similarly, in offices, the most crucial aspect side the office. They have around 1,100 chairs, and ‘sit and stand’ workstations… that half an hour. Stand at your desk or walk around Adjustment: Make sure that your workspace is adjustable
that can help prevent aches and pains is the employees who work either at their corporate allow them to change their position and avoid a little to relieve the stress from your neck and so you can be comfortable.
correct posture of employees. “One can sit on office and two plants in Mulund and Baddi, or prolonged sitting.” back,” she concludes. Amit Aurora is partner at the Delhi-based architecture and
a regular plastic chair and still be free of any remotely. At Bajaj Electricals offices in 18 locations, design firm, groupDCA
neck or back pain. How you sit is what really “Our offices are designed to facilitate healthy workers are offered accessories like lumbar sup- Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com

Retired, but not tired: Benefits of working post-retirement

ISTOCKPHOTO

The transition to an that 32% of seniors believe retirement sense of routine, and opportunities for force. By actively participating as corpo-
brings a lack of purpose and health risks meaningful interaction with others, sig- rate advisors, mentoring peers, and shar-
empty day, without a and choose to stay active and productive nificantly contributing to one’s mental ing decades of experience and wisdom in
sense of purpose or any in their daily life. Here are a few reasons well-being. a professional capacity, retirees affirm
why working post-retirement can benefit Engaging in intellectually enriching their capabilities and maintain a strong
activities to do, can seniors to seek an enriched and meaning- work not only keeps the mind active but sense of self-worth. This newfound confi-
affect mental health ful life in a phase of self-reinvention. also contributes to a profound sense of
accomplishment and self-worth. Retirees
dence can permeate into other aspects of
life, leading to a more fulfilling and active
PURPOSEFUL LIVING can explore teaching and mentorships as retirement period.
Neeraj Sagar The transition from structured work life to means of imparting wisdom while making The evolving retirement landscape
retirement can initially create a void, leav- a lasting impact on the younger genera- presents a remarkable opportunity for

T
he transition from a bustling career
to retirement can be a drastic shift,
leaving seniors grappling with a
sense of loss. The once-familiar rhythms
of office life are replaced with open
stretches of time that for some can lead to
feeling directionless, and eventually, cog-
nitive decline. Today, retirement is evolv-
ing and is no longer perceived as the final
chapter of one’s productive journey, but
rather as a transformative prologue to self-
reinvention and exploration.
The traditional notions of life after
retirement are being redefined, where
seniors are challenging age-old stereo-
types, and demonstrating that with age
comes a wealth of wisdom and an abun-
dance of opportunities. Retirees are
exploring different avenues to keep them-
selves busy and seek purposeful living in
the transformative phase of retirement.
The India Retirement Index study shows
ing retirees searching for meaning and
direction. Engaging in post-retirement
work offers a solution, as it provides a
sense of continuity and allows individuals
to maintain a connection with the profes-
sional world they’ve known for so long. It
brings with it a sense of purpose and fulfill-
ment, redefining the notion of retirement
altogether. This newfound purpose not
only instills confidence, but also provides
a tangible reason to look forward to each
day. One of the most significant aspects of
working in retirement is the opportunity
to impart knowledge, an act that not only
benefits others but also contributes to per-
sonal growth and self-discovery.
Moreover, working post-retirement
provides an outlet for one’s skills and pas-
sions, offering a means to continue pursu-
ing personal and professional goals.
Whether through part-time consulting, or
volunteering, the act of working after
retirement reinforces the notion that life
is a continuous journey of growth and
learning.
MENTAL HEALTH
With the earlier decades set to a prede-
fined pace, driven by 9-5 careers, family
responsibilities, and other obligations, the
sudden transition to an empty calendar,
without a sense of purpose or activities to
engage in, the mind may gradually slow
down, leading to reduced mental stimula-
tion and activity.
This is why it is important to take retire-
ment at one’s own pace and gradually ease
into a phase of complete leisure. Choosing
to work after retirement can be a powerful
antidote to these issues, as it retains a
tions. This intergenerational interaction
not only enriches the workplace environ-
ment but also serves as a powerful source
of mental stimulation. It offers a sense of
purpose and accomplishment, as retirees
become valued mentors and contributors
to the growth and development of future
generations.
INCREASED FINANCIAL STABILITY
In today’s world, where the cost of living is
continuously on the rise, relying solely on
a pension or savings may not always be
sufficient to maintain the desired standard
of living. By engaging in post-retirement
work, retirees have the chance to supple-
ment their income, thereby reducing
financial stress and providing a greater
sense of financial security.
It’s easy for retirees to feel adrift in a
world that often places a premium on pro-
ductivity and contribution to the work-
seniors to redefine their post-career years.
Engaging in post-retirement work during
this transformative phase offers a new
sense of achievement, while providing a
path to purposeful living. It significantly
contributes to mental health and wellness,
keeping the mind active and providing a
profound sense of accomplishment. Addi-
tionally, retirees re-entering the work-
force facilitates a two-way learning net-
work, where seniors learn fresh skills and
technological proficiency from their
younger counterparts, while reciprocat-
ing by imparting a lifetime of knowledge
and experience. The post-retirement
period is an opportunity for seniors to
re-invent themselves and continue to lead
a meaningful life.
The writer is the founder and CEO of
Wisdom Circle.
Write to us at businessoflife@livemint.com