Innholdsfortegnelse for 18 June 2017 i Business Today

In the past couple of weeks, I had a series of conversations with CEOs and senior executives in different industries, and all the chats revolved around the same few issues. Though they hailed from very diverse sectors, all the corporate chiefs agreed on one point – that we were experiencing unprecedented technology developments and these were changing the way we have traditionally worked. While technology advances had been taking place in the past decades as well, the pace of change in the past few years has been staggering. And while these technology changes were upending traditional ways of doing work, they were also heralding an unparalleled growth in productivity and efficiency and throwing up numerous opportunities. The flip side was that technology was also putting an enormous pressure on jobs.…

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on job losses in the IT industry 500 times This has been the rise in the value of digital currency Bitcoin in the past five years. On January 26, it reached a record high, climbing above $2,700 for the first time. MOODY'S DOWNGRADES CHINA MOODY’S Moody’s has downgraded China’s long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings by one notch to A1 from AA3. It cited expectations that China’s financial strength would erode in the coming years. This is the first downgrade of China in three decades. HDFC IN FORBES' LIST HDFC Ltd has been named among the top 10 consumer financial services companies in the world in the Forbes Global List 2017. It is the only Indian company in the top 10. There are 58…

The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will soon prepare a new National Manufacturing Policy to give a holistic thrust to its Make in India drive. For every government, its anniversary is an occasion to highlight the good work it has carried out during the previous year and this government is no exception. The NDA government has completed three years in office on May 26 and a flurry of claims regarding the success of its flagship projects are flowing in from all ministries. The government will also use this occasion to build on the promises that remain unfulfilled. A new National Manufacturing Policy is one such promise. A new version of the government’s start-up policy is another. A renewed thrust to popularise the Stand Up India Policy (to promote…

Arvind Subramanian has already proved himself an unconventional chief economic adviser. He threw away the template he inherited for the Economic Survey and wrote what came to his mind. He was not quite the first. I had in my first year in finance ministry brought out the Survey in two volumes: in the first I explained the crisis we were in and what we had done to resolve it, while the second followed the conventional model. I believe Raghuram Rajan had taken in bright students for a few weeks to help him write the introduction to the Survey. Subramanian has tried more systematically to make us think. It was no use; he is not satisfied with the results. That is what he said in the V K R V Rao…

In May 2016, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) asked the government’s top think tank, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, to prepare three documents – a 15-year vision document, a seven-year strategy, and a three-year action agenda. A year later, it is ready with the last document in the list, the action agenda. In an exclusive interview with Business Today’s Joe C. Mathew and Rajeev Dubey, NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya gives the details. Edited excerpts: What is the response to the draft action agenda? I couldn’t be more pleased. The feedback has been very positive. What about the criticism levelled against genetically modified (GM) crops and pricing freedom for seeds? When the task force on agricultural development was preparing its report, we held extensive consultations with scientists, farmers and activists.…

Earlier this month, China hosted its first heads of government/statelevel event under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI Forum represents the culmination of over three years of intense Chinese diplomatic activity, trying to sell what is likely to be Chinese President Xi Jinping’s most significant foreign policy legacy. For this reason alone, there should be no doubt that the Chinese initiative is strategic in nature – not just in economic or military terms, but also in terms of setting regional and global political agendas. China’s insistence that BRI is merely an infrastructure development project and an activity providing global goods cannot be taken at face value. The Indian government has been acutely aware of this reality and has responded accordingly by turning down China’s invitation to attend the…

India is on the threshold of a decisive moment in its growth path. It is on the cusp of major change. As it rapidly urbanises, improves the quantity and quality of energy for all its citizens, and manages the natural resources that underpin lives and livelihoods, the possibility of sustained and sustainable growth is within its grasp. The world’s most populous democracy, home to 1.2 billion people, is also one of the fastest growing economies. Its GDP is the 7th largest globally and is set to overtake the United Kingdom’s by 2020, although recent estimates suggest it has already done so. But benefits of faster GDP growth in recent years are being undermined by harmful spillovers from the current growth model. These include severe local air pollution and its damage…

Humour undoubtedly plays a crucial role in our lives, especially social lives. We spend roughly 115 days of our life laughing. Work is another significant component. On an average, Indians spend 53 percent of their waking time working. With work absorbing a good part of our lives and humour being a key ingredient of our existence, is there room for humour in the work setting? The answer is yes; but things are far more serious inside organisations, compared to our lives outside. While this is not strange or bad, humour in organisations should be enough to create a pleasant working environment and support the company’s goal, but cannot be an objective by itself. Humour is a powerful tool to boost companies’ performance and to understand how companies work. For example,…

THE FORTNIGHTLY PICK BUSINESS BESTSELLERS* *Top books by sales for May 8 - 22, 2017; Includes only books released after Jan 1, 2015; Information provided by…

When Quenchers Become Violators of Health Norms This refers to your cover story on soft drinks (Cola Dilemma, June 4). The article has elaborately explained that both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo face fierce competition from Indian cola makers. They have polarised people on their brand command rousing, extending fizz wars among cola guzzlers. Indian cola manufacturers have intelligently transformed their product portfolio to suit the palate of the changing taste of the healthconscious consumers. The selfdriven wrong moves of MNCs and availability of reliable alternative drinks from domestic operators have gripped them. While India is afraid of becoming the diabetes capital of the world, these quenchers have assumed the proportion of clinchers of health norms. Pepsi’s demand with the Centre for lower taxation for such beverages must be turned down. India…

01 GST TRANSITION WHAT: GST- Transition and the Way Forward WHEN: 1 June, Mumbai WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is organising a series of interactive sessions on GST across the country. It will focus on the implementation aspects of the new tax system in the context of the Central GST Acts and the draft rules. 07-08 STRATEGY FORUM WHAT: WEF’s Industry Strategy Meeting WHEN: 7-8 June, San Francisco WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Industry Strategy Officers will meet to define and shape the outlook for industries, identify where sectors can work together for economic and societal benefit and look at how industries can manage disruption in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 08 FINTECH INNOVATIONS WHAT: FintechX WHEN: 8 June, New Delhi WHAT…

The recent changes in Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) are a significant move towards making the gross domestic product or GDP growth numbers more credible. While changes in the IIP are normal as in the case of a base change – there are new products and new reporting companies – the bigger change that has taken place conceptually concerns capital goods, where we are now going for work-in-progress valuation. But how effective it will be depends on how well companies understand the concept and whether they maintain their books of account in a manner that will provide a better estimation of the work in progress. The change in WPI is a little more interesting as indirect taxes have been excluded from the calculation, which…

TAX RICHES Collections rise 49 percent between 2013/14 and 2016/17 RE: revised estimates; In ₹crore; Source: Budget RESERVE STRENGTH Forex reserves are at an all-time high in $billion; *amount is for quarter ended; Source: RBI THE HITS... ₹55,703 CRORE FPI equity investments in 2016/17 4.7% Export growth in 2016/17 PRICE CONTROL Consumer price inflation is firmly under check THE HIGH POINT Foreign direct investment breaks all records P: provisional; In $billion AND THE MISSES... 1% The savinginvestment gap in 2015/16, from 1.7% in 2013/14 130 World Bank’s 2017 Doing Business Ranking, up 10 places from 2014 THE JOBS CHALLENGE Just 1.35 lakh new jobs created between December 2014 and December 2015, the slowest growth since 2009 Change in Employment (in lakh) INVESTMENT DROUGHT Slowing investments are a big drag on…

WHAT’S TRENDING Pictures score where words fail. And that’s what brands, struggling to strike a chord with consumers on social media, seem to like about Instagram. Earlier this year, Flipkart teamed up with 15 top social media influencers and launched a campaign called ‘Never Ending Trending’ on Instagram. The influencers showcased designs and trends from Flipkart’s fashion store, and had the task of keeping the fashion trend alive by nominating the next influencer. A contest, user participation and gift vouchers followed over five days. The simple enough exercise resulted in high engagement for Flipkart – each post by these influencers got 5000 views, on average. As of April 2017, Instagram had 700 million monthly active users worldwide, compared to only 100 million in 2013. According to Counterpoint Research, as of…

Only two years ago, General Motors had declared it would invest another $1 billion in India and launch 10 new models. As late as April 28, Jack Uppal, Vice President, Marketing and Customer Experience at GM India, had sent a signed mailer to the company’s 150-odd dealers, informing that the company would be launching a new model of the Chevrolet Beat – GM’s leading brand in India – in July. “Be ready for the Mobility revolution with the New Beat MCM from Chevrolet,” it read. Less than three weeks later, came the announcement that GM had decided to stop selling in India altogether from the end of the year, though it would continue manufacturing for export at its plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra. “We explored many options, but determined the increased…

TOP CLIMATE change negotiators across the world are grappling with a new disruption -- US President Donald Trump’s dislike for the United Nation’s climate change programme. Trump has called it a hoax perpetrated by China, a cruel tax on US companies, and threatened to withdraw. If the world’s largest polluter takes such a step, it will make efforts to bring 190-odd countries to declare their Intended National Determined Contributions, or INDC, meaningless. But Indian citizens and businesses can take heart. The country has decided to go ahead with the implementation and execution plan, irrespective of what happens at the global stage. “It is not India’s commitment to the world, it is our government’s belief that we have to grow in a sustainable way. All our big programmes are designed to…

THE POLLUTION FIXERS: Not too many people are familiar with soaping agents or surfactants and what they do. These act like detergents and remove unabsorbed dyes from textile products while ensuring colour fastness. But when they get mixed with effluents, they can pose a huge environmental threat. However, Chennai-based Proklean Technologies has developed a unique probiotics solution that replaces these chemical-based surfactants with “high-performing, all-natural, nontoxic and fully bio-degradable products”, helping protect water bodies when industrial effluents are released. Currently, Proklean caters to textile, leather and hospitality industries, but is planning to expand operations and add a few more products, including a household detergent. “For the first time, a unique combination of naturally occurring probiotic microbes (good bacteria, in layman’s terms) and certain other natural ingredients is being used to…

PERSONAL TECH WHEN SMART TVs came into the market, Anil Thomas, a banker, was one of the first few to spend a fortune and acquire one. Internet-ready TV was too good a proposition to let go. However, the excitement wore off as the smart TV interface was cumbersome and did not support the apps and features he wanted. He wasn’t too pleased when he learnt that, today, you can turn any TV with an HDMI port into a smart TV, more importantly, without burning a hole in your pocket. Enter streaming devices. These affordable devices can connect your nonsmart TV to content streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and offer a host of other features. The market is brimming with streaming devices launched by leading tech giants…

STAY CONNECTED WITH US ON www.facebook.com/BusinessToday @BT_India NEWS Three Years of Modi Government: Time to Connect the Dots? With Modi-led NDA ministers competing against each other to announce more schemes every day, one cannot blame the government for policy paralysis either businesstoday.in/modigovernment-promise The Bull Run Is Likely to Sustain Though the stock market has scaled up around 15 percent this year, the impact of GST on the economy remains to be seen businesstoday.in/sensex-bullrun Pharma Sector Sees No Adverse GST Impact The only larger concern for the industry is how the transition would be made to these new GST rates businesstoday.in/pharma-gst IRDAI Considering Insurance Cover for Discontinued ULIPs As of now, insurance cover for policyholders ceases when the policy is discontinued businesstoday.in/discontinued-ulips-insurance COLUMNS Indian Chemical Industry: Will M&A Be a Game-changer?…

In May, representatives from over 30 countries met in Beijing to discuss an ambitious multilateral trade and investment arrangement that China is spearheading. Given its scope, the One Belt One Road, or OBOR, project is widely expected to impact almost every country in Asia, Europe and Africa. India chose to ignore the event. In an interview with BT’s Joe C. Mathew and Rajeev Dubey, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman preferred to maintain silence over ramifications for India’s trade. What India needs to do is to continue with its trade talks, OBOR or no OBOR, she says. Edited excerpts: What are the trade implications of staying away from OBOR talks? We have taken a strategic call to not participate. I will see it only in that context. Is there any reason other than the fact that the proposed…

A Stream of Bans After banning most social networking sites, China has now shut down several live streaming platforms. China’s Ministry of Culture has closed 10 hosting platforms and punished several companies for streaming content related to pornography, gambling, and content that was superstitious in nature. The country has also closed down 30,000 studios producing such content, given administrative punishment to 48 companies and terminated the contracts of 547 broadcasters. The business models of these hosting platforms are similar to ones offered by Facebook and YouTube, where the company hosting the content and the creator divide the ad revenues between them. What’s on Facebook’s Mind? Facebook is using the information obtained by studying the browsing habits of its depressed users to target ads, revealed a document ‘leaked’ from within the…

S ANTOSH GOLD, a popular soap brand in rural Gujarat has over the years built a strong network of retailers in and around Vadodara and Anand who try their best to push the brand. Despite having leading brands such as Lifebuoy or Santoor on display, when a consumer would ask for a ₹10 soap, the retailer would give him Santosh Gold. Similarly, Bapi Chanachur a popular namkeen brand in Bengal, has more takers than Haldirams and Bingo in most kirana stores. The Indian consumer goods industry is flooded with many such local brands. For every Videocon or LG TV, there would be a Melbon or Hilton TV trying to attract the consumer’s attention. These brands play the volume and price game. A ₹5 pack of Bapi Chanachur would have 15 grams…

Sustainable” is an oft-used expression, though people rarely explain what they mean when they use it. Sustainability can only be defined with respect to the needs of the future generation. Today, we have imperfect knowledge about future supply, demand and technology choices. Thus, in 1898, there was an international conference on horse dung, debating the problem of major cities (London, New York) being buried in copious quantities of horse-dung, produced from horse-drawn hansom cabs, buses and carts. The invention of the automobile was unanticipated then. That being said, sustainability can only be defined in terms of being environment-friendly. As a general proposition, public transport is more environment- friendly than private transport and should be more “efficient” too. After that, quite a bit depends on the context. Do we mean intra-city?…

Why are cycle rickshaws found mostly in towns to the North of the river Narmada? This is the sort of question a two-wheeler marketer may well ask, only to find that conventional market research (MR) does not quite come up with effective answers. MR is great to understand consumer behaviour at an individual level, and aggregate it up to the larger market as a whole. So, marketers rely on MR tools to track advertising performance, evaluate new products and advertisements, understand media consumption, etc. But we need a different toolkit to answer questions at the level of a culture or a society. These questions are super important: they enable us to get a grip on trends, spot emerging needs and opportunities, create innovative products and services, and so on. Consider,…