Innholdsfortegnelse for 16 April 2023 i Business Today

In our October 2, 2022 issue, we brought you the story of how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the government-backed digital payments system, is transforming the Indian payments scene, with even the smallest of merchants now sporting UPI QR codes. Today, UPI is ubiquitous and synonymous with payments in India. A similar movement is now gathering momentum in the world of e-commerce, with the Open Network for Digital Commerce, or ONDC, now live and scaling up. ONDC’s promise is that of democratising e-commerce and helping India’s smallest of merchants reap the benefits of digital commerce in a seamless way, which they currently cannot do with the dominance of large, global marketplaces. In the process, buyers, sellers and logistics players—who comprise the ONDC network—will get benefits of reach and scale in…

THE IMMEDIATE BULLET has been dodged,” serial entrepreneur K. Ganesh tells us over a Zoom call, almost a week after US regulators took receivership of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and backstopped all deposits, triggering a collective sigh of relief in the global start-up founder community. “But start-ups should now be more careful about where they park their money.” Hindsight is a wonderful thing, they say. And Ganesh, who mentors and invests in young Indian startups, has no qualms about it. “Even a month ago, I would’ve said SVB is 100 per cent safe,” he says. He’s also of the view that SVB wouldn’t have unravelled so fast if not for social media and the internet. “Today news goes viral and there’s instant panic. Then there’s mobile banking, which makes it possible…

Reliance Retail Limited, the country’s largest retail company, is aiming to alter the traditional distribution model like never before By directly partnering with local merchants and building an efficient supply chain, Mukesh Ambani is turning his branded retail empire into an all-round retail solution for every stakeholder Armed with an in-house NBFC, RRL is expected to have overcome the biggest barrier—credit availability for small-scale retailers—in mastering the general trade segment With its newly launched FMCG venture, RRL is quickly building a strong array of privately owned labels that will improve its profitability Creating pull for its in-house consumer brands and turning them into household names, however, remains a challenge for the group…

1 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Pharma manufacturers are using AI and ML to analyse vast troves of data to identify new targets for drug development. Also, Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and LabWare have been deployed to manage laboratory operations, including sample tracking, data management and instruments integration 2 MANUFACTURING AND QUALITY CONTROL Cloud-enabled automation processes such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems including SAP, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics have improved the speed and accuracy of production lines, along with enabling better quality control measures that ensure products meet regulatory standards 3 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Through cloud-enabled tech, pharma companies are tracking and managing their supply chains to optimise distribution, reduce waste and improve inventory management 4 SALES AND MARKETING Pharma companies are using customer relationship management (CRM) systems such…

INFRASTRUCTURE Designing and building a data centre takes anywhere between 12 and 24 months and they should be able to withstand natural calamities POWER Data centres require a lot of uninterrupted high-quality power and typically have backup generators and other redundant power systems COOLING High temperatures and humidity are harmful for these systems. High intensity cooling is required to prevent them from excessive heating MONITORING/MANAGEMENT They use monitoring and management tools to track performance, identify issues and make adjustments as needed SERVERS These are the primary computing devices. They store and process data and run the software applications that power various operations BACKUP/DISASTER RECOVERY Data centres have backup and redundant systems to ensure that data is not lost in case of a system failure or any other disaster SECURITY MEASURES…

Name: DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Funds raised: Its IPO listed on BSE’s SME platform in December 2022; in May 2022, it raised $4.6 million in a pre-seed round Name: Garuda Aerospace Funds raised: $22 million in a Series A round, led by Sphiti Cap—the highest for an Indian drone start-up to date Name: ideaForge Technology Funds raised: In February, the drone start-up filed its DRHP with Sebi for an IPO; the offering comprises fresh issue of shares worth ₹300 crore and an offer for sale of 4,869,712 equity shares SOURCE INDUSTRY, BT RESEARCH…

WHILE WE AWAIT regulations specifically applicable to virtual digital assets (VDAs), there have been peripheral changes in the regulatory environment. First, there was a new regime to levy tax on income from VDAs; then came reporting requirements under the Companies Act; and now, VDAs have been brought under the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). PMLA permits the government to prescribe measures to prevent money laundering. It provides for stringent measures including confiscation of property. The enforcement directorate (ED) frequently takes action under PMLA, including related to virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The Ministry of Finance has issued a Notification No. 1072 (E) dated March 7, 2023, which prescribes various requirements including carrying out of due diligence, maintenance of records, etc. on VASPs that are now notified…

REVIEW MINI-MUM FUSS The compact square Mac mini handles basic tasks and more with aplomb ▸LAPTOPS are convenient to tote around, but a huge audience swears by desktops. While Apple offers a wide range of all-in-one desktops—iMacs, with a starting price of ₹1,24,990—it’s the Mac mini that brings the power of the Mac operating system and Apple’s processor-making chops at a relatively lower cost, and in a compact plug-and-play format. In the box you find the square-shaped Mac Mini and just the power cable. You’ll need to connect this to your choice of keyboard, mouse and display—you can even connect this to your TV! Do note that if you’re setting it up for the first time with non-Apple accessories, you need to use a wired keyboard and mouse. Besides the…

▶ THE RECENT GLOBAL banking debacles have highlighted the robustness of India’s ₹216-lakh crore banking industry. But there are important lessons there for India’s banking sector as well. The crisis has brought to the fore factors such as portfolio concentration, liquidity risk, the superiority of equity over additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds—a kind of debt issued by a bank that can be converted into equity if its capital levels fall below requirements—as well as market risks. The emergency credit lines opened by regulators also raise questions about the role of governments and regulators in rescuing stressed banks. “Every crisis gives us a new regulatory blueprint,” says a private sector banker who wishes to remain anonymous. Banks have a lot to deal with—from risk management to credit to liquidity to market risks…

▸ More than 60 per cent (1,749 km) of work on the western and eastern corridors is completed; DFCCIL is confident of completing 99.68 per cent (2,834 km) by end-2023 ▸ Land acquisition is all but complete except for patches on a 2-km stretch between Vaitarna and JNPA in Maharashtra on the Western DFC; an additional 375 km on the Eastern DFC is planned under the PM Gati Shakti-National Master Plan ▸ At full capacity, each freight train will be 1.5-km long, carry around 12,000 tonnes of cargo and run at a top speed of 100 km per hour, which is among the fastest for freight trains globally ▸ DFCCIL plans a new tariff framework to offer the lowest cargo carriage rates in the industry as well as look at…

ONDC aims to clock 5,000 daily orders by the end of March PhonePe’s arrival is expected to boost ONDC’s momentum significantly Early sellers, however, are disappointed by the slow start but are hopeful of long-term growth From social enterprises to kirana stores and FMCG conglomerates, ONDC is aggressively on-boarding brands to achieve scale Large marketplaces are adopting a wait-and-see strategy before committing to join 60+ PER CENT COMBINED SHARE OF AMAZON AND FLIPKART IN THE INDIAN E-COMMERCE MARKET 25 PER CENT SHARE OF ONLINE IN INDIA’S ORGANISED RETAIL MARKET; THIS MAY GROW TO 37 PER CENT BY 2030 DATA TILL FEBRUARY 2023 SOURCE INGOVERN RESEARCH SERVICES…

▸ Start-ups should diversify their funds and bank with more than one partner ▸ They should focus on the finance stack as much as the technology stack ▸ Bank money only up to the insured limit provided by the regulator ▸ Hire risk managers/finance heads early on in your start-up journey ▸ Maintain visibility into own and partner firms’ balance sheets ▸ Start-ups should be domiciled in their home countries when possible SOURCE NATIONAL VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION, IT MINISTRY, SEC FILINGS, INDUSTRY ESTIMATES…

1 Captive in-house data centre: Having a data centre within enterprise premises 2 Hyperscale data centre: Primarily catering to hyper-scalers like Google, Microsoft and Amazon. These are standalone facilities built to suit such a customer or purpose-built for customers that take up minimum capacities of 4-5 MW each 3 Wholesale co-location: Caters to requirements of businesses and enterprises in the range upwards of approximately 500kV per customer 4 Retail co-location: This caters to any size, even a single rack of 6/7 kV…

2022 India has the potential to become a drone manufacturing hub Total market size of India’s drone industry (commercial and defence combined): ₹2,900 crore 2025* Counter-unmanned aircraft system: ₹20,000 crore Defence: ₹38,300 crore Commercial: ₹13,000 crore Homeland security: ₹6,000 crore Total market size: ₹77,300 crore 40 per cent hardware indigenisation: ₹32,640 crore Exports: ₹4,300 crore 2030* Counter-unmanned aircraft system: ₹49,000 crore Defence: ₹1,01,000 crore Commercial: ₹75,000 crore Homeland security: ₹23,000 crore Total market size: ₹2,48,000 crore 60 per cent hardware indigenisation: ₹1,77,000 crore Exports: ₹47,000 crore *ESTIMATES; SOURCE EY-FICCI’S ‘MAKING INDIA THE DRONE HUB OF THE WORLD’ REPORT…

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PLATO, THE famous Greek philosopher who probably had an answer to every query, is supposed to have said, “He was a wise man who invented beer.” Little wonder, beer is one of the largest consumed alcoholic drinks in the world, with global consumption of 178 million kilolitres in 2020. We Indians, too, love our beer. Consider this: In terms of volume, the beer market was valued at over 5,500 million litres in 2020 and is expected to reach over 9,000 million litres by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of about 10.89 per cent between 2021 and 2025, per a report from Research and Markets. And while most of the beer is manufactured by the big daddies of the alco-bev industry, over the past few years there has been a storm…

ON THE outskirts of India’s Silicon City are the manicured fairways of the Prestige Golfshire Club, where close to a hundred golfers converged on a pleasantly balmy Saturday morning on March 11 for the fourth leg of this year’s Business Today Golf tournament presented by Royal Ranthambore. The emerald greens of the picturesque golf course—which has multiple lakes and trees adorned with colourful flowers, and with birds chirping away—provided the perfect conditions for the crème de la crème of Bengaluru’s business and corporate golfing talent to spend the morning in a camaraderie-filled game of golf. As the day progressed, competition heated up with the whirr of the little white ball; the participants showcased their golfing chops with the club and the putter, and put in some spirited performances. Finally, Jayanthi…

▸ Any further sharp increase in domestic interest rates will likely impact Indian banks’ credit portfolios ▸ Indian banks are heavily reliant on retail lending, with unsecured loans growing at a faster clip ▸ India has a large NBFC sector that is very dependent on banks for its funding needs ▸ Small finance banks have a concentrated loan portfolio with a majority of micro loans ▸ Capital flow is expected to slow down from AT1 bonds, while any equity dilution would impact the profitability of banks ▸ Cybersecurity risks could impact the financial stability of banks…

▸ Users now have to locate the ONDC tab on buyer apps and search for products, as they are not identifiable by branding. ONDC expects buyer apps to integrate all of them into general searches with branding ▸ From urban hyperlocal with PhonePe to value fashion with Meesho, rural B2B with Spice Money and mobility with JustPay, ONDC aims to empower e-commerce players to expand and catalyse market growth ▸ The real opportunity for seller apps lies in offering tech solutions for cataloguing and inventory management, and financial services such as lending and other alternative finance offerings to their merchants ▸ Being an open network where market forces driven by competition decide commissions, ONDC is expected to lower operating costs for small sellers and change the way e-commerce is done…

▸ Currently valued at $50 billion, India’s pharma industry is expected to touch $65 billion by 2024 and $130 billion by 2030 ▸ India is a major exporter of pharmaceuticals, with over 200 countries served by Indian pharma exports ▸ The Indian preventive healthcare market is expected to grow from $93 billion in 2021 to $197 billion by 2025 ▸ There were 7,839 health-tech startups in India as of January 11, 2023, according to Tracxn SOURCE BT RESEARCH, INDUSTRY REPORTS…

INDIA IS IN the midst of a data centre boom. But why are data centres important? Sunil Gupta, also known as the data centre man of India, provides the answers in an interaction with Business Today. Edited excerpts: Why are infra players like L&T, the Adani Group and the Hiranandani Group (of which Yotta is a part) entering the data centre business? With the government’s focus on promoting digitalisation and the growth of the digital economy, the industry is at a critical inflection point. This has attracted significant interest from infrastructure players who see this as an opportunity to diversify their business. With a presence in real estate, construction and power—critical components for the development and operation of data centres—and significant experience in building large-scale infrastructure projects, infrastructure players are…