Innholdsfortegnelse for 17 September 2023 i Business Today

▶ IF SEVERAL WISE men over millennia have revealed that a failure today may pave the path for future success, India’s national space agency—the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)—has amply demonstrated it by successfully landing the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the moon’s South Pole on August 23. This achievement makes India only the fourth after Russia, the US and China to perform a soft landing on the lunar surface, and the first to do so on the moon’s dark side. Once the news of Vikram Lander touching down on the lunar regolith—bombarded by meteorites, solar particles and cosmic rays since the time earth’s natural satellite came into being—broke at 18:02 IST, the nation of 1.43 billion people erupted in euphoric celebrations. The convergence of 8 million viewers on YouTube to witness…

THIS JUNE, BENGALURU’S real estate circles rippled with talk of Byju’s delaying payment of rent. Was India’s most valued edtech company planning to vacate acres of office space? Byju’s corporate entity, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd, had taken three leased properties, the largest being Kalyani Tech Park in Brookefield—spread over half a million sq. ft—that had a monthly rent of ₹3 crore. At the end of July, Byju’s pulled out of most of Brookefield, telling its staff to work from home or other offices. An executive at a top property consultant confirmed that Byju’s had been falling back on rents before the pullout. “I guess it was coming,” he says. Delayed rents were not the first warning sign. Byju’s had been falling back on statutory payments such as employees’ provident…

Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest disruptions the world is grappling with right now. From businesses to jobs to social behaviour, AI’s impact can be felt everywhere. At the Business Today India@100 Summit held recently, India Today Group Vice Chairperson Kalli Purie caught up with AI expert Soumitra Dutta, who has a PhD in the technology and has been tracking it for three decades, to discuss a range of issues that this disruption gives rise to. In a session called ‘Managing with AI’, Dutta, the Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, spoke extensively about how AI will affect jobs and skill sets, the need for regulations, and the concept of responsible AI. Edited excerpts: Q: You’ve talked about the Moore’s Law of computer…

KEY RISKS ● High earnings growth expectations ● Political surprises (state/general elections) ● Global equity markets correction ● Higher crude oil prices; inflation ● Future US Fed commentary and actions ● Possible recession in developed markets ● Feared El Niño pattern actually occurs and India receives deficient monsoon KEY POSITIVES ● Higher infrastructure spends ahead of elections ● Recession no longer a risk in India ● Monetary policy moving towards final leg of rate hikes ● Strong liquidity support from foreign and domestic institutions ● Better-than-expected economic recovery; strong balance sheets ● Resilience of the Indian economy ● Initiatives like PLI and Make in India can help boost manufacturing…

INDIA’S ROAD to assuming global leadership in view of the ongoing geopolitical realignments was the key talking point at the second edition of the BT India@100 Summit. The day-long deliberations witnessed a galaxy of speakers comprising lawmakers and subject matter experts debate this critical theme. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari charged up the summit after he unveiled the government’s plans for the electrification of India’s national highways network. Describing the rapid growth being witnessed in India’s civil aviation industry as “monumental”, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the Delhi airport would climb up the rankings to be among the Top 3 globally. Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, outlined the concept of digital public infrastructure and the movement away from big tech corporations. The day’s highlight was…

AHEAD OF THE 18TH G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10, Apurva Chandra, Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), tells Business Today how the one-year G20 presidency has helped the country bolster its image in the global arena, what it has to offer to the world, and the benchmark India has set. Edited excerpts: What has India’s presidency at the G20 meant and what has been achieved through this one year? The G20 summit is the culmination of the efforts of the past one year. India has held various meetings of the working groups as well as the engagement groups. More than 50 cities, [and] almost all the states have been covered, and many delegates have come to India. A lot of…

SOURCE CMIE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ₹136.55 LAKH CRORE Total non-food credit in FY23, up 15 per cent over a year and 164 per cent in the past decade ₹7.1 LAKH CRORE Rise in non-food credit in the June 2023 quarter, of which the services sector contributed 39 per cent (₹2.8 lakh crore) 30 PER CENT The share of personal loans in total non-food credit in FY23; followed by the services sector (27 per cent)…

▶ “THERE IS PROBABLY a little bit of Air India in every Indian!” This declaration by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, at the unveiling of the national flag carrier’s new brand identity stands validated by the furious discussion it has sparked in the public domain. While some have been critical of the new look, or what its new owners like to call a “refreshed Air India”, others have lauded the move. No surprises there, for from children’s toys to movies, Air India continues to command a special place in popular imagination. The launch of the new brand identity and livery is the culmination of yet another milestone after the carrier placed a mega-order for 470 narrow- and widebody jets earlier this year. And as the country transforms into the world’s…

▶ THE CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA-BASED tech giant Apple is intensifying its production activities outside China. In a major shift, Apple’s hardware manufacturing partner Foxconn is all set to roll out the latest iPhone 15 from its Tamil Nadu plant, soon after the phone’s launch on September 12. Not only is this move expected to give a fillip to India’s desire of becoming a key player in Apple’s global manufacturing network, but will also burnish the credentials of the government’s Make in India programme. Incidentally, until now, the assembly of the latest iPhone would only start in India a few months after its global launch, but with this development, India’s share in total iPhone production is likely to go up from the 7 per cent it manufactured in the country till March 2023.…

UNDERSTANDING THE GEOPOLITICAL SCENARIO: The discussion began with Siddharth Vishwanath, PwC Cyber Leader, explaining the responses gathered from clients around risk in the current geopolitical scenario. He highlighted two key areas: supply chain risk and partnerships as organizations are concerned about potential sanctions on countries and the need to hedge against such risks. They are also cautious when entering into partnerships, ensuring they are not involved with entities associated with money laundering or sanctions. RISK MANAGEMENT IN GROCERIES DELIVERY BUSINESS: Kaivalya V, Founder and CTO of Zepto, discussed the risks involved in their business, which focuses on delivering groceries and essentials. While supply chain risks exist, Kaivalya emphasized the significance of security and cybersecurity due to the massive amount of customer data involved. Zepto is investing in financial controls and governance…

NITIN GUPTA, A 23-year-old engineering graduate from SVCE Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, received a job offer from Mindtree in April 2022 before its merger with L&T Infotech. Cut to August 2023, a year-and-a-half and multiple rounds of pre-onboarding training tests later, his offer has been revoked. Reason: He failed a pre-onboarding test in July 2023. “There is a disparity between the score my trainer gave me and what the management says I have scored. There is no clarity from them as to how the scores are different,” says Gupta. His plight is similar to that of several thousands of freshers from the 2022 and 2023 batches of engineering colleges who bagged jobs with IT services companies, on- or off campus, but are facing endless onboarding delays. If many have not…

LAUNCHED AMID MUCH fanfare in 2003, the New Pension Scheme was expected to herald a new dawn in India’s financial architecture. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority was set up to oversee the scheme, and by 2009 the government opened it up to all citizens—it was made mandatory for government employees recruited after January 1, 2004. The scheme, renamed the National Pension System (NPS), represented a major departure from the past, at least in the public sector, since it involved defined contributions from employees that are matched by the employer. Before NPS, the government offered defined benefits schemes that guaranteed a certain pension. But as the NPS nears its twentieth anniversary, its private sector subscriber numbers have failed to match those expectations, despite its low-cost model. Now, even in the…

MAGIC MOWER Say you’ve put in the time and effort to cultivate your patch of green. But you don’t seem to have enough time to tend to it these days. This Bluetooth-enabled lawn mower is just the thing you need. Similar to a robotic vacuum cleaner, it works through the Gardena Bluetooth app that let’s you set a protective boundary guide around the lawn, and the mower will get to work. Once it finishes, it’ll rolls itself to the charging station, where about 75 minutes of charge can power it for 65 minutes. What’s more, it’s pretty silent as well. Available on: amazon.com Seed Incubator Now you’re serious about gardening and want the perfect germination for your seeds. But that can be a challenge, especially during winter or early spring. The…

What was the problem you were grappling with? Competition in medical diagnostics has increased after Covid-19. Many new players, including pharma firms, large hospital chains, and e-commerce companies have entered the market. Some of these, especially PE-backed ones, are using heavy discounting and aggressive client acquisition incentives to scale swiftly. These companies don’t have any significant cost advantage but have decided to burn cash. It is not feasible for incumbents like us to participate in this price war. The challenge is how to handle it. Whom did you approach for advice and why? I approached one of my earlier bosses whom I worked with during my marketing stint at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL). I contacted him since HUL has dealt with many such situations of low-price competition disrupting an established…

$17.57 billion TOTAL FDI INFLOWS INTO INDIA IN Q1FY24, DOWN 21.39 PER CENT COMPARED TO Q1FY23 $58.43 billion AMOUNT OF FDI EQUITY INFLOWS MAHARASHTRA RECEIVED BETWEEN OCTOBER 2019 AND JUNE 2023 FUND FLOWS Since FY01, India has seen a nearly 18-fold increase in FDI inflows, totalling around $920 billion NOTE FDI INFLOWS INCLUDE EQUITY INFLOWS, RE-INVESTED EARNINGS AND OTHER CAPITAL; SOURCE DPIIT DEAL DESTINATIONS Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, the top three states in attracting FDI, together received 70 per cent of India’s total inflows between October 2019 and June 2023 NOTE FIGURES INDICATE SHARE IN INDIA’S TOTAL FDI EQUITY INFLOW; STATE-WISE DATA IS MAINTAINED W.E.F. OCTOBER 2019 SOURCE DPIIT TRACKING INVESTMENTS For India, Mauritius, Singapore and the US have emerged as the top sources of FDI NOTE COUNTRY-WISE FDI EQUITY…

▶ AFTER A LONG wait and multiple drafts, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, giving India its first legislation regarding citizens’ online privacy. With its passage, the country now has guidelines around how an individual’s data can be used by private or government entities. This legislation is the culmination of years of effort by the government and industry to bring a standalone data protection law in India that aims to regulate all forms of personal data collected, processed and stored in the digital format, and it is also applicable to entities operating from outside India. It introduces key concepts such as Data Fiduciary and Data Principal, and emphasises the importance of obtaining the user’s consent to process their data. Manish Sehgal,…

▶ WHETHER IT IS the Marathi film Baipan Bhari Deva or the Punjabi movie Carry on Jatta 3, a slew of recent Hollywood hits or last year’s breakout performance of Kannada films such as Kantara and 777 Charlie, Indian exhibitors are seeing a diverse array of films from different languages drawing crowds to multiplexes. The numbers say it all. According to India Box Office Report 2023 by consultancy firm Ormax Media, Hindi-language movies accounted for 37 per cent of India’s cumulative box office collections from January to June 2023; Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi and other regional languages together contributed 51 per cent, while Hollywood made up for the rest 12 per cent. The trend is also clearly visible in the leading multiplex chain Cinépolis India’s figures. “Five years ago, English…

JUNE 6 Byju’s files counter lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against the lenders of $1.2-billion Term Loan B (TLB) for ‘predatory tactics’; skips interest payment JUNE 19 The edtech major lays off more people across departments to cut costs JUNE 22 Auditor Deloitte and three nominee board members from investors Peak XV Partners, Prosus and The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative resign over disagreements; Byju’s appoints BDO as the new auditor JUNE 23 Ministry of Corporate Affairs orders an inspection of the company’s account books and lapses in governance JUNE 27 Prosus slashes Byju’s valuation to $5.1 billion from $22 billion. A Delaware court rejects TLB lenders’ plea to probe a $500-million fund transfer from a Byju’s holding entity JUNE 28 Byju’s clears provident fund payments delayed for the period between…

“THE FOUR MOST dangerous words in investing are: it’s different this time.” This oft-repeated quote in reference to the stock market was uttered by legendary investor and money manager Sir John Templeton. The mutual fund pioneer would certainly know. His Templeton Growth Fund launched in 1954 delivered 15 per cent returns annually for 38 consecutive years. The quote may well have been uttered ages ago, but it has stood the test of time. There is no market cycle—especially periods of upswings—when a large section of market experts has not uttered the same four dangerous words: it’s different this time. Interestingly, it’s no different this time, too! Both the Indian benchmark indices—the BSE Sensex and the broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange—touched their respective highs in July, and market…

ONE OF THE of strengths of the National Pension System (NPS) is its low cost. But that hasn’t helped it become as popular as it was expected to be. In an exclusive interview, Deepak Mohanty, Chairman of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), tells Business Today that sooner or later the NPS will take off because it is a good product. He speaks about why the NPS has not gained traction so far, and the efforts the PFRDA is putting in to make it successful. Edited excerpts: Let’s begin with the Atal Pension Yojana (APY). It has around 46.8 million subscribers, while the NPS has about 13 million. According to you, why is the APY more popular than the NPS? You are right, APY drives the numbers. But APY is…

SURROUNDED BY THE historic splendour of Karnataka’s Hampi, where tales of antiquity still hold sway, a modern legend, the new Mercedes-Benz GLC, takes to the road like a fish takes to water. Enveloped in this cocoon of comfort, I embark on a journey through Hampi’s enigmatic alleys and swift highways, powered by the innovative technology of this high-end SUV. The convergence of comfort and technology in this vehicle delivers a captivating driving experience that lets you go to any locale and explore it with unmatched power, amazing presence and drool-worthy élan. The GLC’s contemporary design, enhanced by the texture of fine leather and cutting-edge engineering, hints at the adventure one is embarking on every time one gets into the car. The GLC navigates effortlessly through winding roads and alleyways, with superb…