Business Today 1 October 2023

In 2016, Mukesh Ambani’s Jio stormed into the telecom space with a predatory pricing strategy and a network that changed the game for the sector and forced competitors to rush to the drawing board. India became known for low data prices, and other players had to follow suit. Now, seven years on, Ambani is aiming for an encore, this time in the highly competitive world of financial services, through the newest member of the Reliance stable, Jio Financial Services (JFS). Already, after the demerger and subsequent listing of JFS on the stock exchanges, the fledgeling JFS commands a market capitalisation of around ₹1.6 lakh crore—bigger than several public sector banks and next only to that of State Bank of India (SBI). With a net worth of ₹1.2 lakh crore, Ambani…

DATA AS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2023; SOURCE SACNILK.COM; ORMAX MEDIA, DHISHOOM CINEMAS, MEDIA REPORTS ₹7,504 CRORE All-India gross box-office collections from 137 movies released so far this year, with more than 20 per cent earned since August 2 MOVIES that crossed the ₹500 crore-mark in gross collections in 2023—Pathaan and Gadar 2 ₹10-11K CRORE The expected gross box-office collections for 2023, compared to ₹10,637 crore in 2022…

Note At 2020-21 prices; Destitutes: Annual income of less than ₹1.25 lakh; Aspirers: Annual income from above ₹1.25 lakh to ₹5 lakh; Middle Class: Annual income from above ₹5 lakh to ₹30 lakh; Rich: Annual income above ₹30 lakh; FY31 and FY47 are projected figures; Source PRICE’s ICE 3600 Surveys ₹14.9 LAKH ($12,400) The expected per capita income in India by FY47 compared to ₹2 lakh (around $2,500) in FY23, per SBI Research data 78% Expected workforce (565 million) with taxable base in FY47 compared to 59.1 per cent (313 million) in FY23, as per SBI Research data THE BILLION MEMBER CLUB India’s middle-class population is expected to grow to over a billion by FY47 THE INCOME PYRAMID Approximately 61 per cent of the country’s population might have an annual income…

▶ AFTER A PROLONGED period of underperformance starting in January 2022, the information technology (IT) sector is back in fashion among fund managers. Several asset management companies (AMCs), including Bandhan Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, and Quant Mutual Fund, have recently launched Nifty IT index funds or technology-focussed funds, per updates from the mutual fund industry. While most growth stocks had a downturn in sentiment in 2022 as a result of the global central banks starting a cycle of rate hikes, technology stocks in particular experienced a severe decline. Consequently, the Nifty IT index tumbled 15 per cent since January 2022, despite an 11 per cent recovery since the beginning of 2023. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50, in comparison, managed to gain around 16 per cent between…

▶ AS TRADITIONAL CARMAKERS ramp up their electric vehicles play with a view to eventually replace diesel- and petrol-run vehicles, a new brand identity makes much more sense rather than having a mixed portfolio under the same old brand. With that in mind, Tata Motors—India’s largest EV maker—has said that its EVs will be branded under the ‘.ev’ suffix, adding that going forward, ‘Tata.ev’ will be the overall brand identity for its EV business. With this, Tata Motors aims to differentiate its ICE and EV versions of the same model for the customer. THE NEW ELECTRIC BRAND IDENTITIES ARE EXPECTED TO GENERATE MORE INTEREST AMONG CUSTOMERS Its close competitor in the SUV space, Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) newly-set-up subsidiary Mahindra Electric Automobiles Limited (MEAL), too, aims to create a new visual…

▶ THE RAILWAY BOARD’S first woman Chairperson and CEO Jaya Varma Sinha loves challenges. Despite securing a good rank in the civil services examination, she chose to join the Indian Railway Traffic Service in 1988, a male bastion at the time and which, to date, requires its staff to be on call around the clock. In a career spanning more than 35 years, the 60-year-old has worked in several areas spanning operations, commercial, IT and vigilance. Over the years, Sinha has received many accolades for her work. She recently made headlines for her crisis communication skills after the Balasore (Odisha) train crash that killed 295 and injured over 1,200. THE RAILWAYS FACES THE TWIN TASKS OF ENSURING THE HIGHEST SAFETY STANDARDS AND MAXIMISING REVENUES As Railway Board chief, she must…