Month: January 2021

B2B eCommerce platform Udaan raises $280 million in additional financing

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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B2B eCommerce platform Udaan on Wednesday said that it has raised USD 280 million in additional financing.

The existing investors of Udaan, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital, and Tencent, participated in the funding exercise, in addition to two new investors – Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital.

The additional financing exercise takes the overall fund raised by Udaan to USD 1.15 billion.

Founded in 2016, Bengaluru-based Udaan operates across categories, including lifestyle, electronics, home and kitchen, staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys and general merchandise. It enables small manufacturers, farmers and brands to market and sell their products across the country. Its network connects over 3 million B2B users in 900 cities to over 25,000 sellers.

“The additional funds will be deployed towards continued market creation of b2b eCommerce in India, reaching out to more and more small businesses across the country and bringing benefits of eCommerce to them,” the company said in a statement.

“Some of the key areas of investment will be: continued expansion of selection of products and categories available on Udaan, furthering user experience, enhancing technology platform, expanding our SME financing capabilities and reinforcement of the supply-chain infrastructure,” it added.

Commenting on the development, Amod Malviya, Co-founder of Udaan, said “COVID-19 has accelerated the already fast digital-led evolution of highly fragmented and unorganized Indian trade/ retail industry. While at the same time, the pandemic also highlighted unique structure of Indian economy, with millions of kiranas and neighbourhood stores becoming the lifeline of our country at the time of crisis. Udaan is at the forefront of this uniquely Indian eCommerce opportunity, emerging in the last 4 years as one of the largest eCommerce platforms in India, while taking an India-first mobile-first approach to eCommerce. This financing enables us to further our journey of taking eCommerce to the depth and breadth of the country, with Udaan’s unique low-cost model for core middle India.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt extends 2019-20 ITR filing deadline till Jan 10

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Extending the deadline for the third time, the government on Wednesday allowed individuals to file income tax returns for the 2019-20 fiscal till January 10. The deadline for companies and individuals who need to get their accounts audited has been extended by 15 days till February 15, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The due date for filing income tax return (ITR) by individuals and companies was December 31, 2020, and January 31, 2021, respectively.

Over 4.54 crore ITRs for 2019-20 fiscal (the assessment year 2020-21) were filed till December 28. In the comparable period last year, 4.77 crore income tax returns were filed.

At the close of the deadline for filing ITRs without payment of late fees for fiscal 2018-19 (the assessment year 2019-20), over 5.65 crore returns were filed by taxpayers.

The income tax department tweeted that the extension in various deadline was given in view of the continued challenges faced by taxpayers in meeting statutory compliances due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Also, the due date for filing declaration under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme Vivad Se Vishwas has been extended by a month till January 31.

The deadline for filing GST annual return for 2019-20 fiscal has been extended by two months till February 28, 2021.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

HC asks SBI to maintain status quo on accounts of RCom, Reliance Telecom, Infratel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked SBI to maintain status quo with regard to accounts of Anil Ambani’s firms — RCom, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel, which have been declared by the bank as fraud accounts. Justice Prateek Jalan passed the order on a plea by erstwhile directors of the three companies challenging a 2016 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding declaration of accounts as fraud by banks.

According to the plea, the circular allows banks to declare an account as fraud without giving any prior notice or communication to the account holder against the principles of natural justice. Their lawyers told the court that several similar petitions against the circular have been filed since 2019 and the petitioners in those matters have been protected by the high court.

In view of the orders passed earlier by the high court in similar matters, Justice Jalan directed State Bank of India to ”maintain status quo till next date of hearing” with regard to the accounts of the three companies. The court further said that the respondents, including RBI and the three companies, were at liberty to file their replies to the petition by January 11 and listed the matter for hearing on January 13.

The court further said that SBI and RBI were at liberty to take any steps in the nature of an investigation or filing of complaint proceedings against the erstwhile directors and the three companies independent of the impugned action of declaring the accounts of the three companies as fraud accounts.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Closing bell: Sensex plunges over 260 points, Nifty ends below 14,150

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty ended lower Wednesday dragged by selling in IT and FMCG stocks amid mixed global cues.

The Sensex ended 63.72 points or 0.54 percent lower at 48,174.06, while the Nifty declined 53.25 points or 0.38 percent to close at 14,146.25. Nifty Midcap outperformed the benchmarks ending over 0.5 percent higher.

Among sectors, Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG fell the most over 1 percent each followed by Nifty Auto, Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank while Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty Financial Services ended in the green.

Global stocks fell on a possible Democrat triumph in Senate runoffs in the US battleground state of Georgia, as that would pave the way for President-elect Joe Biden to push through higher corporate taxes and greater regulation.

Indian conglomerate Reliance fell 2.6 percent, while consumer giant ITC shed 2.9 percent. Both stocks were among the top drags on the Nifty 50.

”Here (in domestic trading) all the good companies have already rallied…it is the laggards and underperformers which are doing catch up, like Power Grid and GAIL,” said Rusmik Oza, head of fundamental research at Kotak Securities in Mumbai. ”Their weights are not very high in the market.”

Power Grid Corporation of India and GAIL (India) rose 4.3 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Bajaj Finance ended down 1.7 percent.

Late on Tuesday, the central bank imposed a penalty of 25 million rupees on Bajaj Finance for violation of various directions, including on the company’s recovery and collection methods.

Steel Authority of India closed 2.3 percent lower after four contract workers at the state-owned company’s Rourkela steel plant in eastern India died after a suspected gas leakage incident.

Separately, a private survey on Wednesday showed growth in India’s dominant services industry continued to lose momentum in December.

(With inputs from PTI)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Axis Bank ties up with Hyundai Motor India for auto retail financing

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Private sector lender Axis Bank on Wednesday said it has tied up with Korean car maker Hyundai Motor India for auto retail financing. Axis Bank through this partnership will allow Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) customers to get auto loan sanctioned directly on the car maker’s end-to-end online retail platform ’Click to Buy’ (CTB), a release said.

This tie-up will enable customers based out of both urban and rural markets to avail car financing online in the most effective manner, the Bank said. The auto loans industry is now looking at a paradigm shift in providing customers a unified native journey right from car research to online booking, online loan sanction to closing all formalities and getting the car delivered at their doorstep, it said.

”We are delighted to partner with Hyundai Motors and make online financing a quick and hassle-free process for all customers. In the current pandemic situation, this initiative will ensure that customised finance products are digitally available to all customers,” said Sumit Bali, President and Head of Retail Lending and Payments at Axis Bank. To reinforce its commitment towards seamless digitisation, the Bank has ensured that customers can now get pre-approved loans directly, he said.

”Our partnership with Axis Bank will initiate a new beginning for the customers with the lucrative and attractive online finance deals available on the platform,” said W S Oh, Executive Director for Corporate Planning at Hyundai Motor India. Since the launch of ’Click to Buy’, in June last year, HMIL has received over seven million visitors and recorded over 47,000 registrations, he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Global stocks mixed as investors watch for US vote outcome

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Global stocks were mixed and U.S. futures declined Wednesday as investors awaited full results of a Senate runoff election that will determine whether Democrats take control of both houses of the U.S. Congress.

Benchmarks edged higher in Europe. Shares traded lower for most of the day in Asia, although markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai ended higher.

Traders are focusing on the outcome of the runoff elections in Georgia Tuesday, which will determine which party controls the Senate. Some analysts say the results could mark clear winners and losers in the stock market.

The expectation is that a Democratic sweep might lead to higher tax rates, tougher regulation on businesses and other potentially profit-crimping changes from Washington. That would put broad pressure on the stock market, with Big Tech stocks in particular perhaps attracting more regulatory scrutiny.

U.S. futures were lower on Wednesday, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.7 percent and the future for the Dow industrials 0.1 percent lower. This came after Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of the two Senate runoffs, becoming the first Black senator in the history of his state and putting the Senate majority within the partys reach.

The outcome of the race between Republican David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff was too early and close to call as votes were still being counted.

Democratic control of the Senate, White House and House of Representatives would likely make another dose of big financial support for the U.S. economy more likely.

Such stimulus could eventually set off higher inflation across the economy. Such expectations pushed Treasury yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1 percent on Wednesday from 0.95 percent Tuesday and 0.90 percent late Monday.

Germany’s DAX edged 0.1 percent higher to 13,661.65 and the CAC 40 in Paris also picked up 0.1 percent to 5,571.54. Britain’s FTSE jumped 0.8 percent to 6,665.74.

During Asian trading, Hong Kong shares yoyo’d after authorities arrested dozens of pro-democracy figures, including former lawmakers for allegedly violating a national security law by participating in an unofficial primary election last year held to increase their chances of controlling the legislature.

The Hang Seng index rebounded to close 0.2 percent higher at 27,692.30. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.4 percent to 27,055.94 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.8 percent to 2,968.21. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.1 percent to 6,607.10.

The Shanghai Composite index erased early losses to gain 0.6 percent, closing at 3,550.88.

Investors were weighing the potential impact of an executive order from President Donald Trump banning transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay and WeChat Pay in an escalation of a trade war he has been waging through most of his term. The order takes effect in 45 days, when Joe Biden will be president.

Alipay is a widely used digital wallet that is part of the empire of e-commerce billionaire and Ant Group founder Jack Ma. WeChat Pay is a rival service operated by tech giant Tencent. The others named in the order are CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate and WPS Office.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to 3,726.86, recovering about half of the index’s losses from a day earlier. Stocks of smaller companies did even better than the broader market, driving the Russell 2000 index of small-caps to a market-leading 1.7 percent gain, at 1,979.11.

The Nasdaq composite picked up 1 percent, to 12,818.96. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 percent to 30,391.60.

Investors remain optimistic that the U.S. economy will bounce back this year as more Americans receive coronavirus vaccinations. But surging infections around the world are bringing fresh lockdown orders, undermining confidence that support from central banks and governments can keep economies afloat until mass injections of COVID-19 vaccines can drive broader recoveries.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 8 cents to $50.01 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It surged 4.9 percent on Tuesday.

Brent crude, the international standard, picked up 35 cents to $53.93 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 102.78 Japanese yen from 102.70 yen late Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.2330 from $1.2301.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Looking at significant capex increase in FY22, says GAIL

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Kochi-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline, worth Rs 3,000 crore was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The 450 km pipeline is of around 12 mmscmd capacity and if the Tamil Nadu section is added then the entire line will be of 1,600 mmscmd capacity.

Manoj Jain, CMD of GAIL discussed its impact on the company.

“This portion we are connecting to Mangalore. We have started supplying gas to one of the big fertiliser plant there and we expect that the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) will also be connected very shortly,” he said.

In terms of gas volumes, he said, “We are already at the levels of the last year, we have surpassed those levels. The effect of COVID is almost gone and Q3 and Q4 are definitely going to be similar as last year or maybe slightly more than this.”

He was bullish on the capex plan going ahead. “There were some setbacks with the actual target that we set before COVID but now we are catching up and by the end of the year, we should be able to meet the entire capex target of more than Rs 5,400 crore which we have set for this year and next year in-line with the government’s vision we are also looking at significantly upping this capex.”

Crude oil at USD 50 per barrel is good for the company, he shared. “It balances our portfolio, both gas index price as well as the crude index price,” he said.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bird flu scare: Punjab issues advisory for surveillance of poultry farms, wetlands

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amid a bird flu scare, authorities in Punjab have alerted officials to keep tabs on any unusual deaths of migratory and poultry birds in the state, officials said on Wednesday. They said no case of bird flu has been reported so far in Punjab.

Punjab Animal Husbandry Director Harbinder Singh Kahlon said an advisory has been issued for ”surveillance of commercial poultry farms and backyard poultry farms to find any unusual mortality in birds”. The advisory has been sent to all 22 deputy directors of the department to ensure regular visit of field staff to commercial and backyard poultry farms in the state, he added.

In case any ”unusual mortality” in poultry birds is found, samples will be sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, to ascertain the cause, the officials said. Similarly, the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation has also issued an advisory for maintaining extra vigil around lakes and wetlands in the state, they said.

A large number of migratory birds such as gulls, reeve etc arrive at Harike Pattan in Tarn Taran every year. Other wetlands in the state are in Gurdaspur, Rupnagar and Nangal. Protocols have also been issued for collection of samples in case any migratory bird is found dead, the officials further said, adding that all possible precautions were being taken.

Notably, samples of dead migratory birds at Pong Dam Lake sanctuary in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh have tested positive for the H5N8 strain of bird flu. Four lakh poultry birds have died at 20 farms in Haryana’s Panchkula district in the past several days.

A team of experts from the RDDL collected samples from the farms on Tuesday. Panchkula’s Barwala-Raipur Rani area is one of the largest poultry belts in the country with nearly 70-80 lakh birds in more than 100 farms.

Also Read: Bird flu outbreak: Centre issues advisory, 7 states on alert; MP restricts sale of poultry birds

According to the officials, the mortality rate in poultry birds was unusually high this winter. However, there was no confirmed report of avian influenza as of now. Poultry farmers’ in Panchkula have attributed the high mortality rate in birds to extreme cold weather conditions or the disease Ranikhet.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

What do we know about Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil artery

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew, Iranian media said on Monday, amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.

Below are details about the Strait:

WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ?

• The strait lies between Oman and Iran
•  It links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond
• It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just two miles (three km) wide in either direction
• The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the Strait, including building more oil pipelines

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

• Almost a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait – some 17.4 million barrels per day (bpd) versus  consumption of about 100 million bpd in 2018, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed
• OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait
• Qatar, the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, sends almost all of its LNG through the Strait

POLITICAL TENSIONS

• The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran aimed at halting its oil exports
• Iran has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States tries to strangle its economy
• The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting commercial shipping in the area

MAJOR PAST INCIDENTS

• During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, the two sides sought to disrupt each other’s oil exports in what was known as the Tanker War
• In July 1988, the U.S. warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 aboard, in what Washington said was an accident and Tehran said was a deliberate attack
• In early 2008, the United States said Iranian vessels threatened three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait
• In July 2010, Japanese oil tanker M Star was attacked in the Strait by a militant group called Abdullah Azzam Brigades linked to al Qaeda claiming responsibility
•  In January 2012, Iran threatened to block the Strait in retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions that targeted its oil revenue in an attempt to stop Tehran’s nuclear programme
• In May 2015, Iranian ships seized a container ship in the Strait and fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker which it said damaged an Iranian oil platform
• In July 2018, President Hassan Rouhani hinted Iran could disrupt oil trade through the Strait in response to U.S. calls to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero
• In May 2019, four vessels – including two Saudi oil tankers – were attacked off the UAE coast near Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs, just outside the Strait of Hormuz
•  In January 2021, Iran seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India versus Australia Test: Hotel quarantine in “normal” Sydney is challenging but we are not annoyed, says Rahane

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India captain Ajinkya Rahane tried to douse the quarantine controversy on Wednesday, stating that his team is ”not annoyed” with strict bio-safety protocols but conceded that it was ”challenging” to be confined when life outside their five-star facility here seems to be ”normal”. There have been unconfirmed media reports that the Indian contingent has been unhappy with the quarantine protocols in Sydney where they have been confined to hotel and even stricter rules issued for venue of the fourth Test Brisbane, where they wouldn’t even move out of their respective rooms.

”We are not at all annoyed but yes there are some challenges in quarantine as life in Sydney is completely normal. We are not at all annoyed and we know what’s our priority here,” the Indian captain made it clear while fielding a series of questions on the eve of the third Test here. It is understood that the Queensland hotel will have an IPL like bio-bubble in which players can mingle. Rahane, while sidestepping on unconfirmed series pull-out threats, made it clear that the focus is on the Test match starting tomorrow at the SCG.

Players can’t be faulted for feeling a bit jaded considering they have been in Australia for the past seven weeks moving from one bubble to another but the skipper said the new normal needs to be embraced. ”We all are prepared and we want to play some good cricket. We know that life in Sydney is normal but players are stuck in their rooms which is okay. We know how to handle it and we are prepared for any kind of situation.

”It’s about being in the moment and playing some good cricket,” said India’s hero of eight-wicket victory in Melbourne. ”First thing first, we are not complaining on anything and we are just focussed on the game. Just want to start well.” While he was repeating the same answer for all the quarantine-related queries, he evaded the question about the team returning home after the completion of the third Test in Sydney.

”We as players are just focussing on this Test match and management, they will take the decision. For us, it’s all about giving our best on the field. Test match is starting tomorrow and we want to do well as a team and win the Test match,” said the non-controversial team leader. As per sources, the BCCI and CA top brass are currently engaged in a discussion on possible relaxations that the players can get in Queensland.

Also Read: India versus Australia 3rd Test: Masks mandatory for fans at Sydney Cricket Ground

”If players are together in the field then how can they just be confined to the rooms on coming back to the hotel. At least they can interact with each other and have meals together in the evening,” a BCCI source said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow