EPFO Aurangabad to recover Rs 18-crore dues from defaulting employers

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

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The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a drive to recover dues from the defaulting employers in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The regional office of EPFO in Aurangabad has issued an ultimatum to several employers to recover around Rs 18 crore in dues.

According to the data from the regional EPFO office, recovery certificates of Rs 17.94 crore were pending from these employers, The Times of India reported. The total outstanding amount to be recovered included Rs 9.31 crore towards PF, Rs 2.96 crore in interest and Rs 5.67 crore in penal damage, the report added.

EPFO decided to recover all the pending dues so that employees are not cheated of their rightful share and benefits as workers, PF Regional Commissioner Jagdish Tambe was quoted as saying.

Also read: EPFO adds 15.41 lakh net subscribers in September

According to Tambe, the organisation has initiated coercive actions, including attachment of properties, arrest and detention of big defaulters.

The officer emphasised that in cases involving criminal acts, the organisation will not hesitate to file police complaints against the defaulters or even the enterprises.

The department gave special consideration to the employer’s plea due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation but now as the situation gets back to normal, they should pay the provident fund at the earliest, Provident Fund Inspector Mukteshwar Vyas was quoted as saying in the report.

Also read: EPFO starts crediting interest to PF accounts; here’s how you can check balance

Earlier, the EPFO regional office had recovered outstanding PF dues of Rs 4.18 crore by freezing the bank accounts of Vasant Rao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University. This was the highest recovery by the EPFO’s regional office in Aurangabad.

People close to the development said the university believed that it was exempted from contributing its share of the PF. This led to a long legal battle between the varsity and EPFO where eventually the Bombay High Court gave the verdict in favour of the EPFO.

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Equitas SFB, HDFC Bank tie up to offer co-branded credit cards

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

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Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Tuesday said it has partnered with HDFC Bank to launch its new co-branded credit cards. The credit cards will be available for Equitas Small Finance Bank’s customers. There are two categories of credit cards – Excite Credit Card and Elegance Credit Card.

While Excite credit card will offer a credit limit from Rs 25,000 to Rs two lakh, Elegance offers a credit of over Rs two lakh. This first-of-its-kind partnership for HDFC Bank will enable us to extend our best-in-class offerings in the cards segment to Equitas Small Finance Bank’s customers and provide them with a highly rewarding credit card experience, HDFC Bank’s Group Head (Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking & IT) Parag Rao said.

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Equitas SFB’s Senior President and Country Head (Branch Banking – Liabilities, Products & Wealth) Murali Vaidyanathan said the new co-branded credit card proposition will facilitate seamless banking and also add value to customers with its exceptional features such as minimal cost, spend range, and rewards programme. HDFC Bank is the leading player in the payments ecosystem with a dominant share in both cards issuing and acquiring business. It has over 21 lakh acceptance points, making it among the largest facilitators of cashless payments in the country.

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India should look at a GST rate structure with 2 or 3 slabs: Deloitte’s MS Mani

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

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Goods and Services Tax (GST) fitment committee has proposed raising the slab of 5 percent to 7 percent and 18 percent to 20 percent, sources informed CNBC-TV18.

However, the group of ministers (GoMs) are yet to deliberate on the changes in rate slabs and are likely to meet on November 27 to finalise their views.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, MS Mani, Partner at Deloitte India, said that in the long term India should look at a GST rate structure which has only two or three slabs.

“We should be having fewer rates and we should be looking at a rate structure which has got two or three slabs only and that is certainly the long-term or medium-term ambition.”

Also Read: Exclusive: Fitment committee proposes raising GST slab of 5% to 7% and 18% to 20%

He said as India moves into the 5th year of GST, it is the right time to look at the products, see how they are classified and see if certain rates should be changed.

Also Read: GST rate rationalisation: Group of Ministers agree to phase out exemptions

“After GST was introduced, the rates on most of the products came down. In fact, many of the 28 percent products were brought down to 18 percent. So, if we look at it in a slightly larger perspective and as we approach the 5th year of GST, maybe this is the right time to look at the products, see how they are classified and see if certain rates should be changed, etc.”

Watch video for more.

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WhatsApp working on new audio message feature: Report

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

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WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will allow users to speed up audio messages that are sent through the app, reported WABetaInfo. Currently, WhatsApp already allows users to playback voice notes at speeds up to 1.5X or 2X.

Audio messages are going to be similar features to voice notes, with the difference being that the audio messages will be forwarded voice notes or other audio that the user did not record themselves at the time of sending.

WABetaInfo, the popular website that collates information about future WhatsApp updates, found that the feature is currently being tested on iOS devices while the Android devices are expected to get the feature sometime in the near future.

Also read: WhatsApp to add voice message feature that will let users …

“As you can see in this video, WhatsApp is working on introducing a playback speed button for forwarded voice notes. The feature has been spotted in a recent beta version of WhatsApp beta for iOS, but it’s currently under development, and it’s surely coming on the next versions of WhatsApp beta for Android as well,” the platform stated.

Playback speed control for audio messages was a long-awaited feature that many users of the Meta-owned instant messaging app have been requesting for years.

Amid the growing popularity of rival apps like Telegram and Signal, WhatsApp has been working on several new features. The instant messaging application is trying to bring in updates and features that will make the users’ experience easier and smoother.

According to reports earlier this month, WhatsApp is developing a new Community feature, giving more power to group admins. The feature is likely to give admins the power to invite new users via a Community invite link and then start messaging other members, WABetaInfo reported.

The company is also trying to increase its payment services user base in India. WhatsApp had recently sought to increase its 20-million-users UPI cap from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), reported Moneycontrol.

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Akhilesh Yadav, RLD chief meet in Lucknow, seat-sharing discussed

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

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Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chowdhury on Tuesday met here to discuss seat-sharing for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. Yadav had earlier said that his party’s alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Dal is final and only sharing of seats is to be discussed.

“Badhte Kadam,” Chowdhury said on his official Twitter handle and also posted a photograph with Yadav. Later in a tweet, the Samajwadi leader said, “Shri Jayant Chowdhury ji ke saath badlav ke ore (With Jayant for change).”

When asked, Rashtriya Lok Dal state president Masood Ahmad said that both the leaders met in the state capital and “there is a discussion on seat sharing”.

About the number of seats the RLD will be getting to fight in the polls early next year, Ahmad said it has not been finalised yet.

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5 money moves for leading a debt-free life

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

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Reckless spending or aimless borrowing can lead one to a debt trap and derail financial goals. So, it makes sense to wind up debt and establish a solid spending plan. For the same, one needs to have a proper financial strategy.

Here are key strategies that can help one in leading a debt-free life:

Never postpone credit card transactions

Credit card transactions should not be postponed. Individuals should keep in mind that delaying credit card transactions will not make them disappear, said Anshuman Narain, vice president at CashBean (PC Financial Services) while talking to CNBC-TV18.

“Individuals will only end up piling payments. Also, if they have credit card points, they should use them to shop things they would have purchased anyway, or earn cash back,” he said.

Align spending and values

The other thing to remember in order to lead debt-free life is by aligning spending and values, said Narain.

“Individuals should always pay attention to indications of overspending to avoid becoming a large spender. One may be overspending if he/she finds himself/herself falling behind on financial objectives, buying stuff out of boredom, or breaching own spending guidelines. However, by creating a healthy budget, examining credit card accounts, and attempting to develop new habits, such as cooking at home instead of eating out, one can break the pattern,” he said.

Invest the additional cash

Everyone is pleased when they receive a promotion or a bonus at work. However, it is not a good idea to keep the additional cash in a bank account that pays 2 percent or 2.5 percent interest each year. One must use the additional money wisely in order to grow it by investing it, Narain said while talking to CNBC-TV18.

Automate EMI payments

Individuals should make debt repayment the top priority by opting for an auto-debit option. Also, borrowers should try paying the outstanding amount on a credit card by the due date, and avoid rolling over the bill amount to the next billing cycle.

Create a sensible debt repayment strategy

Those who are already under a heavy debt burden can create a sensible debt repayment strategy. The first thing would be to avoid any new debt, particularly credit card debt. If it is getting difficult to pay EMIs, one can plan to sell some of the investments or non-income-generating assets and use the proceeds for debt repayment.

Many a time, lenders also offer debt restructuring options that would help borrowers to accelerate debt repayment.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Explained: Why inflation rates are increasing across the globe

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

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The cost of food and other essential commodities continues to climb in the United States, as the inflation rate has reached a 31-year high. In October, the inflation rate remained above 5 percent for the fifth straight month, according to a report in The World Street Journal. The consumer-price index (CPI) rose by 6.2 percent in October since the previous year in the country.

Globally, the situation remains similar to most countries facing an increase in the cost of food, oil and other essential goods while wholesale prices also continue to increase.

Also read: Explained: What fans US inflation fears

What is inflation?

In simple terms, inflation is the rate of increase in the general price level of any economic system. It is calculated by comparing the price of certain goods and commodities like food, energy and fuel each year. Most central banks prefer to have a relatively stable yet positive level of inflation since it is better than the alternative of a recession.

A relative level of inflation makes people invest their money in the economy since bank interest rates remain low. Inflationary pressure is often caused by high demand and excessive cash in the economy. Many experts believe that current inflationary pressure is due to the fiscal stimuli that have increased the amount of cash while supplies remain low due to global supply chain disruptions.

Also read: Inflation, high inflation, hyperinflation, deflation: Know the difference

What is causing the inflation right now?

The current bout of global inflation is being caused by two strings of factors. On the supply side, prices of commodities like food and fuel are increasing due to the global conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labour shortages, extreme weather events, breakdown of supply chains and other factors are driving up the prices of food items. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) food price index, which tracks the prices of the most traded food commodities in the world, was at 123.5 points in July against 127.4 points in August. Prices of food in August were 32.9 percent higher than the previous year.

Also read: World food prices at decade highs; here’s why

Depleted reserves, booming economic recovery, and under capacity production are some of the additional factors that are driving up the prices of fuel across the globe as well. Coal shortages in Asia, natural gas shortages in Europe and a shortage of petrol across the globe are contributing to increased costs.

On the demand side, the global economy is flush with cash. With cash stimulus being given out to prop up the economy during the COVID-19 lockdowns, many households had excess cash to spend. Restrictions imposed on many businesses and industries also meant that the excess cash was being used to purchase the only available yet scarce resources. In light of shortened supply and heightened demand, the prices of such resources increased rapidly.

Why is inflation worrisome?

Inflation can prove to be really harmful at high levels when wealth gets quickly eroded by rapidly rising costs. Venezuela is currently in a state of hyperinflation with an inflation rate in the thousands of percent, while countries like Sudan, Zimbabwe and Lebanon have very high inflation rates as well.

In such economies, the prices of goods can quickly spiral out of the purchasing power of all but a fraction of the entire society. Even at lower figures, inflation can start eroding savings that individuals have built up over the years.

What experts have to say

While the current inflation is a cause for worry for many and some even tout the current phase as a prelude to a period of dangerous hyperinflation, most economists agree that the inflation rate will begin to taper out by 2022. What is not certain, however, is the level that the inflation rates will settle at after they stop increasing.

Also read: Hyperinflation or deflation? How Cathie Woods refuted Jack Dorsey’s doomsday prediction

With central banks expected to hike interest rates sometime in the near future, a move that drastically reduces the inflation rate as more people prefer to accrue increased interest on their savings and deposits, the current period of inflation is expected to be transitionary for a short period, experts observe.

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The Business Value of SD-WAN for Retailers Pursuing Digital Transformation

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

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IDC OPINION

For retailers, the branch is where customers are served, where business is transacted, where revenue is earned, and where the brand is established and enhanced. Applications and data are increasingly valuable in these environments, and the network is the critical conduit that connects applications and data to users, including customers, employees, and partners. In the era of digital transformation (DX), amid the adoption of cloud-centric technologies and operating models, the WAN is the network that most
requires modernization to achieve better business outcomes and competitive differentiation in retail. In this white paper, IDC examines the need for software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) in the retail industry — why it is needed, the challenges it resolves, the benefits it provides, and the use cases it addresses.
We also consider how Dell and VMware have responded to the needs of retailers with SD-WAN solutions that align with key benefits and business outcomes.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Digital transformation has been a persistent imperative for the retail industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified the criticality of DX. Retail leaders are boldly doubling down on DX, while other retailers have struggled with moving from early stages of reaction to the crisis to tactically addressing gaps that have been exposed. This unexpected crisis is scrambling everyone’s DX strategies and priorities. As retailers grapple with the present crisis on top of ongoing disruption in the retail industry, five key trends emerge: first, the need to modernize — futureproof — the retail business and operations; second, the need to better manage and capitalize on data-driven insights and process automation; three, the acceleration of a pragmatic DX focusing on more robust omni-channel services; fourth, the rise of contactless business; and fifth, the acceleration of greater product assortment. The advance and adoption of digital technologies by consumers and companies alike, together with the relentless pursuit of greater market presence and operational efficiency, is driving an acceleration of business and digital innovation that few retailers can ignore. Yet nearly 80% of retailers in a recent IDC survey said that they have done little to no work in applying technology as part of DX or are just
beginning or at an early stage. Recent heightened industry disruption has only further exposed gaps in process, operations, and technological support that retailers need to address in order to be competitive in the retail sector (see IDC’s Industry IT and Communications Survey, July 2020, n = 211). The current crisis only emphasizes the need to engage DX and continual innovation while focusing on operational efficiency and getting customers back into the store.
©2021 IDC #US47208420 2 The pressing needs for operating efficiency and costs control, driven by the hypercompetitiveness in the retail industry and the increasing pressures of omni-channel commerce, have now grown even
more pressing. Cosmic shifts in the retail industry, which were already present, are now being compounded by the pandemic. Retailers that are making their way through the pandemic are learning anew the need for IT agility and operational efficiency and resiliency. More reliance on the cloud will surely be one outcome. A renewed focus on software-defined infrastructure will also be needed to support a critical need in the retail industry for easier and simpler control of an increasingly complex infrastructure. New imperatives for DX, and rapidly increasing enterprise efficiency and operational agility, will bring accelerated adoption of SD-WAN to the retail industry.

Benefits of SD-WAN for Retailers

The benefits stemming from the use of SD-WAN come both from the potential business impact that can have on the retail business and directly from inherent technological advantages that SD-WAN has over competing technologies. Customer experience is a central focus for retailers. The branch or remote site is where customers are served, where business takes place, where transactions occur, and where the brand is experienced. The advanced technology of SD-WAN also offers significant improvements over legacy network technologies because of its software-based design, cost efficiencies, and other technical improvements. Retailers are responding to unprecedented industry challenges requiring heightened operational and IT agility and greater innovation. To effectively address these challenges, retailers will turn to increased use of automation and greater leverage of cloud-based technologies in increasingly complex hybrid cloud environments running workloads that are increasingly of high bandwidth and latency sensitive. In a recent IDC survey, retailers were asked to name their top technology initiatives currently active in their organization; the top initiatives named were 3D printing, IoT, business analytics, augmented reality, mobile applications, and mobile devices. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, other technologies such as digital workspaces, fresh investments in network equipment, converged safety and security technologies, expanded use of video, mobile ordering, and contactless transactions will rise in prominence, with edge and 5G on the horizon.

With the confluence of these trends, the drivers for SD-WAN become clear:
▪ Need for better operational agility
▪ Pressure to control retail operational costs
▪ Accommodate the rapid expansion of work-from-home workforce
▪ Need to manage IT environments that are growing in complexity
▪ Ability to manage bandwidth constraints from legacy network technologies
▪ Adoption of higher-demand applications and technologies

The drivers for SD-WAN are differentiated by retail size and sector. Large enterprises are deploying SD-WAN across the enterprise to address expanding IT portfolios that require more agile, secure, and reliable network bandwidth that can grow with their adoption of more demanding and higher performing applications and technologies. The higher functionality of SD-WAN also gives the smaller retailer greater agility, better use and allocation of bandwidth, cost efficiencies over MPLS, and better handsoff management — important for retailers with limited IT resources. The ability to quickly scale up and scale down operations is proving to be a key dimension of retail agility. Retailers are finding that SD-WAN can significantly accelerate the ability to set up required network capabilities. At a time when speed of operationalizing a retail operation more quickly means that customer traffic and store revenue and profits can be realized faster, turning to SD-WAN for faster deployment of network capabilities can prove to be a game changer. For new store openings as well as expansion of operations, retailers are also leveraging SD-WAN to
avoid MPLS connections that are more costly when the retailer finds that its network needs have exceeded the available capacity of an existing MPLS network. When the retailer is expanding and looking at the cost of deploying additional network capacity, the cost comparison between SD-WAN and MPLS for the additional capacity can be significant. This is before even factoring in the benefits of the move to a more software-defined WAN capability.

An added complexity for retailers has been the need to provision networks for a base of work-fromhome users, which has exploded within the past year. Retailers have needed to rapidly expand network connectivity to a remote work force that needs seamless and secure access to the retail enterprise resources. As retailers have deployed more technologies for better real-time operational visibility and to deliver a richer experience to both employees and customers, retailers are also finding that legacy networks were not designed for the technologies being deployed today. Increasing use of video for training,
security, safety, and clienteling needs reliable, assured high bandwidth. And the network needs to be smarter about optimizing data traffic and distinguishing, for example, between backup data flows and payment or POS transactional data. SD-WAN’s ability to optimize data traffic flows and deliver an optimized application experience has become increasingly important. The retail industry has a need to simplify the IT infrastructure and engage more automation to better monitor and control complexity where environments are resistant to simplification. In pursuit of these two mandates — where possible
and where this is difficult, simplifying the job of managing environments of increasing complexity — retailers are looking for ways to put more and enhanced functions onto a fewer number of devices with better software-defined management and control. SD-WAN business benefits should also include providing cost-effective delivery of business applications, satisfying the requirements of the modern branch/remote site, accommodating SaaS and cloud-based applications and services, and improving branch-IT efficiency through automated service provisioning. Another critical benefit that is derived from SD-WAN involves meeting the demands of application SLAs, which directly results in greater productivity and business agility. To be sure, a wellarchitected SD-WAN solution can provide improved network and application performance and availability, especially in relation to cloud applications and services, while also providing cost-effective bandwidth. These benefits should not come at the cost of security, which must be maintained and enhanced in the context of SaaS and other cloud applications.
From a technical and operational perspective, SD-WAN solutions offer compelling value for their ability to simplify and automate WAN operations, improve applications traffic management, and dynamically and securely deliver on the cost-efficiency benefits across the hybrid WAN. SD-WAN solutions make it possible to run real-time and business-critical applications over costeffective broadband internet services without performance or security compromises. These solutions should also provide intelligent path selection on a per-application basis, secure zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), and centralized configuration and automated management. Through these capabilities, SD-WAN solutions should deliver significant cost reductions to retailers that deploy them. Operationally, SD-WAN offerings should facilitate a shift away from device-level configuration and management to application-driven to centralized networkwide management, allowing valuable IT resources to be redeployed dynamically and elastically in response to business needs. In addition to capex and opex cost savings, SD-WAN should respond to the increasingly urgent requirements for agility, increased business productivity, and enhanced customer engagement. Through its ability to employ automation to consistently comply with and enforce business intent, SDWAN must securely and reliably connect users to applications regardless of where they reside, delivering an exceptional digital experience while meeting SLAs.

SD-WAN delivers additional advantages:

• Accelerated zero-touch branch network deployments. With automation and business policybased orchestration, these automated capabilities accelerate provisioning processes, speed deployments, and contribute significantly to operational efficiencies and cost savings. They also speed time to revenue markedly, enabling retailers to provision networks for retail sites far
  more quickly — in minutes or hours rather than days or weeks.
• Application availability and performance. By leveraging broadband internet and even 4G/LTE or 5G at the branch, SD-WAN can significantly enhance application availability and overall application performance. This can be achieved by bonding multiple underlay links into a single, robust business-intent overlay that delivers high performance and availability. In the case of an underlying link failure, availability is maintained by instantaneous failover to other available links. In addition, SD-WAN can automatically and intelligently correct for errors resulting from dropped or out-of-order packets.
•  Simplifying WAN architecture and management. Through application policy-based control and an overlay architecture that abstracts the underlying network transports, SD-WAN can bring much needed architectural simplicity to provisioning, managing, and supporting the WAN. This simplification can also extend to removing or consolidating network functions at the branch
  (e.g., routers and security appliances) while enhancing overall performance and operational agility.
• Reducing dependence on expensive MPLS connectivity. Through its capacity to use broadband internet and LTE at the branch, SD-WAN enables the reliable delivery of services over all available links, thereby reducing dependence on MPLS — lowering costs while keeping pace with changing business needs.
• Increasing IaaS and SaaS performance. The inherent ability of SD-WAN to support the hybrid WAN use cases means users can connect directly to cloud applications using the internet. The SD-WAN securely and automatically steers traffic on a per-application basis, eliminating the requirement to backhaul all traffic to the enterprise datacenter. This optimizes IaaS and SaaS
  performance at the branch by minimizing latency, and it also reduces the amount of bandwidth required to carry traffic to the datacenter.
• Faster troubleshooting and remediation. SD-WAN’s actionable analytics and real-time visibility can be used to quickly identify and isolate problems that affect the performance and availability of sites, leading to much faster troubleshooting and remediation of problems. The result is that retailers remain up and running longer, generate revenue, and serve customers.
  In addition, SD-WAN can give customers the option of removing legacy routers from the branch, reducing cost and complexity. Organizations with multiple geographically dispersed locations can leverage SD-WAN to not only achieve the aforementioned use cases but also reduce their capex on
  branch-based network infrastructure.

CHALLENGES/OPPORTUNITIES

The multiple challenges that retailers face have compounded in the past year, and these challenges promise to change the face of the retail industry for years to come. As the industry looks to emerge from the current crisis to the “next normal,” large retailers are able to double down on DX, reenergize
innovation within their enterprises, and reinvest in new technology priorities. Smaller retailers that are still climbing up the DX maturity curve are identifying the business and process gaps exposed by the current crisis and struggling to make tactical investments to address them. What all retailers have in common is a relentless pursuit of greater operational efficiencies and the need to innovate around the customer experience. DX strategies remain critical to retail business success, perhaps more than ever now, as retail businesses increasingly understand the importance of investing in and implementing modernized IT infrastructure that provides a flexible and responsive
foundation for proactive business resilience. In this context, SD-WAN technology plays a salient and indispensable role, ensuring that the network —
which has effectively become the digital nervous system that supports critical applications and services — remains fit for purpose even amid trying circumstances and unforeseen events. Despite many demands and the exceptional circumstances in which retailers have been compelled to operate
and thrive, SD-WAN should be viewed as a key IT infrastructure investment that retailers should assess as part of their next-generation infrastructure strategies.

CONCLUSION

For the retail industry reeling from industry disruption compounded by the pandemic crisis, SD-WAN delivers future-ready software-defined benefits of simplified management and control and reliable network bandwidth. As the retail industry traverses and emerges from the current crisis, the increasing
IT sophistication of the retail IT environment will continue. The need for both operational efficiency and next-generation retail IT infrastructure will increase. In addition, the need for more automated, handsoff management and control over the IT environment will also increase. Retailers can expect to increasingly run up against network constraints as they adopt the evermore high-performance applications and technologies needed to deliver competitive customer experiences. Cost pressures in the retail industry will persist.
The capabilities that SD-WAN delivers are compelling for retailers of all sizes. While specific drivers behind SD-WAN will be stronger among some retailers than for retailers of different sizes or in different sectors, the benefits gained from SD-WAN are shared across all retailers. Retailers are looking for simplified WAN architecture and management, as the complexity of IT environments puts more strain on limited IT resources. The need for considerably more business and IT agility can be enhanced by SD-WAN’s capabilities for zero-touch branch network deployments that deliver network
capabilities with greater speed and agility. Deploying SD-WAN, as retailers anticipate network bandwidth constraints from higher-performance applications and workloads, can remediate bottlenecks before they happen. The cost efficiencies of SD-WAN can deliver cash to the bottom line as SD-WAN displaces or eliminates the deployment of expensive network technologies. As retailers increasingly capitalize on the advantages of cloud technologies in the retail environment, SD-WAN facilitates critical branch-to-cloud application traffic. DX is the foundation for next-generation retail; SD-WAN will be a critical foundation for next-generation retail infrastructure. Dell and VMware are assertively addressing the retail challenges and opportunities with a joint solution that is positioned to be a strong challenger in the SD-WAN sector

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

Commodity Champions: Experts discuss business of food, production going green

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

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The cost of your next meal could keep rising, according to experts who fear that disruptions to the global supply chain that began with the pandemic are set to persist. Labour shortage is also a reason for concern as the global system continues to see competition for more workers. Strained labour forces have led to plants not running at full capacity, constraining food production.

The situation is the same on the agricultural side of food production, where urbanisation and industrialisation have led to less sowing. This trend has been seen in India where low agri yields are now a reality, with India’s level 47 percent less than that of China. These concerns have led to fears of structural inflation and the search for new themes to improve production.

So, what can be employed to control the situation? To discuss this, CNBC-TV18’s Manisha Gupta spoke to Varun Deshpande, MD of Good Food Institute India, and Anand Ramanathan, Partner at Deloitte India.

Talking on smart protein, Deshpande said, “There is a specific segment on which we work, which is known as smart protein. The reason that we focus on this area is driven by a lot of the things that you already mentioned. Especially in light of the COVID 19 pandemic, there has been increased cognizance of the burdens that our protein supply places on the planet. We currently get our proteins, that is meat, eggs, dairy, etc., from an industrial animal supply. What a lot of these smart protein producers are doing is, they are switching the source of proteins. They are producing plant-based or fermentation-derived or cell-cultivated meat, eggs and dairy. So, the idea here is to give people what they want, something that tastes the same or better than the foods that they are used to eating, but costs the same or less in terms of its impact on the planet, on public health, etc.”

He added, “Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an area that is incredibly exciting. There is vast orders of magnitude, fewer requirements in terms of land, less water use, greenhouse gas emissions, non-renewable energy, etc. It is really something that we need to take a step back and think about how we are going to actually feed 10 billion people by the year 2050. One-sixth of those people are going to be in India. So, the topic of this discussion today is very pertinent — from now through 2050 — and if we are going to do that, we absolutely have to think about using technology and using these tools at our disposal to switch our source of protein.”

On investment required for producing smart proteins, Deshpande said, “We are at the very beginning of a decade-long journey. What is really exciting is that globally, this sector is soaring. So, this is really the leading edge. It is at the vanguard of food innovation globally. In 2020, we saw about $3.1 billion of investment across all categories of smart protein globally, and in 2021, through three quarters (this figure) has (been) eclipsed at about $3.4 billion. Very little of that has come into India. So, we are seeing that this is emerging very rapidly.”

On food demand, Ramanathan said, “In terms of the future of food, following the pandemic, there have been changes in consumption. People have become more oriented towards health, around convenience, especially ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat foods, and sustainability. These have become really important, particularly from the Gen Z and millennial standpoints. So, what we have seen is that this consumption change, along with rising incomes, has led to changes in the traditional food pyramid in terms of dietary patterns. There is more focus now on proteins, on fresh produce, on processed food, and therefore, we have also seen greater levels of organisation within different food sub-segments. So, whether it is staples, a whole host of new staples, I mean poha, daliya, or red rice, a lot of these are getting organised, similar to what we saw with spices and dairy in the past, where there was a shift from unorganised play to branded play.”

“Going forward, we will see that there will be increased demand for processed food, and hence, the outlook for the sector looks very good. However, certain changes need to happen. There is inflation, and it has had an impact on both the commodities because in food about 50 to 60 percent of the cost comes from the raw material, and hence commodities and sourcing of commodities at the right prices will be an important success factor, along with keeping the cost of packaging under control, because these are all going to be areas where we will see inflationary pressure.”

On India’s production and productivity, Ramanathan said, “Now a lot of these countries are looking at their own food security programmes. So, to that extent, there will be the opportunity for Indian companies to work together with these countries, to help them with food security. But it will also lead to issues around availability, particularly in areas that are growing a lot quicker. So, given the changes in the food consumption patterns, pulses, oilseeds, these are all going to be areas where India already imports a lot and going forward, we are going to be seeing further stress on supply, because demand is growing. Again, we will see a lot of substitutes emerge. So, if you look at animal protein itself, we will have alternative proteins come into play. If we look at oilseeds, there will be an effort to look at other sources of fats beyond plant-based oil. Hence, these are all going to be areas where we will see innovation happen and new products emerge.”

Watch accompanying video for more.

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Explainer: The rising dollar index and what it means for other asset classes

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The dollar index continues to rise as it outperforms other currencies. The index is already trading at multi-month highs after breaking through previous resistance levels. It has surged to over 96, its highest level since June 2020, crossing the previous technical barrier of 94.50. While bulls expect the two-week rally to continue towards 98, the next barrier of 96.50 threatens to erode all gains made.

The reinstatement of Jeremy Powell as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and rising inflation are some of the reasons behind the new surge. Further, the steady stance on interest rates of many major central banks has driven down other major currencies.

Also read: History in the making- Dollar index at 100!

But as market analysts and traders keep an eye on the index, what exactly is the dollar index and what does it mean for everyday investors?

What is the dollar index?

Established in 1973, the US dollar index is used to measure the value of the US currency against the euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, British pound, and Swedish krona.

The euro is almost 57.6 percent of the basket followed by the yen at 13.6 percent. The pound has 11.9 percent weightage, Canadian dollar 9.1 percent, Swedish krona 4.2 percent and Swiss franc has 3.6 percent weightage.

Why does the dollar index rise?

As the recovery of the global economy still remains in flux over concerns of unchecked inflation, the US dollar has emerged as a safe and reliable bet for investors to park their money. The greenback has also surged on the back of expectations of a more hawkish stance of the Federal Reserve, that may soon raise interest rates. Rising interest rates increase the value of dollar-related assets like treasury bonds, and yield bonds.

Banks like HSBC, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase have already forecast further gains for the US dollar.

Impact on other asset classes

When the value of the dollar rises, the value of all underlying assets related to the dollar also rises. These include the stocks of American companies, treasury bonds, US government bonds, currency bonds and others.

Additionally, for non-US economies, the companies that export goods to the US also see a rise in their valuation. This is because as these companies earn in dollars, they are able to exchange it for larger amounts of their local currencies. For instance, IT and pharma companies from India benefit from a stronger dollar

Also read: Is US yield curve directing outlook on dollar index, euro and pound?

For corporations that either import goods or raw materials from the US, the reverse is true. Since they have to spend more to get the same amount of material, their valuations fall.

Since the price of crude oil is also fixed against the dollar, a stronger dollar also means an increase in the cost of oil. For oil importers and Indian refineries, this means a higher bill when the dollar is stronger.

A stronger dollar also means that there is less interest from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in emerging markets as their returns become diluted due to the dollar’s dominance.

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