Ashok Leyland and RIL unveil India’s first hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck

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

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Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) & Ashok Leyland, on Monday, unveiled India’s first Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) powered Heavy Duty truck. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the vehicle in Bangalore at India Energy Week.

N Saravanan, President and Chief Technology Officer of Ashok Leyland, in a statement, said, “Working with RIL, we have once again demonstrated our technological leadership, and our commitment to the Clean Mobility Mission. Having one of the best R&D teams in the country, we want to continue our path to innovate and leverage new technologies to be a leader in sustainable and environment friendly mobility.”

Hinduja Group’s flagship commercial vehicle manufacturing company, in a statement, said, Ashok Leyland, along with RIL, has been developing this unique technology over the past year and has been under test since August 2022.

Ashok Leyland, with this new hydrogen-powered truck, aims to make India’s alternate fuel segment self-reliant and become one of the flag bearers of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign.

The company’s new H2-ICE heavy-duty truck range is powered by Hydrogen fuel and is based on its conventional diesel-based combustion engine. Ashok Leyland claims that this would help quicker migration to cleaner energy sources at a relatively lower cost delta.

Also Read: Despite rising 10% in January, two-wheeler sales still 13% below pre-pandemic level

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

Valentine’s Day: From Rose Day to Kiss Day, what each day signifies in the week

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

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Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love on February 14. However, the celebrations begin a week early with Valentine’s Week. Each day of Valentine’s week has a name and corresponding romantic gestures.

Here’s all you need to know about the seven days of Valentine’s week.

February 7 – Rose Day

Valentine’s week begins Rose Day on February 7. As the name suggests, on this day, people send roses to their loved ones, crushes, or partners to express their love, gratitude and care. Even the colour of the rose holds significance on this day, for instance, a red rose signifies love, yellow friendship, pink appreciation and admiration, and a yellow rose with red tips means one’s feelings of friendship have developed into love.

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February 8 – Propose Day

February 8 is celebrated as Propose Day. As the name suggests, on this day, people confess their feelings to their partners or crushes. People even pop the big question, asking their love interest to marry and be with them for the rest of their lives.

February 9 – Chocolate Day

The third day is celebrated as Chocolate Day to do away with the bitter and sour feelings in relationships. On this day, people exchange chocolates with their crushes or partners and pamper them by gifting them their favourite collection of chocolates or handmade candies.

February 10 – Teddy Day

The fourth day of Valentine’s week is celebrated as Teddy Day, and it is a celebration of adorable things. On this day people gift cuddly teddy bears or adorable soft toys to express their love.

ALSO READ: IRCTC offers affordable online tourism package to Andamans for Valentine’s Day

February 11 – Promise Day

The fifth day of Valentine’s Week is celebrated as Promise Day, and on this day, lovers promise to stay together through thick and thin, strengthen their relationship, support each other, and more.

February 12 – Hug Day

The sixth day is Hug Day and on this day people comfort their loved ones by hugging them. A hug is a great way to express love and affection when words fail to express our feelings for someone. A hug is an expression of physical touch that can help your loved ones know you are there for them and fix emotional cracks, doubts or anxiousness about the future.

February 13 – Kiss Day

The final day before Valentine’s Day is celebrated as Kiss Day on February 13. People in love seal their relationship and the celebrations of Valentine’s Week with a kiss on this day or show affection for their partner with this act of love.

February 14 – Valentine’s Day

Finally, on February 14, lovers across the globe mark the day of love as Valentine’s Day. On this day couples celebrate by going out on dates, exchanging gifts, spending quality time together, doing romantic gestures for each other, preparing handmade gifts or surprises for each other, and more.

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

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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

Indian Railways passengers can now order food via WhatsApp on select trains

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

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Passengers travelling by Indian Railways will now be able to order food via WhatsApp on selected trains. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) on Monday announced the WhatsApp initiative to make its e-catering services more customer-centric.

The Ministry of Railways, in a statement said that the IRCTC’s new e-catering services would be offered via the website www.catering.irctc.co.in as well its e-catering app ‘Food on Track’ and customers would also be able to place their orders via the WhatsApp number +91-8750001323.

The ministry added that the IRCTC’s e-catering service, which serves around 50,000 meals daily, will be implemented via WhatsApp in two stages.

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In the first phase, the customers will receive a WhatsApp message comprising the website details asking them if they want to opt for the e-catering service.  With this option, they can book meals from restaurants available at stations en route, directly via the e-catering website, without having to download the catering app.

In the next phase, the WhatsApp number will enable interactive two-way communication for the passengers, where an AI-powered chatbot will handle their e-catering queries and help them book meals.

At present, the WhatsApp service has been implemented on selected trains. The ministry added that it will enable the same on other trains, based on feedback and suggestions from the customers.

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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

Regulations regarding composite licence still evolving, says Star Health

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

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Star Health and Allied Insurance Company is planning to foray into life insurance business with focus on protection products. For the same, the health insurance firm is likely to apply to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for composite insurance license. Once approval is given, the firm will be able to look at creating complimentary product offering.

Currently, Star Health Insurance operates in the standalone health insurance business.

The insurance company also reported earnings for the December-ended quarter with gross written premium rise of 14.5 percent and the net premium earned up over 13 percent this quarter.

Also Read: Star Health Insurance plans to foray into life insurance biz — composite license proposal to be taken in Budget 2023

He said, “Regulations are still evolving and once they come into play, we will evaluate that. We are looking at opportunities that new regulations will provide to our company and our business. We will look at it positively when we get an opportunity.”

On earnings, Roy expressed confidence about the company’s ability to achieve more than 20 percent growth in the financial year 2023.

“This year, we are very confident that we will do 20 percent plus growth and next year onwards, though I don’t want to give future looking direction statements, but the way the business is poised to grow we should be able to do better than that,” he said.

One of the measures that Star Health Insurance has taken to improve its financial performance is a price hike in one of its leading products. Roy stated that this move will help to improve the loss ratios and that the loss ratios for the financial year 2023 are expected to be in the range of 63-65 percent.

Also Read: Budget 2023 | Revenue secretary says can’t allow insurance to become investment

In addition, Roy highlighted the company’s aim to achieve a 20 percent contribution from the banc assurance channel. He expressed hope that the company will be able to end the year with a combined ratio of less than 95 percent.

Overall, Star Health Insurance appears to be well positioned for growth in the coming year, with a focus on improving financial performance through price hikes and increased contributions from the banc assurance channel.

For more details, watch the accompanying video

Also, catch all the live updates on markets with CNBC-TV18.com’s blog

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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 opposes Hindustan Zinc’s buyout of Vedanta’s global zinc assets: Exclusive

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

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The government has opposed the move of Hindustan Zinc buying out Vedanta’s global zinc assets, sources with knowledge of the matter have told CNBC-TV18. The objection has also put the potential Offer for Sale (OFS) of Hindustan Zinc in the current financial year hanging in the balance.

Sources tell CNBC-TV18 that the Mines Ministry will raise an objection to this issue in Hindustan Zinc’s annual general meeting.

During Vedanta’s quarterly earnings last month, the company had announced that it will transfer its international zinc assets to its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc for $2.98 billion. Based on the current shareholding patter, Vedanta holds 64.92 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc.

The transaction is supposed to unlock value, monetise the international zinc assets and also create substantial synergies for Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta had said in a post-earnings announcement.

Sources also said that Hindustan Zinc went ahead with the exchange filing on this move despite government directors on its board objecting to this $2.98 billion buyout during the company’s board meeting as well. The government currently holds 29.5 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc, which it plans on divesting in the current financial year.

The government is of the opinion that Vedanta’s decision is against the rights of minority shareholders and also violates corporate governance norms, according to the sources, who further added that any Offer for Sale of Hindustan Zinc is only possible after this matter is resolved.

“If I were a shareholder of Hindustan Zinc, I would feel that the promoter is benefitting at my expense,” Deepak Shenoy, founder of Capitalmind told CNBC-TV18. He believes that this is not a great transaction in the realm of corporate governance and had the size been smaller, it would have been much more palatable.

“I am happy the government is objecting, they have 30 percent (stake). Hopefully, they can act in time to protect their own shareholding and the cash that they see in the business. I think beyond that it will be a boardroom battle, perhaps a courtroom battle as well at some point, but I think somebody does need to oppose this transaction,” he said.

Reacting to this newsbreak, shares of Vedanta fell to the day’s low, declining as much as 2 percent to Rs 305. On the other hand, shares of Hindustan Zinc have recovered from the day’s low, currently trading 1.2 percent lower at Rs 344.75.

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

Medplus Health Services concentrating on Tier-2 and 3 cities to achieve faster breakeven

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

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Pharmacy major MedPlus Health Services plans to sustain its growth by expanding its number of stores, with most of the recent expansion taking place in tier-2 and 3 cities. The company believes tier-2 cities are particularly favourable for the company in terms of achieving faster breakeven levels.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gangadi Madhukar Reddy, MD & CEO at MedPlus Health Services said, “The tier-2 actually, as far as profitability and breakeven is concerned is more favourable. The top line is slightly lesser by around 10 percent or so, but the overall EBITDA and overall, the path to profitability is actually faster.”

He added, “We also feel that tier-2 is again a place where the value proposition which we have resonates equally well.”

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According to Reddy, a significant portion of the company’s recent growth can be attributed to the addition of new stores. The company plans to sustain this growth

He said, “We expect to grow our stores at the same level and we also expect the overall growth in the company to be roughly around the same.”

Finally, Reddy mentioned that the company has around 60,000 subscriptions in the pathology and radiology space, a testament to the company’s commitment to providing comprehensive healthcare services to its customers.

He said, “Till the end of last quarter, I think we have had in excess of 60,000 memberships overall. So the membership model continues, people buy into the overall company’s offerings through membership and once they are there, they become very sticky. So we are seeing that part of the thing play out for us.”

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MedPlus posted a good set of Q3 FY23 numbers, revenue was up 27 percent, and however, profit is lower due to a high base on a year-on-year basis.

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

Dell layoffs to affect over 6,600 jobs as company faces decline in PC sales

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

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Dell Technologies Inc will eliminate about 6,650 jobs, or about 5 percent of its global workforce because of a declining demand for personal computers, Bloomberg news reported on Monday. “The company is experiencing market conditions that “continue to erode with an uncertain future,” Jeff Clarke, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Dell said in a memo to the employees.

“We’ve navigated economic downturns before and we’ve emerged stronger,” We will be ready when the market rebounds,” Clark added further. A similar layoff had been announced in 2020 as a result of the Covid pandemic.

As per industry analyst IDC, sales of personal computers dropped sharply in the fourth quarter of 2022. Dell saw the largest decline with 37 percent as compared to the corresponding period a year ago. PCs generate about 55 percent of Dell’s revenue.

Another major PC manufacturer, HP, announced in November 2022 to slash up to 6,000 jobs over the next three years. Cisco Systems and International Business Machines both announced they would eliminate about 4,000 jobs.

Also read: Sundar Pichai announces pay cuts for senior executives after layoffs at Google

As a result of the reduction, Dell’s headcount will be its lowest in at least six years – about 39,000 fewer employees than in January 2020. A March 2022 a filing shows that only about one-third of the company’s employees are based in the US.

Dell reported a six percent decrease in sales in the quarter ending October, and it forecast revenues below analysts’ estimates for the current quarter because customers are reducing IT purchases. When the company reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on March 2, it will provide further details on the impact of the job cuts.

Also read: Byju’s fires 900 more employees in latest round of layoffs

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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 Gate basmati rice maker KRBL looks to hike prices by March

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

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KRBL Limited, a leading agri-based company, recently announced its financial update for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022 in which reported strong growth in both domestic and export revenue. However, on a sequential basis, its gross margin was impacted due to change in product mix.

Ashish Jain, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of KRBL, on Monday told CNBC-TV18 that the rice processing and exporting company didn’t implement  any price increase in the October to December quarter, it plans to take a price hike in the fourth quarter.

“We are seeing strong volume growth both in the domestic as well as export markets,” he highlighted and said that from a export market perspective, prices have gone up and it expects the trend to hold up for at least the next quarter or so.

This, Jain said, was due to the increase in operating expenses (opex) that has impacted the company’s financial performance in the December 2022 ended quarter.

Despite the increase in opex, the company recorded a growth of 17 percent in its industry export volume from April to December 2022. Jain also noted that the company has seen an improvement in its realisations on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.

Compared to the previous quarter, the third quarter saw a smaller share of exports. However, Jain stated that the firm is hoping to see higher exports orders in quarter four due to the festive season.

“We see the export side continuing to be strong and therefore we will definitely see exports far better than what we saw last year,” he said.

The company also faced the challenging of rise in input costs on a sequential basis, which affected its performance in the third quarter. “We expect continued levels of input prices in quarter four as well. So margins in quarter four will be similar to quarter three,” Jain said.

To cater to the expected demand in quarter four, the company has built-up its inventories. Jain believes that the company is well-positioned to meet the increased demand during the festive season and deliver strong financial results in quarter four.

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For more details, watch the accompanying video 

Catch the latest stock market updates with CNBCTV18.com’s blog

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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

Stock valuation guru pegs Adani Enterprises at Rs 945/share – Here’s his rationale

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

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Stock valuation expert, Professor Aswath Damodaran of NYU Stern values Adani Enterprises at Rs 945 per share in the current turbulent times being faced by the conglomerate after the Hindenburg Research report came out. Damodaran says his valuation is with a very generous margin and revenue assumption.

Adani Enterprises along with other group companies have been in the spotlight since a report from Hindenburg research alleging improper use of offshore tax havens and flagged concerns about the high debt and valuations of the seven listed Adani companies.

The report triggered a war of words between Hindenburg and the conglomerate and was published right ahead of Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000 crore FPO, which was eventually called off on February 1, 2023 despite achieving full subscription, led mainly by institutional investors.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Professor Aswath Damodaran noted that Adani Enterprises primarily invests in infrastructure businesses, which have a long gestation period and are unlikely to generate high returns. The global average return for infrastructure companies is 4.8-5 percent.

Damodaran has assumed that Adani Enterprises will deliver a 30 percent revenue growth over the next 5 years in his calculations. He also factors that the margin may double over time to 7 percent from the current 3.6 percent.

“This is not a business that can generate 30-40 percent margins. You are going to be lucky to get 6-7 percent margins. The global average for infrastructure companies is about 4.8-5 percent. At 7 percent, I am already pushing the limit on those margins,” he said.

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The NYU Professor says that the Adani Group needs to be given credit for the kind of businesses they operate as it is important to note that most of their businesses are capital-intensive and require large investments, delivering low margins.

“The new capital that the Adani Group has raised has been almost entirely debt-based, meaning the group is reliant on debt for growth,” he noted.

However, Damodaran expresses concern that there may be something driving stock prices up without a counterbalance from the other side. He also reckons that the MSCI should consider market capitalization while deciding on including Adani Group companies in indices.

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The Professor warned that investing in the Adani Group comes with a risk, and it is important to accept that losing money is just as much a part of the game as making money. While there may be potential for growth, it is important to thoroughly consider all factors before making a decision to invest in the Adani Group.

“We need to accept the fact that investing comes with a risk especially in equities that losing money is just as much part of the game as making money,” he said.

For more details, watch the accompanying video

Catch the latest stock market updates with CNBCTV18.com’s blog

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

Bank of Baroda earnings — Check records set by lender in last three months

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

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Bank of Baroda (BoB) set several records in the last three months. While it reported highest ever quarterly standalone net profit in third quarter, the bottomline got a boost from healthy growth in net interest income (NII). Additionally, the asset quality metrics showed significant improvement, with the share of bad loans in the overall loan book lowering. Overall, it was a decent quarter for the bank.

Consequently, the lender has now become India’s second largest public sector bank as per total business, i.e. the sum of total deposits and total advances.

Let’s take a look at the records of the lender

Highest every quarterly profit

Bank of Baroda declared highest ever quarterly standalone net profit of Rs 3,853 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022, which is up by over 75 percent from the year ago quarter of Rs 2,197 crore.

NIM at 31-quarter high

Bank of Baroda’s 13-quarter high loan growth of 19.7 percent YOY drove the 31-quarter high net interest margin (NIM) and 31 quarter high return ratios.

NIM is the difference between the interest a bank pays on its deposits and the yield it earns through lending.

Net NPA at 31-quarter low

Net NPA dropped to a 31-quarter low of 0.99 percent at Rs 8,853.8 crore for the December 2022 ended quarter. In the September quarter, net NPA stood at 1.16 percent at Rs 9,672.2 crore. This was the first time it has slipped below a percent.

CASA ratio at 8-quarter low

The lender’s current account and savings account (CASA) — low cost deposits — ratio came down to an eight quarter low of 41.6 percent.

Gross non-performing assets at 30-quarter low

The gross non-performing assets declined to a 30-quarters low of 4.53 percent at Rs 41,857.5 as against 5.31 percent in the July to September quarter of the current financial year.

Decent jump in NII

The net interest income jumped by over 21 percent on a sequential basis to Rs 10,818 crore the poll projection of Rs 10,378.8 crore. This comes on the back of a robust loan growth and an improvement in net interest margins as well.

Asset quality improvement

The bank’s asset quality improved as gross non performing assets (NPA) came at 4.53 percent versus 7.25 percent a year ago. Outstanding gross bad loans dipped by 25 percent to Rs 41,857.50 crore. The annualised slippage ratio declined to 1.05 percent for the December quarter.

Sharp rise in cost of deposit

The public sector lender’s cost of deposit increased sharply to 4.01 percent from 3.50 percent a year ago. This was mainly driven by its international deposits. Growth in domestic deposits came in at 14.5 percent, while overall deposits grew by 17.5 percent. Low-cost current and savings account deposits grew by 7.6 percent.

Growth in loans

Retail loans grew at the fastest pace of 29.4 percent for the quarter. Corporate loans grew by 13.3 percent and loans to micro, small and medium enterprises grew 11.1 percent year-on-year.

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

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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