A bag of flour costs up to Rs 3100 in Pakistan amid shortage, 1 dead in stampede

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

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Pakistan is staring at a severe shortage of wheat flour or atta, brought about by the devastating flood a few months ago, which destroyed many wheat farms. This has led to a sharp rise in prices and a major food crisis. The cost of this basic staple has risen to Rs 140-160 per kg in several places, and generally, a 10 kg bag of wheat now costs Rs 1,500, while a 20 kg bag costs Rs 2,800. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the price of a 20 kg bag of flour even hit Rs 3,100.

The shortage of wheat has led to clashes and stampedes. One person died in a stampede near the commissioner’s office in Mirpur Khas city of Sindh province, according to reports. Long flour queues are seen in many places, with the army being called in for crowd control.

The wheat crisis has compounded the economic hardships faced by the common Pakistani, whose homes and livelihoods — and now their access to food — have been swept away by the recent floods.

The government of Pakistan has failed to control this huge increase in the prices of flour.  Food stampedes are not uncommon in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan. In many provinces, thousands of people are queuing up for hours every day to buy flour on subsidy.

Also read: Centre considers proposals to lift export duty on rice, decision likely soon

Politics amid crisis: Balochistan vs Punjab

Balochistan’s Food Minister Jamarak Ashkazai has warned that the situation will worsen unless at least four lakh bags of flour arrive in the region. He said the stock of flour in the state has been completely exhausted. “We had demanded around two lakh gunny bags from Punjab, but have received only 10,000 gunny bags so far,” Ashkazai said.

Balochistan has also alleged that Punjab and Sindh are not allowing movement of flour to other states. Similar reports came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well. About 70 percent of wheat production in Pakistan comes from Punjab alone.

It is being reported that the government had not made correct estimates on wheat imports. This is one of the many reasons for the shortage of flour in Pakistan. The conflict between the government of Punjab and the central government as worsened the situation.

Also read: Donors pledge more than $8 billion to help Pakistan flood recovery

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

PSP Projects wins Rs 1,344 crore order from Surat Municipal Corporation

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

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[wealthdesk shortname=”PSP Projects” isinid=”INE488V01015″ bseid=”540544″ nseid=”PSPPROJECT” sector=”Construction & Contracting – Real Estate” exchange=”nse”]

PSP Projects Ltd. on Tuesday announced that it received a government project from the Surat Municipal Corporation. The company received a Letter of Award (LOA) for a project worth Rs 1,344.01 crore to construct a state-of-the-art high-rise office building for the Surat Municipal Corporation in Surat, Gujarat.

With the latest LOA, the total order inflow of PSP Projects has increased to Rs 3,292.59 crore in the current financial year.

Last week, PSP Projects announced that it emerged as the lowest bidder for the aforementioned government project in Surat.

In December, the company also received multiple orders of an aggregated value of Rs 237 crore including Rs 115.9 crore projects in the industrial and institutional categories.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 21.5 crore for the September quarter, 40.8 percent lower than Rs 36.4 crore reported in the same period last year. Its revenue slipped 7.8 percent to Rs 360 crore from Rs 390.4 crore recorded in the same period last year.

PSP Projects is an Ahmedabad-based multi-disciplinary construction company offering a diversified range of construction and allied services across industrial, institutional, and residential projects in India.

Shares of PSP Projects ended 4.21 percent lower at Rs 736.80 on Tuesday.

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

Sanju and Sangakkara have worked in creating that winning culture in the team: Rajasthan Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum

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

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Rajasthan Royals came mightly close to lifting their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title last year as they were stopped by tournament debutants Gujarat Titans in the final.

Since 2008, RR have always carried the baggage of being the league’s first-ever winners as their fans have expectations to replicate that performance.  If last season is anything to go by, things might already be falling in place for the Royals. With the 2023 season of the IPL expected to kickstart sometime in March, the team’s preparations are already underway. The first step in the preparations for the new season was the 2023 IPL mini-auction in which the team bought in the likes of Jason Holder, Adam Zampa, Joe Root, along with a host of other players.

Also Read: Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer to be given long run in side says captain Rohit Sharma

Network 18’s Sports editor Sahil Malhotra got an opportunity to sit down with the CEO of the franchise Jake Lush McCrum for a detailed interview. In the interview McCrum spoke at length about the team’s young players, team’s captain Sanju Samson, head coach Kumar Sangakkara, the Ashwin-Chahal spin duo, and a lot more.

Excerpts of the interview are below: 

Ever since you have taken over CEO, there seems to be a new vision in place – vision youth. You continue to back youngsters and also appointed a young captain.

I don’t think we have changed our vision. Our vision has always been to win. What we have been able to do with the big auction is to secure a really strong Indian core which we were missing from the 2018-2021 period. And some of that Indian core is of the older age like Yuzi and Ashwin who have incredible experience and quality and match-winning capabilities. I think it’s always a balance… we have amazing youngsters like Riyan Parag and Yashaswi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal and many more. We have got some amazing experience players like the two I mentioned, like Jos Buttler, like Trent Boult.

I think it’s all about balance. You want that youth energy, rawness combined with that experience. And what’s amazing is that some of our young players have lot of experience. The amount of games Devdutt (Padikkal) has played, Sanju is in between the two – 27-28 years old – and has played over a 100 IPL matches so that’s incredible experience. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the vision has changed but I would say that mentality has changed. And when you look ahead to the season, we are here to lift the title. When we were coming back in 2018-19, it was about the playoffs whereas now it’s about lifting that title.

Was there a temptation to look beyond Sanju when it came to captaincy? Did the other big names around the circuit tempt you?

Sanju was always our guy. I would say he is a big name. Sanju, yes he might have been younger than some individuals but as I said, huge amount of IPL experience, huge amount of experience with Rajasthan Royals. He lived, breathed the brand and everything about the franchise. He is so passionate about it which is so important. What I love about Sanju is his openness to learn and the amount he has developed over the last couple of years has been amazing. He will keep getting better and better. He has taken us to a final in his second year as captain which is monumental and the way he manages players, the way he works and motivates them behind the scenes. He may not be the loudest individual on the field but all the work he does off it, which isn’t seen by many, is one of the big reasons why we have been so successful. He has worked very well with Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) in creating that winning culture and look what’s happened in the last season.

How crucial was the role of someone like Sanga?

Look I think continuity is very valuable within the franchise. From the period of 2018 to 2021, when Sanga came in, we had a fair few changes. So continuity in leadership – both captain and coach – helps be successful. Sangakkara is a great leader, and thinker, he is a good strategist. What’s great about him is his openness to new things and new elements. For eg, we are very data driven as a franchise. I think we have some of the best data analytics in the league and from what he has come from in terms of being gut-based, he has seen the benefits of data in terms of team selection, in terms of the auction and being sort of data-informed has been very powerful for him. Of course, data can’t tell you everything but being able to optimise those inputs to get the best output is something he has been very open to.

That combination of him and Sanju has gone really well. They both have got different strengths and they bounce well off each other. Sanga is literally speaking to me every day during the off-season about different elements of the franchise so he is super engaged which is amazing and really excited to build towards lifting the trophy this year.

Also Read: Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma likely to continue playing T20Is

You have continued to back Riyan Parag and he is undergoing a dream season with the bat in domestic competitions. Happy for him?

Look we know how good he is and how good he can be. The game he won for us last season against RCB was an incredible innings. He is playing the most difficult role in the side as a young player and there is a lot of pressure. The way he has dealt with that, the way he has dealt with all elements of playing that role – whether it’s social media or otherwise – I think has been very impressive. He is getting better and better and he is what 21 years old, he has got unbelievable power, great skill and so we are really excited to see what he can do this season. In Domestic he has been fantastic. It’s a massive step up hitting centuries to win games for Assam, he has taken Assam to the knockouts which is fantastic. And he is smacking around in Ranji Trophy like it’s a white ball game.

So I think it’s going to be great fun for the fans. For him, as a personality, he is an entertainer. He has a lot of fun on the field. He is a great individual off it as well. You think about franchise cricket and some players move from franchise to franchise and may not be as deeply invested in the franchise but he is someone who cares so much about the Royals which comes through everything he does. It’s great to see him succeeding. I just know how good he can be, which is really exciting. And we got him on when he was just 17 so his first match was batting with Dhoni behind him. What a moment! And then he sort of launched on from there. Red Bull, one of our partners, have actually taken him on board as a brand ambassador and I think that has helped in his development as well. Putting him in different situations, challenging him in different ways and continuing that development. So I think that has been really helpful.

Ashwin and Chahal were possibly your biggest signings yet. You reckon you got the two cheap?

We were very happy to get both of them. There weren’t many scenarios where we saw ourselves securing both. That was really significant. Yuzi is not just an entertainer, he is a wicket-taker, he is an energy within the group, the glue which brings everyone together. And, Ash… he is a thinker, such a smart player. He is always challenging, and always thinking differently. They work so well together and so much pressure from both sides when batsmen are out there. It was huge to get both of them. It’s a phase – the middle phase – where batters are thinking how am I going to get through them. You have Boult and Prasidh bowling so well in the powerplay. I think the combination of our bowlers worked really well together and we are delighted to get both of them as we did.

What kind of role does a brand like Red Bull play with RR? With regards to player scouting, development…

Whenever we partner with a brand, we want to have deep synergies with them. And Red Bull gives people wings and we give players a platform to perform, and we have been one of the leading franchises in taking players from nothing and launching them on Indian and international stage. And Riyan and Jaiswal are examples of that recently. Red Bull, with Rajasthan Royals, have got the Red Bull Speedster where we work together to scout fast bowlers. Those fast bowlers then come to our trials. Some of them become our net bowlers, we bid on some in the recent auctions and we are hoping it becomes a funnel in years to come for talent to come through. You have got Red Bull Campus Cricket which goes to 10,000 colleges across the country. Again, great opportunity to scout talent, great opportunity to build fan engagement for us as a franchise and bringing those players closer to our brand. And any talent spotted comes to our trials and can be net bowlers as well during the IPL season which is again amazing development opportunity for them. I visited the Red Bull High Performance Centre in Austria and it was amazing. We have some of our players who visit there. When he was with us, Ben Stokes visited it. Riyan Parag is going there soon and we are going to work with that athletes performance center to really optimise how we look at progression of our player development in the off season. And that might also be the mental performance side of it. One of their leading individual there is supporting our team in India to ensure we are at the forefront of progression in mental high performance to help us perform during a season so there are many aspects Red Bull supports us on.

The jersey reveals have been really quirky too.

I think we have had few jersey reveals which have been special. The one, in the year just gone, was with a motorbike rider going through Rajasthan and then ending at top of the stadium and then jumping off it which was mad and people asked me “did you fake it” or put some cameras on to show he was jumping off. I said No. I am not sure whether his wife wanted to know until after it was done because it was quite a dangerous one. But he had an amazing time doing it, content capture was awesome and to have Sanju and Yuzi there watching made it even more significant. We are talking about some really exciting ideas for the season ahead and we have already had someone jumping off the plane and dropping in the COVID bubble so there are so many things we are thinking of doing. So Red Bull is just not about developing players, there is so much on the content side where they are fantastic. So excited what we can create next.

IPL most likely returns to home and away format this year. Excited to return to your fortress Jaipur?

Look we are so excited to be back in Rajasthan and back playing home and away venues. We have had few years now where it’s been just one location. Whether it’s Mumbai or Dubai or UAE. Not only for ourselves for activating our fan base but ten teams across India. The amount of marketing spend that goes on to activate it. We have got two new audiences with two new teams. You know the reach of the league, with 800 million people watching, it can’t get any bigger. It can get even more significant with the amount of activation going on. I think for the players coming across, experiencing all of India during these two and a half months of season is such a benefit.

In two years, players might forget about going to Hyderabad and having a biryani, going to Kolkata and seeing the architecture, going to Mumbai and staying in a Taj Palace. All of these things make the experience another level for players and people who have come from villages in different parts of India might not have experienced this. Rajasthan fans have been very patient over the last couple of years, waiting for us to come back. I have been to Rajasthan four times in the last six weeks and every time I get there, the buzz is so strong for us to come back. I can’t wait to be playing there, to hear the roar of the crowd, I can’t wait to win matches.

Target if any for the upcoming season?

No.1. Got to lift the title.

Also Read: Coverage of Rishabh Pant car crash ‘distasteful’: Govt to TV channels

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

FTX Fiasco: A quick update on what’s changed with SBF, Alameda and the court proceedings

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

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It has been almost two months since FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, 2022. However, even after all these days, updates around FTX, Alameda Research and Sam Bankman-Fried continue to pour in. With so much happening, keeping tabs on the court proceedings and the latest developments can be a little tricky. Keeping this in mind, we have compiled some of the latest and most important occurrences from the FTX fiasco. So, tag along as we get you up to speed.

First things first, Sam Bankman-Fried has officially entered a not-guilty plea at a U.S. District Court in New York on January 3. In doing so, he has effectively denied all charges levied against him, including wire and securities fraud, money laundering and the violation of election campaign laws. Therefore, if SBF is found guilty, he could face the full extent of the law, translating to a possible prison term of 115 years. His trial is set to begin on October 2.

After recording SBF’s not-guilty plea, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) swung into action, creating a special FTX task force. This task force will attempt to trace stolen user funds and manage the investigations into the collapse of the exchange. The federal prosecutor in the FTX case, US Attorney Damian Williams, said that this team will work “around the clock” and employ all the possible “resources and expertise until justice is done.”

Also Read: FTX customers file class action lawsuit to lay claim to dwindling assets

On the same day, records disclosed by the White House revealed that SBF met with POTUS, Joe Biden, four times in 2022. According to these records, the most recent rendezvous was on September 9. When quizzed on what this meeting was about, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the conversation revolved around SBF’s non-profit pandemic initiatives and some “general information” regarding the digital asset industry and cryptocurrency exchanges.

According to campaign finance data released by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), SBF donated approximately $40 million during the 2022 election cycle. It is said that a vast majority of this amount – around $27 million – was used to bankroll the initiatives of the Protect Our Future PAC, a group advocating for pandemic preparedness.

On January 5, there was fresh drama as the U.S. Department of Justice confiscated $450 million in Robinhood shares from FTX. These shares were purchased by taking a $546 million loan from FTX’s sister concern, Alameda Research. Before the DOJ’s confiscation, BlockFi had sued FTX to obtain these shares. The bankrupt crypto lender alleges that SBF promised these shares to BlockFi.

However, strangely enough, the next day, SBF filed a request to keep hold of these shares in order to pay for his criminal defence. His filing also argued that any claimants to these shares should be denied as they fail to prove why they “are entitled to this form of relief.”

On January 5, US authorities also turned their attention to FTX’s former engineering director Nishad Singh. According to reports, Singh was part of an alleged “wire fraud” chat group that consisted of Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, the 3 accused in the FTX case so far. Therefore, the SEC and CFTC are investigating Singh’s role in defrauding FTX customers. Furthermore, as per FTX filings, Singh was also the beneficiary of a $543 million loan from Alameda, another reason why enforcement agencies are pursuing the former engineer.

More recently, on January 9, former president of FTX US, Brett Harrison, came out, promising that he would share everything he knows about the firm in due time. This could leave SBF sweating as several of his co-conspirators and close associates are now offering full transparency. This may not bode well for SBF, especially after he entered a not-guilty plea. Until now, FTX co-founder, Gary Wang and former Alameda CEO, Caroline Ellison, have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are said to be cooperating with officials. And now Brett Harrison has also added his name to the list.

On the same day, Business Insider reviewed FTX’s bankruptcy court documents and shed light on the luxurious and glamorous life of FTX officials before the crash. According to the findings, the firm blew through $40 million in just 9 months, between January and September 2022.

Around $15 million of this amount was spent on luxury hotels such as the Grand Hyatt ($3.6 million spent) and the Albany Hotel ($5.8 million spent). The report also states that almost $7 million was spent on catering services, while approximately $4 million was spent on flights. Another article by the London Financial Times reported that SBF even chartered a private jet to ferry his Amazon packages to the island as the e-commerce platform did not deliver to the Bahamas. As such, it’s evident that FTX big-wigs were living the jet-set life.

There’s no telling how long it will take for courts to reach a verdict on the FTX case. Judging by the scale of the losses and years of financial records that need to be examined, it will take a few years at the very least. Until then, all we can do is wait and watch as developments continue to unfold.

Also Read: FTX co-founder, former Alameda CEO plead guilty to fraud — What could it mean for Bankman-Fried?

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

Zydus Lifesciences gets final USFDA approval for Febuxostat tablet

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

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Zydus Life” isinid=”INE010B01027″ bseid=”532321″ nseid=”ZYDUSLIFE” sector=”” exchange=”nse”]

Shares of Zydus Lifesciences jumped 3.3 percent in the pre-closing session on Tuesday after the company announced that it received the final approval to market Febuxostat Tablets from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

The US drug regulator has approved the marketing of the pharmaceutical company’s Febuxostat Tablets in dosages 40 mg and 80 mg.

The Febuxostat tablets are prescribed for lowering or controlling high uric acid levels in patients suffering from gout. The drug is prescribed to those gout patients who have been treated with allopurinol that did not work well or cannot be treated with allopurinol.

Febuxostat tablets will be manufactured at the formulation manufacturing facility of Zydus Lifesciences located in Moraiya near Ahmedabad.

According to IQVIA data for 12 months ending in September 2022, the annual sales of Febuxostat tablets stood at $32 million in the United States.

So far, Zydus Lifesciences has received a total of 340 approvals and filed 431 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) as of September 30, 2022, since it began the filing process in the financial year 2004.

Last week, the pharmaceutical major announced the launch of Topiramate Extended-Release Capsules in the US through its subsidiary Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. for the treatment of epilepsy.

The drug is used for the treatment of epilepsy and initial monotherapy in patients aged 6 years and above for certain types of seizures.

Shares of Zydus Lifesciences ended 2.80 percent higher at Rs 456.50 on Tuesday.

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

Gogoro, Taiwan’s largest electric two-wheeler maker, to start production in Maharashtra by mid-2023

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

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Taiwan’s largest electric two-wheeler manufacturer Gogoro has announced that it has entered into a contract manufacturing partnership with automotive component manufacturer Metalman Auto to produce a range of electric scooters in India.

Production is expected to start in mid-2023, revealed Autocar in a report. It further added that Metalman Auto will help manufacture several electric Gogoro two-wheelers from its facility in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

According to the report, Gogoro plans to have a range of offerings aimed at high-speed scooters to benefit from FAME-2 subsidies. The launch of these e-scooters is planned for around the middle of 2023 in India.

Also Read: Auto Expo 2023’s components show to see over 800 companies participate from 15 countries

Currently, Gogoro is working on three projects — codename PUZ, CU, and UX — for the Indian market. The company also plans to export these vehicles to other countries.

Gogoro, in November last year, entered into a partnership with Zypp Electric to support clean mobility needs in the National Capital Region (NCR).

A few weeks ago, Horace Luke, co-founder and CEO of Gogoro, arrived in the national capital New Delhi to kick-start the company’s pilot battery-swapping infrastructure.

Apart from India, Gogoro is also expanding its footprint in several other countries to tap local manufacturing partners. In India, Gogoro has partnered with Hero MotoCorp and Foxconn for the development and sales of swappable battery solutions.

Also Read: Auto Expo 2023 | Why some major automakers have decided to opt out

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

Jalan-Kalrock Consortium writes to Ashish Chhawchharia defending Sanjiv Kapoor’s position at Jet Airways

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

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The Jalan Kalrock Consortium has written to the head of the Jet Airways management committee and the erstwhile Resolution Professional, defending Sanjiv Kapoor’s position in the airline.

Earlier this month, the grounded carrier had said Kapoor remains the CEO-designate till the airline’s ownership is transferred by the lenders to the consortium. CNBCTV18 had reported that Chhawchharia in a notice to Kapoor has asked him to refrain from using the title of CEO of the airline.

The JKC wrote to Chhawchharia saying that Kapoor has been cleared as CEO designate for the airlines by the Aviation Ministry and it needs no further approval from any statutory authority.

Kapoor and the other employees are on JKC’s payroll till the jet ownership transfer takes place and they are on the payroll on the advice of the monitoring committee, the consortium said.

It added that the monitoring committee did not allow new employees on the airline’s payroll and that its head is not authorised to write to Kapoor.

The consortium requested Chhawchharia to act on matters jointly-approved by the monitoring committee and said that his letter to Kapoor would be null and void.

It also reprimanded him from communicating on behalf of Jet Airways till authorised by the monitoring committee.

Also Read: Jet Airways public shareholding to reduce to 0.2% after takeover | Exclusive

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

Carlyle Group buys majority stake in beauty brand VLCC Health Care

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

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Private equity major Carlyle Group on Tuesday, January 10, said it has acquired a majority stake in VLCC Health Care Ltd, one of the largest homegrown beauty and wellness companies in India. “Equity for the transaction will come from funds managed and advised by entities affiliated with Carlyle Asia Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed,” Carlyle said in a statement.

VLCC will be appointing Gurveen Singh and J. Suresh as independent directors to the board. Singh retired as the chief human resources officer at Reckitt Benckiser and brings with her over 40 years of experience in talent development and HR solutions, the company said.

Also Read: Edtech giant Byju’s seeks more time from lenders to repay $1.2 billion debt

“Suresh, who recently retired as the managing director and CEO of Arvind Fashions Ltd and had started his career with Hindustan Unilever, brings to the team over four decades of experience in the consumer and retail sector,” the company added.

Amit Jain, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle India Advisors, said the company is excited to invest in and support the growth of VLCC, a homegrown and trusted Indian brand with high brand salience.

Founded by Vandana Luthra, VLCC was among the first multi-outlet corporate operations in the wellness and beauty industry, which was at the time mostly composed of individually operated, small-scale businesses.

“We plan to help VLCC accelerate growth through investments in brand building; product expansion; scaling its pan-India digital and e-commerce distribution channels; and expanding its local footprint of retail clinics,” he said.

Also Read: Axis Bank to acquire remaining Max Financial stake using discounted cash flow

Vandana Luthra, Founder of VLCC, said, “We believe VLCC is well-positioned to capture a larger share of the fast-growing skincare, beauty and wellness market in the countries we operate in. We are delighted to have found in Carlyle a partner who shares our vision and plans for taking VLCC to its next level of growth.”

VLCC Health Care operates VLCC-branded wellness and beauty clinics and VLCC-branded institutes for skill development in beauty and nutrition. It also manufactures and sells VLCC-branded personal care products.

The company has created an ecosystem of comprehensive services and products, including wellness programmes, weight management solutions, personal care products, nutraceutical products, and skill development training.

Also Read: Sona BLW shares rise after €40.5 million acquisition in Serbia, analysts give it a thumbs up

Carlyle has invested more than $5.5 billion of equity in over 40 transactions in India as of September 30, 2022. KPMG India acted as the exclusive transaction advisor to VLCC and the founders.

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

Cipla and Sun Pharma likely to show growth momentum, Divis to remain under pressure | Earnings Preview

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

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[wealthdesk shortname=”Cipla” isinid=”INE059A01026″ bseid=”500087″ nseid=”CIPLA” sector=”Pharmaceuticals” exchange=”nse”]

The pharma sector has had a superlative run in the last year and as per market watchers and sector veterans, the pharma companies are likely to have a strong third quarter. A poll conducted by CNBC-TV18 found that the sector should see a 9-10 percent growth in the third quarter of the current financial year.

The performance is expected to be driven by the domestic market which is estimated to grow 10-13 percent with 5 percent growth in volume and up to 7 percent growth in prices.

When it comes to the US markets, expect continued price erosion and mid-to-high single digits on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Margins for pharma companies could remain flattish on account of continued elevated cost base as well as price erosion in the US.

Lupin is likely to benefit from sales of the bowel drug Suprep. Companies like Lupin, Zydus, Ajanta Pharma and Natco Pharma could gain from sales of Tamiflu generic due to the US flu season. Dr Reddy’s Lab could see lower sales from Revlimid generic, the cancer drug, as it frontloaded its volumes in the previous quarter, the Q2FY23.

Also Read | Pharma outlook for 2023 | Cipla, Sun, Gland top picks for Bernstein

Meanwhile talking about specific stocks, Vishal Manchanda, Pharma Analyst at Systematix Group said that the firm has high expectations from Cipla and Sun Pharma in terms of growth, adding that Divi’s Laboratories would remain under pressure.

“Most companies should either grow high single-digit to low double-digit, but Cipla and San pharma are where we have higher expectations around growth. However, Divis should remain under pressure this quarter; probably the pressure can aggravate a bit compared to what it was in the previous quarter,” Manchanda told CNBC-TV18.

Watch the accompanying video of CNBC-TV18’s Ekta Batra to get a handle on the Q3 expectations from pharma sector in earnings special – Quarter Se Quarter Tak (QSQT).

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Watch: Virat Kohli gets his 45th ODI hundred in the first match of the series against Sri Lanka

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Star batsman Virat Kohli notched his 45th ODI hundred in the first match of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.  India and Sri Lanka kicked off the three-match ODI series with the first match at Guwahati’s Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first. Kohli made the most of the batting-friendly pitch and the solid 100-run opening partnership by Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill to notch a brilliant hundred.

Kohli walked out to bat in the 20th over when Gill was dismissed by Shanaka with the scoreboard reading 143/1. The veteran batsman played with a mix of caution and aggression as he hit 10 fours and a six to bring up the hundred in 80 deliveries. It was Kohli’s 9th ODI hundred against Sri Lanka.

The century was also Kohli’s second successive ton as he had hit a hundred in the third ODI against Bangladesh in the three-match ODI series on December 10, 2022. Kohli now needs only 4 more ODI hundreds to go level with Sachin Tendulkar for the record of having the most centuries in the format.

The master batsman was eventually dismissed in the 49th over when he tried to slog Kasun Rajitha but ended up skying the ball with the catch taken by Sri Lankan keeper Kusal Mendis. Kohli walked back after warm applause from the Lankans and the Guwahati crowd.  Kohli made 113 from 87 balls and hit 12 fours and one maximum.

Thanks to Kohli’s hundred and fifties from Gill (70 off 60) and Sharma (83 in 67), India ended with a daunting total of 373/7 in the allotted 50 overs.

Watch how Virat Kohli notched his hundred against Sri Lanka at Guwahati below:

Back to back ODI hundreds for @imVkohli 👏👏

Live – https://t.co/MB6gfx9iRy #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/Crmm45NLNq

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2023

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