Tag: COVID-19 crisis

India needs manufacturing pre-eminence to be self-reliant: Anand Mahindra

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

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The COVID-19 crisis has sharply underlined that India’s manufacturing capabilities are woefully inadequate, both for its needs and ambitions, and for the country to be self-reliant in the solar energy sector, it needs manufacturing pre-eminence, Mahindra & Mahindra group Chairman Anand Mahindra said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the First World Solar Technology Summit, he also called for a partnership between the Renewable Energy Ministry and top ten solar businesses in the country to fund creation of “an equivalent of a ‘genius prime’ for innovation in solar technology”.

“Indeed a more aggressive stance on solar energy is almost being forced upon us. The COVID crisis has sharply underlined that our manufacturing capabilities are woefully inadequate, both for our needs and ambitions,” Mahindra said.

He further said, “Even without the crisis, as a scale deployer of solar power we need manufacturing pre-eminence and, this in fact coincides with our national priority that includes Aatmanirbhar Bharat, revival of small businesses and creation of jobs. Sustainable domestic manufacturing industry can create 60,000 direct and over 125,000 indirect jobs just in the next five years.

“But for us, cost competitiveness is going to be key,” Mahindra added.

He said India is known for its skills of frugal innovation but lamented that the same has not been visible in the solar energy technology front.

“Where on earth is it hiding particularly in the solar space? China has close to 40,000 patents in solar technology India has but 246. Yet, we are the nation that sent Chandrayaan-II to Mars at less than the cost of some Hollywood movies,” he said.

Stating that Indians are good “at working miracles, what I call lowest cost per unit of innovation”, Mahindra wondered, “If solar energy is our future are we incentivising innovation in this area enough? Can we create an equivalent of a ‘genius prime’ for innovation in solar technology.”

Calling for public private partnership in the space to fund innovation, he said, “Perhaps that price could be funded by a partnership between the Renewable Energy Ministry and top ten solar businesses in India. It will clearly throw our hat in the ring.”

Stressing that “solar technology is made for India and can be made by India, he said the country has the “benediction of 300 days of sunshine in a year and the good fortune of access to mind boggling technological advantage”.

India today is amongst the lowest cost producers of solar power in the world. In 2010 the cost of solar power was Rs 17.9 per unit and in 2020 competitive tariff based rates were received at Rs 2.36 per unit, he said, adding “solar energy can compete on its own economic merit against any other source of energy”.

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

Over 2,200 vehicles challaned for flouting COVID-19 curbs in Noida

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

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Two people were arrested and challans issued to owners of more than 2,200 vehicles across Noida and Greater Noida on Monday for allegedly violating curbs imposed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Gautam Buddh Nagar police said.

Nine vehicles were impounded for similar violations across the district, which has so far recorded 6,544 COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths, according to official figures.

Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which bars assembly of more than four people, is in force in Gautam Buddh Nagar in view of the pandemic.

“Four FIRs were registered and two people arrested for violating the COVID-19 curbs. A total of 5,243 vehicles were checked across 200 barrier points in the district and challans issued to 2,214 of them while another nine were impounded,” the police said in a statement.

A total of Rs 2,09,900 was collected in fines during the action, the police said.

The Noida-Delhi border, which was closed for normal public movement since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, has been reopened since August 1, officials said.

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

3 Mins Read

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

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

Berger Paints India Q1 net profit down 91% to Rs 15 crore

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

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Berger Paints India Ltd on Friday reported a 91.44 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.09 crore for the quarter ended June, hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 176.41 crore during the April-June period of the preceding fiscal, Berger Paints India said in a regulatory filing.

Revenue from operations dropped 45.77 per cent to Rs 930.76 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 1,716.53 crore earlier.

Total expenses stood at Rs 901.42 crore, down 38.57 per cent from Rs 1,467.48 crore in Q1 FY20.

“The Group’s business operations during the current quarter was impacted due to COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdowns,” it said.

It has taken into account the possible impact of COVID-19 in preparation of the financial results, including assessment of the recoverability of its assets.

“The Group will continue to monitor any material changes to future economic conditions,” it added.

Shares of Berger Paints India Ltd settled at Rs 550 on BSE, down 0.20 per cent.

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

JSW Energy terminates Rs 5,321 cr deal to acquire GMR Kamalanga Energy

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

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Sajjan Jindal-backed JSW Energy on Friday said it has terminated its Rs 5,321 crore deal to acquire GMR Kamalanga Energy due to COVID-19 related uncertainties.

“With elapsing of long stop date, both parties have mutually agreed to terminate the transaction given continued uncertainty due to COVID-19 pandemic,” JSW Energy said in BSE filing on Friday.

In May, the sale of GMR Energy’s entire stake in GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd to JSW Energy was put on hold due to COVID-19 outbreak.

In February, JSW Energy had signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100 per cent of GMR Kamalanga Energy, which owns and operates a 1,050 MW (3×350 MW) thermal power plant in Odisha, for Rs 5,321 crore (subject to working capital and other adjustments).

“The transaction has been put on hold given the ongoing uncertainty and will be revisited once the situation normalises,” JSW Energy had said in a BSE filing in May.

The JSW Energy, in October, had announced the acquisition of GMR Kamalanga Energy Ltd for Rs 5,321 crore.

GMR Kamalanga is a subsidiary of GMR Energy Ltd and operates a 1,050-MW thermal power plant in Odisha.

The acquisition was meant to be an all-cash deal and included three plants with 350 MW capacity each, located in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, with revenues of Rs 2,195 crore.

The GMR Kamalanga Energy, a subsidiary of GMR Energy, owns and operates three units of 350 MW capacity at Dhenkanal in Odisha.

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

Majority consider health insurance cover as a necessity in post-COVID era, says survey

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

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New age disease outbreak like COVID-19 has led to more awareness among people towards health insurance and a majority of them now consider it as a necessity to be future ready for unforeseen situations like this, a survey by Max Bupa Health Insurance has revealed.

Before the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic in India only 10 per cent of people were interested in buying health insurance to cover new age diseases, but now 71 per cent people consider health insurance as a necessity to fight unforeseen pandemic like this, the survey said.

As many as 57 per cent of the people polled understood the importance of comprehensive health insurance plans as uncertainty around treatment, high medical cost and quarantine period disrupting regular income due to Covid-19 is prompting people to purchase health insurance plans, said the Bax Bupa Health Insurance survey.

The survey with a sample size of 1,700 respondents from 11 major markets including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Patna, Jaipur and Chandigarh was done in February as a pre-COVID reference point and in May as post-COVID responses.

“Covid-19 has brought a paradigm shift in people’s mindset. Coronavirus has led to an increased awareness amongst people about the importance and benefits of health insurance during a pandemic situation like Covid-19. There has been a remarkable shift in the mindset of people before and after Covid-19, as earlier only 10 per cent people were interested in purchasing,” as per the survey done by the private sector health insurer.

Max Bupa Health said around 58 per cent of the respondents have made enquiries to understand coronavirus coverage in existing and intended health covers.

The Max Bupa Covid-19 survey also found that 73 per cent of the respondents are willing to pay more premium in the next 1-2 months to get coverage for Covid-19.

Though, knowledge of health insurance is still limited in both owners and intenders and many people are not clear about policy benefits, it added.

People find increase in medical expenses as one of the biggest concerns as 59 per cent said the cost have risen exorbitantly in the last few years.

“It is put ahead of other important expenses like children’s education and marriage, retirement corpus and wellbeing of family members. In the pre Covid-19 period, 60 per cent of the respondents cited delaying health insurance purchase to prioritize household expenditure, while the others prioritized kids’ education and household products including gadgets and personal devices,” revealed the survey.

Around 90 per cent of people are said to believe that health insurance can play an important role in covering the hospitalisation cost, followed by medical tests, medicines and quarantine cost.

Besides, women are now at the forefront for taking financial decisions as around 62 per cent of the females enquired about the coverage for Covid-19 in health plans as against 54 per cent males.

This trend was more prominently visible across key cities, including Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Lucknow, where women were taking financial decisions related to health insurance purchase.

Millennials –term for people in the age bracket of 27-35 years– have emerged as important segment who were curious to understand health coverage, it said.

Around 63 per cent of this age group made enquiries for health insurance and 59 per cent enquired at an early stage when coronavirus case was first detected in India. Millennials are otherwise not concerned about health insurance, but due to coronavirus they are now keen to buy health insurance to save medical costs, as per the survey.

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

Schlumberger cuts 21,000 jobs amid COVID pandemic

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

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Schlumberger is cutting more than 21,000 jobs as the global coronavirus pandemic quashes demand for energy and oil prices are routed.

The company will pay more than 1 billion in severance benefits.

The job cuts announced on Friday, about a quarter of its entire workforce, puts the number of people employed by the world’s largest oilfield services company close to where it was at the start of the oil and gas fracking boom that upended global energy markets and put the US on top.

Chesapeake Energy, a pioneer in fracking, sought bankruptcy protection last month.

This has probably been the most challenging quarter in past decades,” said CEO Olivier Le Peuch.

Crude prices have dropped 33% this year, and natural gas has fallen 17%, as much of the world took shelter from the coronavirus.

Almost all major users of energy have been crippled because of the lockdown. On Thursday, American Airlines posted a loss of more than 2 billion, and Southwest Airlines said it lost 915 million.

That pushed the combined second-quarter loss of the nation’s four biggest airlines to more than 10 billion.

Schlumberger Ltd said in a regulatory filing Friday that vast majority of the severance charge is expected to be paid out during the second half of the year.

The company said Friday that second quarter revenue plunged 35% and it lost 3.43 billion.

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

Most people in India not comfortable travelling for at least a year: Survey

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

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Even as several states have opened their doors for tourists, a survey has showed that most people are not comfortable travelling for at least a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The states that have opened their borders for the visitors include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Goa, and Madhya Pradesh, according to the survey by Neta App. The technology platform mainly aims to foster political accountability by enabling citizens to signal a change in their political preferences at any point in time.

Over 54,000 people participated in the survey across 19 states and Delhi-NCR, which was conducted between July 16 and 20.

However, it found that 71 per cent of the people surveyed said they are not comfortable travelling for at least a year, while 25 per cent felt they might only consider travelling after six months from now.

“While the tourism industry has started to make a comeback in a big way in Europe; in India, the current signals are bleak,” Neta App founder Pratham Mittal said.

He added that with daily cases of coronavirus infections still rising in many states, Indian tourists would rather spend time at home than travel and put their life in danger. “We may see this change in the next six months though as indicated by the survey.”

Further, the survey showed that while the state governments have announced a slew of measures to ensure safety for travellers, 68 per cent of the respondents said they are not satisfied with the precautions being taken by the governments.

The findings also pointed out that 54 per cent respondents are more comfortable staying at hotel rather than homestay (11 per cent) or with friends or family (35 per cent) fearing cross contamination due to close interactions with people.

People are more comfortable travelling to locations nearer to them, the survey further indicated.

For instance, majority of Delhiites are comfortable travelling to HP, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan as opposed to other states like Goa or Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Similarly, people from Maharashtra and Karnataka are comfortable travelling to Goa considering the proximity, it added.

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

ABB India June-quarter net down 76% at Rs 16.75 crore

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

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Engineering firm ABB India on Thursday reported an around 76 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 16.75 crore for the June quarter, mainly due to lower revenues. The company’s net profit stood at Rs 69.74 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, it said in a regulatory filing.

Total income declined to Rs 1,012.40 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,746.12 crore earlier. The company follows the January-December financial year. For the first half of 2020, its net profit stood at Rs 82.75 crore, down from Rs 158.76 crore in the same period of last year.

Total income came in at Rs 2,580.42 crore, compared to Rs 3,615.49 crore in H1 2019. Total orders for the quarter (April-June) stood at Rs 1,200 crore and for H1 2020 (January to June), it was Rs 3,153 crore.

During the quarter, the company succeeded in securing orders in varied sectors, including power distribution equipment, automation projects for process industries, food and beverage and electronics.

Sectors with continued investment include rail infrastructure, industrial buildings as well as water and waste-water, it said. ABB India continues to have a stable order backlog as of June 30, 2020, at Rs 4,671 crore, widely spread across various end markets, it added.

The company’s Managing Director Sanjeev Sharma said, “ABB’s business model resilience and robust fundamentals kept its strength despite interim disruptions on account of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown. H1 2020 (Jan-June) has been impacted due to the global slowdown, however, our order backlog is strong and steady to support us through the coming quarters.”

The company said as global uncertainty continues due to the COVID-19 situation, local markets are expected to remain subdued with diminished per capita income. However, ABB said it shall continue to strengthen customer engagements that will aid the recovery period in the “new normal”.

In order to tide over the current situation, focus on the right sectors like F&B, data centres, pharmaceuticals, energy, chemicals, and railways and metros, which are likely to demonstrate selective shoots of growth, will be critical, it added.

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

COVID-19 crisis: Govt unlikely to achieve FY21 Budget targets, says DEA Secretary

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

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The government is unlikely to meet the Budget targets for 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 crisis but contraction in economic growth may not be as severe as being pointed out by the outside world, Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj said.

He said the government on a regular basis is monitoring 14-15 parameters which can give early signs of where the economy is heading.

This includes E-way Bill, power consumptions, GST collections etc and every parameter is showing promising result, he said.

On the figures of first advance tax collection as of June 15, he said, “the revenues that were collected that month gave us a promise that this year, if we continue in that manner and we are not saddled with any more surprises, may not be as bad as the outside world thinks or as we were thinking.”

Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected a sharp contraction of 4.5 per cent for the Indian economy in 2020, a historic low, citing the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that has nearly stalled all economic activities.

“We will not be able to achieve our Budget Estimate (BE) figures but the kind of contraction some of the people are mentioning may also not turn out,” he said.

Acknowledging that India went for severest lockdown in the world, he said, it had its impact on the economy.

It brought down the economic growth to 4.2 per cent while pushing the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent during 2019-20, he said.

However, he expressed confidence that the country will be back on the growth journey from next year based on the incoming data.

“Unless COVID-19 hits us very badly and we have to change our strategy in the middle which seems very unlikely now, I am expecting a ‘V’ shaped recovery for the next fiscal. This year (current fiscal) may be a lost year for us but it is not that it will continue next year,” said the secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

Bajaj also highlighted that COVID-19 crisis was also used as an opportunity to usher in long pending reforms in the agriculture sector to ensure better price for farmers for their produce.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved amendment to the six-a-and-a-half decade old Essential Commodities Act, in order to deregulate food items, including cereals, pulses and onion.

The Cabinet also approved ‘The Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020’ to ensure barrier-free trade in agriculture produce.

The government also approved ‘The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020’ to empower farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers and exporters.

As part of the Rs 20.97 lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, the government also announced a Rs 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund that will finance projects at farm-gate and aggregation point for efficient post-harvest management of crops.

He said the emphasis of the government is to meet infrastructure spend and capital expenditure targets of public sector enterprises.

“I have spoken to large infrastructure spend departments and I have assured them that even if I have to borrow a little more I will do that but you should achieve your infra spend targets for the current year,” he said.

Capex plans of big PSU companies are also being monitored, he said, adding, Rs 2-3 lakh crore is going to be spent by them.

In line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package, he said, the government will soon come out with a list of strategic sectors, and public sector companies in non-strategic sectors will be privatised.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in May announced that there will be a maximum of four public sector companies in strategic sectors, and state-owned firms in other segments will eventually be privatised.

Along with privatisation, there is a lot of emphasis on monetisation, he said, adding that the government is working on various models in this respect.

“We are working with road, power, rail, shipping so that we actually get more funds for infrastructure spend,” he said.

On the issue of setting up a bad bank he said, it has not been decided yet.

“I have few discussions. We have not arrived at any conclusion on that,” he said.

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

3 Mins Read

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

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

Indian economy set for post-COVID-19 rebound as FDI remains buoyant: IHS Markit

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

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The Indian economy is likely to rebound in the second half of 2020 as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, and is projected to grow by 6.7 per cent in the next financial year, IHS Markit said on Thursday.

The pandemic resulted in severe disruptions in industrial production and consumption spending in India during April and May.

“The severe negative impact is expected to result in a significant contraction in GDP in the April-June quarter of 2020, resulting in a recession in the 2020-21 financial year with GDP expected to contract by 6.3 per cent year-on-year,” it said in its outlook on the Indian economy.

However, as lockdown conditions have been progressively eased, early signs of recovery were evident in the most recent economic data.

The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ surveys for India showed that economic momentum improved in June, reflecting the easing of COVID-19 related restrictions during May and June.

India imposed a total lockdown beginning March 25 and restrictions were eased from May.

“IHS Markit forecast that the Indian economy will rebound as the impact of the pandemic recedes, with improving economic growth momentum in the second half of 2020 and positive GDP growth of 6.7 per cent in the 2021-22 financial year,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific Chief Economist at IHS Markit.

Despite the negative short-term shocks from the pandemic, total foreign direct investment into India has remained buoyant. Foreign direct investment by technology firms in the first seven months of 2020 has already reached around USD 17 billion, boosted by the USD 10 billion new investment announced by Google in mid-July.

Facebook, Amazon, and Foxconn are among the other global technology firms that have committed large new investments into India this year, IHS said.

“A major boost to investor confidence in the Indian medium-term economic outlook has come from new foreign direct investment into India announced during 2020 by US technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon,” Biswas said.

IHS said the medium-term economic outlook for India remains favourable, supported by a number of key growth drivers.

“An important positive factor for India is its large and fast-growing middle class, which is helping to drive consumer spending. Total Indian consumer spending is forecast to grow by 42 per cent between 2020 and 2025, measured in USD terms at constant prices,” it said.

IHS Markit forecast India’s consumption expenditure to double from USD 1.6 trillion in 2020 to USD 3.2 trillion by 2030, measured in constant prices, boosted by strong average annual GDP growth and rapidly rising per capita incomes for the country’s fast-growing middle-class urban households.

“The digital transformation of India that is currently underway is expected to accelerate the growth of e-commerce, changing the retail consumer market landscape over the next decade. This is attracting leading global multinationals in technology and e-commerce to the Indian market,” Biswas said.

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

3 Mins Read

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

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