Business Standard Podcast

It will be the biggest IPO that India has seen so far. Apart from testing the appetite of investors, the LIC’s stake sale will also add Rs 21,000 crore to the government exchequer. After missing two deadlines, the IPO of India’s largest insurer may finally hit the primary market on May 4. Most experts believe that it will get a good response from both retail and institutional investors. Our next report tells about what the Street expects from the IPO and whether you should take a slice of this pie. Like the LIC’s price band, curiosity is surrounding Twitter’s future course too. After land and space, Elon Musk is all set to make his presence felt in the virtual world now. The world’s richest man -- known for taking risks and pulling off impossible -- is in all likelihood the next Twitter chief. A free speech absolutist, he calls Twitter a digital Town Square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. Our next report tries to unravel his views to find how Musk may shape one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.  Back home, India Inc is also witnessing aggressive merger and acquisitions. After PVR and Inox, the news of HDFC’s merger with HDFC Bank took many by surprise. While experts believe that the trend underlines the desire of India Inc’s cash-rich companies for inorganic growth, they are also cautioning investors. Take a dive into this trend and how can investors benefit from them. After the markets, let us move on to a technology which is very crucial to the success of electronic vehicles. Advanced chemistry cell batteries may soon be manufactured in India too, thanks to the government’s PLI scheme. These cells account for 80% of the cost of lithium-ion batteries. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know more. Watch video

Take a look at Elon Musk's tweet, which came at the same time as news that Twitter had accepted his takeover bid. He hits all the right notes. Sample the following bit: "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated..." The tweet also had a short list of other goals – Making Twitter better than before by enhancing the product with new features. Making the algorithms open source to increase trust. Defeating the spam bots. And, authenticating all humans. In particular, the last goal, the one about authenticating all humans, has set off a lot of speculation over Twitter, not helped in the least by the fact that no details exist at the moment about how Musk proposes to do this. And, there are legitimate and serious concerns involved. Take a look at what one leading expert has said on the issue, that too quite fittingly over tweets.   Jeff Kosseff, an associate professor of cybersecurity law at the US Naval Academy, tweeted that there was at least a chance that authenticating all humans could compromise a Twitter user’s ability to be anonymous. Now, Kosseff made it clear that he wasn't sure about what this stated objective specifically meant. However, with that caveat, he explained some of the concerns that could arise. Kosseff pointed out that at least some high-profile commentators had interpreted the ‘authenticating all humans’ plan as banning of anonymity or requiring ID verification. Why would that be bad? Kosseff explained that Twitter’s pseudonymity had made it possible for many people to speak publicly when they wouldn't have the luxury of speaking under their real names on Facebook. He gave the example of the LGBTQ community, whistleblowers, and political dissidents, among others. Kosseff said that even if people could still post under pseudonyms, the collection of identification data at registration would shut out many people. Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and advocate at the Supreme Court of India says Twitter is an intermediary under IT Act 2000 and it is not obligated under the law to collect sensitive user data for KYC. Twitter also not barred from collecting such data. As such this could help govt attribute specific tweets to specific people, he says. Mind you, this is one interpretation, among others, of what Musk might have meant. But, many Twitter users are still worried. Note that Musk has called spam bots the ‘single most annoying problem’ on Twitter. Even if Musk literally meant authenticating a Twitter user as human, it is not necessary that all methods Twitter could adopt to do so would have a negative impact on user privacy and anonymity.   According to Devangshu Datta of Business Standard, detecting a bot is easier than authenticating a human. Bots have high volume, focused tweeting, and they are often set up by the same or contiguous IP addresses. And all of this is easy to analyse and detect, says Dutta, by using sophisticated methods like analysing language etc. When trying to detect humans vs bots, it’s easier to focus on the bots, he says.  But, why would people jump to such a conclusion? After all, Musk could simply be suggesting that Twitter’s verification system be modified. All the speculation might be arising due to the political context, especially in the West. Take the example of the United Kingdom. During the pandemic, there have been growing demands in the UK to prohibit anonymous social media accounts, with the belief that anonymity provides a cloak to those engaging in online abuse and racism, among other hate speeches. This is an opinion shared by many across the world.   However, research has shown that people are still likely to abuse each other over social media even if they don’t enjoy anonymity. As of February 2021, Twitter has 15 million users in India. What Musk means when he says ‘authenticating all humans’ will have

The deal market is buzzing with a spate of mergers and acquisitions being announced by India Inc. Starting from PVR-Inox to HDFC-HDFC Bank, the Indian corporates have seen big names announcing mergers.   And the list doesn’t end here. Larsen & Toubro Infotech and Mindtree could be next in line, while JSW Group, Adani Group, Ultratech Cement, and Shree Cement have reportedly shown interest in acquiring Holcim’s Indian assets. Wipro Ltd has also announced acquisition of SAP firm Rizing Intermediate Holdings.   On the bourses, shares of these companies have remained volatile, reacting to every news flow. But the key questions remain as to why is there a flood of M&As right now, and how can investors benefit from them?   According to Dinesh Arora of PwC India, the trend underlines India Inc’s cash-rich companies’ desire to expand and eye inorganic growth.   Arora explains that companies went for cost cuting in 2020, and 2021 was the year when people started investing in growth. "On supply side, a lot of companies haven’t been able to recover. These macro factors are driving the pace and volumes of transactions," he says.   According to a report by Refinitiv, M&A activity hit a four-year high at $30.3 billion during January-March quarter of 2022, bucking the global trend where deal-making fell sharply. Deal activity grew by 5.6 per cent year-on-year in value terms in Q1CY22, making it the highest first-quarter period since 2018 when it was $31.1 billion.   In volume terms, the M&A activity grew 29.6 per cent YoY, making it the best-ever quarterly number. Yet, Utkarsh Sinha, managing director at Bexley Advisors says India has a long-way to go in terms of maturity of M&A activity. Sinha says the recently announced mergers fall in the horizontal M&A category, which is driven by saturation in scale, aspiration to grow via absorption of competition, or driven by individual sponsors or investors.   So, if you wish to benefit from these M&A activities, here’s what you need to be mindful of. According to Abhay Agarwal, Founder and Fund Manager, Piper Serica, some M&As are forced. As such investors should carefully assess reasons behind M&As. While short-term traders will be disappointed, Agarwal reminds that most mergers are value accretive only in the long-term.   That apart, investors should assess each M&A deal based on synergies and valuation. Ram Kalyan Medury, Founder & CEO, Jama Wealth reminds the Satyam-Maytas fiasco taught us that shareholders are active in opposing deals, but that doesn’t mean all mergers are against share-holder interest. Every deal needs to be assessed individually and investors should avoid taking positions based on initial news announcements, he says.   In nutshell, deal-making activity including acquisitions, divestitures and alternative M&A strategies will be robust in 2022. Investors, however, need to be patient and look for long-term benefits before betting on them.   On Wednesday, stock-specific action amid March quarter earnings will drive the markets. Bajaj Auto, HDFC AMC, HUL and Indian Hotels are some of the prominent companies slated to report their Q4 numbers today. That apart, global cues and cabinet decisions will guide the markets. Watch video

A nascent technology has now emerged as the crucial key in the world’s fight against global warming. Tiny advanced chemistry cells, which are used in lithium-ion battery, will play a big role in cutting short the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. The world is racing to tame this technology and make these batteries efficient and safe. India, which imports these batteries, is also taking baby steps in that direction. The government last year launched the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage to reduce import dependence. It has announced a production-linked scheme for potential manufacturers, and has got good responses. And one of the bids has surprised many, including the industry giants like Reliance Industries and Ola Mobility. Rajesh Exports, the country’s largest gold jewellery exporter with no prior exposure to battery making, has emerged as one of the four companies that have been declared eligible for an EV battery manufacturing PLI. Advanced chemistry cells are the new generation technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. Globally manufacturers are investing in these new generation technologies at a commercial scale to fill the expected boom in battery demand over the next decade. Consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftops etc., which are major battery consuming sectors, are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years. Several companies have already started investing in battery packs, though the capacities of these facilities are too small when compared to global averages. Four companies including Reliance New Energy Solar, Ola Electric Mobility, Hyundai Global Motors Company and Rajesh Exports Limited, were selected last month to receive incentives under the government's Rs 18,100 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. They will have to set up the facility within two years. The government programme is designed in such a way that it is technology agnostic. The beneficiary firm is free to choose suitable advanced technology and the corresponding plant and machinery, raw material and other intermediate goods for setting up cell manufacturing facility to cater to any application.   Watch video

The ongoing battle between Amazon and Reliance over Future Group took yet another interesting twist last week when the Indian giant backed off -- abandoning its plan to acquire the cash-strapped firm. Jeff Bezos has been looking to expand foothold in India’s nearly $900 billion retail market. And so is Mukesh Ambani. What would the fall of this deal mean for the retail ambitions of Amazon and Reliance?  After the fall of Future Group’s deal with Reliance Industries, let us turn to the meteoritic rise of Southern cinema and its growing appeal among Hindi speaking audiences. In the past six months, movies such as Pushpa, RRR and KGF2 have shattered box office records. Is this a flash in the pan or a longer term trend?  After the clash of Bollywood and southern cinema, let us move on to the race of two private lenders. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have been vying for the top position in the country’s banking space for quite some time. While ICICI seems to be winning over the HDFC group company, there are certain trends that investors need to watch out.  HDFC’s loss may well be ICICI’s gain. Meanwhile, transactions through UPI are registering a rapid growth. And RBI’s initiative to introduce it in feature phones is set to take it to another level. Listen to this episode of the podcast to know why and more.  Watch video

20 months after announcing that it would buy Future Group’s retail, wholesale and logistics business for Rs 24,713 crore, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries on Sunday backed out of it.  Reliance said the deal cannot be implemented after the secured creditors of Future Group’s flagship firm Future Retail, which operates Big Bazaar and Easyday stores, voted against it.  Once India’s second-largest retailer with more than 1,500 stores, Future Retail along with other group companies are now expected to go to the National Company Law Tribunal as lenders seek to recover their dues of almost Rs 29,000 crore under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.  The deal has been at the centre of a lengthy legal battle between Amazon and Reliance.  Amazon has challenged the takeover in various forums and obtained legal injunctions that stalled the deal.  In August 2019, Amazon had invested about Rs 1,500 crore for a 49% stake in Future Retail’s promoter entity Future Coupons, indirectly gaining a 4.8% stake in the former. Amazon says its 2019 deal came with an agreement that bars Future Group from selling its retail assets to Reliance without its permission.  Amazon was looking to expand its foothold in India’s vast retail market. In 2018, Amazon and private equity firm Samara bought food and grocery retail chain More from Aditya Birla Group.  When it comes to tapping India’s retail consumer base, companies like Amazon face more hurdles. Foreign investment in offline multi-brand retail is tightly controlled. India allows 51% FDI in multi-brand retail under the government route, subject to the investor fulfilling several conditions. States can also decide whether to allow foreign-owned multi-brand stores. India’s retail market was worth $883 billion in 2020, according to Forrester Research. The market size is expected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2024, dominated by the grocery segment.  With the Future Group’s retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units, Reliance was aiming to bolster its JioMart app and increase its presence in the online grocery delivery space.  Even as the deal fell through, Reliance is in a sweet spot after taking over 947 stores of Future Group, citing non-payment of rent, after transferring the leases to itself. These include 112 Central and Brand Factory outlets of Future Lifestyle Fashions. Reliance may reportedly bid for the remaining Future Group assets at the NCLT, leaving few options on the table for Amazon.     According to Utkarsh Sinha, Managing Director, Bexley Advisors, Future Retail creditors, shareholders ended up worse off following this development. Reliance has scored a win in the short term. If Amazon seeks to limit the growth of Reliance, it can stretch the dispute. Reliance, however, got what it wanted, as it is evident now that Amazon underestimated Reliance.  Future Retail last month said it was committed to taking back its stores which were taken by Reliance, saying it had been surprised by what it called "drastic and unilateral action" by Reliance. Amazon and the lenders may also support the company’s effort in this regard. Meanwhile, Amazon also might continue its legal battle related to the deal between Future and Reliance. Whatever be the outcome, Reliance will continue to enjoy its undisputable pole position in the country’s retail sector as the fall of India’s original retail king and Future Group founder Kishore Biyani is sealed. As for Amazon, the value erosion of Future Group’s assets in the past two years means its effort to make any progress on its offline retail ambitions in India has been futile. Watch video

During a recent Indian Premier League match, West Indian bowler Obed McCoy celebrated taking a wicket by coolly swiping his chin with the back of his hand. McCoy’s imitation of actor Allu Arjun’s gesture was a reminder of the phenomenal run of 'Pushpa: The Rise' at the box office since its release four months ago. It was also a reminder of the fact that South Indian cinema has perfected the art of making pan-India movies, which appeal to both a larger domestic audience and foreign viewers. And, the results are showing where they matter the most, in terms of money earned. And Salman Khan too acknowledged it. He said on Monday that it is the heroism in South films that is drawing audiences to theatres, which is lacking in Hindi movies today. In 2019, Bollywood’s share in domestic box-office revenues was higher than that of South Indian films. The numbers stood at Rs 5,200 crore for Bollywood versus Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian films. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s share stood at Rs 1,500 crore. Things, however, have changed. An EY-FICCI report has revealed that South Indian films dominated domestic box-office revenues for calendar year 2021 at 2,400 crore rupees. Bollywood was a distant second at 800 crore rupees and Hollywood third at 500 crore rupees.   Till February this year, Telugu cinema was reportedly doing better business at the box-office than any regional language cinema. According to Ormax Box Office Report 2020 and 2021, which had been shared exclusively with Business Standard back in February, Telugu cinema’s share in box-office revenues had risen to 29 per cent -- higher than Hindi’s 27 per cent and Tamil's 17 per cent share.   Now, the Covid-19 pandemic definitely had a role to play here, but there are other reasons too. So, what are the reasons behind South Indian cinema’s success? Within a week-and-a-half of its release, the Hindi-dubbed version of KGF2 has already hit the 300-crore-rupees collections mark.  The time taken to reach that milestone was amongst the shortest for a regional film, even when compared to RRR and Pushpa. Put simply, the southern film industry is getting savvier at creating content and marketing with each new release. Inox Chief Programming Officer Rajender Singh Jyala gave Business Standard the example of Yash, the Kannada actor who features in KGF2. He travelled to different parts of India to promote his film. He did not simply restrict himself to the south. Moreover, Yash also engaged with bloggers and YouTubers to build up hype. According to Shringar Films Chairman Shyam Shroff, the southern industry has understood what a Covid-exhausted audience wants. As they come out from under many of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, people are seeking big-ticket and action-packed films. And, the southern industry has understood this need, with all of its hit films being based on this formula. The combination of big stars, big directors, drama and high-octane action has caught the fancy of the people. EY-FICCI report says that South Indian movies will continue to do better business than Bollywood films in 2022 because of their content clicking with audiences. All of this comes on the back of the fact that more big-ticket regional films are awaiting release in multiple languages across markets. But, there may be an elephant in the room. The dearth of big-ticket Hindi-language theatrical releases over the past two years due to the pandemic. There is another factor to consider. Experts have also pointed Business Standard towards fatigue with Bollywood stars and scripts as one of the possible reasons behind the new preference for South Indian films. Keeping both these factors in mind, what is the future likely to look like for the Indian box-office?   According to Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital, 18 to 20 Hindi films expected to collect over Rs 100 crore are lined up in CY22 and FY23. This is double the number of such Hindi fi

The two giants of the banking space – ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank – are battling it out to stay at the numero uno position.   Quarter after quarter, ICICI Bank has been threatening the leadership of HDFC Bank as the former reported steady earnings growth. Even during the March quarter, the earnings of ICICI Bank beat market estimates while those of HDFC Bank missed them. It comes as no surprise then that analysts cut their target prices on HDFC Bank post result while upgraded or maintained their targets on ICICI Bank. Going forward, analysts believe that steady growth delivery, strong asset quality and low credit costs, will help ICICI Bank deliver low-risk returns with consistent earnings per share compounding. Let’s go to independent market analyst Ajay Bodke to have a better understanding of what’s ticking for ICICI Bank?   That said, there are a few metrics that investors need to watch out in both the banks to decide the winner. From investment view point, analysts see 45% upside in HDFC Bank and 42% upside in ICICI Bank from a one-year perspective. While Emkay Global opines that ICICI Bank can maintain its outperformance over HDFC Bank if it sustains its core performance and realises top management premium. Nomura believes the tailwind of improving NIM, which had helped net interest income and pre-provision profit growth in FY22, is likely at its peak for ICICI Bank. Those at JPMorgan also caution that ICICI Bank’s re-rating potential has largely played out with the lender’s valuation gap with HDFC Bank almost nil. Overall, ICICI Bank appears well-placed to remain in the driver’s seat within the banking pack from near-term perspective as HDFC Bank faces de-rating amid slowdown in growth. On Tuesday, investors will closely follow global cues for market direction. Besides, volatility is expected to rise ahead of the monthly F&O expiry. Among individual shares, AU Small Finance Bank, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Life will be the key companies to announce their March quarter results.  Watch video

The Reserve Bank of India last month, in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India, launched the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for feature phone users known as UPI 123Pay. UPI can, in fact, can be used on feature phones even currently, but the process is USSD based. It can be accessed through NUUP (National Unified USSD Platform) using the short code of *99#. But this option is cumbersome and remains unpopular. Considering that there are more than 400 million feature phone users in India, UPI 123pay will materially improve the options for such users to access UPI. Feature phone users will now be able to undertake a host of transactions based on four technology alternatives. They include calling an IVR number, app-based functionality in feature phones, missed call-based approach and also proximity sound-based payments. Let’s go through each option. UPI payment through pre-defined IVR numbers would require users to initiate a secured call from their feature phones to a predetermined number and complete UPI on-boarding formalities to be able to start making financial transactions without an internet connection. With the IVR providing multiple language options, customers can avail this service in their preferred languages. In app-based functionality, an app would be installed on the feature phone through which the user can access several UPI functions. In this type, the interested solution providers will need to partner with the feature phone mobile manufacturers to enable a native payment app. This UPI app’s look and feel is similar to smartphone-based apps, however with certain limitations of the feature phone. Currently, it can offer the majority of UPI functionality except for Scan and Pay, which is a work in progress. In a missed call-based approach, feature phone users can access their bank account and perform routine transactions such as receiving and transferring funds, regular purchases, bill payments, etc., by giving a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant outlet. At the time of billing, the merchant will create a token with the customer’s mobile number and the bill amount of his purchase. The customer will receive an incoming call to authenticate the transaction by entering UPI PIN. And last but not least, Proximity Sound-based Payment uses sound waves to enable contactless, offline, and proximity data communication on any device. Users can tap any phone and make UPI payments to merchants using a payment solution developed by ToneTag. The user first calls the IVR number and chooses the Pay to Merchant option. They tap their mobile phone on the merchant device, and press # once the device emits the unique tone. The user then enters the amount to pay, followed by their UPI PIN to complete the transaction. The merchant device acknowledges the transaction status and the user receives confirmation through

Another electric scooter erupted in flames last week -- adding fuel to the already raging debate around its safety. It also triggered a warning from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who asked negligent companies to mend their ways or face action. A lot is at stake for the government too, which has now come out with a draft on battery-swapping policy offering a host of incentives, including GST cut. So will battery swapping address the safety concerns plaguing the electric two-wheelers? And will these incentives lure the EV makers towards the battery-swapping model from the existing fixed-battery model?  Charging of EVs in smaller cities is also one of the concerns due to increasing power outages. Meanwhile, Sumant Sinha, CEO of ReNew Power and president of Assocham, says that private sector capex in sectors like power is picking up. It may change things for the better. In an interview with Business Standard’s Arup Roychoudhury, Sinha also tells why India is well placed for a good growth rate of 6-8% per annum if external risks don’t upset the cart.    The United States too is feeling the inflation heat -- which is at a four-decade high of 8.5%. And after US Fed Chief Jerome Powell hinted at a 50-basis point (bps) rate hike in May, the Indian markets crashed last Friday. The Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex snapped their two-day winning streak and slipped 1.27 per cent and 1.23 per cent respectively. Does this mean a bearish market for investors from here on?  After the flight of capital from the stock markets, let us turn to literal flight. In today’s digitally-connected world, leaving the earth was the only way to leave the internet connectivity behind, literally. But that’s no more possible now. First the technology and then the government has allowed use of the internet on flight. But ever wondered how it works? Let us find out in this episode of the podcast.  Watch video

Just as public trust in electric vehicles was taking a hit amid a spate of fire incidents involving e-scooters, government think-tank NITI Aayog came out with the much-awaited draft policy on battery swapping last week. Targeted at electric two and three-wheelers, the policy aims to drive large-scale adoption of EVs by promoting the use of the nascent but rapidly growing battery swapping technology and encouraging collaboration among the stakeholders. Battery swapping falls under the broader umbrella of Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) business model where users purchase an EV without the battery, which significantly lowers upfront costs. They pay a regular subscription fee to service providers for battery services throughout the vehicle's lifetime. To bring battery swapping into the mainstream, the draft policy promotes open architecture and aims to create a framework for greater interoperability between EVs and batteries. The batteries will have to be compatible with different EV models and with different battery-charging stations.  NITI Aayog also said the policy will not mandate a rigid set of technical and operational requirements to foster interoperability, leaving room for innovation. When it comes to safety, a rigorous testing protocol has been proposed to avoid any unwanted temperature rise at the electrical interface.  Batteries are required to be enabled with Battery Management System or BMS, for efficient battery monitoring, data analysis, and safety. The BMS must be self-certified and open for testing to check its compatibility with various systems, and capability to meet safety requirements.    Swappable batteries will have to be equipped with advanced features like IoT-based battery monitoring systems, remote monitoring and immobilisation capabilities. Apart from asking the GST Council to consider reducing the tax on lithium-ion batteries to 5%, NITI Aayog suggested that incentives for vehicles with fixed batteries be extended to swappable-battery vehicles. Pulkit Khurana, the Co-founder of Battery Smart, which operates a network of over 200 swap stations in 10 cities, says that NITI Aayog has incorporated most of the feedback raised by his startup as well as other companies during stakeholder discussions with the government last month.  The draft policy goes above and beyond industry demands and encourages multiple interoperable ecosystems to come up, says Khurana. Specifications for batteries and chargers will help in safety, he says.  The policy provides clarity for EV buyers on who to approach for grievance redressal. The Battery Providers are designated as the Point of Contact and will be responsible, in coordination with other ecosystem players, for handling any type of complaint. Draft says that they will also be responsible for channelling monetary compensation to the EV owners, if necessary. Depending on the particulars of the case, a battery provider may recover these costs from other ecosystem players too, for instance, the vehicle manufacturer. Arun Sreyas, co-founder of RACEnergy which manufactures swap stations and swappable batteries, questioned the policy push towards interoperability. He said there could be practical challenges in implementing that and could pose a safety risk. While the industry seems split on the issue of interoperability, the draft policy by and large promises leeway for innovation. By touching upon the aspects of incentives, GST, safety, interoperability and accountability, the comprehensive set of policy recommendations can establish the battery-as-a-service model as an alternative to the fixed battery and traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.   Watch video

Q: Now that we are on a path of recovery, we find ourselves in a disruption where there is a disruption in global supply chain and there is volatility in commodity prices. In this background, what is your assessment of the FY2022-23? Ans: >India has, over the years, resolved many of its structural challenges impacting macroeconomic performances >External risks facing India are US Fed increasing interest rates and geo-political issues around the world >External risks will impact commodity prices, oil markets etc >Indian economy in a healthy position – demand growth expected, corporates ready to invest for capacity creation >India looking at long-term growth at 6% to 8%     Q: While there is usually known question on India could register a better growth than other emerging markets. But even by RBI’s own admission, right now the bigger issue is inflation. How do you see inflation impacting business? Ans: >Not all cost increases can be passed on to the consumers, as it impacts demand >Corporates absorbing inflationary impact will have effect on margins >Rising interest rates will also impact corporate bottom lines >Corporates may shrink some of their margins because they cannot pass on all the inflationary impact to consumers     Q: Mr Sinha, it has been a long wait for private sector capex to come in. Especially during the pandemic, investment has mostly been driven by state and central governments. While there are some signs of a turnaround by private sector capex, by when do you think it is really going to pick up? Ans: >Private sector capex picked up in infrastructure sector. Corporates raising capital from outside the country and working on capacity utilisation >Power sector witnessing robust growth in demand >Power sector in need of rapid capacity expansion to meet the demand growth >Power sector needs more coal, as more than 70% of India’s power consumption is met from coal >Demand is picking up in cement, real estate     Q: Hospitality, tourism, retail, cinemas – as you know these have been the worst hit during the three waves of pandemic. These are also the sectors that are struggling to go back to the pre-pandemic levels. Govt has taken some steps. Do you think that is enough? What more do you think can be done to revive these sectors? Ans: >More than govt assistance, industries need the economy to pick up >Although Covid-cases are picking up a little bit, it’s thankfully a milder version >Economic activities should carry on. People are also going to carry on with their normal lives >As people carry on with their lives, hospitality, tourism, retail sector will see huge pent-up demand      Q: The National Monetisation Pipeline and the National Infrastructure Pipeline – the two ambitious plans on which the govt is building revival program, a lot of these would be through public-private partnership. Previously the private sector has not had many good experiences with the PPP model. So, do you think there is a case for a complete overhaul of the PPP policy? And what are the assurances that the govt can extend to the private sector that the earlier incidents will not occur again?  Ans: >Power sector enjoys robust dispute resolution mechanism in relation to PPP and the govt is responsive to problems >Govt needs to walk the fine line of getting people to commit to the contracts and also extending some leeway >In a volatile economic environment, the govt needs to be more flexible Watch video

Frontline indices have tumbled around 5 per cent each since October 2021 after hawkish global central banks – especially the US Federal Reserve – spooked investors out of their easy-money bubble. The Russia-Ukraine war also added fuel to the fire as it elevated prices of key commodities, especially Brent crude to a 14-year high.   However, a wave of gloom spilled across Asian markets last Friday -- with India as no exception -- as the US Fed hinted at 50 bps rate hike in May. While analysts assert that the markets are already pricing in the rate hike, the quantum of hike and the pace can trigger a knee-jerk reaction.   Market analyst UR Bhat, for instance, expects that the markets will eventually price in the rate hike and later recover the lost ground. He says, markets are factoring in a 25 bps hike. Bhat believes markets will eventually digest the rate hike, but accelerated pace of rate hike can trigger panic. The US Fed is also likely to raise rates by 50 bps four times as against 25 bps eight times, he says.   VK Vijayakumar of Geojit Financial Services, too, believes the Fed’s half-point hike may temporarily steer markets in negative territory.   The comment by Fed chief Jerome Powell that a 50 bps rate hike is possible in May and the need to control inflation has pushed the 10-year bond yield above 2.9 per cent, says Vijaykumar. While the market has already discounted this hawkishness of the US Fed, investors should buy high quality stocks on steep corrections and wait with patience in this time of uncertainty, he suggests.   However, global brokerage Nomura is of the view that the US central bank will aggressively raise rates by 75 bps combined in its June and July meetings. It also believes that, though, markets have been reluctant to price 75 bps hike, a stronger pricing for such a move would ease the path for the FOMC.     Moreover, following the two 75 bps hikes in June and July, Nomura expects the US Fed to hike rates by 25 bps at every meeting scheduled in 2022 and 2023. They expect 300 bps of cumulative tightening this year, up from their previous forecast of 250 bps.   Against this backdrop, global cues, bond yield movement and macroeconomic developments will guide the markets this week.   Back home, investors will react to private lender ICICI Bank’s Q4 results in trade today. Later in the week, 9 Nifty companies are expected to report their Q4 scorecard including Bajaj Twins, HDFC Life, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Ultratech Cement and Wipro.  Watch video

Earlier, air travel and internet access were considered mutually exclusive. If you were taking a flight, you’d be logging out of the digital world. Then, in March of 2020, the government permitted airlines operating in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers.  Flying hasn't been a pleasant experience amid Covid-19, to say the least. But, at least unlike before the pandemic, you don't have to enter a bubble of internet silence because you are on a flight.   Now while being air-borne, you can call people, check your Facebook, watch YouTube videos, and answer office emails. Online entertainment can be a lifesaver during a long flight, especially if the in-flight collection is stale.   But, how is this made possible? Primarily, in-flight internet systems are based on two kinds of technology. The first is an air-to-ground system. Here, an antenna on board the aircraft will pick up signals from the nearest tower on the ground. Up to a certain altitude, the connection will remain seamless. This is of course unless the aircraft passes over an area without ground towers. Basically, the ground towers project signals upwards. Also, the on-board antennas used in this case are fitted beneath the airplane. Then there is the satellite-based WiFi system. Here satellites beam signals directly to antennas installed on the aircraft. Meanwhile, air-to-ground-based networks use satellites to beam the signal to a ground-based transmitter first and then to the antennas on-board the aircraft. The satellite-based system is more effective when the aircraft is flying over the sea. In a satellite-based WiFi system, the on-board antennas are fitted on the top side of the aircraft and they have to constantly adjust their position to receive signals. The data is transmitted to the passenger's personal device through an on-board router, which, in turn, is connected to the aircraft's antenna. When the aircraft reaches an altitude of 3,000 metres, the on-board antenna will switch to satellite-based services.    Watch video

Earlier, air travel and internet access were considered mutually exclusive. If you were taking a flight, you’d be logging out of the digital world. Then, in March of 2020, the government permitted airlines operating in India to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services to passengers.  Flying hasn't been a pleasant experience amid Covid-19, to say the least. But, at least unlike before the pandemic, you don't have to enter a bubble of internet silence because you are on a flight.   Now while being air-borne, you can call people, check your Facebook, watch YouTube videos, and answer office emails. Online entertainment can be a lifesaver during a long flight, especially if the in-flight collection is stale.   But, how is this made possible? Primarily, in-flight internet systems are based on two kinds of technology. The first is an air-to-ground system. Here, an antenna on board the aircraft will pick up signals from the nearest tower on the ground. Up to a certain altitude, the connection will remain seamless. This is of course unless the aircraft passes over an area without ground towers. Basically, the ground towers project signals upwards. Also, the on-board antennas used in this case are fitted beneath the airplane. Then there is the satellite-based WiFi system. Here satellites beam signals directly to antennas installed on the aircraft. Meanwhile, air-to-ground-based networks use satellites to beam the signal to a ground-based transmitter first and then to the antennas on-board the aircraft. The satellite-based system is more effective when the aircraft is flying over the sea. In a satellite-based WiFi system, the on-board antennas are fitted on the top side of the aircraft and they have to constantly adjust their position to receive signals. The data is transmitted to the passenger's personal device through an on-board router, which, in turn, is connected to the aircraft's antenna. When the aircraft reaches an altitude of 3,000 metres, the on-board antenna will switch to satellite-based services.