PUNE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

VOL. XI NO. 214, 18 PAGES, `6.00 PUBL I SHED FROM : AHMEDABAD, B ENGALURU , CHAND IGARH , CHENNA I , HYDERABAD, KOCH I , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBA I , N EW DELH I , PUNE

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Pune

2 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMMONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

E0320O0224 - Collecting Samples from SCCL Hospitals investigation of Serum T3, T4, TSH and

submission of Report for a period of 2 Years - 15.10.2020 - 17.00 Hrs.

PR/2020-21/MP/CVL/48

THE SINGARENI COLLIERIES COMPANY LIMITED(A Government Company)

Regd. Office: KOTHAGUDEM – 507101, Telangana.

e-Procurement TENDER NOTICE

Tenders have been published for the following Services/Material Procurement through e-procurement platform. For details, please visit https://tender.telangana.gov.in -or-http://www.scclmines.com

NIT/Enquiry No.,Description/subject Last date & time for Submission of bid(s)

NIT No., Date- Name of the Work - ECV . Last date & time for Submission of bids

E1520O0209 - Procurement of 240 HP Centrifugal Pumps with and without mech accessories15.10.2020 17.00 Hrs

E1420O0245 - Loading Transportation and Delivering of Bottom Ash from STPP to SRP.1 3 & 3A&RK7 inclines Srirampur area for a period of Two Years 21.10.2020 17.00 Hrs

CRP/CVL/RG-II/TN-46/2020-21, Dt.25.09.2020 - Construction of Sheds for shovel & Drills Sectionsincluding office rooms for HOD, Engineers, Staff, Store Rooms & Rest Hall etc., at RG OCP-III,Phase II RG-2 Areas, Godavarikhani, Peddapalli Dist., Telangana State- 4,70,06,034/-12.10.2020 - 4.30 PM

CRP/CVL/RG-II/TN-47/2020-21, Dt.30.09.2020 - Construction of 100 Tonne Dumper Maintenance& Repair Shed - 12 bays and 60 Tonne Dumper Maintenance & Repair Shed - 10 bays with oil room,Service Rooms, Rest Hall etc., for RG-OCP-III, Phase-II, RG-II Area, Godavarikhani, PeddapalliDist., Telangana State- 11,18,07,731/- 15.10.2020 - 4.30 PM - Chief( Civil)

E1620O0242 - Comprehensive Maintenance Contract (CMC) for Lorry WeighBridges (Different Makes) which are working at various sites at various areas ofSCCL for a period of 3 Years 21.10.2020 17.00 Hrs - GM (MP)

DIPR No:962-PP/CL-AGENCY/ADVT/1/2020-21

I Choudhary Anita DeviBirbal D/O, BirbalChoudhary R/o A/902,shubhakamna Bldg.,m.d.keni Marg,bhandup(east), mum-bai-400042 havechanged my name toAnita Birbal Choudhary.

0040550369-1

CHANGE OF NAME

PERSONAL

CLASSIFIEDS

''IMPORTANT''

Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertising copy,it is not possible to verify itscontents. The Indian Express(P.) Limited cannot be heldresponsible for such contents,nor for any loss or damageincurred as a result oftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readers makenecessary inquiries beforesending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

Pune

PRASANTASAHUNewDelhi, October 4

THE MEGA INITIAL publicoffering (IPO) of insurancebehemothLife InsuranceCor-poration (LIC) won’t materi-alise in the current financialyear owing to tardy progressinpreparationsandpaucityoftimetocomplete the formali-ties,sourcesawareof themat-ter told FE.Selling a 10% stake in LIC

iscrucial fortherevenue-hun-gry government to meet theFY21 disinvestment target of`2.1 lakh crore.Without the LIC IPO,

the disinvestment receiptscould at best be around`1 lakh crore, even assumingthemuch-delayedBPCLstakesale will be completed byMarch31.A Cabinet proposal has

been floated by the depart-ment of financial servicesrecently to amend the LICActto make it compatible withthe Companies Act andproposing in-principleapproval to dilute up to 25%

equity in the demutualisedLIC in tranches. As per thenote, the IPO size is to be inthe range of 5-10%,depend-ing on themarket appetite atthe timeof the offer.“However, it is not feasible

to float the IPO in thenext sixmonthsasa lotofpreparatorywork ispending,”asenioroffi-cial told FE.Usually, the IPO prepara-

tion and processes take 6 to 9months before the offer hitsthemarket.

ContinuedonPage4

DISINVESTMENT ● INTERVIEW: RC BHARGAVA, chairman, Maruti Suzuki

The auto sector has had arough time but Maruti Suzukichairman RC Bhargavabelieves the festive seasoncould be a reasonably goodone. Bhargava tells Sunil Jainand Shobhana Subramanianthe share of first-time buyers isgoing up. Edited excerpts:

September wholesaledespatches have beenstrong...Monthly wholesale numbersare not a good indicator ofwhat is happening.September was good on alow base. Also, at the end ofAugust the inventory dippedbelow 80,000, which is50,000 less than it shouldbe. Our norm is thatdealers need to have onemonth’s stock; if therearen’t enough cars in theshowroom, the buyerwillgo elsewhere. Thenumbers look good butthat does not mean weare in a happysituation. TheSeptember retails arenot high.

How are you readingthe demand in thefestive season andbeyond?At the moment, wehave good prospectstill Decemberbecause theNav r a t r a s w i l l

start in mid-October, whichis a good period, and thenwehave Diwali. In December,most companies offerdiscounts to clear models,and the month often seessome of the highest salesbecause customers get good

deals.After that, however,wehave no visibility. Since Q1was a washout and Q2 wasspent adjusting to the newoperating protocol, we won’tget to last year’s figures.However, provided Januaryto March is reasonably good,H2FY21 will be as good asH2 last year.

Istheshareoffirst-timebuy-ers to totalbuyersgoingup?I don’t have the exactnumbers, but what isapparent is the sales ofcompact and entry-levelcars have grown faster thanthe overall sales.

GivenMaruti’sshareofcars priced less than`10 lakh is about60% comparedwith the marketlevel of 50%, areaverage realisationsgettinghit?It is true we have ahigh share ofcompact and smallercars but that is alsohelping compensatefor the loss from theabsence of dieselvehicles. Despite not

having diesel models,we have 50% of themarket. But yes, theaverage selling price wouldbe impacted.

ContinuedonPage4

AMLANCHAKRABORTYNewDelhi, October 4

THE INDIANPREMIERLeague(IPL) has launched an investi-gation after one of the playersin this year’s tournament inthe United Arab Emirates(UAE) reported beingapproached for possiblecorruption, the league’sintegrity chief told ReutersonSunday.“Yes a player has reported

an approach.We are lookingintoit.Nofurtherdetailscanbegiven at present” Ajit Singh,head of the anti-corruptionunit of the Indian cricketboard, said in a text messagewithout identifyingtheplayerorthe franchise.

ContinuedonPage 4

● STICKYWICKET

IPLstartsprobeafterplayerreports corruptapproach

RISHI RANJANKALANewDelhi, October 4

ARMED WITH A recentamendmenttotheCompaniesAct, theministry of corporateaffairs (MCA) may directlarge unlisted entities — thelikes of Flipkart, Zomato andPatanjali — to file financialstatements more frequentlywith the Registrar of Compa-nies (RoC) than the annualperiodicitynow.The rationale behind

the move is to enable earlyfraud detection and statutorycompliance.At present, listed compa-

nies have to submit financialstatements annually to RoCand upload their financialresults on a quarterly basis onthe stock exchanges, underSecuritiesandExchangeBoardof India (Sebi)norms.However, private unlisted

companies furnish financialdata to the Registrar of Com-panies only through theirannual statements.

ContinuedonPage 4

●BIG UNLISTED FIRMS

MCAmayask formorefrequent filingof financialstatements

IN THE NEWS

Govtweighs legaloptions inVoda taxarbitration caseTHE GOVERNMENT isweighing its legal optionsafter losing the high-profileinternational tax arbitrationcase against Vodafone asit looks to limit damagesnot just in this matterbut also in case of aseparate lawsuit withCairn Energy goes againstit, reports PTI.

Assembly polls:LJPwalks outofNDA in BiharTHE LOK Janshakti Party(LJP) on Sundaywalkedout of the ruling NationalDemocraticAlliance (NDA)in Bihar ahead of the stateAssembly polls, as itattacked chiefministerNitish Kumar andannounced that itwouldfight JD(U) candidates inthe elections, reports PTI.

Preparatorywork, includingamendment toLICAct, delayed

QuickPicks

GSTCouncilmeeting todaylikely to be stormyaffair

THEGSTCouncil meeting onMondaymayturn into a stormy affair,with non-BJP ruledstates still being in disagreementwith theCentre on the compensation issue, reports PTI.

Opposition-led states likeWest Bengal, Punjab andKerala have not yet accepted the borrowing option givenby the Centre. PAGE 4

Over1 lakh local shops,kiranas tofacilitateAmazon India’s delivery

AMAZON INDIAon Sunday said it has enabled over1 lakh local shops, kiranas and neighbourhoodstores across the country through its various initia-tives, amove thatwill help servemore customers

this festive season, reportsPTI. Its initiatives include‘Local Shops onAmazon’ andAmazon Easy stores.PAGE 5

ECONOMY, P4

FINMIN REPORT

INTERNATIONAL, P14

PUNE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

‘Economyon recoverypath, Covid caseloadmayhavepeaked’

COVID BATTLE

After mixedmessagesfromWhite House, Trumpsays 'real test' ahead

OPINION, P6

STEPHEN S ROACH SUNIL JAIN

US’s negative domesticsavings& soaringCADwillweakendollar

New labourCodeswill help

attract firms looking to

relocate fromChina, but need

to act on red-tape, badpolicy

VOL. XI NO. 214, 18 PAGES, `6.00 PUBL I SHED FROM : AHMEDABAD, BENGALURU , CHAND IGARH , CHENNA I , HYDERABAD, KOCH I , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBA I , N EW DELH I , PUNE

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CHANGINGTIMES

FEBUREAUNewDelhi, October 4

WITH A NEW chairmanassumingoffice fromOctober1, sources said the TelecomRegulatoryAuthority of India(Trai) is likely to drop the pro-posal of putting in place floorprices for both data and voicetariffs as it is felt there’s noneedforsuchameasurenow.Thereisaviewinthegovern-

mentthatthehealthofthetele-com operators has improvedsubstantially since December2019,when theyall raised tar-iffs byup to 50%.Further, theSupreme Court has allowedthemtopaytheiradjustedgrossrevenue (AGR) dues in instal-mentsovera10-yearperiod.Since tariffs are under for-

bearance, the operators arefree to raise tariffs whenevertheywant so that the govern-

ment or the regulator are notseen to be party to fixing anykind of floorprice as itmaybeseenasanti-consumer.

ContinuedonPage 5

`2-CRORE LIMIT

BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAKNewDelhi, October 4

THE GOVERNMENT’S DECI-SION to cap benefits under akeyschemeatjust`2croreperexporter during the Septem-ber-December period of thisfiscalwill likelyhitthepharmaand auto industries hard, assomeofthelargecompaniesinthese sectors have generallybeenamong thebiggest bene-ficiaries, raking in exportbenefits of hundreds of croresof rupeeseach.While company-wise data

aren’t available in the publicdomain, sources told FE thatfirms that receivedmaximumbenefitsundertheMerchandiseExport From India Scheme(MEIS) in FY18 included JSWSteel (`302 crore), Ford India(`273 crore),BajajAuto (`247crore),DrReddy’s (`241crore),Aurobindo Pharma (`211crore),Mylan Lab (`193 crore),Hyundai Motor India (`189crore), Vedanta (`180 crore),

Lupin (`155crore),andNissanMotor India (`150 crore).TataMotors, Maruti Suzuki India,Hindalco andReliance Indus-tries,too,havereceivedsizeableamount,thesourcessaid.It’s possible that some of

these companies may havebeen out of the list of top 10beneficiariesrecentlybuttheystill cornera sizeable chunkofbenefits,the sourcesadded.Aquestionnaire sent to the

commerceministryonSeptem-ber 23 remained unanswereduntilthepaperwenttothepressonSunday.Queries sent to JSWSteel, Bajaj Auto, AurobindoPharma,LupinandVedantadid-n’t elicit any response either.Maruti Suzuki India said itwouldn’t like to comment onthe matter, while Dr Reddy’ssoughtmoretimetorespond.

ContinuedonPage 5

Auto,pharma firms to be hithard by cap onMEIS benefits

MEIS benefits Key beneficiaries(` crore)

(` cr, in FY18)

*Targeted,

for Apr-Dec

FY20

43,500

9,000

FY21*

302 273 247 241 211

JSW

Steel

Ford

India

Bajaj

Auto

Dr

Reddy's

Aurobindo

Pharma

‘Secondhalf of thisyearcouldbeas goodas itwas lastyear’

COVID-19

ISHAANGERANewDelhi, October 4

INDIA’S MAJOR CITIES maystill be the only onesaccounting for over 1 lakhinfections and adding 2,000-3,500caseseveryday,butotherurbandistrictsnowaccountforalargershareoftotalinfections.Till August, the caseswere

divided equally amongeight major cities (Delhi,Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune,Chennai, Hyderabad, Ben-galuru and Ahmedabad) and181otherurbandistricts.Now, these 181 districts

account for a two-third sharein total infections, with thepace of increase having out-strippedthatintheeightcities.BetweenAugust5andOctober4,infectionspan-Indiatrebled;in the eight cities, therewas a2.2 times increase while inother urban districts, the

increasewas3.7 times.One reason for this is the

rise of infections in tier-IIcities. In Raipur, for instance,infectionshavegrowntenfoldover the last twomonths.

ContinuedonPage 4■Govtestimatesutilisingupto50crorevaccinedosesbyJuly2021,Page4

RIDINGAWAVECongress leader RahulGandhi andPunjabCMAmarinder Singhon a tractor drivenby stateparty chiefSunil Jakhar duringKheti BachaoRally, inMogaonSunday EXPRESS PHOTO: GURMEETSINGH

■Operatorsdon't needpriorapprovalof the regulatorfor tariff changes

■Anychange in regulatoryframework is inTrai's domain

■Govtdoesn'thave any rolebutcan alwayssuggestchanges

■Traiprocessstarted inNov2019 could notbecompleteddue to thepandemic

FORBEARANCE47.7

52.3

38.8

61.2

35.8

64.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8-metro

cities

181 urban

districts

Oct 4Sept 5Aug 5

Share in urban infections

(%)

Beyond metros

■BRANDWAGON,P10

Pinning hopes on festive demandConsumer durable companies are revamping theirproduct ranges and bolstering their offline presence

■ eFE, P8

Cloud technologies & Covid-19The need to be digital and doing it agilely on the cloudis imperative, says SAP’s Kulmeet Bawa

■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P9

Benefits of investing in ETFsExchange traded funds are becoming popular dueto low cost, transparent pricing and liquidity

■ INFRASTRUCTURE, P11

Covid-19 alters logistics of tradeE-commerce growth has spurred demand for temporary

warehouses, even as logistics sector’s prospects are good

■ SCIENCE& TECH, P12

India’s self-driving carFully researchedworking prototype of India-specificAVtechnologymay be ready in the next three years

FE SPECIALS

Cases in N-E double in amonthISHAANGERANewDelhi, October 4

WHILE INFECTIONS INIndia increased 1.7 timesbetween September 4 andOctober4,theNorth-Easthasbeenoneofthefastest-grow-ing regionswith infectionsdoublingsinceSeptember4.Assam, at present,

accounts for three-fourthsof the region’s infections,

but other states in the areahavestartedgrowingfaster.While Assam’s infectionsgrewonly 1.6 times duringthis period, neighbouringArunachal Pradesh, whichtill now has only 10,000Covid-19 infections,reported a growth of 2.3timesbetweenSeptember4andOctober4.

ContinuedonPage 4

LIC listing notlikely in FY21

`2.1 lakh crDisinvestment revenue

target for FY21

`90,000 crBudgeted receipts fromLIC IPOand stake sale

in IDBI Bank

`17,131crDisinvestment receipts

so far this fiscal

DOES MSPMATTER?

PRABHUDATTAMISHRANewDelhi, October 4

DO MINIMUM SUPPORTprices (MSPs) stand as a bul-wark against artificial ham-mering down of marketprices? Procurement value(at MSPs) was hardly 26% ofthe total market value of the22 crops forwhich the bench-mark prices were announcedin the 2019-20 crop season(July-June), according to anFE estimate.Evenincaseofthe10crops

thatwereactuallyprocuredbythe government in 2019-20,thepurchasesmadeupforjustabout 33%of their totalmar-ketvalue.Ifwheat,paddyandcotton,

where MSP purchases were37%,44% and 30%, respec-tively—much higher than inthe case of other crops — areexcluded, the total MSP pro-curementvalueoftheremain-ing 19 crops forwhich MSPsexisted in the season,was a dismal 9%of their totalmarketvalue.Moreover, assuming that

crops represented roughly55%of the gross value added(GVA)intheoverallagricultureand allied sector in FY20 (the

same as in FY19), official pro-curement of `2.41 lakh crorewould be only about 13% ofthe crop GVA in 2019-20 orjustover7%oftheoverallagri-cultureandalliedsectorGVAof`32.57 lakhcrore.

ContinuedonPage 4

Procurement(as % of output value,2019-20 crop year)

■ MSP purchases a thirdof the value of 10 cropsprocured

■ Such purchases just afourth of value of all 22crops for which MSPs areannounced

■ Procurement value just13% of crop GVA or 7% ofoverall agri GVA

36.8 43.8

4.4

0.9

7.7

17.1

12.7

7.8

8.0

30.4

Output value is based onmandi rates and procurementvalue on MSP of each crop, % shareis calculated accordingly

Wheat

Paddy

Masur

Urad

Moong

Arhar

Mustard

Gram

Groundnut

Cotton

Traimaydrop planto fix floor prices

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Infections growingfaster in tier-II cities

Govtprocurementjust 7%ofagriGVA

Pune

❝ ❝

ELECTRIFICATIONDRIVE

Piyush Goyal, railway minister

By 2023, the Indian Railwayswill be theworld's

largest 100% electrified rail transport system

THE GSTCouncil meeting onMondaymayturn into a stormyaffair,withnon-BJPruledstatesstillbeingindisagreementwiththeCen-treonthecompensationissue.Whileasmanyas21states,mostlyruledby

BJPorpartieswhichhavesupporteditonissues,had till mid-September opted to borrow`97,000croretomeettheGSTrevenueshort-

fall in the current fiscal,opposition-led stateslikeWestBengal,PunjabandKeralahavenotyetaccepted the borrowing optiongivenbytheCentre.Sourcessaidinthe42ndmeetingoftheCouncil onOctober5,opposition-ruledstateswouldobjecttotheCentre'sborrowingoptionsanddemandalternativemechanismforfund-ingGSTcompensationdeficit. —PTI

Stormy GSTCouncil meet likely today

‘Economyonrecoverypath,Covidcasesmayhavepeaked’FEBUREAU

NewDelhi, October 4

THEECONOMYISonarecoverypathand theupcoming festiveseasonmayaddtothemomen-tum, although the sustainedspread of the Covid-19 virusposes adownside risk to short-termandmedium-termgrowthrates,thefinanceministrysaidinitsmonthlyeconomicreportforSeptemberreleasedonSunday.Nevertheless,data over two

weeks through September 30suggestIndia“mayhavecrossedthepeakofCovid-19case-load”,the report said. During thisperiod, the seven-daymovingaverage of daily positive caseshassteadilydeclinedfromabout93,000 to 83,000 while theseven-day moving average ofdailytestshas risen fromabout1,15,000to1,24,000.“Thepan-demic,however,isfarfromover,”itsaid.Amidapoliticalslugestover

twofarmBills,thefinancemin-istry report insisted thereformsintheagriculturalsec-tor were “more overdue thaneven the labour reforms as theexisting laws kept the Indianfarmer enslaved to the localmandi and their rent-seekingintermediaries”.“The localmonopolists cre-

atedbythis legal infrastructureenabled the intermediaries toprosperatthecostofthefarmer,especiallythepooroneswithoutthewherewithal to store theirproduce,”itsaid.Thefarmsectorreformsenablethefarmertosell

wherehegetsthebestdeal.Theupcomingfestiveseason

isexpectedtofurtheracceleratethismomentumacross severalsectors, it said,reiterating thatthegovernment is open to tak-ing furthermeasures to softentheCovidblow.“With India unlocking,

demandresurgence ispalpableinmanysectors….Thisisdespiteheadwindsof increasingCovidcases in non-metro cities andrural areas and rising foodprices,”itsaid.Severalhigh-frequencyindi-

cators likePMIdata,GSTmop-up,toll collections,e-waybills,power consumption and autosales have shown an uptick inSeptember.Thereboundsignalspent-updemandandpoints atfurther recovery prospects formanufacturing,accordingtothereport.The GST collection in Sep-

tembertouched`95,480crore,up4%fromayearbefore,while

themanufacturingPMI indexhititspeakinovereightyearslastmonth.Exportsgrew5.3%,year-on-year, in September, railfreight revenue earningswereup by 13.5% and power con-sumption grew 4.2%. Otherindicatorslikee-waybills,kharifsowing,cargotrafficandpassen-ger vehicle sales, too, showedupwardmovement.Agricultureremainsthe“sweetspot”andthegrowthofwhichwillcontinueinthecomingmonths.Theministryexudedconfi-

dence that positive resultsfrom implementation of the`21-lakh crore AtmanirbharBharat package and gradedunlockingoftheeconomyhavecaused the recent turnaroundin high frequency indicators.“All this makes the ministryconfidentthatitsefforttomit-igateimpactofCovid-19areonthe right track towards fasterrecovery of economy to nor-malcy,"thereportadded.

● FINMIN REPORT

EconomyMONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS4 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIA

NewDelhi, October 4

THE CENTRE ESTIMATES toreceive and utilise 40-50crore doses of Covid-19 vac-cine covering 20-25 crorepeople by July next year andit is preparing a format forthe states to submit byOcto-ber-end their list of prioritypopulation group to receivethe vaccine, Union healthminister Harsh Vardhan saidon Sunday.He said priority would be

given to health workersengaged in Covid-19 man-agement in getting the vac-cine. During an interactionwith his social media follow-

ers on 'Sunday Samvad' plat-form, he said a high-levelexpert group is going into allthe aspects of vaccines andthehealthministryisprepar-ing a format in which stateswill submit lists of prioritypopulation groups.The list of frontlinehealth

workers will include bothgovernment as well as pri-vate-sector doctors, nurses,paramedics, sanitary staff,ASHA workers, surveillanceofficersandmanyotheroccu-pational categories who areinvolved in tracing, testingand treatment of patients.This exercise is targeted to becompleted by the end of thisOctober.

Govt estimates to utilise up to50 crCovidvaccinedoses on25 crpeople by July2021:Vardhan

Personal DataProtection Billlikely in BudgetTHEPERSONALDATAProtectionBill,whichproposes toputrestrictiononuseofpersonal datawithoutexplicit consentofcitizens,is likely tobetabled in thenextyear'sBudget sessionofParliament,according to asource.Thedraft of thebill,approvedbytheCabinet inDecember2019,proposes apenaltyofup to`15crore andupto three-year jail termforcompanyexecutives forviolatingprivacynorms.

ConsultancyforNPSstructuring

THEPENSIONFUNDRegu-latory and DevelopmentAuthority (PFRDA) willengage a consultancy thatwillmakesuggestionsforitsorganisational structuringas it seeks to segregate theNPSTrust.IntheUnionBud-getfor2019-20,thegovern-menthadproposedtosepa-rate theNPSTrust fromthepensionregulatorinordertoaddress issues over conflictofinterest.

Paswanundergoesheartsurgery

UNIONMINISTERANDLokJanshaktiPartypatronRamVilasPaswanhasundergoneaheartsurgery,hissonChiragPaswansaidonSunday.Paswan(74)hasbeeninhospital forthelastfewweeks.

RECtradingmayresumefromOct28

ENERGYEXCHANGESIEXandPXILhaveexpressedhopethatrenewableenergycertificate(REC)tradingwillresumeafterthreemonthsonOctober28aselectricitytribunalAPTELhasconcludedhearingontheRECpricingissue.

Quick

View

From the Front Page

LIC listing notlikely in FY21Besides the pandemic, in thiscase, the LICAct, 1956,needsto be amended to transition itfrommutual structure (wherepolicyholders are de-factoowner) to a corporate body(where shareholders are own-ers with authorised and sub-scribedcapitalstructure)aspertheCompaniesAct.Currently,LIC pays 95%of

itssurplustopolicyholdersand5% to the government (Sec-tion 28 of LICAct), that has tochange as profits need to beshared with all shareholderswhen it becomes a joint stockcompany.Similarly, the booksof accounts have to be pre-pared in compliancewith theCompaniesAct.As far as amending the LIC

Act is concerned,a Bill maybetabled in Parliament inDecember, the earliest suchopportunity available as theHouse is currently adjourned

sinedie.While the exact valuation

of the insurer -- which oftenplaysWhiteKnighttothegov-ernment, is not available, it isbelieved to beworth `8-11.5lakh crore, meaning a 10%IPO could fetch the govern-ment `80,000-1,10,000crore. Private valuation firmRBSAAdvisors recently esti-matedLIC’sworth tobe in therangeof`9.9-11.5 lakhcrore.The Centre had estimatedreceipt of`90,000crore fromthe IPO of LIC and full or par-tial sale of residual (47.1%)stake in IDBIBank inBEFY21,the bulk of this was expectedfromLIC listing.LIC has a lion’s share in

India’s insurance businesswithcloseto70%first-yearlifeinsurancepremiafetchedbyit,thankspartlytothecomfortofsovereignguarantee.In a recent commentary,

S&Psaiditconsideredthepro-posed float of shares of LIC tobe crucial for the governmentto consolidate its fiscal posi-tionfollowingthespike inthedeficit thisyear.While thegovernmenthas

takenintoaccount lowerreal-isation from the sell-off exer-cise in FY21,“wewould keepup the pressure”on the disin-vestment department torealise the budgeted target,economic affairs secretaryTarun Bajaj said last week,announcing no change in theenhanced borrowing plan forthis fiscal.With net tax revenues

declining 30% on year inApril-August (the budgetedgrowthwas21%inFY21overtheactualofFY20),someana-lysts see fiscal deficit evendoubling from the budgetedtargetof`8 lakhcrore.Sofarthisfiscal,theCentre

hasgarneredaround`17,000croreor8%oftheFY21disin-vestmenttarget.TheCentre isnowbankingon the sale of itsentire 52.98% stake in BPCLalong with a clutch of othertransactions tominimise theshortfall in its non-debt capi-talreceiptsfromthebudgetedlevel in the current fiscal.Thegovernment was earlierexpecting `70,000-80,000crorefromtheBPCLsale.How-ever, the BPCL stock declined34%betweenOctober3,2019(`531.9) andOctober1,2020(`353.25). The last date tosubmitexpressionsofinterestfor BPCLhas been extended afourth time to November 16,making it a race against timeto complete the deal by theendofFY21.

Second half ofthis year couldbe as good as itwas last year:Bhargava

From cutting corporate taxrates tomore flexible labourpolicies,thegovernmenthasmade a lot of changes toattract investment. Do you

seemore foreign firms com-ing to India, especially thoselookingtoexitChina?Certain specific schemes suchasthoseformakingcellphoneslook like they will have animpact.Butwhetheringeneralcompanies moving out ofChinawill cometo India inbignumbers–-andnotgotoViet-nam,Cambodia or Indonesia -– isanopenquestion.I amnotsurewe have done enough toattract these companies toIndia. The attitude of thebureaucracy and the politicalsystem towardsmanufactur-ing isnot friendlyenough.Thebureaucracy has been shy ofsupporting the private sectorand acting as a facilitator.ThePrimeMinistermaybe indus-try-friendly,butthesamecan’tbe said of the bureaucracy,especially at the level of thestates.And several moves liketheagricultureBillswhichwillboost rural demandare facingtoughopposition.

Where is theproblem?If you look atwhat happens inthe states, the time it takes toget approvals and clearancesbefore you can run the opera-tions, a lot of it still costsmoney. It is not as though it isbeing donewithout consider-ation.I don’t think corruptionhasgoneawayatthefieldlevel,not at all. Look at our inputpolicies…the system isweighted against the industrywhichpaysmuchhigherpricesinorderto subsidiseothers.

IPL starts probeafter playerreports corruptapproachCricketers globally areexpected to report any suchcorruptapproachandafailuretodosocanresult inaban.Last year,Bangladesh cap-

tain Shakib Al Hasan wasslappedwith a two-year-ban,with one year suspended, bythe governing InternationalCricket Council for his failuretoreportmultipleapproaches.The IPL was rocked by an

illegalbettingscandalin2013,which led to two-year suspen-sions for its Chennai andRajasthan franchises.Singh told Reuters in

August thathostingthisyear's

tournament in a bio-securebubble wouldmake it harderfor illegal gambling rings toapproachplayers.The matches are being

playedinDubai,AbuDhabiandSharjah without spectators,and player movements arestrictlyregulatedaspartof theleague'sCovid-19protocols.The eight-team tourna-

mentwasshiftedtoUAEasthenovelcoronaviruscontinuestosurge in Indiawhere thedeathtollhas crossed1,00,000.

—Reuters

DoesMSPmatter? Govtprocurementjust 7%ofagri GVASince the overall output valueof the agriculture and alliedsector (which tends to behigher than its GVA) wasexpected to be around `40lakh crore in 2019-20, pro-curementmade up for even asmallerfractionofit--just6%.However, minimal MSP

operations are, these tend tohave a bearing on marketprices of all crops, the defend-ers of the MSP system say.Really? Except forwheat andpaddy, the only two crops inthe case ofwhichMSPopera-tions are substantial,marketprices don’t seem to beimpacted by real MSPs or thepossibilitythereof.Even in thecase of some22 items (of over1,000 crops grown) forwhichMSPs are announced, theaggregate market pricesthrough the respective cropseasonstendtobebelowMSPs,the differential being roughly15%on an average, a cursorylookatthepricesinthelastfewseasonsbyFErevealed.In the 2019-20 crop year,

forinstance,themarketpricesof arhar,gramand groundnutruled 16.6%, 16.7% and10.8% below their respectiveMSPs.The analysis is based onthe pan-Indiaweighted aver-age mandi prices during theOctober-January period forkharif crops and thosebetween March and Juneperiod forrabi crops.Despite the Food Security

Act that led to ramping up ofpaddyandwheatprocurement

by FCI and others and therecent half-hearted efforts byNafed to purchase pulses atMSPs, albeit in small quanti-ties, value of MSP purchasescontinuestobeasmallfractionof the country’s agriculturemarket.The comprehensive agri-

culture marketing reformsunleashed by three recently-enacted farm laws haven’tcome too early -– severalexpertpanelshavepitched forsuchchangesoverdecades.Yetthere’smerit in the argumentthat proliferation of marketyards and private mandis inevery nook and corner of thecountryshouldhaveprecededtheenactments,sothatperfectconditionswerecreatedforthenewmarketecosystem.The government has

asserted that the new lawswouldnotcrippletheMSPsys-tem or the APMC mandis.MSPshaveneverhad the legalbacking and been imple-mented by administrativeorders, the government haspointed out, in its attempt toquell the agitation over thenewfarmlaws.Since June 5, the day the

Centre promulgated threeOrdinances reforming thecountry’s agriculturemarket-ing(thesewerereplacedbyleg-islationspassedbyParliamentinthemonsoonsession),man-dis have seemed to graduallylose their market shares inmanyareas.DuringtheJune6-August 31 period, mandiarrivalsoffruitsdropped49%on year, that of vegetables by57%andgrains by45%,as FEreported earlier. So, the threattoAPMCmandisfromthenewlawsmaybe real.Someecono-mists have said even as theAPMCmandishave anarchaicand exploitative trait, farmersinmanyregionshavea“symbi-otic relationship” with themandis and the middlemenwhocontroltheAPMCsystem.However, the fact remains

that even before the new cen-tral laws, more than half ofIndian states/UTs had under-taken reforms, allowing pri-vate agri market yards andmarkets.

—with inputs fromBanikinkarPattanayak

Big unlistedfirms: Govt

may ask formore frequentfiling offinancialstatementsThe Companies (Amend-ment)Act,2020,provided forpreparation of financialresults of prescribed classesof unlisted companies on aperiodical basis.Thesewill berequired to be audited or atleast reviewed byan externalprofessional.Sources in the govern-

ment said MCA will call ameeting of the stakeholderslater thismonth todeliberateon the reporting periodicityand the classes of companiesthat would be asked to filefinancial statements moreregularly.The criteria could include

turnover or paid-up sharecapital or a combination ofboth. “The ministry intendsto utilise this for better com-pliance and to bring in moretransparency in functioningof unlisted companies, espe-cially large unlisted firms,”one of the sources said.In 2011-12, the MCA

introduced eXtensible Busi-ness Reporting Language(XBRL).Oneof the features ofXBRLwas early fraud detec-tion it allowed.Besides listedcompanies, firms havingpaid up capital of `5 crore orabove and those withturnover of `100 crore orabove have to file informa-tion in XBRL. NBFCs, HFCsand companies engaged inbanking and insurance sec-tor are exempted from filingof financial statementsunderXBRL.“XBRL has not been as

effective in earlyfrauddetec-tion as was expected. Inten-tion was that as income taxand sales tax officials scruti-nise tax fillings/data, theMCAwill have a similar facil-ity to track companies,” asource said.Welcoming the MCA’s

move, Nangia AndersenIndia’s partner (regulatory)Nischal Arora said while fre-quency of filing and applica-bility on a specific class ofcompanies will be knownonly once the Centre issuescorresponding rules, thisrequirement canbeviewedasa government response tothe recent setbacks sufferedby the financial sector fromNBFCs.“The move does allow the

companies regulator to keepa timely check onmovementof financial assertions oflarge unlisted companies.The amendmentwill furtherstrengthen\early frauddetection capabilities of thecompanies regulator,” headded.Arora said the govern-

ment needs to first devise abalanced formula to identifysystemically importantunlisted companies basedontheir paid-up

capital/turnover/profits.Thereafter,itwill have to seekthe right mix of financialdata that would enable it toascertainwhethera companyrequires further inspectionof books by RoC or can bereferred to the SFIO for fur-ther investigation.AMRG & Associates CEO

Gaurav Mohan said, “Thegovernment’s intentionseems to bring big unlistedcompanies onaparwithpro-visions of listed companies.There are a number ofunlisted firms having mam-moth turnovers and networth, the likes of which areParle Products,Zomato,Flip-kart, Patanjali Ayurved andmanymore.Amendmentwillintroduce more complianceon part of notified unlistedcompanieswhichare amajorcontributor to the Indianeconomy.”

Covid infectionsinN-Edoublein amonthTripura,which is the second-most infected state in theregion with 26,362 infec-tions, recorded an increase of1.9 times.Though Assam also

accounts for 74% of theregionstests,otherstateshaveahigherpositivityrate—dailycases upon daily tests. OnOctober2,whileAssam’sposi-tivityratewas4%,itwas8.8%inArunachalPradesh,5.8%inManipur,6.9% inMeghalaya,11.4% in Nagaland. Sikkimand Tripura had a positivityrate of 9 and 9.8%, respec-tively.The only state to have alower positivitywasMizoramat2.6%.

The share of north-east-ern states is still relativelylow— they account for 3.9%of India’s total infections —but lowhealth infrastructureis also a concern. Forinstance,while India has 68doctors for every one lakhpeople,AssamandArunachalPradesh have only 50 doc-tors.WHO prescribes a normof 100 doctors for every lakhpeople. The ratio is muchmore skewed in Mizoram,Nagaland and Tripura.Sikkim is the only state tohave 163 doctors for everyone lakh persons.

GDP

North-East growsfaster than India

2

1.7

1.6

2.3

1.9

2

2.5

North-East

(No. of times increase betweenSept 4 & Oct 4)

India

Assam

Arunachal

Tripura

Mizoram

Meghalaya

Covid-19 infections growingfaster in tier-II citiesWhilethecapitalofChhattis-garhhadreportedonly3,338cases onAugust 5,on Octo-ber 4, that had jumped to34,890infections.The increase has been

evenmore dramatic inNag-pur as cases have gone up13.6 times from 5,952 onAugust5to80,937onOcto-ber4.Cities in Uttar Pradesh,

which last week recorded

four lakh infections, havealsowitnessedahighgrowthduringthisperiod.Infections in Lucknow

have increased 5.5 timesfrom 9,805 to 54,387,whereas Kanpur hasquadrupled its count to25,549.Withintwoweeks,Maha-

rashtrawill have14districtswithover50,000 infections.Meanwhile, the onlymajor

metropolis to report such aquick pace of infections, asother urban centres, is Ben-galuru,whereinfectionshavegoneupfourfoldto2,45,700inthesetwomonths.InAndhra Pradesh,10 of

12 districts have reportedover50,000 cases.OnMon-day, East Godavari willbecomethefirstdistrictout-side ofmajor cities to record1lakhinfections.

Cases cross65-lakhmarkINDIA'S COVID-19 case-load went past 65 lakh,whilethenumberofpeo-plewhohaverecuperatedfrom the disease crossed55lakh, accordingtotheUnion health ministrydataupdatedonSunday.The recovery rate standsat 84.13%. The totalcases climbed to65,49,373with 75,829peopletestingpositiveinthe last24hours.

—PTI

Pune

NATION 5FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

VODATAXARBITRATION CASE

● BIS NORM

VIKAS SRIVASTAVAMumbai, October 4

AN OVER 20% month-on-monthincreaseinsolarmoduleprices fromChinaduring bothAugustandSeptemberof2020coupledwithadelay inBIS cer-tification of existing and newmodels has impacted therooftopsolarinstallationsinthecountry.Accordingtoengineer-ing,procurementandconstruc-tion (EPC) players,around200MWcapacity is addition is cur-rentlybeingheldup,and if thesituation persists, the stalledunder-construction capacitymightincreasetoover500MW.India imports around

85% of its solar panels fromChina and even the domesticmanufacturers of panels arelargely dependent on Chinaforrawmaterials suchas cells,wafers and ingots thatgo intotheirmanufacturing.Besides, the post Covid

stimulus in China has createdincreased demand for panelsinChina leadingtosuddenrisein prices,which have risen to22cents/wattpeakinSeptem-ber from 18 cents per wattpeak in July leading tomanu-facturers demanding renego-tiationof contracts.Theprice increase has been

in the range of 15%-20%de-pendingonthemonocrystalline

cellstechnologyusedbythede-velopers.RaghavMittal,co-founder&

CEO of SunAlpha, a major In-dian solar EPC player, told FEthat they are in the midst ofplacing module orders for alarge EPCproject pipeline overthe next twoquarters.“We are

workingwithallstakeholderstoabsorb the pricevolatility cur-rentlyprevalent in themodulesupplymarket.Our focus is onensuring smooth delivery ofprojectswithoutanyonegettingtheshortendofthestick.”Mittal further stated that

the pricing arbitrage in Indian

and overseas market oftenleads to shipments findingtheirwaytoIndiaaftersatiatingthe overseas demand firsttherebymaking it difficult fordevelopersinIndiatodeliverasperplannedtimelinesincaseofdelayedshipments.It is learnt that theMinistry

ofPowerhasgivenBIScertifica-tion to fewChinese panels lastweek,however theuncertaintystillprevailsamongtheChinesemanufacturers.KapilDongle,Head,Business

Development (West) at FourthPartnerEnergytoldFE,that In-dian EPCplayers are finding itdifficult to source rawmaterialfromChina.Supplyshocks like

halting of production, floodsandminorfireshaverockedthemarket there,at the same timethe recovery in demandacrossgeographies is witnessing anupwards trend—leading to in-creaseinpanelprices.Moreover,thegovernment’s

plantointroduceBasicCustomsDutyhas also impacted senti-ment.“Suppliers are asking EPC

playerstorenegotiatecontractswhichhavealreadybeensignedatmuchlowerrates.Ifthistrendcontinues,itcouldresultinEPCplayerslookingatsourcingfromcountriesotherthanChinaandincreased relianceondomesticsuppliers,”saidDongle.

Delay in panel supplies fromChina seento hit 500MWsolar rooftop projects

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, October 4

E-COMMERCE MAJOR AMA-ZONIndiaonSundaysaidithasenabled over one lakh localshops,kiranas andneighbour-hood stores across the countrythroughitsvariousinitiativestofacilitate delivery of packagesthisfestiveseason.

More than 20,000 offlineretailers,kiranasandlocalshopsfrom‘Local Shops onAmazon’programmewill participate in‘Great Indian Festival’ for thefirst time,sellingvarious itemslikedailyessentials,largeappli-ancesandhomedécorproducts,astatementsaid.Thisformathelpsshopown-

ers establish a digital presenceandexpandtheirreach,whileal-lowingcustomerstoshopfromlocalstores intheircity.Theprogramme,whichwas

launchedinApril thisyear,nowhasmore than20,000 retailersin400cities,includingMeerut,Ludhiana, Saharanpur, Surat,Indore, Ernakulum andKanchipuram. More than 40percent of the sellers are com-

ing from outside the top 10cities.Its other programmes in-

clude Amazon Easy stores, 'IHave Space' and Amazon PaySmartStore.“This festive season,we are

focused onhelping our sellersandotherMSMEpartnersgrowtheirbusinessandbouncebackfrom the recent challenges. Inthe last few months we haveseen businesses of all sizes in-creasingly adopt technologyintotheirbusiness,”AmazonIn-dia vice-presidentManish Ti-warysaid.TheintegrationofAmazon's

programmeswithonelakh-plusubiquitous neighbourhoodstores – for selling online, tohelp customers buy online, tomakedeliveriesandenablecon-tactless payments – is a testa-mentoftheadaptabilityandin-ventiveness of Indianentrepreneurs, he added. Re-cently,Walmart-ownedFlipkarthadsaidithasonboardedmorethan 50,000 kirana shops tostrengthenitssupplychainanddelivery capabilities ahead oftheupcomingfestiveseason.

With this, Flipkart has sig-nificantly expanded its kiranaonboarding programme tomakedeliveriestocustomersinmorethan850cities,ithadsaid.

E-commercecompaniesseea large chunkof theirbusinesscoming in during the festivesalesandtheymakesignificantinvestments ahead of time torampuptheircapacitytobeableto handle the spike in orders.Festiveseasonseesplayershold-ingmultiple sale events,timedaroundDussehraandDiwali.Electronics, fashion and

home furnishing are some ofthe categories that see a huge

demand during the festiveseason.A report by RedSeer esti-

matesthatfestivesalesthisyearare expected to almost doubleand touch $7 billion in grossmerchandise value (GMV) ascomparedto$3.8billioninthesameperiodlastyear.Walmart-ownedFlipkartwi-

llhostitsannual‘TheBigBillionDays'sale fromOctober16-21,whileAmazon.in is expected toannounceitssaledatesnextwe-ek.Value-focussede-commercemarketplaceSnapdealwillholdits first sale inmid-October tocoincidewithNavratri festival.ItsnexttwosaleswillruninlateOctoberandearlyNovember.Amazon India said it has

over 50,000 Amazon Easystoresacrossthecountry,whichprovides assisted shopping for'newtoe-commerce'customers.Under this model, Amazonworks with several networkpartnersacrossIndiaandtrainsstoreowners tohelpcustomersfind and buy products fromAmazon.in,while enabling ad-ditionalrevenuestreamsforen-trepreneursandbusinesses.

Festive season:Over1 lakh local shops,kiranas toboostAmazon’s Indiadelivery

SWANSYAFONSO &BAIJU KALESHOctober 4

BILLIONAIRE ANIL AGAR-WAL’S commoditiesconglom-erateVedanta posted a 23.5%drop in quarterlyprofit as oneof the world’s strictest lock-downs hit production and de-mand.Groupnet incomeslumped

to`1,033 crore ($141million)in the three months to Junefrom`1,351croreayearearlier,the company said in a state-mentlateSaturday.Sales fell 25.9%to`15,687

crore.

KeyinsightsVedanta’smain businesses

includezinc,aluminiumandoilandgas,all ofwhichhave beenhitbyaslumpindemandduetothecoronaviruspandemicAgarwal’s London-based

Vedanta Resources is in theprocess of taking Mumbai-

listedVedantaprivatebybuyingout minority shareholders tosimplifyhis investments.VedantaResourcesisintalks

with banks for a further$600million to finance thedelistingafteralreadysecuring$3.15bil-lioninloansandbonds,accord-ing to people familiarwith theinformation.Vedanta had net debt of

`24,787 crore at the end ofJune.Vedanta’s Hindustan Zinc,

also Asia’s most valuable zincproducer,reporteda23%dropin June-quarterprofit on lowerpricesandproduction.India’s economyposted its

worst slump in the threemonths ended June as disrup-tions caused by the Covid-19outbreak broughtAsia’s third-largesteconomytoahalt.Econ-omistsexpectgrowthto shrinkin the year through March2021,in the first such contrac-tioninmorethanfourdecades.SharesofVedantarose0.4%

onThursdayto close at 137.45rupees in Mumbai. The stockhas slid 9.8% this year com-pared with a 6.2% fall in BSEbenchmarkindex.Analystshave11 buy recommendations onthecompany,4holdsand0sells,according to data compiled byBloomberg.

Vedanta’s profit tumbles 24%aslockdownhurts output,demand

Govtweighs legal optionsPRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, October 4

THEGOVERNMENTISweigh-ing its legal options after los-ing the high-profile interna-tional tax arbitration caseagainstVodafone as it looks tolimit damages not just in thismatter but also in case of aseparate lawsuit with CairnEnergygoes against it.Last month, an interna-

tional arbitration court ruledthat the Indian governmentseeking`22,100crore intaxesfrom telecom giant Vodafoneusingretrospective legislationwas in“breach of the guaran-tee of fair and equitable treat-ment” guaranteed under thebilateral investment protec-tion pact between India andtheNetherlands.Finance Ministry sources

said the governmentwill de-cide on challenging the awardbefore a court in Singapore -whichwas the seatof thearbi-

tration,aftertakinglegalopin-ion.While the cost implication

in the case is limited tohavingtopay`85croretoVodafoneinlegal cost,what isweighingonthegovernmentmindisasep-arate arbitration involvingUK'sCairnEnergy.If a separate arbitration

panel were to hold a demandfor `10,247 crore in taxes us-ingthesameretrospective leg-islation as illegal, the govern-mentwill have to payCairn asmuchas$1.5billion (`11,000crore).This is the amount equiva-

lent to the value of shares of

Cairn that thegovernmenthadsold to recovera part of the taxdemand.Italsoincludesthediv-idendsandtaxrefundseized.Sources said Vodafone In-

ternationalHolding(aNether-land company) had in Febru-ary2007bought100%sharesof Cayman Island-based com-pany CGP Investments for$11.1 billion to indirectly get67% control of Hutchison Es-sar—an Indiancompany.Thetaxdepartmentfelt the

deal was designed to avoidcapitalgain tax in Indiaandsoimposed a tax demand,whichwas rejected by the SupremeCourt in2012.To stop abuse and plug the

loophole of such indirecttransfer of Indian assets, thegovernmentin2012amendedthe lawtomakesuchtransferstaxable in India, they saidaddingVodafonewas slappedwithafreshdemandwhichthefirm contested through inter-national arbitration.

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, October 4

THE LOK JANSHAKTI Party(LJP) on Sundaywalked out oftherulingNationalDemocraticAlliance in Bihar ahead of thestate assembly polls, as it at-tackedchiefministerNitishKu-mar and announced that itwouldfightJD(U)candidatesintheelections.Whilemakingitsresentme-

ntwith the JD(U)presidentKu-mar clear, the LJPalsowent togreatlengthstohighlightitsst-rongtieswiththeBJP,assertinginastatementthat itwants thesaffronpartytoheadthefuturegovernmentinBiharanditsM-LAswillworktowardsthisgoal.

LJPpresidentChiragPaswanchaired the party's parliamen-taryboardmeeting inwhich adecisionwas taken tonot fighttheassemblyelection,whichbe-gins fromOctober28 in threephases,underKumar's leader-shipoftheNDAinthestate.The BJP, which heads the

NDA, has already announcedthat the alliancewill fight thepollsunderKumar's leadership,and he will be chief ministeragain if people vote it back topower. “Due to ideological dif-ferenceswiththeJD(U),amem-beroftheallianceatthenationallevel and in theassemblypolls,theLok Janshakti Partyhasde-cidedtofighttheelectionsinBi-harseparatelyfromthealliance,”

apartystatementsaid.“Wewill triumph,”was the

brief comment of ChiragPaswan as he sported avictorysignafterthemeeting.However,the LJP is likely to

continue as thememberof theNDA at the Centre as of now,more so as its patron and the

onlymember in theModi gov-ernment,RamVilasPaswan,hasundergone a heart surgery inthenational capital andwill re-main hospitalised for a fewweeks.

TheBJP's relationswith theregional party have remainedcordial,and the LJPhasmain-tainedthatitwillnotcontestag-ainst candidates of the saffronparty.The LJP also said that ithasno“bitterness”withtheBJPandhasoften laudedprimem-inisterNarendraModi's leader-ship.However,theLJP'sdecisionhasthrownopennewpossibili-ties in the Bihar polls as thepartymayendupdamagingtheJD(U)'s prospects at severalseats.

Lok Janshakti Partywalks out ofNDA in Bihar,targets Nitish & bats for BJP-led govt in state

LJPpresident Chirag Paswan

From the Front Page

Auto,pharmafirms to be hithard by cap onMEIS benefitsSources said in a meetingwith commerce and industryminister Piyush Goyal lastmonth, top representatives ofvarious export promotioncouncils and other tradebodies expressed concernsover the capping of the MEISbenefits, highlighting thatmedium and large exporterswho are primarily responsiblefor driving growth are badlyhit by themove.Exporters are also upset

that even this limit can berevised down, as thegovernment has limited theoverall outgo under theMEISto just `5,000 crore betweenSeptember and December.Earlier this fiscal, starved

of resources following theCovid-19 outbreak, therevenue department“suddenly”capped the outlayfor the MEIS at just `9,000crore for the April-Decemberperiod, which meant thatexporters may be deprived ofover two-thirds of thebenefits they usually getunder this scheme. Thisforced the commerceministry to block the onlinemodule for claiming theMEIS benefits since July 23.However, the online modulehas been reactivated sinceSeptember 1.TheMEIS outgowas about

`40,000 crore in FY19 and`43,500 crore in FY20.According to a commerce

ministry estimate, about98% of the exporters whoclaim MEIS will remainunaffected by the changesand less than 2% are likely tobe impacted as per analysis of

claims in the relevant periodof 2018-19. However,exporters have highlightedthat these 2% exportersaccount for a substantialchnuk of the exports coveredunder theMEIS.Exporters have said they

typically firm up deals afterfactoring in the MEIS scrips,which range from 2% to 5%of the export turnover,depending on the products orshipment destinations. So,any abrupt or prematurewithdrawal of or reduction inbenefits by the governmentwill, therefore, erodeexporters’ marginsproportionately, at a timewhen theyare alreadybruisedby a Covid-inducedcancellation of orders.Merchandise exports

witnessed a record 60%year-on-year crash inApril, thoughthe pace of contraction hassince narrowed. The exportsgrew 5.3% on year inSeptember, the first rise sinceFebruary.However, risks fromexternal headwinds stillremain quite strong.Calling the MEIS an

inefficient scheme, NITIAayog recently said whileliabilities under theprogramme grew as much as32.2%y-o-y in FY19,exportsof the MEIS-covered itemsrose by only 10.4%. In FY18,the MEIS covered 47.8% ofIndian exports but 85.6% oftotal exporters, mainlybecause the schemeencompasses many labour-intensive sectors filled withsmall and mediumbusinesses.

Traimaydropplan to fixfloor pricesThe floor price was the only

major issueonwhich the con-sultation processwas startedby former Trai chairman RSSharma, but it was not com-pleted. Before open-housesessions could take place, theCovid-19 pandemic struckandSharma,who superannu-ated on September 30, re-fused toholdopen-house ses-sions online as the industrydemanded.Though there's no laid-

down process, sources saidgoing by convention, a newchairman is free to examinethe issue afresh – he can be-gin a new consultativeprocess, take forward theprocess initiated by Sharma,ordrop thematteraltogether.In the past, ex-chairman

Rahul Khullar had initiated aconsultation paper on netneutrality but the processcould not be completed as histenure came to an end.Sharma, who succeededKhullar,issueda freshconsul-tationprocessandthen issuednot one but a set of recom-mendationswhichwere quitedifferent fromthewayKhullarhadplanned the exercise.Sources said new Trai

chairmanPDVagehla is likelyto first examine whether theissue needs to be taken for-ward as much time haselapsed since the consulta-tion paper was floated. It islikely that the new chairmanmayapproach the issue quitedifferently andmayhave dif-ferent priorities.Though the telecomoper-

ators suchasBhartiAirtel andVodafone Idea still feel that afloor price is needed as thepricing power of the opera-tors needs to strengthen torestore the financial healthofthe sector, the governmentnow feels otherwise. The lat-ter feels that with the pan-demic and the work-from-

home trend, telcos have seena jump in data usage, and itmakes no sense to put inplace a floor price for tariffsas itwould be seen to be anti-consumer.The government had last

year in November in the af-termath of the SupremeCourt's verdict on AGR duespushed for the idea, thoughtariff is a domainof the regu-lator.After that, inDecemberall the operators had in-creased tariffs by up to 50%,which has seen a jump intheir average realisation peruser.

Worst is behind:RFLchairpersonHAVING PAID `6,500 crore tolenders since the change ofmanagementin2018,ReligareFinvest (RFL) is likely to com-plete its debt restructuring byDecember and start newbusi-ness fromnext financial year,Religare Enterprises chairper-sonRashmiSalujasaid.RFL,aNBFCarmofReligare

Enterprises, has been barredfromundertaking fresh busi-nessasit isundercorrectiveac-tion plan of RBI since January2018due to itsweak financialhealth.The companyhas beenin financial distress,primarilydue to alleged misappropria-tion of funds byerstwhile pro-motersShivinderSinghandhisbrotherMalvinderSingh.“Worst is behind...while all

otherbusinessareperforming,RFL is slowly getting out ofwoods.Twoyears ago,all fourwheels (of RFL) were in theditch and the wheels werestuck. Now the wheels are onthe ground and we are refu-elling fora takeoff,”Saluja toldPTI inan interview. —PTI

Pune

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS6 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

❝ ❝

BRIDGINGTHEGENDERGAPGerman chancellor Angela Merkel

Twenty-five years after theBeijingDeclaration,

equality shouldbeagiven. Butwestill havea long

way togo. Let'swork together to really target the

Beijinggoals.The faster thebetter

THEUS DOLLAR has nowentered the early stages ofwhat looks to be a sharpdescent. The dollar’s realeffective exchange rate

(REER) fell 4.3% in the fourmonthsendinginAugust.Thedeclinehasbeeneven steeper as measured by otherindexes,but the REER iswhatmattersmost fortrade,competitiveness,infla-tion,andmonetarypolicy.Tobe sure,the recentpullbackonly

partly reverses the nearly 7% surgefrom February to April. During thatperiod, the dollar benefited from theflighttosafetytriggeredbythe“suddenstop”in theglobal economyandworldfinancial markets arising from theCOVID-19 lockdown. Even with therecentmodest correction, the green-back remains the most overvaluedmajor currency in theworld,with theREERstill34%aboveitsJuly2011low.Icontinuetoexpectthisbroaddollar

index to plunge byasmuch as 35%byend-2021.Thisreflectsthreeconsidera-tions: rapiddeterioration inUSmacro-economicimbalances,theascendancyoftheeuroandtherenminbiasviablealter-natives,andtheendof that special auraof American exceptionalism that hasgiventhedollarTeflon-likeresilienceformostofthepost-WorldWarIIera.Thefirstfactor—theUS’smounting

imbalances—isnowplayingout inrealtimewithavengeance.Theconfluenceofanunprecedentederosionofdomes-tic saving and the current-accountdeficit—joined at the hip througharithmetic accounting identities—isnothingshortof staggering.Thenetnational saving rate,which

measures thecombineddepreciation-adjusted saving of businesses,house-holds, and the government sector,plungedintonegativeterritoryat-1%inthesecondquarterof2020.Thathadnothappenedsincetheglobalfinancialcrisis of 2008-09,when net nationalsaving fell into negative territory for

nine consecutive quarters,averaging -1.7%fromthesecondquarterof2008to thesecondquarterof2010.Butthemostimportantaspectofthis

developmentwas the speed of the col-lapse.At -1%in the secondquarter,thenet saving rate fell fully3.9percentagepoints fromthepre-COVID2.9%read-inginthefirstquarter.Thisis,byfar,thesharpestone-quarterplunge indomes-ticsavingonrecord,datingbackto1947.Whathastriggeredthis

unprecedentedcollapseinnet domestic saving is nosecret.COVID-19sparkeda temporarysurge inper-sonalsavingthathasbeenmorethanoutweighedbya record expansion in thefederalbudgetdeficit.TheCoronavirus Aid, Relief,and Economic Security(CARES) Act featured$1,200 relief checks tomostAmericans,aswellasa sharp expansion ofunemploymentinsurancebenefits, both of whichboosted the personal saving rate to anunheardof33.7%inApril.Absenttheseone-off injections,the personal savingratequicklyrecededtoastill-lofty17.8%inJulyandissettofallevenmoresharplywith the recent expirationof expandedunemploymentbenefits.Offsetting this was a $4.5 trillion

annualised widening of the federaldeficitinthesecondquarterof2020(on

anetsavingbasis),to$5.7trillion,whichswamped the $3.1 trillion surge in netpersonalsavinginthesameperiod.Withpersonal saving likelyto recede sharplyin the months ahead and the federalbudgetdeficitexplodingtoward16%ofGDPinthecurrentfiscalyear,accordingto theCongressionalBudgetOffice,the

plunge in net domesticsavinginthesecondquar-terof2020isonlyahintofwhatliesahead.Thiswill triggeracol-

lapse in the US current-account deficit. Lackingin savingandwanting toinvest and grow, the USmust import surplussaving from abroad andrun massive externaldeficits toattract foreigncapital.Again, this is notesoteric economic the-ory—just a simple bal-ance-of-paymentsaccounting identity.The validity of this

linkagewas, in fact, con-firmed by the recentrelease of US interna-

tional transactions statistics for thesecondquarterof2020.Reflectingtheplungeindomesticsaving,thecurrent-account deficit widened to 3.5% ofGDP—theworst since the4.3%deficitin the fourth quarter of 2008 duringtheglobal financial crisis.Likethesavingcollapse,thecurrent-

account dynamic is unfolding in anequallyferociousfashion.Relativetothe

2.1%-of-GDPcurrent-accountdeficitinthe first period of 2020, the 1.4-per-centage-pointwidening in the secondquarterwasthelargestquarterlydeteri-orationonrecord(datingbackto1960).With the net domestic saving rate

likely headed into record depths ofbetween -5% and -10% of nationalincome, I fully expect the current-account deficit to break its previousrecordof6.3%ofGDP,recorded in thefourth quarter of 2005.Driven by theexplosive surge in the federal budgetdeficit this year and next, the collapseof domestic saving and the current-account implosion should unfold atnear-lightningspeed.It is not just rapidly destabilising

saving and current-account imbal-ancesthatareputtingdownwardpres-sureonthedollar.Ashift intheFederalReserve’s policy strategy is a new andimportant ingredient in the mix. Bymoving to an approach that now tar-gets average inflation,the Fed is send-ingan importantmessage: zero-inter-est rates are likely to persist for longerthanpreviously thought,regardless ofany temporary overshoots of the 2%price stabilitytarget.This new bias toward monetary

accommodationeffectivelyclosesoffanimportantoption—upwardadjustmentstointerestrates—thathaslongtemperedcurrencydeclinesinmosteconomies.Bydefault,thatputsevenmorepressureonthefallingdollarastheescapevalvefromAmerica’s rapidlydeterioratingmacro-economicimbalances.In short, the vise is tightening on a

still-overvalued dollar.Domestic sav-ing is now plunging as never before,andthecurrent-accountbalanceisfol-lowing suit. Don’t expect the Fed,focused more on supporting equityand bond markets than on leaningagainst inflation, to save the day.Thedollar’sdeclinehasonly justbegun.

Copyright: Project Syndicate,2020www.project-syndicate.org

●GREENBACK’SVALUENEGATIVENETDOMESTIC SAVINGS INTHEUS

ANDASOARINGCURRENT-ACCOUNTDEFICITWILLWEAKENTHEDOLLARQUITE FAST

STEPHEN SROACH

Facultymember atYaleUniversity and author ofUnbalanced:TheCodependency ofAmericaandChina

SUKESHMISHRAAdviser (Law).

Competition Commission of IndiaViews are personal

THE JULY10 RULING of the Competi-tionCommission of India (CCI) that letoffcartelparticipantswithamere“ceaseanddesist”warninganddidn’t imposeanymonetarypenaltyhas generated alot of debate and curiosity about theapproach of the body in dealing withcartel cases in the future.TheCCI con-cluded that several composite brakeblock(CBB)manufacturerscartelisedtofix prices, limit supply,allocatemarketandrigbidsofCBBtenders.Thecompe-tition regulatorhad initiated theprobeafter receiving references fromvariousIndianrailwayzonesagainstCBBman-ufacturers alleging that they hadcartelisedbyofferingidenticalbidsandreductions in price in response to thetenders floated by railwayzones.Afterfinding the players guilty of cartelisa-tion, the CCI notedvariousmitigatingandattenuatingfactorssuchascontin-ued cooperation of the players withinvestigationandinquiry,admissionofguilt,lowrevenuefromcartelisedprod-uctandtheeconomicimpactofCOVID-19 on credit needs and liquidity ofMSMEs; the commission refrainedfromimposinganymonetarypenalty.Nodoubt,cartelsareconsideredtobe

themostperniciousandegregiousman-ifestations of anti-competitive behav-iourand,consequently,aserious infrac-tion of the competition law. Yet, thelegislatureitself,initswisdom,chosenotto criminalise suchbehaviour; rather,itprovided a civil dispensationunder thecompetitionlawtodealwithsuchbehav-iour. In fact, recently, the CompetitionLawReviewCommittee (CLRC),whichrevisited the entire competition law,arguedagainstsuchtreatment.The law prescribes a very enabling

and flexible framework and the CCI isexplicitlyempowered to issue all oranyoftheremediesprovidedunderthelaw,which include imposition ofmonetarypenaltyorissueofceaseanddesistordersimpliciter.Infact,thelawevenenvisionscertain redeeming features of cartelssuch as efficiency-enhancing arrange-

ments that take such cartels out of thepurviewofthestatutorypresumptionofappreciable adverse effect on competi-tion,which, in anyevent is rebuttable,andnot absolute.The concept of crisiscartelsiswell-recognisedacrossjurisdic-tions. Earlier, when the CCI imposedheavy penalty of `6,300 crore uponcementcompaniesforcartelising,therewascriticismonquantumofthepenalty,andthisultimatelyresultedinarulingbySupremeCourtwhichdecreedthatonlyrelevantturnover(fromcartelisedprod-uct), and not the total turnover, to betaken into account by the CCI whileimposingmonetarypenalties.This notonly substantially and significantlyweakenedanddilutedthedeterrenceoflaw,but also createdarbitrageopportu-nitiesforcartelists.Inthiscase,theCCIexplicitlyrevealed

itsmindinchoosingagainstimpositionofmonetarypenalties.Tobeginwith,thepartiescooperatedduringinvestigationand inquiry stage before the directorgeneralandtheCCI,respectivelyanddidnot dispute and rather admitted theirinvolvement.Such cooperation by thepartiesfacilitatedanearlycompletionofinvestigationand inquiry,whichother-wiseinvolvedmultipletendersspanningovermanyyears.This resulted in fastermarketcorrection.Infact,inthecontextof leniency applicants (i.e., thosewhoadmit guilt andmakevital disclosuresalongwith continued cooperation),thelaw itself envisageswaiverof penaltiesupto100%.One would appreciate that the

ultimate objective of any anti-trustauthority is to strive for speedier andfaster market-corrections and notimposition of crippling monetarypenalties and collection of revenue;these, in any event, are heavily con-tested and stayed by Appellate Tri-bunal and Supreme Court beforeattainingfinality,therebypostponingthemarket-correction toa futureanddistant time.Markets are dynamic,and any anti-competitive behaviour

must be dealt with swiftly.Also, onehas to appreciate the impact of suchheavy penalties upon the vendorswho were mostly MSMEs and theproductconcerningthe infringement(CBB) constitutedonlya small part oftheir businesses.Manygovernmentsandcompetition

agencies have relaxed the competitionlawframeworkduringthepandemicbyissuing relevant advisories.Backhome,even the Insolvency and BankruptcyCode has been suspended during thecurrenttimes.Canthistemperedpublicpolicy action be seen as a licence todefaulting borrowers and allegedswindlers of publicmoney?On earlieroccasions also, the CCI has refrainedfromimposingmonetarypenaltiesduetovariedandcase-specific facts,includ-ingabject lackofawarenessofcompeti-tionlawonthepartofsmallplayers—val-idating thevery reason the legislaturegave the CCI room for such flexibility;else, the statute itself could have pro-vided for impositionof specifiedpenal-ties.So,this isneithera firstnorthe lastcasewheretheCCIhascalibratedpenal-tiesinproportiontothesituation.The CCI has explicitlywarned the

vendors against indulging in suchbehaviour in the future, failingwhichsuch conduct would be construed asrecidivism andwill invite aggravatedpenalties.Thissufficientlyprotectstheinterestsofprocurerinfuturetenders.So,theregulatorhastostrikeabalanceby moulding remedies dynamically,keeping in view the larger goals offastermarket-correction, rather thanact likeacane-wieldingheadmastertodisciplinemarketparticipants.Finally,it isasettledlawthatdiscre-

tionvestedwiththeauthoritiesshouldbe exercised judiciously and fairly.Remedies in each case need to becrafted taking into consideration thespecific andpeculiarcircumstancesofeach case.Decision in one case cannotsetaprecedentforfuturecaseswithoutregard toattendant facts.

Covid-19 trumpsTrumpIt is sad (and to some extent,stunning) news that US presidentDonaldTrump running for re-election and First Lady have testedpositive for Covid-19 just 31 daysbefore the presidential election.Wewish them a speedy recovery.PresidentTrump often grabbedheadlines for his ambivalent andcavalier attitude towearingmasksand keeping physical distancing.While flaunting his mask afterpulling it off from the inside of hissuit during the first presidentialdebate in Ohio hemocked JoeBiden forwearing the biggestmaskhe has ever seen all the time. Hispromise of a vaccine before theelection day (November 3) has fewtakers. In the USAthe number ofCovid-19 cases exceeded 7.16million and the death toll climbedpast 205500.This is not themomentto say ‘I told you so’, but it can beemphasized that a pandemic isbetter responded to by science.Trump cannot be blamed forcatching the infection, for anyonecan contract the virus. No doubt lifeis full of uncertainties. Still it isimportant to take precautionarymeasures suggested bymedicalexperts to protect oneself andothers in a pandemic time.Trumpattended crowded rallieswith littledistancing andmanymasklessonlookers.Acontagious disease isindifferent to one’s station in lifeand does not distinguish betweenthe powerful and theweak. Trump’ssicknesswith the SARS-CoV-2 hasbelied his claim that the ‘virus isbehind us’.—GDavid Milton, Maruthancode

Stubble burningIf the government incentivisesPunjab farmers over theMSP, itwillworsen the problem as farmers canthen never be shifted out of paddycultivation that is harming thestate’s soil. The EPCA’s stand is forthe best. The government shouldindeed heed its advice.— Sumona Pal, Kolkata

The July 10 ruling of the CCI, issuing only a cease-and-desist order to the cartel-players,has sparked offa lot of debate.But, the fact is that the competitionlaw allows the CCI to calibrate punishment, and itacted in the interest of fastmarket-correction

LETTERSTO

THE EDITOR

The vise tightenson the dollar

Penalising cartels & enforcer’s dilemma

Ashift in the Fed’s

policy strategy is a

new ingredient in

themix. Bymoving

to an approach that

now targets

average inflation, it

is sending an

importantmessage:

zero-interest rates

are likely to persist

for longer than

previously thought

●Write to us at feletters@expressindia.com

R.N.I. Reg. No.MAHENG/2010/34809 Printed and published byVaidehi ChintamanThakar on behalf ofThe Indian Express Private Limited and printed atThe Indian Express Private Limited Press, Survey No. 288, Plot 1 and 2, Raisoni Industrial Park,VillageMaan,Taluka Mulshi, District Pune-411027 and published atThe Indian Express Private Limited, Express House, Plot No. 1205/2/6, Shirole Road, Shivajinagar, Pune-411004. Phone: 67241000, Fax: 67241047.

Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka,Managing Editor: Sunil Jain, Resident Editor: Malini Bhupta* (*Responsible for selection ofnews under PRBAct) ©Copyright: The Indian Express Private Limited.All rights reserved. Reproduction in anymanner, electronic or otherwise, inwhole or in part,without priorwritten permission is prohibited. The Financial Express®

Opinion

HazyUNDERSTANDINGIndian leaders have pushed the drug debate towardsstigmatising users; that doesn’t help tackle addiction

WHILEINDIANPOLITICIANSwageaproxybattleagainsteachotheroverthe‘stories’ofdrug-use—pot,blow,everythinginbetweenandbeyond—bycelebritiesthatTVnewschannelsdredgeupbythedozen,themediaandthepeopleofNewZealandhavesimplyshruggedoffprimeminis-

ter JacindaArdern’s admission tohaving tokedwhen shewasyounger.Ardern,bear inmind,facesanationalelectionsoon,andmarijuanalegalisationisahot-buttonpartisanissue.InIndia,whereoneincarnateofcannabis(akamarijuana)istreatedasholy,politi-cians and themedia have onlyprojected‘holier than thou’posturing on recreationaldruguse.Indeed,theirstigmatisationofdruguserswouldsuggest theyhaveverylittleunderstandingofthepublichealthpositionondruguse.Perhaps,Indianeeds its ownBill Clinton.Clinton,duringhis first presidential cam-

paign,wasposed‘aquestionofsurgicalprecision’overpastdruguse.Tomany,hisanswerwouldhavesoundedabsurd—yes,hehadsmokedpot,buthehadn’tinhaled.Thathewentontobecomepresident,andthatGeorgeWBushafterhimdidn’tfaceanysignificantelec-toralrepercussionswhenhewasoutedoverdruguse,madeitpossibleforaBarackObamatoownuptohisownrecreationaluseofdrugs.Thelistofleadersandachieverswhohaveexperimentedwithdrugsislong.Thisisnottoadvocatedruguse,buttopointoutthatstig-matisationofusersdoesnothingtobeattheproblemofaddiction.

RationalExpectations

PERHAPSTHEBESTthingabouttheOpposition’scampaignagainstthethreeagriculturalBills passedbyParliament is that thismuted theopposition tothe four labour Codes thatwere also passed. Journalists tend to focus pri-marilyonthehire-and-fireclausesand,tothatextent,thechangesareincre-

mental; afterall,allowingfirmswithupto300workers—it is100atpresent—tofirethemwithoutgettinggovernmentpermissionissomethingYashwantSinhahadpro-posedaroundtwodecadesago.Butevocativeasit is,hire-and-fireis justoneoftheproblemsemployersfacegiven

India has, believe it or not, 463Acts on labour across the Centre and stateswhichinvolve32,542compliances—thepermissiblelevelofglarefromthelighting,thegapbetweenmachinesandeventhequantityofdrinkingwater ina factoryare specifiedbythegovernment!—and3,048 filings inayear.Asingle factory inone statedoesn’thave todo all 3,048 filings,this applies to a companythat has a factory in each stateorUnionterritory; a single factorywithupto500workershas todo120+filings inayear,sojustcompliancecosts—withoutincludingthewasteoftopmanagementtimeforsmallerfirms—couldaddupto7-8%of turnover.The biggest change,of course, is allowing fixed-term contracts for all jobs in the

future. In the past,a firmmaynot havewanted to fulfil, say,a 2-mn jeans order fromWalmart since,once the orderwas fulfilled,the ownerwould be stuckwith the thou-sandsofpeoplehehired.In thepost-reforms’world,hewill justgivea fixed-termcon-tract to theworkers and,so,doesn’t need to fearexpanding his business. In a sense, just asVaj-payee’s government didwith government pen-sions—all newentrantsweremoved to theNewPensionScheme—theexistingbenefitshavebeengrandfathered; thismutes opposition,but fornew firms,all employees can be on fixed-termcontractswhere the 300+ rule does not apply.Alongwith the sharp cuts in corporate tax rates,India suddenly looks a lot more attractive forthose looking to relocate from China; indeed,Appleandseveralothersinthemobile-manufac-turingspacearegettingevenmorebenefits.Of the 1,536Acts that govern all economic

activity in the country (see graphic), 30%per-tain to just labour; in termsof thecompliancesandperiodicfilings,46-47%pertainto labour,going by a compilation byAvantis Regtech, aTeamLease company that deals with compli-ances (www.teamleasecompliance.com). So,any simplification here is a boon for indus-try/services. In the case of the 44 central Actsthat had 1,458 sections,937 compliances and135 filings in ayear,there has been adramaticchange; all the Acts have been subsumed intofour Codeswith,and this is the operative part,just480sections (that’s a reductionof67%).TheCodeonwages,for instance,subsumes thePaymentofWages,theMinimum

Wages,thePaymentofBonusandtheEqualRemunerationActsand,insteadofmain-taining12registers for them,the lawcuts this to a third;Avantis believes this canbecut to justonewithsomerejigging,ashasbeendone inKarnatakaalready.While thecentral Act now specifies 52minimumwages,keep inmind the Karnataka lawhas1,440minimumwages!The social securityCode subsumesnineActs—like the onesonmaternitybenefits,gratuity,andprovidentfund—andtheregistersthatneedtobemaintainedaredownfromover20to justoneortwo,andthenumberof returns inayeararedownfrom36to justone.But,andthere isalwaysabutwhen it comes to Indianreforms,less thanatenthof

the labourlawsare thoseof thecentralgovernment;3-4%inthecaseofcompliancesandfilings.So,forafactoryownertoreallybreatheeasy,thecentrallabourreformshaveto be carried over to the states.The good news here is that, starting now,none of thechangesthestatespropose—say,raisingthe300limit to1,000—require theapprovalofeithertheirownlegislaturesorthecentralgovernment;itcanjustbedonebyanoti-fication.Indeed,aftertakingcentralpermission,fixed-termemploymenthasalreadybeenallowedby12-13states,the300-threshold isalreadytherule in16states.Whilemost states are expected to change their lawsoverthenextyearortwo—23

havealreadyallowedsomelevelofself-certificationofcomplianceandonlinefilingasopposedtothepaper-basedera—whatisimportantisto,almosteveryday,cutred-tape.Thoughthecentralgovernmentcontinuestoboastaboutthejumpintheeasily-gamedEaseofDoingBusiness (EoDB)rankings,70%ofthe1,536centralandstateActshavenot evenbeen touched; if businesses still need tomake3,570 filings in ayear—otherthanlabour—it isdifficult toseehowanycredibleclaimofEoDBcanevenbemade.And,fortheChina-refugees,importantasit is,it isnotjustthecomplianceburden

that is the issue, it is the bad—andunreliable—policy environment that needs to befixed.If the central andstategovernmentsowebusinesses`10+ lakhcrore,that canhardlybegoodnewsforinvestorssuchasinthepowersector,norcantheMEISexportbenefits suddenly getting curtailed, or import consignments from China gettingdelayed,or the fact that the government refuses to even honour international arbi-tration awards, the different rules for Indian and foreign e-commerce players, thehounding of seed-tech firms likeMonsanto, themess in India’s telecom or oil poli-cies…the list is a longone.It is noone’s case that reformsgetdoneovernight and,tothatextent,thelabour-lawreformsarewelcome,especiallywhenseenalongwiththereforms inagriculturemarketingandcontract farming.But it took thepresentgov-ernmentsixyearstogetthelabourandagriculturereforms;thatisaglacialpacewhenyou lookathowIndia’s competitors,includingChina,continue topowerahead.

SUNILJAIN

sunil.jain@expressindia.com@thesuniljain

Enough to attractChina-refugees?

Attractive tax rates and fixed-termcontracts good for firms thatwish to relocate; but a lot of red-tape remains,as does bad policy

Red-tape■ 47% of all compliances*relate to labour

■ Central labour compliancesmay be cut by 67%

Compliances

Labour

Central Central

Labour

*Central and State

32,54236,691

Others

Others

Acts

CompliancesActs

463

1,073

States States

44

937

419 31,605

Pune

OURDECISION-MAKERSarefocused,understandably,oncontaining the pandemicand rekindling economicgrowth.But,in themidst of

theseimmediatepreoccupations,theyarealso confrontedbythe structural impedi-ments that have held back growth, pre-Covid-19,andwhich,ifnotaddressed,willbe a drag on growth,post-Covid-19.Onesuch longstanding structural issue is thefinancialplightofthestateelectricitydis-tributioncompanies(discoms)thatdeliverpowertoconsumers.My colleagues at the Centre for Social

andEconomicProgress(CSEP),RahulTon-gia and Rajashekhar,have recently com-pleted a detailed analysis of the financesofthesediscoms,andIwantto,inthisarti-cle (https://csep.org/impact-paper/-paper)draw on their findings to throw furtherlight on these entities, but,more impor-tantly,use it as an illustrative example toshowuptheinadequacyofsingle-prongedeconomic,financialortechnicalsolutionsforremovingthestructural impedimentsto faster growth. The problems of landacquisition, labourmarkets, urban con-gestion,airpollution,farmers’remunera-tion, subsidies—the list of the structuralstrains coursing through our polity islong—canonlybe tackled throughmulti-prongedandnetworkedresponses.The financial problemsof discomsare

well-known and longstanding.Theyhavebeen the subject of much debate, studyand controversy.Governments at everylevelhavesoughttocleanupthemessbutwith little success.TheNDA-1 introducedtheUDAYschemetoparedowntheirdebtand rationalise electricity pricing. It didnotmake amaterial dent.More recently,

the financeminister allocated `90,000crore (later raised to `1.25 lakh crore) todiscoms in her `20 lakh crore stimuluspackage.This is roughly the amount thegovernmentportalPRAAPTIindicatesaretheduesowedbydiscomstopowergener-ators.The CSEP study suggests,however,that these are gross underestimates andthat this liquidity infusionwill be inade-quate.Theypoint to the figure put out bythePowerFinanceCorporation forMarch2019of`2.27lakhcrore.Moreinsightful,perhaps, is their suggestion that,were allthe stakeholders involved in the electric-ityvalue chain (viz.generators, transmis-sioncompanies,discoms,consumers,reg-ulators and state governments) to cleartheir dues to each other, discomswouldlook much stronger. Discoms are owed

about`1.8lakhcrorebyconsumersalone,ofwhich a third is due fromstate govern-ments themselves.This latter payable isover and above the subsidy shortfall of`70,000crore,cumulativeovera10-yearperiod, which state governments hadcommitted topaybutneverdid.Discomsare,nodoubt,inefficient and

thelossesonaccountofaggregatetechni-cal and commercial (ATC) leaks are avoid-able.Butwhenthese lossesare setagainsttheamountsowedto thembythevariousstate governments and the ‘opportunitylosses’that theyhave incurred because ofthe failure of the regulators to fix cost-relatedtariffs,itisclearthefinancialplightof discoms hasmore to dowith politicaland regulatory issues than operationaldysfunctionalities. Under such circum-

stances, the infusion of liquidity and/orsingle-pronged solutions such as privati-sation would simply not address theunderlying reasons for themalaise.Whatisrequired,instead,isamultiprongedandnetworked overhaul of the entire discomsector and, in particular, the regulatorystructureandtheirdeliverables.All stake-holderswillhave to takeahaircut.Thestudyforewarns that the financial

hole intowhich discoms have fallenwilldeepeninlightofCovid-19.Thisisbecauseof the sharp decline in the demand forelectricity by industrial and commercialentitieswhopay‘fullprice’todiscomsandwhose revenues cross-subsidise agricul-tural and rural households. It avers thatevenwhendemandpicksup,theseentitiesmaynotreturninfullmeasuretodiscoms,

but may instead turn to renewables tomeet theirrequirements.Theconsequentlossofrevenueswouldpitchdiscomsoverthe edge unless,before then, the sector isoverhauled.Looking ahead and picking up on the

underlying message contained in thisstudy,severalgenericquestionsneedtobeasked.Is thereanyreasontohopethat thegovernment might indeed pick up thecudgelsforawholesalestructuralreform?Might itbe that inapost-Covid-19world,thegovernmentwillfinditselfunderpres-suretostepoutof theframewithinwhichits responses have been traditionallydeveloped?Mightwe see a narrowing ofthe gulf between the prescription of asolutionand its implementation?I do not have answers, but I recently

heardanewword,‘Geo-civics’.ItwasusedbyAnne-MarieSlaughter,CEOofthethinktank New America, to suggest that theproblems of theworld are planetary andrequire, therefore, globally-networkedsolutions unconstrained by the limits ofnationalboundaries,economics,technol-ogyor social identity.She alluded specifi-callytothepandemicandglobalwarming,but she could just aswell have been talk-ing about racism, refugees, inequalityand/or fundamentalism.She alsomade apoint that generationZand themillenni-alshavedifferentprioritiesfromtheirpar-entsandare increasinglyimpatient toseeprogressontheseplanetaryissues.I do not want to make too much of a

word, but I will admit, it did trigger thethoughtthat,perhaps,Covid-19will intro-duce anewpressure point on the govern-mentandthatwouldcompelthemtolookatinheritedstructuralproblemsthroughadifferentprism.Thispressurepointcouldbe our youthful population who mustrealise increasingly that their futurehingesontheeffectivenessofthegovern-ment’s policy response to the uncertainand evolving pressures of changing eco-nomic and industrial structures, job pro-files and social dynamics.This youthfulbulge should be less accepting ofentrenched vested interests, status quoand incremental change. I wondered—admittedly an academic and somewhatabstract reflection—whether such pres-surewillmoveustowardsamorecollabo-rative and networked model of gover-nancebuiltontheplatformof‘civitas’(thesocialbodyofthe‘cives’orcitizens)?Andifso,whether thatmight not be a reason toexpect an affirmative response to theabovequestions?

OPINION 7FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

OVERTHE BARREL

SANDEEP

SABHARWAL

The author is CEO, SLCMGroup.Views are personal

ONSEPTEMBER14, thegovernmentreplacedthe three ordinances issuedduring the lock-downbyintroducingatrioofBillsonagricul-ture reforms in Parliament—Farmers’ Pro-duce Trade and Commerce (Promotion &

Facilitation) Bill, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment & protec-tion)Agreement of PriceAssurance and FarmServices Bill,2020;andEssentialCommodities(Amendment)Bill,2020.These Bills present a global vision for agriculturewith

seamlessopportunities forfarmersand theagri-fraternity.Thestepaimstomarryagriculturewithtechnologyandthegovernment is of the view that the proposed agri-marketreformswill attract investment in infrastructure and offerfarmers competitive remuneration.Thesereformsarewell-intentionedandwillhelpconnect

archaic Indiawith real India, and to achieve that an inte-gratedplatformplaywouldberequired.Thoughdoubtshavebeen raised over the existence of the traditional system ofmandis,goingbythefineprintoftheproposalsoftheseBillsit can be said thatmandis aren’t going anywhere and theirimportanceisonlygoingtoamalgamateintoalargervision.Theproposedreformspavethewayforintroducingtech-

nology into agriculture throughwhich crops can beman-aged remotely. These intend to make tech-driven ware-housesavirtualmandiwheretradingcouldbedonethroughtrading platforms.To understand this, onemust recall theolddaysofstockexchangeswhentradingwasdonethroughan open outcry system.Buyers and sellers used to operatefromaspecificareaof thetradingcalledthetradingpitandpurchasedandsoldstocksthroughtheopenoutcrysystem.In thepit,brokersmatched customers’buy-and-sell ordersthroughshoutingandhand-signalling.Butwithtechnologythepithasceasedtoexist.Tradingbecamedigitalandaper-son sitting in Guwahati can trade in the scrip listed on thestockexchangeofacompanyoperatingfromTamilNadu.Asimilar vision is presented through these Bills—a lady, forexample,sitting in Jodhpur,would be able to trade inmus-tard in amandi of Punjab.These Bills envisage a change inthewaytransaction inagriculture takesplace in India.For this paradigm shiftwhat is required is smartware-

housing—wheresmartwarehousesareintegratedwithreal-timedataembeddedinartificialintelligencedoingreal-timetrackingof facilitiesandprovidingerror-free resultsonthestatus of thewarehouse and the products storedwithin aswell as in transit.A smartwarehouse linked to such plat-formsusingpaperlessqualitycontrol,paperlesstradingandfinancing could usher in an era for a platform play in theagri-market and the companieswith smartwarehousingwouldactasstimuli instreamliningtheagri-environment.Forthis,focusmustbeonthedevelopmentofanIntegratedPaperless Framework forAgrifoodTrade Facilitationwithembedded components such as paperless quality control,paperless tradingandfinancing.Taketheexampleofqualitycontrol.Agroandfoodcom-

moditiesareparticularlysubjecttoseverehygienestandardsin storage facilities as inappropriatehumidityorrandomlyvariable temperaturesmay alter product quality,makingthemunfit for consumption,and therefore humidity dataareinevitablycollectedatallstagesinastorageprocess.Nowif the entire systemof quality controlmoves to a paperlesssystem then the data could be obtained in real-timewhichwill ensure that all processes are connected from inputs tooutputs and are traceable. It can then be embedded in asmart warehouse that will make it easier to monitor thecompositionofeach lotpreciselyalong thechain.Tradeinagriculturalandfoodproductsismorecomplex

than trade in manufacturing—regulations are stricter,paperworkismorecumbersomeandlogisticsaremorecom-plex.Therefore,apaperless systemwouldnotonly increasethe efficiencyof agri-trade,butwould also help in the con-versionofwarehousingintosmartwarehousing,thusguar-anteeingfoodsecurityforall.Oncethatisachieved,thereal-isationofthevisionoftransformingIndianagricultureintoaprofessionwithseamlessopportunitieswon’tbedifficult.

Strengtheningagriculture

Connected agri-value chain required forthe success of agri-reforms

Lessons from

Covid-19Can Covid-19 compel the government to look at inherited

structural problems through a different prism?

While thegovernmenthasbeenrollingoutschemestoattractglobalmanufacturerstoset up shop in India,RC Bhargava, chair-man,Maruti Suzuki, believes these maywork in specific sectors such as mobilephone manufacturing. Bhargava tellsSunilJainandShobhanaSubramanianhe is not sure companies that aremovingoutofChinawillnecessarilymoveto Indiaasthesituationontheground,byandlarge,remainshostile.Excerpts:

Septemberwholesale despatches havebeenstrong…Monthlywholesalenumbersarenota

goodindicatorofwhatishappening.Sep-temberwas good,on a lowbase.Also, atthe end ofAugust, the inventory dippedbelow80,000,which is 50,000 less thanit should be. Our norm is that dealersneed to have onemonth’s stock; else, ifthere aren’t enough cars in the show-room, the buyerwill go elsewhere.Thenumbers look good, but that doesn’tmeanwe are in a happy situation. Sep-temberretails arenothigh.

Howareyoureadingthedemandinthefestive season,andhowsustainabledoyouthinkthedemandwouldbe?At the moment, we have good

prospects till December, because theNavratras will start in mid-October,which isagoodperiod,andthenwehaveDiwali. In December,most companiesoffer discounts to clear models, andDecemberoftenseessomeofthehighestsales because customers get good deals.Post that,however,we have novisibility.Since Q1 was a washout and Q2 wasspentadjustingtothenewoperatingpro-tocol,wewon’t get to last year’s figures.However, provided January toMarch isreasonablygood,H2FY21willbeasgoodas thesecondhalfof lastyear.

Have you had to support your dealerswith the demand dropping due toCovid-19?A fewdealers needed some support,

but by and large banks have been veryhelpful in providing working capital,therewas themoratoriumalso…

Areyouexpectingalotofdiscounting?Discountsaredeterminedalmostona

day-to-daybasis.It isnotafixedamount,

and is largely a function of supply anddemand.Ifthereisawaitinglistforapar-ticularmodel, there is no point in offer-ingadiscount,butifthereisasurplusandyou want to push sales, we have someincentive schemes.

Istheshareoffirst-timebuyerstototalbuyersgoingup?I don’t have the exact numbers. But

what is apparent is thatsales of compact andentry-level cars havegrown faster than overallsales.

GivenMaruti’s share ofcars priced less than`10lakh is about 60% com-pared with the marketlevel of50%,are averagerealisationsgettinghit?It istruewehaveahigh

share of compact andsmaller cars, but that isalso helping compensate the loss fromtheabsenceofdieselvehicles.Despitenothavingdieselmodels,wehave50%ofthemarket.Butyes the average selling pricewouldbe impacted.

There isstrongcompetitionfromKia’sSonet…Kia has donewell, but themarket is

alsogrowing.Onabaseof35 lakhcars,ifwecanmanage8%,that’s2,80,000addi-tional cars ayear,and that is a lot of cars,sothereisscopeforotherplayerstogrow.

Oneortwocompaniescannotbepickingupall thedemand; it is simplynotpossi-ble for a company to add a line for2,50,000carseveryyear.Earliermuchofthe market was shared by Maruti andHyundai,nowothershavecome in.A lot of the success of a car also

depends on the availability of spareparts, after-sales service. The Kwid(Renault)didverywell initially,andthen

it just peteredout.

Howmuch of themarketwill be electric cars in thenext fewyears?That depends on the

changes in the tax policy.What has happened is thatthecostofcarshasgoneup,notbecauseofmanufactur-ingcosts,butbecauseofthechanges due to safety andenvironment norms. If youexclude these costs, and doa like-to-like comparison,

the costof the carhas comedown in realterms.

What are your views on the GST ratestructure?The government realises that if you

want sustainablehighdemand,which isrequired to grow manufacturing andemployment, we need to make carsaffordable. But the resources are notavailable, and there are conflictingdemandsonthem,makingareductionofGST on cars both politically and finan-

ciallydifficult.Butwhatweforget is thatby putting high taxes, we reduce vol-umes,and bydoing that you put a brakeon manufacturing and employment.Also,whenever taxes have come down,therehasbeenbuoyancyin revenues.

From cutting corporate tax rates tomore flexible labourpolicies, the gov-ernment hasmade a lot of changes toattract investment. Do you see moreforeign firms coming to India, espe-ciallythose lookingtoexitChina?Therearecertainspecificschemessuch

asthoseformakingcellphoneswhichlookliketheywillhaveanimpact.ButwhetheringeneralcompaniesmovingoutofChinawill come to India in big numbers—andnot go toVietnam,Cambodia or Indone-sia—isanopenquestion.Iamnotsurewehavedoneenoughtoattractthesecompa-nies to India.The attitude of the bureau-cracy and the political system towardsmanufacturingisnotfriendlyenough.Thebureaucracyhas been shyof supportingtheprivatesector,andactingasfacilitator.The prime minister may be industry-friendly,but the samecan’t be said of thebureaucracy,especially at the level of thestates.Andseveralmoves liketheagricul-ture Billswhichwill boost rural demandarefacingtoughopposition.

Where is theproblem?If you look at what happens in the

states, the time it takes to get approvalsandclearancesbeforeyoucanrunopera-tions,a lot of it still costsmoney.It is notas though it is being donewithout con-sideration. I don’t think corruption hasgoneawayat the field level,notatall.Look at our input policies… the sys-

tem isweighted against industrywhichpaysmuchhigherprices inorder to sub-sidiseothers.When a firm comes into a country, it

does sowith a plan to expand.But if youhave such high taxes—as on automo-biles—howwill thedemandgrow.That’swhy there are such few firms in Indiawithglobalscaleevenafterbeingherefor50-60 years. If you aren’t able to growagriculture incomes, this hits ruraldemand…allofthiskeepsindustryaway.

Isthelackofstabilityofpolicyafactor?TheMEIS benefits, to name the latestproblem, were suddenly capped.Restricting/delaying Chinese importsmay be required from a nationalistpointofview,but ithurtsbusiness…The long-term stability of policies is

an absolute necessity for creating confi-dence amongst investors and enablingthemto invest in India.Wehavenothadanyproblemswith imports fromChina.While I am not sure of exactlywhat hasbeenhappening,ifrestrictions/delaysareaffecting other manufacturers, thiswouldnotbepositiveforinvestors.Again,take the issue of royalties.Thiswas set-tled last year when SEBI revised thechange to 2% royalty and restored the5% limit.Apparently, the governmentnow feels that royalty payments shouldbe justified in terms of technologyreceived. While that is correct, theimpression should not be given that theroyaltypolicycanbefrequentlyreviewed.

Has the problem with Indian labourlaws been sorted out? You can have asmany fixed-term employees as youwantnow.Myviewisquitedifferentfromyours.

Weneedacertainamountofflexibilitytohireonfixed-termcontracts,butthecoreofafactoryhastobepermanentemploy-ees … it is only when their long-termfuture is tied to a company that youwillbenefit from their learning.A lot of theproductivityimprovementwehavegotisdue to our workers’ commitment andtheir ideas…this can’t happen in a hire-and-fire regimewherepeople are incen-tivised to jump fromone job to another.Labour has to be made a partner for acompanytodowell.

‘Still toomanyroadblocksin India’

● FARM BILLS

PORTRAIT: SHYAMKUMARPRASAD

● RECORD CAFE: RC BHARGAVA

The author is chairman,Centre forSocial andEconomicProgress

VIKRAMS

MEHTA

❝❝The attitude of thebureaucracy and thepolitical system

towardsmanufacturing isn’tfriendly enough. ThePMmay be industry-friendly, but the samecan’t be said of the

bureaucracy

Pune

❝

❝

MAKINGGOODUSEOFTECHRoshni Nadar Malhotra, chairperson,HCLTechnologies

As technology becomes a dominant force in allbusinesses and facets of life,we need to ensure thatit is used as a force-for-good and sustainability.

GermanenterprisesoftwaremakerSAPaimstobuildafoundationoflong-termvalueforitscustomers by exploring anddevelopingnewbusinessmodels,trends,andtechnologies—–all through the lens of helping customersbecomeintelligententerprises,nowandinthefuture.KulmeetBawa,thenewpresident&managingdirector,SAPIndianSubcontinent,emphasises that the impact of thepandemicon economy and businesses has been feltmajorly byMSMEsacross the country.“OurGlobalBharatinitiativeisdesignedtoenableMSMEsaugmentbusinessoperationsandre-accesscriticalprocessesthatovercomeineffi-cienciesandmakethemgloballycompetitivebyequippingthemwithdigitaltechnologies,”hetellsSudhirChowdharyinarecentinter-view.Excerpts:

WhatareyourkeyprioritiesforSAPIndia?Withastrongandrichhistoryofinnova-

tion formore than 48 years, SAP is at aninflectionpoint of becoming a“true cloudcompany”which ismost critical in today’scontext.Iamafirmbelieverthatcloudtech-nologiesare instrumental forbusinesses inprocessing Big Data and developing newbusinessmodels.Theneedtobedigitalanddoingitagilelyonthecloudisimperative.Ouraim is to elevate customerexperi-

ence andmake it easier to not only haveaccess to the right solutions but also the

businessvaluesthatcanhelpthemrunbet-ter.SAP is in a unique position to deliverthe software for integrated,end-to-endbusinessprocesses like inasuite.SAP’sbusiness technology platform (BTP)helps customers turn their data intobusinessvalue.

HowisSAPhelpingcompaniestransi-tiontocloudsolutionsduringthepan-demic?SAPgloballyhasevolved into the lead-

ing cloud company by growing its cloudbusiness from€100million in2009 to€7billion in 2019.Our cloud solutions andplatformsdrive our fast-growingbusinessandourcloudrevenuein2018overtookournet-newon-premiselicensebusiness.Wehavehelpedcustomers reducecosts

andstrengthencontrolwithuser-friendlyprocurement and contractmanage-menttoolsthusstrengtheningtheirfinancial supply chain throughaccountspayableautomationandworking capital optimisation.AlongwithAriba,ouracquisi-tions of Qualtrics andSuccessFactorsarehelp-ingcustomersmakethisshift to the cloud in asemless manner.Qualtrics has been a

great success and has outperformed ourexpectationswith2019growthinexcessof40%.Thisenabledustosupportcustomersin every step of the way by generatinginsightsfromacombinationofoperational(O)andexperience(X)data.Given thedemographic advantage and

technologyresources available in India,wehavethepotentialtoleapfrogwithautoma-tion anddigitisation.SAPgives customersfullchoicetotransitiontothecloudattheirownpace:

■Publiccloud,privatecloud,on-premise,andhybridsolutions

■Full integration of applicationswithcoreERPsoftware,cloudoron-premise.

Whattechnologydoyoufore-seeemergingasa lifesaverforMSMEs?

As amarket leader inenterprise applicationsoftware with 80% ofour customer base inIndia being in theSME segment, SAPunderstands therequirements ofemerging busi-nesses and offersan innovativerangeofsolutions.

Theseoptionsarearoundbusinessmodels,fasterimplementations,deploymentmod-els oracross industry functionality– all ofthis which enables emerging businessesmeettheircurrentandfuturerequirements.Wehavebeenworkingtowardsenhanc-

ing thedigital journeys of theMSMEsandsupport themwith relevant technologiesandskills.WeopenedaccesstoSAPsolutionsforvariousorganisationswhoneedhelp tocontinuetheirbusinesslikeAriba.Theplat-formwillallowMSMEstoconnectwithbuy-ers and suppliers thus helping themgainaccesstothemarketplace.With theGlobalBharat initiative,SAPis

supportingIndianSMEstogainscaleandbeglobally competitive in the newenviron-ment.TheprogrammeisdesignedtoenableMSMEs,augmentbusinessoperationsandre-access critical processes that overcomeinefficienciesandmakethemgloballycom-petitive by equipping them with digitaltechnologies.

Whatareyourplanstoovercomethechal-lenges thrownbyCovid-19 tobusinessesandmarkets?SAPremainscommittedtoitslong-term

strategyandprospectsandwill continuetoinvest in innovation.We expect to emergefromtheCovid-19crisisinanevenstrongercompetitivepositionthanbefore.Ourmulti-yearemphasis onbuilding a

strongbaseofmorepredictablerevenuehasmade SAPmore resilient than ever.Com-binedwith anevenmoreprudent expensemanagement and a continued focus oninnovationwewillweathertheCovid-19cri-sis and emerge stronger thanbefore aswehavedone inpastdownturns.Ourupdatedguidance demonstrates that even in thischallenging environment SAP remainshealthyandstable.

NANDAGOPALRAJAN

THEREWASA timewhenmoving filesbetween a laptop and smartphone wasamong themore frustrating thingsyoucoulddo.ThelevelsoffrustrationwentupafewnotchesifyouwereusinganiPhone.ButthingshavechangedalotoverthepastfewyearsandthenewSanDiskUltraDualDriveLuxeUSBType-Cisagoodexampleofthistransition.

Sowhat is theSanDisk UltraDual DriveLuxe? Well, it isan external stor-agewith aUSB3.1TypeAononesideandUSBTypeContheother.The‘premiummetaldesign’meansthereisametallicswivelcover that protects the side that isnot in use.There is a key ring hole ononesideoftheswivelcoversothatyoucancarrythis aroundeasilyandnot lose it.Infact,losing it couldbea factoras theSan-DiskUltraDualDrive Luxe is quite smalldespitethe128GBstorageinside.The first thing I noticed about this

deviceishowfastitis.OntheUSB3.1,San-

Disk claims it can move files as fast150MB/second.In real life, thismeant Icould copymyentire backup for June,

about3GB,into thedrive fromtheMacBook Pro in a flash. I wasactuallywaitingtostareatthe

progress bar for a fewminutes.But nothinglikethathappenedandthe filedwere copied

even before Irealised.

I couldopen the same

filesoonafterontheSamsungGalaxyNote20

Ultra,easilyreadingthefilesfromthedrivewithoutevensavingthemontothesmart-phone.This iswhen I got a little bit over

ambitious anddecided to see if the fileswouldopenontheiPadProaswellasittoohasaUSBTypeCport.AndIwaspleasantlysurprised.Thoughittookatadlonger,thefiles read and opened just fine from thedrive itself.TheSanDiskUltraDualDriveLuxe showedup in the panel in the FilesfolderlikeitwouldonaMac.The only thing users need to keep in

mindisthatgiventhemetallicdesign,theSanDiskUltraDualDrive Luxedoesheatupabitattimes,especiallywhenthecom-puter it is plugged into is alsowarm.Andwhenyoutrytorunavideofromthedrive,itagainfeelsabitwarm.The SanDiskUltraDualDrive Luxe is

a good option for those strugglingwithmultipledevicesandfiles thatneedtobeopenedacrossalloftheseallthetime.Atapricepointof`2,169for128GB,theSan-DiskUltraDualDriveLuxeisagoodvalue-for-moneyaccessoryfor thosewithmul-tipledevices.

■Estimated street price `2,169

WEHAVEBEENhearingaboutAugmentedReality(AR)andVirtualReality(VR)forquitesome time nowwithVR gaming sets likeOculus and Vive being touted as gamechangers in the entertainment industry.However, lately there has been a markedincrease in the adoptionofARandVRandotherimmersivetechnologiesinthecorpo-ratesectorwhichisbeginningtoseevalueinthemspeciallyinthepostCovidera.Sports action in competing scenarios,

navigationduringdifficultflightpaths,cop-ingwithwarzonedynamicsaresomeoftheexampleswhereAR/VR,MixedReality(MR)andExtendedReality(XR)applicationshavebeenusedforequippingpersonnelwiththerequired skills before embarking on theirmission. Some of these technologies arebeginning tobedeployed in the context ofremoteworkingandremotetrainingbythecorporates.Witha largenumberofemploy-eesstill expectedtoworkfromhomeintheforeseeablefuture,skillingthemeffectivelytoadapttotheemergingneedsof thebusi-nessisbecomingapriorityfororganisations.Employees handling assignments that

aremission-critical and areworkingwithhazardousmaterials orhigh-risk environ-ment are able tomitigate the risk bybeingtrainedinanimmersiveenvironmentaheadoftheirdeployment.Microsoft’sDynamics

365RemoteAssistonHoloLensapplicationsusedforfieldservicerepairsandtrainingarenow being used for remote support andadvanced expertise in medical scenarioswheremedicalexpertisearenottobefound.TheMETinNewYork,theLouvreMuseuminParis,theVaticanMuseum inRomeandRijksmuseuminAmsterdamare examplesofmuseumsthathaveenabledthousandsofart aficionados fromaround theworld tovisitthegalleriesvirtually.TheNationalGalleryofPraguehasbeen

enabling thosewithvisual disabilities see,touch and feel the 3D sculptureswith thehelp of a pair of haptic gloves.Healthcareworkers who are required to be trainedspeedilyandgetthemselvesacclimatisedtothepatientenvironmentwiththeconstraintofphysicalpresenceforsuchfamiliarisationareseeingthebenefitofAR/VRbasedtrain-ing.The programme being developed byNIELITandCIIinIndiaisanexampleofthisapplication.Productcompaniesareworkingonenhancing theuserexperiencewith thehelp of immersive technologies and soonvirtualinteractionswouldbevastlysuperiorand different from the currentmethods.Immersive experience togetherwith ana-lytics led targeted contenthave thepoten-tial totransformthewaywecommunicate,interactandassimilatelearning.Creativity,instructionaldesign,domain

knowledge and technical knowhow ofimmersive technologies have to cometogethertobeabletocreatethepathbreak-ingandinnovativelearningexperience.Sev-eralprovincesinChinaareearmarkingded-icated spaces asVRvillages offeringgrantsto support content development andnur-ture the startups. Such models could beemulatedandwetooneedtoplanforlabstobe set up in various locations across thecountrytoencouragenewideas forexperi-mentation and to energise the startup ecosystemaroundimmersivetechnologies.The EMRCs across the country have

someofthestate-of-the-artstudiosanddig-ital infrastructure but they are underutilised.Thesecentrescouldbeencouragedtocreatepartnershipswith theprivate sec-torspecificallywith theviewtobuild capa-bilityforlearningcontentcreationwiththeemergingimmersivetechnologies.Withthesystematic plan it is possible to empowerIndiantalentandmakethemequippedwithawhole range of skills tomeet the globalshortageanddemonstratethatIndiacouldbeatrueknowledgepower.

Thewriterischairperson,GlobalTalentTrack,acorporate

trainingsolutionscompany

SUDHIRCHOWDHARY

LAPTOPSVERSUSTABLETS?That’s themillion-dollarquestionmiddle-classfam-ilies,comprisingoffice-goingparentsandschool-goingchildren—presentlycoopedupindoorsbecauseofthepandemic—aregrapplingwith thesedays.If you askme,tablets are aviable alternative formanypeople looking to get things doneon thego.Theyareextremelyportable,soyouarenotboundtoparticularareassuchasyourstudyornewly-foundworkspacesinyourhomes. In addition,due to their smallersize,tabletstendtohavemuch-betterbat-terylifethanlaptops;remember,thelatterpack inmore hardware,hence aremorepowerful. Working or studying fromhome,or simplywebbrowsingorwatch-ingvideos—there is growing preferencefortheslates.Here’sanindicator.Recently,Samsung

India announced that all units ofGalaxyTabS7+havebeensoldoutinthecountryamid huge demand for the firm’s mostpremiumandpowerfultablet.Packedwithhigh-end features and seamlessly inte-grated into the Galaxy ecosystem, theGalaxyTabS7+isbuilttosupportusersinevery pursuit—from work to play, andeverything inbetween.The large immer-sive display,powerful processorand lowlatencySPenensureverygoodproductiv-ityandentertainment.Our reviewunitwas the `79,999-a-

pieceMysticBlack,6GBRAMand128GBROMvariant;itisalsoavailableinMysticBronze and Mystic Silver colours. It ispowered by the all-powerfulQualcommSnapdragon 865+ processor that is

extremely fast andpowerful,withmini-mal lag,so it can run intense games andmultitaskwithease.TheTabcomeswithanimprovedSPeninthebox.TheSPen’sbiggest leap in responsiveness to date,reduces lag significantly and lets youwritewithreal timeprecision.TheTabS7+featuresa12.4-inchSuper

AMOLEDdisplay that is bigger,brighterandmuchfaster.At120Hzrefreshrate,theresponsive display instantly reacts towhat’s on your screen. It intelligentlyadjuststherefreshratebasedonyourcon-tent and helps you save battery as youwatch and scroll. Your screen turns onwhenyoudouble tap it.Foraudio,there isQuad speaker sound byAKG andDolbyAtmos.Inactualusage,theTabS7+offersagreatcinematicexperience.Streamingamovie or watching snack videos onYouTube,everything isavisual andaudiotreatonthisAndroidslate.TheGalaxyS7+ comeswith amighty

and intelligent 10,090mAhbattery thatpromisesupto14hoursofvideoplayback.

Evenafterallthat,youdon’thavetopowerdown.You canpowerup andkeep goingwith Fast Charging, the fastest tabletcharger.Essentially, thismeansyou canbinge-watchyour favourite shows fromsunuptosundown.Fast forward to the SPen.You canuse

this togetherwith some interesting pre-loaded stuff,such as Clip Studio Paint toillustrateandcreatecomicswith thehelpof storyboarding,inking,andother tools.There’s subscription to premium appsincluding YouTube Premium for fourmonths,Clip StudioPaint for sixmonthsand a 30-day trial on Canva Pro.For themore serious user,with SamsungNotesyou can import PDF files and jot downmemos,signdocuments andmake com-mentsrightonthePDF.SamsungNotecanbesharedinvariousformats.Youcanalsoexport SamsungNote toMicrosoftWordorPowerPointtosharewithothers.Another interesting feature I discov-

eredwasNoteshelf; this gives youmorechoiceinhowyoutakenotes.WhetheryoupreferusingSPenortyping,itsfluidnote-takingfeelsnaturalasyoulearnorcreate.WiththeNoteshelfClubExclusive,youcanaccess hundreds of notebook covers andpapertemplatesfree.TheGalaxyS7+comeswithBookCover

Keyboards sold separately.With this,youcan tilt the slate all thewayback to 165degree.Believeme,it’slikeconvertingyourtablet intoaseriouswork-focusedPC.TheBookCoverKeyboard’sfreestophingeletsyou find your perfect angle for sendingemails,bloggingorstudying.Comingwitha larger trackpad and intuitive functionkeys, the keyboard gives you a seamlessexperience,andwhenused togetherwithDeXyou get a PC-like experiencewith asingletap.Overall,theGalaxyS7+comesacrossas

a greatwork and entertainment devicethathasagooddisplayandqualityaudio;thereareplentyofproductivityappspre-sent and thenote-taking functionalitiesarenoteworthy.Flittingbetweenapps orgeneralbrowsingexperience–everythingworks smoothlyhere.TheSPen is ahugedrawhere.GoodworkbySamsungtolurethenext-genconsumerinthenewnormal.

The 12.4-inch GalaxyTabS7+ comeswith anattractive display,powerful processor andlow latency S Pen tomeetyourwork andentertainment needs

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■ Processor: QualcommSnapdragon 865+ processor

■Camera: 13MP+ 5MP (rear), 8MPfront camera

■Memory & storage: 6GB RAM +128GB storage; microSD card upto1TB

■ Battery: 10,090mAh

■ Estimated street price: `79,999

SPECIFICATIONS

FINANCIALEXPRESS8 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

● SAMSUNGGALAXYTAB S7+

Aslick slate forwork and play

Gadgets

eFEMONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

HDFC Life, IvyCap toincubate startupsHDFCLIFE,A leading life insurance firmandIvyCamp,an initiativeof IvyCapVentures,have jointly launchedthe thirdphaseofFuturance—acorporateengagementprogrammeto identifystartups thatarebuilding innovativeandnext-gencapabilities in the insurancesector.Lastyear in June,HDFCLifeandIvyCampannouncedthe firstphaseofthe initiative,followedbyits secondphase inDecember2019.Afterasuccessful conclusionofphase twowhere three startupsacrosshealth-techandAI solutionswere shortlisted(WealthyTherapeutics,ahealth-techstartup;Worxogo,anAI sales coach; andPulseActiveStationsNetwork,ahealthcare startup),phase threeofFuturanceprogrammeisnowunderway.Thiswill scout forstartupsacrossBlockchainapplication:Policymanagement fromstart toend;Virtualrealityforcustomers:AR/VRsolutionswithAI toenhancesalesandservicing ininsurance;Non-invasivemedicalinnovation:Alternate solutions toreplacemedical tests; InstaAgent:AIbasedsourcing,selectionandmanagementof salesagents.ParvezMulla,COO–HDFCLife,said“HDFCLifehas focusedon leveraging technologytooffervalueateverystageof therelationshipwith its customersandpartners.Thepandemichasgivena fillipto technologyacross industries.Covid-19has testedusbutourinvestment indigitalhasgivenus the techedge.”

AtalTunnelgoeshigh-techwithSiemenstechSiemensLtd,the flagship listedcompanyofSiemensAG,will implement state-of-the-art tunnel automationanddigitaltechnologies in theAtalTunnelbuiltundertheRohtangPassontheLeh-Manalihighwaytoboostoperationalefficiencyandsafety.Siemens’technologiesprovideelectrification,automationanddigitalisationsolutionsfor local andremotemonitoring,connectivity,lighting,ventilation,powerdistributionandfire safetysystemswithinoneof theworld’s longestandhighestaltitude tunnels.SunilMathur,MD&CEO,SiemensLimited,said,“Siemens installed its latest technologieshere toensure that theelectrical,ventilationandfire safetysystemscanbedeployedandcontinuouslymonitored inacompletelyreliableandsafemannerunderthemost challengingenvironmental conditions.”

Tech

Bytes

UmaGanesh

Getting smartwithAR &VR

● FEELING REAL

Can immersive technologiesusher in a new era inlearning?

● INTERVIEW: KULMEETBAWA, President & Managing Director, SAP Indian Subcontinent

Cloud technologies are critical forbusinesses toweatherCovid-19 crisis

Parvez Mulla, COO –HDFC Life

Pune

Using our estimates of sales and EBITDAmargins forthe next two years, L&T is nowpriced for0% long-term sales growth by 2024,which appearsoverly pessimistic

—Credit Suisse

EXPERTVIEW

Investor

WETRYTO contextualise the underper-formanceof L&T,withoneof thepossiblereasons being increasing value of sub-sidiaries,driving up the holdco discount.The stock has upside even if we build in50% holdco discount (from 25% cur-rently).Tenderactivitydataseemsresilientand has recovered from the sharpApril-June decline and bodes well for L&T’sinflow recovery also (FY21 target `1 trn;`350bndoneasperCSe inH1).WhileDefenceisasmallcomponentof

business (2.5%of consolidated revenue),somerestrictioninspecificmandatesmaybelimitingparticipationandholdingbackvaluediscovery.CSHOLTsuggests0%rev-enue growth by 2024 at current price.HOLT suggests 41% upside now com-pared to the average HOLT suggesteddownsideof30%earlier.We retain an Outperform on

sector/geographydiversification,balancesheet, track record, likely normalisation

boosting prospects, and attractive valua-tions.Downside risks areweak cycle (theMiddle East, government finances) andproject issues (compensationcosts,etc.).Subsidiary valuation up; diluting

EPC and driving higher holdco dis-count: Subsidiaryvaluation has gone upandalargerproportionofvalueinthestockisnowex-EPC.Thishasbeendrivinguptheholdco discount.Subsidiaryvaluation hasparticularly gone up during COVID-19 astheITbusinesshasre-ratedupwardswhileFinancehassustaineditsvaluepostasharpdecline in end-March.We build in a 25%holdcodiscountonthecurrentpricetoget

ourTP(implieddiscount ishigher~35%).Upside even at 50% holdco dis-

count: If we use the average holdco dis-count (50%) for three key companieslisted in themarket,thenthe fairvalueTPchanges to`1,020and impliedP/Eof thecorebusinessEPC is~13x.Defenceissmall(2.5%)butcouldbe

drivingESGresistance:Defence issmallat~2.5%ofconsolidatedrevenues,butthestock is restricted in some mandates,whichlimitsparticipation.Whiletheover-all shareholdinghas been stable past sev-eralyears,itcouldstillbeholdingbackfullvaluediscovery.ESGhasdrivenmeaning-

fulderating inmanystockssuchasNTPC,Coal India,and ITC.HOLTsuggestsstockpricesinnilrev-

enue growth at current levels:Histori-cally,L&Thastradedata30%premiumtotheHOLT-warrantedprice (between2014and 2019) but is now showing a 41%upsidepotentialpostitsde-ratingthisyear.Using our estimates of sales and Ebitdamarginsforthenexttwoyears,L&Tisnowpriced fora0%long-termsalesgrowthby2024,whichappearsoverlypessimistic.Overall announcement/tender-

ing/awarding activity resilient: Datasuggests that the overall announce-

ment/tendering and award activity hasrecovered from a sharp drop in theApril-June period. Some revival is visible,withL&T reporting inflows of `125 bn inQ2FY21sofar,implyingatotalEPCinflowof `225-250 bn inQ2FY21 (~45%y-o-ydecline inH1EPC inflows).Wehave a full-year target estimate of `1,069 bn of EPCorder inflows.EPCordersmayamount to`350 bn (CSe) in H1FY21e—thus,`650-700 bn needs to come through inH2FY21.Dependingonrestorationofnor-malcy,this is stillwithin reach.

CREDIT SUISSE

● L&TRATING:OUTPERFORM

INVESTOR SENTIMENT ON Indian ITstocksappearsbuoyantdrivenbypositivesurprises in Q1FY21 and then the recentHCLTannouncement.Wecontinueto likethe sector, especially in the medium tolong term,but the recenteuphoria is a lit-tleworryingtousnearterm.Inthepastsixmonths, IT companies have seen revenuedeclinesof4-10%.Justanormalisationofsome of the one-time issues themselvesshould drive decent growth in Q2FY21e.However, deal signings in Q2FY21werenot as strong aswe had earlier expected,which does not bodewell forQ3FY21e orevenQ4FY21e.Basedontypicalseasonal-ity,Q3FY21ecouldbeashadebetterbutisunlikelytobemateriallybetter.

Whattoexpect forQ2FY21eandupsidetriggersWe expect Infosys to raise its FY21 guid-ance to 1-3% growth (from 0-2%). Nochange in guidance could be a slight neg-ative surprise for the investors in light oftherecentre-ratingofthesector.ForHCLT,guidance for Q3 and Q4 is for 1.5-2.5%sequentialgrowthasofnow,andwedon’texpect a change in this guidance, but ifmanagementalludestohigherconfidencein the upper end of the guidance, thatcouldbeapositivesurprise.Weexpectrev-enue growth of 1.2-3.5% q-o-q in con-stantcurrencytermsacrossallthecompa-nies. On top of that, the cc impact is

favourable,andhence,weexpectreportedgrowth in the range of 2.0-5.2%q-o-q inUSD terms. Our margin outlook is noweven better aswe see 30-100 bpsmarginexpansionq-o-qacrossall thecompanies.Weseeadecentbufferacrosstheindustryto invest ingrowth.

OuroptimismforFY22erecoveryintactPipelines across the sector are rich withdeals,providing‘cautious’confidenceforthemedium term(FY22e/23egrowth). Mostcompanies havepipelines at 1.5xpre-COVID-19,onourestimates.These deals arerelated to costrationalisationinitiatives, ven-dor consolida-tion, supplychain reimagin-ing,cloudmigra-tion, core simplification and some long-termbusinessinitiatives.Ourpositive view for the IT sector also

remains driven by its relative attractionversus the rest of the Indiamarket.At thisstage,despiteournotparticularlypositiveviewonH2FY21e,weexpectITearningstobealotmoreresilientversustherestofthemarket given the long-term attractivecompoundingopportunities.WeretainourBuyratings on Infosys,HCLTandCTSH inlarge-caps and LTI andMphasiS inmid-caps.DowngradeLTTStoHold.

HSBC

StrongQ2 ispriced in byvaluations

WE REVISE UPWelspun India’s (WLSI’s)utilisation estimates andhence FY21/22eEbitda 3%/1% given: (i) sustenance ofuptick inUS consumer spends spurred bystatesupport;and(ii) lowerinventorylevelsat global retailers driving restocking.Also,withtheflooringbusinesslockingincapac-ityvia tie-ups,we envisage the segment toachieveoperationalbreak-evennextyear.The robust order book visibility and

WLSI’s leadership in the home textilespace compel us to revise up targetEV/Ebitda to 7.0x (5.0x earlier)—its pre-covidfiveyears’average—witharevisedTPof `75 (`48 earlier).Maintain Buy. Sus-tainedhigherspendsonbed/bathlinenorshift in business from China could drivefurtherrerating.Catalysts in place to sustain strong

tractioninUS:InourAprilupdate,giventhewidespreadpandemic,wewereuncertainofdemandtriggersforthehometextilespace.However, a combination of factors hasspurreddemand forbed/bath linen.WLSI,byvirtueofbeingtheNo.1playerintheUSinthis category,has gained fromthis revival;in fact, the company has outperformeddomesticpeersaswell.Inaddition,weenvis-age lowercotton costs toprovide amargintailwindinthecomingone–twoquarters.Outlook: Normalisationmultiple;

maintain Buy— Though order bookremainsstrong,sustenanceofthedemandwillbekeytofurtherrerating.Inaddition,possible business shift fromChina coulddrive another leg of structural growth(similartoFY10-14);nosignsofthisyetinthehometextile segment.

EDELWEISS

Revival ofUSdemand boostsoutlook for firmFY21/22e Ebitda up 3/1%given robust order book andleadership; TP raised to `75

●WELSPUN INDIARATING: BUY

● IT: Q2FY21 PREVIEW

Rising value of subsidiariescould be a reason, as alsodefence segment; recoveryin tendering activityaugurswell; ‘Outperform’ retained

Mktundervaluingstock’s prospects

FINANCIALEXPRESS9 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

HOLT-warranted pricevs share price

HOLT-warranted

Price (`)

Source: HOLT®, Credit Suisse estimates

Sept 2005 Sept 2020

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

While FY22 recovery hopesare intact, recent euphoriaworrisome in the near term;LTTS downgraded to ‘Hold’

Despite our notoverly positiveviewon H2FY21e,weexpect IT earningsto be a lot moreresilient versus therest of the marketgiven the longterm attractivecompoundingopportunities

Source: Company data, HSBC estimates

-2.5

-7.1

-1.4

-2.4

0

-7.4

-1.0

-7.3

-4.3

-6.7

Q4 FY20q-o-q growth (%)

TCS HCL Wipro TechMInfy0

-2.0

-4.0

-6.0

-8.0

Pickup in Q2 is coming off verylow base; normalisation ofmultiple one-off supply-sideconstraints in Q2 willitself likely provide reasonablegrowth in the quarter

Q1 FY21

One-third ofthis decline wassupply sideconstraints;which shouldnormalise inQ2

Welspun Trident Himatsingka Indo Count

Source: Company, Edelweiss Research

(%)

WLSI's outperformanceversus peers

-75

-53

-31

-9

13

35

Q1FY20 Q2FY20 Q3FY20 Q4FY20 Q1FY21

ASWORKING FROMhomehas becomethenewnorm,manypeoplehaverelocatedto theirhometowns leaving their rentalaccommodations.Manytenantshave re-negotiated rents or have requested forwaiverof the same.This has given rise tomanytaxrelatedissues.

Tax consequence ofwaiver,failure to pay rentThe‘annualvalue’ofalet-outproperty

is deemed to be the sum for which thepropertymight be expected to be let outfromyear toyear (i.e.,market rate) or theactual rent receivedwhichever is higher.

Manytenantshave requested their land-lordstoeitherwaiveorreducetherent.So,howwouldthewaiveraffecttaxliability?Inthecurrentsituation,incaseoffull/

partialwaiverofrent,difficultyarisesastowhatshouldbethecomparativefairrentalvalue—market rent prevalent before theoutbreakof thepandemicorafter.Ratio-nally, lower rental values existing postlockdownought to be considered as fairrent.Therefore, if rent is partiallywaivedonanongoingbasis thenthesamewouldbeinlinewiththeprevalentmarketrates,determinative of the annualvalue.Sepa-rately,acompletewaiverforafewmonths,wouldnotmakeanydifferenceasthecom-parisonisof‘annual’rent.Further, the Act provides that unre-

alisedrentshallnotformpartoftheactualrent receivedor receivable.However,thisprovisionisoperationalwherethedefault-ing tenant has vacated the premises orsteps have been taken to compel him tovacate the same.The landlordmusthavetakenallreasonablestepstoinstitutelegalproceedingsforrecoveryofunpaidrentorshouldhavesatisfiedtheassessingofficerthat legal actionwould beuseless.Theseconditions arenot functional in the cur-

rentcircumstances,withtheforcemajeureclausebeinginforce.

Tax effect of vacancyof rentedaccommodationThelawstipulatesthatwheretheprop-

ertywas left vacant during thewhole oranypartofthefinancialyear,duetowhich,the landlordmayhave received less than

expectedrent,thenonlytheactualamountwouldbebroughttotax,evenifthesameislessthanfairrent.Thepropertycannotbesaidtobe‘vacant’ifthesameismerely‘notinuse’.Temporaryvacancydueto theten-ant’s discretionofnotusing itwouldnotentailanytaxconsequenceandtherentinrespect of the samewould still be‘receiv-able’bythelandlord,thustaxable.Likewise,iftheownermerelyallowsthe

tenant topaythe rent/ part of it at a laterpoint,hewouldstillbe liable to taxontheentireannualrentalincomeasthesameisstill ‘receivable’ during the year, eventhoughdelayed.The government has not yet consid-

eredthetaximpactofthelockdownmea-suresonrental income.It isexpectedthatbynextyear,at the timeof reporting theincome for the current fiscal,thegovern-mentwill introducemeasurestoalleviatesuchissues.Forinstance,itmayimposetaxonlyonactualrentreceivedforthecurrentyearirrespectiveoffairrentalvalueormaydoawaywiththeconditionofinitiationoflegalproceedingsincaseofvacancy.

Thewriterisdirector,NangiaAndersenIndia.InputsfromVasudhaArora

SAIKATNEOGI

AS RETURNS FROMmost categories ofequitymutual funds have been disap-pointing,investorsareincreasinglylook-ing at investing in exchange tradedfunds (ETFs).Lowcost,transparentpric-ing,asset allocation needs and liquidityhave led to a spurt in interest for ETFs.Asset management companies (AMC)are launching several new fund offersin ETFs for passive investing. Theassets under management of 82 ETFstouchedarecordhighof`2.06lakhcroreinAugust.AnETFisabasketofsecuritiessuchas

Nifty50indexorBSESensex30indexandistradedthroughoutthetradinghours.AsETFs trade on bourses,an investormusthaveademataccounttobuyandsellthem.All ETFs mirror the benchmark theyrepresent,the returns are in linewith thebenchmark they represent and thelowercosts increasethenetreturnsinthelongterm.AsETFsdonotdoactiveinvest-ment,the errors are just limited to track-ing the index called tracking error,whichisnegligible.

Benefits of ETFsAnalysts say investorswill preferETFs

as many actively managed funds havefailedtobeattheirbenchmarkreturns.AsETFs are indexed-based, holdings aretransparentbecauseofthedailydisclosureof portfolio.ETFswitness highvolumesbecause they are traded on the stockexchanges.Thishelps ineasyexitand liq-uidity and higher trading volume willmakeaparticularETFmoreliquid.As the fundmanager tracks the index

stockandinvestsinthecompositionoftheindex,the operating cost becomes lowerandinvestorshavetopaya lowerexpenseratio.TheexpenseratioofanETFisusuallylessthan0.5%ascomparedto2-2.5%for

anactivelymanagedequitymutual fund.The tradingvalue of anETFwill be basedon the net asset value of the underlyingstocksthatanETFrepresents.

Asset allocationForinvestors,ETFsprovideagoodtool

of asset allocation.Experts say investorscanconstructcustomisedportfolioskeep-ing inmind their financial goals, invest-menttimeandrisktolerance.Ifaninvestorinvests in an indexETFfor the long term,then themarket volatilitywill not havemuchimpactonthereturns. Byinvestingpassively over a long period of time, aninvestor’sreturnscanbemorethanthosefrom active stock picking. However,

investorsmustalsokeepinmindthatETFinvestments cannot tap thehighgrowthpotential fromsome small andmid-capstocksthatmaycomeupattimes.Unlike open-ended mutual funds,

investorsgetthebenefitofintradaymove-ments in the market in ETFs. Investorsmust keep in mind that ETFs are likestocks.So,theinvestorwillhavetopaybro-kerageeverytimehemakesapurchase.

Diverse productsThere are equity,debt and gold ETFs.

Retail investors are alsomoving to debtETFs,especiallythegovernment’sdebtETFbecause of safetyandbetter returns.Andgold ETFs have reported stellar perfor-manceinthelastoneyear.TheBharatBondETFisIndia’sfirstcor-

porate debt ETFmanaged by EdelweissAssetManagementCompany.ItinvestsinAAAratedpaperof state-owned compa-nies and the ETFwill hold the bonds tillmaturity.The credit risk in Bharat BondETFsisnexttonil.Thesebondsareidealforthose in high income group because oftax-efficient returns.As it is a debt prod-uct, the long-term capital gains tax is at20%post-indexation.Gold ETFs from asset management

companiesareanidealwaytoinvestintheprecious metal. Open-ended gold ETFsinvestinphysicalgoldandthereturnsarebenchmarked on the real returns oninvestment in physical gold, subject totrackingerrors.Investorsarepreferringtoinvest in gold ETFs because of theCovid-19 pandemic, slowing economyandrisinginflation.

Personal Finance

Whether it is rentwaiversor vacant property due tolockdown, the governmentneeds to consider the taximpact on rental income

ETFs

GOLD ETF

`ILLUSTRATION: SHYAMKUMAR PRASAD

ILLUSTRATION: SHYAMKUMAR PRASAD

●TAXTALKCHIRAGNANGIA

● PASSIVE INVESTING

Low cost, transparentpricing, liquidity andability tomeet assetallocation needs aremaking exchange tradedfunds (ETF) popular

Wakeup to thebenefits of investing inETFs

Lockdowneffect on rents:Need clarityon tax impact

Pune

BrandWagonDEVIKA SINGH

THE CONSUMER DURABLESmarket inIndia was valued at `90,000 crore in2019, according to industry estimates,but is expected to decline to `80,000crore due to the loss in sales during thelockdown period, and the downtrend insales of air conditioners.With the festiveseasonapproaching—whichcontributesnearly half of their yearly sales — con-sumerdurablecompaniesarebeefinguptheir product andmarketing strategies,all guns blazing.Overthepast fewmonths,consumers

have increasingly sought products thatoffer convenience, in the absence ofhouse help. According to EuromonitorInternational, over 56 million units ofdishwashers were sold in India in 2019,and this is expected to rise to 70millionthis year. Similarly, the microwavecategory—which has beenwitnessing aflat retail volume since 2017 — isexpectedtotouch1,548millionthisyear,the report states.

In-store tacticsLloyd (part of Havells) forayed into therefrigerator segment in Septemberwith25 models, across the entry-level andhigh-endrange,pricedbetween`10,000and `84,990. The company plans tolaunch 25more models of refrigeratorsand dishwashers byDiwali.The aim is touse its network of 15,000 general traderetailers to sell products priced at thelow-end; while modern trade and retailchains such as Kohinoor Electronics,RelianceDigital,SargamElectronics,TataCromaande-commercewillbe tappedtosell the high-endproducts.For its dishwasher range, starting at

`20,000,thecompanyiseyeingdou-ble-incomehouseholds,andretailingthrough modern trade stores,retail chains and e-commerce.“Since dishwashers are only get-tingpopularinIndianow,weneedto educate customers and dispelmythsaroundit,throughdisplaysand demonstrations,” says SashiArora,CEO,Lloyd.Haier India is setting up dis-

plays of its smart home range,launched in February, whichincludes smart TVs, refrigerators,washing machines and ACs. Satish NS,senior vice president, sales andmarket-ing, Haier India, says the company hastrained 3,500 shop executives for thesedemonstrations.Meanwhile,Voltasplansto leverage its

strength in theAC category to drive pen-

etrationandsalesofhomeappliances.Although most of these companies

have witnessed growth in the onlinechannel recently,offlinestill contributesaround 90% of their sales, and, hence,remains theirfocus.Digital,however,is apriority when it comes to marketing.About 40% of Haier India’s marketing

budgetwill be spent on digital this year,as compared to just 10% last year,withan emphasis on search engine optimisa-tion and search engine marketing.According to Satish NS, consumers are“increasingly searching and researchingproductsonlineandthenmovingofflinetoexperiencethem”,makingdigitalmar-

keting an important part of the com-pany’s strategy.Cashbacks, exchange offers and con-

sumer financing schemes are also beinglaunched. Lloyd, for instance, plans tooffer zero down payment and extendedperiodEMI schemes.

Caution over celebrationSalesoffersanddiscountschemesarenotgoing to be compelling enough, unlesscompaniescutdownprices,retailexpertssay.“Earlier, consumerswould notmindspending extra for the latest feature;but this year, theywill be very sensitiveto pricing, and will buy based on theneed,” says Harminder Sahni,managingdirector,WazirAdvisors.Attractive pricing may not be some-

thing these companies will be able toafford though.According toHarshaRaz-dan, partner and head – consumermar-kets and internet business, KPMG inIndia,price hikes are inevitable for a fewconsumer durable products, due to sup-plychaindisruptionsandarise in importduties. It’s pertinent to note that mostconsumerdurablecompaniesareheavilyreliant on imports fromChina.Job losses and salary cuts across

industriescouldmeanfewerpeoplewill-ing to splurge during the festive season.AccordingtoEuromonitorInternational,there has been a 21% rise in the unem-ployed population in India in 2020, ascompared to 2019.“In such a scenario,consumers are going to cut downondis-cretionary spends this year, and hencefestivities could bemuted,” says AnuragMathur,head,retail andpartner,PwC.Despite the not-so-optimistic out-

look, companies in this space hope tomatchup to lastyear’s sales.

FINANCIALEXPRESS10 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

DDB Mudra winscreative dutiesof Protinex

DANONEHASAWARDEDthecreativedutiesofProtinex,itsnutritionalsupplementbrand,toDDBMudra.Thebrandcommunicationwill be

centredoncreatingawarenessaboutproteindeficiencyacross consumertouchpoints.HimanshuBakshi,MD,Danone India,says,“Proteinawareness isan importantpartofourbrandcommitment,since theunderstandingaboutprotein isverynascent in India.”

DellhiresVMLY&Ras leadcreativeagencyinIndia

DELLHASAPPOINTEDVMLY&Ras its leadcreativeagencyin India forboth theconsumerandsmallbusinessportfolio.

Theagencyhasbeentaskedwithcreatinganoverarching‘connectedconsumerexperience’forDell,whichwillspanmainline,digital andsocialcommunications,platformsandexperiences,anddata.

KMadhavanelectedaspresidentof IBF

THE INDIANBROADCASTINGFoundation (IBF)Board haselected Star&Disney India’smanagingdirector,KMadhavan,as itsnewpresident.Hewill succeed

NPSingh, IndiaMDandCEO,SonyPicturesNetworks,who held theposition for twoyears.

LangoorHavasbagsanewbusinessLANGOORHAVASHASwonthedigitaltransformationmandate forOrganicTattvaGroup,anorganic foodscompany.Theagencysays thedigital strategywillinvolvebringing together its“deepplatformthinkingcapabilitiesandexperience inmarryingdata,creativeandtechnology”.

RSHGlobalbringsMadisonMediaonboard

MADISONMEDIAHASbeenappointed themediaAORofRSHGlobal,whichowns the

personal carebrand Joy.TheaccountwillbehandledbyPlatinumMedia,aunit ofMadisonWorld.

ShaunNanjappaChendiraelevatedatDiscoveryDISCOVERYHASELEVATEDShaunNanjappaChendiraasheadofadvertisingsales–SouthAsia.Hewaspreviouslyrevenueheadforkids&vernacular,DiscoveryIndia.

In The

News

VENKATASUSMITABISWAS

AFTERTHE INDIAN government bannedshort-formatvideoappTikTokonJune29,astringof strikinglysimilarappscroppedup. That apart, Facebook’s Instagramlaunched Reels for the Indianmarket inearlyJuly,andYouTubeintroduceditsownTikTokrival—Shorts—inSeptember.Before itwasbanned,TikTokhadabout

200millionusers in India and120millionmonthlyactiveusers (MAUs).Thevoid leftbyTikTokhas resulted in itsusersandcon-tent creators scrambling to find the nextbestalternative,resultinginthefragmenta-tion of the app’s userbase.Consequently,advertiserswho reliedonTikTok to reachawideaudiencehaveallbutexitedtheshort-formatvideospace.

Wooing brandsDespite a number of new apps offeringadvertisingopportunitiessuchashashtagchallenges,video ads and branded filters,advertisers are wary. “Brands that wereadvertising on TikTok have not movedtheir spends to new short-format videoplatforms.They prefer to invest on plat-forms they have more faith in, such asInstagram,Facebook andYouTube,” saysSuraj Nambiar, managing partner andnationalmediahead,TonicWorldwide.Platforms such as Roposo, Trell and

ChingarifindfarfewertakersthanTikTok,say digital media buyers. Roposo hasaround 55 million MAUs — nearly halfthat ofTikTokwhen itwas banned—andTrellhasabout30million.Most of these platforms have not

exploredmonetisation fully.For instance,Instagram’s Reels is yet to bemonetised,and YouTube Shorts is currently testingwatersinIndia.Roposo,saysBikashChowd-hury,CMO,Glance,thecompanythatownsthe app,offers twomain advertising solu-tionsforbrands:standarddisplayadvertis-ing (static), andvideo and brand integra-tionsthroughhashtagchallenges.ShrenikGandhi,CEO and co-founder,

WhiteRiversMedia,says the apps that arehoping tobe thenewTikTok lack the tech-nological prowess. “The algorithms thatmadeTikTok addictive and, therefore,anattractiveavenue foradvertisers,werevery advanced.The app couldrecommendper-sonalised con-tent on loop tokeep the userscrolling end-lessly,”headds.Some like

Trellwant to carve a niche of their own toget out ofTikTok’s shadow.“Ourdifferen-tiator is thatwearea three-to-five-minutestorytelling plus commerce app, where70%of our content creators arewomen,”saysSahilDeswal,itsVP–growthandmon-etisation.KikoTV,meanwhile,hasfocusseditseffortsonsocialcommerce.

Onboarding usersSincemonetisation ishighlydependentonthenumberofusers,contentisabigdrawontheseplatforms.However,contentcreatorshave no incentive to be present on a plat-formwithfewusers.“Onaverage,about10-15%ofusers onaplatformare active con-tentcreators,”saysChowdhury.Thischickenandegg situationhaspromptedplatformsto enrol popular content creators on theirappsasafirststeptowardsmonetisation.Actor-comedianDanish Sait has been

roped in by Roposo to create cricketingcontent.MX Player’s TakaTak has addedrapperBadshah to its list of celebritycon-tentcreators.Zee5’sHiPiiscreatingdance,fitness,andIPL-basedcontentwith influ-encers,actorsandstand-upcomedians.Another approach is strategic content

tie-ups.ChingariandRoposohaveenteredinto strategic content partnershipswithALTBalaji,while Sharechat has acquiredHPFFilms,adigitalvideoproductioncom-pany,toaugmentcontentonitsshort-for-matvideoappMoj.Additionally, platforms are signing

exclusivitydealsthatwillforcethecreatortopostcontentonlyononeappandnotmovebacktoTikTokiftheappreturns.Forexam-ple,inanexclusivecontenttie-up,acontentcreatorwith fourmillion followers couldearn`2lakheverymonthforaperiodofsixmonths.Further,theplatformcouldrepack-age andmigrate aperson’sTikTok contentontotheirappsforaheftysum.

Filling theTikTokvoid

●DIGITALMEDIA

Evenwith TikTok gone,short-format video appsstrugglewithmonetisation

Buyers in India value salespersonswho are:

■50%Trustworthy

■41% Problem solvers

■40% Responsive

— LinkedIn’s State ofSales India Report 2020

●NUMEROLOGY

Roposo has around

55million monthly

active users—

nearly half that

ofTikTokwhen it

was banned— and

Trell has about

30million

●CONSUMER DURABLES

Pinninghopes onfestive demandConsumerdurablecompanies are revampingtheirproduct ranges andbolstering their offlinepresence in time for thefestive season

FE BUREAU

AUDI INDIAHASopenedbookingsforitssmallest car yet.The Q2 crossover SUVcan be booked for Rs 2 lakh at either itsdealershipsoronline.Smaller than theQ3, the Q2will be

feature-rich, i.e. equippedwith connec-tivity, infotainment and driving assis-tance systems. Itwill be powered by the2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine,which, thecompany says, can accelerate the carfrom 0-100 km/h in just 6.5 seconds.The company is also offering five years’

servicepackage,2+3yearsextendedwar-ranty,and2+3yearsroadsideassistancecomplimentarywith thebooking.For the sake of size comparison, at

4,208mmlongand1,794mmwide,theQ2 is smaller than evenHyundai Creta,and slightly bigger than subcompactSUVs such as Maruti Suzuki VitaraBrezza.InIndia,theQ2willdirectlycom-petewithcarssuchasMiniCountryman.Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi

India,said,“Ourfifthlaunchfortheyear,theQ2opens up anewsegment of buy-ersforthebrand.Itisaluxuryall-rounderthat is big on features and extends thesuccessfulQfamily.”In2020,Audi Indiahas launchedthe

Q8,A8L,RS7andRSQ8.ThepriceoftheQ2will be announced during its launchina fewweeks’time.

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

INADDITIONTO the pent-up demandand a section of commuters shiftingfrompublictransporttoprivatevehiclespost-lockdown,whathashelpedsalesofHyundai cars, in particular, is the sheeramount of choice on offer, says a com-pany executive. In September 2020, itsold50,313carsinthedomesticmarket,a23.6%increaseoverthe40,705cars itsold inSeptember2019.Hyundai India offers hatchback cars,

sedans,SUVsandanelectric car.As farasfuel options are concerned, it sells sevenpetrol engines (fournaturally-aspirated,threeturbocharged),fourdieselengines,twoCNGengineoptions,andoneelectric.Italsohasarangeofgearboxoptions:twomanual,one iMT,andfiveautomatic.“Theaimistobeintheconsideration

set of any Indian buyer for any type ofmobilityneed related to four-wheelers,”says Tarun Garg,director, Sales &Mar-keting,HyundaiMotorIndia.“Beitown-ing a new car or a used car for sharedmobility or even subscribing a car,we

haveanoption.Havingbeen in India forover23years,weareinapositiontoofferthecustomerwhatevershewants.”Overthelastfewyears,thesalesshare

of automatic gearbox cars is increasing.Auto industry experts FE talked to saidfrom 2-3% in 2013, today automaticgearbox cars form about 20% of themarket.InCY19,thesales shareofauto-matic variants in Hyundai’s Santrowas22%, in the Creta it was 17%, in theVerna20%,and in theNiosahigh28%.Hyundai India offers five automatic

options—AMT,6AT,8AT,IVTandDCT.“While we offer five automatic

options,we also offer a technology thatfallsbetweenautomaticandmanual,i.e.the iMT (intelligentManual Transmis-sion).We don’twant to limit the choicefor the buyer, but have instead broughtinallthetechnologiesavailableglobally,”Garg says.“The iMT is priced just aboutRs20,000overamanualgearbox.”Not discontinuing diesel engines

post-BS6 also contributed to Hyundaisales.Lastmonthitsdieselcarsaleswere27%ofthetotal cars it sold.“Telangana,

Punjab,Uttar Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh stillaredieselenginemarkets,with45-50%diesel engine car sales.Becausewe offerdieselenginesandbecauseweareabletooffer our customers such awide choice,we have been able to enhance our salesnumbers and takemarket leadership insomeof thesegments,”Gargadds.In the company’s new Creta, for

example, during the April to August2020period,thedieselvariantsalesper-centagewas62%,andevenintheVenueandtheVerna itwasclose to33%.Another area where Hyundai has

attractedbuyersistheconnectedcarseg-ment. It offers ‘connectivity’ features infivemodels (Venue,Verna,Creta,ElantraandTucson), and had sold 59,538 unitscollectively till August 2020—the con-nectedcartechnologywasfirstlaunchedin theVenue inMay2019.While Maruti Suzuki is the market

leader in CNGvehicles,Hyundai India,Garg says,had sold close to 2,500 CNGcars inAugust 2020, and aims to reachthe3,000-unitpermonthmarksoon.

Audi India to launch itssmallest caryet—theQ2

Motobahn

Opens bookings for the Q2crossover SUV; its fifthproduct launch in 2020

●THE ‘CHOICE’ ROUTE

HMIL domestic sales (units)

40,705

50,010

44,600

37,953

42,002

40,010

26,300

0

6,883

21,320

38,200

45,809

50,313

(in wholesales)

Sept2019

Oct Nov Dec Jan2020

Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept

Hyundaigoesall outtopushcar salesWhat has helped is the amount of choice on offer—frommanual to automatic and frompetrol to diesel

❝The aim is to be in theconsideration set of anyIndian buyer for any typeofmobility need relatedto four-wheelers.

—TARUNGARG, DIRECTOR,SALES &MARKETING,

HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA

PHOTO:VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

PHOTO:AUDI.COM

Pune

Adani, Birla companiesamong 42 biddersfor 23 coal blocksADANIGROUPFIRMShaveplacedbidsforninecoalblocksunderthemaidenauctionsince thegovernmentallowedcommercialminingbytheprivatesector.WhileAdaniEnterpriseshasbidforsevenmines,its subsidiariesAdaniPowerResources,ChendipadaCollieriesandStratatechMineralResourcesbid foroneeach.TheAdityaBirlaGroup’sHindalco Industrieshasbid forfiveminesandgroupfirmEsselMininghasbid forfour.Inall,theUnioncoalministryhas receivedbids foronly23coalminesoutof the38blocksputontheblock.Altogether42companieshadplacedbidsphysicallyforcommercialcoalmining,thegovernmentsaid.Asmanyas65%of thebiddersdonot runindustries that require coal,implyingthat these firmsareprimarily interestedincommercial saleof the fuel.

NHAI invitesbids for5thbundleofTOTprojectsTHENHAISAIDlastMondayithadinvitedbidsforthefifthbundleofNationalHighwayprojectsundertoll-operate-transfer(TOT) inthestateofGujarat.SeparatebidshavebeeninvitedfortwobundleseachconsistingofoneNationalHighwaystretch—withatotallengthofaround160km,this is thesmallestbundletobeputontheblocksofar.NewsreportsalsosaidtheNationalHighwaysAuthorityof IndiahadcancelledthefourthTOTbundlethatwastoopenonSeptember30.The lastdateforsubmissionofbidsforthefifthbundle isDecember23.“TotalcontractperiodofTOTis20years inwhichConcessionairewouldberequiredtomaintainandoperatethestretch,”theNHAIsaid.

JetbiddersgivenanotherweektomakerevisedoffersACONSORTIUMOFHaryana-basedFlightSimulationTechniqueCentre,Mumbai-basedBigCharterandAbuDhabi’s ImperialCapital Investmentshas requested lendersof JetAirways formore timetosubmitabetterbid.FEhaslearnt that lendershavegivenbothbiddersanotherweek tosubmit revisedbids.Thesecondsuitor is a consortiumofKalrockCapital andentrepreneurMurariLal Jalan.“Wehavegivenmore timeasoneof thebiddersapproachedus toincrease itsoffer,”abankerclose to thedevelopmentsaid lastweek.

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Output of eight coresectors declined by8.5% y-o-y in AugustCONTRACTINGFORTHEsixthconsecutivemonthandalso registeringasequentialdecline,theoutputof theeight infrastructure sectorsdroppedby8.5%y-o-yinAugust,mainlydue toadecline inproductionof steel,refineryproductsandcement.Theeight coresectorshadcontractedby8%in Julyandby0.2%inAugust2019,showeddatareleasedbythecommerceand industryministryonWednesday.Barringcoal andfertiliser,all sectors recordednegativegrowth in themonth.Theoutputof steel,refineryproducts,cement,natural gas,crudeoil andelectricitydeclinedby6.3%,19.1%,14.6%,9.5%,6.3%and2.7%,respectively.Ontheotherhand,coal andfertiliserproductiongrewby3.6%and7.3%,respectively.FortheApril-Augustperiod,the sectors’outputdippedby17.8%y-o-y,compared togrowthof2.5%inthesameperiod lastyear.

Gaspriceslashedby25%,ratenowlowestonrecordNATURALGASPRICEtouchedthelowestrateonrecordafterthegovernmentonWednesdayslasheditby25%,dentingrevenuesofproducers likeONGC.Thepriceofgaswascutto$1.79permmBtuforsixmonthsbeginningOctober1fromtheearlier$2.39,anorderoftheOilMinistry'sPetroleumPlanningandAnalysisCell (PPAC)said.This isthethirdstraightreductioninrate inoneyear.Thepricewascutbyasteep26%to$2.39inApril.Theratepaidtoproducersofnewgasfromdifficultfieldssuchasdeepseahasalsobeencut,to$4.06permmBtufrom$5.61.

NDBloansforMumbaiMetro,RRTSprojectsTHENEWDEVELOPMENTBank (NDB)oftheBRICScountrieshasapproveda$241-million loanfortheMumbaiMetroand$-500million fortheDelhi-Ghaziabad-MeerutRegionalRapidTransit System(RRTS)projects.The twoloanswereapprovedbytheNDBBoard,theShanghai-basedbanksaid recently.The loan fortheMumbaiMetroRail IIProjectwouldbeused to implement theMetro rail Line6project in the financialcapital.The loanof$500mnfortheRRTSProjectwouldbeused forconstructionofa82.15-kmrapid railcorridorconnectingDelhi toMeerut.

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With the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions

and government efforts to revive the economy,

project awarding has not only recovered from the

May’20 low (of ~`72 bn) but is also ahead of the

Apr’19-Aug’20 monthly average of ~`157 bn

—AnandRathi

EXPERTVIEWInfrastructure

INDRONILROYCHOWDHURY

WITH E-COMMERCE DRIVING the logis-ticssectorinthetimeofCovid-19,therehasbeenaspikeindemandfortemporaryware-houses,signalling a structural shift in theapproachofcompaniesandinvestorsevenas the overall sentiment remains positive.While industrial leasing in the top eightcitiesof Indiastoodat11millionsqfeet inthefirsthalfof2020,thepandemichasledtodemandgrowing forwarehouseswith aleasetenureof6-11months.Occupiers are looking for alternative

locations as it helps in continuityof busi-ness andmitigates delays in delivery.Theurban logistics sector is thus consideringconventional retail spaces, banquet andmarriage halls for alternative use as citywarehouses.Besides there are upcomingmarkets like Guwahati, Lucknow,Patna,Jaipur, Coimbatore, Rajpura, Indore,Vijayawada,HosurandKochionwhich the

sector is focussing, seeking to enlarge itsfootprint.Growthprospectsforthesemar-ketshavebrightenedwiththegovernmentunveiling the Atmanirbhar Bharat pro-grammewhichaimsatself-reliance.YogeshShevade,head—IndustrialSer-

vices, JLL India, an investment and realestate management firm, says the chal-lenge posed byCovid-19 hasmade largecompanies consider outsourcing supplychain management for the sake of effi-ciency.Withrealtorsshiftingtheirfocustodevelopmentof logistics real estate,man-ufacturingfirmsaretryingtogetspaceonlease,seeking‘readytooccupyandbuilt tosuit industrial spaces’withhigher specifi-

cationsandpre-approvedusage.Asforinvestors,thereisagrowingtrend

towards acquisition of logistics platformsrather than individual assets.The invest-mentof`380crorebyglobalprivateequity(PE)giantBlackstoneintheMumbai-basedAllCargo Logistics and the PE company'stie-up with the Hiranandani Group'sGreenBasetobuildindustrialwarehousingacross India, entailing an investment of`2,500 cr, illustrate this trend.Althoughthese deals were struck before the lock-down, the mood guiding them has per-sisted, albeit with some change inapproach.Investorsaretryingtogaincap-tivetenantnetworksandachievescale,the

scopeforwhich is large inIndia.Says Ramesh Nair, CEO and country

headIndia,JLL, “whilegrowthof the logis-tics sector in value terms is likely to slowdownandtheremaybeyieldcontractioninsome markets, investor confidence andcapital values are expected to remainintact.”In fact,thegrowthof internetpen-etrationrates,expansionofonlinegroceryand omni-channel retailing and integra-tion of technologywithwarehousing andstoragewhich the pandemic has fuelled,augurswell for logistics real estate as anasset class.At $195 billion, industrial andlogistics real estate is already the secondlargestassetclassglobally.According to a JLL report, the reimagi-

nation of the logistics sector is makingoccupiersembrace technology,innovativesolutions,modern processes and digitaltransformationtomeetevolvingconsumerhabits.Vital in this context is the low e-commerce penetration in India– amere5%,asagainstonlineretailsaleaccountingfor 14%of global retail sales in 2019. Itsrapidgrowthinthecomingyearswillpushthecreationof suburbwarehouses,in-citywarehouses, tier-1 and tier-2 city ware-houses andmulti-storiedwarehouses,thereport says. For instance, this trend is onample display at Dulaghar in Howrah—which is growing fast as a global tradinghub for readymade garments— with anumberofmulti-storiedwarehouseshav-ing comeup andmanymore at the devel-opmentstage.

FINANCIALEXPRESS11 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

DATAMONITOR

Awarding activity up ~15% y-o-y inAugust

Investmentsworth ~`581 bnwere announced in the infrastructure sectorinAug’20 (down ~26% y-o-y). Of these, the private sector accounted forannouncementsworth ~`296 bn. New tendersworth `439 bnwere floatedin themonth;while down ~20% y-o-y, thiswas higher than the FY20average of ~`432 bn. At ~`180 bn,Aug’20 awardswere ~15% higher y-o-yand ahead of the past 24months’ average awarding of ~`175 bn.

Growth in e-commercehas led to a demand fortemporarywarehouses,withoccupiers seeking alternativesites to service customersbetter, even as prospectsremain good for the sector

● LOGISTICS SECTOR

Covid-19 alters logistics of trade

Aug 2020 announcements ~`581 bn; down ~26% y-o-y, ~4% m-o-m

Aug 2020 tenders floated: ~`439 bn, down ~20% y-o-y; lowest till date in FY21

Aug 2020 awards: At ~`180 bn; tender-to-award conversion of ~31%*

Source: Projects Today, Anand Rathi Research *Awards for current month/tenders published for preceding month

0.0Jul Aug

2019 2020Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

Jul Aug2019 2020Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

Jul Aug2019 2020

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8 (` trillion)

(` trillion)

(` trillion)

RoadsBuildings &housing

Water &irrigation

Power &miningRailways

Others

0.00.1

0.20.30.40.50.60.7 Roads

Buildings &housingWater &irrigation

Power &miningRailways

Others

Roads

Buildings &housingWater &irrigation

Power &miningRailways

Others

29.6

89.6

27.2

11.9

31.3

0

30

60

90

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3(%)Tenders to awards (RHS)

SUDHIRCHOWDHARY

PHOOL.CO ISNOTyourrun-of-the-millentrepreneurial venture.An IITKanpur-backed biomaterial startup founded bytwoengineeringgraduates,AnkitAgarwaland Prateek Kumar in July 2017, it isfocused on the circular economy.It con-vertsfloralwasteintocharcoal-freeluxuryincenseproducts.Recently, it raised$1.4million in a pre-SeriesAfunding round.The funding roundwas led by IANFundandSanFrancisco-basedDraperRichardsKaplanFoundation.With deep-tech research,the startup

has developed “Fleather” leveraging itsflower recycling technology.Fleather is aviable alternative to animal leather and

the startupwas recentlypresentedPETAIndia’s‘BestInnovationinVeganFashion’awardforthisproduct.According to co-founderAnkitAgar-

wal,Phool.coprovidesasustainable solu-tion to the monumental temple-wasteprobleminIndia.“Throughourefforts,weaim to build natural alternatives to syn-thetic chemical-basedproducts byusingdeep-tech and research.We are perhaps

India’s first natural incensebrand takinga digital-first approach andhave a first-moveradvantageasbio-leathersarebarelyavailableinIndia.”Phool.cohasexpandeditsoperationstoTirupati,AndhraPradesh.Duringthelockdown,itensureditssupplychainwasnotdisruptedbysourcingflowerwaste directly fromthedistressedhorti-culture farmers, bringing them criticalincomeinthetoughestoftimes.

Ontherecentfunding,hesaid,“Wearedelighted to get IAN on board as aninvestorandthefundsraisedwillbeusedtoadvancetheresearchandscaletheoper-ations.”Earlier,Phool.cohad raised`3.38crore in a seed round fromSocialAlpha(FISE),DRKFoundation,IITKanpurandBalmerLawrie,amongothers.The IANFund,a `375 crore fund,is a

differentiatedseed/earlystageFundwhichaimstotransformIndia’sentrepreneuriallandscape.Itinvestsininnovativecompa-nies in sectors includinghealthcare andmedical devices,VR,AI,software as a ser-vice,marketplaces,fintech,BigData,Arti-ficial Intelligence,agritechandhardware.PadmajaRuparel,foundingpartner,IANFund said,“Innovative solutions for thesustainabledevelopmentof the commu-nityistheneedofthehour.Phool.co’scir-culareconomymodelbringstriplebottombenefits of environmental, social, andfinancialsustainability.”

Foritsendeavourtomakesustainableproducts,Phool.co has received severalinternational recognitions including theUnitedNationsYoungLeadersAward forSustainableDevelopmentGoals,UnitedNationsMomentumofChangeAwardatCOP 2018, Asia Sustainability Award2020,HongKong,AlquityTransformingLivesAwards,London andBreaking theWallofScience,Berlin.

SUDHIRCHOWDHARY

ThethoughtbehindhisIoTandhardwareventure—SenseGiz Technologies—firstcame toAbhishek Latthewhen as a stu-dentof Mechatronics inSouthhampton,UK,heleftbehindhisbaginatrain.Whilethe ‘Lost and Found’ department laterfound it, that incident inspired him todevelop a device that could track lostbelongings. In 2013, Latthe launchedSenseGizTechnologies inBelgaum,Kar-nataka.Duringtheinitialyears,thestartupcameupwithtwoproductsbasedonIoT–FIND,adevicetrackerthatalertstheownerabout the locationofhis belongings,andthe second,awearable device to focus onhealth safety monitoring. However, in2018,thecompanypivotedfromaB2CtoaB2Bmodel andbuilt on its earlierprod-uctstocomeupwithCOIN,asensorbasedversatile product that couldhelpprovidevariedsolutionsforlargeenterprises.SenseGizhasoffices inPuneandBan-

galoreandoffshoreofficesinJapanandtheUS,with45employeesspreadacrossengi-neering,sales,andmarketingandadmin-

istration roles.“SenseGiz creates enter-prise and industrial IoTproducts forsen-sor-basedconditionmonitoring,security,andreal-timeasset/peopletrackingappli-cationsusingacombinationofproprietarymeshconnectedhardware,cloud,analyt-ics,andapps,”informsthefounder&CEO.“SenseGizproductsarepatentedandbuiltin India with a robust R&D teamwhileoperationsareinIndia,Spain,SouthAfrica,Japan,andtheUS.”In the current Covid-19 pandemic

landscape,thecompanytweakedthepre-vious technologytohelpprevent furtherbusiness shutdowns. Now, FIND andCOIN aims to enforce social distancingandcontacttracing,whichcanhelpcom-

panies keep their employees safe. Cur-rently, the key focus of the product is toenable companies to implement socialdistancinganddetailedhistoricalcontacttracing atworkplaces tominimise inter-ruptionandpromptlyisolateonlythedis-tressedpeopleandareas.

“In a coin-sized form factor,we getmotion sensing, temperature andhumidity sensors inbuilt thatwill helpcustomers by improving their efficien-cies,productivity,securityandreducingcosts,”saysLatthe.COIN thus is an end-to-end solution

forpredictivemaintenance,environmentconditionmonitoring,perimetersecurity,and real-time indoor asset and peoplemanagement,whichuses a combinationofproprietarymeshconnectedhardware,cloud,analytics,andmachinelearning.Sofar,SenseGizhassoldover30,000devicesworldwideandiscurrentlydeployedintheUS,Japan,SouthAfrica,India,Spain,Sin-gapore,BrazilandtheMiddleEast.According to Latthe, SenseGiz hasrecently won the Samadhan CovidChallengerunbytheeducationmin-istrywhere the goalwas to find thebest digital solutions againstCovid-19. In 2015, the companyraised `3 crore in funding fromKarnataka Semiconductor Ven-ture Capital Fund and again inMarch 2019, it raised $335,000fromKeiretsu. It is now lookingto raise funds in a SeriesAfund-ingroundlaterthisyear.

“SenseGiz has posted 100%growth in termsofnumbers forFY19-20,andislookingtotriplethatinFY20-21despitethepan-demic.Thecompany’srevenueisgrowing at 52%year-on-year,”he says, adding,“We aim to be a`100 crore revenue company inthenexttwoyears.”

This IoT startup providessolutions to companies tomitigate risks, keepemployees safe andprevent future businessshutdowns due toCovid-19

AnkitAgarwal, founder, Phool.co and (R) the firm’s innovative products

● PHOOL.CO

Solving the temple-waste problem

Startups● SENSEGIZTECHNOLOGIES

Helping businesses reopen safely

This IIT Kanpur-backedbiomaterial startupconverts floral wasteinto charcoal-freeincense products

❝In a coin-sized formfactor, we get motionsensing, temperature,and humidity sensorsinbuilt thatwill helpcustomers byimproving theirefficiencies,productivity, security,and reducing costs.

—ABHISHEK LATTHE,

CEOAND FOUNDER,

SENSEGIZTECHNOLOGIES

Pune

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

ENGURU, THE SELF-LEARNING spokenEnglish app, has 1.3 million monthlyactive users, and two-thirds of those arefromoutsidetier-1cities.“Thishighlightsthe appeal the language has in smallercities,”saysArshanVakil,founder&CEOofenguru.“English is not just amedium ofcommunication; it is more of a life skill.Candidates looking for jobs in sectors likeIT, hospitality, retail and academia areexpectedtocommunicatewell inEnglish.”The Covid-19 pandemic, he says, has

propelled concepts like remotework andonline learning, and businesseswill soonrealisetheycantapintoaglobalpooloftal-ent instead of just local ones.“English isbound to grow into evenmore of a globallanguage as thewillingness to hire acrossborderswill increase,”Vakil says.He addsIndia can offer a strong talent pool, pro-vided this talent can communicatewell.“The need of the jobmarket is to have aworkforce proficient inmodern commu-nicationand interpersonal skills.”Aspera2012surveybytheEconomist

Intelligence Unit, 70% executives saidtheirworkforcewill need tomaster Eng-lish to realise corporate expansion plans.Then,only4%ofmen and 2%women inwage employment in India reportedspeaking fluent English.Rahil Rangwala,

director,IndiaPrograms,Michael&SusanDell Foundation (MSDF), says it is criticalfortheyouthfromlow-incomefamiliestohaveaccess to learntospeakEnglish.“Inacountrywith paucity of qualified Englishteachers,technologyisessentialtosolvingthis problem at scale,”he says.MSDFwasthe first institutional investor in enguru,and continues toworkwith it to help theyouthfromlow-incomefamiliesgetqual-ityaccess toEnglish language training.“I’ve seenhowtheabilityto speakwell

inEnglishhastransformedtheconfidenceof youngmen andwomen.Yet 66% col-legegraduatesdonotspeakthe language,andwith the rush in digitisation due toCovid-19,more jobswill need knowledgeofworkingEnglish,”Rangwala says.One of the better ways of learning a

newlanguage,expertsargue,isimmersing

oneself in the language asmuch as possi-ble.“However,wewanttoensureusersfeelcomfortablewithenguruandarenotover-whelmed.Sowe have designed enguru tosupport 20 languages (12 Indian) to pro-videeasy-to-understandcontexttoalltheusers.Actualclassesarenotlanguage-spe-cific,andHindiorTamilorBengali speak-ersareall in thesameclass,”saysVakil.While enguruwas launched as a self-

learningappthatusedspeechrecognitionto give users feedback on their speakingskills, it has since evolved to also includeinteractive live classeswhere users get anoption to join a class of 25,12 or six stu-dents and interactwith peers and teach-ers.“Classesareconversational,inlinewithour goal to help users improve their abil-ity to articulate themselves and subse-quentlyhelp in theircareers,”addsVakil.

FINANCIALEXPRESS12 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

EducationWehave launched theVidyamandir Intellect Quest,the scholarship test thatwill provide an opportunityto IITJEE andNEETaspirants to prepare under theguidance of industry icons and teachers from IITsand premier colleges.The fee for it is set at `99.

—Brij Mohan, Co-Founder,Vidyamandir Classes

EXPERTVIEW

Covid-19: The importanceof English, as amedium ofcommunication, grows

Provides lecturers free andready-to-teach resources

FE BUREAU

QLIK,THEDATAanalytics&dataintegra-tion solutions company,has expanded itsQlikAcademic Program to over 400 uni-versities and educational institutionsacross India.It recordeda400%uptick inregistrations from India for the first ninemonthsof2020,comparedwiththeover-all12monthsof2019.“Theincreaseinthenumberof registrationscanbeattributedto the growing awareness of data literacyacross education institutions,which areaddingmarketabledataskillstotheircur-ricula tostrengthentheiracademicoffer-ings,”Qliksaidinastatementtothemedia.In an agewhere data is the newwater,

theQlikAcademicProgramprovidesuni-versity lecturers free and ready-to-teachresources,which include instructor-ledcontent, in-class activities, sample datasets and student assignments, all housedin its online self-paced course library, theQlikContinuousClassroom.Qlik Continuous Classroom includes

hands-on exercises, reference guides,assessments, the ability to chatwith liveinstructors,andearnqualifications in theformof certificates anddigital badges.Todate,within theAPAC region,90% of allthe Qlik Sense qualifications and 98%ofall data analytics certifications have beenearnedbyIndianstudentsandprofessors.PankajMuthe,programmanager,Aca-

demic Program,APAC,Qlik, said,“Covid-19 has createdmassive transitions in thecurrentwork ecosystem,pushing organi-sations to reshape their existing businessmodels.To excel in this newdata-drivenworld order, data literacy and analyticshave emerged as sought-after skills.TheQlikAcademicProgramcaterspreciselytothis growing need for data expertise byequippingnew-agelearnerswiththerightset of data skills required in tomorrow’sworkplace.Italso focusesonempoweringeducatorswho can help the next genera-tionofdataexpertsexcel in this space.”TheQlikAcademicProgram is open to

anyaccrediteduniversity-levelinstitutionworldwide, including for-profit and non-profitcolleges.Manyprominentuniversi-ties and institutions that have partneredwithQlik include IIMs (Ahmedabad,Ban-galore and Calcutta) and IITs (Madras,Bombay,RoorkeeandKharagpur).Recently,QlikalsolauncheditsProfes-

sorAmbassador Program.Professors cur-rently enrolled in theQlikAcademic Pro-gramcanself-nominatetobeachampioninpreparing students for the data-drivenworkplace.Applications are open now toNovember 30.Selected ambassadorswillbeannounced inearly2021.

Qlik expandspresence to400 Indianuniversities

●DATALITERACY

Imarticus and UCLAExtension tie upImarticus Learning is offering ananalytics andAI programme thatcombines data science courses aspart of an agreementwithUCLAExtension. Domestic studentswilllearn livevia Zoom fromUCLAExtension and Imarticus faculty.

LegalKart starts JustConsult adviceLegalkart.comhas comeupwitheight languageoptions for usersto consultwith a lawyer.AvailableinHindi, English,Tamil,Telugu,Malayalam,Marathi, Kannada andBengali, this feature is called ‘JustConsult’. LegalKart nowhas 8,000lawyers in 800 cities; ‘Just Consult’is an instant legal advice platformwith 20, 30, 45 and 60minuteslegal consultation packages;prices start at `399 for 20minutes.

Samsung grant to517 IIT, NIT studentsSamsung has offered scholarshipsto 517meritorious students fromIITs andNITs, as part of SamsungStar Scholar programme.Thesescholarships are offered everyyear to financially support lessprivileged students fromJawaharNavodayaVidyalaya schoolswhoqualify to these colleges.

Project TraVival toboost rural tourismNotOnMap andHelpTourism, inassociationwithThe InternationalCentre for ResponsibleTourism,have started aproject to aid ruralareas attract tourists.They havestarted trainingvideos—coveringhomestay, safety and hygieneduringCovid-19—in 18 languagesfor homestay owners, panchayats,teachers,women and travellers.

Simplilearn startsPGP in Six SigmaSimplilearn and theUniversity ofMassachusettsAmherst (UMassAmherst) have started PGP in LeanSix Sigma, for engineers, CXOs,analysts,mid-level professionals.Learnerswill acquire skills aboutthe tools needed to implementingquality control in operations,production cycles andprocessoutcomes through reengineering.

TCS iON opens NQTto all corporatesTCS iONhas said that its NationalQualifierTest (NQT)will nowbe acommongateway test for severalparticipating corporates for theirfresher recruitment programmes.This testwill provide candidatesaccess to openpositions atmanycorporates, helping corporatesget an in-depth understanding ofapplicants’ cognitive abilities, andreduce evaluation overheads.

FE BUREAU

●NEWS BRIEF

Academics flourishes inmultidisciplinary setting

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

COVID-19HAS impactednewerandolderuniversities in distinct ways, says SahilAggarwal, co-founder& CEO of Sonipat,Haryana-based Rishihood University.“Newer universities like ours are estab-lishingaculture,whichrequirespeopletospend time together and learn from eachother.Itcannotbedoneonlinetothesamedegree.Onthepositive side,ithascreatedacultureof lifelong learning,”he says.Another upside of the lockdown has

beentheusageoftechnologyineducation.“Artificial intelligence, in particular, hasmade it easier to provide personalisedlearning experiences. Students can learnat own pace and find personal guidance.Even things like improving our languageand communication,finding our areas ofstrength and weakness, etc, are beingaidedbytechnology,”Aggarwal says.He is of the view that, going forward,

universitiesmust aspire to help studentsrealise their full potential—not only theirintellectual growth, but also emotional,physicalandspiritualgrowth.“Thisneedsa curricular approach that integrates dif-ferent subjects into ameaningfulwhole,rather than boxed knowledge in a partic-ular area. The learning environment,including the physical and technology

space, should be such that studentsachieve their full potential through peerinteractions,facultymentorship,projects,extracurricular activities, and so on,”Aggarwal says.Lastly, he says that academic disci-

plinesflourishinamultidisciplinaryenvi-ronment. For example, the way a child

learns can be influenced by the way alearning space is designed.The quality ofpublic health canbe improvedbythewayhealth guidelines are communicated.“AtRishihood,weuseaninterdisciplinarycur-riculum design and delivery method.Someof ourcourses are taught byfacultycoming from different academic areas.Some topics are delivered by industrymentors.Studentsareencouragedtocom-bine their learning set from differentcourses and different academic areas toreach newdimensions of knowledge anditsapplication,”headds.

Integrate different subjectsinto ameaningful whole

TechAvant-Garde certifies3,100 teachersFE BUREAU

AS MANY as 3,173 teachers gotrecognised asMicrosoft InnovativeEducator (MIE) digital classroomteachers afterpassing a test byTechAvant-Garde (TAG), an edtech com-panyandaglobaltrainingpartnerofMicrosoft in Education.As part ofthe Knowledge L’avenir Conclave(KLC)webinar series,which startedonTeacher’sDay2020,andwillcon-tinue till November 2020, 300teacherstrainednearly5,000teach-ers (in the last fewdays) fromacrossthe country. The first assessmenttestwasheldonSeptember28.As it is important for teachers to

getadegreeinteachingtobeaqual-ifiedteacher,TAGsaidit’s importantto be recognised as a digital teacherholding theMIEcertificate.AliSait,CEOofTechAvant-Garde,

said, “If teachers are not digitallyskilled, our formal education willcollapse and it will have a seriousimpactonourhumancapital.”Going forward, TAG-Microsoft

willdeploytech-drivenideassuchasSkypeinClassroomandvirtualfieldtripsinsteadofthetraditional‘chalkand talk’ model. As home schoolsbecome the newnormal, cognitivelearning,mixed reality, immersivelearning,IoTandAR-VRwilleventu-allyreachstudentsathome.

Language is a life skill

GAURAVSHARMA

MILLENNIALSANDGENZ are themostsignificant demographic and economicforce of our times.This year alone,mil-lennialswillconstitute35%oftheglobalworkforce.Withinadecade,theiraggre-gate incomewill surpass $4 trillion.Amajorbank inAustralia that redesigneda credit card to appeal to millennialsspecifically discovered that usage vol-umesgrewby70%andnew-accountsby40%.Similarly,inIndia,theshareofmil-lennials in new lending increased by4.6%between2015and2018.By2030,MZ (Millennials andGenZ)

intheUSwillwitnessafive-foldincreasein theirwealth as they are set to inherit$68trillionfromtheirBabyBoomerpar-ents—one of themost massivewealth

transfers seen in modern times.Thus,banks today are facing a broader com-petitive threat due to a fundamentalchange incustomerbehaviour.MostmillennialsandGenZviewtheir

current relationshipswith the banks astransactional,and theywill not hesitatetojumpshipthemomentabetterserviceprovider comes along. While banksacross theworld are chasing returns tosurvive,millennials are flocking toneo-

banks, non-banks, and entities likeWhatsApp to transact.They aremobilenatives who don’t like picking up thephonetomakeacall.Theywouldinsteadtweet to theirbankthanwriteanemail.So,digital banking applicationswill

have toevolve frombeing justawindowof transactional services to providing aholisticoutlookoffinancialwellbeing.Abankbuiltforthemillennialmustadoptautonomousfinance,predictiveperson-

alisation,andfunctionas theirfinancialwellbeingmanager.Thus, from strengthening mobile

banking apps and offering chatbots tohigh visibility and integrationwith allother parts of their life, bankswill havetodo it all.Besides,Gen-Z consumers are 25%

more likely to share personal informa-tion and interactwith chatbots to let acompany deliver a truly personalisedexperience.Autonomousfinancemakesthispossible.

FinTechscateringtomillennialsofferanexcellentexampleof thepossibilitiesavailable to a bank needed to create agenuinely millennial banking experi-ence—fromusingAItoprovideauto-cal-ibrating investment portfolios to pro-viding exceptional financial advicebased on one’s income, life-stage, andaspirations.WeareallawareofwhatAmazonand

Uberdidtoourlives.However,wearestillbanking thesamewayourparentsdid.A redesigned bank ought to be truly

customer-centric.Authoris founderofAtlantisCapital

RAHULCHHABRA

ININDIA,WHERE15peoplearekilledinroadaccidentseveryhour,mainlyduetopoorroadinfrastructureandlowdrivingdiscipline,therewouldbefewwhowouldbetonself-drivingvehicles.But a bunch of undergraduate engi-

neering students at Birla Institute ofTechnologyandScience(BITS),Pilani,areworkingtirelesslytowardsthisgoal.Theybelieve AI-based technology forautonomous vehicles for the highlyunstructuredIndianroadsisnotimpos-sible. If used efficiently, technology canevensaveprecious lives.“WhenwedevelopourIndia-specific

autonomousnavigationsystem,itwillbeacaseofonesizefittingall...thetechnol-ogy would work in all corners of theglobe," saidPrateekGarg,teamleaderatSallyRobotics—astudentresearchgroupworking at the Centre for Robotics andIntelligentSystems (CRIS),BITSPilani.At present, the available global

autonomous technologies cannot beefficiently replicated in the Indian con-textgiventhe lackofstrictenforcementof speed limits, rampant lane-jumping,signal-jumping,helmet-less violationsand other critical challenges, he said,

explaining the purpose behind theirIndia-specific effort.According to the National Highway

TrafficSafetyAdministration(NHTSA)ofthe US, their country can reduce thenumber of road accidents through theuse of automatedvehicles bya substan-tial amount, since 94% of the seriousaccidents are due tohumanerror.“ForacountrylikeIndiawithaveryhighnum-ber of road accidents, this safety assur-ance is no less than a fortune,” saidAnirudh Chakravarthy, a computervisionresearcheratSally.Theteamestimatesthatasubstantial

partofafullyresearchedworkingproto-typeof theirIndia-specificautonomousvehicle technologymay be ready in thenext threeyears.Apartfrombeingamongthefewuni-

versity teams in India working onautonomousdrivingmodels,TeamSallydreamsof revolutionising thewayIndiadrives. “Self-driving vehicles open upmobilityoptionsforpeoplewithdisabil-ities.Indiacanbethe leadingsupplierofautonomous vehicles if the technologyisdevelopedefficiently.Especiallyinthepublic transport domain, big Indianvehiclemakers can use this technologyandexporttheirproductswhichcanbea

big boost for the economy," said HarshaBaskar,anotherteammember.Constantly battling challenges

thrown up by Covid-linked campusrestrictions, the 28-member studentteam currently carries out its researchactivity remotely under the supervi-sion of Professor Bijay Kumar Rout,BITS Pilani.TeamSally is divided into fourmajor

subsystems—computervision,simulta-neouslocalisationandmapping,naviga-tionandmechanicaldesign.Computervision team’smission is to

allow the machines to gain ‘vision’ or‘sight'; SLAM subsystem helps in theautonomous building of a localisedmapfor themachine; navigation subsystemdiscovers the optimum route fromonepoint to another along with local pathplanning,andmechanicaldesignaimstobuild frameworks forthecartoexecutearesponse—likehandlingofsteering,accel-eration and cruise control—based oninsightsreceivedfromothersubsystems.

As for the financial part of theresearch,Gargsaidtheinstitutehaspro-vided the teamwith the support of `1lakh. “We also received a cash prizeamounting `50,000 fromDRDO for aprototype we demonstrated at DRDORobotics&UnmannedSystemsExposi-tion-2018,winning the firstprize."“In addition to this, we have also

receivedfundsofaround`2lakhforthevehiclewhichisanAlto800car(onwhichwe build the autonomous system)", saidShankara Narayanan, senior SLAMresearcheratSallyRobotics.According to a National Crime

Records Bureau (NCRB) report, during2014,1.41 lakhpeoplewere killed and4.77 lakh injured in 4.50 lakh acci-dents. By 2030, road accidents areexpected to become the fifth leadingcause of death in India.According toaWorldHealthOrgan-

isation report, 3% of India’s GDPamounting `3.5 lakh crore is lost dueto road accidents.

Fully researchedworking prototype of India-specificAV technologymay be ready in the next three years

New-genbanking

Science& tech●THE RIGHTDRIVER

Students inch closerto an Indian self-drivenvehicle tech

Pune

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Airbus execexpects15,000job cutsREUTERSBerlin, October 3

THEOUTLOOKFOR theavia-tion industryhas deterioratedagainduetorisingcoronavirusinfections and renewed travelrestrictions, Airbus chiefoperating officer MichaelSchoellhornwasquotedassay-ingonSaturday.With air travel at a fraction

ofnormal levelsduetorestric-tions and travellers’ fears, air-lines have sloweddeliveries ofnewaircraft.Airbus has said it needs to

shed15,000postsworldwide.In an interview with the

Handelsblatt business daily,Schoellhorn said the situationin early autumn wasworse than the companyhad expected during thesummer, adding that theplanned15,000jobcutswouldbe theminimum.As some Airbus factories

werealreadyunderutilisedbe-fore the pandemic, labourunionsnowfearthat theman-agement could decide to shutdownentire locations.

At least for Germany,Schoellhorn ruled out takingsuchamove.

INTERNATIONAL14 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMMONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

REUTERSOctober 4

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENTwill routinely deny asylumtomigrants who board boatsto cross the English Channelor come to Britain throughillegal routes, the SundayTimes reported.Undernewlawsthatwillbe

unveiled by interiorministerPriti Patel on Sunday, the gov-ernment will unveil its “fairbordersbill,”outlining itsplanof a two-tier system inwhichmigrants are treated differ-

ently if they pay criminalgangs to help them come toBritain.Newlegalrouteswillbecre-

ated for thosewho are at gen-uine risk of harm,and foreigncriminals and asylum seekersnot at riskwill bedeported.“Currently, everybody that

comes to our country andmakes an asylum claim, theyare treated the same,irrespec-tive of the route throughwhich they have entered ourcountry— and that simply is-n’t right,”Patelsaid inaninter-viewwith the London-basednewspaper.Earlier this week, the

British government came un-der fire aftermedia reports re-vealed it had studied housingasylum seekers on disusedoil rigs, banishing them tocamps in Moldova or PapuaNewGuinea.

Britain to deny asylum to illegalmigrants

REUTERSLondon, October 4

BRITISH PRIME MINISTERBoris Johnsondoesnotpartic-ularlywish for theBrexit tran-sition period to endwithout anewtradedeal inplacebutbe-lieves that Britain could livewith such anoutcome,he saidonSunday.With the December 31 ex-

piry of the transition periodfastapproaching,Johnsonandtheheadof theEU's executive,UrsulavonderLeyen,agreedina phone call on Saturday tostepupnegotiationsonapost-Brexit deal."I think it's there to be

done," Johnson said during aninterviewonBBC television."Alas, there are some diffi-

cult issues that need to befixed, and there's no questionthat the EU needs to under-standthatwe'reutterlyseriousabout needing to control ourown laws and ourown regula-tions, and similarly theyneedtounderstandthattherepatri-

ation of the UK's fisheries ... isvery important."Askedwhetherhewaswor-

ried about the potential im-pact of a no-deal situation inthe middle of the Covid-19pandemic, Johnson said: "Idon't want the AustralianWTO-type outcome,particu-larly,butwecanmorethanlivewith it."I think the people ofthis country have had enough...ofbeing told that thiswill beimpossible or intolerable. Ithinkwe canprospermightilyunderthose circumstances."The government lastweek

told importers and exporterstheywould have to completeextrapaperworkwhethertherewasadealornotandthatalackof preparation on their partcouldleadto100kmqueuesoftrucks.Thatpromptedaccusa-tions fromtheopposition thatministerswere setting up in-dustry to take the blame forany chaos thatmight follow abotchedBrexit.The EU says anydealmust

besealedbytheendofOctober.

Johnson doesn'twanta no-deal Brexit butsays can livewith it

In the two-tier system,

migrantswill be treated

differently if they pay

criminal gangs to help

them come to Britain

Pompeoshortenstravel toAsiaTrumpsays‘real test’ahead,after

mixedmessages fromWhiteHouse

●COVID FIGHT

ALEXANDRAALPERAND JEFFMASONWashington, October 4

PRESIDENTDONALDTRUMPtoldAmericansfromhishospi-tal roomthatthenextfewdayswill be the “real test” of histreatment for Covid-19,aftera series of contradictorymes-sages from the White Housecausedwidespread confusionabouthis condition.In a four-minute video

postedonTwitteronSaturdayfromhis hospital suite atWal-ter Reed National MilitaryMedicalCenter,atired-lookingTrump said he was feeling“muchbetter.”“Over the next period of a

fewdays,Iguess that’s the real

test, so we’ll be seeing whathappens over those next cou-ple of days,” Trump said intothe camera, seated in front ofanAmerican flag andwearingajacketandopen-neckedshirt.The remarks came hours

after differing assessments ofhis health from administra-tion officials left it unclearhow ill the president had be-come since he tested positivefor the new coronavirus onThursday night, a matter ofenormouspublic concern.AWhiteHouseteamofdoc-

tors said on SaturdaymorningthatTrump’sconditionwasim-

provingandthathewasalreadytalking about returning to theWhite House.One doctor saidTrump told them,“I feel like Icouldwalkoutofheretoday.”Within minutes, White

House chief of staff MarkMeadowsgave reporters a lessrosyassessment,telling them,“Thepresident'svitalsoverthelast 24 hours were very con-cerningand thenext48hourswill be critical in terms of hiscare.We’re still not on a clearpath toa full recovery.”Meadows, whose initial

comments were delivered oncondition that he not be iden-

tified, altered his tone hourslater, telling Reuters thatTrumpwas doing “verywell”and that “doctors are verypleasedwithhisvitalsigns.”Hedidnotclarifythediscrepancy.WhiteHouse doctor Sean P

Conley told reporters outsidethe hospital on Saturday thatTrump had not had trouble

breathing, andwas not givenoxygen atWalterReed. He de-clined to give a timetable forTrump's possible release fromthe hospital, and later had toissue a statement saying hemisspoke after appearing tosuggestTrumphadbeendiag-nosedas earlyasWednesday.

— REUTERS

President’s conditionis improving andhecould return to theWhiteHouse as earlyasMonday,thedoctors leadinghistreatment said

FARIS MOKHTAROctober 4

US SECRETARY OF StateMichael Pompeowill shortenhis travel to Asia this week astheWhiteHousedealswiththespread of the coronavirusamong its topofficials.Pompeo will visit Tokyo

fromOctober4-6forameetingoftheforeignministersoffourof the Indo-Pacific region’sbiggestdemocracies,StateDe-partment spokeswomanMor-gan Ortagus said in a state-ment. His earlier itineraryincludedtripstoMongoliaandSouthKoreaonOctober6-8.President Donald Trump

entered thehospital on Fridayeveningafterannouncingear-lier in the day that he and firstladyMelaniaTrumphad beendiagnosedwith Covid-19.Hisis themost prominent case inwhat has become an outbreakof coronavirus among top Re-publican leaders, as well asTrump's innercircle.The president’s campaign

launched“OperationMAGA”tosendoutsurrogateswhowouldattesttohisvitalityandkeephisvoter base motivated untilTrump recovers enough to re-sumecampaigninginperson.Pompeo and hiswife have

testednegative for thevirus.Pompeo is meeting with

theforeignministersof Japan,AustraliaandIndia—socalledtheQuadgroup that is seen asa counter to China’s influenceintheregion.Beijinghasmadeclear its opposition to theUS’s“Indo-Pacific strategy,”whichwas conceived toelevate Indiaas a potential regional coun-terweight toChina.Themeeting is also one of

the highest-profile diplomaticgatherings for the Trump ad-ministration before the USpresidential election, wherepolicy toward Beijing has be-comeamajorcampaignissue.Italso comes as China and Indiatry to defuse tensions on theirdisputedHimalayanborder.

DEMOCRATJOEBidenopenedhiswidest lead inamonth in theUSpresidential race afterPresidentDonaldTrumptestedpositive for thecoronavirus,andamajorityofAmericansthinkTrumpcouldhaveavoided infection if hehadtaken thevirusmoreseriously,according to aReuters/Ipsospoll releasedonSunday. TheOctober2-3national opinionpollgave little indicationof anoutpouringof support forthepresidentbeyondhiscoregroupof followers.

Among those adultswhoare expected to castballots,thepoll found that51%werebackingBiden,while41%said theywerevoting forTrump.Another4%were choosinga third-partycandidate andanother4%said theywereundecided.Biden’s10-pointedgeoverTrumpis1 to2pointshigherthan leadsBidenpostedoverthepast severalweeks,thoughthe increaseis stillwithin thepoll’sprecision limitsofplusorminus5percentagepoints.

—REUTERS

President DonaldTrumpworks in the Presidential Suite atWalter Reed National Military Medical Center PHOTO: REUTERS

Biden leads by 10 points

ABEERABUOMAR &MATTHEWMARTINOctober 4

SAUDI ARABIA’S FINANCEministry seems to think thatoil priceswill stay around$50a barrel for at least the nextthreeyears.That’saccordingtoGoldman Sachs Group’sanalysis of the kingdom's pre-budget statement released onSeptember30.“Using our own estimates

for the breakdown of govern-ment revenues, we calculatethat thenumberspresentedinthe budget statement arebasedonanaverageoilpriceofaround $50 a barrel between2020 and 2023,” said FaroukSoussa, a London-based ana-lyst atGoldman.Brent crude fell 6.3% to

$39.27 a barrel last week asmore countries tightened re-strictions to counterthecoronaviruspandemicandUS President Donald Trumpgot infected,causingtraderstofret about the outlook for en-ergydemand.Whileoil at$50wouldrep-

resenta25%risefromcurrentprices, it would still be far be-low the pre-pandemiclevel of around $65 and lessthanSaudiArabianeedstobal-ance its budget.Goldman’scalculationsare

roughly in line with those ofCairo-based investment bankEFGHermes,which said SaudiArabia is basing next year’sbudget on an oil price of $50to $55. Goldman is itselfmore bullish, forecasting thatBrentwill climb to $65 by theendof2021.Saudi officials expect the

country’s fiscal deficit to

narrow to 5.1% of gross do-mestic product in 2021 from12% this year as they cutspending, according to lastweek’s statement.The kingdom tends to take

a relatively conservative viewof crude prices in drawing upits budget anddoesn’t divulgeits assumptions, leaving ana-lysts to estimate them fromotherprojections.TheFinanceMinistry didn’t immediatelyrespond to a request for com-mentonSunday.SaudiArabiawouldneedoil

to trade at $66 to balance itsbudget in 2021, according toestimates from the Interna-tionalMonetaryFund.Saudi Arabia’s caution on

prices comes as oil giants in-cluding BP and Total predictthe era of growing global de-mand for energy is over orcoming to an end barely adecade fromnow.That’s especially a concern

for countries such as SaudiArabia,whereoilaccountedfornearly two-thirds of govern-ment revenue in2019.

— BLOOMBERG

SaudiArabia pegs budget to oilstaying around $50 until 2023

REUTERSParis, October 4

VOTERS ON THE South Pa-cific archipelago of NewCale-doniawere on course to rejectbreakingawayfromFranceaf-ternearly170yearsofcolonialrule in a referendum on Sun-day,partial results showed.Withvotes from249outof

304 polling stations tallied,the partial results showed the“no”camp aheadwith 54.8%supportandexpandingits leadas results came in from thecapital,Noumea, traditionallyabastionofpro-Paris loyalty.Ifthe“no”voteisconfirmed,

itwouldbethesecondfailedat-tempt by pro-independencesupporters to gain full sover-eigntyintwoyears.

Asurprise“yes”votewoulddepriveParis of a foothold inaregionwhereChina’s influenceis growing.Tensions have long run

deep between pro-indepen-dence indigenous Kanaks anddescendants of colonial set-tlerswhoremain loyal toParis.More than 180,000 long-

termresidentsareregisteredtovote“yes”or“no”on the ques-tion:“DoyouwantNewCaledo-nia to gain its full sovereigntyandbecomeindependent?”Sunday's referendum was

the second of up to three per-mitted under the terms of the1998 Noumea Accord, anagreement enshrined inFrance's constitution andwhichsetouta20-yearpathto-wardsdecolonisation.Turnoutwashigh - thepar-

tial results showed86%of eli-giblevotershadcastaballot.

NewCaledonia set tovote ‘no’ to breakingaway from France

Partial results showed the

“no” camp aheadwith

54.8% support and

expanding its lead

Pune

15FINANCIALEXPRESSWWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

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16 FINANCIALEXPRESS

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ADVERTORIAL

Just as a reunified Germany waspossible with the courage, strength and

resilience of the people, Dr. JuergenMorhard, Consul General of Federal

Republic of Germany in Mumbai, saysthat another kind of strength, resilience

and unity is the need of the hour

F������ �� ��� ������������ ����������. Andalthough we commemorate thirtyyears of a reunified Germanythis year, the pandemic has

unfortunately driven us into a stateof temporary confinement. We are alladjusting to what some people like to callthe new normal: a time characterisedby masks, sanitizers, and gloves. �heelegant and safe namaste has replacedthe firm handshake, the home space hasreplaced the office, and while the virusis running wild, the world is tryinghard to get back on its feet. �he German�mbassies and �onsulates have beenbusy, too – from arranging repatriationflights to facilitating exports ofmedicines, from assisting Germancompanies in �ndia to start anew toreopening our range of services in agradual and cautious manner – takingcare of our staff members and the visaapplicants by adopting safe ���s, alsoin line with government restrictions, sothat nobody catches the virus.

As we take in our stride the virusand its impact, we are also excitedabout favourable times. Later thisyear, the ��B �nternational �chool(German �chool �umbai) will have anew address. �he school is relocatingto a new purpose-built campus, whichwill ensure a sustainable learningenvironment and allow for modern andinnovative teaching: custom-designedspacious classrooms, a sports areawith a swimming pool, and carefullyplanned internal spaces will provide fora rich learning environment. With theFrench �nternational �chool and ��B�nternational �chool under one roof,one can look forward to a hi-tech �uro-�ampus in the heart of �umbai city.

Another milestone in the field ofeducation is the diamond anniversaryof �AA� (�eutscher AkademischerAustausch �ienst) or the GermanAcademic �xchange �ervice thatturns sixty this year. �he organisationhas done significant work since itsinception in �ndia in 1960. A brief lookback at history shows that �AA� hasa long tradition of uniting people andacademia. �AA� provides informationabout higher education and research inGermany, administers a large varietyof scholarships to students, scholars,post-docs, and senior researchers fromboth �ndia and Germany.

�nthetradefront,thepastthreemonthssaw us more engaged with the Germanindustry than ever before. �ogetherwith the German business and industryassociations, the �onsulate has initiated

and been a part of many conversationsand discussions on the impact of��V��-19 on �ndo-German trade and thechallenges faced by German companiesin �ndia. �hese are testing times, but itis in times like these that partnershipsand cooperation shine. � take thisopportunity to thank all levels of �ndianstate governments in our jurisdiction whoguided us well and continue to do so inthese challenging times of ��V��-19.

�o while Germany celebrates thirtyyears of reunification, today, there’s aneed for another kind of global unity– for nations to come together for agreater good: to fight global issues likeclimate change, and of course, thepandemic. We remain optimistic thatthis, too, we shall overcome. After all, itis said that tough times don’t last. Andwe’d like to hold on to that thought.

Germany (officially the Federal Republic ofGermany) is a country located in CentralWestern Europe, which lies between theBaltic and North Seas to the north; and theAlps, Lake Constance, and the High Rhineto the south. It borders Denmark to thenorth, Poland and the Czech Republic to theeast, Austria and Switzerland to the south,France to the southwest, and Luxembourg,Belgium, and The Netherlands to the west.

A founding member of the EuropeanEconomic Community in 1957 and theEuropean Union in 1993, Germany is a partof the Schengen Area, and a became co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999. Germanyis a member of the United Nations, NATO,the G7, the G20, and the OECD.

Known for its rich cultural history,Germany has been continuously thehome of influential and successful artists,philosophers, musicians, sportspeople,entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, andinventors.

Germany has over 2 millennia of history.Berlin, its capital, is home to art andnightlife scenes, the Brandenburg Gate,and many sites relating to WWII. Munichis known for its Oktoberfest and beer halls,including the 16th-century Hofbräuhaus.Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers, houses theEuropean Central Bank.

Full Name: Federal Republic of Germany

Capital: Berlin (also the largest city)

Other Major Cities: Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart,Dresden, Leipzig, Cologne

Government: Federal Parliamentary Republic

President (Head of State): Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Chancellor (Head of Government): Angela Merkel

Reunification of Germany (National Day): October 3, 1990

Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen (The Song of the Germans)

Area: Total 357,022 sq km (137,847 sq mi)

Population: 83,166,711 (2019 estimate)

GDP (PPP): Total $4.444 trillionPer capita $46,653 (2019 estimate)

Currency: Euro1 Euro = 1.17 USD1 Euro = 86.20 Indian Rupees

National Flower: Blue Cornflower (Knapweed)

Official Bird & Animal: Bundesadler (Black Eagle)

Time Zone: GMT +1

Internet TLD:.de and .eu

Calling Code: +49

Driving: On the right

Fast Facts

Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin

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Pune

17FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

In the post-COVID-19 era, dramatic changes will be the need ofthe hour if we are to win against climate change. Germany hastaken the first big step by announcing an ambitious hydrogenroadmap. India is following suit, slowly but surely, and has the

promise to leapfrog to the waste-to-wealth and hydrogen reality,says Siddharth R. Mayur

Just under a year after the destruction ofthe Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, Eastand West Germany reunited after 45 years,

on what is known today as ‘Unity Day’

HYDROGEN, THEY SAY, isthe new oil, and that beingtrue, Germany is going to bethe new Mecca for energy.German engineering’s

contribution to building a betterworld and furthering humanprogress is indispensable, and thenew innovations on the hydrogenpathway by German companies andinstitutes promise to usher in a newenergy revolution in the world.

The dynamic transition from afossil-based worldto a de-carbonisedone adopted by Germany will be arole model for the rest of the world.India, which is emerging as one ofthe largest emitters of greenhousegases, has a lot to benefit fromthe close ties that it enjoys withGermany.

Technologies in wastemanagement, the power to fuels,green hydrogen, fuel cells, solid-state and salt batteries hold a verylarge potential for cooperation.Germany as a technology provider,and India as an inexpensivemanufacturing hub and one of thelargest markets to commercialise,these technologies present a veryinteresting synergy.

German technology clubbedwith Indian entrepreneurshipcan create a sustainable hydrogeneconomy model. India, with its vast

renewable potential, and an evenbigger market for energy needs, canbenefit from importing hydrogengeneration, storage, dispensation,and utilisation technologies fromGermany, and in turn, providegreen hydrogen to Germany. Indiahas the advantage of large marketsize, and emerging technologycompanies like Enapter, Sunfire,and mPower, together with Germaninstitutes like Fraunhofer Institute,can play an important role in thetechnology exchange with Indian

counterparts. As a matter of fact,there already exist successfulventures of German companieswith Indian entrepreneurs in thefield of hydrogen and fuel cells.

It is an idea whose time hascome. In the post-COVID-19 era,dramatic changes will be the needof the hour if we are to win againstclimate change. Germany has takenthe first big step by announcing anambitious hydrogen roadmap. Indiais following suit, slowly but surely,and has the promise to leapfrog tothe waste-to-wealth and hydrogenreality.

These are exciting times,despite the gloom of the virus.The world around us is readyfor a fundamental change. OnOctober 3, we celebrate 30 yearsof the reunification of Germany.This month also marks the birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi,who encouraged everyone to be the

change. Germany and India mustunite to be the change, and bringabout a cleaner new world.

The author is a participant of

the ‘Energy Transition–German

Hydrogen Policy’ themed-trip

organised by the German Federal

Foreign Office, and founder of h2e

Power Systems, India’s first Fuel

Cell & Green Hydrogen company.

Hydrogen Energy –A Roadmap To The Future

������� �� ����� ��� ������ ���

B�����A Political Centre

Even in the Unification Treaty itwas determined that Berlin be

the capital. On June 20, 1991, theDeutsche Bundestag passed a

resolution to also move the Seatof Government and Parliament

from Bonn – since 1949 the capitalof the Federal Republic – to

Berlin. Since the move in 1999,Germany once again has in Berlin apulsating political centre that bears

comparison with the major citiesof the big European neighbouring

states. In addition to the newlydesigned Reichstag building,

symbols of this are the Chancelleryand the open Brandenburg Gate,which represents the overcoming

of the country’s division. For awhile, there had been fears thatthe Government’s move to Berlin

could become an expression of newGerman megalomania, with which

the country’s economic and politicalweight would upset the status quo

in Europe again. These fears provedto be wrong. Rather, German Unitywas to be the initial spark that led

to the overcoming of the division ofEurope into east and west.

As such, Germany actually playeda pioneering role in the politicaland economic integration of the

continent. In addition, it gaveup one of the most importantinstruments and symbols inthe unification process, the

Deutschmark, to create a EuropeanMonetary Union, the Eurozone,which would not exist without

Germany. Nor, despite their beingheavily involved in the unificationprocess, have the various federalgovernments since 1990 ever lostsight of European integration, buthave played an active role in its

development, which culminated inthe Lisbon process.

SINCE 1945, when Sovietforces occupied easternGermany; and the UnitedStates and other Alliedforces occupied the

western half of the nation at theclose of World War II; dividedGermany had come to serve asone of the most enduring symbolsof the Cold War.

Some of the most dramaticepisodes of the Cold War tookplace there. The Berlin Blockade(June 1948–May 1949), duringwhich the Soviet Union blockedall ground travel into West Berlin,and the construction of the BerlinWall in 1961 were perhaps themost famous. With the gradualwaning of Soviet power in thelate 1980s, the Communist Party

in East Germany began to lose itsgrip on power. Tens of thousandsof East Germans began to flee thenation and by late 1989 the BerlinWall started to come down.

Shortlythereafter,talksbetweenEast and West German officials,joined by officials from the UnitedStates, Great Britain, France, andthe USSR, began to explore thepossibility of reunification. Twomonths following reunification,all-German elections took placeand Helmut Kohl became thefirst Chancellor of the reunifiedGermany. Although this actioncame more than a year before thedissolutionof theSovietUnion,formany observers the reunificationof Germany effectively markedthe end of the Cold War.

People from East and West Germany gathering at the Berlin Wall

�DVE��O�I��

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BACKPAGE18 FINANCIALEXPRESS

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EXTRACT OF UNAUDITEDCONSOLIDATED RESULTS FOR THEQUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2020

OIL & GAS | ZINC-LEAD-SILVER | ALUMINIUM & POWER | COPPER | IRON ORE & STEELCIN no. L13209MH1965PLC291394 Website: www.vedantalimited.com

Regd. Office: Vedanta Limited 1st Floor, ‘C’ wing, Unit 103, Corporate Avenue, Atul Projects, Chakala,Andheri (East), Mumbai–400093, Maharashtra

Dated : October 03, 2020Place : Mumbai

By Order of the Board

GR Arun KumarWhole- Time Director andChief Financial Officer

Navin AgarwalExecutive Vice-Chairman

(` in Crore except as stated)

S. No. ParticularsQuarter ended30.06.2020(Unaudited)

Quarter ended30.06.2019(Unaudited)

1 Revenue from operations 15,687 21,167

2 Net Profit for the period (before exceptional items, taxes, non-controllinginterests and share in jointly controlled entities and associates)

2,033 2,082

3 Net Profit for the period after exceptional items (before taxes, non-controlling interests and share in jointly controlled entities andassociates)

2,033 2,082

4 Net Profit after taxes, non-controlling interests and share in jointlycontrolled entities and associates

1,033 1,351

5 Total Comprehensive Income after non-controlling interests [Comprising Profit(after tax) and Other Comprehensive Income (after tax)]

1,097 1,355

6 Paid-up equity share capital (Face value of ` 1 each) 372 372

7 Earnings per share after exceptional items (`) (not annualised)

Basic 2.79 3.65

Diluted 2.77 3.63

Notes

1 Additional information on standalone financial results is as follows :

S.No. Particulars

Quarter ended30.06.2020(Unaudited)

Quarter ended30.06.2019(Unaudited)

a Revenue from operations 6,689 8,522

b Profit before tax 4,534 (493)

c Profit after tax 2,964 (250)

2 The above results of Vedanta Limited for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 have been reviewed by the AuditCommittee and approved by the Board of Directors at their respective meetings held on October 03, 2020. Thestatutory auditors have carried out a limited review of the same.

3 The above is an extract of the detailed format of the standalone and consolidated financial results forthe quarter ended June 30, 2020 filed with the Stock Exchanges under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (ListingObligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. The full format of the Quarterly Financial Resultsare available on the Exchange websites, www.nseindia.com, www.bseindia.com and on the Company’swebsite www.vedantalimited.com.

*Reserves excluding Revaluation Reserves as at March 31, 2020 was ` 54,263 Crore

(` in Crore)

TEACHERS across the world have al-ways been considered architects ofour society. They are the pillars onwhich the foundations of a modern

society rest.Every human being often reflectson the learnings that he has received from hiselders – parents, family members and teach-ers.Generally,we spend almost 20-25 years ofour lives, since the beginning of our lifespan,surrounded by our teachers in school,collegeand university.

Celebrated annually on October 5, theWorld Teachers’ Day (WTD) commemoratesthe anniversary of the adoption of the 1966ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerningthe “Status of Teachers”. As per UNESCO,“This Recommendation sets benchmarks re-garding the rights and responsibilities ofteachers and standards for their initial prepa-ration and further education, recruitment,employment,and teaching and learning con-ditions. The Recommendation concerningthe Status of Higher-EducationTeaching Per-sonnel was adopted in 1997 to complementthe 1966 Recommendation by coveringteaching and research personnel in highereducation.”

With the adoption of the“Sustainable De-velopment Goal 4 on education”, and thededicated target (SDG 4.c) recognising“teachers as key to the achievement of theEducation 2030 agenda”,WTD has,over theyears, become an occasion to mark progressand reflect on ways to counter the remainingchallenges for the promotion of the teachingprofession.This year’sWTD theme is“Teach-ers:Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”.Across the globe, the already over-extendededucation systems have faced tremendouschallenges since the advent of COVID-19. It isno exaggeration to say that the world is“at acrossroads and, now more than ever, we

must work with teachers to protect the rightto education and guide it into the unfoldinglandscape brought about by the pandemic.”

Former Indian President A. P. J. AbdulKalam once said, "Teaching is a very nobleprofession that shapes the character, calibre,and future of an individual. If the people re-member me as a good teacher, that will bethe biggest honour for me."Thus, it becomesclear that being a good teacher is no easy joband comes with a lot of ups and downs in acountry like ours.

Throughout their teaching career,teachers dedicate their time and energy inshaping the lives of millions of studentsthroughout the globe. It is through theirvaluable contribution, guidance and en-couragement that we are able to excel inour life and chosen field of work. In to-day’s new world order, with COVID-19-in-duced changes in the Education sector,teachers are putting their best foot for-ward to ensure that though education hasbeen disrupted, learning should continueas usual.To ensure that teachers continueto impart education to millions across thecountry, educational institutions havecome up with innovative solutions that ac-quaint teachers with the new ways of de-livering education online.

To make online education delivery a seam-less experience for teachers as well as stu-dents, many courses are being conductedthrough video conferencing, equippingteachers with the knowhow of imparting dig-ital education. Universities are advisingteachers to use Google Classroom UserGuide and Hangouts Tutorial to understandhow to use theseApps for conducting onlineclasses. In such a set-up, a trainer handles agroup of teachers and makes them ac-quainted with online teaching requirements.

Teachers are also beingimparted necessary ITtraining skills to learn tohandle support files,videotutorials and other re-sources. It is for the firsttime in India that digitaltraining of teachers is be-ing conducted on such amassive scale. In such ascenario, it’s heart-warm-ing to see our teachersdoing every bit possible tomake themselves familiarwith emerging technolo-gies and ensure that stud-ies continue withoutglitches. They have beendedicating countlesshours even of their per-sonal time to resolve thedoubts of their students.

There’s no doubt then that thetimely crisis responses of teachersacross the globe are playing a vitalrole to ensure that every child is nur-tured through education amidst theprevailing odds. Certainly, our teach-ers have risen to the occasion andhave contributed significantly to pro-viding remote learning, supportingvulnerable populations, reopeningschools, and ensuring that learninggaps are mitigated at all levels.Thus, itbecomes essential in today’s changedscenario that teachers are given every

type of training and access to digitalteaching methodologies to ensure thatthey can contribute effectively to thegrowth of our society and continuance oflearning in today’s times.

In view of the current crisis, this year’sWTD celebrations will take place online.There will be a series of national, regionaland global events throughout the week-long celebrations, starting with The WorldTeachers' Day Opening Ceremony andUNESCO-Hamdan Prize Awards Ceremonytoday, and ending with the Closing Cere-mony on October 12.

* ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP

*An initiative byADVERTORIAL

World Teachers' Day

With the world in the midst of an unprecedented crisis, the World Teachers’ Day discussions this year will acknowledge the timelyresponses of teachers to mitigate the pandemic-induced problems faced by students, focussing on their vital role in building

resilience and shaping the future of the education sector as a whole

Keeping the system going in face of odds

Contact tracing,key to reiningin Covidvirus, falls flat inWest

THE NEWYORKTIMES

London, October 4

ASTHE CORONAVIRUS stampeded acrossEuropeandtheUnitedStatesthisspring,gov-ernmentsmadetheirdepletedcitizensatan-talisingpromise: Soon,legionsofdiseasede-tectiveswouldhuntdownanyoneexposedtothevirus,confiningthemtotheirhomesandlettingeveryoneelsegetonwith their lives.

Nearly eightmonths on,as aweb of newinfectionsspreadsacrossEuropeandtheUS,thatpromisehasnearlyevaporated.

Despite repeatedvowsbytheWesternna-tions to develop“world-beating”testing andtracing operations,those systemshave beenundonebyafailureofgovernmentstosupportcitizens through onerous quarantines or todrawoutintimatedetailsoftheirwhereabouts.Thathas shatteredthehopeofpinpointmea-sures replacing lockdowns andunderminedflaggingconfidenceingovernments.

Beholden to privacy rules,Western offi-cials largely trusted people to hand overnames to contact tracers.But that trustwasnot repaid, in large part because govern-mentsneglectedservicesthatwerecrucial towinningpeople’s cooperation: a fast andac-curate testing system,and guarantees thatpeoplewould be housed, fed and paidwhilethey isolated.

“Publichealth leadersfell in lovewiththeidea of contact tracing as an important tac-tic—andit is—butthat’dbe like ifyou’rego-ing intowar andwere just talking about thetanks,”saidBrianCastrucci,president of thede Beaumont Foundation, a public healthcharity inMaryland.

Justas important,officialsoverlookedtheimpact of raging mistrust in governmentand a thicket of conspiracy theories aboutthevirus’s spread.Fearfulofplungingthem-selves or their friends into a painful periodoffwork,infectedpatientshavehandedovera paltry number of contacts and oftenfloutedself-isolationrules.Thecontact trac-ers are struggling to reach peoplewho testpositive,andbeing rebuffedonce theydo.

In theory, countrieswere to buildmasstesting programs thatwould provide quickdiagnoses.Thenagroupoftracerswouldfind

others who had crossed paths with the in-fected person and tell them to stay home.Elected officials presented the system as acritical bridge between lockdownand avac-cine, allowing them to contain small out-breakswithout shuttingdown largeparts ofsociety.But construction of that bridge hasbeen rocky,at best.

TheWest’s public health systems havenotmatchedthesuccess inpartsofEastAsiawherethefearofepidemicsbecamemorein-grained after SARS and MERS. Followingthose outbreaks, places like Taiwan andSouthKoreabuilt robusttracingsystemsandlegal frameworks for limiting civil libertiesduring an epidemic. Some contact tracershave used cellphone and credit card data toidentify people who were potentially ex-posed.But inEuropeand theUS,whichhavelargely relied on the public to provide infor-mation and followquarantine rules volun-tarily.The responsehasbeen spotty.

TheWest also ran up against the bluntfact thatcontacttracing,whileuseful incon-taining limited cases, has become over-whelmedbyanewexplosionof infections.Inthe past week, Europe has averaged about60,000 newdaily cases,while the US is reg-isteringmore than40,000.

Following those outbreaks, places likeTaiwanandSouthKoreabuilt robust tracingsystems and legal frameworks for limitingcivil libertiesduringanepidemic.Somecon-tact tracers have used cellphone and creditcarddatato identifypeoplewhowerepoten-tiallyexposed.

But in Europe and the US, which havelargely relied on the public to provide infor-mation and followquarantine rules volun-tarily.The responsehasbeen spotty.

TheWest also ran up against the bluntfact thatcontacttracing,whileuseful incon-

taining limited cases, has become over-whelmedbyanewexplosionof infections.Inthe past week, Europe has averaged about60,000 newdaily cases,while the US is reg-isteringmore than40,000.

In Taiwan, an infected person namesmore than15contacts onaverage,and trac-ersofteninterviewpatients inperson,tryingtoextractdetailsaboutsecret jobsormaritalaffairs.Butthepicture inEuropeis fardiffer-ent,andthelowlevelofcooperationhasstar-tledpublichealth experts.

In Spain,where hospitals are strugglingwith a new rush of cases, contact tracersidentify, on average,only three contacts foreach known case. In France, the figure hasfallenbelowthree.InNewYorkCity,each in-fected person hands over an average of 1.1othernames.

In England,people are neither handingovermanycontacts—about five,onaverage— nor following the rules. In a survey ofabout 32,000 Britons, less than one in fivewho reported coronavirus symptoms saidtheyhad stayedhome.

Crucially, manyWestern governmentshave failed tocushionthe financial andpsy-chological blowof self-isolation by guaran-teeing people tests or giving them enoughmoney toweather twoweekswithoutwork.People self-isolating and unable towork inEnglandwere eligible for just 13 pounds,or$16.70, per day, until the government in-creased thepayments this pastweek.

With tests results lagging inmanycoun-tries,contact tracerscannotgetaheadof thevirus.InParis,peoplewaituptoaweektogettesting appointments and results. Englandrecently recorded a backlog of nearly200,000untestedlabsamples,makingit im-possible to track thevirus throughnewlyre-opened schools.

TheWest’s public healthsystems have notmatchedthe success in parts ofeasternAsiawhere thefear of epidemics becamemore ingrained afterSARS andMERS

TRACINGTHEVIRUS

■ In Spain, contact tracersidentify, on average, only threecontacts for each known case

■ In NewYork City, each infectedperson hands over an average of1.1 other names

■ In England, people are neitherhanding over many contacts—about five, on average— norfollowing the rules

■ However, inTaiwan, an infectedperson namesmore than 15contacts on average, and tracersoften interview patients in person

Pune