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Wednesday 14 December 2022

NEWSLETTER, 20-XII-2022











DELHI, 20th DECEMBER 2022
Index of this Newsletter


INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC. 


1.1. Punjab government to strengthen 521 health centers on par with Aam Aadmi Clinics
1.2. Adani to Redevelop Dharavi
2.1. Risk professionals are in the limelight. Here’s why they need to look at responsibility, not rewards
2.2. Tata Power is creating a solar-energy heavyweight, and your rooftop has got a lot to do with it
3.1. Policy Engine On, Keep Going, Startup India
3.2. Made in India 5G gear to be commercially available by March: DoT secretary
4. IIT Jodhpur researchers develop catalytic materials to produce high-purity hydrogen
5.1. Azim Premji Foundation enters healthcare
5.2. Financial services sector undergoing sea change with 75 digital banking units in 75 districts


– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT


6. Govt taking all measures to attract scientists, farmers towards agriculture: Union minister Narendra Singh
7.1. President of India graces conference of women's self help groups in Bhopal
7.2. WayCool makes investment in AllFresh
8. Investment in Agri-Tech start-ups jumps 2-fold to $4.6 billion in FY2022
9.1. International Year of Millets (IYOM) – 2023 will provide an opportunity to globally promote millets as the nutritious cereals
9.2. Away from the noise, GM mustard is an idea whose time has come
10. Consumer MNCs Plan to Go Big on India Next Year


– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE


11.1. Tata on deal ST
12.1. India to become a hub for film shooting, co-production, post-production, content and technology partners in film industry: Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur
12.2. Myntra sees towns lap up global fashion labels
13.1. What does it take to create Bharat’s education lab: The story of PhysicsWallah, building on trust
13.2. Tamil Nadu: SIPCOT to set up 11 new industrial parks, aims to create over 2 lakh jobs
14.1. India's readymade garment exports to surpass US$ 30 billion by 2027: Report
14.2. Global Apparel Cos Bounce Back in Style
15.1. As startups look to electrify last-mile cargo, do they have the perfect EV for Indian roads?


– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.) 


16.1. Maharaja’s New Fleet: 150 Boeing 737 Max Jets Head for Air India
16.2. Air India Draws Up $400m Plan to Renovate its Fleet
17.1. Apollo’s Resilient Post Covid, Stock Slower to Recover
18.1. Coronary Stents in National List of Essential Medicines
18.2. IDFC FIRST Bank, NASSCOM COE partner to grow the innovation ecosystem
19.  Father of Pentium chip Dham says India will start chip-making in a year
20.1. Big Apple Harvest: India to be Major iPhone Maker
20.2. Parekh and the art of turning around Infosys


INDIA & THE WORLD 

21. India to see 'significant economic activity' over next 10 years: Mr. Nandan Nilekani
22. Aspire to take India’s fashion technology to world markets, Piyush Goyal tells country's design institutes
23. Australian Parliament Clears India FTA
24. India Identifies Five Priority Issues for its G20 Presidency
25. Crowds Angered by Lockdowns Call for China’s Xi to Step Down


* * *

DELHI, 20th DECEMBER 2022

NEWSLETTER, 20-XII-2022



INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC. 



1.1. Punjab government to strengthen 521 health centers on par with Aam Aadmi Clinics 
ET Gov. 23 Nov. 2022 

The state government is looking to equip all the primary health centers in 23 districts with standardised human resources, infrastructure, medicine and diagnostics. 

The Punjab government has prepared a framework for strengthening the existing primary health centers (PHCs) to bring them to par with the Aam Aadmi Clinics. The government has set a target of completing the infrastructure strengthening of all centers by December 31. 

Buoyed with the response of Aam Aadmi Clinics, the government is looking to equip all the primary health centers in 23 districts with standardised human resources, infrastructure, medicine and diagnostics. 

There are a total of 521 PHCs in the state with each PHC ,the first contact point between the village community and the medical officer, catering to a population of 30,000. 

To improve the services of these centres, the government has decided to form district health societies to be headed by deputy commissioners with a civil surgeon as CEO of the society. 

These societies will be responsible for ascertaining the requirement and execution of the infrastructure, strengthening of each PHC in their jurisdiction and they have been advised to identify multiple execution agencies in the district to take up the work. The government will provide a maximum of Rs 25 lakh for the upgradation of infrastructure — civil work, repair, renovation, branding and furniture — for each PHC. 

As per the guidelines framed by the health department, the district health societies will prepare rough cost estimates, which will be uploaded online. 

The district health societies will have to maintain the photographic record of infrastructure depicting the nature of the status of the facility before the start and after the completion of work. The district health society will issue 20 percent of the allocated funds as advance to the executing agency while the next 50 per cent of the estimate will be issued on 20 per cent physical progress of the work and the remaining 30 per cent on the completion of work. 

After coming to power, the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Bhagwant Mann started 100 Aam Aadmi Clinics — 65 in urban areas and 35 in rural areas —in the first phase. It plans to open one such clinic in each assembly constituency. 

The government claims to be providing a wide range of medicines and 41 different tests for free and about 5 lakh patients have availed free treatment since the launch of these clinics on August 15. 


1.2. Adani to Redevelop Dharavi 
ET, 30 Nov. 2022 

Adani Properties has won the rights to redevelop Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi on 600 acres in Mumbai. The firm made the highest bid of ₹5,069 crore against the stipulated minimum investment of ₹1,600 crore that the lead partner of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) was expected to bring in. 

Adani Properties has won the rights to redevelop Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi on 600 acres in Mumbai. The firm made the highest bid of ₹5,069 crore against the stipulated minimum investment of ₹1,600 crore that the lead partner of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) was expected to bring in. 

Maharashtra had floated fresh global tenders in October. DLF and Shree Naman Developers had also made bids while the pre-bid meeting was attended by eight entities, including overseas ones. “Adani Properties’ bid of ₹5,069 crore emerged highest while DLF’s bid amount was ₹2,025 crore. We did not open Shree Naman Developers’ bid as it did not qualify in the technical round,” SVR Srinivas, CEO, Dharavi Redevelopment Project, told ET. 

The state government’s committee of secretaries will now discuss the proposal. Maharashtra is looking at developing the project through a joint entity. The selected lead partner is expected to hold 80% with ₹400-crore equity capital and the state government will hold 20% with ₹100-crore equity capital. 

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on September 30 that the government had completed the process of granting approval for the ambitious project and that the tendering process required to commence the redevelopment will take place over the next three months. 

The notification issued by the state government’s housing department in October had said the bidding company or lead member of the consortium should have a minimum consolidated net worth of ₹20,000 crore. In case of a consortium, the technical member of the consortium was expected to have a minimum net worth of ₹2,000 crore. The joint entity will be responsible for the construction of free housing for eligible slum dwellers and occupants, including amenities and infrastructure. The project is expected to be completed within seven years from the date of the issuance of the commencement certificate for its first phase. The government has already announced a floor space index (FSI) of 4 for the redevelopment along with several concessions in the form of a premium paid by the developer, inspection charges, goods and services tax etc. 


2.1. Risk professionals are in the limelight. Here’s why they need to look at responsibility, not rewards 
ET, 16 Nov. 2022, Sudipto Dey 

Risk-management solutions — especially those involving multiple stakeholders, such as climate change — are not going to emerge top-down but bottom-up. Crises can be best handled by democratising risk management across a business entity. So, risk mitigation is everyone’s job. 

“Risk hai toh ishq hai” — that popular dialogue from Scam 1992 caught the imagination of many when the Web series was released in 2020. After two years of the pandemic, corporate India too seems to be falling in love with the functions that risk officers deliver. 

“The CRO [chief risk officer] is now the rising hero in the boardroom,” is something Hersh Shah, chief executive officer of the India affiliate of Institute of Risk Management’s (IRM), a professional body imparting enterprise risk-management qualifications, never tires of saying. 

Most corporate India boards continue to work in the crisis mode even though the pandemic has ebbed. The global geopolitical risks and the climate-change discourse — initially a slow-moving grey rhino — are now looming large on board agendas. The pandemic demonstrated to managers that such crises can be best handled by democratising risk management across a business entity. So, risk mitigation is everyone’s job. It isn’t the sole domain of someone on the board, or the members of top management, or even that of the CRO, if there is one. 

Accordingly, the solutions to manage risks — especially those involving multiple stakeholders, such as climate change — are not going to emerge top-down but bottom-up, risk-management professionals point out. Anecdotally, this argument seems to have corporate India’s buy-in. There are 45,000 to 50,000 risk-related job openings currently on various job portals, Shah says, citing industry estimates. 

IRM in its studies and reports cites various global reports to claim that there are over half a million job vacancies in risk management, with Asia-Pacific’s demand of around 100,000 professionals. 

Risk professionals and risk-function champions — be it line managers, shop-floor employees, sales representatives, or supply-chain executives —will need to get out of the risk-versus-reward mindset of managing risk. Risk-management experts point out that the new breed of managers of business has to use the risk-versus-responsibility lens to look at business situations that could have an adverse impact on people, society, and the environment. This will have to be more so when hard decisions have to be taken to mitigate the impact of business actions on climate or the environment. 

Interestingly, it was a corporate scam — Satyam Computer Services —that put the spotlight in 2009 on the need for enterprise risk management and oversight of this function by the board. The Companies Act, 2013 placed specific expectations on important stakeholders in a company. This included the board of directors, the audit committee, and the independent directors. 

The capital-market regulator’s guidelines for listed companies emphasise the need for procedures to keep the board informed about risk assessment and minimisation procedures. The top 1,000 listed companies are mandated to appoint chief risk officers. Risk-management professionals point out that most companies typically treat CROs as compliance-function roles. That profile has seen some change over the last two years or so. The strategic significance of the risk professional’s role is gradually seeping down the organisation’s structure, they add. Clearly, the ball is on the risk professionals’ court to make the most of the love match. 


2.2. Tata Power is creating a solar-energy heavyweight, and your rooftop has got a lot to do with it 
ET, 20 Nov. 2022 

By 2030, Tata Power wants clean energy to account for 80% of its generation capacity as it aims to become net carbon zero by 2045. The residential solar market, which is likely to reach 3.2GW by FY23 from the current 2GW, is one of the key segments it is focusing on. But there are hurdles it needs to cross. 

Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, seems to have well understood where the future of the energy sector lies. It wants renewable energy to account for 60% of its portfolio by 2025 from 30% at present. And it is on course to add 15 gigawatt (GW) green energy capacity by then. The company recorded a 94% year-on-year jump in revenue in the solar rooftop segment alone in FY22. Its stock has risen more than 1,000% in two years. 

The growth drivers for Tata Power’s clean-energy business have been solar rooftops, solar pumps and electric-vehicle charging stations. 

Praveer Sinha, CEO of Tata Power, says, “All our existing operations have been doing very well and some of our new businesses, including renewable, rooftop solar and large utility-scale solar pumps, among others, have started showing results as a good foundation has been laid for them.” 

Rooftop solar power, especially, has a lot of headroom for growth in India. The total rooftop solar capacity in the country is estimated to have reached 10,221 megawatt (MW), which is still only 17% of the total solar capacity in the country. 

Rooftop solar and its untapped potential 
Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which was launched in 2010, India targets to generate 100GW of solar power by 2022. Of this, 60GW was to come from the utility-scale segment and the rest 40GW from the rooftop solar segment. 

Against this 40GW target for rooftop solar, the total installed capacity by July 2022-end stands at only 7.9GW. The residential category accounts for a minuscule 2,010MW. 

Last month, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) extended the deadline for achieving the 40GW target from 2022 to 2026 with no increase in budget outlay. While several initiatives by the central government in the past have failed to boost rooftop solar in India, Tata Power is keeping its focus on the segment. 

However, many experts say rooftop solar is not the government’s priority anymore. They say the Centre is more focused on large-scale utility and feel that the decentralised solar sector will grow automatically, at its own pace. 

Smaller countries like Vietnam installed over 9,000MW of rooftop solar in a year, much ahead of India. 

So, what’s making Tata Power focus on this segment? 

A calculated bet 
The new and simplified rooftop solar subsidy scheme, introduced by the Centre in July 2022, has got many takers. Many are now realising the growth potential of the residential solar market in the country. 

According to the scheme, a consumer who wishes to install rooftop solar can register in the universal portal and get direct subsidies in their bank accounts. 

“The rooftop [solar] business growth is supported by favourable policies such as open access and mandatory solar provision in the model building byelaws. The company [Tata Power] witnessed a major uptick in orders and execution in its rooftop business. The order book stands at 393MW or over INR1,500 crore,” Sinha tells ET Prime. 

As per an analysis by Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a public-policy think tank, discoms are likely to save INR0.22 per unit from electricity generated from rooftop solar installations. Benefits are maximum in the residential categories and could reach up to INR0.75 per unit. This will also help discoms save on the cross-subsidy paid out to residential consumers. 

"The company witnessed major uptick in orders and execution in its rooftop business. The order book stands at 393MW or over INR1,500 crore." 

— Praveer Sinha, CEO, Tata Power 

The cost of installation of rooftop solar has come down drastically over the years. In 2020, the average cost of a residential rooftop solar system in India was USD658 per kilowatt (kW), down 73% from the 2013 level. In comparison, the residential rooftop solar cost in 2020 in countries such as Japan, the UK, Switzerland and the US was four to seven times higher than that of India. 

However, one of the reasons why the rooftop solar segment is yet to reach its potential is that consumers don’t want to invest upfront in installation. Also, residential rooftop solar has not really been the priority sector for solar developers in India because commercial and industrial rooftops offer greater economic viability. 

India is currently trying to build a strong manufacturing industry with the capacity to produce solar cells and modules which could bring down costs further. Tata Power has joined hands with the Tamil Nadu government to invest around INR3,000 crore for setting up a greenfield 4GW solar cell and 4GW solar module manufacturing plant in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. 

Sinha says the manufacturing plant will help Tata Power support India’s aspiration to create a comprehensive ecosystem for solar manufacturing and fulfil the needs of solar projects as well as help the company improve its margins and have better control over the cost of solar cells and modules. “The first phase of the plant of solar module is expected to be commissioned by June next year. And the second phase of cells will get commissioned by November next year,” Sinha adds. 

At present, China’s solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing accounts for around 71% of the world’s total capacity. It grew to 106GW in 2019 from 10GW in 2010. China is also a leading producer of silicon wafers with a 97% share in the global market, a 79% share of PV cells, and a 67% share of polysilicon. 

“We have tied up with a couple of manufacturers over here and as you know, the customs duty for cells is 25% while for modules it is 40%. So, we have 15% arbitrage if we get it manufactured in India in terms of the customs duties,” Sinha explains. 

According to the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the residential solar market is likely to reach a size of 3.2GW by FY23 from the current 2GW. 

Currently, Tata Power has 1.3GW of owned projects and 2.3GW of external orders, aggregating 3.6GW of total large-scale EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contracts worth INR15,000 crore. The company expects to get these EPC contracts completed in the next 12 to 18 months. “Due to higher commodity prices, including solar cells and modules and foreign-exchange movements, we saw a hit on the profitability of the EPC business, but [we] expect that the margins will improve in the coming quarters with newer orders and contract manufacturing, which has been tied up to be done in India,” Sinha adds. 

The way forward amid challenges 
With a fat order book and planned capacity expansion, Tata Power is struggling as the prices of solar modules have increased. Ramesh Subramanyam, former chief financial officer of Tata Power, says, “We had some pressure on the module front, but this will ease off as we go. Module prices have tightened all over the world. The new orders will be factoring in the new prices. So, that should take care of the margins.” He, however, points out that some of the existing orders may face some headwinds until they are completed. 

On a positive side, the company has significantly reduced its net debt by more than INR7,500 crore over the last one year through divestment of various assets and strategic fundraise from the promoters. 

Net debt at the end of the first quarter 2022 was around INR 42,000 crore. The net debt-to-equity stands a little higher at 1.55 times compared with 1.53 times in the previous quarter. 

The Tata Power stock has been in a downtrend since 2014. It made a low of INR27 in May 2020. It has now broken the downward spiral and has resumed an uptrend. The stock has now given a range breakout after 12 years. It made a high of INR300 in April 2022 and posted a return of more than 1,000% in two years. At present, it is taking support at 230 levels. 

In 2015, as much as 84% of Tata Power’s generation capacity was coal-based. This year, it went down to 66% and clean energy made up for the rest. By 2030, clean energy will make 80% of its capacity, as the company is pursuing major expansion in solar and hybrid clean-energy sources. Between 2040 and 2050, Tata Power plans to phase out all coal-based plants. It aims to become net carbon zero by 2045. 

“The future is going to be catalysed by the opportunities in renewable energy across the spectrum, be it utility scale or otherwise, as the global shift to clean energy intensifies,” Sinha says. 


3.1. Policy Engine On, Keep Going, Startup India 
ET, 21 Nov. 2022 

Digitisation is no longer a mantra but focused policy. This was underlined by various speakers at the ET Startup Awards 2022 last Saturday, perhaps most tellingly by electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw when he said, ‘The entire world’s eyes are on us as a trusted partner and, for that, we have also called others our trusted partners.’ 
Digitisation is no longer a mantra but focused policy. This was underlined by various speakers at the ET Startup Awards 2022 last Saturday, perhaps most tellingly by electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw when he said, ‘The entire world’s eyes are on us as a trusted partner and, for that, we have also called others our trusted partners.’ This two-way superhighway is now a policy autobahn that has the potential to transform India’s already booming digital economy and could put its growth on steroids. India’s resilience in the current economic landscape and the contribution of its IT service exports makes the country a compelling business partner. This was also underlined by commerce minister Piyush Goyal who emphasised how countries want to enter into free trade agreements (FTAs) or other economic agreements with India. 

Such claims are no longer grandstanding. The string of bilateral trade deals that are in advanced stages of negotiation include those with the EU, Britain and Canada, where India’s comparative advantage in infotech service exports is established. India has also moderated its insistence on sharing data and can use this as a bargaining chip for closer relations with trading partners. The gaps in hardware manufacturing are being plugged with investment commitments for chip-making and display panel production. Domestic hardware support strengthens India’s position as an infotech trading nation. Lost time is also being made up by pushing for the fastest 5G rollout attempted so far. The technology stack riding on this generation of telecom networks is likely to seed a fresh crop of unicorns and enhance productivity across a wider spectrum of enterprises. 

India is already creating digital services that provide solutions across the world. The country now stands at a unique juncture to strengthen its credentials as an incubator of business and social solutions through application of technology. It is an interesting place to be in for the next wave of globalisation. 


3.2. India to Become $40-Trillion Economy by 2047: Ambani 
ET, 23 Nov. 2022 

India is poised to become a $40 trillion economy by 2047, Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani said, propelled by a combination of clean energy, bioenergy and digital revolutions. 

PTIReliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani 

India is poised to become a $40 trillion economy by 2047, Reliance Industries (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani said, propelled by a combination of clean energy, bioenergy and digital revolutions. 

“From a $3 trillion economy, India will grow to become a $40 trillion economy by 2047, ranking among the top three economies of the world,” Ambani said at the 10th convocation of the Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. 

His growth estimate of India’s economy — reportedly the fifth largest in the world behind the United States, China, Japan and Germany — is more optimistic than Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani’s. 

Adani said last week that India would become a $30 trillion economy by 2050 on the back of rising consumption and socio-economic reforms. 

The RIL chairman said three game-changing revolutions around clean energy, bioenergy and digital would propel India’s growth in the decades ahead. 

“While the clean energy and bioenergy revolution(s) will produce energy sustainably, the digital revolution will enable us to consume energy efficiently,” Ambani said. 


4. IIT Jodhpur researchers develop catalytic materials to produce high-purity hydrogen 
ET Gov. 30 Nov. 2022 

The researchers used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using a highly recyclable catalyst based on low-cost, simple transition metal. 

The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur have developed Lanthanides based perovskite nanocomposite catalytic materials for artificial photosynthesis to produce high-purity hydrogen. 

"In the patented method, the researchers used natural sunlight to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen using a highly recyclable catalyst based on low-cost, simple transition metal. Dr Rakesh K Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Jodhpur, is the Principal Investigator of this project," as per IIT Jodhpur. 

"The team has now developed a series of catalysts which can efficiently produce hydrogen under ambient conditions. The end application of this research lies in the industries, automobile and energy sectors" IIT Jodhpur said in a Statement 

IIT Jodhpur further said in a statement that Hydrogen-based energy is the only viable source for a green and sustainable future. 

More than 90 per cent of the source of hydrogen is from petroleum feedstock, making it costly and out of reach of the common man. IIT Jodhpur's research team is working to find a viable source of hydrogen generation. The technology developed by the IIT Jodhpur team does not need any external energy source except sunlight. 

Highlighting the significance of the research, Dr Rakesh K Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Jodhpur, said, "Development of indigenous sustainable catalyst for large scale green hydrogen production is benchmark innovation for next generation happiness." 

"The research team has screened more than 100 catalyst combinations to develop five sets of catalysts that give high hydrogen production under sunlight. The catalysts work for wastewater, saline water and brackish water. The catalysts are recyclable and can be used multiple times" he added. 

Dr Rakesh K Sharma further said that The process used is simple, works on a wide spectrum of sunlight, and does not require any energy source to produce hydrogen. Low cost and high purity could be an essential step towards using hydrogen as a fuel directly in vehicles avoiding fossil fuels and reducing pollution. 

This novel research is being funded collaboratively by the Department of Science and Technology and IIT Jodhpur. Further, the researchers aim to develop a prototype followed by a scale-up for large-scale hydrogen production for end-user applications. 


5.1. Azim Premji Foundation enters healthcare 
Mint, 06 Dec. 2022, Varun Sood

Over two decades after setting up the nonprofit to improve teaching in government schools, India’s most generous billionaire has shifted focus to healthcare for poor 

More than two decades after setting up Azim Premji Foundation to improve teaching in government schools, the country’s most generous billionaire has turned his attention to healthcare for the poor. 

The foundation will soon set up primary healthcare clinics in some of India’s most backward towns, which will be followed by multi-specialty hospitals and a medical university, two executives aware of the development said. 

This decision to make healthcare its second focus area marks the biggest change in the history of the foundation, which was set up in 2001. 

“We have done significant work on health during the pandemic, and this will be a key area of work for us going forward," said Anurag Behar, chief executive officer, Azim Premji Foundation, in an email response. “Our focus will be on improving the health of underserved communities across geographies. Health is a public good and, therefore, strengthening public health systems will be central to our approach. In addition, where there are gaps, we will address those, both by establishing our institutions and by working with civil society organizations. Health education and research will also emerge as critical areas of work". 

The foundation is the world’s fifth-largest private endowment with a $38 billion corpus. 

“Primary healthcare centres will be the starting point," one of the two executives said on condition of anonymity. “Like education, these will come up in small towns. The plan is then (in 2-3 years) to have hospitals and then a medical university." 

“In five years, (the foundation’s) spending on healthcare will be no less than on education. The foundation is not limited by money," the executive said. 

For now, healthcare work is overseen by Anand Swaminathan and run by Azim Premji Foundation for Development (APFD), an operating entity housing Azim Premji Foundation and Azim Premji University. 

Azim Premji Trust is the entity that holds the endowment assets, comprising 67% of Wipro shares and ownership of Premji’s family office, Premji Invest. 

The two beneficiaries of Azim Premji Trust are the grant-making arm Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives and APFD. 

APF’s decision to enter healthcare was taken after multiple discussions over close to 18 months, the two executives said. Television visuals of stranded migrants returning home by foot over hundreds of miles after the first lockdowns in the summer of 2020 made Behar, along with Dileep Ranjekar, decide to spend over ₹1,100 crore in the fight against the pandemic. Wipro chairman Rishad Premji then got the IT giant to convert one of its IT facilities in Pune into a 450-bed intermediary care covid-19 hospital before giving it to the state government to manage. 

But the pandemic laid bare the lacunae in healthcare, which made Premji deliberate on the foundation’s entry into the sector with half a dozen of his trusted lieutenants. 

Finally, late last year, APFD agreed to make a change in its constitution. 

“It is proposed to amend the objects of the memorandum of association of the company to broad-base the objects clause to include education at all levels, work in healthcare and other humanitarian relief activities and also to include the objects incidentals or ancillary to the attainment of the main objects/matters which are necessary for the furtherance of the objects in main objects," read a filing made by APFD to the ministry of corporate affairs in November last year. 

“The foundation’s vision is to contribute towards a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society," said Behar. “While strengthening public education has been our core focus, over the years, we have been working on diverse issues of human development that affect India’s most vulnerable communities, including marginal farmers, Adivasis, people with disability, children in need of care, issues of gender justice, and urban destitution, to name a few. We do this through our operations, partners, and programmes at our university." 

But the biggest adversary for Premji is his age. At 77, his oversight of the foundation to make a meaningful impact in both education and healthcare will not be easy. 

Last week, Premji made a rare public appearance at an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Karnataka Employers’ Association in a five-star hotel in the central business district of the city. As he took the stage, Premji was visibly in discomfort from what appeared to be a stiff back and neck—he is recovering from a three-year-old injury to his head after he fell in a ditch while on a walk in the forests in Yercaud, a hill station in Tamil Nadu. 

However, Premji remains much loved and revered by people. At the end of the two-and-a-hour event, as Premji slowly and carefully walked out of the hall - without any minders or security personnel - he was approached by many for selfies. When a young girl approached for a snap, Premji’s face lit up spontaneously, and he posed for a photo with a smile. 

It is to these hundreds of thousands of young in the country that the Azim Premji Foundation wants to offer better healthcare and education. 

Premji, who has donated about 92% of his wealth to the eponymous foundation, declined to speak. 


5.2. Financial services sector undergoing sea change with 75 digital banking units in 75 districts 
ET Gov. 24 Nov. 2022 

Technology-based digital platforms have gained popularity among various sections of society including the educated semi-urban and rural classes equally in the last decade. 

75 digital banking units have been launched in 75 districts across the country. 

Over the last few years, India has turned a corner and placed a renewed emphasis on ensuring that the new era requires a new mechanism. This novel mechanism shares immense benefits of technology for humanity as was seen with the hugely successful Digital India campaign. 

In what has become a huge catalyst towards promoting as many transactions that can take place through digital means, the Digital India campaign has empowered the common citizen with the widespread use of technology on that front. 

Technology-based digital platforms have gained popularity among various sections of society including the educated semi-urban and rural classes equally in the last decade. Though the shift to these online platforms was a foregone conclusion, the fact that the same would happen so swiftly took everyone by surprise. 

Notwithstanding the presence of private Indian non-banking financial players like PhonePe or PayTM as well as international giants like GPay, the most successful and user-friendly interface among all of them has been that of BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) launched by the Government of India. 

Continuing on this trend of promoting ease of living within the nation, the Government of India has been able to add new services to it. Adding a new dimension to the push towards digital finances, an even more advanced, effective, transparent and reliable way has been found through which 75 digital banking units have been launched in 75 districts of the country. 

As of now, 11 public sector banks as well as 12 private banks would be participating in this initiative. In the last half a decade particularly, banks have been able to reach out to a record number of poor through which financial inclusion has received a huge shot in the arm. 

Reforms in the banking sector along with this push for inclusion have been able to connect the poor with the banking system. More than the physical distance with such banks and its branches, the psychological distance between those in rural India particularly, these banks and their branches has been reduced as well. 

A top priority has been given to ensure that banking services reach the most remote corners of the country which has further resulted in more than 99 per cent of total Indian villages having some bank branch, banking outlet or banking correspond/mitra within a 5-km radius. To ease this further, the huge network of interconnected post offices in the country has become part of the mainstream of banking as well via the India Post Bank. 

These banking services that have reached the common Indian through BHIM, RuPay, e-Rupi and Jan Dhan have open new doors of possibilities. Similarly, the digital banking unit will ensure that such banking services are free from paperwork and other hassles. 

Banking will be easier than ever with convenience and security. In a village or a small town, sending money or taking loans would become much more convenient with the online presence being maintained through these digital banking units.' 

These digital banking units, as part of the larger financial technology or the more commonly-known world of 'FinTech', would serve as a new extension towards a historic new era. Announced in the Union Budget earlier this year, such units would be specialised and fixed point units that would help those who do not have their own computers, laptops or smartphones to avail banking services digitally by visiting such units. 

All such facilities would be provided for with ample internet in these digital banking units. Opening a savings account, transferring cash, investing in a fixed deposit, applying for loans, applying for credit cards, checking account details and stopping payment instructions for cheques issued would all be part of these digital banking units. 

It is bound to promote digital financial literacy with an emphasis on educating customers (particularly from the rural setup) about cyber security, awareness and security measures.In a situation like the gloomy pandemic where distancing ourselves from one another has taken a form of its own, these digital banking units put forth an interesting aspect of contactless payment mechanisms along with no need for a personal internet network on the customer's end either. 

Therefore, for a large population, these units are bound to provide the first step towards going digital in a responsible and transparent manner as well. Interestingly, the 21st-century economy is progressing with a continuum and it becomes important that the help of partner banks, government entities and corporate players is taken to ensure that nobody is left behind in terms of financial inclusion and literacy. 

Over the last decade, the rapid pace at which India has progressed in the field of digital technology has been nothing short of magical. 

The Indian population has taken to digital payments like fish takes to water, with a large amount of monetary transactions at toll plazas, shops, account transfers, restaurants, etc. taking place via mobile phones alone. 

A large number of developing countries are aspiring to imitate the Indian success story when it comes to digital payments, and these newly-launched digital banking units in 75 districts are yet another chapter in the glorious book of this story. 


- Agriculture, Fishing and Rural Development 


6. Govt taking all measures to attract scientists, farmers towards agriculture: Union minister Narendra Singh 
ET Gov. 14 Nov. 2022 

The contribution of all KVKs and agricultural scientists in the development of agriculture in the country is and will always be exceptional. 

The 29th Regional Workshop of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was inaugurated by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar at Morena, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Tomar said the field of agriculture is vast and challenging, it is not an end-to-end task, it will continue to work from generation to generation. The contribution of all KVKs and agricultural scientists in the development of agriculture in the country is and will always be exceptional, he added. 

The minister said the government is taking measures to attract scientists and farmers and people in general towards agriculture. The state of our agricultural landscape in the world is good. India is an agricultural country and we are a special nation from the point of view of food productivity, he noted. Referring to the schemes being run by the Central government for the farmers, he said that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is no less than a boon for the farmers and every farmer should take advantage of it. In the last six years, a compensation of Rs 1.24 lakh crore has been given to the farmers under this scheme. 

Tomar said it is the responsibility of the agricultural scientists to find solutions to various challenges in the field of agriculture. Due to the progress being made under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, many countries of the world today are discussing with India on issues related to agri-food. Our country has been a leader in agricultural production, milk production, food processing in the world and is progressing continuously, he observed. 

Organization Minister, Deendayal Research Institute, Chitrakoot, Abhay Mahajan, Vice Chancellor, RVS Agricultural University, Gwalior, Prof. SK Rao, Vice Chancellor RLBK Agricultural University, Jhansi, Prof. AK Singh, Deputy Director General (Agriculture Extension), ICAR, Dr VP Chahal and others participated in the programme. Senior agricultural scientists and other officers from 81 KVKs of MP and Chhattisgarh including Dr YP Singh, Dr DP Sharma, Dr Ajay Verma, Dr SS Tomar were present. 


7.1. President of India graces conference of women's self help groups in Bhopal 
Press Information Bureau, Nov. 17, 2022 

On November 16, in Bhopal, the President of India, Ms. Droupadi Murmu, attended and spoke at a meeting of women's self-help groups. 

Speaking during the event, the President emphasised the need of having as many women participate as possible in order to make India an independent and developed country. Women need to feel free and unafraid in this environment in order to reach their full potential. She urged women to support one another, encourage one another, speak out for each other’s rights, and advance together along the path of progress. Women's Self Help Groups, according to her, are effective venues for uniting women and advancing them in a variety of directions. She was pleased to learn that the purpose of this conference is to advance society by empowering women. 

Economic independence, according to the President, is a powerful tool for empowering women. Self-reliance in both the social and economic spheres is beneficial. Self-help groups can make a significant contribution to women's independence. In Madhya Pradesh, she pointed out, there are more than four lakh active women's self-help groups. She asserted that increased female participation in Self Help Groups would benefit the nation's economy, society, and government. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


7.2. WayCool makes investment in AllFresh 
Asiafruit, 15 Nov. 2022, John Hey

Indian agri-tech company boosts sourcing of domestically grown apples and citrus with investment in distributor AllFresh Supply Management 

Leading Indian food and agri-tech company WayCool Foods has invested an undisclosed sum in domestic fruit distributor AllFresh Supply Management (AllFresh). 

In a media release, WayCool said the investment formed part of its strategy to create a “Keiretsu” in the global food supply chain. Keiretsu is a Japanese term referring to a business network made up of different companies, including producers-manufacturers, supply chain partners, distributors and occasionally financiers. 

Indian distributor AllFresh procures and supplies fruit from a network of over 1,000 farmers across Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh to more than 150 customers in the country’s modern and general retail trades. Apples, pears, citrus and stonefruit are its major products. 

AllFresh has been pioneering the development of modern supply chains in the apple and citrus sectors, according to the WayCool media release, “introducing state-of-the art practices and technology to reduce food loss and extend product shelf-life”. 

With consumption of premium fruit set to ramp up in India as incomes increase, WayCool said it plans to leverage AllFresh’s capabilities and sourcing base to connect their production to its extensive network of over 125,000 retail clients. 

WayCool said its investment in AllFresh would help the distributor further invest in its capabilities in post-harvest technology to enhance quality and shelf-life. AllFresh will also benefit from increased access to WayCool’s distribution network in India and the United Arab Emirates, the group added. 

Chinna Pardhasaradhi, group chief financial officer of WayCool Foods, said the deal with AllFresh would strengthen the group’s sourcing of premium apples and citrus from India to complement its global imports of these products. “Our investment in AllFresh completes our supply chain capability and enables us to deliver fresh fruit year-round,” he noted. 

AllFresh founder and promoter, Naresh Jawa, said he was “delighted to be on board” with WayCool. 

“AllFresh and WayCool pursue the common objective of formalising the scattered fruit and vegetable industry in India. Our aim is to reduce pre- and post-harvest wastage, and realise better value for farmers, using state-of-the-art knowledge and technology. 

“We look forward to extending our acquired expertise in efficient procurement and marketing of Indian apples and oranges to a wider basket of premium fruits along with WayCool.” 

WayCool, which is backed by private equity, has been making investments in companies that bring complementary capabilities to its platform. It recently invested in SV Agri, a potato supply chain and solutions company, which has more than doubled in size since a recent fundraise from WayCool, according to the release. 

Chennai-based WayCool was founded in 2016 by Karthik Jayaraman, a former executive in the automative business and Sanjay Dasari, a Babson graduate. Focusing on food development and distribution, the start-up uses innovative technology to scale and operate a complex supply chain from “soil to sale” with end-to-end integration and complete transparency. Through its farmer engagement programme – Outgrow – the group says it works closely with around 200,000 farmers. 


8. Investment in Agri-Tech start-ups jumps 2-fold to $4.6 billion in FY2022 
IBEF, Dec. 1, 2022 

According to research by AgFunder and Omnivore, investment in agricultural and food technology start-ups more than doubled to $4.6 billion in the previous fiscal year, owing to increased inflows in the restaurant industry and e-grocery. 

The overall investment in agrifoodtech startups for India in FY2022 was $4.6 billion, which is 119% greater than in FY2021, according to the India, AgriFoodtech Investment Report 2022. In addition, the number of agreements grew to 234 in FY2022, up from 189 in FY2021. 

Funding for agrifoodtech continues to be increased overall by downstream investments. With a funding of $1.9 billion in the restaurant marketplace and $1.4 billion in eGrocery have turned up as the most funded downstream categories. In addition, the capital raised by these two industries accounts for around 66% of funding in the agrifoodtech space. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


9.1. International Year of Millets (IYOM) – 2023 will provide an opportunity to globally promote millets as the nutritious cereals 
Press Information Bureau, Nov. 25, 2022 

The International Year of Millets (IYOM)-2023 will present an opportunity to increase global production, efficient processing, and better use of crop rotation, as well as to promote millets as a significant component of the food basket, according to Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar. According to him, the United Nations has designated 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM) on the proposal of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. 

Speaking to the High Commissioners/Ambassadors based in Delhi at a luncheon co-hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of External Affairs as a pre-launch celebration of the IYOM23, Mr. Tomar stated, "Through this, our aim is to increase the domestic and global consumption of Millets." 

According to him, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is collaborating with other Central Ministries, the State Governments, and other stakeholder organisations to enhance millet production and consumption. 

As a result of millets' high nutritional content, he said that the Indian government had declared millet to be a healthy cereal in April 2018 and that it was also a part of the Poshan Mission campaign. 

The National Food Security Mission's (NFMS) nutritious cereal component for millets is being implemented in 212 districts throughout 14 States. In addition to this, the states offer a variety of help to farmers. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


9.2. Away from the noise, GM mustard is an idea whose time has come 
ET, 29 Nov. 2022 

USD19.6 billion worth of edible oil import, technology fatigue and abysmally low mustard yield, call for an objective and rational policy decision on GM mustard, a platform technology to accelerate the breeding of high-yielding mustard hybrids in India. 

In 2021-22, India imported two-third of its edible oil, estimated at 14.1 million tonnes, for USD19.6 billion or INR1.56 lakh crore. This is equivalent to 50% of India’s total agri-import of USD 32.4 billion. 

In the past, edible oil imports peaked at 1.97 million tonnes costing INR929 crore which forced the then government to launch the National Mission on Oilseeds in 1987-88. 

The situation improved momentarily in the nineties. By early 2000-01, India registered an unprecedented surge in import of edible oil to the tune of 4.1 million tonnes at INR6,093 crore; 6.7 million tonnes at INR29,860 crore by 2010-11 and 15.6 million tonnes at INR68,677 crore in 2015-16. 

Ironically, the import remained stagnant at 14-15 million tonnes since then, however, the cost of import has doubled to INR1.56 lakh crore or USD19.6 billion in 2021-22. 

An unprecedented surge in international prices of edible oil in the last two years has caused spiralling inflation in the domestic edible oil market. 

The edible oil that India imports consists of palm oil, soybean, sunflower and canola oil. 

On average, an Indian is consuming almost 13 to 14 litres of imported edible oil per annum — the per capita consumption is pegged at 20 litres per person per annum over the last five years. 

Globally, the approval and adoption of genetically-modified canola, an equivalent of mustard and GM soybean has not only saved economies from crop losses caused due to pests, diseases and weeds but also has increased the competitiveness of farmers to produce edible oil at a much more competitive price than Indian farmers. 

India’s farmers are at a great disadvantage and have been denied access to technologies, and thus they are unable to compete in the global trade in oilseed grains, edible oil and oilseed cake. 

Our farmers need to level up on production technologies as they struggle to cope with pests, diseases and vagaries of climate change that are more severe in tropical agro-climatic regions such as India. 

Forget mustard, the yield of all oilseed crops is abysmally low. As low as one-third of global averages and sometimes the lowest in the world. 

For the last two decades, the yield of oilseed crops in India remained stagnant at around 1,100-1,200 kg per hectare. India produces total oilseeds of 35.9 million tonnes barely yielding 1,247 kg per hectare from the total oilseed crop area of 28.8 million hectares in 2020-21. 

Edible oil recovery at 8 million tonnes from 35.9 million tonnes of total oilseeds hardly meets even 35%-40% of the total edible oil requirement pegged at 21 million tonnes per annum. 

Genetic Gains 

Increasing the production of oilseeds is an absolute necessity to increase the flow of edible oil. With the best of breeding efforts coupled with All India Coordinated Research Projects on mustard, soybean and other major oilseeds crops, India has made some progress on crop improvement, heterosis breeding (a process where two or more genetically diverse parents are crossed to develop a hybrid offspring with enhanced traits), increasing seed replacement rate (SRR) and area under irrigation to some extent. 

But in the case of oilseed crops, their self-pollinated nature makes it extremely difficult to harness the genetic potentials of diverse germplasm in oilseeds. 

Under such circumstances, scientists at the National Agriculture Research System (NARS) have been able to shuffle genes using conventional breeding. 

Mustard is a classic example in that sense. 

Development and release of India’s first mustard hybrid DMH-1 by University of Delhi in 2006 and NRCHB-506 by ICAR in 2008 based on indigenously developed conventional cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) such as DU’s CMS 126-1 and ICAR’s Mori CMS system are established examples of what can be done in this area. 

CMS systems are a valuable tool in the production of hybrid seeds in self-pollinating crop species, including mustard, rice, cotton, and a number of vegetable crops. 

Later, Ogura-type CMS (Ogura-CMS) by the private seed sector enabled commercially viable mustard hybrids which now occupy almost 30%-35% of 6.7 million hectares of mustard area. 

The rapid adoption of conventional hybrids increased mustard yield stagnated at 1,000 kg per hectare at the time of introduction of CMS-based hybrids in 2007-08 to 1,524 kg per hectare in 2020-21, a notable increase among all oilseed crops in India. 

The new platform of Barnase-Barstar pollination control system, known as GM mustard, will overcome the limitations of CMS-based hybrid system with respect to hybridity and fertility and will accelerate the adoption of hybridisation and boost the production and yield of mustard in the future. 

The Barnase-Barstar pollination control system is a platform technology to deploy a versatile two-line heterosis breeding based on the principle of removing male fertility in one parent, barnase causing male sterility and restoring it in the offspring by barstar fertility restoration gene. 

GM mustard: a platform technology 
On October 18, 2022, in a decisive moment for India's edible oil sector, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), an apex biotech regulatory body of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MOEF&CC) recommended an environmental release of hybrid DMH-11 and its parental line — a new genetic system of heterosis breeding for developing cost-effective, 100% fertile and high-yielding mustard hybrids under supervision of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). 

GM mustard hybrid, DMH-11 (Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11) is the first-generation mustard hybrid based on Barnase-Barstar system developed by Dr Deepak Pental at a time when there was no CMS system available for producing mustard hybrid in early 2000. 

The deregulation of GM mustard Barnase-Barstar system technology is expected to give impetus to the mustard breeding program by both the public and private sectors resulting in the introduction of high-yielding and superior mustard hybrids capable of revolutionising mustard farming and edible oil production in the country. 

The novel breeding system will trigger widespread mustard hybridisation, boosting yield and production similar to Bt cotton hybrids, which now occupy over 95% of the cotton area. 

Since 40% hybridisation in 2002, cotton production has risen from 13 million bales to 35 million bales in 2021-22. 

Constructing controversy 
The mustard (Brassica) group of University of Delhi contributed over 25 years of painstaking research and development work supported by INR90 crore of taxpayers’ money, a dozen of PhDs and patents, and a large number of government-supervised field trials before GM mustard was finally approved for environmental release. 

It took a week for certain groups and individual ideologues against biotechnology to co-construct controversy on various issues around GM mustard, accusing scientists, regulators and the public system of meddling with data and conflict of interest. 

This is a routine and easy method of spreading myths and distracting from actual data, facts and evidence generated over two decades under the regulatory supervision of MOEF&CC, Department of Biotechnology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. 

The fact is that GM mustard DMH-11 is thoroughly evaluated for its yield advantage over its parents to confirm the proof-of-concept for yield heterosis. 

Environmental release of GM mustard Barnase-Barstar parental materials along with DMH-11 will enable mustard breeders to quickly generate a large number of crosses with Barnase-barstar lines in diverse genetic backgrounds for generating high-yielding hybrids. 

It will also enable large-scale pure seed production and maintenance of male sterile parents for developing cost-effective, fully fertile and high-yielding mustard hybrids, not possible through conventional CMS systems. 

Both conventional CMS and GM hybrid systems are developed by scientists and not by those who preach one system over another. 

Busting the myths 
Edible oil derived from GM sources has a history of safe use for over 25 years. Like any other country, India annually consumes a sizable quantity of edible oil derived from genetically modified crops, legally imported soybean and canola oil and domestically produced cotton oil derived from GM sources. 

In 2020-21, India consumed around 5.5 million metric tons of edible oil derived from GM sources without any adverse health impact. Similarly, there is no evidence of harmful impact on livestock consuming oilmeal cake for more than two decades in many countries across the world. 

Concerns about herbicide tolerance and its impact on pollinators and bees are exaggerated and misrepresented. Mustard farmers routinely apply herbicides, such as oxadiargyl and pendimethalin already approved by CIBRC for killing unwanted vegetation and manual weeding before flowering. 

Pollinators such as honeybees visit mustard at the flowering stage for foraging, hence ruling out any adverse impact on pollinators. 

In real-life situation, GM mustard is likely to have beneficial effects on honeybee population based on their relatively enhanced foraging behavior that could result in increasing honey production and income of beekeepers in mustard growing areas. 

Honey, being a sugar constituent, remains free from protein and hence there will be no impact on the quality and export of honey derived either from CMS or GM mustard hybrids. 

The environmental release of GM mustard technology is a decisive moment for India's edible oil sector and a ray of hope for biotechnological interventions struck into the imbroglio of Bt brinjal moratorium imposed in 2010. 

(Bhagirath Choudhary is the founder-director of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre, Jodhpur. He has also been associated as a board member of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, New Delhi, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 

CD Mayee is a renowned cotton scientist currently serving as president of South Asia Biotechnology Centre, Jodhpur. In the past, he served as chairman of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, Agricultural Commissioner of Government of India, director of ICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, and vice-chancellor of Marathwada Agriculture University, Parbhani.) 


10. Consumer MNCs Plan to Go Big on India Next Year 
ET, 8 Dec. 2022 

Amid global demand headwinds and layoffs, nearly a dozen multinationals including Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, L’Oreal and Anheuser-Busch InBev are doubling down on India with higher investment. 

Amid global demand headwinds and layoffs, nearly a dozen multinationals including Nestle, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, Mars-Wrigley, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, L’Oreal and Anheuser-Busch InBev are doubling down on India with higher investment, increased spending and selective hiring in their annual operating plans for 2023, having identified it as among the few markets that are growing. 

“Economic growth opportunities are huge, we are adding newer categories and investments and increasing spending incrementally,” PepsiCo India president Ahmed Elsheikh said. “As we make our annual plans for next year, we have identified that this is the decade of India.” 

At last week’s Nestle SA investor meet, the Swiss maker of Maggi instant noodles highlighted that the country is becoming an even more important geography. 

The company stated its intent to “invest to develop in India” to drive penetration and launch new proprietary items. 

The focus on India comes at a time when companies such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Walmart and Amazon have announced downsizing of the workforce and operations in markets like the US and Europe to cut costs amid inflationary pressures. Global prices of sugar, coffee, edible oil, plastic and paper have been at a decade-high in recent months amid an uncertain economic environment and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to supply chain disruptions. 

However, India, Asia’s third-largest economy, with its billion-plus population, has massive headroom to grow, with very low-penetrated categories, a large growing middle class, and higher spending on premium products, executives said. 

“The largest number of consumers will come from India between now and 2030 across Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa regions,” said Vismay Sharma, president of beauty products maker L’Oreal for South Asia, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa. 

In the past decade, India has been a growth area for most global firms, especially as home markets saw slower expansion. But what’s changed now is that India is seen as an exception even among emerging markets. 

“Unlike earlier, when several emerging markets were also growing, India is now almost an exception in terms of growth and potential,” said Kalpesh R Parmar, country general manager, Mars Wrigley India. 

The headroom for growth both in terms of penetration and per capita consumption is perceived to be substantial. For instance, per-capita consumption of chocolate is around 140 grams per year in India while in the UK, it is over 10 kg per year. But it is not just India’s consumption opportunity, said companies. 

“We have a local R&D hub that not only fires for us, but also for the global chocolates. We have a local IT hub and one of the largest shared services globally for the backend which we call shared services — so a lot to feel proud of,” said Deepak Iyer, president at Cadbury Dairy Milk and 5-Star chocolate maker Mondelez India. 

Last month, French spirits firm Pernod Ricard said consumer confidence in India is at an all-time high, despite inflation. 


- Industry and Manufacture 


11. Tata on deal ST 
ET, 30 Nov. 2022 

The Tata Group has initiated discussions with Taipei’s Wistron Corp, one of the three top vendors for Apple in India, to buy its sole manufacturing facility in Karnataka for ₹4,000-5,000 crore, people familiar with the discussions said. 

Bigger Bite: Tata Eyes Apple Vendor Wistron’s India Unit 
The Tata Group has initiated discussions with Taipei’s Wistron Corp, one of the three top vendors for Apple in India, to buy its sole manufacturing facility in Karnataka for ₹4,000-5,000 crore, people familiar with the discussions said. 

The transaction, if successful, will help the salt-to-software conglomerate ramp up the manufacturing capabilities of group company Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd (TEPL) in precision engineering. 

TEPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. It was set up to lead the group’s grand ambitions to become a scaled mobile phone and component contract manufacturer, after group chairman N Chandrasekaran sought to leverage the geopolitical backlash against China and woo smartphone companies like Apple to alternative production sites in India. 

Starting with Apple, for which TEPL is already a components vendor for iPhones, the plan has been to also deal with other large manufacturers from Korea and Japan as part of a "larger electronics ecosystem". TEPL’s existing exclusive partnership with Apple is also part of PM Narendra Modi’s Make in India push and takes advantage of the government’s production-linked scheme, unveiled in August of 2020. 

The Tata Group declined to comment. Emails sent to Wistron did not generate a response till press time Tuesday. 

Tatas have in the recent past also been toying with the idea of establishing an electronics manufacturing joint venture with Wistron, Bloomberg reported early September. However, sources in the know said the group was increasingly veering towards buying the facility at Narasapura in Karnataka’s Kolar district. Tata Electronics’ facility is in Hosur, TN. 

Sources close to Tata said, if the facility buyout did not work out, they would independently also pursue the JV route. Another person said the deal might get structured along the lines of Tata Motors’ acquisition of Ford unit in Gujarat earlier this year, which included a sale and leaseback structure. "Tatas will run the show, but Wistron may keep a small share to leverage on the global vendor ecosystem of Apple," said this person aware of the discussions, who did not want to be identified as the talks are in private domain. The final deal contours are still being worked out. 

According to government officials, an industrial corridor with high-end infrastructure and connectivity is being planned to facilitate electronics manufacturing in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This would include highways and high-speed Vande Bharat trains to cut the 3.5-4.0-hour travel time between their capitals, Chennai and Bengaluru. 

Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron are the three leading vendors for Apple in India. Apple currently produces the iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 (basic) models in India. All the Pro models sold in the country are imported. Luxshare, a Chinese company, was also supposed to set up shop in India, but its plans have not yet been cleared by the Centre, ET reported on October 28. The company had signed a deal with the TN government in 2020 to take over the Motorola phone manufacturing unit. 


12.1. India to become a hub for film shooting, co-production, post-production, content and technology partners in film industry: Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur 
Press Information Bureau, Nov. 21, 2022 

“International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has become a platform for film directors from all over the world to showcase their work. I am sure, India will become a hub for co-production, post-production, film shooting, content and also for the technology partners”, said Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth affairs & Sports, Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur today at IFFI 53 venue in Goa. 

Speaking on the sidelines of Red Carpet for the Opening film of IIFI 53 and World Premier of Austrian Director Mr. Dieter Berner’s film Alma and Oskar, the Minister said that every year, the festival is becoming bigger and bigger. This year there are many premieres. 280 films from more than 79 countries are being exhibited in IFFI this year. It speaks volumes about what we have done so far, he added further. 

An opening film is being shown at IFFI for the first time before the opening ceremony, according to Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur. From the 75 Young Creative Minds of Tomorrow programme to world premieres, India attempts to accomplish something new every year. The Minister emphasised that he looked forward to seeing more international film industry professionals participate. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


12.2. Myntra sees towns lap up global fashion labels 
Mint. 05 Dec. 2022, Suneera Tandon

“The Indian consumer is largely becoming a very globally influenced consumer. There is a lot of global inspiration that is also coming,” said Nandita Sinha, chief executive at Myntra. 

Nearly 40% of demand for such brands driven by tier-II cities, company says 

NEW DELHI: Myntra, the fashion marketplace owned by Flipkart, is seeing strong demand for international brands from shoppers in tier-II cities and beyond. 

The marketplace onboarded 25 international fashion labels and 50 foreign beauty brands in the past 12 months and now retails more than 400 foreign brands on the platform, said a top company executive. 

Nearly 40% of the demand for international fashion labels is driven by shoppers in tier-II cities and beyond. Overall, Myntra sells more than 5,000 brands, including H&M, Levis, Louis Philippe, Mango, Forever 21, Urbanic, Biba, Nike, and Fossil. 

“The Indian consumer is largely becoming a very globally influenced consumer. There is a lot of global inspiration that is also coming. That is something which we realized a few years back. We tried to get into that trend and really lead that trend for the Indian fashion customer," Nandita Sinha, chief executive at Myntra, said in an interview. 

The move also points to more recent aggression displayed by Indian retail houses in bringing global brands to the country to capitalize on the growing demand for branded apparel. Greater variety helps draw in more shoppers and capture consumers across price points. For instance, Myntra onboarded American retailer Macy’s by listing its private labels in the run-up to the festive season sales earlier this year. These include brands such as Alfani, a workwear brand for men and women, apart from men’s casual clothing line under Club Room. Myntra also lists Macy’s activewear brand Ideology and daily basics such as tank tops and track pants under the Karen Scott brand. More recently, UK’s Boohoo Group marked its foray into the Indian market with Myntra and will sell brands such as boohoo, Dorothy Perkins and Nasty Gal across categories like dresses, tops, bottoms, and footwear. 

Myntra also launched Korean clothing brand 8Seconds, Priyanka Chopra’s hair-care brand Anomaly and Turkish clothing brand Trendyol. Some of these brands are also available in other online marketplaces such as Ajio, Nykaa and Tata Cliq. 

Online retailer Nykaa recently added multi-brand shopping platform Revolve on its platform to offer premium clothing and accessories. 

Myntra is looking to partner with popular brands from markets like Southeast Asia, the US, UK, South Korea and Turkey, the company said. 

“Last year was a particularly interesting year for us because we launched 25 international brands in fashion and almost 50 in beauty. We’ve seen huge traction from our customers. International brands have grown 60% across the last two years. In fact, 40% of this demand is actually coming from tier-II cities, which means that consumers across the country are really waiting to adopt globally influenced trends," she said. 

However, most of these brands are largely present online, leaving a gap in the offline retail market. Sinha, however, said that an offline strategy is an outcome of how global brands choose to expand in the market. “I think those are calls we leave the brands to take and how they want to expand in the country," she said. 


13.1. What does it take to create Bharat’s education lab: The story of PhysicsWallah, building on trust 
ET, 22 Nov. 2022 

Can ed-tech have a brand like the Tatas? A profitable unicorn with an eye on impact and regional reach, PhysicsWallah strives to become one. Apart from its clear focus on students and teachers, PhysicsWallah has prioritised profitability from Day 1. While word-of-mouth marketing was its biggest success, can it stay sane and keep a clear vision? 

This is what Aristotle once said. 
There are three keys to persuasion. 
Pathos: the emotional connect. 
Ethos: the credibility. 
Logos: the logic. 

Start-up founders across sectors have to maintain this delicate balance between these three keys, as the consumer looks for the emotional connect in their stories and the credibility in what they offer, and test it against the logic of the solution offered. And it’s especially true in the education sector, where some of the most-funded companies are facing issues ranging from layoffs to funding uncertainty and more. 

One company seems to be ticking all the right boxes. A profitable unicorn with a focus on impact and regional reach, PhysicsWallah is the story the education sector needs even more today. 

The beginning 
Alakh Pandey, co-founder of PhysicsWallah, loves teaching. He still remembers teaching others right from when he was in Grade 8. After he dropped out of college in the third year, he taught in an offline coaching centre getting what he thought then was a decent salary of INR15,000. 

The person Pandey was working for offered him a percent of the earnings. While this allowed Pandey to save on his rent expenses, the arrangement proved fruitful for his employer as well. Pandey would spend the whole day teaching and doing content design. 

“I really had fun,” he recollects. “I had done dramatics in college. So, explaining things with current trends, stories, and props to simplify learning was a process I really enjoyed,” Alakh tells ET Prime while showing his pie tattoo over the online call. To give an example, he explained the Lenz law of electromagnetism with the saas-bahu namkeen relationship. 

At this point in their journey, with more interested students, they wanted to expand further. One clear answer was to teach on YouTube. Many of the most well-known education companies started off either teaching offline or by teaching on YouTube. 

“We realised that offline was not going to give the impact at scale. Someone told that if I teach offline, I might be able to teach just about 7,000 students in my lifetime.” 

This was in 2017. However, Pandey shares that the early YouTube journey was far from rosy. He knew that he was a good teacher. But the mechanics of YouTube monetisation was still unknown to him and the PhysicsWallah team. The Jio launch helped turn the tables. And the constant feedback loop from PhysicsWallah’s dedicated students was the other key advantage the team had. 

PhysicsWallah’s focus: Students and affordable pricing 
As PhysicsWallah shared more content, the students asked for other subjects they wanted to learn, not just physics. Then came demand for more doubt clearance and for other courses from Grade 9 onwards to other tests such as JEE, NEET, etc. 

During the pandemic, the need for the end-to-end online classes was high. His co-founder, Prateek Boob, helped Pandey quickly develop the app. The money came from their initial YouTube revenue. 

The first course was priced at just INR999, unlike the higher price brackets of many other market products. A good 70,000 people signed up. Word of mouth helped and getting paid students for the next online course became an easier task. 

The focus on affordable pricing is one remarkably clear call the team took early. Too many companies in ed-tech have focused on the top segment of the market with high capacity to pay but with an overcrowding of products. 

During the pandemic, PhysicsWallah found many of its students really benefitting. Mohsin Hasan, one of the students, dreamt of becoming a doctor. Poor Internet condition in Kashmir, along with his tough family situation, made it hard for him to complete his studies. Hasan managed to travel to a nearby city and downloaded all educational videos of PhysicsWallah for offline access and religiously studied through the course material. He managed to crack the NEET 2021 exam on his second attempt. 

Pandey believes this student-centric focus is the most critical aspect of building an education company. And that helped the start-up identify the areas where students needed most help. Commerce, CA, UPSC courses got launched at affordable prices along with a Lil Champs programme for grades 6 to 8. The formats of learning today span online learning, including live-learning and hybrid-learning solutions. 

Getting the right teachers to teach 
Teachers are the heart of education. And one of the challenges ed-tech players face is finding the best teachers. Pandey shares that during the pandemic, PhysicsWallah was able to find good teachers who had already seen their reach. PhysicsWallah has structured good appraisals, pay scales and ESOPS for teachers to make them part of the wealth-creation story. 

But one insight Alakh shares is interesting: “If you look at any classroom, we call our teachers sir or ma'am. Respect is important for teachers.” And that’s something PhysicsWallah has tried to instil in the company. At over 1,500, Pandey highlights that teacher attrition is less than 1% at PhysicsWallah. In fact, in case some things are not working out, PhysicsWallah’s approach is to help the teachers to look for and even try multiple things instead of taking a hire-and-fire approach or a salary-reduction strategy. For some teachers, who are able to build their loyal student base, fame follows as well. 

Staying with the teaching process, Pandey explains that the academic focus is very important for the team. 

Interestingly, some leading ed-tech players had reached out to Pandey and offered him an online-education role. “I felt that their focus was on revenues more and the pricing was too high. I missed the discussion on the academics.” Pandey says while sharing his reason for not taking up such offers. He is, however, careful not to name any company. 

Given the audience PhysicsWallah is serving, language also becomes a critical factor. So, it has launched Hindi and Bengali YouTube channels with a strong audience reach. Five more regional languages are planned. In some states, specially in the southern part of the country, it is planning to explore models such as school integration to work within the existing system. 

What the numbers tell about PhysicsWallah
The numbers have so far spoken for themselves. The company is profitable. Not just that, instead of spending a lot of money on marketing, which inflates the cost of customer acquisition, it has kept its marketing budgets reasonable. 


Pandey is quick to appreciate the good work many ed-tech companies have been doing instead of calling out issues. “Everyone wants impact. Issues such as layoffs etc. create a lot of pain for everyone,” he adds. 

The key question: What helps him take a different approach for growth? 

Pandey explains with two facts. 

First, apart from the clear focus on students and teachers, PhysicsWallah has prioritised profitability from Day 1. “Coming from a background which is very simple., I was not aware of many of the jargons people use,” Pandey reveals. Word-of-mouth marketing was PhysicsWallah's biggest success. 

Pandey does agree that marketing is important but should be amplified only after a really good product is built out which solves the challenges students face. 

The average daily time spent by a student on the PhysicsWallah app is about 75 minutes, which is quite high. Also, the average student retention is 45% across courses, which is again a high number that helps build a more predictable revenue. 

Keeping the revenue-recognition principles clean, the 2022 audit report of the firm shares that “revenue from rendering of services is recognised over time by measuring the progress towards complete satisfaction of performance obligations at the reporting period. Tuition fees from online and offline (Pathshala) coaching revenue is being recognised over the period of instruction — proportionate completion method (revenue is recognised proportionately based on the performance of each of the acts) — service needs to be performed over a specific period of time. Hence, revenue is recognised on a straight-line basis over the specific period. Upfront fees are recognised over the estimated period that the related services are performed.” 


"If you look at any classroom, we call our teachers sir or ma'am. Respect is important for teachers." 

— Alakh Pandey, co-founder of PhysicsWallah 

The road to getting the right investor, learning impact 
Education had earlier been the mainstay of impact investors and philanthropic capital. With the heady success seen by a few of the largest companies, the sector has seen more interest from mainstream investors, some of whom may not have a deep background in the sector. When it came to investors, again the PhysicsWallah team has made a deliberate choice. They have GSV Ventures and Westbridge on their cap table. 

“Given our brand reach, huge growth and profitability even without investment, we could really align with the right partners.” Pandey says. Instead of agreeing with the narrative that investors push ed-tech entrepreneurs to blitzscale at all costs, he shares that his investors have been telling him not to grow too fast and to keep the focus on solving the real problems. 

From here to the next version of the PhysicsWallah story, the team would face the usual scale challenges. How does PhysicsWallah plan to stay sane and keep a clear vision? 

“Don’t think about competition” is Pandey’s answer. His dream? “Trust is the most critical factor in education. My dream is to create a product that solves students’ learning problems, with quality and which people can trust. A brand like Tatas for education.” 

So, the team intends to keep its focus on the fundamentals. 

But what about the learning impact? 

The PhysicsWallah team is thinking about this at two levels. 

One key challenge, Pandey mentions, is that given the low success rate in competitive exams, there are many who would not clear the exams. He gives an example of NEET. “If 160,0000 students appear for the exam nationally, today maybe over 400,000 of them are studying with us. How can we help more of them? Can seats be increased?” Pandey asks. Well, that’s not something PhysicsWallah can drive or control. 

While the company looks at the learning impact markers of performance, retention rate and student time spent for those preparing for the exams, it is also trying to have a skilling solution for those who might need support with job-readiness skills rather than just exam preparation. “This teaches New Age skills from coding to business analysis and more” Pandey adds, helping the start-up potentially solve a bigger job-readiness challenge for its students than just staying with test-prep. 

The road ahead 
As PhysicsWallah gets ready for the next phase of its journey, it is clear about one thing. If it doesn’t get influenced by things that may not matter — like onboarding big stars for branding etc — it should be able to take the future head on by just keeping its focus on the solution and on building a very good team. 

And the ambition is huge. To become Bharat’s education lab across channels, domains, and languages. 

As more people get to decode the real state of ed-tech behind the breaking news, stories like PhysicsWallah are needed to continue to build trust, not just with the students and the teachers, but also within the ecosystem as well. 


13.2. Tamil Nadu: SIPCOT to set up 11 new industrial parks, aims to create over 2 lakh jobs 
ET Gov. 6 Dec. 2022 

Tamil Nadu is leading across states in information and communication technology enabled governance with several e-governance projects successfully implemented across the state. 

The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) is in the process of establishing 11 new industrial parks in the state across sectors that would generate more than two lakh jobs in the region, a Confederation of Indian Industry and KPMG report said on Sunday. The move comes in the backdrop of Tamil Nadu leading across states in information and communication technology enabled governance with several e-governance projects successfully implemented across the state. 

Tamil Nadu was one of the first states in the country to formulate policies in the IT-ITeS sector in 1997. The industry has opened an opportunity for the promotion of software exports and services in the state. 

In the automobile industry, the state has attracted major projects from various companies including heavy commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland, automobile manufacturers Hyundai Motor India, BMW, Renault Nissan, among others. 

These major projects triggered a multiplier effect by attracting numerous auto and other ancillary industries around locations such as Ennore, Oragadam (near Chennai), Tiruvallur, Sriperumbudur, Salem, Erode and Coimbatore. 

"The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu is in the process of establishing 11 new industrial parks in different parts of the state in automobile, chemical engineering and several other sectors," the report said. 

The industrial parks will generate employment for more than two lakh people and each park would be spread across 13,500 acre land. Currently, Tamil Nadu has 21 industrial complexes, and seven special economic zones spread across 12 districts. 

"New industrial parks will come up in Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin, Sivaganga, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Theni, Krishnagiri and Tiruchirappalli," the report said. 

On the IT front, the report said the Tamil Nadu government has planned to come out with a policy on Global Capability Centres (GCC). 

According to Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services T Mano Thangaraj the government was working on the policy and the draft of the policy was 'getting ready'. 

"We want to give special focus to Global Capability Centres. We are analysing various aspects that are prevalent across the world and working on the right model. We will launch it in a month or two," he was quoted as saying in the report. 

The policy on GCC follows similar policy announcements by the government including the Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence policy, Tamil Nadu IT Policy among others. 

Tamil Nadu has been a frontrunner in leveraging technology to offer cutting-edge solutions to governance problems in the country, the report said. 


14.1. India's readymade garment exports to surpass US$ 30 billion by 2027: Report 
IBEF, Nov. 23, 2022 

According to a survey by rating agency CareEdge, Indian exports of readymade garments are expected to surpass US$ 30 billion by 2027, reflecting a 4.6-4.9% share of global exports, up from the current share of about 3%. 

In contrast to its low position in man-made fibre, which is expected to grow as a result of an expected free trade agreement with the UK and a production-linked incentive scheme, India has a strong presence throughout the cotton textile value chain, from fibre to fabric. 

Additionally, having a presence along the whole value chain lowers shipping costs and lead times, giving consumers a solution that is affordable. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


14.2. Global Apparel Cos Bounce Back in Style 
ET, 28 Nov. 2022 

About half a dozen global apparel and lifestyle brands expanded anywhere between 30% and 70% to garner combined annual revenues of nearly $2 billion in FY22, reversing the performance from a year ago when Covid-induced curbs on mobility and business operations caused sales to shrink. 

About half a dozen global apparel and lifestyle brands expanded anywhere between 30% and 70% to garner combined annual revenues of nearly $2 billion in FY22, reversing the performance from a year ago when Covid-induced curbs on mobility and business operations caused sales to shrink. 

Sales of Swedish fashion retailer H&M expanded 49% while rival Zara reported a 61% increase in its topline. Japanese brand Uniqlo saw a 64% jump in sales while American denim maker Levi Strauss posted a 58% increase, latest filings with the Registrar of Companies showed. Dubai-based department store Lifestyle International, too, saw a 38% jump in revenues on a large base while German brand Puma expanded 68% despite being the biggest firm in the sporting segment. 

"This is a combined impact of a rebound in industry-wide demand in India, a low base effect for some brands, and the visibility and mindshare advantage global brands have,” said Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a strategy consulting firm. 

"Global brands are aspirational not only for consumers but also for real estate developers. Perceived as anchor tenants, they get their choice of the best locations — this provides more impetus to their stores vis-a-vis Indian brands, which are shunted to higher floors in multi-level shopping spaces," Dutta said. 

The revenue surge comes at a time when most of these retailers are facing intensifying competition from both local and global rivals in an increasingly crowded market where web-commerce firms continue to offer steep discounts. Even multinational companies have upped their online focus and for some, web-based orders make up more than a third of their revenues. 

For instance, Puma India’s online sales make up nearly half its total business, while for H&M the share is 42%. 

Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia, said the affinity of young Indian consumers toward ecommerce is extremely high and that adoption of the online mode of shopping continues to accelerate even after the resumption of normal business operations. 

"Consumers may have bought online for the first time during the lockdowns, but they have embraced ecommerce in their shopping journey," said Ganguly. 

"Almost half of our business is in the form of digital commerce today. Having said that, we are witnessing equally strong growth - both in our offline and online channels," he said. 

As the world’s second most-populated country, India is an attractive market for aspirational apparel brands as rising disposable incomes cause the consuming base of the pyramid to broaden further. The performance by global brands is also in line with the overall trend within the home-grown apparel and lifestyle segment, with Shoppers Stop, Tata-owned Trent and Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail also reporting smart performance rebounds, indicating a secular demand for discretionary products. 


15. As startups look to electrify last-mile cargo, do they have the perfect EV for Indian roads? 
ET, 29 Nov. 2022 

To build the right EV, one will have to know what the user needs, keeping the Indian logistics’ requirements in mind. Making a small-sized electric truck that can withstand Indian road conditions and offer the requisite payload capacity, range, and uptime is indeed an engineering challenge. Can startups solve this and scale EV manufacturing? 

Call it the shifting sands moment for India’s last-mile cargo delivery. And electric vehicles (EVs) are making that shift happen. 

While big boys of mobility like Tata Motors, Piaggio, and M&M are coming up with electric versions of their popular ICE (internal combustion engine) models, a new breed of startups, such as Altigreen, Euler Motors, Omega Seiki, Etrio, EVAge, and several others are rolling out small electric trucks. These vehicles might potentially replace the diesel/CNG variants being used for last-mile delivery of goods and startups could lead from the front. 

According to data from Vahan, the top two electric three-wheeler makers, Piaggio and M&M, have a 47% market share in the calendar year 2022 so far, down from 60% last year. This could be an indication that the New Age players mentioned above are gradually making inroads into this segment. 

Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) made by these companies is growing and so are their order books. For instance, Delhi-based Euler Motors already has demand for 9,000 electric three-wheelers. “We thought that we can get away with doing [manufacturing of] 300 to 400 [units] per month and cater to the demand. But demand very quickly grew to 9,000 and then we realised that the rate of transition towards electric is much faster than we had thought,” says Saurav Kumar, CEO, Euler Motors. Now Euler has earmarked INR120 crore for setting up a larger manufacturing plant at Palwal, Haryana. This will help scale up its manufacturing capacity from 100 to 1,000 vehicles per month by the end of this financial year. 

However, the biggest challenge confronting these startups is not competition from the incumbents. It is building the right product as per the needs of cargo transportation and scaling up manufacturing. 

“The biggest fear of EV customers is that they want uninterrupted mobility. Their biggest fear is gaadi kharab ho jayegi (the vehicle will break down),” says Amitabh Saran, CEO, Altigreen Propulsion Labs, a Bengaluru-based startup which has come up with neEV, an electric three-wheeler that is getting good feedback from many quarters. 

To build the right EV, one needs to know what the customer needs, keeping the Indian context in mind. Are the startups up for the job? 

Made in India, made for India 
Cargo movement is a very competitive market. Each fleet owner is looking to maximise profits. Customer requirements vary across customer profiles, depending on their use cases. E-commerce companies care more about volumes. FMCG companies think more about weight. 

Here's what EV users for cargo movement need in India. 

The average distance travelled per day in last-mile cargo deliveries is 50km-60km. Cargo movers who use electric three-wheelers expect a few things from a product perspective. They prefer a range of 100km-plus or the capacity to run more than 100km per day. The range of EVs keeps decreasing year on year because there is a fall in battery performance. A range of 100km may be good to start with, as it will still give an 80km range if the range falls 20% in five years. 

ICE three-wheelers from major automakers typically have a life cycle of 8 to 10 years with normal wear and tear. The life of electric three-wheelers should be equivalent to that. And this is possible by an intermediary battery replacement. “Currently most EV makers are guaranteeing a battery life of three years. Ideally, it should be four to five years. So that at least after four years, the battery can be replaced, and the vehicle can be run for another four to five years. This will make the total cost of ownership of EVs very attractive,” says Vikash Mishra, CEO, MoEVing, an EV startup building an e-mobility and driver-centric technology platform for small fleet operators. 

Most transporters want a minimum load capacity of half a tonne, although more load will mean more revenue for them. 


Another important aspect is the uptime of the vehicle which mirrors the performance and reliability of the vehicle. Operators need 95% and above uptime – the vehicle should be running on the road for at least 27 to 28 days of the month without any issues. 

“It is a new area. Not a lot of people have tried commercial EVs on the planet. Even Tesla is just preparing to sell commercial trucks next year or 2024,” says Inderveer Singh, founder and CEO, EVAge Ventures, which in January this year raised USD28 million from US-based venture-capital firm RedBlue Capital to scale up manufacturing of its 1-tonne electric truck, Model.X. 

Singh says making a vehicle which is carrying four people is fairly easy compared to a small truck designed to carry 1 tonne -2 tonne of payload. Making a small-sized, robust, and stable truck with the requisite payload capacity and designed to withstand Indian road and operating conditions is indeed an engineering challenge. 

Electric three-wheelers have been prone to tipping over because they have something called a rigid axle in the rear. So, when one wheel goes into a deep pothole, the entire vehicle stability gets lost and the vehicle tips over. Altigreen took a call that its electric three-wheelers will have swing arms (typically four-wheelers have it) at the rear of the vehicle. So, if one wheel goes into a pothole, the other wheel continues to be absolutely straight. Also, at 220mm, Altigreen claims to have one of the highest ground clearances (the height of the lowest point in a vehicle) for such vehicles. The company, which raised around USD40 million from Sixth Sense Ventures and Reliance New Energy a few months ago, is ramping up its production capacity with a 300,000 square feet manufacturing facility at Malur, Karnataka. This will help it scale up production to 4,500 EVs per month. 

Also, there are no benchmarks available to help zero in on what would be the right set of specifications for an EV for last-mile cargo delivery. “You can make 10 variants of an electric three-wheeler. You can put out a 5 kilowatt (KW) per hour battery pack or an 18KW per hour battery pack. You can build a 5KW motor or an 8KW motor. A load body of 120 cubic feet or 150 cubic feet. But finding the right benchmark for your customer, pricing it based on how much EMI they will be able to pay and the kind of loads they will be able to carry is the big question,” says Saurav Kumar, CEO at Euler Motors. Euler’s electric three-wheeler, HiLoad, has a load capacity of 688kg with an on-road range of 170 km on a single charge and a 12.4KwH liquid-cooled battery. 


"It is a new area. Not a lot of people have tried commercial EVs on the planet. Even Tesla is just preparing to sell commercial trucks next year or 2024." 

— Inderveer Singh, founder and CEO, EVAge Ventures 

Battery: the critical puzzle 
India is a unique geography with vehicles running at road temperatures as high as 60-degree centigrade and minus temperatures as well. The EV design needs to take care of variabilities of weather and road conditions on one hand and stability and the centre of gravity of the vehicle on the other. Three-wheelers are often overloaded, causing battery temperature to go up. More load means more current and more current means more heat. This needs to be addressed from an engineering point of view. One needs a better battery that can withstand higher current and has better liquid cooling. Electronic circuits need to have a better thermal stress-carrying capacity. High-quality battery packs can guarantee the longevity of the vehicle. 

Since battery life holds the key, most EV manufacturers are feeling the pressure to stretch battery life up to four to five years. Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited’s Zor Grand, which was launched in August this year, and Tata Motors’s Ace EV, which is expected to start deliveries this quarter, are guaranteeing a five-year battery life. 

Fast-charging option is also turning out to be a differentiator. Euler Motors has come up with a fast-charging feature. This is being well received by users who run the vehicle in two shifts and thus get better vehicle utilisation. While Tata’s Ace EV will also have a fast charging option, Omega Seiki Mobility and advanced battery-technology startup Log9 Materials have also joined hands to deploy InstaCharging stations, which can fully charge a three-wheeler in 35 minutes compared to up to 3.5 hours taken by conventional electric three-wheelers. 

Startups are trying to address range anxiety, which is a prime concern for fleet operators who want non-stop mobility. Altigreen’s Saran who was one of the first to offer a 100km-plus range for its vehicle, neEV, says most drivers the company spoke to drive anywhere between 70km to 90km a day. So, the company decided to guarantee a range of 120km on a single charge. “For that, I need to give him (the driver) a battery pack that is at least 150km-160km tested because there is a big gap between the tested thing and how it actually performs on the road,” he says. Due to the traffic conditions and a lot of start-stop, vehicles for last-mile deliveries waste a lot of energy. Altigreen’s model regenerates electricity from the waste kinetic energy that goes back into the battery and helps drive another 1km-2km. Altigreen’s electric three-wheeler claims to provide a speed of 53km per hour compared to most competitors that have speed in the range of 40km per hour-plus. 

Seasoned manufacturers in the LCV segment say range and range anxiety is something that will get addressed in six months to a year. Most manufacturers will provide a 140km-150km range, which will suffice last-mile delivery use cases. “Those who have better vehicle quality and better vehicle performance will perform better. In the cargo category, this is very, very critical. Vehicles that can withstand overloading and Indian road conditions will outperform others and a lot will depend on how much these new EV makers have invested in design and design validations,” says Sudhanshu Agrawal, executive vice-president, business head-electric vehicle at Piaggio India. Piaggio is building a range of cargo EV products both with a fixed battery and a battery-swapping solution. 

Different vehicles for different use cases 
Electric trucks have the biggest value proposition in terms of much lower running costs — 1/5th the running cost of a diesel truck, and 1/4th of a CNG truck. Another big difference EVs can make to last-mile delivery is the adaptability of their design and configuration to specific use cases. This is opposed to ICE vehicles wherein a one-size-fits-all philosophy is followed. So, whether you are shifting a house or transporting a motorcycle, you will use the same vehicle at say INR7-INR10 per km. With EVs, a lot can be done from an optimisation perspective. 

Battery packs are designed, right from 10KW to 12KW to 35-40KW, to suit the kind of range that is required by the consumer. “If you are using a vehicle which only needs to do about 50km a day, why would you pay for the extra 2km range and the extra battery capacity because that is an added cost,” says Singh of EVAge. Consider vegetable delivery. Because of their perishable nature, they need to be delivered within two to three hours before they start perishing. So, the vehicles carrying them won’t travel more than 40km-50km in a single round. They deliver, come back and refill again. So why would the driver want to pay for a vehicle with a higher range of more than 100km-150km? 

“Electric vehicles are largely software on wheels. If the use case of a particular vehicle can be known, it will be possible to modify the software and the interplay of major components to make it fit for that use case,” says Saran of Altigreen. For example, last-mile deliveries are a stop-go, stop-go kind of thing. The driver has to deliver a package every 500 metres or 1km. He can’t get to high speed because he is mostly driving in the neighborhoods. If we get to know, through data, that this guy needs to drive between 2km to 12km per hour 60% of his time, the motor and battery capacity can be planned accordingly. According to Altigreen, since it has built the major components internally, it understands the interplay of these. 

Can startups stay the course and scale manufacturing? 
Ideally, a logistics company would not like to work with 10 different EV manufacturers, each with different spare parts and data sets. Those who are interested in using EVs for pan-India operations will prefer to work with EV makers who have a presence across the country. While big players like Piaggio, Tata and Mahindra have an established network of dealerships and service networks to handle vehicle-related issues, startups are yet to focus on specific regions. For example, Euler is more focused in the NCR region. Altigreen is aggressively expanding with nine dealerships across major cities. 

But traditional automakers have a clear advantage with deep pockets and expertise in global sourcing. Given their volumes, they can negotiate with tier-1 suppliers. In comparison, upstarts may have to pay a higher price and face a longer waiting queue to get the supplies from the vendors. 

While mom-and-pop suppliers suffice if a company is making 20 to 50 vehicles per month, developing long-term relationships with tier-1 suppliers is going to be key when startups scale up manufacturing. 

“When you start off, you are small and large vendors do not want to work with you because your volumes are tiny. How do you ensure that you have long-term relationships with them,” says Saran of Altigreen. Having a robust relationship with suppliers will help startups get the much-needed agility and switch to an alternate channel in the event of supply-chain bottlenecks or longer lead time from certain manufacturers. 

The biggest manufacturing challenge remains the shortage of lithium-ion cells coming from China. Until Indian cell production volumes ramp up, which is close to zero today, EV manufacturers will be dependent on imports. Many startups assemble vehicles with parts from different vendors and sometimes they have to buy off the shelf because it may be difficult to get parts that are custom-made for their requirements. 

Fine-grained quality control is paramount as startups scale up production. A lot of innovation still needs to go into the software side because 10 years from now the EV cargo market will have a big chunk of connected vehicles – vehicles themselves will be talking to each other. Say Amazon vehicles will tell each other to avoid the traffic jam at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Startups will need to keep investing in further research and development to integrate new features and out-innovate competition. 


- Services (Education, Healthcare, IT, R&D, Tourism, etc.) 

16.1. Maharaja’s New Fleet: 150 Boeing 737 Max Jets Head for Air India 
ET, 10 Dec. 2022 

Tata-owned Air India is close to signing a deal with Boeing to acquire up to 150 737 Max jets, said people with knowledge of the matter. 

Tata-owned Air India is close to signing a deal with Boeing to acquire up to 150 737 Max jets, said people with knowledge of the matter. The order will be Air India’s first major aircraft order after its privatisation. This will be Boeing’s first big sale deal in India after it won a mandate for 75 aircraft from Akasa Air last year. India’s narrow body fleet is dominated by the Airbus A320. Air India will likely place a firm order for 50 737 Max planes with an option to pick up as many as 150, said the people cited above. 

The order tilted in favour of Boeing as the plane maker was able to guarantee immediate delivery of 50 planes that were earlier intended for China Southern, which was supposed to take delivery of 103 Max planes. 

"Fifty of those aircraft will be delivered to Air India immediately, starting by March next year," said one of the persons. "Air India is hungry for aircraft as they have an aggressive expansion plan." The order is likely to be signed in the next few weeks, the person said. 

In contrast, Airbus hasn’t been able to promise deliveries of the A320 Neo before 2025. However, Airbus could still win a portion of the narrow body orders from the airline that’s likely to want more than 150 such aircraft. 

"Air India is taking advantage of the situation as there are aircraft immediately available with Boeing but Airbus is still in the reckoning for a part of the order and negotiations are on," said a second person aware of the plans. 

A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment on future deals. Air India didn’t respond to queries. 

Boeing hasn’t been able to deliver 737 Max jets to its Chinese customers as the country’s aviation regulator hasn't recertified the plane after grounding it in 2019 after two crashes. A frosty relationship between the US and China has made supplies even more uncertain with Boeing now looking to remarket the aircraft. 

Since taking over Air India early this year, Tata has engaged with aircraft manufacturers as part of revamping the fleet. CEO Campbell Wilson said Air India plans to expand its fleet and global network, aiming to increase its market share to 30% on both domestic and international routes over the next five years. 

Tata Sons is in the midst of consolidating its aviation business. AirAsia India and Air India Express are being merged into one low-cost unit and Vistara will be absorbed into Air India to create a single full-service airline. 

While the order will be placed by Air India, the aircraft may also be allocated to its low-cost unit. Air India Express currently has 24 737 Max aircraft while AirAsia India operates 28 Airbus A320 Neo jets. 

The new planes will help enable the airline’s plans to serve short-haul destinations within a four-five hour range as it aims to be a competitor to IndiGo, which currently has more than 50% of the domestic market. Besides ordering new aircraft, the airline is also adding 36 wide-bodied aircraft on short-term leases by 2023. 


16.2. Air India Draws Up $400m Plan to Renovate its Fleet 
ET, 9 Dec. 2022 

The Tata Group-led Air India has announced a $400-million plan to refurbish its entire legacy wide-body fleet comprising 27 Boeing B787-8 and 13 B777 aircraft. 

The Tata Group-led Air India has announced a $400-million plan to refurbish its entire legacy wide-body fleet comprising 27 Boeing B787-8 and 13 B777 aircraft. Simultaneously, it will also refurbish its narrow body fleet of 65 aircraft with new and more comfortable seats as the airline tries to appeal to global flyers and be in the league of global majors like Emirates and Singapore Airlines. 

The first refurbished aircraft is expected to enter service in mid-2024. 

The airline, which was taken over by the salt-to-steel conglomerate in January, has faced frequent criticisms from flyers regarding broken seats, non-functional in-flight entertainment screens and lavatories.  

The airline has engaged JPA Design and Trendworks — London-based product design companies, to assist with the cabin interior design elements of this refurbishment programme. 

“Air India has committed to attain the highest standards of product and service befitting of a world class airline. We know that, at present, the cabin product on our 40 legacy widebody aircraft falls short of this standard. Although the project commenced some months ago, we are delighted to now publicly announce this significant investment on a complete interior refit, and we are confident that, when revealed, the new interiors will delight customers and show Air India in a new light,” Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said. 

Significantly, the airline has decided to retain first class and also add a new class of premium economy to its wide body product. 

The premium-economy drive comes as traditional airlines — battling stiff competition from new low-cost carriers and Gulf-based carriers — seek to boost overall fares and profitability. In the aftermath of Covid-19 downturn, many companies have cut travel budgets and restricted travel in business class. 

Premium economy offers an option to them. Global majors like Singapore Airlines, Qantas and British Airways have provided premium-economy cabins for years on long flights and have said the seats are popular with passengers. Air India has also decided to retain first class in the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft. Sources said that removing the first class would have been higher both on cost and lead time which would have delayed the project. 


17. Apollo’s Resilient Post Covid, Stock Slower to Recover 
ET, 14 Nov. 2022 

India's largest private healthcare player Apollo Hospitals posted a strong performance for the quarter to September prompting its stock to rise 6% on Friday and settle over 3% higher for the day. 

India's largest private healthcare player Apollo Hospitals posted a strong performance for the quarter to September prompting its stock to rise 6% on Friday and settle over 3% higher for the day. The company has performed well in all its healthcare business segments — hospitals, clinics, diagnostics, pharmacies, and the digital platform Apollo 24/7. 

Excluding the non-recurring revenues from Covid vaccination in the base year, the overall revenue for the September quarter climbed 22%, that of hospitals rose 12%, and that of the diagnostic business increased 46%. Covid vaccine revenues stood at ₹236 crore in the September 2021 quarter. 

At ₹565 crore, the consolidated Ebitda, or operating profit, is 8% lower than the year-ago level due to the impact of the operating costs of ₹174 crore of Apollo 24/7. 

Operating 7,872 beds, the overall bed occupancy rate for hospitals was at 68% versus 60% in the preceding quarter, on increasedpatient flows. The revenue of 29 existing and mature hospitals grew by 9%, while revenue at 15 relatively new hospitals shrank by 5%. 

The company’s diagnostic business has shown resilience despite the increased competition. The gross quarterly revenue in diagnostics crossed the ₹100 crore mark with a growth of 52% over the year-ago level — excluding Covid. The company has around 1,500 collection centres across 200 cities and it targets 2000+ collection centres in the next 6-8 months even as the group leverages its digital capabilities. 

During the quarter, Apollo acquired a 60% stake in the Ayurveda hospital chain Ayurvaid aiming to deliver a unique integrated co-managed care model leveraging modern medicine and Ayurveda. Integration is the key to Apollo’s business success making it a formidable player in the Indian healthcare ecosystem even as the sector is witnessing increased competition, private equity investments and the promise of growth by health-tech startups. 

Apollo’s stock, however, has a long way to go as it is still down 13% in the past year. It is down 2.3% since its inclusion in Nifty in March. It is trading at premium price-earnings of 71.9. 

Apollo is India’s largest healthcare player with its presence including 9,957 beds across 71 hospitals, 5,002 pharmacies, over 200 primary care and diagnostic clinics, and 148+ telemedicine centres. 


18.1. Coronary Stents in National List of Essential Medicines 
ET, 21 Nov. 2022 

The Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, a move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. 

The Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, a move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. The move is based on the recommendations by an expert committee constituted to review the inclusion of stents in the list based on requirement. 

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will now fix the price of coronary stents. 

On November 6, the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) had submitted its recommendation for inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories -- Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents. 

According to minutes of the SNCM meeting, vice chairman Dr Y K Gupta stated that coronary stents were earlier included in NLEM, 2015 through a separate notification based on the recommendations of an expert committee. 

"As far as medicines are concerned, SNCM has already submitted its report on NLEM, 2022 and the same has been adopted by the government," an official source said. 

The SNCM had deliberated on the essentiality, categorisation and other relevant aspects of coronary stents. 

It also stated that coronary artery diseases (CAD) is a public health issue which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. There is an enormous need for percutaneous coronary interventions requiring implantation of coronary stents. 

Therefore, coronary stents should continue to be essential medical devices, committee members agreed. 

"After taking into consideration all aspects of coronary stents, the committee recommended that coronary stent is an essential medical device which has been notified as a 'drug' under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and therefore, it should be included in NLEM, 2022," an official said. 

Authorities for the purpose of NLEM in respect of coronary stents should consider various coronary stents separately under the categories of Bare Metal Stents and Drug Eluting Stents, he said. 

The Indian Council of Medical Research and other relevant institutions may also consider to take necessary initiatives to generate data for assessment of post marketing safety and performance of coronary stents being used in various hospitals/institutions, the members stated. 

"Following the recommendations by the expert committee, the Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022," the official added. 

Several anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics and vaccines were among 34 new additions to the National List of Essential Medicines released on September 13, taking the total number of drugs under it to 384. 


18.2. IDFC FIRST Bank, NASSCOM COE partner to grow the innovation ecosystem 
IBEF, Dec. 8, 2022 

IDFC FIRST Bank and NASSCOM Centre of Excellence (COE) have joined to expand the innovation ecosystem. At a gathering of start-up entrepreneurs in Bangalore, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed designating IDFC FIRST Bank as a preferred banking partner for start-ups. 

In addition to a zero-balance start-up current account, specially created working capital solutions for pre-profit start-ups, business credit cards for start-ups with step-up credit, a tailored "Founder Success Program," and 40 beyond banking offers from its partners, IDFC FIRST Bank will provide its curated products and solutions for start-ups. 

While IDFC FIRST Bank will provide specialised financial instruments to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, NASSCOM CoE will provide technology and subject experience to the partnership. In order to deeply interact with the start-up ecosystem, NASSCOM COE and IDFC FIRST Bank will work together on a variety of activities, including Investor Connect, Knowledge Sharing Sessions, and Tech Conclaves. 

Start-ups have stimulated innovation, employment, and commercial vitality in India. As a bank, IDFC is dedicated to building a robust environment that helps early-stage entrepreneurs to get ready for the road ahead and supports them in hitting important milestones. Under FIRST Wings Start-up Banking, IDFC provide a variety of financial solutions that are tailored to the requirements of this market throughout their lifecycles. IDFC is excited to work with NASSCOM COE to maximise synergies and support start-up ecosystem, said Mr. Bhavesh K Jatania, Head - Start-up Banking, IDFC FIRST Bank 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


19. Father of Pentium chip Dham says India will start chip-making in a year 
Mint, 15 Nov. 2022, Prasid Banerjee

Vinod Dham is adviser to the government’s India Semiconductor Mission. 
In an interview, Vinod Dham, known as the father of the Intel Pentium chip, says he sees great progress on the country’s chip plans and expects some movement to happen within a year. 

NEW DELHI: Vinod Dham has signed up to be one of the advisers to the government’s India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). He, along with a group of individuals, will oversee proposals from firms looking to build semiconductor plants in India under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI). In an interview, Dham, known as the father of the Intel Pentium chip, said he sees great progress on the country’s chip plans and expects some movement to happen within a year. Edited excerpts: 

What is different about India’s chip push this time around? 

There were actually no trials in the past—there were isolated attempts by private individuals, mostly from abroad, who would work with states, never with the federal government, to launch a fab. It did not materialize for the obvious reason that there are lots of factors involved in building a fab—not just building a fab, but you need to build an entire ecosystem. I know it because I was invited to be a figurehead in those activities many times. 

This is the first time that the government of India has come to a recognition that this technology is vital to India’s strategic interest, for it to gain some self-reliance, and to perhaps capitalize on the fact that if the whole world will take advantage of this market doubling in 10 years, why can’t India take advantage of it? 

Do you think the targets are achievable? 

I see much more viability, probability and possibility of it happening now than ever before. If it’s all smoke and mirrors, then you can come, and you will look good for a while, but it will eventually fizzle out. Let’s look at three-four different levels of it. If we sign up with an existing integrated device manufacturer (who has its own fabs), they can start tomorrow. It will take them 18 months or so to build a fab. Then, let’s say, within two years, they build their products, have their own machines, and bring their own people initially. 

What we have given them is land, electricity, water etc, and an incentive to the tune of 70%. They can start producing within a year or so after that, which makes it two-and-a-half, a maximum of three years. 

The longer period is where we do a joint venture between an Indian partner and a foreign partner, where they bring in all the technology and equipment, and we bring in capital, management and skills. The challenge for both of them would be what product they should make in the fab. 

Could you elaborate? 

Ideally, the partner coming in should have a product in mind. For that, the Indian market needs to be analysed to find our top 10 needs because we’re importing $180 billion worth of electronics. The rule of thumb is 10-20% of that is semiconductor value. If you round up, that’s $10-20 billion. These days, it’s more like 20 than 10, because the number of chips going into a device is larger, which gives you a $20 billion margin. 

We need to analyse where we have an edge and where we can try to make it for the Indian market. Otherwise, the issue will become that the Indian market will buy from outside if they can buy at lower prices there. We may have to incentivize them a little bit initially to kick-start this whole thing. 

We’re trying to do so many things—train people, create demand, create the fab to make the products. Unlike the rest of the world, where it has been done for over 50 years, we’re trying to do it over a five-year period, which makes it so complex. 

So, how will we do it? 

What they (other countries) did in 50 years is that they gradually learned things. We don’t necessarily have to learn all that. For example, an 8nm node is an advanced sweet spot and is like a piece of cake (for the industry); our engineers can learn that. Remember that the manufacturing side of this is also highly automated. 

If the biggest semiconductor firms run R&D in India, why do we not have the skills available? 

Our skill set is in design. We have enormous skills in what is called very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) design. There are around 25,000 design engineers in Bangalore designing chips for companies (like Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm, etc.). 

But what we’re talking about is domestic fabrication of the chips. We want to have some engineers step out into startups, which is why design-linked incentives are being given. We’ll give them free tools and money to design chips. 

We saw the PLI being revised to provide a 50% incentive across technology nodes. What kind of fabs should India build? 

We’re not yet there where we give the highest incentive to the most advanced nodes. We ourselves aren’t pushing for that. It’s not the most optimal way to start, so we kept it flat. 

Have Indian companies shown interest? 

We have three local proposals for just semiconductors. We have a couple of proposals for displays, and dozens for the design-linked PLI. Our job as advisors is to evaluate and advise on how to make it work if there’s viability. There’s also a whole group of people who look at the financial viability. We’re going through that process right now. 

Do you have a timeline in mind, like when somebody actually starts work here? 

We should see that within a year. 

In the context of semiconductors, how long will Moore’s Law hold? 

The original Moore’s Law is based on Gordon Moore’s (Intel’s founder) observation in 1965 that the number of transistors packed on a chip will double every 18 months. He extrapolated that, based on the first 3-4 year’s data, and said that if it continues that way, we will have a device in our hand, which we’re today calling a smartphone. Turns out that observation didn’t have to come to fruition. Because along the way, it got modified to two years over 18 months. But every two years, packing twice as many transistors, it’s exponential growth and increasingly challenging. 

People have been calling for Moore’s Law to come to an end for a long time, but the ingenuity of people has kept on extending it. Having said that, you will notice that in the last decade or so, the rate of doubling has slowed down, which is fine. We are now manufacturing chips at 5nm, and as we get to 3nm, 2nm and 1nm, we’re fundamentally reaching the limits of atomic physics. 

So, what’s the way ahead? 

From a physics point of view, it will get more and more challenging. Even if people are able to solve physics, the second challenge is that the money required to come up with new requirements for that physics has gone up even faster exponentially than the law. The latest machine—I was reading—can go from $10-100 million for one. Not many countries, not even companies, can afford that, which explains why this industry got consolidated from dozens of companies to a handful now. Even in that handful, only a few have their own fabs for fabricating wafers, especially for the leading edge (chips). 

There have been talks about experimenting with new materials to replace silicon in chip making. 

There has been lots of talk about carbon nanotubes, graphite, etc. I’m sure there are people trying every possible way, but none of them has yet reached a point of commercial viability, which is the challenge. 


20.1. Big Apple Harvest: India to be Major iPhone Maker 
ET, 6 Dec. 2022 

India is set to emerge as a major hub for iPhone manufacturing as US smartphone giant Apple looks to diversify production units outside China. 

India is set to emerge as a major hub for iPhone manufacturing as US smartphone giant Apple looks to diversify production units outside China. Industry executives and analysts expect the percentage of locally made iPhones to rise to over a fifth of total output in value in the next three to four years, from the current 5% level. 

According to industry executives and analysts, manufacturing in India for the Cupertino-based major is set to rise sharply as the company’s three contract manufacturers – Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron — ramp up production and subsequently exports, driven by the government’s ₹41,000-crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme. 

Apple has been gradually working towards moving a larger pie of iPhone manufacturing to India amid geopolitical tensions between China and the US. The company is said to have accelerated its plans to make the shift from China after Covid-induced lockdowns disrupted production at Foxconn facilities in the country. 

Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, China is the largest manufacturing unit for iPhones in the world. 

Last month, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a tweet said Foxconn would accelerate the expansion of capacity at its India plant. “As a result, iPhones made by Foxconn in India will grow by at least 150% on-year in 2023, and the medium/long-term goal is to ship 40-45% of iPhones from India (versus the current 2-4%),” Kuo said. ET had reported Kuo’s estimates in its November 5 edition. 

Two people familiar with the matter said this estimate was not practical and that a more realistic estimate should be around 20%. “It’s (the move from China to India) a work in progress”, one of the people said. According to a report by JP Morgan (September 21, 2022), Apple plans to shift 25% of its iPhone production to India by 2025 in a bid to diversify its manufacturing base which is currently dependent heavily on China. 

“Our ability to attract global value chains (GVCs) in electronics manufacturing is more a factor of our policies like PLI than just favourable geopolitics. Competitiveness including on tariffs, preparedness to build large-scale factories and accompanying labour reforms and ensuring investment sentiment remains high at all times are key to our success,” India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said. “It’s a long haul,” he added. Apple is a member of ICEA. 

Apple produced smartphones worth $205 billion in its fiscal year ended September 2022. According to Counterpoint Research, mainland China's contribution is gradually going down – to around 91.2-93.5% of global shipments in 2022, from 95.8% in 2021 and 98.2% in 2020. China remains the second-largest market for iPhones after the US. 

A few years back, when US-China tensions were at its peak and companies including Apple were looking for an alternative to China, India launched its PLI scheme. The three big Apple contract manufacturers successfully applied for incentives under this scheme. 

Since then, India has been gaining prominence in Apple’s scheme of things. Foxconn’s factory in Tamil Nadu commenced manufacturing iPhone 14 within ten days of its global launch. Pegatron, too, is making the latest device in its plant in Tamil Nadu. 

For now, Apple currently makes iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 (basic) models in India. However, all the Pro models sold in the country are imported. 

Executives and analysts say a top priority for Apple is to address the production delay in China, specifically the higher-priced Pro models. 

Navkendar Singh, associate vice president at IDC India, said there's now a high possibility that Apple will start assembling the Pro models in India, 85% of which are currently being made in China. The reason Apple wasn't doing so was because there was not much local demand for the Pro models in the previous iPhone ranges. But this scenario is changing now. 


20.2. Parekh and the art of turning around Infosys 
Mint, 14- Dec. 2022, Varun Sood

The more than fourfold jump in Infosys Ltd’s stock under chief executive Salil Parekh in five years has come on the back of industry-leading growth 

Bengaluru: The more than fourfold jump in Infosys Ltd’s stock under chief executive Salil Parekh in five years has come on the back of industry-leading growth. India’s second-largest IT services firm has also grown ahead of its larger rival, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), for three consecutive years. 

Since Parekh took over as the boss in January 2018, Infosys has added more incremental revenue than all IT services companies, barring TCS, or $6.82 billion between 1 January 2018 and 30 September 2022, an analysis by Mint has shown. 


CEOs chart 
In comparison, TCS, which until a few years back was twice the size of Infosys, has added about $7.3 billion in the same period. 

Faster growth implies that Infosys, which ended with $16.31 billion in revenue last year, is expected to topple Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. in the January-March period, a little more than a decade after the New Jersey-based company raced past the Bengaluru firm in 2012. 

The credit for the turnaround goes to Parekh, who has helped steer the company well and bolstered his credentials to emerge as the second-best CEO behind co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy in Infosys’ four-decade history. Mint looked at four metrics, including incremental revenue and compounded quarterly revenue growth, to evaluate the performance of the six CEOs [Chart]. 

Murthy, who led the company for two decades, passed on the baton to Nandan Nilekani in March 2002, when it clocked revenues of $525 million. 

The late 90s were the heyday for the technology services sector, and Infosys under Murthy was well ahead on each of the four metrics. 

As Infosys was much smaller then, Infosys added much less incremental revenue but managed to record faster growth under Nilekani and S. Gopalakrishnan. But its profitability under Nilekani was worse than what it achieved under Parekh. Infosys, under the current CEO, has fared better than what Shibulal and Sikka achieved on growth and shareholder returns. 

According to three executives who worked with Parekh, two things underpinned his success. One, Parekh has quietly worked on improving the execution ability of Infosys. Two, he has pushed the company to chase far larger deals. 

Some of the recent large contracts (valued at more than $1 billion) include the transactions with German automotive major Daimler and American asset management firm Vanguard. 

Therefore, it came as no surprise when Infosys gave a second term to Parekh earlier this year, allowing him to continue at the helm until 31 March 2027. 

The one sore point in Parekh’s stint has been the dip in operating margin, making a few executives question whether the company was prioritizing growth over profitability. 

“From a tumultuous period, when there were questions on corporate governance under Vishal Sikka’s leadership, Salil’s tenure has been a sobering experience," said a former board member of Infosys, seeking anonymity. “It has focused on growth and stability, and that has paid off. But when it comes to business, Infosys has won many large contracts at lower prices, bringing down the overall margin. The unanswered question is if these depleting margins augur well for the company and whether the strategy is growth over everything else." 

“Beyond this growth, there are other deep challenges, including the leadership pipeline and attrition and salary compensation to the graduates. All of these need to be examined before concluding if the current boss is the best," the executive added. 


INDIA and the WORLD 



21. India to see 'significant economic activity' over next 10 years: Mr. Nandan Nilekani 
IBEF, Nov. 30, 2022 

According to Infosys Technologies co-founder and chairman Mr. Nandan Nilekani, India will experience "significant economic activity" over the next ten years as a result of the open network for digital commerce (ONDC), record aggregation system, and government initiatives like the GST, FAStag, and e-way bills. He made the remarks while speaking at the 7th edition of the Global Technology Summit organised by Carnegie India. 

In order to truly accelerate hyper-local commerce and make their companies more inclusive, ONDC will let the commerce industry to disintegrate. This will allow millions of small suppliers to sell on the network and millions of small retailers to join as small sellers on the platform. 

Mr. Nilekani stated that he anticipates the ONDC, a government project to provide an open platform for all facets of the trade of commodities and services through electronic networks. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


22. Aspire to take India’s fashion technology to world markets, Piyush Goyal tells country's design institutes 
ET Gov. 14 Nov. 2022 

Goyal called for intensive collaborations between all five institutions so that they may work together and develop synergies to improve and grow. 

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Textiles Piyush Goyal has asked eminent institutions of design in India to increase their student intake by a minimum of 10X. He was interacting with the heads and senior faculty members of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), National Institute of Design (NID), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in New Delhi on Saturday. 

Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Textiles Rachna Shah, Special Secretary, DPIIT Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor, DPIIT Shahank Priya and other senior officials from various departments also participated in the interaction. 

Emphasising campus placements by marketing in a better way to the world, Goyal said every campus must become incubators for startups and must strive to nurture and develop innovation and entrepreneurship. He asked the institutions to introspect if their education is tailor made to cater to the needs of tomorrow. He said that we must aspire to take India’s fashion technology to the developed markets of the world. He also observed that there is a need to expand our faculty base and invest greatly in faculty development. 

The minister also urged campuses to locate prospective GI products and nurture and develop them whenever possible. India has the potential to have upto 2000 GI products, he noted. 

The minister pointed out that this was the first such interaction of the five eminent institutes that work under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Ministry of Textiles. He called for intensive collaborations between all five institutions so that they may work together and develop synergies to improve and grow. He asked the institutes to consider having common campuses for more effective utilization of resources and think about merging bodies to bring strength to them. 

Goyal asked the institutes to focus on creating a robust alumni program and build an extensive alumni network. Alumni networks have an immense potential to contribute to growth of the alma mater, he opined and asked corporates to generously support eminent educational institutions. 

Referring to the paanch pran enunciated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister asked the institutes to align themselves to these five visionary vows. He said educational and vocational training institutions must focus on developing human resources throughout the length and breadth of the country and not just in cities. No child must be left behind, he reiterated and sked institutions to also institute scholarship programs. 

He also suggested that the institutions work to develop a sustained connect with eastern and north eastern parts of the nation and bring in much more diversity among both faculty and students. 

The minister asked the institutions to strive to remove any traces of colonial mindset in processes, practices, and style of working. He opined that colonial practices often create exclusionary tendencies which intimidate and alienate the common man. He also stressed the need for going back to the roots and observed that there is a tremendous scope for us to learn from tradition and heritage and offer it to the world. 

He asked the institutions to do much more case studies and publish more papers in the form of case studies. He also asked them to pioneer cutting edge research and be prolific publishers of research papers. He called for modernization of campuses, equipment, testing labs and technologies to make them world class. 

During the interactions, the five institutes made presentations on the salient aspects of their structure and functioning and shared their suggestions and requirements for further growth and expansion. 


23. Australian Parliament Clears India FTA 
ET, 23 Nov. 2022 

The Australian Parliament Tuesday gave its nod to the free trade agreement (FTA) with India that seeks to bump up bilateral trade between the two countries to $45-50 billion in five years from $31 billion now. 

Under the FTA, Australia will provide zero-duty access to India for about 96.4% (by value) of its exports. The Australian Parliament Tuesday gave its nod to the free trade agreement (FTA) with India that seeks to bump up bilateral trade between the two countries to $45-50 billion in five years from $31 billion now. 

The agreement, which comes into effect from January next year, would provide duty-free access to Indian exporters of over 6,000 broad sectors including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery in the Australian market. 

The simultaneously amended Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), will resolve the long pending issue of double taxation for Indian IT-ITeS industry and is expected to lead to annual savings of more than $200 million, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. 

He said Australia would offer tariff concessions to almost 100% Indian products except 113 tariff lines, which would get duty cuts within five years, and give visas for 1,800 Indian chefs and yoga instructors and post study visas for Indian students. “It is a landmark moment for India. It is a significant milestone…This is the first agreement with a developed country after a decade,” Goyal said, adding that the deal is fair and good for India. 

Once the agreement is in force, doctoral students will get four years of work visa in Australia and postgraduates would be eligible for three years of work visa. 

The pact, called India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), which was signed on April 2, was awaiting ratification from the Australian Parliament. 

“Australia will open 100 % of their lines (products) with no restriction on even quota. This is the first time Australia has done this for any country,” Goyal said. 

The Australian Parliament also ratified an amendment to the DTAA with New Delhi, a move which would help the Indian IT sector operating in that market as it would stop the taxation on the offshore income of Indian firms providing technical support in Australia. 

Goyal said the Indian IT sector is the “biggest gainer” of this agreement. 

Both the countries will fix a date and implement the pact soon after securing approval from the executive council of Australia and assent from the Indian President. 

Though Goyal did not commit to any date, an official said that the agreement could be implemented from January 1, 2023. 

“Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is set to visit India next year, said in a tweet. 

Goyal said India’s wine industry was has welcomed this trade pact. He said till now, the Indian wine industry has received only Rs 500 crore investment and that grape farmers will benefit with this deal. 

On being asked about coking coal, he said: “Besides Australia, we get coking coal from Indonesia, the US and Russia. Prices are reducing. Coal is an industry run by the private sector in Australia and their government has no role in it. So, private parties decide from who to buy. Neither Indian government nor Australian government interferes in that”. 

Goyal said that there will be a harmonisation of codes and customs regime on both sides. 

Export benefit 
Australia will offer zero-duty access to India for about 96.4 % of exports (by value) from day one under the ECTA. This covers many products that currently attract 4-5 % customs duty in Australia. India’s goods exports to Australia were $8.3 billion and imports from the country were $16.75 billion in FY22. 

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the agreement will benefit all sectors of exports, particularly the labour-intensive ones. 

“Pharmaceutical sector will be getting expeditious approval as many of such drugs already have approval in the US, UK, EU, Canada and Japan, which will help to increase our share in a market of over $13 billion,” said A Sakthivel, president, FIEO 

Moreover, duty free imports of critical inputs like coal, copper, nickel, aluminium, manganese, wool, hides & skin will impart competitiveness to our manufacturing and exports. 


24. India Identifies Five Priority Issues for its G20 Presidency 
ET, 24 Nov. 2022 

India has identified five priority issues—growth and prosperity, resilient global value chains, MSMEs, logistics, and WTO reform—under its G20 presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. 

India has identified five priority issues—growth and prosperity, resilient global value chains, MSMEs, logistics, and WTO reform—under its G20 presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. 

The commerce and industry ministry, which is the nodal agency for the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG), is likely to propose a common digital platform for ease of cross-border trade, a legal aid system for developing countries for dispute settlement in WTO, ways to eliminate distortionary non-tariff measures for developing countries and LDCs, and a framework to address crucial issues at the WTO in clearly defined circumstances like the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“Issues are evolving and we want a good outcome in G20,” said an official. 

Establishing an online digital portal that offers integrated trade and business information for market research by MSMEs is another suggestion on which discussions could take place. 

“G20 could deliberate upon a possible framework for addressing the issues of global relevance for enabling members to go beyond the general exceptions under the WTO agreements, in very narrow and clearly defined circumstances like the pandemic,” the ministry has proposed. 

It has also proposed evolving common principles to facilitate decentralised trading, an inclusive trade action plan that defines clear objectives for driving inclusion in goods and services trade, and evolving principles to ensure food security through remunerative prices of farm goods. 

Geospatial mapping of global value chains (GVCs) for critical and essential sectors, network restructuring, supply chain management solutions and building awareness of risks of acute supply chain disruptions is another priority area. The emphasis on global value chains is key as in its issue note for the TIWG, the ministry has said that the path to recovery from the pandemic has been “slow and fragile” and has been “complicated by the supply shocks triggered due to fraught geopolitical tensions, which have led to widespread food insecurity and a cost-of-living crisis”. 


25. Crowds Angered by Lockdowns Call for China’s Xi to Step Down 
ET, 28 Nov. 2022 

Protesters pushed to the brink by China’s strict Covid measures in Shanghai called for the removal of the country’s all-powerful leader and clashed with police Sunday as crowds took to the streets in several cities in an astounding challenge to the government.

Protesters pushed to the brink by China’s strict Covid measures in Shanghai called for the removal of the country’s all-powerful leader and clashed with police Sunday as crowds took to the streets in several cities in an astounding challenge to the government. 

Police forcibly cleared the demonstrators in China’s financial capital who called for Xi Jinping’s resignation and the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule — but hours later people rallied again in the same spot, and social media reports indicated protests also spread to at least seven other cities, including the capital of Beijing, and dozens of university campuses. 

Largescale protests are exceedingly rare in China, where public expressions of dissent are routinely stifled — but a direct rebuke of Xi, the country’s most powerful leader in decades, is extraordinary. 

Three years after the virus first emerged, China is the only major country still trying to stop transmission of Covid-19 — a “zero Covid” policy that regularly sees millions of people confined to their homes for weeks at a time and requires near-constant testing. 

Then on Friday, 10 people died in a fire in an apartment building, and many believe their rescue was delayed because of excessive lockdown measures. That sparked a weekend of protests, as the Chinese public’s ability to tolerate the harsh measures has apparently reached breaking point 

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