Business Today 16 April 2023

In our October 2, 2022 issue, we brought you the story of how the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the government-backed digital payments system, is transforming the Indian payments scene, with even the smallest of merchants now sporting UPI QR codes. Today, UPI is ubiquitous and synonymous with payments in India. A similar movement is now gathering momentum in the world of e-commerce, with the Open Network for Digital Commerce, or ONDC, now live and scaling up. ONDC’s promise is that of democratising e-commerce and helping India’s smallest of merchants reap the benefits of digital commerce in a seamless way, which they currently cannot do with the dominance of large, global marketplaces. In the process, buyers, sellers and logistics players—who comprise the ONDC network—will get benefits of reach and scale in…

SOURCE INDIAN RAILWAYS, ICF, MEDIA REPORTS 400+ The number of Vande Bharat Express trains the government plans to bring in by 2025. As of February 15, there are 10 Vande Bharat trains running ₹110 crore The current manufacturing cost of a 16-coach Vande Bharat Express train, which is designed by the Indian Railways’ Research Design and Standards Organisation 3 Number of the semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains India is aiming to produce per week by the end of March 2024…

₹4.07 lakh crore THE AMOUNT REALISED BY THE GOVERNMENT FROM DISINVESTMENTS BETWEEN FY15 AND FY23 (AS OF JANUARY 18, 2023), ACCORDING TO THE ECONOMIC SURVEY 2022-23 ₹1.7 lakh crore* THE AMOUNT THAT THE TOP 10 PSUs IN TERMS OF M-CAP—INCLUDING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS—COULD CONTRIBUTE THROUGH DIVESTMENT *EXCLUDING LIC; SOURCE: ACE EQUITY 68 THE NUMBER OF LISTED COMPANIES, EXCLUDING LIC, IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA HOLDS OVER 51 PER CENT STAKE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022 WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY THE TOP 10 COMPANIES THAT CAN ADD ₹1 LAKH CRORE TO THE EXCHEQUER IF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT WERE TO REDUCE ITS STAKE TO 51 PER CENT Bars indicate revenue potential for the government from stake sale; figures in bubbles indicate maximum potential for stake dilution in per cent; data as of March…

You have built a successful crypto exchange in India that has been able to overcome many challenges. What factors do you think have supported your success? Our success is due to the strong determination of our team to make a profound impact in the Web3 industry. We focus on creating innovative products that customers love, doing business with complete transparency, and staying closely connected with the community. We understand community is key, and we strive to keep them informed about the latest happenings in the space. Education is critical to ensuring our community is equipped with the knowledge and latest developments. Our vision when I co-founded CoinDCX with Neeraj in 2018 was to democratize finance through decentralization and share value with people. After five years, this continues to be our…

▶ THE RECENT GLOBAL banking debacles have highlighted the robustness of India’s ₹216-lakh crore banking industry. But there are important lessons there for India’s banking sector as well. The crisis has brought to the fore factors such as portfolio concentration, liquidity risk, the superiority of equity over additional tier-1 (AT1) bonds—a kind of debt issued by a bank that can be converted into equity if its capital levels fall below requirements—as well as market risks. The emergency credit lines opened by regulators also raise questions about the role of governments and regulators in rescuing stressed banks. “Every crisis gives us a new regulatory blueprint,” says a private sector banker who wishes to remain anonymous. Banks have a lot to deal with—from risk management to credit to liquidity to market risks…

▸ Any further sharp increase in domestic interest rates will likely impact Indian banks’ credit portfolios ▸ Indian banks are heavily reliant on retail lending, with unsecured loans growing at a faster clip ▸ India has a large NBFC sector that is very dependent on banks for its funding needs ▸ Small finance banks have a concentrated loan portfolio with a majority of micro loans ▸ Capital flow is expected to slow down from AT1 bonds, while any equity dilution would impact the profitability of banks ▸ Cybersecurity risks could impact the financial stability of banks…