Innholdsfortegnelse for 3 March 2024 i Business Today

SHRUGGING OFF THE impact of two ongoing wars across the world, Indian businesses now seem to be on a firmer footing and optimistic about the future. This is reflected in the BT-C Fore Business Confidence Survey of 500 chief executive officers (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) for the October-December 2023 quarter, which touched its highest level since the April-June 2015 quarter. The Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose to 56.5 in the December quarter, which was marginally higher than the 54.1 in the previous quarter. However, before this, the BCI had touched a high of 57.4 in April-June 2015, after which it had been on a gradual decline and plunged to a low of 43.2 in the June 2021 quarter. Recent data suggests that the domestic economy is showing strength…

From a platform for restaurant discovery, Zomato has become a successful food delivery player Its core customer base is 30-40 million and every new foray is targeted at them After being in the red for a while on the back of high capex and everything being expensed, Zomato posted net profit in the last three quarters Blinkit is expected to drive revenues given its scale of operations and an opportunity existing for quick commerce Over time, the plan is to have a healthy mix of B2B and B2C businesses…

THE INTERIM BUDGET has surprised many, including the markets. There are surprises both in terms of the direction of the policies but also with respect to fiscal numbers for both 2023-24 and 2024-25. At the same time, it has also ensured continuity as well as predictability and not fallen for pre-election rhetoric of going populist. In terms of continuity, the Budget renewed its policy of focussing more on government capital expenditure (capex). For 2024-25, the capex saw an increase of 11.1% over an already high allocation of ₹10 lakh crore. This ensures continuity in providing capital support to the state governments. With this, both the centre and states together would have a capex of over 6.4% of the GDP in 2024-25 and can also provide higher growth impetus while balancing…

FIVE YEARS AGO, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a lesser-known organisation pioneering financial infrastructure in the country, held an offsite meeting for senior management under Dilip Asbe, the newly appointed MD & CEO. The mood was one of optimism, as NPCI was celebrating the success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in achieving 1 billion transactions per month. UPI, introduced in April 2016, facilitates swift, 24/7 money transfers between bank accounts in India via a QR code. Not content with that milestone, Asbe—an engineer by training who has had stints with BSE, global money transfer giant Western Union, and payments player Euronet Asia Pacific—surprised everyone by announcing a target of processing 1 billion transactions a day within five years. At that time, NPCI was handling approximately 25 million…

Spreading its vibrancy globally, Gujarat has become one of the most preferred states for investments and a role model for other parts of the country. According to official reports, Gujarat attracted USO 31 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FOi) from 2019 to March 2023, marking an 84% increase in FOi in FY 2022-23 compared to the previous year, the highest among all states/UTs. Gujarat has long been considered one of the most progressive states of India, be it on the industrial front or the agricultural front. Driven by its inherent entrepreneurial spirit, the State of Gujarat has taken significant strides in developing a resilient and vibrant economy over the past two decades and has emerged as one of India's most industrialized and urbanized States. Apart from being a national leader…

179 THE NUMBER OF NEW FUND OFFERS LAUNCHED IN 2023, COMPARED TO 209 IN 2022 AND 133 IN 2021 ₹9.96 lakh crore ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT OF SIPs AS OF DECEMBER 2023, WHICH IS 315% HIGHER THAN THE ₹2.40 LAKH CRORE IN MARCH 2020 131.8 million NUMBER OF RETAIL FOLIOS IN DECEMBER 2023, COMPARED TO 79.40 MILLION IN MARCH 2020 SWELLING ASSETS Assets under management of the MF industry have grown 70% over the past 12 quarters SOURCE VALUE RESEARCH TOP BLUE-CHIP SCHEMES Here are the country’s top equity schemes in terms of assets under management DATA AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023 SOURCE VALUE RESEARCH TOP HYBRID FUNDS In hybrid schemes, HDFC Balanced Advantage and SBI Equity Hybrid are the biggest in terms of AUM DATA AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023…

SORRY, I don’t have answers. I do have some points to ponder. And I am not going to share lofty statistics on the growth of the Indian mutual fund industry. I am going to share what brings me to work every day after doing the same job (so far!) for 25 years. There is excitement and optimism all around about India’s global standing as a nation, her economy and capital markets. On capital markets, the positivity is not just related to performance—absolute as well as that relative to emerging markets—but also the robust participation by domestic investors in equity markets, directly and via mutual funds. While direct equity investors have no doubt a big contribution in the vibrancy of markets, there is a lot of trading as well as futures…

PAYTM FOUNDER Vijay Shekhar Sharma, a Bollywood buff, finds himself confronting the kind of existential crisis often found in cinema. This is because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the group’s Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) to halt most of its activities—like taking more deposits, conducting credit transactions, and allowing customers to top up their accounts—after February 29 due to persistent noncompliance. One97 Communications (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, owns 49% equity in PPBL, with Sharma, the majority owner, holding the rest. RBI allows payments banks, under its differentiated licensing scheme, to accept current and savings deposits and offer payments products, but no lending is permitted. Besides, both entities, OCL and PPBL, share close business linkages. The parent company’s Paytm app offers various payments instruments from Paytm Payments…

Anaso Porte, a woman hailing from Salhi village in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, is like any other tribal woman belonging to the Gond tribe. She is resilient, determined, and strong. Yet what sets her apart from the rest is her unwavering faith in herself that inspired her to take charge of her life and family. Having to leave her educational aspirations due to domestic responsibilities and societal constraints, she worked with a local self-help group (SHG). Although she was making a humble contribution to the household income, she was still hugely dependent on her husband for support. Anaso’s life took a transformative turn when she became part of Mahila Udyami Bahudeshiya Sahkari Samiti (MUBSS) – a rural co-operative whose members include 250 tribal women from 7 villages. Established by the…

SHAKTIKANTA DAS, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, took charge of the central bank in December 2018. Since then, he has guided RBI with a steady hand during major disruptions such as the pandemic, global geopolitical tensions and economic pessimism, and also brought inflation under control, among other things. The RBI Governor, in an exclusive interaction with Business Today TV on the sidelines of the recent annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, talks about the mood of the global economy, inflation, economic resilience, the India growth story, and more. Edited excerpts: Last year, the mood around the global economy and the pessimism that existed among CEOs was quite a bit. How is the mood as far as the global economy is concerned? What’s your reading of the situation,…

OVER THE PAST decade, digital modes of payment have seen a massive surge in usage, especially after the pandemic, with Unified Payments Interface (UPI)- led QR codes arming small merchants and the public with instant payments. Today, UPI-based payments, which clock over 12 billion transactions a month, have cornered more than 20% market share in retail payments. And yet, the currency in circulation (CIC) has grown. Per data, the CIC-to-GDP ratio peaked at 14.4% in FY21, and then dipped to 13.2% in FY22, and is currently around 12%. What explains this dependence on cash? That is because UPI payments are eating into other digital payments like debit cards and NEFT—the shares of both have been in decline. A recent study by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that looked into…

THE LIFE INSURANCE industry is unique in its mission. It helps protect families financially, helps individuals build wealth to achieve financial goals and lead financially independent retired lives. It acts as an anchor, providing peace of mind and knowing that one’s family will remain financially protected even in their absence. It’s a promise to shoulder a family’s dreams, aspirations, and emotional well-being. Life insurance, through its products in the health, life, long-term savings, and pension categories, serves the core societal needs of protection, savings, and retirement planning. Notably, term insurance and pension products have no substitutes in the financial services sector. Significantly, life insurance products iron out reinvestment risk, enabling individuals to receive guaranteed life-long income insulated from market fluctuations. India’s potential The Indian life insurance market is poised for…

The Douro River Valley, a meandering, terraced region that produces Portugal’s beloved port wine, is one of the country’s most charming areas. However, unlike the Rhine, Loire and numerous other major rivers in Europe, the Douro has never served as a strategic military site. And so, while driving through the winding roads, you are more likely to come across farms and sleepy villages rather than castles and stony ramparts. In fact, the only thing fortified here is the wine! But why does wine need to be fortified? Call it a happy accident or necessity being the mother of all inventions, it was originally fortified to prevent it from getting ruined on its arduous journey across the ocean to England. In the late 1700s, it became increasingly common to add some…

ON A RADIANT Friday morning in February, Mumbai’s Willingdon Sports Club was filled with excitement as it welcomed the sixth leg of the prestigious Royal Rantham-bore Business Today Golf 2023–24 tournament. Around 7 am, nearly 100 passionate corporate golfers graced the verdant expanse to register for the invite-only multi-city corporate tournament. Among them, illustrious figures like Ajay Chauhan, Executive Director of Parle Products; Atul Laul, President-Strategy and Business Development of Reliance Industries; Mihir Doshi, CEO-India of Credit Suisse Securities (India); and Shashi Kiran Shetty, Chairman of Allcargo Logistics, added prestige to the gathering. As the golfers patiently awaited their turn, the ideal weather only served to boost their passion for the game. Play got underway around 8 am, and for the next few hours the participants squared off on the…

CATCHING UP GIVEN ITS STRONG PERFORMANCE SINCE MARCH 2020, THE BSE PSU INDEX IS CLOSING IN ON THE SENSEX IN TERMS OF RETURNS DELIVERED IN THE PAST 10 YEARS PROFIT SURGE THE COMBINED PROFIT AFTER TAX OF LISTED PSUs HAS SURGED MORE THAN TWO TIMES SINCE FY14 NOTE RECENTLY LISTED PSUs HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS AS WELL; FIGURES ARE CONSOLIDATED SOURCE ACE EQUITY INCOME MILESTONE IN FY23, THE TOTAL INCOME OF ALL LISTED PSUs CROSSED ₹50 LAKH CRORE FOR THE FIRST TIME NOTE RECENTLY LISTED PSUs HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS AS WELL; FIGURES ARE CONSOLIDATED SOURCE ACE EQUITY 356% SURGE WITNESSED BY THE BSE PSU INDEX SINCE THE COVID-19 LOWS, COMPARED WITH THE BSE SENSEX’S 168% RISE DURING THE SAME PERIOD NOTE: DATA TILL…

ONE OF THE miracle stories in the aftermath of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic has been the Indian box office. It has demonstrated not only remarkable resilience in the face of other technological advancements, such as the rise of streaming services, but post-pandemic, it has come back with a vengeance. According to a report by India’s largest multiplex chain, PVR INOX, the Indian box office has experienced a notable growth of 12%, reaching $1.5 billion in 2023 from $1.3 billion in 2019. This stands in stark contrast to substantial declines of 17% and 20%, respectively, in markets like China and the US during the same period. No wonder then that Ajay Bijli, the Managing Director of PVR INOX, is in a jubilant mood. COMING TO 2024, INDUSTRY INSIDERS BELIEVE THE YEAR…

DEEPINDER GOYAL WAS ready to put everything on the line. It was a blistering May afternoon in 2022, and the Zomato Co-founder & CEO was engrossed in discussions about a potential buyout of quick commerce player Blinkit with CFO Akshant Goyal at the Co-founder’s farmhouse in Delhi. If the deal went through, the Gurugram-headquartered company would gain a foothold in the growing quick commerce space. The hitch was the asking price. “Akshant and I knew investors would not like it, but we decided to go for it. Our logic was if someone else did it three years later, it would have hurt since we had the money but succumbed to investor pressure,” says 41-year-old Goyal, an IIT Delhi alumnus. The duo thought that the worst that could happen would be…

With a Budget that brings focus on climate investments and the green economy, the Finance Minister has steered us in the right direction THE INTERIM BUDGET, presented on February 1, has brought to mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words from around a decade ago: “I believe growth should be constant, sustained, and inclusive.” The challenge of meeting the economic and social aspirations of a population of 1.4 billion people, 65% of whom are under the age of 35, is further compounded by the growing urgency of the need to address climate change. With a Budget that brings focus on climate investments and the green economy, the Finance Minister has steered us in the right direction, underlining India’s commitment to achieving its net zero target by 2070. Shunning populist announcements in…

Could you shed light on the renewed interest in the crypto market? What factors do you think are contributing to this discussion? The renewed interest in the crypto market stems from the anticipation of a bull run and key developments like the SEC's approval of Bitcoin ETFs, and the upcoming Bitcoin Halving. These milestones are attracting both new and institutional investors, injecting smart capital into the market. VDAs have emerged as a new asset class, prompting Indian investors to diversify their portfolios with VDA. Gradually, we will see a significant percentage of Indians having VDAs in their portfolios. Moreover, there's a robust belief in the transformative power of blockchain technology. Many see it as a game-changing innovation with enduring value. The coming times are expected to witness the unfolding of…

THE INDIAN MUTUAL FUND industry definitely ended 2023 on a high. The industry’s total assets under management (AUM) breached the ₹50-lakh crore mark for the first time. This was no doubt a big milestone, but what cheered the industry even more was the time it had taken to reach this milestone. The industry’s AUM first crossed the ₹10-lakh crore mark way back in May 2014. It doubled three years later, in August 2017. Three years later, in November 2020, it touched ₹30 lakh crore. And then the gears shifted, and the next ₹10 lakh crore was added in just two years, followed by the last ₹10 lakh crore in a mere 13 months. Put another way, the mutual fund AUM swelled by ₹40 lakh crore in a little under nine…

INDIANS HAVE ALWAYS coveted the glitter of gold. That desire has stood the test of time, despite challenges from newer financial instruments that promise to deliver better returns. This is visible in the latest data from the World Gold Council. In its report, Gold Demand Trends 2023, it said Indian gold bar and coin demand rose 7% year-on-year in 2023 to 185 tonnes, while jewellery demand dropped 6% to a still substantial 562.3 tonnes. However, physical gold-backed exchange-traded funds hit a record of 42 tonnes by year-end. One reason why gold has remained a popular asset is its traditional role as a hedge against inflation. Besides, adding gold to portfolios can help with diversification. Considering this insatiable demand, multiple forms of gold investments have been introduced over time: from minted…

INTELLIGENT RABBIT The Rabbit R1 is a standalone, pocketable AI companion. With a 2.88-inch touchscreen, this tiny device has a scroll wheel and a rotating camera you can use for visual search. The star of the show is Rabbit OS, based on a Generative AI “large action model”. One can press a push-to-talk button on the side to ask a question, launch services or play a song. Powered by a 2.3GHz MediaTek processor, the R1 has 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, and its battery lasts through the day. Available on: rabbit.tech Health is Wealth The BeamO is a 4-in-1 health checkup device from Withings, a major connected health firm. Combining ECG, oximeter, stethoscope, and thermometer sensors, this handy portable tool keeps a check on your temperature, heart and respiratory…