Category: Economy

Categories
Business Economy Politics

What Propels India Towards 3rd Largest Economy

In PPP terms, India is already the third-largest economy globally. The RBI bulletin indicates it’s projected to surpass the US by 2045, becoming the world’s second-largest economy…reports Asian Lite News

While India’s recent growth performance has surprised many, triggering a flurry of upgrades from financial institutions such as the IMF, the RBI bulletin released on Tuesday cites six factors that will propel the country to become the world’s third-largest economy.

In purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, the Indian economy is already the third largest in the world. According to the OECD’s December 2023 update, India will overtake the US by 2045 in PPP terms to become the world’s second-largest economy, the RBI bulletin points out.

According to the bulletin, the “tailwinds likely to power India’s take-off” are as follows:

* The demographics favour the rising profile of growth. Currently, India has the world’s largest and youngest population. The median age is around 28 years; not until the mid-2050s will aging set in. Thus, India will enjoy a demographic dividend window of more than three decades, driven by rising working-age population rates and labour force participation rate. This is a striking contrast to a world widely confronted with the challenge of aging.

* India’s growth performance has been historically anchored by domestic resources, with foreign savings playing a minor and supplementary role. This is also reflected in the current account deficit (CAD), which remains within a sustainable threshold of about 2.5 per cent of the GDP. Currently, the CAD averages about 1 per cent, and this is associated with various indicators of external sector resilience – illustratively, external debt is below 20 per cent of the GDP and net international investment liabilities are below 12 per cent.

* The gradualistic path of fiscal consolidation adopted after the Covid pandemic has brought the general government deficit to 8.6 per cent of the GDP and public debt to 81.6 per cent of the GDP by March 2024. Employing a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, it is estimated that reprioritising fiscal spending by targeting productive employment-generating sectors, embracing transition, and investing in digitalisation could lead to a decline in general government debt to 73.4 per cent of the GDP by 2030-31.

In contrast, the debt-GDP ratio is projected by the IMF to rise to 116.3 per cent in 2028 for advanced economies and to 75.4 per cent for emerging and middle-income countries.

* India’s financial sector is predominantly bank-based. In 2015-2016, the overhang of asset impairment in the wake of the global financial crisis was addressed through an asset quality review (AQR). A massive recapitalisation was undertaken during 2017-2022. The beneficial effects started to show up from 2018 — gross and net non-performing assets ratios declined to 3.9 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively, by March 2023, with large capital buffers and liquidity coverage ratios well above 100 per cent.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has created the institutional environment for addressing stress in banks’ balance sheets. Macroeconomic and financial stability are providing the foundation for medium-term growth prospects.

* India is undergoing a transformative change leveraged on technology. The trinity of JAM – Jan Dhan (basic no-frills accounts); Aadhaar (universal unique identification); and Mobile phone connections — is expanding the ambit of formal finance, boosting tech startups, and enabling the targeting of direct benefit transfers. India’s Unified Payments’ Interface (UPI), an open-ended system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of any participating bank, is propelling inter-bank, peer-topeer, and person-to-merchant transactions seamlessly.

* inflation in India is moderating after surging on multiple and overlapping supply shocks from the pandemic, weather-induced food price spikes, supply chain disruptions and global commodity price pressures following the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

ALSO READ: Ecozen Secures $30M Funding for Expansion

Categories
Business Economy India News

Razorpay Unveils ‘UPI Switch’ with Airtel

UPI Switch will also enable 5 times faster access to UPI innovations for businesses…report Asian Lite News

Fintech major Razorpay on Tuesday launched its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure with ‘UPI Switch’ — a next-generation cloud-based innovation, in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank.

Boosting success rates by 4 to 5 per cent, the company said that it is designed to handle up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) at any given time.

UPI Switch will also enable 5 times faster access to UPI innovations for businesses, the company mentioned.

“Razorpay’s UPI Switch is designed with a similar vision to provide scalability and the best performance to businesses. This venture into UPI Infrastructure marks a strategic move to manage the end-to-end merchant experience and provide the industry’s leading stack,” Khilan Haria, Head of Payments Product at Razorpay, said in a statement.

Explaining how UPI Switch works, the company said that the success of UPI transactions has a strong dependency on the UPI infrastructure deployed at the banks.

Banks connect with the existing UPI infrastructure to enable seamless communication between core banking systems and UPI technology while processing a UPI transaction. This infrastructure is called a UPI switch and is powered by Technology Service Providers (TSPs) for banks.

“Our integration with Razorpay’s UPI Switch, a cloud-based infrastructure for the most advanced UPI Stack, ensures 99.99 per cent uptime and enables up to 10,000+ transactions per second,” said Ganesh Ananthanarayanan, Chief Operating Officer of Airtel Payments Bank.

In January, UPI transactions reached a record Rs 18.41 trillion, showcasing its rapid adoption. With the addition of new payment methods like credit cards, wallets, and credit lines, UPI is expected to reach 2 billion transactions per day by 2030, the company mentioned.

ALSO READ: G42, Qualcomm partner to boost AI inference performance

Categories
Business Economy India News

How BharatPe Revolutionise Payments

The company plans to launch the product in over 100 cities in the first phase and further scale it to more than 450 cities over the next six months….reports Asian Lite news

Fintech company BharatPe on Tuesday launched India’s first all-in-one payment product that incorporates POS (point of sale), QR, and speaker into a single device.

Called BharatPe One, the product is designed to streamline transactions for merchants, offering versatile payment acceptance options including dynamic and static QR code, tap-and-pay and traditional card payment options.

The company plans to launch the product in over 100 cities in the first phase and further scale it to more than 450 cities over the next six months.

“By combining multiple functionalities into one cost-effective device, we’re providing a comprehensive solution tailored to the varied needs of small and medium businesses across diverse sectors,” Nalin Negi, CEO, BharatPe, said in a statement.

As per the company, the device offers a smooth and hassle-free experience for both merchants and customers alike.

It comes equipped with a high-definition touchscreen display, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and is powered by the latest Android operating system. It delivers improved performance and security, the company said.

“We have received an overwhelming response from our merchants in the pilot phase and we reckon that this will be another game changer for the digital payments ecosystem, further consolidating our position as a trailblazer in the fintech industry,” said Rijish Raghavan, Chief Business Officer – PoS Solutions, BharatPe.

Meanwhile, BharatPe on Tuesday announced the elevation of Nalin Negi as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Under him as an interim CEO and CFO, BharatPe recorded 182 per cent increase in revenue from operations in FY23 and clocked October as the first EBITDA positive month.

BharatPe said it will now search for a new CFO.

“Negi’s extensive experience in the fintech industry and the growth witnessed for BharatPe under his leadership, makes him a natural choice to lead the company,” said Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of the Board, BharatPe.

Negi joined BharatPe in 2022. As the CEO, he will focus on leading the company into its next phase of development, driving innovation to empower merchants across the country.

“Going forward, our strategic focus will be on sustained profitability, scaling lending businesses, and launching new merchant-centric products,” said Negi.

“We are committed to building on the strong foundation, fostering financial inclusion and delivering value to our merchants, partners, and stakeholders,” he added.

Prior to joining BharatPe, he held senior leadership positions at financial service companies including SBI Cards and GE Capital.

BharatPe has an entrenched network of over 1.3 crore merchants across more than 450 cities, and is one of the leading players in UPI offline transactions, processing over 370 million UPI transactions.

ALSO READ: G42, Qualcomm partner to boost AI inference performance

Categories
Business Economy UAE News

G42, Qualcomm partner to boost AI inference performance

Core42’s Condor AI is a cutting-edge cloud computing platform delivering an optimized infrastructure layer with solutions from market-leading AI providers…reports Asian Lite News

G42, the leading UAE-based technology holding group, has announced a technology collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to bring the high performance, low power Qualcomm® Cloud AI 100 solutions to market through Core42’s Condor AI platform. The Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 inference solutions are designed to provide industry-leading energy efficiency, portability, flexibility and price-performance for customers running computationally intense AI workloads.

Core42’s Condor AI is a cutting-edge cloud computing platform delivering an optimized infrastructure layer with solutions from market-leading AI providers. The Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 Ultra AI accelerators are engineered to deliver unparalleled inference performance and cost efficiency. By incorporating advanced data formats and novel AI techniques, such as unstructured sparsity, speculative sampling, and use-case specific NAS using the combination of Cerebras’ CS-3 and AI 100 Ultra, the Condor AI platform is designed to deliver up to 10x increase in tokens per dollar.

Kiril Evtimov, Group CTO of G42 and CEO of Core42, said “At G42, we collaborate with global technology leaders to explore new frontiers and redefine the potential of technology to create transformative opportunities for our partners, our customers, and society at large. With Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 Ultra, we will deliver unique access to unparalleled AI performance at a fraction of the current cost.”

“This solution enables global access to a platform tuned for efficient AI inference at cloud scale. This alliance delivers high-performance AI, easily deployed, at a cost that allows our customers to benefit from state-of-the-art model innovation,” said Nakul Duggal, Group General Manager, Automotive, Industrial and Cloud, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Core42’s Condor AI is delivering optimized production grade solutions to both private and public cloud, allowing for the ability to ingest any trained model and deploy it for production.

For exclusive access to trial Condor AI featuring the AI 100 Ultra and advanced AI capabilities, sign up https://core42.ai/condor-galaxy.html

ALSO READ: India requests Saudi to increase Haj quota

Categories
Business Economy India News

Air India, All Nippon Airways Join Hands

Air India and All Nippon Airways guests will fly to their desired destination by combining those flights between India and Japan with a single ticket….reports Asian Lite News

Tata-owned Air India and Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways have signed a codeshare agreement connecting their networks, enhancing flight selections between India and Japan.

With this agreement, effective for travel from May 23, Air India and All Nippon Airways guests will fly to their desired destination by combining those flights between India and Japan with a single ticket.

In addition, guests of both airlines flying on codeshare flights will enjoy premium services such as lounge access and priority boarding that Star Alliance offers to its premium members.

Available for sale from 23 April 2024, Air India will add its ‘AI’ designator code on ANA’s flights between Tokyo Haneda and Delhi as well as Tokyo Narita and Mumbai, while All Nippon Airways will add its ‘NH’ designator code on Air India’s flight between Tokyo Narita and Delhi.

“This codeshare agreement with All Nippon Airways marks an important step forward in connecting India and Japan,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India.

“This collaboration broadens our network connectivity and offers our guests seamless travel experiences and a wider choice of flights between the two countries. We look forward to a successful collaboration with ANA and exploring further avenues for cooperation in the future,” said Aggarwal.

Katsuya Goto, Member of the Board and Executive Vice President of Alliances and International Affairs, All Nippon Airways said that this collaboration is a testament to ANA’s commitment to improving the air travel experience for all of its travellers.

“We hope this will lead to a seamless travel environment between our two nations,” said Goto.

Meanwhile,  Air India on Monday announced the appointment of Jayaraj Shanmugam, as head of global airport operations.

Shanmugam will assume his role on April 15, and will report to Chief Operations Officer, Captain Klaus Goersch.

Shanmugam joined Air India from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), where, as Chief Operating Officer, he led the operationalisation of the new Terminal 2.

He had a career spanning over 25 years in the airline, airport, and telecom industries, with stints at Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Jet Airways.

Announcing Shanmugam’s appointment, Goersch said, “Jayaraj has distinctive expertise in driving excellence in customer experience and airport operations, redesigning and improving services.

“We look forward to significantly enhancing our airport operations with his leadership and achieving many milestones in our Vihaan.AI transformation journey.”

ALSO READ: India’s Growing Role in Generative AI Adoption

Categories
Business Economy India News

Reliance Industries Hits New Milestone

Revenue from Oil & Gas segment increased significantly by 48 per cent mainly on account of higher volumes from KG D6 block, despite lower gas price realisation from KG D6 field…reports Asian Lite News

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has reported gross revenues of Rs 10 lakh crore ($119.9 billion) for the year ended March 2024, up 2.6 per cent year-on-year supported by continued growth momentum in consumer businesses and upstream business.

Revenue for Jio Platforms increased by 11.7 per cent Y-o-Y, led by robust subscriber growth of 42.4 million across mobility and homes and benefit of mix improvement in ARPU.

Revenue for Reliance Retail grew by 17.8 per cent Y-o-Y with strong growth across all consumption baskets, gross area addition of 15.6 million sq. ft.and record footfalls of over one billion.

O2C revenue of the company decreased by 5 per cent primarily on account of lower product price realisation following a 13.5 per cent Y-o-Y decline in average Brent crude oil prices.

This was partially offset by higher volumes, RIL said in a statement.

Revenue from Oil & Gas segment increased significantly by 48 per cent mainly on account of higher volumes from KG D6 block, despite lower gas price realisation from KG D6 field.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “Initiatives across RIL’s businesses have made a remarkable contribution towards fostering growth of various sectors of the Indian economy. It is heartening to note that alongside strengthening the national economy, all segments have posted a robust financial and operating performance.

“This has helped the Company achieve multiple milestones. I am happy to share that this year, Reliance became the first Indian company to cross the Rs 100,000-crore threshold in pre-tax profits.”

Gandhinagar : Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani speaks during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 in Gandhinagar on Wednesday, Jan 10, 2024. (Photo: IANS/Video Grab)

Ambani said performance of the digital services segment has been boosted by accelerated expansion of subscriber base, supported by both mobility and fixed wireless services.

“With over 108 million True 5G customers, Jio truly leads the 5G transformation in India. From upgrading the hitherto 2G users to smartphones, to leading the effort of producing AI-driven solutions, Jio has proved its capability in strengthening the nation’s digital infrastructure,” Ambani said.

Reliance Retail continued to provide customers endless choices through its robust omni-channel presence, Ambani said.

“We continue to offer product differentiation and superior offline experience through stores re-modelling and revamping of layouts. Our digital commerce platforms also provide newer solutions to users with a broad brand catalogue. Reliance Retail also works towards strengthening millions of merchants through its unique initiatives in new commerce space,” Ambani said.

Ambani said strong demand for fuels globally, and limited flexibility in refining system worldwide, supported margins and profitability of the O2C segment. Downstream chemical industry experienced increasingly challenging market conditions through the year.

“Despite headwinds, maintaining leading product positions and feedstock flexibility through our operating model that prioritises cost management, we delivered a resilient performance. The KG-D6 block has achieved 30 MMSCMD of production and now accounts for 30 per cent of India’s domestic gas production,” Ambani said.

“We remain committed to our projects and initiatives, including those in the New Energy segment, which will bolster the company, and help it deliver sustainable growth for the future,” Ambani said.

On the quarterly performance of RIL, gross revenue was Rs 2.64 lakh crore ($ 31.8 billion), up 10.8 per cent Y-o-Y, supported by double-digit growth in O2C and consumer business.

Oil & gas segment revenues increased sharply by 42 per cent with higher volumes from KG D6 block.

EBITDA increased by 14.3 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 47,150 crore ($5.7 billion) with strong contribution from all businesses.

ALSO READ: Markets Swing Amidst Geopolitical Uncertainty

Categories
Business Economy India News

Markets Swing Amidst Geopolitical Uncertainty

The Indian Rupee lost 6 paise or 0.07 per cent to close at Rs 83.47 to the US Dollar. Dow Jones lost on two of the five trading sessions and gained on three. At the end of the week, Dow ended as flat as a doormat and was up 3.16 points or 0.01 per cent to close at 37,986.40 points…reports Asian Lite News

Markets in the week gone by were driven by fear, war-mongering and panic. Of course, all of this leads to extreme volatility and sharp two-sided moves.

At the end of the four-day week which had a mid-week holiday on Wednesday, markets lost on three sessions and gained on just one. BSESENSEX lost 1,156.57 points or 1.57 per cent to close at 73,088.33 points while NIFTY lost 372.40 points or 1.65 per cent to close at 22,147.00 points. The broader markets saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lose 1.74 per cent, 1.82 per cent and 1.75 per cent respectively. BSEMIDCAP was down 2.21 per cent while BSESMALLCAP lost 0.96 per cent.

The Indian Rupee lost 6 paise or 0.07 per cent to close at Rs 83.47 to the US Dollar. Dow Jones lost on two of the five trading sessions and gained on three. At the end of the week, Dow ended as flat as a doormat and was up 3.16 points or 0.01 per cent to close at 37,986.40 points.

Information on the Israel-Iran conflict took its toll on markets. On Monday, markets opened weak and remained weak throughout the day. Tuesday saw yet another gap down opening and markets closing slightly higher than the opening, but negative. Wednesday was a holiday. Thursday was a swing day where we opened higher than the previous day’s close and then closed sharply lower. Friday was what could be described as a massive swing day where markets opened with a sharp downside gap and then gained throughout the day to close with substantial gains.

Thursday, April 18, saw BSESENSEX open at 73,183 points against the previous day’s close of 72,943 points. It then made an intraday high of 73,473 points and a low of 72,365 points before closing at 72,488 points. Similar levels on NIFTY were, open at 22,212 points against the previous day’s close of 22,148 points. It then made an intraday high of 22,326 points and an intraday low of 21,961 points before closing at 21,995 points. Friday, April 19, was the opposite of Thursday. Markets opened lower, went down marginally and then recovered sharply. The numbers are: BSESENSEX opened at 71,999 points, low 71,816 points , high 73,210 points and close 73,088 points. NIFTY opened on Friday at 21,861 points, made a low at 21,777 points, high at 22,179 points and closed at 22,147 points.

The above would give good indications about the increase in volatility and sharp intraday movement being witnessed.

IT companies have declared results and the little optimism generated by the declaration of TCS results last Friday has turned into disappointment post results from Wipro and Infosys. There is pain in the segment and currently, there is a struggle going on to maintain margins. I believe there is still a couple of quarters of pain left.

In primary market news, the follow-on offer from Vodafone Idea Limited is currently on and will close on Monday, April 22. At the end of two of the three days that the FPO is open, the issue is subscribed 54 per cent at the top end of the price band of Rs 10-11, with the QIB and HNI portion subscribed. Expect subscription levels to pick up on the last day as we get closer to closing time. The anchor portion of the issue saw keen interest and there were marquee names in the list. In what would be an interesting listing for the shares being offered through the FPO is the fact that they would list on Thursday, April 25, which also happens to be the expiry day for April futures. The opening price of Vodafone when the series began was Rs 13.67. The share has also been in the ban status for futures and options over the last few days on account of the exposure limits being crossed.

The issue from JNK India Limited would open on Tuesday, April 23 and close on Thursday, April 25. The issue consists of a fresh issue of Rs 300 crores and an offer for sale of 84,21,052 shares. The price band is Rs 395-415.

The company is into the manufacturing and assembling of process-fired heaters, reformers and cracking furnaces. (Together known as heating equipment). The company has capabilities in thermal designing, engineering, manufacturing, supplying, installing and commissioning. This equipment is required in refineries, petrochemicals and fertiliser plants.

The company reported revenues of Rs 407.30 crores for the year ended March 23 and a profit after tax of Rs 46.36 crores. The EPS for the year was Rs 9.51. For the nine months ended December 23, the revenues were Rs 253.39 crores and the profit after tax was Rs 46.21 crores. The EPS was Rs 9.49. Based on the EPS for the full year ended March 23, the PE multiple for the issue is 41.54-43.64. The comparable peers on a limited basis for the company are Thermax and BHEL, but limited to the supply of heat exchangers and not the balance business that these companies do. The company is into an interesting business and offers an investment opportunity for the medium to long term.

The week ahead sees April futures expire on Thursday. The current value of NIFTY is 22,147.00 points which is lower by 179.90 points or 0.81 per cent compared to the opening level of 22,326.90 points at the beginning of the series. The bulls have in the last week squandered away their hold on the series and over the next four days it would be difficult for them to regain lost ground. The geo-political situation makes things worse for the bulls and it appears with reasonable certainty that bears would take this series.

Coming to the markets in the week ahead, expect sharp volatility and two-sided market movement to be the order of the day. Recent lower tops made last week at 73,905 points on BSESENSEX and at 22,427 points on NIFTY would act as strong resistances in the immediate short term. If these do get violated, previous tops at 75,124 points and 22,775 would be very strong resistances. On the support side, lows made last week at 71,816 points and 21,777 points would act as strong supports. If these are violated, then one could see markets slipping to 71,100 and to 21,550 points respectively.

The strategy for the week would be to keep positions light overnight as the situation in the Gulf or the Middle-East is very fluid. There can always be breaking news on a daily basis. Action would continue in the large-cap and select mid-cap space only. Buy on sharp dips and sell on rallies, one saw plenty of such opportunities just last week.

Trade cautiously.

ALSO READ-India’s Growing Role in Generative AI Adoption

Categories
Business Economy India News

India’s Enviro-Tech Raises $7.3B

India’s share in global funding was 7 per cent in 2022, the highest since 2011….reports Asian Lite News

The environment-tech sector in India has raised $7.3 billion in total funding to date, a report showed on Friday.

The country’s environmental technology funding saw substantial growth between 2018 and 2022, surging from $0.23 billion to $2.47 billion, as per data by Tracxn, a leading market intelligence platform.

India’s share in global funding was 7 per cent in 2022, the highest since 2011.

Environment tech funding in the country peaked in 2022 at $2.47 billion. However, it experienced a decline to $1.68 billion in 2023, a 32 per cent decrease from 2022.

As of the first three months of 2024, the funding stands at $0.24 billion.

Despite the global increase in funding, India’s share remained consistently low, ranging from 0 per cent to 7 per cent. Bengaluru ($2.7 billion) tops the list in this space in terms of all-time city-wise funding, followed by Delhi ($1.2 billion) and Mumbai ($942 million).

“This space has seen 14 initial public offerings (IPOs) and 25 acquisitions to date. Only five companies reported more than $100 million rounds in 2023,” the findings showed.

One unicorn has also emerged in India in this space — Ola Electric.

ALSO READ: realme Set to Shake up Market

Categories
Business Economy India News

How Adani Ports Unlocked India’s Seaport Growth

Over the years, APSEZ has evolved into a provider of integrated port infrastructure services, of which the Mundra SEZ in Gujarat is a landmark validation…reports Asian Lite News

India’s largest private port operator, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), announced earlier this month that it handled a record 420 MMT (million metric tonne) cargo in FY24 (including international ports), setting a new milestone in its journey.

It was an impressive 24 per cent growth (year-on-year), with domestic ports contributing over 408 MMT cargo.

While it took 14 years for the company to achieve the first 100 MMT of annual cargo throughput, the second and third 100 MMT throughputs were achieved in 5 years and 3 years.

Notably, the latest 100 MMT mark was achieved in less than two years’ time.

How did this impressive feat happen?

Over the years, APSEZ has evolved into a provider of integrated port infrastructure services, of which the Mundra SEZ in Gujarat is a landmark validation.

Spanning over 8,000 hectares, the Mundra Economic Hub offers investment options as the largest multi-product SEZ, Free Trade and Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) and Domestic Industrial Zone.

Mundra, the first port of APSEZ, welcomed its maiden ship in 1998. Since then, the company has built a network of 15 ports and terminals on the east and west coasts of the country.

APSEZ is currently the largest commercial port operator in India, accounting for nearly one-fourth of the cargo movement in the country. Its presence across domestic ports in seven maritime states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha presents the most widespread national footprint with deepened hinterland connectivity.

The port facilities are equipped with the latest cargo-handling infrastructure which is not only best-in-class but also capable of handling the largest vessels calling at Indian shores.

During FY24, more than one-fourth of all India cargo volumes were routed through the APSEZ ports, according to the company.

“The latest 100 MMT mark has been achieved in less than two years. This is a testament to our ongoing commitment and efforts towards enhancing operational efficiencies and maintaining our position as a top port operator in the industry,” according to Karan Adani, Managing Director, APSEZ.

Dhamra port in Odisha’s Bhadrak district has become a critical hub for dry cargo shipment in the region. Ten years ago, it handled only 14 MMT of cargo but today, its capacity has moved up to over 42 MMT.

The port can accommodate Cape Size vessels and caters to industries in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Dhamra also has a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal of 5 MMT capacity which helps fulfil the requirements of Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Krishnapatnam Port is an all-weather, world-class deep water port of international standards which is capable of handling Cape Size vessels round the clock throughout the year. It has state-of-the-art infrastructure, mechanised handling systems and dedicated storage yards which provide clean and contamination-free handling facilities for bulk and break bulk cargo.

Its current capacity is 75 MMT, a significant increase from 64 MMT four years ago.

Karaikal port in Puducherry is near power plants and cement factories. In FY23, it handled nearly 10 MMT of cargo and in FY24, the figure went up to 13 MMT. Eight ports — 84 per cent of the portfolio by volume — delivered double-digit growth for the company in FY24.

Dahej Port is a deep-water, multi-cargo port located in the Gulf of Khambhat. It is strategically situated on international maritime routes and provides easy access to the dense industrial hubs of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

This makes it the preferred port for the cargo hubs functioning in the northern and western states and Union Territories of India.

The flagship port Mundra became the first in India to handle 16 MMT cargo in a single month (October 2023). In fact, the learnings from Mundra Port have been replicated at all other ports owned by the company.

ALSO READ: realme Set to Shake up Market

Categories
Business Economy India News

Zoho CEO: Revere Farmers, Reconnect with Nature

Vembu said that people must respect farmers, as well as take care of soil and all its microorganisms….reports Asian Lite News

Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu, on Saturday, said that it is important to revere farmers and connect back with nature.

In a post on X.com, Vembu said that people must respect farmers, as well as take care of soil and all its microorganisms.

The CEO of the global software-as-a-service (SaaS) company said this amid reports that Singapore’s food regulator has recalled Indian manufacturer Everest’s fish curry masala as it showed high levels of the pesticide ethylene oxide — a Group-1 carcinogen.

“Arsenic in our rice, pesticides in our spices … the damage of industrialised agriculture accumulates,” Vembu said.

“If we don’t respect the farmer, if we don’t take care of the soil and all its microorganisms, if we don’t take care of ponds or lakes and instead keep drilling deeper and deeper for (arsenic-laden) water, we will destroy ourselves as a species.”

“We have to revere the people who grow our food so they in turn treat soil and water with reverence. We have to connect back with nature,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s food regulator also found the cancer-causing ingredient in products of MDH, the famous spice brand in India.

It found that the MDH’s Madras Curry Powder, Sambhar Masala Mixed Masala Powder, and Curry Powder Mixed Masala Powder contained pesticide ethylene oxide.

According to a statement from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), ethylene oxide is not fit for consumption, but is “used to fumigate agricultural products to prevent microbial contamination.”

“Members of the public should not consume the affected products. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected products immediately if they possess any of them,” said the Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong’s food regulatory authority.

Meanwhile, Sridhar Vembu said on Wednesday that they have created first-of-its-kind power tools that are ready for commercial production.

Called ‘Karuvi’ (the Tamil word for instrument or tool), the hand-held tools will help create more rural jobs in the country.

“A few years ago, during the pandemic, a Zoho customer and fan, Abdul Gafoor, who owns ‘Mr Light Global’, a major own-brand distributor of electrical and electronics products in the Middle-East (and now in India), came to see me in Tenkasi with a box full of hand held tools from his company,” Vembu posted on X social media platform.

Gafoor told the Zoho founder to make these products and then, he would distribute them.

“I said, we know nothing about it. He said this could create rural jobs. That is how he hooked me,” said Vembu.

The software company took up the challenge and set up a small engineering team almost two years ago.

A lot of designs and redesigns later, Zoho now has built a suite of tools ready for commercial production.

“We are trying some innovative ideas in the factory being built in Tenkasi. A new adventure begins. Thank you Mr Gafoor for pushing me on this! Thank you Cibi Anand for suggesting the name,” Vembu added.

An X follower commented that he was looking to populate the “rural maker-space with power tools from Stanley”.

“But now, it’s going to be ‘Karuvi’ all the way, looking forward to getting every product you have in production,” he posted.

ALSO READ: realme Set to Shake up Market