Abhijit Lele &Amp; Sohini Das

Stories by Abhijit Lele &Amp; Sohini Das

Tax poser in the way of Hyundai local arm listing

Tax poser in the way of Hyundai local arm listing

Rediff.com   15 Feb 2024

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Company is considering tax implications of listing its Indian unit before taking a final call, according to sources privy to the development. Hyundai Motor is mulling an initial public offering (IPO) for its Indian arm to raise around $3 billion (at a valuation of up to $30 billion), and talks are in the early stages between the company and bankers, banking sources revealed. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), however, declined to comment on the development.

Rooftop solar charges up electric vehicle boom in India's smaller cities

Rooftop solar charges up electric vehicle boom in India's smaller cities

Rediff.com   12 Feb 2024

The push given to rooftop solar installation in the Interim Budget ties in with its high rate of adoption in Tier-II and -III cities of India. If original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automobile industry, government, and the solar sector are to be believed, in cities of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Kerala, 45-50 per cent of electric-vehicle (EV) users are employing rooftop power to charge their vehicles. This is compared to the national average of 25 per cent, say industry sources.

'We are almost at peak of interest rates cycles'

'We are almost at peak of interest rates cycles'

Rediff.com   6 Feb 2024

'The stabilisation of interest rates followed by reduction is going to happen over the next year.'

GOOD News! No Drug Price Hike In 2024

GOOD News! No Drug Price Hike In 2024

Rediff.com   6 Feb 2024

For the consumer, there would be practically no impact on prices of essential medicines this year.

Q3 result preview: US, India to aid revenue growth for Pharma Inc

Q3 result preview: US, India to aid revenue growth for Pharma Inc

Rediff.com   30 Jan 2024

The pharmaceuticals sector is expected to post a revenue growth of around 13.5 per cent and a net profit growth of 30.3 per cent for the third quarter of 2023-24 (FY24), riding on the approval for niche drugs in the US market, fall in raw material prices and correction in shipping rates. In the healthcare segment, hospitals are expected to post revenue growth of 13 per cent during the coverage, while net profit growth would be around 37 per cent, ICICI Securities said in a note. However, the performance may not be comparable on a sequential basis due to the offset of the festive season in Q3FY24, the analysts noted.

How AI Is Transforming Auto Manufacturing

How AI Is Transforming Auto Manufacturing

Rediff.com   30 Jan 2024

'From data on enquiries, we can build what we call a data lake or a data warehouse where data is classified into various cohorts and then we use AI and ML tools to predict demand down the line.'

'Aster DM's plan is to be among top three in India'

'Aster DM's plan is to be among top three in India'

Rediff.com   27 Jan 2024

'Now that we are a pure-play India business, many investors are open to investing.'

Fortis plans acquisitions, may opt for neutral brand name

Fortis plans acquisitions, may opt for neutral brand name

Rediff.com   22 Jan 2024

Delhi-headquartered Fortis Healthcare is open to acquisition of hospitals with over 250-300 bed sizes as part of its strategy to grow at a faster clip. It may also opt for a neutral brand name soon. Neutral brand is a new brand, which is not owned by any of the stakeholders.

Domestic pharma market grew by 6.8% in 2023

Domestic pharma market grew by 6.8% in 2023

Rediff.com   22 Jan 2024

The Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) grew 6.8 per cent to touch a turnover of ~1.93 trillion in calendar year 2023, despite volumes going down marginally by 0.9 per cent. This indicates the price increase has been the major growth driver. Growth in the moving annual turnover (the previous 12 months' turnover) in December was 5.1 per cent and that in new product introduction 2.6 per cent, while volumes dipped 0.9 per cent, leading to an overall growth rate of 6.8 per cent, according to the data from market research firm Pharmatrac.

From Ashok Leyland to VECV, busmakers' sales entered the fast lane in 2023

From Ashok Leyland to VECV, busmakers' sales entered the fast lane in 2023

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2024

The demand for buses largely remained robust in 2023, driven by the increasing need for public mobility and replacement. Ashok Leyland Limited (ALL) recorded a 64 per cent year-on-year increase in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) buses during the April-to-December period of 2023 to 11,216 units. Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) posted 24.7 per cent sales growth between April and December for light and medium-duty buses, and 36.9 per cent growth for heavy-duty buses.

RBI gives clarity to 'politically exposed persons' term to meet FATF norms

RBI gives clarity to 'politically exposed persons' term to meet FATF norms

Rediff.com   8 Jan 2024

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has updated Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for politically exposed persons (PEPs) who transact with regulated entities (REs), seeking to comply with the recommendations of intergovernmental organisation Financial Action Task Force (FATF). PEPs are individuals entrusted with prominent public functions by a foreign country, including the heads of states/governments, senior politicians, senior government or judicial or military officers, senior executives of state-owned corporations and important political party officials, said the RBI. This change is expected to provide more clarity to undertake Customer Due Diligence (CDD), said the RBI in a communication to REs.

'APIs are a very strategic part of Biocon's business'

'APIs are a very strategic part of Biocon's business'

Rediff.com   7 Jan 2024

'There is no reason why we should break this business up.'

Trade generics growth to dent value expansion of domestic drug market

Trade generics growth to dent value expansion of domestic drug market

Rediff.com   2 Jan 2024

Rising penetration of trade generic medicines is eating into the value growth of the domestic pharmaceutical market, showed a recent analysis. According to a Kotak Institutional Equities analysis, 70-110 basis points (bps) annual dent is expected from trade generics and Jan Aushadhi on Indian Pharma Market (IPM) growth at least until FY27-28 (see chart). Trade generic medicines are those that are not pushed into the market through doctor promotions.

Hyderabad firm develops next-gen XBB1.5 Covid vax, awaits trial nod

Hyderabad firm develops next-gen XBB1.5 Covid vax, awaits trial nod

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2023

As of now, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals has launched a vaccine, Gemcovac-OM, which is based on the Omicron variant.

Does India have enough vaccine reserves to combat another Covid wave?

Does India have enough vaccine reserves to combat another Covid wave?

Rediff.com   27 Dec 2023

According to CoWIN data, only 73 vaccination centres are currently active in India, of which 32 are government-run.

Are hospitals ready to handle Covid surge?

Are hospitals ready to handle Covid surge?

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

Larger hospitals are not worried about a spike in cases, as they are now accustomed to converting ICUs and general wards into negative pressure zones or isolation rooms. For smaller hospitals, the task is tedious.

Medica + Manipal Will Overtake Apollo

Medica + Manipal Will Overtake Apollo

Rediff.com   12 Dec 2023

Next year Medica and Manipal will merge, making the amalgamated entity the largest corporate hospital chain in the country, overtaking Apollo Hospitals Enterprises.

Former Barclays banker Ashok Vaswani to head Kotak Mahindra Bank

Former Barclays banker Ashok Vaswani to head Kotak Mahindra Bank

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2023

Ashok Vaswani, a banker with more than three-and-half decades experience in building and scaling up businesses across consumer and corporate banking and payments, will be the next managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had given its approval to Vaswani's appointment. Vaswani is currently President of Pagaya Technologies, a US-Israeli artificial intelligence (AI) fintech firm, which he joined in June 2022.

Net FDI in India down to $3 billion in April-August

Net FDI in India down to $3 billion in April-August

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2023

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, inflows minus outflows, declined sharply in April-August this year to $2.99 billion from $18.03 billion in the same period last year on moderation in global activities and a rise in repatriation. The Reserve Bank of India's data (October 2023 bulletin) said FDI in India was $7.28 billion and FDI by India, that is money invested abroad from the country, was $4.28 billion in April-August 2023. As for 2022, FDI in India was $22.79 billion and FDI by India was $4.76 billion in April-August.

Rs 2,000 crore loans to Go First are now NPA: Central Bank of India

Rs 2,000 crore loans to Go First are now NPA: Central Bank of India

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2023

Central Bank of India classified its loans to Go First as non-performing assets (NPAs) in the July-September quarter (second quarter, or Q2) of 2023-24 (FY24). The no-frills carrier has been under insolvency proceedings since May 2023 and ceased operating flights on May 3 this year. The public sector lender's exposure, including government-guaranteed emergency credit to the ailing airline, amounts to about Rs 2,000 crore.