Abhijit Lele, Surajeet Das Gupta &Amp;Amp; Arindam Majumder

Stories by Abhijit Lele, Surajeet Das Gupta &Amp;Amp; Arindam Majumder

Coming Soon: Cibil-Like Rating For Drivers

Coming Soon: Cibil-Like Rating For Drivers

Rediff.com   27 Feb 2023

The plan is to offer the ratings of drivers to insurers, which can then customise their premiums -- a higher score meaning a lower premium, for instance, and vice-versa.

PSBs wrote off Rs 29,000 cr in Dec quarter

PSBs wrote off Rs 29,000 cr in Dec quarter

Rediff.com   15 Feb 2023

Public-sector banks (PSBs) in Q3FY23 wrote off bad loans worth Rs 29,000 crore, up from Rs 23,000 crore in the same quarter a year ago, as part of a clean-up exercise. According to estimates by rating agency CARE Ratings, the write-offs by PSBs in April-December 2022, at Rs 81,000 crore, were lower than the Rs 90,000 crore in April-December 2021. Sanjay Agarwal, senior director, CARE Ratings, said a lot of it was driven by regulations, and assets that had 100 per cent provision coverage were written off.

Vi plans to get back in the game but fundraising a challenge

Vi plans to get back in the game but fundraising a challenge

Rediff.com   7 Feb 2023

Vodafone-Idea is working on a multi-pronged strategy to begin its long journey to get back in the game but much hinges on how much money it can raise following the government's decision to go for equity conversion last week. Based on discussions with sources aware of the company developments and with vendors, VIL's immediate plan is to invest in increasing 4G coverage to the level of its competitors. Currently, it covers a 1 billion population with 4G while its competitors cover 1.2 billion people.

Telcos bag 20 mn 5G customers in less than 4 months

Telcos bag 20 mn 5G customers in less than 4 months

Rediff.com   2 Feb 2023

Indian telcos have been able to garner over 20 million 5G customers in less than four months after the official launch of the service last October, according to industry estimates. With telecom operators like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel aggressively rolling out their 5G services in over 190 cities across the country to date, India is now only behind China and the US in terms of the number of cities in a country where 5G services have been extended. Top executives in telcos say that the number of 5G subscribers in India is a conservative estimate and that it will rise as the roll-out gains momentum.

Finance ministry looks to curb smuggling of top-end mobile phones

Finance ministry looks to curb smuggling of top-end mobile phones

Rediff.com   31 Jan 2023

The finance ministry is looking at a reworked proposal from mobile device makers on how to fight the rampant and growing smuggling of very high end phones. The proposal suggests reducing the basic customs duty (BCD) on phones which have a CIF (cost, insurance and freight or price at landing in the port) value of over Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000. The retail value of these phones is upwards of Rs 70,000.

Banks get time till Dec end to renew safe deposit locker agreements

Banks get time till Dec end to renew safe deposit locker agreements

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2023

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday gave banks time till end of December 2023 to complete renewal of agreements for the existing safe deposit lockers of customers. Banks were earlier required to complete the process by January 01, 2023. The central bank has asked them to complete work in phases with intermediate milestones of 50 per cent by June 30, and 75 per cent by September 30.

Indian Spending On Dating Apps Doubles

Indian Spending On Dating Apps Doubles

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2023

The growth in India's spending is far higher than the global average year-on-year increase of 12% for this category of apps in 2022.

Greaves Mobility joins e-scooter war with Primus prized below Rs 1 lakh

Greaves Mobility joins e-scooter war with Primus prized below Rs 1 lakh

Rediff.com   20 Jan 2023

With its new premium Primus and Ampere NXG, it is targeting buyers seeking a faster and more stylish ride

Digital Competition Law Worries Big Tech

Digital Competition Law Worries Big Tech

Rediff.com   18 Jan 2023

'The message is not clear whether we are wanted.' 'All this could adversely impact our strategy in India and also investments.'

TCS Evolving Tech For EVs, Self-Driving Cars

TCS Evolving Tech For EVs, Self-Driving Cars

Rediff.com   17 Jan 2023

'While we have done a few thousand kilometres in India, most of the testing and data collection and analysis has been done in the US, Japan and Europe.'

Electric two-wheeler sales zoom past 550K this year

Electric two-wheeler sales zoom past 550K this year

Rediff.com   6 Jan 2023

Electric two-wheelers have zipped past the half-a-million registration mark and achieved a market penetration of 4 per cent at the fag end of Calendar 2022, according to data released by VAHAN. According to VAHAN data for the year (until December 27), 560,000 two-wheelers were registered in the country, up a staggering fourfold over 2021, when only 136,000 were registered, and when electric vehicle penetration was a mere 1.05 per cent. The total number of two-wheelers (internal combustion engine, or ICE, and electric) registered so far in 2022 stands at 14.5 million, up only 12.7 per cent over the previous calendar year.

SBI To Raise Another 10,000 cr Through Infrastructure Bonds

SBI To Raise Another 10,000 cr Through Infrastructure Bonds

Rediff.com   4 Jan 2023

UCO Bank mulls AT1 offering to raise Rs 1,000 cr.

How Foxconn, Dixon are using the PLI route to boost manufacturing in India

How Foxconn, Dixon are using the PLI route to boost manufacturing in India

Rediff.com   3 Jan 2023

They are both electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, also known as contract manufacturers. One is Taiwan's Foxconn group, the undisputed global number one in this business with revenues of $223 billion. The other is Dixon Technologies, the biggest domestic player with revenues of over Rs 10,500 crore.

Change Of Guard At Banks, LIC In 2023

Change Of Guard At Banks, LIC In 2023

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2022

The first quarter of calendar 2023 will see new faces heading four large public-sector banks -- Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, and Bank of India.

Privatisation of PSBs gets bankers' thumbs up

Privatisation of PSBs gets bankers' thumbs up

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2022

Exuding confidence in sustaining the tempo of credit growth, public sector bankers said on Wednesday that consolidation in the public sector bank (PSB) space has given them a robust base to scale. The privatisation of PSBs can be done through divestment of government stake to a wider base of investors without haste. There is nothing to worry about at this point (high credit offtake) as underwriting standards and risk management are much better.

In a U-turn, outstanding NRI deposits rise in October

In a U-turn, outstanding NRI deposits rise in October

Rediff.com   21 Dec 2022

Breaking the streak of continuous fall in outstanding amounts, non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits rose for the first time in the financial year to $134.54 billion in October 2022. The figure was $133.67 billion in September. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that NRI deposits were in shrinking mode for the first six months of FY23. They fell to $133.67 billion in September from $139 billion in March.

VC funds reduce number of deals with start-ups by a 5th in 2022: Study

VC funds reduce number of deals with start-ups by a 5th in 2022: Study

Rediff.com   20 Dec 2022

At least 14 of the top 20 venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds in India reduced new deals with start-ups by a fifth in 2022. The number fell from 572 in 2021 to 456 this year, according to data from Venture Intelligence. Sequoia Capital, a leader in investments, retained its top slot but its number of deals fell from 110 in 2021 to 70 this year.

40% of all vehicles sold will be electric by 2030

40% of all vehicles sold will be electric by 2030

Rediff.com   15 Dec 2022

As much as 35 per cent to 40 per cent of all vehicles sold in the country across segments will be electric by 2030, up from a mere 2 per cent this year, says a Bain & Co report released today. This translates to 14-16 million new electric vehicles (EVs) selling in a year. The inflexion point, which is now being seen month on month in many segments (such as two-wheelers which hit around 4-5 per cent in December), will be more than visible in 2026, when 4-5 million EVs across segments are expected to be sold, accounting for 15-20 per cent of the total sales, says the report.

Nearly 100% of 2-wheeler market will shift to EVs in 3 yrs: Bhavish Agarwal

Nearly 100% of 2-wheeler market will shift to EVs in 3 yrs: Bhavish Agarwal

Rediff.com   12 Dec 2022

Ola Electric will roll out its complete offering of electric scooters and motorcycles in each segment of the market - premium, mass premium, and economical - in the next 12 months in a bid to push for a near-full conversion of the two-wheeler market to electric in three years. According to Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Ola Electric, "ICE (internal combustion engine) products will fall off a cliff." He also says the company is aiming to become profitable next year.

China Plus One: Low labour costs and growing workforce give India the edge

China Plus One: Low labour costs and growing workforce give India the edge

Rediff.com   5 Dec 2022

A combination of one of the lowest labour costs and a large surplus workforce, which will continue to grow until 2031, is one of the key competitive edges that India is leveraging to challenge its rivals in Southeast Asia in the race for a China-Plus-One strategy. Apart from India, the countries in the race to woo global companies that manufacture in China, as well as the supply chains to their country include Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. On the labour front, India is a clear winner.