Sohini Das, Anjali Singh, Aneeka Chatterjee, Nitin Kumar, Surajeet Das Gupta

Stories by Sohini Das, Anjali Singh, Aneeka Chatterjee, Nitin Kumar, Surajeet Das Gupta

How India Plans To Become A Semiconductor Giant

How India Plans To Become A Semiconductor Giant

Rediff.com   22 Jun 2023

Micron plans an assembly testing, marking and packaging project of $1 billion, and talks are on to set up a memory chip plant for captive requirements.

PM Modi's US visit: India's entry into critical mineral alliance on table

PM Modi's US visit: India's entry into critical mineral alliance on table

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US is expected to see discussion on India's possible entry into a US-led global alliance on critical minerals, officials told Business Standard. In June last year, the US, the European Union, and other G7 partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership to ensure that China did not further strengthen its grip on supplies of critical minerals the world over. Various ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, have communicated to the Ministry of External Affairs to explore the possibility of India joining the partnership, officials said.

Nigeria flags 2 India-made drugs as substandard, having toxins

Nigeria flags 2 India-made drugs as substandard, having toxins

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2023

Oral paracetamol and another cough medicine manufactured by companies based in Mumbai and Punjab were found to be "sub-standard or found to be containing toxins", reports Sohini Das.

Can Maruti Jimny Compete With The Thar?

Can Maruti Jimny Compete With The Thar?

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2023

Jimny will be priced between Rs 12.7 lakh and Rs 15.05 lakh.

Uber India gears up for electric future but...

Uber India gears up for electric future but...

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2023

By 2025, Uber projects that 25,000-30,000 cars -- or 12 to 16 per cent of vehicle additions -- would be EVs, reports Surajeet Das Gupta.

Swedish furnishing major IKEA to bring in funding arm, expand retail biz

Swedish furnishing major IKEA to bring in funding arm, expand retail biz

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2023

Swedish furnishing major IKEA, part of the Ingka Group, is inviting its investment arm - Ingka Investments - to India, a senior company executive said during an interaction in New Delhi. The move suggests that the group is looking at India as a priority market. The areas of investments being considered by Ingka Investments could range from taking stake in companies across sectors such as renewables, recycling, real estate, and software which synergise with IKEA's broader retail requirements.

Better chip supply fuels passenger vehicle production by 16%: Siam

Better chip supply fuels passenger vehicle production by 16%: Siam

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2023

Amid better semiconductor chip supplies, the Indian automotive industry posted an 8 percent growth in production of vehicles across categories for the month of May, with three-wheelers (20 per cent) and passenger vehicles (16 per cent) leading the pack. Exports, however, dipped 21 per cent at an industry level. The industry also recorded its highest-ever May wholesales of domestic passenger vehicles (334,802 units), riding on high demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and better supplies of semiconductor chips.

How Jio plans to auction spectrum required by NGSO

How Jio plans to auction spectrum required by NGSO

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2023

Reliance Jio has suggested an alternative plan to the The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) under which spectrum required by non-geostationary orbit satellite (NGSO) operators to run their gateway terminals should be auctioned geographically, based on districts, rather than circles as done for mobile services. For spectrum which would be required to connect user terminals (like individual homes), Jio has suggested it should be auctioned frequency-wise and exclusively to an operator at a pan-India level. The move is significant as the auctioning of satellite space spectrum has been vehemently opposed by low earth orbit satellite operators (satellites which circle at low altitudes of 200-2000 km).

India tops airfare spike in APAC, West Asia

India tops airfare spike in APAC, West Asia

Rediff.com   13 Jun 2023

India witnessed the highest increase in airfares among the 10 top aviation markets in the Asia-Pacific and West Asia collectively across both domestic and international flights Q4 2019 and Q4 2022 in nominal terms, according to research by Hong Kong-based Airports Council International (ACI). India, where fares went up by 41 per cent, was followed by the UAE (34 per cent), Singapore (30 (per cent) and Australia (23 per cent). The study, which was undertaken in collaboration with Flare Aviation Consulting, examined around 36,000 routes in the top 10 aviation markets in Asia-Pacific and West Asia.

Only 41% of EVs FAME II scheme target achieved

Only 41% of EVs FAME II scheme target achieved

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2023

As the government plans no further extension of the scheme beyond FY24, the task is to achieve the unfinished target of subsidising 914,707 EVs.

E-com firm Meesho hints at IPO in 2025; focus shifts to generating profits

E-com firm Meesho hints at IPO in 2025; focus shifts to generating profits

Rediff.com   4 Jun 2023

E-commerce player Meesho, backed by marquee investors like SoftBank Group and Meta Platforms, will look at an initial public offering (IPO) only in 2025, and till then, its focus will be on generating profits after tax and not just on being Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation)-positive, top sources in the company told Business Standard in New Delhi. In a clear shift of strategy, the company, which has reduced its cash burn by 85 per cent, is now looking to trim its annual revenue growth target to 40 per cent from the 100-plus per cent earlier. The sources, however, said even this level of growth was far higher than that of most e-commerce companies.

Global subsidy race puts a spanner in India's chip manufacturing hopes

Global subsidy race puts a spanner in India's chip manufacturing hopes

Rediff.com   1 Jun 2023

The Indian government is keen to woo major semiconductor players, but a global race to attract them to countries where there is already an ecosystem is making it difficult for India to attract the biggies in the business. On Wednesday the government decided to throw open the doors to more players to participate in its semiconductor scheme. It is now looking at not only 28 nanometre (nm) chips and below, but higher nodes like 40 nm.

Will Apple Do in India What Samsung Did In Vietnam?

Will Apple Do in India What Samsung Did In Vietnam?

Rediff.com   31 May 2023

Apple is hoping to assemble in India 25 per cent of all iPhones produced globally to reduce its heavy dependence on China.

From electronics to semiconductor, MNCs in search of policy stability

From electronics to semiconductor, MNCs in search of policy stability

Rediff.com   29 May 2023

Their favourite alternatives: Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Note, India is missing from that list. And this is despite an attractive financial incentive scheme for OSAT players. The reason, said a senior executive of a US chip company who had a meeting in Taiwan just a few weeks ago, is that "they want more predictability in government policy because they plan to put in big money."

'Our aim is to encourage global companies to shift to India from China'

'Our aim is to encourage global companies to shift to India from China'

Rediff.com   29 May 2023

'I was in the US, where I met top executives of HP and Dell, and they are very keen to come to India.' 'Acer and ASUS have also evinced interest.'

PC shipments fell by 30% in Q1, notebooks fared the worst

PC shipments fell by 30% in Q1, notebooks fared the worst

Rediff.com   24 May 2023

The India personal computer (PC) market shipment, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, dropped by an overall 30.1 per cent in the first quarter of CY2023 over the previous year, to only 2.99 million units, according to the latest data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker released on Tuesday. In Q1CY23, while the demand for desktops was positive, the notebook category witnessed another weak quarter as it declined by 40.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y). The consumer segment declined by 36.1 per cent y-o-y primarily due to slowing demand and weak market sentiment.

Under the lens: Regulator moots pre-export govt testing for cough syrup cos

Under the lens: Regulator moots pre-export govt testing for cough syrup cos

Rediff.com   24 May 2023

After reports of contamination in cough syrups sent from the country, India is considering a system to test them before exporting. It is learnt that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has sent a proposal to the Union health ministry on this. The idea is to test the medicines at government labs before exporting.

Tesla may be revving up interest in India, again

Tesla may be revving up interest in India, again

Rediff.com   17 May 2023

Senior Tesla executives including those from its supply chain are planning to come to India on Wednesday and Thursday for meetings with government officials, including those in the Prime Minister's Office, according to sources. Prashant R Menon, director of Tesla India, did not respond to a specific query on the meetings. Sources say that the executives are coming to see how they can expand and develop local sourcing of components from India for the Tesla car.

Drug sales stuck at pre-pandemic level, price rise shapes market growth

Drug sales stuck at pre-pandemic level, price rise shapes market growth

Rediff.com   16 May 2023

Drug sale volumes are almost stuck at pre-pandemic levels but price growth has improved value, data from market research agency Pharmarack AWACS showed. The Indian pharmaceutical market's (IPM) volumes in April 2023 grew by 0.21 per cent when compared to April 2019. Key therapy areas like cardiac, anti-diabetic and vitamins recorded negative volume or consumption growth, while respiratory, anti-infectives, and pain and analgesics had positive growth from April 2019 to April this year.

Why Apple Wants Indian Workers To Work Longer Hours

Why Apple Wants Indian Workers To Work Longer Hours

Rediff.com   15 May 2023

India's stiff labour laws were one key issue that Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed with Prime Minister Modi on his recent visit.