Surajeet Das Gupta And Dev Chatterjee

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta And Dev Chatterjee

Like Uber, You Can Book A Drone Soon

Like Uber, You Can Book A Drone Soon

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2023

E-commerce players may soon rent out drones, so you can use them the way you book a cab on an app, and test viable use-cases for last-mile delivery.

Adani to focus on prepaying loans, not to add more debt

Adani to focus on prepaying loans, not to add more debt

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2023

Adani Group is expected to report a 20 per cent rise in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) at Rs 61,200 crore for the year that ended in March 2023 (2022-23, or FY23), according to a note submitted by the group to lenders recently. The group had earned Ebitda of Rs 57,299 crore in the preceding financial year that ended in March 2022 (2021-22). The group's gross debt was Rs 2.27 trillion as of March 31, 2023, and has projected to not take on additional debt until it lowers its existing one.

Has Apple's Roller-Coaster Ride In India Ended?

Has Apple's Roller-Coaster Ride In India Ended?

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2023

The new mantra was to align Apple's ambition with the government's, focusing on Modi's favourite themes of Make in India, employment generation and India as a high-tech export hub.

India Inc leans on InvITs to reduce debt, generate returns for investors

India Inc leans on InvITs to reduce debt, generate returns for investors

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2023

Reliance Industries, construction major L&T and IRB Infrastructure are some of the top companies that have used an infrastructure investment trust structure to reduce part of their debt and generate returns for their investors. Earlier this month, IRB Infrastructure InvIT was listed on the National Stock Exchange, giving its investors an option to exit by selling their units. The listing came within months of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) guidelines for conversion of private unlisted InvITs into listed ones were issued.

Govt may ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to make more iPhones in India

Govt may ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to make more iPhones in India

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2023

In the run-up to Apple CEO Tim Cook's visit to India, government officials are finalising the talk points with the Cupertino-headquartered tech major. Officials said that the government would like Apple to "deepen" the company's engagement in the manufacturing and assembly of iPhones in the country and not limit itself only to the minimum commitments made under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices. The conversations between the two sides are likely to focus on that.

Apple boost helps India double smartphone exports; shipments hit $11.1 bn

Apple boost helps India double smartphone exports; shipments hit $11.1 bn

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2023

India doubled its exports of smartphones to $11.1 billion (about Rs 91,000 crore) in 2022-23 (FY23) over the previous year's figure of $5.48 billion (Rs 45,000 crore), thanks largely to the Apple juggernaut, according to data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "With the doubling of exports of smartphones to over Rs 90,000 crore, India is well on its way to becoming a leader in the global mobile device market." On the flip side, despite the government prodding Chinese companies to export more, their smartphone shipments fell steeply by 26 per cent from $214 million in FY22 to $157 million in FY23.

Is India Prepared For AI Adoption?

Is India Prepared For AI Adoption?

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2023

The impact of AI automation in India is the lowest.

RCap auction postponed to April 11 even as Torrent pursues litigation

RCap auction postponed to April 11 even as Torrent pursues litigation

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2023

Lenders have postponed the second auction to sell bankrupt Reliance Capital's assets by a week to April 11, even as the Torrent group, the highest bidder in the first round, pursues litigation in the Supreme Court. Lenders are expecting the Hinduja group and Torrent to participate in the second auction and maximise the value of the assets. American financial services major, Oakteee may also join the race, said a source.

'India has far exceeded our expectations in EVs'

'India has far exceeded our expectations in EVs'

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2023

'The Indian govt's initiatives on EVs are very strong and customers want to buy EVs. This will make the country's conversion to EVs faster than other markets, and I hope even faster than the US'

Chinese Companies May Need Majority Indian Partners To Set Up Plants

Chinese Companies May Need Majority Indian Partners To Set Up Plants

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2023

The government has asked industry to provide a list of Chinese suppliers that would like to shift some capacity to India provided they are willing to set up JVs with Indian companies.

Cyrus Mistry's assets may be divided among wife and sons

Cyrus Mistry's assets may be divided among wife and sons

Rediff.com   30 Mar 2023

The billionaire Mistry family's estate is likely to soon change hands. The assets in the name of Cyrus Mistry, who died in September last year, may soon be divided equally among his wife Rohiqa and sons Firoz and Zahan, according to sources. The reorganisation will also include the 9.2 per cent stake in Tata Sons, which is currently in Cyrus Mistry's name and held through his investment company Cyrus Investments.

RCap lenders in a fix as Hindujas retract revised Rs 8,950-cr offer

RCap lenders in a fix as Hindujas retract revised Rs 8,950-cr offer

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2023

The Hinduja group is learnt to have backtracked from making a minimum Rs 8,950-crore offer for Reliance Capital (RCap) - a deal that it had belatedly put forth in December, after Torrent Investments emerged as the highest bidder for the bankrupt firm in the challenge process. The Hindujas' latest move has put Indian lenders, with an exposure of Rs 24,000 crore, in a spot as it was the former's revised offer that led to a call for a second auction and litigation by Torrent, which had placed a bid of Rs 8,649 crore in the first auction. Torrent has moved the Supreme Court and plans to wait for the apex court verdict before participating in any fresh auction. A banking source said there was an informal meeting of a few lenders of Reliance Capital with the bidders - the Torrent group and the Hinduja group on Friday when the latter changed its stand. The meeting of RCap's committee of creditors (CoC) is scheduled for Monday.

What SoftBank leadership team visits mean for Indian investors

What SoftBank leadership team visits mean for Indian investors

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2023

A top management leadership team from SoftBank has been coming to India in the last few days to meet the founders of start-ups and other investors, signalling the country's emergence as a pivotal market for the global investment giant. Based on current estimates, India accounts for nearly 10 per cent ($20 billion) of SoftBank's invested assets under management (AUM) globally. That makes the country its third largest market after the US and China.

'Foxconn is clearly bullish about India'

'Foxconn is clearly bullish about India'

Rediff.com   20 Mar 2023

Foxconn means serious business in India. Its delegation to India was led by its Chairman Young Liu who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In ChatGPT's shadow, India readies for aggressive AI play

In ChatGPT's shadow, India readies for aggressive AI play

Rediff.com   11 Mar 2023

The government has identified nine key focus areas in the AI national programme, including agriculture, education, Indian languages, smart cities, cybersecurity, transportation, and finance.

Non-metros snapping up electric scooters

Non-metros snapping up electric scooters

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2023

If you thought electric scooters have caught the fancy of only people in the metros, think again. According to data from electric two-wheeler maker, Ather Energy, 54 per cent of its sales of scooters, starting from Rs 1.2 lakh, come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Based on sales per lakh population, the top five cities for the company are Calicut, followed by Kochi, Kolaphur, Trivandrum and Pune.

IPL 2023: The Rs 5,000 Crore Battle!

IPL 2023: The Rs 5,000 Crore Battle!

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

This season, the nature of the advertising game has changed dramatically with TV and digital rights going to different entities.

Why M&A deals in India are down 80% so far in 2023

Why M&A deals in India are down 80% so far in 2023

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Indian companies have declined sharply by 80 per cent so far this year, in contrast with the same period last year, as bankers predict lower deal volumes due to falling profit margins of Indian companies and feeble stock markets. The decline in Adani Group shares has also hit buyer sentiment. According to data from Refinitiv, M&As in India stood at $3.3 billion from 253 deals, year-to-date (YTD) - a fall of 80 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Cross-border deals by Indian companies were also down 84 per cent to just $1.5 billion.

The Challenges Before Ola, Uber...

The Challenges Before Ola, Uber...

Rediff.com   3 Mar 2023

In many states, aggregators operate without a licence; in others, with the risk of the licence being revoked by any regional transport office on the slightest pretext.

Philanthropy by India's super rich falls by a third in FY22, says report

Philanthropy by India's super rich falls by a third in FY22, says report

Rediff.com   2 Mar 2023

Philanthropic contributions made by India's ultra high networth individuals (net wealth of over Rs 1,000 crore), also known as UHNIs, have fallen sharply to Rs 4,230 crore in FY22, from Rs 11,821 crore the previous financial year, according to the India Philanthropy Report 2023 by Dasra and Bain & Co, which was released on Wednesday. The report says that the dramatic fall, almost by a third, was due to the fact that contributions by the Azim Premji Foundation dropped by Rs 9,000 crore due to a share buyback of Wipro, which helped the foundation to access liquidity directly. However, the report laments that even excluding the Premji Foundation's contribution, "Indian UHNI contribution has not kept pace with wealth creation" and is "below par, with a 5 per cent contraction in FY2022".