Surajeet Das Gupta, Ishita Ayan Dutt

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta, Ishita Ayan Dutt

Will Made In India Google Pixel Phones Sell Better?

Will Made In India Google Pixel Phones Sell Better?

Rediff.com   30 Oct 2023

Making the Pixel 8 in India will not necessarily bring the price down -- witness iPhones made in India that are more expensive than those in the US and Dubai.

North trails South in electric scooter sales

North trails South in electric scooter sales

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2023

The state is also the biggest market for TVS, another incumbent player, and together with Bajaj Auto, they accounted for 88 per cent of Maharashtra's total electric scooter sales last month. As many as 8,417 units were sold in Maharashtra in September. Bajaj Auto's contribution was 4,048 vehicles and that of TVS was 3,389, according to model- and state-wise data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Crisis Brews In Darjeeling's Tea Gardens

Crisis Brews In Darjeeling's Tea Gardens

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2023

In the last three years, 20 gardens have changed hands, and 90 per cent of the buyers are from non-tea background.

Number of women in blue-collar jobs increasing across manufacturing sector

Number of women in blue-collar jobs increasing across manufacturing sector

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2023

"Lady candidates need not apply." So read the postscript in a job notice from Telco (now Tata Motors) on a notice board in the corridors of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), in 1974. Irked, Sudha Murty, who was then pursuing her masters in computer science at the institute, wrote a postcard to JRD Tata, expressing her surprise at this gender discrimination, especially since the Tata Group were pioneers on many fronts. Shortly, Murty became the first woman on the firm's shop floor.

India Inc rides merger-demerger wave

India Inc rides merger-demerger wave

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2023

Corporate India is busy restructuring - through mergers, demergers and splits. That seems to be the new normal as CXOs and boards brainstorm on how to create assets and value. The pitch rose significantly during the third quarter of this financial year (FY24), translating into $32.9-billion worth of such deals - the highest quarterly total since the HDFC Bank-HDFC merger announced in FY22 Q2.

Israel-Hamas Conflict: India's IT Companies On Edge

Israel-Hamas Conflict: India's IT Companies On Edge

Rediff.com   18 Oct 2023

'IT companies do not have a large presence there either in terms of market and team. So, the impact of the war will be minimal. But West Asia is an emerging economy.'

Alternatives to China: Vietnam, India slug it out for semiconductor investments

Alternatives to China: Vietnam, India slug it out for semiconductor investments

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2023

India and Vietnam are vying with each other to woo semiconductor companies to their country. With the tension between the US and China escalating, and Taiwan getting vulnerable both countries are trying to present themselves as alternative destinations for global players. Vietnam, which started the effort as early as 2010, has got a leg-up after US President Joe Biden's visit last month.

Strong domestic demand, raw material cost, pushing up steel prices

Strong domestic demand, raw material cost, pushing up steel prices

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2023

Strong demand in the domestic market, coupled with an increase in raw material prices, is pushing up steel prices. According to SteelMint, a market intelligence and price reporting firm, the list price of flat steel has seen an increase of Rs 750-2,000 per tonne for October deliveries. The long steel price witnessed an increase of Rs 1,500 per tonne towards the end of September.

How Zetwerk is shaking up India's smart TV market

How Zetwerk is shaking up India's smart TV market

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2023

Zetwerk is not exactly a household name, but this unicorn, boasting revenues of Rs 11,450 crore as of last year, is among the top four electronics manufacturers in India. The startup is capitalising on a notable trend in smart TV sales - fall in collective shipments from top brands like Xiaomi, Samsung, LG and an uptick in the market share of smaller, regional, and online brands. Emerging as a key Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) player, Zetwerk operates a plant in Haryana that caters to 10 per cent of the country's overall smart TV production capacity.

E-motorcycles: Bhavish Aggarwal Riding High

E-motorcycles: Bhavish Aggarwal Riding High

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2023

Can Bhavish Aggarwal upend the electric two-wheeler market, which is now overwhelmingly in favour of scooters?

Two-wheeler Majors TVS, Bajaj Auto Close the Gap With Startups in EV Game

Two-wheeler Majors TVS, Bajaj Auto Close the Gap With Startups in EV Game

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2023

Bajaj Auto has virtually closed the gap with Ather Energy in September, notching up 6423 EV registrations compared to 6466 registrations by Ather.

Reliance Retail aims at 2025 IPO after valuation jump

Reliance Retail aims at 2025 IPO after valuation jump

Rediff.com   5 Oct 2023

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) is discussing a three-pronged plan that includes an additional divestment of $250-300 million this year, apart from what it has diluted in favour of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and US-based private equity fund KKR recently.

What's Micron's Role In India's Chip Race?

What's Micron's Role In India's Chip Race?

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2023

The first leg of Micron's semiconductor play in Sanand is crucial for the company to sprint towards India's goal of joining the chip race.

Pegatron factory may start ops soon, no impact on supply of iPhone15 series

Pegatron factory may start ops soon, no impact on supply of iPhone15 series

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2023

Even as top Pegatron executives went to the factory near Chennai on Tuesday to make an assessment of the fire damage to decide on a possible date for resuming operations, sources said the impact of the closure will be minimal for Apple's iPhone production. Late in the evening sources said that the factory might be operational soon-but said they are waiting for a final update. It will also not impact the availability of the newly-launched iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, they said.

No plan on OTTs sharing revenue with telcos: Govt

No plan on OTTs sharing revenue with telcos: Govt

Rediff.com   25 Sep 2023

There is no plan to direct over the top (OTT) communications players who generate large amounts of traffic to give a 'fair and proportionate' share of their revenues to telecom network operators, the communications ministry has said. A senior official allayed any such apprehension by saying: "We have no proposal of this kind or anything like this which we are working on. "There is no fresh reference on this matter to the regulator (Trai)," he said. The ministry's view is significant as telecom network operators have been escalating this issue since July when Trai issued a consultation paper called 'Regulatory Mechanism Over OTT Communication Services and Selective Banning of OTT Services'.

Steel firms prep for festivals, see demand by auto, consumer goods sectors

Steel firms prep for festivals, see demand by auto, consumer goods sectors

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2023

The festive season will mean business for the steel industry as it is the time when automotive and consumer appliance companies bump up demand to prepare for higher sales, experts have said. Ranjan Dhar, chief marketing officer at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), said that bookings by auto and consumer appliance industries are 20 per cent higher ahead of the festive season compared to last year. "While this could be for a couple of months, it could normalise later at approximately 10 per cent," he said.

Rice Economy Faces Turmoil as El Nino Turns Up Heat

Rice Economy Faces Turmoil as El Nino Turns Up Heat

Rediff.com   15 Sep 2023

In the coming months, globally as well as in India, rice might remain a hot potato.

How much does iPhone 15 cost? Rs 79,900 to Rs 199,900

How much does iPhone 15 cost? Rs 79,900 to Rs 199,900

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2023

Apple Inc has announced the India prices of the new variants of its bestselling smartphones - launched on Tuesday - as it assembles the device in the country. The new iPhone 15 range starts at Rs 79,900 for the 128 GB variant (the same price as the iPhone 14 when it was launched last year) and goes up to Rs 199,900 for the top-end Pro Max with a 6.7 inch screen and 1 TB (terabyte) storage. The world's most valuable company also launched three new upgraded Apple watches, starting with the SE at Rs 29,900 and going up to Ultra 2 at Rs 89,900.

How Eveready plans to double revenue

How Eveready plans to double revenue

Rediff.com   11 Sep 2023

Eveready Industries India will launch a new category in Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25) as it works to double revenue, said a senior executive of the country's largest dry cell battery maker. It could be an adjacency or a new product under the Eveready brand and a final decision is expected by the end of this financial year. "We are currently working on that exercise; it's on the drawing board," said Suvamoy Saha, managing director of Eveready.

Focus shifts from exports to import substitution

Focus shifts from exports to import substitution

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2023

It started out as a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to make India an export hub. But after many a twist and turns, the latest 2.0 PLI for IT hardware, for which the 40 eligible candidates have applied till its deadline, is now focused on 'import substitution'. The scheme will help in reducing India's over-dependence on imports (80 per cent of laptops are imported), especially from China which include laptops, tablets and servers.