Enter the fireworks city of Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu and you can smell a familiar mix of sulphur, potassium nitrate, aluminium and carbon - familiar because if you've ever burst crackers, say on Diwali or Onam, chances are they were made here. Almost every household used to contribute to India's festive joy by contributing almost 90 per cent of the fireworks made in the country. Before the pandemic, around 300,000 people worked in the industry directly and another 500,000 indirectly. Located 540 kilometres from Chennai, Sivakasi is famous for its fireworks and crackers, along with printing and matches, but is almost a ghost town these days.
In a major push towards 'Make in India', Apple Inc is manufacturing 70 per cent of the mobile phones, in value terms, that it sells in the domestic market, in India, according to sources aware of the development. This is a sharp rise from the figure of 30 per cent just two years ago and marks a major shift in Apple's strategy following the government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that kicked off in FY'21. One of Apple's three vendors here, Foxconn, is currently manufacturing the best-selling model, the Apple 11, along with the Apple 10 and the Apple 12. Another contract manufacturer, Wistron, makes the Apple SE 2020. (The third, Pegatron, has yet to start production). The only models that are imported (they have limited volumes but high value) are the Apple 12 Pro and Pro Max.
The Indian Medical Association states that cases are likely to rise further before coming down in Kerala as about 50 per cent of its population is still susceptible to the virus.
The Chinese government is imposing severe restrictions on their tech companies - whether it is on data security, marketing practices or floating an IPO. Should this be music to the ears of Indian start-ups and home-grown private equity (PE) funds? Ask Indian start-ups and the answer is a resounding "yes".
From social engineering to bearing the cost of COVID-19 treatment to financial reconstruction of Tamil Nadu's debt the debutant chief minister is emerging as a leader with a difference, says Shjne Jacob
In a first step towards succession plan, Chennai-based fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major CavinKare on Monday announced the restructuring of its businesses and also roped in the generation next giving charges of separate business verticals. Announcing the restructuring on Monday, CK Ranganathan, chairman and managing director of CavinKare indicated that the business will be split into mainly four different streams - FMCG, ecommerce, retail and research and development.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have enough capacity to absorb over 113.9 million Vodafone Idea subscribers who are on 4G if Vodafone Idea has to shut operations.
The government will have to make substantial payments, as well as forego revenues in FY'23, if it wants to work on the survival of Vodafone Idea because it will have to extend the same incentives to the entire telecom sector. According to estimates, the industry has to spend around Rs 21,000-Rs 25,000 crore for spectrum which it bought on a deferred payment basis. Vodafone Idea has asked for a moratorium for another year (FY23). If granted, the government will have foregone the instalment payout for a third year in a row as it has already provided a moratorium for two years, giving telcos Rs 42,000 crore worth of relief.
Byju's has quietly moved into other global markets such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It recently launched operations in Latin America.
The Tata group's tryst with mobile services, with either CDMA or GSM technology, did not really fly, forcing it to close operations and write off losses. Now the group is back in the big game, this time straddling the telecom equipment, network and technology space in India as well as the global market. To this end, it is leveraging the opportunities that flow from 5G technology through open radio access network, or O-RAN. Recently, the Tata Sons' subsidiary Panatone Finvest acquired 43.3 per cent in Bengaluru-based telecom equipment manufacturer Tejas Network for Rs 1,850 crore and announced it would buy another 26 per cent of the voting capital through an open offer.
Bad management, an exhausted government vigilance mechanism, delay in roping in private players, relaxing norms, and over-dependence on antigen tests may be the reason behind the surge, reports Shine Jacob.
Discussion has started between blank check companies in the US and Indian PEs on possible deals in certain key sectors.
The government may look at areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility. If successful, this would be one of the few sites of Sputnik V owned by Russian firms outside that country. Shine Jacob and Sohini Das report.
US tech giant Microsoft is in the final stages of talks with the Telangana government to set up a data centre with a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore. According to sources in the state government, the company has zeroed in on a land parcel near Hyderabad for the facility. "In the information technology (IT) space, Telangana is already seeing some major investments. "Microsoft is establishing its data centre here, and it may come out with a public announcement soon," said a source.
India's largest garment hub Tirupur continues to reel from the effects of the pandemic, with almost 10 per cent of its orders for the upcoming season getting diverted to Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. The sector had seen a drop of about 9 per cent in exports during the first wave, but the impact is likely to be more this time, according to industry experts. Being one of the epicentres of Covid cases in the state, a majority of manufacturing units in the textile belt were closed for almost six weeks during the second wave.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance group has struck acquisition deals worth $4.2 billion with a dozen companies in just two years to expand its retail business. The latest purchase was of a majority stake in Justdial for Rs 3,497 crore. Elaborating on his acquisition strategy a few weeks ago during the AGM, Ambani stated that one of the key planks would be to acquire businesses that enhanced Reliance's offerings and experiences to customers and that they would be both physical and digital.
Is there more than meets the eye to Kitex Garments, the world's second-largest children's garment producer, abandoning Kerala for Telangana?
The government of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with 35 companies that may see investment to the tune of Rs 17,141 crore, creating employment opportunities for 55,054 people. The major companies that would be coming up with fresh investments over Rs 1,000 crore in the state include JSW Renew Energy Two, TCS, ZF Wabco and Srivaru Motors among others. JSW Renew Energy Two will be coming up with a 450 megawatt (Mw) wind power generation unit at Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Dindigul and Tiruppur for Rs 3,000 crore. TCS will be coming up with its third phase of expansion at SIPCOT IT Park in Siruseri, ZF Wabco with an auto component unit at Kancheepuram for Rs 1,800 crore and a two-wheeler EV unit by Srivaru Motors for Rs 1,000 crore at Coimbatore.
The survey covered 1,210 IT executives and technology professionals from North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and India. In India, 202 respondents from businesses with more than 500 employees across 18 industry verticals completed the survey. Overall, 89 per cent of the respondents said implementing a work-from-home policy had increased security challenges for their organisations. The risk posed by shadow IT was especially high, with 89 per cent of companies having no control over the software that employees purchase and install on their devices.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) CEO Ravinder Takkar did some plain speaking. In an analyst call after its quarterly results recently, Takkar said that the main stumbling block to raising fresh capital from investors is "pricing" - telecom tariffs, in other words. Nine months ago, the telecom company's board had cleared a proposal for raising Rs 25,000 crore from investors, after the promoters made it clear that they were not ready to pump in more money. But potential investors are concerned that without clarity on tariff hikes (there have been none for more than 18 months) they might just lose their money. The lack of visibility on raising tariffs has also impelled VIL to request the Department of Telecom (DoT) for a fresh reprieve by extending the two-year moratorium on paying its spectrum instalment of Rs 8,200 crore for another year till FY23.
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