Surajeet Das Gupta

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta

Without govt's help, 25% retailers may have to down shutters

Without govt's help, 25% retailers may have to down shutters

Rediff.com   8 Apr 2020

The sobering news is that retailers - including big firms like Reliance Retail - and exhibitors are contemplating issuing force majeure notices to shopping malls and real estate owners, and are in discussions with them to formulate an action plan for sharing the financial burden of the lockdown.

'Lockdown should be extended for another 15 days'

'Lockdown should be extended for another 15 days'

Rediff.com   2 Apr 2020

'In the first phase, you might allow 30 per cent of the workforce to come in and see how it goes,' says industrialist Harsh Goenka.

In essential items, e-commerce is no match to kirana stores

In essential items, e-commerce is no match to kirana stores

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2020

Despite the failure of most e-commerce players to meet orders through the first week of the lockdown, there has been no serious crisis, thanks to supplies from 11 million small kirana and mom-and-pop stores across the country with the support of over 300,000 distributors and wholesalers.

'It is bound to be a slow and strained recovery'

'It is bound to be a slow and strained recovery'

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2020

'When 99.9 per cent of the most vulnerable are above 65, I see no logic in this sweeping lockdown in a country in which 94 per cent are below 65.' 'The most sensible thing to do would be to recalibrate this unnecessary lockdown as soon as possible.'

The murky trail of Rana Kapoor's firm DOIT

The murky trail of Rana Kapoor's firm DOIT

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2020

DOIT is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Morgan Credits in which Rana Kapoor's daughters Radha, Roshini and Raakhe, are directors. In 2018-19, the company incurred a net loss of Rs 48.76 crore on revenues of Rs 59 crore - a sharp contrast to 2017-18 when it had profits of Rs 2.7 crore on revenues of Rs 43 crore. To fund these aggressive investments into its subsidiaries in 2018-19, DOIT used debt which doubled to Rs 600 crore in 2018-19 from the previous year.

ISPs find work-from-home has boosted demand for data

ISPs find work-from-home has boosted demand for data

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2020

Feedback from telecom members indicated a 10 per cent increase in traffic, but no fears of choked networks. Telcos currently use 65-70 per cent of the network capacity. In other words, they have enough additional capacity to handle the new pressure without clogging the system.

Ambani vs Chandra: Media convergence set for a new game

Ambani vs Chandra: Media convergence set for a new game

Rediff.com   28 Feb 2020

In terms of market capitalisation, Zee alone has a market cap of Rs 24,000 crore compared to Rs 15,000 crore of the merged Reliance entity.

The billion-dollar question before Vodafone Group

The billion-dollar question before Vodafone Group

Rediff.com   24 Feb 2020

Based on Statista data for 2019, Vodafone has 17.2 million subscribers in the UK, 29.5 million in Germany, and over 13.7 million in Spain. Without Voda Idea, the Group will become smaller than Airtel and Jio.

What consolidation of telcos mean for the customers

What consolidation of telcos mean for the customers

Rediff.com   20 Feb 2020

The Indian market is more in sync with mobile markets of advanced countries like the UK, Japan, and South Korea, where there are fewer players - three to four.

Telcos, DoT discuss part paying AGR ahead of SC ruling

Telcos, DoT discuss part paying AGR ahead of SC ruling

Rediff.com   28 Jan 2020

The companies have offered to pay upfront the principal amount due for licence fees and spectrum usage charges (SUCs) on the basis of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). This amount will not include the interest, the penalty, and the interest on the penalty.

The little-known company that's buying up distressed telcos

The little-known company that's buying up distressed telcos

Rediff.com   24 Jan 2020

UV Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd has made the highest bid of Rs 16,000 crore to buy Anil Ambani group's Reliance Communications and Reliance Telecom, which are in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Last year it was the highest bidder for taking over Aircel's assets for an upfront payment of Rs 150 crore. Surajeet Das Gupta and Dev Chatterjee dig deeper to find out more about this little known company.

Why Yes Bank audit committee chief quit

Why Yes Bank audit committee chief quit

Rediff.com   13 Jan 2020

Uttam Prakash Agarwal alleged that Citax and Braich offers were incomplete and did not include firm commitment as to the price, size, timings, confirmation from the banks about availability of the funds.

How Ashish Bharat Ram transformed SRF

How Ashish Bharat Ram transformed SRF

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2019

SRF

High-end phone smuggling is costing govt exchequer Rs 2,400 crore annually

High-end phone smuggling is costing govt exchequer Rs 2,400 crore annually

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2019

As much as Rs 8,000 crore worth of mobile phones in this segment - out of a total of Rs 15,000 crore - come into the country through the grey market. The government imposed the duty on these phones primarily to encourage domestic production but the strategy has failed as the bulk of high end mobile phones are currently imported.

How Uber plans to cover 200 cities by 2020-end

How Uber plans to cover 200 cities by 2020-end

Rediff.com   25 Dec 2019

The key driver of this expansion will be not car-hailing but bike-taxi service. The company is willing to partner local players that have a similar offer and would like to come on their platform.

If Voda Idea shuts shop, Airtel to gain the most

If Voda Idea shuts shop, Airtel to gain the most

Rediff.com   11 Dec 2019

If Vodafone Idea shuts, a bulk of the high-paying ARPU customers will move to Airtel as Reliance Jio does not have a comprehensive postpaid offering like it, and have aggressively preferred to play in the prepaid market. The bulk of Vodafone Idea customers use 2G phones and only a few of them use data. It will be easier for Airtel to woo these customers as they can shift seamlessly to its 2G network without changing handsets or even SIM cards,

Reliance, Airtel and 2 others bid for three Anil Ambani group companies

Reliance, Airtel and 2 others bid for three Anil Ambani group companies

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2019

The three companies for sale are Reliance Communications, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel.

The story behind Vodafone's fall in India

The story behind Vodafone's fall in India

Rediff.com   24 Nov 2019

Cut-throat competition, high spectrum costs, and frequent flip-flops in government policies have made it difficult for Vodafone to make money in the country.

Why air tickets in India are going cheap

Why air tickets in India are going cheap

Rediff.com   18 Nov 2019

Airlines say that they are keeping their fingers crossed for December - another peak period - when, based on current bookings, the air fares for those who buy early are more or less in line with last year.