Vinay Umarji &Amp; Dev Chatterjee

Stories by Vinay Umarji &Amp; Dev Chatterjee

How FYUP Will Benefit Undergrads

How FYUP Will Benefit Undergrads

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2022

'If the FYUP is making the child employable, then we will have to ensure that learning on the job is integrated.' 'And also ensure that by the time they end FYUP they are completely employable.'

At $171 billion in 2022, India Inc clinches highest ever yearly M&As

At $171 billion in 2022, India Inc clinches highest ever yearly M&As

Rediff.com   19 Dec 2022

Aided by the $57.8-billion merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC, India Inc reported its highest ever mergers and acquisitions in calendar 2022 at $171 billion as against deals worth $145 billion announced last year. The acquisition by the Adani group across cement, media and ports dominated the headlines with the conglomerate making its foray into the cement sector by buying Swiss materials firm Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cements for $6.5 billion. The Adani family's additional $4-billion open offer for Ambuja did not get a response because shareholders preferred to stay invested with the new owner.

Amul's utterly butterly supply melts; eateries switch to alternatives

Amul's utterly butterly supply melts; eateries switch to alternatives

Rediff.com   30 Nov 2022

It is the season of cooking and baking, but with Amul Butter in short supply, consumers aren't like the cat that got the cream. A shortage only means market shelves without butter on them. "There is a supply-side deficit. "We are now able to procure only two packs of butter a day, as opposed to three packs (each containing 30 packets of butter) in a day," says a salesman at Modern Bazaar, a departmental store in New Delhi's Greater Kailash.

SC junks Tata Power's plea on project award to Adani

SC junks Tata Power's plea on project award to Adani

Rediff.com   24 Nov 2022

In a setback to Tata Power, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the company's challenge to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission's (MERC's) decision to award a Rs 7,000-crore transmission project near Mumbai on a nomination basis to Adani Electricity. The court upheld the order by the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in this case and directed all State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to frame guidelines on tariff determination in accordance with Section 61 of the Electricity Act and the national policy. The verdict has implications for the Mumbai power market, said Ashok Pendse, an energy expert based in the city.

B-Schools: Consulting Tops Interns Hires

B-Schools: Consulting Tops Interns Hires

Rediff.com   9 Nov 2022

...followed by financial services, IT, and sales and marketing.

India Inc's fundraising from overseas falls sharply in Sep quarter

India Inc's fundraising from overseas falls sharply in Sep quarter

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2022

Foreign currency loans raised by Indian companies nosedived to $210 million in the September quarter (Q2), 93.3 per cent less than the year-ago period when five firms raised $3.1 billion. The Q2 amount is the lowest since December 2003 quarter when India Inc raised $191 million. Companies cited volatility in the currency markets, sharp rise in interest rates in the United States, and fund availability in India as the main reasons behind the sharp fall.

Led by HDFC twins, India sees record $124-billion M&A deals in H1FY23

Led by HDFC twins, India sees record $124-billion M&A deals in H1FY23

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2022

Fuelled by the $57.8-billion merger of HDFC twins (HDFC Ltd and HDFC Bank), M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions in India touched a record high of $124.2 billion in the first half of 2022-23. Bankers said with several transactions, including the government's stake sale in IDBI Bank and Hindustan Zinc in the pipeline, the ongoing financial year will end up as the best year for M&A activity in the country. Apart from the HDFC transaction, the $6.5-billion acquisition of Holcim stake by the Adani family and L&T's $3.2-billion acquisition of Mindtree added to the record transactions in the first half of FY23.

GEMs No Longer Shine At MBA Campuses

GEMs No Longer Shine At MBA Campuses

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2022

Many top B-schools attach more value now to academic record, bachelor's degree marks, work experience, performance in the personal interview, as well as gender and academic diversity -- resulting in a decline of the weighting to the CAT score.

Double-digit salary hikes return

Double-digit salary hikes return

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2022

Double-digits salary hikes are making a post-pandemic comeback on the back of a buoyant business outlook in 2023, according to global professional services firm Aon. Aon's latest "Salary Increase Survey in India" has not only projected a 10.4 per cent average hike across sectors for 2023, but also identified actual hikes in 2022 at 10.6 per cent as against its previous projection of 9.9 per cent in February. The figure of 10.6 per cent is the highest since 2012, whereas the 10.4 per cent levels projected for 2023 were last seen in 2015.

Piramal, Zurich Insurance to bid jointly for Reliance General Insurance

Piramal, Zurich Insurance to bid jointly for Reliance General Insurance

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2022

The Piramal group and Zurich Insurance have decided to jointly bid for Reliance General Insurance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital. The groups had earlier submitted separate bids for the general insurance business of bankrupt Reliance Capital. Both Piramal and Zurich will hold 50 per cent each in the proposed special purpose vehicle (SPV).

Tatas to invest $90 bn in India in 5 years

Tatas to invest $90 bn in India in 5 years

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2022

The Tata group is planning to invest $90 billion in new industries such as mobile components plant, semiconductor, electric vehicles, batteries, renewables energy and e-commerce by 2027. The Tata group's investment in India is far higher than the $75-billion investments planned by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries and $55-billion investment planned by the Adani group in the next five years in the country, the Economist reported recently. The investment by the Tata group is a shift in its strategy to focus more in the home markets instead of international markets where the group lost money.

Reliance Infra had filed arbitration claim of Rs 500 crore: Adani

Reliance Infra had filed arbitration claim of Rs 500 crore: Adani

Rediff.com   13 Sep 2022

The Adani group said Reliance Infrastructure, part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, had initiated arbitration on one specific dispute under the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) in December 2021 with a claim for just Rs 500 crore. Adani said it has filed counterclaims against the Ambani company. The Adani group firm, Adani Electricity was reacting to a Reliance Infrastructure statement of last week, which said it has filed an arbitration claim of Rs 13,400 crore against Adani Group in the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA). Reliance had cited a breach of a December 2017 share purchase agreement relating to the transfer of its Mumbai power distribution business to Adani Transmission.

RIL may be lone bidder for JBF Petrochem

RIL may be lone bidder for JBF Petrochem

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2022

Reliance Industries (RIL) is likely to be the lone bidder for Mangalore-based JBF Petrochemicals, which is up for sale after defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 5,000 crore. The lenders for the second time extended the deadline for submission of bids, which had ended on August 20, as several players, including public sector companies, were redrawing their acquisition plans, said people in the know. "There were several companies which had submitted their expressions of interest (EoIs) for the company but after due diligence decided to exit the race," said a source close to the development. "The new deadline for submitting financial offers is August-end," the source said.

Rupee at 80: How top Indian companies hedged themselves for dollar

Rupee at 80: How top Indian companies hedged themselves for dollar

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2022

Reliance Industries, the Tata group, Bharti Airtel and Aditya Birla are among Indian conglomerates that have hedged their revenue and costs linked to the US dollar, giving them financial cover as the rupee fell past 80 against the greenback on Tuesday.

How Amul bucked Covid blues to launch 100 products during lockdown

How Amul bucked Covid blues to launch 100 products during lockdown

Rediff.com   23 Jul 2022

The dairy major is transforming into a full-fledged F&B and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) player, reports Vinay Umarji.

Tatas Planning First IPO In 18 Years

Tatas Planning First IPO In 18 Years

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2022

The Tata Tech IPO will be the first from the Tata group since TCS listed its shares in 2004.

Rupee @ 80: How it will affect Indian firms

Rupee @ 80: How it will affect Indian firms

Rediff.com   15 Jul 2022

As the Indian currency hovers around its lowest versus the US greenback, several smaller and mid-sized companies are expected to face rough weather as almost 44 per cent of the foreign loans taken by Indian companies remained unhedged. According to the data sourced from the Reserve Bank of India, Indian companies raised around $38.2 billion in the financial year ended in March. Of this, only 56 per cent of the loans are hedged while the rest of the foreign loans remain unhedged, thus risking the companies to forex volatility.

Shareholders expect RIL to unlock value in telecom, retail

Shareholders expect RIL to unlock value in telecom, retail

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2022

Institutional shareholders of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are expecting big-ticket announcements from the company, including timeline for listing of its telecom and retail subsidiaries. They expect this to unlock value in the company, which has seen a sharp fall in market valuation on Friday. This is due to windfall tax imposed by the Centre on refiners and oil producers.

Boots UK sale abandoned; RIL to look for other opportunities

Boots UK sale abandoned; RIL to look for other opportunities

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2022

American retail major Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday said it would retain its pharma retail business - Boots UK - thus abandoning the entire sale process. The company did not make any comment specifically on the offer made by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL), which had made a bid for the company last month. "As a result of market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots and No7 Beauty Company.

To mark Adani's 60th birthday, family pledges Rs 60K cr to charities

To mark Adani's 60th birthday, family pledges Rs 60K cr to charities

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2022

In one of the biggest donations by a business family in India, the family of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on Thursday committed to donating Rs 60,000 crore (around $7.7 billion) to various charities related to health care, education, and skill development. The commitment has been made to mark Gautam Adani's 60th birthday on Friday as well as the birth centenary year of his father Shantilal Adani. The corpus will be administered by the Adani Foundation. "At a very fundamental level, [programmes] related to all these three areas should be seen holistically and they collectively form the drivers to build an equitable and future-ready India.