Tata Communications on Wednesday announced that it would acquire NYSE-listed Kaleyra, a global omnichannel integrated communication services provider with a set of proprietary platforms offering targeted personalisation through messaging, video, push notification, e-mails and voice-based services, and chatbots. The acquisition is an all cash deal. Tata Communications has agreed to acquire Kaleyra at a price per share of $7.25, for a total consideration to Kaleyra shareholders of approximately $100 million, besides the assumption of all outstanding debt.
The revamped Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law is unlikely to see the light of the day before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce department had sought the Union Cabinet's nod to bring amendments to the existing SEZ Act, 2005 late last year. The plan, thereafter, was to introduce the Bill in the winter session of Parliament. Cabinet's approval remains pending.
The two countries also signed a 'Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers', which will facilitate the posting of one military officer from each country with the military of the other.
These 10 stocks represent the best mix of value and growth, offering relatively low price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, a high return on equity, and sufficiently high potential from current levels.
Govt's e-commerce portal asks sellers to specify country origin of products. Now, the commerce & industry ministry has mandated that the Government e-Marketplace, which has seen Rs 55,048 crore worth of transactions till now, adopt this approach in the interest of creating an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.
A senior official of India Post at Kolkata General Post Office told PTI that since e-commerce is a sunrise industry, it is trying to earn higher revenue in the region by involving local traders and business houses.
The production of eight infrastructure sectors rose by 7.5 per cent in October on healthy performance by the segments of coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement, official data released on Tuesday showed. The output of eight core sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 0.5 per cent in October 2020, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry. Core sectors' growth stood at 4.5 per cent in September this year.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for lowering income tax burden on common man, increase in capital expenditure, and firm steps to contain food inflation in their nearly two-hour long interaction with finance minister Nirmala Shitharaman ahead of the Union Budget. During pre-Budget consultation with Sitharaman, the industry leaders and associations also urged the government to focus more on infrastructure development with a view to maintaining the economic growth momentum. The industry leaders also laid stress on boosting the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector, considered a backbone of the Indian economy and main employment generator.
State-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has committed Rs 600 crore for its digital transformation journey, Sunder Krishnan, chief risk officer said on Wednesday. The insurance giant is also aiming to become completely "paperless" in two years. "We have hired a large system integrator for more than Rs 400 crore, a consultant for digital transformation for Rs 100 crore, and Rs 100 crore for agency transformation.
Wholesale inflation in the country rose for the fourth consecutive month in June at 3.36 per cent on account of rise in prices of food articles, especially vegetables and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was 2.61 per cent in May. It was (-) 4.18 per cent in June 2023.
Walmart group firm Flipkart continues to dominate the e-commerce segment with 48 per cent market share while Softbank-backed Meesho has emerged as the fastest growing e-commerce platform in terms of user base in India, a latest report by AllianceBernstein said. According to the report, Flipkart's user base grew 21 per cent year-on-year (YoY), Meesho accelerated at 32 per cent while Amazon lagged at 13 per cent user growth primarily due to relative premium offerings as compared to peers. "As of FY23, Flipkart was the market leader, with a 48 per cent share in India eCommerce.
Amidst strained ties with China, the pre-budget Economic Survey on Monday made a strong case for seeking foreign direct investments (FDI) from Beijing to boost local manufacturing and tap the export market. As the US and Europe are shifting their immediate sourcing away from China, it is more effective to have Chinese companies invest in India and then export the products to these markets rather than importing from the neighbouring country, the Survey said.
Make no mistake, Reliance's entry into Indian e-commerce cannot be taken lightly. It is akin to a combine of AT&T and Wal-Mart challenging Amazon on its home turf, says Shailesh Dobhal.
The government on Friday scrapped a minimum price threshold that it had set previously for exports of onion as it looked to pass on the benefit of international glut to Indian farmers. The government had previously fixed a $550 per tonne as the minimum export price (MEP), which essentially meant farmers could not sell their produce overseas at lower than this rate.
India has reduced the time period for foreign investors to seek international arbitration from five years to three years as part of the recently signed investment pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a departure from its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). Under the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, if the Indian judicial system is unable to resolve a dispute within this shortened period, investors can resort to international arbitration. The investment pact, signed on February 13 in Abu Dhabi, came into force on August 31, replacing the previous pact.
India is not "rethinking" supporting investments from China, said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday, referring to a proposal made in the Economic Survey 2024. The survey by India's chief economic advisor last week said India had two "choices" to benefit from the so-called China plus one strategy, either by integrating into that country's supply chain or by promoting foreign direct investment (FDI). "Chief economic advisor's report speaks about new ideas and gives out their own thinking. It is not at all binding on the government and there is no rethinking to support Chinese investments in the country," Goyal told reporters in Delhi.
100-day agenda: Commerce ministry pushes for separate logistics department
Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to e-commerce controversies.
Following the disengagement, both sides will soon start the coordinated patrolling in their respective areas, sources added.
'The overwhelming evidence from various studies and reports indicates that the current work culture in the IT sector, characterised by excessive hours, has severe consequences for health, productivity, and overall quality of life.'
Tata Group's CLiQ is the latest to join the e-commerce club, to compete with the likes of Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal.
In calendar year 2024, the stock price of Trent has zoomed 160% As compared to the 18% rally in the BSE Sensex during the same period. It has outperformed the market in the past 10 consecutive years.
Leading FMCG companies reported a decline in margins in the September quarter on account of higher input costs and food inflation, which ultimately slowed down the pace of urban consumption. Rising prices of commodity inputs such as palm oil, coffee and cocoa were also accentuated and some FMCG firms have hinted at a price hike. HUL, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), Marico, ITC, and Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) have expressed concerns over squeezing urban consumption, which according to industry experts forms 65-68 per cent of FMCG total sales.
Out of all the reported digital payment frauds in India, over half (55 per cent) were United Payments Interface (UPI)-related, a new report released on Tuesday revealed. Another 18 per cent are card related, 12 per cent are related to internet banking and nine per cent are from phishing calls. Most of the UPI-related frauds, however, have a low ticket size.
The Modi government's flagship initiative 'Make in India' launched 10 years ago has helped the country boost exports, push investments and promote manufacturing. Under the initiative, launched on September 25, 2014, a series of measures have been taken by the government to boost local manufacturing. These initiatives include the rollout of production linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors, easing foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, reducing compliance burden to improve business climate, all approvals through single window, and rolling out of the national logistics policy.
'80% of start ups fail because they don't have a support system to help them in the very early phase.' 'It's not just an idea that takes an entrepreneur through the initial three years of journey.' 'What plays a definitive role in making a start-up successful is idea+team+capital+mentors+access to a larger ecosystem.'
The US on Wednesday mourned the death of veteran industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Naval Tata, remembering him as someone who drove India to greater prosperity and development. Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who transformed a staid group into India's largest and most influential conglomerate, breathed his last at south Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital at 11.30 pm on Wednesday. He was 86. "My last meeting with Ratan Tata at Google, we talked about the progress of Waymo and his vision was inspiring to hear. He leaves an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing modern business leadership in India.
'In the second half of 2024, about 60% of startup jobs will be taken by entry-level candidates with 0-3 years of experience.'
Framing the next chapter in Swiggy's journey as a responsible corporate citizen, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Sriharsha Majety unveiled the company's eagerly awaited public listing. Majety, who has largely shunned the spotlight, shared reflections on his entrepreneurial path and the strategic pivots he and his co-founders navigated in building Swiggy. "We started with code aggregation, then pivoted to logistics, and that became Swiggy.
With more than 10,000 stores under the various Reliance retail brands and over 2.5 million kirana stores already tying up with it, Jio's online marketplace would have the biggest hyperlocal logistics network in the country.
The strong message from the prime minister is of continuity of policies he considers right with strong emphasis on execution, points out T N C Rajagopalan.
'Although currently, urban areas contribute more to growth than rural, there is no reason why rural areas should not contribute.'
India's merchandise exports in April 2024 marginally rose to $34.99 billion from $34.62 billion in the year-ago month, according to government data released on Wednesday. Imports too increased to $54.09 billion from $49.06 billion in April 2023.
The MHA on Friday, while extending the lockdown for two more weeks till May 17, lifted many restrictions in green and orange zones. There are no restrictions on sale of non-essential items by e-commerce platforms in green and orange zones, a home ministry spokesperson said, adding barber shops and salons are also allowed to open in these areas.
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The indicative salary outlook for junior employees is Rs 1.45 lakh-Rs 3 lakh per annum, while for mid-management it is between Rs 12 lakh-Rs 30 lakh per annum
A non-strategic investor like Poonawalla brings in not only capital but also creative freedom. Indian cinema needs more investors like him, reports Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
The output of eight core infrastructure sectors grew marginally by 0.1 per cent in January, mainly due to growth in the production of fertiliser, steel and electricity. The core sectors had expanded by 2.2 per cent in January 2020, according to the provisional data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Friday. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, and cement recorded negative growth in January.
Wholesale inflation fell to a 4-month low of 1.31 per cent in August due to a decline in prices of vegetables and fuel, even though onion and potato prices spiked, according to official data released on Tuesday. Wholesale price index-based inflation fell for the second straight month in August after it hit a high of 3.43 per cent in May. Inflation in July was 2.04 per cent. In August last year, WPI inflation was (-) 0.46 per cent.
The wholesale inflation rose for the third consecutive month in May at 2.61 per cent on account of rise in prices of food articles, especially vegetables, and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was 1.26 per cent in the previous month. It was (-) 3.61 per cent in May 2023. "Positive rate of inflation in May, 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, other manufacturing etc," the ministry of commerce & industry said in a statement on Friday.
E-retailers with foreign investments may now find it difficult to provide discounts.
