India Inc on Thursday pitched for continuation of reforms while ensuring tax and policy stability in the forthcoming Budget to prop up the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the virtual pre-Budget consultation held with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industry chambers said that government measures will help firmly entrench the nascent signs of recovery being currently seen in private investment. Capital expenditure by the government through enhanced infrastructure spending should in the meantime continue to support growth, CII president TV Narendran said.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has introduced a 20-per cent cashback offer on select prepaid plans, intensifying competition in the Indian telecommunications (telecom) market. Jio is the largest telecom service provider in India, with 443 million subscribers as of July. Jio's cashback offer will drive cross-selling across Reliance's various retail businesses, but the move is also being seen by some analysts as a signal that tariff hikes may not be around the corner just yet.
Equity benchmarks began the week on a downbeat note on Monday, weighed by heavy selling in market heavyweight Reliance Industries and persisting weakness in global bourses. The rupee plunged to its lifetime low against the US dollar amid unabated foreign fund outflows, underscoring the risk-off sentiment prevailing globally as central banks embark on policy tightening to tame soaring inflation. Slipping for the second straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex shed 364.91 points or 0.67 per cent to close at 54,470.67.
While the government has not barred procurement of equipment from Chinese companies, the process to amend the general financial rules (GFR) 2017 has started. This will impose restrictions on bidders in public procurement from countries that share a land border with India, reports Megha Manchanda.
Telecom operator Vodafone Idea is in advance stages of processing order for network capacity expansion in six circles through Chinese telecom gear makers, according to industry sources aware of the development. The order will be only for expansion of existing telecom network capacity where the contract was already awarded to the Chinese vendors, according to the sources.
Reliance Industries Ltd will acquire German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India for Rs 2,850 crore as the conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India's mammoth retail sector. "Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in Metro Cash & Carry India for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments," said a joint statement. Through this acquisition, Reliance Retail will get access to a network of Metro India stores located in prime locations across key cities, along with a large base of registered kiranas and other institutional customers, and a strong supplier network.
Saswat Chakraborti, head of G S Sanyal School of Telecommunications at IIT-KGP says: "We offered three short-term courses so far in 2007, and would introduce one more this December. We are planning several new courses targeted at B-tech graduates, industry professionals, as well as teachers from engineering institutes."
Bharti Airtel on Thursday said its 5G services have gone live in eight cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The customer availing 5G services will have to pay as per their existing 4G plan, it said. "Airtel has been at the forefront of India's telecom revolution for the last 27 years.
As many as 37 per cent of smartphones sold in India in 2022 cost Rs 15,000 or more.
Just a few weeks ago, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw did some tough talking with the senior managers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the ailing state-owned telecom service provider. The message was clear: They had to perform, quit by taking the voluntary retirement package or be compulsorily retired from service. The terse message from an otherwise polite and soft-spoken minister came just days after he announced a second and bigger package of Rs 1.64 trillion as part of a four-year turnaround plan for BSNL.
Telecom operators have started the process of scrubbing telemarketing messages but will allow their transmission to mobile subscribers till regulator Trai takes a final call, according to industry body COAI. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on March 12 gave three days' time to entities like banks, e-commerce firms and others for complying with telemarketing rules, failing which they were to be barred from sending out commercial communication to customers. The business organisations, however, have sought more time from the telecom regulator to implement the process. In the meantime, Trai has allowed telecom operators to start the process of scrubbing and prepare a database of messages that do not comply with norms.
A government panel on Tuesday proposed raising foreign investment limits in sectors like defence, multi-brand retail and telecommunications, to spur investment in the country and tide over the Current Account Deficit woes.
Expressing deep concerns over India's policy of preferring domestically manufactured information and communication technology goods, the apex body of US telecom industry has told lawmakers that this will have negative impact on exports and economic competitiveness.
With their net debt estimated at Rs 1.15 trillion, the merged entity will not be in much of a position to dole out freebies, says Romita Majumdar.
They are both electronic manufacturing services (EMS) companies, also known as contract manufacturers. One is Taiwan's Foxconn group, the undisputed global number one in this business with revenues of $223 billion. The other is Dixon Technologies, the biggest domestic player with revenues of over Rs 10,500 crore.
Besides aircraft, passenger drones, helicopters, turboprops and seaplanes will help the government achieve its ambitious goal
According to JP Morgan, it seems that Jio is willing to go for the jugular in chasing market share if this hurts some of its standing rivals like Vodafone and Idea to a point from where they find it difficult to fight back.
Vodafone Idea MD and CEO Ravinder Takker told PTI that the company is gearing up to invest in the business and compete in the market.
Powered by a rally in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, equity benchmark Sensex broke its four-session losing run to close above the 55,000-mark on Thursday despite a weak trend overseas. Investors made a cautious return to IT, pharma and bank stocks after their recent sell-off. However, a depreciating rupee and persistent foreign fund outflows capped the gains, traders said. Overcoming a lacklustre start, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 427.79 points or 0.78 per cent to close at 55,320.28.
Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL increase subscriber share while Idea manages to retain
Global markets trends, inflation, release of industrial output data and quarterly earnings will dictate movement of the equity benchmarks this week, analysts said, adding that volatility might continue amid slew of announcements of macroeconomic data at the global level too. Moreover, foreign fund movement, crude oil prices and trend in rupee would also act as major drivers for the equity market, they added. "The direction of global equity markets along with movement in dollar index and crude oil prices will continue to dominate while inflation numbers of the USA on May 11 and inflation and IIP numbers of India on May 12 will also cause volatility in the market," said Santosh Meena, head of research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.
A combination of one of the lowest labour costs and a large surplus workforce, which will continue to grow until 2031, is one of the key competitive edges that India is leveraging to challenge its rivals in Southeast Asia in the race for a China-Plus-One strategy. Apart from India, the countries in the race to woo global companies that manufacture in China, as well as the supply chains to their country include Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. On the labour front, India is a clear winner.
Jio's global partnerships took shape this year when Jio Platforms, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Jio which has invested in various digital platforms, was able to woo a bevy of marquee investors: Facebook, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, and a numerous PE funds.
Among major Sensex gainers, ITC rose the most by 2.32 per cent, followed by TCS, M&M, SBI and Bharti Airtel.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have joined hands to build a 5G-based remote working technology using robotics, according to a joint statement. TCS during the trials has successfully tested two use cases of its Neural Manufacturing solutions on Airtel's 5G testbed in Manesar - remote robotics operations, and vision-based quality inspection, the statement claimed. "The 5G ecosystem will open limitless possibilities for enterprises to enhance productivity and serve their customers even better with digitally enabled applications.
Xiaomi will strengthen its product portfolio and launch 5G devices in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment as it looks to increase its market share in the segment. Xiaomi led the shipments in overall smartphone category in 2021 with a 24 per cent share, according to Counterpoint Research. However, in the 5G segment it is ranked fourth behind One Plus, Samsung, and Vivo, with a 13 per cent share.
Chandigarh is ranked second in both e-infrastructure and e-participation. Puducherry ranks after Chandigarh on the e-infrastructure index.
Bharti Airtel and Tata Group on Monday announced a strategic partnership for implementing 5G network solutions for India. Tata Group has developed "O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) based Radio and NSA/SA (Non-Standalone/standalone) Core and has integrated a totally indigenous telecom stack, leveraging the Group capabilities and that of its partners", according to a joint statement. This will be available for commercial development starting January 2022.
'We don't have any agenda in that, there will be no discrimination against anyone. Constitution will be Gita in that'
Is self-reliance the right approach in a mega-buck game, or better to be part of a network? asks T N Ninan.
NTPC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping over 7 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, Titan, HCL Tech, SBI, PowerGrid, TCS and IndusInd Bank. NSE Nifty climbed 139.45 points to its new closing high of 17,519.45.
Move to help India export hi-end vehicles.
After a turnaround in performance by Indian equity markets since July that has seen the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 wipe out the year-to-date losses, analysts suggest investors start nibbling into stocks that are focused on the domestic economy. While they say intermittent corrections, led by policies of global central banks and other economic data, cannot be ruled out, analysts expect India's relative outperformance among global equity markets to continue as it looks better placed with a healthy economic recovery, and remains one of the fastest growing major economies. In this backdrop, Neeraj Chadawar, head of quantitative equity strategy at Axis Securities, believes that amid global slowdown, aggressive tightening by the central banks, and preference for domestic interests first (by the local government), export-oriented themes are likely to be muted or will deliver conservative returns in the near-term.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's four-year-old telecom venture Reliance Jio has been ranked the fifth strongest brand globally behind the likes of Ferrari and Coca-Cola. The Brand Finance's Global 500 ranking of the strongest brands globally, which determined the relative strength of brands, is topped by WeChat, according to its annual report on most valuable and strongest global brands.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, on October 15, gave its recommendation on spectrum auction for premium 900 Mhz band and 1800 Mhz band that are presently being used for 2G GSM mobile services by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 7 per cent drop in its June quarter net profit as retail business got hit by the second wave of COVID infections.
According to Ambani's presentation, data rates per GB are around $30 in Japan, $18 in Korea, $15 in China, $7.5 in Spain and $6 in South Africa
'While consumers have benefited tremendously from rock-bottom telecom tariffs, the telecom sector has been reeling under deep financial stress,' points out Rajan S Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India.
While existing players are expected to first drop prices, acquisition of smaller firms by larger ones is likely in future
A meeting to resolve these differences has been called on April 5 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
