The Tata name is part of most of Tata  Consumer’s  brands,  except  Himalayan, which was acquired  more than  15 years ago.  D’Souza said adding  the Tata name  required  a careful  evaluation process. 

 Sunil D’Souza, managing director and CEO  of  Tata Consumer, said in an analysts call on Wednesday that there are  no  plans  to  rename the Ching’s  Secret, Smith & Jones and Organic India  brands. . D’Souza  was  responding to investors’ questions about  the  acquisition  of Capital Foods and Organic India, announced  by Tata  Consumer on Friday.

  Manufacturer  Tata Tea and Tata Salt will spend Rs 7,000 crore on  these  acquisitions, which will help  them enter  high-growth  regions.  “We  buy  these brands for what they are. We  don’t buy  them to  disassemble  them. If we  think  there is value in adding the Tata name to these  brands then  we will do  it  later,” D’Souza said  during  the investor call.  

 The Tata name is part of most of Tata  Consumer’s  brands,  except  Himalayan, which was acquired  more than  15 years ago.

 D’Souza said adding  the Tata name  required  a careful  evaluation process.  “We acquired the Soulfull brand in 2021 from Kottaram Agro Foods (based in Bengaluru). We  have  added the Tata name to the Soulfull brand.  This  has helped the brand  expand into  the breakfast cereal and  snack categories,”  he told investors. Soulfull is a millet-based brand and has seen  many expansion steps  since  it was acquired  by Tata Consumer. 

  The company also  owns  Tata Sampann, which  sells  branded  products,  masalas, dry fruits,  nuts,  etc. and  features NourishCo’s healthy drinks portfolio, alongside  its  core  tea, coffee and  salt business.  

  D’Souza  said  Tata Consumer,  which had consolidated revenue in  FY23  of  Rs 13,783 crore,  is  looking to  move into  a large FMCG  business,  using both organic and inorganic  for growth. “We will  operate  in food  and beverage first, while looking  at  value-creating  inorganic opportunities that  give  us access to  rapidly growing  categories,” he said. 

  The company is  exploring several financing  options for  its  two latest acquisitions,  providing exposure  to categories such as instant noodles, sauces and pastes  as well as organic tea  and  care  products.  health.  

  While speaking to  FE on Sunday,  D’Souza  had said that the company  has  Rs 3,000 crore  of  liquidity  on its books, which  will  be  used  for  transactions. The balance  of  Rs 4,000 crore  will  be raised through a  combination  of short-term debt and  rights issue. The proposed size of the rights issue has been pegged at Rs 3,500 crore,  although D’Souza  said  the Tata board  will  finally approve the fund-raising  plan  at  its  meeting on Friday (January 19). 

  “The Capital Foods transaction will  be completed  in two  weeks. Meanwhile,  Organic India will take  about  45-60 days  to close,”  D’Souza told FE.  

 In terms of integration,  Capital Foods and Organic India  will  strategically  integrate  into  platforms built by Tata  Consumer, he said.  This  includes  breakfast and  small meals  for Capital  Foods’  instant  noodle  and  soup  portfolio;  an inventory of  Smith & Jones sauces and pastes  as well as  premium teas for  organic Indian  teas and infusions. 

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 The group will meet again  soon. The meeting, attended by  the  Ministries  of  Commerce, Navy, Defense  and  Foreign Affairs, showed  that so far  the trade volume of the main ports  has not  decreased.  

 An inter-ministerial meeting on  the  Red Sea crisis on Wednesday  asked  the  Department of Financial Services (DFS)  of  the  Ministry of Finance  to monitor the credit  needs  of  exporters,  a senior official said  on Wednesday. exports and ensure the maintenance of credit flows for them.  

 “We have  asked  DFS to monitor  the  bank credit  amount  and  provide  bank  credit relief,”  the official said. The  ministry was  also  asked to  monitor transport  insurance  costs,  the official said after the meeting. 

  The group will meet again  soon. The meeting, attended by  the  Ministries  of  Commerce, Navy, Defense  and  Foreign Affairs, showed  that so far  the trade volume of the main ports  has not  decreased.  

 The  Ministry of Transport is tasked with monitoring volumes,  which  have  so  far remained stable. “For now  we are  ensuring  that  volumes are  not  affected.” The  Ministry of Defense  informed  during  the meeting that it has improved  surveillance  capabilities  in  the  Arabian Sea and  introduced  more mechanisms  for smooth  navigation.  

 The  Ministry of Defense  also  participated  in the discussions  as  10 Indian warships  along  with  maritime  commandos  were  deployed  to  the  area.  The  Ministry  of  Foreign Affairs  is negotiating with affected countries to  quickly  find a credible solution  to the crisis. 

  The  official said costs  and turnaround  times for  shipments have increased  because  two shipping  companies,  including  Maersk,  have  suspended services,  but  volumes have  not  been affected. He  said so far there has  only  been  a  time and cost impact, nothing else. 

  Faced with  the  rapid escalation of the  situation in the  region, transport fares  on  certain  routes have  increased sixfold.  

Exporters fear  the  consequences  could  be significant  if the situation does not  return to normal. The  government may  need  to  consider other  routes.  

 The ministry has also  spoken  to exporters. In  December,  no impact of the crisis was  recorded  on  overall  export  figures.  Most  shipments to Europe and the  United States pass  through the Cape of Good Hope. 

  For  its  part,  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  has asked  the  Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) not to increase  fees for  credit insurance and other related  services. Insurance enables  banks to  provide  adequate export credit facilities to  exporters in a timely manner.  A  strategy  group has also been  set up in  the  Ministry of Commerce,  at the level of additional  secretary,  to  closely monitor  the situation. Since mid-November, Houthi rebels, who control  much  of Yemen, have  targeted  commercial ships  crossing  the lower Red Sea to show  solidarity with Gaza and protest  the deployment of its forces. Israel  in the region. In  response,  the  United States  and  the United Kingdom  

  According to various reports,  the conflict in the Red Sea  resulted in a 40-60% increase in  shipping  costs, a 15-20% increase in  insurance  premiums,  and delays of up to 20 days  as  some ships  left the  Suez Canal. 

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 The length of these roads will be 522 km and cost Rs 39,477 crore. Uttar Pradesh will have six expressways covering 1,344 km at a cost of Rs 50,333 crore. 

 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified 53 road projects worth Rs 2.1 trillion to be developed through the Build Operate Transfer (BoT) model. This marks a major shift in resource generation strategy, after years of low risk as private capital pushed the debt burden to very high levels. 

 About 5,214 km of high traffic road sections will be developed through BoT. The maximum number of BOT projects (14) will be in Maharashtra. The length of these roads will be 522 km and cost Rs 39,477 crore. Uttar Pradesh will have six expressways covering 1,344 km at a cost of Rs 50,333 crore. 

 Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttrakhand will get six new 490 km long highways on the BoT at a cost of Rs 15,600 crore. Seven projects in Andhra Pradesh and four projects in Bihar will be developed at a total cost of Rs 28,027 crore. The four BoT projects in Tamil Nadu will generate investments worth Rs 26,061 crore.  As per  the Centre’s  ‘Vision 2047’  plan, a large number of high-speed corridors are expected to be developed. According to a statement by NHAI, strong public-private partnerships in  road sector  development  will play a key role in achieving this vision. 

 The government wants to  promote BOT to attract private participation in highway construction. In the BOT model, the concessionaire will build and operate the expressway, thereby saving government resources. However, in some cases, the BOT model also  supports  capital  up to 40%. 

 In 2007 and 2014, only BOT was used to build the expressway. With conflicts and delays in the system, the pace of highway construction has slowed significantly. 

 During 2018-19 and 2019-20, no road concessions were awarded under the BOT model.  The  problems  faced  by the BOT have been resolved and contractors are ready to  restart highway bidding  under this  model, officials said.  In recent years, almost the entire cost of highway construction has been covered by the government through the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC). This led to a sharp increase in  budget  support to NHAI. This year, the budget will provide Rs 1.62 lakh crore to  NHAI,  compared to Rs 1.41 lakh crore last year. In 2021-22, NHAI collected Rs 57,081 crore from the budget and the  rest from  debt. 

From Budget 2022-23, NHAI is no longer allowed to raise  funds  through bonds.

To make BoT more attractive, changes have been proposed in the BOT (Tolling) Model Concession Agreement (MCA) to address concerns and  clearly  remove  barriers faced  by  stakeholders. officials issued.  The proposed changes include various provisions aimed at eliminating discrepancies, such as determining termination fees, changing  actual traffic-based incentive  (PCU)  periods related to  vehicle groups Toll  facilities, actual traffic  capacity  exceeds the  rated  capacity to  check  and compensate for  travel  delays.  Partial  jurisdiction as well as force majeure events  result in  clearly defined termination fees prior to project completion with a new  buyout  clause in  the event  of additional toll  highways/competing routes .  

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The company currently operates 30 dental clinics with  over  40 doctors in  Bangalore,  Delhi and Mumbai and plans to  open  another 100-110 dental clinics this year, including  cities  like  Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai.  

 Healthtech startup Practo, which primarily offers  an  online appointment  booking platform,  e-pharmacy and e-diagnostics, is looking to  grow  its business with  single-specialty  care,  starting  starting with co-branded dental and  dermatologist  clinics in  select  cities.  

 The company currently operates 30 dental clinics with  over  40 doctors in  Bangalore,  Delhi and Mumbai and plans to  open  another 100-110 dental clinics this year, including  cities  like  Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai. It  also  plans to  eventually establish  co-branded dermatology  clinics.  

 “The  dental care  market is very fragmented  and there is no  single major  dental brand.  So,  consumers find it difficult to  know  which clinic to choose,” Rowel Coelho,  Sales Director of  Practo  Clinic,  told Fe in an interaction. He added that there is a need  to establish a standardized quality control system  in dental  care,  with  an  emphasis on  advanced  equipment and  price transparency.  

 For its co-branded dental clinics, Practo enters into profit-sharing partnerships with existing dental  practitioners who  operate  independent clinics and  standardize quality and infrastructure.  their  strata, treatments,  and non-medical  activities.  

 The  company’s  expansion strategy comes on the  heels  of a  slowdown  in  revenue  growth in FY23,  which saw  its  operating  revenue  decline  3.2% year-on-year to  ₹204.4 crore Rs.  However,  the company  managed to  reduce  its  loss  by 58% to Rs 99.4 crore in FY23 due to lower  advertising  and  consulting  costs.  Practo’s  B2C segment contributes nearly 80-85% of  total  revenue.  Although  its healthcare platform –  offering  online appointment booking,  e-pharmacy, and more.  –  as  the  core  of the business, the company is looking  to expand across the board, including  telemedicine, secondary care  surgery  and co-branded clinics. 

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 HDFC Bank is  expected  to announce its December quarter  results  on Tuesday, January 16. Analysts and brokerage firms expect the bank to report  good  overall  numbers for the December  quarter  However,  net  profit margin (NIM) may come under  pressure  from  high  capital costs.  

 Earlier this  month,  HDFC Bank  reported  its  total  advances  amounted  to ₹24,69,500 crore as  on  December 31, 2023, registering a growth of  about 62.4% from  ₹15,20,500 crore as  on  December 31, 2022. 

Domestic  personal  loans  increased 111%  year-on-year  and  about 3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

 Commercial and rural banking loans  increased  by  6.5%  and  other  corporate and  wholesale loans (excluding  erstwhile HDFC  Limited non-personal loans) increased  by  2%.  

 The  Bank’s  CASA ratio stood at  approximately 37.7%  as of December 31, 2023,  compared to  44%  as of December 31, 2022 and  37.6%  as of September 30, 2023. 

  Shreyansh Shah,  Research Analyst  at  StoxBox,  expects the bank to  witness  strong  growth in its  business  thanks  to increased  branch count  and  a well-functioning  sales  team , supported  by the  holiday  season. 

  According to  Shah’s estimates,  deposits are  expected  to  grow well  in Q3FY24 due to attractive interest rates and increased  fixed deposit (TD) mobilization.  However,  his  CASA may have a  small  impact due to increased  TD traction.  

  NIM is expected  to  range from 3.4% to 3.6%  due to  high  capital costs.  “We expect  profitability and return  on capital to improve  due to  increased  disbursements, mainly  for  construction  financing.  As HDFC Bank  already manages HDFC’s non-commercial portfolio  Ltd. in the  last quarter,  we do not  expect any  further  deterioration  in asset quality in the current  and  upcoming  quarters,” Shah said.  Going  forward,  Shah expects the bank to have a  strong coverage ratio. Securing  healthy liquidity  thanks  to the merger effect, with  returns supported  by  strong revenue  growth  across  the  various  lending  segments. Additionally, a better mix of  lending sources , especially focusing  on the retail  sector, will  help the bank  perform better than banks  in the  same  industry.  Estimates from  brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services  suggest that  HDFC Bank  could record  a  32.5% year-on-year increase  in net  profit,  while net interest income  could grow by 26.8% over the same period last year. same period  in  the third quarter of fiscal 2024.  

  HDFC  Bank’s operating profit,  according to Motilal Oswal,  could increase by 26.2% year-on-year.  

 For more  information,  visit at https://happenrecently.com/zepto/?amp=1

 Amid  growing  tensions in the West  Asian  region,  Foreign  Minister S Jaishankar  began a two-day visit  on  Sunday.  The  Coalition Government  is also  looking at  using  alternative  trade routes and has asked  the  Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) not to  increase  insurance premiums  in the face of  rising  shipping  costs  to Europe. 

  The  Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Monday that the  Red Sea shipping crisis could  have the biggest  impact  on India’s  exports to  Europe,  as about  80%  of  shipments to Europe  pass  through the  region.  Red Sea  area.  

 This assumes  importance  as  India’s exports of  goods  to the European Union (EU) have  slowed due to  weak  demand  amid  the  war between Russia and Ukraine.  The EU contributes  more than 15%  of  India’s  total  export turnover. Additionally, some environment-related  trade  measures,  such as the  EU’s  carbon border adjustment mechanism and  deforestation  laws, could harm India’s  exports  in the future. 

 The ministry said  there has been an increase in attacks on commercial  ships passing  through the lower Red Sea since mid-November and  that 80%  of  India’s  trade  in goods  with Europe passes  through the  Red Sea. 

  “Costs are  increasing due to  disruptions in  the Red  Sea.  But ultimately it will depend on demand.  US exports  also  pass  through the Suez route.  Transportation costs  are  increasing.  An additional congestion  charge  is also  charged. But if  demand is  high,  shipments  disappear.  

 “If they are not  time-sensitive products,  they will  be relocated. It’s  a global  problem. All goods move  from  east  to  west via  the Red Sea route,”  Commerce Minister  Sunil Barthwal said at a press  conference.  

 The ministry said  the Red Sea region is  important  for  30%  of global container traffic and  12%  of global trade and  that  about  95%  of  ships  have  been  rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, adding  4,000  to  6,000  nautical miles and  losing  14 to 20  days. for travel. 

  “Transportation  has been  suspended  due to high freight  rates  and surcharges  (according to EPC). Movements  of most  ships have been  affected  and  are often delayed for  2-3 weeks as  incoming  ships  with longer  journeys  are delayed.  Currently,  container availability  is  not  considered  an issue as  there is enough space.  However, the combined impact of  increased shipping  costs, insurance  fees  and longer transit times could make imported goods  much  more expensive,” the ministry  said.

  India’s export  shipments of  low-value  products such as  agricultural products  and textiles to Europe are  mainly  expected to face the impact of  disruptions  in the Red Sea region. 

  Amid  growing  tensions in the West  Asian  region,  Foreign  Minister S Jaishankar  began a two-day visit  on  Sunday.  The  Coalition Government  is also  looking at  using  alternative  trade routes and has asked  the  Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) not to  increase  insurance premiums  in the face of  rising  shipping  costs  to Europe.

 The Indian Express  newspaper  reported that freight rates to Europe have more than doubled due to security  tensions  in the Red Sea region.  Concerns about disruption  in the Red Sea region have  grown  and oil prices have begun  to rise  since the US and  UK  attacked Houthi rebels in Yemen  on Friday  in retaliation for  attacks on their commercial  ships.  in the Red Sea  area.

  The commerce ministry  has convened  an inter-ministerial meeting on  January 17, during which  officials from five ministries  (Foreign Affairs, Defense, Transportation, Finance  and  Commerce)  will  develop  a plan to  address the issues. Global  issues  affecting  Indian  business interests.

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 According to  MPI  poverty rate estimates for  2013-14 and 2022-23, Bihar recorded a  53% decline  from  56.3%  MPI  poverty rate  in 2013-14 to  26.59%  in 2022-23. 

  According to a discussion paper released by NITI Aayog on Monday, the proportion  of  India’s  population living in multidimensional poverty is estimated to have  come down  to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23 from 29.17 per cent in  2013- 2014.  In absolute  terms,  NITI Aayog estimates  that  a total of 24.82  million  people  have  escaped multidimensional poverty  over  the  past  nine years. 

  States  such as  Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya  Pradesh  and Rajasthan recorded the  largest  decline in the number of people classified as poor based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which  takes into account 12  indicators of  different levels of  poverty  across the  three  main aspects, which are  health,  education  and standard of living. 

  The  research report  also notes that  deprivation  levels fell  at a slightly lower rate between 2015-16 and 2019-21  than between  2005-06 and 2013-14.  Deprivation measures the average level  of deprivation  experienced by a  multidimensionally poor  person. 

 At the same time,  the pace  of deprivation  reduction  was faster after  2015-2016  in terms of  poverty MPI  reduction  per  total population compared to the  previous decade, due  to a  lower  number of years. In 2005-06, the  proportion  of MPI poor in  the  total  Indian  population was  55.34%.  The discussion  paper  uses previously  published  MPI data based on  the  National Family Health  Survey  (NFHS) conducted in 2015-15 and 2019-21,  which  also uses NFHS-3 data from 2005-06 to understand long-term poverty trends. 

  Based on these three NFHS datasets, NITI Aayog  has  estimated  poverty  MPI  rates for  the years 2013-14 and 2022-23 with technical inputs from  the  Oxford Policy and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and United Nations Development  Program  (UNDP). 

  The discussion paper was released by  Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member  NITI Aayog  in the presence of  CEO  NITI Aayog  BVR Subrahmanyam. 

  Professor  Chand noted that without the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the  MPI  poverty rate  in 2022-23 would have been much  less.  The  article  also notes that it “may not fully reflect the impact of Covid on the  economy,”  as  some  of  the  NHFS-5 data collected  from 2019 to 2021  was collected before the  pandemic .  BVR Subrahmanyam added that India  has the potential  to achieve  target 1.2 of the  Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs),  which calls for reducing  “by at  least  half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in  poverty.”  poverty in all  aspects  according to national  standards”. definitions”. before  2030. 

  According to  the  document, living standards  indicators  showed  the  highest levels of deprivation in 2005-06. For  example, 74.4%  of the population  suffered from  cooking fuel  shortage  in 2005-06,  this number decreased  to  58.47%  in  2015-16  and  then  to  43.9% in 2019-16. 21.  Similarly,  70.92%  of the population  did not have  adequate sanitation  during  2005-06, which  decreased  to  51.88%  in  2015-16  and  then  to  30.93% during 2019-2021.  

 The sharpest decline between  the  two periods was recorded by the  index  measuring  lack  of access to  a  bank  account,  which fell to  9.66%  in 2013-14 from  58.11%  in 2005-06.  According to  MPI  poverty rate estimates for  2013-14 and 2022-23, Bihar recorded a  53% decline  from  56.3%  MPI  poverty rate  in 2013-14 to  26.59%  in 2022-23. Jharkhand also recorded a  50% decline  from  47.13% in the  MPI  poverty rate  to  23.34%.  Uttar Pradesh, which had a  lower  MPI  poverty rate  in 2022-23 than Bihar,  Jharkhand  and Meghalaya, recorded a decline to 17.4 per cent from 42.59 per cent in 2013-14. 

  India’s  definition of multidimensional poverty is measured using  12 indicators,  including nutrition, child  and  adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance,  safe  drinking  water safety,  electricity,  housing  and  property. The  MPI seeks to measure poverty  more  comprehensively rather than relying  solely  on income levels to assess deprivation.

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