MMTC Revenue from exports increased by 384%

Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) declared its financial results for the half year ended on 30th September 2019. The company has achieved revenue from operations of Rs 13176 crore (US$ 1.89 billion) as against the revenue from operations of Rs 12511 crore (US$ 1.79 billion) during the corresponding period last year registering a growth of 5 per cent over the same period last year.

MMTC has posted a net profit of Rs 43.28 crore (US$ 6.19 million) during the period as compared to the net profit of Rs 41.62 crore (US$ 5.96 million) during the same period last year registering an increase of 4 per cent over the same period last year.

Revenue from exports increased by 384 per cent to Rs 862 crore (US$ 124 million) as compared to Rs 178 crore (US$ 25.47 million) during the corresponding period last year.

Revenue from imports increased by 25 per cent to Rs 10756 crore (US$ 1.54 billion) as compared to Rs 8619 crore (US$ 1.23 billion) during the corresponding period last year.

Other income increased by 105 per cent to Rs 21 crore (US$ 3 million) as compared to Rs 10 crore (US$ 1.43 million) during the corresponding period last year.

These achievements have been made inspite of adverse global market scenario and by overall reduction in overheads and other costs.

MELPL- Visionary Indo - French Collaboration (Largest FDI Project of Railways)

Indian Railways has entered into Procurement cum Maintenance Agreement with Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL), a joint venture of Indian Railways and M/s Alstom. As part of largest Foreign Direct Investment project of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways and Alstom came together in 2015 to transform the heavy freight transportation landscape of the country. A landmark agreement worth 3.5 billion Euro was signed to manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight service and its associated maintenance.

M/s Alstom has delivered prototype locomotive in March 2018. Based on the test results, Alstom has redesigned the complete locomotive including bogies. The new design of locomotive has been inspected by RDSO at Madhepura factory and cleared for dispatch from factory. After test and trials M/s Alstom will accelerate the delivery schedule and supply 10 locomotives in FY 2019-20 and 90 locomotives in FY 2020-21 and 100 locomotives per year beyond March 2021 as per their recovery plan. This is the first time such High Horsepower locomotive is being tested on Broad Gauge network in the World by any Railways.

As part of the project, factory along with township has been set up in Madhepura, Bihar with capacity to manufacture 120 locomotives per year. The project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country. More than Rs 2000 crore (US$ 286 million) invested in the project already by the company. One Maintenance Depot already established in Saharanpur. Work starting on the second Depot at Nagpur. More than 300 Engineers from India and France are working in Bangalore, Madhepura and France on the Project. This is a truly « Make in India » project and even the first loco has been assembled in Madhepura factory. In two years', time, more than 90 per cent parts will be manufactured in India.

Along with the factory, socio-economic development in Madhepura is being driven by this project. As part of CSR initiative skill centres are being set up in Madhepura to impart training to local people. More than 50 per cent local people have been hired in the factory. A fully functional mobile health clinic is being operated in the villages around Madhepura.

Indian Railways have taken decision to have 12000 horsepower twin Bo-Bo design Locomotive with 22.5 T (Tonnes) axle load upgradable to 25Tonnes with design speed of 120 kmph. This locomotive will be game changer for further movement of coal trains for Dedicated Freight Corridor. With the success of this project it will boost the "Make in India" programme of the Government of India. This will further develop ancillary units for locomotive components.

The project will allow faster and safer movement of heavier freight trains. It will haul 6000T trains at maximum speed of 100 kmph. With 100 per cent electrification, the new locomotive will not only bring down operational cost for Railways, the locomotive will also reduce the congestion faced by Indian Railways. This will be used to haul heavier trains such as coal and iron ore.

Flexible workspaces to contribute US$ 254 billion to local economies in the next decade: study

According to a comprehensive socio-economic study of second city and suburban workspaces, the flex economy created by an increase in migration of flexible office space and co-working locations to areas outside of major metropolitan cities globally could contribute more than US$ 254 billion to local economies in the next decade.

The socio-economic benefits were analysed by Regus study provided to the local economies by the growth of flexible workspaces in secondary towns and cities and suburban locations of major cities in 19 countries, including India.

The study revealed that on average, 121 new jobs are created in communities that have a flexible workspace, with an extra US$ 9.63 million directly going into the local economy.

In India, this flex economy is expected to contribute an annual value of around US$ 14,663 million per annum (in terms of 2019 prices), out of which around US$ 5,737 million p.a. would be maintained by local economies. The other outcome of the study includes that there could be a total of over 979,000 people working at local, flexible workspaces across India, providing net additional employment opportunities for residents amounting to nearly 403,000 jobs.

The study was commissioned by Regus and overseen by independent economists, studied 19 major countries to explore into the economic and social impact of flexible workspaces in secondary and tertiary cities and suburban areas both now and through to 2029.

The big companies have adopted flexible working policies where they don't rely on a single, central headquarter and have increased the employees outside of the major metropolitan hubs in flex spaces. These changes act as the driving force in rise of the local working. The companies are mostly doing so to enhance employee wellbeing by letting people to work closer to home, and to save money and boost productivity.

Throughout the 19 countries analysed, the average individual workspace maintains 218 jobs, and in India, the average individual workspace supports 235 jobs. This comprises of the temporary jobs created during the fitting-out stage of the office space, permanent jobs to run the office, including reception, maintenance, cleaning etc., plus the jobs associated with the occupancy of the workspace.

Further analysis predicted that, if current trends towards flexible regional working continue, these communities could see more than three million jobs created by 2029.

Mr. Steve Lucas of Development Economics, and report author said, "This study reveals a shift in jobs and capital-growth is moving outside of city centres, where it has been focused for the last few decades, into suburban locations. This can benefit businesses and people, from improving productivity and innovation to reducing commuting time, which leads to improved health and wellbeing."

Mr. Mark Dixon, CEO for Regus' parent company IWG, said: "When people commute into major cities their wallets commute with them. Working locally keeps that spending power closer to home. What this study shows is that providing more opportunities for people to work closer to home can have a tremendous effect, not just on them, but on their local area too."

Mr. Harsh Lambah, Country Manager, India, IWG, said: "This is a great testimony to the emergence of India as one of the hottest markets for the flexible working industry. Not just metros, even tier 2 and suburban locations are also contributing to this growth which we expect will continue into the foreseeable future. The study shows the potential of flexible workspaces by highlighting economic as well as the social impact for businesses as well as people working out of such spaces."

He added, "IWG is the only international player in the country with the largest network of 120 workspaces in 16 cities. Our customers are start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large multinationals and with shared workspaces, we provide them tailor-made options and communities to match their needs."

Regus was established in 1989 and is one of the pioneers of flexible workspace, helping businesses choose a way of working that's best for their people.

Regus is an operating brand of IWG plc: the holding group for several leading workspace providers. Other brands in the IWG portfolio include Spaces, HQ, No18 and Signature by Regus.

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launches Skills Build platform in Collaboration with IBM

Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), today announced the launch of Skills Build platform in collaboration with IBM. As part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs). The platform will be extended to train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Skills Build offers digital learning content from IBM and partners such as Code Door, Coorp academy and Skillsoft.

The digital platform will provide a personal assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality via MyInner Genius to the students. They will then learn foundational knowledge about digital technologies, as well as professional skills such as resume-writing, problem solving and communication. Students will also receive recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs that include technical and professional learning.

Speaking about the collaboration, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said, “Our Government is using technology effectively for benefiting the public and for bringing innovation in welfare schemes. We understand the importance of AI and the role it can play in improving lives. With the making of our New India, it is imperative that we consistently upgrade ourselves. I extend my gratitude to IBM for this collaboration in empowering students with new-age capabilities and professional skills. This initiative will help the youth to scale themselves as per the changing market trends.”

Dr. K.P. Krishnan, secretary, MSDE said “Technology is constantly evolving and making our lives easier and better. It is imperative that we make the most of it and especially when it comes to skilling our youth. Technology helps in better, more efficient training as it brings with better assessment and outcomes. I look forward to see the outcome of this program and its further expansion towards positively changing the lives of our youth,”.

“Our collaboration with MSDE will help the next-gen to compete in the global economy. Skills are the new currency and this program will address industries’ constant struggle for job-ready individuals. The platform will help students develop the technical and professional skills needed for competitive “new collar” jobs. Skills Build platform will reinforce IBM’s commitment in enabling life-long learning in India and aligning with Skills India initiative by Government of India,” says Chaitanya Sreenivas, Vice President and HR Head, IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

“We are constantly introducing programs aimed at skilling the youth in this technological age and hand holding them to match their capabilities with the needs of the industry. This collaboration is a step in the same direction and will surely suit the industry requirements. DGT is committed to digitally revolutionize the vocational training system in India and partner with industry leaders to provide the apt industrial exposure to the youth.” said Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Director General, DGT about the partnership.

This initiative is part of IBM’s global commitment to create a job-ready workforce and to build the next generation of skills needed for new collar careers. The platform is deployed with the support of leading NGOs like Unnati and Edunet Foundation. IBM Volunteers along with the NGOS will offer students personalised coaching and experiential learning opportunities. IBM joined hands with Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in early 2018 to launch a first-of-its kind ‘New Collar Curriculum. Post the successful completion of the course, in September 2019, 19 students were offered a five-month paid internship at IBM.

Xiaomi largest exclusive brand network in India's offline market: Study

Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics-maker, has the largest brand network in the Indian offline market with 2500+ Mi store, 75+ Mi homes and 20+ Mi studio, as per the survey of 700 brands which was done by industry player, Channelplay.

In a study of 11 products-based industries, South-Korea's electronics major Samsung emerged as a second most dominant player, followed Café Coffee Day (CCD), Dominos India and Bata which made up the top five.

The study indicated that among these top 5 brands with the largest exclusive retail network in India, Xiaomi was 44 per cent bigger than the Samsung and 48 per cent than CCD.

"The growth in offline retail is largely motivated by the increasing need of experiential buying by Indian consumers. A large proportion of consumers prefer a physical product experience before buying while some are reluctant in making financial transactions online, especially for high value products. This has largely established the need for brand experience store," said, Mr. Sundeep Holani, CEO, Channelplay, a retail and channel solution provider.

In Indian smartphone market, Xiaomi has grabbed the top spot with the share of 26 per cent, followed by Samsung’s share which is of 20 per cent.

Finance Minister Launches two new IT Initiatives -ICEDASH & ATITHI for improved monitoring and pace of Customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled two new IT initiatives – ICEDASH and ATITHI – for improved monitoring and pace of Customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers by electronic filing of Customs baggage and currency declarations. Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Secretary (Revenue), senior officials of CBIC and members of trade and industry were present.

Speaking on the occasion at the CBIC's DG Systems office here in New Delhi, Finance Minister lauded the measures taken by CBIC to leverage technology for providing better taxpayer services. She was particularly appreciable of the work being done in the Network Operation Centre and Security Operation Centre. Finance Minister also mentioned that the significant improvement in India's global ranking in the Trading Across Border is in no small measure on account of the IT and other reforms carried out by CBIC. She also expressed optimism that both ICEDASH and ATITHI would be key drivers for further improvement especially as they reduce interface and increase transparency of Customs functioning. She added that ATITHI would create a tech savvy image of India Customs and would encourage tourism and business travel to India. Finance Minister further urged the officers to develop IT based insights for focused policy making.

Shri Anurag Thakur commended the work being done by officers of DG Systems, CBIC and noted that the ATITHI app will facilitate hassle free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at our airports. He added that the CBIC must strive to use technology in each sphere of its activity and while facilitating genuine business it must identify ways to detect and stop frauds especially in GST.

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Secretary (Revenue) stated that technology is key to improving governance in today's times and acknowledged CBIC’s efforts in bringing technology to the forefront while also being serious about information security. Shri P.K. Das, Chairman, CBIC informed about CBIC's steps to make the Department more IT savy with an aim to further improve the ease of doing business.

About ICEDASH & ATITHI:
ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports. With ICEDASH, Indian Customs has taken a lead globally to provide an effective tool that helps the businesses compare clearance times across ports and plan their logistics accordingly. This dashboard has been developed by CBIC in collaboration with NIC. ICEDASH can be accessed through the CBIC website.

With ATITHI, CBIC has introduced an easy to use mobile app for international travellers to file the Customs declaration in advance. Passengers can use this app to file declaration of dutiable items and currency with the Indian Customs even before boarding the flight to India. ATITHI is available on both, iOS and Android.

Prime Minister Meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met the Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe on the margins of India-ASEAN and East Asia Summit 2019 at Bangkok on 04 November 2019. The two leaders have met with each other thrice in the last about four months, and their previous meeting was in Vladivostok in September 2019.

The Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Abe on the recent coronation of the Emperor of Japan. Prime Minister Abe recalled warmly the participation of the President of India in the ceremony.

Prime Minister Modi said that he eagerly looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Abe in India next month for India-Japan Annual Summit. He also said that he was convinced of the success of the forthcoming Annual Summit in further deepening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

The leaders welcomed the increasing economic engagement between the two countries, propelled by high-level exchanges. The leaders also reviewed the progress on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project and reaffirmed their commitment to advance mutual efforts to facilitate the smooth implementation of the project.

The leaders welcomed that the inaugural 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue will take place later this month in India. They agreed that the Dialogue will help provide impetus to the bilateral security and defence cooperation between the two sides.

The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on a rules-based order. They agreed to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation, including in third countries, for achieving the shared objective of peace, prosperity and progress of the Indo-Pacific region.

Greater momentum to cooperation with Japan.

Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and AbeShinzo met in Bangkok. Their talks were extensive and productive.

Aditya Birla Group celebrates 50 years in Thailand

Aditya Birla Group, a diversified conglomerate, celebrated its 50 years of operations in Thailand on Sunday.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with various other dignitaries from Thai and Indian Government. In Thailand, Aditya Vikram Birla had made a foray by setting up a spinning unit.

In Southeast Asian country, Aditya Birla Group has propelled to become one of the largest diversified enterprises with its nine plants spanning diverse sectors such as textiles, carbon black and chemicals.

Addressing a gathering here, Mr. Narendra Modi stated "We are here in Thailand with whom India has a strong cultural linkage. And, we are marking 50 years of a leading Indian industrial business in Thailand. This reaffirms my belief that commerce and culture have inherent powers to unite".

In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla said, it was a matter of great pride to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Aditya Birla Group (ABG) in Thailand. He further added, "We are grateful to the Kingdom for their unflinching support over the years. The last 50 years have continually reinforced the richness of Thai talent and the support of the government for business, and our commitment to Thailand is demonstrated by the US$ 2 billion dollars of investment we have made over the years".

As per Birla, the success of Aditya Birla Group in Thailand has been predicated on the commitment and dedication of close to 4,000 employees and added, "As a group, we continue to remain deeply invested in Thailand’s growth and development".

The presence of Aditya Birla Group is in 36 countries and has more than 1.2 lakh employees from 42 nationalities. More than 50 per cent of the ABG's global revenue comes from the overseas operations.

Siemens signs MoUs with NTPC, TERI on decarbonisation, energy transition

In order to identify, evaluate and set up reference use cases of hydrogen sector-coupling for various upstream and downstream application, Siemens Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NTPC Limited.

The alliance is targeted at developing innovative technologies, solutions and techniques to reduce the dependence on hydrocarbons in India.

For the collaboration on technologies to support the energy transition in India including sector-coupling, Siemens has also signed a separate MoU with TERI. The aim behind signing the MoU with TERI is to realise the research and technology development projects to enable the energy transitions across electricity, transport and industrial sectors.

Mr. Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited stated that, "One of the most important challenges today is the decarbonisation of the global ecosystem. We take great pride in collaborating with NTPC and TERI as we believe technology will be a key contributor towards creating a carbon neutral society in India. This is also a huge step towards the sustainable development of existing and future power systems enabling efficiency, flexibility and sustainability".

Assets under management of MFIs to grow 40-45 per cent in FY20: Report

Irrespective of the challenges faced by the NBFC sector, the Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), which offer financial services to the low-income population, is expected to record healthy growth for the second year in a row in FY20.

According to the Brickwork Ratings, the MFI segment will witness a growth, as it is expected that the assets under management (AUM) will grow in the range of 40-45 per cent in the current fiscal.

Major drivers for the growth in this fiscal year include availability of credit, expectations of reduced interest rates and a disciplined collection and recovery model. Also, the RBI has recently proposed to increase the household income limit for eligible borrowers and has raised the permissible indebtedness of borrowers, which augurs well for the growth momentum.

The AUM of the microfinance industry has seen a growth of 47 per cent y-o-y in FY19 aided by an increase in the client base (up 34 per cent to 3.17 crore), coupled with disbursement of higher ticket size loans (up 13 per cent). In contrast, other NBFCs have struggled with liquidity since September 2018.

The presence of MFIs has been increased by expansion of their client base in under-penetrated states such as Rajasthan, Assam, Jharkhand and Gujarat along with expansion in new districts in states where they were already present.

Eastern India has witnessed growth at a much faster rate as compared to the overall growth rate (47 per cent) as the AUM in Bihar (77 per cent), Odisha (40 per cent), West Bengal (83 per cent), Jharkhand (53 per cent) and Assam (167 per cent) grew rapidly. These five states contributed almost 40 per cent to the total AUM, the report said.

The demand for credit in rural areas has seen an increase and accounts for around 75 per cent of the total AUM. The average loan amount disbursed per account has increased to Rs 25,543 (US$ 365) in FY19, as compared to Rs 15,419 (US$ 220) in FY16. This increase in ticket size of loans is also a driving factor for growth of AUMs.

Mature markets that have historically seen growth in client additions such as Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, are expected to witness a higher ticket size loans. Thus, the growth in near future is likely to be driven by client additions in new under-penetrated geographies, and higher ticket size loans in states with a big presence.

In FY19, MFIs raised an important proportion of their liabilities through securitisation in order to keep their liquidity position in-check.

Although, there was a slowdown in growth from 35 per cent in FY16 to 20 per cent in FY17 mainly due to demonetisation, the growth in FY18 rebounded. Since then, the growth momentum has continued in FY19 and is expected to sustain in FY20 as well.

The small ticket size loans that are mainly given to the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas are known as microfinance loans. The borrowers eligible for the loans disbursed by an MFI are those whose rural household annual income does not exceed Rs 1,00,000 (US$ 1430) (proposed to be increased to Rs 1,25,000(US$ 1788)), or those whose urban and semi-urban household income does not exceed Rs 1,60,000 (US$ 2290) (proposed to be increased to Rs 2,00,000 (US$ 2862)). These are unsecured loans i.e. given without any collateral.