Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Phase-III of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to further enhance connectivity of villages with hospitals, schools and agricultural markets

The Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched Phase III of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) on the side lines of the National Workshop on PMGSY organised by the Ministry of Rural Development in New Delhi. The Phase-III of PMGSY aims at consolidation of 1,25,000 Kms Through Routes and Major Rural Links that connect habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals with an estimated cost of Rs 80,250 crore (US$ 11.48 billion) (Central Share of Rs 53,800 crore [US$7.70 billion]) for the period 2019-20 to 2024-25. The funding pattern for the PMGSY-III will be 60:40 between Centre and the States for States other than NE & Himalayan States and 90:10 for NE and Himalayan States as applicable for Central sponsored schemes.

Addressing the gathering at the inaugural session, Shri Tomar said that PMGSY is an important program for the nation. He said that there was a time when people could not imagine that villages will get quality roads as it was a difficult task. The Minister hailed the vision of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that he was determined to complete this difficult task and it was thanks to his vision and efforts that today more than 6 Lakh Kms of Roads have been constructed across rural India. The Minister highlighted the importance of roads in bringing about all round positive development and empowering the villages.

Shri Tomar emphasised that States must ensure that maintenance of roads is done on a regular basis to ensure that quality of roads remain good. He further said that now with the launch of Phase III of PMGSY, States must begin preparing and ensure effective implementation of the scheme.

Shri Tomar expressed happiness that as on 16 December 2019, a total of 1,53,491 rural road works has been completed under the PMGSY Scheme connecting 97.27 per cent of the eligible and feasible habitations and adding up a road length of 6,07,900 Kms across the country. Out of the above, a road length of 36,063 Kms has been constructed using green technologies, a major portion of which includes Waste plastic and cold mix technology.

The National Workshop organised by the NRIDA was attended by representatives from various States, Technical Institutions and Specialists who made presentations on various important topics and participated in panel discussions. Some of the important issues that were discussed during the Workshop include Maintenance of Rural Roads, Quality of Rural Roads, Contract Management, Planning of Rural Roads for increased traffic, Road Safety Issues, Use of new technologies especially plastic waste for construction of Rural Roads and Challenges in construction of roads and hilly areas and their solutions.#Sukumar #Innokaiz #Gembrio #Taiyangxi #Sukumarbalakrishnan
 #Unmei #Brainstormautomotives #Fuehrer

Share of renewable energy rises to 9 per cent

The share of renewable energy in India's energy mix has risen steadily to around 9 per cent from the 2014-2015 levels. As on October 31, 2019, 83.38 GW of renewable energy capacity has been already installed. This includes 31.69 GW from solar, 37.09 GW from wind, 9.95 GW from bio-power and 4.65 GW from hydro power. According to data, the percentage of renewable energy in total electricity supplied in energy terms has risen from 3.72 per cent in 2014-2015 to over 8.9 per cent in 2019-2020 (till October 2019). Solar showed the highest increase within renewable energy, up from 45,99.02 million units in 2014-2015 to 39,268.2 million unit in in 2018-2019. But wind continued to lead in renewable energy footprint, supplying over 62,036.38 million units in 2018-2019 up from 33,768.3 million units in 2014-2015.
#Sukumar #Innokaiz #Gembrio #Taiyangxi #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Unmei
#Brainstormautomotive #Fuehrer

Govt launches National Broadband Mission to invest Rs 7 trillion in 4 years

The Minister for Communications, Law & Justice and Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the National Broadband Mission is to fulfil all aspirations of the people and enables fast track growth of digital communication infrastructure. He was addressing the gathering after launching the National Broadband Mission (NBM) at an event, here today. The Minister of State for Communications, Human Resources Development and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre, the Secretary (Telecom), Shri Anshu Prakash and other senior officials were present on the occasion. A large number of representatives from the telecom industry, officers from various Ministries of the Government of India, various State Governments and senior officers of the Department of Telecommunications participated in the event.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad also launched the Logo of the NBM, a Booklet on this occasion.

The vision of the NBM is to fast track growth of digital communications infrastructure, bridge the digital divide, facilitate digital empowerment and inclusion and provide affordable and universal access of broadband for all. Some of the objectives of the Mission which is structured with strong emphasis on the three principles of universality, affordability and quality are:

Broadband access to all villages by 2022
Facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services for across the country and especially in rural and remote areas
Laying of incremental 30 lakhs route km of Optical Fiber Cable and increase in tower density from 0.42 to 1.0 tower per thousand of population by 2024
Significantly improve quality of services for mobile and internet
Develop innovative implementation models for Right of Way (RoW) and to work with States/UTs for having consistent policies pertaining to expansion of digital infrastructure including for RoW approvals required for laying of OFC
Develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) to measure the availability of digital communications infrastructure and conducive policy ecosystem within a State/UT.
Creation of a digital fiber map of the Digital Communications network and infrastructure, including Optical Fiber Cables and Towers, across the country
Investment from stakeholders of US$ 100 billion (Rs 7 Lakh Crore) including Rs 70,000 crore (US$ 10.02 billion) from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)
Address policy and regulatory changes required to accelerate the expansion and creation of digital infrastructure and services
Work with all stakeholders including the concerned Ministries / Departments/ Agencies, and Ministry of Finance, for enabling investments for the Mission.
#Sukumar #Innokaiz #Gembrio #Taiyangxi #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Unmei
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Pharma sector expected to grow at 10-12 per cent during FY19-22, outlook stable: ICRA

ICRA Limited, the rating agency said that the Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow around 10-12 per cent between FY19 and FY22 while maintaining a stable outlook on the sector.

It cited that the growth drivers for the Indian pharma companies are mostly because of the abating headwinds from pricing pressure in the US (which is considered to be the largest regulated market), stable growth for the Indian market driven by increasing healthcare spending and better accessibility along with comfortable balance sheet structure.

Although, ICRA said that the increased cost related to regulatory compliances, mainly for the US market, price controls across markets and compulsory genericisation for Indian market stayed to be the major risks.

"The domestic pharmaceutical industry has gained adequate scale and generic drug development capabilities over a decade of growth which will keep them in good stead to capture bigger opportunities, especially in the speciality/niche segments in the regulated market," Icra said in a statement. The FY2019-2022 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be around 10-12 per cent for domestic pharmaceutical companies, it added.

ICRA said that in FY2019, there was rise in the growth from the US to 12.1 per cent after witnessing a decline of 13.1 per cent in FY2018. "The growth was supported by higher market share for Indian players as several generic MNC players optimised product portfolios along with new product launches," it added.

In FY2020, the pricing pressure which is led by the consolidated supply chain in US market along with decrease in the faster approvals of the abbreviated new drug application which is expected to remain in mid-single digit compared to low teens in FY2018.

Although, warning was given by ICRA about the growth in US market as it is projected to remain at high single digit to low double digit and will witness some troubles as there are relatively moderate proportion of large size drugs that are going off patent, adoption of generic medicine is reaching saturation levels in the US market and high regulatory scrutiny as reflected in increased issuance of warning letters/import alerts.

The company further said that the major concerns are the productivity of research and development expenditure, operational risk related to increased level of due diligence by regulatory agencies and price controls.
#Sukumar #Innokaiz #Gembrio #Taiyangxi #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Unmei
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Indian IT giant Wipro recognised as top employer in Australia for 2020 #Wipro #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

Wipro, an Indian global software major said that it was ranked top employer in Australia for 2020.

"The assessment is based on an HR (Human Resource) best practice survey 'People Development' practices across 10 topics, including talent strategy, workforce planning, talent acquisition," said the city-based IT firm in a statement.

The firm was also assessed for the survey on the basis of other parameters such as on-boarding, learning and development, performance management, leadership development, career and succession management, compensation and benefits and culture.

"To become recognised as a top employer, a company has to prove that the implementation of their people strategies enriches the world of work of their employees," stated Top Employers' Institute chief executive Mr David Plink.

"We believe our real asset is the people. We are committed to provide the best employee experience and foster a culture that nurtures talent," said Wipro executive Mr Manoj Nagpaul in the statement.

The IT behemoth efforts to adopt people practices that are innovative, human centric and help them realise their potential.

Indian sugar exports poised to hit record 5 million tonnes this year #SugarExports #Sukumarbalakrsihnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

India, the world's biggest sugar producer, is expected to cross its own export record this year. This is attributed to a flurry of overseas sales in the past few months driven by attractive global prices, said trade and industry officials on Tuesday.

In the new season, which began on October 1, 2019, sugar mills in India have done deals to export 2 million tonnes, raising hopes that the country would sell at least 5 million tonnes globally in the season of 2019/20, over 30 per cent higher than previous year.

"Looking at the current trend, I can tell you with a lot of confidence that we'll be able to export at least 5 million tonnes this year," said a New Delhi-based dealer from the Indian unit of a global trading firm.

At 5 million tonnes, Indian exports would exceed their previous peak of 4.96 million tonnes which was shipped in 2007/08 as per the trade and industry data. This was spurred by a rally in international prices, a weak Indian rupee and a clutch of government subsidies which made exports lucrative.

"Compared to last year, exports got the momentum this year from the start of the season due to an improvement in sugar prices," said Mr Rahil Shaikh, managing director of MEIR Commodities India.

The strong rise in exports from India, also the world’s biggest sugar consumer, could weigh on benchmark prices in New York and London and trim the market share of rivals - Brazil, Thailand and Australia which are the world’s top sugar suppliers.

Higher sugar shipments from India also expected to intensify the dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Brazil has already mentioned that India's subsidies for sugar exports were not in line with WTO rules and would impact free competition in the global market. Brazil, Australia and Guatemala have questioned the subsidies at the WTO.

India, grappling with surplus sugar supplies, has approved a subsidy of Rs 10,448 (US$ 145.58) per tonne for exports in 2019/20 season - a move that encouraged mills to clinch overseas sales deals early this year.

Traders have contracted to export raw sugar at an average of US$ 300 per tonne and white sugar at US$ 330 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, said three dealers directly involved in the deals. However, they did not wish to be identified in line with their organisations' policy.

In contrast to the 2 million tonnes of exports contracted so far this year, in the first three of the 2018/19 season Indian mills were only able to sell about 850,000 tonnes of sugar.

Successful launch of two BrahMos missiles from land and air platforms #DRDO #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Air Force (IAF) and BrahMos jointly successfully conducted two BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles tests today, one each from land and air platforms.

The first missile launch was from a land based mobile launcher, where most of the components were indigenous, including the missile airframe, fuel management system and DRDO designed seeker.

The second launch of the missile was carried out by Indian Air force (IAF) from SU-30MKI platform against a sea target. The test conducted in user configuration, revalidated the ship attack capability of the advanced air-launched cruise missile. During the test, the missile was gravity dropped from the air combat platform's fuselage and the two-stage weapon’s engine fired up and the missile straightaway propelled towards the intended target positioned at the sea, piercing it with pinpoint accuracy.

Earlier on May 22, 2019, IAF had successfully tested the missile against a land-based target in the Car Nicobar Islands region. The BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) promises to bolster the air combat capability of IAF from stand-off ranges.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DRDO, BrahMos and Air Force teams for the successful tests. Director General BrahMos Dr Sudhir Mishra, Defence Research & Development Laboratory Director Dr Dashrath Ram, and Director Integrated Test Range Dr Binoy Kumar Das were present during the trials.

India co-living market size to grow more than double by 2025: report #Market #Sukumarbalakrishan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

By 2025, market size of co-living across India's top 30 cities is expected to grow more than double and reach US$ 13.92 billion from current US$ 6.67 billion. The demand for co-living market, in terms of beds, is anticipated to grow to 5.7 million from 4.19 million, whereas, the share of private beds likely to increase from 15 per cent to 30 per cent of the total demand in co-living segment, according to a Cushman & Wakefield India report.

With inflow of investments from national and international institutional in investors, bringing in much needed seed capital and future funding rounds, the said market is evolving at a rapid pace. The increase in investments would allow the new business model to thrive and achieve scale in India.

Mr Anshul Jain, Country Head & Managing Director-India, Cushman and Wakefield said, "Co-living is an evolving sector and is expected to grow more than 2X by 2025 in the top 30 cities which are the major economic centres in the country…Furthermore, as the business evolves, co-living shall transform the face of the rental housing market in urban centres, similar to what we are witnessing with flex-working in the office rental space".

The operators of such facilities are tying up with the developers for built-to-suit property option which is an upcoming trend likely to prevail in sector. Operators are opting for ready to move in properties, which are refurbished and renovated as per their requirements, are showing preference towards properties having 50-60 room.

PE/VC funding more than doubles to US$ 4.8 billion in November #PE/VC #Fund #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments in India stood at US$ 4.8 billion in November which is more than the double from US$ 1.8 billion in the year earlier, according to a report by the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and consulting firm EY.

The PE/VC investments in the country rose to US$ 44.2 billion during the 11 months to 30 November in 2019. This is 18 per cent more than the previous high of US$ 37.4 billion recorded in 2018.

"PE/VC investments in 2019 have clocked over US$ 44 billion till date and could end up at US$ 48-50 billion mark for the year. This is a very significant figure, with PE/VC investments at 1.7-1.8 per cent of GDP, we are almost on a par with China and the global average for PE/VC investments to GDP ratio," said Mr Vivek Soni, partner and national leader (private equity services) EY.

"A significant part of the growth in 2019 has come from the robust investment flow in the infrastructure and real estate sectors (one-third of all investments in 2019), driven by strong interest from yield-hungry global pools of capital in the form of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, as also by policy reforms and introduction of new investment structures like InvITs and REITs by the Indian government," he added.

In terms of volume, there were 94 deals in November as compared to 68 deals in the year-ago period. While the highest investment flowed into the financial services sector at US$ 1.9 billion, the life sciences sector got US$ 1.2 billion, sector's highest ever value of PE/VC investments in a month. Media and entertainment sector witnessed the third highest investment at US$ 631 million.

There was also increase in number of large deals (value greater than US$ 100 million), as 12 large deals worth US$ 3.8 billion was recorded in November, as compared to just five large deals worth US$ 950 million in November 2018.

The largest deals witnessed in November consist of Alibaba Group's and Softbank's US$ 1 billion investment in Paytm, followed by US$ 627 million in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd by a group of investors, including GIC and Morgan Stanley, and Unison Capital Partners' buyout of Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry (Lupin's Japan business) for US$ 525 million from Lupin Ltd.

The value of PE/VC exits, too, doubled with November observing 15 exits worth US$ 1.4 billion, compared to 11 exits worth US$ 676 million in the year-ago period. The reason behind this is mainly because of two large open market deals accounting for US$ 1 billion of total exits in November-Bain Capital's and GIC's sale of their combined stake of 14.6 per cent in Genpact Ltd for US$ 625 million, followed by Carlyle selling its 3 per cent stake in SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd for US$ 393 million.

"While exits have been subdued for most of 2019 with year-to-date exits aggregating to US$ 10.5 billion compared to US$ 27 billion in the same period last year, activity has picked up slightly with the revival of deals in the open market on the back of improvement in capital market sentiment," said Mr Soni.

The value of open market exits was the highest in the last two years during the month at US$ 1.1 billion across five deals, accounting for 82 per cent of total exits by value. Though open market exits witnessed a recovery in conjunction with improvement in capital market performance, there were no PE-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) for three reduced to US$ 172 million during the month, compared to US$ 398 million in November 2018.

Vedanta set to invest Rs 60,000 crore in India over 3 years, promises more FDI #Vedanta #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Vedanta Resources Chairman Mr Anil Agarwal said the company is planning to invest around Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) in the upcoming 2-3 years.

The company is also expecting a top line of US$ 30-40 billion and a bottom line of US$ 10 million in 4-5 years, Agarwal said.

"I am committed to India. I have already invested US$ 35 billion in India in the past 10 years. I have bought 13 companies so far including Hindustan Zinc, Balco, Sesa Goa and Cairn and all of them are doing well. I hope to invest Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) in the next 2-3 years," he said.

Though, any further details on how the company plans to utilise these funds were not given, but the interest to acquire a few public sector companies was shown.

"We currently have the best in class assets, and we are looking at many more nationalised companies. I want to tell the government that it should not depend on foreigners but depend on us. They (foreign investors) want to make money but we want to make the country. If government depends on us, we will also bring in foreign investment," Mr Agarwal added.

He further said that the company is strongly interested in the glass and optical fibre and cable industries.

"Sterlite Tech is doing a good work in optical fibre. I am now keen on developing the glass industry which will be used in electronics. We are developing the glass used in mobiles, TV sets and computers in countries like Korea, Taiwan and Japan. If the atmosphere in India is conducive, we will get to do that here as well. This will give a boost to the electronics industry," he added.

When asked about the growth the company is expecting by FY2024-25 he said, "we are hoping to have a USD 30-40 billion of revenues and a profit of USD 10 million."

He added that as a part of his commitment to the country the aim was to take care of 10 crore children and 5 crore women and give back 75 per cent of wealth to the society.

"I am committed to India and the company has already paid Rs 2 lakh crore (US$ 28.62 billion) in tax in the last 6 years. This contribution is however very small," Mr Agarwal added.