Movement of record 73 fertiliser rakes in a single day on June 30, 2020

Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda today congratulated officers of Department of Fertilisers and expressed gratitude to Ministry of Railways for helping move 73 fertiliser rakes in a single day on June 30, 2020. "Till date, this is a record number of fertiliser rakes moved in a single day," he stated.

During the month of June this year, average movement of Fertilizer rakes was 56.5 per day. It’s also a record number for any June month historically.

He added that the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is committed to make available affordable fertilisers at appropriate time to farmers. So far for ongoing Kharif season, the Central Government in close coordination with State Governments has ensured steady supply of fertilisers in adequate quantity to farmers across the country.

DAC approves capital acquisition of various platforms & equipment worth Rs 38,900 crore; Focus on indigenous design and development; acquisitions from Indian industry of Rs 31,130 crore

In the current situation and the need to strengthen the Armed Forces for the defence of our borders and in line with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in its meeting of today held under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh accorded approval for capital acquisition of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces. Proposals for an approximate cost of Rs 38,900 crore (US$ 5.52 billion) were approved.

Focused on indigenous design and development these approvals include acquisitions from Indian industry of Rs 31,130 crore (US$ 4.42 billion). The equipments are going to be manufactured in India involving Indian defence industry with participation of several MSMEs as prime tier vendors. The indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80 per cent of the project cost. Many these projects have been made possible due to Transfer of Technology (ToT) by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the indigenous industry. These include Pinaka ammunitions, BMP armament upgrades and software defined radios for the Indian Army, Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile Systems and Astra Missiles for the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force (IAF). The cost of these design and development proposals is in the range of Rs 20,400 crore (US$ 2.89 billion).

Acquisition of new/additional missile systems will add to the fire power of three Services. While acquisition of Pinaka missile systems will enable raising additional regiments over and above the ones already inducted, addition of Long Range Land Attack Missile Systems having a firing range of 1,000 kilometres to the existing arsenal will bolster the attack capabilities of the Navy and the Air Force. Similarly, induction of Astra Missiles having Beyond Visual Range capability will serve as a force multiplier and immensely add to the strike capability of the Navy and Air Force.

Further, addressing the long felt need of the IAF to increase its fighter squadrons, the DAC also approved the proposal for procurement of 21 MIG-29 along with upgradation of existing 59 MIG-29 aircraft and procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft. While the MIG 29 procurement and upgradation from Russia is estimated to cost Rs 7,418 crore (US$ 1.05 billion), the Su-30 MKI will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at an estimated cost of Rs 10,730 crore (US$ 1.52 billion).

Intel Capital invests Rs 1,894 crore in Jio Platforms

Intel Capital plans to invest Rs 1,894.50 crore (US$ 268.76 million) in Jio Platforms Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore (US$ 69.66 billion) and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore (US$ 73.20 billion). Intel Capital’s investment will translate into a 0.39 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.

The total investment received by Jio Platforms has reached Rs 117,588.45 crore (US$ 16.68 billion). Intel Capital has joined the list of marquee firms who have recently invested in the firm. Jio Platforms has more than 388 million subscribers. It has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.

The investment made by Intel Capital are focused on innovative companies that have portfolio in disruptive technology areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G – opportunities where Jio is also innovating and investing for growth. Intel Capital is the investment arm of Intel Corporation, a leader in the semiconductor industry, shaping the data-centric future with computing and communications technology that is the foundation of global innovations. It has operated in India for more than two decades and currently employs thousands of employees there with state-of-the-art design facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

“We are extremely delighted to deepen our ties with technology leaders that embody our vision of transforming India into a leading Digital Society in the world. Intel is a true industry leader, working towards creating world-changing technology and innovations. Intel Capital has an outstanding record of being a valuable partner for leading technology companies globally. We are therefore excited to work together with Intel to advance India’s capabilities in cutting-edge technologies that will empower all sectors of our economy and improve the quality of life of 1.3 billion Indians," Mr Mukesh Ambani, CMD of Reliance Industries said.

“Jio Platforms’ focus on applying its impressive engineering capabilities to bring the power of low-cost digital services to India aligns with Intel’s purpose of delivering breakthrough technology that enriches lives. We believe digital access and data can transform business and society for the better. Through this investment, we are excited to help fuel digital transformation in India, where Intel maintains an important presence."

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners and Davis.

Bank credit grows 6.18 per cent, deposits 11 per cent: RBI data

According to Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Bank credit and deposits witnessed a growth of 6.18 per cent and 11 per cent to Rs 102.45 lakh crore (US4 1.45 trillion) and Rs 138.67 lakh crore (US4 1.96 trillion), respectively, in the fortnight ended June 19, 2020. Whereas, in the fortnight ended June 21, 2019, bank credit had stood at Rs 96.48 lakh crore (US$ 1.36 trillion) and deposits at Rs 124.92 lakh crore (US4 1.77 trillion).

In the previous fortnight that ended on June 5 this year, advances had grown 6.24 per cent and deposits by 11.28 per cent.

According to a recent report by the rating agency Crisil, bank credit growth is likely to drop to a multi-decadal low of 0-1 per cent in 2020-21 as economic activity is sharply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For May 2020, the non-food credit growth slowed to 6.8 per cent year-on-year from 11.4 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, as per RBI data.

The outstanding incremental non-food credit stood at Rs 90.3 lakh crore (US$ 1.28 trillion) as of May 22, 2020, against Rs 84.51 lakh crore (US$ 1.19 trillion) on May 24, 2019.

In May 2020, bank loan growth to industry slowed down to 1.7 per cent from 6.4 per cent in the corresponding month last year.

The loan growth to the services sector decreased to 11.2 per cent in May, compared with 14.8 per cent a year ago.

Personal loans growth decelerated to 10.6 per cent in May 2020, against 16.9 per cent in May 2019, RBI data showed.

 

Jio's string of deals drives up PE investments 12 per cent in H1 2020 to US$ 18.8 billion

The private equity (PE) investments registered a 12 per cent increase in the first half of this calendar year to US$ 18.8 billion (across 341 deals). This rise was driven by a string of deals struck by Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms. Though, this was despite the subdued April-June quarter for PE activity on account of the coronavirus crisis, according to a report by financial data tracker Venture Intelligence.

In 2019, during same period, PE investments worth US$ 16.8 billion (across 503 deals) were recorded.

In HI 2020, Jio Platforms accounted for 51 per cent of the total investment value, as per the data.

Jio Platforms' US$ 9.5 billion private equity haul, excluding Facebook’s US$ 5.7 billion strategic investment, was led by investors from Middle East to the US. KKR, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Vista Equity Partners invested US$ 1.5 billion each, while by Silver Lake Partners and Mubadala Investment invested over a US$ 1 billion each.

H1 2020 witnessed 24 PE/VC investments worth US$ 100 million or more, down from 37 such transactions in the same period last year.

Without the Jio investments, PE-VC investments during H1 2020 would have been 45 per cent lower year-on-year, according to the Venture Intelligence data.

At US$ 4.1 billion across 270 deals, venture capital investments fell 11 per cent in value terms and 31 per cent in terms of volumes when compared with the corresponding period in 2019, which had witnessed US$ 4.6 billion across 393 transactions. There was a decrease in VC investments by 52 per cent in value terms year-on-year to US$ 1 billion in the April-June quarter.

Daily average electronic transactions increased from 66 Lakh in 2014 to 16.3 Crore in 2020; E-services increases from 2,463 in 2014 to 3,858 till May 2020

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Communications and Law & Justice, has said that the digital journey has focused on empowerment, inclusion and digital transformation and its positive impact is being felt in all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens. While addressing a video conference marking celebration of five years journey of India's Digital India Programme here, today, he stated that in the current pandemic scenario, thanks to JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar an Mobile), people are able to work from home, people are able make digital payment, students are able to learn through TV, Mobile and Laptop, patients are able to take tele-consultation, and farmers in remote corner of India is able to get PM-KISAN benefits directly in their bank accounts.

The conference was organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to celebrate 5 Years of Digital India progressing towards Digital Bharat - AatmaNirbhar Bharat. This conference was graced by the presence of MoIT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Additional Chief Secretaries of some States, Shri Nandan Nilekani, the IT Secretaries of all States, representatives from Ministries, Industry and the academia. The conference was attended by 1,500 delegates all over the world.

The Digital India journey in the past 5 years has centred around empowerment, inclusion, digital transformation. It has positively impacted all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens identity management through Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer, Common Services Centres, DigiLocker, mobile based UMANG services, participatory governance through MyGov, Jeevan Pramaan, to UPI, Ayushman Bharat, e-Hospital, PM-Kisan, e-NAM, Soil Health Cards, SWAYAM, SWAYAM PRABHA, National Scholarship Portal, e-Pathshala, and so on. A ‘National AI Portal’ and ‘Responsible AI for Youth’ was launched recently to lay the foundation for an AI-powered future. Digital India’s initiatives have also played a pivotal role during the COVID-19 situation, such as Aarogya Setu, E-Sanjeevani, sensitisation through MyGov and Social media platforms etc.

Pointing  out that the number of e-Services has increased from 2,463 in 2014 to 3,858 till May 2020 and daily average electronic transactions have increased from 66 lakh in 2014 to 16.3 crore in 2020, the Union Minister shared that Aadhaar has been issued to 125.7 crore residents and 4,216 crore authentications have been facilitated. “Direct Benefit Transfer to the tune of Rs 11.1 lakh crore (US$ 157.47 billion) has been disbursed for 426 schemes from 56 Ministries and has led to the saving of Rs 1.7 lakh crore (US$ 24.12 billion) due. Jan Dhan Accounts have reached 38.73 crore beneficiaries, with a total of Rs 1.33 lakh crore (US$ 18.87 billion) in beneficiaries bank accounts. Mobile and internet connections are being used by 117 crore and 68.8 crore users, respectively. DigiLocker, launched on July 1, 2015, has 378 crore issued documents. Unified Mobile App for New-Age Governance (UMANG) has 860+ services operational and more than 3 crore downloads have taken place, he further added. MyGov has been launched to facilitate participatory governance in the country, with a total of 1.17 crore registered participants, while facilitating the Mann Ki Baat of the Prime Minister.

Emphasizing the Digital India’s initiatives during the COVID-19 situation, such as Aarogya Setu for its ground-breaking development time of 3 weeks and localisation in 12 Indian languages with 13 crore downloads, with additional 3 crore for Kai OS, he informed that it has helped identify over 350 COVID-19 hotspots. He further said that sensitization through MyGov and Social Media Platforms have played a crucial role in tackling the pandemic through user friendly graphics, video, quotes to citizens through the MyGov website and through all social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedln, Telegram, and YouTube. He also spoke briefly about other initiatives such as E-Sanjeevani, SAMHAR-COVID-19, Ayush Sanjivani Mobile app, and VC and e-Office.

While concluding, he reiterated that Digital India’s achievements can be attributed to the united efforts of Central Government, State Governments, Industries and Academia, all key parts of Team India. Lastly, he stated that India’s talent pool of skilled people, technology prowess and geo-political advantages are poised to make India an inspiring country in the 21st Century for the welfare of Indians and the world.

 During the event, a panel discussion was held regarding public digital platforms. Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY spoke about ‘Building Digital Government Platforms for the Digital Economy of the Future’. Shri Nandan Nilekani, Non-Executive Chairman, Infosys, spoke about the relevance and success of public-private partnership models in e-Government Development, where he touched four dimensions-Government as an enabler of technology, as a customer of Technology, as a platform provider and the Government as collaborator to provide solutions. He congratulated Hon’ble Minister on the successful implementation of Digital India in the country. The building of Aatma Nirbhar Digital Systems also deliberated extensively. ‘AatmaNirbharta’ or ‘Self-Reliance’ implies development of in-house capacity and capability to drive economic and social development of the country.

Dr Reddy's partners Fujifilm to launch Avigan for COVID-19 treatment

Indian generic drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories entered in partnership with the Japanese pharma giant Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and Global Response Aid (GRA) for development, manufacture, and sale of antiviral drug Avigan (favipiravir) tablets for potential treatment of COVID-19.

Under this agreement, Dr Reddy’s is given exclusive rights for India and grants both Dr Reddy’s and GRA the rights to develop, sell and distribute Avigan in all countries other than Japan, China, and Russia.

An upfront license fee and royalties on sales would be given by Dr Reddy’s and GRA to Fujifilm.

Earlier in 2011, Dr Reddy’s had formed a joint venture with Fujifilm for generic drugs business in the Japanese market, but both the companies called off the venture after two years as the venture did not take off.

In 2014, Fujifilm Toyama Chemical received approval for manufacturing and selling Avigan tablet as an influenza antiviral drug in Japan. This drug is to be considered for use only when there is an outbreak of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections in which other influenza antiviral drugs are either not effective or insufficiently effective. The Japanese government decided to use the drug as a countermeasure against such influenza viruses.

Fujifilm developed Avigan and is presently under trail in several parts of globe targeting COVID-19 patients and a large trial result is expected this month. A clinical study in Japan and the US is currently being conducted by Fujifilm group and it has been partnering with both the Japanese and overseas drug makers.

According to a statement released by Dr Reddy’s, GRA and it will obtain from Fujifilm an array of data on Avigan’s preclinical and clinical studies accumulated so far. Dr Reddy’s and GRA will use this data for clinical studies, targeting COVID-19 in regions where the infection was spreading.

“Dr Reddy’s and GRA shall introduce the product in the market post all applicable approvals in the respective countries,” said the statement.

It will also obtain rights from Fujifilm to use Avigan’s patents of formulation and manufacturing method, added the statement. The Hyderabad-headquartered drug maker will establish a setup for manufacturing drugs of the same quality as Avigan. Moreover, Dr Reddy’s said it will use GRA’s global sales network to supply the manufactured drugs swiftly and in a stable manner.

Recently, Glenmark has received emergency approval for the generic favipiravir from India’s drug controller to manufacture the drug but the drug is yet to be part of the treatment protocol reviewed last week by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

GST Revenue collection for June 2020; Rs 90,917 crore gross GST revenue collected in the month of June

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June 2020, is Rs 90,917 crore (US$ 12.90 billion) of which CGST is Rs 18,980 crore (US$ 2.69 billion), SGST is Rs 23,970 crore (US$ 3.40 billion), IGST is Rs 40,302 crore (US$ 5.72 billion) (including Rs 15,709 crore (US$ 2.23 billion) collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 7,665 crore (US$ 1.09 billion) (including Rs 607 crore (US$ 86.11 million) collected on import of goods).

The government has settled Rs 13,325 crore (US$ 1.89 billion) to CGST and Rs 11,117 crore (US$ 1.58 billion) to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of June 2020 is Rs 32,305 crore (US$ 4.58 billion) for CGST and Rs 35,087 crore (US$ 4.98 billion) for the SGST.

The revenues for the month are 91 per cent of the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from import of goods were 71 per cent and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 97 per cent of the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. During the month of June, returns of February, March, and April 2020 have also been filed in addition to some returns of May 2020 since Government has allowed a relaxed time schedule for filing of GST returns. Some returns of May 2020, which would have otherwise got filed in June 2020, will get filed during first few days of July 2020.

The revenues during the financial year has been impacted due to COVID-19, firstly due to the economic impact of the pandemic and secondly due to the relaxations given by the Government in filing of returns and payment of taxes due to the pandemic. However, figures of past three months show recovery in GST revenues. The GST collections for the month of April was Rs 32,294 crore (US$ 4.58 billion) which was 28 per cent of the revenue collected during the same month last year and the GST collections for the month of May was Rs 62,009 crore (US$ 8.80 billion) which was 62 per cent of the revenue collected during the same month last year. The GST collections for the first quarter of the year is 59 per cent of the revenue collected during the same quarter last year. However, a large number of taxpayers still have time to file their return for the month of May 2020

Estimated cost for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana during April - November 2020 is around Rs 1,48,938 crore

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had announced the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana till the end of November 2020. He said that the PMGKAY scheme is extended from July till the end of November 2020. During this five-month period, more than 80 crore people will be provided 5 kg free wheat/rice per month along with 1 kg free whole chana to each family per month.

The Department of Food and PD has worked out estimated cost under TPDS @ 5 Kg per person per month for three months i.e. April-June 2020 would entail an estimated subsidy of Rs 44,131 crore (US$ 6.26 billion) taking the estimated Economic Cost of Rs 37,267.60 (US$ 528.69)/MT for rice and Rs 26,838.40 (US$ 380.74)/MT for wheat (as per BE 2020-2021).

Further, while under NFSA, the expenditure towards intra state transportation and handling charges for movement from FCI depots to Fair Price Shops (FPSs) as also dealer's margin etc. is shared between Govt. of India and States/UTs as per the sharing pattern and norms for expenditure on this account as per rules framed under NFSA. As Govt. of India is bearing the entire expenditure towards this Scheme, an expenditure of Rs 1,930 crore (US$ 273.80 million) would be required to be met towards transportation and handling and FPS dealers' margins etc. by Government of India as per the existing norms in this regard under NFSA. ln view of the above, the total estimated expenditure to be borne by Government of India towards food grain subsidy and expenditure on account intra state transportation, dealer's margin including additional dealer's margin towards use of ePOS would be Rs 46,061 crore (US$ 6.53 billion).

On the basis of above, an estimated cost of 32 million tonne (12 Million Tonne for April-June 2020 and 20 LMT for July-November 2020) for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) from April to November 2020 will be approx. Rs 1,22,829 crore (US$ 17.43 billion).

As per Department of Consumer Affairs note, the estimated expenditure towards distribution of pulses is Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 709.32 million) for the period April-June 2020. Accordingly, the estimated expenditure for distribution of pulses during the period April-November 2020 will be Rs 11,800 crore (US$ 1.67 billion) approx.

In addition to above, the estimated cost for distribution of food grains to migrant labours for the period of two months is Rs 3,109.52 crore (US$ 441.13 million). The foregone cost of Central Issue Price for food grains which comes to approximately Rs 1,400 crore (US$ 198.61 million) per month entails an expenditure of approximately Rs 11,200 crore (US$ 1.59 billion).

Thus, the estimated cost for distribution of food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses will be Rs 1,48,938 crore (US$ 21.13 billion) approx.

Global PE firms eye India's auto components sector

Top private equity (PE) firms such as Temasek, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Samara Capital, and Baring Private Equity Asia are actively exploring investment opportunities in India’s auto parts manufacturing sector. These firms are convinced that India’s auto parts industry has long-term potential to provide to the local markets and overseas. Thus, companies are focusing on investing on the low market valuations of most of these auto parts vendors due to COVID-related uncertainties to purchase minority or controlling stakes. These firms are looking for makers of parts for internal combustion engine vehicles, and electric mobility.

According to some sources, the PE firms have approached some companies based in the automotive hubs of Chennai and Pune in the past few months.

The auto component manufacturers have been facing financial stress due to drastic decrease in vehicle sales since FY19, worsened by the lockdown since March-end. This situation has left promoters with an urgent need of funds to ramp up production and invest for the future but due to weak demand and depressed valuations, options have been limited. Banks and other financial institutions are also been careful of extending credit due to fear of loans turning bad. Some promoters are worried about taking on fresh debt, making PE investments a more viable option.

“The current fiscal will be a tough one for the auto sector since sales were down by almost 18 per cent last fiscal. Also, most promoters have invested heavily because of the upgrade to Bharat Stage VI norms. So, most of them will need partners who can guide them on investment and acquisitions in the long term as well as provide capital in the short and medium term," said the first person connected with deals.

According to a survey of the top 300 auto parts makers by ratings agency Crisil, combined revenues of the sector are likely to drop 16 per cent this fiscal due to the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown. EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of these companies is expected to drop 30-35 per cent in FY21.

“Possibly for the first time in over a decade, we are seeing demand from OEMs, exports and the aftermarket in the red this fiscal, in addition to demand slowdown for two consecutive years," said Mr Anuj Sethi, analyst, Crisil.

According to another source, promoters of auto component companies are also looking for opportunities outside India, especially in electric mobility, and the presence of a global PE investor on board is likely to help in arranging capital and other aspects of managing operations overseas.

“PE firms always look at the long-term potential and India is the only market expected to grow in the next decade as markets like China and US had already slowed before the pandemic. Most PE firms have also realized that current valuations make these companies quite lucrative and promoters also need capital. We expect consolidation in the component industry in the next two years," said another source.

Though, there has been no official announcement from any of the companies.