Flipkart raises US$ 1.2 billion in Walmart-led funding at near US$ 25 billion valuation

Indian e-commerce major, Flipkart Group, has raised an additional US$ 1.2 billion equity from Walmart-led investor group.

The valuation of the company has reached US$ 24.9 billion post equity round. This latest equity will be funded in two tranches over the remainder of the fiscal year.

The investment is led by Walmart, Flipkart's majority owner, along with a group of existing shareholders, the company said.

In FY20, Flipkart has seen an increase of 45 per cent in monthly active customers and witnessed 30 per cent growth in transactions per customer. It has recently surpassed 1.5 billion visits per month.

"We're grateful for the strong backing of our shareholders as we continue to build our platform and serve the growing needs of Indian consumers during these challenging times," Flipkart CEO Mr Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

"Since Walmart's initial investment in Flipkart, we have greatly expanded our offer through technology, partnerships and new services. Today, we lead in electronics and fashion, and are rapidly accelerating share in other general merchandise categories and grocery, all while providing increasingly seamless payment and delivery options for our customers. We will continue innovating to bring the next 200 million Indian shoppers online," he added.

The company was founded in 2007 and includes Flipkart, digital payments platform PhonePe, fashion specialty site Myntra and eKart, a logistics and delivery service focused on solving the last mile in India's Tier II and Tier III cities. In 2018, company received an investment of US$ 16 billion from Walmart Inc. for a majority stake in the group.

"Flipkart continues to leverage its culture of innovation to accelerate growth and enable millions of customers, sellers, merchants and small businesses to prosper and be a part of India's digital transformation," said Mr Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International.

Shri Gadkari inaugurates and lays foundation stones of new economic corridor projects worth about Rs 20,000 crore in Haryana

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of various Highway projects as part of a new economic corridor worth about Rs 20 thousand crore (US$ 2.84 billion) in Haryana today through webcast. The function was presided over by the Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal. Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Gen (Retd) V K Singh, Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Dushyant Chautala, Union Ministers Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Shri Krishnapal Gurjar, Shri Rattan Lal Kataria, NHAI Chairman Shri S S Sandhu, senior officers of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and officers from Haryana State Government participated in the virtual function.

The projects inaugurated include the 35.45 km 4-lane Rohna/Hasangarh to Jhajjar section of NH 334B costing Rs 1,183 crore (US$ 167.83 million), the 70 km 4-laning of Punjab-Haryana Border to Jind section of NH 71 costing Rs 857 crore (US$ 121.58 million), and the 85.36 km 2-lane with paved shoulders Jind-Karnal Highway on NH 709 costing Rs 200 crore (US$ 28.37 million).

Foundation stones were laid for projects including the 227 km 6-lane access controlled Greenfield expressway from Ismailpur to Narnaul on NH 152D in 8 packages costing Rs 8,650 crore (US$ 1.23 billion), the 46 km 4-lane Gurugram Pataudi-Rewari section of NH 352W costing Rs 1,524 crore (US$ 216.20 million), the 14.4 km 4-lane Rewari Byepass costing Rs 928 crore (US$ 131.65 million), the 30.45 km 4-lane Rewari-Ateli Mandi section of NH 11 costing Rs 1,057 crore (US$ 149.95 million), the 40.8 km 6-lane Narnaul Byepass on NH 148B, NH 11 and Narnaul to Ateli Mandi section of NH 11 costing Rs 1,380 crore (US$ 195.77 million), the 40.6 km 4-lane Jind-Gohana (Pkg 1, Greenfield alignment) of NH 352A costing Rs 1,207 crore (US$ 171.23 million), the 38.23 km 4-lane Gohana-Sonipat section of NH 352A costing Rs 1,502 crore (US$ 213.08 million), and the 40.47 km 4-lane UP-Haryana Border to Roha on NH 334B costing Rs 1,509 crore (US$ 214.07 million).

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Gadkari said, these projects will benefit people of Haryana in big way by providing smooth connectivity within the State, as well as to other States like Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. The Minister also said that these important projects will decongest big cities reducing travel time. It will take about 2 hrs to reach Delhi Airport from Chandigarh against 4 hrs now.  The projects will also save on time, fuels, and cost, as also boost development in backward areas of the State. He said, the Government is committed to progress and prosperity of the country, and Rupees two lakh crore worth of works will be completed in the first two years of this government. He recalled that the Prime Minister has conceived Rs 100 lakh crore (US$ 1.41 trillion) worth of infrastructure development towards achieving the five trillion economy. The Minister said, people in the State should consider adopting crops for biofuels, which has the capacity to improve their all-round life.  This will ensure employment opportunities within the villages, which will also stop mass migration in search of employment. The Minister said, the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Trans Haryana Economic Corridor and the Gurugram-Rewari-Ateli-Narnaul are the highways of a new emerging India, which will bring development in all corners of Haryana.

Shri Gadkari requested the Chief Minister to expedite land acquisition for National Highway Projects in the State.  For this purpose, the issues may soon be discussed and sorted out with the Minister of State for RTH Gen (Retd) V. K. Singh. 

The Minister also called upon Haryana CM to join in the efforts for developing industrial clusters including MSMEs, smart cities and smart villages as also to develop Khadi and Village industries alongside the express way projects particularly the new Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.  He assured the Chief Minister of all assistances in this regard. The Minister informed about his goal for providing 5 crore jobs through MSMEs in next 5 years and enhancing KVIC turn over manifold from present level of Rs 88,000 crore (US$ 12.48 billion) per annum.

 Haryana Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal thanked Shri Gadkari for honouring the State’s requests for roads. He said, these projects will have positive impact on both the industry and the business in the State. He attributed the State’s development to its vast road network and transport facilities. The CM informed that 29406-kilometre-long roads were developed/improved in the State during the last five years. Further, budget allocations have been made for construction of ROBs/RUBs at all railway crossings to prevent accidents.

Speaking on the occasion Gen (Retd.) V.K. Singh said that implementation of the NH projects will lead to all round development of Haryana.  He requested Haryana CM to consider developing Rwewary bypass project into a ring road of the city of Rewari to help its decongestion.  NHAI Chairman Shri S S Sandhu informed NHAI with these projects NHAI is implementing projects work over Rs 37,000 crore (US$ 5.25 billion) in Haryna. He requested CM, Haryana to develop expeditiously and land acquisition for NH projects.

In 2014, total NH length in Haryana was 2050 kilometre, which has now been brought up to 3237 kms. The NH density of 75 km per 1000 sq km is the highest among the major States of the country. Four major corridors are being developed in Haryana, which include two brownfield projects of Jind-Gohana-Sonipat and UP/Haryana Border-Rohna-Jhajjar. The other two are greenfield projects – Ambala-Kotputli 304 km and Gurugram Rewari-Narnaul-Rajasthan Border 132 km. Apart from these, several important projects have been taken up in the Delhi NCR areas around Haryana. These include: the 1350 km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway costing about Rs one lakh crore, the 600 km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway costing Rs 30,000 crore (US$ 4.26 billion), the 30 km Dwarka Expressway costing over  Rs 8,000 crore (US$ 1.13 billion), the 21 km Gurugram-Sohna Road costing Rs 1630 crore (US$ 213.24 million), the 28 km Ambala Ring Road, and the 30 km Karnal Ring Road. In addition, other NH projects of 410 km are proposed, which will be awarded by next year.  In the next 2-3 years, 1550 km long Highways and Expressways will be developed at an investment of Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.51 billion). Out of this, about Rs 12,000 crore (US$ 1.70 billion) is being distributed as compensation amount to land holders in Haryana.

 

Turning Crisis into opportunity- Dr Harsh Vardhan discusses bilateral Health Co-operation including management of COVID-19 with Australian Health Minister

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare had a digital interaction with his Australian counterpart Mr Gregory Andrew Hunt to discuss bilateral Health co-operation, here today.

India and Australia have signed an MoU on co-operation in the field of Health and Medicine on 10th April, 2017. The MoU covers areas of mutual interest like the management of communicable diseases like Malaria and Tuberculosis, mental health and non-communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, regulation of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and medical devices and digitization of health infrastructure. The MoU also covers response to public health emergencies like the present COVID pandemic.

At the outset, Dr Harsh Vardhan expressed deep admiration for Mr Gregory Hunt for his organization of charity events like a 5 km run for children suffering for autism and raising awareness on juvenile diabetes. Speaking on the need for working together, Dr Harsh Vardhan outlined that “while Australia has one of the best healthcare systems of the developed world, healthcare in India is one of the fastest growing sectors expected to hit US$ 275 billion mark in the next 10 years. India’s domestic demand is expected to engine the growth regardless of any turbulence in the global economy. India also offers vast opportunities in R&D and medical tourism”. India’s traditional holistic medical systems like Ayurveda and Yoga can help Australia curb obesity and related diseases, he further added.

Dr Harsh Vardhan elaborated on ‘health as a social movement’ approach of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi “India’s Universal Healthcare Coverage (under Ayushman Bharat) covers a massive 100 million families; 10 million individuals have benefitted in the last year alone; India is committed to eliminating TB by the year 2025; India has also undertaken efforts for mass screening of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, cancer of breast, lung, throat and mouth, etc; India has also made strides in implementing the Digital Health Blueprint to modernize the health sector and enable streamlined delivery of services to the last citizen; affordable medicines that treat cancer and cardio-vascular ailments and cardiac implants are made available to the poorest of the poor under the (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) program.” He also added that the Prime Minister’s “Whole of Government” perspective enabled financial inclusion of 400 million people and transformed their access to healthcare.

Mr Hunt spoke of the trust Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi espouses in the international community. Australia’s Universal Telemedicine has helped tackle 19 million cases, so far, he stated. Its focus on health infrastructure through public and private hospitals and approach on mental health issues are models worth emulating, he stated. Acknowledging India’s huge role in supplying inexpensive generic drugs supplying 60 per cent of the world’s medicine, he expanded on how India could help Australia in researching new medicines for rare diseases using Genomics and Stem Cell Technology.

Elaborating upon the role of India’s medical community in containment and management of the pandemic, Dr Harsh Vardhan noted that India’s medical professionals, paramedics and scientists have played a pivotal role in containing COVID-19.  He stated that they are helping in drug discovery and in repurposing of existing drugs. They have also isolated the virus in the early onset of diseases and are engaged in studying the virus using Genome sequencing. “From just one lab to test the virus in January 2020, India now has more than 1200 labs across the country facilitating the people in widespread testing, he further added. India’s drug manufacturers have also enabled India to supply Hydroxychloroquine to 140 countries.”

The Health Ministers agreed to continue to jointly work in the area of health and other common interests.

Renew Power plans to double power generation capacity to 10,000 megawatt in five years

Renew Power, India’s largest clean energy firm, plans to double its portfolio of running plants and projects under implementation to 10,000 megawatt (MW) in five years, an ambitious growth plan that has cheered its major investor Goldman Sachs.

An investment of around Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 5.67 billion to US$ 7.09 billion) is required for expansion, going by the average cost of projects in the industry. Though, no financial details were shared by the company. The projects vary across the country, depending on the cost of land and the intensity of sunlight or wind.

Mr Sumant Sinha is leading the Renew Power’s aggressive expansion project, which is part of the growing corporate interest in the sector in which Mr Gautam Adani is also expanding his presence with the aim of becoming the world’s biggest renewable energy company with a capacity of 25,000 MW.
"This year despite the impact of COVID-19, the government has been actively bringing out new bids in the renewable energy space and companies have responded enthusiastically," said Renew Power chairman and managing director Mr Sumant Sinha.

According to Goldman Sach’s MD of merchant banking division Mr Michael Bruun, these growth prospects are exciting. "We are excited about our investment in Renew and the journey ahead as the company continues to grow and becomes more integrated across the value chain," Mr Bruun said.
Around 48.6 per cent share in Renew Power are held by Goldman Sachs, which has backed the company for a long time. The company has also raised debt and equity from other major global investors including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, JERA and Global Environment Fund. The company has attracted foreign direct investment of over US$ 1.4 billion from various investors since its inception 10 years ago.

Renew has the country’s largest operation capacity of 5,600 MW, which along with capacity in the pipeline adds up to 10,000 MW.

In May 2020, Renew won a first of its kind 400 MW round-the-clock (RTC) bid, which promises an 80 per cent plant load factor (PLF) annually at Rs 2.90 (US$ 0.04) per unit. In order to ensure the PLF efficiency, company plans to set up a plant with capacity higher than 1 gigawatt (GW), bringing the total to 2 GW in the past six months. These will be online in the next two years, Mr Sinha said.

Around 800 MW, out of the 2 GW, worth of bids were won during the COVID-19 period.

The RTC bid will allow RE companies to provide stable power to the grids, plugging a major challenge against coal-based power plants and other conventional energy sources.

 

Flipkart invests Rs 260 crore in Arvind Youth Brands

Flipkart Group bought a minority stake in Arvind Youth Brands, a subsidiary of Arvind Fashions Ltd’s (AFL), for Rs 260 crore (US$ 36.88 million). The company, which owns denim brand Flying Machine, plans to build the brand online and in India's smaller markets.

Flying Machine is a four-decade old brand and has been selling on Walmart-backed Flipkart and Myntra for over six years.

"Through this investment, the Flipkart Group and Arvind Fashions will work collaboratively to identify opportunities and synergies to innovate and develop products with strong value propositions at attractive price points," as per the Arvind Fashions Ltd filing to the exchanges.

Arvind Fashions oversees international and local fashion apparel brands in the country such as US Polo Assn., Arrow, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Flying Machine, Aeropostale, The Children’s Place and Ed Hardy. It also operates the value fashion retail chain, Unlimited, apart from a partnership with beauty retailer Sephora for its India business.

The company has been trying to reduce its dependence on physical stores. With this move, it is moving online for its business.

"The partnership with the Flipkart Group will help us accelerate our online growth strategy as we focus our efforts on developing an omni-channel retail approach for Arvind Youth Brands and Flying Machine," said Mr J. Suresh, managing director and chief executive officer, Arvind Fashions.

Mr Suresh added that Flipkart and Myntra will be the brand's preferred online partners, even as it continues to grow offline sales through channels like exclusive brand stores, department stores and multi-brand stores.

Flipkart will leverage the brand's popularity that has over the years moved to India's smaller cities and expand its presence on its platform with value price points for shoppers in that segment.

"Through this investment, we look forward to partnering with the team at Arvind Youth Brands to continue to grow the market for its portfolio of products and enhance the strong brand equity that has been built over the last few decades, “ said Mr Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Flipkart Group.

In another filing to the exchanges, Arvind Fashions Ltd., said the company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited, have each signed definitive agreements to transfer the wholesale trading and the retail trading business in "Flying Machine" brand to a wholly owned subsidiary, Arvind Youth Brands Private Limited.

In FY19, Flying Machine brand, under Arvind Fashions Ltd., recorded a standalone turnover of Rs 365 crore (US$ 51.78 million).

Flipkart has been gradually growing its presence in India's fashion apparel market.

Fashion retailer Myntra, part of the Flipkart Group, won the rights in 2017 to manage Spanish fashion brand Mango’s offline stores in India, as well as sell the brand exclusively on its online marketplace.

RIL-BP launch fuel and mobility joint venture

Reliance Industries and BP India announced the start of their new Indian fuels and mobility joint venture, Reliance BP Mobility Limited (RBML).

In August 2019, both the companies had announced their plan to create a new joint venture company, where 51 per cent will be held by RIL and the remainder by BP. BP will acquire 49 per cent stake in RIL’s existing petrol pumps and aviation turbine fuel network by investing about Rs 7,000 crore (US$ 993.05 million).

"Operating under the Jio-BP brand, the joint venture aims to become a leading player in India's fuels and mobility markets," said BP in a press statement adding that it will leverage Reliance’s presence across 21 states and its millions of consumers through the Jio digital platform.

BP will add its extensive global experience in high-quality differentiated fuels, lubricants, retail, and advanced low carbon mobility solutions.

The marketing authorization for transportation fuels, amongst other necessary regulatory and statutory approvals has been received by RMBL. It will start selling fuels and Castrol lubricants with immediate effect from its existing retail outlets, which will be rebranded to “Jio-bp" in due course.

It is expected that India will become the fastest-growing fuels market in the world over the next 20 years, with the number of passenger cars in the country estimated to grow almost six-fold over the period.

The company targets to expand from its current fuel retailing network of over 1,400 retail sites to up to 5,500 over the next five years. This is expected to increase the staff employed in service stations by four-fold, growing from 20,000 to 80,000 in this period. The joint venture also aims to increase its presence from 30 to 45 airports in the coming years

“Reliance is expanding on its strong and valued partnership with bp, to establish a pan-Indian presence in retail and aviation fuels. RBML will aim to be a leader in mobility and low carbon solutions, bringing cleaner and affordable options for Indian consumers with digital and technology being our key enablers," said Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL.

It aims to provide consumers with advanced fuels with lower emissions, electric vehicle charging and other low carbon solutions over time. RBML is also committed to the decarbonization of its own operations as well as that of its wider ecosystem.

Mr Bernard Looney, BP chief executive officer, said, "This new venture is a unique opportunity to build a leading, fast-growing business that can help meet India’s demands and create exciting new digital and low-carbon options for the future."

PM to dedicate to the nation the 750 MW Rewa Solar Project

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the 750 megawatt (MW) Solar Project set up at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh on July 10, 2020.

This Project comprises of three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500-hectare plot of land situated inside a Solar Park (total area 1500 hectare). The Solar Park was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Central Public Sector Undertaking.  Central Financial Assistance of Rs 138 crore (US$ 19.58 million) has been provided to RUMSL for development of the Park. After the Park had been developed, Mahindra Renewables Private Ltd., ACME Jaipur Solar Power Private Ltd., and Arinsun Clean Energy Private Ltd were selected by RUMSL through reverse auction for developing three solar generating units of 250 MW each inside the Solar Park. Rewa Solar Project is an example of the excellent results that can be achieved if there is synergy between Central and State Governments.

The Rewa Solar Project was the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier. Compared to prevailing solar project tariffs of approx. Rs 4.50 (US$ 0.06)/unit in early 2017, the Rewa project achieved historic results: a first-year tariff of Rs 2.97 (US$ 0.04)/unit with a tariff escalation of Rs 0.05 (US$ 0.0007)/unit over 15 years and a levelized rate of Rs 3.30 (US$ 0.046)/unit over the term of 25 years.  This project will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year.

The Rewa Project has been acknowledged in India and abroad for its robust project structuring and innovations. Its payment security mechanism for reducing risks to power developers has been recommended as a model to other States by MNRE.  It has also received World Bank Group President’s Award for innovation and excellence and was included in the book “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings” released by Prime Minister.  The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the State, i.e. Delhi Metro, which will get 24 per cent of energy from the project with remaining 76 per cent being supplied to the State DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.

The Rewa Project also exemplifies India’s commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, including 100 GW of Solar installed capacity.

PM addresses the inaugural session of India Global week

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today addressed the inaugural session of India Global week via videoconference.

Referring to the current times of crisis, the Prime Minister said India would play a leading role in the global revival. He said that this is closely linked with two factors. First is - Indian talent and second is India's ability to reform and rejuvenate. He elaborated that world over, the contribution of India's talent-force is highly recognised, especially the contribution of the Indian tech industry and tech professionals.

He described India as a powerhouse of talent that is eager to contribute. He added that Indians are natural reformers and history has shown that India has overcome every challenge, be it social or economic.

He said that when India talks of revival it is:  Revival with care, Revival with compassion, Revival which is sustainable - both for the environment and the economy.

The Prime Minister listed the gains made during the last six years such as: total financial inclusion, record housing and infra construction, Ease of Doing Business, bold tax reforms including the GST.

PM said that the green-shoots of economic recovery could already be seen as owing to the indomitable Indian spirit.

He said that technology today helps the Government every benefit to the beneficiaries directly, including, providing free cooking gas, cash in the bank accounts, free food grains to millions of people and many other things.

PM said India is one of the most open economies in the World and is inviting all the Multinational Companies to set up their business in India. The Prime Minister described India as a land of many possibilities and opportunities.

He described the various reforms initiated in the Agriculture Sector and said that it provides a very attractive investment opportunity for the global industry. 

The Prime Minister said that the latest reforms are providing a boost to the MSME Sector and that they would be complimenting the big industry.

He said that there are investment opportunities in the defence sector and the space sector. 

The Prime Minister said that the pandemic has once again shown that India's Pharma industry is an asset not just for India but for the entire world. It has played a leading role in reducing the cost of medicines especially for developing countries.

He said that Atma Nirbhar Bharat is not about being self-contained or being closed to the world but about being self-sustaining and self-generating.

This is an India that is reforming, performing, and transforming. This is an India that offers new economic opportunities. This is an India that is adopting a human-centric and inclusive approach to development.  India awaits you all, he said.

He expressed happiness that the Forum was also marking the 100th birth anniversary of Pandit Ravi Shankar, who took the beauty of Indian classical music to the world. He also highlighted how Namaste has gone global as a form of greeting. He said that India is ready to do whatever it can to further global good and prosperity. 

Indian fantasy sports platforms report three-fold jump in FY20 revenue: Study

According to the joint report released by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and KPMG, the Indian online fantasy sports industry was booming vastly, before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the world. As per the data, the gross revenue of online fantasy sports (OFS) operators including Dream11 increased threefold to Rs 2,470 (US$ 350.40 million) in FY20 versus Rs 920 crore (US$ 130.51 million) in the previous fiscal. The increase of three-fold was registered despite the impact of the pandemic on the revenues for the last 15 days of March when government restricted businesses activities and announced the nationwide lockdown.

The OFS market attracted Contest Entry Amount (CEA) worth Rs 16,500 crore (US$ 2.34 billion) in FY20 versus Rs 6,000 crore (US$ 851.18 million) in previous financial year. CEA is the amount of money paid by a user to the operator to play a match on its platform. Thus, increase in CEA denotes that the number of players on various platforms have significantly increased.

This growth was led by the increase in overall userbase and the number platforms. Users have increased from two million in 2016 to 90 million in 2019, the OFS platforms grew from less than 10 operators in 2016 to over 140 by 2019.

Indian online sports fantasy industry indirectly generated Rs 2,600 crore (US$ 368.85 million) revenue for the secondary industries as well including payment gateways, technology providers, media platforms and agencies. Around 3,400 direct and over 5,000 indirect jobs have been created so far. The top OFS operators have ventured into team-based sports such as cricket, football, and kabaddi, bringing seasonality and reducing over dependence on a single sport. The share of cricket as a percentage CEA has seen a decrease from 95 per cent in 2016 to 85 per cent in 2019.

According to the report, some of the growth drivers responsible for the space are growth in digital infrastructure, increase in online transactions, growing popularity of sports leagues, operator investments in technology and reaffirmation of the legality of the fantasy sports format in India.

“While COVID-19 may result in a temporary blip in the upward trajectory of the fantasy sports segment, the medium to long term growth prospects of the segment remain robust, with the gradual return of international sport. Further, in a post COVID world, with social distancing measures in place, fantasy sports is likely to play an increasingly important role in connecting fans to their favourite sports and increasing fan engagement," said Mr Girish Menon, partner and head, media and entertainment, KPMG in India.

Although, global football leagues like Bundesliga, English Premier League, Serie A and La Liga have started, and it is estimated that Indian Premier League (IPL) might start towards the fag end of the year. This is likely to provide relief to the online fantasy sports industry in the country.

"In absence of live events in the last few months, the business has taken a massive hit. With football and basketball leagues starting globally, I feel the worst is behind us. Hopefully, sports tournaments in India including IPL will also resume. The recovery will be quick as there is immense pent up demand for sports," said Mr Amrit Mathur, strategic advisor, FIFS.

The user base has been showing interest in online fantasy sports as revealed a dipstick survey by KPMG conducted on 763 respondents across 10 cities. Out of these 253 were OFS users (having played OFS in the last one year) and the rest were categorized as non-OFS users. Total, 65 per cent of the respondents indicated sports was among the top three genres they watched on TV and OTT platforms.

As per the data, a total of 32 per cent were engaged with more than one sport on the OFS platforms; incentivizing operators to expand their sports offerings. Over 65 per cent of these respondents revealed that there is a direct increase in the time spent in analysing, watching, and reading about the Sport once they start playing fantasy sports online.

Though, there are crucial challenges which involves high dependency on cricket, seasonality, consumer perception of OFS being a game of skill, low entry barriers, play store listing limitation and low women participation.

Cabinet approves extension of time limit for availing the benefits of "Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" for Ujjwala beneficiaries by three months w.e.f. 01.07.2020

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for extension of time limit by three months w.e.f. 01.07.2020 for availing the benefits of “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" for Ujjwala beneficiaries

The Government had announced a relief package " Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" aimed at providing a safety net to the poor and vulnerable who had been hit the hardest by the pandemic. The package also included relief for poor families who had availed of an LPG connection under PMUY. Under the PMGKY-Ujjwala, it was decided to provide free of cost refills for PMUY consumers for a period of 3 months w.e.f. 01.04.2020.

Under the Scheme, Rs 9,709.86 crore (US$ 1.38 billion) was transferred directly into the bank accounts of Ujjwala beneficiaries during April- June 2020 and 11.97 crore cylinders were delivered to the PMUY beneficiaries. The scheme went a long way to ameliorate the suffering and disruption caused due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

On review of the scheme, it has been observed that a section of PMUY beneficiaries are yet to utilize the advance credited into their account to purchase the cylinder refill within the scheme period. Hence, the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to extend the time-limit for availing the advance by three months. This will benefit those PMUY beneficiaries who have been credited with the advance for buying the cylinder but have not been able to purchase the refill. Thus, the beneficiaries who already have the advance transferred to their account can now take the free refill delivery till 30th September.