Electric vehicle market likely to be Rs 50,000 crore opportunity in India by 2025: Report

The electric vehicle (EV) market is estimated to be a Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.09 billion) opportunity in India by 2025, with two- and three-wheelers expected to drive higher electrification of the vehicles in the medium term in the wake of COVID-19, according to a report by Avendus Capital.

Avendus Capital, which is an investment banking arm of financial services provider Avendus Group, said that the total cost of ownership (TCO) in case of low- and medium-speed electric two-wheelers is already lower than internal combustion engine vehicles.

The report said, "With the present and projected level of EV penetration in the country, EVs in India could represent a Rs 500 billion (US$ 7.09 billion) opportunity by 2025. Two- and three-wheelers will lead the electrification movement in India in the medium term."

It added that the penetration in two-wheeler segment is expected to be at 9 per cent by 2024-25 and with the right macroeconomic environment, it can increase up to 16 per cent while the segment could grow to Rs 12,000 crore (US$ 1.70 billion) by 2024-25.

It is seen that E-rickshaw emerged as a large market in India in a short time frame even though a large part of this market is still unorganised and based on lead-acid batteries, the report stated.

The market is expected to see a shift to lithium-ion battery and by 2024-25, as much as 40 per cent of the e-rickshaw market is expected to be li-ion based.

"Over the past decade, the economics of the technology used in this sector has improved significantly, and today, EVs make economic sense across multiple use cases," said Mr Koushik Bhattacharyya, director and head (industrials) at Avendus Capital, at the launch of the report.

He said that the predictability of transition to EVs is accepted by the world, however, the timeline for mass adoption is still a topic for debate. "But we believe that we are moving quickly towards a mobility regime where EVs become mainstream."

It is expected that the adoption of EVs is accelerated by the current COVID-19, as customers are looking for environment-friendly and cost-effective personal mobility solutions, and also because online commerce is fast becoming the norm, the report said.

"India represents the fourth-largest automobile market in the world and the second-largest two-wheeler market with around 20 million units. It is also a country with massive dependency on oil imports, with a US$ 112 billion oil import bill in FY19," added Mr Bhattacharyya. He added that pollution in many Indian cities has reached alarming levels. "All these factors combined make a strong case for EV adoption in India."

He added that the TCO will become favourable as the battery prices decreases further.

"E-auto makes economic sense on a TCO basis. We expect to see intensive action in this space going forward. We expect around 20 per cent EV penetration in e-auto category by FY25. We expect this segment to be Rs 40 billion (US$ 567.46 million) by FY25," said Mr Ankit Singhal, vice-president (industrials) at Avendus Capital.

It is estimated that the EV adoption in the four-wheeler category will stay limited to commercial or fleet applications. The overall penetration in the electric four-wheeler segment is expected to be about 2 per cent and increase to 5 per cent with the help of right macroeconomic environment, he said.

He added, "We expect this segment to be Rs 100 billion (US$ 1.42 billion) by FY25."

Avendus Capital said it expects factors mainly policy, battery cost, charging infrastructure and supply chain localisation driving the adoption of EVs in various segments in the country over the next decade.

The commercial vehicle side will be led by e-buses with regulatory push expected to drive this category, rather than TCO.

"We expect EV adoption in the bus category to be about 13 per cent by 2024-25 and segment to be Rs 60 billion (US$ 851.18 million) by that time.

"Light commercial vehicles (less than 3.5 tonnes) in the EV category also make TCO sense and we forecast about 4 per cent EV adoption in this segment by FY25, translating into a Rs 15 billion (US$212.80 million) market opportunity," Mr Singhal said.
 

SpiceJet acqui-hires Bengaluru-based airline e-commerce technology company Travenues

SpiceJet, low-cost airline and air cargo operator, acqui-hired the team and technology platform of Bengaluru-based e-commerce technology company Travenues, a wholly owned subsidiary of online travel aggregator ixigo.

Acqui-hiring is a new concept where the company hires the employees rather than gaining the control of its products or services.

The Travenues technology team will join SpiceJet, while SpiceJet will inherit the airline technology and commerce platform built by Travenues that specialises in mobile apps, user experience (UX), engagement, cross-selling, payments, personalisation, among others.

"We are glad to welcome team Travenues to SpiceJet. This acqui-hire will help SpiceJet strengthen its e-commerce platforms as we continue to innovate across multiple technology areas and achieve our vision of being the worldwide leader in aviation technology," said Mr Ashish Vikram, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, SpiceJet.

"We are proud of the team and the full stack airline commerce suite we have built and we wish the SpiceJet team all the best in taking it to the next level with a talented and motivated team," said Mr Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, Chief Digital Officer, Travenues.

Travenues was founded last year and is a technology platform business for travel suppliers and offers a travel-tech airline commerce and ancillary sales platform to airlines that allows for extensive customisation and state-of-the-art personalisation.

It aimed to help airlines power their own consumer experiences through this B2B offering and use deep tech integrations to further help airlines with UX around engagement, segmentation, targeting, cross-selling, payments, and customer service.

Last year, Travenues had signed its first technology partnership with SpiceJet for digital transformation of its consumer-facing experiences.

“We are happy that we were able to incubate a startup and build a next generation platform with a motivated tightly-knit team that can truly disrupt airline direct sales and airline commerce. The possibilities this unfolds for SpiceJet are endless!" said Mr Rajnish Kumar, co-founder and CTO, ixigo.

HIL (India) has supplied 20.60 MT of DDT to South Africa for Malaria control program

HIL (India) Limited, a PSU under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has supplied 20.60 Metric tonne of DDT 75 per cent WP to South Africa for their Malaria control program yesterday.

HIL (India) is the sole manufacturer of DDT globally. The company was incorporated in the year 1954 to manufacture and supply DDT to Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for malaria control programme. In the year 2019-20, the product was supplied to 20 States in the country. The company is also exporting the product to many African countries.

 The Department of Health, South Africa shall be utilising DDT in three province adjoining Mozambique. The region is highly affected with Malaria and it has reported maximum morbidity and mortality due to the disease in recent years.

Malaria continues to be one of the major public health problems globally. In 2018, an estimated 228 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and most malaria cases and deaths (93 per cent) were reported from African Region. In the South East Asia Region, India accounts for majority of cases and death. Spraying of insecticides inside the human habitants i.e. Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) has proven to be effective mosquito control tool. World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends DDT as one of the efficient IRS chemicals to curb malaria mosquito menace and it is widely used by Southern African countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique etc. and India.

The Company is further in process of supplying DDT 75 per cent WP to Zimbabwe (128 MT) and Zambia (113 MT) in the current FY2020-21. 

HIL (India) Limited has recently exported 25 MT of Malathion Technical 95 per cent to Iran under Government-to-Government initiative for the Locust Control Programme and exported Agrochemical-fungicide (32 MT) to Latin American region.

Jal Jeevan Mission: States compete among themselves to outperform others; 7 States achieved more than 10 per cent of the target of 2020-21

Launched in August 2019, in 7 months of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019-20, around 85 lakh rural households were provided with tap connections. Further, amidst COVID-19 pandemic, since Unlock-1, about 55 lakh tap connections have been provided so far in the year 2020-21. Thus, daily about 1 lakh households are being provided with tap connections.

As of today, 7 States viz. Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Mizoram have achieved more than 10 per cent of the target household tap connections they had fixed for themselves. States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, and Manipur have shown good progress during the corresponding period. This shows the commitment of the States to provide the basic services to the people residing in rural areas as envisaged under the flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission, as well as the speed and scale with which the States are making efforts to provide tap connections.

Out of 18.93 crore rural households in the country, 4.60 crore (24.30 per cent) households are already provided tap connections. The objective is to cover remaining 14.33 crore households in a time-bound manner while ensuring the functionality of all tap connections. With this goal in mind, States/ UTs are providing tap connections at the rate of more than one lakh connections daily.

In 2020-21, a sum of Rs 23,500 crore (US$ 3.33 billion) has been allocated for the implementation of JJM. Further, 50 per cent of 15th Finance Commission grants to Rural Local Bodies, i.e. Rs 30,375 crore (US$ 4.31 billion) have also been earmarked for water supply and sanitation. 50 per cent of this amount has been released to the States already, which will help in better implementation, management, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply systems in villages to ensure people get potable water on regular and long-term basis.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in partnership with States with an aim to provide potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on regular and long-term basis through tap connections to every rural household in the country by 2024. All out efforts are being made by the National Mission under Ministry of Jal Shakti to handhold the States/ UTs for the implementation. The progress of the mission is being monitored on day-to-day basis.

Various States/ UTs have committed to achieve the goal of the Mission well before 2024. In 2021, Bihar, Goa, Puducherry and Telangana have planned for complete saturation; similarly in 2022, States/ UTs of Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh are planning for 100 per cent coverage. While Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura have planned for full saturation in 2023, States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have planned for 2024.

In line with the appeal of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to further improve ‘ease of living’ in rural areas by providing facilities like financial inclusion, houses, road, clean fuel, electricity and toilets, the Jal Jeevan Mission is providing drinking water in every rural household, which will certainly improve the lives of rural population especially women and girls and save them from drudgery as well as water-borne diseases.

India e-commerce to grow 27 per cent; Reliance to capture half of online grocery sales: Goldman

According to a report titled 'Global Internet: e-commerce's steepening curve' published by Goldman Sachs, India's e-commerce business is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 per cent to reach US$ 99 billion by 2024. It is projected that Reliance Industries would capture half of the online grocery sales through its Facebook.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has helped in doubling of penetration of e-commerce globally with categories such as consumer packaged goods driving as much as three years of penetration growth in three months.

It said, "We forecast India e-commerce will reach US$ 99 billion by 2024, growing at a 27 per cent CAGR over 2019-24, with grocery and fashion/apparel likely to be the key drivers of incremental growth in our view".

Online penetration of retail is expected to reach 10.7 per cent by 2024, versus 4.7 per cent in 2019.

"The biggest near term theme in India internet, in our view, is the foray of Reliance Industries (India's largest market-cap company with presence across sectors such as energy, telecom, and retail) into e-commerce, and the company's tie-up with WhatsApp for online grocery," it said.

In April 2020, Facebook acquired around 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the subsidiary of RIL which is the country's youngest but biggest telecom company as well as has an array of apps in its portfolio. JioMart, RIL's e-commerce venture, plans to use Facebook's WhatsApp to connect local grocery stores with customers.

In 2019, more than 80 per cent of market in online grocery was captured by Bigbasket and Grofers, said Goldman Sachs.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the shift to online is estimated to increase to 81 per cent CAGR during 2019-24 from around 50 per cent year-on-year growth the sector has been witnessing for the last couple of years.

"We believe RIL's partnership with Facebook could result in the company becoming a market leader in the online grocery space, with more than 50 per cent share by 2024," it said. "Having said that, we do see grocery as a large category for two or more players to co-exist over time."

The India's e-commerce sector is expected to see growth from better penetration into categories such as grocery/FMCG, improving payment ecosystem and ease of shopping through WhatsApp etc.

"We expect non-grocery e-commerce penetration to see a sharp increase of 500 basis points over the next two years to reach 16.1 per cent by 2021," Goldman Sachs said adding the last 500 basis points of the increase took four years.

In 2019, there was high online penetration in categories such as consumer electronics at about 40 per cent whereas in categories like apparel, appliances, health and personal care the online penetration in India remains materially lower when compared with peers such as China.

"As far as incremental growth in e-commerce is concerned, we expect grocery to be the biggest driver with 40 per cent contribution to incremental e-commerce GMV (gross merchandise volume) between 2019 and 2024," it said.

As of 2019, Grocery in India is a US$ 380 billion category, accounting for 60 per cent of the total retail market.

"However, online penetration currently stands at less than 0.5 per cent (absolute size US$ 2 billion), one of the least among categories," it said projecting the online grocery market in India to grow 20x over the next 5 years, to reach US$ 29 billion in value (5.1 per cent penetration) by 2024.

COVID-19 is one of the main drivers to boost the acceptance of online purchases among Indian consumers. While other drivers include RIL's foray into the space leveraging its large offline distribution capabilities and ability to order groceries through WhatsApp - a platform with more than 400 million users in India.

"Overall, we forecast online grocery orders to grow from 300,000 per day in 2019, to more than 5 million per day by 2024," it said.

E-commerce is one of the other countless technologies and consumer behaviours that has seen acceleration because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Goldman Sachs.

"What started at first with panic buying, hoarding and nest feathering out of necessity has turned into an array of adaptations that have driven e-commerce penetration from 16 per cent of retail spending in the US in 1Q19 to over 40 per cent in May driven by year- over-year growth of nearly 70 per cent," it said.

It further added that the e-commerce segment would grow 24 per cent globally.
 

2 Mega Watt Solar Power Plant Inaugurated at Naval Station Karanja, Uran

Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, e-inaugurated the first Two Mega Watt Capacity Solar Power Plant of the Western Naval Command on 20 Jul 2020.

The Plant has been installed at Naval Station Karanja and is one of the largest solar plants in the region. The Solar Plant comprises of 100 per cent indigenously developed solar panels, tracking tables and inverters. The plant is grid interconnected utilising the state of art single axis sun tracking technology with computerised monitoring and control.

The project is a significant step by the Indian Navy towards harnessing Solar energy and use of renewable source of energy for meeting the power supply requirement of Naval Station.

Britannia plans Rs 700 crore capex, bullish on rural demand

Britannia Industries, FMCG major, plans to invest around Rs 700 crore (US$ 99.30 million) over the next two-and-half years for its new facilities.

Although, the rural demand remained stable during the coronavirus outbreak and the company will focus more on its core products, its managing director Mr Varun Berry said.

Mr Berry added, "The company is looking at some capex (capital expenditure) of more than Rs 700 crore (US$ 99.30 million) over the next two-and- half years."

The company plans to set up new manufacturing facilities in UP, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Odisha, he said.

The company’s net profit increased by 118 per cent to Rs 542 crore (US$ 76.89 million) and the turnover was Rs 3,420 crore (US$ 485.18 million), up by 26.6 per cent in the first quarter of current fiscal year, over the corresponding period last year.

The company plans to prioritise its core products as the future is uncertain for the next six to nine months. The focus will be on less on innovation, Mr Berry said.

He added that the rural demand was not affected by the coronavirus pandemic and it will continue to grow at a higher pace than urban.

The COVID-19 crisis will leave a permanent impact on the consumer behaviour, and home consumption will increase.

"During the first quarter, the company has been able to unlock efficiencies and prioritised on high gross margin and premium products," he said.

The cost has been cut by reducing working capital as the inventory levels were low, he added.

Regarding commodity prices, Mr Berry said there was deflation in flour and milk products, while sugar saw a three per cent price rise.

Tamil Nadu government signs MoUs for Rs 10,000 crore new investments, jobs creation

The Tamil Nadu Government signed eight new Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 10,399 crore (US$ 1.48 billion).

It is estimated that these projects will create 13,507 jobs across the state in solar cells, data centres and industrial parks, according to an official release.

These MoUs will attract investments in the areas of solar cells and modules manufacturing, agro-tech and iron foundry, among others.

The MoUs were signed in the presence of chief minister Mr K Palaniswami. Out of the eight MoUs, five were signed in the presence of the CM, while three were done through video conferencing.

The release added that the projects will be implemented in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Ranipettai, Coimbatore, Viluppuram and Erode districts.

The project will be monitored by a high-powered committee, chaired by the chief minister, and will accelerate various clearances and establish a Special Investment Promotion Task Force under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.

Industries minister M C Sampath and chief secretary K Shanmugam were present during the signing of the MoUs.

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports partners with UNICEF to strengthen resolve to mobilise 1 crore youth volunteers to achieve goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat

In a step to realise the vision of  Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mr Kiren Rijiju to mobilise 1 crore youth volunteers in India and contribute to Prime Minister’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports signed a Statement of Intent with YuWaah (a multi-stakeholder platform formed by the UNICEF) to work in partnership to promote volunteerism among the youth of India as well as to help them transition from education and learning to productive work, skilling and being active citizens. The partnership was launched by Ms Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs and Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India in the presence of Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju.

Speaking about the importance of the partnership, Shri Kiren Rijiju said, “This partnership is very appropriate in these challenging times. I am confident that it will give a strong focus to our existing policies. The Prime Minister has laid out a clearly charted roadmap for the youth of India and given a clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, which the youth of India will have to drive. India being such a young country with a huge population, the contribution of the youth in any sphere can make a huge difference, not just in India but at the global platform.”  

Kiren Rijiju further added, “The Government of India is committed to listening to young people’s opinions and ideas. These new ways of thinking are what we need to address many of India’s persisting and upcoming challenges. Towards this end, the MYAS can be an effective bridge between young people together with partners like YuWaah and the Government machinery."

The partnership will leverage both the Ministry and UN efforts to work with young people to co-create and implement solutions at scale tackling education, skilling, and unemployment challenges for young people in India. This will include collaboration on supporting young people in entrepreneurship, upskilling young people, creating linkages with aspirational socio-economic opportunities, promoting changemaking and civic participation among young people, providing career guidance support to young people, supporting direct dialogue and the establishment of a feedback mechanism between young people and policy stakeholders, and building the capacity of the NSS and NYKS cadre and volunteer force on sustainable development goals.

Speaking about the partnership, Smt Usha Sharma, Secretary, Youth Affairs said, “We, at the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, see YuWaah as a unique opportunity that can provide a platform to fulfil ambitions and dreams ‘of the youth, for the youth and with the youth’. The partnership promises to give a great platform to our NYKS, NSS volunteers, even as they get a chance to interact with global experts.” 

Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India, and UN Resident Coordinator a.i. said, “The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, a key stakeholder of YuWaah, has spearheaded youth development and youth participation for several decades. YuWaah, through this partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and UN agencies in India will support young people of this country to build, lead their own agendas and thrive. This especially relevant today as we need to prepare young people for a rapidly changing world, to involve them in decision making and amplify their views on issues/matters that concern their lives, inspiring them to take action.”
 

India's first of its kind public EV Charging Plaza inaugurated by Union Power Minister

With a focus on enhancing energy efficiency and promoting e-mobility, Shri R.K Singh, the Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy, today inaugurated India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi. While speaking at the occasion Shri Singh said, “The EV charging plaza is a new avenue for making e-mobility ubiquitous and convenient in India. Such innovative initiatives are imperative for the creation of a robust e-mobility ecosystem in the country. My congratulations to both EESL and NDMC.”

EESL is spearheading the EV ecosystem development in India by undertaking demand aggregation for procuring EVs and identifying innovative business models for implementation of Public Charging Station (PCS). EESL in collaboration with NDMC has established India’s first of its kind public EV Charging Plaza in Central Delhi. This plaza will host 5 Electric Vehicle Chargers of different specifications.

Speaking on the inauguration of public EV plaza Shri Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, Secretary, Ministry of Power said, “The charging plaza, with its compatibility with a wide range of electric vehicles will greatly spur e-mobility adoption. This would make EV charging hassle free and convenient for the consumers, thereby making e-mobility adoption an attractive proposition.”

Union Power Minister Shri R K Singh also launched today “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency” (RAISE) national programme. At the launch, Shri R.K Singh stated, “I believe the RAISE initiative can potentially alleviate the issue of bad air quality in workspaces across the nation and pioneer ways to make them healthier and greener. I look forward to the success of their programme and wish both EESL and USAID best of luck for their future endeavours.

Poor air quality has been a concern in India for quite some time and has become more important in light of the COVID pandemic. As people return to their offices and public spaces, maintaining good indoor air quality is essential for occupant comfort, well-being, productivity, and the overall public health.

In that context, EESL has undertaken a retrofit of its office air-conditioning and ventilation system. This is a part of the larger initiative to “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor air quality for Safety and Efficiency” developed for healthy and energy efficient buildings, in partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) MAITREE programme. EESL’s corporate office in Scope Complex has been taken up as a pilot for this initiative. The pilot focuses on improving indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort, and energy efficiency (EE) in EESL office’s air conditioning system.

As per EESL, pilot project has shown very impressive results – about 80 per cent improvement in Air Quality parameters with almost no implementation hassles. Considering employee’s occupational health and safety is paramount in any workplace amidst the COVID-19 scenario, EESL is keen to provide such solutions across the country with standardisation and demand aggregation approach.

Both the initiatives reaffirm the pledge for ecological preservation and building a resilient energy sector, undertaken by EESL and other key stakeholders during the “#iCommit” campaign held on World Environment Day.