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BANIKINKAR PATTANAYAKNewDelhi, June 21

AMIDTENSIONONtheborderswithChina,Indiaisconsideringhardeningacrackdownonsub-standard and“non-essential”imports across several seg-ments,rangingfromchemicals,pharmaceuticals and electricalmachinery to furniture, toysandsteel,sourcestoldFE.While the government is

unlikely to imposeChina-spe-cific barriers, any such movewill likelyhitBeijing themost,as theneighbouris thebiggestsourceofsubstandardsuppliesto India.The curbs could be in the

form of both tariff and non-tariff measures. The govern-mentisconsideringaproposalto raise the import duties ondozens of products, wheredomestic supplies can beramped up easily and wherethe inflows of sub-standardproducts from countries likeChina are substantial, one of

the sources said. India’s tradedeficit with China in the first11months of FY20 stood at amassive$47billion.Before the Budget for

2020-21, the commercemin-istry had suggested to thefinanceministrythatcustomsdutiesonasmanyas300prod-ucts, ranging from footwear,furniture and TV parts tochemicals and toys, be raised,aspartofabroadercrackdownon what it considered “non-

essential”imports.TheBudgethad announced a hike inimport duties of over a dozenproducts,includingtoys,furni-ture, footwear, electronicgoods and e-vehicles by up to40%.Adecisionon raising theduties on rest of the productsmay be taken soon after dueconsultations with adminis-trative ministries (lookingaftervariousproducts).

ContinuedonPage2

EYE ON CHINA PM-JAY

PRABHARAGHAVAN&KAUNAIN SHERRIFMNewDelhi, June 21

THE NEARLY 10 weeks of thelockdown saw a“significant”decline in utilisation of thePradhan Mantri-Jan ArogyaYojana (PM-JAY) by beneficia-ries, with average weeklyclaims falling 51% comparedwith the 12weeks prior to thelockdown,officialdata show.Ananalysis of thedatapub-

lished on PM-JAY for the lock-downperiod (March25to June2) comparedwith the12weeksbeforeit(January1toMarch24)revealsthatthedeclineincludedemergency or critical proce-dures.Atthesametime,fewPM-JAYbeneficiaries availedof theCovid-19packages announcedinAprilandMaycomparedwiththeoverallcaseloadinthecoun-try, according to the NationalHealth Authority (NHA) thatmonitorsthegovernment’sflag-shipAyushmanBharatscheme.The sharpest decline was

seeninnon-urgentelectivepro-cedures such as cataract, andknee and hip replacements.From4,073average claimsper

week for cataract, the numberfell to a dismal 50 in the firstweek of the lockdown, beforereboundingtoanaverageof687inthelastthreeweeks.Incaseofkneeandhipreplacements,cor-respondingnumbers fell from339to12inthefirstweekofthelockdown, before rising to anaverageof165towardstheend.The high-cost cardiovascu-

larsurgerieswitnessedanearly80%drop in the firstweek ofthelockdown.Aweekbeforethe

lockdown, there were 2,269claims, which dropped to anaverageof768inthefirstthreeweeks of the lockdown. In thelast three weeks, the averageweeklynumbersroseto1,440.Overall, there was a 57%

decline in surgical procedures— from 62,630 claims perweek on an average pre-lock-down to 27,167 during thelockdown. Medical casesrecorded a 46% fall—65,341averageclaimsperweekbeforethe lockdownto35,108.In terms of averageweekly

claims, PM-JAY witnessed an80%decline in planned care,56% in unplanned care, and51% decline between March25 and June 2,comparedwiththeperiodbeforethelockdown.

ContinuedonPage2

VENKATASUSMITABISWASMumbai, June 21

THE PHASED EASING of thepan-Indialockdownisresultingin an increase in television ad-vertising. As per BARC India,advertisingvolumehaspeakedat 2.69 crore minutes of freecommercialtime(FCT)sincethebeginningofthelockdown,dur-ingJune6-12.Togiveacompar-ison, ad volume was at 3.29crore minutes of FCT during

March21-27andwashoveringaround2croreminutesweeklyduringthelockdownperiod.The government’smove to

allowthe sale of non-essentialproducts on e-commerce andthe partial reopening of retailstores in safe zones has givenbrandstheopportunitytomar-ket products to consumers.Some brands have launchednewproducts,a feware intro-ducing fresh campaigns forexisting products,and several

brands that became relevantduring the lockdown are themost prominent ones on TVnow.“TheTVadvertiser’sprofilehas shifted frommainlyFMCGcompaniestonowincludegam-ingplatforms,edu-techcompa-nies,foodandbeveragebrands,andmobile handsetmanufac-turers,” Deep Drona, COO atmediacompanyEnterr10Tele-vision, said. E-commercebrands, video-streaming ser-vices,digital payments,health

andwellnessbrands,anddeliv-eryaggregators,too,aremakingasplashonTV.Whilesomegreenshootsare

beginningtobeseen,there’sstilla longwayto go for revival.“InAprilwewitnesseda75-80%fallinadvertising.Therehasbeenarise since then,but it’s not yetbacktotheJanuaryandFebruarylevels,” Pawan Jailkhani, chiefrevenueofficer,9XMedia,said.

ContinuedonPage2

MAKING A COMEBACK

(% chg y-o-y)Net sales

(% chg y-o-y)PBT

(% chg y-o-y)Tax

(% chg y-o-y)Total expenditure

Q3 Q4

(bps, chg y-o-y)RM to sales

(bps, chg y-o-y)OPM

FY20Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

FY20Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

FY20Q1 Q2

Q3 Q4FY20

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4FY20

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4FY20

Q1 Q2

Sample of 633 companies (excluding banks & financials) Source: Capitaline

7.89

-0.66

-0.46

-6.83

8.34

0.91

-3.81

-0.82 -35.45

-137.27

297.34

-556.10

-3.85

-30.99

29.19

-73.41

-1.61

-68.23

-7.20

-70.97

-12.21

-220.67

-186.47 -127.65

Tough times

Demand slump hits India Inc hard in Jan-MarchThedemand slumphastaken its toll on India Inc'searnings during theJanuary-March quarterwith net profit of asample of633 companies(excludingbanks andfinancials) decliningby75.22%on a year-on-yearbasis. Net sales duringthequarterwere down6.83%.This clearly showsstress had set in beforethe pandemic. If onegoes bymanagementcommentary, the currentfiscal is going to be toughwith cash flows impacteddue to the lockdown.

SIGNALLINGACHANGE

YUEQIYANGNewYork, June 21

PRESIDENTDonaldTrumpsaid he willannounce newrestrictions onemployment-basedimmigra-tionvisas inthenext two days,astheUS recov-ers from pan-demic-relatedunemployment.“We are going to announce

something tomorrow or thenext day on the visas,”Trumpsaid inaFoxNews interviewonSaturday, when asked aboutupcoming rules on several dif-ferentvisacategories,includingtheH1-Bprogramme forhigh-skilled workers and L-1 pro-grammeformanagerstransfer-ringwithintheircompanies.There will be “very little”

exclusions,Trumpsaid.“Insomecases you have to have exclu-sions. You need them for bigbusinesseswheretheyhavecer-tainpeoplethathavebeencom-inginforalongtime.”One possibilityunder con-

siderationwouldrestrictpeoplefrom entering the US on visacategories, including theH1-Bprogramme for as long as 180days,BloombergNewsreportedonJune12.

ContinuedonPage2

● IN TWO DAYS

Trump toorder newrestrictionsonH-1Bvisa

IN THE NEWSLAC: ‘Full freedom’toarmed forcestodealwithChinaTHEARMED forcesdeployed along the 3,500-km de-facto borderwithChina have been given"full freedom" to give a"befitting" response toany Chinesemisadventure,government sources saidafter defenceministerRajnath Singh reviewed thesituation in eastern Ladakhat ameetingwith the topmilitary brass on Sunday,reports PTI. They said theground commanders oftheArmy have even beenallowed to use firearmsin rare cases.

Trump: Situationvery tough, talkingto India&ChinaIN HIS first comments sincethe clash between IndianandChinese troops on thenight of June 15-16, USPresident DonaldTrumpdescribed the tensionbetween the two countriesas “very tough”, and said hisadministrationwas talkingto both to help them resolvematters, reports ShubhajitRoy inNewDelhi. “We’retalking to India.We’retalking to China.They’ve gota big problem there, theyhave come to blows, andwe’ll seewhat happens.We’ll try and help themout,”Trump told reporters at theWhite House early onSunday India time.

PRABHUDATTAMISHRANewDelhi, June 21

A DROP IN crop insuranceclaims by farmers in the lastkharif 2019 season, coupledwith the prospect of a goodmonsoon and robust crop inthe current summer season,has pushed down Fasal Bimapremiums quoted by insur-ancecompanies.Over the years the premi-

ums against sum assured, asquoted by insurers,have beensteadily rising, reflecting thefirms’concernsovertheshirk-ingmargins.The latest trendmaybeindicatingthecement-ing of the scheme, largelydependent on government

support, as a viable insurancemodel, according to industrywatchers.“Among different clusters

fordifferentcrops,thehighestpremiuminthecurrentkharif

season after finalisation ofbids, is around the same levelas the average of last summercropseason.

ContinuedonPage2

Fasal Bimapremiumscomedown

Avgweekly claimsfell 51% comparedwith 12weeks priorto the lockdown,official data show

● INTERVIEWSN SUBRAHMANYAN, MD&CEO, L&T

SHUBHRATANDONMumbai, June 21

With the skirmish at the borderwith China, the ‘boycott Chinaproducts’ sentiment is runninghigh. The dangers of any rashmove in this direction arewell-known. SN Subrahmanyan,theCEOandmanagingdirectorofthecountry’slargestengineer-ing and construction firm,Larsen&Toubro,cautionedthattotakeatotalviewonboycottingChinesegoodsisnotfeasiblecur-rently.DuringaninterviewwithShubhraTandon, he also saidprivate-sector capex will takeanothertwoyearstoreturnandgettingmigrant labourers backis a challenge. He further saidL&Tdoes not have any plans toundertake job or salary cuts.Editedexcerpts:

Howdo you think the call of‘boycottChina’willimpactthecapitalgoodssector?Onehastoberealisticandprac-ticalwhetheritispossible.ThereareChinese firms that have setupshopsinIndia,Chinesegoodsare frommany points of viewefficient and cost-effective.So,to take a totalviewthatwe canboycotttheChinesegoodsisnotfeasible because we also havebalance of trade, and trade isobviously inclined towardsChina.But if thecountrythinksfroma long-termmeasure andlooks at China as an enemycountry,we got to put in placepolicies and processes so thatover time,we couldmake thiseffective.Maybeinthenext4-5yearswecanarriveatasolutionand startmaking in Indiawiththe same efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Incasesomeimporttariffsarelevied on components andgoods coming from China,what will be the impact intermsofsuppliesandprices?ItwillaffectbecausemanyofushaveplacedordersonsomeChi-nesecompanies.Ifthereisasud-denimpositionofimporttar-iffandthenasuddenchangein law, one will have todependonthegovernmentforcompensationonsomeoftheseissues.

ContinuedonPage2

‘Boycotting Chinaitems not feasible’

Though barriersto be imposed bygovt unlikely tobe China-specific,movemay still hitBeijing themost

FE BUREAU

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HYDERABAD-BASEDHeterohas received themanufacturing andmarketing approval for theinvestigational antiviralmedicine, remdesivir, fromtheDrugControllerGeneral of India (DCGI) for

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15th straight day of hike: Dieselprice at newhigh,petrol up 35 p

DIESELPRICE on Sunday hit a fresh record highafter rateswere hiked by 60 paise per litrewhile petrol pricewas up 35 paise, taking thecumulative increase in rates in 15 days to `8.88

a litre and `7.97, respectively, reports PTI. Petrol price inDelhiwas hiked to `79.23 per litre from `78.88,whilediesel rateswere increased to `78.27 a litre from `77.67,according to a price notification of state oil marketingcompanies. Rates have been raised across the countryandvary from state to state.

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SustainingGDPgrowthrequires higher govtspending and criticalsupply-side reforms

VOL. XLVI NO. 96, 14 PAGES, `6.00 (PATNA `6.00, RAIPUR `7.00) PUBL I SHED FROM : AHMEDABAD, B ENGALURU , CHAND IGARH , CHENNA I , HYDERABAD, KOCH I , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBA I , N EW DELH I , PUNE

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Stricter curbs onlow-grade imports

Crop insuranceClaims to premiumratio (pan-India)

Gross premium (% of sum insured)

*Based on upper limits of quotes by insurance companies**As on June 6, 2020 (mostclaims are made by April)

Premiums contained as claims fall

8.4

18.415.9

7.610.3

25.2

19.4

9.111

25.4

19.9

10.5

Haryana Karnataka Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh

KharifKharif

2018 20172019

2018

2020*

2019**

97.9

92.5

63.6

Week 12Week 13Week 14Week 15Week 16Week 18Week 20Week 22Week 23

March 21 - 27March 28 - April 3April 4 - 10April 11 - 17April 18 - 24May 2 - 8May 16 - 22May 30 - June 5June 6 - 12

Weeknumber

Duration Ad volume(in minutes, crore)

3.292.53

2.072.212.19

1.872.162.35

2.69

Source: BARC India

Decline of 57% in surgeries,46%inmedical care during lockdown

SPECIALSFE■BRANDWAGON, P10

Ticket to newbusinessOnline ticketing platformsexplore alternativerevenue streams, ason-ground events remainon hold

■ eFE, P8

Cloud as bedrock for businessPost-Covid-19 phasewillwitness exponential growth in cloudcomputing, says Google Cloud India’s Karan Bajwa

■ PERSONAL FINANCE, P9

Moratorium:Keep tenure sameKeep the tenure same after taking loanmoratorium as thatwill increase your EMIs but keep interest component down

■ INFRASTRUCTURE, P4

Focus on evacuation to lift outputThe prospects for producing 1 bn tn of coal by 2025-26 haveimprovedwith announcement of an investment of `50,000 cr

■ SCIENCE& TECH, P5

The key to securityIndia needs a cybersecurity strategy. Furthermore,it needs industry standards to evolve

After lifting of lockdown limits,TVadvertising en route to recovery

Checking 'non-essential' importsTARIFF NON-TARIFF

■Commerceministryhadproposedhike indutieson300 items

■ Budgethadhikeddutiesonoveradozenofthem; restbeingexaminednow

■Dutyhikeoncertainelectrical/electronicsparts,chemicals,rubber&paperbeingmulled

■CommerceministryhadaskedBIStodevelopstandards forover4,500products

■ Standards for371ofthem,with importsof$128bn inFY19,arebeingfirmedupurgently

■Movesnot tobeChina-specificbutBeijing is thebiggestsourceofsub-standardsupplies

4,21,596TOTALCASES

19,363NEWCASES

COVID-19 UPDATE

13,477DEATHSSOFAR

UnionministersAmit Shah andHarshVardhan, andothers duringameeting to strengthen theCovid response inDelhi, on Sunday

DonaldTrump

ISHAANGERANewDelhi, June 21

TILLAFEWdaysago,FE’sanaly-sis showed that theDelhi gov-ernmentwasundercountingitsdeaths byasmuch as 242bet-weenMay29and June11.Thiswasnot basedon stories aboutdeadbodiesnot beingdeclaredasCovid-infected,but on just asimple readingof thedata thatthegovernmentputout.OnJune15,forinstance,the

daily medical bulletin of theDelhigovernment reported73deathson thatdayandon June14ithadreportedacumulativedeath count of 1,327; add thetwo,andyouget1,400,whichasit happens is the cumulativedeath count reported in theJune15medicalbulletin.Thedailydeaths forJune14

were 56, and the cumulativedeaths on June13were1,271;addthetwo,andyougetafigureof 1,327,which is the cumula-tive death count reported forJune14.This exercise repeatsitself till June 12, when thenumbers fromthedeathauditcommitteewere also added tothecumulativecount.

ContinuedonPage2

IsDelhi’sdeathdatacorrect now?

New Delhi

Eye onChina:Stricter curbson low-gradeimportsAS FOR non-tariff measures,standards for 371 products,withtotalimportsofasmuchas$128billion inFY19,arebeingfirmed up or reviewed (wher-evernecessary)urgently.FEhadfirst reported the plan to do soinDecember2019.Theseitemsinclude steel, consumer elec-tronics,heavymachinery,tele-comgoods,chemicals,pharma-ceuticals,paper,rubberarticles,glass, industrial machinery,somemetal articles, furniture,fertiliser,foodandtextiles.Thisispartof the instructionbythecommerceandindustryminis-ter to the Bureau Of IndianStandards (BIS) in December2019 to develop standards forover4,500products (HS lines),taking the total number ofimported itemswhere qualityandotherparameterswouldbeinplaceto5,000.Themovemarks thebegin-

ning of a policy shift in NewDelhifromanavowedlypro-lib-eralisationapproachtoexternaltrade to amore discretionaryone, where barriers could beerected, if required, to 'non-essential' and sub-standardimports that could harm theeconomy,ratherthanbenefitit.NewDelhi'searlierapproach

was to curb non-essentialimportsmainly throughahikeintariffs(ithadraiseddutiesona number of electronic andother products in 2018). Butnow,analystssayIndiaseemstohave taken a cue from Chinaitself, which has effectivelyemployed various non-tariffmeasurestocurbimportswhilekeepingtariffbarriersatamorereasonable levels to cloak theferocityof its tradeprotection-ism.Forinstance,accordingtoan

internal analysis of the Indiancommerce ministry ahead oftheRCEPpullout inNovember2019, China has put in place1,516 notifications that arenothing but technical barriersto trade (TBT), followed bySouthKorea (1,036) and Japan(917),while India has initiatedonly 172 such steps. India'saverageappliedtariff,however,stood at 17.1%,while China'swas9.8%,SouthKorea's13.7%andJapan's4.4%.Similarly,Chinahasnotified

1,332 sanitaryandphytosani-tary (SPS) measures, whileSouth Korea and Japan haveimposed777and754SPSbar-riers, respectively. In contrast,Indiahasimposedonly261SPSmeasures.DevelopedcountriesliketheUSandthoseinEurope,too,imposesuchmeasureswithhighfrequency.India pulled out of the 16-

nation Regional Comprehen-sive Economic Partnership(RCEP) agreement in Novem-ber, as its proposals on safe-guard measures to deal withany “irrational spike” inimports,amongothers,weren’tadequatelyaddressedbypoten-tialpartners,includingChina.

Evenwithout RCEP, India’smerchandise tradedeficitwithChina stood at $53.6 billion inFY19, or nearly a third of itstotaldeficit.

BoycottingChinaitemsnot feasible:SubrahmanyanSecondly,wewill have to findalternative sources of suppliesandthosecanbecostlierwhichwill leadtosomecosts.

Given that governmentfinances are so stretchedanduncertainty in policies, howsustainable is it todependongovernmentorders?In the last fewyears,there is anover-dependence on the gov-ernmentforinfrastructureandengineering orders for a fairamount of contracts. This isbecause the private sector inIndiawhich is veryvibrant hasover-stretcheditselfintermsofleveraging its debt, balancesheet and some of them haveoverestimated the kind of rev-enues thatwill come in.There-fore, there is a lot of turmoil.Having said that, we have todependonthegovernmentsidefor orders,which has been thecase. I think the situation isgoing to continue like this forsomemore time.If you look atthe funding of these three sec-tors, central, state and publicsectorenterprises, itwas in theregionof`7-8lakhcrore inthelast fewyears. I think this yearbecause of the various eco-nomicmeasurestakentowardsthe social sector, the variousfinancial measures that thegovernment had to take, andsomeofthemeasuresrelatedtothe pandemic, the spend isgoing to come down to `4-5lakh crore. This was alwaysgoing to be the case,oneneedstoremainoptimistic.

UdayKotak,whiletakingoveras the CII president, said thegovernmenthasdoneenoughand it is for theprivate sectorto start investing even if itmeans to export. Do youagree?One has to agree to that, in acountry like ours, the govern-mentalonecannotdomuchoftheinvestmentsandithastobebackedbyprivate-sectorinvest-ment.I alsoagree that thegov-ernmenthasdonewhatitcaninterms of empowering the pri-vate sector from a liquidity,moratorium,NCLTdeferment,from sustaining the MSMEpoint of view.Manymeasureshave been taken, includingreductionintaxesandloweringinterest rates etc.However,theentrepreneurial spirit has tocome back. The investmentspurthastocomebackandthatcan onlyhappenwith demandcomingback.For thebig-ticketprivate investments to comeback,youneedacalmeratmos-phere thanwhat it is.Myguessis it is going to takeone-and-a-half totwoyearstogetback.

Whatwillbringbackdemandinyourview?An atmosphere has to be cre-

ated where we restart majorgovernmentprojects,findneweconomic zones, like the gov-ernmenthasbeentalkingabouthuge solar electricity base inLadakh,expansionoftransmis-sion line systems, the Bharat-mala scheme, the river inter-linking programme. If theseprojectscanbefundedthroughinstitutional or multilateralfunding, low-cost long-tenorloans,thencompanies likeL&Tcanbidforthese.Also,whenyouwinprojectsyouemploypeoplewhoarethenpaidandthentheyspend, which is what createsdemand.Also,a lot of companies are introuble because of the hugeamountsstuckinlitigationandarbitration. In my view`1,50,000 crore is in arbitra-tion and disputes at variouscourts.Also,manyof the gov-ernment contracts have back-handed payment clauses,something should be done tomakethecontractsfront-endedso that money can be earnedfaster, and people can havemore liquid cash flow withthem.

Are clients asking forrenego-tiationsofcontracts?It is a mixture, but predomi-nantly it is inclined towardsclients asking for some cost-saving ideas and speed up thejobs.

What is theupdate on laboursituation?Though90%sitesareworking,wehaveonly40%oflabour.Weneedabout2,30,000-2,40,000labourers, we have hardly1,20,000labourersonsites.So,we need to get another1,20,000-1,30,000 labourers.Itwill take another45-60daystoget itallback.Verygoodpro-ductive labourhas gone back,andweneedtowoothemback.People are still worried aboutthepandemic,theyareworriedtogetbacktothethreebigcitiesofMumbai,DelhiandChennai.

Whatmeasuresareyoutakingtogetthelabourersback?At the moment we have usedour many offices and sites totalktothelabourers.Wearegiv-ing them incentives, we aretelling about the good thingsexperienced,wearealsousingalabourapp toget in touchwiththemandsendthemmessagestocomeback.Inthenext30-45days,wewillhavemuchofthesepeopleback.Butitisstillachal-lengeandletusnotminimiseit.

Any plans of downsizing orsalarycuts?There is no intention of doingany downsizing or any othermethods.Thisisan82-year-oldorganisation and it has got abrand and reputation. Whenthingsgowrong,youalwaysgoto themost trustedperson.Weare that trusted person. Weare continuing with ourusual yearlyprocess of promo-tionsetc.There are few measures

being taken in the companywhich is natural and correctbecausecosthasbeen incurredand no revenue has come in. I

guess our staff andworkmenunderstandit.

Fasal Bimapremiumscome downWHEN THE actual gross pre-mium will be known afterenrolment of farmers com-pleted by August, it is mostlikely to be lower by 1-2 per-centage points from the previ-ousseason,”anofficialsaid.The premium to sum

insured is derived fornotifiedcropsinaclusteroffewdistrictsthroughcompetitivebidding.In Karnataka, for instance,

the premium finalised by thestate government based onquotations from insurers havebeen in the range of 18.2-25.4% for different clusters,whereastheaveragewas25.2%inkharif 2019 (see chart).Thatmeans the final average willlikely be lower than 25.4%,though factors like numberofenrolment, crops and clustersdeterminethenumber.UnderPradhanMantriFasal

BimaYojana(PMFBY),launchedin 2016, farmers pay1.5%ofsum insured for rabi crops and2%forkharif,while it is5%forcash crops. The balance pre-miumispaidbytheCentreandstates ina50:50ratio.The all-India average pre-

mium was 12.17% of suminsured in kharif 2016,whichincreased to 15.82% duringkharif2019,eventhoughtherewas prediction of a normalmonsoonthatendedupfinallywith‘above normal’ rainfall at110%of the long period aver-age (LPA).Theweather bureauhas predicted102%of LPAforthisyear'smonsoon.Tocheckthis risingtrendof

premium,the Centre had ear-lier decided in February that itwould foot the PMFBYsubsidybill onlyto theextentof its for-mulaic share, for a gross pre-

miumlevelof30%innon-irri-gatedareas.Theonuswillbeonstates if they want to imple-ment the schemewhen insur-ers quote anypremiumabove30%. The cap is 25% in irri-gatedareas.The claims ratio under the

flagship PMFBY and RWBCISdeclined to about 63.6% inkharif 2019 against 92.5% inthepreviousseason,despitethecountrywitnessingheavycropdamageinabout6%(nearly6.5millionhectare)inkharif-sownareas byheavy rains and hail-storms. Bihar, which neverimplemented PMFBY, hadannounced`60-crorecompen-sation to farmers who lost atleast33%cropdamage.“There is a time lag in data

collection which the govern-ment needs to speed up. Theclaims ratiowas about 65% inJune 2019 for the kharif 2018cropsevenasharvestingseasonstarts in October. The seasonendedupwithover92%claimsratio.So,weneedtowaitbeforearriving at anyconclusion,”anindustryexpert said.However,government officials said theclaims ratio of the last kharifseason is unlikely go up to the2018-level.Over65%ofabout`14,000 crore of claims havebeenpaidto1.08crorefarmers,bulk of it after the Covid-19lockdown.

After lifting oflockdown limits,TVadvertising enroute to recovery“THEFMCGcategory,which isthebackboneoftheindustry,isyet to return in full force,”headded.InMay,DangalTV,themost-

viewed general entertainmentchannel, was operating with50%of pre-Covid advertising.TimesNetworkexpectsasurgeof15-20%inadvolumeinJuneand July compared with the

lockdownperiod.The increase in advertising

volume alone is not an indica-torofthehealthoftheindustry.Television channels thatwereoffering nearly 70-80% dis-countsonadvertisingratesdur-ing the complete lockdownperiod have brought the dis-countsdowntoabout40-50%on pre-Covid ad rates, mediabuyerssaid.“InJune,ouradvolumesare

down by less than 10% on ayear-to-year basis. With animproving inventory fill, theoverall rates have started torecoverstrongly,”AshishSehgal,chief growthofficer,advertise-mentrevenue,ZEE,said.Noting that consumer sen-

timentiscrucialtothereturnofadvertising on television,Jailkhani expects that a com-plete revival will take at leastfive-sixmonths.Thefestivesea-sonand IPLcoulddrive spendsin the second half of the year.“The likelihood of IPL in thisseason would also result inincreased advertising, therebypushing volume and rates,”GauravDhawan,EVP,revenue,TimesNetwork,said.Big spenders on television

areyettoreturntothemedium.Categoriessuchasautomobiles,two-wheelers, educationalinstitutions and real estate arestill largelyabsent fromTV.“Allbrands are continuing to becautious with their spendingbecausetheyarewatchinghowconsumers respond to theopening up of the shops andmarkets,”NavinKhemka,CEO,MediaComSouthAsia,said.Lackofneworiginalcontent

on general entertainmentchannelscontinuestobeahur-dle for broadcasters. Newschannels lead the pack andattract the most advertise-ments as people continue totuneintowatchupdatesaboutthe developments around thepandemic.“Shooting of fresh content

in somemarkets has begun inMayand Juneandwehavealsostartedtelecastingthesameonsomeofthechannels.Newcon-tent will continue to attracthigher rates,” Sehgal of ZEEadded.

IsDelhi’s deathdata correct now?SO,ONJune12,theday’sdeathwasreportedas71.ForJune11,thebulletinggavethecumula-tive death as 1,085, and thedeathauditcommitteehad,onthat day, said 58 deaths wereduetoCovid.Add,71to58and1,085, and you get 1,214,which is the cumulative deathfigure the bulletin gives forJune12.Sofar,sogood.Theproblem

then starts. On June 11, theday’sdeathfigurewas65,whileon June 10, the cumulativenumber was 984; the deathauditcommitteereported101deaths on June 10. Ideally,whenyou add 984 to 101 and65,you should arrive at 1,150fatalities as a cumulative totalfor June 11.However, the June11 medical bulletin reports1,085 cumulative deaths;

essentiallythatmeansthegov-ernmentdidnotaccountfor65deaths that took place on thatday.Similarly, on June 10, a

number of 48 was given asdeaths for the day.On June 9,the cumulative deaths were905, and another 79 werereported by the death auditcommittee.Add,79to905,plusthe daily deaths for June 10(48),andyoushouldarriveat anumber of 1,032. Instead, thegovernment’s bulletin givesthe cumulative death numberof 984,whichmeans it didnotadd the 48 deaths that tookplaceonJune10.RepeatthisexercisetillMay

29, when the DAC startedreporting death numbers,andyouget a total of242‘missing’deaths.In the June 16 bulletin,

however, where 437 deathswere added,thebulletin states“this cumulative figureincludes all pending deathsreported to and audited byDeath Audit Committee.” Inother words, it is not clearwhether the 242 missingdeaths have been included inthisnumber.

PM-JAY:Declineof 57% insurgeries,46% inmedical careduring lockdownTHE ANALYSIS, authored byOwenSmith,ParulNaib,PulkitKSehgal and SheenaChhabra,alsoshoweda“slight”shiftfromthepublic to theprivate sectorinthelockdownperiod,perhapsbecause governmenthospitalsarebearingthebruntofthebur-denofCovidcare.Theperiodalsosawadecline

(by68%) in the use of respira-torypackages suchas those forpneumonia, febrile illness orpyrexia.Since these symptomscorrelate with Covid-19, theauthors said this shows therewas no corresponding surgedespitethepandemic,atleastonthenationallevel.“The future course of the

pandemic in India remainshighlyuncertain,butduringthelockdownperiodanalyzedhere,thereislittleevidenceofasurgeinCovid-19caseloadsatleastona national level.Therefore it ismore likelythe threatofCovid-19,not theactuality,that isdri-vingthetrendsdescribedinthebrief,”stated the authors of thepolicy brief, which was pub-lishedonJune18.AsofJune10,atotalofnearly

8,500 tests andapproximately6,000 treatmentpackageshadbeenavailedbyPM-JAYbenefi-ciarieswhoweresuspectedoforconfirmed to have the coron-avirus,theNHAtoldTheIndianExpress.Therewasahugejumpbetween the figures for April(826tests,853treatmentpack-ages) andMay(4,057 tests and2,426treatmentpackages).As of June 10, India had

1,33,632activeCovid-19cases.Among the planned andunavoidable emergencyproce-dures that couldbe life-saving,

one treatment that didn’t see amajordeclinewaskidneydialy-sis—seeinganaveragedropofaround6%.Mostofthisdeclinewas accounted for by privatehospitals inMaharashtra (thestateattheheartofIndia’sCovidcrisis),whichsawamassive84%fall in dialysis under PM-JAY.Similar facilities in AndhraPradeshsawafallofnearly40%.Consequently, dialysis

accountedfor51%ofallclaimsunderPM-JAYduring the lock-down, compared to its usual20%share.Cancer care procedures

underPM-JAYfell 64%acrossthe country, while evenunavoidable procedures likeheartstents,bypass,childdeliv-eries and othermedical treat-ments declined 56%on aver-age. The June 18 policy briefshowedthatofthese,“relativelycommonbuthigher-cost”heartprocedures like stents andbypass dropped around 78%initiallybutthenpickedup.Again,thesteepestdeclinein

oncology care was seen inMaharashtra,followedbyTamilNadu (which also has a highcoronavirustally).Initsgovern-ment hospitals, Maharashtrasaw90average PM-JAYclaimsperweekduring the lockdowncomparedto907pre-lockdown;inprivatehospitals,451averageclaimsperweekcomparedwith2,884perweek in the January-March24period.Similarly,governmenthos-

pitals in Tamil Nadu recorded181 average claims per weekduringthelockdowncomparedwith513claimspre-lockdown;anditsprivatehospitalssaw375averageclaimsperweekduringthelockdowncomparedto823earlier. NormaldeliveriesusingPM-JAY across the countrydropped around 28%, whileCaesarean23%—anoverallfallof26%.Bihar’spublichospitalsandChhattisgarh’sprivatehos-pitals accounted for the largestdrop in normal deliveries —approximately84%and95%respectively.About themarginal rise in

theuseofprivatesectorbyben-eficiaries, the authors said,“While access to medical carefacilities was one of the fewexceptions to stay-at-homeorders during the lockdown,care-seeking behaviors andhealthcareprovisionwerenev-ertheless significantlyaffected.Several factors could explainthis…Onthesupply-side,hospi-tals may be preoccupied withCovid-19preparationsorcase-loads, resulting in fewerresourcesfornon-Covidcases.”Another reason for the

declineintheuseofPM-JAY,thebrief said,couldbe that privatehospitalsmayhavereducedser-vices out of fearof infection aswell as the stigma associatedwith coronavirus. “On thedemand-side, PM-JAY benefi-ciaries might delay or foregotreatment due to fearof infec-tion at ahospital,theymaynotbeabletoreachhospitalsduetopublictransportshutdownsandmobility constraints, or thenascent economic crisis mayaffect financial considerationsrelatedtoseekingcare,”itstated.

EconomyMONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS2

●TREATING COVID

FE BUREAUHyderabad, June 21

HYDERABAD-BASED HET-ERO HAS received theapproval tomanufacture andmarket the investigationalanti-viral medicine, Remde-sivir,fromtheDrugControllerGeneral of India (DCGI) fortreatment of Covid-19. Het-ero'sgenericversionofRemde-sivir will be marketed underthe brand name 'Covifor' inIndia.BesidesHetero,Ciplahasalso received approval tomar-ket Remdesivir for restrictedemergencyuseonhospitalisedCovidpatients.The product is launched

under a licensing agreementwithUS-basedGileadSciencesto expand the access toCovid-19 treatment in lowandmid-dle-income countries.Gileadhas decided to build a consor-tium ofmanufacturing part-

nerstomaximizeglobalsupplyof Remdesivir. Coviforwill beused on critically-affectedCovidpatients inhospitals.While there is no compari-

sonwithotherdrugs,thisprod-uct isexpectedtoreducehospi-tal stay from 14 to 11 days.Sources in the know said thisdrug will be made available

through institutional sales.Whilethepriceisyettobedeter-mined by the government,industrysourcessaiditcouldbeintherangeofbetween`5,000and`6,000pervial."The government is yet to

decide on the pricing of thedrug.It isexpectedduringthisweek.Also,theroyaltytoGileadandmarketingplanwillalsobeknown after Gilead gets finalapproval from the USFDA,''sourcesadded.Followingintensecriticism

from civil society groups,Gileadgaveupa special desig-nation from the USFDA thatwould have allowed forextended monopoly controloverthe20-yearpatents ithasfiledforinmorethan70coun-tries forRemdesivir."In the light of increasing

Covid-19cases in the country,the approval of 'Covifor'(Remdesivir) can prove to be a

game-changer, given its posi-tive clinical outcomes.Backedby strong backward integra-tioncapabilities,wecanensurethat the product is immedi-ately made available topatientsacrossthecountry.Weare prepared for ensuringenough stocks required tocater to the present needs.Wewill continue towork closelywith the government andmedicalcommunitytomakeadifference in the fight againstCovid-19.Thisproductismadeindigenouslyinlinewith'Makein India' campaign," Dr BPartha Saradhi Reddy, chair-man,Hetero group of compa-nies,said.Remdesivir has been

granted approval by theDCGIfor treatment of suspected orlaboratory-confirmedcasesofCovid-19 in adults and chil-dren,hospitalisedwith severesymptomsof thedisease.

Electricity demand sees amuted growth in June

From the Front Page

Covid: ‘20 lakhjob losses inbus, taxi sector’AROUND20LAKHpeoplehave lost employmentandanequalnumberarestaringat job lossesasprivatebusandtouristtaxioperatorshavebeenhithardbythecoronavirus lockdown,according to theBus&CarOperatorsConfederationof India.

65%truckssittingidle:AITMCTRUCKOPERATORSBODYAIMTConSundaysaid65%of the totaltrucks in thecountryaresitting idledue tospiralling fuelprices,corruptionandnotangible relief totransporters,hithardbyCOVID-19.

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WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

Hetero,CiplagetDCGInodtomanufactureRemdesivir

Trump to ordernewrestrictions onH-1Bvisain next two daysHIS TOUGH stance onimmigrationiscentraltohispitchtovotersasherunsforre-election.MajorAmerican compa-

nies,particularly in the techsector,haveurgedTrump torefrain from blocking theflowof foreignworkers intotheUS,saying itwould hurttheeconomy.Thenewactionwouldbe

Trump's latest step torestrict immigration inresponse to the pandemicandeconomicfallout.In April, he ordered a

temporary block on someforeigners frompermanentresidence in theUS.He alsoannounced new health-focused rules inMarch thatallow for the rapid deporta-tionofimmigrantscaughtat

the border andvirtually cutoff access to the US asylumsystem.Atthesametime,heannouncedthelandborderswith Canada and Mexicowould be closed to non-essential crossings, a mea-sure thathasbeenextendedseveral times.

BLOOMBERG

Wehave demanded the country of origin in allmatters related to imports fromother countriesand for indigenousmanufacturers aswell. Everyproduct should have the country of origin.

—Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT

EXPERTVIEW

FE BUREAUNewDelhi, June 21

POWER CONSUMPTION INthe first half of June remainedmuted despite the relaxationsofthelockdownandincreasedhousehold consumption dueto summerheat.The 58.5 bil-lion units (BU) of electricitysupplied in the first17daysofthe month was 8.9% higherthanthecorrespondingperiodinMay,but13.9%downyear-on-year.The102BUelectricitycon-

sumedinMayacrossthecoun-trywas 20% higher than thepreceding month and 15%lower than the demand in thesamemonth last year.Expertshadattributedthegradualrisein demand to higher agricul-turalconsumptioninthesow-ing season and increased resi-dential usagewith the adventof summer.InMay,powerconsumedby

highlyindustrialisedstateslikeGujarat, Maharashtra andTamil Nadu was lower by13.5%, 11.3% and 15%,

respectively, Y-o-Y. However,states such as Rajasthan,Kar-natakaandMadhyaPradesh—the largest agricultural powerusers — recorded annualdecreases of 5.5%,5.8% and7.8%,respectively.Muted power demand

growthcanbesymptomaticoftheindustrialslumpprevailingmuch before the onset of thecoronavirus disruptions, indi-cating that itmight takemoretime for electricity consump-tion to reach pre-Covid levels.Lowerelectricityvolumescon-sumedbyhighlyindustrialisedstates likeGujarat,Maharash-

tra and Tamil Nadu in FY20had dragged down the coun-try'sannualdemandgrowthtoasix-year lowof1.3%.Sincemost of the revenues

of state-run power distribu-tion companies come fromindustrial and commercialcustomers, lower usage bythese categoriesmeans addi-tional pressure on thesealready-distressed entities.Industrial and commercialconsumers use about 40% ofthe total electricity supplied,but contribute about 50% ofthediscoms'revenueshare.On the other hand, auto

fuel demand is reviving at amuch faster pace. Consump-tion of petroleumproducts inthe first 15 days of June was80-85%ofthe levels recordedin the same period in 2019.Domestic consumption ofpetroleumproductshadfallen23%year-on-yearto14.7mil-lion tonne (MT) inMay,whileconsumption in April, whenthe lockdown was the moststringent,dropped46%annu-allyto9.9MT.

New Delhi

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 21

THEGSTWILLbeleviedonsaleof land for which primaryamenities - such as drainage,waterlineandelectricity-havebeen provided by real estatedeveloper, the Authority forAdvanceRuling(AAR)hassaid.TheAARhasalsoconcluded

thatsaleofdevelopedplotswillbe covered under the clause'construction of a complexintendedforsaletoabuyer',andaccordingly the GSTwould belevied.An applicant had

approached theGujarat benchofAARonwhetherGoods andServicesTax(GST) isapplicableonsaleofplotoflandforwhich,as per the requirement ofapproved by the respectiveauthority (i.e. Jila Panchayat),primary amenities such as,drainage line,water line, elec-tricity line, land levelling, etcaretobeprovidedbytheappli-cant."We find that the activityof the sale of developed plots

would be covered under theclause 'construction of a com-plex intended for sale to abuyer'.Thus,the saidactivity iscovered under 'constructionservices'andGSTis payable onthe sale of developed plots..."theAARsaid.AMRG&Associates senior

partnerRajatMohan said thisruling would have a direct,immediate,andadverseimpactontheentire real estate sector,whichintendstotakeawaythetax neutral status awarded tothesaleofdevelopedplots.

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 21

INDIA CROSSED ANOTHERgrim milestone of four lakhCovid-19 cases on Sundayrecording the addition of onemore lakh in just eight days,including the latest biggestsingle-day spike of 15,413cases,amid renewed concernsovertherapidriseinnewinfec-tions in thecountry.The spike in cases has been

marked bynewpeaks in dailynumbers(over12,500)forfourconsecutive days to take thecountry's tally to 4,10,461while the death toll rose to13,254 with 306 new fatali-ties, according to the Unionhealthministrydata.

However, there has been asteady improvement in therecovery rate with around55.48% of Covid patientsbeing declared virus free.The number of recoveriesstood at 2,27,755while therewere 1,69,451 active cases,the data showed.One patient

hasmigrated.India took 64 days to cross

the 1-lakh mark from 100cases, another fortnight toreach two lakh cases and theninanothertendaysitwentpastthe 3-lakhmark.Also, it took18days forthecases todoubleto the current tally from

2,07,615 that was registeredon June3.The country witnessed a

surgeof2,19,926coronavirusinfections from June 1 till 21,with Maharashtra, TamilNadu,Delhi,GujaratandUttarPradesh being the top fivestates that accounted for thesharp rise in COVID-19 cases,an analysis of the official datashowed.Tamil Nadu,(2,532), Ker-

ala(133) andOdisha (304)wereamongthestateswhichreportedarecordsingle-dayspikeoffreshcasesonSunday.ThefirstcaseinIndiawas recorded inKeralaonJanuary30.Harvard Global Health

Institute Director Dr AshishJha has expressed concernsoverhowquicklythenewcoro-navirus cases are rising inIndia,andsaidwhenpopulousstates like Bihar and UttarPradeshgethithard,thecoun-try could see a"large increase"invirus infectionsanddeaths.

ECONOMY 3FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Highest single-dayspike of 15,413cases reported

THE INSTITUTE OFCOST ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIAStatutory Body under an Act of ParliamentFormed in the year 1944 under the Companies Act andEstablished under an Act of Parliament in the year 1959

Invi ng Nomina onsInvi ng Nomina ons

17th Na onal Awards forExcellence in Cost Management 2019 6th CMA Award, 2019

Nomina ons invited fromCompanies (Listed or Unlisted) Including LLP

In recogni on of achieving Total Cost Management by op mising alloca on of scarce resourcesand adop ng innova on and technology to control cost enabling effec ve decision making andFocus of corporate strategy towards compe veness and excellence to a ain the managementmantraof “conquer your cost, before it conquers you.

Ques onnaire tobe submi ed in so copyonlybyemail atecma@icmai.inThere is nopar cipa on fee.

Fordetails visitwebsiteof the Ins tute: h ps://icmai.in/icmai/news/Na onal-Awards.php

Onlinenomina on formtobe sentbyemail atcmaawards@icmai.inThere is nopar cipa on fee.

Fordetails visitwebsiteof the Ins tute: h ps://icmai.in/icmai/news/CMA-Award.php

Headquarters: CMA Bhawan, 12, Sudder Street, Kolkata – 700016, Ph: + 91 33-22521031-34-35Delhi Office: CMA Bhawan, 3 Ins tu onal Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003 Ph: +91 11 24622156-58

CMA CFO Award CMA Achiever Award CMA Young Achiever AwardNomina ons invited fromCMAs in employment

In recogni on of significant contribu ons of CMAs in improving corporate governance, valuecrea on and preserva on, managing risk and control, achieving opera onal efficiency, promo nggood CSR prac ces, and implemen ng innova ve Cost and Management Accoun ng prac ces tomake Indian Industry cost compe veandsustainable.

Sub-categories:Each category of the award is further sub divided into Mega, Large, Medium, Small and Micro onthebasis of turnoverof theorganiza on.

Woman – CMAs Categories:Nomina onofwomanCMAshall be considered for eachof theabovecategories.

Behind every successful business decision, there is always a CMA

thLast Date for submission of Nomina on:- July 20206

(a)ManufacturingSector–Public(Subcategory:Mega, Large,MediumandSmall on thebasis of turnoverof theorganiza on.)

(b)ManufacturingSector–Private(Sub category: Mega, Large, Medium, Small and Micro on the basis of turnover of theorganiza on.)

(c) ServiceSectorBanking, Financial Services and Insurance, Transporta on and Logis cs, Power Distribu on andTransmission, Retail & E-commerce, Hospitality & Tourism, Healthcare, Infrastructure andConstruc on, Informa onTechnology&Telecommunica on,Consul ng, Start-upandOthers

Award Categories:Award Categories:

(a)ManufacturingSector–Public(b)ManufacturingSector–Private(c) ServiceSector

Covid tally crosses 4 lakh Developed land sold as plots to attract GST:AARNo availing of ITC on GSTpaid forvehicles for employee transportationCOMPANIES WILL NOT beable to claim input tax credit(ITC) for GST paid on hiringcommercial vehicles fortransportationofemployees,if providing such a service isnotobligatoryunderanylaw,theAARhas said.Onanapplicationfiledby

the Prasar Bharti Broadcast-

ing Corporation,Shimla, theHimachal Pradesh bench ofAARcitedtheGSTlawtostateITC shall be available on ful-filment of one condition,"such goods or services orbothshallbeobligatoryforanemployer to provide to itsemployees underany lawforthe timebeing..." PTI

India now12thlargest holder ofUS govt securitiesPRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 21

INDIA BECAME THE 12thlargest holder of US govern-ment securities at the end ofApril, with holding worth$157.4 billion, according toofficialdata.Aftersignificantlyreducing

the exposure in March to$156.5 billion, Indiamargin-ally hiked the holding by$0.9billion to $157.4 billion thenextmonth,thedata fromtheUS Treasury Departmentshowed.So far this year, there has

beennospecific trend in termsof such securities bought andsold by India amid global eco-nomic uncertainties due tocoronavirus pandemic.Whilethe holding touched a recordhighof$177.5billioninFebru-ary, the same was reduced inMarch. Exposure stood at$164.3billioninJanuary.

New Delhi

NHAI settles claims of`13,349 cr throughconciliation processEXPEDITINGSETTLEMENTOF claimsthrough conciliation,theNationalHighwaysAuthorityof India (NHAI) hassettled claimsworth`13,349 crore for`3,743 crore,the government said onWednesday.As part of its efforts tosettle claims fasterand reduceliabilities,theNHAIhas rigorouslystarted a process of conciliation,constituting threeConciliationCommittees of Independent Experts(CCIE)with threemembers each, it said.“NHAI isworking on a fast trackmodeto resolve all the disputes throughconciliation...Till now,108 cases havebeen referred toCCIE and claimsworth`13,349 crore have been successfullysettled foran amount of `3,743 crore,”theMinistryofRoadTransport andHighways said in a statement.As per theArbitrationAct,2015and itsamendment in2019,all arbitrationdisputes are to be settledwithin aperiod of 12 to18months.

Retailpriceofdieselatanall-timehigh inCapitalRETAILPRICESOFdiesel inDelhi rosetoanall-timehighof`77.06a litreonFridaywithratesofautofuelsbeingraisedforthe13thdayinarowbystate-runoil-marketingcompanies (OMCs),inabidtorevivetheirmarketingmargins—petrolprice inDelhiwashikedto`78.37perlitreonFriday.OnWednesday,dieselpricehadtouched`75.69/litre,anewhighsinceOctober16,2018,thoughthecurrentrateof$38.4/barrel fortheIndianbasketofcrude is less thanhalfofOctober2018levels.Autofuel rateshavebeenrisingcontinuouslysince June6,whendieselandpetrolwerepricedat`69.39/litreand`71.26/litre,respectively.

Impressivebeginningforreal-timepowermarketELECTRICITYTRADINGTHROUGHthenewly launched real-timemarket(RTM)has gained instant traction,withnearly140millionunits (MUs) havingbeen transacted in the first twelve dayssince its launch,FE reported lastMonday.Thenewplatform is aimed athelping the growthof powertransactionsvia exchanges,wideningthe scope for consumers to buypoweratmarket-determined rates,sans long-termcontracts.

QuickView

Privatisation kicks inwith 41 coal assetsgoing under hammerASMANYAS41coalmineswithestimatedreservesof16,980milliontonne (MT)havebeenoffered toinvestors,withPrimeMinisterNarendraModi launchingonThursdaythemaidenauctionsince thegovernmentallowedprivateplayers tobid forcoalblockswithoutanyend-use restrictions.Thiswouldalsobe the first setof coal assets tobeauctionedthroughthenewmarket-determinedrevenuesharemodel thatreplaced the fixed fee/tonneregimethathadturnedoff investors.Sevenof theseassetsareunexploredandwouldgrantinvestors certaintyof tenure fromtheprospecting toproductionstages.Themines thataregoingunderthehammerare located inMadhyaPradesh (11),Chhattisgarh (9),Jharkhand (9),Odisha(9) andMaharashtra (3).Theauction isexpected togarner`33,000croreofcapital investmentoverthenext five tosevenyears.

DFCCLterminates`471-crcontractwithChinese firmSTATE-RUNDEDICATEDFreightCorridorCorporation (DFCCL)hasdecided to terminatea`471-croresignalling-and-telecomworkcontractawarded toaChinesecompanyfouryearsago,citing theproject’soverall lackofprogressandthe firm’s refusal to furnishtechnicaldocuments.ThoughtheDFCCL’sdecisionwas in theoffing,theannouncement is aptlytimedtobeseenaseconomic retaliationagainst theaggressiveneighbour,whichhas latelyprecipitatedaviolent stand-offbetweenthe twocountries in theGalwanvalley.ThecontractwasawardedtoChinaRailwaySignal andCommunicationCoLtd in June2016,to install signallingsystemsalong417kmof linesontheKanpur-DeenDayalUpadhyaysection.

Smallerhighwayassets tobeofferedunderTOTmodelTHENATIONALHIGHWAYSAuthorityofIndia (NHAI)willnowoffersmallerbundlesofoperational assetsworth`500croreandaboveunderits assetmonetisationprogrammethroughthetoll-operate-transfer (TOT)model.MinisterforRoadTransport andHighwaysandMSMENitinGadkari saidthat theproposalhadbeenmootedkeeping inmindthe limited financialcapabilityofdomestic investors.

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Compared to EXIM container volume fall of 33% y-y,rail EXIM container volumes fell by 18% y-y in May.Themarket share of railwayswas down sequentially,from 31.6% inApril to 29.7% inMay, likely reflectinga slight improvement in utilisation rates for trucks

—Nomura

EXPERTVIEWInfrastructureINDRONILROYCHOWDHURY

WHEN THE UNION governmentannounced in May an investment of`50,000crore toupgradecoal evacuationinfrastructure in the country, it wasacknowledgingtheanomalyofIndiameet-ing one-fourth of its consumption needsthroughimportsdespitehavingthefourthlargestcoal reserves intheworld.AsPrimeMinisterNarendraModifoundoutduringareviewmeetingforthesectorlastmonth,asmuchas290MTofcoalcouldnotbepro-ducedduetolackofevacuationinfrastruc-ture inthecountry–importsofcoalstoodat243MTinthe last fiscal.Themove to create better evacuation

infrastructure ispartof thegovernment'stargetofproducing1billiontonneofcoalby 2025-26 – 729MTwas produced inFY20. In fact, the 1-bn-tn targetwas to bereachedby2020andwaspushedbackonlybecauseof lackof infrastructure toevacu-ate such a quantity of the mineral.As isknown,coalcannotbestockedatpitheadsin largevolumesowingtothefirehazard.While the overall spend of `50,000 cr

would go into the development of coalhandlingplants,ports and strengtheningof the transportation chain, building ofconveyorbeltsandmerry-go-roundfacil-itieswhichcarryatleast21%oftheminedcoaldirectlyfrompitheadstopowerplantsis avital componentof theagenda.Build-ing rapid loading systems, developingsiding connectivity, linking silos to rail-heads and creating rail links for coastalshippingconstituteotherheadsofinvest-ment. “The proposed investments willinclude `18,000 crore worth of invest-mentsinmechanisedtransferofcoal(con-veyorbelts)fromminestorailwaysidings,”Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

announced lastmonth.Seeking to bring down the share of

roadways in coal transport to 18%giventhe costs and environmental concerns,asmuchas60%ofcoal,thecoalministryhas

proposed,would be transported throughrail infrastructure. The recent opera-tionalisation of the 44-km-long Kharsia-Korichapar rail link in Chhattisgarh is animportant development in this connec-

tion.Apart of the proposed136-km-longEast Rail Corridor – Kharsia-Korichapar-Dharamjaygarh-Korba– thenewlinkhasenabled evacuation of coal from theMand-Raigarh and Korba fields of theSouth Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL),CoalIndia Ltd's (CIL's) largest coal producingsubsidiary.Of the targetted annual pro-duction of 1 billion tonne by 2025-26,SECL is expected to contribute 262 MT(26%),with commercial mining,whichhas been permitted by the government,accounting foranother250MT.The Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd

(CERL),a specialpurposevehicle setupbythe SECL,Chhattisgarh government andIRCONInternationalLtd,isdevelopingtheEast Rail Corridor at an estimated cost of`3,055 crore.While SECL holds a 64%stake in this tri-partite SPV,the Chhattis-garh government and IRCON have 10%and 26% stake, respectively. SynergybetweentheSPVplayersallowedtheKhar-sia-Korichaparlinetobemadeoperationalinrecordtime.Thenextlegofthecorridor,the 30-km stretch between KorichaparandDharamjaygarh,islikelytobereadybytheendof thisyear.Thecorridorwouldbecomplete once the final stretch connect-ingDharamjaygarhtoKorba,adistanceof62km,ismadeoperational.With the Kharsia-Korichapar link,

whichwillboostsuppliestopowerstationsinMaharashtra andGujarat, all the threeimportant rail links the CIL had beenpushing for – Jharsuguda-Sardega underthe Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd in Odisha,andTori-Shivpurunder the Central Coal-fieldsLtdinJharkhandbeingtheothertwo– have materialised.These would allowevacuation of coal from fieldswith largereserves,playingan importantpart inCILraising itsoutput in the future.

●COALMINING

Startups

Focus on evacuationto lift output levels

FINANCIALEXPRESS4 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Note: As of May 2020 Note: As of May 2020

-40

-20

0

20

40

Apr 2016 Apr 2020

Major port volumes fell to itslows since Feb'15

Container volumes improved sequentially, butthe rate of decline remained steep at 36% y-o-y

Rail EXIM volume decline much less than port EXIM container volume decline in Apr-20

Growth (%, y-o-y)

EXIM rail container traffic growth (%, y-o-y) Ports EXIM container volume growth (%, y-o-y)

Growth (%)20

10

0

-10

-20

-30May 2010 May 2020May 2014 May 2020

40

20

0

-20

-40

Source: IPA, Nomura research, Ministry of Railways

DATAMONITORMajor ports volumes at lowest since Feb 2015Major port volumes came in at 45.4mnt (-23% y-o-y) in May, sequentially thelowest since February 2015.The volume declinewas led by a sharp fall incoal (-39% y-o-y) and container volumes (-33% y-y, in tonnage terms).Whilecontainer volumes improved sequentially in May from themulti-year lowsrecorded inApril, the decline ratewas still a steep 36% y-o-y (inTEU terms).

Prospects for producing 1 bn tn of coal by 2025-26 haveimprovedwith announcement of a spend of `50,000 cr

FE BUREAU

THEYMIGHTBE in aminoritybut theirworkisinspiring.Wearereferringtosomeof thehomegrownagritech startups thatare transformingagriculturebydevelop-ing innovative digital solutions tomax-imiseproductivity,improvemarket link-ages,increasesupplychainefficiencyandprovide greateraccess to inputs foragri-businesses.Microsofthasnowintroducedaprogrammeforsuch agritechstartups.TheMicrosoft forAgritech Startups

programme is designed to help startupsbuildindustry-specificsolutions,scaleandgrowwithaccesstodeeptechnology,busi-

ness andmarketing resources.The pro-grammeoffers advanced technologyandbusiness enablement resources to helpagritech startups innovate and scale fast.StartupscanalsogetaccesstoAzureFarm-Beats,whichcanhelp themfocusoncorevalue-addsinsteadoftheundifferentiatedheavyliftingofdataengineering.Availableon theAzureMarketplace,Azure Farm-Beats enables aggregationof agriculturaldatasets across providers andgenerationof actionable insights bybuildingAI/MLmodelsbasedonfuseddatasets.SangeetaBavi,director,StartupEcosys-

tem,Microsoft India,said,“Sustainableagriculturaltechnologycantransformtheglobal food landscape.Agritech startupinnovations are addressing someof ourkeychallenges connected to agricultureand food production.TheMicrosoft forAgritech Startups programme is amongthe early steps in the journey towardsempowering startups in India and trans-formingglobalagriculturalpractices.”

Spread across three tiers, the pro-gramme offers a range of benefits,includingtechenablementandbusinessresources:

■Allstartups:QualifiedSeedtoSeriesCstartupscanboosttheirbusinesseswithAzure benefits (including free credits),unlimitedtechnicalsupportandhelpwithAzureMarketplaceonboarding;

■ Co-sell startups: Startups withenterprise-ready solutions can scalequicklywithjointgo-to-marketstrategies,technicalsupportandnewsalesopportu-nitieswithMicrosoft’spartnerecosystem

■Co-create solutions: Startups thatare looking to create digital agriculturesolutionshavetheopportunitytoco-buildcustomised solutionswithAzure Farm-Beatswithoutinvestingindeepdataengi-neeringresources.UsingAzureFarmBeats,startups can acquire, aggregate andprocess agricultural data and rapidlydeveloptheirownAI/MLmodels.Bringing together startups, corpo-

rates,industrybodies,governmentsandventure capital firms, the programmeaims to create a shared platform forlearningand innovation.

SUDHIRCHOWDHARY

BLAME IT ON the Covid-19 pandemic,there is considerableunrest and instabil-ityinourworkandpersonallives.Employ-eesarelosingjobs,contractsarebeingter-minated by companies and, not justprofessionals but,interpersonal relation-ships too are seeing a toughphase today;therehas beena sudden rise indomesticviolencecasesinrecenttimes.A common problem faced by almost

everypersonseekinglegalaidisthattheyknow they need advice, but they don’tknowwhomshouldtheyapproachforthesame.Towards this,LegalKart has intro-ducedaninnovativeoffering–TalkNow–onitswebsiteLegalkart.comforclientsseeking any legal advice. Founded in2018,thislegaltechnologystartup’sTalkNow feature empowers an individual toconnectwithaverifiedlawyerformattersrangingfromjobtermination,consumerprotection, money recovery, chequebounce,divorce,domesticviolence,prop-ertymatters, corporate issues etc, saysArvind Singhatiya, founder and CEO,

LegalKart.“This secure and private call-ing feature is available for individualsfrom anypart of the country24x7 on areal-timebasis.”Inthelasttwomonthssincetheservice

waslaunched,LegalKartplatformhaswit-nessed a huge surge in the number ofstressed calls from women and men

relatedtofamilyandmarriageissues,andalsoyoungpeoplelosingjobswithunpaidsalaries. Till now, LegalKart has servedmorethan4,000legaladvicetoindividu-alsfrommorethan300citiesfromacrossthecountry.ItsTalkNowfeature ispricedatan80%discountedrateforalargerseg-ment of the Indian populationwhich is

goingthroughenormousstress.Originallypricedat`499 fora15minutes advisorysession,it isnowavailableonlyat`99.Keentofindouthowlawandtechnol-

ogycouldbe combined tomake the legalspacemoreefficientandconnected,Sing-hatiyadevisedtheconceptoflegalpracticemanagement intheformofamobileappforlegalprofessionalsandalegalmanage-mentdashboardforallkindsofbusinesses.LegalKart app is the first product in theseries to enable all legal professionals tomanagetheirlawofficesandpracticeonit.LastOctober,LegalKart received`3.5

crore in funding.Theangel investorswhohave invested in their personal capacityincludePranayJivrajaka(CEO,FoodPanda),Mitesh Shah (CFO,BookMyShow),Sun-deepSahni (CCO,Rocket Internet),PallavSingh(ex-COO,OlaCabs),SudarshanGan-grade (CEO,Lo! Foods),besides high networth individuals fromMicrosoft,Cog-nizant,TataMotors,MetroCash&CarryIndia, and Oracle,who are based in theUSA,theUK,Japan,andtheUAE.“We at LegalKartwould like tometa-

morphoseintoaself-sustaininglegal-techecosystemandliketodaytaximeansOla,afewyearsdownthe lineLegalKart shouldmeansreliablelawyer,”saysSinghatiya.“Intheshorttomediumterm,wearepushingtechnologyawareness and sensitisationamong all the independent practisinglawyersandinvestingourtimeandmoneyincreatinganaccesstoareliablelegalpro-fessionalformasses.”LegalKartaimstobepresent in more than 1,500 cities withmorethan25,000lawyersonitsplatforminthenexttwoyears.

Job loss, divorce ordomestic violence—thislegal tech venture’s “TalkNow”feature helps peopleconnectwith verifiedlawyers on pressingmatters

● BETTER HARVEST

Modern tech for themodern farmer

● LEGALKART

Nowget instant legal consultation

Microsoft announces newprogramme to accelerategrowth of agritech startupsin India

Arvind Singhatiya, founder & CEO, LegalKart

New Delhi

TheMHRD’sNational InstitutionalRank-ing Framework (NIRF) ranks universitiesbased on five parameters—teaching,research,graduationoutcomes,outreachandperception.This year, JamiaMillia Islamiawasrankedtenth.Ifitwasn’tforapoorscorein‘perception’,theuniversitycouldhavefaredbetter—infact,in‘teaching’,‘graduationout-comes’and‘outreach’, itwas in the top-five.NajmaAkhtar,vice-chancellor,JamiaMilliaIslamia—and the first woman to hold thepost—saystheuniversityisworkingtowardsexcellence and it is getting reflected is goodrankings.InaninterviewwithFE’sVikramChaudhary, she adds that be it a JNU oraJamia,ifstudentsperceivethatsomethingiswrong, they will go out and speak up.Excerpts:

JamiaMillia Islamianot onlybroke intothetop-10 inNIRF,butalso improveditsposition in the globalTHEandQS rank-ings.Wasitduetoaconsciouseffort?Our focus is to keepworking towards

overall improvement, and that has nowstartedreflecting.Rankingparametersgiveusadirectionwhereall to improve.

Whenwillyourestartphysicalclasses?Unless it’s proven safe,I don’t thinkwe

willopenphysicalclassrooms.Onlineedu-cation delivery is anywaygoing on.Whenthe lockdown started,we realisedwewerenot fully prepared (in teaching online); Ibelieve thatwas the case across all univer-sities in India.So the first thing I didwasorganising training for the facultyonhow

toteachonline.Ithinkwewerethefirstuni-versity in the country to train its own fac-ultymembersononlineteaching;it’safreetrainingandwehavenowopeneditforfac-ultyfromotheruniversitiesaswell.

Howmanyplacements/job offers havebeenimpactedduetoCovid-19?Industry is being invited onwebinars

and interviewsarehappeningonline,but Ihavetoldmystudentsthisyearplacementswill be tough (aapko bahutmehnat karnipadegiplacements ke liye, jobs ke liye).We

don’t have the exact number of studentswhohavelostjoboffers,becausenotallstu-dents have told us the same,butwe havebeentellingtheemployeestocontinuewithplacement activities. I have an apprehen-sionthatthesalariesonofferthisyearmaynot be as good (as theywouldhavebeen innormaleconomytimes).

What sort of research is happening atJamiaonCovid-19orpandemics?Wewere told (by theminister) hewill

supportresearch.Socialsciencesresearchis

goingon—wehavefiveadoptedvillagesandarefindingouthowtheyarecopingupwiththepandemic—butengineeringandmed-ical research requires money and well-equipped labs.We have sent theministersome 25 proposals and are waiting forfunding; even thoughwehaven’t receivedit,wehaveaskedourresearcherstostart.

Arestudentsonthecampusrightnow?There were about 600 students who

wereinsidethecampuswhenthelockdownstarted.Around Eidwhen road and traintravelwas opened,we send them to theirhomes;wecouldnotplacetheminnormalpublic buses,sowe tested them,andwhenall were found coronavirus-negative,wehiredbusesandsentthemhome.TheywerefromUP,Bihar, Jharkhand and Kashmir.Rightnowwedon’thaveanystudentonthecampus,but for100-oddstudentsprepar-ingforUPSCcivilservices.

Doestheuniversityhavearoleineducat-ing the largerpublic onmatters that arepertinent to shapingamore egalitarian,moretolerantsociety?Thisuniversityis located insideanarea

that is not so economicallywell-off. Itwasstartedwith an intention of nation-build-ing;MahatmaGandhiwasveryactivehere.Alotofouractivitieshappenwiththecom-munity; our students keep travelling toadoptedvillages,andworkforthecommu-nity.Wearefocusingalotongirlchildedu-cation.Whilewearenot IGNOU,wehave ahugedistanceeducationoutreach.

Whatroledoeducatorshave in inculcat-ing a sense of ‘speaking truth to power’amongststudents?Weobviouslydon’t have a department

that tells students to speak the truth; ourteaching empowers them.Be it a JNUoraJamia,if studentsperceive that somethingis wrong, they go out and speak up. Thedharna-kindofprotest isnewtoJamia,butnothinghaseverhappenedinsidethecam-pus.Protests happen at everyuniversity—forbackwardcastes,forfees,etc.

Howis JamiaMillia Islamia celebrating100yearsofexistence?Universitiesgetfundingsotheycancel-

ebrate.Themoneyis about`100crore.Weasked fora lesser amount earlier this year,but haven’t received it. I know these aretough times so the funding has obviouslyreduced.Butweshouldn’tbedependentongovernmentalone;wehavetofindwaysofearningmoney,liketeachersdoingconsul-tancy, support from alumni, sharing ourphysical infrastructure,and so on.We arecelebratingthecentenarybyholdingwebi-narsandotheronlineactivities.

Postscript:NajmaAkhtar tellsme thatthis is the first timeagovernment-fundedminorityuniversityhasenteredthetop-10inanymajorrankings.It’snotaneliteinsti-tution,itsstudentsdon’tcomefromanelitebackground,andyetifithasbeenabletogetinto top-10, it speaksvolumes about edu-cationalimprovementhappeningatJamiaMilliaIslamia.

● INTERVIEW: NAJMAAKHTAR, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia

FINANCIALEXPRESS5 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Science& tech

Education

Vertex Global Services to getinto online learning

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

COVID-19 HAS impacted the jobs land-scape,andIndiawillrequireupskillingandreskilling of job aspirants tomeet the tal-ent demand for quite some time.To helpthe country meet that demand and toensure jobs formasses,VertexGlobal Ser-vices—the global business solutionsprovider—willsoonentertheonlinelearn-ing landscapewithVertexAcademy.GaganArora,executivevice-president,

Vertex Global Services, says that VertexGlobal Services,whichhas always been inmanaged services, artificial intelligence,staff augmentation and performancemarketing, is foraying into the edtechspacetoprovidelearningopportunitiestostudentsaswellasprofessionalsunderthenameVertexAcademy.“With the academics taking refuge

during the coronaviruspandemic,edtechis the newnormal providing a safe envi-ronment to enhance skills,”he says, andaddsthateventhoughtheplanstolaunchVertex Academywere drawn upmonthsearlier,thecurrentpandemichasspeededuptheaction.VertexAcademywill have threemod-

els.Thefirstwillbeprovidingtrainingandskilldevelopmentintheareasofstaffaug-mentation, consulting, artificial intelli-gence, machine learning, performancemarketing,websitedevelopment,graphicdesigning,etc.Theseskills,Arorasays,willbe offered free of cost to all theusers,andwillbeavailableinbothEnglishandHindi.“We have some wonderful talent in

tier-2andtier-3citiesandsmallercities; Ithinktheyjustneedtobepolished,trainedin relevant skills including soft skills,andtheycan be at parwith anystudent in theworld.That’swhywehave includedHinditraining,”Arora says.Thosewhogothroughthistrainingwill

also be offered a free internship for aperiod of three months.“Depending onmultiplethings,thesepeoplecanbeplacedwith our partners or even with VertexGlobalServices,”headds.The second model will be a paid

instructor-basedlearning,whichwillcovermultiple areas. This, Arora says, will bequite affordable andwill be available inmultiple formats.The thirdmodelwill be about knowl-

edge-sharing.“Wewill invite expertswhohavedomainknowledgeandofferthemaplatform to create content,”he says.Thismodel can also be a revenue model forthosewhowanttoearnbyimpartingskills.VertexAcademyis likelytobeofficially

launched ina fewweeks.

Anewedtechcompany istaking shape

●COVID-19

MyGov is now onRoposo video appMyGov, the citizen engagementplatformof the government, hasjoinedRoposo, themade-in-Indiavideo-sharing platform. "MyGov'spresence onRoposo has greatlyhelped expandour outreachrelated toCovid-19, especiallywith regional audiences," saidAbhishek Singh, CEOofMyGov.

Solutions for edtechbyAuthBridgeWith remote education becomingthe norm, edtechwill needwaysto register attendance of studentsdigitally andvalidate identity ofteachers.AuthBridge says its real-time identityverification, digitaleducationverification & criminalrecordverification solutionswillsee a hugedemand in this sector.It adds that liveness detection andGEO-coordinatevalidationwill behelpful in determiningpresence ofa real student or teacherwho issupposed tobe in thevirtual class.

IFIM to start a newbridge programmeIFIM Business Schoolwill launch afive-month bridgeprogramme forIndianUGandPG studentswhohave applied to foreign schools.Under this, they can pursue theircourse by their respective foreignuniversitieswhile staying on thecampus of IFIMBusiness School inBengaluru orGreaterMumbai.

Classroom.Live app,afterweb platformUnthinkable Solutions, the edtechmajor, has startedClassroom.Liveapp that lets teachers teach andstudents learn,without a laptopand in low internet bandwidthareas. It’s available for downloadonAppStore and Play Store.Thecompany had earlier launched theClassroom.Livewebplatform.

One-third studentsworried about jobsBridgeLabz Solutions has found35.48%ofengineering job seekersareworried about placements. Inan online survey (sample size of1,000; 60%boys, 40%girls) fromdifferent engineering disciplines,it noted that 26.96% respondentsare confident theywill get placedwith a desiredpaypackage.

Illumnus has `1 perday per child offerIllumnus, a collaborative learningmanagement system (C-LMS) foreducational institutions, has nowstarted an offer of ‘`1 per day perstudent’ for all institutions in Indiaand ‘$2 per student permonth’ forforeign clients.The aim, it said, isto promote e-platforms.

FE BUREAU

●NEWS BRIEF

Empowering students to speak the truthVIKAS GUPTA

HOWWOULD THE University 4.0 looklike?Today,most universities are strivingto beat competition,not just from otherinstitutions,butalso fromplayers suchasbridgeeducationoredtechcompanies.Inanagewhenthecustomeristheful-

crum around which businesses rethinkvalue propositions, universities shouldalsoadoptanenterprise-likemodel,albeitnot-for-profit—with a focus around cus-tomer experience, and a portfolio ofoptions that helplearners (customers)stack customisablenano-degrees, lead-ing toapersonaliseduniversitydegree.To create an

enterpriselikework-ingmodel,universi-tieshavetofocuson:

■Reimaginingofferingsandservices,suchas stackablenano-degrees;

■Reimagining learnerexperience;■Reimaginingvaluecreation—bridge

learning, solving local problems throughresearchwith industrypartnership.Tosustaintheirrelevanceandenhance

their value, universities would need toadopt strategies that drive successfulenterprises in the digital era—notwith agoal to become business ventures, but tointegratesometheirsuccessmantrasthatcanalsoopennewchannelsof revenue.

TheauthorisMD,Wiley India

Universitiesneed strategiesthat drivesuccessful

enterprises inthe digital era

Weare trying to help Indian studentswith increasedscholarships.With Francedeciding to lift non-Schengentravel restrictions for foreign students starting July 1,wehave reachedout to our Indian students and assured themabout a secure futurewith an emphasis onquality learning.

—Ashley Fernandes, Country Head, India, emlyon B-school

EXPERTVIEW

ISHAANGERA

THE AUSTRALIAN PM on June 19announced that the country had comeunder cyber-attack from a state actor.However, China was quick to deny itsinvolvement.AdaybeforeAustralia,Ama-zon had announced that it was able tostaveoffaDDOSattackwithapeaktrafficvolumeof2.3 tbps in February.Adistrib-uteddenialofservice(DDoS)attackisakinto flooding a channelwith somuchvol-umefrominfecteddevicessothattheser-vicebreaksdown.Such attacks are becoming common,

and reports indicate thatwith theuse ofcyberspace growing more people areorganisations are coming under attack.Globalssecurityfirm,Kaspersky,inanoteonMay26hadstatedthatfourintenusersintheAsiaPacific regionhadfacedasitu-ationwheretheirprivateinformationwasaccessedwithout consent.Amore recentstudybyCyberArk hadhighlighted thatnearly80%of employees usedpersonaldevices toaccess corporate systems,leav-ing themvulnerableandtwo-thirdswereusingserviceslikevideoconferencingandcommunication tools that had reportedvulnerabilities.While Indiahasnotreportedanysuch

attack,asofnow,giventherisingtensionswithChina,thecountrymaysoonwitnessescalated attacks, the kind Amazon

warded off,andAustralia is hoping too.Thatisalsothereasonthatthetermcyber-securityhas become soubiquitous.Workfromhomeandthedemandfromcompa-niesforsystemsthataren'tvulnerablehasputthefocusbackoncybersecurity.Webinars are themost commonplace

where such issues are discussed. IndianFuture Foundation conducted one suchevent in association with UN Women.While the themewasmore broad-basedcovering topics likeAarogyaSetuand theneed fordata protection,the discussionmostlyveeredtowardscyberhygiene.Althoughthegovernmentwastocome

outwithaNationalCybersecurityStrategy,thathasn't stoppedpeople fromcontem-plating what it shall entail and what itneedsto.Besides,thediscussionhasgonepast what the government must do,instead people are discussing what thecompaniesneedtodo."A cybersecurity system and frame-

work is ready.And,nowthere are enoughmodels-subscription-based,securityas aservice,certifications to choose from.Aslongasyouaredoingbusiness,cybersecu-rity is a costwhichmust not be ignored.Cybersecurity should be regarded as aninputcost,"saysAbhishekSingh,president&CEO,NeGDandMyGov,MeitY.The companies may do all this to

ensure users staywith the platform.Butgetting techmonopolies to bowmaynot

besoeasy.Zoomisaclassicexample.Butnot everyone shares theviewof a

passiveapproach.Some,likeLtGenRajeshPant,want to bemore proactive.Lt GenPant last year took charge of NationalCybersecurityCoordinatorof the Indiangovernment."Companiesshouldspendatleast10%

oftheirITbudgetonsecurity.Evenifthereare problems,there are enough servicesavailable online. Now, with work fromhomeandincreasedonlineuseithastobedone, there is little choice,"Lt Gen Pantsays.KanishkGaur,founder,IndiaFutureFoundationhassimilarviews.“WhileSME'sinIndiafocusongrowth

andadoptdigitaltechnologiestoreachouttomasses, theyoften ignore the securityandprivacyaspect.It'svital SME's lookataspects of trust by design, and spendatleast 5-7% of overall tech budget on

cybersecurity,”Gaursays.Oneway,LtGenPantsuggeststobring-

focus on cybersecurity,canbe to includecyberauditaspartof thefinancialaudits,whichareinanycaseismandatory.Butbeforethegovernmentdelvesinto

thisspace,thereneedstobeanecosysteminplace.Youwouldneedcertifiedcyberse-curityprofessionals and standards.Thecybersecurity strategy is expected toaddressthis.Once,infrastructureisinplace,thegov-

ernment need notmandate audits.Themarketmaytakecareofthat,weedingoutfirms that do not complywith securitynorms.But,untilthen,Indianeedstostartbuilding a system.The costs are low,andcybersecurityfirmsarerisinginnumbers,sonowmaybeagoodtime.

ishaan.gera@expressindia.com

KANISHK GAUR

AS THEWORLD battles a pandemic,the biggest source of information aredigital channels. However, the biggerissue with digital sources is verifica-tion.Today,socialmedia platforms area bigger source of information thannews websites or journals. Thousandsof livestreaming videos on Facebook,Tiktok, Instagram, twitter which goviral on theseplatforms let consumersinstant information about anhappen-ingbefore it is publishedonnewsweb-sites. But the authenticity of thesevideos and stories can be contested."We're not just fighting an epi-

demic; we're fighting an infodemic,"said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,director-general of theWHOat a gath-ering in Germany, in mid- February.Fake news related to the virus hasalready spread across many nations,and the entire world is witnessing ahigh level of engagement.Misinformation and fake news can

create a deep impact on society. India'ssocialmediawas already trendingwithinformationconcerningcoronavirusevenbeforeitregistereditsveryfirstcase.Withmaximum number of internet usersresiding in India,majordigital channelslikeWhatsapp,Facebook,TwitterandTik-

tok sawan exponential increase in usersaccessingandsharingunverifiedcontent.Asperanongoingreportbythereality

checking site BOOM, Covid-19 relatedfake newswhich startedmoving in thethirdweek ofMarch took an enormousspiketowardsthebeginningofApril,espe-

ciallyafter theTablighi Jamaat episode inDelhi.Outof178actualitychecksthesiteled since the beginning of Covid-19 inIndia, 35% of them were fake videorecordings,29%picturesandacompara-tiverateweredoctoredmessages.With somuch of unverified content

present in the digital space, the govern-ment,media andpublicmust be in coor-dination to combat fake news and thecoronavirus.Falseclaimsandfakenewshavealsoled

to several cases of communal violence,hate speeches and otherdiscriminatoryactivities,whilecyberfraudsarealsoontherisewithfraudsterseekingtotakeadvan-tageofthecrisis.Withsomuchofunveri-fied content present in thedigital space,the government,media andpublicmustworkincoordinationtocombatfakenews.Therecenttrendcirculatingonsocial

media platforms called as the 'GeorgeFloyd Challenge' is an example of howviolent videos on social media impactchildren and teenager.There are thou-sands of videos and photos viral ofteenagersposingforphotoswhilekneel-ing on their friends'necks.Hence,thereis a need for social media platforms tomonitorextremistcontentwhichshow-casesdeathorfatal injurytoan individ-ual especially those belonging tominorities community as it may resultin physical backlash, violent protestsand lawandordersituation.

(With research inputs fromVarunMankoti)

The author is founder, India FutureFoundation.Views are personal

With trends like 'George Floyd Challenge’becoming arage on socialmedia, there is a need for platforms to

monitor such content

Hide and Seek (1881)

● EAVESDROPPER

The key to security

Battling the infodemic

Universities asnot-for-profits

New Delhi

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

FINANCIALEXPRESS6 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

❝ ❝

INDO-CHINACLASHCongress leader Rahul Gandhi

It's nowcrystal clear that: 1.TheChineseattack inGalwanwaspre-planned. 2.GOIwas fast asleepanddenied theproblem. 3.ThepricewaspaidbyourmartyredJawans

I NDIA IS STARING at stressfulmonthsahead.FightingWuhanvirus, on the one hand, anddefending borders from Chi-nese incursions, on the other,

will require mobilising largeresources.Most economists are pro-jectingfiscaldeficit (Centreandstatescombined)at~10-11%ofGDP.Goingbeyond thatmaynotbeveryprudent.It requiresurgentscanning,andprun-ing of unproductive public expendi-tures to the maximum extent possi-ble. While the sale of non-strategicstateenterpriseshasbeenonthecardsforquitesometime,theModigovern-ment hasn’t been successful on thatfront so far.And,nowgiven the reces-sionary outlook, itmaynot be easy toget a goodprice for“state silver”.However, there is one area from

whereModigovernmentcantapmorethan`100,000crore,providedittakesbold steps. It is the “mountains ofgrain” that the Food Corporation ofIndia (FCI) has accumulated. As onJune 1, FCI had unprecedented grainstocks of 97 million metric tonnes(mmt) in thecentralpool (see graphic).Even on July 1,when procurement ofrabi ends, FCI is likely to have grainstocks of about 91-92mmt,against abuffer stock norm of 41.12 mmtrequired for the Public DistributionSystem (PDS) plus some strategicreserves.So,comparedtothisnorm,onJuly 1, FCIwill have “excess stocks”ofat least50mmt.

The estimated economic cost ofrice in FY21 is `37,267/tonne, andthat ofwheat is `28,838/tonne.Evenif one takes a conservative and lowerballpark figure of `30,000/tonne (forsimplicity)as thecombinedeconomiccostofriceandwheat,thevalueofthis“excessive stock” beyond the buffernorm,is`150,000crore.Thisisunpro-ductive capital locked-up in the cen-tral pool of FCI.Unlock this by liqui-dating“excess stocks” in openmarketoperationsasmuchasthatcanbedoneby inviting private sector in a bigwayto hold these stocks, at whatever rea-sonablemarket price it can get. Itwillnot recover its full economic cost, astheyaremuchhigherthantheprevail-ingmarketprices.But,bynot liquidat-ingit,FCIwillkeepincurringunneces-sary interest costs of about`8,000-10,000croreperannum.Thisis simplydumbfoodpolicy.The Modi government’s recent

amendment of the Essential Com-moditiesAct,via theordinance route,can come handy in instilling confi-dence in the private sector for build-

ing large scale storage.The ordinanceassuresthatstocking limitswillnotbeimposed on the private sector,exceptunder exceptional circumstancessuch as natural calamity,war, etc. Itshould, however, delete the clause of‘extraordinary price rise’ if it reallymeans business on inviting privatesectortobuild largeandmodernstor-age facilities (silos). It can then pushinvestments into buildingmore effi-cient food supply lines.The only con-dition could be to register large stor-age facilities under theWarehousingDevelopmentandRegulatoryAuthor-ity (WDRA) to know stock positionand locationwith the private sector.Theothertwoordinances relating

to agri-marketing are already com-mendable.The“TheFarmers’ProduceTradeandCommerce (PromotionandFacilitation) Ordinance, 2020” cre-atesmultiple channels for farmers tosell their produce outside the APMCmandi system,andalsohelpsbuildanunfettered,all-Indiamarket for agri-produce.Of course, it will be resistedbymanystates that are takingundueadvantage of the APMCmandis’ vir-tual monopoly. But, if the centralordinance is implemented in its truespirit, it will be a game-changer. Theother ordinance, “The Farmers(Empowerment and Protection)Agreement on Price Assurance andFarmServicesOrdinance,2020”,aimsatencouragingcontract farming.Thebasic ideabehind this is that farmers’sowing decisions should be made inview of the expected prices of thosecrops at the time of harvest. It is for-ward-lookingandmorealignedtothelikelydemand-and-supply situation.The current practice,where farmers

sowing decision aremore influencedby the last year’s price, often leads tothe problem of a boom-bust cycle.Althoughhonouringanassuredpriceremains a challenge when actualmarketconditionsdifferwidelyat thetimeofharvest,thereareample casesof success with various models ofcontract farming hedging the pricerisks of farmers. Together, all thethree ordinances are in the rightdirection, and with minor refine-ments as they become law, they canlay the foundation of a much moreefficient agri-marketing system inIndia thantheexistingone.TheModigovernmentneeds to ensure theyareimplemented properly by states,whichwill benefitboththe farmersaswell as consumers.Themain losers inthis game would be some arthiyas(commission agents),who had beenscoopingunduly large shares in agri-value chains. Some local politicalleaders with close nexus with thearthiyas’ lobbymayalso lose clout.The other related area to mobilise

additional resources is in the area offood subsidy inherent in the PDS. Inthe budget for FY21, a sum of`115,570 crore was provisioned forfood subsidy. This number is highlymisleading as FCI has been asked toborrow more and more from othersources,especially theNational SmallSavings Fund (NSSF).As onMarch31,borrowings from NSSF were`254,600crore,onwhichFCIpaysaninterest rate of 8.4-8.8%per annum.So,thereal foodsubsidybill for2020-21would amount to `370,170 crore(`115, 570 crore plus `254,600crore).Let theModigovernment listento its own chief economic advisor,what his team had to say in The Eco-nomicSurvey: (a)Reduce thecoverageunder PDS; (b) link issue prices to atleast half of procurement prices; and(c)movegraduallytowardscashtrans-fers in PDS. These steps will save aminimumof`50,000croreannually.And, the country needs theseresources desperately to save lives,bothfromthevirusandattheborders.

● FROM PLATETO PLOUGHWHILE LIQUIDATINGFCI’S EXECSSSTOCKSCOULDGIVETHEGOVT`100,000CRORE, PDSREFORMS

COULDFREEUPANOTHER`50,000CRORE

ASHOKGULATI

InfosysChair Professor forAgriculture, ICRIERViewsare personal

INDIAHASNOTfacedsuchseveremul-tiple crises since the mid-1960s. Inthose poorer butmore sanguine days,the five years 1962-67were labelledthe problem of ‘the Three Twos’, in apastiche of Maoist style. There hadbeen two famine years 1965/66 and1966/67aswell as seeing thedeathoftwoprimeministers,Nehru andShas-tri,andthetwowars—China1962andPakistan1965.But, India never lost heart.Only20

years of Independence had obviouslynot been enough to tackle problems,butthemoodwasoptimisticwhateverthedata.But,thedatahid adrastic failure of

IndependentIndia’s leadershiptodealwithanyof itsbasicproblems.Agricul-ture had been neglected, whichexplainedwhytherewerefamines.TheGreen Revolution,whichwas imple-mentedandsucceeded,wasforecasttofail, and the Left predicted the greenwill turn into red. The change fromNehru to Shastri promised a funda-mental recasting of economic policy.Shastri was the first to questionwhether these Five-Year Plans werebenefiting the aam aadmi. Hewouldhave swung rightwards economically,andUS-wardsinforeignpolicy.But,hedied and the dynasty resumed its dis-astrouseconomicpolicy.WhatShastriwashailedforwasthe

1965victoryoverPakistan.Similarly,what IndiraGandhi is laudedforis the1971 victory over Pakistan, and the1974 nuclear test. The growth ratewas abysmal, inflationwas rampant,butwehaddefeatedPakistan andgotthe bomb.Defeating Pakistan madeIndia forget the humiliation withChina, or even that China may come

back betterprepared.Fast forward to today’s crises.The

economy had been tanking evenbefore Covid, in terms of the growthrateofGDP,the lockdowninthecreditmarket, rising unemployment(thoughobscuredbydata).Addtothatthe pandemic. No country has got itright. Each country has had its ownfailure. India felt it had succeeded inkeeping thedeaths low.Nowweknowbetter. India still has a low per capitadeathrate,but ithasgrownseven-foldinthe last sixweeks.Theeconomyhasalsosuffered likeeverywhereelseandhad a huge fall. The weaknesses leftuncorrected over70years in terms ofsurplus labour in the informal sectorhave been exposed.The big stimulus,asusual formiddle-classes,hasnotyetworkedmiracles.Now, there is a war with China.

Nothing galvanises the country likewar. Before the election last year, itwas Pulwama and Balakot .We hadbeatenPakistanagain.But,this isverydifferent. Indian defence thinkinghas been Pakistan-focused. That isone enemywe can beat.With China,we have known, but never admitted,that the odds are the other wayaround.China’s coronafailure is irrel-evant to its military power. Its econ-omyhasbeenahugegrowthmachinesince 1980. India and China had thesamepercapita incomein1975.Now,there is no comparison.While Indiahas grown since then, China hasgrown much faster. Just look at theper capita incomes.India had a shock in 1962, but

escapedwithout damage because theChinese withdrew unilaterally. But,China never lost sight of its goal of

recovering theTibetan territory.It hasbeen training mountain troops andinvesting in light tanks suitable formountainwarfare for decades.Hope-fully, Galwan will not develop into afull-scalewar,butweneverknow.Glob-ally,China has opened up hostility onthree fronts simultaneously—HongKong,TaiwanandtheIndio-Chinabor-der.Thisisnotaccidental,norisitasignthat China is diverting attention fromitsownCovidproblems.SincetheearlydaysofCovid,people

havebeenarguinghowwemustmakeradical changes to our lives, our envi-ronments, our priorities in the post-Covidworld.With an extra dimensionto the crisis, India has to seriouslyrethink its future.The skirmish at theborderhas brought back the boastful-ness and complacency reminiscent ofthe months before December 1962,whichthenendedinbitterdisappoint-ment.Yes, our jawanswere brave andpatriotic,but theweapons theyhad in1962werelikematchsticks.Wecannotrepeat that.This time, without chasing old

shibboleths such as swadeshi andsocialism, focus relentlessly on eco-nomic growth in an open economyenvironment. Make friends aroundtheworld by trading rather than boy-cotting their goods. Equip Indiawiththe best weaponry from whichevercountry makes them. Get sustainedeconomicgrowth.Reformtheobsoletelaws, and the bureaucracy inheritedfrom the British (as the British havereformed theirs). Clean up the creditmarkets by shortening the judicialprocess to settle debts.Utilise the sur-plus labour,which iswastingaway.GetIndiareadytofaceChinabetter.

Look before you leapThere is an upsurge in the anti-Chinasentiment after the Ladakh killings.Theboycottingofgoods that aremade inChina, is being advocatedasameans to hit theChinesewhere ithurts.Aminister hasgone to theextent ofasking thepeople to foregoChinese food. Before embarkingonsuch a course, itwouldbebetter toconsider all implications orwearelikely to hurt ourselvesmore than theChinese.Thepossibility ofChinataking retaliatory stepsmust alsobeconsidered.An irresponsibleelectronicmedia hasbeenprovokingthepeople to act againstChina.Sincemost people find it difficult todistinguishbetween thepeople fromtheNorth East andChina, there is adistinct possibility that our owncitizensmaybeattacked in a caseofmistaken identity. Stategovernmentswouldbewell advised tobemorealert towards safetyof thepeoplefrom theNorth East, and take stepstoprevent any attackon them.Themedia channelsmust takeresponsibility forwhippingsentiments todangerous levels.—Anthony Henriques, Mumbai

UNSC membershipIndia bagging anon-permanent seatof theUnitedNations SecurityCouncil (UNSC)by a thumpingmargin is ameasureof the faith andgoodwill that the country enjoysglobally. India secured184of the 192votes, far over the two-thirdsmajority needed.Others thatwonwereMexico (187), Norway (130) andIreland (128),whileCanada (108) lostout. India’s eighth success at theUNSCsecures it a two-year stintbeginningnext January. It is nosurprise that Pakistan refused tofelicitate India, accusing it ofviolatingtheUN resolutions onKashmir.—NJ Ravi Chander, Bengaluru

This time,without chasing oldshibboleths such as swadeshi andsocialism, India must focusrelentlessly on economic growth inan open economy environment

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

The bounty fromagri-food reforms

Slowgrowth,Covid,andborder tensions

Consumers are spooked,so govt needs to domoreSustainingGDPgrowth requires higher govt-spending and,

equally important, critical supply-side reforms

Let the banks decide

HardTIMESCovid-19will push 45million globally into food insecurity;

the govtmust take immediate steps to address this

O VERTHEPAST fewyears,it is the rise inprivate consumptionratherthan investment thathasheldupgrowth,even if thepacehasmod-erated inthe lastcoupleofyears.Withtheeconomyreelingfromtheshock of the pandemic, consumers are likely to savemore and bor-

row less.Households had alreadystarted to de-leverage in FY20; theyborrowedabout`1.5 lakh crore,orabout1%of theGDP,less,despite a spike in the fourthquarter.Borrowings byhouseholdswere averaging2.9%ofGDPin the sixyearsto FY17. But in FY18, it shot up to 4.3% of GDPbefore tapering off to 3.9% inFY19,and further to 2.9% inFY20.Had the borrowings not slowed, net financial savings would not have risen

last year because gross financial assets of households actually fell by 50 basispoints to10.6%from11.1%inFY19.However,the trend is expected to reverse.Given the severity of the slowdown in the economy, the health risks due to thepandemic and the uncertainty surrounding jobs and incomes, households areexpectedtoturnthriftyforat leastacoupleofyears.Aseconomistshavepointedout,thecurrentdisruption isverydifferent fromtheone in2008post theglobalfinancial crisis; Indiawas not as globally integrated as it is today,and therefore,the impactwill be bigger.Consequently,we could see further de-leveraging byhouseholds in the next

two or three years, or at least until the economy shows signs of a sustainablerevival.At the same time,we can expect an increase in savings even if somehouseholdsarecompelled todip into them.Thetrend insavings ishardertodis-cernbecausevisibilityongrowth isverypoor.Thefact is thatevenpre-Covid,theeconomywas in bad shape; so, simply going back to those levels isn’t enough.Unlesstheeconomygrowsatasustainablepaceof5-6%,consumerswon’t regainconfidence.In themeantime,theywill stayawayfrombig-ticketpurchasessuchas real estate, and instead park their savings with banks, post office productsandingovernmentbonds.Thehumblefixeddepositwillbecomeevenmorepop-ular even if the returns fall steadily; deposit growth could rise from the current11%y-o-y levels.Parsimonious consumers are badnews formakers of cars,two-wheelers and

a range of other goods as also services, and for the economy. Pranjul Bhandari,chief economist at HSBC India, points out that essential goods,which accountfor a third of the GDP,will drive growth, but to sustain the recovery India mayhave to move up on the value chain—from essential consumption to discre-tionary consumption, and finally to investment spending—forwhich certainenablers are needed.Bhandari cites theexamplesofastrongandarguably‘permanent’fiscal stim-

ulus after the global financial crisis and free-flowing personal loans that raisedthedemandforconsumerdurables in theFY14-18period.Unfortunately,givenstretched balance sheets, neither is possible at this point. She suggests theauthorities spend a bit more, given rising savings, and RBI can support higherborrowingsandcarefullyimplementthemostpressingsupply-sidereforms.Thepointcouldnothavebeenbettermade;as Indiaunlocks,thedemandwavemustnot bemet bysupplyconstraints of finance, logistics and labour.

T HEFOODANDAGRICULTUREOrganization (FAO)estimatesCovid-19tohavepushednearly45millionacross theglobe intoacute food inse-curity.More than two-thirds of the 45 million are from South andSouthEastAsia,while theremainderare fromsub-SaharanAfrica.FAO

also cites a $8.5-trillion loss to the global economy over the next two years—this most certainlywill exacerbate low- and middle-income countries’ prob-lems in trying to address the food requirements of their populations.Over 49millionwill fall intoextremepoverty.Lost livelihoods,coupledwithdisruptioninmarkets and supply-chains for food,will pose significant risks to food avail-abilityandsecurity in someof thepoorest regionsof theworld.Evenbefore thepandemicmore than820millionhadbeen identified as chronically food inse-cure last year.Against such abackdrop,the government’s ration cardportabilitymove is a

significant step forward, but isn’t enough. It has to ensure that the food enti-tlementsunderthe lawreachbeneficiaries,and lackofAadhaarauthenticationdue to whatever reasons doesn’t become a hurdle to access. The FAO recom-mends cash-based assistance to the most vulnerable, apart from linking withfood distribution, so that they don’t fall through the gaps in implementation.Disruptions thataffect foodavailabilityneedtobecurtailed.Withoutsuchmea-sures, there will be more pain from the pandemic than that brought about bypeople getting infected.

SCwrong to say govt & RBI should fix issue of interest

T HESUPREMECOURT (SC)hasrightlyruledoutthepossibilityofacom-plete interestwaiveron loans during themoratoriumperiod,heedingarguments by banks and the government that borrowers cannot notpaywhen depositors need to be paid interest.However, in asking the

governmentandRBI to re-lookthe issueanddirectbanksonhowmuchsuccourtheycouldprovidetheircustomers,ithas left thewindowopenforsomerelief toborrowers.Why the SC bench believes the Centremust“ensure the benefits aregiven to customerspurposefully”isnot clear.Afterall, itwasnot theCentre thatannouncedthemoratoriuminthefirstplace,itwasRBI.In fact,contrarytowhatthe bench observed, the matter should be decided entirely between banks andtheir customers,without any interference fromeither theCentre orRBI.RBIhasalreadyempoweredbanks tooffera repaymentholiday; so,banksare

protected fromanyinvestigationorharassment.Theproblemwith theSCopin-ing that theCentremustdecide—inconsultationwithRBI—is that it sets adan-gerousprecedent.It also takes awaytheautonomyof thebanks,whosemoneyitis in the first place.While a repayment-holiday in itself is not desirable, the current circum-

stances,onemust agree,are exceptional. In the absence of revenues for close tothreemonthsnow,cash flows for thousands of businesseswouldhavedriedup,leaving promoters in a spot. However, the pulls and pressures of proprietorsnotwithstanding,banks are justified in asking borrowers to pay interest on theaccumulatedinterestduringthesix-monthrepaymentbreak.Notdoingsowouldbepatentlyunfair to those that havenot opted for the repayment-holiday.A recent survey of lenders, by brokerageMacquarie, revealed that the quan-

tumof loansundermoratoriumhas seen a fall from25-30%at the endofMay.AtHDFC,forinstance,theretail loanbook,undermoratorium,hascomedownto7% as of June 15 from 21% inMay, and a small portion of this 7% is new cus-tomersoptingforthemoratoriuminthesecondround.Onthecorporateside,theapproximately 40% number has been largely flat. Some of this may have beendue to customers rushing to opt for a holidaywithout realising it would costthem; perhaps lenders too did not articulate the fact that opting for a deferredrepaymentwouldcomewithsomeadditional charges.Also,it appears thatwhileinitially lenders were agreeing to a blanket three-month break, some are nowapproving the benefit on amonthly basis.This is certainly a better approach asitwould ensure customers remain disciplined.While the drop in the amount ofloansundermoratoriumisgoodnews,it is onlybyend-August thatwewill get aclearpicture.

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Opinion

0102030405060708090100

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020*

(Million tonnes)

Rice stocks (July 1)

Wheat stocks (July 1)

Buffer stocknorm (R+W)

Grain stocks in the central pool and buffer stock norms

*2020 figure is of June 1; Source: FCI

MEGHNADDESAI

Prominent economist & Labour peerViews are personal

New Delhi

T HE‘MARSHMALLOWEXPER-IMENT’ was conducted in1972 at the Stanford Univer-sity’s Bing Nursery School,where psychologist Walter

Mischel and his graduate students gaveone chocolate to each student.They toldthestudentsthatiftheywaitedlonger,sayfor 20minutes, to eat the chocolate, theywould get a larger reward of twomarsh-mallows.Years later,Mischel and his team fol-

lowedupwith theBingpre-schoolers andfoundthatchildrenwhohadwaitedforthereward of two marshmallows generallyfared better in life—they fared well inhigherstudiesaswellascareers.Thesestu-dents also had a lower bodymass index(BMI) 30 years after their initial marsh-mallow test. Researchers working withMischeldiscoveredthattheparentsofthestudentswhodelayedeatingthechocolatereported that their kidsweremore com-petent.Theparents,interestingly,werenotaware of the chocolate experiment thathad takenplace in theschool.Themarshmallowexperiment ismea-

sured to be one of the most successfulbehaviouralexperiments.Patienceallowsyou time for tactical thinking and com-pletely evaluating a situation. It’s one ofthemost importantpersonalitytraits.I give, hereby, an example of Colonel

HarlandSanders,whofoundthefast-foodchicken restaurant chain called the Ken-tuckyFriedChicken (KFC),and lateractedas the company’s brand ambassador andsymbol,andwhowasfiredfrommanyjobs

before he started KFC. Colonel Sandersbegan cooking chicken on his roadsideShellservicestationin1930,whenhewas40yearsold,duringtheGreatDepression.His gas station didn’t actually have arestaurant, so he served diners in hisattachedpersonal livingquarters.Overthenext10years,heperfectedhis

‘secretrecipe’andthepressurefryercook-ingmethod forthe famous friedchickensthatwere distributed to bigger locations.Hischickenwasevenpraisedinthemediaby food critic DuncanHines—theAmeri-canpioneerof restaurant ratings fortrav-ellers.However, as the interstate systemstarted getting constructed—the FederalAid Highway Act of 1956 (the National

Interstate and Defense Highways Act)instructed one in five miles road of theinterstate system to straighten so air-planes could land in an emergency—ithampered the Kentucky town whereColonelSanders’restaurantwaslocated.Ittookawaya lotof roadtraffic,andColonelSanderswas forced to close his businessand retire.Hewas broke andworriedhowhe would survive on his meagre $105monthly pension, and set out to findrestaurantsthatwouldfranchisehissecretrecipe—allhewantedwasanickelforeachpiece of chicken sold. He drove around,sleeping in his car, and his recipe wasrejectedmore than1,000timesbeforehefinallyfoundhis firstpartner.

Sanders had recognised the potentialoftherestaurantfranchisingconceptear-lier,andthefirstKFCfranchisehadopenedinSouthSaltLake,Utah,in1952.Whenhisoriginal restaurant closed, he devotedhimself full time to franchising his friedchickenthroughout thecountry.Thecompany’srapidexpansionacross

the US and overseas became overwhelm-ingforColonelSanders.In1964,then73-years old,he sold the company to a groupofinvestorsledbyJohnYBrownandJackCMassey for $2 million. However, heretained control of operations in Canada,and became a salaried brand ambassadorforKFC.Inhislateryears,hebecamehighlycritical of the food served byKFC restau-

rants,ashebelievedtheyhadcutcostsandallowedqualitytodecline.ColonelSanderspersonifiedwhatpatience is.With patience, things fall into place,

presentingaclearerstrategicviewofwhatis taking place. It is better to wait untilthings calmdown,puttingyou in abetterposition to takestrategicdecisions.Tosaypatience is avirtue is anunderstatement.It’s reallymoreofa skill.Itneedsconstantnurturing.Iwouldputitthisway:Patienceis the state of being that transpiresbetween experience and reaction.Whetheryouare trying tobepatientwithyourself or others, it seems to alwaysinvolve the experience of dealing withdelaysandobstacles.

Themarshmallowtestwasconsideredmore or less an indicator of self-control.The original study inspired a surge inresearch into how character traits couldinfluence educational outcomes (think-ing, grit andmindset). It also influencedschools to teach delaying gratification aspartof‘charactereducation’programmes.Today,most of uswant instant gratifi-

cation—it is theneed to experience fulfil-mentwithoutanysortofdelayorwait.Thishas ledtoawholehostofthings includingonline pornography, gambling, drugs,alcohol andmoney laundering.When itcomestogamblinginparticular,thereareaplethoraofnewonlinecasinosandappsavailableonmobilephonesthatareluringan ever-growing number of players bypromisinggreat funandeasywin.Retailers and entertainment channels

are reaping the benefits of the society’sgrowing impatience. Walmart and eBayhavechallengedAmazoninabattleofwhichcompany can deliver the fastest,becauseconsumerhabitshavemadeitclearthattheywill pay big bucks to avoid thewait.Evenwhenyouvisit holyplaces,youpaymoneyandskip thequeue to‘see’theGodatonce.Youask foranything—food,flowers,furni-ture, clean laundry, instant answers onGoogle,groceriesorevenapartner.AppslikeTinder,GrindrandJSwipegiveyoumillionsof romantic candidates atyour fingertips,waiting foryou to filter themby location,sexuality,religion,hobbiesandhowdesper-ate they are for a partner. This raises thequestion:Doweneedamarshmallowexper-imentateverystageofourlives?

OPINION 7FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

MARSHMALLOWEXPERIMENT

GAURAV TANEJA&MURALIDHARAHONNUR

Authors are partners, Government & Public Sector, EY India

THEGOVERNMENT announced‘one nation,oneration card’ scheme amid Covid-19 to addressfoodsecuritychallenges.It isexpectedtobenefit67crorepeoplein23statesbyAugust,andalleli-giblebeneficiariespan-IndiabyMarch2021.

The government had the confidence to announce theabove plan based onwork done on the public distributionsystem (PDS) over the years. PDSwas stress-tested at thestart of the crisis when the government launched a foodsecuritymissionunderPradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojana fordistributing free ration tobeneficiaries forthreemonthsstartingApril2020.Thegovernmenthadnear-accu-ratedataofimpactedcommunities,stockpositionsoffood-grains inwarehouses the ability to ensure accurate target-ing (throughAadhaarauthentication) of beneficiaries.Twomonths into thismission,it is clearPDShasdelivered.

Tech backbone supporting the ‘now’phaseThegovernmenthasmadeeffortstoinvest indigitalisa-

tion in critical areas linked to PDS.Foryears,Targeted PDS(TPDS) was inundatedwithmalpractices that preventedbenefits fromreachingthe intendedbeneficiaries,and lackof real-time informationmade it difficult for the authori-ties to monitor delivery of benefits. Investments wereneededtostrengthenthesystem.That’swheretheNationalFoodSecurityAct (NFSA)camein,byproviding`170/tonneas incentive to undertake automation of fair price shops(FPS).TheCentrealsostrengthened‘end-to-endcomputer-isation’toprovide the ITbackbone forFPSautomation.TheCentreandstatesstartedstrengtheningTPDSunder

fourpillars:rationcards,supplychainoperations,FPSoper-ationsandgrievance redressalwith theNational Informat-ics Centre (NIC) as techpartner. It resulted indigitalisationof ration cards,visibility of stock positions atwarehouses,onlinetransactionsatFPSwithbiometricauthenticationforration distribution, and most importantly beneficiariescouldlodgegrievancesonlineandthroughIVRdirectlywiththegovernment.TheseinitiativesledtotimelyavailabilityoffoodgrainsatFPS,targetedbeneficiariesavailingtheirenti-tlements,andeliminationofbogusbeneficiaries.This success has led to ‘one nation,one ration card’and

initial trials have shown good results.National portabilityplays amajor role in assuring the poor that they can accesstheirentitlementswherevertheyare;differentfamilymem-berscanalsodrawrationatdifferentlocationbasedonover-all entitlement.Thiswill be truegame-changer.

‘Next’&‘beyond’phases—digitalisation ofTPDSDigitalisation has played amajor role in PDS,but there

areareas that canbeeasilytargeted in thenextphase.Digital payments: It has seen a quantum jumpwith

infrastructure developedbybothpublic andprivate enter-prises.The government should look at driving digital pay-ments for FPS purchases as itmoves PDS towards demon-strating transparency and popularising Jan-Dhan bankaccounts and thewallets system.Thiswould go a longwayinensuringtheentitlementsreachthebeneficiaries,andtheabilityof the government to reach out to themwithmulti-ple services includinguniversal incomeguarantee.Modernisation of supply chain:Two critical compo-

nentsofPDSarequalityoffoodgrainsandtimelinessofdis-tribution.Muchneedstobedonetodigitaliseprocurement,storageandmovementofgoodsalongwithmodernisationof physical infrastructure.The government should exploreoptionsforprivateinvestmentsinthisarea,giventherecentannouncements by the financeminister in strengtheningthepost-farmgate infrastructure.Enhance food basket:Growth in rural economywill

raisedisposable incomes.Foodbeingat the topof thevaluechain(roti,kapdaaurmakaan),familiesmayspendmoreonpulses and other food items.The government can explorethepossibilityof increasing foodbasket at FPSbyconnect-ing itsdigitalplatformswithe-commerceplatforms.Mobile platform:The government, as part of digitisa-

tion of physical data, can explore the possibility of sharingthisdatawith theright stakeholdersasperguidelines fromMeitY.Thiswould fuel innovation and enhance quality ofinformation services that can be provided to beneficiariesand intermediarieswithout impactingdataprivacy.

Tech funding inPDSpaying off

Next phasemust be digitalisation ofTPDS

Be patient, thingswill fall into place

VIDYAHATTANGADI

The author is amanagement thinker andblogger

T HE COVID-19 CRISIS hasbroughtwith it an opportu-nity to pause, think andapproach the newerawith anew lens. It also allows us to

reset our vision in line with our long-term objectives—green objectives, forinstance.Wehaveseenthebenefitsofthelock-

down on our environment—blue skies,clean air, etc—a direct consequence of asharpdropinvehicularpollution.Wouldwewant to fritter it away and not enjoycleaner air for the rest of our lives?Remember,India ishometosevenofthetop 10most pollutedmegacities in theworld.Electricmobilityisadefinitivewayto

retain this pristine airwithout compro-mising functionality. Continuingwiththe ICE (internal combustion engine)vehicleswith the same alacrity as in thepast may never enable us to see AQI ofabout50inDelhiandMumbai.Ashift toelectric mobility is imminent and longoverdue in India just as the trends showfor Europe, the UK, China and othercountries.The good news is therewere indica-

tions of this shift at the recently con-cluded Delhi Auto Expo 2020. ElectricvehicleswerethemostphotographedorInstagrammedstarsoftheshow.Arangeof electric buses, commercial vehicles,cars,e-scooters ande-bikeswereondis-play.

Mahindra launched the electric ver-sion its KUV100 SUV, called theeKUV100.Mahindra Funster Electric,MahindraUdoandMahindraAtomcon-cepts also caught the fancy of autoenthusiasts. Renault displayed its Zoeand City KZ-E.The other head-turnerswereNiro EVand Soul EV fromKia.Alsodisplayedwere the cute-looking GWMR1 and iQ from another auto majorentering India soon,GreatWallMotors.Tata Motors had the largest pavilionshowcasing everything from thesprightly Nexon EV to the Tata Sierraconcept in anelectric avatar.Electricbusesaremakinganappear-

ance in large cities, stimulated by theincentivesavailabletomunicipalbodies.People find the idea of an electric bussansnoiseandpollutionalmostmagical.Even the newer generation electric carsareverypromising—theZSEVfromMGMotor,Hyundai’sKonaElectricandTataMotors’NexonEV.MoreEVsareexpectedtobe launched in India soon.So,what is preventing

electric cars from becom-ing the preferred option?Well,themostcitedreasonis the lack of charginginfrastructure.Thegovern-ment is driving a lot offocus to change this andseems committed tomakeit happen.Our obligationto the Paris Agreementmay fall short unless wemake the transition toelectric—big and swift.Incidentally,wedohave

public chargers in mostlarge cities in India, if youneedthem.If?Yes,that’sbecauseworld-wideeveryonechargestheirelectriccarsat home.Recharging an electric vehicleis unlike refuelling an ICE car. It’s a fun-damentalbehaviouralchangethatneedsto sink in.The electric cars we buy come bun-

dledwith a home charging kit. It’s likeyour own private petrol pump. Thecharger is installed next to the locationwhere you park your car,whether yourapartment is in a high-rise or an inde-pendent house.When you come backfromwork,plugthechargerintoyourcarand relax.Your carwill be charged in afewhours.New-generation electric carsin India have a real-world driving rangeof 275-375km.And if your commute islargely within your city, you are com-pletelysorted for theweek.A smart home charger can be con-

trolledthroughamobileapp.Thismeansyou can switch the charger on and offfromyour living roomanddon’t need tophysicallyreachout tothechargingspotorthecar.Theappalsogivesyouthecur-rentstateofcharge,cost,range,abilitytochargewithdiscountedoff-peakrates (if

offered byyour discom), total monthlyconsumption,etc.Publicchargersare typicallyrequired

for emergency top-ups or intercity jour-neys.So,whenyoutravel from,say,Delhito Chandigarh andwant to take a breakalong the highway for a coffee or forscrumptious parathas at Murthal, youmayaswelltop-upyourcar.Thisistopre-vent‘range anxiety’and todrive onwithpeaceofmind.Similarly, if you run low on charge

within the city, you may find a publiccharger at a mall, a municipal publicparking lot, a supermarket or even yourworkplace.Operators like Tata Power, Fortum,

etc, are putting up rapid chargers alonghighways, at malls, residential com-plexes, public parking lots, commercialcomplexes,etc.However,settingupubiq-uitouscharginginfrastructureneedscol-laborationbetweentheautomakers,util-ities, end-users or the community andgovernment agencies—supported by a

policyframework.Whatcanwedotomake

a difference now? Here aresomesuggestions:Takeanelectric cabor

bus: Electric buses arebeing deployed on manyroutesthesedaysbyalmostall city transport bodies.Similarly, there are a lot ofoptions for e-cabs in all thebigcities—EveraCabs,BluS-mart,Glyd, Lithium,Ryds,Meruandothers.Youwillbecomfortable, cocooned insilence and, more impor-tantly, emission-free and

guilt-free.Encourage charging infrastruc-

ture:Askyourmunicipality,organisationor RWA to put an EV charger in yourpremises.Have conversationswith peo-plewhomatter,thecorporators,munici-palofficials,thesociety/RWAcommittee,etc.Apotentialbuyerwillbecomfortedtosee a charger in thevicinity and this canswingherbuyingdecision.DriveanEV:Wehavesomegorgeous

EVs in India,andmorearewaiting in thewings. Promise to buy an electric car asyour next purchase. There are a lot ofincentives likedeeplydiscountedorfreeregistration,freetoll,freeparkingorsim-ilar such.Furthermore, an electric car isso much fun to drive—thrilling lineartorque,nogears,noiselessoperation,etc.Top that with low cost of running, lowmaintenance,lowcostofownership,andyouhaveawinneronyourhands.And finally,whenyoudobuyanelec-

tric car—smile.You’vemade a responsi-ble choice.You’re drivingwith the ulti-mate badge of honour—agreennumberplate. If the people around don’t thankyouenough,MotherNaturewill.

Acceleratingthe transitionto electric

Our obligation to the Paris Agreementmayfall short unless wemake the transition to

electric mobility—big and swift

The author is the business head for NewBusiness ServicesatTata Power.Views are personal

●NEW-AGE MOBILITY

New-generationelectric cars inIndia have a real-world driving rangeof 275-375 km.Andif your commute islargelywithin yourcity, you are sorted

for theweek

SANDEEPBANGIA

ILLUSTRATION: ROHNITPHORE

Patience is the state of being that transpiresbetween experience and reaction

New Delhi

❝❝

❝❝BUSINESS INCOVIDTIMESSangita Reddy, joint MD,Apollo Hospitals

India is a stable and largemarketwith a liberalisedeconomy. It has an attractive policy regime andimplementation of these have beenvery proactive.

The Covid -19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on businesses across theglobe.“Theonethingwehaveseenfromthisunexpected outbreak is the rapid adoptionof digital tools asmore agile organisationsturn to technology to stay connected andproductive,”saysKaranBajwa,managingdirector,Google Cloud India.“Asmore andmore businesses rely on connecting an at-homeworkforce tomaintain productivity,we have seen surges in the use of GoogleMeet, our video conferencing product, at arate we’ve neverwitnessed before,”he tellsSudhirChowdhary ina recent interview.Excerpts:

What are the biggest challenges yourenterprisecustomersarefacingbecauseof theCovid-19pandemic?Due to lockdowns and social distanc-

ingnormsamajorityof employeesacrossorganisations areworking remotely.Thishas led to an increase in demand for pri-vatecloudnetworks to improvethe inter-netconnectivityandsecurityofvitaldata.We have seen surges in the use of GoogleMeet,ourvideoconferencingproduct,ataratewe’ve neverwitnessed before.Therehasbeenasurge indemandforcollabora-tion solutions from companies and gov-ernmentstotrackthespreadofCovid-19.Businesses have been facing unprece-

dentedchallenges in termsof forecastingdemand from customers and the impactofCovid-19ontheiroverallsupplychains.Although these are extraordinary

moments of uncertainty, Google Cloudcontinues towork tirelessly on these andother initiatives to support users, cus-tomersandcommunitiesintimesofneed.We’ve activated remote customer serviceagents and our enhanced support proto-col for peak periods,we’ve detailed planstomanageourcapacityandsupplychain,andwe’ve rigorously tested the resilienceofourinfrastructureandprocesses.

Howare you helping businesses duringthecurrent times?Financial services firms have had to

maintainuptimeandreliabilityofcriticalinfrastructurewhileprovidingimportantproducts and services to their customersand the economic system at large. Ourpartners around the world are helpingmanyoftheseinstitutionsleverageGoogleCloudtechnologies.In response to Covid-19, educators

havehadtoquicklyenableremoteorwork-from-home scenarios,while researchersquickly looked for ways to apply cloudcomputingcapabilities to theirsearch foreffective therapies. Many universitiesbegan implementing technologies fromGoogle Cloud to enable remotework andtohelpaccelerate important researchTohelp offices,corporations andbusi-

nesscommunitiesfigureouthowtoaccom-modateremoteworkforceduringtheCovid-19 pandemic,we rolled out BeyondCorpRemoteAccess.Thisnewcloud-basedprod-uctallowsemployeestosecurelyaccesstheir

company’s internalwebapplications fromany device or any location.With away toquicklyget secure access to browser-basedapplicationswe canhelp employees adapttonewwaysofworking.

Whichproducts and services fromyourcompany are most in demand duringthesetimes?Over the month, we’ve seen Google

Meet–GSuite’svideoconferencingsolu-tion – helpmillions of people stay con-

nected,whetherit’scolleagueswork-ing at home, companieslivestreaming to global employ-ees, doctors caring for patients,banks providing loans, retailersand restaurants helping theelderly place orders for homedelivery or curbside pickup,socialservicesconductingwel-fare checks, governmentsserving citizens, or schoolsstaying insession.

GoogleCloudishelpingadiverse setoforganisations,fromtheNationalPaymentsCorporationofIndia(NPCI)toArtificialIntelligence(AI)-basedcompany Fluid AI efficiently

manage their workloads acrossremote locations. Kochi-based con-glomerate Muthoot Group has beenusing G Suite’s collaboration tools tostay connected and carry business asusualduring the lockdownperiod.

WhataretheadvantagesofGoogleMeetcomparedto itscompetitors?Google Meet is accessible directly

through Chrome and other modernbrowsers without the requirement ofadditional plugins. One can also host ameetingdirectlythroughabrowserwith-outanylimitations.Wehavealsorolledoutnew features to enhance the security inGoogleMeet.

What is the overall response onGoogleMeet?Howdiversified is theuserbase?Meet’s day-over-day growth has sur-

passed60%in the last fewweeks and theusage has surged by 30 times towhat itwas inJanuary2020.Overall,morethan3million users have been connecting onMeet every day and are spending morethan 3 billionminutes together –morethan 3800 years of securemeetings in asingleday.

Whatare thecurrent technologytrends

uou see? How do you see these trendsplayingout inthefuture?The one thingwe have seen from this

unexpectedoutbreakistherapidadoptionofdigitaltoolsasmoreagileorganisationsturn to technology to stay connected andproductive. Companies and individualsacrosstheglobehavetransitionedfromin-person meetings to video conferencingrapidly, some even overnight. Digitaltransformationwill be the new founda-tionforthefutureandwillbeaninevitabletransition forenterprises,public services,healthcare systemsandeducation.Somekeytrends foreseenare:■ Cloudwill become the bedrock for

everyorganisation in the future;■Thepost-Covid-19phasewillwitness

exponentialgrowthincloudcomputingasit isaffordable,easytouseandhighlycus-tomised to requirementsof scalability

■Governmentsandorganisationswillhave to embrace digitalisation for seam-less access to these services with fasterresponses and more efficient resourcemanagement

■ Businesses and companies willrequire more applications to be hostedonline throughthecloudplatform

■Post-Coviddigitisationofcompaniesisgoingtoacceleratedramaticallyandwillfuelinnovationsinhealthcare,onlineedu-cation, retail, supply chain and logisticstelemedicineande-commerce sector.

■Growth in artificial intelligence andmachine learningwill alsohappen.

SUDHIRCHOWDHARY

WIRED ORWIRELESS, audio acces-sories(headphonesandearphones)aremuchindemandtoday,withanumberofplayersvyingformarketshare.Guru-gram-based lifestyle technology firmNoisehas debuted its newsportswire-lessearbuds.Pricedat`3,999,theNoiseShotsRushearbudsaredesignedforsportsandactivefitness,withergonomicsiliconeear-hooks thatmake themsuper-secureandcomfortable.Withtheirtrulywireless,

in-eardesign,they let you focus onyourworkoutwithnowiresandnodistractions.With good call quality, they are equallygoodatkeepingyouconnectedwithyourofficeworkaswell.Noise Shots Rush earbuds come in 3

colourvariants:CharcoalBlack,QuickSil-ver (our reviewunit) andWineRed.Theyfeatureanequaliserwith3built-inpresetswhichincludepop,rockandclassicmodestotuneyoursoundjustthewayyoulikeit.Theswitchablelow-latencymodeletsyou

watchvideos andplaygameswithmini-mal audio lag owing to its ultra-lowlatency. The earbuds have IPX5 waterresistance andare sweat-proof and rain-proof.Theyalsofeaturefulltouchcontrolsforplayback,voice assistant,volumeandcalls. The earbuds provide six hours ofmusic playbackbetween recharges andatotal of 24 hours of playtime with thechargingcase.Normally forworkouts,people prefer

an over-ear clip simply because it feelssecure.NoiseShotsRushearbudsareper-

fectforathletesandpeoplewithactive lifestyles looking forapair of wireless earphonesthatcankeepupwiththem.Phone calls sound fine,theyfitsnuglyandcomfortably.Overall,NoiseShotsRush

earbuds sound great, arecomfortable towear forlong hours and havegoodbatterylife.

■Estimated streetprice: `3,999

● INTERVIEW: KARAN BAJWA, Managing Director, Google Cloud India

FE BUREAU

CYBERCRIMINALSHAVEBEENexploitingtheincreasedpopularityofvideogamesdur-ingthelockdowntolaunchattacks.InApril,the daily number of blocked attempts todirectKasperskyuserstomalicioussitesthatexploitthegamingthemeincreasedby54%when compared to January2020.In addi-tion, for April, the number of blockedattempts to direct users to phishingpagesfor one of themost popular gaming plat-forms increasedby40%compared toFeb-ruary2020.BeginninginMarch,theoverallnumber

of Steam users (the most popular onlinegaming platform,community,and store)increased significantly,with the platformreaching anall-time record forboth active

usersandconcurrentusersactivelyplayinggames by March 30. Upon noticing thistrend,Kasperskyresearchersdecidedtolookdeeper into the threat landscape of videogames during the lockdownperiod.Whatthey found—not surprisingly—was thatcybercriminals have been exploiting theincreasedinterestinvideogamestolaunchvariousattacks.Thegamemostoftenusedbycriminals

was Minecraft, one of the most populargamesevermade.Itsnamewasusedinmorethan130,000webattacks.TheothermostpopulargamesusedinattackswereCounterStrike:GlobalOffensiveandTheWitcher3.“Many of these video game-related

attacks are not particularly sophisticated;thereisalargeusercomponenttotheirsuc-cess.Thepast fewmonthshaveshownthatusers are highly susceptible to falling forphishing attacks or clicking onmaliciouslinkswhen it comes to games,”commentsMaria Namestnikova, security expert atKaspersky.To stay safe while playing video

games,Kasperskyexpertsrecommend:■Use strongpasswords and two-factor

authentication(2FA)wherepossibletopro-tectyourvideo-gamingaccounts;

■ Be wary of any cheats and piratedcopies ofvideo-games,since it’s oneof thefavouriteluresusedbycybercriminals;

■Usereliablesecuritysolutions(suchasKasperskySecurityCloud) that identifiesmaliciousdownloads,blocksphishingsites,andpreventsredirectstomaliciouspages;

■Duringthegame,don’tswitchoffyoursecuritysolution,butturnongamingmode,whichconsumeslessresources.

Gamers arethe new target

SUDHIR CHOWDHARY

ANHONESTADMISSIONat theoutset: Ihaveastrongpreferenceforconventional,full ear-covering headphones over pre-sent-day, light and trendy in-ear earphones and ear-buds. I feel that theformer might bebulky and uncom-fortable to wearespeciallyduringthehotsummermonths,nevertheless they arebetterwhenitcometocut-ting out the unnecessaryout-sidesoundsothatyouarefullyimmersedinyourmusic.Sennheiser’sMomentumTrueWireless2havechangedmyopinionaboutthenewformfactor.Thoughsome-whatsteeplypricedat`24,990,thesearefinelycraftedfordiscerningaudiolovers.Theycombinegreatsoundquality,activenoisecancellationandsolidbatterylife.At one glance,you canmake out the

MomentumTrueWireless 2 earbuds areaworkof fine craftsmanship.Ergonomi-cally designed, they have been finelycrafted fromcarefullyselectedpremiummaterialstoensuregreatlooks,durabilityand IPX4-ratedweather resistance.Forinstance, there’s the iconic Sennheiserspin design rendered in a high-quality

metallic finish and gold-plated chargingpins.Ourreviewunitwastheclassicblackedition(there’salsoawhitecolourvariantto bemade available at a laterdate)withcoordinating fabric finishes on the slimchargingcase.ThenewMomentumTrueWireless 2

earbudshavebeenuniquelydesignedforall-daywearing comfort.Theyare 2mmsmaller than thepreviousmodel.Forall-day listening,theyoffernearly twice thebattery life of the previousmodel,withsevenhoursofplayback time that canbe

extendedtoupto28hoursbychargingonthegousingthesuppliedcase.Oncebrought to life andsynced toan

audio source (mobile phone atmyend),youwill be amazed by the newMomen-tumTrueWireless 2’s crystal-clear andrich sound quality.This is on account ofthe advanced audio technology:Sennheiser’s 7mm dynamic drivers,designed andmanufactured at the com-pany’s headquarters inGermany,createsuperiorstereosoundwithdeepbass,nat-uralmids and clear,detailed treble.This

audio experience canbe effortlessly tai-lored to one’s taste via the built-inequaliser and Sennheiser’s Smart Con-trolApp.Additionally,withMomentumTrue

Wireless2neatlytuckedinyourearsyoucan enjoy high-fidelity sound even innoisy environments thanks to the newActive Noise Cancellation feature.Thisworksintandemwiththeearbuds’greatpassive noise isolation tominimise dis-tractions without compromising thequality of sound.When greater situa-tional awareness is needed, theTrans-parentHearingfeature lets thewearerblend in outside ambient sound at atouch. It is also easy to make phonecalls and interactwith smart devicesusing voice commands.The earbuds’advanced beamforming technologyemploys twomicrophones to reducenoise and ensure crystal clear voicepick-up.Anuninterruptedwirelesstransmis-

sion is assured byBluetooth 5.1 and thelatest high-quality audio codec support,includingAAC andQualcommaptXTMforgoodconnectivity.Theearbuds’Blue-toothdevicemanagementmakes it easytomanageBluetoothconnections.Thesecanevenbecustomisedtoletusersdefinetheirpreferredwayof controlling audio,callsoractivatingvoiceassistantssuchasGoogleAssistantorAppleSiri.Justasintu-itive is the convenient Smart Pause fea-ture,which automatically pauses audioplaybackwhen the earbuds are removedand seamlessly resumeswhen they arereplacedintheear.IreckontheMomentumTrueWireless

2 are for those people who want it all:Great sound,greatbattery life,great cus-tomisation,andofcourse,noisecancella-tion.At a timewhenmanyamongus areholed up in our homes, but need goodaudioqualityinordertocommunicateorconsumeentertainmenteffectively,theseSennheiserearbudscanbeaworthypick.

■Estimated street price: `24,990

The earbuds deliver greatsound quality that can beenjoyed in any situation

●NOISE SHOTS RUSH

●CYBERTHREATS

Great forwork andworking out

Gaming-relatedweb attackshave increasedexponentially during theCovid-19 pandemic

A decent pair of wirelessearbuds that are perfectfor athletes and peoplewith active lifestyles

Cloudwill become thebedrock foreverybusiness

FINANCIALEXPRESS8 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

● SENNHEISER MOMENTUMTRUEWIRELESS 2

Design, sound quality andcomfort are top-notch

Gadgets

eFEMONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

❝❝❝❝Businesses have been facingunprecedented challenges in terms

of forecasting demand fromcustomers and the impact of Covid-19 on their overall supply chains

HCLTech sets up basein Sri LankaHCLTECHNOLOGIESHASannouncedthecommencementofitsoperationsinSriLanka.The$9.94billiontechnologycompanyplanstocreateover1,500newlocalemploymentopportunitiesforbothfreshersandexperiencedprofessionals,withinthefirst18monthsofkick-startingitsoperationsfromitsofficeinColombo.AkeypartofHCLTechnologies’businessanddevelopmentstrategyinSriLankawillbetouselocaltalentforglobalassignments.SrimathiShivashankar,corporatevice-presidentofHCLTechnologies,said,“WeareveryexcitedasouroperationshavealreadystartedintheregionandarelookingforwardtohiringandengagingwiththehighlyskilledandtalentedpeopleofSriLanka.OurdeliverycentreinSriLankawillplayanimportantroletoserveourFortune500andGlobal2000clientsandpartnersthroughouttheglobe.”ThefirmjoinedhandswiththeBoardofInvestment(BOI)ofSriLankainFebruary2020tolaunchitslocalentity–HCLTechnologiesLankaandsetupitsfirstdeliverycentreintheregion.Throughthisentity,HCLwillprovideservicestoglobalclientsintheareasofapplicationsandsystemintegrationservicesandinfrastructureservices.

Lowe’s launchesstartupacceleratorprogrammeLOWE’SINNOVATIONLABS,theinnovationhubofretailergiantLowe’sCompanies,haslaunchedthefirstIndiancohortofitsstage-agnosticstartupacceleratorprogramme.Sevenstartupsrepresentingadiverserangeofinterestsincludingmerchandising,AI-driventrendforecasting,automatedcontentgeneration,talentacquisition,hyperrealAIandsustainablenext-genhomeconstructiontechnologywereselectedafterafive-cityroadshowconductedearlierthisyear.AmongtheparticipantsinthefirstcohortareStylumia,aBengaluru-basedstartupfocusedonprovidingproductinsightsthroughitsAI-poweredconsumer-driven,demand-sensingengineforseenandunseenproducts;Infilect,astartupwithstrongcomputervisioncapabilitiesandAIplatforms,helpingbrandsandretailersinmeasuring,monitoringandimprovingretailprocessessuchasproductdistribution,placementandsales;StoryXpress,astartupwithanend-to-endvideomarketingplatformthatenablesbrandsandretailerstoconverttheire-commerceproduct catalogs intovideosata fractionof thestandard timeandcost.

TechBytes

New Delhi

HPCL is our top pick as it is best placed to gain fromstrength in auto fuel marketingmargins and is leastimpacted ifGRMs disappoint

—ICICI Securities

EXPERTVIEWInvestor

HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORA-TION’S (HPCL’s) consolidated and stand-alone recurring EPS were in the red inQ4FY20anddown65-69%y-o-yinFY20,bothhitmainlybyinventorylossvsgaininFY19. We estimate the company’sQ1FY21eEPStobeup232%y-o-y,despite

steep fall in sales volumes due to lock-down,boostedbyrecordautofuelmarket-ing margins, y-o-y surge in GRM andinventorygain.Netmarketingmarginhasrecoveredafterbeingbrieflyintheredandthe outlook for FY21 appears promising.GRM isweak,but has shown some recov-eryoflate.HPCLhasadoptedthelowertaxrateof25.17%.Factoring in the lowertaxratehasboostedFY21-FY22EPSestimatesby 11% and target price by 2% to `278(32%upside).ReiterateBuy.Q4FY20 in the reddue tobig inven-

toryloss:HPCL’s standaloneandconsoli-datedrecurringEPSinQ4FY20werehitbyinventory loss of `41.1 bn vs gain of`9.2bn inQ4FY19.Companyhas treated

inventory loss of `10 bn caused due tovaluingonnet realisable basis,whichwaslower than cost, as an exceptional item.Reported Q4GRM is in the red atminus$1.23/bbl,but coreGRMisup349%y-o-y at $9.5/bbl. FY20 recurring standaloneEPS is down 65% y-o-y, hit mainly byinventorylossof`42.5bnvsgainof`13.7bn in FY19.FY20 consolidated recurringEPSisdown69%y-o-yandshareofprofitof equityaccounted investee is in the red.Q1FY21e EPS to surge 232%y-o-y:

WeestimateHPCL’sQ1FY21EPS to be up232%y-o-ydriven by: (i) record net autofuelmarketingmarginof`5.81/l (up3.1xy-o-y); (ii) 7.8x y-o-y surge in GRM to

$5.9/bbl (including inventory gain of$2/bbl); and (iii) product inventorygainof`5.5 bnvs loss of `0.2 bn inQ1FY20.Thiswouldhelpmakeup forthe36%y-o-yfallassumed in auto fuel salesvolume.We areassumingthecompany’scrudethroughputto be flat y-o-y inQ1; itwas up21%y-o-yanditsutilisationratewas101%inApr’20.UpsidetoFY21emarketingmargins;

downside toGRMpossible,but inven-torygainstoboostGRM:HPCL’sFY21netmarketingmarginmaybehigherthanourestimateof`2.5/lat`2.75-3.0/l.Q1FY21-TDnetmarginisat`5.81/l.Weexpectfur-therretailpricehikes(madesince6-Jun’20)to keep netmargin at reasonable level of

`1.5-2.5/linrestofJun’20andon1-Jul’20.Netmarginwas at `0.56/l on 16-Jun’20,butatcurrentpricesislikelytoslipintothered on 1-Jul’20 unless furtherhike of `3-3.6/l is made.We remain optimistic onretail price hikes as reasonablemarketingmargin is crucial forsuccess ofBPCL’s pri-vatisation.Downside to FY21e core GRMof $4.3/bbl is possible,but that includinginventory gainwould be in linewith ourestimate,orhigher.HPCLisourtoppickasit is best placed to gain from strength inauto fuelmarketingmargins and is leastimpacted ifGRMsdisappoint.

ICICI SECURITIES

GENERAL INSURERS REPORTED 8%y-o-y decline in premiums (excluding crop)inMay2020on thebackof sharp23%y-o-ydecline in themotor business reflect-ing lowOEM sales. Excludingmotor andcrop,premiumswere up 5%y-o-y on theback of strong 22%y-o-y growth in fireand 25%y-o-y increase in retail health,indicatinghigherriskaversionandstrongpushthroughdigitalchannels.Standalonehealth insurers reported 34% y-o-ygrowth in retailhealth.

Motor’sengineyettostartMotor witnessed 23% y-o-y decline ingrowthinMay2020–lowernewsales(cars,2W and CV volumes down >50% y-o-y)largely led to sharp decline in premiums.Renewalshavelikelyincreasedfromtroughlevels observed inMay2020as trafficvol-umes gradually increase andwith higherrenewals from customers who utilisedIRDAIrelaxationonmotorrenewalstillMay31,2020.NegligibleOEMvolumes led tosignificantly lowervolumes inbothmotorODandTPsegments.Lowernewsales and partial decline in

renewalswill continue to put pressure onmotorpremiums.MajorprivateplayerslikeICICILombard,CholaMS,BajajGeneralandTataAIG reported22-32%y-o-y decline;

SBIwas,however,flaty-o-y.New-ageplayersperformed better than incumbents.Ackoreportedstrong89%y-o-ygrowthinmotorpremiumswhileitwasdown14%y-o-yforGoDigit,betterthanindustryaverage.

RetailhealthrampsupOverall growth in thehealth businesswasmoderateat9%y-o-y(8%y/yin2MFY21).Evenasgrowthinretailhealthwasstrongat25%y-o-y,muted3%y-o-ygrowthingrouphealth dragged overall health premiums.Standalonehealthinsurersreported11%y-o-y increase inhealth premi-umswhile it fell9%y-o-yforpri-vateplayers(PSUplayers recordedstrong 29% y/ygrowth on theback of tractionin non-retailpolicies).Growthin retail healthmostlikelycameonthebackofincreasedriskaversionamongcustomers due toCovid-19 and introduc-tion of newdedicatedCovid-19products.Standalonehealthinsurersreportedstrong34%y-o-ygrowth in retail health inMay2020(higherthan12%y-o-yinFY2020).

FirecontinuestoprovidesupportFire insurancepremiumsgrew22%y-o-yinMay2020.Thiswaslikelydrivenbyhighercorporaterenewalscomparedtoretailbusi-nesses as underlying borrowers focus oncash conservation.Additionally, GIC hadincreased property reinsurance rates inMarch 2019 (average rise of 2X) for eightoccupancies (comprising35%of industryvolumes) and, subsequently, for all 291occupancies fromJanuary2020.Largepri-vateplayerslikeBajajGeneral(up33%y/y),ICICI Lombard (up51%y/y),andTataAIG(up55%y/y)postedstronggrowth.

KOTAK INSTITUTIONALEQUITIES

Retail health,fire the brightspots in May

ASHOKA BUILDCON (ABL) reported4%y-o-ycontraction inQ4FY20revenueas COVID-19 adversely impacted execu-tion.Ebitdamargin surged 440bps y-o-yto18.2%aidedbyone-offs;consequently,adjusted profit rose 56%y-o-y.Toll rev-enueremainedweakwithtrafficdecliningy-o-yacrossallprojects.Orderbookfell to~`90bn (book-to-bill of 2.4x).Incremen-talorderwinsandmonetisationinAshokaConcessions (ACL)will be key stock cata-lysts,inourview.We revise up FY21/22e earnings

124%/209%duetohigher-than-expectedmargin&otherincomeanddebtreductionin Q4FY20.However, the looming slow-down in the economyandweak revenuevisibilitycompelustoslashearningsmul-tiple to 4x from 6x.Maintain Buy withrevisedSOTP-basedTPof`84(`67earlier).Marginsup;BOTtrafficcontinuesto

beweak:Ebitdamarginsurged440bpsy-o-yaidedby~`1-bnone-offs.Disappoint-ment in the toll division continued; stop-page of toll collection due to COVID-19played itspart inweaktollperformance.Order book declines sequentially:

The company’s order book declined fromabout `95 bn in Q3FY20 to ~`90 bn atend-FY20. It is targeting the ~`700-bnroad tender pipeline and hopes to winordersworth`50-60bn inFY21.Outlook:Orderwinskey—Declining

revenuevisibility,weaktraffic inBOTpro-jects and delays in assetmonetisation inACLaremainconcernsforthestock;whilethelattertwowilltaketimetogetresolved,orderaccretion in thenear term is criticaltoboostEPCrevenuegrowth.WemaintainBuywithrevisedSOTP-basedTPof`84—`35/sharefromtheEPCbusiness (4xEPS)andthebalance fromBOTprojects.

EDELWEISS

Covid-19 hitexecution inthe quarterFY21/22e EPSup124/209%due to highermargins anddebt reduction; Buy retained

●ASHOKABUILDCONRATING: BUY

● INSURANCE

FINANCIALEXPRESS9 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Standalone health insurersgainedmost; motor saw fallof 23%y-o-y; pressure insegment likely to continue

Growth in retailhealth most likelycame on the backof increased riskaversion due toCovid-19 andintroduction ofnew dedicated

Covid-19 products

May ‘19 Apr ‘20 May ‘20Standalone health insurersAditya Birla 71 121 133HDFC ERGO Health 35 12 24Max Bupa 20 20 36Religare 34 23 41Star Health 23 13 32Total 27 17 34Industry total 7 4 25Source: General Insurance Council, Kotak InstitutionalEquities

Retail health insurance up34% y-o-y for standalonehealth insurersy-o-y growth in gross direct premiums forretail health insurance

Source: Company, Edelweiss research

6.0

2.0

10.0

14.0

18.0

22.0

Q216

Q416

Q217

Q417

Q218

Q418

Q219

Q419

Q220

Q420

Ebitda margins

Reported PAT margins

(%)Margin on an upswing

Year to March 2019 2020 2021E 2022ERevenue (` mn) 29,72,050 28,77,324 14,18,475 14,59,141Net Income (` mn) 66,906 20,935 67,721 69,738EPS (`) 43.9 13.7 44.4 45.8% chg Y-o-Y -7.3% -68.7% 223.5% 3.0%P/E (x) 4.7 15.3 4.7 4.6CFPS (`) (28.3) 28.8 69.1 72.2EV/E (x) 4.7 9.4 5.1 5.2Dividend Yield (%) 8% 3% 7% 7%RoCE (%) 17% 4% 11% 11%RoE (%) 24% 9% 20% 19%Source: Company data, I-Sec research

●HINDUSTAN PETROLEUMCORPORATION RATING: BUY

Q1FY21e EPS expected torise by 232%y-o-y; EPS forFY21-22e up 11%due totax rate; top pick amongOMCs; ‘Buy’maintained

Inventory lossmarred showing

WHILETHERAINSwillprovideawelcomerelieffromthescorchingheat,italsoposesariskofdamagingassets intheeventofaflood or anynatural disaster.The recentcycloneAmphanwhichhad struckWestBengalcausingwidespreaddamagesisonesuch example. Natural disasters leavedestroyedhomes,vehicles and commer-cial establishments in theirwake,leadingto huge economic losses. For example,despite efficient damage control by the

governmentafterFani,Orissasought$14billiontorebuild500,000homes.Theeco-nomic losses due to the Chennai floodshavebeenestimatedtobe`15,000crore,while the floods in Kerala cost the state`21,000ineconomiclosses.

Preparing for2020Taking lessons fromthe earliermon-

soondisasters thathave resulted in cata-strophes,wemust prepare ourselves forthe onslaught of monsoon 2020. Andwhile we cannot eliminate the risk ofnatureduetofloodsandothermonsoon-related disasters such as hurricanes andcyclones,wecansafeguardandprotectourcapital assets such as ourhomes,shops,manufacturingestablishments,factories,andofficesfromsuchcalamities.Formany,theirhomes,shops and factories are theprimary source of income.With alreadymountingeconomiclossesduetothepan-demic,itwouldbewisetoactnowandpro-tect ourassets so thatwecanbe immunetoanyfurtherfinancialburdenandlosses.

Insurance coverBe it yourhome,shop,factoryor any

otherestablishment,ittakesyearsofhard

worktoaccumulateacapitalasset.Unfor-tunately,ittakesnomorethanafloodlast-ing one to two days to destroy it. So far,combinedefforts of thegovernment andthe insurance industry have supportedIndiansduringthepandemicbyintroduc-ing insurance products to protect youagainstunpredictablemedicalbills.Simi-

larly, it is awise idea to insureyourassetsagainst the risk of flood and other suchnaturaldisastersthatmightoccurduringthepandemic.While it is difficult to solve the emo-

tional upheaval arising from losing anyasset to anatural disaster,a comprehen-siveinsurancecoveroffersassuredprotec-tionfromtheeconomicstressofsuchsit-uations.Youmayopt for a standard firepolicywhich provides cover fornot onlyaccidentalfire,butalsodamagecausedbyflood, cyclone or inundation. You mayextend the policy to cover earthquakedamage bypayment of some additionalpremium.Forawidercoveryoumayoptforacomprehensivepackagepolicywhichinadditiontofireandfloodperils,wouldalsoprovide coveragainst burglary,mechani-calbreakdownandevenpersonalaccident.Sowhileweattempttogetthroughthis

pandemic with hope and positivity,wemust not forget to prepare for theworstdue to seasonal troubles andprotect our-selvesfromthefinancialandtheeconomicrisksofadisaster.

ThewriterisED&CEO,RelianceGeneralInsuranceCompany

Protect your assetswith an insurance policy

DINESHTHAKKAR

RESERVE BANKOF India has extendedthe loan moratorium to three moremonthsagainsttheinitialplannedtenureofthreemonths.Manypeoplehaveoptedfor moratorium although they can paytheirEMIs,justduetotheannouncementthat opting for moratoriumwould notharmtheircreditscore.MoratoriumisnotanEMIwaiverbutonlydeferringit.Inter-estwill continue toaccrue forsixmonthsandthetenurewillgetextended.

Incurring interestLetus sayyouhave takenahome loan

of`30 lakhwitha tenureof20years.Theinterestis9%andEMIcomesto`26,650permonth.Nowopting formoratorium,you will be saving (`26,650 X 6) =`1,59,900.That’sabigamountandmanywould be tempted but let us check how

muchadditional interestyouincur.Nowletusassumeyouhavebeenpay-

ing EMIs for fouryearsand now remainingtenure is 192 monthsplus sixmonths (mora-torium).Totalamounttobepaidwouldbe`40.50lakhwhichincludes`30lakhprincipal and`8.7lakh interest but if themoratoriumisused,theadditional interest bur-den could go up toaround`1.8lakh.

I knowyou think Imust havemade amistake.Nowaycouldsixmonthsinterest

be `1.8 lakh for the`1,59,900you are notpaying, you are think-ing.But there is anEMIloan calculator whichwillhelpyouknowhowthe EMI calculationworks.Afterwepayeachmonth’s EMI, theamount is deductedfromtheloanoutstand-ingbutwhenweoptforthe moratorium, we

don’t payEMI and interest continues toaccrueandkeepsgettingaccumulatedontheoutstandingprincipal.This increasesthe loanburdenandalso the tenure.Also,that extra`1.8 lakh isnot just calculatedonthe`1,59,900notpaidbut it isdue toaccumulationofinterestandnoEMIbeingpaidofwhich somepart couldhavegonetowardsprincipalrepayment.Soloanout-standinggrowsandincreasesloanburdenandtenureextension.

PayEMI if there is cashflowWedon’tadvocatethatmoratoriumis

bad forpeoplewhohave faced cashflowproblemsduetolockdownandcannotpaytheirEMIs.Theywillfindthismoratoriumhelpful even if it comes at the cost of anincreaseininterest.SoifyoucanpayEMIswithouttoomuchproblem,thendon’toptformoratoriumthinkingyouare gettingsomebreathing space aswehave shownhowmuchadditionalinterestaccrues.If youopt foramoratorium,askyour

lender to keep the tenure the sameaftermoratorium as that will increase yourEMIsbutwillkeepyourinterestcostcom-ponentdown.KeepingtheEMIsameaftermoratorium will increase tenure andinterest.Afterthemoratorium,ifthesitu-ation permits andyouhave funds avail-able,prepay either three or six pendingEMIsatonego.IfoneprepaysmostoftheEMIs takenvia the route ofmoratorium,tenureandEMIwill remainthesameandyouwillhaveverylittleadditionalburden.

Thewriterischairman&managingdirector,TradebullsSecurities

Personal Finance

Floods duringmonsooncan damage assets such ashomes,manufacturingestablishments, factories,shops and offices.Acomprehensive insurancecover can help in such asituation

Afterwe pay eachmonth’sEMI, the amount is

deducted from the loanoutstanding butwhenweopt for themoratorium,wedon’t pay EMI and interest

continues to accrueand keeps gettingaccumulated on theoutstanding principal

LoanMoratorium

INTEREST

ILLUSTRATION: SHYAMKUMAR PRASAD

ILLUSTRATION: SHYAMKUMAR PRASAD

●GENERAL INSURANCERAKESH JAIN

● LOANMORATORIUM

Ask your lender to keepthe tenure same aftermoratorium as thatwillincrease your EMIs butwill keep your interestcost component down.And try to prepay themoratoriumperiod EMIlater tominimiseadditional burden later

Takingmoratorium? Keep tenure same

New Delhi

BrandWagon

VENKATASUSMITABISWAS

THECOVID-19PANDEMIChasforcedsev-eralbusinesses,especiallyonesthatcannotsupportsocialdistancing,tochangecoursein order to stay relevant to the consumer.Online ticketingplatforms are among theworsthit,asthefutureofon-groundeventsremains uncertain.The Event and Enter-tainmentManagementAssociation esti-matesthatthe`10,000-croreeventsindus-try—towhichticketingplatformshadbeencontributingroughly20%—standstolosenearly80%revenuein2020-2021.Sensinganexistentialcrisis,mostonline

ticketing platforms have quickly shiftedgearsbycuratingvirtualevents,onlinegam-ing tournaments,upskilling courses,andused their consumerdatabase to promoteOTT shows and podcasts.Will these newbusinessstreamsprovetobeasrewarding?

Bigger canvasTo experiment with virtual events, plat-

formshavebeencuratingcontentona fewspecific topics. “We identified six latentdemands—fitnesscoaching,engagingchil-dren, learninghobbies,professional guid-ance such as financial planning, andunwindingandrelaxing,”saysShreyasSrini-vasan,founderandCEO,PaytmInsider.

For the next three months, the com-panywill be concentrating its efforts onoffering content along these themes.Srinivasan says that in four weeks,PaytmInsidercuratedaround1,500 liveshows, and continues to curate 400events everyweek.

BookMyShow has been workingaround themes such as music, poetry,theatre, comedy, fitness, food, cocktailmaking andenvironment conservation,across700freeandticketedevents sincethe beginning of the lockdown.At the beginning of the lockdown,

events were mainly streamed live andfreeofcostonsocialmedia,andticketingplatforms helped spread theword.Tick-eted events were very few, but that ischanging now.AlbertAlmeida,COO, live

entertainment, BookMyShow, says,“The responsehasbeenunprece-

dented, and has prompted usto test the waters for tick-eted events. Customerengagement has grown

steadily with over 40 lakhconsumers viewing these

events in the firstmonth.”Tickets for live shows on Paytm

Insidercost`250-350,andacommis-sion of 8-10% is charged on them.Srinivasansaystheplatformiswitness-ing“5,000-6,000transactionseveryday,with15-20%week-on-weekgrowthin

thenumberofusers”.These platforms are also

offeringgamesthat friendsand families can play

together. For instance, PaytmInsiderisofferingacrosswordcompe-

tition for `39, and BookMyShow is sell-ing tickets for the gameMafia for `50.There are online courses on offer, too,fromchessandyogatoscriptwritingandphotography, priced in the range of`2,000-5,000.In the absence of theatrical releases,

BookMyShow is informing users aboutmovies,shows,podcasts,andotherdigitalcontent that theycanstreamonline.

Unique experiencesOnline ticketing platforms hope to keepthis new revenue stream alive even afteron-ground events resume.However, forthat to happen, platforms need to offerexclusiveexperiences,experts say.Ankur Pahwa, partner and national

leader, e-commerce and consumer inter-net,EYIndia,saysthereareseveraloptionsfor ticketing platforms to forge partner-ships beyond the established ecosystem.“Content creators and ed-tech platformscan harness the wide user base of theseplatformstosellticketstotheirliveeventsandprogrammesonline.”In the presence of established video

streamingplatforms,ed-techandgamingapps,ticketingplatformswillhavetocarveaniche forthemselves.“TheUSPfortheseplatformshas tocontinue tobeabout liveeventsorpremiumpay-per-viewaccessforexclusive digital content. For example, adigitalmovie launch that can be ticketedvia theplatform,”Pahwaadds.Besides, since these platforms are not

investingmuchinmarketingandpromo-tions, expanding the user basewill proveto be challenging.“Online ticketing plat-forms have built awareness for bookingmovie tickets and event passes over theyears. If they don’t spend onmarketing,consumers may not think of these plat-forms as their first option to find enter-tainmentonline,”pointsoutAlaguBalara-man,partnerandMD,CGN&Associates.Just as itwasn’t smooth foraggregators

likeBookMyShowatthestart,whentheatreownerswanted to sell tickets online them-selves,buildingfreshalliancesinunfamiliarterritorieswon’tbeeasyeither.“Thepartnerswouldwant to be reassured that the plat-formswillbeabletogeneratesalesfromthenewcontentverticals,”Balaramanadds.

Motobahn

FINANCIALEXPRESS10 WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

Rajni Menon getsbigger role at DentsuAegis Network

DENTSUAEGISNETWORK (DAN),has elevatedRajniMenon to thepositionofheadofsolutionsdevelopment andchief strategyofficerof the recentlylaunchedDAN

Solutions India.Shewill report to itsCEONarayanDevanathan.Menonhadbeen theCEOofCarat India,DAN’sflagshipmedia agency,since2017.

ShopCluespartnerswithShemarooMeONLINEMARKETPLACESHOPCLUEShasenteredintoatie-upwithShemarooMe,theOTTvideostreamingservice.Underthispartnership,ShopClueswillofferitscustomers,particularlyIndianandregionalcinemaviewers,multi-genrecontentfromShemarooMeviafourannualsubscriptionpacks.

Qyukico-founder,SamirBangara,passesaway

SAMIRBANGARA,THE co-founder andmanaging directorofQyukiDigitalMedia,died in aroad accident onJune 14.Qyuki is asocial platform forcreative talent thathe founded along

withmusic composerARRahman andfilmmaker ShekharKapur.Bangarawasformerly themanaging director ofDisneyUTV.

DiscoveryPlusapponAmazonFireTV

DISCOVERYPLUS,A real-lifeentertainment streaming app,is nowavailable onAmazonFireTV.The apphosts content across genres such asscience,adventure,food and lifestyle,and is available to downloadonAndroidand iOSdevices,too.

GeometryEncompasslaunchesPro.digiGEOMETRYENCOMPASS,THEcreativecommerceagencyofWPP,hasannouncedthe launchof itsdigital liveexperiencepracticePro.digi.It is aimedat creatingvirtual experiencesbyleveraging technologytodrive impactfulcampaigns forbrands.

In TheNews

DEVIKASINGH

TRAFFIC ON MATCHMAKING apps andsites increased during the lockdown. Jee-vansaathi.comclaims tohaveseena30%growth in newuser acquisitions year-on-year during the period. Shaadi.comwit-nessed a traffic surge of 15-20% on itsplatform, compared to the pre-Covidperiod,while BharatMatrimony, anotherbigplayerinthesegment,reporteda30%increase in registrations.The timespentontheseplatformshas

increased,too.Jeevansaathi.comhas seena 20% increase in time spent on its plat-form,and engagement on Shaadi.com isup by25%.Butwith strict social distanc-ingnorms inplaceduringthis time,thesenumbersmaymean little.

Vows onvideoMatrimonial sites have been introducingnewfeaturestomakeupforthelackofphys-icalmeet-and-greet.Jeevansaathi.comnowhasavideoprofilefeatureandisalsoboost-ing itsvideoandaudiocallingfeature.“Theusageofaudioandvideocallingfeaturesonour platform has increased by over threetimes since the lockdown started,” saysRohanMathur,executivevicepresidentandbusinesshead,Jeevansaathi.com.Thecompanyisalsoorganisingvirtual

socialget-togethersforitsusers.Thesefea-tures were introduced in December toensureprivacyfor itsusers.Withuncertainty looming largeabout

whennormalcywillberestored,weddingshave been postponed. To address thispredicament,Shaadi.comandBharatMat-rimonyareofferingweddingservices,withsafetyandhygieneguidelinesinplace,freeof cost to itsusers.“We have launched HomeWeddings,

onMatrimonyBazaar,whichwill providethe entire range of Covid-safe weddingservices, right from catering tomake-upandpurohits,atthedoorstep,tohelpcou-plestietheknot.Wehavealreadyreceivedabout 100 enquiries for the initiative,”says Murugavel Janakiraman, founderandCEOofMatrimony.com,whichownsBharatMatrimony.Shaadi.comhas

launchedan initia-tive titled Wed-dings fromHome,andisofferingend-to-end services tocustomerstofacili-tatemarriagesovervideos. “We haveorganised threeweddings so farthroughthisinitia-tive, and have received several enquiries.Thoughthereisaninitialhesitancyamongconsumers, as this is a novel concept,wesee this taking off in the future,” saysAdhish Zaveri, director – marketing,Shaadi.com.The companyhad alsomadeits services free to use for all in the initialphaseof lockdown.

MakingmoneyAccording to Statista, India’smatchmak-ingmarket is valued at $184million,andis expected to grow at a CAGRof 10% toreach $269million by2024.Thewebsiteestimates that themarket has about 8.2millionusers in thecountrycurrently.Despite the adaptations beingmade,

experts are of the view that sincematri-monial platforms have been strugglingwith profitability, theywill have a toughtimemonetisingthesurgeintraffic,goingahead.Jeevansaathi.comandShaadi.comhavebothseenasubduedriseinthenum-berofpaid subscribers in recentmonths.“Thesecompaniesmaytrymonetisation

byofferingweddingservices,but theymayface toughcompetition there,as this spacealreadyhasmanyofflineplayers,”saysAnkurPahwa,partnerandnationalleader–e-com-merceandconsumerinternet,EYIndia.According to him,althoughvideo fea-

tures could help users connectwith eachother,theycannotbuildtrust,whichiscru-cial inmatchmaking.Most of these appshave been used by fraudsters in the past,andensuringthesafetyofusers isaprimeconcern forthemalready.PavelNaiya,senioranalyst,Counterpoint

Research, says that since most users arealreadyaccustomed tousingother instantmessaging and socialmedia platforms forvideo calls, theymaynot be interested inusing the video feature being offered onmatrimonial apps.“Changing this behav-iourmaytakealongtime,”hesays.

Matchmakingfromadistance

●DIGITALMEDIA

Matrimonial apps turn toorganisingweddings duringthe pandemic

83% consumerswill eat less at restaurants68%will avail of online educationmore than before61%will opt for homeentertainment /OTTmore than before— EY report on impact ofCovid-19 onM&E sector

●NUMEROLOGY

According toStatista, India’smatchmakingmarket is valuedat $184million,expected toreach $269

million by 2024

Eris Lifesciences ropes in Boman Iranias thebrandambassador forCirca

● E-COMMERCE

Ticket tonewbusinessOnline ticketing platformsexplore alternative revenuestreams,as on-groundevents remain on hold

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

CARS24, THE platform to buy and sellused cars, has named its two-wheelervertical asCars24Moto.Itwas launchedthe day the ‘unlock’ started in the firstweek ofMay.“Wewill be leveraging ourexisting outlets for two-wheelers,” saysGajendra Jangid, co-founder & CMO,Cars24.“Going forward,wemayhave aseparatewebsite fortwo-wheelers.”WhenCars24waslaunched,thefocus

wasonlyoncars—that’swhythename—but later the company restructured its

goals.“Wenowwant tobeabigplayer inthe overall automotive segment,whichincludestwo-wheelers.Duringthelock-down we got time to brainstorm. Theidea of getting into two-wheeler space

wasalreadythere,butbackendplanning,onboarding, restructuring the teamshappenedduringthelockdown,”headds.The company has retailed over 200

two-wheelerspost the lockdown.

Oncarsside,Jangidsaysthattheplat-form is now seeingmore first-time carbuyers.“Pre-Covid-19around45%buy-ers on our platformwere first-time carbuyers, but now that has increased toabout55%.The lockdownhas triggeredtheneed forcarbuying further,”he says.Thereisalsoa13%dropinticketsize

of cars at the platform, Jangid adds,implying that people are turning ratio-nal buyers.The average ticket size pricepre-lockdown was `2.6 lakh, but theaverage ticket size price post-lockdownhas reduced to`2.25 lakh.Post-lockdown, themarket recovery

is themaximum inDelhiNCR,followedbyBengaluru.Cars24transacted3,000-plus cars in the recovery period ofMay,andmore than5,000alreadyin June.

Traffic & business recovery post lockdown (WoW)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Unlock- W1 Unlock -W2 Unlock -W3 Unlock -W4 Unlock -W5 Unlock -W6May 4-May 10 May 11-May 17 May 18-May 24 May 25-May 31 Jun 1-Jun 7 Jun 8-Jun 14

Overall business

Supply

Demand

Pre lockdown baseline(%)

46

126112

83

59

9476

60

4821

6635

75

44

103

73

3415

VIKRAMCHAUDHARY

WHILEMANYMAYhaveexperiencedtheInternet of Things (IoT) in everydaylives—automatic lighting, smart refrig-erators—aconnectedvehicle is themostnoticeable IoTdevice.Even though cer-tain carmakers have been launchingconnected cars, a connected truck isalready here, and in some aspects it’smoreadvancedthanaconnectedcar.“Trucksareforbusinessuse,forwhich

productivity is very important. It canonlybe ensured if a truck is connected,”says VinodAggarwal, theMD&CEO ofVECommercialVehicles (VECV).Today, all commercial vehicle (CV)

manufacturers offer some or the otherkindof connectivitysolutions.

TataMotorsThe companyhas a telematics solu-

tioncalled‘Fleetman’onitsvehiclessince2014. It has about 2 lakhM&HCVs ply-ing on Indian roadswith factory-fittedtelematicsunits,providingfeaturessuchas track& trace,driverbehaviourmoni-toring and geo-fencing.“With the tran-sition to BS6,our offerings aremovingfrom track & trace to diagnostics, effi-ciency and utilisation improvement,”saysaTataMotors spokesperson.Earlier, the CVs used external SIM

cards, including for Fleetman, but thenewgenerationofTataconnectedtrucksget theeUICC (embeddedSIM).Therearealotofsimilaritiesbetween

aconnectedcarandaconnectedtruck—theIoTplatformoragateway(telematicscontrol unit)—andTata has developed acommonsolutionarchitecture forboth.However,while the connected car tech-nologyin,say,TataNexonEViscalledtheZConnect,forCVs it isnotbrandedyet.A connected truck can reduce total

costofownershipforanoperator/driver.The spokesperson says that connectedtruck data,when combinedwith otherdata points, offers significant potentialin improving asset utilisation, trackingconsignments & deliveries,asset healthmonitoring,drivingbehaviour,real-timefuel-efficiency,fuel-levelmonitoringetc.

VECVAggarwal of VECV lists four types of

advantagesofaconnected truck.Track & trace: One can remotely

access the route the vehicle took, theplaces where it stopped, how long thehalt timewas,andsoon.Vehicle-centric services:One can

capture data fromvehicle electronics—thiscanincludefuel-efficiencydata,andalsodetect fuelpilferage.Driverperformance:Driving data

for each driver, driving-related data ondifferent terrains,different times of theyear,andsimilardatacanbecaptured.Uptime services: VECV recently

opened India’s first uptime centrewith24x7 service support and remote diag-nostics.Fortheoperator/driver,thiscen-tre offers predictivemaintenance dataand diagnostic-related advice.“We cangettoknowhowavehicle is likelytoper-form in the future,” says Aggarwal. Forthetechnician,thiscentreprovidesreal-time guidance on understanding tech-nologiesthatVECV’strucksareequippedwith.VECV’s connected trucks,which fall

undertheEicherLiveumbrella,arefittedwithaneSIMprovidedbyVodafone,butwithanumberportabilityfeature.If,say,the CV is being driven in an areawhereVodafone network is not available,datafrom another telecom provider can beaccessed; in VECV’s heavy duty trucks,theconnectivityprovider isAT&T.Technology services come at a cost,

andincaseofVECVvehiclestheuserwillbecharged`4,000-5,000peryear.Goingforward,VECV is expected to introduceconnectivity features as standard in

most of itsmodels, and is likely to offersubscription free forthe firstyear.

Ashok LeylandThe company recently launched its

range of modular trucks called AVTR,which hasmanyadvanced connectivityfeatures.VenkateshNatarajan,chiefdig-italofficer,AshokLeyland,says telemat-ics is not new to the auto industry.“In2005,wesetupatelematicsdivision,andour vehicles fitted with track & tracetechnologywereavailableondemand.”Earlier this decade, as engines got

more advanced,Ashok Leyland startedcapturing data fromvehicle usage pat-terns.This datawas then used tomoni-torvehicle health. Its CVs have nowgot-ten so advanced that,God forbid, if anaccidenthappens,datarelatedtovehiclespeed, location,which gear itwas beingdrivenin,etc,canbecaptured.“Today,allCVswemanufacturearesmartCVs,”addsNatarajan.“Every daywe capture 1 ter-abyteof trackingdata.”Ashok Leyland’s connected vehicle

technologyis called iAlert.Thebeneficiaries,headds,arefiveCs:Customers: Providing insights on

driving behaviour,how to increase fuelefficiency and productivity of a vehicle,and insights on fuel pilferage (its trucksare fittedwith fuel sensors),etc.Channelpartners:Dealerscantrack

vehicles as these are transported fromamanufacturing plant, so that they cantakebettercustomerdeliverydecisions.Company: BS6 CVs thatwere tested

generatedahumongousamountofdata,and that was captured by engineers tofurther improve upon these vehicles, sothe companybenefits;Ashok Leyland islaunchinganuptimesolutionscentre.Collaborators:Thesecouldbetrans-

porters, who can use this data; AshokLeylandcanalsomonetise thisdata.Community: The company can

share this ‘clean data’ (with appropriatemasking)withinstitutions,whocanthenuse it for,let’s say,researchortraining.

Cars24 to name its two-wheelervertical Cars24MotoAverage ticket size of usedcars reduces post-lockdown

Modern trucks are so advanced—these are smartphones, andmore, onwheels

Data is the newoil,andCVmakers are leveraging that

Howconnected trucks are taking shape●VEHICLETECHNOLOGY

New Delhi

COMPANIES 11FINANCIALEXPRESS

ITC’s agri value chain toseemore investments tobenefit from govt reforms

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANew Delhi, June 21

RELIANCECAPITAL(RCAP)willnotbeabletoserviceitsdebtinatimelymannerfollowingdown-gradingofitsbondprogrammebyCARERatings that triggeredan accelerated repaymentwhich otherwise was to takeplace in a phasedmannerovereightyears,thecompanysaid.RCap in a regulatory filing

lastnightwithregardtodisclo-sure on payment ofinterest/principal onnon-con-vertibledebentures(NCDs)said,itisunabletoproceedwithassetmonetisation, and thus therewillbeadelayinrepayment.In September 2019, CARE

Ratings had downgraded theAnilAmbani-controlledRCap’sentire outstanding debt pro-gramme to default “CARE D”

rating,which the companyhadobjected to, calling it “com-pletelybiased,unwarrantedandunjustifiedratingaction”.CARE had downgraded

RCap's long-term debt pro-gramme,market-linkeddeben-tures and subordinated debtduetodelayinpaymentofinter-est.

OnSeptember21,adayaftertheratingaction,RCaphadsaidthe rating agency’s actionwasunwarranted as there was nooverdueonprincipalorinterestpaymenttoanylender.Further on October 11,

2019,it had said that“this rat-ing downgrade has initiatedaccelerationofvariousfacilitiesandconsequentialdemandsforimmediate payment ofamounts that were otherwisedue and payable in a phasedmanner over the next eight

yearstillMarch2028,aspertheoriginaltermsofdebt”.“It is expected that thedebt

servicing of the company inrelation to the acceleratedamounts andotherwisewill bedelayed,”RelianceCapitalsaidinthefilingonSaturday.Further,thecompanyispro-

hibited todispose off,alienate,encumbereitherdirectlyorindi-rectlyorotherwisepartwiththepossession of any assets, pur-suant to November 20, 2019orderpassedbytheDelhiHighCourt,itsaid.The Delhi High Court in a

matter had passed an orderplacingrestrictionsonanysale,disposal or creation of anyencumbrance on anyassets ofRCap,which also included its4.28% shareholding inReliance Nippon Life AssetManagementLtd.

RCapsays itsdebt-servicing tobedelayeddue to ratingdowngradebyCARE

Reliance Capital chairmanAnilAmbani

In September 2019, CARERatings had downgraded

theAnil Ambani-controlled RCap’s entire

outstanding debtprogramme to default“CARE D” rating

Malls see 77%degrowth infirst half of June: Report

RatanTata calls for stoppingonlinehate,bullyingVETERAN INDUSTRIALISTRATAN Tata on Sunday calledfor stoppingonlinehatred andbullyingandinsteadsupportingeach other inwhat has been a“year full of challenges” foreveryone. In a post on socialmediaplatformInstagram,Tatasaid the online community isbeinghurtful toeachotherandbringingeachotherdown.

“This year has been full ofchallenges for everyone, onsome level or the other. I seeonline communitybeinghurt-ful to eachother,bringingeachother down, harshly andwithquick judgements,”the Chair-manEmeritusoftheTatagroupsaid.“Ibelievethisyearspeciallycallsforallofustobeunifiedandhelpful and is not the time to

pull each otherdown.” Urgingfor more sensitivity towardseach other, he reiterated theneedfor“moreofkindnessandmore of understanding andpatience than what one seestoday.”Tatasaidwhilehis“pres-enceonlineislimited,butItrulyhopeitwillevolveintoaplaceofempathyandsupportforevery-one,nomatterwhatyourcause,ratherthanhateandbullying.”

—PTI

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANewDelhi, June 21

MALLS WITNESSED 77%degrowth while high streetretailshowedadeclineof61%in business in the first half ofJune,as compared to the sameperiod last year, with con-sumer sentiment remaininglowevenafterlockdownrelax-ations,according toa report.

According to the surveyconducted by the RetailersAssociationofIndia (RAI)withparticipationofmorethan100big and small retailers, it wasfound that lockdown relax-

ationsdidnotbenefit retailersas there was no significantsurge in theirbusiness.

After lockdown guidelineswere relaxed in early June,most states permitted mallsand high street retailers toreopenafteragapofmorethan70days.“However,itwasfoundthatconsumersentimentcon-tinues to be at a low. This isconsistent with findings of arecentconsumersurveybyRAIwhich revealed that 4 out of 5Indian consumers wouldreduce shopping expenditurepost the lockdown,”the retail-ers'bodysaid.

FE BUREAUMumbai 21 June

INAPOST-COVIDworld, ITC isplanning to investmore in itsagri business division tostrengthene-Choupal—itsagrivaluechain, thankstotheagri-culturalreformsannouncedbythe states and central govern-ment.Whene-Choupalstartedout in 2000, it sought to reor-ganise the agri supply chainsintodemand-drivenonestocutcosts and redistribute the sav-ingsacrossthevaluechain.Nowe-Choupal is ready for

version 4.0 in a post-Covidworldwith uberisation of agriservices on its platform. SSivakumar,groupheadofITC’sagri business,said that the lat-est roundof reformsare trans-formative because many ofthesehavebeendonetogether.ITC is already planning to

invest in expanding its agriinfrastructuretoboostsourcingfrom farmers directly, as aclearerpathisvisibletoexpandthenetwork.Whilethegovern-ment has attempted to reformtheAgricultural ProduceMar-ketCommitteeActforlong,thepandemic has allowed thischangewithoutmuchpain.TheFarmers’ Produce Trade andCommerce Ordinance allowsfor the creation of new tradearea demarcation that would

coexist with APMC mandis,which are themainstayof theIndianagrisupplychains.Explains Sivakumar, “We

havebeendirectlybuyingfromthe farmers for several yearsnow,but theswordofEssentialCommodities Act was alwaysthere.With this risk gone, therequisite infra can be set up tosource directly.All theseyears,wehavebeenpayingthemandicess.”For transactions outsidethe APMCmandi, these taxesareno longerapplicable and socompanies like ITC canmakethe requisite investments inbuildinginfrastructureinmanymorestatesforothercrops.ITC’s e-Choupal, in its 20th

year,aimstobemorecollabora-tiveand integrated.It alsoaimsto leverage all the new digitaltechnologiestoprovideend-to-endandpersonalisedservicestofarmers.

S Sivakumar, group head,ITCAgri Business Division

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

New Delhi

INTERNATIONAL12 FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COMMONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

WITH YOU, RIGHT THROUGH

REUTERSOklahoma, June 21

US PRESIDENT DONALDTrump on Saturday toldthousands of cheering sup-porters he had asked US offi-cials to slowdown testing forthenovel coronavirus,callingit a “double-edged sword”that led to more cases beingdiscovered.Trump said the United

States had now tested 25mil-lion people, far more thanothercountries.“When you do testing to

that extent,you’re gonna findmorepeopleyou’regonnafindmorecases.SoIsaidtomypeo-ple slow the testing down,please,” Trump told a cam-paignrallyinTulsa,Oklahoma,wheremany supporterswerenotwearing facemasks.AWhiteHouse official said

Trump was joking about hiscall fora slowdownin testing.“Hewasobviouslykidding.

We are leading the world intestingandhaveconducted25million + in testing,” the offi-cial said.Trump said his actions in

blockingtravellersfromChinaand Europe had helped save“hundreds of thousands oflives.”But he said the“radical

fake news” media had notgiven him credit for doingwhat he called“a phenomenaljob” responding to the out-break.Infact,severalUSstatesare

reporting troubling spikes incoronavirus infection rates,mainly in the South andWest,asTrumpaddressedAmerica’slargest indoor gathering inmonths.Health experts say

expanded diagnostic testingaccounts for some,but not all,of the growth in cases. Theyalsocall itakeytool infightingthe spread of the disease,which had been detected in atleast 2.23 million peopleacross the United States as ofSaturday.Covid-19, the disease

caused by the novel coron-avirus, has killed more than119,000 Americans to date,according to Reuters’ runningtally. A mounting volume ofinfections is elevating hospi-talisations in someplaces.Inhisremarks,Trumpused

termssuchas“KungFlu”virus

and“Chinese virus” to refer toCovid-19.“Thatnamegetsfur-ther and further away fromChina, as opposed to calling ittheChinesevirus,”he said.Trump’sresponsetotheout-

breakhassappedhispopularity.The US president initially

dismissed the threat of thecoronavirus, and sparredwithstategovernorsastheytriedtoslow its spread. His approvalratingshavedroppedinrecentweeks, and Democratic presi-dential candidate Joe Bidennowhas a 13-point lead overTrump.Seventy-six percent of

Americans remain concernedabout the spread of Covid-19,according to the latestReuters/Ipsospoll.

Trump slams protests,defends pandemicresponse asTulsacrowd underwhelmsPresident Donald Trump,addressing a less-than-fullarenaforhisfirstpoliticalrallyinmonths,blastedanti-racismprotestsanddefendedhishan-dling of the coronavirus onSaturday in a bid to reinvigo-ratehis re-electioncampaign.Thepresident,whorevelsin

largecrowdsandhadpredictedthat his first rally in monthswould be epic, blamed themedia fordiscouraging atten-dees and cited bad behaviourbydemonstrators outside,butdid not specifically acknowl-edge that many seats in the19,000-seatBOKCenterarenawereempty.

Trump sought to use theevent to bring momentumback to his campaign aftercoming under fire for hisresponses to the coronavirusand to the death of GeorgeFloyd,aBlackmanwhodied inthe custody of Minneapolispolice.Thesmaller-than-expected

crowd robbed him,at least fornow,of the ability tohighlightenthusiasm for his candidacyas an advantage over hisexpected Democratic chal-lenger, formerVice PresidentJoe Biden,who has eschewedlargecampaignevents.Trump has brushed aside

criticism for his decision tohold his first rally sinceMarch 2 in Tulsa, the site ofthe country’s bloodiest out-breaks of racist violenceagainst Black Americanssome100years ago.The president, who has

encouraged a militaristicresponse to the nationwidedemonstrations while beingaccused of showing a lack ofempathyfortheplightofBlackAmericans,used his speech totake aim at some of the pro-testers.“The unhinged left-wing

mob is trying to vandalise ourhistory, desecrate ourmonu-ments - our beautiful monu-ments - tear down our statuesand punish, cancel and perse-cuteanyonewhodoesnotcon-form to their demands forabsolute and total control.We’renotconforming,”Trumptoldcheeringsupporters.

—REUTERS

●TACKLINGTHEVIRUS

TrumpurgesslowdowninCovid-19testing,calling ita‘double-edgesword’

TikTok usersandK-Popfans saythey sankTrump rallyPRESIDENT TRUMP’Scampaign promisedhuge crowds at his rallyin Tulsa, Oklahoma, onSaturday,but it failed todeliver. Hundreds ofteenage TikTok usersand K-pop fans saythey’re at least partiallyresponsible.Brad Parscale, the

chairmanofTrump’s re-election campaign,posted on Twitter onMonday that the cam-paign had fieldedmorethan a million ticketrequests,butreportersatthe event noted theattendance was lowerthanexpected.The cam-paign also cancelledplanned events outsidethe rally for an antici-pated overflow crowdthatdidnotmaterialise.Tim Murtaugh, a

spokesmanfortheTrumpcampaign,saidprotestersstopped supporters fromentering the rally,held attheBOKCenter,whichhasa 19,000-seat capacity.Reporters present saidtherewerefewprotests.

—NYT

AWhiteHouseofficial saidTrumpwas joking abouthis call for aslowdown in testing

ASSOCIATED PRESSMinneapolis, June 21

ONEMANISdeadand11peo-plesufferednon-life-threaten-ing wounds in a shooting inMinneapolis,police there saidearlyonSunday.Minneapolis police had

first said 10 people had beenshotwith‘variousseveritylev-elsofinjuries’,butrevisedtheirtotal in a tweet posted justafter 3 am.The name and ageofthedeceasedweren't imme-diately released, and itwasn'tclear whether anyone wastaken intocustody.An initial tweet fromMin-

neapolis police advised thepublic to avoid the area inUptownMinneapolis, a com-mercial district that includesseveralbarsandrestaurants.Minnesota began allowing

barsandrestaurantstoreopenwith limited service on June 1aftersomesixweeksofclosurebecause of the coronaviruspandemic. Photographspostedtosocialmediashowedwindows at the Landmark'sUptownTheatre and anotherstorefront shotout.Screamswere audible ona

livevideo posted to Facebookthat showed theaftermathat

the scene. Small crowds ofpeople gathered,with somecrouched over victims lyingon the pavement beforepolice officers on bicyclesshowedup to attend to them.Splattersofbloodwerevisibleonthepavementafterthevic-tims were taken to local hos-pitals.Thearea is about5kilome-

ters west of the Minneapoliscommercial area and neigh-

bourhood hit by rioting in thewakeofGeorgeFloyd'sMay25death after being arrested byMinneapolispolice.Floyd'sdeathhas sparkeda

move to overhaul the Min-neapolis Police Department,withamajorityofCityCouncilmemberspledgingsupportfordismantling a departmentthat many communityactivistshavecalledbrutalandracist.That's prompted push-

back from opponents whoquestion how citizenswill beprotected fromviolent crime.Even themost aggressive pro-ponents for change haveacknowledged it's manymonths away and they're notsurewhat itwill look like.Calls and emails to Min-

neapolis police seekingmoreinformationweren't immedi-ately returned.Further detailsweren'timmediatelyavailable.

Teen killedin SeattleprotestzoneshootingSEATTLEPOLICEonSat-urday said they wereinvestigating the fatalshooting of one personandwoundingofanotherin apart of the cityoccu-pied byactivists protest-ingagainstpolicebrutal-ity and racial inequalityacrossAmerica.The Seattle Police

Department said it wasinvestigating a shootingat 10thAvenue and EastPine inside the CapitalHill Organised Protest(CHOP) area,which hasbeen occupied byactivists without anyknown police presencesince June 8,when Seat-tlepoliceabandonedtheEast Precinct locatedthere.

—REUTERS

1man dead,11wounded inMinneapolis shooting

George Soros conspiracy theoriessurge as protests sweepUSASSOCIATED PRESSWashington, June 21

THEY SAYHE hires protestersand rents buses to transportthem.Some sayhe has peoplestashpilesofbrickstobehurledinto glass storefronts or atpolice.GeorgeSoros,thebillionaire

investor and philanthropistwho has long been a target ofconspiracy theories, is nowbeingfalselyaccusedoforches-trating and funding theprotests overpolice killings ofBlack people that have roiledtheUnitedStates.Amplifiedbyagrowingnumberofpeopleonthe far right, including someRepublican leaders, onlinepostsaboutSoroshaveskyrock-etedinrecentweeks.They have been accompa-

nied by online ads bought byconservativegroupsthatcallonauthorities to ‘investigateGeorge Soros for fundingdomestic terrorism and hisdecades-long corruption’.Sorous,89,hasdonatedbillionsofdollarsofhispersonalwealthto liberal and anti-authoritar-ian causes around the world,making him a favoured targetamongmanyontheright.TheHungarian-American,

whoisJewish,hasalsobeenthe

subject of anti-Semitic attacksand conspiracy theories fordecades.Suchhoaxes cannowtravel

farther and faster with socialmedia. Over just four days inlateMay,negativeTwitterpostsabout Soros spiked fromabout20,000 a day to more than500,000 aday,according to ananalysis by the Anti-Defama-tionLeague.The Institute for Strategic

Dialogue,aLondonthinktankfocused on extremism andpolarisation, found an evenmore pronounced jump onFacebook, where there were68,746mentions of Soros inMay. The previous record of38,326Sorosmentionswas inOctober 2018, when angryposts alleged he was helpingmigrant caravans headed totheUS.The new wave began as

nationwide demonstrationsemerged over George Floyd'sdeath at the hands of Min-neapolis police. Some insistSoros financed the protests,while others say he colludedwithpolicetofakeFloyd'sdeathlastmonth.Butallavailableevi-dencesuggests theprotestsarewhat they seem: gatherings ofthousands ofAmericans upsetaboutpolicebrutalityandracial

injustice.“Ithinkpartlyit'sanattempt

todistractfromtherealmattersat hand ? the pandemic, theprotestsortheBlackLivesMat-ter movement,” Laura Silber,chief communications officerfor Soros'philanthropic OpenSocietyFoundations,saidofthetheories.“It'sprettydemeaningto thepeopleout thereprotest-ingwhen someone says they'reallpaid.It's insulting.”Expertswho studyconspir-

acytheoriessaythenewclaimsaboutSorosareawaytodelegit-imize the protests and theactual reasons behind them.Some see anti-Semitism, or anew spin on the age-old hoaxthat a shadowy cabal of richmen ?whether it's the Illumi-nati,theRothschilds,theRock-efellers,Bill Gates or Soros ? ismanipulatingworldevents.The theories have had real-

world consequences. In 2018,amid news of caravans ofmigrants making their waytowardtheU.S.-Mexicoborder,onlinemisinformation aboutSoros was linked to violence.CesarSayoc,aFloridamanwhowasobsessedwithTrump,men-tionedSorosdozensoftimesonsocial media before mailingpipe bombs tonewsrooms,topDemocratsandSoroshimself.

Putin says hemay seek another termif constitutional changes passedVLADIMIR PUTIN IS consider-ing running for a new term asRussia’s president if votersapproveconstitutionalchangesthatwouldenablehimtodoso,Russiannews agencies quotedhimassayinginaninterviewonSunday. Russia will hold anationwidevote from June 25toJuly1onproposedchangesto

the constitution, including anamendment thatwould allowPutintoseektwomoresix-yearterms as president when hiscurrentmandateendsin2024.Opponents saythe reformsaredesignedtoallowPutintokeeppoweruntil 2036 and amounttoaconstitutionalcoup.

—REUTERS

NYC hired 3,000workers for contacttracing. It’s not goingwellSHARONOTTERMANNewYork, June 21

NEW YORK CITY’S ambi-tious contact-tracing pro-gramme,acrucial initiative inthe effort to curb the coron-avirus,hasgottenoff toawor-risome start just as the city’sreopeningenters anewphaseonMonday,withoutdoordin-ing, in-store shopping andofficework resuming.The city has hired 3,000

disease detectives and casemonitors,whoaresupposedtoidentifyanyonewhohascomeintocontactwiththehundredsof peoplewho are still testingpositiveforthevirusinthecityevery day.But the first statis-tics from the programme,which began on June 1, indi-

cate that tracers are oftenunable to locate infected peo-pleorgatherinformationfromthem.Only35%ofthe5,347city

residentswho tested positiveorwere presumed positive forthe coronavirus in the pro-gramme’sfirsttwoweeksgaveinformation about close con-tacts to tracers,the city said inreleasing the first statistics.Thenumbertickedupslightly,to42%,duringthethirdweek,Avery Cohen, a spokeswomantoMayorBill deBlasio,said onSunday.Contacttracingisoneofthe

few tools that public healthofficialshavetofightCovid-19in lieu of avaccine,alongwithwidespread testing and isola-tion of those exposed to the

coronavirus.The early resultsofNewYork’sprogrammeraisefreshconcernsaboutthediffi-cultiesinpreventingasurgeofnew cases as states across thecountryreopen.The city has successfully

done contact tracing before,withdiseases like tuberculosisandmeasles.Butaswithmuchinvolvingthecoronavirusout-break, officials have neverfaced the challenge at thisscale, with so many casesacross the fiveboroughs.The city’s programme has

so far been limited by a lowresponse rate, scant use oftechnology, privacy concernsand a far less sweepingman-date than that in some othercountries.

—NYT

New Delhi

Russia hosts India,China foreignministers tomorrow●DIPLOMACYWINDOW

SHUBHAJITROYNewDelhi, June 21

AS RUSSIAN FOREIGNminis-terSergeiLavrovhosts theRus-sia-India-China trilateral for-eignministers’meetingonJune23 and defence minister Raj-nath Singh heads to RussiaMonday to attend theVictoryDayparadeonJune24,Moscowis emerging a keyplayer amidthetensionbetweenNewDelhiandBeijing.Over the last few weeks,

MoscowhasbeenmoreengagedwithNewDelhi.Thisflowsfromtheunderstanding thatRussia

has leverage over Beijingbecause of recent proximity,whileNewDelhi has had ahis-toryofrobustbilateral tieswithMoscow. During the Doklamcrisis in 2017, Russian diplo-matsinBeijingwereamongthefewbriefedbytheChinesegov-ernment.In fact, the phone call

betweenIndian ambassadortoRussia,DBalaVenkateshVarmaand deputy foreign ministerIgorMorgulov took place justtwodays after the borderclashbetween Indian and Chinesetroops that claimed lives of 20Indian soldiers, including a

Colonel-rank officer in theIndianArmy.“The officials discussed

regional security, includingdevelopments on the Line ofActual Control on the borderbetweenIndiaandChinaintheHimalayas,”a brief statementby the Russian Foreign min-istrysaid.EarlyJune,beforetheJune 6 Lt Gen-level talksbetween India and China,For-eign SecretaryHarshVardhanShringla “updated” RussianAmbassadorNikolayKudashevon the“recent developments”onthesituationalongtheLAC.Thiswastheonlypubliclyavail-

ablemeetingbetween theFor-eign Secretary and a foreignAmbassador at the height oftheborderstand-off.TheMoscow-Beijing axis is

alsosignificantwhentheUShasbeenatloggerheadswithChinain recent months and Russiamuchmore calibrated,even inits response on the Covid out-break.Tuesday’sRICforeignminis-

tersmeeting,whichwasputoffinMarch,willbethefirstoppor-tunityforExternalAffairsmin-ister S Jaishankar andChineseState Councillor and ForeignMinsterWang Yi to engage inthattrilateralformat.Asked on the possibility of

discussingtheIndia-Chinaten-sion,Lavrovhad said lastweek:"The agenda does not involve

discussing issues that relate tobilateral relations of a countrywith another member of thisformat."Moscow,too,has responded

inaverycalibratedmannerlastweek. On June 17, RussianambassadorKudashevtweeted,“Wewelcomeallstepsaimedatde-escalationattheLAC,includ-ing the conversation betweenthe twoFMs,and remainopti-mistic.”“The existence of theRIC is

anundisputable reality,firmlyfixed on theworldmap.As forthecurrentstageofofthetrilat-eral cooperation, there are no

indications that it might befrozen,”hehadsaid.AccordingtoRussiannews

agency TASS, Russian Presi-dential Spokesman DmitryPeskov said that Kremlin isconcerned over a clashbetween the military on theborder between China andIndiabutbelievesthatthetwocountries could resolve thisconflictthemselves.

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Situationvery tough,talking toIndia andChina... bigproblem:TrumpSHUBHAJITROYNewDelhi, June 21

IN HIS FIRST commentssince the clash betweenIndian and Chinesetroops on the night ofJune15-16,USPresidentDonaldTrumpdescribedthe tension between thetwo countries as “verytough”, and said hisadministrationwastalk-ing to both to help themresolvematters.“We’re talking to

India. We’re talking toChina.They’ve got a bigproblemthere,theyhavecome to blows, andwe’llseewhat happens.We’lltry and help them out,”Trump told reporters atthe White House earlySunday India time, ontheway to his first post-Covid-19electionrallyinOklahoma.The Indian Express

has learnt that somephone calls are plannedsoonbetweentopTrumpadministration officialsandthe Indianside.Last month too,

Trump had offered to“mediate or arbitrate” inthe border disputebetween India andChina, saying he was“ready,willing and able”toease the tension.Indiahadvirtuallyrejectedtheoffer, saying it wasengaged with China toresolve theborderrow.Early lastweek,White

House Press SecretaryKayleigh McEnany saidthePresidentwasawareofthe situation and theUSwascloselymonitoringit.During a phone call onJune2withPrimeMinis-terNarendraModi,Trumphaddiscussedthematter,thespokespersonsaid.US Secretary of State

Michael R Pompeo alsocommented on China’sactions lastweek,saying,“ThePLA(People’sLibera-tionArmy) has escalatedborder tensions withIndia, the world’s mostpopulous democracy.It’smilitarising the SouthChina Sea and illegallyclaiming more territorythere,threateningvitalsealanes.”

DefenceministerRajnath Singh

NATION 13FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

New Delhi

BORN ON MAY 30, 1965, M Gopikrishnanis a renowned philanthropist, socialworker and entrepreneur.A qualified pro-fessional with over 20 years of rich experi-

ence in the pharmaceutical business, Gopikrish-nan is currently the Director of Shri BalajiMarketing, which is an Exporter & Distributor ofAyurvedic Natural Herbal & Pharmaceutical Medi-cines.The company has a unique product – RUB NRUN – which is a very effective Ayurvedic naturalherbal oil that brings instant relief from muscularpain.This medicine has carved a niche for itself inthe Pain Management category. RUB N RUN isquite popular in India and many European andMiddle East Countries.

He considers his ability to understand the prob-lems and needs of people as his biggest strength. Itis due to his unflinching passion to serve themasses that Gopikrishnan has won several awardsand accolades for his social and philanthropic ac-tivities. His expertise lies in providing high qualitycare and support to socially and economically dis-advantaged people or sections who experiencegrave difficulties in their lives. He has successfullyworked with individuals, families and groups,within a variety of settings. He possesses wide ex-perience coupled with a meticulous understand-ing of relevant legislation, procedures and tech-niques in his area of operation.

His easy-going temperament and the ability tostrike a chord with people make him able to getalong with people with ease. His mild nature cou-pled with his unflagging commitment to socialwelfare has further nurtured his passion to servethe masses in overcoming their day-to-day or-deals. Being in the pharmaceutical industry for along time has also contributed to him being capableof assisting, serving, counselling and teachingother people efficiently. He has the power to influ-ence and motivate people. Also, through his longand satisfying stint as a social worker, he has de-veloped practical and innovative problem-solvingskills to solve the problems of other people.

The highly qualified director possesses degreesof M. Phil, MBA and BSc and proficiency in fourlanguages, viz., English, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi,and has hands-on knowledge and experience inMarketing, Exports andAyurveda.Apart from this,he has several professional memberships of re-puted institutions across the country.He is a SenateMember in Bharathidasan University, Tiruchira-palli, Tamil Nadu. He is also a Member of RotaryClub, Pollachi, Coimbatore District in Tamil Nadu,and a Member of Southern Railway – DivisionalRailway Users Consultative Committee,Madurai, inTamil Nadu. He is also a Hospital Advisory Com-mittee Member, in both Govt. Medical College &Hospital at Theni, Tamil Nadu and at Medical De-partment at Dindigul,Tamil Nadu.

Social work is a demanding and varied profes-sion, which requires a professional to don manyhats on any given day – adviser, therapist, care-taker, administrator, clinician, among others. It mayseem that to adapt to these many roles, a socialworker must possess limitless knowledge,expertiseand capability.However,possessing empathy,activelistening, social perceptiveness, coordination, per-suasion, and cooperation are the must-have traitsin an individual if he is to be a good social worker.

It is a profession that often requires great com-passion in the heart to help out the needy and poorpeople. With 25 years of experience in social ac-tivities, Gopikrishnan uses many of these skills togreat effect to develop strong interpersonal bondswith individuals and groups of individuals to bringabout meaningful exchange of dialogues and un-derstand their problem from the grassroots. He is apatient and active listener, a trait which helps himforge healthy and productive relationships witheveryone around. He exudes great communicationskills while trying to understand the problems ofhis countrymen, solving them with ease and effi-ciency. His experience in the pharmaceutical in-dustry has bestowed him with the gift of patience,which helps in listening carefully to the problemsfaced by people in society. His empathetic naturemakes him identify with or vicariously experienceanother person’s situation effectively. It is both anintellectual and emotional process, making it eas-ier to involve and connect with the other person’sproblems. His ability to coordinate, persuade and

cooperate with individuals and multiple partiesmake him invaluable in the field of social service.

Gopikrishnan’s efforts have been widely recog-nised by many international and national forums,with many of them lauding his endeavoursthrough awards and accolades. His social contri-butions have been widely covered in many publi-cations and by media houses, highlighting thework that he has been doing with a noble mission.Definitely, his social activities and contributionstowards society make him highly eligible for an ho-nour from the Indian state.

He has won many international and nationalawards and honours for his contributions to society.In 2019, he won the Mahatma Gandhi Samman,for nation building from NRI Welfare Society (UKChapter) atThe House of Commons, London. Simi-larly, in 2019, he won the GlobalAchiever’sAwardfor Business Excellence from Ayurveda Division-India Russia Business Alliance during the India-Russia Business Dialogue in Moscow, Russia.

He received the Indian Achievers’ Award fromMinister Santosh Gangwar, MP (Rajya Sabha), forBusiness Excellence and inspiring social contribu-tions, given by the IndianAchievers’ Forum in NewDelhi. He has also won Nelson Mandela Interna-tional Peace Award, for fostering the ideals of Hu-manitarianism from the Open International Uni-versity in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The list of suchrecognitions is endless as he has been at the fore-front of philanthropic activities to improve the livesof innumerable citizens with his singular approachto social work.

Today, the world has been challenged by a mi-croscopic beast named coronavirus.This challengehas disrupted our lives unimaginably. Amidst allthe pandemonium and panic, our delivery of es-sentials continues unabated, thanks to the selflessand gritty efforts of COVID-19Warriors.Their pen-chant to serve us amidst the chaos is truly worth ap-preciating.They have kept themselves at the front-lines and served us our daily essentials while wecontinue to stay indoors.

With home delivery services being excludedfrom the lockdown, delivery staff have been at thefrontline to keep the city ticking. Hotels, retail andwholesale shops, fish and meat stores, medicalshops, vegetables and fruits outlets depend on de-

livery personnel to keep their businesses runningand ensure that customers’ demands are met.TheCOVID-19 warriors have made our lives easieramidst the lockdown and even during the Unlock 1phase.

Amidst this crisis and the resultant lockdown inIndia, people are finding it increasingly difficult tofind essential goods such as wheat, rice, pulses,salt, sugar, etc.The weaker sections of our societyare the most affected, as these people survive ondaily wages and earnings.With factories shut andproduction halted, their lives have been upendedbeyond measure.

Even in these harrowing times of COVID-19when the world is locked down, M Gopikrishnanhas not wavered for a second. He has continuedwith its philanthropic activities.Taking a leaf out ofCOVID-19 warriors’ book, he has launched sev-eral initiatives to reach out to the poor and needyof our society. It is this commitment of his towards

the people of this country that makes him standout in the crowd.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc inthe world today and not only the economy but thewhole society is affected by it today.The basic ne-cessities of people are not getting met, as the cur-rent crisis has overwhelmed the government ma-chinery. Food and drinking water are not reachingpeople in adequate amounts. Local citizens under-stand this problem and thus have come out of theirown accord to help the weaker sections of society.

Many stories are doing the rounds on the inter-net and newspapers regarding how people havebeen helping the authorities meet the needs ofthe masses. They’re establishing communitykitchens, langars in gurudwaras, distributingcooked food packets, dry rations, medicines, dailyessentials etc., to help the needy in whicheverways possible.

As soon as the pandemic started to take its tollon the common people and migrant workers,

M Gopikrishnan started his philanthropic drive tohelp the masses. On 26th April 2020,M Gopikrishnan reached out to the fishermenfamilies in the Aliyar Dam area of the Coimbatoredistrict, and Scheduled Tribes in Cinnarpathi andNavamalai. He provided all the necessary and es-sential food grains and items such as dry rations,rice, vegetables etc.Through his unwavering com-mitment, he has helped 150 families in the timeof the COVID-19 lockdown, ensuring that thesepeople can sustain themselves. A total of 7,500people have benefitted through his initiatives. M.Gopikrishnan has also extended help to sweep-ers and police officers with reusable rubber glovesand reusable masks, which are very importantprotective equipment in these times. His dedicationto serve the socially excluded and marginalisedpeople in society is truly worth appreciating at atime when the world itself has come to a halt andpeople don’t have the means and measures tomeet two ends meet.

A social worker par excellenceM Gopikrishnan relies on his extensive knowledge of social work principles, techniques and practices and theirapplication to community issues to make high-quality care and support available to socially and economically

weak people and has been reaching out to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic

M Gopikrishnan, philanthropist, socialworker and entrepreneur

ADVERTORIAL

The man with a golden heart: M. Gopikrishnan

Mrs. Dhanalakshmi

14FINANCIALEXPRESS

WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020

New Delhi