14 JANUARY 2023 BW BUSINESSWORLD

Presents

TiCnOeHlPeubmr4ata0inngURNeDsoEuRrc4e0s 3RD NOMINATE
EDITION OF NOW
JANUARY 2023
AWARDS

in Association with

JURY CHAIR

S.K. ROONGTA

Chairman & Independent Director,

Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) &

Former Chairman, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL)

DR. ANNURAG DR. VIPUL VIJAY PAVITRA ANURAG HARSHVENDRA VISHPALA SUKHJIT S
BATRA SINGH YALAMANCHILI SINGH PATNAIK SOIN REDDY PASRICHA
CHRO Head of HR Group CHRO, IndiGo
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Senior Vice President CEO Global Chief People Officer & Head of HR-Indian Subcontinent
PepsiCo India Nestle India (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd)
BW Business World and Head of HR Keka HR Head - Marketing, Tech Mahindra Philips

Founder Exchange4Media ADP – GSS International

RACHNA HARSH DIVYA VIKRAM YUVARAJ AMIT DEEPTI KAVITA
MUKHERJEE WARDHAN SRIVASTAVA BECTOR SRIVASTAVA SHARMA GUPTA DASAN
CHRO - India and South Asia CHRO - South Asia President & CHRO Vice President, Head People EVP & Head HR Head - People Practices
CEO Group CHRO
Schneider Electric GE Healthcare Piramal Enterprises & Culture, India Jubilant FoodWorks ABP News Network
BW Security World Make My Trip
Volvo Group

SUNITA REBECCA SUNITHA SUNANDAN RAJITA NOOR FATHIMA TALEES
CHERIAN LAL BHANJA CHAUDHURY SINGH WARSIA RIZVI
CHRO Chief People Officer - India Director Projects &
Chief Culture Officer & SVP - HR Client Partner Group Editorial Director
Ather Energy Kyndryl Communities
Wipro Limited Pedersen & Partners BW Businessworld
BW Business World

PRESENTING PARTNER SUPPORTING PARTNER HRMS PARTNER REWARD PARTNER FAN PARTNER DIGITAL MEDIA PARTNER COFFEE PARTNER

FOR NOMINATION INQUIRIES : FOR SPEAKING OPPORTUNITY : FOR SPONSORSHIP :
Ashish Kumar | [email protected] | +91 97179 22747 Mahek Surti | [email protected] | +91 98923 05192 Somyajit Sengupta | [email protected] | +91 98182 47444
Sneha Sinha | [email protected] | +91 95820 99345
Reeti Gupta | [email protected] | +91 98996 10630 Sajjad Mohammad | [email protected] | +91 99118 55935
CS Rajaraman | [email protected] | +91 93422 62859

COLUMN MEDIA& ENTERTAINMENT

FINDINGTHE Kailashnath
INNOARBMNOARLMAL
Adhikari, MD,

Governance Now

THE year 2022 proved to
be a rollercoaster for the
Rs 1.6 trillion Indian
media and entertain-
ment industry. Television
and digital occupy the top two
benches of the sector and witness an
intense infighting between them-
selves.

The year opened with the scare of
a third wave of Covid-19 hitting the
nation, albeit it was later experi-
enced that the wave was bigger in
terms of number of cases reported
per day but thankfully was less
severe in terms of its overall health
impact. All thanks to the mammoth
vaccination drive undertaken by our
nation and government.

52 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

Theatres and cinema $10-billion Indian TV which suggests that view- also have a say?
halls finally had a sign of broadcast Industry. ership on TV amongst AB
relief with the majority of audience (educated, well Handshakes Galore in
restrictions being lifted ‘Dark Households’ read, high income) has
but this happiness was It is no hidden fact that 30 grown by 94 million and News Broadcast
curtailed by the lacklustre per cent of the Indian amongst A audience The year also witnessed
performance of major households are “dark (crème de la crème) by 20 some major handshakes
Bollywood films. Only five households”, or without million. It is estimated in the news broadcast sec-
films could cross the Rs access to television. On that till 2026 cord cutting tor with one of India’s big-
100 crore-mark in gross the other hand, the reach will hardly be a reality in gest business conglomer-
box office collection with of the connected TV has India. (CII KPMG report). ates steadily taking over a
only two coming out as expanded to 22 million Let’s take music genres on national TV and digital
real commercial block- households (10 per cent of TV, for example. news network. Come
busters. It’s upon 2023 total TV households) and 2023 and we may see the
now to show us the way is expected to further Data suggest that in the culmination of the merger
for the future of cinema grow to 40 million in last one year a total of 616 of India’s two biggest
halls. 2025. Nine out of 10 TVs million individuals have media companies.
sold in India are Smart seen music on TV out of
TV Remained Strong TVs and free dish DTH which 494 million have The year 2022 also saw
Television, being the most has grown to approxi- particularly seen Hindi the resumption of TV rat-
dependable medium, mately 42 million house- music. This suggests that ings for news channels
remained strong despite holds. Which way the 30 “Picture abhi baki hai, despite the fact that major
several headwinds. The per cent “dark house- mere dost.” The recent networks are now com-
year opened on a slow holds” will move in the amendments made to plaining about the 4
note due to the scare of a future is an interesting NTO 2.0 have been wel- weeks rolling average
third Covid wave but comed by pay TV broad- data. The debate over
picked up quickly defying using the landing page as
expectations. Come June
and July 2022, and again OnlyfivefilmscouldcrosstheRs100crore-markingrossbox
there was some softness in officecollection....It’supon2023nowtoshowusthewayfor
television advertising due
to the global war situation thefutureofcinemahalls
and underlying recession.
This was instantly made question. All of the above casters. Thus, to write off a marketing tool gathered
up by the festive months makes the “idiot box” still the most dependable and steam and has now
of August, September and the most relevant medium affordable entertainment become a rather ethical
October. of entertainment in India. medium of 1.4 billion peo- issue. This year also saw
ple is pretty naïve. the IPL media rights
What came as a surprise Consumption on TV being divided for the first
were the year closing has remained strong Digital’s Great Run time and the year ends
months of November and despite the pandemic Digital — the poster boy with the debate over air-
December. It is usually pushing up digital video of the sector — continues ing content of national
anticipated that business consumption. Cable and its bullish run and is importance, the details of
will be tepid in the months satellite TV homes are expected to overtake its which are now being
following the festive sea- surely seeing a negative nearest competitors soon sought after by the minis-
son but this time around churn but Free Dish in terms of advertising try.
the fall was humongous. Homes are going up. volumes but what remains
Advertising volumes on most interesting to see is The Indian media and
television were down Critics of TV that whether this expo- entertainment sector has
between 30-40 per cent There are critics of TV nential growth will come always been very colorful
putting a huge question who harp on cord cutting from just Google and and welcoming and for a
mark on the future of the and declining viewership. Meta or will the other person like me who has
To them, I must mention OTT digital platforms literally grown with it, it’s
an interesting finding nothing else but home.

53 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

COLUMN MEDIA& ENTERTAINMENT

Markand
Adhikari, CMD,
SABGROUP

BIGSCREEN
SUCCUMBSTO
SMALLSCREEN

BOLLYWOOD’S last hope of 2022 was a or a maximum of 20-25 they used to look down
Jayeshbhai Jordaar starrer, but it was as if it per cent of their budget upon it in the past.
jumped from a aircraft from a height of and the rest is “OTT
35,000 feet. If the chief star of that film had malik”. In shor t, for The OTT Windfall
posted his vacation photos on Instagram, Bollywood makers, film In the last one or two
that would have garnered more likes than the number releases have become just months, there have been
of audiences that went to theatres to watch that film. a formality, since 75 per a few films which, if they
Only three films, namely Bhool Bhulaiya, Drishyam 2 cent of the cost is borne had been released in the-
(a remake of a Malayalam hit), and The Kashmir Files by OTTs irrespective of atres, would not have
(many have suspicions about its success but the figures the film’s performance in grossed double digits;
speak for themselves) were proven hits. There was also theatres. Thus, the big these films were released
a Rs 400-crore film that was a “designer” hit – half of its screen has succumbed to directly on OTT and
budget was spent on proving it was a hit. the small screen and has earned eight to ten times
Yet, Bollywood makers are not too worried. They only come to totally rely on it. their budgets. As per the
have to recover their print and advertising (P&A) costs This is ironic, because market buzz, an OTT

54 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

Photographs by Unsplash

platform has bought two channels. They must
projects of a B+ action realise that our popula-
hero at three times their tion is not in a few mil-
value even before their lions; there are 140 crore
theatre release. As per the people here. They have,
industry talk, one film unlike earlier times,
released during the alternative choices in
Diwali season claimed its terms of powerful con-
budget to be Rs 70 crore, tent on the same OTT
but in reality it was Rs platforms.
270 crore since Rs 200
crore had been paid to the Currently, the media
lead star for an action has become lenient and
game show on OTT. charitable towards
When that project did Bollywood when it comes
not materialise, the plat- to reviews. That is a good
form was compelled to sign but what after the
produce the film to adjust first weekend? Monday
the amount paid. speaks for itself.

Rigging the Numbers Boycotts are Bad
Instances like these have Above all, the new trend
become a new trend in of announcing boycotts of
the industry. When a film this or that film or star is
is under production, its proving to be the last nail
budget is claimed to be in the coffin. Calls for
Rs 150 crore, on the day boycott are totally
of the release this figure undemocratic. Everybody
becomes Rs 75 crore and has a right to have opin-
subsequently Rs 5 crore is ions, even strong opin-
shaved off from it every ions, but no one can stop
day to match it with col- others from going to the-
lection figures. This is the
trick employed to prove Currently,themediahasbecomelenientandcharitable
that the film is a hit, towardsBollywoodwhenitcomestoreviews.Thatisagood
because the makers are signbutwhatafterthefirstweekend?Mondayspeaksforitself
confident that their main
revenue will come from film budgets and the midnight shows of atres. If one disagrees
OTTs. There is a saying in deals were done in Avatar and many South with some viewpoint, it is
Gujarati, “Kona baapni advance. But there are no Indian films running to best to leave it to our
Diwali?” (Whose father’s free lunches, not every packed houses. People go robust judiciary.
Diwali is it? That is, day. One day, ‘real’ chan- to the theatre for films
whose money is it any- nel bosses woke up and whose production reflects To sum up, our
way?) put a mutual stop on such sincerity and where con- Bollywood is full of talent
abrupt buying. OT Ts tent is supreme. and creative people, now it
Playing with the figures should be prepared for must raise the bar and
is not a new game. Some that fate too. Over-promotion deliver robust, high-qual-
years ago, the same trick Our Bollywood is over- ity content. Otherwise,
was in vogue when the Threat to Theatres promoted. Leading play- with only English and
satellite rights of films It’s not that audiences do ers are interested only in South Indian films doing
were sold to traditional not want to go to thea- generating millions of real business, the days are
linear TV channels. At tres. If that were the case, likes on social media and not far when so many of
that time too, the cost of we would have not seen filthy paparazzi YouTube multiplex screens will turn
acquisition of satellite into community halls.
rights came close to the

55 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

SPOTLIGHT SHIKHAR DHAWAN

By Resham Suhail
and Arjun Yadavhe Indian gaming industry has capped yet

another remarkable year in which it saw its
value soar to $2.6 billion. It is expected to
carry forward this momentum and touch the
$4 billion mark by 2027. The boom has coin-

Tcided with the rise of sportstech as a domain
where technology is getting aggressively in-
tegrated into sports.
The domain received a fresh boost during the annual Abu
Dhabi Finance Week where on day one Indian cricketer
Shikhar Dhawan announced the launch of a global invest-
ment fund worth $75 million, a first such move by an Asian
sportsperson. Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) marks a new
innings for the swashbuckling left-handed opening bats-
man and occasional captain of the Indian national cricket
teams. Dhawan also leads Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier
League and Delhi in first-class cricket.

Talking about his avatar as an investor, Dhawan says he
finds a lot of similarities between his two roles. “I believe in en-
ergy. My effort would always have been to share a lot of positive
energy with others while maintaining my individuality. The
collaboration and partnership with the right set of people to
make the right move are critical,” he says.

Aware that as a sportsman his career would have a limited
span, he says it was very important for him to foray into and
set up a parallel professional stream. “I am thankful to a very
amazing team. To make it happen, my team invested a whole
year for in-depth research and development,” he adds.

Swashbuckling
Indian cricketer
Shikhar Dhawan

NEWbeginslifeasan

investor with his global
investment fund that
aims to give startups
a solid start as well as
nurture the nascent

INNINGSsportstechdomain
56 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

“With this recently launched sportstech fund,
Da One Global Ventures, we aim to cover a
wide spectrum of investments in startups
ranging from early stage to Series A level”

Photographs by Suresh Gola

57 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

SPOTLIGHT SHIKHAR DHAWAN

RAPID FIRE

Who is your Who is your What is your
role model? favourite new year’s
I don’t follow cricketer? resolution?
one. Brian Lara, AB de Villiers To stay happy
Yuvraj Singh
and my father

DOGV: Plan and Potential
According to Dhawan, DOGV will go beyond traditional
investing models and will provide domain knowledge and
unprecedented access to sporting ecosystems across the globe.
“We are making a humble beginning but aim to scale this to
greater heights and aspire to set new benchmarks for leading
in venture capital, sports and technology,” Dhawan asserts.

Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) is in active discussions
with various relevant stakeholders across the globe and fur-
ther developments will be known in due course.

Who Can Get the Capital?
“Our larger aim is to be a prominent player in the business of
sports globally,” Dhawan asserts. Da One Global Ventures will
invest in early stage with the right product-market fit identi-
fied to Series A. It will also invest a part of the fund into a few
sporting teams from various leagues across the world.

Sharing the specifics of the fund, he says, “With our sport-
stech fund under DaOne Global Ventures (DOGV), we will

58 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

Which car Which is your Which role do you What is your go- One line of motivation
are you riding favourite enjoy the most (as to online game? that keeps you going all
right now? vacation a father, husband, I love playing the time…
BMW M8 destination? cricketer, investor, Seep (also My mother used to say
Maldives entrepreneur)? known as Sweep) to keep me motivated in
I enjoy all of them testing times, “Koi baat
nahin”

focus on both early-stage as Advice to Entrepreneurs
well as on growth-stage
startups. We will collabo- Dhawan is excited and looking
rate with angel investors; forward to back and nurture
we plan to invest more in young startups that are look-
the early stages.” ing at large-scale impact-
making and value creation.
What Lies Ahead? For him, the ideal way to
Of late, investors have build a brand is to have a
shown a preference for passionate founder, and
early-stage funding with a good team with the zeal
a view to long-term in- to work towards the goal of
vestment with lesser risks growth and development.
and high returns. “With this Dhawan says that even
recently launched sportstech
fund, Da One Global Ventures, we though cricket is a team game, it
aim to cover a wide spectrum of invest- also requires decision-making at an
ments in startups ranging from early stage individual level. Also, just as there is ap-
to Series A level.” preciation for winning, there is also criticism
for losing. But the key is to learn and keep doing.
Coinciding with its investment philosophy, it will also set “Also, the positive aspect of failure is to get the best out of it.
up Sportstech Accelerator and eSports Studio. Dhawan and You will be able to help others in the same phase so that they
his team are clear that they will not be passive investors and won’t repeat similar mistakes,” he says.
will focus on persistent value creation. One of its objectives is Asked if Indian celebrities and especially sportspersons are
to extend its wide global network and expertise in the world under-leveraged in terms of business, he says, “Yes, absolutely.
of sports with the companies they are backing. If you look at the USA, there are so many examples of celebri-
ties who have built billion-dollar businesses. When it comes
The deployment of funds will be global, following the lim- to India, I think we need to expand our horizons, take smart
ited partner (LP) community standard. The fund will also risks and leverage our capabilities to our true potential.
have prominent sporting personalities from across the globe “We also need to engage and partner with top industry
representing multiple sports as ambassadors. Through this professionals from the world of business and startups more
unique network, Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) will pro- frequently to be able to leverage our potential. We at Da One
vide access to an ecosystem globally which will accelerate and Global Ventures are also enabling sportspersons from across
mobilise new propositions in the sportstech sector. the globe who want to start investing in startups by providing
them with the right platform.
Dhawan says they will look to start deploying funds by Q1 “A lot of emerging avenues such as tech-enabled fan engage-
of the upcoming financial year, and the deals will have ticket ment, new age analytics, Web 3.0 etc have gained significant
sizes in the range of $0.5 to $5 million. Also, 80 per cent of scale. All these factors motivated me to get into the world of
the deals they will participate in will be syndicated with other venture capital and sports as a sector was a natural extension
funds and they will become lead investors in about 40 per cent for me.”
of the deals, he shares.

59 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

COLUMN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

NO FUNDING WINTER
FOR EARLY-STAGE
STARTUPS

By Dhianu Das

In the HBO medieval fantasy tel-
evision series Game of Thrones,
a famous saying is,“Winter is
coming”, which means some-
thing terrible will happen. The phrase
‘funding winter’ refers to when there
is a decrease in capital inflow from
the top. Hence there is a lower prob-
ability of startups achieving high
valuations in the short to middle
term. Such a situation is bad news for
startups which focus on acquiring
more customers without a clear path
to profitability, as investors tend to
shun such startups because they are
wary of investing in them. Hence, a
funding winter does not mean that
funding for startups has dried up but
that it is more difficult for startups to
raise funds. During a funding winter,
VCs may have dry powder with them,
but they are more selective before
loosening their purse strings.

There has been a lot of talk about
a funding winter in startup circles.
2020 and 2021 were great years for
startups as far as raising funds were
concerned. Despite the devastating
second wave of Covid, the startups
did not face any challenges while rais-
ing funds.

It is essential to understand that
public and private financial markets
go through cycles. Many factors like
the Russia-Ukraine war, rising infla-
tion and interest rates in the US and
severe supply chain disruptions have

60 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

resulted in fears of a recession. Naturally, it has had its Early-stage Startups in Focus
impact on startup funding too. There is a reason for this. Due to the macroeconomic head-
winds, investors have turned more watchful. Hence, they
Steep Fall in Funding are making small-ticket long-distance duration bets in
In 2022, so far, Indian startups have raised a total of $24.7 early-stage startups. Right now, the valuations have sta-
billion, a 35 per cent decline in the same period last year, bilised, and the expectations are more reasonable. There
according to Tracxn Geo Quarterly Report: India Tech is less hype around closing deals quickly. Investors are
2022. However, there is some good news. In November, looking to build a relationship with the founders and are
Indian startups raised $1.4 billion, an 18.1 per cent month- willing to play out the long game.
on-month increase.
In fact, an economic downturn can be a blessing in dis-
But not every startup has borne the brunt. A decrease in guise for venture capital funds. During such times, there
funding has majorly impacted the late-stage or growth- is far less competition in deals, thus making it easier for
stage startups trying to cut down expenses (in some cases startups to land high-quality deals at lower valuations.
leading to mass layoffs) and become profitable. The situ- Also, since the pace of capital deployment is slow, the VCs
ation is, however, different for early-stage startups. The are putting extra efforts into due diligence and not rushing
early-stage startup funding has not been impacted at all. into writingcheques like before.
Tiger Global Management, the investment firm focusing
on technology, has been betting on early-stage Indian In fact, many of the VCs that have now become house-
startups. However, it has been slow to deploy funds in other hold names, earned their reputation and fortunes by in-
markets due to macroeconomic factors. vesting during the 2008 recession. Since startup valu-
ations were lower, it made perfect investment sense to
In the first 11 months of 2022, Tiger Global has partici- invest in early stage startups. Some of these startups in-
pated in Series A rounds totalling $458 million. This is an clude Uber, Lyft, Slack and many more which have become
increase of 80 per cent compared to the same period last multi-billion dollar companies that trade publicly over the
year. Globally, however, they have participated in Series next decade or so.
A funding totalling $2.99 billion, down 11 per cent from
$3.33 billion for the same period last year. Investments made during such times have the potential
to survive a downturn and move into the next phase of
During the first half of the calendar year, the amount of growth. Instead of chasing the hottest deals, VCs may now
funding received by Indian startups has been substantially sit back and relax and watch their babies grow into highly
higher, but it has been concentrated in early and seed-stage profitable ventures. History does show that good opportu-
startups. According to Entrckr, around 596 early-stage nities come in the bad times, not in the good ones.
startups raised funds in H1 2022 compared to 226 deals
in the late/growth stage. The author is Co-founder, Agility Ventures

61 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

IN CONVERSATION

You are a postgraduate in journalism and a PhD in Hindi. “I DID NOT
How did you enter politics? COME INTO
I did not come into politics with any agenda. When I was POLITICS
a student I started working with Rashtriya Swayamse- WITH ANY
vak Sangh (RSS), and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad AGENDA”
(ABVP). During this time period, the Emergency was de-
clared in the country, and I along with others was vocal in our In an interaction with BW
protests about the same. Due to this, we were imprisoned for Businessworld, MAHENDRA
six months as well. After our release, the Emergency ended, NATH PANDEY, Union Minister of
following which I was elected student president at Banaras Heavy Industries speaks about his
University. political journey, and work done
by the government in the electric
This was a time when people like Vijay Goel, and Rajat
Sharma had won elections along with me and my contem- vehicle segment
poraries in Delhi. Our seniors Arun Jaitley, Mahesh Sharma, By Urvi Shrivastav
Ram Bahadur Rai served as a guiding light for us. We were
deeply influenced by them as students. (FAME) India scheme. We an amount of Rs 10,000
have already seen round 1, crore. We have received very
Nanaji Deshmukh introduced a new concept of ‘Gram and round 2 is in the line. positive feedback about the
Utthan Prakalp’ (raising a village), due to which we worked How far has this scheme same due to our work, for
extensively in villages. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came progressed? example, in two-wheelers
into being around 1980, and we joined it as political workers. FAME 1 was implemented we provided a subsidy of
It was a natural transition for us, and we did not come with by the Prime Minister in 10,000 kWh, which was
any agenda into politics. 2015-16 which success- necessary for investors as
fully caught the public eye. well. We increased it to Rs
As we got fully engaged in working for the people, I was We are witnessing a shift 15,000 per kWh, which
elected in Uttar Pradesh as a minister across positions in towards electric vehicles pushed down the cost sub-
BJP, under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I (EVs), be it two-wheelers stantially. Consequently, a
subsequently assumed the position of union minister. or three-wheelers or com- bike that was selling at the
mercial vehicles. As soon as rate of about 800 pieces per
You have recently inaugurated a school of wielding. the government gauged the month increased to about
What is missing in our tertiary education that we need success of FAME 1, we mul- 7,000 pieces per month.
such a niche institution? tiplied the budget by 10 and We have a similar scheme
Universities have their own significance which is more aca- implemented FAME 2, with for three-wheelers and four-
demic. In addition, we have IITs that provide technical train-
ing and education to students. Our Prime Minister is of the
view that we should have a skilled youth workforce, especially
in India. It is the government’s vision that Indian youth shine
bright globally across sectors.

Today we are promoting manufacturing in India and want
it to be a global hub of the same. Wielding is a natural process
of the same, and wielders are needed on a large scale today.
With Trichi as our base, we have taken baby steps to start our
school, where we will train 5,000 wielders every year to begin
with. We have another school in Varanasi where we will be
training 1,000 wielders. This will help them get skilled and
become employable. It is a small step by our ministry in this
direction.

The Government of India (GoI) has brought about the
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles

62 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

wheelers at Rs 10,000 per
kWh. However, we have
placed a cap on that, which
is at 20 per cent subsidy of
market cost.

We also believe that curb-
ing pollution is the need of
the hour. The heavy pollu-
tion caused by diesel buses
in big cities has to be regu-
lated. We provide 40 per
cent subsidy to them, for
example, if a bus is worth
Rs 2 crore, Rs 80 lakh is
provided by the Ministry of
Heavy Industries.

All local transport bodies
are in line with the FAME
2 scheme and extremely
supportive. With the gov-
ernment’s support, we have
managed to run 2,000
buses across cities, with
3,000 more in the pipeline.
We plan to bring out 7,000
buses across big cities under
the FAME India scheme.

A major component of
FAME is battery manu-
facturing. We have many
issues around it, what is
the government doing to
address these issues?
Today about 80 per cent of
Li-ion batteries are manu-
factured by China, about 5
per cent by Malaysia, and
the remaining by the USA,
etc. Recognising this fact,
the Prime Minister is taking
steps to ensure that 50 GW
of batteries are manufac-
tured in India. For this we
have a Production Linked
Incentive (PLI) scheme of
Rs 18,100 crore. We have
surpassed our goals, and

Photographs by Suresh Gola 63 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

IN CONVERSATION

As soon as the government gauged the
success of FAME 1,we multiplied the budget

by 10 and implemented FAME 2,with an
amount of Rs 10,000 crore

the investors claimed over policies towards EVs, promoting domestic manu- from the industry.
1 lakh GW out of which 108 be it in terms of battery facturing of products, and
GW was found to be perfect. swapping or domestic have selected 19 companies What isnextinlineforthe
manufacturing of EVs? as Original Equipment ministry?
Given our targets, we Battery swapping is be- Manufacturers (OEMs) to FAME 2, auto, and bat-
picked three companies, all ing looked into by the con- promote domestic manu- teries will be our prime
formalities were completed cerned department which facturing of EV products. focus henceforth, and we
and work is in progress. has been announced in the For component items, we will proceed with this.
When asked about their fu- budget as well. My own selected 75 companies. I Additionally, via the capital
ture goals in India we came department is working am happy to announce that goods medium for research-
to learn that 75 GW is their on fast charging, and we PLI of Rs 25,900 crore is be- oriented goods, we have
own target. This is seminal will soon come out with ing provided for their sup- created many research ex-
for a country in India that fast charging in a com- port. They have themselves cellence centres across the
is not able to produce 1 GW mercial way. However, provided an investment of country, like IIT Kharag-
today. We will progress from PLI of Rs 25,800 crore has Rs 75,000 crore. This way, pur, IISc Bangalore, etc.
the position of an importer been provided as a sub- the GoI is working actively They are working together
to an exporter of Lithium sidy in which we have two in two departments of PLI. to come up with globally
batteries. segments. We have also received an in- competitive innovative
vestment of Rs 75 lakh crore ideas.
What about government We are also looking at

64 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023



COVER STORY CORPORATE

CONCERNED,
NOT ALARMED

India Inc. faces headwinds in the New Year.

But with strong fundamentals, industry

leaders hope to tide over short-term crises

by focusing on long-term goals

Team BW

L ATESTREPORTSEMANATINGfrom remain a point of concern), India’s preparedness for any new
China paint a rather curious picture. variant of Coronavirus is robust.
Beijing streets are bustling with people,
relieved after a draconian zero-Covid sys- 2023: A Year of Uncertainties
tem. While the BF.7 Covid strain plays For a world already struggling to cope with the Ukraine war,
havoc in the country, with its hospitals a global slowdown, particularly in Europe and China, rising
swamped with the sick and elderly, an inflation, and multiple other challenges like climate change,
opaque Chinese system does little to the latest China crisis has only added to the anxiety. Indeed,
make things easy for the world outside. the only certainty that economies now must live with is “future
Unofficial estimates say the number of those dying there uncertainties”.
may be in thousands, but officially, China plays super cen-
sor. On Christmas Day, it said, there were no Corona fatali- Consider this: Global projections, including those from
ties. IMF, a year ago had said that India would grow at a rate close
The world is not taking chances, though. India, in addi- to 10 per cent in the calendar year 2023. And, then Russia
tion to others like the US, Italy, Japan, France, has made invaded Ukraine. The recent Supplementary Demand for
Covid screening mandatory for arrivals from China. With Grants, to the tune of Rs 3.25 lakh crore, was largely on ac-
90 per cent double vaccination (booster does coverage does count of fertiliser and food subsidies, necessitated by the
Ukraine War.

66 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

67 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

COVER STORY CORPORATE

Photograph by PIB

NIRMALA

SITHARAMAN, Union

Finance Minister ing easing of inflationary pressures which

“…What we have brought in now is as a

result of what could not have been antici- “…Jobs are being should further spur consumption.”
pated in January when we were preparing created, In September According to Mohit Malhotra, CEO,
the Budget,” said Union Finance Minister
Dabur India: “The urban demand growth

Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha 2022, the net payroll will continue to be driven by emerging chan-
on December 21. addition, looking at the nels like modern trade and ecommerce. The
EPFO records, is 46 per consumer shift in favour of online purchases
Global uncertainties and geo-political that was formed during the pandemic is to-
upheavals ravage economies, lives and

livelihoods. They call for urgent action. In cent higher…” day a permanent fixture with ecommerce
emerging as the most-preferred contactless
the fastest-growing large economy, too,

they create huge challenges for India Inc. method of making purchases, particularly

among the millennials and centennials.”

India Inc., Concerned, Not Alarmed India Doing Fine
In a conversation with BW Businessworld, Ficci President If the last two quarters of the 2022 financial year are a harbin-
Subhrakant Panda says: “There will be some turbulence in

the short term… (but) we should keep our focus razor-sharp ger of trends in 2023, it will be a “year of recovery, growth and

on our medium-term and long-term potential.” recalibration”. The World Bank expects India’s real GDP to

Say’s R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India: “No grow at 6.9 per cent in the 2022-2023 financial year, revising

country can be insulated against serious international head- upwards its previous projection of 6.5 per cent. The Interna-

winds. A strong domestic market, and the ability to provide tional Monetary Fund (IMF) too sees India doing relatively

its needs in a competitive manner does help to lessen the im- well amidst a despondent global scenario, in which growth

pact of these headwinds. Good policies also help to mitigate is expected to slow down to 2.7 per cent. On a recent visit to

adverse effects. Fortunately, India is better placed than most India, IMF’s Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said,

others in these respects.” “India is doing relatively well and it has had a few quarters of

Adds Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Indus- 4-6 per cent growth. That helps in terms of closing the gap

tries: “Despite global headwinds, I believe that India will from the sharp contraction that happened in 2020.”

continue to be among the fastest-growing economies in 2023. The World Bank, in an early December report, “Navigating

We have a strong domestic market. Consumer demand has theStorm”saidthatthe“Indianeconomyisrelativelywellpo-

been robust and exceeded pre-Covid levels. We are also see- sitioned to weather global spillovers compared to most other

68 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

VARUN BERRY,

MD, Britannia Industries

emerging markets”.

Vice Chancellor of the Gokhale Insti- “Despite global
tute of Politics and Economics and for- headwinds, I believe
mer Aditya Birla Group chief economist

Ajit Ranade told BW Businessworld: that India will continue
“The global downturn, including Chi- to be among the
na slowdown, will undoubtedly affect fastest-growing
India, but we can still achieve 6 to 6.5

per cent growth with a proper focus on economies in 2023...”
domestic consumption and investment,

as well as export competitiveness. In-

dia Inc. would do well to focus on the medium to long-term
structural features of India’s economic strength, and plan
their investments and strategy accordingly. India has a large

domestic market, where consumer spending, new investment

from the public and private sector can sustain growth.”
Adds Berry: “Reduction in input costs, higher capacity

utilisation and deleveraged balance sheets augur well for a

better corporate sector performance in 2023.” Photograph by Bivash Banerjee
The corporate sector deleveraging its balance sheet is re-

flected in the declining core debt of private non-financial

sector which has decreased to 87.7 per cent of the GDP in June

2022, from around 97.4 per cent in March, 2016.

“The government’s increased spending in infrastructure

coupled with strong economic fundamentals and prudent

macro management will facilitate higher GDP growth, while

mitigating global economic uncertainties,” adds Berry.

Aarin Capital Chairman T.V. Mohandas Pai tells BW Busi-

nessworld: “India is in a good shape as our banking system is

strong and clean, investment in
R.C. BHARGAVA, Chairman, infrahasmadeusmoreproduc-

Maruti Suzuki India tive. Yes, exports will be hurt but

we need to handle this.”

“A strong domestic market, Points of Concern
and the ability to provide
Declining exports have been a

its needs in a competitive point of concern. In Q2 of 2022-
manner does help to 23, exports were the highest for
the quarter since 2015-16. Af-
lessen the impact of these ter a steady year or so, exports

headwinds...” faced a slowdown with many
countries witnessing a reces-

sion. There was a 17 per cent dip in goods exports in October.

November saw a minor uptick at 0.6 per cent.

The state of the Indian economy, however, is much better

compared to the previous two years. Quarter after quarter,

the government’s earnings have increased consistently. Tax

collections are up. Earnings from the railways, trade and com-

merce are in the positive. So are the figures from the direct tax

collections. India’s foreign exchange reserves crossed $550

billion recently. While domestic consumption has seen recov-

Photograph by Ritesh Sharma

69 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

COVER STORY CORPORATE

argue, like Panda does, that the “timing of post-Covid stimulus
packages helped”.

In her Rajya Sabha intervention, Sitharaman said: “The
targeted way in which the Prime Minister decided to give relief
during Covid and address the concerns has kept us on a safe
course helping revival and not getting into recession.”

Jobs, Manufacturing and China

In the Rajya Sabha debate on the Supplementary Demand for

Grants, the Finance Minister also answered questions on job

creation. She said: “…Jobs are being created, In September

2022, the net payroll addition, looking at the EPFO records,

is 46 per cent higher…”

Other government spokespersons have also argued, for

instance, that in April, May, June, July and August, “on an

average 15-16 lakh jobs have been created in the country”.

Raghuram Rajan and others, on the other hand, have ar-

gued that “while industry and services employment grew

98 lakh in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 period, agriculture em-

ployment increased 3.4 crore in the same

SUBHRAKANT PANDA, period”.

President, Ficci Many, then, agree that there is a case

for India making up for the missed op-

portunities of the past and making it big

“There will be some in manufacturing, especially when China
turbulence in the short faces particularly challenging conditions
domestically, and global corporations look

eryin2022,andtaxrevenuesarebuoyant, term… (but) we should for alternatives.

public debt to GDP ratio is too high. But keep our focus razor- Says Ficci’s Panda: “China Plus One is
private capital expenditure has not really sharp on our medium- back on the table. India should be the pre-
taken off. ferred choice for China Plus One. Invest-

Inherlastbudget,UnionFinanceMin- term and long-term ments coming out of China are also going

ister Nirmala Sitharaman had raised capi- potential” to Vietnam, Mexico. India can be an attrac-
tal expenditure by 35 per cent to Rs 7.5 lakh tive option if it further pushes ease of doing

crore. In a recent interaction with industry business.” Among measures suggested are

representatives, the finance minister hinted that the trend maybeaconcessionaltaxregimeforglobalcorporationslook-

wouldcontinueinherfifthbudget,expectedtobeannounced ing to move their supply chains. Including sectors with high

in a month’s time. potential in exports under PLI is among such measures.

Making India a manufacturing hub has been a priority for

Taming Inflation the Narendra Modi government. Manufacturing’s share of

It’s been argued that inflation has been managed well here in GDP is around 16 per cent. According to Morgan Stanley, it

India while globally, it’s one of the major problems. JP Mor- could rise up to 21 per cent by 2031. Manufacturing’s share in

gan’s Chief India Economist and part-time member in the GDP is over 30 per cent in many East Asian countries.

Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Sajjid Chi- Displacing China, a $17-trillion economy, as the workshop

noy, recently said: “…Just think of what happened in the last of the world is easier said than done, but India can surely

12 months: we have had the strongest inflation in 50 years become a viable alternate centre.

around the world, we have had the most aggressive and syn- In a recent paper, Arvind Subramanian and Josh Felman

chronisedmonetarytighteningcyclein40years,wehavehad argue that “in its quest to become ‘the next big China’, In-

thestrongestUSdollarformuchoftheyear…wehavehadthe dia faces three major obstacles: investment risks are too big,

weakestChinagrowthin46years…”Eventwoofthesefactors policy inwardness is too strong, and macroeconomic imbal-

could push the global economy into recession, added Chinoy. ancesaretoolarge.Theseobstaclesneedtoberemovedbefore

To control inflation in India, RBI, too, hiked rates. Many global firms will invest. They can bring their operations back

70 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

T.V. MOHANDAS PAI, ecosystem in India, subject to (periodic)
Chairman, Aarin Capital security review.”

“India is in a good Clearly, manufacturing will remain a fo-
shape as our banking cus for India Inc. not just for creating jobs
system is strong and but also to help India realise its $5-trillion
economy vision and developed nation sta-
tus by 2047.

clean, investment Learnings from the Pandemic

in infra has made us However, even best-laid plans go haywire
more productive. Yes, in the face of uncertainties. The Covid pan-
exports will be hurt..” demic, followed by the Ukraine war, and
the global downturn, has proved that 2023

will be a year full of uncertainties.

Surely, the lessons learnt by India Inc. during the Covid

pandemic will help it navigate through crises of future. Says

Pai: “We need to build institutions which will build capacity

across all sectors to tackle matters like this (uncertainties).

We need more research, stockpiling of inputs, better trained

toASEAN,whichservedastheworld’sfactoryfloorbeforethe people, localised capacity, etc. All critical areas need more

role shifted to China….” investment. Our disaster recovery institutions have worked

China’s decline, however, provides a huge opportunity. In- to tackle natural disasters. They need to be enhanced.”

dia’s border tensions with China only add to the uncertainty. Says Bhargava: “MSIL was able to better navigate the Covid

So, India must explore every trick in the bag to checkmate its crisis because we had built financial reserves for bad times

northern neighbour. and had concentrated on building a strong and competitive

So, when there was a media speculation that “the Indian company. Our employees and business associates all work

governmentmayreviewitsstanceonChineseinvestmentsto as a team and that gives us great strength to withstand crisis

help global firms looking to relo- situations.”

cate to India,” Niti Aayog member Adds Berry: “The pandemic

Arvind Virmani tweeted: “It’s in prompted brands and businesses

India’s interest to allow Chinese to reprioritise and advance sus-

companies in the supply chains of tainability efforts while building

Samsung, Apple and other anchor value for all stakeholders. We, at

companies to shift production Britannia, were able to success-

from China to India to accelerate fully weather the impact of the

development of the electronics pandemic because we stayed true

to our strategy. We continued our

AJIT RANADE, V-C, focus on our five strategic planks –
Gokhale Institute of distribution & marketing, innova-
Politics and Economics tion, cost focus, growing adjacent
businesses, and embedding sus-

tainability.”

“The global downturn, Clearly then, 2023 may be a

including China bumpy ride, but the long road to
slowdown, will 2047 is well-defined. With strong
fundamentals, India hopes to

undoubtedly affect retain its fastest-growing large

India, but we can still economy tag in 2023 even as In-
achieve 6 to 6.5 per dia Inc. plans long term, while
making plans for short-term exi-

cent growth...” gencies.

Photograph by Umesh Goswami

71 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

COLUMN HEALTHCARE

IS INDIA READY FOR
A COVID SPIKE?

Levels of preparedness in India are much
higher this time as Covid infrastructure in
terms of equipment, processes, and human
resources is in a state of operational readiness

By Dheeraj Jain able to end-users) criteria” as a benchmark for developing
and identifying the most appropriate diagnostic tests for
The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated a robust pub- resource-constrained settings.
lic health strategy and the strengthening of weak
links in the health system. Accordingly, a series of Vaccination Readiness
policy measures were introduced during a time- India’s situation is favourable in terms of vaccinations. The
frame of two years, based on the caseload and the health country has a good vaccination rate. Approximately 2.2
system’s capacity at different timepoints. The “Covid-19 billion doses of the Covid vaccination have been given so far
acceptable behaviour, test, track, treat, and vaccinate” five- across the country. Therefore, by contracting the infection or
point plan has been adopted. receiving the vaccine, the majority of Indians have developed
a protective immunity to the virus. The loosening of Covid
In light of increased Covid caution in the wake of several regulations in China has some experts worried that emerging
countries witnessing a rebound in infections, let’s examine virus strains may spread to other parts of the world. Even if
India’s preparedness for the Covid spike; if it has a compre- there doesn’t seem to be a threat to India right now, getting
hensive plan and is prepared in terms of health infrastruc- the vaccinations and keeping an eye out for any significant
ture, diagnostics, and vaccination. increases in instances could help lessen the effects of any
future hazards.
Diagnostics Readiness
Early diagnosis of Covid-19 allows for timely medical Infrastructure Readiness
intervention, enhancing disease prognosis and infection Levels of preparedness in India are much higher this time
control. With the increase in rapid molecular testing, as Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes,
several laboratories and diagnostics companies in India and human resources is in a state of operational readiness.
have innovated and developed different diagnostic tools. Following a high-level stock-taking meeting, the current
CT scans and reverse transcription real-time PCR are regime has instructed the states to inspect Covid-specific
currently used for diagnosis. The two possible molecular facilities to verify the operational readiness of hospital
approaches towards detection of the pathogen follow either infrastructure, including oxygen cylinders, oxygen pro-
nucleotide or antigen routes. Retrospectively previous ducing plants, ventilators, and employees. It is also urging
viral exposure or vaccination status can also be detected by people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour at all times.
identifying the antibodies generated against viral antigens. The surveillance procedures have been improved, particu-
larly at international airports, and states are being advised
Although there are different types of diagnostic kits in the to conduct genomic testing when instances are confirmed.
market, their affordability and accessibility remain a major
challenge. A few reasons for this include – non-availability Notably, hospitals all over India have conducted Covid-19
of required reagents, a lack of technical expertise to perform drills in view of the growing caution surrounding the infec-
the test and operate the equipment, and limited acces- tion globally. The purpose of the mock drills was to evaluate
sibility to research facilities to acquire access to the virus the availability of beds, staff, referral resources, testing ca-
samples. pacity, medical logistics, telemedicine services, and medical
oxygen.
There are also significant constraints in meeting the
medical requirements in terms of speed, volume, and cost The author is Founder &MD, Redcliffe labs
of the diagnostic tools. One way to address this issue would
be to enforce the “ASSURED (affordable, sensitive, specific,
user-friendly, rapid, robust, equipment-free, and deliver-

72 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 14 January 2023

#BWFOD2023

4th Edition

SUMMIT & AWARDS 2022