Feb 26, 2016 - Vedanta, Hindalco to continue with cost rationalization

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Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk For all those wondering what all this blabbering about machines taking over humans is about, here's a rather long, but valuable primer on why Artificial Intelligence is something that deserves more of our attention. 3 fundamental points: Human progress has been exponential (think of the time durations between stone age to industrialization to the internet). It's about to get crazy exponential as we get closer to mimicking the human brain (some estimates say by 2030). With hardware (the limitation when it comes to the human brain) becoming cheaper faster and faster, along with self-learning software that becomes exponentially smarter, we are moving from ANI (Artificial Narrow Intelligence, eg: Siri, Google Search, the landing system on your flight) to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence - when computers have all-round intelligence like humans). This jump from ANI to AGI is tricky, and requires a significant increase in computational power. But again, exponential growth means AGI could creep in on us sooner than we think - Comment Vedanta, Hindalco to continue with cost rationalization India’s biggest producer of aluminium Vedanta has already gone in for job cuts Advt: Vivafit is seeking to appoint franchisee partners in all major cities & towns in South India. Vivafit is the European leader in women-only fitness with a mission to help women lead healthier lifestyles through exercise & nutrition.   Bad loans: Banks will need deep, preventive surgery? Banks have been witnessing the rise of bad loans to the above-danger mark for a while- and they are likely to stay at that level for some more time. Bank of India’s accounting change saves over Rs 1,000 crore A small change in the accounting practice — which is within the rules — helped Bank of India save over Rs 1,100 crore in the third quarter. Indian Railways: faith-based budgeting The highlight of railways budget is the scaling up of capital expenditure to Rs1.2 trillion for the next fiscal year, which is commendable, but believing the big numbers requires a leap of faith RBI gives banks more time to exit SDR assets Banks can upgrade an asset to the standard asset category if they divest at least 26% of the stake to the new promoter within 18 months Times Internet partners with Investopedia to deliver trusted financial content to India These initiatives will reinforce Investopedias status as the worlds largest financial educational website in India leveraging Times Internets 150 million monthly unique users. Sebi relaxes mutual fund norms on unclaimed investor money The money from unclaimed redemptions and dividends was allowed to be parked only in call money market or money market instruments Sensex set for worst year-to-budget slide since 2007 Railway budget failed to cheer market participants, whose sights are trained on Monday’s Union budget Inditrade to scale up operations in agri financing Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the new promoter of the company, said there is huge opportunity in lending against agri commodities. Reliance Capital to transfer commercial finance business into separate firm Reliance Capital today said it will transfer its commercial finance division into a separate company to unlock the value through stake sale. RBI warns banks: ensure promoters don’t buy back seized assets Concerns arise of promoters using shell entities to buy back assets seized by banks at much lower prices Resonance Eduventures delays IPO; PE investors eye stake sale Private equity funds look to sell stakes in Kota-based coaching and tutoring firm in Rs500 crore secondary transaction Engie to sell stake in Meenakshi plant Engie will sell its majority stake in the 1,000 MW Meenakshi Energy thermal plant in Andhra Pradesh to India Power Corp. Ltd RBI to buy Rs12,000 crore of government bonds Amid rising bond yields, RBI to infuse liquidity via OMO liquidity infusion Anti-corruption law for private banks too: SC In a significant judgment expanding the scope of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Supreme Court on Tuesday brought all private bank employees within the ambit of the anti-graft law, which had so far been applied only against corrupt government officials. Protesting Snapdeal employees approach labour department Snapdeal employees intensified their protest by moving a plea to the labour department to intervene in the matter and help them get their jobs back. Etail giants like Snapdeal, Amazon lose market share in 2015; small etailers emerge as real winners While Flipkart maintained its No. 1 slot and increased its share, the combined market share of Indias top three ecomm cos fell. Kishore Biyani, Hong Kong-based billionaire shelve JV plans Plans shelved as there was little interest by Chinese wholesalers/exporters to participate in the trading model Amazon India on hiring spree as it looks to consolidate its gains Amazon has hired former Citibanker Sriraman Jagannathan to lead its payments business, according to two people privy to the development. LeEco to foray into TV segment, to commence sales through brick-and-mortar stores Print Live Your local store can give you a multi-million valuation, learn from Magicpin There is an app called Magicpin that is luring students, in Delhi University, to take endless number of selfies. The precise number is 4,00,000 selfies, wh Google India launches AMP for faster web access on mobiles Technology giant Google has rolled out a new open source initiative, Accelerated Mobile Pages that will allow web pages on mobile phones. 4G handset queries up 200% in India in 2015: Google's report According to a report with the coming of 4G services, there was a massive 200% spike in searches for devices compliant with the high speed data network in 2015 Better opportunities ahead in India: Huawei The company, however, has not decided if it will also start manufacturing of mobile handsets in the country even as it aims to have a huge growth in s.. Vodafone, Airtel, China Mobile, SoftBank partner for 5G In India, Bharti Airtel has launched 4G service on both the technologies. Reliance Jio Infocomm too has spectrum to deliver 4G services using both these technology but it is yet to launch its services. Aircel and State-run BSNL have launched 4G service on small scale using TD LTE technology. Mobile growth shaping India's internet usage: Google India report With over 200 Million mobile internet users in the country, mobile captured 60% share of all shopping related queries and over 50% share of all travel.. Government distances Make in India from Freedom 251 The government has clarified that its Make in India initiative does not back or support Freedom 251, the world's cheapest smartphone launched on Febru.. Norwegian telecom firm Telenor to launch 4G in India within 6 months Norwegian telecom firm Telenor on Tuesday said it will launch 4G services in 5-8 cities in India within 6 months and is in talks with other operators to increase its spectrum holding through trading. Government stand on internet calls after Trai submission Trai this month issued a regulation which bars telecom operators from levying discriminatory tariffs based on content and service accessed using Internet. Trai wants Aadhar cards must for new mobile connections Trai has put forth recommendations to the Department of Telecom (DoT) to allow electronic KYC of Aadhaar as one of the valid documents for getting a new mobile connection. Saurabh Srivastava quits as chief marketing officer at Jabong in less than five months of joining the online fashion portal Saurabh Srivastava has quit as chief marketing officer at Jabong in less than five months of joining the online fashion portal. After cofounder Mukesh Bansal, Myntra's finance head Prabhakar Sunder quits Sunder's exit comes soon after Mukesh Bansal, head of commerce at Flipkart and cofounder of Myntra, announced his plans to leave the firm. Flipkart to spend more on technology, to increase tech team headcount by 50% As Flipkart goes into overdrive to improve online experience, it is also looking to leverage newer technologies such as big data and machine learning. Will Digital India be a $1-trillion business opportunity? The Modi government, Prasad said, is building a robust broadband infrastructure for digital delivery of services, including e-education and ehealth. Indian IT services sector results confirm signs of slowdown While the expectations were running low, the actual performance turned out to be even weaker India's ibibo group raises $250 million in travel startup funding Each week we create a roundup of travel startups that have received or announced funding that week. The total amount raised this week was $280.6 million. H How India's 163-year-old railways is using technology to modernise itself? ​Here's a glaince into all technology-related announcements made in the Budget 2016. Microsoft acquires software tools company Xamarin to expand mobile presence Microsoft has acquired Xamarin which works towards creating software tools for making mobile apps for Android, iOS and Windows platforms. TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives India Business Brief | India Retail News | India Food Brief | India Telecom Brief | India Finance Brief | India Software Brief | India Digital Brief | India Ecommerce Brief | India Franchise Brief | India HR Brief | India Logistics Brief | India Construction Brief About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India

Feb 25, 2016 - Government may auction stake in ITC and L&T to achieve divestment target

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Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk In this age of unicorns and hyper-growth startups, here's to the small business that does not want to grow 100% every quarter. You are profitable and not burning somebody else's money. You know each customer by name and understand exactly how they want your service. You work hard towards revenues and profits, not downloads or GMV. You are the neighbourhood restaurant, you are the tax consultant who knows his customer's spending habits, you are the parts manufacturer who always gets the job done for his clients. So what if you have no ambitions to open 100 outlets. You don't make the headlines, but you are the backbone of India. Here's to the SME, that deserves to be the true beneficiary of the Startup India programme! - Comment Government may auction stake in ITC and L&T to achieve divestment target A successful execution of the ITC-L&T stake sale plan could help the government hit the Rs 50,000-crore mark for disinvestment receipts. Advt: Vivafit is the European leader in women-only fitness Mission is to help women lead healthier lifestyles through exercise & nutrition. As part of it's expansion plan, Vivafit is seeking to appoint franchisee partners in all major cities & town Bs in South India.   Infosys raises CEO Vishal Sikka’s annual salary to $11 million, hands out more stock options This marks the strongest show of faith till date by Infy's board in the former SAP execs ability to restore its former standing as India's IT bellwether. House panel raps RBI, banks for mishandling sticky loans situation A parliamentary panel has pulled up the RBI and banks for the bad loans situation, expressing unhappiness over the way the two had managed the problem. Public sector banks CEOs take NPAs head on Its a principle Indias new bank chiefs have adopted with enthusiasm, though it must be said this should also be ascribed Rajans zealous pursuit. Be wary of shortcuts that pretend to assess a stock’s value Extending working capital cycle can help show high Ebitda margins but may deteriorate cash flows RBI warns banks on asset sales Concerns arise of promoters using shell entities to buy back assets seized by banks at much lower prices SME sector seeks open rules, institutional finance More institutional funding at cheaper rates for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), easing up of inspector raj and interest rebate are some of the key areas, which experts believe, should be considered in the Union Budget to propel the growth of the MSME sector. NoBroker raises $10 million in Series B funding NoBroker will use the funding to strengthen its technology team, enhance product offering and grow its customer base NTPC’s Rs5,000 crore offering subscribed 1.53 times Of the total 82.45 million shares on offer, retail investors placed bids for 36.36 million shares All’s not well with the health of start-up founders They avoid using words like depression, anxiety and insomnia, but admit to enduring unspeakable stress RBI rejects bids at treasury bill auctions over high yield levels The Reserve Bank of India rejects all bids at an auction of 91-day treasury bills and 182-day bills, where Rs14,000 crore worth of securities were up for sale Suresh Prabhu’s task today: Balancing fiscal math, expectations Strapped by seventh pay panel payouts, declining freight volumes, railways still expected to step up investment Will Ashok Leyland’s valuation improve with budget sops? The Street seems to be betting that the government may announce incentives for scrapping old trucks. Will this trigger a rally in the Ashok Leyland stock? How India can fend off China's rahu effect on economy and ketu effect on FII flow Earnings revival is likely to be slow and gradual but should happen by adequate liquidity, lower interest rates, good monsoon and increased government spending. Ibibo to raise $250 million from Naspers Naspers Group CEO Bob van Dijk says Indian online travel segment offers group growth prospects 200 Snapdeal employees head for exit after notice from company Staffers said that even though Snapdeal had been asking people to leave since April 2015, this was the first time it was doing so before performance appraisals. Investors head to enterprise-focused ecommerce firms for profit Investors tiring of consumer-focused online marketplaces bleeding on discounts have zeroed in on enterprise-focused online marketplaces. D-Mart to raise Rs 600 cr via NCDs The 16-year-old supermarket chain is also looking to borrow funds to fuel its growth Loyalty Program Changes Positive for Starbucks Morningstar.comAlthough it is already the leading specialty coffee retailer in the United States, we believe Starbucks still has meaningful domestic growth potential via new store formats (smaller-format express stores, drive-thrus, beverage trucks, and square ...sp; Prices of polished diamond rise 4-5% amid shortage “It is good for the manufacturing industry," but rising prices can affect the retail demand for diamond in India,” MD of Asian Star Company said. Working on mega sale of airwaves by July: Telecom Secretary JS Deepak Telecom Secretary JS Deepak said the govt is working towards a mega sale of 2G, 3G and 4G airwaves by June-July and would a take a call next mnth on the starting prices of 7 bands. Government to Take Stand on VoIP Calls After Trai Recommendations This statement comes a month after Trai this month issued a regulation which bars telecom operators from levying discriminatory tariffs based on content and service accessed using internet. TRAI moots Aadhaar-linked eKYC for new mobile connections For buying a new SIM, one usually needs a valid Photo ID card. Usually the telecom companies accept PAN card, Driving License, Election card, Passport or Aadhar Apple poised for big India push, but which phones will it flog? The iPhone 6, which is the reason for Apple's last phenomenal earnings result in both the US and China, is simply too expensive for Indians Cheap phone a disaster for 'Make in India' Since he announced the launch of a mobile phone for Rs 251, Goel has faced widespread scepticism, along with visits by police and income tax officials. Villages in India ban mobile phones for girls and young women Phones 'distract' females from housework and their families, say patriarchal village councils. Hotels like Oberoi Group, Hyatt and others ramp up direct sales to compete with online travel companies Hotel chains are aggressively trying to wrestle bookings back from online travel agencies with smoother systems and more compelling promotional offers. NoBroker.com raises $10 million in Series B funding led by Beenext and Digital Garage along with Beenos, Qualgro and Mamoru Taniya of Asuka Holdings Bangalore-based NoBroker Technologies Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs a peer-to-peer property listings business for renting homes under NoBroker.com, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Loanzen, a peer to peer business loan marketplace startup, raises an undisclosed seed funding from Angels through TracxnSyndicate Peer to peer business loan marketplace startup, Loanzen, has raised an undisclosed seed funding from Angels through TracxnSyndicate. Personalised fashion e-commerce aggregator Voonik Technologies acqui-hires Bangalore-based personal shopping site Getsty Personalised fashion e-commerce aggregator Voonik Technologies Pvt Ltd has acqui-hired Bangalore-based personal shopping site, Getsty. Jabong parts ways with creative AoR Bang In The Middle; Sources claim that a souring relationship between both parties lead to the separation Sources claim that a souring relationship between both parties lead to the separation Snapdeal employees fear job cuts as the company plans to outsource customer support duties Online marketplace Snapdeal faced protests from employees at its contact centre on Wednesday. The employees alleged that the company was looking to outsource customer support duties and cut jobs. Cadillac is reinventing this important piece of automotive technology CadillacThe Cadillac CT6's new fully-digital rear view mirror.At this year's CES show, several automakers set their sights on one essential in-car item: the Infosys extends CEO Vishal Sikka’s tenure and raises annual salary to $11 million with more stock options This marks the strongest show of faith till date by Infy's board in the former SAP execs ability to restore its former standing as India's IT bellwether. Online food ordering firm Foodpanda changes India strategy in a revival bid Foodpanda looks to outsource delivery as well as start its own kitchen as it seeks to bolster its local business Worldwide wearables market jumps 171.6% in 2015, says IDC Research firm IDC has said that the worldwide wearable device market more than doubled to 27.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2015. Facebook launches new feature to help the 'like' button in expressing emotions The Like button is about to get some company. Facebook will start making ``haha,'' ``angry'' and three other responses available in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Google and TechHub announce global partnership to boost 'Startup India' initiative How smartphone ads can put users' personal data at risk? Personal information of smartphone users is at risk due to in-app advertising that can leak potentially sensitive user information between ad networks and mobile apps. BlackBerry moves deeper into services : Buys UK-based cyber security consultancy BlackBerry said on Wednesday that it has acquired U.K.-based cyber security consultancy Encription, moving the company deeper into the services business as it continues to morph into a more software-focused entity amid its ongoing turnaround. Local IT hardware sector can generate 4 lakh jobs, says study The total estimated jobs include 1 lakh direct employment and 3 lakh jobs in component manufacturing over the next five years, the study noted. Simplilearn ties up with Tableau to train 200,000 data scientists by 2020 The partnership is aimed at getting people trained data science and analytics through instructor-led training, e-learning, and industry projects. TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives India Business Brief | India Retail News | India Food Brief | India Telecom Brief | India Finance Brief | India Software Brief | India Digital Brief | India Ecommerce Brief | India Franchise Brief | India HR Brief | India Logistics Brief | India Construction Brief About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India