Indian Economy : News,Discussions & Updates


You seem to be right. The $8.46 seems to includes battery supplied by a Chinese company and the labor used for assembly.

No wonder we saw several workers jumping to their deaths from high story apartment complexes. Later Foxconn installed nets to catch them before they hit the ground.

Also, the plight of these workers is so terrible that in one room, people share the same bed in different shifts to save some money and send back home to mainland. It is seriously stressful and bad.

 
You seem to be right. The $8.46 seems to includes battery supplied by a Chinese company and the labor used for assembly.

No wonder we saw several workers jumping to their deaths from high story apartment complexes. Later Foxconn installed nets to catch them before they hit the ground.

Also, the plight of these workers is so terrible that in one room, people share the same bed in different shifts to save some money and send back home to mainland. It is seriously stressful and bad.

Agreed. But any job is better than no job and that's what keep driving these people. But Foxconn can't get away with such system in India.
 
Agreed. But any job is better than no job and that's what keep driving these people. But Foxconn can't get away with such system in India.

Actually, such pricing may be a one-off for Apple. Most CMs costing work the way I presented above. I worked at one of the big CMs for over 10 years, and I know it pretty well.
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: Bali78
T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
By far the best analysis I have read in a long time. The late S S Tarapore used to say this in a different way but with the same conclusion: the rupee is overvalued because we calculate things wrongly. Behind India's chronic trade deficit, a few ignorant accounting formulas ( )


T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
Tarapore on the exchange rate in 2014. Nothing has changed since then. Amazing neglect by the Modi govt. ⁦@sonaliranade⁩ Enough of this exchange rate machismo ( )



T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
Tarapore’s 2014 prophecy: “the exchange rate should be over 70...an overvalued exchange rate will extract a heavy price in terms of an unsustainable CAD, and ruin micro, small and medium industry...we will beggar ourselves and enrich our trading partners. ( )
 
  • Informative
Reactions: BlackOpsIndia
T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
By far the best analysis I have read in a long time. The late S S Tarapore used to say this in a different way but with the same conclusion: the rupee is overvalued because we calculate things wrongly. Behind India's chronic trade deficit, a few ignorant accounting formulas ( )


T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
Tarapore on the exchange rate in 2014. Nothing has changed since then. Amazing neglect by the Modi govt. ⁦@sonaliranade⁩ Enough of this exchange rate machismo ( )



T C A S Raghavan (@tca_tca) Tweeted:
Tarapore’s 2014 prophecy: “the exchange rate should be over 70...an overvalued exchange rate will extract a heavy price in terms of an unsustainable CAD, and ruin micro, small and medium industry...we will beggar ourselves and enrich our trading partners. ( )
Rupee is over valued and should be in the range of 80-90. However, it's such a touchy subject that most Indians would want rupee to appreciate without understanding the implication of it.
 
Ikea will make its Mumbai debut ‘very shortly’, says India chief as the first store in Hyderabad turns a year old

By Sriram IyerAug 8, 2019, 17:44 IST
1565629452682.png

Ikea has spent five years in India, and its flagship store in Hyderabad is turning a year old. Now, it’s time for its debut in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai, according to Peter Betzel, the Swedish furniture retailer’s Managing Director in India. An announcement is expected within the next few days, according to another source.

“While the Navi Mumbai store is getting ready, our focus now is to launch e-commerce in Mumbai very shortly, to be able to meet the many Mumbaikars sooner,” Betzel told Business Insider in an exclusive interview. This is the first time the global retailer is entering a market without a physical store.

That would pit the company directly in competition with the likes of Amazon, Flipkart, and Urban Ladder, who have spent years and billions in building a customer base in India. But Betzel is more sanguine than many others would be. “With more players, the whole category will grow even more. There is place for everyone,” he said.

The furniture market in India is expected to be worth $17 billion in the next three years but the big shops, malls and snazzy online retailers with discounts and offers sell less than two in every ten pieces of furniture bought in India. The trend is changing, especially in urban areas, and there is enough headroom for growth for the organised segment.

Touch points

Going online first is not the only thing different about Ikea’s entry into Mumbai. The iconic stores of gargantuan size, roughly half a million square feet each, will be absent at least to start with. “The smaller stores can be 50,000 sq. ft - 150,000 sq. ft., large depending on what locations we are able to find,” he said.

While Betzel didn’t elaborate on the rationale, the smaller stores may make sense in a crowded place like Mumbai where real estate is available at an exorbitant premium and travel can be cumbersome even for interested customers.

Even in New York, Ikea has a ‘planning studio’ in the upscale Manhattan area and not the standard blue-box store. It seems to have a similar plan for Mumbai too. “In addition to ecommerce and the Navi store, IKEA will also open smaller city center stores. This will make us more accessible and bring us closer to where customers are,” Betzel said.

Ikea calls these smaller stores ‘touch points’ for the customer to get an experience before making the purchase. “Currently the decision is to open two city center stores in different parts of Mumbai. There could be more online and offline touchpoints in the future based on the learnings from the market,” Ikea’s top boss in India explained.

Been there, done that

Similar formats have been tried by other online furniture retailers in India like Pepperfry and Urban Ladder. Pepperfry had launched its first offline studio in 2014. Since then, they have expanded to 65 studios across 28 cities. In fact, in every city that Pepperfry has launched a studio, the sales had doubled, according to the management.

“While we don’t sell directly through our offline studios, they contribute significantly to our sales. Close to 40% of our overall turnover comes from the online bookings made at these studios,” Mihir Kulkarni, Vice President and Head of Omnichannel expansion, Pepperfry told Business Insider in an earlier interview.

The race is hotting up

While both Pepperfry and Urban Ladder may have a headstart, they are going up against a giant in Ikea. The two startups put together have received investments worth less than $300 million in the last six years. On the other hand, “Ikea has committed to invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) so far. Three Indian cities are in the fast speed expansion markets namely Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi/NCR. Our focus on India will only increase in the future,” according to Betzel.

Even Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, now owned by Walmart, is looking to set up experience centres. It unveiled an 1,800 square feet outlet in Bengaluru on July 29.

With the likes of Walmart and Ikea throwing in their hat, running against smaller but more agile and homegrown players like Pepperfry and Urban Ladder, furniture retail in India is certainly set for exciting times.

Ikea will make its Mumbai debut ‘very shortly’, says India chief as the first store in Hyderabad turns a year old
 
Satya Nadella made a surprise appearance at RIL's 42nd AGM

1 min read . Updated: 12 Aug 2019, 04:29 PM IST Shubham Raheja
  • Jio and Microsoft will partner to launch new cloud datacenters in India. The initial two datacenters are being set up in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra
  • As part of this new agreement, Jio will migrate its non-network applications to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform

nadella_1565600399455.JPG

Satya Nadella said Jio and Microsoft will partner to launch new cloud datacenters in India.


Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani announced a long-term alliance with Reliance Jio at the company's 42nd Annual General Meeting (AGM).

"Computing is becoming ubiquitous and distributed. AI is being infused in every experience. And the interaction model itself is increasingly human-first, rather than device first. These advances are shaping the next phase of innovation, creating new opportunities for people and organisations everywhere, especially in India," said Nadella in a video that was projected during the AGM.

"Our long-term partnership combines the power of Azure, Azure AI and Office 365 with Jio's connectivity and digital solutions, which are among the most used and fast growing in the world. Together, we will offer a comprehensive technology solution—from compute to connectivity and productivity for SMBs everywhere in the country," he said.

As part of this new agreement, Jio will provide its internal workforce with cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools available with Microsoft 365 and will migrate its non-network applications to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform.

Jio’s connectivity infrastructure will promote the adoption of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform within its growing ecosystem of startups, as part of Jio’s cloud-first strategy.

"Jio and Microsoft will partner to launch new cloud datacenters in India, ensuring more organizations can access the tools and platforms they need to build their own digital capability," said Nadella.

The first two datacenters, which can house IT equipment consuming up to 7.5 MW of power, are being set up in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. These are targeted to be fully operational in calendar year 2020.

Jio will also be executing integrated speech and computer vision solutions for Indian customers by working together with Microsoft to develop solutions that support major Indian languages and dialects, which will promote the adoption of technology across all cross-sections of Indian society.


Satya Nadella made a surprise appearance at RIL's 42nd AGM
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackOpsIndia
India does not have a 10% GDP growth rate model right now: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Jhunjhunwala is not bearish on the market at current levels and sees 10,750-11,000 levels on the Nifty to act as a bottom for markets.

Last Updated : Aug 13, 2019 03:01 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
1565710986182.png


The big bull of D-Street, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18 expressed his concerns about the state of the market, and slowdown seen in the economy.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala highlighted that NBFC crisis, elections as well as fiscal situations have led to a short-term slowdown in the economy.

"Every bank is shy to lend corporates. This reluctance can be overcome by capitalizing banks & flushing the system with liquidity," said Jhunjhunwala.

However, he is optimistic that the economy and the market will rebound, but can’t put a timeline on it.

“India is not in the ICU but we need a sense of urgency w.r.t dealing with NBFCs, and price being paid for correctness in business models is not too high,” said Jhunjhunwala.

“Constant restructuring of PSU entities has also led to pain in the economy. I don’t feel that India has a 10 percent GDP growth rate model as of now,” he added. And, it would be difficult to see double-digit growth in the next 2-3 years, added Jhunjhunwala.

He is not bearish on the market at current levels and sees 10,750-11,000 levels on the Nifty to act as a bottom for markets.

If the Indian economy has to grow beyond the 6-7 percent mark, it would require stimulus from the government, and at the same time subsidy should be stopped to public sector enterprises.

“Govt needs to act fast on the economy. The economy needs govt stimulus to grow beyond 6.5 percent. Govt should stop subsidising Air India, BSNL & MTNL,” said Jhunjhunwala.

He further added that the Govt may not want to do things in a hurry, but has no doubt that this government will do whatever it takes to push the economy to a $5 trillion mark.

India does not have a 10% GDP growth rate model right now: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
 
Rupee needs a quick fix as US-China trade tiff chokes currencies

2 min read . Updated: 12 Aug 2019, 06:40 AM IST Aparna Iyer, Clifford Alvares
  • Nomura Securities Ltd has already revised its forecast for the rupee and now expects the currency to weaken to 72.5 against the dollar in 2019
  • Considering the dollar is flowing back to US bonds, Indian markets are seeing an outflow
454b665e-bc49-11e9-8687-f85b347b35b1_1565548683756_1565549225767.jpg

The rupee weakened 1.7% against the dollar last week (Photo: iStock)

Mumbai: The Indian rupee could find itself needing a short-term fix as a trade war between the US and China is showing signs of morphing into a currency war.

Over the past four years, the yuan’s movement has had a powerful effect on other currencies, including the Indian rupee. Last week too, most Asian currencies weakened after the yuan’s fall.

The Indian currency felt the heat of the tussle between the two largest economies in the world, weakening 1.7%. The rupee was among the worst performers. Economists have lowered their forecast for the rupee in the light of trade tensions. Nomura Securities Ltd has already revised its forecast for the rupee and now expects the currency to weaken to 72.5 against the dollar in 2019, a sharper depreciation than the 69.5 to a dollar it expected earlier.

The rupee’s misery has two reasons.

A trade war can take the foot off the accelerator of global growth. India’s trade, to that extent, can slide. Slowing global growth also means lower interest rates and a relook at risky emerging market assets. “In the short term, I think we have a larger loss because of a cyclical downturn in the global economy," said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank.

Moreover, when countries butt heads, a flight to safe-haven assets begins. The dollar’s rise and the gold’s gain are clear signs safety is already being sought by investors globally. “The ramifications of the US-China trade war are being seen across emerging market economies, including India. The daily yuan fixing and the fears of devaluation by China are also having an impact on the Indian rupee," said Garima Kapoor, an economist at Elara Securities Ltd.

Considering the dollar is flowing back to US bonds, Indian markets are seeing an outflow. Foreign investors have another reason to dislike India. The Centre’s recent tax rules have miffed them.

The policy ramifications of a fast depreciating currency cannot be ignored. A weaker rupee offsets the benefit of lower commodity prices on domestic inflation, potentially queering the pitch for policy rate cuts.

Another impact is on the dollar borrowings of Indian companies. External commercial borrowings have zoomed in recent months and a falling currency inflates repayments for the borrowing companies. Those companies already dealing with high leverage would find the going tougher.

“A depreciating currency has a greater impact on the balance sheet of a company than its revenue because of the dollar borrowings," said Soumyajit Niyogi, associate director of India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd. He said if the rupee weakens 5% or more, it could present fresh challenges to policymakers in India.

U9PBTCTY_1565548916448.png
(Graphic: Ahmed Raza Khan/Mint)

It is clear that the exchange rate needs a sentiment boost.

Barua said the offshore sovereign bond issue could help the currency gain. Although contours are still being worked out, the government has expressed its intention to launch an issue later this year.

Further, the government has engaged with foreign investors on the issue of higher taxes. Clarity on taxation is key for foreign investors to relook at rupee assets again.

As China and US intensify their battle, India will need to safeguard domestic growth. While small gains by grabbing China’s market in ready-made garments and information technology await India, these would take more time. Before that, India’s exchange rate would need to be managed.

Rupee needs a quick fix as US-China trade tiff chokes currencies