India’s Internet economy to double to $250 billion by 2020

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs | 0
India’s internet economy is slated to double to $250 billion and the number of 4G-enabled devices is envisaged to jump six times to 550 million by calender 2020

India’s internet economy is slated to double to $250 billion and the number of 4G-enabled devices is envisaged to jump six times to 550 million by calender 2020, says a joint study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).

Total number of mobile internet users, the study says, is likely to nearly double to 650 million by 2020, and per user data consumption levels are estimated to grow 10-to-14 times to as much as 7-to-10 GBs a month from a current level of 700 MB per month per user.

The BCG-TiE study expects the growth of the country’s internet economy to be propelled by e-commerce and financial services, with the share of digital transactions likely to more than double to nearly 30-40% by 2020.

But the study cautions that the number of high-speed internet users in India continues to remain “limited to only 56%” of the total number of mobile internet users. This is since a sizeable chunk of such users continue to use feature phones, and are accordingly, constrained by device capability and internet speed.

As a result, “average data consumption per user (in India) continues to be low at less than 1 GB data/month, vis-à-vis developing economies like Indonesia and Brazil (at 2-to-3 GB/month) and developed economies like Japan and US (at 9-to-11 GB/month)”.

According to the BCG-TiE study, a combination of low fixed-line broadband coverage, a high proportion of feature phones among mobile handsets in use and high data prices have been key contributing factors behind low internet consumption in the county so far.

Nevertheless, the study expects high-speed mobile internet adoption levels to surge in the country from current the 56% to 85% of total the mobile internet base by 2020 as Indians are increasingly doing more than just calling on their handsets. “One in every four, accesses internet on their mobile phones, summing to 391 million internet users, which for perspective is bigger the population of US,” said BCG and TiE in their joint study.

Furthermore, the country’s devices ecosystem, it said, is leapfrogging by 2-3 years, and the emergence of 4G enabled feature phones is expected to give a fillip to high-speed internet access, going forward.

So much so, the study suggests that 3G smartphones are likely to get phased out by 2018, and be entirely replaced by 4G smartphones inundating the market.

Source: http://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/indias-internet-economy-to-double-to-250-billion-by-2020-study/58262924

Medical tourism is forex top spinner

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Cross Border Transactions, M&As, Joint Ventures, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, India & International - Corporate updates | 0
Accounts for 70% of health services exports, finds survey

Medical tourism has been the largest contributor to India’s total health services exports, accounting for 70 per cent of the total revenues of $890 million earned in 2015-16, according to the first comprehensive government survey on the sector.

Asian countries, led by Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan and the Maldives, accounted for more than 60 per cent of the foreign exchange earnings of health services.

India’s major trade partners, the US and the EU, accounted for 14 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, according to the survey compiled by the Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics under the Commerce Department.

■ 60% of the earnings come from Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan and the Maldives

■ 14% from the US

■ 11% from the EU

“The personalised services and care that patients in India get is much cheaper than the services offered in developed countries and even in countries in the ASEAN, Middle East and the CIS states,” Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia noted in her comments.

“This, together with the support of the government in promoting India as a healthcare hub, research in healthcare and advances in information and communication technology have enhanced India’s export of health services,” Teaotia added.

Contract research was second-highest forex earner among health services, accounting for 27 per cent of export revenue. Clinical trials and telemedicine accounted for about 3 per cent of export earnings.

Orthopaedics, oncology, neurology and cardiology are the top four export revenue earners; strikingly, Ayurveda is a close fifth, much above other branches including urology, haematology, general medicine and nephrology.

The report is part of the Commerce Department’s efforts to develop a framework to collect statistics on services trade. The DGCI&S launched its pan-India survey on international trade in services in June 2016.

Along with information on medical and health value travel, the survey also captured information on telemedicine, clinical trials, contract research, distance health education and temporary overseas movement of personnel from the surveyed units.

The survey is likely to be undertaken on an annual basis by DGCI&S.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/medical-tourism-is-forex-top-spinner/article9657255.ece

India’s share of global economy to increase: Lars Heikensten, Executive Director, Nobel Foundation

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Cross Border Transactions, M&As, Joint Ventures, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, India & International - Corporate updates | 0
“Digitisation is part of our lives and necessary but it does have consequences”.

India’s share of global economy to increase: Lars Heikensten, Executive Director, Nobel Foundation

Lars Heikensten, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, said he expects India’s share of the global economy to increase while commenting on the role of the country in the emerging world order, ahead of the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

“For decades, the western world has been standing up for democracy, science and facts. Now these values are being questioned. Democratic countries like India, which also have a growing role in the world, need to step up. I think the policies of India are important,” he said. “The world needs more of values that India has been building since the 40s.”

The investor summit will for the first time see the participation of a galaxy of Nobel Laureates apart from various heads of state and global corporate leaders. The Nobel Foundation is the institution that manages the Nobel prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace.

Heikensten emphasised the need for adequate infrastructure to connect people to the digital economy. “In my country Sweden, everyone is connected today. With more people being connected in India, you will see people shifting to digital transactions,” he added.

He also addressed the digital divide and the need to bridge this chasm. “Digitisation is part of our lives and necessary but it does have consequences,” he said.

Heikensten has been governor of the Swedish Central Bank and held various positions in the Swedish ministry of finance, including that of director general and head of the economic affairs department.

“There are risks (with digitisation) and IT policies need to address these issues,” he told ET. “This is not something that will solve itself. People have been left behind in the process and I expect we shall see more and more academic debate on how to keep fairly equal, at the same time we have good economic development… The populist movements in the western countries reflect that people are left behind.”

He said that Sweden, for instance, has become less equal over the years.

“This is not the whole story part but an important part of the story,” Heikensten said. “But it is still very equal compared to the United States where there are wider income differentials between people.”

The link between digitisation of the economy and inequality is not a straightforward one. However, he pointed out that this marks the way forward and said that “we will see more and more countries moving towards digitisation as lot less cash is being used now than before.”

He said that India was one of the countries buying notes from Sweden.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/56533782.cms

India, UK set to sign GBP 1 bn biz deals

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Cross Border Transactions, M&As, Joint Ventures, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, India & International - Corporate updates | 0

India and the UK are expected to sign business deals exceeding GBP 1 billion (Rs 83,00 crore) during the three-day visit of British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is here on her first bilateral visit outside Europe since assuming office in July.

Describing her talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as good and productive, May said as leaders, they both were working to improve the livelihoods of their citizens creating jobs, developing skills, investing in infrastructure and supporting technologies of the future.Talking about Modi’s vision of smart cities, May said they have agreed on a new partnership that will bring together government, investors and experts to work together on urban development, unlocking opportunities worth GBP 2 billion for British businesses over the next five years.

This will focus on the dynamic state of Madhya Pradesh with plans for more smart cities than anywhere else and the historic city of Varanasi.

Four rupee-denominated bonds worth a total of 600 million pounds ($748 million) are expected to be listed in London in the next three months, Theresa May said.

The latest four bonds will provide financing to expand India’s highway and rail networks and meet its plans to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy, the government said.

They will be issued by Indian government-backed corporates Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Energy Efficiency Services Limited, and National Highways Authority of India by the end of January 2017. May said since July, more than 900 million pounds rupee-denominated bonds have been issued in London, equivalent of more than 70 percent of the global offshore market.

“This government will continue to work closely with both India and our financial services sector to ensure our growing rupee bond market continues to help finance India’s ambitious infrastructure investment plans,” May said in a statement. These rupee-denominated or masala bonds as they are called, unveiled in 2015, are an opportunity for Indian firms to raise money, while giving international investors access to higher yields in a zero-yield world.

They are also a way to borrow overseas, they are also an attempt to make the tightly-controlled rupee more widely available in global markets, similar to the way in which China has moved to sell more yuan debt to overseas investors. Alongside this, the UK has agreed to invest GBP 120 million in a joint fund that will leverage private sector investment from the City of London to finance Indian infrastructure.

Source: http://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/india-uk-set-to-sign-gbp-1-bn-biz-deals/story/239538.html

Gujarat is India’s growth engine: USIBC

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs | 0

Gearing up to participate in the next years Vibrant Gujarat Summit as a partner country, the US India Business Council has termed Gujarat as India’s “growth engine”.

“The state of Gujarat is one of the leading states in India for industries and is recognised as India’s growth engine,” USIBC president Mukesh Aghi yesterday said in an interaction with a delegation of senior official and business leaders from Gujarat.

“Vibrant Gujarat Summit is one of the most notable efforts in India’s attempts to place itself as the topmost investment destination,” he said, adding that USIBC is delighted to partner with the Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

Aghi said the summit is also timely as it will be held during a critical phase of the GST roll-out.

Led by Bharat Lal, Resident Commissioner of Gujarat, the Gujarat delegation concluded its multi-city roadshow in the US.

The multi-city industry roundtables aim to  provide an opportunity for the delegation to present Gujarat as the leading investment destination in India.

SIBC organised industry receptions and roundtables in Houston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC and Menlo Park, providing an opportunity for the delegation to meet over 100 top US companies across industries, including healthcare, food and agriculture, defence, logistics and infrastructure.

Some of the companies in attendance during the roadshow included MasterCard, UST Global, JP Morgan, Thompson Reuter, Abbott, Aemetis, Lockheed Martin, Cisco and Welspun.

As part of the roadshow, the Council also hosted a roundtable with Ajay Pandey, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT).

GIFT is being developed as a global financial and IT services hub, a first of its kind in India, designed to be at or above par with globally benchmarked financial centers.

Pandey discussed the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT and the benefits to the entities setting up operations in these cities that include the Minimum Alternative Tax, reduced from 18.5 per cent to nine per cent, the Security Transaction Tax (STT), Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT) and Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) waived off, a media release said.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/54376135.cms

 

Vizag, 4 other cities lead the way under smart cities mission

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs | 0

Visakhapatnam along with four other cities — Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Surat and Ahmedabad — is leading the progress made under the first round of the government’s flagship scheme.

Mission Director (Smart Cities) Sameer Sharma told BusinessLine, “We have reviewed the progress of Visakhapatnam under the smart cities mission with the consultants and CEO of the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed. Under the project, development of footpaths will go for bidding by October 31; water supply for the city by September 30, sewerage also by September 30, etc.”

Visakhapatnam had ranked eighth in the first round of the smart cities challenge.

On the overall progress made, he added that all 20 cities in the first round have already formed SPVs and most have readied Production Management Contracts ( PMCs) also. “Projects across all these cities are expected to kick-start by December,” Sharma said at the sidelines of the 3rd BRICS Urbanisation Forum here.

In January this year, 20 winning cities which were announced under the first round covered only 12 States and Union Territories. The government had then decided to conduct a ‘fast-track competition’ to offer an opportunity to the highest ranked city in each of the unrepresented 23 States and UTs. In May this year, the Ministry of Urban Development had announced 13 more winners of the smart city tag under the fast-track round.

On the progress under this round, Sharma said, “Out of the 13 selected in the fast-track round, six cities, including Panaji, Chandigarh, Port Blair, Lucknow, have formed SPVs and remaining seven are in the last stage of formation of SPV and are expected to do so by the end of this month.”

Moreover, on Monday, the Centre will announce 27 more cities which will bag the smart city tag.

 

Funding plans

Meanwhile, the government is also pursuing a loan of $1 billion from Asian Development Bank and another $500 million from the World Bank to provide funds to the city SPVs, apart from Japanese International Cooperation Agency ($500 million), BRICS Bank ($ 500 million per city), AFD (€100-200 million).

“The funds from World Bank are expected to flow in 6 months. It will be in phases,” Sharma added.

Source :http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-news/vizag-4-other-cities-lead-the-way-under-smart-cities-mission/article9108718.ece

Cisco readies plan to set up manufacturing plant in India

by | posted in: Corporate Updates, Economy, Business Updates, Corporate Affairs, India & International - Corporate updates | 0

Technology major Cisco is working on a plan to establish a manufacturing facility in India and is in talks with the government for the same, a top official of the company has said.

Terming India as one of its “best bases”, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said the company is “very actively involved in India across the board” and working on a broader base from digitisation to smart cities in the country.

He was interacting with reporters at the Cisco Live 2016 annual conference here.

On expansion plans in India, Robbins said, “… Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very committed to manufacturing. We worked through a business case and… presented to him that… That was fantastic and we have been moving forward.”

He added that the company is moving forward on various healthcare and security initiatives, with a lot happening on the digital cities front.

Cisco is engaged in over 15 smart cities projects in the country. The company is also working with Andhra Pradesh government for rolling out Bharat Net.

The company views India as one of the best bases and is focusing a lot on education as well, Robbins added.

The country is home to Cisco’s second-largest site, which has about 11,000 employees. It is offering education to 24,000 students spread across 47 schools.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/53187492.cms