BMA Awards 2016 Given to Nagendra, Bhave, Kiran Kumar, Dr Jawali

At the 63^rd annual Bangalore Management Association (BMA) 2916, eminent personalities like Hindustani vocalist Shymala G Bhave, Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar, cardiac surgeon Dr Vivek Jawali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's yoga guru S Nagendra have bagged the BMA Lifetime Achievement Awards-2016. BMA promotes modern management practices among professionals in various fields.

The awards were given away on Wednesday by former Chief Justice of India S Rajendra Babu. Space scientist K Kasturirangan and Aloysius P Fernandez (NGO Myrada) are the other recipients of the award.Annual awards: 

The 2016 BMA awards in various categories were given to Bangalore Hospice Trust Karunashraya, Samarthanam Trust, WeSchool, Bengaluru, Bharathi Singh (changemaker), Dr L Appaji (healthcare management) G R Mahesh, (promising entrepreneur), Seethalakshmi S (journalist), C M Reddy (entrepreneur), P Ravindra Pai, (young achiever), Pawan Ranga (innovative manufacturer), Ambika K Narayan, (woman entrepreneur) and Asha Prasannakumar (social entrepreneur).

BGS Hospital Patient Implants ICD-CRT Device Combo With Remote Heart Monitoring System

BGS Global Hospital successfully performed a heart surgery wherein, a combination of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) pacemaker was implanted to treat a patient suffering from heart failure and thereby prevent Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). A large percentage of patients who suffer from heart failure need special implantable devices for CRT. These patients then require regular monitoring of the CRT pacemaker and their cardiac condition. A CareLink device monitoring system is an important advancement in this regard, allowing patients to receive expert medical advice from their physician while at home or traveling. It remotely monitors the CRT pacemaker and automatically transmits important data from the implanted device and relevant heart data to the electrophysiologist at periodic intervals. It also automatically transmits data if some critical parameters of heart or device become abnormal, between periodic transmissions. The patient  Raghu, presented with breathing difficulty and edema. His heart’s pumping efficiency had been reduced to around 20% as against a desirable 60 per cent. This meant he was at risk of heart failure and SCD. Initial treatment involved medication to manage the correction of the reversible factors. The next course of treatment included an implant of combo device. The surgery which lasted around 90 minutes was successfully completed. With this surgery, recovery is rapid, allowing the patient to be discharged in two days. Dr. Yogesh Kothari, Electrophysiologist and heart failure specialist, BGS Global Hospital said “Patients with heart failure are at a high risk of developing Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA. SCA occurs most frequently in adults in their mid-30s to mid-40s, and affects men twice as often as it does women.” Emergency treatment for SCA includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. CPR keeps enough oxygen in the lungs and gets it to the brain until the normal heart rhythm is restored with an electric shock to the chest (defibrillation). It is CPR plus defibrillation that rescues the patient. According to Thomas Mathew, COO, Global Hospitals Bengaluru, Our integrated team of experienced cardiologists, electrophysiologists, world-class infrastructure, treatments and diagnostic facilities endeavour to ensure that our patients have access to the most advanced cardiac technologies and care standards whenever they need it.

Indian Market Outlook for 2017 Post Brexit, US Presidential Election & Demonetisation

“The New Year might see a negative start, and it might last for a few months. Political uncertainty following Brexit and post- US Presidential election and the demonetisation, we're cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. We suggest that investors should expect lower-than-average returns in the equity markets going into 2017. Key indices could correct by 10-15 percent in 3-6 months if domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sell off. December 2016 is turning out to be the worst month in terms of sell-off from global funds. But we expect things would start to improve in the second half of this year (2HCY-17) fundamentally. 

Post demonetisation, a new fear-factor has emerged in the market amongst the investors. Earnings growth for the next one-two quarters should be little tough from an economy perspective. We expect a fall in cement off take, in automobile, in textiles, in gems and jewellery, retail footfalls. The big liquidity crunch in the economy, that’s having an impact. Earnings growth in 2016-17 (FY17) will only be around 2-3% because of the very low earnings growth in the third and fourth quarters.

Above all, there is the movement of money from emerging markets to developed markets. The situation has become tricky for global fund managers, after the election of Donald Trump as US president.

The fact that President Trump is promising a major fiscal stimulus in February 2017 is obviously making global investors very excited about US markets. So, you have a slowing economy in India, potentially with more slowing growth to come, we have a banking sector which is a third of your stock market cap and the other side of the world you have the world’s largest economy now accelerating. We think the FII outflows to continue.

At the moment domestic institutional investors are holding the market, but if that support goes away, we have got meaningful market downside in the near term.

High valuation is another problem plaguing sectors with a domestic focus. Valuations had gone up without much earnings growth, so they may come down. Export-oriented sectors will also be a big beneficiary of the expected depreciation in the Indian rupee (because of a strengthening dollar). The dollar may go up to Rs 70-72 levels, which will help export-driven sectors to register push 15% CAGR in earnings over next two years.

We expect 2017 will start the year in a bearish way. Basic chart reading reveals a long term pattern with very strong support at 7500 points. Worst case, Nifty index will fall to that level, which still validates a bull market scenario.  In case of any major weakness in Nifty, the fall is likely to halt around 7400-7500 levels. Since 2009, in all panic scenarios, Nifty has been finding support at these levels in the past three to four years. We do not see Nifty even visiting these levels, but in case it does and it should recover much higher from these levels. Pharma and IT in that order will be best bets in uncertain times if someone has investment view of less than one year. City Gas distribution companies will keep doing well in the wake of rising crude prices and also increasing focus on green energy”.

In the last two years, the annual closing has been to the downside or almost flat.  Nifty in 2014 closed at was 8174 and in 2015 end it was 7946.  The ending of 2016 does not look promising.  The P/E level has also been flat during the last three years. During these three years Nifty witnessed the strong resistance at 9,000 levels on the upper side in the coming year, which also looks difficult to cross in the current scenario”.

LatestOne.com Sees 50% Growth of Technology-Based Accessories

While Mobile phone has become a basic necessity, some of the accessories such as chargers, earphones and covers have become essential for a large population. Technology based accessories such as Bluetooth headsets, fitness bands, smart watches, blue tooth selfie sticks, lens, power banks, cables, OTG sticks and VR headsets have increased at 50% YOY, making mobile accessories a Rs. 20,000 crore market in India. As India is expected to surpass US and China in mobile phone market size of the world by 2017, the accessories market is estimated to grow 20-30% year-on-year.

There are three different types of retailers for mobile accessories in India – online, offline and selling on online market places. LatestOne.com has focused exclusively on the online strategy and emerged as the No.1 retailer of mobile accessories in India in a short span of 2 years with a gross revenue of 80 crores and net revenue of 50 crores in 2016.

LatestOne.com also launched a wholesale site for b2b in September 2016. Within 3 months, over 1,500 dealers & retailers have registered and over a 100 have been activated by placing online orders.

Ameen Khwaja, the Founder and CEO of LatestOne.com said, “Rapid surge in mobile phone adoption in both urban and rural areas associated with rising inclination of customers towards latest mobile accessories is the key driving factor for the growth of this segment. LatestOne.com has launched 13 new products in the last 12 months in order to continuously meet these demands of online customers.”

In the calendar year 2017, mobile covers will continue to be the single largest product. Covers like printed and shock proof back covers will be in demand. Smart watches will come embedded with new features and less prices.

IDFC Bank to Roll Out Aadhaar Pay for Cashless Payments to Merchants Nationally

IDFC Bank has announced the nationwide launch of IDFC Aadhaar Pay, India’s first Aadhaar-linked cashless merchant solution that uses a retailers’ own android smart phone to enable cashless payments. Aadhaar Pay has been developed by IDFC Bank in association with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

IDFC Aadhaar Pay will enable millions of merchants across the country to facilitate cashless purchases for customers in a cost effective and scalable way, supporting the government’s initiatives towards boosting cashless transactions. 

Dr. Rajiv Lall, Founder MD and CEO, IDFC Bank, said, “IDFC Aadhaar Pay is a breakthrough in technology for cashless payments. It will enable citizens in the deepest corners of the country to participate in India’s digital movement, even those who do not own a phone but want to pay digitally. People only need to have a bank account and their Aadhaar linked to it.”

“It is, thus far, the simplest way to pay as it does not require a customer to swipe debit cards, remember passwords, or download apps. Importantly, there are no transaction fees for both merchants and customers. IDFC Aadhaar Pay will accelerate the pace of growth for cashless payments, giving wings to the government’s efforts towards digitization for inclusive growth,” he added.

IDFC Aadhaar Pay went live last week at a fair price shop in Andhra Pradesh, inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and was subsequently introduced to merchants in Delhi and Bihar. Over the past three days, over 100 merchant outlets have been using IDFC Aadhaar Pay.

IDFC Aadhaar Pay is a solution made available on a merchant’s smart phone.  A merchant is on boarded with IDFC Bank using e-KYC, within a short time span of an hour. An SMS link enables the merchant to download the IDFC Aadhaar Pay app on any basic smart phone. This phone is connected to a STQC certified Aadhaar biometric reader. A customer can pay the merchant with just two fields in the IDFC Aadhaar Pay app - Bank name and Aadhaar number. The fingerprint is the password, thus making it easy to use.

IDFC Aadhaar  Pay is unique because it is does not compel a customer to use cards, download new applications, remember passwords, account numbers, set up virtual payments addresses, type detailed USSD codes to transfer money, or even have a phone to do cashless payments.

In rural and semi-urban areas, where customers need ‘assisted digital’ banking formats, IDFC Bank’s Aadhaar Merchant solution is a perfect fit. The merchant benefits from the medium – as this being a new AEPS payment railroad, it has no merchant discount rate (MDR) attached to it and can provide the service to customers without having to pay the bank a transaction fee.

IDFC Bank has been leading on the financial inclusion front by using technology for banking the unbanked. In one such effort, the Bank has placed over 2000 interoperable microATMs (Aadhaar based) at kirana stores, chemists, dhabas, mandis, panchayat offices and other customer touch points, to reduce time and distance taken to access a bank’s branch or an ATM. This initiative has significantly enhanced convenience to citizens in deep rural and semi-urban locations across the country.

India Key Economic Forecast for 2017 and Beyond...

Real Economy: 
IIP for the month of Nov 16 is expected to be in the positive zone in Oct 16 largely owing to the base effect. Industrial production in the country continues to be plagued by weak investment activity, decelerating bank credit growth, weak external demand and lower capacity utilization rate. Besides the dent in consumption demand owing to demonetisation is also expected to impact production activity going forward. DnB expects IIP to have grown by 2.0%-3.0% during Nov-16.

Price Scenario:  While demonetisation is expected to pull inflation down as cash constraint impacts the prices of commodities, the impact will the transitory. Upside risks to inflation persists with increase in global commodity and crude oil prices, strengthening of dollar, US fed rate hike and downward pressure on the rupee. D&B expects the CPI inflation to be in the range of3.4%-3.6% and WPI inflation to be in the range of 3.2% - 3.4% during Dec-16, respectively.

Money and Finance:  Yields across maturities during Dec 16 is expected to be lower or at the same level as in the month of Nov16 owing to moderation in inflation. Also, given rise in bank deposits, banks are parking their funds in government bonds. However, the hawkish stance of both the RBI and the Fed would pull down the bond prices although in the near term. D&B expects 15-91 day T-Bill yield to average at around 5.9%-6.0% and 10-year G-sec yield at around 6.3%-6.6% during Dec-16.

External Sector:  Rupee is expected to remain under pressure in Dec 16. Uncertainty on impact of demonetisation, low productivity in parliament and ambiguity over the implementation of the GST on target date, uncertainly around global economy, OPEC decision to cut oil production along with strengthening of dollar will continue to exert downward pressure on rupee. DnB expects the rupee to trade in the range of around 67.70-67.90 per US$ during Dec-16.

Advanced Indian Manufacturing Policy to be Unveiled Shortly

The government is formulating a National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing as one of the key tools to attain its objective of increasing the contribution of manufacturing output to 25% of GDP by 2025 from the current 16%.

The National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing also aims to significantly enhance India's global manufacturing competitiveness. However, the government is mindful of the "threat to jobs" due to adoption of smart manufacturing.

"There are a lot of concerns, lot of opportunities, there are also threats particularly on jobs so how to make our policies, how to tailor our industry, how to get ready for this in a manner that the transition is seamless and our people are skilled enough, may be to relocate to other areas," said DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek.

He was addressing a meeting to seek stakeholders' inputs on the policy. The meeting, chaired by Department of Heavy Industry Secretary Girish Shankar, also discussed the framework for introduction of 'Industry 4.0'.

"The National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing which essentially is how to increase technological depth so that we become globally competitive and are not left behind," Shankar said.

However, he pointed out that framing of the policy may take some more time because it needs a lot of consultation, and invited comments from the public.

The capital goods policy envisages formulation of a National Policy for Advanced manufacturing which would include advanced materials, modern manufacturing like advanced robotics and 3D printing, among others.

The National Capital Goods Policy, approved by the government in May, envisages increasing production of capital goods from Rs 2,30,000 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 7,50,000 crore in 2025 and raising direct and indirect employment from the current 8.4 million to 30 million.

Relicance Comm To Sell 51% of Tower Business to Brookfield Infra

Reliance Communications (RCom) said it has signed a binding agreement to sell 51% stake in its tower business to Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure and its institutional partners.

RCom will receive an upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore ($1.6 billion) on completion of the transaction. The transaction will represent the largest ever investment by any overseas financial investor in the infrastructure sector in India, the company said.

RCom's telecom towers will be demerged into a separate new company that will be 100% owned and independently managed by Brookfield Infrastructure, thereby creating the second largest independent and operator-neutral towers company in India.

RCom will also receive Class B non-voting shares in the new tower company, providing 49% future economic upside in the towers business, based on certain conditions, the company said. RCom will utilise the upfront cash payment of Rs 11,000 crore solely to reduce its debt.

RCom and Reliance Jio (Mukesh Ambani's 4G telecom venture) will continue as major long-term tenants of the tower company.

Last week, a Bernstein report said large Indian telecom firms may offload their tower assets in 2017.

"2017 may very well shape up to be the year where the largest Indian telcos all sell down their tower assets. We believe the likelihood of Airtel, Idea and Vodafone all selling (or at least selling down) their holding is high," it said.

In October this year, telecom major Bharti Airtel had said it will explore stake sale in its Indian mobile tower arm Bharti Infratel, where its holds 72% stake.

Its Board of Directors had authorised the committee of directors to evaluate option for "monetisation of significant stake in Infratel", Airtel had said in a BSE filing

Only 1% of Indians Pay I-T, Says Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog

Chief Executive Officer of Niti Aayog Amitabh Kant said just 1% of India's more than 1.25 billion population pays Income Tax and the country cannot afford as high as 95% of its economy making cash transactions.

Addressing a workshop on Cashless Transaction organised by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Kant said India cannot afford as high as 95% of its economy making cash transactions if the economy has to be taken from $2 trillion to $10 trillion by the year 2030.

"Besides, only 1% of the more than 1.25 billion population pays Income Tax," he said.
Kant said there are more than a billion mobile phone subscribers in India and more than one billion Aadhaar biometrics have been created so far, according to an official release. He said with an aim to push India among the top economies of the world, the government has enrolled nearly 26 crore people under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and more than 20 crore RuPay cards issued.

The time is here to make a transition to cashless transactions, he said.

Addressing the function, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju asked NDRF personnel to adopt cashless transactions and utilise their vast reach across all corners of the country to spread the message of digital payments.

Rijiju said the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police forces personnel must take the lead as the nation is poised to join the leading economies of the world.