Compliance is the Key – How Corporate Service Fleet Providers not Compromising on Consumer Safety

With the recently introduced Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, aggregators are now being a part of regulatory control. As India struggles to keep regulatory checks on the ride-sharing economy, every month there are reports of various compliance issues emerging in the app-based ride-sharing services. Increasing reports of non-compliant cabs are posing a great threat to everyday public safety and something must be done about it now.

It was believed that tech-enabled, app-based ride aggregators, will be able to solve everyday commute by ensuring 100% compliance and provide utmost safety to the passengers. But as per a recent survey by Localcircles, thousands of consumers have raised concerns about surge pricing, drivers cancelling rides, as well as increased the number of compliance and safety concerns. The situation demands a sustainable solution that is able to meet the rising demand, at the same time adhering to compliance and other safety parameters.

However corporate fleet service providers like Routematic has solved this problem by automating the statutory compliance check on PUC, road tax, permits, etc. Routematic’s automated platform generates reminders about the expiry of important compliance documents. Any vehicle with an expired compliance document is automatically deactivated and is not assigned any trip thereby ensuring 100% compliance and safety of passengers. Routematic believes in developing technology that prioritizes public safety along with achieving the business goals of its customers.

 Should you be interested in exploring this further, we can connect you to Surajit Das, Co-Founder & CEO Routematic who can throw more light on the topic.

STL Bags Rs 1800 Crore T-Fiber Project to Deliver Digital Infrastructure to 6 Million Rural Citizens of Telangana

STL, a global data networks innovator, was recently awarded the mandate to create a high speed rural broadband network from Telangana Fiber Grid Corporation Ltd. (T-Fiber). Supporting the vision to establish a ‘Digital Telangana’, T-Fiber and STL will work together for enabling affordable and high-speed broadband connectivity to 6 million rural citizens in the state of Telangana.

Government of Telangana is taking big leaps to build and leverage the broadband infrastructure under BharatNet, which aims to provide broadband connectivity to all 250,000 gram panchayats in the country. As a state-led program, Telangana Government has initiated T-Fiber to provide broadband connectivity up to the household level across the state by rolling-out optical fiber and network infrastructure.

STL was awarded a work order for about Rs.1100 crore for Phase- 1 of the project. The total project value is worth about Rs.1800 crore for which STL has received the letter of intent.

This turnkey project entails designing and building an end-to-end rural broadband network across 11 districts, 3000 gram panchayats of Telangana and managing the network for an additional seven years. The project has a significant O&M revenue stream, close to 30% of the overall Project value.

The scope includes rolling out end-to-end network connectivity by deploying 64,000 kms of OFC (Optical Fibre Cable) Network, as well as deploying IP MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), a routing technique and GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network), a point to multipoint access to create seamless network connectivity. STL will leverage its latest network solutions such as LEAD360, iCORE and FTTx Mantra to deliver this project.

Commenting on the announcement, KS Rao, CEO, Network Software and Services, STL, said, “We are excited to have been awarded the T-Fiber project. At STL, we are constantly working to innovate and create a smart digital ecosystem with our projects ranging from tower, home and enterprise connectivity to rural broadband and smart cities. The uniqueness of T-Fiber project is that it will connect every household across the rural part of the state through optical fiber and provide them high speed internet connectivity. Internet connectivity will enable economic growth and social well-being of rural citizens, thereby make this project a shining example for rural development. STL is proud to be associated with T-Fiber.”

“We are happy to get STL on board and work together towards achieving Telangana state’s goals of enabling high quality digital reach to the remotest of households within the state and making them future ready, as part of the broader ‘BharatNet’ project, said Sujai Karampuri, MD, T-Fiber & Director, ITE&C Department, Government of Telangana. “This initiative will work as a digital revolution that would bridge the digital gap between urban and rural India. With T-Fiber project, we aim to provide an infrastructure for affordable and high-speed broadband connectivity and digital services across the state.”

Tata Motors Registered Negative Domestic Sales of 44,254 Units in December 2019

Tata Motors Limited has announced its sales in the domestic & international market, for the month of December 2019, which stood at 46,903 vehicles, compared to 54,439 units during December 2018.

Domestic - Commercial Vehicles:

Mr. Girish Wagh, President, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “Retail was higher than offtake by ~13% in December, with further stock reduction, as we move closer to BSVI transition. Overall sales continued to grow for second month in a row, with Medium and Heavy Commercial vehicle sale being higher than November’19  by 15% after posting a ~23% growth last month. Enquiries continued to increase gradually, with fleet owners realizing the economic benefits of replacement of their older vehicles now.  Increasing enquiries and lower stocks augur well for future volumes and realisation, early indication of which can be seen in December.

Total MHCVs sales in December including MHCV Truck, Buses and International Business stood at 9,657 units compared to 14,374 units last year.

Domestic - Passenger Vehicles:

Mr. Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors Ltd. said, “Our focus in December has been to drive retail and minimise the network stock in order to facilitate a smooth transition to BSVI. Our marketing campaigns and attractive consumer schemes resulted in the highest retail sales this fiscal. December retail was 83% higher than the off-take and the dealer network stock has been reduced to lowest ever level. Having almost completed our planned production and despatches of BS IV, we will start moving to BS VI production and despatches from January and step up our volumes in the coming months.

We unveiled our first premium hatchback ‘Altroz’ and Nexon EV and received an overwhelming response. We are gearing up for their market launch now. We are marching into the new year with an exciting product pipeline. We expect a gradual improvement in consumer sentiments and are well positioned to leverage the same.”

JLL Facilitates Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Exit Skylark Developers SPV

Highlights

* The transaction included sale of a prime commercial land parcel on Richmond Road in Bengaluru’s CBD to SNC Private Limited, a construction sector major in the city
* Bought at an undisclosed amount, SNC plans to develop premium commercial space on the property
* The transaction marks the exit of Piramal’s Indiareit Fund V from its investment in Rida Builders and Promoters – an SPV of Bengaluru based Skylark Developers

JLL India, the country’s largest real estate consultancy and professional services firm, has facilitated the exit of Piramal’s Indiareit Fund V’s investment in an SPV of Skylark Developers, which held the prime commercial land located in the central business district (CBD) on Richmond Road, Bengaluru. The new owner, SNC Private Limited plans to invest over INR 100 crores to develop a world class office space on the land, the release said.

Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora - Managing Director, Bengaluru at JLL said, “The CBD of Bengaluru continues to be highly vibrant in terms of commercial potential. Commercial space absorption in the CBD as well as the broader Bengaluru market has scaled new records in the recent past. There has been a rise in investor interest in acquiring prime commercial land parcels and this development is significant. In line with our core objectives of serving our valued clients, we are pleased to have advised on this asset sale.”

Located in the CBD, the sale of the land on Richmond Road will enable the development of an investment grade commercial project contributing to the restricted supply in the highly sought after office market. The vacancy levels in CBD have remained less than 6% due to which the rentals in CBD have moved up significantly in the last couple of years. Currently rent for grade-A space ranges between INR 150 - 175 per sq ft per month and the land values vary between INR 25,000 - 50,000 per sq ft.

Credberg Sets Up Office in Bangalore to Address Financial Solutions in Real Estate Sector

Within six months of successful launch, Credberg, a solution based investment bank focused on real estate and infrastructure, has expanded their footprint to South India. The firm established by former Brookfield Financial honchos Pawan Swamy and Adil Engineer has set up its Bangalore office to address the growing requirements for finding financial solutions in the real estate sector.

Credberg has been drawing on its expertise in real estate assets and global network to provide corporate finance solutions, asset brokerage and capital market services across all major real estate markets. Credberg has already made a mark in such a short time by addressing the huge potential in the market place for capital solutions as most players focus on just real estate.

Pawan Swamy, Chairman and Jt. Managing Partner, Credberg Advisors said, “Credberg is largely focused on identifying situations, providing executable advice, creating value as well as matching opportunities with the needs. We attribute our growth to our understanding of investment philosophies and to building partnerships with the spotlight on re- ducing conditionality thereby creating solutions.”

Commenting on the launch of Credberg’s Bangalore operations, Pawan Swamy, Chairman and Jt. Managing Partner, Credberg Advisors said, “Basically, Bangalore is the pivot for us to serve the south market. Clearly, we have seen good demand playing out in the last couple of years in Southern India. In terms of the office sector the annual absorption levels in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai alone now contribute north of 55% of the total national absorption. In the residential space the sales velocity in the mid-market segment is stable inspite of the ongoing liquidity crisis. Also, we are seeing the emergence of alternate asset classes such as student housing, data centers and co-living with high concentration in the southern India belt. If you add to this backdrop, the capital and deal making needed in the market today this is an attractive proposition for us. Also from local and global investors perspective, the quality as well as diversification of real estate that is being built in the south is distinct.”

Additionally, Adil Engineer, Jt. Managing Partner, Credberg Advisors said, “The ease of doing business in Bangalore definitely, is much higher than in any other city in the country. The working environment in Bangalore is far more conducive owing to the professionalism of developers and the efficient way of working. It’s a relatively a stable market and not prone to so much fluctuation and price volatility which makes it more comfortable for lenders to evaluate various kinds of projects here. Hence Bangalore became our obvious choice. Moreover, we are very well connected in this market and will be able to leverage our network.”

Engineer further highlighted about Credberg team, “Our trustworthy and credible team matches its deep-rooted understanding of local real estate with expertise in capital markets, to provide innovative and strategic solutions to meet the precise needs of our clients. We have an unmatched track record of advising on complex situations. I am confident that we will create the right impact in South.”

About Credberg

CREDBERG is a solution focused boutique investment bank that draws on its expertise in Real Assets and its global network to provide corporate finance solutions, asset brokerage and capital market services across all major real estate markets.


CREDBERG’s team of dedicated professionals has the most complete overall experience with regards to understanding real estate transactions whether from the buy side, the sell side or the construction cycle and its management, and therefore, has the capability to think with a client mindset.

Technology Industry Outlook & Views from Indian Industry Leaders During 2020 and Beyond

Here are some of the leaders comments on the 2020 Technology Industry outlook.

Mr. Rakesh Kharwal, Managing Director - India/South Asia & ASEAN, Cyberbit: "A year after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, yet another data leak took place at Facebook this year. About 540 million records of Facebook users were publicly exposed to Amazon's cloud hosting service. To give you a picture, this is about 7% of the global population when a large chunk of it is yet to digitize. The losses due to such cyber crimes are expected to reach $6 trillion by 2021 according to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures. This is when almost 60% of organizations have unfilled cybersecurity positions owing to the skill gap and 77% of leaders believe that an infrastructure breach can take place with far-reaching consequences. The need of the hour is to quickly fill this void by adopting next-generation technologies such as cybersecurity simulation & training platform to equip our nation with the required skillsets and thereby generating over 1 million jobs for the country’s youth. In a nutshell, 2020 could turn out to be a year of unbridled opportunities for India if it is able to successfully align itself in this landscape."

Mr. Piyush Kumar Founder and CEO, Rooter: "2019 was a great year for the Sports industry in India with a busy cricket calendar including the ICC Cricket World Cup in England for ODIs. A massive number of sports fans chose to consume their favorite sports events online, especially on their smartphones. As a result, the Indian smartphone market added nearly 100mn new users taking overall internet user base to 600mn in 2019.  This presented a huge opportunity for all content platforms to engage and onboard new users. As consumption for sporting events online grew around 50% in 2019, OTT platform Hotstar engaged more than 300mn users, whereas Cricbuzz had more than 100mn users consuming its content. Sports Community Platform, Rooter also pivoted from being a gaming and content provider to a content-based community platform in 8 languages in 2019.

We identified our core audience and their needs thereby focusing on content as a core product feature to create the community. We also launched the first-ever Audio/Video user-generated tool in Sports, giving wings to millions of fans to express themselves. The user base of Rooter grew by 350% this year with more engagement and revenue base. 2020 is again lined up with a busy sports calendar starting with IPL, Euro 2020, Olympics and T20 World Cup. We want to grow bigger creating a strong value proposition for sports fans and create our own leadership space in sports content category in India."

Mr. Ashwin Rao, Director, Limelight Networks, India: The global wireless communications industry has begun preparing for the rollout 5G with the promise of offering consumers faster speeds that can potentially change how people and Internet of Things (IoT) enabled devices communicate. According to the State of Digital Lifestyle research report 2019 commissioned by Limelight Networks, expectations that 5G networking will bring faster download speeds are highest are highest in India, with 88.2 percent expecting to see improved performance.

Mr. Eric Zhou, EVP – UNISOC: “Given the recent developments, it is likely that the year ahead will see India making several quantum leaps. To begin with, a large-scale 5G rollout is likely to come to pass in 2020, with chipset manufacturers, smartphone brands, and telecom operators taking a page out of the playbooks of 5G nations such as the China and US. This 5G adoption will also increase the network bandwidth in new-age chipsets, powering a rapid increase in the number of everyday use-cases for these cutting-edge technologies such as AI, machine learning, and edge computing.”

Mr. Aakrit Vaish, CEO, Haptik:   “Conversational AI world is now driven by an entirely new concept of Intelligent Virtual Assistant solutions (IVAs), and 2020 is the year when they finally burst onto the scene. Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) are getting smarter and their increasing capability of voice assistants is accelerating their adoption in the global business landscape further. While Alexa is reported to have 50,000 skills and is used by 3500+ brands, Google’s voice support today supports more than 30 languages. Globally, IVAs have contributed to increased sales by about 67%, and have initiated 26% of all sales transactions. As per a recent report by Accenture 75%, executives believe they risk going out of business if they don’t scale.

We enter 2020, with an ever-quickening pace of life needs solutions that support diverse needs for people with short attention spans. IVA solutions have evolved to fill this need gap, and have finally reached a critical point in their acceptance and implementation.

From the pace of adoption of IVAs by organizations, It becomes obvious that enterprises are not ‘trying them out’ anymore, rather they are actively looking at them as necessary drivers of better ROI, improved customer engagement, operational efficiency, productivity boosters and an active facilitator towards achieving other organizational objectives. 2020 is the year when IVAs will become a common feature across the global entrepreneurial ecosphere, implemented as a norm rather than a novelty."

Hero Motocorp Unveils 100-CC BS-VI Motocycle – HF Deluxe BS-VI Powered by Programmed FI with ‘XSENS Tech’, Priced at Rs 55,925

Reiterating its commitment to quickly roll-out an exciting and comprehensive BS-VI product portfolio for its customers, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, has launched the first BS-VI motorcycle in the entry segment – the HF Deluxe BS-VI.

The commencement of despatches for the HF Deluxe BS-VI come close on the heels of the Company’s first-ever BS-VI product launch – the Splendor iSmart, thereby reaffirming the leadership role played by Hero MotoCorp in migrating to the new emission regime.

With these products coming in quick succession, Hero MotoCorp is rapidly ramping-up its portfolio of BS-VI products and plans to transform its entire range to BS-VI norms very soon.

The HF Deluxe, India's most successful and iconic motorcycle in the entry segment, will be available at Hero MotoCorp showrooms in the country at attractive prices of Rs. 55,925/- for Self-Start Alloy-wheel variant and Rs. 57,250/- for Self-Start Alloy-wheel i3S variant (both prices ex-showroom Delhi) from the beginning of January 2020.

In addition to keeping the core brand DNA of superior performance and fuel-efficiency intact, the new HF Deluxe BS-VI is now powered by Programmed Fuel-Injection with ‘XSens Technology’ (10 sensors) providing even higher fuel-efficiency (9% higher), effortless acceleration, smoother ride and easy starting anytime & anywhere (ease of cold starting).

Vikram Kasbekar, Executive Director – Operations (Plants) and Chief Technology Officer, Hero MotoCorp, said, “At Hero MotoCorp, we have been working towards ensuring a smooth transition to the BS-VI norms, not just for us but also for all our stakeholders, the industry and most importantly the customers. We are into the final leg of this transition phase and key products in our portfolio like the HF Deluxe are being transitioned now to ensure smooth ramp-up. Our BS-IV inventories are low and will not be replenished going forward. We will be introducing a slew of BS-VI products in the coming weeks.”

Commenting on the occasion, Malo Le Masson, Head - Global Product Planning, Hero MotoCorp, said, “HF Deluxe is the most popular entry segment motorcycle in India. The bike has already entered the 2-Million sales club and commands well over 2/3rd market share in the category. With the new HF Deluxe BS-VI, powered by Programmed FI technology, we have further enhanced the performance and efficiency of the motorcycle. We have now launched two new BS-VI motorcycles in quick succession and are committed to a rapid transition of our entire portfolio to the new norms."

The new HF Deluxe has been designed and developed completely in-house, at the company’s R&D hub, the Center of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Hero MotoCorp is the dominant market leader in the motorcycle segment with well over 60% market share.

THE NEW HF DELUXE BS-VI

BS-VI Compliant FI Engine

The new HF Deluxe BS-VI comes with a 100cc BS-VI Compliant Programmed Fuel Injection engine with ‘XSens Technology’ (10 Sensors) - delivering an impressive power output of 7.94 BHP @ 8000 RPM and torque-on-demand of 8.05 NM @ 6000 RPM. The new and improved HF Deluxe BS-VI offers a 9% higher fuel efficiency, with better performance (+6% faster acceleration), consistent start-ability (even in cold conditions) and longer engine life. The new motorcycle also features Hero’s revolutionary i3S (idle start-stop system).

Superior Drive and Control

The Programmed FI system ensures a precise air-fuel mixture delivery under varying load conditions enabling smoother rideability. It also ensures continuous and real-time adjustment to the air and fuel mixture (through sensors and ECU) based on engine load & ambient conditions for sharper throttle response. The system allows more efficient combustion resulting in higher fuel efficiency and cleaner emissions. The system is typically maintenance-free and does not break down easily.  With 165mm ground clearance and 1235mm wheelbase, the bike delivers superior ride with more stability. In addition, the High Tensile Steel Frame offers strength, rigidity and responsive handling.

New and Improved Style

The HF Deluxe BS-VI comes with all-new graphics and colors. The motorcycle is available in trendy combinations of Black with Red, Black with Purple, Black with Grey and in two new colour schemes of Techno Blue and Heavy Grey with Green.