Tata Power To Install Public EV Charging Points At GAIL Gas' CNG Stations In Bengaluru

Tata Power, one of India’s largest and fastest growing EV charging solutions providers, has signed an agreement with GAIL Gas Limited, (a wholly owned subsidiary of  GAIL (India) Limited, to install DC fast charging points at two of GAIL Gas CNG retail outlets (CNG stations) in Bengaluru.

The partnership is in line with Tata Power's commitment to encourage and promote electric mobility across the country and GAIL Gas' commitment to deliver convenience to its customers who wish to switch to E-vehicles.

Tata Power is a pioneer in the EV charging space and runs an expansive network of over 3600 charging points across 450+ cities, covering petrol pumps, metro stations, shopping malls, theatres, and highways. The company is present across all segments of the EV eco-system: public charging, captive charging, home charging, workplace charging, and ultra-rapid chargers for buses. In the next 5 years, Tata Power plans to install 25000 public EV charging stations across the length and breadth of the country.  GAIL Gas Limited is a leading City Gas Distribution company in India implementing CGD projects in 25 Geographical Areas along with its JVs covering 50 Districts.

Speaking about the partnership, Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power said, "We are happy to collaborate with GAIL Gas Limited since they share our commitment to sustainable mobility. EV owners in Bengaluru will benefit from the growing availability for chargers as this partnership will make charging stations more accessible to them and lessen range anxiety."

Shri Raman Chadha, CEO GAIL Gas added, " We have always been on promoting the futuristic fuel mission and are committed to providing convenience to the people in our authorized geographical area at their doorstep. EV charging facility at our CNG station is yet another step in this direction."

The partnership aims to make sustainable travel choices available to all, through a seamless charging infrastructure which is at par with the conventional fuel infrastructure. It is also in line with the Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), which aims to develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure using the latest technological platform along with easy access to charging points.

About GAIL GAS Limited:

GAIL Gas Limited, a leading City Gas Distribution Company, is poised to accelerate City Gas Distribution business in focused manner in 25 Geographical Areas across 14 States across the nation. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maharatna GAIL (India) Limited and manages smooth implementation of City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects.

About Tata Power:

Tata Power (NSE: TATAPOWER; BSE:500400) is one of India’s largest integrated power companies and together with its subsidiaries and jointly controlled entities, has an installed / managed capacity of 14101 MW. The Company has a presence across the entire power value chain - generation of renewable as well as conventional power including hydro and thermal energy, transmission & distribution and trading.

The Company had developed the country’s first Ultra Mega Power Project at Mundra (Gujarat) based on super-critical technology. With 5241 MW of clean energy generation from solar, wind, hydro, and waste heat recovery accounting for 37% of the overall portfolio, the company is a leader in clean energy generation.

It has successful public-private partnerships in generation, transmission & distribution in India viz: Powerlinks Transmission Ltd. with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. for evacuation of Power from Tala hydro plant in Bhutan to Delhi, Maithon Power Ltd. with Damodar Valley Corporation for a 1,050 MW Mega Power Project at Jharkhand.

Tata Power is currently serving more than 12 million consumers via its Discoms, under public-private partnership model viz Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. with Government of Delhi in North Delhi, TP Northern Odisha Distribution Limited, TP Central Odisha Distribution Limited, TP Western Odisha Distribution Limited, and TP Southern Odisha Distribution Limited with Government of Odisha.

With a focus on sustainable and clean energy development, Tata Power is steering the transformation as an integrated solutions providers by looking at new business growth in distributed generation through rooftop solar and microgrids, storage solutions, EV charging infrastructure, ESCO, home automation & smart meters et al.

With its 107 years track record of technology advancements, project execution excellence, world-class safety processes, customer care and green initiatives, Tata Power is well poised for multi-fold growth and is committed to lighting up lives for generations to come. For more information visit us at: www.tatapower.com

Photo Caption: Mr. Virendra Goyal , Head – BD ( EV Charging ) , Tata Power  and Mr. Yougesh Kumar, Chief General Manager ( CGD) , GAIL  during the signing ceremony.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Inducts Two New Directors To Its Board

* Appoints two New Board of Directors effective 19th January 2023

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the elevation of its two senior officials in its Board. Mr. Tadashi Asazuma and Mr. Swapnesh R. Maru inducted as new Directors in the board of TKM with effect from 19th January 2023.

Mr. Tadashi Asazuma currently holds the position of Executive Vice President and heads Sales, Service & Used Car function of TKM. Mr. Asazuma brings with him a rich global automobile industry experience of working for Toyota in Japan and regions like Middle East.

Mr. Swapnesh R, Maru, currently serving as the Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer and oversees Finance, Human Resources & Administration, Information Technology, Legal and Corporate Planning at TKM. His experience includes a stint at Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Thailand.

As a people centric organization, TKM ensures continuous efforts to strengthen its leadership and reinforce its commitment of producing ‘Mass Happiness to All’.

Inaugural Edition of “What Matters” Held In The City

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  * An initiative to bring high achievers and aspiring leaders on a single platform to boost Innovation, Culture, and Collaboration in organizations.

'What Matters', a talk series of eminent personalities, held its first event on  today 2023. The initiative is built around Collaboration, Culture, and Innovation as the core values to brainstorm and include talks by eminent personalities who lead by example on what matters to us in the long run.

The first event included a talk by Mr. Phanindra Sama, founder of redBus. Mr. Sama addressed the gathering at SignDesk’s main office about how good leadership translates to uplifting both the individual and the organization. “One cannot say ‘I will flourish elsewhere’ while neglecting one’s everyday tasks at hand. You must be on top of the heap in everything you do, only then can you touch success in totality,” he said.

“In today’s world, the ability to distinguish between noise and signal matters the most.” says Krupesh Bhat, founder, SignDesk. “So we are creating a platform to learn from highly accomplished leaders through this initiative, which will be available for everyone.”

“Listening to Mr. Sama talk about what matters to him was an exciting and interesting experience. He examined numerous real-life examples of what it means to be a successful leader from his own time building redBus to present and historical personalities like Elon Musk and Mahatma Gandhi”, said Shashi Bhushan, an Associate Director at SignDesk. “All of us are looking forward to learning from the experiences of people who have already walked the talk.”

'What Matters' is curated by SignDesk, a leading global provider of document automation technology. This event is streamed live and can be accessed by anyone who wishes to engage.

For more on the event, see: www.signdesk.com/what-matters

Mphasis Ltd Weak Operating Performance; Deal Intake Remained Healthy

BUY

CMP: Rs2021  

Target Price: Rs2450

Mphasis delivered weaker-than-expected operating performance in Q3FY23. Gross revenue declined by 2.5% QoQ to USD429.4mn, reflecting continued weakness in the mortgage business and hi-tech and seasonal factors (furloughs and lesser working days) in Q3. Mphasis signed net new deals worth USD401mn (vs. USD302mn in Q2), of which ~70% is contributed by BFSI. Management indicated the deal pipeline grew by 6% QoQ/27% YoY and non-BFSI share in the pipeline increased to 44% (grew by 86% YoY) and will act as new engines of the company’s growth. Management suggested that weakness in mortgage, macro uncertainties weighing on the velocity of decision-making, and softness in select pockets are impacting the company’s growth trajectory in the near term, although it indicated that Q4 revenue growth would be better than that in Q3. We have cut our EPS estimates by 2.7-3.5% for FY23E-25E, factoring in the Q3 performance miss. Management failed to inspire confidence on sustained revenue growth acceleration, which would weigh on the stock’s performance in the near term. We maintain Buy with a TP of Rs2,450 (earlier Rs2,500), at 22x Dec-24E EPS.

Result summary: Mphasis reported a 2.5% QoQ decline in gross revenue to USD429.4mn in Q3 (-2.5% CC), below our expectations of USD440mn. In rupee terms, direct revenue was flat QoQ (-2.8% CC), while DXC revenue grew by 3.1% QoQ. EBIT margin was flat QoQ at 15.3% and was 40bps below our estimates. Net profit stood at Rs4.12bn, below our estimates of Rs4.32bn, on account of operating performance miss. Revenue growth was driven by logistics and transportation and others, which grew by 2.3% and 3.4% QoQ, respectively, in rupee terms. TMT, insurance, and BFS reported muted sequential growth in Q3. Geographically, growth was led by EMEA (2.9% QoQ) and India (4.1%), while growth in Americas was flat QoQ and RoW declined sequentially by 3.1%. Mphasis signed net new deals worth USD401mn, the second highest on record, of which 74% are in new-gen services. The company won five large deals in Q3, which is the highest ever on record to date. Mphasis has guided for EBITM to be at 15.25-17% in Q4. What we like: Robust deal intake (USD401mn); strong deal pipeline (up 6% QoQ, 27% YoY); and steady progress across client buckets. What we did not like: Operating performance miss; softness in BFS, insurance, and TMT; and weak cash conversion (OCF/EBITDA at ~60% in Q3 and ~65% in 9M).

Earnings call KTAs: 1) Mortgage business (Digital Risk) revenue contribution is ~8.8% of Q3 revenue. Within DR revenue mix, contribution of the most vulnerable segment, origination, declined to ~20% of DR’s revenue and is below 2% of the company’s overall revenue. 2) DXC’s contribution to the overall revenue is ~4.8% and, given the low and declining contribution of DXC to the revenue, the company’s overall growth is reflective of the direct business growth. 3) The company shared that most of its deal pipeline is tribe-driven and grew by 6% QoQ. 4) Management indicated that the largest deal signed in Q3 was from one of the top-10 customers. The company signed a large deal in the healthcare vertical, which was signed with a new customer. 5) Utilization (excluding trainees) was at 74% and management expects it to trend upwards and sees headroom for 300-400 bps improvement. 6) The company continues to invest in consolidating positions in select growth accounts and has witnessed continued share gains with key clients; Top-5 and Top-10 accounts grew by 20.6% and 19.8% YoY, respectively. 7) It added 4 new clients in Q3. NCA continues to lead growth in direct and grew 30% YoY. 8) Offshore mix improved by ~160bps QoQ to 44.8%.

Mission Meditation” From Brahma Kumaris Spiritual University Over 150 Centers In Bengaluru

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University has announced “Mission Meditation” in Bengaluru that starts in January and will culminate into a larger conglomeration of people in the coming months. This will be the biggest meditation drive ever held in the country! Sister Leela (Head of the Bangalore Zone) stated that “Through this campaign we aim to teach people the unique method of ‘Just-A-Minute-Meditation’ that has proven to bust stress, improve efficiency, and stay focused while performing daily tasks”. The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University is the world’s biggest women-led spiritual movement spread across 137 countries and is famous for teaching Rajyoga Meditation.

Seeing what the world has gone through in the last three years it is imperative that every human being takes time out and rediscovers himself all over again to find inner peace. In today's turbulent times when emotional and mental stress is a common occurrence, the organization hopes to provide some sort of a practical relief to everyone through this meditation that they can perform even while doing daily tasks. While brushing your teeth, waiting for the kettle to boil, stuck in traffic, waiting for the computer to start, etc. The just-a-minute technique has proven successful in transforming ‘wasted time’ into ‘time for me’ that ultimately brings enjoyment even to the simplest of tasks.

The aim of ‘Mission Meditation’ is to make meditation easy and accessible for anyone to meditate anywhere in just a minute! About 150 Meditation Centers of the Brahma Kumaris spread across Bangalore will be participating in this life-changing altruistic mission.

Bangaloreans can go and experience this on their own without any financial burden.

Bengaluru centre head Sister Leela said, “I request every Bangalorean to come and be a part of this movement and find oneself through inner peace via meditation. There is no better way to find solace than reinventing the self”. 

Very recently, the Honourable President of India - Droupadi Murmu visited the Headquarters of the organization in Mount Abu and flagged off the RISE campaign (Rising India through Spiritual Empowerment). Even our beloved PM Shri Narendra Modi has highly appreciated the efforts of the entire team from Brahma Kumaris in uniting the youth towards meditation and also propagating cleanliness through the “Swachh Bharat” campaign.  

Brahma Kumaris was founded in 1937 by Dada Lekhraj Kripalani, a retired Indian businessman, in Hyderabad, a city now in Pakistan. His spiritual name is Prajapita Brahma and he is lovingly called Brahma Baba. After experiencing a series of visions in 1936, he was inspired to create a school where the principles and practices of a virtuous and meditative life could be taught. Last week the institution also celebrated the 54th death anniversary of Brahma Baba . The original name of the organisation was 'Om Mandali'. Back then it consisted of only a handful of men, women and children, many of whom decided to stay together as a community. However, now the Brahma Kumaris has spread to over 137 countries on all continents and has had an extensive impact in many sectors as an international NGO.

OCP Group And India Enter Strategic Partnership To Strengthen Food Security

* As the world leader in soil and plant nutrition solutions and the world's largest producer of phosphate, OCP Group is committed to supporting the major players in the fertilizer sector in India.

The objective of this partnership is to carry out joint Research & Development initiatives, to jointly promote innovative fertilization solutions, and to offer tailor-made fertilizers that meet the specific needs of Indian farmers, in close collaboration with the Indian agricultural ecosystem (public sector, agronomic institutes, agricultural federations, farmers, etc.)

Within this framework, OCP Group has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU's) with India's largest public and private sector fertilizer producers, paving the way for OCP to supply India with up to 1.7 million metric tons (MT) of phosphate fertilizers for the agricultural season over the next twelve months.

These memoranda were signed between OCP Group executives and Indian fertilizer manufacturers, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health, Chemicals and Fertilizers in India, His Excellency Shri Rajesh Vaishnaw, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Morocco and Mr. Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of OCP Group.

The agreements will provide for up to 700,000 MT of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP), a phosphate-based fertilizer that has the highest phosphate content found in nitrogen-free granular fertilizers and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of plants and soils in India. Customized fertilizers are known to be better for soil health, thus reducing waste. The MOUs also call for the delivery of 1,000,000 tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP) to Indian farmers.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr Soufiyane El Kassi, Chairman and CEO of OCP Nutricrops, the group’s subsidiary dedicated to soil health and plant fertilization solutions said: “We are pleased with India's interest in our customized solution (TSP) that significantly contributes to increasing yields, improving farmers' incomes and accelerating the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices”

About OCP Group

OCP Group plays an important role in feeding a growing global population by providing essential elements for soil fertility and plant growth. With a century of experience and revenues reaching US$ 9.4 billion in 2021, OCP Group is a leader in plant nutrition and the world’s largest producer of phosphate-based fertilizers. Headquartered in Morocco and present on five continents, with over 18 000 employees, OCP Group works in close partnership with more than 350 customers across the world.

The group recently launched a new Green Investment Strategy, devoted to raising fertilizer production and investing in renewable energy. The strategy provides for a global investment of about $13 billion over the 2023-2027 period, which will enable the group to use 100% renewable energy by 2027 and achieve full carbon neutrality by 2040. The strategy also aims to reach a water desalination capacity of 560 million m3 in 2026 and increase the production of green fertilizers.

The group is firmly convinced that leadership and profitability are necessarily synonymous with social responsibility and sustainable development.

Its strategic vision is rooted in the meeting of these two dimensions. Learn more: www.ocpgroup.ma

Nine In Ten Consumers In India Desire Simplicity In Entertainment Experiences: Accenture Report

“Reinvent for Growth” report highlights how media companies can improve user experiences and drive revenue with new entertainment ecosystems

More than nine in ten consumers in India (95%) want an all-in-one platform to simplify their entertainment experiences with video streaming, fantasy sports, social media, ecommerce and more, according to “Reinvent for growth,” a new report from Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

As part of its second annual global entertainment study, Accenture surveyed 6,000 consumers including more than 500 consumers in India to understand their preferences and behaviors regarding their online entertainment experiences. 72% consumers in India said they would pay for an all-in-one platform for their entertainment services. In addition, five in six (83%) want the ability to share their streaming profiles across platforms to allow for better personalization of content.

Saurabh Kumar Sahu, managing director and lead for Communications, Media and Technology industry group, Accenture in India said, “With growing focus on revenue over content and rising customer dissatisfaction with their media experiences, the streaming industry is at a critical stage of evolution. To stay relevant and profitable in an increasingly competitive media landscape, streaming service providers need to reimagine the entertainment ecosystem keeping in mind consumer needs for simplicity, customization and affordability.”

Other findings from the report further highlight the need for media organizations to reconsider their operational and content strategies:

41% of consumers in India unsubscribed from at least one of the top five streaming video-on-demand services in the last 12 months, and 42% said that they plan to cut one or more in the next 12 months.

More than six in 10 consumers (62%) in India reported frustration at finding something to watch. 

77% of consumers in India said they are overwhelmed by the number of streaming services to choose from, with 30% saying it can take them more than 10 minutes to settle on a streaming choice (up from 17% last year).

Accenture’s report also identifies three emerging roles for entertainment companies that are competing for consumers’ time, attention and money:

Audience aggregators are platform companies with a diversified business model that monetize attention and engagement directly and indirectly by tying multiple entertainment and other services together in one place.

Audience cultivators will create and efficiently monetize entertainment in one or multiple forms (e.g., video, music, gaming etc.) by knowing their core audience, focusing on content/cost efficiency, and ensuring that they’re included in audience aggregator platforms and bundles.

Content merchants will focus on making the best possible content without needing to monetize the engagement their content achieves.

“The shifts in consumer preferences and behavior point towards the need for aggregation. As value becomes the key determinant of success, media companies need to become more customer-centric using data and analytics. Prior to the pandemic, star presence was a big draw for video streaming content, however in the post pandemic economy story, treatment and performances have emerged as the real hero. With an evolved audience, media companies must also invest in better stories and put greater emphasis on co-creating stories,” said Neeraj Sharma, managing director – Communications, Media and Technology, Accenture in India.