Leading Logistics Solution ProviderV -Trans Plans To Achieve Rs 3000 Crores By FY 2026

* Focus on expanding presence in the southern region of India including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets. 

V-Trans (India) Ltd, a leading logistics solution provider has announced its plan to reach a turnover of Rs 3,000 crores in the next three years. This ambitious goal is in line with the company's focus on expanding its presence in the southern region of India including the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets leading to job creation opportunities with an increase of a total of 600 numbers.  

V-Trans is set to benefit from the government's infrastructure push, which is aimed at maximizing the logistics sector's potential in the south. This is expected to create job opportunities for the company in the upcoming 1-2 years. 

The company has also recognized the growing importance of manufacturing space in India and is investing in building future warehouses and newer branches to cater to this demand. V-Trans sees a promising future for the logistics sector, which is fast becoming a centerpiece of India's policy. The new branches will be spread across major cities and towns in the South region, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Coimbatore, among others. With this expansion, V-Trans aims to cater to the increasing demand for logistics and transport services in the region and provide better connectivity to its customers. V-Trans is enabled with best-in-the-business infrastructure and has a presence across the nation with more than 1000+ branches, 50+ Transshipments centers, and a fleet strength of over 2500 advanced trucks with a location tracking facility, which is integrated at the back end with the best-in-class ERP and provides end to end visibility of the cargo movement. 

The recently passed National Logistics Policy is expected to streamline the industry further, and V-Trans is well-positioned to leverage this. The policy aims to reduce logistics costs and enhance the efficiency of the logistics sector. Our hub and spoke network of transshipment centers and branches are strategically designed and located to facilitate faster and smoother movement of goods across the region. This network helps in consolidating cargo and streamlining the transportation process, which will ultimately benefit the customers with reduced transit time and cost. 

V-Trans aims to become a one-stop solution provider for all logistics and transportation needs in the South region and offer its customers unmatched service quality and reliability. The company's focus on innovation and technology has helped it stay ahead of the competition, and its continued investment in the logistics sector is expected to yield positive results in the coming years. V-Trans is serving varied industry-based manufacturing clients for over six decades. The company enables manufacturing by providing a logistics edge to its clients of different sizes - small, medium, or big, with customized solutions. 

V-Trans group also understands its responsibility towards building a circular economy and is working towards a better environment. Its efforts have been recognized and appreciated by various noteworthy bodies and institutions. The group’s efforts are notable in the field of renewable energy, tree plantation, supporting the education of the underprivileged, and animal welfare.  

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Mahendra Shah, Chairman, and Group Managing Director of V-Trans (India) Ltd, said, "We are excited about the growth potential in the logistics sector, particularly in the southern region of India. Our investment in this region and our focus on building future warehouses and leveraging the growing manufacturing activities will help us achieve our ambitious growth targets." 

On this, Mr. Rajesh Shah, Executive Director, V-Trans (India) Ltd said, "As an Executive director for the group and region in charge for the south, we see a lot of potential in south India to contribute to the overall growth plans of our company. Being a process-driven and tech-enabled organization, which is culturally aligned to the Indian mindset, our strengthening of the network in South India shall enable us to achieve our desired Goal.” 

Reliance General Insurance To Accept Central Bank Digital Currency e-Rupee Through YES BANK

Reliance General Insurance becomes a forerunner General Insurance company in the country to accept the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Central Bank Digital Currency e-Rupee (e?) for premium payments. The Company has tied up with YES BANK to facilitate collection of premiums in the digital mode using the Bank’s e? platform. Customers who have an active e? wallet with any bank can scan Reliance General Insurance’s e? QR code to make immediate payment. With this pioneering launch, the Company is presenting its customers with an easy, safe, instant, and green payment solution, and taking its promise of providing excellent customer experience to the next level. 

e? is a digital token that is equivalent to a banknote i.e., legal tender, and is a sovereign currency backed by the RBI. Being digital, e? removes all the issues of handling physical cash and offers the same anonymity as a banknote. Moreover, since all e? transactions are done through an RBI regulated entity, it reduces banknote related risks such as Anti-Money Laundering, Counterfeit of Currency etc. Reliance General Insurance is enabling its customers to hedge such risks by providing e? as a form of digital currency transaction option thereby promoting safe financial transactions. 

Elated about the launch, Mr. Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance, said, “This is an excellent achievement for us, and we are delighted to associate with YES BANK and introducing and promoting e? payment mode in the GI industry.Being a customer-first General Insurance company, we have always drawn inspirations from the customers and developed innovative solutions and services keeping their need, safety and convenience at the centre of our business. With this launch, we wanted to provide our customers with greater ease, higher safety and more green payment option. Furthermore, this launch is also in line with our commitment towards fulfilling the Government of India’s vision of Digital India.”  

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arun Agrawal, Country Head – Institutional & Government Banking, YES BANK, said, “YES BANK is pleased to partner with Reliance General Insurance in promoting Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), an industry first in the Insurance sector. With higher familiarization and wider adoption, we expect CBDC transactions to complement existing digital payment systems considering features such as authenticity, interoperability and settlement finality.” 

Currently, Reliance General Insurance’s physical e? QR code is available at their select branches for walk-in customers to scan and pay instantly. The Company plans to make it available at all branches across the country, on its website and on the Reliance Self-i app in the next few months.  

MyShubhLife Partners With FinBox To Disburse Loans Through Account Aggregator To 10 Lakh NTC Users

* MyShubhLife Will Leverage FinBox’s Deep Analytics To Disburse Loans Through Account Aggregator

* FinBox’s lending partners has witnessed 45% reduction in fraudulent instances 

* FinBox BankConnect + AA reduces drop offs by ~2x when compared to traditional methods of bank statement sharing. 

A digital lending platform MyShubhLife has partnered with digital credit infrastructure company FinBox to underwrite customers on its platform for its small ticket and on-demand loan products. MyShubhLife offers loans and overdraft facilities to small merchants, employee loans, and on-demand wages.  FinBox will deploy its deep analytics expertise integrated with the account aggregator framework to assess risk parameters for their potential customers. 

Majority of the population in India are new to credit or lack credit history, bank statements act as an alternative decision engine to assess loan eligibility of these customers. However, the traditional methods for fetching bank statements, like PDF upload or net banking, are cumbersome, prone to fraud, and potentially unsafe for the customers. FinBox’s BankConnect, with its Account Aggregator functionality, allows the platform to streamline the process of sharing bank statements, determine the veracity of the documents, and carry out accurate salary classification with customers consent.

“Underwriting for underserved segments like low-income individuals and even merchants can be tricky. It requires a fast and reliable product that generates a high-precision financial profile of the borrower without being cumbersome or too expensive.  We at FinBox constantly strive to create economic equality by making credit access feasible for precisely these overlooked customer segments, and equip platforms like MyShubhLife to do this across the board and achieve scale,” said Rajat Deshpande, CEO of FinBox.

FinBox BankConnect's Account Aggregator functionality is helping the platform to streamline the process of sharing bank statements, determining the veracity of the documents, and carrying out accurate salary classification with customers consent. The lending platform has so far successfully underwritten ~35,000 customers on its platform using FinBox BankConnect’s advanced bank statement pulling and parsing capabilities. 

“Bank statements are essential to ensure the borrower's ability to repay loans. Especially for our customers, most of whom are working in manufacturing and service industries and are new-to-credit without a credit score. The options of fetching bank statements like PDF upload or net-banking are cumbersome, prone to frauds, and potentially unsafe for the customers. Many times it results in incomplete statements without key information like the latest salary credits.

FinBox BankConnect, and especially its Account Aggregator functionality, allowed us to pull bank statements through a simple OTP-based method. For the customer it is safe, transparent, and easy to use. For the lender it is cost effective, tamper-proof and complete.” said Rahul Sekar CTO and Co-Founder, MyShubhLife. 

MyShubhLife is disbursing loans amounting to ~Rs 1 lakh underwritten using FinBox BankConnect. So far, 25% of its users have opted to share their bank statements through the Account Aggregator network. As a result, the platform is experiencing a lower instance of fraud, as evidenced in FinBox’s case study on fraud elimination through the framework. FinBox BankConnect + AA reduces drop offs by ~2x when compared to traditional methods of bank statement sharing. It also reduces the instance of fraud by 45%. 

About FinBox: 

FinBox is a rapidly scaling fintech start-up based in Bangalore that provides embedded finance infrastructure and digital lending solutions to start-ups and enterprises across the globe. The FinBox suite works across alternate data scoring, embedded credit line, financial data integration, and analysis. 

About MyShubhlife: 

MyShubhLife is a team of bankers, technologists and data science experts. They offer loans and overdraft facilities to small merchants, employee loans, and on-demand wages.

Uber Expands ‘Reserve’ To Six More Cities In India, Also Opens Up Cash Payment Option For Planned Travel Seekers

* Reserve enables pre-booking an assured ride 30 minutes to 90 days in advance across 13 cities

* Reserve Intercity, Rentals or Uber Premiere rides through cash payments

Uber today announced the expansion of Reserve across six more cities in India, providing riders across the option to pre-book their rides - 30 minutes to 90 days ahead of their travel. Uber Reserve will now be available for cash payments offering riders access to reliable, pre-booked rides. The service is now live across 13 cities in India – Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati.

The expansion of the Reserve service signals Uber’s commitment to India by bringing its latest global offerings best suited to market needs. With the Reserve option in addition to on-demand trips, drivers can select from offers that are best suited for their time on the road. Uber Reserve provides the drivers an added option of accepting trips up to 7 days ahead - helping them lock in their earnings and driving schedule in advance.

Reserve now appears as a new option in the latest version of the Uber app and is available on Uber Premier, Uber Intercity, Uber Rentals and Uber XL. The new product is developed keeping in mind pre-planned travel needs, including work trips, airport drops, visits to the doctor, and other scheduled appointments. The planned ride options will be available at various attractive price points across product categories.

Commenting on the launch, Prabhjeet Singh, President, Uber India & South Asia said, “We are excited to expand Uber Reserve to more cities in India. With Reserve, riders can pre-book their rides ensuring peace of mind, certainty and added control over their trip. Reserve also opens up even more options for drivers to choose from between on-demand and pre-booked trips. At Uber, we are always reimagining mobility in a way that it works for riders, drivers and cities and with Reserve we are unlocking even more certainty when you use our services.”

With comprehensive safety measures in place, convenient pick-ups, affordable prices and digital payment options at a touch of a button, Uber hopes to offer a seamless product experience in the new category that riders and drivers enjoy on its other popular products.

How to book an Uber Reserve trip:

* Tap the Reserve icon in the updated Uber app. Schedule from up to 90 days or at least 30 minutes in advance

* Review the booking details in the app, including the assigned driver as the time of travel approaches. Cancel free of charge up to 1 hour in advance

* Wait for the driver-partner, within the waiting time included in the reservation

* Enjoy the ride

* Pre-plan your next trip through Uber Reserve and remain stress free!

About Uber

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 10 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. Uber is available across 125 cities in India where people can book a ride on our app across two, three and four wheel products designed for their intracity and intercity travel needs. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

DriveU Partners With MyGate To Cater To The Needs Of Car Owners Of 25,000 Societies Pan India

~This partnership will provide all car related solutions to customers on MyGate platform

DriveU, India’s largest car driver service and a super-app for car owners, today announced its partnership with MyGate, India’s number one community living app to cater to the needs of car owners of the 25,000 societies on their platform.

Through this partnership, all new and existing customers of MyGate will have easy access to various DriveU services such as on-demand drivers, car wash facilities and car servicing  at the click of a button within the MyGate app. With 75% of MyGate residents owning a car, this further enables them to simply and seamlessly manage all aspects of their life.

The integration of DriveU and MyGate will initially roll out in Bangalore and Hyderabad. It will then scale to other metropolitan cities of India including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. This association aims to encompass all sought after car ownership requirements while solving the unavailability of community trusted drivers trained and background verified with DriveU’s premium fleet of drivers.

Speaking about the same, Ashok Shastry, Co-Founder & CEO, DriveU said, “This exclusive partnership is aimed at providing comfort and convenience to the residents of MyGate enabled societies so that they can access our services at the click of a button within the MyGate app. Our primary focus would be towards offering a seamless and hassle-free experience to all residents. Additionally, this will help us deepen our presence in the cities we are operating and introduce new products like doorstep car wash and detailing to millions of new customers within the MyGate community.”

Adding to it, Vijay Arisetty, Co-founder & CEO, MyGate said, “We’re very excited to welcome DriveU onboard to ensure our residents’ cars are usable at all times and in every situation. Whether for a quick FASTag recharge before heading to the airport, an on-demand driver on the way home from a family dinner or roadside assistance in case of an emergency, the solution is just a click away on the MyGate app.”

DriveU has revolutionised the way individuals hire drivers for their own cars and how businesses maintain a stable, reliable supply chain of professional drivers. In addition to their on-demand driver service, DriveU also offers doorstep detailing, servicing by trusted integrated brands, FASTag recharge and annual roadside assistance plans. 

MyGate has brought about a paradigm shift in the concept of community management with a series of technological innovations. Every year, the app brings speed and security to over a billion visitor check-in requests, processes maintenance payments worth Rs.2,800 crore, helps resolve over 12 million helpdesk tickets and assists in the booking of 2 million+ amenities.

About DriveU

DriveU is India’s largest car driver service and a super-app for car owners. DriveU has revolutionised the way consumers hire drivers for their private cars, and how businesses maintain a strong, reliable supply chain of professional drivers to transport vehicles. Trusted by over 650,000+ customers, 150+ businesses, served by background-verified, uniformed professional drivers. DriveU has completed well over 4 Million trips to date. In 2022, DriveU launched India’s first Car Ownership Super App that allows users to book any service around car ownership such as general maintenance, roadside assistance, car cleaning, and much much more. DriveU rewards car ownership - car owners can gain reward coins that can be redeemed for exclusive partner offers, discounts, or products. Operating in all major metros of India with 65,000+ trained, background verified, professional drivers, DriveU is committed to helping driver partners become micro-entrepreneurs and increase their income. DriveU also strives to improve the quality of life for its driver partners through training in etiquette, hygiene, service quality, etc.

About MyGate

Founded in 2016, MyGate is the largest community app in the country, simplifying urban living of over 3.9 million homes across Gated Communities in India. It has been ranked #4 on YourStory’s list of India’s Most Disruptive Start-ups and one of India’s Coolest Start-ups by Business Today. MyGate was founded by Vijay Arisetty, an ex-IAF pilot (Shaurya Chakra awardee), Abhishek K, former VP at Goldman Sachs, and Shreyans Daga, former project head at Oracle and Digit.

Persistent Systems Ltd: In-Line Operating Performance In Q4FY23

BUY

CMP: Rs4472 

Target Price: Rs4800

PSYS reported in-line operating performance in Q4FY23. Revenue grew by 3.9% QoQ to USD274.6mn (3.5% CC), driven by the top-10 clients. Revenue from the top client grew by 30.5% QoQ (after four consecutive quarters of decline), contributing ~60% to incremental revenue sequentially, owing to deal ramp-ups. Services revenue grew 5.5% in Q4, while IP revenue declined 14.6% due to seasonality. Services growth momentum moderated to 4.4% CQGR over the last three quarters. Management remains watchful of macro uncertainties and has suggested some moderation in demand amid a tough demand environment for the next couple of quarters; however, it remains confident to sustain 3-5% sequential growth due to robust deal intake (USD421.6mn in Q4; 1.5x book-to-bill), healthy deal pipeline and steady progress in client mining. Management expects EBITM to expand by 200-300bps over the next 2-3 years, owing to scale benefits, client mining, pyramid rationalization and better pricing in newer areas like cloud and generative AI. We tweak our EPS by 1.1-1.5% for FY24E/25E, factoring in Q4 performance. We retain BUY with a TP of Rs4,800 on 25x Mar-25E EPS (earlier Rs4,700).

Result summary: Revenue grew by 3.9% QoQ to USD274.6mn (CC 3.5%), in line with our estimate of 3.5% CC, driven by Healthcare and Lifesciences (4.4% QoQ), Software, Hi-Tech and Emerging Industries (4.3%), and BFSI (2.9%). Services revenue grew by 5.5% QoQ, aided by 7.8% growth in volume, while blended realization declined by 2.2%. IP revenue declined by 14.6% QoQ in Q4 to USD18.6mn. EBITM was flat QoQ at 15.4%, ~10bps below our estimates. Benefits from lower subcontracting expense and improved utilization were negated by lower IP revenue, higher purchase/royalty expenses and cost from annual planning event, resulting in flat EBITM QoQ. Reported net profit grew 5.7% QoQ to Rs2.5bn. Revenue growth was led by Europe (18.9% QoQ) and North America (4.9% QoQ), while that from India fell 15.6%, due to the completion of a large project. TCV of deals signed stood at USD421.6mn (1.5x book-to-bill; ACV of USD310.4mn), including USD250.3mn of new business TCV. Management continues to see a healthy deal pipeline and is confident of delivering higher-than-industry revenue growth, although macro-related uncertainties could last for a couple of quarters. What we liked: In-line operating performance, top client performance, strong deal intake, and moderation in attrition (19.8% in Q4 vs. 21.6% in Q3). What we did not like: Weakness in non-top 10 clients and weak cash conversion (OCF/EBITDA at 69.5% in Q4).

Earnings call KTAs: 1) The largest BFSI customer grew 7.6% QoQ in Q4. 2) The company highlighted ramp-downs in a key hyper-scaler relationship, impacting revenue by USD3mn QoQ/10mn YoY. Management expects it to recover in the coming quarters. 3) Subcontracting costs declined QoQ due to ramp-down in a hyper-scaler relationship. Management targets to lower it to ~12% of revenue compared to ~14% in FY22. 4) Purchase/royalty expenses increased to 3.6% of revenue in Q4 from 1.8% in Q3 due to the ramp-up of large deals, which include license purchases as part of the overall delivery. Management suggested it will moderate as a percentage of revenue in the coming quarters. 5) India utilization declined 40bps QoQ to 75.9% in Q4. Steady deployment of freshers over the next few months will act as a margin lever in the near term. 6) Attrition moderated to 19.8% in Q4 vs. 21.6% in Q3, and management expects it to continue trailing down. 7) PSYS has on-boarded over 3,000 freshers in FY23 and plans to add 800-1000 freshers in FY24. 8) PSYS is actively looking at M&As, particularly in areas of consumer tech, cyber security, generative AI, and specific segments in healthcare and financial services, and, to expand its delivery capability in Eastern Europe. 9) PSYS has hedges of USD230mn as of end-Q4, at an average exchange rate of Rs82.83/USD. 10) It declared a final dividend of Rs12/share and special dividend of Rs10/share (including interim dividend of Rs28/share, total dividend of Rs50/share for FY23).

JK Tyre Develops PCR Tyre With 80% Sustainable Recycled & Renewable Material

·         Developed & Engineered by the R&D team at the “Raghupati Singhania Centre of Excellence”- JK Tyre’s Global Tech Centre at Mysore.

As a part of the company’s commitment towards sustainable development, Indian tyre major JK Tyre & Industries developed an all new sustainable tyre, which will deliver performance comparable to that of a standard radial tyre while registering a lower carbon footprint. The “Ux Green” tyre was tested extensively in indoor and outdoor on roads as well as on test tracks to validate the performance.

Designed and developed by the talented team at JK Tyre, based on the decade long research, conducted at JK Tyre's Global Tech Centre, the R&D team has been working on creating alternate solutions that will allow products to replace conventional petroleum-based materials with sustainable material.

Commenting on this breakthrough success, Dr. Raghupati Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, JK Tyre said, “Offering a product that is so closely connected with our overall sustainability goals is something we at JK Tyre are very proud of. With a strong emphasis on creating substitutes to conserve the ecosystem, the tyre has been fully designed & developed using 80% sustainable materials. This development is not only a reflection of our highly skilled R&D team, but it also reinforces our serious commitment to advancing sustainable growth and boosting societal value creation, moving towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The range of such tyres will be offered in due course.

The product development was done consciously using recycled, renewables and bio-based materials. The tyre is developed with highly sustainable materials like natural rubber, bio-attributed SBR and BR, bio-based oil, recycled rubber powder, recovered carbonaceous black, recycled polyester and steel wire. Majority of these materials are ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) certified.

About JK Tyre & Industries Limited :

The flagship company of the JK Group, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd is among the world’s top 25 manufacturers. Pioneers of radial technology, the Company produced the first radial tyre in 1977 and is currently the market leader in the Truck Bus Radial segment. The Company provides end-to-end solutions across passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, farming and Off-the-Road as well as two[1]and three-wheeler segments. A global force, JK Tyre is present in 105 countries with more than 180global distributors. The Company has 12 globally benchmarked ‘sustainable’ manufacturing facilities – 9 in India and 3 in Mexico – that collectively produce around 32 million tyres annually. The Company also has a strong network of more than 6000 dealers and 650+ dedicated brand shops called Steel Wheels and Xpress Wheels.