Indian Farmers Support Government's Decision To Continue Use Of 24 Essential Pesticides

The Government of India after an extensive review of 27 pesticides through an appointed Expert Committee, based on substantial data on safety and efficacy submitted by the Pesticides industry, decided to continue the use of 24 pesticides. This decision has been welcomed and lauded by the agri community, including small holding farmers as they have been already safely using these products for the last decades on multiple crops.

This move will ensure that Indian farmers continue to have access to the technology for crop protection at an affordable price, as these pesticides are manufactured in India.

The government's decision to continue the use of these critical 24 pesticides demonstrates the realities of agriculture and the importance of farmers having access to technology that is affordable as they need to produce quality food at an affordable price compared to exorbitantly expensive imported substitute pesticides.

Farmers across the country have welcomed the government's decision, saying that access to safe and effective pesticides is critical for protecting crops and ensuring a good harvest. The continued use of these 24 critical pesticides is a necessary step towards safeguarding India's food production system while ensuring that farmers can continue to produce food efficiently and sustainably.

Gavneet Singh, Director, Ambala Farmer Producer Organizations, Haryana, said, "As farmers, we know how important it is to have access to safe and effective pesticides to protect our crops and ensure a good harvest. This decision by the government is a positive step as these pesticides continue to be recommended by the State Agriculture Universities and farmers have the experience of using them safely on their crops.”

Harpreet Singh, CEO Pehowa Farmer Producer Organizations, Haryana, said “this is an important step towards safeguarding yield and livelihood. We have worked with these pesticides and confident of its performance. Opting for any alternative may have impacted our input costs and overall production."

Pest and disease control is critical for maintaining the quality and safety of our food supply. The continued use of these 24 critical pesticides is a necessary step as these pesticides are also used as mixture with relatively new products for resistance management against potentially resistant weeds, insects and diseases.

Insect pests can create crop damages between 20 – 30 % including grains stored in the warehouses.  Pesticides are also used as smart fumigants for grain storage to protect crops from storage insects in wheat, rice, pulses and oil-seeds. 

Government of India has already approved use of drones for safer and efficient use of pesticides. Pest and disease control is critical for maintaining the quality and safety of our food supply. Pesticides are carefully designed to target specific pests and diseases, and their use is strictly regulated to ensure that they do not harm non-target organisms or the environment.

AU Bank Deposits Grow 32% YoY, Advances Grows 26% YoY And Full Year Profit Grows 26% YoY To Rs 1,428 Crore

Highlights

* Bank declares Dividend of Rs. 1/- per equity share (10% of face value) for FY23 

* Profitability – Net profit for Q4’FY23 was up 23% YoY at Rs 425 Cr; full year FY23 PAT at Rs 1,428 Cr; RoA for Q4’FY23/FY23 at 2.0%/1.8% and RoE at 15.8%/15.4% 

* RBI approves re-appointment of  Chairman Mr. R V Verma for his residual tenure till Jan’24 

* MD & CEO Mr. Sanjay Agarwal for the period of 3 years 

* ED, Mr. Uttam Tibrewal for the period of 3 years  

* RBI grants the Bank Authorised Dealer Category – I (AD Cat-I) license for offering Forex and cross-border trade related services 

* Dividend - The Board has further recommended a dividend of Rs. 1/- per equity share (10% of face value) for the year ended March 2023 

* Addition of Independent Directors - Bank further strengthened and expanded its Board with the addition of 3 independent directors during the year taking the total *

* Board strength to 10 directors with 8 of them being independent directors including 2 women directors   

* Deposits grows 32% YoY to Rs 69,365 Cr; CASA deposits grow by 36% YoY to reach Rs 26,660 Cr; CASA ratio at 38.4% and CASA + Retail deposit at 69%  

* Balance Sheet crosses Rs 90,000 Cr    

* Asset quality improved further Gross NPA reduced by 15 bps to 1.66% and net NPA at 0.42% 

* Provisioning strengthened further with Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) at 75%; PCR including technical write-off at 78%   

* Contingency provision now at Rs 90 Cr; floating provision maintained at Rs 41 Cr and provisions for standard restructured assets at Rs 116 Cr 

* Bank opened 108 new touchpoints in FY23, taking the total physical network to 1,027 touchpoints across 21 States and 3 Union Territories 

The Board of Directors of AU Small Finance Bank Limited at its meeting held today, approved the financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2023. 

Executive Summary 

The Bank has navigated the first 6 years of its Banking operations relatively well despite the macro headwinds like Demonetization, GST implementation, NBFC & private Banking events and COVID-19 pandemic and during this period, the Bank has delivered a consistent performance with Deposits growing at a CAGR of 54%, Advances growing at a CAGR of 35% and Balance Sheet growing at a CAGR of 37% respectively for the period from FY18 to FY23.   

FY23 was a year of uncertain macro and global headwinds with tighter liquidity and higher inflation leading to significant increase in interest rates and stronger competition for deposits. Amidst this challenging and unsettled environment, the Bank continued to deliver a consistent and strong performance across parameters while continuing to progress on the journey of building a standardized, scalable and sustainable banking franchise across deposits, assets and digital banking. 

1.    Financial Highlights 

Full year FY2023 highlights  

Business 

Bank’s total balance sheet grew by 31% YoY to Rs  90,216 Crore  

Deposits grew by 32% YoY to Rs  69,365 Cr; CASA at 38.4% as against 37.3% as on 31st Mar’22 

Cost of Funds increased by 1 bps YoY to 5.96%   

88% of loan book is retail in nature and 92% of loan book is secured 

Ratio of fixed rate to floating rate loans has decreased to 66:34, from 74:26 as on Mar’22 

Profitability 

Total income stood at Rs  9,240 Crore, up 34% YoY; NII at Rs 4,425 Crore, up 37% YoY 

Net profit for the full year FY23 is at Rs 1,428 Crore, up 26% YoY 

NIM for FY23 was maintained at 6.1% (including assigned/securitized book)  

ROA stood at 1.8% and ROE at 15.4% even as we continue to invest significantly in people, digital, branding, products and distribution to build a future ready bank 

Asset quality  

Bank’s Asset quality improved significantly with GNPA at 1.66% in Mar’23 vs 1.98% in Mar’22 

Net NPA stood at 0.42% of net advances in Mar’23 vs 0.50% in Mar’22 

Provision coverage ratio remain at 75% whereas PCR inclusive of technical write-off is at 78%  

Apart from provision of Rs  695 Crore against GNPA pool, Bank has, additionally, maintained following provision buffer 

Provision against restructured book at Rs  116 Crore (17% of restructured book)  

Contingency provision of Rs  90 Crore (0.15% of advances) 

Floating provision of Rs  41 Crore (0.07% of advances) 

Standard provisions of Rs  191 Crore (0.33% of advances) 

Capital Adequacy 

Bank remains well capitalized with  

Total CRAR at 23.6% as against minimum requirement 15%  

Tier-I capital ratio of 21.8% as against minimum requirement 7.5%  

Q4’FY23 financial results  

Net profit for the quarter rose by 23% YoY to Rs  425 Crore  

Net Interest Margin (NIM) for Q4’FY23 at 6.1% vs. 6.3% in Q4’FY22 

ROA for Q4’FY23 stood at 2.0% and ROE at 15.8%  

Cost of funds for Q4’FY23 increased by 32 bps to 6.29% vs. 5.97% in Q3’FY23 

2.    Digital and Payment business 

The Bank’s digital properties like AU 0101, Video Banking, Credit cards, UPI QR etc. continue to see strong momentum 

The Bank has 5 Lacs+ live Credit cards and installed ~10 Lacs QR codes till 31-March’23 

Of the total credit card issued, over 26% of customers are first time users of Credit card and 64% of the customers are new to Bank 

2.9 Lac+ Savings Account opened digitally via Video Banking till date with total deposit relationship of Rs 1,150+ Cr 

3.    Dividend for FY23 

The Board of Directors of the Bank recommended dividend of Rs. 1/- per equity shares (10% of face value) from the net profit for the year ended 31st March 2023, subject to approval of shareholders. The dividend on equity shares will be paid/dispatched after the same is approved by the shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bank.    

4.    Addition to the Board 

Our focus on governance remains our key priority and the Bank appointed 3 independent directors during the year with Ms. Kavita Venugopal joining as an independent director in Q4’FY23 taking the total Board strength to 10 directors with 8 of them being Independent Directors including 2 women director. 

5.    Other key updates 

The Bank has expanded its presence to 108 new touchpoints in the form of Asset Centres, Bank Branches, Bank Outlet (BO) and Smart BC and its network is spread across 1,027 touchpoints as on Mar 31, 2023 

CARE Ratings has re-affirmed long-term credit rating of the Bank to CARE AA/Stable. The rating on Short-term Instruments (Certificate of Deposits) of the Bank has been reaffirmed at CARE A1+  

Key awards during the quarter: 

AU Bank is adjudged as a “Great Place To Work” for the 3rd consecutive year; among the Top 25 BFSI Brands by “Great Place To Work” (GPTW) 

AU Bank won “India’s Best Small Finance Bank” award at BFSI & FinTech Awards 2023 by Dun & Bradstreet    

AU Bank won “Retail Banker International Asia Trailblazer Award” for 2022-23  in the  category of “Excellence in Talent Management”  

AU Bank received “Silver Shield for Excellence in Financial Reporting” at the ICAI awards 2021-22 in the private sector Bank category  

AU Bank rated “AA” by MSCI ESG Ratings for our ESG initiatives   

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank said, "The Bank has delivered another quarter and another year of consistent performance across all parameters despite the challenges around inflation, liquidity leading to higher interest rates. Amidst a difficult market, we have managed to grow our deposit book while keeping our CASA ratio stable and making our deposits more granular and retail.  Our asset quality has also improved further this year with net NPA coming down to 0.4%. Our focus on governance remains our top priority and with the addition of 3 new independent directors during the year, the total Board strength has now reached to 10 directors with 8 of them being Independent Directors including 2 women directors. As a Bank, we are positioning ourselves to take advantage of the India opportunity over the next decade – be it products, technology, distribution or manpower. We continue to lay foundation of building a sustainable and well governed, pan-India Bank with a generational mindset having practices and processes which are Standardised, Scalable and Sustainable. 

As AU Bank completes 6th year as a Small Finance Bank and 28 years as an Institution, it gives me immense satisfaction and pride as a founder and an entrepreneur and receiving the Authorized Dealer Category – I license (AD-I) on our anniversary date of 19th April was the perfect gift that any Institution could have wished for. I would like to express my gratitude to the Government, RBI and other regulators for their support and guidance and to our Investors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders for their unwavering trust in AU. To express gratitude to our shareholders the Board has recommended a dividend of Rs. 1/- per equity share (10% of face value) for FY23”. 

Nruthya Madappa Elevated To Partner At 3one4 Capital Of Startups

3one4 Capital, Bengaluru-based early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the elevation of Nruthya Madappa to the role of Partner. Nruthya, who leads the Growth and Capital Development team, has been instrumental in driving the consistent success of 3one4 Capital's impressive portfolio of startups.

Since joining 3one4 Capital in 2020, Nruthya has been a driving force behind the firm's expansion. She has helped steer portfolio companies towards success by securing funding, driving revenue growth, and facilitating successful exits. Her expertise in technology, finance, and economic policy has helped her identify and support some of the most promising companies that include Open, BetterPlace, and Kapiva in India's dynamic startup ecosystem.

As a Partner, Nruthya's background in creating and growing multiple businesses to market-leading positions, both as a venture capitalist and previously at high-growth companies, makes her the ideal partner for founders in growth-stage scaling. She collaborates deeply with exceptional founders and mobilises a global set of resources and relationships to amplify their scale. The deep involvement model that is embedded in the firm's DNA at 3one4 Capital has significantly heightened in coverage thanks to her contributions.

Pranav Pai, Founding Partner at 3one4 Capital, commented, "Nruthya's elevation is a testament to her unwavering dedication to the venture practice and her exceptional commitment to delivering consistent performance. We are proud to have her join our partnership and look forward to seeing her continue to drive outsized results for our portfolio companies."

Anurag Ramdasan, Partner at 3one4 Capital, added, "Nruthya's extensive experience in creating and scaling businesses, coupled with her talent for identifying and supporting some of India's most promising startups, make her an ideal partner for founders seeking to build market leading companies from India."

Commenting on Nruthya’s elevation to Partner, Anand Anandkumar, Founder of Bugworks Research said, “Nruthya's steadfast dedication to nurturing the ecosystem has been critical to Bugworks' triumph in securing high-quality follow-on investors, especially in the face of a daunting fundraising landscape. Nruthya's compassionate leadership style, coupled with her unwavering positive attitude, make her a role model for aspiring leaders to emulate.”

“Nruthya's elevation to Partner at 3one4 capital is a testament to her exceptional work in early-stage investing. Her consistent support and hands-on approach have been critical to our success as a healthcare startup. We're thrilled to see her take on this new role and are confident that she will continue to make a significant impact in the startup ecosystem,” added Mudit Dandwate, Co-founder, Dozee.

The elevation of Nruthya Madappa to Partner underscores 3one4 Capital's commitment to building leaders from within and supporting the growth and success of its portfolio companies. As the firm continues to scale and expand its presence across the Indian startup ecosystem, it is confident that Nruthya will play a pivotal role in shaping its future.

About 3one4 Capital

3one4 Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India.

The firm works in select market categories and in the intersection of adjacencies that are large, growing, and ready for unique products and services. The themes pursued are SaaS, Enterprise & SMB Automation, Fintech, Consumer Internet, and Digital Health, with a focus on areas such as machine-driven actionable intelligence services, digital media, ambient intelligence technologies, logistics and distribution, and climate and sustainability tech.

At 3one4, the team has intentionally built a long-term alignment to Responsible Investing and to support the evolution of an ecosystem conducive to RI. This active commitment has helped the firm secure the signatory status to the UN PRI, making 3one4 Capital the first Venture Capital signatory from India and the fifth overall asset management firm approved from India.

3one4 Capital has been ranked by Preqin, a global reference database for asset management, as India’s top performer for two of its funds in the recent Alternative Assets report. The seed and early-stage funds managed by the firm have been recognized for their performance amongst the India-focused venture capital funds in this Asia Pacific-focused report published in 2021. With industry-leading Net IRRs, 3one4 Capital’s Rising I & Fund II are the top two amongst the best performing India-focused VC funds between the vintage years, 2010- 2018.

EliteMatrimony Launches “Success-Based Matchmaking” Service!

~Now Elites members can enjoy matchmaking services for a minimal service charge ~ 

EliteMatrimony, part of Matrimony.com group, has rolled out India’s first-ever success-based matchmaking service for elites. With this revolutionary and first-of-its-kind success-fee based plan, Indian elites can enjoy services for a minimal service charge.  

EliteMatrimony is a premium matchmaking service that helps elite Indians find a suitable life partner basis their lifestyle, social status, and preferences. With 15 years of experience, dedicated relationship managers, a large pool of elite members, and thousands of successful elite matches, EliteMatrimony is India’s top matchmaking service for India’s illustrious families. 

With the launch of this service, Elite customers can now opt for a success fees model where they pay a minimal monthly charge to get access to a dedicated relationship manager who serves them suitable matches, and facilitates introductions. The customer pays a success-fees only once a match is fixed through EliteMatrimony. 

Sharing details about their unique service, Mr Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO, Matrimony.com, said, “We offer exclusive matchmaking, personalised services to our elite members, while maintaining 100% confidentiality.  Success-fee based service showcases our commitment in helping our customers find their match. The strength of our member base and quality of customer service gives us the confidence to launch this service.” 

Sterling Generators Reflects Strong Order Book Of ~ INR 510 Crore For FY 22-23

* Order wins worth ~INR 185 crore only in the Data center segment 

Sterling Generators Private Limited (SGPL), a Sterling and Wilson Group Company and one of India's leading genset players announced that it has bagged orders of over ~INR 510 crore in the Financial Year ending March 31st, 2023. 

SGPL with its new engine partner Moteurs Baudouin has been rapidly gaining ground in the auxiliary power industry by securing multiple orders in the commercial segment. Moreover, the company recently achieved a significant breakthrough by winning three orders in the Data Centers segment from large customers, including one in Malaysia and two in India. Data centres have become mission-critical for many important businesses and support essential information management for large institutions. Hence, reliable power backup becomes imperative to avoid data loss during power outages. According to reports, the global data center generator market is poised to grow at a CAGR between 4-5% by 2030, which makes the market conducive to invest.  

Commenting on the strong performance, Mr. Sanjay Jadhav, CEO, Sterling Generators Private Limited said, “Post our strategic tie up with Moteurs Baudouin, there has been an uptick in the order book for Sterling Generators. This reflects the superior product in hand in terms of technology compared to other players in the industry. “ 

“Data centers have emerged as a favoured infrastructure asset class as demand for data has shot through the roof post the pandemic. Our product offers 100% up-time with high reliability, wide range and superior features best suited for data centers. With Asia’s leading genset manufacturing plant and a robust distributor network, Sterling Generators is ready to take up the mantle to globally deliver reliable 24*7 power backup solutions,” he further added. 

Ageas Federal Life Insurance's “iSecure Plan” Helps To Financially Secure Your Family At An Affordable Cost

Ageas Federal Life Insurance (AFLI), one of India's leading life insurance companies announced the launch of its “Ageas Federal Life Insurance iSecure Plan” – an online term plan that provides comprehensive protection at an affordable cost. The iSecure Plan offers options and features that help you to enhance financial security for your loved ones as per your personal preferences and needs.  

The policyholder has the flexibility to choose two optional add-on benefits at inception of the plan on payment of additional premium. The first optional benefit is enhancement of Life Stage Cover at various important milestones of life such as marriage, children’s birth or taking out of a home loan, without the need for additional health checks. This option allows the policyholder to plan in advance for enhanced protection at different stages of life. By opting for this benefit at a nominal increase in premium, he avoids the need to invest in new policies at later stages in life which might come at a much higher cost.  

Under the second optional benefit, an Accidental Death Benefit (ADB) Cover is additionally paid out in case of death due to an accident. 

The iSecure plan has an option for the policyholder to receive all their premiums back at the end of the term if he survives till maturity of the policy. The plan offers further flexibility by allowing the policyholder to define the policy term as per his personal requirements. This allows him to ensure financial security for his loved ones basis his life stage, responsibilities, assets and liabilities. The plan also offers premium payment options to suit every preference. The policyholder can either opt for single pay, limited pay or regular pay.  

This plan can be purchased online from the Company website –

www.ageasfederal.com at a time and place convenient to you. 

Commenting on the new plan, Mr. Karthik Raman, CMO and Head – Products, Ageas Federal Life Insurance said, “We, at Ageas Federal, aspire to provide a comfortable life for our customers and their loved ones, financially securing their future dreams and safeguarding them from life’s uncertainties. Our iSecure plan caters to today’s digitally savvy customer who prefers add-on benefits and desires convenience, flexibility, and efficiency.” 

Capri Global Capital Ltd Appoints- Basant Dhawan As Its “Group Chief Marketing Officer”

Capri Global Capital Ltd (CGCL), a leading NBFC, has appointed Basant Dhawan as its Group Chief Marketing Officer. He will spearhead the Marketing portfolio and will be responsible for planning, developing, implementing and monitoring the marketing strategy across all businesses as the company enters next stage of growth. This includes brand marketing, brand building, strategic communications, digital and social media marketing strategies. His role will be instrumental in scaling the company’s growth in new and existing markets and broadening the organization’s reach. Dhawan will be responsible for devising strategies and overseeing overall marketing efforts that will in turn reinforce strong brand recognition and elevate equity across India. Dhawan will focus on establishing a strategic brand roadmap for the entire consortium of company’s brands operating within multiple business segments across Metro cities, Tier II and Tier III Markets.  

Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) and part of the NIFTY Smallcap 250 Index, CGCL operates in high-growth segments such as MSME Loans, Affordable Housing Finance, Gold Loans, and Construction Finance. 

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Rajesh Sharma, Managing Director, Capri Global Capital Ltd said, “We are on an exciting journey of growth with an unwavering commitment to serve an unbanked population of the country. We are excited to have Basant Dhawan joining our team of accomplished and dedicated leaders as we evolve our business into new areas, grow our regional footprint, and vision to position ourselves as a game changer in credit inclusion. We are confident that his unrivaled acumen, unwavering commitment to delivering results and fostering creativity will propel the marketing efforts of the company and reinforce our brand strength in today's ever-evolving digital landscape”. 

A tenured and experienced business leader, Dhawan brings more than two decades of proven experience of building brands across industries, developing and nurturing high-performing teams and creating innovative marketing strategies. Prior to joining CGCL, Dhawan held several leadership positions across industries ranging from Media & Entertainment, Telecom & Sports. In his last assignment, he served as a Chief Executive Officer at Twenty First Century Media (TCM). Before that he was the CEO for CNN News 18 & CNBC set of channels with Network 18. He has had a successful stint in Sports Broadcasting at Star India as Sr V.P & Head Emerging Sports.  

Dhawan is an IMM Calcutta alumnus and completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication from Manipal Institute of Technology.