Business News at 05:30 pm on 6th October 2023

Let’s begin.The department of telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are at loggerheads over the high connection rates charged by telcos and internet service providers from public data offices. PDOs are local outlets deploying public Wi-Fi hotspots under the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface programme. Telcos and ISPs are charging up to Rs 8 lakh a year from PDOs and public data office aggregators for supplying internet-leased lines for bandwidth and other fibre resources needed to deploy public Wi-Fi hotspots. DoT believes that the demand of PDOs and associations like Broadband India Forum for a reduction in charges by telcos is justified. Trai, however, is not convinced with the idea of intervening in business operations of ISPs and telcos on the grounds of tariff forbearance.
Meanwhile, L&T’s chairman and managing director SN Subrahmanyan says the firm is facing a shortage of about 35,000 labourers. He told FE, quote, “We just don’t get enough labour, and the shortage is across business segments. The lack of skilled hands continued even after the pandemic, the time when the labourers migrated back to their villages,” unquote. L&T’s problem mirrors that of the industry in general, and infrastructure sector in particular. Last month, RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka voiced similar concerns on microblogging site. The problem seems to be growing by the day. According to TeamLease Services data, India is grappling with an alarming shortage of about 150 million skilled workers.
On to banking. The department of investment and public asset management has extended the application deadline to October 30 for firms interested in working as asset valuer for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank. Earlier, the last date for submission of bids by asset valuers was October 9. According to the eligibility criteria, the asset valuer entity has to be registered with the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India . On January 7, the Centre received multiple expressions of interest from domestic and foreign investors for the 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank, which will go to the successful bidder along with management control. The offer comprises 30.48% from the government and 30.24% from LIC, the current promoter.
On to industry. Nasscom chairperson and Cognizant India CMD Rajesh Nambiar says over 3.32 lakh tech jobs have been posted in Q1 FY24 and this is evidence of the fact the industry is not shrinking. Speaking to Financial Express, Nambiar observed the demand environment was a cautious one. He added, quote, “Macro uncertainty and recessionary fears has resulted in some clients delaying decisions. This will probably continue for a few more quarters. But we see a lot of green shoots in artificial intelligence adoption and emerging technologies,” unquote. Companies, he said, are focused on enhancing utilisation and are shifting to just-in-time hiring.
Next up, aviation. IndiGo, India’s biggest airline, is introducing a fuel charge on domestic and international routes from October 6 to offset the surge in aviation turbine fuel prices, the company announced on Thursday. Starting with Rs 300 for a sector distance of up to 500km, the charge goes up to Rs 1000 for more than 3501km. ATF typically makes up 40% of the airline ticket price. The airline in a statement said, quote, “The decision follows the significant increase in ATF prices, which have surged in the last three months with consecutive price hikes every month,” unquote. Since July 1, there has been a 30% increase in ATF prices. From Rs 90,857/kl, cost of ATF has jumped to Rs 118,199/kl as of October 1, according to Indian Oil data.
Moving on. Incidents of stubble burning after paddy harvesting in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi, since September 15 are up 67% to 1154 till Thursday compared to the same period last year. However officials said that these are early days as the paddy harvesting is being carried out in northern states, while last year the harvesting was delayed because of rains in the first week of August. According to the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi, Punjab has reported 754 paddy straw burning incidents which is 38% more than last year while Haryana has reported 190 incidents so far.
Lastly, let’s see which stocks you need to watch out. These include TCS, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, and BHEL. The IT major has been positioned as a Market Leader (Horizon 3) in the HFS Horizons for Supply Chain Service Providers. The study evaluates the capabilities of 18 providers across a range of dimensions to understand the why, what, how, and so What of their service offerings. Larsen & Toubro has informed the exchanges that the application for voluntary liquidation of L&T Hydrocarbon Caspian LLC (Azerbaijan), a Joint Venture of Larsen & Toubro has been approved by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.