In this weekly roundup, we will talk about Ukraine’s crticism of PM Modi’s Russia visit, inflows into equity mutual funds, Air India’s voluntary separation scheme, and more.
Here’s the Weekly Business Roundup at 10:00 am on 14th July, 2024.
[Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated]
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Let’s begin…MSME body Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises has urged the government to introduce a sector-agnostic production linked incentive scheme tailored specifically for MSMEs, with a focus on employment generation. In its detailed 10-point recommendations to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the first full budget of the Modi 3.0 government on July 23, FISME highlighted the need for a revised PLI framework that prioritizes sectors capable of generating maximum employment per unit of investment, positioning MSMEs to gain significantly. FISME expressed concerns about the existing PLI scheme’s ad-hoc and potentially lobby-driven approach, which may neglect crucial sectors. The organization emphasized the absence of key metrics such as job creation—an area where MSMEs demonstrate strong performance.
Next up, India’s private credit market is booming, drawing a host of new players into the segment, but experts say this trend has raised concerns about the potential mispricing of risk in the market. Several players such as Vivriti Asset Management, UTI Alternatives, Neo Asset Management, and others have launched private credit funds in recent months and global players such as Cerberus Capital Management plans to expand its private credit portfolio in the country. Data published by Sebi in the second half of 2023 show at least 11 new alternative investment funds have registered with it for credit/special situation orientation and five are in the process of registration. Nine funds announced new fundraises over $2 billion in the second half of 2023.
On to the crypto world. Cifdaq, a new-age fintech company, has unveiled plans to launch its centralised exchange in August, Sanjay Saxena, CEO and co-founder of the company told FE. This launch aims to provide a platform for trading top crypto currencies and introduce a suite of other financial products. Cifdaq’s exchange will initially support trading for the top 20 crypto currencies paired with the Indian Rupee, with plans to expand to include derivatives and options trading. Further, the company plans to launch an android app and the exchange will also be supported on the website. Despite India’s cautious stance on cryptocurrencies, Cifdaq remains optimistic about its potential in the Indian market.
Over to aviation sector. Air India plans to introduce a voluntary separation scheme for around 600 employees whose roles are expected to be redundant after the merger with Vistara. However, the entire flying crew will be retained as the airline plans massive operational expansion post-merger, sources said. Air India did not respond to an email query. In the recent past, Air India’s management has communicated to the employees that several jobs might become redundant after the merger. To minimise job losses, the Tata Group is trying to offer some employees new roles by upskilling them and placing others in different group companies. The sources said that the scheme might get implemented by the middle of this month. And that the board will deliberate on it.
In other news – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visit to Moscow, highlighting a tragic attack on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. On the day Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, two people were killed and many others injured in the attack on a children’s cancer hospital. Zelensky alleged that Russia deliberately targeted the hospital, branding Putin as “the world’s bloodiest criminal” and expressing disappointment over Modi’s engagement with him. In response, the Russian Defence Ministry denied targeting the hospital, claiming that the damage was caused by a Ukrainian air-defence missile. Russia dismissed Kyiv’s allegations as ‘hysteria’ and stated that its attacks focused on Ukraine’s military and strategic bases.
Over to Tech, six months since its launch, PhonePe’s Indus Appstore, an alternative to Google Play Store continues its fight for large-scale adoption by smartphone manufacturers and consumers. The app store has recorded two million downloads since its launch, which is just 0.3% of the country’s smartphone users. As per analysts, the pace needs to quicken if it has to dent Google s near monopoly in the segment. The biggest hurdle Indus faces is convincing smartphone manufacturers to pre-install it on their devices. Users have to download it from the company’s website, and also see a warning from Google’s Android that the file may be unsecured. Google Play Store comes pre-installed in all Android phones. Most smartphone manufacturers are evaluating PhonePe’s proposal to pre-install Indus Appstore.
Lastly, Inflows into equity mutual funds surged by 17% to Rs 40,608.19 crore in June, setting a new high, according to the latest data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) on July 9. This follows a record high net inflow of Rs 34,697 crore in May, which had surged by 83.42%. The mutual fund industry’s assets under management rose to Rs 61.16 lakh crore in June. Meanwhile, debt mutual funds saw net outflows of Rs 1,07,357.62 crore during the month. Overall, open-ended mutual funds experienced net outflows of Rs 43,108.80 crore in June. Inflows into open-ended equity funds have remained positive for the 40th consecutive month.
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