NEW DELHI : Indian Railways‘ wholly-owned subsidiary RailTel Corporation of India Ltd has bagged an order from Webel Technology Ltd (WTL), a Govt of West Bengal undertaking for Capacity Enhancement of West Bengal State Data Centre (WB-SDC).
The work order is valued at ₹98.56 Crore (including GST). This order has been acquired through open competitive bidding process and reaffirms RailTel’s expanding customers’ base in this field.
The awarded work entails supply, installation, commissioning & integration of Hyper converged Infrastructure with Necessary HCI compatible Network, Load Balancing, Backup Software, Software, Network Security, DLP Software, Application Performance Management Software & Centralized Monitoring Software.
The scope of work also covers the Non-IT Part of Data Centre. The proposed SDC centralized cloud environment will be used to host multiple e-governance, citizen centric applications with simplified operations and increased application responsiveness.
Talking about it Sanjai Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, RailTel said, “Securing this prestigious project from Government of West Bengal is an endorsement of RailTel’s key position in the domestic IT space based on its strong technology expertise, process excellence and superior execution capabilities.“
“Once this project is completed, e-governance will further get boost in West Bengal. We are committed to provide best services to our all stake holders. With such job orders, RailTel is well- positioned to win other State Data Centre (SDC) projects as well,” he added.
Bandhan Bank which recently received bids for offloading its written-off portfolio to an asset reconstruction company (ARC), is said to be the first such issuance by this Kolkata-based private lender. Notably, Bandhan Bank’s written-off portfolio with an outstanding of ₹8,897 crore is on account of small businesses and agriculture loans (SBAL) or micro-credit advances.
Earlier, this week, Bandhan Bank received bids worth ₹801 crore from an asset reconstruction company (ARC) for the written-off portfolio with an outstanding of ₹8,897 crore.
Sources told PTI on Friday said, this is for the first time that the bank will sell stressed loans to an ARC.
Bandhan Bank’s board has approved the transfer Group Loan and SBAL written-off portfolio to Asset Reconstruction Company (‘ARC’).
In its regulatory filing on Wednesday, Bandhan Bank said that it shall go for bidding as per the Swiss challenge method and the decision of sale shall be taken as per extant guidelines governing the Swiss challenge method and the relevant Policy of the Bank.
Further, the sources added that the bank will receive bids on the reserve price of ₹801 crore under the swiss challenge method, and the highest bidder will get hold of the portfolio.
On BSE, Bandhan Bank shares closed at ₹226.85 apiece down by 2.09%. The lender’s market cap is around ₹36,541.58 crore.
By end of the September 2022 quarter, Bandhan Bank’s gross non-performing assets improved to 7.19% as against 10.8% in Q2FY22. The bank’s net NPAs further improved to 1.86% against 3.04% in Q2 of FY22. Also, the lender has written off about ₹3,535 crore of micro-credit loans during the second quarter of FY23. However, the bank’s provisions doubled from ₹643 crore in the year earlier to ₹1,279.7 crore in the September 2022 quarter.
Recently, Yes Bank offloaded its stressed assets loan portfolio to the tune of a whopping ₹48,000 crore to J.C. Flowers Asset Reconstruction (JC Flowers ARC). Yes Bank too had conducted a transparent bidding process based on the Swiss Challenge method under the aegis of RBI’s master direction on the transfer of loan exposures. The process was conducted with the bids submitted by JC Flowers being designated as the ‘Base Bid’.
Google has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking a stay on an order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that has imposed a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore on the US tech giant for business malpractices and using its dominant market position in certain markets.
According to two people familiar with the development, besides Google, smartphone makers Karbonn Mobiles and Micromax have filed separate petitions in response to certain directions in the CCI order that the companies claim may harm users indirectly through third-party software or apps that may not be as safe as Android.
The companies said in the event Google imposes additional costs for licensing, it would be passed on to users.
“We have decided to appeal the CCI’s decision on Android as we believe it presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android’s security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices. Android has greatly benefitted Indian users, developers, and original equipment manufacturer (OEMs), and powered India’s digital transformation,” Google said in a statement on Friday.
Karbonn and Micromax executives were not immediately available for comment.
According to the order, phones that run on Android should not be forced to pre-install Google services. It had also asked Google to provide fair access to all stakeholders.
NEW DELHI : More than 59,700 companies are in the process of being removed from official records for not filing their annual reports for the last two years, latest data from the ministry of corporate affairs showed.
During October, more than 8,000 firms were added to the list of companies that are being struck off for not doing any economic activity and for defaulting on filing statutory documents. If there is no economic activity, companies have the option to secure dormant status and avoid getting removed from official records.
The figures show the extent of businesses that remain defunct even as 10,000- 14,000 new companies are incorporated every month.
As per information from the ministry, over 432,000 companies have been removed from official records in the last five years. In FY22 alone, over 49,900 companies were struck off for defaulting on filing statutory documents for two consecutive years.
Companies are removed from official records either on request by the company or by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) on its own accord. Grounds for striking off a company includes failure to commence business within a year of incorporation, not carrying on business for continuous two financial years, subscribers not paying share subscription money within 180 days of incorporation and the RoC finding during a physical verification of registered office that a company is not doing any business.
At the end of October, there were nearly 1.5 million active companies and over 2,400 companies have secured dormant status. In October, 10,725 companies were formed with over ₹1,200 crore authorized capital. Maharashtra saw the highest number of new companies incorporated, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. In November, over 12,800 companies and over 3,750 limited liability partnerships (LLPs) were set up.
Companies not carrying on any economic activity and default on statutory filings are different from those entities usually referred to as ‘shell companies’ that are used by wrongdoers for financial crimes like generating black money and money laundering. These entities usually comply with their statutory filing requirements, but come under regulatory radar as their transactions lack substance or economic rationale.
The authorities give an opportunity for the company to explain the default in filing the documents and if no response is received or if it is not satisfactory, the process of removing the company from records is initiated. In 2020, the government had offered a ‘fresh start scheme’ to businesses to make good any filing related defaults and to make a fresh start as a fully compliant company.
NEW DELHI : The year-end festive holidays will witness 10-25% growth in alcobev sales across categories, industry insiders said.
Nao Spirits & Beverages Pvt. Ltd, which sells Greater Than and Hapusa gins, is expecting 25% more sales over the year- ago, while luxury goods LVMH-owned spirits major Moët Hennessy India, which makes Chandon Brut here as well as sells brands like Moët & Chandon, Glenmorangie and Belvedere vodka is expecting higher consumption this quarter over the same period in 2019. “We are already 35% over our 2019 numbers for this year for all our imported wines and spirits, mainly driven by Glenmorangie and Belvedere. We have had two very successful quarters this year and are expecting to see a similar trend during this quarter as a result of festivities and other celebrations. This will largely be driven by sales in the single malt, champagne and Chandon rose category,” said Ipsita Das, managing director for the firm.
Hina Nagarajan, managing director and chief executive, Diageo India, maker of brands like Royal Challenge, Johnny Walker and Smirnoff, said it is witnessing consistent growth in demand across states, based on positive consumer trends and a revival in consumption, during the first full festive season post-covid.
“Apart from whisky, gin is growing really fast, with both international and Indian gins becoming popular among new consumers. Vodka as well as rum are making a come-back in select consumer segments and geographies. Gifting and on-trade and social consumption will drive strong growth this season,” she added.
According to Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (India) (CIABC) the sector is witnessing a strong sales upswing, and is expected to clock 14-15% growth from the year earlier, and about 11% higher than FY20.
The industry body expects premium products, upwards of ₹1,000 per bottle, to grow at over 45% and the ₹500-1,000 a bottle products at over 20%, together accounting for 20% of total industry sales.
Mumbai’s Monika Alcobev Ltd, a supplier and distributor of alcohols, is seeing a big sales spike in super-premium spirits and expects to end December with 10 times more sales than any other month, driven by Hayman’s Gin, 1800 Tequila, Bushmills, Jose Cuervo, Templeton Rye and Lucifer’s Gold.
“We are seeing a surge this year compared to 2019, especially for premium, imported spirits and demand has grown by double digits,” Kunal Patel, managing director, Monika Alcobev, said.
“This is the time when the spirit industry takes off. A lot of it is down to the festive season. North India specifically has better weather and we see an uptick in consumption,” said Anand Virmani, co-founder, Nao Spirits.
CIABC is expecting healthy growth across India with some exceptions such as Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Delhi, where high prices and supply-side issues could dampen the spirits.
According to a study by Lancet, the alcohol market in India will grow 7% annually in the 2021-25 period.
Virmani of Nao said consumption in Delhi has been hit due to changes in the excise policy. However, Moet Hennessy expects some of its brands to be back in the Delhi-NCR market soon.
According to London-based drinks market analysis IWSR, India is poised to make strong spirits gains thanks to a booming economy, rising consumer incomes, post-pandemic market recovery and growth, and strong consumer confidence. It said as cost of living continue to rise, consumer confidence is starting to wane in several countries, especially in Europe and the UK.
Blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, for years has been viewed by some companies as a way to drive industry-transforming projects, among them the tracking of assets through complex supply chains.
IT major Infosys will announce its third quarter results on 12 January, 2023, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. The Bengaluru-based company will hold investor/ analyst calls on 12 January, 2023, to discuss the financial results for the quarter ending 31 December, 2022 and business outlook.
The company informed that it will close the trading window from 16 December, 2022 and will re-open on 16 January, 2023.
“The Company will close the trading window for the earnings release of the quarter ending 31 December, 2022 in compliance with SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, as amended,” the statement read.
The company’s board of directors will meet on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 and 12 January, to:
1. Approve and take on record the audited consolidated financial results of the company and its subsidiaries as per Indian Accounting Standards (INDAS) for the quarter and nine months ending 31 December, 2022;
2. Approve and take on record the audited standalone financial results of the company as per INDAS for the quarter and nine months ending 31 December, 2022;
3. Approve and take on record the audited financial statements of the company and its subsidiaries as per INDAS and IFRS for the quarter and nine months ending 31 December, 2022.
Despite fears of a global recession clouding the outlook for tech spending, Infosys has raised its annual revenue forecast and reported better-than-expected September quarter profit.
In the September quarter, profit grew 11.1% to ₹6,021 crore from ₹5,421 crore a year ago. Revenue rose 23.4% ₹36,538 crore from ₹29,602 crore.
On Thursday, shares of Infosys Ltd settled 2.50% lower at ₹1,539.95 apiece on the NSE.
MUMBAI : Wipro has been awarded a five-year contract by Mazda Motor Logistics Europe worth multi-million dollars.
It has received an order to provide next-generation managed services for its entire application landscape, the company announced in an exchange filing.
Mazda is currently integrating standardised business capabilities, harmonised business procedures, and reducing costs through a more centralised organization. Mazda said this partnership with Wipro will automate IT processes, digitise processes, and enable agile DevOps working practices.
“Mazda was looking for a partner that was culturally aligned and understood our application landscape complexity, operational nuances and business imperatives. Wipro stood out in the selection process for its best-in-class capabilities and credentials in the automotive industry, blended with a high-performance Agile, DevOps operating model and a robust automation platform to drive efficiency in Mazda’s IT operations,” Alex Janssens, Vice President, IT & Supply Logistics, Mazda Motor Logistics, Europe said.
“This significant win is recognition of our relentless pursuit to partner with our clients in progressing their transformation agendas. Wipro will implement a high-performance operating model with new ways of working, integrating support and development functions, enabled by Wipro’s assets and IPs to accelerate value-realization for Mazda to help achieve its 2030 vision. In addition, this win is also a validation of Wipro’s focus on Belgium as a key growth market and our ambition to be a partner of choice in the Belgian market,” said Sarat Chand, Vice President & Managing Director, Benelux, Wipro Limited.
Shares of Wipro ended 1.24% lower at Rs395.10 on the National Stock Exchange on Thursday.
