Bit by Bit 16th Dec. || Volume recovery to drive growth in rural markets, say FMCG players || After Kia, BMW's Instagram and Twitter accounts have now been compromised & more

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MARKET UPDATE 

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Economy

Is 5% growth really possible?

The Story

In a Wednesday conversation with Congressman Rahul Gandhi, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan asserted that India would consider itself lucky if it had a 5% growth in 2019.

Rajan took part in the Congress-led Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier on Wednesday in Rajasthan, which once more sparked rumors regarding his political views. He predicted that next year would be more challenging than this one. "Of course, this one had many problems with the war and everything. The rate of global growth is set to decline. Interest rates are rising, which slows GDP "explained said. "India's inflation is primarily a problem with veggies and other commodities. That will also have a detrimental effect on growth"Added he.

He claimed that the issue with growth statistics is that you have to know what you measure. "Last year, we had a bad quarter. And when you measure against it, you appear excellent. So the ideal thing to do is to compare the present to the period before the epidemic in 2019." He stated: "The difference between 2022 and 2019 is around 2% every year. For us, it's too low."

FMCG

Volume recovery to drive growth in rural markets, say FMCG players

The Story:

The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is expected to see volume recovery of 5-10% in the upcoming months on the back of improved rural demand and lower inflation, industry executives said. At the same time, pricing-led growth — the main highlight of the sector’s sales growth so far — is also expected to slow down in the coming months.

“Rural demand, which so far was sluggish, is seen picking up now and I am expecting rural volumes to grow anywhere around 3-5% going ahead on the back of good harvest and wedding season,” said Sanjeev Asthana, chief executive officer, Patanjali Foods. The overall volumes may improve by 5-7 % or even 10%, he added.

“We are expecting a volume growth of 8-9% this year,” said Krishnarao Buddha, senior category head, marketing, at Parle Products. “Most of the input costs, except wheat and sugar, are pretty settled now. And whatever necessary price hike, we’ve already taken. I really don’t think there is any further need to take any price increases. The focus now would be to capitalise and increase our consumer franchise,” he added.

AUTOMOTIVE

After Kia, BMW's Instagram and Twitter accounts have now been compromised

The Story:

BMW, a German automobile company’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have been hacked. The Bavarian manufacturer’s Twitter and Instagram accounts showed posts on December 13, however the automobile company has not officially confirmed it. Both accounts were spotted to post memes related to the automaker that included a reel which said, “I am taking over now." The company’s Twitter handle was also changed to ‘DEE’.

Although, the hack happened a few days ago after Kia India’s social media account was hacked as well. Notably, South Korean technology giant gained back the control of its hacked Instagram account.

KIA India on Wednesday has finally recovered its Instagram account from hackers. The social media account of the automaker was hacked on Tuesday by some unknown cyber attackers where the perpetrators also posted some inappropriate content.

Reportedly, the automaker has fallen prey to hackers even back in 2021 as well, when the cyber attackers had demanded an amount of $20 million ransom to give the access back.

TECH

Apple iOS 16.3 will allow iPhones to support physical security keys

The Story:

Many new security-related features for iMessage, the iPhone, and iCloud were recently unveiled by Apple. One of those features allows users of iPhones and iPads to perform two-factor authentication using a physical security key. The same feature, which enables users to configure third-party physical security keys as part of two-factor authentication for extra security, has now been enabled by the firm on the first beta of iOS 16.3. For all compatible iPhones, the stable version of iOS 16.3 is anticipated to be published in January 2023..

These security keys keep a special key that is used to verify the user's identity. You will be locked out of your own account if you lose the physical security key, and there is no way to unlock it unless you have a second physical security key that is mapped to the same account.

Anything Interesting 

Giant mantle plume reveals Mars is more active than previously thought

In the current issue of Nature Astronomy, scientists from the University of Arizona challenge current views of Martian geodynamic evolution with a report on the discovery of an active mantle plume pushing the surface upward and causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The finding suggests that the planet's deceptively quiet surface may hide a more tumultuous interior than previously thought.

"Our study presents multiple lines of evidence that reveal the presence of a giant active mantle plume on present-day Mars," said Adrien Broquet, a postdoctoral research associate in the UArizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and co-author of the study with Jeff Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor of planetary science at the LPL.

Mantle plumes are large blobs of warm and buoyant rock that rise from deep inside a planet and push through its intermediate layer -- the mantle -- to reach the base of its crust, causing earthquakes, faulting and volcanic eruptions. The island chain of Hawaii, for example, formed as the Pacific plate slowly drifted over a mantle plume.