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- Bit by Bit 1st Feb || As concerns over the trade imbalance increase, India aims to take action to limit Chinese imports || Flipkart to focus on assisted commerce initiatives, audiobooks in 2023 & more
Bit by Bit 1st Feb || As concerns over the trade imbalance increase, India aims to take action to limit Chinese imports || Flipkart to focus on assisted commerce initiatives, audiobooks in 2023 & more
Good Afternoon Readers!
Here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKET UPDATE
NIFTY 50 : ₹17,662.15 (+0.07%)
BSE SENSEX : ₹59,549.90 (+0.08%)
NIFTY BANK : ₹40,655.05 (+0.66%)
USD/INR : ₹81.755 (+0.29%)
BRENTOIL : $85.59 (+1.29%)
MCXGOLD : ₹56,808 (+0.10%)
FII Net Cashflow : - ₹5440 crores
DII Net Cashflow : + ₹4506 crores
(Market Data as of 11:00 PM on 31/01/2022)
BFSI
The Story
Tomorrow, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will address the audience. She has the challenging responsibility of raising money to meet the average person’s needs. As with every Union Budget, the common Indian has one request: a reduction in personal income taxes. According to recent reports, North Block is considering making changes to the new regime that will be implemented in 2020 because the current setup hasn't been well received.
To keep up with escalating costs, the average Indian also wants to see an increase in the exemptions under the previous tax system. Analysts predict that Sitharaman's budget speech would likely strike a balance between popular policies and budgetary responsibility. She is anticipated to aim for a budget deficit of roughly 5.9% of GDP as opposed to the current year's 6.4%. By 2026, the margin must be reduced to 4.5%. The Center stated in the Economic Survey released on Tuesday that it will concentrate on restoring the budgetary space lost due to the pandemic in order to mitigate new risks from a difficult global climate, which has already started to weigh on domestic demand.
The availability of budgetary room with the governments has grown crucial due to the ongoing global dangers and uncertainties, it stated. Growth is being hampered by high borrowing costs and persistent global inflation, even in developing nations like India. After a robust recovery from the pandemic-induced downturn, the economy has recently slowed down as a result of tighter financial conditions and supply chain disruptions brought on by a protracted conflict in Europe.
FMCG
Food giant Wilmar International Ltd. will continue to support its joint venture with India’s under-fire Adani Group, saying a report from short-seller Hindenburg Research had not raised any issues specific to the unit. An independent team of professional managers manages the day-to-day operations of Adani Wilmar Ltd., and an independent director chairs the board, Singapore-based Wilmar said in an emailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. In running the venture, Wilmar contributes expertise on the commodity and consumer-food-products businesses, while Adani provides local logistical and regulatory support, the company said on Tuesday.
The sprawling Adani Group, controlled by tycoon Gautam Adani, has recently been rocked to its core after Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of widespread corporate misconduct, including market manipulation and accounting fraud. In a bitter showdown that’s riveted investors worldwide, the allegations have prompted steep falls in the companies’ share prices despite a lengthy rebuttal from Adani Group.
“We will continue to support our Indian associate,” Wilmar said, adding that Adani Wilmar, recently listed on India’s National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, had undergone a packed initial public offering process under the scrutiny of regulators. The joint venture was incorporated in 1999 and is now one of India’s fastest-growing packaged-food companies, supplying essentials such as edible oil, wheat flour, rice, pulses, and sugar.
Manufacturing
The Story :
The average attrition rate across manufacturing and services industries increased sequentially to 8.27 per cent in the October-December quarter, a report said on Monday. With a continuance of the 'Great Churn', attrition across industries witnessed a 0.46 percentage point increase from an average of 7.81 per cent in the second quarter to 8.27 per cent in the third quarter, according to TeamLease "Employment Outlook Report".
The report is forward looking statistics for 'Intent to Hire' for January to March 2023, for both manufacturing (nine industries) and services sectors (14 industries), which is based on a survey of 874 small, medium and large companies.
The report revealed that the Information Technology industry in the services sector had higher average attrition (27.19 per cent) compared to Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals industry in the manufacturing sector (15.67 per cent).
TECH
Many people claimed that Google's days as the top search engine are numbered when ChatGPT was first announced because of its capacity to simplify difficult issues and explain things in a human-like manner. Although that is disputed, ChatGPT's influence on the sector cannot be denied. Microsoft is not only pulling out all the stops in terms of investment, but it also has plans to incorporate ChatGPT into its products after realizing the technology's limitless potential.
Whereas Google responds to your searches with a list of internet links, ChatGPT goes above and beyond by offering information in concise, understandable terms. The capacity to create content from scratch should be added. Although there is still more to be done to improve the technology, Google is on the verge of making a move. According to a report from The New York Times, Google has asked its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin for assistance in fending off the threat posed by AI. According to reports, the pair have given their approval to proposals and ideas to give Google chatbot features. They also offered advice to company leaders, who are altering existing plans and increasing investment in the development of AI. The company plans to launch over 20 new AI products and even showcase a version of Google with chatbot abilities.
Microsoft is finally in a position to compete against major tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple because to the ChatGPT edge. In an effort to lure customers away from Google, the corporation is getting ready to integrate the chatbot into its Bing search engine.
Anything Interesting
The Story
Imagine walking into a travel agent and being virtually transported to your dream destination. You’re fully immersed, by the pool, watching the sunset and completely sold. You book the trip, leave the store and start counting the days. This isn’t science fiction, it’s the power of VR right now.
This exciting technology was at the centre of a recent Spark academic project that saw semester one MBA students working alongside Swiss tech company Inside Reality. The project was titled ‘Travel Agency 5.0’, and it explored the consumer experience of using immersive VR at the pre-purchase stage.
The MBA students of Les Roches, a Swiss institution which also has an academic alliance with the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) with a partner campus in Gurugram (Delhi NCR), did in-depth research, often for the first time. Then the scope of the research broadened into multiple countries and analysed the data to discover the outcomes. The final milestone was presenting the findings to Inside Reality.
