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- Bit by Bit 5th Jan || Ducati reveals its roadmap; 9 new motorbikes to arrive in India || Reliance Consumer Products to acquire 50% stake in makers of Sosyo & more
Bit by Bit 5th Jan || Ducati reveals its roadmap; 9 new motorbikes to arrive in India || Reliance Consumer Products to acquire 50% stake in makers of Sosyo & more
Good Morning Readers!
Here are:
"5 amazing stories in 5 minutes to make you future ready"
Happy reading!
MARKET UPDATE
NIFTY 50 : ₹18,042.95 (-1.04%)
BSE SENSEX : ₹60,657.45 (-1.04%)
NIFTY BANK : ₹42,958.80 (-1.07%)
USD/INR : ₹82.667 (-0.13%)
BRENTOIL : $78.13 (-4.84%)
MCXGOLD : ₹55,688 (+0.56%)
FII Net Cashflow : - ₹2621 crores
DII Net Cashflow : + ₹774 crores
(Market Data as of 11:00 PM on 04/01/2022)
ECONOMY
Facts:
Both the Kharif (Summer) and Rabbi (Winter) seasons are used to cultivate paddy. But the kharif season accounts for 80% of the nation's overall rice production
The country's paddy output is expected to fall by 6% to 104.99 million tonne in the 2022-23 kharif season as the result of decreased average following bad rainfall.
The Story:
In the current 2022–23 Kharif marketing season, the government has purchased 541,90 lakh tons of paddy for the central pool, an increase of 9.58%, according to statistics from the food ministry. The top four states that contributed the most to the primary collection were Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Telangana. Paddy procurement typically starts in October. However, it begins in September in southern regions, particularly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the Kharif marketing season of 2022–2023, the government plans to purchase 775.72 lakh tonnes of paddy (October-September).
During the most recent Kharif marketing season, the actual procurement reached a record 759.32 lakh tonnes. According to official data, the total amount of paddy purchased jumped from 494.50 lakh tonne in the same period last year to 541.90 lakh tonne as of January 3 of the 2022–23 Kharif selling season. The amount of paddy purchased in Punjab decreased slightly from 187.12 lakh tonnes in the same period last year to 182.13 lakh tonnes so far this marketing year.
While the purchase of grain in Haryana grew to 58.96 lakh tonnes from 54.50 lakh tonnes, the buying in Chhattisgarh surged significantly to 82.89 lakh tonnes from 55 lakh tonnes. Compared to the same period last year, the paddy procurement in Telangana was lower at 56.31 lakh tonnes, while in Uttar Pradesh, it increased slightly to 42.96 lakh tonnes from 42.73 lakh tonnes. According to statistics from the ministry, Madhya Pradesh had a substantial increase in purchases, going from 22.42 lakh tonnes in the same period last year to 34.50 lakh tonnes so far this marketing year.
FMCG
Dabur acquires a 51% majority stake in Badshah Masala.
The Story:
Dabur India has acquired a 51% stake in Badshah Masala, paving the way for the FMCG major to enter the branded spices and seasoning market. Badshah Masala manufactures, markets, and exports ground, blended, and seasonings. The acquisition is in line with the company's strategic intent of entering into new adjacent categories in the food space, Dabur had said earlier.
"Consequent to the above transaction, Badshah Masala Private Limited has become a subsidiary of Dabur India Limited w.e.f. Today, i.e., 2nd January 2023," Dabur said. With this, Dabur has entered into branded spices and seasoning market in India, worth over Rs 25,000 crore. The balance of 49% will be acquired after five years.
The acquisition is in line with Dabur's strategic intent to expand its Food business to Rs 500 Crore in 3 years. Dabur has an existing Foods portfolio and views ground and blended spices as an excellent addition to this portfolio. Badshah's portfolio will gain from Dabur's extensive distribution reach.
AUTOMOTIVE
The Story:
Ducati India has revealed its roadmap for the Indian market. The company is all set to launch nine new motorcycles in a phased manner in the country. Moreover, the company has also announced the prices of these bikes. The brand will open new dealerships in the country, it said.
The auto manufacturing company mentioned that it would open its new dealership in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. The Ducati Chandigarh unit will commence its operations in January, whereas the Ducati Ahmedabad will start its operations in the first quarter of the year. Notably, these showrooms will get 3S facilities and provide sales, service, and spares from the same units.
Ducati will commence the deliveries of its DesertX in the second week of this year. In the second quarter, the company will launch its monster SP, which will come with a MotoGP-inspired livery. Speaking of the price, Ducati Monster SP will be launched at a price of ₹15.95 lakhs (ex-showroom).
TECH
The Story:
On Wednesday, Ireland's data privacy authority penalized Meta 390 million euros ($414 million) for violations at its Facebook and Instagram services and ordered both companies to review the legal justification for their use of personal data for advertising across the European Union.
According to a confidential judgement seen by Reuters last month, the EU's privacy authority issued the directive on how both social media sites conduct advertising in December, overruling the Irish regulator's draft decision on the subject.
In response to new EU privacy rules, Facebook and Instagram changed their terms of service in 2018, and Meta attempted to rely on the so-called "contract" legal basis for the majority of its processing activities.
Instead of relying on users' agreement to the use of their data for targeted advertising as in the past, Meta believed that a contract was formed when users accepted the revised 2018 conditions, making such advertising legal.
The EU's privacy watchdog allegedly ordered the Irish regulator to launch a new probe into all of Facebook and Instagram's data processing activities as part of its judgment, according to the DPC.
Anything Interesting
When the man known as "father of genetics" turns 200, how do you celebrate? By digging up his body and sequencing his DNA, of course.
That's what a team of scientists in the Czech Republic did this year to celebrate Gregor Mendel, a scientist and friar whose experiments in the mid-1800s laid the groundwork for modern genetics.
Mendel lived and worked in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. With 2022 marking the bicentennial of Mendel's birth, local researchers there – where Mendel remains something of a hometown hero – searched for ways to remember the man and honor the moment. Possibilities included a festival, a scientific conference, and a statue.
Sequencing his DNA revealed genetic variants linked to diabetes, heart problems, and kidney disease. The variant that most intrigued Fairbanks was in a gene that has been associated with epilepsy and neurological issues.
"He suffered throughout his life from some sort of a psychological or neurological disorder that caused him to have very severe nervous breakdowns," says Fairbanks. "That may well have been an inherited condition – and that was a fascinating discovery that these scientists made."
