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Leading multiplex operator <keyword id="19986619" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="PVR-INOX" source="keywords">PVR INOX</keyword> plans to close 70 <keyword id="22996404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="non-performing-screens" source="Orion">non-performing screens</keyword> in FY25 and will go for potential <keyword id="20069509" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="monetisation" source="keywords">monetisation</keyword> of non-core <keyword id="20478737" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate-assets" source="keywords">real estate assets</keyword> in prime locations such as Mumbai, Pune, and Vadodara, according to its latest annual report. Though the company will add 120 new screens in FY25, it will also close almost 60-70 non-performing screens, as it chases for <keyword id="738150" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="profitable-growth" source="Orion">profitable growth</keyword>. About 40 per cent of new screens addition will come from South India, where it will have a "strategic focus" on this lesser penetrated region as per its medium to long-term strategy. Moreover, <keyword id="799" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PVR" source="Orion">PVR</keyword> <keyword id="6407732" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="INOX" source="Orion">INOX</keyword> is redefining its growth strategy by transitioning towards a capital-light growth model to reduce its capex on new screens addition by 25 to 30 per cent in the current fiscal. Now, PVR INOX will partner with developers to jointly invest in new screen capex by shifting towards a franchise-owned and company-operated (FOCO) model. It is also evaluating monetisation of owned real estate assets, as the leading film exhibitor aims to become "net-debt free" company in the foreseeable future. "This involves a potential monetisation of our non-core real estate assets in prime locations such as Mumbai, Pune, and Vadodara," said Managing Director Ajay Kumar Bijli and Executive Director Sanjeev Kumar addressing the shareholders of the company. In terms of growth, they said the focus is to speed up expansion in underrepresented markets. "Our company's medium to long-term strategy will involve expanding the number of screens in South India due to the region's high demand for films and comparatively low number of multiplexes in comparison to other regions. We estimate that approximately 40 per cent of our total screen additions will come from South India," they said. During the year, PVR INOX opened 130 new screens across 25 cinemas and also shut down 85 under-performing screens across 24 cinemas in line with its strategy of profitable growth. "This rationalisation is part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our portfolio. The number of closures seems high because we are doing it for the first time as a combined entity," said Bijli. PVR INOX's net debt in FY24 was at Rs 1,294 crore. The company had reduced its net debt by Rs 136.4 crore last fiscal, said CFO Gaurav Sharma. "Even though we are cutting down on capital expenditure, we are not compromising on growth and will open almost 110-120 screens in FY25. At the same time, not wavering from our goal of profitable growth, we will exit almost 60-70 screens that are non-performing and a drag on our profitability," he said. In FY24, PVR's revenue was at Rs 6,203.7 crore and it reported a loss of Rs 114.3 crore. This was the first full year of operations of the merged entity PVR INOX. Over the progress on merger integration, Bijli said "80-90 per cent of the targeted synergies was achieved in 2023-24" In FY24, PVR INOX had a 10 per cent growth in ticket prices and 11 per cent in F&amp;B spend per head, which was "higher-than-normal". This was primarily on account of merger synergies on the integration of PVR and INOX, said Sharma. "Going forward, the increase in ticket prices and food and beverage spending per head will be more in line with the long-term historical growth rates," he said. PVR INOX aims to restore pre-pandemic operating margins, enhancing return on capital, and driving free cash flow generation. "We aim to boost revenue by increasing footfalls through innovative customer acquisition and retention," said Sharma adding "We are also driving cost efficiencies by renegotiating rental contracts, closing under-performing screens, adopting a leaner organisational structure, and controlling overhead costs."

PVR INOX to close 70 non-performing screens in FY25, plan monetisation of real estate assets

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A sloth <keyword id="12174925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bear" source="Orion">bear</keyword> has mauled a couple to death in Madhya Pradesh, central <keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. </li><li>An autopsy confirmed the bear had contracted rabies but had not fed on the corpses.</li></ul>A rabid sloth bear has mauled a couple to death in Madhya Pradesh, central India, and played with their remains, Indian news outlets report.<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/sloth-bear-mauls-madhya-pradesh-couple-to-death-eat-their-bodies/articleshow/92021923.cms">The Times of India</a> said that the couple had gone to pray at a nearby temple when they encountered the sloth bear on June 5.The newspaper identified the deceased as 43-year-old Mukesh Rai and his wife, 39-year-old Gudiya Rai. The husband was killed when he tried to rescue his wife from the bear's clutches, according to CBS News.Witness reports from earlier in the week that the bear ate parts of the couple after it had killed them, have been refuted, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sloth-bear-attack-kills-couple-india-forest/">CBS News reported</a>. The bear died two hours after it was captured, Divisional Forest Officer Gaurav Sharma told CBS News.An autopsy confirmed the bear had contracted rabies but had not fed on the corpses, Sharma confirmed, said the news outlet.The Times reports that the dependents of the deceased couple will be given 400,000 Indian Rupees ($5,118) in compensation. According to the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/sloth-bear">Smithsonian</a><a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/sloth-bear"> National Zoo</a>, sloth bears are similar in size to the American back bear and grow up to six feet long, weighing, on average, 200 to 300 pounds. They have a shaggy, dusty appearance and have large canines for defense. About 20,000 or fewer sloth bears remain in the wild.<a href="https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1498&amp;context=hwi#:~:text=We%20interviewed%2051%20victims%20that,human%20mortalities%20(13.7%25)%20reported.">A study from HNG University</a>, Gujarat, said sloth bears are "known for their aggressive and unpredictable behavior." Attacks are increasing as human activity increasingly impinges on the bears' home territories and 13.7% of sloth bear attacks result in death, said the study.Conservation biologist Neha Sinha <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sloth-bear-attack-kills-couple-india-forest/">told CBS News</a> that conflicts between bears and humans at this time of year are often caused by the Mahua tree flowering. Bears go to feed on the flower whilst humans harvest them to sell, and the bears can become territorial. A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-07974-y#Sec3">study</a> published in March found that in India, Sloth bear attacks are most common in the Madhya Pradesh region.

Couple mauled to death by rabid sloth bear after visiting temple in Indian forest

Bengaluru, June 8 (IANS) In an effort to help customers accelerate their Cloud journey, Wipro on Monday announced a collaboration with IBM to assist its customers embrace a seamless and secure Hybrid Cloud by launching a Wipro IBM Novus Lounge here. Through this alliance, Wipro will develop hybrid cloud offerings to help businesses migrate, manage and transform mission-critical workloads and applications, with security across public or private cloud and on-premises IT environments. "Wipro IBM Novus Lounge will allow us to showcase Hybrid multi-cloud and open source solutions even more comprehensively and support our customers' continuous business transformation journey," Ramesh Nagarajan, Senior Vice President-Cloud Services, Wipro, said in a statement. Wipro IBM Novus Lounge offers a comprehensive suite of solutions leveraging Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities to foster innovation for enterprises, developers and start-ups. "As companies across the world continue to drive digital transformation, decision-makers must rethink radically on how to leverage the combined power of data, cloud and open source technologies to become industry leaders," said Gaurav Sharma, Vice President  Cloud and Cognitive Software, IBM India. Customers will have remote access to IBM and Red Hat solutions, designed to help them scale their technology investments for improved experience and business agility with connected insights. Additionally, Wipro will leverage IBM Cloud offerings and technologies alongside in-house services to develop industry solutions for clients in banking and financial services, energy and utilities, retail, manufacturing and healthcare space. --IANS na/

Wipro, IBM join hands to help customers embrace Hybrid Cloud

New Delhi, Nov 25 () Alternative asset manager Investcorp on Monday said it has closed Rs 316 crore investment in dialysis service provider NephroPlus.
The primary capital raised in this round will be utilised towards organic growth in India and taking the proven business model of NephroPlus to other markets, starting with South East Asia, Investcorp said in a statement.
"Earlier, investors in NephroPlus include Bessemer Venture Partners and IFC, who will continue to stay invested alongside Investcorp, with one of the earlier investors, SeaLink Capital, exiting," it added.
NephroPlus aims to build a regional network of dialysis centers spanning India and select countries in Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the statement said.
"We look forward to supporting Vikram (NephroPlus Founder) to realize the full potential of the NephroPlus business model, both in India and abroad," Investcorp India, Co-Head of Private Equity Gaurav Sharma said.
Investcorp's investment in NephroPlus is in line with their strategy to tap into sustainable business models in the mass consumption driven Indian market, the statement said.
"My co-founder Kamal Shah and I are delighted to welcome Investcorp at this stage into NephroPlus. We selected them because of their strong global network in key markets where we intend to now focus, as well as their deep understanding and experience of investing in the healthcare space in India and across the globe in the US, Europe and Middle East," NephroPlus Founder and CEO Vikram Vuppala said. AKT AKT BAL
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Investcorp closes Rs 316 cr investment in NephroPlus

<ul><li>Rupee is expected to stay weak as <keyword id="6359072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="oil">oil</keyword> prices rise. </li><li>Markets fear the Indian government will breach <keyword id="6365485" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fiscal-Deficit">fiscal deficit</keyword> target. </li><li>Higher fiscal deficit hurts government’s ability to spend for economic growth and increases borrowing cost. </li></ul> The rupee closed at 70.49 at the end of last week, capping a 4% decline since the start of the year.This is largely due to the fact that oil prices ticked up and markets have priced in a series of handouts to farmers by the government as an election ploy. Last year proved to be a mixed bag for the Indian currency. After declining by 14% in the year to October, the rupee rebounded strongly in the last few months of 2018 owing to the decline in oil prices, and closed at 69.71. The value of the rupee has significant implications on India’s fiscal deficit and vice versa. When the rupee declines, the fiscal deficit, which measures the difference between government expenditure and revenue, widens because oil becomes more expensive to import. On the other hand, if India’s fiscal deficit widens, it causes foreign investors to lose confidence in the economy and hence they pull money out of the country, which further weakens the currency. With oil prices expected to grow sluggishly in the initial period of year, the rupee is expected to stay weak. However, the unveiling of the Union <keyword id="6358021" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget">Budget</keyword> on 1 February by Finance Minister Arun <keyword id="6390789" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jaitley">Jaitley</keyword> could provide markets and currency speculators with some much-needed clarity as to where the rupee will go in 2019. The Budget, which will be an interim budget since it is an election year, will likely include a conclusive statement on whether the central government will breach or meet its fiscal deficit target for the year - which is 3.3% of <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword>. The target has looked increasingly unrealistic in recent months, due in part to lower indirect tax collections, a slow disinvestment process and concessions to farmers. While the government has tried to curtail its capital expenditure, this might not be enough. “It will be quite difficult for the government to achieve its target as the fiscal deficit is currently in the region of 3.9% of GDP” says Gaurav Sharma, a senior manager at Religare Securities. Sharma explained that if this came to pass, it “would seriously hurt the rupee”. However, if the government breaches its deficit target, it will exacerbate investor worries, as a high deficit threatens India’s ability to spend for economic growth and increase it’s borrowing cost. There is room for surprise, though. Even if the fiscal deficit is wider, but less than experts’ predictions, it could provide support for the currency. On the other hand, with elections due in May 2019, the government expected to play into the desires of key voter blocs, and as such, could include further promises of loan waivers and additional financial largesse. The central government, for its part, has said that it will meet its fiscal deficit target. Towards the end of December, Jaitley said <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-to-meet-fiscal-deficit-target-of-3-3-arun-jaitley/articleshow/67207903.cms">that the 3.3% mark was in sight,</a> and subsequently clarified that the government <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/not-seeking-rbi-surplus-to-finance-fiscal-deficit-arun-jaitley-5517571/">would not require a surplus </a>from the central bank’s coffers to meet its goal. As things stands, until the interim budget is unveiled, it seems that all bets are off. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-indian-rupee-just-clocked-its-highest-one-day-gain-since-2013-as-global-oil-prices-plummeted-to-a-yearly-low/articleshow/67158268.cms">The Indian rupee just clocked its highest one-day gain since 2013 as global oil prices plummeted to a yearly low</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oil-prices-are-falling-and-thats-great-news-for-the-indian-rupee/articleshow/66768210.cms">Oil prices are falling and that’s great news for the Indian Rupee</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-government-may-not-meet-its-fiscal-deficit-target-because-of-lower-tax-collections-india-ratings/articleshow/66824092.cms">Indian government may not meet its fiscal deficit target because of lower tax collections: India Ratings</a>

Here’s why the rupee will remain weak at least until Arun Jaitley’s budget speech

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image">Kyle Russell/Business Insider</div></div></div>Microsoft holds some <a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/wordflow-040414.aspx">surprising Guinness World Records:</a> fastest texting on a smartphone and fastest texting on a smartphone while blind folded.
This is largely thanks to a new Swype-like keyboard used in the latest version of Windows Phone, 8.2, a feature called Word Flow.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/wordflow-040414.aspx">Microsoft</a>Texting world record holder Gaurav Sharma </div></div></div>The fastest time was recorded by 15-year-old Gaurav Sharma in January in the Microsoft Research cafeteria in Redmond, Washington. In 18.44 seconds he typed:
"The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human."
This beat a previous world record set by an employee at Swype, Franklin Page, back in 2010. He typed the above phrase, also on a Windows phone, in 35.54 seconds.
But the most impressive feat of all was done by Microsoft engineer Mark Encarnación in April. He accurately typed the above phrase in 25.90 seconds ... while blindfolded.
Word Flow is really easy to use. Windows Phone boss Joe Belfiore told us it was his favorite new feature, which is saying something since Microsoft also just introduced a Siri knock-off, called Cortana.
In a Reddit AMA on Friday, Belfiore proudly shared a picture of the Guinness World Record plaque.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Microsoft/Joe Belfiore" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53640ec06da811dc49579826-960/microsoft-text-message-record.jpg"></a><a href="http://i.imgur.com/bw45YMj.jpg">Microsoft/Joe Belfiore</a></div></div>

You Searched For "Gaurav Sharma" and got 6 results

PVR INOX to close 70 non-performing screens in FY25, plan monetisation of real estate assets

PTI

Couple mauled to death by rabid sloth bear after visiting temple in Indian forest

Bethany Dawson

Wipro, IBM join hands to help customers embrace Hybrid Cloud

IANS

Investcorp closes Rs 316 cr investment in NephroPlus

PTI

Here’s why the rupee will remain weak at least until Arun Jaitley’s budget speech

A Microsoft Researcher Set A Guinness World Record That Would Make A Teenager Jealous

Julie Bort

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