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New Delhi, India's top oil firm IOC on Monday unveiled the nation's first <keyword id="18906554" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-hydrogen-powered-bus" source="Orion">green hydrogen-powered bus</keyword> that emits just water as it takes the lead in bringing out unrivaled tools to replace fossil fuels. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will produce close to 75 kg of hydrogen by splitting water using electricity from renewable sources. This hydrogen will be used to power two buses which will ply across the national capital region for trial runs. Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, flagging off the buses, said hydrogen will be India's transition fuel for moving away from fossil fuels. IOC's R&amp;D Centre at Faridabad is producing green hydrogen for the pilot run. Four cylinders with a capacity of 30 kg can run the buses for 350 km. It takes 10-12 minutes for the four tanks to fill. Hydrogen when burnt emits only water vapour as a by-product. With three times the energy density and the absence of harmful emissions, hydrogen shines as a cleaner, more efficient choice to meet the energy requirement. As much as 50 units of renewable electricity and 9 kg of deionized water are needed for the production of one kilo of green hydrogen. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel for fuel cells. Puri said by the end of 2023, IOC will scale up the number of buses to 15. IOC will undertake operational trials of 15 fuel cell buses powered by green hydrogen on the identified routes in Delhi, Haryana, and UP. Under this programme, the first set of 2 fuel cell buses was launched on Monday. "Our government has ambitious plans on clean and green energy. India has taken many steps towards low carbon development- through emerging fuels like hydrogen and bio-fuels and shall account for 25 per cent of global incremental energy demand growth over the next two decades," Puri said. Upon the launch of the two buses, a cumulative mileage of more than 3 lakh kilometers will be covered for long-term assessment of performance and durability of the new technology. India has one of the largest synchronous grids in the world, capable of handling intermittent renewable energy and it has achieved 'One Nation-One Grid-One Frequency'. "With the low cost solar, synchronous grid, large demand and engineering, India will be a global champion in production and exports of hydrogen and is set to emerge as the hub for green hydrogen," he said. Puri said recently the world's first BS 6 (Stage II) Electrified Flex Fuel vehicle prototype was launched that encompasses both the flex fuel engine as well as an electric powertrain that offers higher use of ethanol combined with better fuel efficiencies. Hydrogen is deemed as the fuel for the future with immense potential to help India meet its decarbonization targets. The global demand for hydrogen is expected to increase by four to seven times to 500-800 tonne by 2050. Domestic demand is expected to increase by four times, from the current 6 tonne at present to 25-28 tonne by 2050. Oil and gas PSUs shall produce around 1 million tonne per annum of green hydrogen by 2030. "This green <keyword id="14355451" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hydrogen-powered-bus" source="Orion">hydrogen-powered bus</keyword> is going to transform the face of city transport in the country. I shall be closely monitoring the project and wish you all the very best for successfully executing this project of national importance," he added. "The success of this project can catapult India from being a net importer of fossil energy to becoming a net exporter of clean hydrogen energy; and provide global leadership to other countries in terms of technology transfer while becoming a large green hydrogen producer and supplier of manufacturing parts."

IndianOil unveils India's first green hydrogen-run bus that emits just water

<keyword id="1489410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce-in-India">E-commerce in India</keyword> is once again grabbing the headlines and this time, for all the right reasons. Bangalore-based <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, arguably India’s largest standalone <keyword id="1127700" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fashion-e-tailer">fashion e-tailer</keyword>, has recently closed a <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> round worth $50 million from an investor consortium led by <keyword id="1430452" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="PremjiInvest">PremjiInvest</keyword>, the family office of the <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword> chairman <keyword id="6419840" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Azim-Premji">Azim Premji</keyword>. Myntra is also in talks with a clutch of investors to raise an additional $40 million at a higher <keyword id="51393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="valuation">valuation</keyword>, according to an Economic Times report. So far, the <keyword id="2049121" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-firm">e-commerce firm</keyword> has raised $125 million in risk capital funding. Another fashion e-tailer that is also raising <keyword id="57924" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="big-money">big money</keyword> is Gurgaon-based <keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>.com, which is backed by Berlin-based <keyword id="1965711" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rocket-Internet-GmbH">Rocket Internet GmbH</keyword> – a venture arm of the Samwer brothers. The e-commerce firm is reportedly raising a fresh round of equity funding worth $100 million, of which it has already received $27.5 million from the British <keyword id="2049123" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Development-finance-institution">development finance institution</keyword> <keyword id="1613067" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="CDC-Group-Plc">CDC Group Plc</keyword>. 
 All this is good news for the cash-strapped Indian e-commerce segment. So we have taken a close look at the recent fundraising by the <keyword id="2049116" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-e-commerce-players">Indian e-commerce players</keyword> and identified five key trends that seem to be prevailing. Will they rule the <keyword id="2049126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fundraising-scenario">fundraising scenario</keyword> and determine the parameters of growth throughout 2014? Let us have a quick look. 
 
Growing big is the key priority E-commerce start-ups in India are finally coming of age and looking beyond the quickest possible exits. When Myntra closed $50 million in funding a couple of days ago, the company was immediately approached by its bigger rival <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> who had reportedly come up with an acquisition offer worth $200 million. According to a TechCrunch report, e-commerce giant <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> had also approached Myntra but the details of the proposed deal are not yet available. 
 Although rumours were rife that Myntra could be considering either of the deals as part of a bigger strategy, the e-tailer has decided to stay off the <keyword id="1949341" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Exit-route">exit route</keyword>. In fact, its ongoing talks for an additional round of funding worth $40 million clearly indicate that the company has in place some well-thought-out <keyword id="414633" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-plans">growth plans</keyword> and big ones at that. The only other reason for back-to-back funding is to raise the valuation but at this point, Myntra doesn’t look like it is on the block. Neither has it decided to quit in a hurry like <keyword id="6359128" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Redbus">redBus</keyword>.in did last year. <keyword id="2049136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-largest-bus-ticketing-firm">India’s largest bus ticketing firm</keyword> was acquired by the <keyword id="1643008" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ibibo-Group">ibibo Group</keyword> for around $125 million but the sale cut short a successful <keyword id="530125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="entrepreneurial-journey">entrepreneurial journey</keyword> that could have become a $500 million business in terms of revenue and could have achieved a $1 billion valuation. 
 As for Jabong, the very fact that it is backed by Rocket Internet may tell the industry insiders a different story. Rocket is known in the market for its fast and furious build-and-sell business module, and the start-ups are essentially replicas of successful US businesses. But the kind of funding Jabong is raising right now shows that the company is in no hurry to down the shutters in India even though two of its four co-founders have recently left the company. Jabong started its India operations in 2012 and competes with key e-com players such as Flipkart, Myntra, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> and <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>, among others. 
 
Only <keyword id="2049143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Core-expertise">core expertise</keyword> matters Internet giant <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> has already given us a case in point when it sold <keyword id="487941" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Motorola-Mobility">Motorola Mobility</keyword> to Lenovo for $2.91 billion, less than two years after paying $12.5 billion to acquire it. The deal is not a total financial loss as Google has managed to keep patents worth billions of dollars and expects to turn Lenovo into a manufacturing unit for its <keyword id="6355645" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="android">Android</keyword> OS. But selling <keyword id="11148" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Motorola">Motorola</keyword> is a sure indication that Google should have focused more on its <keyword id="1430489" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Core-Competencies">core competencies</keyword> – search, software and selling ads – instead of developing hardware. 
 You will find a similar case here as Jabong has reportedly sold its <keyword id="2049146" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="logistics-arm">logistics arm</keyword> <keyword id="2049145" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="JaVAS">JaVAS</keyword> (Jabong Value Added Services) to Gurgaon-based QuickDel Logistics as part of its business restructuring and funding exercise. Jabong <keyword id="170488" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="co-founder">co-founder</keyword> <keyword id="536011" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Praveen-Sinha">Praveen Sinha</keyword> has also confirmed to the media that JaVAS is now an independent entity. 
 However, that brings us back to the basic question. Should companies try and provide end-to-end solutions to ensure a complete customer experience or should they focus on core competencies and leave the rest to the experts in those fields? We particularly raise this question as many Indian e-commerce firms are currently focusing on <keyword id="2049154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Proprietary-payment-gateways">proprietary payment gateways</keyword> and customised logistics services in a bid to propel their services to the next level. However, such services can actually make you lose money unless a company is catering to a customer base as vast as <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword> or Amazon. 
 After JaVAS, the writing is definitely on the wall. The bells and whistles can always come in later, but the key focus must be core competencies. Of late, even <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> seems to be falling in this trap – its newest hardware products have ‘n’ number of <keyword id="2049161" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Incremental-features">incremental features</keyword> but real innovations seem to be eluding the iconic company. 
 
Investors showing better <keyword id="170907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="risk-appetite">risk appetite</keyword> India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow sevenfold to $22 billion in the next five years, and investors, both national and global, want to have a piece of the pie. According to <keyword id="1981" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Khanna">Rahul Khanna</keyword>, managing director of the <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firm <keyword id="218905" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Canaan-Partners">Canaan Partners</keyword> (India), e-commerce players in India (and everywhere else for that matter) require very deep pockets to scale up to the level of breaking even and hitting profitability. In this space, sales margins are typically low; volume is high, and logistics &amp; back office <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> only become viable when companies are catering to a very <keyword id="2049169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Large-customer-base">large customer base</keyword>. Consequently, <keyword id="2049171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Follow-on-rounds">follow-on rounds</keyword> are extremely crucial for sustainable growth. Now that big institutional investors like PremjiInvest and UK-based development <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> institution CDC Group are entering the arena, the much-needed <keyword id="2000080" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cash-burning">cash burning</keyword> is sure to propel growth to the desired level. 
 “E-commerce is fast maturing in India and that’s the main reason <keyword id="363248" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Global-Investments">global investments</keyword> are flowing in,” says another analyst. “When big players like Amazon show interest (the e-commerce giant has reportedly approached Myntra), investors are quick to sense the tremendous <keyword id="452394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-potential">growth potential</keyword> lying here,” she adds. 
 
Forget the buzz you are creating; it’s result time now Analysts, who have followed the course of events over the past few weeks, also point out another interesting trend. Be it Myntra or Jabong or other up-and-coming e-commerce businesses, it’s their <keyword id="2049173" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Growth-quotient">growth quotient</keyword> that has attracted <keyword id="2049174" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Big-funding">big funding</keyword>. In other words, start-ups who are delivering in a big way will get the valuable <keyword id="2049175" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Growth-dollars">growth dollars</keyword> as investors are now looking beyond the buzz and focusing on <keyword id="1730239" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-fundamentals">business fundamentals</keyword> and results. 
 Companies must have the numbers – in terms of customer base, <keyword id="169826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="growth-figures">growth figures</keyword> and brand leadership – to justify the big money they are raising. For instance, Myntra expects to more than double its <keyword id="657194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gross-sales">gross sales</keyword> to over $250 million by March 2015 and the fashion e-tailer’s <keyword id="2049176" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Monthly-gross-sales">monthly gross sales</keyword> could touch $20-25 million by April this year. Myntra is expected to end the current fiscal with more than $100 million in gross sales and it is targeting $1 billion in <keyword id="6399113" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="GMV">GMV</keyword> by 2016-2017. Flipkart, which raised $360 million last year at a valuation of about $1.6 billion, is also projecting a GMV of $1 billion by 2015. 
 Jabong, too, has aggressive growth plans and the latest round will be used to strengthen its <keyword id="2049177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Supply-chain-infrastructure">supply chain infrastructure</keyword> and enhance its <keyword id="2049178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Technology-platform">technology platform</keyword>. According to industry sources, Jabong might have generated <keyword id="2049180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gross-merchandise-sales">gross merchandise sales</keyword> of $100-150 million for the fiscal 2012-13. Other key investments in the Indian e-commerce space since 2013 included online marketplace Snapdeal raising about Rs 300 crore and baby care portal <keyword id="1615917" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="FirstCry">Firstcry</keyword> bagging Rs 92 crore. 
 
Inventory, <keyword id="6630005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-labels">private labels</keyword> are adding value 
With the lone exception of Snapdeal that runs a 100% marketplace, most of the big e-commerce entities in India are flourishing on a hybrid model – a strategic mix of inventory, private label and marketplace. In fact, Jabong has been doing all three for some time now, although a bit discreetly, and it could be now pushing hard to extract every penny from each of these categories. 
 
Myntra, on the other hand, focuses on both inventory and private label, with the share of private labels rising rapidly. A couple of years ago, the e-tailer acquired Exclusively.in Inc., the company behind the private label brand Shersingh.com and the fashion site Exclusively.in, in a cash-cum-equity deal. Myntra is reportedly eyeing more private labels to add to its portfolio as the margins are pretty high in this segment and add substantially to the profits. 
 
Bottom line: Is it a <keyword id="2049185" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Volatile-situation">volatile situation</keyword>? In one of her latest blogs in <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">Entrepreneur</keyword>.com, entrepreneur-writer Erika Trautman has nicely summed it up. “No matter how great the idea, if your start-up doesn’t create hard and fast results with analytics, targeted business solutions and mobile integration, it won’t survive in 2014. Launching a start-up can’t just be about how cool your product is. No business can subsist off just buzz and Press. This year, start-ups must focus on business fundamentals and start emphasising partnerships that generate results.” 
 
Can the Indian e-commerce players innovate, scale up and deliver (as the takeaways so amply illustrate) to justify the trust investors are now putting in them? Will there be new ventures to take up the gauntlet? Let us wait and watch. 
 
Image: Thinkstock Photos/Getty Images

Indian E-com Players
Are Raising Big Money; These 5 Takeaways Can Help You Understand What’s
Changing

New Delhi, Feb 27 () redBus is planning to expand its bus ticketing business globally and aims to garner 35 per cent revenue of this segment from overseas operations over the next 3-4 years, a top company official said on Wednesday. The company, which is part of the Nasdaq-listed MakeMyTrip group, currently garners just around 10 per cent of its bus ticketing revenues from five international locations -- Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru and Colombia. redBus's overall annual revenues from the bus ticketing vertical, including India and international operations, stood at around USD 85 million. "We are looking to scale up international business and expect around 35 per cent of the revenues to accrue from overseas locations in the next 3-4 years," redBus CEO Prakash Sangam told . He said the company is currently focussing at Latin American and Asian countries to expand its base globally. redBus launched operations in Singapore and Malaysia in 2015. It acquired a majority stake in Peru-based bus ticketing platform Busportal in the subsequent year. With this acquisition, the company launched operations in Peru followed by Colombia. When asked to comment on the domestic bus ticketing business, Sangam said the segment faced some slowdown since September last year but expressed hope that things will improve in the next fiscal. "If there is improvement in the economy over the next 3-6 months it will be beneficial for us as well. On the positive side though, with new expressways being built and overall road infrastructure getting better, we expect growth to continue," he added. Besides, favourable regulations on the part of the government would also help in the growth of the sector, Sangam said. "There has been talk about contract carriage permits and one nation one tax regime. If such things happen then it would help the sector," he added. redbus, which is the world's largest online bus ticketing platform, saw its bus ticketing business grow by 38 per cent in the third October-December period of the current fiscal. Sangam said the company is also eyeing incremental growth in the bus ticketing business with the expected increase in online bookings going ahead. "We have tie-ups with 23 state transport corporations. Online booking segment currently remains very small. It is just around 12 per cent of the overall bookings. If online bookings grow, it will automatically help us," he noted. redbus, which came into being in 2006, till date has globally sold more than 180 million bus tickets and has customer base of around 20 million users. The Bengaluru-based firm on Thursday launched rPool, a car pooling/bike pooling platform for intra-city commute in Delhi-NCR region. It has already launched the service in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. As part of the initiative, office goers can avail and offer rides in their personal cars and bikes while commuting between home and workplace. rPool can be accessed directly from within the redBus mobile app. "We would focus on 8-10 big cities in the first phase. These cities have huge population of people who commute on daily basis," Sangam said. He further said: "If we can get to one lakh rides in next 1-2 years, it will be a significant figure." When asked how the company would generate business from the vertical, Sangam said they would charge a small commission in the future as they are yet to figure out the amount. MSSMKJ

redBus eyes revving up bus ticketing revenues from overseas operations

Mumbai, Jan 6 () Madrid-based tech firm Amedeus on Monday announced a new ticket distribution deal with flag carrier Air India to provide the travel agents in the country access to the airline's full international ticket inventory.
Air India had in October 2018 given contract for its domestic ticket distribution services to Travelport of the UK, replacing Amadeus, from January this year.
"We are glad to once again work with Air India and play a positive role in the airline's growth strategy," said Cyril Tetaz, Executive Vice President, for airlines business in Asia Pacific region, Amadeus.
Under the agreement, travel sellers in India will have access to the Air India's pure full international content only, while the agents in the rest of the world will have access to the full range of Air India's content, both domestic and international, the company said in the release.
It has also signed a number of important strategic deals in India in recent months with SpiceJet and Vistara. Navitaire, an Amadeus company, has also inked IT agreements with IndiGo and Go Air. 
In addition, Amadeus has strategic partnerships with some of the largest travel sellers, major hotel groups and aggregators, among others, in India. 
"We are pleased to renew our relationship with Amadeus to support our growth strategy globally and hope that this is the first step in our new journey together. We look forward to working closer with Amadeus to support agencies and travelers in the future," said Meenakshi Malik, Commercial Director, Air India. IAS BAL
BAL

Amedeus inks ticket distribution deal with Air India

<ul><li><keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-india" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> passengers can book on-ground train and bus connections to over 100 cities and towns with their air ticket.</li><li>Baggage allowance will remain the same even for other forms of transportation.</li><li>Travel to smaller cities will become much easier and cheaper with this agreement. </li></ul> The next time you want to visit quaint cities in Europe without airports, you may want to book a ticket on Air India to get a comprehensive itinerary. The airline, now controlled by the <keyword id="6355725" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="Orion">Tata group</keyword>, has entered an intermodal interline agreement with <keyword id="18493586" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="accesrail" source="Orion">AccesRail</keyword> to boost connectivity options for Air India passengers across Europe, including smaller cities without airports. Air India offers non-stop flights to major cities around the world, especially Europe, and this agreement will help passengers travel seamlessly across Europe on a single ticket. As per the agreement, Air India guests can travel on a single intermodal ticket and take seamless, on-ground train and bus connections to more than 100 cities and towns in Austria, Belgium, Germany, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom via its European gateways of Amsterdam, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan, and Vienna. Passengers can enjoy the benefit of the same baggage allowance on these rail or bus operator services as offered by Air India on its own flights. Currently, intermodal tickets with Air India are available for booking through travel agents globally. The airline also plans to extend the facility to its own sales channels progressively. Explaining the benefit of this agreement, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial &amp; Transformation Officer at Air India, said: “The expansion of our global network is one of our key priorities in the ongoing, comprehensive transformation of Air India. This partnership with AccesRail not only helps us to provide our guests easy access to an extended network of destinations across Europe, but also to bridge the gaps in connectivity between India and Europe. Augmenting our network with an intermodal approach also underlines our commitment to environmental sustainability.” AccesRail is an IATA travel partner with its own designator code (9B), thus making intermodal journeys on a single ticket possible. AccesRail’s extensive network of rail and bus operators for Air India include Avanti West Coast (UK), Great Western Railways (UK), London North Eastern Railways (UK), National Express (UK), Trenitalia (Italy), ÖBB Austrian Railways (Austria), SNCB Belgian Railways, and Thalys (Netherlands/Belgium). Andrew Popescu, Vice President Business Development, AccesRail, said, “We are excited to be launching our Air India-AccesRail cooperation and look forward to continuing with Air India on a global scale with so many of our intermodal rail and coach partners. Through this enhanced AccesRail partnership, Air India will be able, now and in the future, to offer its customers more destinations and more possibilities in a more seamless fashion.” Air India is navigating through a major five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI, with an ambition to become a world class airline with an Indian heart. The first phase of this transformation, the taxi phase was recently concluded, and focused on fixing the basics. These included bringing back to service many long grounded aircraft, addition of talent across flying and ground functions, rapid upgradation of technology and strengthening of customer care initiatives amongst others. A member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium of leading international airlines, Air India offers seamless connectivity and facilities to passengers all over the world.

Now Air India can help you fly to quaint European cities without an airport even

<keyword id="42747" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Motors">Tata Motors</keyword> on Thursday said it will buy out its partner's stake in <keyword id="10448547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bus-joint-venture">bus joint venture</keyword> (JV) firm Tata Marcopolo Motors for around Rs 100 crore. "After a successful venture in India, and as a consequence of its refreshed business strategy, <keyword id="8399757" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Marcopolo-S-A-">Marcopolo S.A.</keyword> has decided to exit from the JV and offered to sell its 49 per cent shareholding in the JV to the company," Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. The company and Marcopolo S.A. have entered into a share purchase agreement where the company will purchase the balance 49 per cent shareholding in <keyword id="290430" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-MarcoPolo-Motors-Ltd">Tata Marcopolo Motors Ltd</keyword> (<keyword id="10447103" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="tmml">TMML</keyword>) for a cash consideration of Rs 99.96 crore, the company added. Tata Motors said it has signed an agreement to purchase the balance 49 per cent shareholding from its joint venture partner. Tata Marcopolo Motors is a 51:49 JV formed in 2006 between Tata Motors and Marcopolo S.A., one of the largest bus and coach manufacturers globally. The JV has manufacturing facilities in Dharwad and Lucknow where it builds bus bodies on chassis supplied Tata Motors. These buses are marketed by the company under the "Starbus" and "Starbus Ultra" bus brands, Tata Motors added. Tata Motors said, consequent to this transaction, TMML will become its wholly owned subsidiary. Tata Motors said all technologies pertaining to existing bus body products manufactured will continue to vest with TMML. In addition, as part of the transition, Marcopolo S.A. will continue to license the "Marcopolo" trademarks to TMML for a minimum of three years with a non-compete provision in India for a corresponding period, it added. The company, Marcopolo S.A. and TMML intend to maintain an open channel for future collaboration opportunities around bus body designs and technical consulting services, Tata Motors said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/burger-king-ipo-investors-tripled-their-money-in-three-days/articleshow/79761366.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Burger King's IPO investors tripled their money in three days</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/india-has-a-hot-new-debate-on-its-plate-should-the-likes-of-burger-king-kfc-and-mcdonalds-menus-mention-calories/articleshow/79771040.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">India has a hot new debate on its plate: Should the likes of Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s menus mention calories?</a>

Tata Motors to buy out Marcopolo's stake in bus venture for ₹100 crore

At a time when <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> and <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> are going the extra mile to grab India’s $5 billion bus <keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> market, the country’s largest online bus ticketing agency <keyword id="6359128" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Redbus">RedBus</keyword> is not far behind. The Ibibo-owned enterprise is looking to launch into newer categories and markets to expand its physical footprint. 
 
The company is looking to expand into hotel and taxi bookings soon. It is also looking to tap into international markets. RedBus currently offers around 80,000 routes in India with over 1,500 bus operators and reportedly owns 70% of the total market share in online bus ticketing. 
 
“If we find an interesting opportunity in overseas startups, we would look at acquisition. In a market as fragmented as bus travel, if one could have real time updates and online reservation of seats, it adds value to the experience”, Prakash Sangam, CEO, RedBus confirmed. 
 
Sangam insists that a bus traveler has very distinct needs for hotels that include free early check-in and proximity to bus stops that give them the edge. 
 
“We know the dropping points across cities, and can promote hotels in the vicinity”, he adds. 
 
Sangam observes the segment has evolved from the white collar market with IT professionals from Southern metropolitans like Bangalore travelling to and from home-towns in AP and Tamil Nadu to more diverse user-bases. 
 
 “As the internet is being widely adopted by the country, the target market has increasingly shifted from the luxury Volvo buses to non-AC ones that cater to students, small-time businessmen and salesmen”, he says, “While the market is still dominated by the metros, around 70% of our sales are from routes connecting the metros or the ones connecting metros to Tier II cities”, he adds. 
 
Mobile continues to be the platform of choice for new bookings with mobile bookings growing at a whopping 300% while desktop lags behind at a mere 30%. 
 
When asked about the stiff competition in an increasingly crowded market, Sangam dismisses the possibility there’s any match for them when it comes to bus ticketing, “We sell 20 times the tickets that a MakeMyTrip and a Yatra will sell combined. That debate has been settled. It has been clear in people’s minds that when have to do bus ticketing they’ll hire RedBus”, he asserts. 
 
(Image credit: Google Play)

RedBus is silently devising plans to become the
market-leader in a space being eyed by Ola and Paytm

<ul><li>The Indian ecommerce space may soon run out of space to accommodate any more players if another big player tries to make an entry, according to a report.</li><li>Bernstein has maintained that the Indian ecommerce sector would not be a “winner take all” opportunity.</li><li>The four biggest players in the segment are <keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword>, <keyword id="6354742" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flipkart" source="Orion">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="10926" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance" source="Orion">Reliance</keyword> and Tata Digital.</li></ul>Every big Indian business has been chasing the ecommerce space, which is expected to clock <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/india-will-have-more-ecommerce-users-by-2025-than-us-population/articleshow/92062424.cms">half a billion users</a> by the end of this decade. Whether it’s Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance JioMart or Tata Digital’s latest super app <keyword id="12651286" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-neu" source="Orion">Tata Neu</keyword>, everyone has been leaving no stone unturned to dominate the customer demand and mindspace. Now, a new report by JM Financial has revealed that we may soon run out of space to accommodate any more players. The Indian financial services company noted that the entry of another large player into the already “crowded” ecommerce space could instead lead to further consolidation, which will be harmful for smaller players trying to make a mark. “Smaller “me-too” players are likely to lose out. Further, we see these large players continuing their hunt for specialised e-commerce players to fill their portfolio gaps in order to maintain leadership. Besides, we could see them acquiring e-commerce enabling companies, e.g., logistics, data analytics, etc. to support organic growth,” the report added. Meanwhile, Bernstein has maintained that Indian ecommerce would not be a “winner take all” opportunity due to low ecommerce penetration of different categories and customer segmentation. The private wealth management firm noted that ecommerce is the largest segment in India internet and is expected to grow more than five-fold to reach $133 billion by 2025. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Tata Neu may eat into Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance’s share" comment="subhead" text="Tata Neu may eat into Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance’s share">Tata Neu may eat into Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance’s share</cmsannotation> Tata Digital’s superapp Tata Neu — which brings all of its digital services and apps on a single platform — is the latest one to join the battle. Even though none of the brands or banners launched under the super app are new, the consolidation of them all under one banner has given an advantage to the company especially when it comes to personalisation of products. JP Financial noted that Tata Neu sells almost 95% of overall e-tailing segments, ranging from electronics to clothes to shoes to groceries through brands like Westside, Tata CLIQ, Croma and BigBasket. The platform also offers flight tickets, jewelry and would add more product lines or brands in the time to come. It is expected to clock<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/e-commerce/news/tataneu-could-be-worth-15-billion-all-thanks-to-bigbasket-croma-and-westside/articleshow/92052094.cms"> $20 billion in sales</a> by the end of this decade. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Monthly Active User </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amazon </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">15 million* </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flipkart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 million* </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance JioMart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/dmart-and-jiomart-are-offering-deep-discounts-to-catch-up-with-bigbasket/articleshow/86750826.cms#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20report%2C%20BigBasket,and%20DMart's%205%20million%20each.">5 million</a> </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata Neu </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/tata-neu-has-been-downloaded-2-2-million-times-in-the-last-one-week/articleshow/90848701.cms">2.2 million**</a> </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Media reports, Jefferies, Bernstein *The Data is based on Bernstein analysis **Tata Neu announced that it recorded 2.2 million downloads in the first week of its launch in April 2022. Tata Neu is well placed to take market share away from its existing competitors like Flipkart, Amazon, Reliance Retail, the report added. Reliance Industries had launched JioMart in 2019 to sell groceries online, the platform maily competed with BigBasket (now owned by Tata) and Zomato-backed Grofers (now called Blinkit). The Mukesh Ambani-led company later decided to expand JioMart’s offering to include clothes, accessories, household items and more to give tough competition to Amazon and Flipkart. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/paytm-could-be-entering-a-low-cost-high-profit-margin-regime-say-a-brokerage-firm/articleshow/92054964.cms" style="">PayTM could be entering a low cost-high profit margin regime, say a brokerage firm</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/physicswallah-is-indias-first-profitable-edtech-startup-up-here/articleshow/92056796.cms" style="">YouTube channel to a billion dollar company — India’s first profitable edtech unicorn is here</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/e-commerce/news/tataneu-could-be-worth-15-billion-all-thanks-to-bigbasket-croma-and-westside/articleshow/92052094.cms" style="">TataNeu could be worth $15 billion all thanks to BigBasket, Croma and Westside</a>

After Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance and Tata Neu, India's $133 billion ecommerce market may be too little for a fifth player

Is <keyword id="2364818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-3-0">e-commerce 3.0</keyword> only about business tweaks? Almost all experts will tell you that the new format of <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> is on its way, but nobody is quite sure what it is like. Some pinpoint it as online shopping, largely influenced by social media parameters, while others are betting big on the mobile impact. No doubt these are crucial indicators, but they only provide you a partial glimpse into the business-to-consumer (B2C) part of it. However, we need to take a more incisive look at the fast-evolving strategic context of e-commerce, which is throwing up some surprising trends that may affect the industry in the long run. Let us take a look at the recent happenings in the Indian e-commerce space to identify the most prominent trends and what they signify. 
	 
	 
	 
	1. Calibrated aggression for survival: That’s exactly what the much-anticipated cash-and-stock deal between <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> has taught us. Competition has been ironed out by strategic <keyword id="42411" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Merger">merger</keyword> in order to survive against global giants like <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>. Flipkart is not new to the game but co-founders Sachin and <keyword id="6364080" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Binny-Bansal">Binny Bansal</keyword> have not gone the LetsBuy way this time, for pretty predictable reasons (for your recap, Letsbuy.com was the electronics e-tailer that was acquired by Flipkart in February 2012 and shut down in May that year). 
	 Before the acquisition, the Myntra brand was way ahead of Flipkart as the <keyword id="2364834" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Biggest-India-fashion-e-tailer">biggest India fashion e-tailer</keyword>. While Flipkart required size to survive against the likes of Amazon, the bigger margins enjoyed by fashion e-tailing was an added icing to the cake (after all, fashion is expected to be the largest category in e-commerce over the next five years). So this time around, it was a calibrated aggression on Flipkart’s part and the merger, along with the much-talked-about <keyword id="2364826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Management-autonomy">management autonomy</keyword> enjoyed by <keyword id="705865" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mukesh-Bansal">Mukesh Bansal</keyword>’s Myntra, will continue to work for two specific reasons. 
	 One is local competition, not only from <keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>, which is promoted by Berlin-based <keyword id="1965711" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rocket-Internet-GmbH">Rocket Internet GmbH</keyword> (a venture arm of the deep-pocketed Samwer brothers), but also from <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>.com, quite a veteran in the marketplace model. It is too early to assume that Jabong has missed the bus in stamping its dominance in the <keyword id="902070" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-com">e-com</keyword> space and the same applies to Snapdeal, which has recently raised $100 million and could be opting for an IPO in the next 18-24 months. Moreover, if India eases its <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> policy further and allows <keyword id="2364830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Foreign-e-commerce-companies">foreign e-commerce companies</keyword> to sell their products directly to Indian consumers (as of now, only marketplaces are allowed to do this), <keyword id="2364831" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Home-grown-e-commerce-firms">home-grown e-commerce firms</keyword> will require maximum <keyword id="573045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Customer-loyalty">customer loyalty</keyword> to stay in business and the likes of Myntra will play a key role in ensuring enhanced <keyword id="485911" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="brand-loyalty">brand loyalty</keyword>.
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	The way ahead: Similar mergers may happen soon and we may see some monopolistic polarisation in the e-commerce space. If branding and management autonomy can be retained in the same way it had been done in the <keyword id="2196490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart-Myntra-deal">Flipkart-Myntra deal</keyword>, a Snapdeal-Jabong deal may very well be a possibility. On the other hand, Amazon may come up with a similar offer for Snapdeal (we don’t rule out <keyword id="161767" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="eBay-India">eBay India</keyword> either) and once again, we may witness the emergence of an e-commerce mega power in India. Also, in most of these deals, unequals could be gunning for merger-of-equals status, thus complicating the merger and acquisition operations. Ultimately, the <keyword id="2364839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entry-barrier">entry barrier</keyword> will be too high for small or niche e-commerce sites and staying profitable will become a tough proposition. 
	 
	 
	 
	2. SME focus for marketplace growth: A couple of days ago, Flipkart announced tie-ups with two SME (small and medium enterprise) promotion bodies and signed MoUs with the Federation of Indian Micro and <keyword id="6375845" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-and-medium-enterprises">Small and Medium Enterprises</keyword> (<keyword id="174192" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FISME">FISME</keyword>) and the National Centre for Design and Product Development (<keyword id="2348217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="NCDPD">NCDPD</keyword>). With this move, the Bangalore firm expects to create a powerful affiliation with 50,000 SMEs and artisans by helping them with data analytics, marketing and customer acquisition. The company is also holding talks with several <keyword id="533862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manufacturing-clusters">manufacturing clusters</keyword> in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in a bid to attract more sellers on board and thus ensure strong growth for its marketplace model. 
	 
	As of now, Flipkart has about 3,000 sellers on board, mostly SMEs, and offers 15 million products across 70-plus categories. The company aims to grow the seller base to 12,000 by the end of the current fiscal, according to Economic Times. Myntra, too, has about 100 sellers on board and plans to increase this number to 1,000 by fiscal-end. However, this is too paltry a number, compared to the largest Chinese <keyword id="2049184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-marketplace">e-commerce marketplace</keyword> <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>.com that has about 20 lakh SMEs on board, but has less than 20,000 in India. 
	 As for other key players in India, here are some mindboggling numbers according to media reports. Snapdeal currently features about 500 categories, 100,000 sellers and more than 5 million products (excluding books and movies); eBay has 1.1 million product listings at any given point <keyword id="54921" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="spread">spread</keyword> across 2,000 categories and 45,000 sellers on board while Amazon has 15 million products from 5,000 sellers across 24 categories. Amazon has already opened two Fufillment Centers in India, enabling home-grown SMEs to get a scalable and robust national platform. Sellers opting for FBA (<keyword id="2023087" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fulfillment-by-Amazon">Fulfillment By Amazon</keyword>) send their products to these ‘fulfillment centers’ and once an order is placed, Amazon packs and ships the order.
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	The way ahead: Right now, no one can possibly predict whether the death of the inventory-led e-commerce model is imminent. But one thing is pretty certain – e-commerce businesses need as many products and categories as possible to enhance customer engagement. However, that won’t be possible without growing their marketplaces and bringing on board a huge number of sellers. Hence, the <keyword id="2364811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SME-focus">SME focus</keyword> and <keyword id="6630005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-labels">private labels</keyword> are going to dominate e-commerce 3.0. 
	 
	 
	 
	3. VAS for better customer loyalty: In spite of a Mumbai firm delivering pizza on an experimental basis, civil/commercial drones à la <keyword id="2364850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime-Air-drones">Amazon Prime Air drones</keyword> are still not a reality in India (neither they are commercially ready in the US). However, Amazon, eBay, Flipkart and Snapdeal are trying their best to ensure ‘fastest possible’ delivery in the country. While <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> offers same-day and guaranteed one-day delivery, eBay is testing a 9-hour delivery model in Mumbai. 
	 Only recently, Flipkart has launched its annual subscription service called <keyword id="2230132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart-First">Flipkart First</keyword>, offering a number of benefits including <keyword id="1591575" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="free-shipping">free shipping</keyword> for any purchase, free in-a-day guaranteed delivery, <keyword id="2364858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Discounted-same-day-delivery">discounted same-day delivery</keyword>, 24×7 <keyword id="2364859" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Priority-customer-service">priority customer service</keyword> and more. This is similar to the lucrative logistics part of Amazon’s Prime subscription (currently not available in India), but Amazon offers a bigger service bouquet for its Prime subscribers, including access to songs, movies, TV shows and books. Flipkart, or any other Indian e-tailer for that matter, is yet to launch such extensive customer engagement programme, but the bait has been thrown by Flipkart and to some extent, by Snapdeal, which also offers free same-day delivery in certain regions and hopes to expand this service next year. 
	 
	The way ahead: Some experts feel that e-com businesses will soon curtail services like <keyword id="1972252" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Express-delivery">express delivery</keyword> and free shipping in order to generate more cash. High transportation costs and other logistics issues have been cited as the main culprits. But keeping in mind that <keyword id="758541" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime">Amazon Prime</keyword> works more as a <keyword id="1426078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="loyalty-programme">loyalty programme</keyword> and less as a revenue-churner, fixing fickle customer loyalty may lie in developing these services. Now that Flipkart is going to market <keyword id="2364868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Affordable-tablets">affordable tablets</keyword> under its <keyword id="2338688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="DigiFlip">DigiFlip</keyword> label, the Indian e-commerce giant can very well experiment with some Prime-like services and craft user experience based on ‘All things Flipkart’ just as Amazon does with its affordable <keyword id="785825" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kindle-Fire">Kindle Fire</keyword>. If that happens and other companies follow suit, e-commerce 3.0 in India will evolve into an inclusive and exciting user experience. For now, let us wait and watch. 
	 
	Images: Thinkstock/Getty Images

Life After
Flipkart-Myntra Deal: Will These 3 Trends Rule E-commerce In India?

While industrial growth triggered by the first leg of economic liberalisation in early nineties led to a sea change in India’s social fabric over the last couple of decades, <keyword id="31907" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aviation">aviation</keyword> stands apart as a sector that is capable of fuelling drastic changes in terms of <keyword id="47276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Economic-growth">economic growth</keyword>. 
 In fact, for more than 40 years since independence, Indian aviation was a public sector monopoly, with <keyword id="2573" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India">Air India</keyword> and <keyword id="1446" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-airlines">Indian Airlines</keyword> as the two only operators serving the domestic and international market respectively. Liberalisation changed this for better as air taxi operators were allowed to serve the domestic market. While many private airlines entered and exited, a few players including Jet Airways survived the initial turbulence. 
 
The government’s decision to deregulate international air traffic in 2004 allowed private Indian carriers to extend their services to international routes. Leveraging positive policy ambience, airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet carved a niche for themselves by adopting a low-cost business model. 
 A few factors such as foreign direct investment (<keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword>) in domestic airlines, low-cost carriers (LCC), information technology (IT) interventions and a rising need for regional connectivity have pushed the growth in the domestic aviation space. 
 
These have catapulted the size of Indian aviation to $16 billion, making it one among the top 10 aviation markets in the world and leading to bullish outlook among industry watchers. “The new entrants have now better business models to keep the business sustainable,” says Charles Dhanaraj, professor of Strategy and Global Leadership at IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland. 
 In terms of additional passengers per year, India is expected to be among the top five air domestic travel markets globally by 2034, according to the <keyword id="6407098" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Air-Transport-Association">International Air Transport Association</keyword> (IATA). 
 Aircraft movements, passengers and freight at Indian airports are expected to grow at 4.2 %, 5.3% and 5%, respectively, for the next five years, according to estimates by <keyword id="54875" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airports-Authority-of-India">Airports Authority of India</keyword> (AAI). “A major underexploited opportunity is the domestic freight transport. 
 
There is increasing potential for moving high value goods domestically through air freight where there will be more movement in the coming years,” says Charles. 
 
Investment galore Significant growth in FDI inflows and a slew of government initiatives provided fodder for the sector’s transformation. FDI inflows in air transport during April 2000 to November 2014 stood at $543 million, as per data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Recent investments from private players include IndiGo’s order for 250 A320neo airplanes from Airbus for $25.5 billion; AirAsia’s plans to add 10 more aircraft to its fleet by end of 2015, taking its total fleet to 15 aircraft; <keyword id="137192" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Star-Alliance">Star Alliance</keyword> plans to turn New Delhi’s T3 and Mumbai’s T2 Terminals into hubs; and the pact signed by Vistara, the airline by the Tata Group-Singapore Airlines (SIA) alliance, with SITA for aircraft communications, airline operations and network connectivity. According to Charles, the entry of Vistara and the growing interest of the foreign investors to be part of the growth of Indian aviation will propel the system. 
 
Government initiatives 
The government, which has been bullish about pushing the sector’s growth, has projected that around 500 airports would be required by 2020. It has already approved the construction of five budget airports to improve regional connectivity and work on them will start from FY15 and launched tourist visa on arrival (TVoA) enabled by electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to 43 countries besides plans to privatise national airline Air India. Also, the Ministry of Civil Aviation also plans to list Airports Authority of India and Pawan Hans on the stock exchanges. 
 
The private sector is sought to be involved in a big way through the PPP model, with significant state support in terms of financing, concessional land allotment and tax holidays. 
 
Air Costa is one of the carriers that aim to leverage the expected growth in air transport between tier 2 and 3 cities. “We aim to tap the burgeoning tier II market by stimulating growth through better air connectivity to the tier I cities. Our choice of Embraer aircraft (E170 with 67 seats and E190 with 112 seats) complements this vision. From operating two Embraer aircraft to 4 destinations with 300 employees, we have grown to 4 aircraft serving 9 destinations with close to 750 employees within a year,” says Air Costa CEO Capt. KN Babu. 
 
Economy, Trade and Tourism 
The aviation sector meets growing transportation needs of consumers—airlines registered in India carry 50 million passengers and 1.1 million tonnes of freight a year to, from and within India; more than 130,000 international flights depart India annually destined for 70 airports in 50 countries; domestically, more than 664,000 flights make 89 million seats available to passengers annually, destined to 73 airports. It also offers better connectivity—for instance, daily, there are 8 flights between Delhi and Dubai and more than 59 flights from Delhi to Bombay. The sector makes significant contribution to Indian <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> and provides millions of jobs. 
 
Among customers of airlines serving Indian airports, 76 per cent are local residents who get an economic benefit estimated to be worth INR 832 billion annually. 
 
This is in addition to the long-term benefits to the economy. Through investments and use of advanced technology, the aviation sector generates more gross value added (GVA) per employee than the economy as a whole, raising the overall productivity of the economy. 
Benefits are also accrued to the economy through the growth of ground-based infrastructure including airport facilities and the aerospace manufacturing space. 
 
Air transport lies at the heart of Indian tourism. Through its speed, convenience and affordability, air transport has expanded the possibilities of travel for tourists and business travelers alike, allowing an ever greater number of people to experience diversity of culture. 
 
Tourism, both for business and leisure purposes, makes a large contribution to the Indian economy, with foreign visitors spending over Rs 548 billion in the Indian economy each year. Around 89% of these visitors arrive by air, which means foreign visitors who travel by air spend approximately Rs 488 billion. 
 
Considering air freight makes up 34.6% of the value of global trade, aviation also provide a huge fillip to trade in the country. 
 
Hampering environment 
However, the growth of aviation happens at the cost significant damage to the environment, including contribution to global warming. Aviation contributes to climate change by altering the composition of atmospheric gases. In addition to CO2, emissions from aviation combustion processes comprise NOx, SOx and VOC which pollute the fabric of atmosphere. 
 
According to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), CO2 emissions will grow 2.8% annually between 2000 and 2050 and are projected to make up 16% of total transportation carbon emissions, pointing to the need for a shift towards solar powered aircrafts in the long run. IPCC also calculates the climate impact of aviation to be 1.96 times that of CO2 impact. In addition to its contribution to climate change, aviation hampers ambient air quality, affecting public health. This is besides the negative environmental impact of noise pollution contributed by the growing number of aircraft. 
 
Against the background of Modi government’s Land Acquisition Bill, which aims to ease the process of acquisition of land for industrial purposes, land acquisition for the proposed airports too will prove to be a tough nut to crack both politically and economically. 
 
While the government's decision to allow airlines to import jet fuel will help airlines cut fuel costs by up to 20 per cent, lack of infrastructure at the hands of local airlines to import fuel directly would mean domestic carriers continuing to pay heavy federal and state taxes for buying fuel from domestic oil firms, adding to the debt pile-up of airlines most of which are losing money. 
 
There are also concerns about supporting infrastructure and taxation. “There is a huge need for up gradation of the airports at tier 2 cities where the major growth should happen, “ says Charles. “There is still scope for improvement in the airport infrastructure. Another concern is over-taxation – central and state taxes on fuel and maintenance as well as service taxes on air tickets are likely to hamper growth,” says Ramesh Lingamaneni, chairman of Air Costa. 
 
However, the clear silver lining is the expected growth in the number of aircraft as well as domestic and international passengers from India. This projected growth, along with India’s low air traffic density—72 compared with 282 in China and 2,896 in the US—signals a huge untapped potential, considering rising disposable income levels and the burgeoning young population. 
 
As IATA CEO Tony Tyler put it, the world is focused on Indian aviation – from manufacturers, tourism boards, airlines, global businesses to individual travellers, shippers and businessmen. Consensus among these stakeholders, right policies and focus on quality, cost and passenger interest will transform India to one of the largest aviation markets within a couple of decades. 
 
Image: thinkstock

Why India is likely to emerge one of the largest aviation markets

What's the better way to success? Be a part of a group or go alone at it? For some entrepreneurs in the tech space, being a piece of something bigger has helped them get their businesses off the ground more rapidly and easily. Eventually, a incubator can be the ideal bridge to make the huge stride from idea to execution. Not many get to be a part of something big (or make something big out of themselves). They say <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">Entrepreneurship</keyword> cannot be taught it can only be learned through experience and expertise, true that, and if you’re getting an opportunity to make something big out of your company in an European environment (where startups give birth to game changing products and services) and that too paid, what else would you need? 
 Yes, the French government is inviting startups from all over the world. Last year, they kickstarted <keyword id="3439023" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="French-Tech-Ticket">French Tech Ticket</keyword>, an incubation program where startups from all over the world got the opportunity to learn and understand the ‘ti and taas’ of growing startups. After completing one successful year, French Tech Ticket season 2 is here. 
 Talking to <keyword id="3632872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sylvain-biard">Sylvain BIARD</keyword>, head of Tech &amp; Services Department for South Asia (French Trade &amp; Investment Commission BUSINESS <keyword id="6354785" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="France">FRANCE</keyword>), he said, “It’s been 4 years in India, India is very vibrant when we talk about the startup ecosystem. There have been investments and I think the fintech section is growing rapidly in the country.” He further quoted, “With over 5000 startups and growing day by day, India has made its mark on the global map of startup ecosystem. India being one of the important trade partners, France is keen to leverage the same relation and firm up entrepreneurial ecosystem in France by hosting Indian startups.” 
 
What is it all about? 
 
70 international startups will be selected for the program and will join 41 of the incubators (who are in partnership with the French government) in France and will be incubated for a 12 month period from January 2017. Startups will be placed in incubators specialising in a specific sector (there are different incubators for different startup sectors). 
 
How do I enroll in the program? 
 
One can simply fill in the details <a href="http://www.frenchtechticket.com/9/application">here</a>. 
 
Program Benefits 
 
• Funding: The program will provide €45,000 (~Rs 30 lakhs) per team over the course of a year, with no loss of equity (€20k to cover personal costs and €25k to cover professional services) 
 
• Resident Permit: Being an initiative by the French government all the members of the startups will be provided fast-track procedure to obtain a French residence permit. 
 
• Acceleration Program: Startups will be provided with tailored program of events to support startup’s growth, Masterclasses, Networking events, Mentoring sessions, and 2 Demodays with investors and corporate executives. 
 
• The Landing Pack: “Welcome Guide” and special offers from partners to help startups relocate easily to France! 
 
Indian Startups from last year 
 
“Last year we had selected 23 projects, two Indian startups were selected and are currently being incubated in France,” said Sylvain. 
 
• <keyword id="3632875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guesswork">Guesswork</keyword>: Guesswork is a product recommendation engine. They recommend products for new users in e-commerce sites. Some of the world's largest e-commerce companies like Zalora, Linio, Mahindra Babyoye are their customers. 
 
• <keyword id="3632873" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dymond-cleantech">Dymond Cleantech</keyword>: Dymond Cleantech provides clean water using diamonds. The patented technology uses diamond electrodes to incinerate toxic organic contaminants and pathogens in water, providing safe drinking water. 
 
Eligibility 
 
Go through the checklist before applying: 
 
Founding team of 2-3 members (Can include a maximum of one French citizen) 
The entire program will be based in English, so it’s necessary for startups to know the language. 
Startups must be in the creation or growth phase. 
Consulting firms and import-export businesses are not eligible to the French Tech Ticket. 
Founders must be ready to live in France for a year and devote 100% of their time to their project.

Get your start up incubated in France with
help from the French Government

The Tata Group has geared up to meet challenges like slowdown in some areas and exponential growth and opportunities in other sectors. 
 
To meet its requirements, the group has roped in headhunters to appoint people at key posts like MD and CFO. 
 
People in knowhow of the matter told Economic Times that a reputed search firm was appointed to hunt for an MD of Tata Motors. 
 
Tata Motors, India's largest truck and bus maker, has been leaderless since the death of Karl Slym in January last year. 
 
DHR International, which is supposed to possess expertise in identifying key talent for automobile companies, is leading the search. 
 
The financial daily reported that Indian partner of a global search firm has also been asked to shortlist candidates for the post of Tata Motors chief financial officer as the incumbent C Ramakrishnan will be retiring in June this year. 
 
"We will announce the details for the new managing director and for the chief financial officer once we have made these appointments," a Tata Motors spokesperson told ET in an emailed response, adding "We do not have any additional comments on these at present." 
 DHR International is also looking at internal candidates for the post of chief financial officer of <keyword id="46894" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tata-Sons">Tata Sons</keyword>, the group holding company. 
 
ET reported that for nearly two decades, Ishaat Hussain was among the few financial whiz kids in the Tata Group having led the finance functions in both Tata Steel and Tata Sons. 
 
But in 2012, he became the non-executive director at Tata Sons and the group has been examining various alternatives since then. 
 
A top official close to the situation told the financial daily that two internal candidates have been shortlisted and a decision could be made soon. 
 
These candidates are Praveen Kadle, the 54-year-old managing director of Tata Capital who was earlier the chief financial officer of Tata Motors, and Koushik Chatterjee, group executive director (finance and corporate) of Tata Steel. 
 
"These matters are internal to the company. As and when we have an announcement to make, we will inform you," a Tata Sons spokesperson told ET in an emailed response. 
 
Meanwhile, Tata Motors needs a strong leader capable of overhauling the organisation to develop new products and compete with multinationals. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

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