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<keyword id="12287543" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="graphy" source="Orion">Graphy</keyword>, an <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> Group company, on Monday the acquisition of edtech software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform <keyword id="12287544" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="spayee" source="Orion">Spayee</keyword> for $25 million. Founded in 2014, Spayee allows content creators to produce customised courses in the form of audio and video tutorials, PDF documents, quizzes, assignments and live classes. On the other hand, Graphy was created as a platform for educational content creators to grow their audience, monetise their skills, and host live cohort-based courses. Graphy said the acquisition is aimed at strengthening its leadership position in the creator economy. "Spayee has built a winning proposition for creators. We are confident that having them as part of the Unacademy group will help us explore common synergies and build the world's largest creator community," said Sumit Jain, co-founder and CEO, Graphy. Graphy helps creators launch their own online school in under 60 seconds and has over 500 active creators. Post the acquisition, Spayee will continue to operate independently. Currently over 2,000 creators and businesses have launched their platforms using Spayee. Bengaluru-based edtech platform Unacademy was founded by Munjal, Saini, Hemesh Singh, and <keyword id="11780" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sachin-gupta" source="Orion">Sachin Gupta</keyword> in 2016. In August, Unacademy closed a Series H round of $440 million at a valuation of $3.44 billion. Unacademy, at present, has over 50,000 registered educators and more than 62 million learners. The startup offers learnings in 14 languages across 5,000 cities. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-china-border-issue-india-china-border-issue-in-ladakh-india-china-border-india-military-power-china-military-power/articleshow/86929899.cms">India and China militaries fail to agree on a border line at Depsang and Hot Springs</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/tcs-shares-price-down-despite-a-stronger-dollar-thats-good-for-future-profits/articleshow/86929360.cms">TCS shares plunge more than 6% despite a stronger dollar that’s good for future profits</a>

Unacademy's Graphy acquires edtech startup Spayee for $25 million

The hacker/hackathon culture has come of age in India. Thanks for portals like <keyword id="1574957" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="HackerEarth">HackerEarth</keyword> and HackerRank, managers can now test prospective hires, while programmers showcase their coding talent. 
 
Bengaluru-based HackerEarth is one of the major India-based firms that helps match programmers with companies looking to hire tech talent or solve internal glitches. They do it by conducting <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hackathons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">hackathons</a> or marathon coding challenges that are becoming popular among Indian enterprises. 
 
The company has created a platform that automates the entire process of conducting <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hackathons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">hackathons</a> - right from creating teams, online collaborative development among participants, showcasing products, tracking progress and peer review to judging the submissions. Its setting sights in markets in the US, Eastern Europe and South-east Asia. 
 Business Insider spoke to HackerEarth co-founders <keyword id="11780" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sachin-Gupta">Sachin Gupta</keyword> and <keyword id="2693417" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Vivek-Prakash">Vivek Prakash</keyword> to understand how they built one of the largest programmer communities in the country. 
 
Story behind the Name 
Sachin: It goes back to July, 2012. 
 
The word ‘hacker’ appealed to us. There’s a negative connotation to it now, but the word originally means a programming expert. It’s a culture that believes in getting things done and solving problems in minutes and getting products ready in months. 
 
The Use-Cases 
Vivek: The programming community in India is very fragmented. Our experience has given us the knowledge and expertise to figure who to reach out to for a certain use-case. 
 
For companies like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Wal-Mart+Labs&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Wal-Mart Labs</a>, we offer access to the widest range of developers. This gives them at least 10x more reach. 
 
Sachin: We’ve gone from being a recruitment company to a developer’s outreach. IBM Bluemix works with us to hire developers, GSK crowd-sourced a mobile game, and companies also organize <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hackathons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">hackathons</a> to build their talent pipeline. 
 
Biggies Catching Up 
 
Vivek: Even bigger companies want a culture where every developer is thinking independently and implementing fast. It has helped companies like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Wipro&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Wipro</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Infosys&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Infosys</a> service customers better and identify smart people in their teams. 
 
The company has conducted 120 hackathons for 48 large and small enterprises. With over $32 million being doled out in offers over 951k coding assessments, HackerEarth aims to grow its revenue from about $130,000 a month now to $400,000 a month by the end of the year. 
 
Pocket Pinch: 
The cost for setting up a hiring challenge will be anything between Rs. 35k – 1.5 lakhs. Cost of per hire ranges from Rs. 60k - 2 lakhs based on the salary and the profile involved. 
 
<keyword id="1604076" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hackathon">Hackathon</keyword> Culture 
With 65% of its revenue coming from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hackathons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">hackathons</a>, Sachin believes coding challenges will continue to be a major driver for growth. “In the next 2-3 years, the revenue split would still be a 70-30 between <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=hackathons&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">hackathons</a> and other options”, he says. 
 
Unfortunately, while ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Network">Social Network</a>’ or ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley_(TV_series)">Silicon Valley</a>’ would have you believe there’s Beer or Tequila involved, Sachin says it’s nothing as boozy as Hollywood would want you to believe. 
 
“That’s still limited to the movies, at least in India. It’s a more informal environment, and people are often up all night. However, we haven’t had anything with liquor involved. Not sure if that happens in the Valley as well”, Sachin concludes. 
 
What a sore!

HackerEarth is transforming
India’s developer hiring scene, one hackathon at a time

Bucking the trend where Cloud infrastructure offerings are getting cheaper, <keyword id="691847" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-cloud" source="Orion">Google Cloud</keyword> has announced significant price hikes across its core services like storage, compute and networking that will go into effect from October 1 this year. The company said that the impact of the pricing changes depends on customers' use cases and usage. "While some customers may see an increase in their bills, we're also introducing new options for some services to better align with usage, which could lower some customers' bills," said Sachin Gupta, Vice President and GM, <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> Cloud Infrastructure. "We're working directly with customers to help them understand which changes may impact them," he said in a blog post late on Monday. Core storage features, like multi-region Nearline storage, will see at least 50 per cent price increase. Operations pricing for Google Cloud's Coldline Storage Class A will double from $0.10 per 10,000 operations to $0.20. Some of the changes will also provide new, lower-cost options and features for Google Cloud products. "Other changes will raise prices on certain products. Ultimately, our goal is to provide more flexible pricing models and options for how customers are using our cloud services," said Gupta. The company has sent customers a six-month notice on the price changes, which go into effect on October 1. "Customers under existing commit contracts with a floating or fixed discount will not face any changes until renewal," said Google. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-s22-series-pixel-6-affected-by-severe-dirty-pipe-vulnerability-that-lets-hackers-intercept-whatsapp-messages-sms-and-more/articleshow/90120028.cms">Samsung Galaxy S22 series, Pixel 6 affected by severe ‘Dirty Pipe’ vulnerability that lets hackers intercept WhatsApp messages, SMS and more</a>

Google Cloud will get more expensive from October 1

Bucking the trend where Cloud infrastructure offerings are getting cheaper, <keyword id="691847" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-Cloud" source="Orion">Google Cloud</keyword> has announced significant price hikes across its core services like storage, compute and networking that will go into effect from October 1 this year. The company said that the impact of the pricing changes depends on customers' use cases and usage. "While some customers may see an increase in their bills, we're also introducing new options for some services to better align with usage, which could lower some customers' bills," said Sachin Gupta, Vice President and GM, <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> Cloud Infrastructure. "We're working directly with customers to help them understand which changes may impact them," he said in a blog post late on Monday. Core storage features, like multi-region Nearline storage, will see at least 50 per cent price increase. Operations pricing for Google Cloud's Coldline Storage Class A will double from $0.10 per 10,000 operations to $0.20. Some of the changes will also provide new, lower-cost options and features for Google Cloud products. "Other changes will raise prices on certain products. Ultimately, our goal is to provide more flexible pricing models and options for how customers are using our cloud services," said Gupta. The company has sent customers a six-month notice on the price changes, which go into effect on October 1. "Customers under existing commit contracts with a floating or fixed discount will not face any changes until renewal," said Google. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/apple-supplier-foxconn-halts-production-at-its-shenzhen-plants-after-sudden-covid-19-outbreak/articleshow/90215795.cms">Apple supplier Foxconn halts production at its Shenzhen plants after sudden COVID-19 outbreak</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/paytm-says-that-restrictions-on-payments-bank-wont-hamper-its-business/articleshow/90215959.cms">Paytm says that restrictions on Payments Bank won’t hamper its business</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/home/facebook-wants-to-bring-back-young-adults-on-its-platform-but-they-say-theres-nothing-much-it-can-do-to-win-them/articleshow/90206539.cms">Facebook wants to bring back young adults on its platform but they say there’s nothing much it can do to win them</a>

Google Cloud announces price hikes across storage, compute and networking services

<keyword id="58959" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="foreign-investors" source="Orion">Foreign investors</keyword> have upgraded <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> as a dedicated allocation in their investment portfolios given the strong economy, stable government and significant reforms undertaken over the last eight years, equity experts have said. According to the experts, who participated in Futures Industry Association (FIA) Asia trade conference held in Singapore from November 29 to December 1, investment is flowing into India's growth story. Previously, the investors had grouped India within emerging markets and comparatively only China was a "dedicated allocation" emerging market, according to Anant Jatia, Founder &amp; CIO at Greenland Investment Management LLP in Mumbai. "Investment is flowing into India's Growth Story. We see investments being redirected as FPIs reposition their dollars amidst uncertainties in China," Jatia told PTI on the sidelines of FIA Asia 2022. "We are seeing the current pickup gaining momentum as FPIs have turned net buyers of India with over USD 5 billion coming in over November and early December relative to the USD 23 billion they pulled out over the first ten months of 2022," Jatia added. He said that the flip is impressive considering the cost of liquidity has gone up significantly with the Fed Funds Rate, currently at 3.83 per cent, slated to rise an additional 50 basis months this month. Sunil Sachdeva, a Singapore-based stock market expert with focus on Indian equities, said that the Indian stock markets have shown good resilience in recent months, and hit a new growth trajectory though some of the leading global markets are down by 15-20 per cent due to the economic uncertainties. "This resilience has come from good Government regulatory reforms, RBI's sharp eye on the economy with supportive policies and a good level of domestic consumption," Sachdeva, who is also the Treasury Director of Safron Pte Ltd, a family office based in Singapore, said. "The Indian markets have entered into a new trajectory. The Indices are at an all-time high," he said. Sachdeva said this is just a start of a multi-year growth cycle and it is time to stay invested. "We have seen very large interest in India as a market at the FIA event here and everyone wants a pie of Indian stocks. International and domestic investors want to be part of the Indian Growth Story," he said. A few months back, there was a confusion among international investors as to where to invest when comparing India with China. "In China, the valuation looks very good but definitely there are COVID-related uncertainties," Sachdeva underlined. He said in India there is a political certainty attracting the investments, stability and the Government policies look good. "Funds through Foreign Portfolio Investors are flowing into India. Today, India has over 10 crores of dematerialized (demat) accounts. Just imagine the growth potential, if the demat accounts grow to 20-30 crores in the coming decade," said Sachdeva. Domestic investors are moving their low-interest rate fixed deposits from banks to the higher return stock market, where major industrial sectors, such as listed companies from infrastructure, auto and banks have reported a good level of profitability in the second quarter. India equities have outperformed international markets. "We are seeing Indian equities growing 7 per cent year on year return while comparatively the US markets are down 14 per cent," he said. Sachdeva believes the Indian equity market could grow up to 5-8 per cent year on year. Sachin Gupta, who is the CEO of Noida-based firm Share India, said that the India Growth Story will be intact for the next 10 years as people's participation and views towards the market is very positive. "The Indian stock market is bullish because the economy is doing very well. As of now, we only have 3-4 per cent of the total population participating in the stock markets while the Government wants more citizen participation in this wealth generation trade," he said. There are a lot of people leaving fancy jobs at major Indian corporations and opting for trading in the stock market or becoming professional traders, he noted. Young professionals, in the 25-30 age group, and some of them from Tier-III cities, have started investing in the stock and shares. Gupta sees 20-25 per cent of the Indian population participating in the stock markets in the coming decade, up from 7 per cent of the total population that is now taking interest. Priyanka Sachdeva, who is a market analyst at Singapore's Phillip Nova Pte Ltd, said strong domestic demand and government are pushing the manufacturing sector in a bid to make India more self-reliant and reduce import dependability add additional sheen to the bullishness to Indian equities against entire global mayhem. But she also cautioned, "Going into 2023, Indian equity growth can receive a mild blow as foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows might weaken slightly for India and instead shift to China, as prospects of its economy fully re-opening post-COVID by next year." Meanwhile private sector capex likely will pick-up, strong earnings momentum continues and demand conditions are expected to stay strong, said the Singapore-based stock market analyst. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/postpartum-depression-in-mothers-can-have-serious-consequences-on-the-childs-health-and-development/articleshow/95946346.cms">Postpartum depression in mothers can have serious consequences on the child’s health and development</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/iphone-15-features-roundup-ultra-variant-solid-state-buttons-usb-type-c-port-and-more/articleshow/95820166.cms">iPhone 15 features roundup – Ultra variant, solid-state buttons, USB Type-C port, and more</a>

Foreign investors upgrade India as dedicated allocation in investment portfolios, say equity experts

Ludhiana, May 19 () Two men, facing rape charges, have tested positive for coronavirus here, police said on Tuesday. The duo aged 27 and 25 years were arrested in two separate cases of rape registered at Haibowal Police Station and Civil Lines Police Station respectively, said police. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Gupta said a police sub-inspector, two assistant sub inspectors and five constables who came in contact with the accused have been quarantined for 14 days. COR CHS VSD RHL

Pb: 2 rape accused test positive for coronavirus in Ludhiana

<ul><li><keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> will acquire 100% stake in the company, providing exit to all of its existing investors.</li><li>Rheo TV founders will join Unacademy’s hiring tests platform <keyword id="11724079" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="relevel">Relevel</keyword> as co-founders.</li><li>Unacademy has acquired nine companies to expand its presence and offering in India.</li></ul>Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn Unacademy on Monday, July 26, announced the acquisition of game streaming platform Rheo TV. As a part of the deal, Unacademy will acquire 100% stake in the company, providing exit to all of its existing investors. The companies did not disclose any financial details of the deal. A unicorn, in startup parlance, is a private firm valued at or more than $1 billion. Post the acquisition, Rheo TV founders Saksham Keshri and Prakash Kumar will join Unacademy’s hiring tests platform -- Relevel -- as cofounders. Notably, Rheo TV will cease to exist post acquisition and the entire team will join Relevel. Rheo TV was founded in August 2019 to make professional game streaming a career option in India, by providing tools to drive engagement and offer monetisation. The company claimed that it had managed to attract more than 5 million users and over 10,000 live streamers within a year of launch. The company’s existing investors include Unacademy’s chief executive Gaurav Munjal, along with other angel investors such as former country head of Google Mobile Mahesh Narayanan and Redbus founder Phanindra Sama, among others. Lightspeed India Partners, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and AET Fund were investors in the company. Unacademy was founded by Munjal, Hemesh Singh, Roman Saini and Sachin Gupta in 2015. The company claims to have over 50,000 registered educators and over 62 million learners. The company offers courses in 14 Indian languages to learners across 5,000 cities. The company has acquired nine companies over the last few years to expand its presence and offering in India. The Unacademy Group comprises Unacademy, PrepLadder, CodeChef, Graphy and Relevel. It has raised over $380 million from marquee investors like Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, SoftBank VF2, Facebook, General Atlantic and Sequoia India. Unacademy competes with BYJU’s, which is the highest valued edtech startup in the world. The company, on Monday, announced the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/byjus-is-willing-to-shell-out-10x-of-what-great-learning-earned-during-the-best-year-for-edtech/articleshow/84754613.cms">acquisition of upskilling platform </a>Great Learning and is looking to expand internationally from this year onwards. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/the-chinese-government-believes-online-education-is-bad-for-students-parents-and-the-society/articleshow/84752031.cms">The Chinese government believes online education is bad for students, parents and the society</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/subscribe-to-glenmark-life-sciences-ipo-because-of-clean-regulatory-history-and-good-track-record-as-per-analysts/articleshow/84748115.cms">One may subscribe to Glenmark Life Sciences IPO because of clean regulatory history, strong promoter backing and good track record, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-surge-5-after-it-reports-strong-profit-growth/articleshow/84751116.cms">YES Bank shares surge 5% as investors see a ray of hope after bank reported four fold growth in profit</a>

Unacademy buys RheoTV, whose founders will now lead hiring test platform Relevel

New Delhi, Dec 17 () Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday ordered impounding of alleged unlawful gains of more than Rs 8 crore made by two promoters and related entities of PC Jeweller in an insider trading case.
 The two promoters are Shivani Gupta and Sachin Gupta, and others are Amit Garg and Quick Developers Pvt Ltd (QDPL).
 The latest ruling comes after a probe into the movement of share price of PC Jeweller during the April-July 2018 period. The watchdog looked at whether entities entities had traded in the scrip on the basis of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) pertaining to the company's buyback of shares.
 The prima facie case pertains to late Padam Chand and Balram Garg allegedly communicating UPSI -- with regard to the proposal for buyback of equity shares and its subsequent withdrawal -- to Shivani, Sachin, Amit and QDPL. It was also alleged that they traded using the information.
 Shivani is the daughter- in-law of Padam Chand Gupta, who was the chairman of PC Jewellers; Sachin is the husband of Shivani and son of Padam Chand; Amit is the nephew of Padam Chand and Balram Garg, Managing Director and Promoter of PC Jeweller. Garg held 50 per cent stake in QDPL.
 As per latest shareholding data with the BSE, Shivani and Sachin are promoters of the jewellery house.
 In its 15-page order, Sebi noted that Shivani, Sachin, Amit and QDPL being insiders have prima facie violated the insider trading regulations, by trading in the shares of PC Jeweller when in possession of UPSI thereby indulging in insider trading.
 Accordingly, the regulator said a sum of over Rs 6.17 crore should be impounded jointly and severally from Shivani, Sachin and Amit Garg -- the amount being the notional loss avoided on account of trades carried out in the trading accounts of Shivani.
 In addition, over Rs 2.13 crore should be impounded jointly and severally, from QDPL and Amit Garg. This amount is the notional loss avoided/ gains made on account of trades carried out in the trading account of QDPL.
 No proceedings need to be initiated against Padam Chand, who passed on January 28, 2019, the order said. SP RAM

Sebi orders impounding over Rs 8 cr illegal gains in PC Jeweller insider-trading case

Mumbai, Jun 10 () The coronavirus pandemic is a "material threat" to multiplexes that will halve their occupancy levels and movie exhibitors are likely to end FY21 with operating losses, a report said on Wednesday. Ratings agency Crisil said even after the lifting of the lockdown, social distancing norms will reduce effective seating capacity, while fear of enclosed spaces will keep moviegoers away from cinemas for a while. Cinema halls have been shut even before the country went under a lockdown in March to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infections. "The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to halve occupancy levels at multiplexes and lead to Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) losses in the current fiscal," the agency said. It said two-thirds of the revenues for multiplexes come from box office sales and the same are likely to plummet 55 per cent due to the low occupancies. Revenues from other streams like advertising and food and beverage sales will also be impacted due to the same reason. "Occupancy rates of multiplexes could halve to 15 per cent this fiscal compared with over 30 per cent in the past two fiscals. Their high operating leverage, in turn, would lead to a sharp fall in profitability and cause Ebitda-level losses this fiscal," Crisil's Senior Director Sachin Gupta said. He added that in the last two fiscals, the multiplexes delivered operating profit margins of 17-19 per cent. On the controversy over some films going directly to over-the-top (OTT) players like Netflix and Amazon Prime before a theatrical release, the agency said the disruption is temporary and over time, both the platforms can co-exist. "We expect equilibrium will be restored between film producers and multiplexes once occupancy levels start rising, because the latter accounts for more than half of the former's revenue," it said. "We see the virus as a material threat to multiplexes, not over-the-top platforms," it added. The multiplex operators have invoked the force majeure clause in their rental agreements to save rentals, which is a major fixed cost, it said, acknowledging that legal validity of the same is yet to be established. They have also deferred maintenance and capital expenditure outlays, but these measures will not help much once operations are restored as lower occupancy will lead to operating losses. The agency expects multiplexes to resume operations by the September quarter and occupancy levels will normalise only next fiscal year. Crisil Director Nitesh Jain said liquidity management has become critical and multiplexes will also have to reset their cost structures, adding ones with strong balance sheets and ability to raise funds will be better placed, but prolonged closure and lower occupancy will impair credit profiles. The agency said multiplexes it rates command a 45 per cent revenue market share and it had placed the sector on 'Rating Watch with Negative Implications' in March after their shuttering. AA ABM ABM

COVID-19 to halve multiplexes' occupancy this fiscal: Crisil

Mumbai, June 1 () Profitability of urea makers is likely to surge due to reimbursement of additional fixed cost, as cheaper gas will reduce urea subsidy bill by Rs 12,000 crore, according to a report. A steep fall in gas prices in sync with crude oil will reduce the urea subsidy bill of the government by a fourth, or over Rs 12,000 crore, in the current financial year, Crisil Ratings said in the report. That will keep a leash on the working capital requirement of urea makers. Earlier, in March 2020, the government had agreed to the long-pending demand of reimbursement of 'additional fixed cost'. This will lead to a one-time relief of about Rs 5,000 crore and, going forward, an annual inflow of Rs 850 crore for all urea makers, it added. Crisil expects the prices of natural gas, which is feedstock for urea plants and accounts for 75-80 per cent of their total cost, to be 25-30 per cent lower this fiscal. Urea is a regulated commodity with its retail selling price (RSP) fixed by the government. To incentivise farmers to use fertilisers for better crop yield, the government keeps the RSP significantly lower than the market rate and reimburses the deficit to urea makers through subsidy payments. While lower cost of gas is a pass-through for urea makers and will not impact their profitability, it will reduce the government's subsidy bill. That, in turn, will cull both revenue and receivables of urea makers. "Lower gas prices will certainly ease the working capital pressure on urea makers. Despite implementation of the direct benefit transfer scheme, large subsidy arrears continue to be a structural issue, which has elongated the working capital cycle of urea makers, as reflected in an increase in receivable days to 180-200 days (as on March 31) from 140-160 days (March 31, 2018)," Crisil Ratings Senior Director Sachin Gupta said. Another positive for urea makers is the clarity the government has finally provided in March on reimbursement of additional fixed cost. Earlier, this was done based on cost estimates as on March 31, 2003, which did not reflect any increase in cost thereafter, and led to lower operating profits for urea makers. Now, the government has allowed the calculation to be based on March 31, 2013, estimates, which will lead to obvious benefits. "The reimbursement of additional fixed cost of Rs 850 crore will be tantamount to 10-12 per cent of the current operating profits of urea makers. That, along with the Rs 5,000 crore arrears from fiscal 2015 can potentially cut down the industry's total working capital debt by 8-10 per cent," Crisil Ratings Associate Director Nipun Anand said. The lockdown has not impacted the offtake of urea for the kharif season much. Urea makers have reported steady production and sales for April and May. The recent proposals under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' package for the agriculture sector also augur well for urea demand, Crisil said. Besides, steps such as attracting investments in the farm sector and amendments in the agricultural produce marketing committee or APMC legislations are aimed at better price realisation for the farmers. These measures can increase the income levels for farmers and should be positive for agriculture-linked sectors such as fertilisers. SM HRS

Cheaper gas to cut urea subsidy bill; to boost profitability of urea makers: Crisil Ratings

New Delhi, Jun 23 () Revenue of road building engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies is expected to contract 8-10 per cent this fiscal as the COVID-19 pandemic-driven lockdowns severely curtailed their activity, CRISIL Ratings said on Tuesday. There was a 17 per cent growth between fiscals 2017 and 2020 based on an analysis of over 300 CRISIL-rated EPC companies with rated debt of Rs 51,000 crore, CRISIL Ratings said in a statement. With lower awarding by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in the last two fiscals, revenue growth was expected to taper to some extent. However, this fiscal, the slowdown in execution due to lockdowns and the resultant labour shortage is expected to push revenue growth into negative territory, it said. CRISIL Ratings Senior Director Sachin Gupta said, "Typically, in EPC projects, maximum execution and billing is done in March. However, the lockdown that began from March 22 halted work in the crucial last days of last fiscal and has continued to do so this fiscal." "The pick-up in execution and mobilisation after the lifting of the lockdown will be gradual. The upshot would be revenue degrowing 8-10 per cent and margins for EPC companies being hit by about 200 basis points (bps) in fiscal 2021," he added, Given the effects of the lockdown, these companies had no execution, and hence no income in April, but had to meet their fixed costs which are primarily employee and establishment, the statement said. "These account for about 12 per cent of the topline, and with sites operating at about 50 per cent efficiency in most of May, too, it would mean operating margins would decline about 200 bps to around 12 per cent this fiscal," it said. The rating agency said operations are likely to stabilise after monsoon as migrant workers return to project sites. The trajectory of recovery will therefore depend on the time taken to contain the pandemic. It said the slowdown is unlikely to materially impact the credit profiles of these companies, primarily because of their robust balance sheets. Efficient management of working capital and liquidity, though, will be key to tide over the current situation. To their credit, these companies have kept a check on their debt levels while pursuing growth, it said. At a consolidated level, as on March 31, 2020, their capital structures were robust, with gearing at 0.50 time as compared with 0.80 time as on March 31, 2015, the statement said. It attributed two reasons for low leverage of the companies. "Firstly, NHAI awards post 2015 have been predominantly through the EPC and HAM routes, entailing lower equity requirements given NHAI's contribution to project cost. Secondly, divestment of road assets to infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) and global equity funds have helped further improve the capital structure," CRISIL Ratings said. The ensuing low leverage provides resilience in these times of subdued operating performance, it added. Sushmita Majumdar, Director, CRISIL Ratings said, "As much as 90 per cent of the debt of the 300 CRISIL-rated road EPC companies analysed has an investment grade rating – BBB category and above. Their order books remain strong at around 2.2x of their last year's revenues and liquidity is also stable, with bank limit utilisation averaging about 70 per cent." "Even assuming the receivable cycle stretching by an additional 1-1.5 months, they are adequately placed to weather the current situation, thus keeping their credit profiles stable. But the remaining 10 per cent may see some credit pressure because of liquidity pressures," she added. NAM RVK

Road EPC companies' revenue to contract 8-10 pc in FY21 due to COVID-19: CRISIL Ratings

New Delhi, Apr 23 () Indian oil refiners may have incurred an inventory loss of Rs 25,000 crore in the January-March period as oil prices slumped and are now likely seeing a plunge in refining margins in the current quarter, Crisil Ratings said on Thursday. Crude prices nosedived from an average USD 55 per barrel in February to USD 33 in March and around USD 20 at the end of March as demand slumped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayhem in the oil market meant that by the time crude oil is processed and converted into fuel, the rates have fallen, resulting in inventory losses. "For oil refiners, the COVID-19 pandemic is delivering two blows: inventory loss of over Rs 25,000 crore in the January-March quarter because of a 70% fall in crude oil prices, and a likely plunge in gross refining margins (GRMs) in the first quarter (April-June) of fiscal 2021 because of demand destruction," Crisil said in a note. Oil cartel OPEC and its allies on April 12 managed to strike a deal for a record production cut of 9.7 million barrels per day. Yet crude prices have hovered low because of the pandemic-induced plunge in demand across the globe. "This has caught refiners on the wrong foot," it said. India has a total refining capacity of 250 million metric tonnes per annum and refiners keep an inventory of 20-50 days of crude on average to avoid disruption in operations. The rapid fall in crude oil prices would mean an inventory loss of USD 10-20 per barrel. "The loss would be offset once crude oil prices rebound, but the process would take time given that the slump in global demand is expected to prolong," it said. Sachin Gupta, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, said: "Inventory losses would be more for refineries located away from the coast because they have to stock crude oil for longer periods. That means refiners will have to borrow more working capital to fund the crude oil purchased earlier." In addition to these inventory losses, the operating performance of refiners is expected to remain weak in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 due to lower volumes and lower GRMs. "With demand culled further because of the extension of nationwide lockdown up to May 3, 2020, refineries are staring at a halving of utilisation during the April-June quarter. "Refineries that replenished their product inventory are staring at the significant curtailment of operations. Our base-case assumes the lockdown lasting for up to 1.5 months, with another 1 to 1.5 months required to resume and stabilise operations," it said. Additionally, refining margins on high-yield products such as aviation turbine fuel (ATF), petrol and diesel have plummeted and are expected to remain weak over the near term. That will affect the operating metrics of refiners. However, oil marketing companies would fare better than standalone refiners because of higher marketing margins for some products, it said, adding the retail prices of petrol have not fallen in tandem with crude oil prices, which implies higher marketing margins. Nitesh Jain, Director, Crisil Ratings, said: "Lower throughput and lower margins resulting from suppressed demand outlook will hurt the credit metrics of oil refiners. Though strong government/parent support will lend a shoulder, and continue to support the overall credit profiles of refiners." Revival in demand and improvement in GRMs will be key monitorables in the road ahead. ANZ ABMABM

Refiners stare at Rs 25,000 crore inventory loss: Crisil Ratings

<ul><li>Consumers are complaining about missing channels and higher prices than before. </li><li>Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has refuted the claims of higher prices. </li><li>Viewers also complained of a television blackout because of confusion from the new pricing model.</li></ul>On February 1, the new pricing model for cable television set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came into effect. Just four days into the month with the new pricing and customers are already complaining about missing channels and increased prices. While viewers were given the option to pick and choose to pay for the channels they want to watch, it appears to have led to much confusion among subscribers. A rushed transition by cable TV operators to comply with the new pricing model appears to have resulted in a flurry of complaints now floating on Twitter. Users seem frustrated about higher pricing that comes with picking channels individually instead of the earlier bouquet of channels that were offered to them. One Twitter user wrote, “Now have to pay 2x more for 1/2 half the channels and this is supposed to be consumer friendly , the prices are ridiculous...” (sic). A CRISIL report too states that the monthly bill of viewers is going to go up for most users with the new pricing. “Our analysis of the impact of the regulations indicates a varied impact on monthly TV bills. Based on current pricing, the monthly TV bill can go up by 25% from ₹230- ₹240 to ₹300 per month for viewers who opt for the top 10 channels, but will come down for those who opt upto top 5 channels,” Sachin Gupta, Senior Director, Ratings said to various <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/trai-new-cable-dth-rules-tv-bills-will-go-up-for-most-users-says-crisil-report-5570011/">media houses.</a> The TRAI chairman has rubbished the reports. Speaking to IANS, Sharma said that the report was based upon an "inadequate understanding" of the TV distribution market and it was incorrect. "The report is based on choosing top-rated channels on all-India basis and considers only one weekly report dated January 25, 2019, from TV Rating Agency, BARC," a TRAI statement said. Missing channels seem to be another gripe. Some say channels that were picked by users are not showing up on the operator’s list, adding further to the confusion. Viewers also complained of a blackout, after which TRAI sent a show-cause notice to Airtel. "There's complete lack of clarity. Even though a broadcasting channel offers a value pack, cable TV operators still have a single channel price on their list. I spoke to my cable TV operator and even he mentioned that the confusion exists because they are also waiting for a clear picture. He too expressed his unhappiness about the new pricing," said Meera Shetty, a resident from Mumbai. TRAI also took to Twitter to <a href="https://twitter.com/TRAI/status/1091924996023377920">address</a> the issues, directing TV service providers to look into genuine concerns of subscribers relating to New Broadcasting Framework immediately. The regulatory authority had also introduced a new app – Channel Selector Application – to help users easily pick their channels. However, users are still <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/trai-new-dth-rules-enforced-from-feb-1-are-so-complex-that-no-one-understands-them-and-that-is-a-shame-1444350-2019-02-01">confused</a> about how to go about it. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trai-launches-channel-selector-application-to-help-cable-tv-viewers-select-cheaper-pricing/articleshow/67685876.cms">TRAI launches app to let people select and pay for only cable channels they want to watch</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-new-cable-tv-pricing-will-force-broadcasters-to-put-on-better-shows/articleshow/67450569.cms">India’s new cable TV pricing will force broadcasters to put on better shows</a>

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