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New Delhi, May 1 () India Inc on Friday exhorted the government to immediately announce a stimulus package to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, asserting that the lockdown has resulted in "massive economic disruption". The industry also welcomed the Centre's decision to extend the lockdown for two weeks from May 4 with relaxation to industrial activities in certain zones. "With restricted economic activities, the imperative for a quick and forceful economic support package for industry is even more compelling now. CII has suggested instituting a Government spending package equivalent to 3 per cent of GDP which would add Rs 6 lakh crore to the available firepower. Enhanced debt to GDP ratio can be a way out for adding fiscal space at a time when the debt to GDP ratio is modest in India," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said. ''The government's strategy to build on the gains in the form of containment of coronavirus is understandable and must be supported, but the 40-day lockdown has resulted into a massive economic disruption. The disruption has started causing livelihood concerns for millions of workforce - both in the formal and informal sectors," Assocham stated. It said businesses across different sectors, be in hospitality, construction, logistics, manufacturing and trade find themselves locked up in grave financial woes. "Such a dire state of affairs demands a large sized fiscal stimulus even if it requires monetisation of fiscal deficit by direct lending by RBI to the government," said Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood. Another industry chamber Ficci on Friday submitted its lockdown exit strategy recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs and called for resumption of industrial and commercial activities in green zones including within municipal districts, while maintaining protocols for sanitization and social distancing. Ficci suggested that government services such as documentation, stamping, registering trusts, etc. be resumed or digitally validated and resumption of international courier services. It said export routes through Land ports may to be opened and inland Waterways may be explored for both domestic and Exim cargo movement. In order to enable economic activity to go forward, retail &amp; wholesale businesses of both essential &amp; non-essential goods need to start operations in Green Zones maintaining necessary protocol for sanitation and social distancing, Ficci said. Reacting to the decision to extend the lockdown, Ficci President Sangita Reddy said while a regular assessment of the zones and activities is required to further relax the opening up of business activities, it is also now opportune time for the government to come up with the financial package, especially for the MSMEs, and for the industry as a whole. Confederation of All India Traders Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that due to such a long unprecedented lockdown in the country, millions of retailers are facing severe financial issues and are on the verge of collapse. "Even the existing inventory is unprotected and the quality is fast deteriorating. Cases of theft have also risen in unprotected and unguarded markets," Khandelwal said. The government on Friday announced that a "limited" lockdown, including suspension of inter-state travel, air and train services, will continue to remain in force for another two weeks throughout the country from May 4 but some activities would be allowed after classifying areas into Red, Orange and Green zones. The government order, which announced extension of the lockdown invoking the Disaster Management Act, said a limited number of activities will remain prohibited throughout the country, irrespective of the zone. These prohibited activities include travel by air, rail, metro and inter-state movement by road, running of schools, colleges, and other educational and training hospitality services, cinema halls, malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes. All social, political, cultural and other kinds of gatherings and religious places or places of worship for public will also remain shut, the order said but added that movement of persons by air, rail and road is allowed for select purposes, and for purposes as permitted by MHA. Industrial establishments in urban areas including Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs), industrial estates and industrial townships with access control have been permitted. Construction activities in urban areas have been limited to in-situ construction (where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside) and construction of renewable energy projects. Shops in urban areas, for non-essential goods, are not allowed in malls, markets and market complexes. However, all standalone (single) shops, neighbourhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential. E-Commerce activities in the Red Zones are permitted only in respect of essential goods. and private offices can operate with up to 33 per cent strength as per requirement, with the remaining persons working from home. RSN MRMR

Industry demands stimulus package to mitigate impact of lockdown

New Delhi, Apr 15 () The government allowing operations in mining, construction and infrastructure sectors from April 20 will help generate demand for steel, an industry body said on Wednesday. According to fvernment guidelines issued on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, industrial units located in rural areas will be allowed to function from April 20, while all kinds of public transport has been barred and opening of public places prohibited till May 3.The units in rural areas will be able to operate only if they follow social distancing norms."The consolidated revised guidelines by allowing operations in mining, construction and infrastructure will help to generate demand for the steel sector. The Indian steel Industry welcomes the opening of these sectors," the Indian Steel Association (ISA) said in a tweet.Allowing interstate movement of goods by road, rail, air and inland waterways and free movement of contractual labour will provide a welcome boost to the manufacturing sector of which steel is a vital part, the industry body said. ABI MR

Lockdown: Relaxation to help increase steel demand: ISA

<ul class="summary-list"><li>House prices hit an all-time high in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> in August after a record monthly rise. </li><li>The average property price in the UK is now £224,100 ($298,047).</li><li>Experts pointed to pent-up <keyword id="6358993" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="demand">demand</keyword> during <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> and a growing desire for outdoor space. But some said the surge would not last, and that prices would drop again in 2021.</li></ul>UK house prices hit an all-time high in August after rising at their fastest rate in more than 16 years, according to the Nationwide building society.House prices rose 2% in August — the largest monthly increase since 2004. Prices were 2.7% higher than in August 2019, the biggest annual jump since February 2017.The average property price in the UK is now £224,100 ($298,047).Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardener, said the <keyword id="35061" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="housing">housing</keyword> market had suffered when coronavirus hit, but the rebound was "unexpectedly rapid." Pent-up demand following lockdown was one of the reasons for the market bouncing back, he said.UK buyers have benefited from the suspension of stamp duty, a tax on buying homes, which was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in July to try to boost the market in England and Northern Ireland. Anyone buying a home of up to £500,000 before March 31, 2021 will pay no stamp duty. A ban on house viewings also came to an end on May 13, 2020, allowing buyers to explore more of the market.Research from Nationwide suggests that 15% of people are considering moving house as a result of the pandemic, and Ruth Lea, an economic advisor at Arbuthnot Banking Group, told Business Insider that working from home is causing buyers to reassessing their priorities and housing needs. Houses offering more green space in the countryside or in coastal regions are in high demand, June data from property portal Rightmove showed.Experts warn the rapid recovery of the housing market may not last. Lea said rising <keyword id="6358907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="unemployment">unemployment</keyword> due to the ending of the government's furlough scheme, which paid the wages of staff temporarily laid off during the pandemic, and the return of stamp duty will cause prices to slip next year.But prices will not "collapse," provided the UK <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> recovers quickly, she added.

UK house prices hit an all-time high — but experts warn the surge could be short-lived

Mumbai, Apr 14 () The ongoing Covid-19 driven lockdown will see paper sales plunging as demand from packaging, education, corporates and the print media has come to a naught with over 80 per cent of the economy is on a standstill.Stating that there is no recovery possible in the first half, a report says the impact will have be harder as the lockdown has been extended by more than two weeks till May 3. This is on top of the three-week shutdown that ends on Tuesday. According to an India Ratings report, with an annual demand for 19 million tonne (4 per cent of global demand share), India is the fifth largest paper consumer, after China with 109 mt (21 per cent of global share) and the US with 70 mt or 17 per cent of global demand, and also warns of import threat hitting the domestic industry harder again.Significantly, the report neither quantifies the demand plunge nor how much will be imports. The report expects a demand recovery in the second quarter with resumption of education and corporate sectors, driving demand for writing and printing paper and a gradual normalisation of manufacturing and logistics, pushing packaging demand."However, there is downside risks as the lockdown is extended to May 3 now. Besides, domestic paper producers have already been facing volume pressure from rising imports, which grew 18 per cent in the first 10 months of the FY20, significantly faster than domestic demand growth."While logistical disruption can provide a breather, import threat continues with subdued pulp prices and the possibility of overseas manufactures pushing their inventory amid a weak global demand once normalcy returns," says the report without quantifying the demand loss or spike in imports.The problem is the despite being eligible for exemption from the lockdown, more than 70 per cent of the industry have shuttered operations due to approval issues, lack of labour and raw material availability, logistics and demand disruption.Plant closures, logistical disruptions to hit packaging demand in Q1 due to the suspension of operations for several industries, disruptions in production of essential commodities, inland transport and export shipments, the report says, adding the rising demand from e-commerce (for groceries) is not good enough to spike packaging demand at least for the next 30-45 days due to manpower shortage, supply chain issues.Online sale of non-essential items, which form a big chunk of the total demand, would remain completely halted until the lockdown is lifted. Despite discretionary purchases remaining affected, the report expects growth in paper packaging demand from both industrial and e-commerce segments in the second quarter.The packaging segment accounts for over 50 per cent of the total paper demand, followed by WPP (writing and printing paper) at 30 per cent.Demand for WPP is hit by the closure of most educational institutions since the beginning of March and a gradual adoption of work from home. Demand for newspapers has also declined, with many readers avoiding newspapers and housing societies banning the entry of vendors as precautionary measures while some magazines have temporarily suspended editions. With little scope of a recoup, the report expects newsprint demand to decline in FY21.Demand for tissue papers has risen in the wake of increased hygiene concerns, leading to a 6.6 per cent monthly growth in the wholesale price index of tissue paper. However, the subsequent closure of eateries in March is likely to have a negative impact in the first quarter.Warning of more pains for domestic paper manufacturers from imports, which account for 15-20 per cent of domestic demand and grew around 18 per cent till January of FY2020, the report says Chinese companies are likely to push the unsold inventory to the country, despite the fall in the rupee.This coupled with a subdued demand environment and high stocks in the supply chain would weigh on paper prices for most of the grades.All this will have pulp prices subdued in the near-term. Many Chinese producers have announced plans to cut production in April. BEN MR

Lockdown-hit paper demand unlikely to recover in Q1

New Delhi, Mar 31 () GCMMF, which sells dairy products under the Amul brand, expects demand for its milk to decline by 10-12 per cent as hotels and restaurants have closed after the nationwide lockdown, while procurement of milk from farmers has increased by 15 per cent. Mother Dairy and Parag Milk have also witnessed fall in demand in absence of institutional sales, but they hope that some of it could be compensated by rise in household consumption.India is the leading milk producer in the world with an annual output of around 190 million tonne.When contacted, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) MD R S Sodhi said the demand for milk had gone up to 155 lakh litre per day due to panic buying from an average 140 lakh litre of sales per day. "Last week, our sales fell by 30 cent from the average 140 lakh litre per day. But again it has risen. Now the gap is 18 per cent and demand will further improve," he told .Sodhi said the cooperative expects demand to fall by 10-12 per cent due to closure of hotels, restaurants and cafeterias.On the other hand, he said the procurement of milk from dairy farmers has increased 15 per cent with tea shops and sweet makers not buying milk from them and the surplus going to GCMMF.''We have hired 2-3 plants to process these surplus milk and convert it into skimmed milk powder," Sodhi said.Asked about other dairy products, he said the demand for some items like butter milk, paneer and ghee has gone up while sales of ice cream, cream and cheese have fallen. Sodhi said the demand will increase once the lockdown is lifted. He said sales improve in summers. When contacted, Mother Dairy spokesperson said it is maintaining the average milk sales volume of 30 lakh litres/day in Delhi-NCR for last few days. "There has been some reduction in volumes of institutional sales due to the lockdown."Devendra Shah, Chairman, Parag Milk Foods, said, "Milk consumption has declined over the past month because of the closure of hotels, restaurants, and catering business".However, he hoped that sales would improve through online delivery platforms. "Over the past month,domestic consumption of ghee, butter, paneer and cheese has increased as entire family is at home. The consumption of pouch milk has decreased due to closure of hotels, restaurants, catering and tea stalls," Shah said. MJH SHW ANUANU

Dairy firms witness fall in milk demand due to lockdown

<ul><li>In our latest series, we talk to brands about how they have been <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing">marketing</keyword> during these adverse times, the things they have learnt and how they are preparing for the somewhat uncertain future.</li><li><keyword id="6354991" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-babu">Vijay Babu</keyword>, VP - Home Appliances, <keyword id="135696" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="LG-Electronics-India">LG Electronics India</keyword> tells us how there has been a surge in the demand for the brand's home appliance products as people have been staying at home and trying to find a balance between house work and office work with the help of products like washing machines and dishwashers.</li><li>He is also optimistic about a good sell-out during the festive season due to the increased relevance of products that help in strengthening people's health and hygiene.</li></ul> The lockdown, while has had the obvious impact on our lives, has also had some indirect impact on a lot of businesses. For example, the fact that we are all stuck at home has led to more consumption of content on TV and OTT platforms. Meanwhile, considering we are all working from home, demand for home office setups and even mattresses are seeing an increase. With gyms shut for business, people are working out at home, thereby leading to an increase in demand for the athleisure category too. Something similar has happened with LG Electronics too. Since the lockdown has made willing or unwilling multitaskers out of all of us, the demand for dishwashers and washing machines, categories that make our daily existence easier, have seen an increase. Since the lockdown is slowly being lifted, brands are witnessing the impact of pent-up demand. Even for LG, their home appliance range has witnessed an increase in demand in the past few weeks. We recently caught up with Vijay Babu, VP - Home Appliances, LG Electronics India to understand the kind of business impact the lockdown had on the brand and how they are working towards strengthening their place in the hearts and minds of the customers. Excerpts: Q) Considering the complete closure of retail outlets, malls, manufacturing units etc., what kind of impact has there been on LG's business in the last few months? The onslaught of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword> has had a major impact across the economy in all sectors, while rapidly spreading across the world without any regard for national borders, class, gender, or communities. In these times, brands are facing the brunt of adapting to the ‘New Normal’ in a very short span. At LG Electronics surprisingly our customers have been by our side and in fact, working from home has led to rise in sales for our home appliance range. The two key factors behind this rise in demand, has been the onset of summer- leading to the need for compressor products like air conditioners etc. The lockdown has also ensured multitasking as a necessity for various working professionals. For them, a dishwasher or washing machine have become essential to balance household chores along with professional duties. In the last month, the economy has slowly opened through limited restrictions from the government. This has led to a major rush in purchases from the pent-up demand of the last few ‘lockdown’ months, as seen in June. However, a lack of liquidity in the economy is still prevalent cause of concern and we hope to assist our customer base in every way possible, till the economy comes back to normal. Q) What kind of festive season are we looking at this year? Do you think <keyword id="1549018" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-sentiments">consumer sentiments</keyword> will turn and people will buy during the festive season? This year is expected to be different than others, due to the pandemic. It is also affected by the economic repercussions from it, leading to restricted incomes for several families. However, consumer sentiments have been changing drastically in the last few months, it is too soon to predict how the festive season will be in terms of consumer demand. However, considering the unique Health &amp; Hygiene benefits offered by LG Appliances, and their increased relevance and significance in the current scenario, we are extremely confident, for a good sell-out during the festive season. Q) As a brand, what kind of changes are you anticipating in consumer behavior? How are you working on embracing these changes and working around them? People are living differently, buying differently and in many ways, thinking differently. In fact, their way of looking at a product while buying it has also completely changed and the new habits created is expected to transcend crisis, permanently changing the consumer decision making process. In the consumer durables industry, we are already observing a change in consumer behavior. Various surveys have indicated that consumer durables remain a top priority on the purchase list post-lockdown. There is a demand for bigger capacity appliances with larger storage to have better stocks, especially in washing machines &amp; Refrigerators.Consumers are also interested to know the origin of products; they are looking for products manufactured in India. We have seen a good demand among customers for refrigerators this 2020 season. In fact, the twin drivers for the refrigerator market are ‘Enough Storage’ and ‘Ensure Hygiene’ of the stored Items. Features such as water and ice dispenser on the outside or a small home bar compartment; number of shelves in refrigerator; maximizing the storage in door for frequently required items have been in trend with our consumers this year. Steam function in washing machine &amp; dishwashers is preferred by consumers as they want to be sure about hygiene aspect. Q) Were there any interesting consumer trends during the lockdown that perhaps you did not anticipate? Any product vertical that saw a sharp increase in demand? Do you think demand for segments like dishwashers and vacuum cleaners will continue to see an increase in the post-Covid world? We have seen a huge jump in dishwasher sales; in the future, we predict an increase in consumption of vacuum cleaners &amp; dishwashers as people continue doing their own chores. Televisions have also seen a major growth in demand, due to the attraction to home screens for indoor entertainment. Consumers are also preferring ‘Made in India’ products in accordance to the government’s ‘VOCAL FOR LOCAL’ campaign becoming a significant driving factor. According to a Nielsen survey, 28% consumers in 12 cities across the country are open to the idea of buying a home dishwasher or microwave among other home appliances in the next few weeks as the country wakes up from the lockdown. This is valid even as all other additional expenditures including going on a holiday, buying a vehicle like a car, or renovating the house, has been put on hold. We are predicting a pent-up demand for home appliances in the next few months and have been preparing for it to provide customers easier ways to get access to our products through digital e-commerce platforms or through our sanitized retail shops. Q) The summer demand for products like ACs would have seen a major hit due to the lockdown. Are there chances of a recovery in terms of sales in the remaining part of the year? Yes, at the onset of the pandemic we found a dip in our summer product sales. However, this trend did not continue for long, partly due to opening of the economy as well as the summer heat. In fact, we had 10-day period in May when the AC sales shot up three folds and even in June, we have witnessed the same trend especially in the Northern Region. Henceforth, we are positive that the demand for white goods like air conditioners will continue to improve despite the pandemic. Q) It is important for brands to stay connected with consumers even during adverse times. How did you ensure that connect during the lockdown? What kind of communications did you put out? Safety is an essential concern for all, and the ‘touch and feel’ part in the consumer buying process might be reduced significantly at this juncture. Henceforth, customer engagements through digital platforms have become the norm to communicate key messages. At LG Electronics, our social media channels and website have been the biggest platforms for us to communicate unique product benefits to our audience. Not only this, we have also posted DIY (Do It Yourself) videos for repairing productsas well as options for pre-booking products. These engagements were taken ahead with the motive to help existing customers, who can order a home repair session from us as well as new customers who might be interested in our products but cannot avail it due to the lockdown. Q) Did your overall media mix change during the lockdown? Will it change again, in the post-Covid world? During the lockdown, the media mix has consistently veered towards online media. We have tried to create engaging content which can cheer up people’s spirits; for example, on Mother’s Day we created a video to salute COVID warriors. The same received a significant amount of traction in media and audience. A healthy media mix is important to a brand, to increase the reach of communication; in the post-COVID world, we will see an integrated media approach. As a brand, we must wait and watch where the media trends take us. However, since consumer behaviors are shifting towards the ‘new normal’ where safety is prioritized, we believe digital platforms will become the new norm. Q) What were your key learnings from this experience? We are celebrating our 23rd anniversary in India this year and over the course of these years we have strengthened our market leadership due to a strong product portfolio developed through customer insights in India. This pandemic has brought us closer to consumers and thus, our key learning has been offering solutions as per consumer’s needs; Home Appliances were a key priority for them and we have designed various programs to reach out to consumers both in terms of new product delivery &amp; service of existing products.As a brand, we hope to be empathetic as we create products to help our customers move on from the trials and tribulations of this pandemic and get used to a ‘New Normal’.

Work from home has led to an increase in sales of our home appliance range: Vijay Babu, LG Electronics India

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="144508" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Brent">Brent</keyword> and <keyword id="142566" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="WTI">WTI</keyword> <keyword id="6359072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="oil">oil</keyword> prices were in the red as COVID-19 <keyword id="8919629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lockdowns">lockdowns</keyword> broadened in Europe. </li><li>Germany has ordered restrictions over the Easter holiday to curb coronavirus cases.</li><li>Oil demand prospects were also hurt as the UK seeks to fine people who travel outside of England. </li></ul>Oil prices dropped sharply Tuesday as widening COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe weighed on expectations of stronger regional demand for the commodity. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price">Brent oil</a>, the international benchmark, was on course for a second straight loss. Brent has declined by nearly 5% over the past month but has more than doubled over the past 12 months. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti">West Texas Intermediate crude futures </a> fell 4.9% to $58.47 a barrel. COVID-19 cases have been rising in Europe at the same time the region has been grappling with a stall in vaccinations. Some European countries had temporarily halted the use of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/azn-stock">AstraZeneca's </a>vaccine developed with Oxford University after reports of blood clots in some patients, but UK and European Union health officials each said the formula was safe. Higher case counts have spurred Germany to enact lockdown measures over Easter in Europe's largest <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword>. France has broadened lockdowns in the country, and Italy has issued new restrictions. Oil prices in recent months have advanced on prospects that vaccinations in Europe would contribute to businesses reopening and subsequently increase demand for oil. European travel stocks came under pressure Tuesday after the UK government proposed a £5,000 fine ($7,000) on people traveling outside of England without a valid reason. "With no end in sight to the 'illegal' holiday restriction, it's difficult to be bullish on airlines," said Sophie Griffiths, a market analyst at Oanda covering the UK and European, Middle East, and Africa regions, in a note.

Oil prices fall as fresh European lockdowns dampen demand prospects

Mumbai, May 13 () With almost no economic activity taking place in first 20 days of April due to lockdown, and very little operations after that, power demand declined sharply by 24 per cent in the month, Crisil Research said. The 21-day lockdown to fight spread of coronavirus, which was supposed to end on April 14, was extended till May 3 and later till May 17. The government relaxed the lockdown in certain non-hotspot zones from April 20, but that did not help in boosting the demand. According to the rating agency, states with highest industrial activities, especially in the manufacturing sector, including Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Haryana, and Tamil Nadu, witnessed a 30-50 per cent decline in demand in April. "Electricity demand shrank nearly a quarter in April 2020 as commercial and industrial activity switched off majorly following the nationwide lockdown. The decline in demand by 30-50 per cent in these four states is like experiencing a total blackout every alternate or third day," Crisil said. Maharashtra, which has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, witnessed a 20 per cent decline in demand. "The impact is lesser in Maharahstra largely because the state enjoys a substantial domestic and agro base, which is helping compensate the fall a bit," Crisil Research Director Hetal Gandhi said. The agency noted that there was some offset in the demand because about 1.4 billion people stayed at home, of which millions also worked from home, leading to a surge in domestic electricity consumption through more recharging of devices, streaming videos, online content consumption, and usage of electrical appliances. "That cushioned the slack-demand blow for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Haryana in particular, which have a substantial domestic-consumer base," the agency said. Crisil further noted that lower demand from industrial users, who pay the highest tariffs and cross-subsidise domestic and agricultural users, would hit the revenues of discoms. "Industrial users comprise a 41 per cent share in overall power demand, with a pan-India average of around Rs 7.5 per unit in terms of revenue for the utilities. "With a sharp fall in demand from this consumer base, revenue generation for state distribution utilities is expected to be significantly lower this fiscal, as manufacturing activity comes back online only gradually," Gandhi said. The domestic category has 25 per cent share in pan-India energy consumption, but on an average generates only Rs 4.3 per unit for utilities. "Hence, the uptick from domestic consumers may cushion the fall slightly, but both demand and revenue are expected to be hit significantly this fiscal for the distribution segment due to lower industrial power demand. Sector recovery will be a function of how quickly economic activity replugs, reboots and resurges," Gandhi added. PSK RVK

Electricity demand falls 24 pc in April due to lockdown: Crisil

New Delhi, Apr 28 () POCO, which was spun off from Xioami as a separate entity, is focussing on strengthening various parts of its business, including R&amp;D and testing, as it gears up to tap into the "pent-up demand" for smartphones after the lockdown ends. POCO, which had launched 'X2' in February, captured a spot among the top five brands in the Rs 15,000-20,000 price segment during January-March quarter. "We are happy with the progress we have made in a short span of time. The initial numbers are strong. We had to halt sales because of the lockdown, we will abide by the laws, and once the lockdown ends, we will be back in full force," POCO India General Manager C Manmohan said. He added that the company is focussed on preparing its team and strengthening operations, including areas like research and development (R&amp;D) and testing. "We anticipate a pent up demand after the lockdown ends. After grocery, smartphones are an important item that people require, whether it is for work, study or entertainment," he said adding that the supply is expected to also ramp up in phases after lockdown gets lifted across various parts of the country. According to Counterpoint Research, demand is expected to shift to the second part of the year and people may hold-off purchasing until the festive season. Smartphone shipment in India is expected to decline by 10 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though the January-March quarter had seen shipment growing at modest 4 per cent with over 31 million units. The government has imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives globally. The lockdown, which is slated to be lifted on May 3, has led to factories and retail stores remaining closed, thus hitting smartphone sales. With only essential items like grocery and health and pharmaceutical products being allowed to be sold online, phone companies are staring at multi-billion dollar hit which will increase if the lockdown period is extended. India is the world's second largest smartphone market after China. The home ministry had allowed operation of IT hardware, manufacturing and other industrial establishments with access control in special economic zones and export-oriented units in industrial estates and townships from April 20 with certain restrictions. However, manufacturing units in several states remain shut as state governments have not eased the lockdown. SR HRS

POCO readies operations to meet 'pent-up demand' after lockdown

Mumbai, Apr 14 () With the ongoing lockdown now extended till May 3 and uncertainty over economic recovery, demand for housing is expected to be muted as buyers may choose to postpone their decisions, analysts said. Due to the nationwide lockdown, construction activity has come to halt as supply chain for obtaining construction material has been disrupted and labour workforce have migrated to home states in search of alternative sources of livelihoods. "In 2020, post lockdown, the residential housing segment is expected to see muted demand as buyers may choose to postpone their purchases as they shall become more risk averse in the medium term. As a result, sales and collection is expected to get impacted adversely," ratings agency Care said in a report. The agency noted that due to lower collections anticipated, especially in Q1 FY2021, the construction progress for projects with high dependence on customer advances may get hampered in the short to medium term. Echoing the views, ratings agency Icra said committed collections receivable from already booked sales are also likely to get impacted, given that mile-stone based payments may get deferred and some buyers may delay payments on account of economic uncertainties. "Projects catering to the business, NRI and investment communities, where purchases tend to be largely self-funded, may witness a more significant disruption in collections. "Less disruption would be expected in the home loan funded segment, although in some cases, pay cuts may lead to re-evaluation of buyer credit profile by HFCs, thus impacting incremental disbursements," Icra's Mahi Agarwal said. On the supply side, Agarwal said new launches are likely to get deferred, not only due to operating issues, but also due to increasing economic uncertainties and likely moderation in developer inflows. "For ongoing projects, execution has been getting hampered due to reduced labour force presence and raw material supply chain disruptions attributable to lock-downs on non-essential services and contagion fears," she added. Thus, overall project development timelines and costs are likely to increase, though some cost savings on account of the prevailing decline in commodity prices are likely, Agarwal said. "Notably though, RERA guidelines provide for a one-year extension in project execution timelines, in case of events beyond promoter control. Thus, regulatory risks are reduced in the case of a short-term disruption," she added. Care Ratings' Amod Khanokar opined that in the wake of COVID-19 situation, price points are expected to soften for developers desperate to sell their inventory. "However, this would again depend upon location and type or segment of individual projects and the builder's financial flexibility which will be demonstrated in its ability to hold on to the inventory in such times. Luxury projects which have shown lower sales growth are likely to be impacted more," he said. HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh on Tuesday said property prices may witness up to 20 per cent correction in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Care Ratings further said that disbursement of new loans or refinancing risks have increased as housing finance companies, NBFCs and banks become more selective and tighten their disbursements criteria to developers. According to Icra, the retail real estate segment is directly impacted due to ongoing nationwide lockdown and resultant closure of malls. "With rental expenses forming a sizeable share of 12-16 per cent of revenues for retailers, all tenants are likely to negotiate for waiver or rebate of the rentals for the closure period. Even after resumption of operations, the footfalls are expected to be muted, therefore, the financial position of the tenants will continue to be stressed. "Resultantly, the rental income of the mall operators, which also comprises a portion of the revenue share, is expected to be significantly impacted," Icra's Anand Kulkarni said. On the impact on commercial real estate, Care Ratings said office space leasing which was one of the booming sectors having attracted majority of funds from the private equity players in the past, is now expected to experience slowdown. "This is largely in the co working space owing to surge in 'work from home' option by various industry players as they would look to optimise their cost and potential change in user habits as majority of demand is driven by the IT/ITES industry. As a result, rentals are expected to soften or stabilise in the co-working space owing to lower demand," the agency said. PSK ABMABM

Lockdown: Housing demand expected to remain muted, say rating agencies

Pune, Mar 31 () The ongoing lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has also resulted in the shutdown of fuel stations, is turning out to be a boon for Ratan Tata-backed Repos Energy as demand has zoomed sizeably. The Pune-based startup which specialises in supplying diesel at the doorstep for commercial users has seen daily demand go up to 15,000 litres from the earlier average of 10,000 litres, a senior official said. Its co-founder Chetan Walunj said the hospitals segment is leading the demand, while waste-management depots, industries, infrastructure projects and housing societies are also helping. Repos Energy was started three years ago and funded by Ratan Tata. It is an app-based company that picks up diesel from certified petrol pumps and delivers it at the customer's doorstep in a mobile petrol pump. "In the current situation hospitals are in the need of constant back-ups for crucial functions like the ventilators and intensive care units (ICU); and to ensure the smooth operations, we have deployed two mobile petrol pumps which are making trips to major and small hospitals and serving as a lifeline in times of lockdown," Walunj said. He said that besides hospitals, waste management depots of civic bodies, entities under essential services, some vertical of Pune Municipal Corporation, National Information Centre (NIC), and residential societies are also being catered in the current situation. "In the normal course, we never used to cater to the housing societies as their requirement was less, but considering the current situation where petrol pumps are instructed not to entertain the common public and frequent power outage it is becoming difficult for them to procure diesel to function their diesel generator sets. We are taking orders from residential societies for even 50 litres," he said. There is enough stock to be provided for the next 20 days of the lockdown period for now, he said. He also said that besides Pune, the company is providing services in 15 to 20 cities which include Kolkata, Siliguri in West Bengal, Bhilwara, Jhalawar, Kota in Rajasthan, Nagpur and Jalna in Maharashtra and Ankleshwar in Gujarat. SPK RSY ANB ANSANS

Repos Energy sees jump in diesel supply demand amid lockdown

New Delhi, Apr 5 () Food Corporation of India, the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, has transported record quantities of 1.93 lakh metric tonnes of grains on Saturday to different parts of the country for providing relief to poor amid the lockdown."Continuing with its efforts to ensure that enough food grain stocks are made available in every part of the country during countrywide lock down, FCI has set a new record in single day movement by moving 70 rakes carrying 1.93 lakh metric tonnes continuously for two days on April 3 and April 4," an official statement said.During the 12 days since start of the lockdown on April 24, FCI has done average movement of 1.41 lakh tonne foodgrain per day as against the pre-lockdown daily average of about 0.8 lakh tonnes, it said.A total of 605 rakes carrying about 16.94 lakh tonne of foodgrains have been transported across the country during this period.Punjab supplied the maximum foodgrains of about 46 per cent at 7.73 lakh tonne, followed by Haryana (3.02 lakh tonne), Telangana (2.04 lakh tonne) and Chhattisgarh (1.15 lakh tonne).Other states like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh etc moved the rest.Foodgrains were transported to consuming states. Maximum quantities were supplied to Uttar Pradesh (2.07 lakh tonnes), followed by Bihar (1.96 lakh tonnes), West Bengal (1.65 lakh tonnes) and Karnataka (1.57 lakh tonnes).Keeping special focus on the North East, a quantity of 1.4 lakh tonnes food grains have been inducted into the region during the lockdown period."FCI is ensuring that the requirements of every state is met without any shortages," the statement said.As on April 4, FCI is having 55.47 million tonnes food grains (31.23 million tonnes rice and 24.24 million tonnes wheat) in central pool. FCI is distributing foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), under which 5kg of foodgrains is supplied per month to 80 crore people at Rs 2-3 per kg only.In view of coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown, an additional allocation of 5kg per person per month has been announced under the PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for the next three months, to provide relief to the people. One kg of pulses per month per family will also be provided.FCI is also providing wheat and rice directly, without going through the e-auction route, at Open Market sale rates to ensure continuous supply of food grains in the open market. Wheat is given for meeting the requirements of flour mills and other products based on the assessment of requirements done by the respective district magistrates. Rice is given to the state governments for further distribution through their channels. So far, FCI has allotted 1.38 lakh tonnes of wheat in 13 states and 1.32 lakh tonnes of rice in 8 states under this model, the statement said. MJH BALBAL

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