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<ul><li>As the lockdown turned many of us into overnight chefs, the only thing to bring our spirits down would be the mounting pile of unwashed dishes in the kitchen.</li><li>However, <keyword id="1600175" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dishwashers">dishwashers</keyword> became the heroes of the lockdown, writes <keyword id="4588968" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="neeraj-bahl">Neeraj Bahl</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO, <keyword id="7979102" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSH-Home-Appliances">BSH Home Appliances</keyword>.</li><li>Despite the category adoption and awareness still being at a nascent stage in India, the lockdown led to more and more people realising the need for the product.</li></ul>We are living in extraordinary times. To contain the spread of Covid-19 the Government has made #SocialDistancing the mantra in the new normal. Restricted to their homes, consumers are adapting to the 'new normal' by making use of appliances to support them in their daily chores. As the fear of the novel Coronavirus continues, the importance of basic hygiene has become of paramount. Covid-19 has changed many things both in the external world as well as dynamics at home. Once considered a luxury appliance, today dishwasher has become an essential product in many urban households across India. Over the last couple of months, demand for dishwashers has seen an exponential growth with increased need for convenience and trust on hygiene. According to an industry report, the demand for dishwashers has jumped by 70-80 per cent this year (2020) with searches on Google Trends also indicating the increased interest in the term 'dishwasher' between April and June. Amidst the <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword> a lot of us have become chefs overnight, but with great cooking comes great cleaning. Dishwashers can be best friends to all the new chefs in town. A dishwasher is an ideal kitchen appliance for all modern Indian households, especially it’s a champion when it comes to taking care of Indian curry/milk/tea/coffee stains or Indian utensils like pressure cooker/kadai etc. As people grapple with their busy lives juggling professional and house commitments, appliances like dishwashers can bring significant ease and comfort while removing the stress associated with rising pile of dishes. Maintaining high level of hygiene, <keyword id="9744398" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bosch-dishwashers">Bosch Dishwashers</keyword> uses water at 70 degree Celsius ensuring 99% germ-free utensils making the wash more hygienic and precise. It also uses up to 85% less water and saving about 1200 litres of water per year, as compared to hand washing making dishwashers a compelling alternative amidst rising water crisis. While the category has seen unprecedented growth in the recent months, the dishwasher category is still at a nascent stage in term of consumer awareness and adoption. Amidst heightened need for personal hygiene and convenience as an outcome of COVID-19, has accelerated the category giving aspirational customers an opportunity to live a hassle-free lifestyle. In the Indian context, dishwashers have always presented a significant opportunity with the potential of revolutionizing homes like washing machines did a couple of decades back. With the onset of the pandemic, dishwasher category already seen an upward trend with users realizing the varied benefits of the product. It is safe to say that the sales of dishwashers have finally taken off making them the low-key heroes of the lockdown!

Low-key heroes of the lockdown - Dishwashers!

New Delhi, Jan 26 () Manufacturers of appliances and consumer electronics are seeking lower taxes on eco-friendly and energy-efficient products, more incentives for domestic manufacturing and waiving of customs duty on inputs imported to make the components in the upcoming Union Budget.
The Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has urged the government to offer incentives for manufacturers to produce energy-efficient products which will be in line with the government's focus on sustainability in a pre-budget memorandum. 
"Lowering the GST tax slabs for eco-friendly and energy-efficient products like air conditioners (4 star, 5 star models) and refrigerators (direct cool and frost-free) to 12 per cent will drive demand and increase the adoption of sustainable appliances by Indian consumers," said CEAMA President Kamal Nandi.
"The upcoming budget should additionally offer incentives for manufacturers to produce these energy-efficient products which will be in line with the governments focus on sustainability," he said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for financial year 2020-21 on February 1.
According to CEAMA, the industry has largely been stagnant this year and with increased customs duties, global economic changes and fluctuations in currency and commodity, the demand levels for next year are difficult to predict.
Indian component suppliers are facing difficulty in competing with cheap Chinese imports, it said.
"The government should consider initiating some measures to reduce the input cost to make these components by waiving duty on the inputs imported to make the components," said Nandi, who is also Godrej Appliances Business Head &amp; Executive vice president.
"Besides this, the government should also focus on the promotion of R&amp;D and incentivisation of local manufacturing. The government should reinstate the reimbursement of R&amp;D expenses to 200 per cent," he said adding that 
"additionally, any expenditure incurred for taking professional help in aesthetic designing, prototyping, electronic controls designing etc should also be allowed as R&amp;D expenditures." 
Panasonic India and South Asia President and CEO Manish Sharma expects reforms in the union budget, saying that would drive consumption and improve the consumer demand.
"In order to realise the 'Make in India' vision, it is essential for the government to reduce basic customs duty on parts used in manufacturing of key components such as Motors and PCB which currently ranges from 7.5 -10 per cent. To give a perspective, reduction in custom duty on these parts, used in manufacture of PCB and motors which are further used for manufacturing Washing Machine, Refrigerator and AC will reduce input cost, allowing Indian manufacturers to be far more competitive," he said.
BSH Home Appliances India Managing Director and CEO Neeraj Bahl said Union Budget 2020 will focus of regaining consumer confidence, by reduction of personal tax, which in turn will help boost consumer demand and help the industry, which had witnessed a flat growth last year.
"We urge the government to bring in constructive policies to lend support and drive growth in the sector," he said adding that "the government should also consider reduction in GST rates for products like refrigerators and air conditioners, which are now evolving from being luxuries to necessities for our consumers".
Usha International CEO Dinesh Chhabra: "One of the key measures in the sector could be reduction of GST rates on electronic components and rationalization of the slabs for various categories of products. GST rate cuts on components would provide manufacturers with an incentive to expand production." KRH MKJ

Appliances, consumer electronics industry seeks tax relief, incentives in upcoming Budget

New Delhi, May 12 () Top companies across sectors - automobile maker Maruti Suzuki, consumer electronics giant Samsung to IT giant Infosys - have reopened factories and offices as India took its first steps towards resuming economic activity after weeks under a near-total coronavirus lockdown. While the government has allowed businesses to resume under strict guidelines, companies are not rushing to achieve pre-COVID-19 run-rates and instead are calibrating staff strength as they are aware that any incident of infection can prove costly. Companies said employee safety and workplace hygiene is the prime focus. While Maruti resumed operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana on Tuesday, Infosys opened offices in some cities with up to 5 per cent staff and plans to gradually raise employee strength to 40 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has less than 1 per cent of its employees currently in India offices. Mahindra &amp; Mahindra too started operations at its factories with a limited number of workers. Flipkart, Panasonic India, Whirlpool and Dabur are among a host of companies that have put in place plans to restart operations with a small section of staff. Tata group-owned jewellery brand Tanishq has announced its plans to reopen its 328 stores across the country in a phased manner. The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25, and it has already been extended twice -- first until May 3 and then again until May 17. However, some curbs have been eased beginning April 20 with permission being given to industries in rural areas to restart. Later, production, sale and transport of goods in areas where virus cases are less severe have also been allowed. However, the process of restarting factories and businesses is likely to be protracted, with production only gradually ramping up towards operational capacity levels. IHS Markit said although the limited restart of some industries has been permitted since April 20, India will still suffer severe disruptions to its industrial output due to the protracted lockdown. "The Indian economy is facing a recession in the 2020-21 financial year for the first time since 1979-80, during the second OPEC oil crisis shock," IHS Markit said. "Consequently, IHS Markit expects the lockdown measures to result in a contraction of Indian industrial production in the 2020-21 financial year." But several companies across sectors ranging from textiles to consumer electronics and liquor to pharma have partially resumed operations after getting permission from local authorities. While Panasonic India and South Asia President &amp; CEO Manish Sharma said the company plans to start operations at its factory with 30 per cent capacity and slowly take it up to 50 per cent in a month's time, Samsung Electronics India said its Noida factory has started limited operations. The Noida factory of Dixon Technologies too has resumed operations. The firm's Tirupati and Dehradun plants too have started operations at about one-third capacity, which will be scaled up to 75-80 per cent in the next one week, said Sunil Vachani, Chairman, Dixon Technologies. Neeraj Bahl, the CEO of BSH Home Appliances -- German company which manufactures and sells under Bosch and Siemens brands in India -- said the firm is in process of starting production in its Tamil Nadu factory with limited staff. Mahendra Singhi, President, Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), said 25-30 per cent of cement production capacity in the country has resumed. JK Lakshmi Cement director Shailendra Chouksey said the firm has clearances to operate all its seven plants in five states with reduced staff strength and following government's COVID-19 guidelines for factories. "However, these measures alone shall not suffice. Unless construction is allowed rather encouraged to resume operations", the sector outlook would not be very good, he said. Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) president Kamal Nandi said slowly retail operations are opening up in green and orange zones. "Roughly industry's 30-35 per cent outlets are open throughout the country though geographically not equally distributed." "We have also got permission to open factories in green and orange zones. Most of the brands are preparing to resume operations. Some brands started last week and some would start from this week. Even more important, the supplier's plant is opening up and we are all preparing to resume operations and slowly production would start," he said. There is still no pressing need for the brands to go ahead and start mass production from day one as there is a lot of inventory in warehouses and with dealers, he added. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director-general Rajesh Menon said the auto sector lost over Rs 90,000 crore in revenue due to the lockdown. Ashok Leyland MD &amp; CEO Vipin Sondhi said these are truly unprecedented times, and the government and industry need to work closely to bring the industry back on its feet. The government is said to be working on a second fiscal package to support businesses, particularly small and mid-sized companies that account for about a third of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and employ more than 11 crore people. KRH RKL ANZ MR

Cos cautiously resume work as India begins reopening economy

<keyword id="6367990" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Panasonic">Panasonic</keyword> unveiled its home-entertainment experience and launched 4K Ultra HD TVs along with the UA7 sound system. Panasonic's 4K television series EX750 and EX600 are designed to deliver picture quality and sound, accurate to the filmmaker's original vision. The high sound quality of UA7 sound system boosts the viewing experience, claiming to power your movies and videos. The spectrum of screen sizes ranges from 43-inch to 65-inch across the 4K models. Panasonic wants to capture 10% market share in the 4K TV segment by the end of FY17-18. Neeraj Bahl, Associate Director, Business Group Head, Consumer Electronic, <keyword id="207192" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Panasonic-India">Panasonic India</keyword>, said, “With 4K resolution further enhanced by the introduction of HDR display technology, the market for 4K TVs in 2017 is growing without signs of slowdown. Sales of 4K ultra HD TVs are poised to grow by a further 72% by the end of 2017 and will account for more than a third of the worldwide TV (Futuresource Consulting).” Panasonic is also offering an all-in-one sound system UA7 with the new 4K UHD TV range. Delivering 1700W of sound, it features a total of 10 speakers. Meanwhile, The 2017 4K Pro Ultra HD TV range is headed by the EX750 flagship model which will be available in 65-inch, priced at Rs 3,10,000. The EX750 is equipped with 550nits Super Bright panel, HDR1000 and is powered by the same Studio Colour HCX2 processor, which has been tuned by experienced experts at the Panasonic Hollywood Lab. The EX600, on the other hand, will be available in 55-inch, 49-inch and 43-inch screen sizes prices at Rs 1,78,900, Rs 1,41,000, Rs 78,900 respectively. With 1,300Hz processing, the EX600 is adept at handling fast-moving action scenes. Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, said “2018 marks Panasonic 100th Year and you will definitely see a powerful mix of hardware and software innovations that’s born from decades of experience in developing TV technology and 20 year collaboration with Hollywood from Panasonic.”

Panasonic unveils 4K Ultra HD TVs with starting price of Rs 78,000

Former Vodafone chief executive <keyword id="292871" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arun-Sarin">Arun Sarin</keyword> could have picked any major Indian corporate boards to be a part of. After all, the 61-year-old, who is on board of corporate mammoths like Cisco, Charles Schwab and Blackhawk Networks, and has in the past worked as a senior adviser to global asset manager KKR &amp; Co. However, he chose two <keyword id="982553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword>, and would now mentor taxi-hailing app <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> and music-streaming company <keyword id="2060236" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saavn">Saavn</keyword>. 
 
Sarin is not only signed on as an adviser for these two companies, but has also invested undisclosed amounts in them. 
 
"It's a huge trend. Everybody wants to be associated with a startup at this point, especially those that are changing the rules," Sunit Mehra, managing partner of Hunt Partners India, which is an executive search firm, told ET. 
 
In the recent past, leading Indian startups like Flipkart, Paytm, Snapdeal and Urban Ladder have attracted big names from the corporate sector and have succeeded. They now have big names that advise and mentor them, and continue to raise billions of dollars in funding. 
 
Snapdeal founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, have Akhil Gupta, who is the VC of Bharti Enterprises and executive chairman of Bharti Infratel. Similarly, Paytm, led by Vijay Shekhar Sharma recently added Neeraj Arora, WhatsApp's global business head, and Ruchi Sanghvi, former VP (Operations) at Dropbox, into its board. 
 
However, for many startup founders, it’s not only about adding glittering names to the board, but also about the connections and advices on strategy that these names carry with themselves. 
 
Decades of managerial and troubleshooting experience comes handy for startup founders, who get benefit while entering new categories and geographies and managing cash and investor relations. 
 
<a href="http://i.idnes.cz/06/112/org/LHC171655_Vodafone_Arun_Sarin_03.jpg">Image source</a>

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Low-key heroes of the lockdown - Dishwashers!

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Appliances, consumer electronics industry seeks tax relief, incentives in upcoming Budget

PTI

Cos cautiously resume work as India begins reopening economy

PTI

Panasonic unveils 4K Ultra HD TVs with starting price of Rs 78,000

BI India Bureau

Ex-Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin to now mentor Ola and Saavn

BI India Bureau

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