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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 13 (ANI): Ahead of his Mumbai gig, British singer <keyword id="19900290" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ed-sheeran" source="keywords">Ed Sheeran</keyword> is making fans go crazy with his moves to the tunes of Allu Arjun's song '<keyword id="20941486" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="butta-bomma" source="keywords">Butta Bomma</keyword>' with singer Armaan Malik. The videos and pictures of Ed Sheeran, who is in India, are going viral on social media. Armaan Malik took to Instagram and shared a video featuring himself and Ed Sheeran. Armaan got the 'Shape of You' singer dance to Allu Arjun's Butta Bomma song from Telugu hit 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo'. Song 'Butta Bomma', is sung by Armaan Malik and features in Allu Arjun's movie. At the end of the video, Ed Sheeran and Armaan do <keyword id="19895142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shah-rukh-khan" source="keywords">Shah Rukh Khan</keyword>'s iconic pose. Sharing the clip, he wrote, "Favourite person in my city @teddysphotos." As soon as the video was shared, fans showed their excitement and flooded the comment section. Singer Harshdeep Kaur wrote, "So precious." One of the users wrote, "ED and Armaan dancing on buttabomma wasn't on my 2024 bingo card , OMGG SO CUTEEEE THIS ISSSS." On Tuesday, Ed Sheeran met actor <keyword id="19935806" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ayushmann-khurrana" source="keywords">Ayushmann Khurrana</keyword>. Interestingly, Ayushmann made Ed Sheeran taste his mother's homemade pinni. Talking about his meeting with the 'Perfect' hitmaker, Ayuhsmann said, "I have admired Ed Sheeran as an artiste for years now. As a fellow musician, I have always wanted to connect with him and discuss how his mind works. I surprised him with my mother's homemade Pinni! This is how we have always welcomed anyone at our home. He is at our home and we need to tell him how much we love him and his music too. So, I hope this gift will be a memorable one!" Ayushmann also shared a picture with Ed Sheeran. He is all set to perform in Mumbai for the final leg of his +-=/x Tour (Mathematics) on March 16 as part of his Asia and Europe Tour in 2024. Singer <keyword id="20055846" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prateek-kuhad" source="keywords">Prateek Kuhad</keyword> will perform for the crowd before the main act. (ANI)

What do Ed Sheeran and Allu Arjun have in common? A Butta Bomma

"You had your time, you had the power, you've yet to have, your finest hour, <keyword id="12905" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="radio" source="Orion">radio</keyword>..." Thirty-nine years after Queen's cult song "Radio Ga Ga" rocked the airwaves, listeners agreed the best may still be around the corner for that much-loved and evolving with the times 'audio device'. Quite simply, the radio. It was sometime in the 1960s. Nemichand Barola was about 10. And remembers vividly tunes from Radio Ceylon playing from a radio in a paan shop in his hometown Ajmer adding to lazy afternoon vibes. Some six decades later, Barola, now a retired school principal, still prefers radio over television and turns to it for that odd melody from his younger days and also for the essential news broadcast from an All India Radio channel. "Radio doesn't disturb me when I am writing or doing any work, it is not possible with TV or mobile phones. I don't have to stop my work to listen to the radio," Barola told PTI. It's his connection from his yesterday to his present, the great societal leveller that binds cities to villages, rich to poor. Once a lifeline to keep in touch with music trends, cricket matches, and the news in distant corners of the country and still a mainstay for many. On World Radio Day on Monday, it is the simplicity, reach and accessibility of the medium that still connects the likes of Barola to the old-worldly charm of the radio in an age of innumerable news channels and music streaming services, say experts. "Radio is a very convenient and easy medium that can be accessed by anyone anywhere. You don't require internet connection, you don't require electricity to operate it. And you don't need to sit in front of it to listen," said <keyword id="5885814" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jainendra-singh" source="Orion">Jainendra Singh</keyword>, retired broadcaster and additional director at All India Radio. The days of transistor sets are long over but the means of listening to the radio have increased with smartphones, audio platforms that customise playlists, FM radio in cars and devices such as Sony's music streaming 'box' Caravan'. In rural areas and economically marginalised sections, a large number of people rely on basic mobile phones that come with an in-built radio feature: a real gamechanger, according to Arti <keyword id="6001550" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jaiman" source="Orion">Jaiman</keyword> of community radio station Gurgaon <keyword id="5314325" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ki-awaaz" source="Orion">Ki Awaaz</keyword>. "During the lockdown, when people were short on money to recharge their phones for the internet, they turned to their basic phones and listened to educational programmes free of charge on the radio," she said. While Barola's love for the radio comes from an era when the visual medium hadn't reached the masses, 25-year-old media professional Falak Afshan from Hyderabad says radio was her first love because of its refined mix of chaste Hindi and Urdu. "I started with All India Radio to improve my Hindi and Urdu, which eventually became second nature. Also, my father loved to listen to music on the radio, so be it Mehdi Hasan's ghazals or Usha Uthup's songs, something would always be playing," Afshan said. Listeners from two different eras, Barola and Afshan are but few of an increasing number of Indians who are connected by the undeniable charm of the radio. The enduring attraction of the radio is evident from the latest Economic Survey which noted that FM radio has flourished in the last few years. According to it, the number of private FM radio stations has increased from 243 in the quarter ending December 2015 to 388 in the quarter ending June 2022. FM radio, generally associated with entertainment programmes, also catered to the migrant population of urban areas through community radio stations. Jaiman noted that it creates a "media space" for local villagers, migrant workers and their families to talk about their issues and find a cultural connection in a city that was urbanised at a breakneck speed. "The way this city has urbanised over the last 30 years, there is no space for local culture or for languages. A lot of people say there is no culture, not realising the culture got built over, and got surrounded by tall buildings. Our effort was to create that bridge, where you can turn on the radio and listen to songs in Bhojpuri, Garhwali, Maithili and Haryanvi," Jaiman said. Since its inception in 2009, Gurgaon Ki Awaaz has grown to over five lakh unique listeners and more than 50,000 who listen to the online radio programmes. "These people are not just from India but all over the world. So that is a big shift that has happened," she added. It is also the ability to connect with the broadcasters at a personal level that has given radio an edge over its more modern and visual counterparts. Apart from the simple pleasures of listening to music all day long sitting in his balcony in Delhi's Burari, Vinod Gautam, a retired government employee, finds joy in connecting with presenters and takes pride when relatives call up to tell him they heard his name. "I have talked to so many presenters of Vividh Bharati and FM Gold over the years, I still do. I once even complained to a presenter that they don't take calls from regulars, the slack was readily rectified," the 64-year-old said. He added that the low hum of even a quiet radio channel soothes him. Television, on the other hand, has increasingly become a "source of stupid nonsense", he said. To be able to connect with their listeners at a rather personal level is a gift of the radio, according to RJ <keyword id="248191" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="prateek" source="Orion">Prateek</keyword> of Radio City Lucknow. "We love that people of every age group talk to us like friends. They share their emotions, their feelings with us. We have even discussed global issues with our listeners," Prateek said. With increasing penetration of the Internet, radio presenters like Prateek have also started connecting with their audiences on social media platforms. To get back to "Radio Ga Ga"... for Barola, Afshan and Gautam and countless others, radio is that old friend who should "stick around, 'cause we might miss you, when we grow tired of all this visual". SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/best-deals-on-mobile-phone-under-30000-in-amazon-fab-phones-fest-sale/articleshow/97855605.cms">Amazon Fab Phones Fest Sale – best deals on smartphones under ₹30,000</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/galentines-day-all-you-need-to-know-about-its-origins-the-perfect-gift-to-buy-more/slidelist/97856403.cms">Galentine’s Day – All you need to know about its origins, the perfect gift to buy &amp; more</a>

World Radio Day: Just tune in, radio's charm persists on simplicity, accessibility

<ul><li><keyword id="7239876" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="wakefit-co" source="Orion">Wakefit.co</keyword> has come up with another relatable campaign, this time talking about the many perks of working from home.</li><li>It features Sumit Vyas ranting about <keyword id="1609796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> and going back to office. He calls for a movement to support work from home for life, something many of us might agree with.</li></ul>To voice the sentiments of frustrated people from across the country, Wakefit.co, D2C home and sleep solutions company, has come up with another rant video a lot of us will relate to called The Honest Office-goer's Rant. From uncertainty about going back to work to worrying about a new variant of COVID-19 that might wreak havoc, 2021 has been challenging for each and every Indian. The new campaign video features <keyword id="1320517" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sumeet-vyas" source="Orion">Sumeet Vyas</keyword> as the protagonist, and encapsulates the emotional turbulence people have been going through in the past year, in a light hearted manner. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Work from home has been the most prominent outcome worldwide for office goers amid a coronavirus-ridden world. As several months passed and people transformed their homes into office-like environments, the relationship and the bond with homes and home furnishings have increased. The Honest Office-goer's Rant (which is a successor to the viral Bartan Dho Liye video that was introduced as part of the Open Letters campaign by Wakefit.co), highlights how the new normal and WFH has fostered a close relationship between people and their homes. Talking about the video <keyword id="12806533" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prateek-malpani" source="Orion">Prateek Malpani</keyword>, Head of Brand, Wakefit.co said, “In the last two years, people have reoriented their way of living between the four walls of their homes. While doing so, many people have naturally channeled their energies into livening up their surroundings, leading to an increasing interest in the home furniture segment.” He further added, “Wakefit.co’s campaigns are targeted at sparking the interest of every family in the country. Through quirky and witty initiatives like these, we try and echo each other’s sentiments, while also addressing the importance of investing in their homes.” <keyword id="7679787" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sandeep-balan" source="Orion">Sandeep Balan</keyword>, Partner - Branded Content at <keyword id="7223115" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spring-marketing-capital" source="Orion">Spring Marketing Capital</keyword>, who was an instrumental part of creating this campaign, said, "The campaigns we collaborate with Wakefit.co on always have a dash of wit and humor, to go with the core brand messages. The Honest Office-goer's rant is another out-of-the-box attempt to showcase the pulse of the average Indian citizen and build brand resonance." In 2020, when the first wave of <keyword id="8764728" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">COVID 19</keyword> broke out, Wakefit.co launched the Open Letters Campaign which aimed to evoke a sense of empathy and assure people that we are in this together, as a community and will come out of it stronger, if we stand together. The series of videos was hosted on Wakefit.co's branded content channel, Home Time. The Home Time channel on YouTube attempts to publish topical content that is set in humorous and relatable storylines.

Sumit Vyas is back with another rant for Wakefit.co, calls for work-from-home for life!

<ul><li><keyword id="1558972" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vim" source="Orion">Vim</keyword>'s campaign speaks to the mindset that when a man does the dishes, he's 'helping' the woman of the house.</li><li>It is conceptualised by Lowe Lintas. </li></ul>Indian women are successfully thriving in numerous fields. They have big dreams and take pride in expressing themselves – as homemakers, as mothers, as artists or as CEOs! Caregiving and household chores are only a part of and not their only responsibilities. But societal limitations of defining them only through chores obstruct them. VIM’s latest ad campaign - ‘Nazariya Badlo, Dekho Bartano Se Aage’ is a nudge to society to see women beyond archaic roles. The TVC is a story of a prospective matrimonial arrangement, where the ‘independent guy’ under the implicit assumption that it is the wife’s job to cook and clean, tries to impress the girl by offering to ‘help’ her with cooking. The girl immediately offers to ‘help’ him with dishes, gently nudging him to be independent in household chores as well, as she could get late from work. The boy’s initial shock and eventual change of perspective drives home the campaign message of ‘Nazariya Badlo, Dekho Bartano Se Aage’. The girl in the ad is not only ‘more than her chores’ but also a change-maker who calls for equal partnership. <div type="Youtube" id="cWIo7lTfdqs" title="Vim Liquid | Making dishwashing easy (Hindi)" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cWIo7lTfdqs/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Commenting on the launch of the campaign, <keyword id="7230683" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prabha-narasimhan" source="Orion">Prabha Narasimhan</keyword>, Executive Director &amp; VP – Home Care, South Asia said, “Vim is the market leader in Dishwash by far and has helped make the dishwashing process easier and hassle-free over the ages. We are inspired by the successful women around us who excel in whatever they do, being homemakers and decision-makers. They are already way more than chores, but sometimes get limited by society’s definition of chores being a woman’s primary responsibility. If we offload them from these societal stereotypes and the stress caused by them, there is so much more they can and will be. At Vim, that is precisely going to be our endeavour with ‘Nazariya Badlo, Dekho Bartano Se Aage’. Speaking about the same, <keyword id="3433640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prateek-bhardwaj" source="Orion">Prateek Bhardwaj</keyword>, Chief Creative Officer – Lowe Lintas said, “This campaign speaks to the mindset that when a man does the dishes, he's 'helping' the woman of the house. An act for which society applauds him, when in fact it’s something that he should be doing as a member of the household. Nudging the society to realize this double standard that exists was at the heart of this campaign." Brand Team: Prabha Narasimhan: Executive Director &amp; VP – Home Care, South Asia Aditya Kashyap: General Manager Home and Hygiene, Home Care, South Asia Agency Credits: Chief Creative Officer: Prateek Bhardwaj Chief Operating Officer: Anaheeta Goenka Strategy President: Kunal Joshi VP, Planning: Sundernarayan Venkataramani Regional Creative Director: Shayondeep Pal Group CD and Copywriter: Sidhant Mago Group CD (Art): Zeth AP &amp; Sushant Joshi AVP Account Management: Arjun Hari Client Services Director: Arpita Chakraborty Account Manager: Triptesh Mehta Production House: Chrome Pictures Director: Amit Sharma Executive Producer: Abhishek Notani Producer &amp; Editor: Richa Sharma

Vim's new ad is a nudge to society to see women beyond archaic roles

<ul><li><keyword id="2231351" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prateek-Kuhad">Prateek Kuhad</keyword>’s <keyword id="8507177" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cold-Mess">Cold Mess</keyword> was featured on US President Barack Obama’s favourite music in 2019 along with Mavin Staples, Beyonce, Dababy and many more. </li><li>At the end of every year, Barack Obama shares a list of his favourite songs, books and films. </li><li>The list includes a wide range of genres including "Playing Games" by Summer Walker, "Not" by Big Thief, "Go DJ" by Kaytranada feat. Sir, "Juice" by Lizzo, "Mood 4 Eva" by Beyoncé among others. </li></ul>The year couldn’t have gone better for singer and songwriter Prateek Kuhad. His song Cold Mess made it to former US President Barack Obama’s list of favourite music in 2019. He featured along with Mavin Staples, Beyonce, Dababy and many more. At the end of every year, Obama shares a list of his favourite songs, books and films. The list includes a wide range of genres including "Playing Games" by Summer Walker, "Not" by Big Thief, "Go DJ" by Kaytranada feat. Sir, "Juice" by Lizzo, "Mood 4 Eva" by Beyoncé among others. 
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="BarackObama" handlename="Barack Obama" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/822547732376207360/5g0FC8XX_normal.jpg" favoritecount="318173" retweetcount="53582" status="From hip-hop to country to The Boss, here are my songs of the year. If you’re looking for something to keep you com… https://t.co/MGNAUPPgTj" createdat="1577725364000" id="1211694118767738886"></div>








 Kuhad is the only Indian artist to feature on the list. He took to social media to share his excitement. “This just happened and I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight. Totally flipping out. I have no idea how cold/mess even reached him but thank you @barackobama , thank you universe I didn’t think 2019 could’ve gotten better, but damn was I wrong. What an honour,” he wrote. 
 
 
 
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 Cold Mess, which was released last year in December, was a hit in India too. It received got nearly 4.7 million views on Youtube. With over 232,000 monthly listeners, <a href="https://variety.com/2019/music/news/spotify-india-most-streamed-local-artists-1203162943/">he is among the most streamed local artists</a> on Spotify. Most of his songs are in Hindi. However, some of his English songs gained fans has grown his fan following outside India too. CurrentlyPresently, Kuhad is on a global tour “Supermoon”. His Indian tour happened when the country was protesting against the newly Citizenship Amendment Act. In fact, many of the protestors used Cold Mess on playcards to protest against CAA. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-maps-feels-like-star-trek-and-doctor-who-with-new-animation-for-space-exploration/articleshow/73040745.cms?src=hp_ts">Google Maps lets you explore the cosmos like Star Trek — complete with a warp drive ‘whoosh</a>

Cold Mess by Prateek Kuhad is the only Indian song on Barack Obama's list of favourite music in 2019

Grub Fest 2016 was a three-day affair held from 14th October till the 16th. While we contemplated visiting the fest held at <keyword id="282421" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="JLN-Stadium">JLN stadium</keyword> grounds owing to the excessive crowd, the event thrived with loads of food, music, dance, and activities such as drinks mixology and cooking classes. 
 
The concept is simple; get the best and the upcoming food businesses and create a fair for the foodies. They charged Rs. 300 for entry which adds to the expensive food on display. You think you're saving money on taxes but the total effect is nil. 
 <keyword id="3763171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Grub-Fest">The Grub Fest</keyword> has a lot of potential but it's still undercooked. 
 
Hoping they get it just right next time because it is a lovely place to be, as long as you're not trampled on by the crowd. 
 
Business Insider decided to land up at the festival to see what was the grub all about and we curated a virtual tour, for you to check out.Take a look! 
 
Slideshow images credit- The Grub Fest

Here's all that you missed at this year's Grub fest

A video showing the sprawling <keyword id="3513463" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur-campus">IIT Kharagpur campus</keyword> in a different way - the ‘Games of Thrones style’ - has got netizens raving about it since last week, when it was first posted on YouTube. 
 The perfect animation that lets you take a tour of the beautiful Kharagpur campus has been overlaid with the <keyword id="6433339" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Game-of-Thrones">Game of Thrones</keyword> opening track. 
 This fictional masterpiece is the brainchild of <keyword id="245736" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prateek-Srivastava">Prateek Srivastava</keyword> - a second year student studying Ocean Engineering and Naval architecture at <keyword id="6364832" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur">IIT Kharagpur</keyword>. What’s interesting, however, is that this lad has not seen a single episode of the Games of Thrones series yet. 
 
Ask him then, how he managed to replicate the essence of the fantasy drama TV series so well in his video and Srivastava says he came up with the idea because he loves the original GoT track. He adds: “Actually the video is also the outcome of the zeal and love that he and every KGPian has for their campus.” 
 
The video made using free softwares now has over 18,000 views already. 
 
“It took me 12 days to produce the final video, and I used Blender and Adobe Premier Pro for designing and animation,” Srivastava says. 
 
Overwhelmed with the sudden praises this boy has got, he tells us, “I had my vacations. So, I decided implement this idea using my free time. I honestly didn't expect this response, but the reactions in campus are awesome.” 
 
If you haven't got a chance to view his video yet, check it out because it is definitely the most creative thing you will come across today: 
 
 
And you can compare it to the original GoT video if you haven't seen it yet: 
 
 
(Image credit: Youtube)

This viral video showing IIT Kharagpur Games of Thrones-style is a masterpiece, and its maker hasn't seen GoT even once

Google Play has revealed its annual Best of 2024 awards for India, celebrating the apps and games that defined the year. With five of the seven top apps developed by Indian creators, the awards underscore India’s rising prominence in the global tech ecosystem. Mobile gaming also continues to boom, as the country solidifies its position as the second-largest market for gaming downloads worldwide. In a blog post announcing the winners, Google also shed light on how India is the world's second largest market in terms of mobile gaming downloads. "On the gaming front, the Indian gaming scene continues to thrive, with India adding 23 million new gamers in FY24, reaching a total of 590 million. In fact, India now boasts the world's second-largest market for mobile gaming downloads, with average weekly playtime increasing by 30%." Leading Apps: India at the Forefront of AI Innovation The blog post revealed that this year’s top apps showcased India’s innovative spirit, particularly in harnessing AI to meet user needs. Alle - Your AI Fashion Stylist, developed by Hey Alle, emerged as the year’s Best App and also won the Best for Fun award. Leveraging AI, Alle provides personalised fashion advice tailored to users’ occasions, body types, and preferences, reflecting the growing trend of AI-powered app experiences in India. Prateek Agarwal, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Alle, said in a statement, “We noticed that the recent developments in Gen AI, combined with evolving consumer preferences for visual inspirational content, will create a massive opportunity to reimagine &amp; rebuild how people discover and shop for fashion. This realization led us to start Alle...As a new startup, Google Play has been crucial in helping us reach our early users organically. The platform's detailed analytics and crash reporting have been invaluable - they've helped us quickly identify and fix issues, improving our app stability.” Other app winners included: • Headlyne: Daily News with AI (Best for Personal Growth), offering curated news tailored to individual preferences. • Sony LIV: Sports &amp; Entertainment (Best for Large Screens), delivering immersive content on tablets and other big-screen devices. • WhatsApp Messenger (Best Multi-device App), enabling seamless communication across devices. • Fold: Expense Tracker (Best Everyday Essential) and Rise: Habit List (Best Hidden Gem) also captured user interest with practical and engaging features. The blog post added that India’s dominance in the AI app space is significant, accounting for 21% of global AI mobile app downloads this year, with nearly 1,000 Indian apps and games incorporating AI. Games that thrilled millions India’s gaming industry continued its upward trajectory, adding 23 million gamers this year, taking the total to 590 million. With gaming preferences increasingly reflecting local culture, many award-winning titles integrated Indian storylines and visuals. Squad Busters, a fast-paced multiplayer game, won Best Game for its simple yet engaging design. Meanwhile, Indus Battle Royale Mobile by SuperGaming earned the Best Made in India title for the second year running. Roby John, Co-Founder and CEO of SuperGaming, said in a statement, "We are committed to making Indus a standout Battle Royale experience. Our team has spent over three years thoughtfully crafting its characters, environments, and gameplay features to represent Indian Art and Culture authentically. The community's enthusiasm validates our vision of Indian games thriving globally. Winning this award is an incredible honor, not just as a milestone but also a motivation to keep striving for excellence. Google Play’s expertise and responsiveness have empowered us to deliver world-class gaming, pushing the boundaries of Indian gaming. We’re more committed than ever to raising the bar and making Indian gaming shine on the global stage.” Other top games included: • BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) (Best Ongoing), for its India-centric updates featuring cricket, festivals, and celebrity collaborations. • Bloom – A Puzzle Adventure (Best Indie), for its unique mechanics and creativity. • Clash of Clans (Best Multi-device Game) and Yes, Your Grace (Best Story) also stood out for their engaging gameplay.

Google Play announces best apps and games of 2024 in India: All you need to know

<div type="image" title="In 2024, India has seen around $12.2 billion worth of IPOs, including mainboard and SMEs" msid="113878163" hostid="261" sizebytes="45300" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 2024, India has seen around $12.2 billion worth of IPOs, including mainboard and SMEs&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Missing some action, adrenaline rush, and thrill in your life? Are the good old, albeit mundane money investment avenues like mutual funds and fixed deposits not making the cut for you? Want to experience a heart-pounding, financial rollercoaster that will constantly keep you and your portfolio on tenterhooks? Well then, welcome to the world of initial public offers (IPOs), especially those brought to you by SMEs, or <keyword id="6375845" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Small-and-Medium-Enterprises" source="Orion">small and medium enterprises</keyword>. Truth be told, <keyword id="19938687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sme" source="keywords">SME</keyword> IPOs have been all over the bourses this year. So far, 2024 has seen 206 SMEs debuting on both BSE and NSE, out of which 146 listed in gains and 46 listed in losses. Odds seem good, right? In contrast, the year has only seen 63 IPOs from the elder brother i.e. mainboard, only 48 of which managed to post any listing gains. And getting an allotment has also been a major uncertainty, given the unusually high demand this year. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">So, what's an <keyword id="5559702" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="SME-IPO" source="Orion">SME IPO</keyword>, you ask?</h2>Think of a mainboard company as Shah Rukh or Salman Khan—well-established, financially stable, strong legacy of profitability, and fairly well-known. On the other hand, SMEs are your Prateek Gandhi (Harshad Mehta, Scam 1992), Siddhant Chaturvedi (MC Sher, Gully Boy) or Avinash Tiwary (Majnu, Laila Majnu). While they are doing super well, they are yet to make it big like the Khans. They’re currently underdogs, lesser known, but who knows? They can be the next big thing in the future! And SME IPOs are getting a stellar reception. In 2023, 182 such IPOs had raised a substantial Rs 4,967 crore. In 2024, more than 200 companies have already raised over Rs 7,500 crore, and we have four months to go. This, with one quarter of the year still remaining. <div type="image" title="In 2024, India leads IPO activity in the Asia-Pacific region" height="900" width="1200" msid="113875643" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 2024, India leads IPO activity in the Asia-Pacific region&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> But what does it take for a company to be classified as a small enterprise? The company has to have an annual turnover/income of up to Rs 50 crore, and for a medium enterprise to be called so, its annual income has to be up to Rs 250 crore. When such companies go public, in a bid to raise funds from investors and expand their operations, they launch an <keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo" source="keywords">IPO</keyword>, but not on the main exchange, but separately, on NSE’s Emerge and BSE’s SME platform. As of September 2024, <keyword id="4484133" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE-Emerge" source="Orion">NSE Emerge</keyword> has 147 listed participants, while <keyword id="1885131" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSE-SME" source="Orion">BSE SME</keyword> has 155 market makers. Mounting an SME’s IPO is comparatively less stringent than their mainboard counterparts, as far as regulations are concerned since their DRHPs (draft red herring prospectus) are not filed with SEBI. So, wouldn’t a lenient treatment make them inherently riskier? Why are they so appealing, you ask? <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/a-company-with-8-employees-looking-to-raise-12-crore-ended-up-getting-applications-worth-over-4700-crore/articleshow/112824522.cms">Delhi firm with just 8 employees seeks ₹12 crore via IPO, gets ₹4,700 crore worth of investor applications!</a> Well, for one, some of them have delivered exceptional returns—we’re talking 100%, 200%. Consider this—Owais Metal and Mineral Processing, which launched its IPO in February this year, delivered a whopping listing gain of 201%. Another SME, Maxposure, whose IPO was out in January 2024, had earned its investors listing gains worth 317.40%! Apparently, higher risks also mean higher returns, and also super high investment. Most SME IPOs need a minimum investment of Rs 1,00,000 or more, as opposed to mainboard IPOs, where you can buy one lot of shares for anywhere between Rs 14,000-15,000. Even the minimum trading lot size for SME shares is about 10,000. In short, you’d have to potentially empty your pockets to invest in an SME IPO. And still, there’s no guarantee that the listing will fill your wallets. For all you know, your pockets before and after the IPO is listed might stay the same - EMPTY! There's also the question of whether or not these SMEs are able to maintain their listing day mojo, or do they just fizzle out thereafter? Data from Prime Database highlights more instances of the latter. As of August 2024, about 166 SME IPOs had made it to the exchanges. Around 72 of them, or close to 50%, could not sustain their momentum going ahead, and were trading below their listing day prices. Consider this. The post listing gains of Medicamen Organics, whose IPO came out in June 2024, earned its investors massive listing gains of over 300%, by listing at Rs 137.85, significantly higher than its price issue price, which was set between Rs 32-34. But as of October 1, 2024, the stock was trading at Rs 64.2. Talk about falls. Additionally, risks of pump-and-dump, and illiquidity, among others makes SME IPOs dangerous See, you're largely venturing into unknown, pitch-dark territories, without much light to guide you. For starters, SME IPOs face less scrutiny from market watchdog SEBI. This also means they are able to list quickly, just 3-4 months. On the other hand, mainboard IPOs can take upto a year before they are cleared for listing. Also, there is far less information and disclosures available about their financials, fundamentals and performance to investors for making an informed decision, as compared to mainboard stocks. Then there’s the issue of illiquidity. Once purchased, you might find it hard to sell off your SME stocks, since they are not traded as frequently in the market, which means lower liquidity. Trivesh D, COO, Tradejini explains that liquidity is a major concern for such stocks. “These stocks typically have a smaller free float, and are traded in lots, which can lead to volatility and sharp price swings. This means it can be challenging for investors to buy or sell shares without significantly impacting prices. Additionally, speculative trading practices, like 'pump-and-dump' schemes, can inflate stock prices, leaving retail investors vulnerable to sudden drops”. Recently, SME IPOs have gained notoriety for price manipulation via showing fictitious sales and revenue in their books of accounts, selling of promoter holdings at inflated prices, and being the facade for many infamous pump and dump schemes. This is where select people create frenzy, or mass euphoria over a particular stock or company, causing its prices to soar, and then dumping them, or selling their shares at this massive price to make a killing! Infact, it's not just the promoters, but also the investment banks floating these IPOs. At present, SEBI is investigating around 6 investment banks which have allegedly charged SMEs a staggering 15% of funds raised via IPOs as fee, as opposed to the standard 1-3%. In March 2024, SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch had also highlighted witnessing signs of manipulation in the SME space. “We do see signs of manipulation in the SME segment. We are able to see certain patterns.” Buch had observed back then. Adds Kresha Gupta, Founder &amp; Director, StepTrade Share Services, “Investing in SME IPO comes with significant risks, despite their impressive returns in recent years. Limited participation from institutional investors and public in some SME IPOs also mean that those companies may lack the support and stability that comes with larger-scale investments” “Additionally, many SMEs may not have strong fundamentals to justify their valuations. High P/E ratios can be misleading, and while some IPOs have delivered impressive returns, they often come with significant volatility, continues D of Tradejini. <h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.7em; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; list-style: none; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-transform: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">So, should I stay away?</h2>Yes, and No. Yes, if you don't want to do your homework of researching the company thoroughly beforehand. Anand K. Rathi, Co-Founder of MIRA Money suggests asking a couple of questions before investing your hard earned money: <ul><li>What is the company's financial performance over the past 3-4 years?</li><li>What is the company's governance structure?</li><li>Is the financial success driven by the IPO, or is it a result of consistent performance?</li><li>Does the company have what it takes to scale its operations to the next level?</li><li>Are the company’s promoters trustworthy, capable and experienced?</li><li>What is the level of participation by large, institutional investors?</li></ul> But staying away completely? Not necessary. Gupta adds that retail investors, in particular, should avoid viewing SME IPOs as quick money-makers based on their short-term performance, as this can certainly lead to poor investment decisions. “To mitigate risks, investors should always focus on long-term fundamentals rather than just short-term price movements. Key indicators include the participation of institutional investors like DIIs and FIIs. This often signals confidence in the stock”, she continues. A red flag you should look out for is if a company is only offering OFS, or Offer for Sale. This can indicate early investors looking to exit, potentially signaling weaker future growth. That's why it is better to look for companies which are raising capital for expansion purposes. This is a sign of healthy business growth prospects and improving fundamentals. In conclusion, backing the underdog, or SMEs, is not a bad proposition, but not without its risks. Investing in SME IPOs is like riding a unicorn—but you don't know whether you're riding it to rags or riches! So, take your pick.

SIMPLY PUT: Why investing in SME IPOs should not be on top of your adventure to-do list!

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Indian tycoon sued over missing nickel cargoes told inspectors he'd had a heart attack, per the FT.</li><li>Trafigura alleges many of Prateek Gupta's shipments didn't contain any nickel and it faces a $577 million loss.</li></ul>A metal tycoon facing a lawsuit over $577 million in missing nickel told inspectors he'd had a heart attack two days before a cargo was due to be checked, according to a Financial Times report.Commodities trading giant <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/trafigura-trading-nickel-fraud-commoditites-trade-million-shipping-prateek-gupta-2023-2">Trafigura has sued</a> Prateek Gupta and companies associated with him, including TMT Metals and UIL Malaysia. It alleges some of the nickel shipments arranged with the Indian businessman didn't actually contain any of the pricey metal, in what it has described as a systematic fraud.Court documents <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/57396c6f-a14b-4547-a29c-998695ecbb54" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reviewed by the FT</a> detail the apparently chaotic events over a 10-day period in November when Trafigura uncovered the alleged multimillion-dollar fraud by Gupta.Trafigura's head nickel trader, Sokratis Oikonomou, arranged for a physical inspection of the cargoes shipped by Gupta's firms on November 9, the report said. The check came after a request by lender Citi, which had supplied an $850 million line of credit to Trafigura for its transactions.Just two days before the inspection was due, Gupta sent a WhatsApp message to Oikonomou saying he had had a heart attack, per the FT. The businessman then allegedly attempted to bargain with the nickel trader in a bid to delay the inspection in Rotterdam.Oikonomou, though, pressed ahead with the inspection. Trafigura has said none of the Rotterdam containers had the the nickel previously agreed in orders, but contained carbon steel instead.A full container of nickel, typically traded in large volumes, can be worth roughly $500,000. Carbon steel tends to be priced at about 5% of the value of the costlier metal.Trafigura believes about 1,100 shipping containers were involved in its trades with Gupta, but it can't say for sure what exactly is inside them, the FT report said. By early February, it had checked 156 of the total, and none so far contains nickel — just carbon steel, or other kinds of steel or iron.In negotiations after Trafigura's discoveries, Gupta is alleged to have tried other means of stalling. He offered a wind farm and steel mill to Trafigura as collateral, and put forward a $200 million repayment plan on a handwritten note to Oikonomou in a meeting at Heathrow Airport.Gupta was hit with a $625 million freezing order by a London court after Trafigura filed its fraud lawsuit. He told Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/trafigura-fraud-gupta/indian-businessman-gupta-to-challenge-freezing-order-in-trafigura-fraud-case-idINL8N3542U8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he intended to challenge</a> the order.Gupta didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent through TMT Metals' email address.

Metal tycoon sued over missing $577 million in nickel told cargo inspectors he'd had a heart attack, report says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A precious metals dealer has been asked to pay up $146 million in damages after over half a million silver coins went missing.</li><li>Robert Higgins ran a "fraudulent and deceptive scheme" linked to the purchase and sale of precious metals, the CFTC said.</li></ul>It's a plot that wouldn't look out of place in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean%27s_(film_series)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ocean's trilogy</a>.The vault where precious metals dealer Robert Higgins claimed to be storing over half a million of his clients' silver coins was found by investigators to be empty – except for little boxes of paper IOUs. Now, the 68-year old has been ordered by a Delaware court to pay $146 million in damages as punishment for leading an elaborate scam that misappropriated almost $115 million of his customers' money over a period of eight years, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said in a <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8741-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.From 2014 to 2022, Higgins convinced almost 200 unsuspecting investors to buy and store their American Eagle Silver coins through his two companies, Argent Asset Group LLC and First State Depository Company LLC, according to the CFTC.The coins are made of 99.9% silver and minted by the US Treasury – making them a popular alternative investment among Americans. But clients who bought coins through Higgins's firms may not have owned any at all – as it remains unclear whether they ever existed in the first place.Furthermore, First State Depository distributed false monthly account statements to customers, according to court filings. Higgins ran a "fraudulent and deceptive scheme", and was ordered to pay $113 million to clients and $33 million in penalties, according to the CFTC. His two companies must cease trading and he is banned from the industry for life.The precious metals industry has seen a series of scams in recent times. In March, the London Metal Exchange was rocked when investigators found bags of stones in a Rotterdam warehouse, instead of the nickel that underpinned some of the bourse's contracts.Just a few weeks before that, Trafigura, a trading house based out of Singapore, accused metals tycoon Prateek Gupta of faking $500 million of nickel shipping cargoes.

Over half a million silver coins just vanished – now the metals dealer behind the 'fraudulent' scheme must pay $146 million

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trafigura discovered that it received bag of stones from a warehouse in Rotterdam instead of nickel.</li><li>It is joined by others who made a similar discovery at the warehouse.</li></ul>The global metals trader Trafigura is among the companies that received bags of stone instead of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/nickel-price?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">nickel</a> under London Metal Exchange contracts, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/trafigura-bought-some-lme-nickel-that-was-just-bags-of-stones-1.1898494" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.The bags came from a warehouse in Rotterdam run by Access World and were shipped to New Orleans, where they were found to have the wrong weight, sources told Bloomberg. Earlier, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-03-17-2023/card/found-inside-a-rotterdam-nickel-warehouse-bags-of-stones-GuqRUlhymf8xPDAJk6hm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a> reported that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgans-nickel-bags-turned-out-to-filled-with-stones-2023-3">JPMorgan Chase was the owner of bags of stones</a> at the warehouse. Had they contained nickel, the bags would have been worth $1.3 million at current prices. Stratton Metals, a metal trader in Europe, also reportedly got bags of stones instead of nickel.The LME first announced the mix-up last Friday but didn't disclose the owner of the bags or the warehouse where they were kept.LME inspected all of its metal holdings at the warehouse and found that nine contracts contained material other than nickel.Meanwhile, Trafigura has said there's no connection between the bags of stones and a separate snafu related to nickel cargoes.Last month, the commodity giant acknowledged that some of its nickel cargoes had been substituted for carbon steel, a cheaper metal, leaving Trafigura potentially facing a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/trafigura-trading-nickel-fraud-tycoon-prateek-gupta-heart-attack-inspection-2023-2?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">$577 million loss</a>. The final cost could be lower if it is able to recover some of the funds. "Since late December 2022, a small proportion of the containers purchased from these companies have been inspected as they reached their destination, and were found not to contain nickel," Trafigura said in a statement last month, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-09/nickel-fraud-trader-trafigura-faces-577-million-loss?srnd=markets-vp" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Bloomberg</a>.The incident led Trafigura to sue the Indian businessman Prateek Gupta in February, as well as TMT Metals and UIL Malaysia — companies associated with him. A London court has since ordered a $625 million freeze on Gupta following Trafigura's legal action.

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