Finly October 2021

FINLY

OCTOBER 2021 | Issue No. 104

Asset Monetization Scheme: The Fine Print Intriguing Indeed

Sector Analysis

Non-Fungible Token

Sugar Industry

Eco Section Flush with Funds: Can Start- ups Revive the Economy

CONTENTS 01

02

ED ITO R IAL

TEAM F INL Y

04

09

C O VER ST O R Y

EC O SEC TIO N

Asset Monetization Scheme: The Fine Print

Flush with Funds: Can Start-ups Revive the Economy

13

17

SEC T O R ANAL YSIS

C O MPAN Y AN ALYSI S

Sugar Industry

Dalmia Bharat Sugar And Industries Ltd.

22

27

INTR I GU ING IND EED

EN TR EP R ENEUR SHIP INNO VATIO N

Non-Fungible Token

Postman Inc

31

33

PER SO N I N F O C U S

C ALL F O R AR TIC L ES WINN ER

Andy Jassy

Prajjawal Singh

37

39

C ALL F O R AR T IC L ES R UNNER UP

ALU MN I INSIGHTS

Pradnya Raut

Madhur Saxena PGDM CORE | Finstreet | 2016 - 2018

ISSUE NO. 104, OCTOBER 2021

Dear Readers,

Editor's Note

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.” - Arundhati Roy This pandemic is an opportunity to expand our knowledge by finding new ways to circumvent the circumstances, invest in the most intuitive ideas that come to our mind and surpass this havoc. As Ben Franklin rightly said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest,” we at Finstreet are back with the next edition of our monthly magazine “Finly” for the academic year 2021-22. This is special for us, as it is the first edition by our junior Finstreet batch (2021-2023).

Team FINLY has always been a dedicated group of people who put in a lot of time and effort to put this magazine together, and we can't thank them enough for their unwavering support and initiative.

The October's edition’s cover story tries to understand the Asset Monetization Scheme of India. The intriguing indeed article goes through the interesting topic of Non Fungible Tokens.

We are thankful to Prof. (Dr.) Pankaj Trivedi (Course Coordinator, PGDM Core and Faculty Coordinator, Finstreet) for providing the much-required mentoring, support and backing to the Finly team.

We thank all our readers and faculty members for their valuable reviews and feedback.

HAPPY READING!!!

STAY HOME STAY SAFE!!!

Anusha Nair

Riya Agarwal

|Editor-in-Chief|

|Editor-Finly|

MBA FS

MBA FS

1

ISSUE NO. 104, OCTOBER 2021

TEAM FINLY Faculty in-charge

Dr. (Prof) Pankaj Trivedi

Editing Team Editor-in-Chief

Editor - FINLY

Anusha Nair

Riya Agarwal

Team Coordinator

Gaurav Bavkar

Conceptualization & Design

Aman Pathak

Aditya Shukla

Gaurav Bavkar

2

Content Team

Arohi Pandey

Sudeshna Sur

Natania Mahipal

Kamlesh Jain

Paras Lodaya

Joy Parekh

Abhilash Bhimarashetty

Uday Sardana

Vinay Kumar

Rishika Jain

Yash Duggal

Anubhav Sood

3

| COVER STORY

ASSET MONETIZATION SCHEME: THE FINE PRINT Arohi Pandey | MBA-B | 2021-23 Sudeshna Sur | MBA-C | 2021-23 INTRODUCTION India, one of the economies on the cusp of transformation, counts on sustained growth models that could fuel employment and growth. The government of India plans to invest in futuristic development by developing new infrastructure that necessitates the availability of long-term capital at scale. To fulfill these capital requirements, the government is counting on unutilized or underutilized assets. Asset Monetization means utilizing holdings as a source of profit by converting them to legal tender or money.

The asset monetization scheme aims to unlock value from public investment in infrastructure and utilize the efficiency of the private sector to the fullest. The government can effectively use its Brownfield assets for a "structured partnership" with the private sector rather

than "slump sale" or "privatization." .The objective is to make revenue rather than losses from already established industries.

HOW WILL IT WORK FOR INDIA? As COVID took an unprecedented toll on economic activity in India and worldwide, it hampered growth to a large extent. Thus came the time to revamp financing models for enhancing employment and development opportunities in the country. Currently, India has one of the most extensive brownfield stocks of fixed assets. However, as the functioning of the government is primarily welfare-based, it becomes challenging to run this infrastructure profitably. At this point, the private companies' risk managing, operational, and maintenance strategies come into effect.

The robust Public-Private Partnership (PPP) ecosystem in India paves the way for

4

| COVER STORY hopefully lucrative collaboration. Concepts like keeping permanent ownership in government hands, transfer of assets after concession and key performance indicators

Contractual Approach, i.e., the Public-Private Partnership Model, and Second, Structured Financing Models.

NATIONAL MONETIZATION PIPELINE

Source: Money Control allow the overall control to rest in the hands of the government.

The government will reinvest the capital generated from monetizing the brownfield assets in new infrastructure projects. An example of this can be transferring toll and maintenance rights of roads to a private firm that will commit cash upfront. This collaboration will bring the government some needed financial reprieve.

There are predominantly two types of asset monetization models under consideration at present in India. First, the Direct

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, announced the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) on August 23, 2021, to raise almost Rs 6 lakh crore. NITI Aayog developed and proposed the pipeline under the Union Budget 2021-22 in consultation with infrastructure line ministries. It estimates an aggregate monetization potential of 'Rs. 6.0 lakh Crore' over four financial years till 2025. However, around rupees Eighty-eight thousand crore asset monetization is set to be completed in FY 2022 itself. The public authority has identified a pipeline for monetizing brownfield assets across services that privately owned businesses will be given on long-haul rent.

Views are divided on whether India is attempting to imitate Australia's model of adapting resources or whether a few ventures will travel the way they did in Germany, where power utilities were privatized during the 1990s but were at last nationalized once more. Is this the primary way out for the Indian government to fill its coffers for new capital uses?

HOW WILL THE GOVERNMENT BENEFIT FROM IT? Several assets owned by the government like

Source: Niti Aayog

5

| COVER STORY roads, railways, power grids are not adding much value to the revenue rather imposing a maintenance cost limiting the government from working on new ventures that could bring opportunities for the future. .Most of the government's current plans, like the farm laws and the National Monetization Pipeline, emphasized allowing private investments in the public infrastructures to enhance competitiveness and improve the overall operations. The government is looking forward to partnering with the private sector and harnessing its resource efficiencies.

towers, warehouses, etc., have the colossal potential of monetization and can help states focus more on current issues and future goals.

If the public sector assets are leased out to private companies and the government gets a fixed revenue from the same, there are high chances that better work can be done in future projects.

The incentives announced by the center might push states towards launching a host pipeline facilitating reinvestment and monetization.

As an incentive for asset monetization by states, an additional allocation equivalent to 33% of the value of assets realized is envisaged to be deposited in State Consolidated Funds or State PSUs owning the assets. The funding and disbursement are subject to the realized amount being necessarily used for capital expenditure by states.

SUCCESSFUL PPP MODELS IN INDIA WHAT IS IN STORE FOR STATES? States are equally integral for the overall development of new opportunities for the nation, and to widen this avenue, it is vital to receive their cooperation. State-owned highways, power generation, transmission

Source: Money Control

India's rendezvous with the monetization of public sector undertakings is not new. It is just being better streamlined and implemented systematically. National

Source: Ministry of Finance, GOI

6

| COVER STORY Highway Authority of India (NHAI) monetized at least 1400 km of its toll roads and raised Rs. 17,000 Crore through Toll Operate and Transfer (TOT) concession, the NHAI is also planning an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) in coming days, Power Grid launched its first InvIT monetizing its transmission assets raising Rs. 7700 Crore. The Airports Authority of India successfully used the OMDA model to monetize at least six of its airports. Indian Railways has also planned to count upon the PPP model for making advanced passenger trains.

OPPORTUNITIES COMPANIES

FOR

THE

PRIVATE

Scope in the Indian market is tremendous, as the market and consumer spending power is growing. For many bidders, Indian Public Sector Undertakings can be profitable due to their extensive build network. It is just a matter of managing and running them in a lucrative manner.

Many profitable assets like real estate owned by the government can be leveraged by private enterprises and put to good use.

Initial success in Infrastructure and Power Transmission assets is undoubtedly a positive signal for Infrastructure companies focused on roads, transmission, and railways.

Stocks of some companies are expected to benefit from this move by the government.

Dilip

Buildcon,

KNR

Construction,

PNC

Infratech are some of them; adding to this

monetization of mining assets will help companies like Dilip Buildcon. Boost is expected from tariff-based competitive bidding tenders, providing Engineering, Procurement, and Operations (EPC) opportunities for firms like L&T and KEC. CRITICISM RECEIVED Though the government aims to provide better infrastructure and opportunities for the citizens in the future, the scheme could fall slightly heavy on their pockets in the present times. The government offering services to the public are welfare-centric, whereas private firms lurk for profits. The government will offer the brownfield assets on lease to private firms, which will try to make maximum profits beyond their cash commitment to the government. For example, a highway being monetized and run by private firms has a chance of charging hiked toll money that could, in turn, lead to a rise in freight costs for goods leading to soaring market prices for end products. The present impact on commoners will be more of a loss than the future gains from employment and development for the everyday person.

Job security provided by public sector organizations might get compromised, as layoffs may be frequent under the private organization's stringent evaluation and profit-seeking goals. Dis-satisfaction and failed trust in government capabilities might cause unrest and increased unemployment. There needs to be some

7

| COVER STORY regulation ascertaining price cap, job security, and satisfaction upon the private companies receiving leased assets, but this might upset private players, and there could be a shortage of private investments.

Chances of failure due to meagre participation by investors like BPCL and Air India can turn the plan upside down entirely.

CONCLUSION The scheme has a high potential for the future, and there are not many arguments against it, but after all, Rome wasn't built in a day, so implementation is the key, and it should be given the necessary time. Once the asset is handed over for a limited period to a private company, the government cannot interfere with its products and services, so a proper dispute resolution mechanism should be established. The revenue stream for the sector should also be identified. Phased implementation of significant sustainable changes in the bureaucratic system allows more effortless synchronization of all stakeholders. It is time to no longer go by the public policies that over-commit and underperform; instead, switch to the right approach of undercommitting and over-delivering.

8

| ECO SECTION

FLUSH WITH FUNDS: CAN STARTUPS REVIVE THE ECONOMY

CURRENT OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY The last quarter has been a blessing for the Indian startup industry. There is no better place than India for the unicorns to be.

Zomato, the food-delivery company, became the first in India to make its market debut and raised around $ 1.3B with the backing of Morgan Stanley, Tiger Global, and Fidelity Investments.

The listing of Zomato contributed to the belief in the startups by the investors.

India will see an array of unicorns seeking listing, with Policy Bazaar, Nykaa, Delhivery

Natania Mahipal | MBA - IB | 2021-23 Kamlesh Jain | MBA - A | 2021-23 being latest in the industry.

The listing of Nykaa is being viewed as the major milestone for Indian markets since it is the only startup to file for IPO after declaring profits. One of the giant unicorns in India, Paytm, is also looking for a listing in India.

This line of tech IPOs is impressive and a testament to the evolution of Indian markets. Historically, the Indian market has aligned with financial services. However, there has been a recent trend in the tech sector, which showcases the belief of the new Indian investors in the future of Indian markets. Zomato lacked profitability, which caused some concerns, but the IPO got an overwhelming response, which helped the company's share soar.

It would have been a tall order from India's retail investors two decades ago. They may not even consider startups until they have

Source - Economic Times

9

| ECO SECTION earned the coveted crown of profitability.

However, the value of these firms is clear to today's young investors. They regularly utilise internet startups' services and platforms to buy food, compare insurance policies, study pre-owned autos, ship parcels, or stay up with the newest beauty trend.

Start-up founders are also much more confident on this front, as seen by the fact that the Pandemic's recent second wave did not deter their plans to go public.

The startup sector has seen an investment inflow of more than $5B in 2020 than in the last decade combined.

The primary beneficiary of this inflow is the EdTech sector, showing immense potential from investors and employment perspectives. The EdTech sector is one of the significant drivers of employment opportunities in the Indian market due to the rising need for remote and online education across India, and the growth will be substantial.

$27.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020. In the recent months India has been producing enterprises worth $1 billion or more at an unprecedented rate in those private markets. In April, half a dozen unicorns were born in four days. The period between rounds of funding for many companies has decreased to weeks. One of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in history threatens to undo decades of economic development in India. Over 31 million infections and over 400,000 people have died. At least 200 million Indians are now living on less than the $5 daily minimum wage. According to the Pew Research Institute, in association with the Bangalorebased Azim Premji University, the middle class is expected to shrink by 32 million by 2020.

CAN STARTUPS HELP THE ECONOMY? According to Dun & Bradstreet, India is the world's third-largest startup hub, and despite the Pandemic, the total number of business registrations in FY21 reached a new high. In FY21, 11.6% was the growth of startups, up from 10.8% in FY20.

According to CB Insights, India recorded $6.3 billion in fundraising and deals for technology startups in the second quarter. In comparison, Chinese funding declined 18% from a high of

Source: Statista GOVERNMENT'S ROLE & REGULATION IN START-UP DEVELOPMENT Seeing the influence of the American and Chinese startup ecosystems on their economic growth and jobs, the Indian government began to actively make the

10

| ECO SECTION innovation and startups the main focus of their policy decision from 2014. Seven government ministries have created schemes and policies to promote startups. Several have given organisations and institutions financial and procedural support and incentives to establish incubators, workshops, and upgrade technological and physical infrastructure.

21 of the 29 state governments are currently pursuing their startup policies. Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Telangana have all accompanied policy and legislation, procedural change with initiatives such as establishing state-funded and managed incubators and entrepreneurship cells, hosting competitions, rewarding companies, and strengthening ties with institutions and industry. As a result, these states have reaped the benefits of increasing startup activity and private investment interest.

The government has also simplified the process of registration with the complete digitisation of the process. The government has set a fund of 10,000 crore rupees to provide funding for venture capital.

CHALLENGES AHEAD In today's economic environment, competition is so fierce that only the strongest will survive and thrive in the long run. Every year, we have 50 million new startups. The startup industry, as we all know, is the backbone of the Indian Economy. As a result, it is critical to comprehend their difficulties. One of the most severe threats to a startup's survival is competition. Small businesses cannot compete with the big boys in the current environment of online mode. People who decide to start their own company must have realistic expectations. No one can guarantee immediate success; it only comes with hard work and dedication.

They must correctly assess their potential and the resources at their disposal. We frequently observe that such organisations are short on experienced personnel. They lack the necessary direction and execution which is needed.

A significant element is finding the right person for the right job.

The management of their finances is also a significant challenge.

Startups frequently overlook break-even points.

Although income may rise, there is also an increase in expenditure. They rely heavily on their investors, and even though they have a difficult time managing their finances, they often succumb to the pressure. They need to hire financial consulting firms to help them manage their finances.

Source - Incplus

11

| ECO SECTION In the end, they must garner their customers' trust. They cannot have an impact on the market unless they have a loyal and satisfied customer base. They must design and implement customer-centric strategies and methods quickly if they are to achieve longterm advancement.

WHAT DOES FUTURE HOLD? Many new trends have emerged as a result of Covid - 19. On the digital front, Pandemic has accelerated the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem. They currently have excellent opportunities to thrive, grow, and expand their business.

They may have to make some difficult decisions to expand and diversify their operations. Over the next few years, we can expect many IPOs, especially now that the government has approved startups for listing on the stock exchanges.

It will result in a significant increase in wealth. These IPOs will aid in the mainstreaming of digital investing. It would not only assist with liquidity issues but would also pave the way for other small players.

This will go a long way toward restoring balance and bolstering smaller businesses.

On the other hand, ecosystems are running out of cash due to the current situation, posing a severe threat. The government must assess the situation carefully and make firm decisions. Startups have the potential to get our Economy back on track if they act swiftly.

12

| SECTOR ANALYSIS

SUGAR INDUSTRY Paras Lodaya | MBA - A | 2021 - 23 Joy Parekh | MBA-A | 2021-23 INTRODUCTION The sugar industry is an agro-based industry that impacts the livelihood of over 50 million sugarcane farmers and around 5 lakh sugar mill workers. Various businesses such as transportation, trade service of machinery, and the delivery of agricultural inputs are areas of employment generation in this industry.

After Brazil, India is the world's secondlargest sugar producer and is also the world's largest consumer. The Indian sugar industry's annual output is currently valued at roughly Rs.80,000 crores. India also contributes about 20% of the total global supply of sugar. That does not, however, imply that everything is perfect.

The sugar cycle was driven by irrational sugarcane pricing, which caused the country to alternate between large surpluses and severe shortages. The sugar mills were dealing with massive cane

debts and the industry was surviving on government bailouts and subsidies.

However, the sugar industry's state of affairs began to improve in 2013 when the Government decided to deregulate the industry. Sugar mills could now sell any amount they produced and at any price they desired. However, the controls on the supply side still endured, and it continues even today with the Government fixing sugarcane prices. As the sugar cycle continued to play out and the industry's problems persisted, the decontrol did little to help.

The assistance arrived from an unexpected source. In Uttar Pradesh, a new sugarcane variety (CO 238) was developed in 2016-17. To everyone's surprise, it produced a more significant yield (30 tonnes per acre vs. 22 tonnes for

13

| SECTOR ANALYSIS previous kinds) and even better recovery (sucrose content was 11.5% as against earlier 9.5%). Because Uttar Pradesh produces most of India's sugarcane, its share of its sugar output increased from 25% to 40%.

This one-of-a-kind breakthrough essentially disrupted the sugar cycle, allowing India to produce surplus sugar constantly.

SUGAR PRODUCTION PROCESS Sugar is produced through two distinct operations: Processing sugarcane/sugar beets into raw sugar Conversion of raw Sugar into refined sugar In India, the majority of the sugar is produced from sugarcane sourced from third-party farmers. Sugarcane is crushed to extract its juice, and the by-product obtained is Bagasse which is further used in power generation, partly used for captive consumption and excess being sold to power Discoms. Thus, the Sugar industry is among the very few sectors which are power surplus, and the process is termed Cogeneration.

Source - IMA produced to make desired variety available to the end consumer as per their preferences.

Another by-product yielded during the conversion process is Molasses, which can be sold directly or further processed in the distillery to obtain alcohol. This alcohol can either be Industrial Alcohol offered to Chemical industries for mechanical utilization, or consumable (alcohol), or Ethanol, which can blend in fuel.

The extracted sugarcane juice undergoes a series of processes such as Juice Defecation & Clarification, Sulphitation, Syrup boiling, and centrifuging to obtain factory raw sugar. The factory raw sugar

Source - IMA

14

| SECTOR ANALYSIS ETHANOL – THE NEW ENGINE OF GROWTH FOR SUGAR COMPANIES Ethanol at 99% plus purity is used for blending with fuel and can thus reduce vehicular emissions as well as dependence on oil imports which are costly. In India, the average ethanol blending in petrol is only around 7.5% so far, which is significantly low compared to Brazil, which has an average ethanol blending of approximately 48%.

In the National Policy on Biofuels released in 2018, the Government of India had envisaged 20% ethanol blending in petrol (E20) by 2030. The Government has now advanced its deadline by five years to 2025 and has also allowed the production of Ethanol through B heavy molasses as well as sugarcane juice which yields a higher amount of Ethanol.

government measures of fixing the price, and thus, sugar mills have an extra incentive to produce it. The Government has also initiated various incentives to set up/expand distillery capacities, thus providing impetus to Ethanol Blending in Petrol (EBP) Program.

PORTER'S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS (SUGAR INDUSTRY) 1. Barriers to entry and exit – High New entrants are deterred by the industry's integrated business strategy and high capital requirements. Also, the industry is politically vulnerable and subjected to onerous regulations.

The Government of India has also prohibited the construction of two sugar factories within a 15-kilometer radius.

Sugar production has become less appealing due to the extreme volatility of sugar prices.

2. Buyer Bargaining power -Low

Source - ICICI Securities In Sugar mills, Ethanol can be produced during multiple stages of production, and depending upon the stage, the proportion of Sugar and Ethanol produced varies as specified in the table. As can be observed from the table, all grades of Ethanol are now priced higher than sugar due to

The power of buyers is highly restricted because sugar being a necessary commodity in everyday use, its demand is highly inelastic.

Currently, there is a shortage of ethanol production capacities in India, but the demand is high and consistent. Hence,

15

| SECTOR ANALYSIS buyers do not possess bargaining power.

state governments.

CONCLUSION

3. Power of Suppliers - Medium The Government is in charge of allocating the land from which sugarcane can be procured. Sugar mills have no choice but to buy all the cane sold to them, even if it exceeds their needs.

Changing suppliers is complicated, and switching expenses must be considered due to increased shipping costs.

4. Threat of substitutes - Medium Substitute products like Gur and Khandsari cannot provide customers with the same usefulness in terms of quality and performance.

The sugar industry in India has never been able to stand on its own. The government's debilitating protocols and populist policies, which were usually devoid of economic rationality, ensured that it would be difficult, even if they attempted. However, the dynamics of the industry are now beginning to change.

Over the last few years, various initiatives have been undertaken by the government at the policy level such as freeing up cane pricing, easing of regulations linked to production of ethanol, benevolent subsidies, etc which has benefited the sugar industry and has brought the sector back under the limelight. The sector is currently in a sweet spot but sustenance is the key ahead.

In recent years, there has been a trend to shift towards sugar-less products, especially among the younger generations.

5. Industry Competition - High The sugar sector in India is highly fragmented and fiercely competitive, with over 700 units producing the commodity.

The

industry

individual

consists

players

and

of

private powerful

cooperatives that have the support of

16

| COMPANY ANALYSIS

DALMIA BHARAT SUGAR AND INDUSTRIES LTD.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries, incorporated in 1994, is one of the largest and fastest-growing, cane-based, multiproduct companies in India. Initially, it was incorporated as a sugar-producing entity, but over the last 26 years, the company has reinvented itself by extending its presence in Distillery and Cogeneration business. DBSIL produces sugar by crushing cane, which generates molasses (a by-product) and bagasse (waste). It uses molasses to make ethanol, a green fuel, while bagasse is utilized towards producing clean energy.

VISION AND PRINCIPLES The company's vision is to achieve "Vibrant growth under strong values embedded environment with strong impetus on value creation for all the stakeholders".

Abhilash Bhimarashetty | MBA - RM | 2021-23 Uday Sardana | MBA - C | 2021-23 Capability: The company believes that 'Capability' represents the maximization of all the factors within its control. This includes the ability to increase cane availability, reduce costs, diversify the portfolio, improve quality, strengthen the balance sheet, and safeguard the interests of all stakeholders. These initiatives make it possible for DBSIL to stay competitive across locations, products, and market cycles.

Responsibility: In an increasingly uncertain environment, the organization thinks that flexibility, patience in the face of adversity, and speed in the face of opportunity are all valuable assets.

Sustainability:

Sustainability

is

increasingly relevant in today's world.

DBSIL's business model is woven around three strategic priorities:

DBSIL believes that companies must reduce their carbon footprint, use

17

| COMPANY ANALYSIS limited natural resources, and consider the requirements of all stakeholders.

the capacity of 305 KLPD and the revenue from these units accounts for 16% of the company's revenue.

BUSINESS SEGMENTS 3. Co-generation 1. Sugar DBSIL is one of the largest sugar manufacturers in India. The company caters to International as well as Domestic markets in both B2B and B2C segments. Also, it is a preferred sugar supplier of institutional giants such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Britannia, United Breweries, and many more.

The majority of the company's revenue comes from this segment (78% in FY 2021). The company possesses five stateof-the-art sugar manufacturing facilities with an installed capacity of 36500 TCD.

DBSIL utilizes bagasse, a waste of cane crushing, towards generating clean power, which accounts for nearly 5% of the company's revenue. It currently owns five co-generation plants located at the sugar mills with a capacity of 119 megawatts. Of this capacity, nearly 40% of the total power generated is consumed, and the rest is sold to the state electricity grid through long-term power purchase agreements.

The efficient utilization of resources helps the company to remain power positive

and

reduce

greenhouse

emissions through the production of 2. Distillery

renewable energy.

The company uses molasses (a byproduct of cane crushing) to produce ethanol. Distillery revenue accounts for 16% of the company's revenue. Initially, it was started as a by-product processing unit that has turned into a full-fledged segment.

The company has sufficient capacity to create

several

grades

of

alcohol

(ethanol, rectified spirit, and extra neutral alcohol) to meet the needs of a wide range of customers. DBSIL owns three distilleries with a licensed

Source - Annual Report CORPORATE GOVERNANCE The Directors are committed to achieve the highest standards of ethics, transparency,

18

| COMPANY ANALYSIS

corporate governance while adhering to the Code

of

Conduct.

The

SHAREHOLDING PATTERN

Company's The promoter holding of 74.9% as of June2021 remained constant since Sept 2018 with 0% pledged shares. The FII holding was 0.5%(sept,2018), peaked at 3% (June 2019), and is 1%(June 2021).

philosophy on corporate governance is "DHARMO RAKSHAATI RAKSHITAHA" - If you protect your Dharma (duty with moral responsibility), in turn, your Dharma will protect you. The Board of directors has an appropriate mix of Executive, Non-Executive and Independent Directors; it comprises seven Directors out of which 57% are NonExecutive

Directors

and

43%

are

the

Executive Directors. About 43% of the total strength

of

the

Board

comprises

Independent

Directors

including

one

Independent

Woman

Director.

The

Chairman of the Board is a Non-Executive Independent Director and is not related to the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer. Shri Rajeev Bakshi was appointed as

an

Additional

Director

in

the

Independent category by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 05th February 2021 for a term up to five consecutive years.

Source - Annual Report SALARY COMPENSATION The annual growth in the earnings for FY 2020-21 has been 36%. The percentage increase in the median salary in the FY2020-21 for employees is 8.40%, and that of promoters and managerial personnel is 12.2%.

Source - Annual Report

Source - Annual Report

19

| COMPANY ANALYSIS peers with a P/E ratio of 12.42, P/B ratio of 1.56, and an EV/EBITDA ratio of 9.21.

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Aggregate sales increased by 26% to

2. Profitability Ratio Analysis

Rs.2739 Crore in FY 2020-21 compared to the previous year. The Company reported a

The Return Ratios for FY2020-21 are Return on Equity-14.77%, Return on Capital

36% increase in net profit in FY 2020-21, reflecting enhanced viability.

Employed-17%, Return on Assets-7.25%. The Profitability

Ratios

for

FY2020-21

are

Operating profit margin-19.56% and net

margin-9.87%. All these parameters show an upward trajectory over the past four years, reflecting the company’s growing competitiveness.

Source - Annual Report RATIO ANALYSIS We can analyze the company's financial health through 4 broad metrics: Valuation, Profitability, Liquidity, and Solvency ratio analysis.

1. Valuation Parameters

Source - Valueresearchonline.com Annual Report.

and

3. Liquidity and Solvency Ratios The company has been reducing its debt continuously over the years. The debt-toequity ratio for FY2021-21 is 0.13, and it was 0.32 in FY2019-20. The Liquidity Ratios-

Source - Screener.in Dalmia

Bharat

Sugar

Current Ratio (1.56) and Quick Ratio (0.49) is

priced

reasonable valuations compared to its

at

show the efficiency of the working cycle.

The interest coverage ratio improved from

20

| COMPANY ANALYSIS its long-term debt. In the year 2020-21, it has repaid 47% of its long-term debt, and it plans to bring it down even lower, which will further strengthen the company's balance sheet.

Analysts remain positive on the stock, given the increased focus on ethanol production, healthy

sugar

prices,

and

increased

penetration into the B2C segment.

Source - Annual Report and Value Invest

8(FY2019-20) to 12(FY2020-21) which shows reduced annual interest costs thereby increasing profits.

FUTURE OUTLOOK Improving domestic and commercial demand for sugar and petrol, the government's policy support, growing demand for domestic energy, and rising sugar prices due to the shortage of sugar in international markets have set a positive outlook for the company.

In line with the government's ethanol blending policy, the company has set a target to increase its ethanol production from 8 crore liters to 15 crore liters.

Increased

focus

towards

ethanol

production is also supported by the fact that ethanol offers a higher margin and has a shorter receivable cycle than sugar, which will reduce the interest outflow and thus the load on its balance sheet. The company is also working towards reducing

21

| INTRIGUING INDEED

NON-FUNGIBLEFINANCING TOKEN (NFT) LITIGATION Vinay Kumar | MBA - IB | 2021-23 Rishika Jain | MBA - D | 2021-23

NFTs: THE ART OF BLOCKCHAIN A non-fungible token (NFT) is a form of cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, unlike a regular coin on the Bitcoin network, an NFT is one-of-a-kind and cannot be traded like-for-like (hence, non-fungible).

These tokens are cryptographic resources on the blockchain.

That is why understanding Blockchains helps in understanding NFTs. Just the way the internet is a technology that eases the digital flow of information, blockchain is a technology that facilitates the digital exchange of units of value. Anything from currencies to land titles to votes can be tokenised, stored, and exchanged on a blockchain network. Blockchain technology creates a permanent forensic record of transactions and a single version of the truth - a completely transparent network state that is updated in real-time for the benefit of all participants.

emerged into mainstream consciousness with the waves of cryptographic token value and household names such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.

NFTs BUBBLE? A study from Non-Fungible and BNP Paribas-affiliated research firm L'Atelier shows that the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to the boom of the NFTs. The study revealed an astonishing rise of $250 million in the total value of NFT transactions last year. The reason being the lockdowns imposed all around the globe restricting people to their homes, resulting in people spending the majority of their time on the internet.

The boom in NFTs last year is also accredited to the surge in the value of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC). BTC was

NFTs are the recent manifestation blockchain, which has predominantly

of

valued at around $7,200 at the beginning of 2020, which surged to about $30,000 at

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| INTRIGUING INDEED the year-end, accounting for a 296% increase in 2020. However, the wild volatility of cryptocurrencies has yet to attract big investors into the crypto market.

According to DappRadar, the cumulative sales of just the first two quarters of 2021 have reached over $2.5 billion. In contrast, the sales in July alone crossed $1.2 billion, almost half of the first two quarters together.

On the other hand, critics view it as another crypto fad finding it akin to the initial coin offerings, which would fade into irrelevance.

Michael Every, Rabobank's head of financial markets research for Asia-Pacific, sees it as buying a lottery ticket, saying that the NFTs are the bubble that would absolutely 'pop'.

10,000 and are exceptional. They called their venture Cryptopunks a reverence to Cypherpunks, who tried different things with the possibility of cryptographic forms of currency during the 90s.

The entry of Cryptokitties.com — a blockchain-based game where you can embrace, raise and exchange virtual cats — encouraged the prominence of NFTs. The dispatch of Cryptokitties agreed with the blast of digital currencies like bitcoin. The world began to pay heed and understand the immense potential of NFT. The Cambrian explosion moment of NFTs soon followed. The non-fungible token ecosystem grew exponentially with the introduction of various infrastructures, marketplaces, games, and collectibles.

THE RISE The origins of NFT may be traced back to Colored Coins, which comprised of tiny pieces of Bitcoin. The Colored Coins exploited the abilities of Bitcoin. In a 2012 paper by Yoni Assia named "bitcoin 2. X (otherwise known as Colored Bitcoin) — initial specs", he specifies Colored Coins.

According to him, Colored Coins are novel and recognisable from regular bitcoin exchanges. Be that as it may, it didn't take off because the language of scripting bitcoin was not favourable.

The value of NFTs skyrocketed. The NFT mania had led to the price of Ethereum soaring.

CURRENT SCENARIO Amitabh Bachchan to become the first Bollywood star to create his own NFTs YouTuber, Logan Paul spent thousands of dollars on NFT Rocks Iconic 'Doge' Meme sold for a whopping $4 million in Historic Auction

In 2017, John Watkinson and Matt Hall made extraordinary characters on the Ethereum blockchain. Characters were restricted to

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| INTRIGUING INDEED Sports Collectibles -These aren't simply collectible NFTs. These can likewise be joined in various games.

An entire environment of sporting events can be worked around these NFTs. Collectibles – These are digital assets, which can include photographs, music, and video clips.

Although anyone can copy an item, the original's ownership is encrypted and cannot be changed unless the item is sold and the property is officially transferred to a new owner.

Source - DappRadar NFTs IN DIFFERENT SECTORS Art – This is an important industry. NFTs can be combined with digital art, which enables one to 'own' and exchange it.

Proprietorship here applies to the NFT that addresses the art piece. The art piece itself could be a solitary version or different releases which the artist chooses to 'mint'.

Music – It is a huge industry that will be disrupted. Countless intermediaries substitute the method of an artist and their fanbase/conveyance. Justin Blau's recent music release, which sold $11.7 million in NFTs directly to his collectors/fans, is an example of how musicians may use NFT technology.

Source - Nonfungible.com

Game Items – The cash put in games is

without flaws. Art can be turned into a

considered

yet

form of currency, especially for those

individuals burn through billions in the

trying to launder money. There are

gaming business. Anything such as

several risks in the realm of blockchain,

skins, guns, armour, pets, characters

many of which are connected to human

can be upgraded to NFTs and sold.

interference.

'sunk

money,'

ISSUES The

NFT

market

and

the

art

it

distributes to the general public are not

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We have seen many crypto wallet scams, even entire crypto markets vanish, ICO scams, and more. We have often seen countries, rightly or wrongly, that prohibit the use of cryptocurrency.

All transactions on the blockchain network are publicly recorded in the blockchain ledger, which does not require people to attach their real names or identities to such transactions. Thus, anyone can attach a token to a digital photo or painting and claim it as their own, even if they didn't create it, making it challenging to get recourse if your work is compromised or stolen. Some platforms do provide you with the opportunity to appeal suspected copyright infringement, but if there is no official trademark proving that you made something over the internet before somebody else can be difficult. It might put the artist's word against a blockchain transaction record that indicates otherwise.

The major challenge is the decentralised nature of blockchain, which means anyone can create an NFT or cryptocurrency with little to no oversight. Also, there's no central authority you can approach with your grievances — and figuring out which laws might apply to blockchain-related disputes is incredibly difficult.

They're just as potentially hackable as any other online account or your emails. Every transaction — even those that are effectively theft — is virtually permanent. Even if security protections are integrated into

trading platforms, their resilience has not been thoroughly verified. Mining and trading cryptocurrencies consumes large amounts of electricity, and many artists are raising concerns about the environmental consequences of NFTs. According to one estimate, Ethereum — the cryptocurrency system on which most NFTs are produced and traded — currently consumes as much energy as the entire country of Ireland.

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS NFTs let users invest in previously unavailable assets, such as digital art or sports cards, which were not easily transferable. Intangible features of a "digital rarity" impact its value, just like the material things. So if the NFT has a celebrity endorsement, a brand guarantee, or is a sports card of a high-potential basketball player, all of these factors can influence the price of an NFT, indicating that it is a viable investment.

Purchasing an NFT without conducting full due diligence, like with any other investment, is hazardous, maybe even foolish. In the NFT market, there are many overvalued assets, and only a few of them will be winners in the future. It's probably wiser to follow the lead of venture capitalists and invest no more than 10% of your portfolio in this new asset class.

As the popularity of NFTs grows, more and more types of this new asset will emerge.

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| INTRIGUING INDEED

Perhaps

we

will

purchase

equities

in

publicly listed businesses, or maybe certain start-ups will raise funds using NFTs. The market capitalisation of NFTs was roughly US$338 million by the end of 2020. Still, there are many grounds to expect that the top NFT marketplaces' turnovers will reach billions in only a few years. NFTs are still in the early stages of development, but it appears that NFT marketplaces will become the future medium of trade, storage, and exchange. The market will explode once the general public realises the technological benefits of NFTs.

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| ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATION

POSTMAN INC. ABOUT THE COMPANY Founded in Bangalore in 2014 by cofounders Abhinav Asthana, Ankit Sobti, Abhijit Kane Postman is a SaaS startup that provides API solutions to different companies across the globe. The startup has its headquarters in San Francisco. Backed by Nexus Venture Partners, Insight Partners, and CRV Postman is a tool for creating APIs that enable the apps to interact. The startup boasts approximately 17 million developers on its API platform. The web app has been downloaded more than 60 million times so far. The Postman Public API Network became the world's largest API hub and serves brands like Mercedes-Benz, Twitter, Shopify, and many more. The network allows developers, teams, and companies around the world to work together on APIs. The company has recently raised $225 million from existing investor Insight Partners valuing the firm at $5.6 billion, which makes the startup the most valued Software-as-aService firm from the Indian subcontinent

Yash Duggal | MBA - FS | 2021-23 leaving behind the likes of Browserstack ($4 billion), Freshworks ($3.5 billion) and Icertis ($2.8 billion).

HOW IT ALL STARTED The startups are the solution to real-life problems; that's what exactly happened with the co-founder and CEO Abhijit Asthana while working with a company,

27

| ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATION where his job was to take the APIs and convert them into shareable formats. He found many difficulties as each time there was a bug, he had to run the program repeatedly, which was a painful and tedious task. Later in his first startup, TeleportMe, he encountered the same problem, and with the future co-founder Ankit Sobti he started working to find the solutions. Postman started as a primary HTTP client for Google Chrome which solved their co-worker's problems. Ankit then decided to put it on the Chrome web store, which received a massive response from the developer community to his surprise. He realized that the problem he faced was widespread among the developers in the Indian subcontinent and across other parts of the world.

Google then contacted and congratulated them about the Postman tool, which was later featured on the home page of the Chrome store, increasing its visibility.

Source - Crunchbase THE POSTMAN FLYWHEEL

As a result, people from across the world started using the tool, and soon feedback started

pouring

in

from

developers,

Source - Postman CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH

including some of the evangelists, which boosted the sentiment of the whole team.

They started working on the tool as it seemed like a serious business opportunity.

In 2015, the company received seed funding of $1 million, followed by a $7 million Series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners.

Since its inception in 2014, Postman has participated in 5 rounds of funding and raised a cumulative amount of $433 Million from various investors across the globe.

Most of the new-age businesses get a head start, but soon, the buzz fizzles out.

They start concentrating on building it big or falling into the trap of competing with others rather than focusing on the business's core principles, i.e., understanding the needs and problems of the customers and working towards solving them, which is where Postman stood apart. They decided to fully listen to their users and focus on gathering

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| ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATION their feedback. Their obsession with the product review drove the developments of the products. They concentrated on cherrypicking the input, and rather than focus on the big picture; they diverted their attention to the next feature needed. One of the features introduced on the customer feedback was Postman on the Web, which allowed them to capitalize on specific collaboration capabilities that were not possible in the desktop application. The company never stopped innovating and came up with another product, The Postman Agent, specifically designed to overcome browsers' cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) limitations to allow for API requests to be sent from a browser interface. The product came as a significant technical breakthrough for the company that helped them overcome a fundamental limitation in browser-based applications that need to connect to APIs at scale.

LOOKING FORWARD

POSTMAN API PLATFORM'S OFFERINGS

open-source projects. Postman's journey

The ever-growing use of technology has changed the way businesses function. The need for APIs has been increasing as every other company today uses APIs and needs an API platform. This trend is steadily growing with the move to the cloud and digital experiences. Today, Postman leads the market, which is visible from the investor's excitement, and the market response is a clear sign of future growth. The continued innovation in the product line will help the firm stay at par with the consumer requirements.

The firm has also laid a roadmap that includes a new version of the Postman API, support for protocols like gRPC, ProtoBuf, and more extensive capabilities for GraphQL. The firm also plans to invest in

supporting

students

through

API

literacy programs and contribute toward shows us it's not always about being at the right place at the right time, but it is also about doing the right thing and having a clear vision.

Source - Postman

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| PERSON IN FOCUS

ANDY JASSY PERSONAL LIFE Andrew R. Jassy was born on 13 January, 1968, in Scarsdale, New York. Jassy is the son of Margery and Everett L. Jassy. He is Jewish of Hungarian descent.

Anubhav Sood | MBA - B | 2021-23

two children and live in Seattle's Capitol Hill district. He is pretty active on social media and his Twitter handle is @ajassy.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

His father was a senior partner and the head of the management committee of a New York-based law firm named Dewey Ballantine. Jassy was born and raised at Scarsdale itself, where he attended Scarsdale High School and participated in varsity soccer and tennis.

After graduating with honors, cum laude, from the Harvard College in government, where he worked as Advertising Manager for The Harvard Crimson. Jassy also received an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School. At the Loews Santa Beach Hotel in 1997, Jassy married Elana Rochelle Caplan.

Elana Rochelle Caplan is a fashion designer.

She graduated from the Philadelphia Institute of Textile and Science. They have

Jassy worked for five years after graduation before embarking on his MBA program. He worked as a project manager at MBI, a debt collection company. Later on, he founded a company with an MBI colleague, which eventually got closed after a few years. He started working at Amazon in 1997 with several of his other Harvard MBA colleagues.

His early roles included marketing manager, from where he began making his mark.

In 2003, Jeff Bezos, along with Andy Jassy, came up with the idea to create the cloud computing platform, which later went by the name Amazon Web Services (AWS), that launched in 2006. Andy Jassy headed Amazon Web Services with a team of around

30

| PERSON IN FOCUS 57 people. Later on, he grabbed many promotions and went on to become the CEO of AWS. Jassy succeeded Bezos as the CEO of

weaknesses in the offer or predictions that the moderator has not fully resolved.

However, the employees said that Jassy never makes any personal attacks, even while criticizing.

Amazon in the third quarter of 2021, when Bezos decided to continue as the executive chairman. On July 5, 2021, this came into effect. Apart from his roles at Amazon, he is also the Chairman of a school in Seattle named Rainier Prep. Now that Jassy has taken over, his focus is on adding more loyal Amazon Prime members, augmenting AWS’s share of technology expenditure, and leading the company through all the inquiries and anti trust law suits.

As part of the early days of Amazon music, Jassy was very enthusiastic about his role.

He would often organize crazy games that brought out the competitiveness of his team. "He is very, very competitive," said the cast, who supervised Jassy on the music team.

In addition, Jassy is actively involved in Amazon's daily operations, including processing press releases and marketing materials, assisting in product naming, and providing pricing advice. It is no surprise that Jassy also monitors Twitter.

FINAL WORD Andy Jassy has a worth of roughly $500 million, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Moreover, Jassy has learned to take the long view from the outgoing CEO, Jeff Bezos.

Source: Ciol.com

PERSONALITY Andy Jassy worked with Bezos and other executives

to

form

Amazon's

guiding

principles and played a crucial part in influencing

the

company's

culture.

According to current and former colleagues of Jassy, ​the questions Jassy raises during weekly operations and product meetings with his boss are usually related to

He took up the new role when a European investigation on Amazon for its use of Stellar data was hanging over Amazon’s head. Moreover, it proposed U.S. legislation that would force the company to spin off its logistics business from its retail site. An antitrust lawsuit in the District of Columbia alleging that the company raised prices for

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| PERSON IN FOCUS customers is next in line.

He has all these significant challenges ahead of him as he takes up the role of CEO in one of the biggest business houses in the world. Still, given his enthusiasm and dedication to Amazon, it is a firm belief that he’ll sail through all these challenges smoothly.

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| CALL FOR ARTICLES - WINNER

NATIONAL LOGISTICS POLICY: A GAME CHANGER FOR LOGISTICS SECTOR? Prajjawal Singh | SCMS Noida | 2019-22 INTRODUCTION The high logistics costs in India have severely impacted the competitiveness of domestic goods in the international market, and a policy update has been long overdue to address the various inefficiencies and challenges in the logistics industry.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduced the draft National Logistics Policy in 2019. It is expected to be cleared this year by the cabinet.

The logistics ecosystem described in Figure 1 includes a wide gamut of activities facilitating the transportation of goods.

According to the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2018, which is a logistics performance indicator, India ranks 44th worldwide. The detailed ranking has been explained in Figure 2. India’s LPI rank has dropped from an earlier high of 35 in 2016.

Source: World Bank According to the Commerce Ministry, the vision of the policy is to “drive economic growth and the business competitiveness of the

country

through

seamless,

efficient,

sustainable

and

an

integrated,

reliable,

green,

cost-effective

logistics

network leveraging best in class technology,

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| CALL FOR ARTICLES - WINNER processes and skilled.”Hence, by way of effective policy implementation, the government plans to improve India’s ranking in the LPI to between 25 and 30, and reduce the present logistics costs from 13-14% of the gross domestic product (GDP) to below 10%, which would bring it closer to the global average of 8%. The major reforms to be brought in by the policy have been discussed below.

CENTRALIZATION, DIGITIZATION CREATION OF SYNERGIES

AND

The policy seeks to delineate the roles of various parties involved in the logistics industry. The Indian logistics sector is very intricate as there are more than 50 government agencies involved. The proposed policy will likely create synergies between different central regulators, government departments and agencies through role clarification of these parties at the central and state government level. This would resolve issues, especially with the predictability of regulations. Centralization would involve the creation of a nodal agency called ‘Logistics Wing’, which would set up a National Logistics e-marketplace. It would act as a one-stop marketplace which would integrate all the service providers like transporters, third-party service providers, customs, government agencies, etc. It would fundamentally discontinue the need for submission of documents to multiple places by simplifying the documentation for exports/imports and ensure transparency of

processes through digitization (E-tolling, electronic documentation and digital verification) and faster clearances.

Therefore, the logistics sector, which is highly unorganized and decentralized, would benefit from this reform.

REDUCING COSTS AND PROMOTING GREENER & INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT In order to decrease costs and improve infrastructure, the Logistics Wing would help identify key railway, waterway, roadway and airway developmental projects, especially in North-Eastern states, aiming towards an inclusive and integrated development. According to the World Bank, the cost to transport one tonne of freight over one kilometre is - ₹2.28 for highways, ₹1.41 for railways and ₹1.19 for waterways.

Hence, if the current modal mix- road-60%, rail-31%, water-9%- is brought in line with international benchmarks- road-25-30%, railways-50-55%, waterways-20-25%- India would be able to reduce logistics costs greatly (airways share is left out as it contributes to less than 1% of global trade volume). The new modal mix would also promote a greener model of logistics since railroads and waterways are 3-4 times more fuel-efficient than roadways and airways. Improving connectivity to small businesses, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and farmers, rapid digitization and technology adoption are a few ways the policy will try to assist with an inclusive development of logistics.

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| CALL FOR ARTICLES - WINNER BRINGING STAKEHOLDERS DRIVE INNOVATION

TOGETHER

TO

The policy plans to create a ‘Logistics Centre of Excellence’ that would encourage academia, industry and government to come together and suggest intervention areas essential to streamline logistics. These intervention areas would also become the basis for Integrated National Logistics Action Plans. These 5 to 10-year plans would be created in consultation with key ministries to serve as a master plan for all logistics-related development. The proposed setting up of a ‘Data and Analytics Centre’ will help the policymakers with creating and managing infrastructural projects through continuous measuring of key logistics metrics, and thereby tracking the performance and focussing on key issues as they occur.

REDUCTION OF AGRI-WASTES AND IMPROVING STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE Another objective would be decreasing agricultural waste costs to less than 5% by strengthening the quality of storage facilities and thereby increasing farmers’ income.

Currently, 25-30% of fruits and vegetables are wasted owing to a deficient cold chain infrastructure. According to the policy, the Logistics Wing will work with the ministries and stakeholders of food processing industries to identify key areas of infrastructural development of cold chain facilities.

efficient warehouses can bring a 15-20% cost reduction in the entire logistics operations. The policy push through widespread adoption of an efficient warehouse management system and other IT-driven solutions like Quick response (QR) code, Real-Time Locating systems, etc., can make this possible.

PROVIDING IMPETUS TO TRADE, EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP The government aims to increase economic growth by improving export competitiveness, which in turn would promote employment. The policymakers are hoping to create 10-15 million jobs through the skill enhancement of workers and providing support to MSMEs through a cost-effective logistics network. Moreover, an ‘Acceleration Fund’ would be set up to finance start-ups bringing technological innovation to the logistics sector.

THE ROAD AHEAD The most significant challenges faced by the logistics sector have been summarized in figure 3. The logistics policy has the

In addition to cold chain infrastructure,

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| CALL FOR ARTICLES - WINNER potential to address almost all these problems and hence can ultimately restructure this industry. Countries like South Korea and Germany have had these policies for many years, and their companies enjoy the predictability of delivery of goods and lower inventory costs. India is now looking to imitate these policies to compete with these global players.

Interestingly, the majority of the reforms include some kind of technological advancement. Therefore, the pace of adoption of these technological reforms will be a deciding factor in the success of this policy, provided the monetary support remains constant and there is continuous monitoring of progress.

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| CALL FOR ARTICLES - RUNNERUP

GREEN HYDROGEN INITIATIVE BY MUKESH AMBANI Pradnya Raut | Welingkar Institute of Management | 2021-23 With

the

ever-increasing

population,

urbanization, and industrialization, there is a simultaneous increase in the demand for energy

resources.

The

traditional

non-

conventional resources are sustainable, but they do have a bunch of disadvantages such as

poor

efficiency,

productivity,

etc.,

expensive,

as

compared

low to

conventional energy resources. This creates tremendous

strain

on

the

conventional

resources of energy. Also, environmental problems are rapidly rising due to the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As a result, there is an urgent need to switch to a sustainable alternative source of energy. Understanding the severity of the situation, the Government of India and several companies have started promoting the use of green hydrogen, a modern nonconventional resource of energy, to tackle this

problem.

On

the

occasion

Independence Day of 2021, our respected

of

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced the ‘National Hydrogen Mission’ to minimise oil imports. Currently, India spends about ₹12 trillion per year for the import of 85% of its oil and 53% of its gas.

One of the industries promoting green hydrogen production is Reliance Industries Limited. In the recently conducted International Climate Summit 2021, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries (RIL), Mr. Mukesh Ambani, claimed that India has the potential to be the first country to pull down the cost of green hydrogen to $1/kg, clarifying his 1-1-1 target by 2030. Currently, the production cost of green hydrogen from electrolysis is approximately around Rs. 350 per kg. His words strongly reflected that RIL leverages the use of green hydrogen as an alternative energy resource.

As per the hydrogen strategy proposed by European Commission in July 2020, green

37

| CALL FOR ARTICLES - RUNNER UP hydrogen generated from renewable resources amounts between $3 to $6.5 per kg, while fuel-based hydrogen costs about $1.8 per kg only. Mukesh Ambani also claimed that a new green revolution has begun in India to help India become self-reliant in terms of energy.

In addition to this, he stated India’s potential to produce more than 1000 GW of solar energy on merely 0.5% of the land as a consequence of being blessed with over 300 sunny days in a year to promote decentralized socio-economic development.

Thus, earlier on 24th June 2021, RIL had asserted an investment of Rs 75,000 crore to promote solar and green hydrogen energy resources over 3 years. Out of Rs. 75,000 Cr, Rs. 15,000 Cr is allocated for value chain, partnerships, and future technologies. The company has revealed a plan of approaching this goal by establishing 4 Gigafactories which are:

disintegrate water into hydrogen and oxygenSo, RIL has proposed to set up an electrolyser factory for this. RIL is collaborating with companies such as BP and Shell, which are promoting renewable energy projects across the globe. These companies earn profit by supplying clean energy to other companies. RIL has also planned to create a Renewable Energy Project Finance Division to finance small businesses that lend a hand alongside the company. The company will use green hydrogen and carbon dioxide to produce green chemicals, green fertilizers, e-fuels, etc.

Thus, Mr. Mukesh Ambani has clearly stated that India can be an example for the globe to become self-sufficient in producing renewable energy.

(i.) An integrated solar photovoltaic module factory for solar energy (ii.) An advanced energy storage battery factory for the storage of intermittent energy (iii.) An electrolyzer hydrogen production

factory

for

green

(iv.) A fuel cell factory for conversion of hydrogen into mobile and stationary power.

Sustainable hydrogen production is either through electrolysis or using renewable resources, such as solar, wind, etc., to

38

| ALUMNI INSIGHTS

LIFE JOURNEY AT K J SOMAIYA Madhur Saxena | PGDM Core | FINSTREET Batch 2016 - 2018 Dear Finly readers, I feel delighted to write for the Alumni Section of this wonderful monthly magazine. As an Ex-Editor-in-Chief, it makes me both nostalgic and ecstatic to have this opportunity. Through this opportunity, I will share a sneak peek into investment banking and my work with you. I will also try and share my journey with you and give my two cents on how you can make the best use of this wonderful opportunity you have as a student at SIMSR (I hope it’s not too preachy and boring). I will try to keep this article as crisp and insightful as possible. I hope it helps.

LIFE AS AN INVESTMENT BANKING ANALYST I work with a captive unit of the Investment Banking Division within Citi that sits in Goregaon. Firstly, let me explain about my team; as a unit,

we are responsible for

assisting all the investment banking teams across industries/countries in all the

banking activities. So, suppose any coverage team (including India Team, which sits in BKC) requires additional capacity while working on a transaction. In that case, they seek out our help, and we are expected to help in any and every capacity possible. This could range from an ad-hoc assignment to end-to-end support for a live deal (based on the client’s requirement and team member’s performance). So we get to work with 50+ teams across the globe working on several transactions (M&A, IPO, etc.) across different industries. It is both exciting and challenging, but at the same time very rewarding, both in terms of career progression and personal learning.

As an analyst, you are supposed to assist senior bankers in various day-to-day activities, including but not limited to scouting potential transaction opportunities, creating profiles for possible investment opportunities, industry analysis, comparable company analysis, and

39

| ALUMNI INSIGHTS

valuation. One must be thorough with valuation and corporate finance concepts and also have a very good understanding of financial markets and economics to deliver great results at work. So, if you are deeply interested in valuing companies and financial models, if you love financial markets and are ready to put through the grinding and long working hours, you must give investment banking a try as it is one of the most rewarding jobs out there.

MY JOURNEY I joined SIMSR’s PDGM course of 2016-18 and was curious to make a career in finance. As an engineer with almost no prior knowledge/experience in finance, Finstreet was naturally the first and the last committee I wanted to join, glad I could join. Over the years, the amazing faculties of the finance department led by Dr. Pankaj Trivedi Sir, my wonderful peers in the classroom, and Finstreet helped me learn way more than I had even expected. One of the most amazing aspects of learning was live projects and industry interactions.

It’s never easy, as naturally, B-school life is designed to be hectic to help you learn and grow in a fast-paced environment. Still, the key takeaway for me from my stay at Somaiya was, if you think long-term, stay focused and put in extra efforts; anything is possible.

Skills and Fitment matter the most when it comes to making a successful and sustainable career. The campus placements, classroom teachings, assignments, and

semester exams are difficult and mandatory requirements that put you through enough grinding. Still, I believe one must take full advantage of all the opportunities presented during the twoyear course. Interacting with faculties, guest lectures, reaching out to industry experts, and pursuing skill-building activities can accelerate your career to a great extent.

Finally, my two cents to all the students reading this section, make the most of everything you have; SIMSR offers you a great set of faculties, peers, and industry interaction opportunities. Always be an optimist and focus on the half-filled glass; try and make the most of every interaction. Attend all the lectures and events, pursue every learning opportunity and learn from everyone around you without being biased.

From my personal experience of the last five years, I can tell you that almost everything you need to learn finance is available on the internet for free. Aswath Damodaran’s website and Zerodha varsity are a few good examples and can serve as good starting points for students who are starting just like me. I am sure you all are following prominent thought leaders like Raghuram Rajan and Mohamed El-Erian on LinkedIn to get quality inputs on economics and markets.

One of the best ways to learn about markets is obviously, to open a trading

40

| ALUMNI INSIGHTS

account with a discount broker and try putting all your classroom learning into practice; remember, nobody teaches you better about markets than the market itself.

But please make sure you don’t blow up your money, be diligent, be thoughtful, and most importantly, as said by the legend Warren Buffett himself, “Don't test the depth of the river with both your feet.”

for you guys. I wish you good luck in all your future endeavors and if you in any manner, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn.

My experience at SIMSR was great, both from a professional and personal point of view. I learned a lot and was able to make a career in finance as I hoped. I also met my wife and my best friends in Somaiya. I made some memories that I will cherish for a lifetime. I hope when all of you look back at your stay; you guys also feel the same. Apart from work, don’t miss out on any opportunity to have fun as these two years will never come back.

Think long term, stay focused, stay dedicated, and you will get everything you desire. Even if some of you don’t land up the jobs you desire, don’t lose hope; I have seen my batchmates getting into their dream jobs even a year or two after our college ended.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Finstreet team and faculty mentors for rigorously working and providing learning opportunities to all the students. It is amazing to see the continuous improvement across Finstreet’s offerings, be it Finly, newsletters, events, or Sifico.

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish,” Cliché I know, but trust me, it worked for my friends and me, and I don’t see any reason why it won’t work

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ISSUE NO. 104, OCTOBER 2021

About Finstreet Finstreet, the finance committee of K J Somaiya Institute of Management aims at bridging the gap between industry and academic curriculum through effective delivery of knowledge-oriented sessions and events through a network of highly motivated members and renowned industry experts. Through the FINLY magazine, we focus on covering crucial topics for each month and giving our members a platform to express their views.

OUR UPCOMING EVENT

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