India Inc. Updates 8

January: Telecos were given the option to convert Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues into equity. This was done seeing the mounting AGR dues, and the cash-strapped conditions of the companies. This is largely due to the falling Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) per GB of data falling from Rs.268 to Rs. 9.8 in June 2021. February: The Finance Minister announced taxation on profits from Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) at 30%. The provision also states that the losses cannot be set off, essentially making it equivalent to betting and gambling. This move looks forward to discouraging the Crypto Industry, a sphere that the government wasn’t very happy about due to the associated risks.

March: Lithium has been a mineral of discussion due to its significance in the EV industry. Traces of lithium were found in Karnataka’s Mandya District. The government has announced an 18,100 crore PLI scheme to make lithium-ion cells. It signed an MoU with Bolivia to explore and extract lithium and exploration in 7 states. April: Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was the buzzword recently. It is potentially a revolution in the e-commerce industry as it looks forward to bringing together all the buyers and sellers in the e-commerce

May: ONGC becomes the first Exploration and Production company in India to trade domestic gas on Indian Gas Exchange (IGX). IGX allows buyers and sellers to trade both in the spot and forward markets for imported natural gas. This can facilitate better price discovery in the Oil and Gas industry, once more companies start trading on the platform.

July: The government announced Draft Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022 to replace the Coffee Act, 1942. The law shifts the Coffee Boards from the Ministry of Commerce to the Ministry of Agriculture, which ensures that all the benefits under various agricultural schemes are extended to coffee growers.

September: The government spoke about the National Logistics Policy (NLP) which is potentially a big reform in the logistics industry, by reducing truck turnaround times, and increase their average ton/km. A hub and spoke model will be used to ensure multimodal connectivity to ensure fast transport. ecosystem on one single platform. It aims to weaken the monopoly of big players like Amazon and Flipkart and promote small players.

June: The NonPerforming Assets or NPAs of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) reduced to a 6 year low of 1.7%. NPAs are stressed assets of banks, which are the loans on which the borrower has defaulted and starts to turn into a liability for a bank. This shows positive signs for the Indian Banking Industry and acts as a testimonial to the working of banking reforms.

August: The government was pushing for a common charger for all mobile phones, which will be the Type-C connector. This move will be a breather for the consumers as they won’t have to purchase different chargers for different devices. However, this will hurt the revenues of companies like Apple, who sell different chargers for their phones.