JSW group will bring down China imports to zero in 2 years: Parth Jindal

While the firm's defence division does not import from China, its other businesses source products from that country.

As the clamour to boycott Chinese products grows amid a stand-off between the Indian and Chinese armies in eastern Ladakh, several companies have indicated they would cut imports from the neighbouring country and support the government’s self-reliance theme.

Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Cement, said on Thursday that the JSW group, promoted by his family, would be bringing down its imports from China to zero within two years.

While Jindal was not available to share the detailed strategy to achieve this, he made the group’s plans public via Twitter. “The unprovoked attack by the Chinese on Indian soil on our brave jawans has been a huge wake-up call and a clarion call for action. We @TheJSWGroup have a net import of $400 million from China annually and we pledge to bring this down to zero in the next 24 months,” he tweeted. Sources in the company said the current Chinese imports included machinery parts for its steel, energy, and cement businesses.

“The idea is to strengthen the supply chain within the country and in that process become self-reliant to whatever extent we can. It is a directional shift that we are looking to make,” Jayant Acharya, director (commercial) at JSW Steel, told Business Standard.

Since the bloody clash in the Galwan Valley last month, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives, a number of domestic companies have asserted they stand with the policy of manufacturing products locally through ‘Make in India’. “We can reduce our dependency on products from China by developing a large-scale, efficient and cost-effective domestic industrial ecosystem,” S N Subrahmanyan, chief executive officer and managing director at L&T, had said last month.

Haryana allows select firms to deploy 100% workforce in multiple shifts

Auto component major Sona Comstar, which earlier could deploy only half of its workers, has been allowed to bring in its entire workforce at its four plants - three in Gurugram and one in Manesar.

In a significant relaxation of rules on the deployment of labour, the Haryana government has decided to allow select companies to operate factories in multiple shifts and utilise 100 per cent of their workforce.

Auto component major Sona Comstar, which earlier could deploy only half of its workers, has been allowed to bring in its entire workforce at its four plants — three in Gurugram and one in Manesar. It is also planning to initially increase the number of shifts from one to two.

The state government has also given the go-ahead to Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant to utilise 75 per cent of its workforce. Maruti’s Manesar plant opened for production on Tuesday, while the Gurugram plant might take more time to restart.

The state government had earlier allowed companies to operate with workforce ranging from 20 per cent to over 50 per cent.

Confirming the development, Sunjay Kapur, chairman of Sona Comstar, said:

“Yes, we have received permission today (Tuesday) that we can operate with 100 per cent manpower in all our Haryana plants and the factory can be operational 24x7. We are doing only exports so far and are waiting for local demand. Manpower is an issue as migrant workers have gone back. We will have to work on bringing them back.”

Kapur also confirmed that the firm had received permission for running the factory through the day.

Firms that can survive with social distancing to spring back faster: Report

Sectors with complex value chains, particularly electronics & automotive products, would be most impacted.

The Covid-19 crisis will leave companies with a new normal and firms that can survive with social distancing, such as digital platforms, and online learning are likely to spring back to recovery and shall thrive soon, according to consulting firm GATS.
However, for industries which will struggle in reforming its workplace in terms of adapting to the new social distancing norms, the recovery will be harder and will take longer, according to Nalin Tayal, Managing Director, GATS.

Sectors with complex value chains, particularly electronics & automotive products, would be most impacted. Services would be most directly impacted through transport and travel restrictions. It is, however, expected that 2021 would see recovery, but it is dependent on the duration of the outbreak and effectiveness of policy responses not just in India, but across the world.

Though, manufacturing is being carried on for specific essential goods like medicines, PPEs, FMCG items like soap, sanitiser, textile like masks, heavy industries (mainly furnace based) like iron & steel but largely manufacturing seems to remain in red with automobiles, textiles & apparels & construction taking the major hit. As the manufacturing sector takes a hit, so the backward chain of mining and electricity, Tayal said.

As per the Power Ministry, electricity consumption has reduced by 20 per cent during the lockdown period mainly due to low business activity. But the comparative impact would be less as compared to the manufacturing sector.

MSMEs contribute almost 30 per cent to the GDP, so their performance is crucial for the growth of the economy. Already strained due to poor credit flow, lower demand, cash flow issues and diminished revenues due to lockdown will seriously impact the sector

RBI's EMI moratorium could give Rs 2.1 trn liquidity to companies: Report

'Sectors with higher leverage will be major beneficiaries'

The Reserve Bank of India’s three-month suspension of EMIs could provide a liquidity breather of Rs 2.1 trillion if all corporate houses avail it, says a report.

The findings by Crisil Ratings are based on assessment of 9,300 of rated non-financial sector companies across 100 sectors.

It said sectors with higher leverage, such as power, telecom, roads, textiles and fertilisers, will be the major beneficiaries and account for nearly 47 per cent of the total breather available.

“The moratorium announced by the RBI on interest and principal obligations due between March 1 and May 31, 2020, would be tantamount to a liquidity breather of Rs 2.10 trillion if all companies opt for it,” the rating agency said in a report.

The amount was arrived at by considering total principal and interest falling due in the three-month period, it said.

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While the moratorium provides substantial benefit, actual salary payments will depend on liquidity available on the day of the payout, it said.

Information technology consulting firms and automobile makers have low leverage and will gain relatively less from the moratorium, the report said.

But they typically maintain high liquidity, which can be used to pay salaries, the rating agency said

Brazilian President Bolsonaro calls for investments by Indian companies

Brazil is pushing India to expand its footprint in the country's mining, power and agri business sectors.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday called for greater investment by Indian conglomerates in the Latin American country's infrastructure, railways, mining and energy sectors.

Addressing senior captains of industry, Bolsonaro, along with senior minister's from the Brazilian government pitched for more investments from India. Brazil's economy is broadly expected to slowly regain health in 2020, with gross domestic product growth estimated at 2.3 per cent by the country's central bank.

Winning on a populist plank to eradicate poverty and clean up corruption, Bolsanaro has pushed for large scale foreign investment to tap the country's vast natural resources, especially in the Amazon rainforest in the scarcely populated hinterland. Indian companies have invested about $ 6 billion in the country, and has significant footprint in multiple sectors sectors.

This includes Information Technology giants such as Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services which has about 1400 employees. In the mining sector, Sterlite Power has won 10 power transmission projects across 11 Brazilian states totalling 29 transmission lines and 34 substations while Birla Carbon, the world's largest carbon black producer, completed 60 years of operations in Brazil in October 2018.

Pharmaceutical, Energy, engineering and automobile production were also sectors central to Indian business interests, sources said. Policymakers said that among that bilateral pacts to boost cooperation in oil and natural gas and bio-energy, that were signed over the weekend is expected to see significant Indian businesses entering Brazil.

Bolsanaro met with 23 Indian business leaders from companies including those from Sterlite Power, Apollo Hospital, Oyo Rooms, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Zydus Cadila, and Transport Corporation of India Limited, among others.

Business Standard