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Time of India
26-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Government tells Air India to 'end backseat driving' in key departments
NEW DELHI: Two key messages given by the Union aviation ministry to Tata Sons and Air India chairman N Chandrasekaran on Friday were to "end the culture of backseat driving" in key AI departments with a direct bearing on safety, and that people holding posts in these core departments should have the final authority to take decisions and not be there merely to be fall guys when things go south, thereby protecting the alleged backseat drivers. Union minister Ram Mohan Naidu, secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai had met Chandrasekaran on Friday to discuss steps to improve airline's safety. Chandrasekaran is learnt to have agreed to these suggestions. "Some departments, like safety, training, maintenance, engineering and 'integrated operation control centre' (IOCC), are key to ensuring overall operations take place safely. There were observations about some of these departments having a dichotomy in terms of someone being the post holder but someone else calling the shots. This needs to be resolved and we are hopeful the same will happen," said people in the know. After the June 12 AI 171 crash and subsequent minor incidents, the ministry has been holding high-level discussions with AI management headed by CEO Campbell Wilson. Three days of intense discussions culminated in the Chandrasekaran-Naidu-Sinha-Kidwai meeting on Friday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search Ads Get Info Undo Following the minor incidents (AI 171 is being probed separately), AI post-holders were called to regulatory agencies concerned multiple times. With knowledge of AI's inside functioning, regulatory officials often "felt bad" for the "scapegoats" as those really calling the shots were not before them. "Unko kyan bolein hum (What can we say to them)," shrugged some officials who face this dilemma. On June 21, the DGCA had ordered the removal of three AI officials in charge of crew scheduling following "lapses in licensing, rest, and recency requirements", while warning it could go to the extent of shutting down AI if lapses in crew scheduling continued. One other thing that has been subtly pointed out to the management by officials following the June 12 crash is the airline's decision to keep items from planes that have crashed in the past (not AI 171) at its mega Gurgaon complex. Things like seats, instruments and flight data recorders have been kept on display. While it was perhaps meant to serve as a reminder of the need for safety, it is intensely disliked by a large number of employees. "We need positive energy and that place brings just negativity. We look at those seats and feel someone might have perished on them," said many employees. A senior govt official said: "With Tatas and Singapore Airlines as its stakeholders, this is the best chance AI has to become the airline of JRD's dreams. Along with IndiGo, India today is looking at the possibility of two big Indian airlines, with some promising newbies that can also make it big some day. Govt will help Indian airlines, and that is what it is doing with AI handholding at this difficult time. Also, safety is govt's responsibility also in a highly regulated sector like aviation. " All airlines have their own issues, and AI is not alone. "Our attention on AI as of now is like a teacher paying extra attention to a promising student who might not be doing well for some reason," govt officials said, adding, "It is time the well-run Singapore Airlines helps its JV come out of this huge crisis."
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Blinkit & you miss it! FIIs said no to Eternal, retail said wait; who said yes?
Live Events Blinkit's Blockbuster Quarter Changes Everything (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Bluechip Nifty stock Eternal has left FOMO in both FIIs and retail investors after Q1 numbers held investors spellbound, but the real winners were mutual funds who saw the quick-commerce goldmine when others couldn' institutional investors (FIIs) have been relentlessly cutting their Eternal stake, with FII holding tumbling from 44.4% to 42.3% in the June quarter alone, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of foreign selling. In March 2024, foreigners owned a commanding 55.1% company had earlier capped foreign ownership at 49.5% to pave the way for Blinkit to move away from a pure marketplace model and start holding inventory directly, but FIIs were already heading for the investors weren't far behind in their pessimism. Individual shareholders with nominal holdings up to Rs 2 lakh reduced their stake from 6.40% in March 2025 to 5.50% in June quarter. The retail investor count itself crashed from 27,49,779 to 24,57,980 in just three months—nearly 300,000 investors throwing in the Read | Eternal share price target goes up to Rs 400! What brokerages said after Q1 results But while FIIs and retail were selling, mutual funds were quietly building their war chest. MF ownership in Eternal surged from 15.5% in December 2024 to 21.6% in June 2025, a massive vote of confidence that's now paying spectacular of the MF optimism stemmed from passive fund buying following Eternal's inclusion in the Nifty from March 2025, but active fund managers also clearly spotted the Blinkit Q1 results vindicated the MF strategy spectacularly. Blinkit surprised with 140% year-on-year growth in GMV, prompting Goldman analysts to declare that "the Street is under-appreciating market share gains for Blinkit over the next 2-3 quarters as competition focuses on improving profitability, with potential for further share gains beyond FY26 on the back of the new 3k store guidance."Blinkit management's revelation that it will transition to an inventory-led model over the next 2-3 quarters after becoming an IOCC (Indian owned and controlled company) sent analysts into overdrive. This transition would aid approximately 100 basis points of margin expansion and increase working capital days from around 5 days currently to around 18 while upgrading the stock to buy, admitted it "overestimated the competitive threat." The brokerage handed out one of the highest target prices of Rs 400, saying: "Eternal is a play on the growing food services industry in India and increasing adoption of digital commerce. With only approximately 23 million monthly transacting users currently, Eternal's food delivery has a long runway for customer acquisition and revenue growth. Blinkit is the market leader in the fast-growing quick-commerce space and is set to see sharp margin improvement in the steady state."Emkay analysts echoed the bullish sentiment: "QCom has a long growth runway and Blinkit is seen capitalizing well on this. As QCom is currently in the 'landgrab' phase, we believe EBITDA breakeven for Blinkit is still some time away. Food delivery is likely to remain a cash cow for the company, and we expect the business to see 20%+ EBITDA CAGR over the long term."Also Read | Blinkit beats Zomato in NOV terms: 10 key takeaways from Eternal Q1 results (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETtech Explainer: Why Blinkit is shifting to an inventory-led model
Synopsis Blinkit is transitioning to an inventory-led model as planned after its parent Eternal became an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC) in April. The Gurugram-based quick commerce platform has asked its sellers to switch to a new system where the company will now buy the inventory from them, instead of just storing it in its warehouses for them.
Economic Times
13-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Blinkit plans transition to inventory led model from September 1; pings sellers to switch
Blinkit is transitioning to an inventory-led model as planned after its parent Eternal became an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC) in April. The Gurugram-based quick commerce platform has asked its sellers to switch to a new system where the company will now buy the inventory from them, instead of just storing it in its warehouses for an email to sellers on Saturday, Blinkit said it will shift to a new model starting September 1. From that date, the platform will directly buy inventory from sellers and brands, instead of having them list products on the marketplace. Currently, Blinkit runs two models. In the marketplace model, sellers list their products and pay Blinkit to store them in its warehouses. In the second model, typically offered to larger and more well-renowned brands with high frequency purchases, select sellers buy products in bulk and sell them through the platform. With this change, Blinkit will now take over inventory buying itself and list the products directly. During the company's January-March quarter earnings, Eternal's chief financial officer Akshant Goyal had said that assuming Blinkit owned 100% of inventory in fiscal 2025, it would have ended up deploying less than Rs 1,000 crore in working capital. This accounts for 15 days of working capital, and about 3-4% of Blinkit's gross order value of Rs 28,274 crore in FY25. 'Last date to opt into the new system (is July 30). No new listings or inventory will be allowed after this date for non-accepted sellers,' Blinkit wrote in its email to the sellers. ET has seen a copy of this announcement.'(From August 31) Your inventory moves from your books to BCPL (Blinkit),' it adds. A founder at one of the brands that ET spoke with said that the change is expected to make processes less complex. 'Right now, whoever operates on the marketplace model has to add the Blinkit warehouses on their goods and services tax (GST) and FSSAI registrations (for food and beverage brands)...once Blinkit starts taking inventory through purchase orders, that hassle will go away since it will be treated like a sale and not a stock transfer,' he the sellers not willing to transition to the new model, Blinkit said in its email that it will return the inventory after deducting reverse logistics development was first reported by Eternal had first announced its plans to become an IOCC in April this year, after 51% of its shareholding became locally owned, analysts had said that the move will help the company have better control over inventory and margins particularly at a time when quick commerce companies are witnessing piling up of losses. Blinkit's rival, Zepto, has also been working to raise its domestic shareholding. Under India's foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, foreign-funded online marketplaces are not allowed to own inventory or control sellers on their platforms. Due to these restrictions, quick commerce platforms typically do not directly own the dark stores – micro-warehouses used for 10-minute deliveries – which are instead operated by separate entities.
Business Standard
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Apollo Hospital rallies after board OKs demerger of digital & pharmacy units
Apollo Hospital Enterprise (AHEL) added 3.25% to Rs 7,477.95 after the company's board approved to spin-off its omnichannel pharmacy and digital health businesses through scheme of arrangement. The board of AHEL and its subsidiary, Apollo HealthCo granted in-principle approval for the demerger of Omnichannel Pharma and Digital Health business. The proposed structure enables direct access of omni-channel pharmacy and digital health business to the shareholders of AHEL. For every 100 shares of AHEL, the shareholders of AHEL will receive 195.2 shares of the new company, Apollo Healthtech enabling their direct participation in the value unlock. The proposed transaction will result in the creation of the largest, integrated omni channel healthcare eco-system with a FY25 revenue of approximately Rs 16,300 crore ($ 1.9 billion) in FY25. The Apollo Healthtech is expected to achieve a revenue run rate of Rs 25,000 crore ($2.9 billion) by FY27. Upon the effectiveness of the Scheme, Apollo Healthtech will become an Indian owned and controlled company (IOCC) and it will apply for listing on the stock exchanges. The listing is expected within 18 to 21 months. AHEL will retain 15% stake in the Apollo Healthtech to ensure an integrated, seamless, and comprehensive healthcare offering across the patient lifecycle. Upon becoming an IOCC, the Apollo Healthtech also proposes to consolidate the front-end pharmacy business by acquiring the remaining 74.5% stake in Apollo Medicals (AMPL), which owns 100% of APL. Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said "Today's developments mark the beginning of the next chapter of Apollo Hospitals' relentless mission to bring healthcare of world-class standards within the reach of every individual. The omnichannel pharmacy business and integrated digital healthcare ecosystem will be a unique model to enable access to high-quality healthcare for millions of Indians. What Apollo Hospitals achieved for the creation of the private healthcare industry in India, this new entity will create for the digitally forward generation of tomorrow. We have the opportunity to make a positive difference to their lives and partner in their wellness pursuits. I wish both the teams all the best as they enter uncharted territory with infinite potential." Suneeta Reddy, managing director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said, "Apollo has always focused on growth, reach, and scale. We have carefully built our formats-of-care around the consumer at the centre. This comprehensive integrated network, overlaid with a strong digital layer, will allow us to create an impact of magnitude greater than could be achieved with a single format of care. AHEL will continue its focus on outstanding healthcare delivery, while the New Entity will accelerate its efforts on deepening customer engagement and penetration, with clear capital allocation outlays, growth plans and management teams driving both. Together, we will generate unparalleled value for the consumer, while making sure that all synergies and network effects stay intact, rooted in the Apollo ethos of quality and trust." Shobana Kamineni, executive chairperson, Apollo HealthCo said, "The New Entity, once integrated, will be a truly customer-focused healthcare leader, with capabilities across the value chain. Delivering medicines seamlessly from more than 7,000 physical stores, online delivery platform serving over 19,000 pincodes, with Keimed ensuring supply chain integrity, our aspiration is that we will serve over 100 million Indians with trusted quality and availability. With each business expected to record healthy rates of growth, we will continue to be the leader in this sector. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise has established a strong presence across the healthcare ecosystem, encompassing hospitals, pharmacies, primary care and diagnostic clinics, as well as various retail health models. The company reported 53.5% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 389.60 crore on 13.1% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 5,592.20 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.
