Latest news with #IshitaAyanDutt
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Nepal tea inflow puts India in a bind over Darjeeling and diplomacy
As duty-free tea varieties from Nepal flood the domestic mkt, challenging the iconic Darjeeling tea, India walks a tightrope, weighing geopolitical calculations and domestic political considerations Ishita Ayan Dutt Kolkata Listen to This Article Falling production, shrinking global footprint, and a flood of cheaper imports from neighbouring Nepal – Darjeeling tea, celebrated as the 'Champagne of teas', is losing its aroma. The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has sounded the alarm urging the Centre to invoke the safeguard clause in the India-Nepal trade treaty, seeking protection for Darjeeling tea from the surge of unregulated Nepalese imports. Signed in 2009 and renewed every seven years, the India-Nepal treaty provides for a safeguard clause, which can be triggered if imports
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Berger is number 2 by a margin in the decorative paint space: MD & CEO
Berger Paints India's revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25) was the strongest in five quarters, ahead of other listed paint majors. In an interview at its new headquarters in Kolkata, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Abhijit Roy tells Ishita Ayan Dutt on what clicked for the company. Edited excerpts: Amid intense competition, Berger's growth in Q4 was ahead of peers. What did you do right? We didn't do anything dramatically different. But our network expansion went off well. We did a fairly good job on the painter-contractor front. And, we launched a few interesting products. Our initiative of going deeper into urban markets where we have a weak presence – Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad – yielded some results. Therefore, in spite of increased competition, we had a relatively better growth rate than all other players in the industry. On the industrial side, we are the leaders in protective coatings and there was some increased activity in the area. We got some of that advantage. You added feet on the ground. What was the addition? That was primarily for the urban markets. We added about 10 per cent in FY25. The results will be felt in the current year and the next. Given the competition, wouldn't it have been easier to gain market share if you had stayed the course on AkzoNobel acquisition? These are calls that have to be made with a lot of thought. For us, it would have helped to add some sales quickly. But the cost involved was too high. Do you think the same results can be achieved through organic expansion? We are the number 2 brand by far in the decorative segment. But our network size is one-third of the leader. So, my brand is known but products are not available in many places. Just increasing the product presence will give higher coverage and penetration — it's doable organically. Acquisitions are a high risk strategy; there are advantages in utilising one's own strengths. For organic expansion, you are investing about ₹2,500 crore in the next three years? Yes, we will be increasing capacity by almost 30,000 metric tonnes per month. That is more than enough for our needs. It is believed that JSW Paints is poised to acquire AkzoNobel. Do you see the fight for number 2 intensifying? The fight for number 2 is not intensifying; the fight for number 3 is going to intensify between Kansai Nerolac, Birla and JSW. Number 2 position is too far off – we will have a turnover of ₹20,000 crore by 2030. The big fight is for the third. What is the business outlook for FY26 – is urban demand picking up? Not so far – demand is sort of static. From Q3FY25 to Q4FY25, there was some improvement. But Q1FY26 is likely to be on similar lines to Q4FY25. We expect Q2FY26 to be better due to an early Diwali in September and further improvement in Q3. Overall, in FY25, we had a volume growth of about 8 per cent. But our value growth was only 2 per cent due to price drop and change in product mix. We should have 8-10 per cent volume growth this year as well. And value growth should be 5-7 per cent. And once this year is over, competition would have stabilised and then it would be normalised growth for everyone. Is the early onset of monsoon a dampener? The early onset may somewhat impact the May sales for all companies. But on a yearly basis, it won't impact the segment. You took a price hike of 1.5-2 per cent in Q4. What is the outlook on prices? We increased prices in November and got the advantage in Q4. I don't see further hikes — partly because raw material prices are benign. Will the anti-dumping duty on rutile – a raw material – have an impact? That will have an impact to some extent. The Indian Paint Association is fighting a case and the final hearing is on June 11. It may have a bit of an impact on profitability. But it would not be enough to warrant a price increase.
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Business Standard
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
ITC stake strategic investment, not financial: BAT chief executive Marroco
Marroco also confirmed that BAT would keep its two directors on the ITC board so that it has an influence Ishita Ayan Dutt Kolkata British American Tobacco plc (BAT) still considers its holding in ITC a 'strategic investment,' Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said on Tuesday, days after the UK-based tobacco giant trimmed its stake in the cigarettes-to-soap conglomerate. On May 28, BAT sold 2.5 per cent in ITC with net proceeds amounting to ₹12,941 crore. The sale reduced BAT's holding in ITC to 22.93 per cent. Responding to a question on how the ITC stake should be viewed during a post-results conference, Marroco said, 'The ITC stake is still for us a strategic investment. It's not a financial investment.' Expanding on the rationale, Marroco
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Business Standard
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Op Sindoor: India Inc's cyber shield holds firm against swarm of hackers
Setup by Nasscom, DSCI engages with governments and their agencies, regulators, industry sectors, industry associations, and think tanks for policy advocacy, capacity building, and outreach activities Shivani Shinde Ishita Ayan Dutt Dev Chatterjee Mumbai/Kolkata Listen to This Article Cyberattacks on Indian businesses spiked dramatically —rising by up to three times — following the launch of Operation Sindoor, according to industry estimates. Yet, most organisations successfully repelled the onslaught with minimal breaches because of coordinated efforts between government agencies, industry bodies, and private cybersecurity firms. For the first time, the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) — a not-for-profit industry body for data protection — assembled a joint task force of stakeholders including private sector players to source threat intelligence at the origin and ensure coordinated action across the cybersecurity spectrum. This was activated in anticipation of retaliation to
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Business Standard
04-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
SC ruling on BPSL resolution may reset IBC process as JSW plans review plea
"No prudent resolution applicant would submit a plan if there remains a lingering fear that some state authority might overturn it decades later", says Former IBBI chairperson M S Sahoo Ishita Ayan Dutt Ruchika Chitravanshi Manojit Saha Dev Chatterjee Kolkata\New Delhi\Mumbai Listen to This Article Flash back to March 26, 2021. JSW Steel had just completed its largest acquisition—Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL)— under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). 'This acquisition not only aligns with our core business and purpose but also establishes our presence and accelerates our growth vision in eastern India,' Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Steel, had written to BPSL employees after paying financial creditors ₹19,350 crore. Four years later, on May 2, 2025, that vision took a severe blow when the Supreme Court rejected JSW Steel's resolution plan for BPSL and ordered its liquidation. The big jolt The apex court
