Latest news with #KunalShah
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Wastage as an economic, environmental opportunity
The chairman of ONGC, Arun Singh, and I were sitting in the Gaya airport lounge after addressing the IIM Bodh Gaya convocation in early April when I noticed some inefficiency at the airport and mentioned to him Kunal Shah's attention-grabbing comment about 'inefficiency being the world's biggest employer'. He smiled and offered another profound observation 'India's biggest opportunity is curbing waste'. He went on to say India and the world both need it and defended his argument with some telling statistics in the energy sector. This article is a result of his insight. In this era of tariffs, reciprocal tariffs, and punitive tariffs, our single biggest import item is oil. How much wastage is there in the use of oil, gas, and power? In this piece, we do not take up the wastage that bedevils our agriculture, especially its management of water; we focus only on energy use. Last year, India's oil bill stood at $137 billion. India consumes around 2,300 million barrels of oil though it produces only about 210 million barrels of crude oil a year. India's domestic production so far has only produced ~2.5 billion tonnes cumulatively, requiring us to import the bulk of our oil need. It is odd that a country of India's size does not have greater oil reserves. The fact is that it does. India has 12 billion tonnes of verified and proven oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbon reserves. Many estimates put the theoretical limit closer to 42 billion tonnes of oil and oil equivalent hydrocarbon reserves. However, this oil is not as easily accessible as in a clutch of West Asian and other oil-exporting countries. India only extracts about 35% of the oil from a domestic well on average. Most drilling sites are undersea ones and, after a certain depth, are not easy to extract economically. Despite oil's importance to India, there has been little technological innovation to make more domestic extraction, in a manner that makes economic sense, possible. Hence, most of the oil below the ground stays there. We import the bulk of our needs. In a Ricardian world (after David Ricardo, one of classical economics' giants) where global trade and comparative production advantages of countries maximally benefit national economies, that might have been fine. But, in today's splintering world, this leaves us exposed. There is a lot that can be done — from utilising state-of-the-art techniques for acquiring reservoir data to advanced drilling methodologies. Even a 10% increase in the overall recovery factor would have reduced our overall import bill by $12 billion annually over the past 10 years. To a lesser extent, the wastage extends to natural gas, too. Natural gas prices have been volatile after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India is dependent on imports for half of its overall consumption. The gas lost during the overall transmission is referred to as Lost and Unaccounted for Gas (LUAG) and is computed at around 2.7%. If we dig further, we find that the internal combustion engine (ICE) does not use fuel efficiently. The latest ICE cars operate at an efficiency level of around 30%. If ICE engines operate at the efficiency of electric vehicles (EVs) — around 90% — we could cut 33 million metric tonnes of India's oil demand. Every five percentage points of improvement reduces oil demand by about 2,000 tonnes. If the ICE engines operated at the same efficiency levels as EVs, it would have an impact of $19 billion on India's oil import bill. Not only would we import less oil, but it would also be a boon for the environment too. For instance, by converting all ICE vehicles in Delhi to EVs, we can reduce PM2.5 levels by about 40 points on the air quality index. However, the topic of wastage does not end there. Just consider other instances of fuel consumption; imagine how much fuel airlines consume circling airports due to the lack of runways before landing. Similarly, ICE trucks transporting goods, apart from the poor efficiency in fuel-energy conversion, often return to their depots empty or with half loads due to information gaps and the absence of an efficient clearing platform. This raises logistics costs and makes manufacturing in India more expensive. The problem of wastage extends equally to power consumption as well. India's technical losses in transmission and distribution have significantly reduced the 'green' impact of EVs. Despite good progress in adding renewable energy capacity, India's overall power consumption is still dominated by thermal sources (contributing over 70% of the power drawn). The thermal-dominated grid incurs large transmission and distribution losses of around 15%. While significant progress has been made to address this, we are still four to five times more inefficient than China. Even a 1% reduction in the losses reduces the overall carbon footprint by around 2,400 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This is equal to converting all the four-wheelers in Delhi to EVs. Wastage is a big consumer of energy in India, a consumer we should not cater to today. As the world becomes more volatile and our economy bigger, en route to becoming the third largest economy in the world, the whole world would like us to consume less. As the explorer, Robert Swan, said, 'The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that somebody else will save it.' Let's begin a war on wastage to help ourselves! Janmejaya Sinha is chairman, BCG India, and Kaustubh Verma is managing director and partner, BCG. The views expressed are personal.
News18
22-05-2025
- Business
- News18
'Worship Founders, Then Discard Them...': CRED's Kunal Shah On Indian Startups
Last Updated: Kunal Shah stressed that in fast-changing fields like tech and AI, only those who adapt will thrive, as the top 100–200 companies change every 5–7 years CRED founder Kunal Shah has sounded a warning about India's startup ecosystem, pointing to a lack of a culture of excellence. He noted that many Indian startups focus more on mutual comparison than on driving genuine innovation. Speaking at Prosus' Luminate event in Bengaluru, Shah said, 'We start comparing ourselves with each other very quickly, without working hard towards excellence. Excellence has not yet become a culture in India," he remarked. Shah argued that India possesses significant potential, but innovation often arises from overcoming constraints. 'Our way of understanding the market may be different, and in the future, many companies will be built in the same direction, but we need to work on a strong foundation," he added. He stressed the importance of continuous adaptation and innovation, particularly in rapidly evolving fields like technology and AI. 'Top 100 or 200 companies change every 5 to 7 years. Only those who can adopt the change will move ahead," Shah emphasised. He also pointed out that an individual's ambition is shaped by their environment. Without examples of excellence, people struggle to dream big. Shah criticised the tendency in India's startup culture to idolise founders, only to abandon them when things go awry. 'We worship founders like gods, and when things go wrong, we immerse them," he said. Shah's insights serve as a wake-up call for young startup founders in India, urging them to pursue excellence through real innovation and hard work rather than mere comparison or funding. Key services offered by CRED include: Credit Card Bill Payments Users can link all their credit cards to CRED and earn cashback, rewards, and exclusive offers for making timely bill payments. CRED Cash An instant personal loan service that provides quick access to funds at low-interest rates. CRED RentPay Allows users to pay their rent directly to their landlord using a credit card, helping manage large monthly expenses more conveniently. CRED Store & Experiences A curated marketplace within the app where users can redeem reward points to access exclusive products, brand deals, and premium experiences. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN News18. Stay updated with all the latest business news, including market trends, stock updates, tax, IPO, banking finance, real estate, savings and investments. Get in-depth analysis, expert opinions, and real-time updates—only on News18. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 22, 2025, 18:24 IST
Scroll.in
02-05-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
SEBI accuses Pranav Adani of insider trading: Report
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has alleged that Pranav Adani, the director of several Adani Group companies, shared price-sensitive information and violated regulations that are meant to prevent insider trading, Reuters reported on Friday. Pranav Adani, the nephew of industrialist Gautam Adani, was sent a notice by the market regulator in 2024. The regulator alleged that Pranav Adani had, in 2021, shared information about Adani Green's acquisition of SB Energy India with his brother-in-law before the deal was made public, Reuters reported quoting an unidentified person and a regulatory document. Responding to the allegations, Pranav Adani told Reuters that he has sought to settle the charges 'to put an end to the matter, without admission or denial of the allegations'. He claimed that 'he has not violated any securities law'. Pranav Adani had 'communicated UPSI [unpublished price sensitive information] pertaining to the SB Energy acquisition' to his brother-in-law Kunal Shah, Reuters quoted from the document. This violated regulations that seek to prevent insider trading. The document showed call records and trading patterns that were reviewed in SEBI's investigation, Reuters reported. Kunal Shah and his brother Nrupal Shah had traded shares of Adani Green and made 'ill-gotten gains' of Rs 91.1 lakh, Reuters quoted the SEBI document as having alleged. In a statement sent by their law firm to Reuters, Kunal Shah and Nrupal Shah said that the share transactions were not executed with the 'knowledge of any unpublished price sensitive information nor with any mala fide intent'. 'The information in question was already generally available in the public domain,' they were quoted as having said. The market regulator did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters. Adani Green has not commented on the allegations. Adani Green announced the acquisition of SB Energy India in May 2021 for $3.5 billion, making it the largest acquisition in the renewable energy sector in the country. Pranav Adani came to know about the imminent acquisition when the deal was finalised two to three days before it took place, Reuters quoted SEBI as having said.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fintechs must build collection muscle to scale lending business: Cred founder Kunal Shah
Cred founder Kunal Shah said fintech startups focusing on small-ticket lending must invest in collection capabilities to ensure repayments from defaulters and build sustainable businesses. Speaking at the Bharat Inclusion Summit hosted by IIMA Ventures, Shah said many companies had misdiagnosed the problem. 'When it comes to mass-market lending, the issue is not demand but collections. If you're offering loans to people below a certain income level, there's unlimited potential to disburse. But the real challenge lies in getting the money back,' he said. 'Digital companies must focus more on collections than demand—India is credit-hungry, so the problem isn't disbursal but recovery,' he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They were so beautiful before; look at them now; number 10 will Surprise you Today's NYC Undo Shah stressed that fintech founders are essentially in the business of trust, irrespective of the category. 'If you're building in fintech, you're building trust. That's the foundation for anything to work efficiently.' Bengaluru-based Cred, which began as a credit card bill payments platform, has since expanded into unsecured lending , insurance distribution, and secured credit products. Last month, it launched loans against mutual funds—one of its first secured lending offerings. ET had reported in June 2024 about the company's plans to enter this space. Live Events In an interview in February , Shah told us that such products deepen trust with users and help unlock more revenue opportunities. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories ET reported on April 14 that Cred has held talks to mop up $100–200 million, largely from its existing investors, at a reduced valuation of $4 billion, a cut of more than 30% from 2022 when it last raised funding. The Peak XV Partners-backed startup has also invested in NewTap Technologies, which owns a stake in NewTap Finance, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) promoted by Shah.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The number of people considered a 'healthy weight' is dropping. Here's why.
Talk around weight in the United States has reached a fever pitch thanks to the popularity of injectable GLP-1 medications, which have transformed weight loss treatment. While it seems like we're getting slimmer as a population, a new report suggests that's not necessarily the case: It found that the number of people who are considered a 'healthy weight' is dropping. The report, which was published by journal and data platform Epic Research, analyzed the body mass index (BMI) classifications of more than 109 million people who visited a doctor between 2010 and 2024. They found that the rate of people who were classified as having a healthy weight dropped from 27.7% to 23.2% during the 14-year span. At the same time, rates of people classified as having obesity rose 13.6%, though that number has held steady since 2020. So what exactly is a 'healthy weight'? The real definition is a little hazy. Here's what doctors want you to know about having a healthy weight, plus how to know when you've reached it. This particular report focused on healthy weight based on BMI, which is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared. (The National Institutes of Health has an online calculator in case you want help determining your BMI.) See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. BMI classifications break down this way: Underweight: under 18.5 Normal weight: 18.5-25 Overweight: 25.1-30 Obese: over 30 Severely obese: over 40 Normal weight is the same as healthy weight in the report. But BMI is a controversial measurement of health, given that it only looks at height and weight — not different elements like body fat and muscle mass. This can cause some people to be classified as having obesity who are actually healthy, Dr. Kunal Shah, an assistant professor in the division of endocrinology at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. 'You can have football players with a BMI of 50 or 60 [classifying them as having severe obesity], but they're the pinnacles of athleticism. It doesn't make sense,' he says. For most people, BMI can provide a general idea if you're in a healthy weight range, Dr. Mir Ali, medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. 'If somebody maintains a BMI between 18.5 and 25, they are less likely to develop health conditions because of their weight,' he says. But many doctors tend to view 'healthy weight' on an individual basis, Shah says. 'In general, we consider healthy weight to be where someone is not having any elevation in risk of developing metabolic conditions like diabetes and heart disease,' he says. That can include a normal-weight BMI, or it may factor in other measurements like waist circumference and hip-to-waist ratio, he says. Mental health is important to consider too, Jen Carter, a sports psychologist and an associate professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. 'Health is a broad term that includes mental health, and hating ourselves for not fitting into a particular BMI category is not optimal health,' Carter says. 'I'm a fan of the Health at Every Size movement that encourages us to be the healthiest we can be, regardless of our weight.' BMI is a tricky way to determine if you're a healthy weight. 'It doesn't take into account body types, like someone who is very muscular,' Ali says. The best way to determine if you're at a healthy weight is to pay attention to how you feel, according to Shah. 'When people lose weight, one of the things they usually say is that they have more energy,' he says. If you feel good, you can work out as long as you'd like to and you don't have health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease, you've likely hit a healthy weight, Shah says. Carter also recommends looking at your sleep habits, how often you've been getting sick and how stable your weight is. That doesn't mean you should totally ignore the scale. Shah points out that some people can have a distorted view of what their weight should be. But when you combine how you're feeling, any underlying health conditions and your BMI, he says it can give you a pretty accurate picture of health and weight. This is different from how doctors viewed healthy weight in the past. 'Healthy weight in the past was just based on average calculations in the population, looking at where people fell on that bell-shaped curve,' Ali says. Now many health care providers have realized that there's more to weight than that, Shah says. 'This is no longer a one-size-fits-all thing,' he says. 'In the past, we would just say, 'Oh, you have a BMI of 30, so you're obese.' This has to be customized to the patient.' The report didn't spell that out. Although rates of severe obesity and overweight seem to have leveled off, the report showed that obesity rates have gone up over the past 14 years. 'Obesity in general has increased over the years,' Ali says. 'Most people are leading a sedentary lifestyle and have easier access to unhealthy foods. It can be expensive and difficult to eat healthy.' Ali says those combined factors are 'pushing the general population toward a less healthy situation.' If you're concerned about your weight, Shah recommends focusing on your activity and eating habits. 'There's nothing that can substitute for a good diet and exercise,' he says. But if you're not sure if you're at a healthy weight, Ali suggests talking to a primary care physician. 'They can help you calculate what should be a reasonably healthy weight based on your age, weight and height,' he says. From there, Ali says you can come up with a healthy-weight game plan together.
