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businesstoday.in SPECIAL ISSUE
OC
June 27, 2021 `100
THE ANYWHERE
TECH REVOLUTION
A GUIDE TO THE KEY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL
PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN WORK, LIFE AND BUSINESS
IN A PANDEMIC-STRICKEN WORLD
We tell the story Not the moral of the story
Hidden stories surface
Only on ground zero
Get all sides of the elections
From the Editor
http://www.businesstoday.in
Tech’s Great Leap Chairman & Editor-in-Chief: aroon purie
Vice Chairperson: Kalli purie
Group Chief Executive Officer: Dinesh Bhatia
Group Editorial Director: Raj Chengappa
Chief Executive Officer: Manoj Sharma
E
Editor: Rajeev Dubey
ven by conservative estimates, in the 18 months since the onset of Group Creative Editor: Nilanjan Das
Group Photo Editor: Bandeep Singh
Coronavirus on Indian shores in January 2020, tech adoption in the Executive Editor: anand adhikari
country has leaped by as much as a decade. Probably more. Digital Deputy Editor: ajita Shashidhar
now plays a vital role in work and life as firms, individuals and newer busi- special projects and events
Senior Editor: anup Jayaram
nesses adapt to technology like never before.
correspondents
Anywhere Tech is BT’s special annual compilation to showcase tech- Senior Editors: p.B. Jayakumar, Nevin John,
Joe C. Mathew, Manu Kaushik,
novation across the country. Take the case of the financial services in- Sumant Banerji
dustry where the big Q has long been whether banks of the future will Associate Editor: Nidhi Singal
Special Correspondent: Vidya S.
be traditional banks as we know them or will technology finance firms
consulting editor: Rukmini Rao
such as Google, Facebook or Amazon dominate tomorrow’s banking
industry. The advent of Fintechs and their roaring success in customer research
Principal Research Analysts: Niti Kiran, Shivani Sharma
adoption, business ramp-up and valuations rattled the traditional bank- copy desk
ing industry. They swarmed over payments, lending, insurance among Senior Editor: Mahesh Jagota
Associate Editor: Samali Basu Guha
others to capture the unbanked and under-banked with their convenient Copy Editor: aprajita Sharma
apps. Banks tried to play catch-up but lagged hopelessly. Anand Adhikari photography
explains how after a decade of tussle, the new and the old are learning to Deputy Chief Photographers:
Yasir Iqbal
live with each other, though the jury is still out on the future of banking. Principal Photographer: Rajwant Singh Rawat
In foodtech, when aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato surfaced, art
Deputy Art Director: amit Sharma
the writing on the wall was clear for the restaurants business. Consumers Assistant Art Director: Raj Verma
were going to switch to the convenience of ordering food home. Read Ajita production
Shashidhar’s account of how the `4.2-lakh-crore restaurant and food retail Chief of Production: Harish aggarwal
Senior Production Coordinator: Narendra Singh
sector is fighting back — especially during the pandemic — with unprec- Associate Chief Coordinator: Rajesh Verma
edented tech adoption. Something the industry admits it overlooked when library
Assistant Librarian: Satbir Singh
times were good.
India’s higher education institutions have long looked for life beyond Associate Publisher (Impact): Vidya Menon
pen-paper assessments and classroom learning. Just when the Covid- impact team
Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West)
stricken industry had to give up on physical classrooms and in-person General Manager: Upendra Singh (Bangalore)
Deputy General Manager: Indranil Chatterjee (East)
teaching, it turned to technology for substitutes —from course delivery to
assessments, managing libraries and curriculum or even entrance test ex- Marketing: Vivek Malhotra, Group Chief Marketing Officer
ams. Read Nidhi Singal’s piece on the ongoing transformation on campuses Newsstand Sales: Deepak Bhatt, Senior General Manager
(National Sales); Vipin Bagga, General Manager (Operations);
— beyond Edtech. Rajeev Gandhi, Deputy General Manager (North),
Syed asif Saleem, Regional Sales Manager (West),
In healthcare, the industry is fast digitising in pretty much every S. paramasivam, Deputy Regional Sales Manager (South),
piyush Ranjan Das, Senior Sales Manager (East)
aspect — taking to robotic surgery, electronic medical records main-
tenance, tracking of medicines from the factory to the user. Even in the
fraternity’s way to keep itself updated on the latest in the industry — Con- Vol. 30, No. 13, for the fortnight June 14, 2021 to June 27, 2021.
Released on June 14, 2021.
tinuous Medical Education. P.B. Jayakumar explains how greater adoption Editorial Office: India Today Mediaplex, FC 8, Sector 16/A, Film City, Noida-201301; Tel:
0120-4807100; Fax: 0120-4807150 Advertising Office (Gurgaon): A1-A2, Enkay Centre,
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Nidhi Singal shortlists the best wearables to New Delhi-110001.
Editor: Rajeev Dubey
buy — from measuring body temperature Business Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited
publication material.
to oximeter to ECG. Just why sales of wear- rajeev.dubey@intoday.com All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent
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ables have skyrocketed. @rajeevdubey
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June 27, 2021 Cover by
Volume 30, Number 13 NilaNJaN das
20
IllustratIon by nIlanJan das
Technology Special
IT For A New World
How tHe InformatIon tecHnology
Industry Is lookIng to servIce a world
wItH new rules, HabIts and beHavIour
6 Business Today 27 June 2021
Marriage of Wake-up Call ColuMn
Convenience as business came to a Building a Global 10
From disrupters to standstill during Payment Solution
partners, the Fintech- last year’s lockdown, how uPi could be a
bank relationship has food retail companies global model, driven The Point
come a long way. what and restaurants by NPCi
is the next level of this embraced technology Pg. 80 India Inc. Shines in Q4
partnership? to stay afloat Nifty and Sensex companies
Pg. 26 Pg. 64 report extraordinary growth in
Wellness Wearables net profits in the January-March
From tracking vitals quarter of FY21. One reason is
The 5G Dilemma Highways to helping you stay the low base of last year
the pandemic has Sans Toll Plazas fit, physically and
opened a fresh debate Future toll collection mentally, wearables
around the future of 5G will be based on global are now a whole new
in india. infrastructure positioning technology. ballgame altogether.
requirements could a pilot project is while smartwatches
further delay its launch already on with 500 and smartbands are still
Pg. 32 vehicles the most preferred, a
Pg. 70 number of innovative
ones are making their
Classes Go Hi-Tech presence felt
Tech Help For Zero Pg. 82
how technology has
transformed the way Carbon Homes
educational institutions technology is playing
function a big role in reducing
Pg. 48 the carbon footprint of
homes and offices
Pg. 76
The Future is Electric
the pandemic has not 12
impacted the electric
vehicle story adversely. Job Losses Highest
in fact, it may have
accelerated the shift
Since May 2020
Samsung india’s labour participation
Pg. 40 Buds Pro rate fell another 0.2 per cent
in april. this is the lowest after
May 2020. the reason is strict
Big Data’s lockdowns in several states
Healing Touch that have brought large parts
how ai and data of the economy to a halt
analytics are changing
healthcare industry
dynamics
Pg. 56
88
Network
Kripalu’s Cricketing
Lessons
businesstoday.in diageo india Md and CeO
anand Kripalu is a fitness freak.
he says cricket has taught
him the importance of putting
one’s team before oneself
StaY CONNeCted with uS ON
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90
An Feature Best Advice I Ever Got
From time to time, you will see pages titled “Focus”, “An
Impact Feature”, or “Advertorial” in Business Today. These “Preparedness and
are no different from an advertisement and the magazine’s clarity can help over-
editorial staff is not involved in their creation in any way. come any ambiguity”
Navin Chandani
8 Business Today 27 June 2021The Point
IndIa Inc.
ShIneS
In Q4
204.4
200 neT pROFIT
SURgeS FOR
150 nIFTY FIRMS…
100
nifty and Sensex companies report 58.3
extraordinary growth in net profits in 50
the January-March quarter of FY21. One 13
reason is the low base of last year 0
By ShIVanI ShaRMa -23.3
Graphics by TanMOY chakRabORTY -50
Dec-19
Mar-20
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
25
12
3.1
0 -16
7.3
-2.6 S&P BSE
-25 Sensex
Companies 12 8.5
-26.2
Nifty 6
-50 7.8
Companies
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-19
Mar-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
0
-6 -9.9
-10.2
-12
Dec-19
Mar-20
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
TOTal 25 12.9
2.9
IncOMe RISeS
FOR nIFTY 0 -18.6
9.1
cOMpanIeS… -2.5
-25 …WhIle InTeReST
-29 expenSeS
-50 declIne ShaRplY
Dec-19
Mar-20
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
aS RaTeS dIp
…and neT
SaleS
gO Up
10 Business Today 27 June 2021TRanSpORT
S eQUIpMenT
O nIc cO
nS
le cTR gO UMe
Od R
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67.6
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c
O
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-1 .9
5.
4 -4
8.
5
Dec-19
Mar-20
Jun-20
Sep-20
Dec-20
Mar-21
All figures are
year-on-year
% change
20
.8
.8 8.4
11 1
-0
.2
.3
.7
0
16
-4 -1
0
14.3
.8
3.3
9.4
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ec
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ch
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& c e MIc
4 .
- 62
h a
pRO eMIc lS
d U al
.4
cT S cOnSTRUcTIOn & S
e
TIl
Real eSTaTe Tex
27 June 2021 Business Today 11The Point
Job Losses 50
Labour Market
StatiSticS (%)
HigHest since
36.8
40
May 2020
27.2
Employment Rate
30
20
23.5
î India’s labour
participation rate (LPR)
8.0
Unemployment Rate
fell another 0.2 per 10
cent in April. This is the
lowest after May 2020.
The reason is strict 0
Apr-20
May-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21
Feb-21
Mar-21
Apr-21
lockdowns in several
states that have brought
large parts of the
economy to a halt
40.6
40.6
40.6
40.6
40.4
40.3
40.7
40.2
40.1
38.6
î In absolute terms,
35.6
40
41
labour force shrank
1.1 million month-on-
month to 424.6 million
compared with 425.8
million in March Labour Participation Rate
î The unemployment
rate of 8 per cent was
the highest since
Apr-20
May-20
Jun-20
Jul-20
Aug-20
Sep-20
Oct-20
Nov-20
Dec-20
Jan-21
Feb-21
Mar-21
Apr-21
December 2020
Source: MOSPI
Merchandise trade ($ Billion)
Imports
Trade Up
Exports
45.7
50
38.8
196% in April 40
î India’s merchandise exports rose
196 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) 30
from $10.4 billion in April 2020
17.1
to $30.63 billion in April 2021.
30.6
However, they were 11 per cent
24.6
20
lower than March 2021 ($34.45
billion). Merchandise imports rose
167 per cent to $45.7 billion
10
î Contraction in exports outpaced
10.4
that in imports, hence trade deficit
during the month widened to $15.10 0
billion, from $13.93 billion in the
Apr-17
Apr-18
Apr-19
Apr-20
Apr-21
previous month
Source: Ministry of Commerce
12 Business Today 27 June 2021The Point
Power Generation From Conventional
Sources Up 42.5% in April…
î Gross power generation from conventional Gross electricity Generation from
sources rose 42.5 per cent Y-o-Y in April conventional sources (utilities)
î Though the sharp rise can be attributed to base
50 42.5
effect (April 2020 was the first lockdown month), (Y-o-Y % change)
power generation during April 2021, 115.5 billion 40
kwh, was the third-highest ever. It had touched an 30
all-time high of 118.8 billion kwh in March 2021
20 8.6 10.5
Jun-19 Feb-20
10
0
-10
-20
-30
-25.8
Apr-20
Apr-19 Apr-21
(M-o-M % change)
30
19.1
20 May-20
10 7.1
0
-10 -2.7
-20 -15.6
Apr-19 Apr-20 Apr-21
Source: CMIE
n
….While
io
ct
du e l -21
r o
s P e d st
e Ap r
os 3 87
Gr inish nge)
Finished (Y- o
f
o f % ch
-Y
a
Steel 400
Production 30 0
20 0
Rises 387% 10 0
Ap r
-20
Ap r
-21
- 82
î Finished steel production
0
rose 387 per cent in April to
7.6 million tonnes 0 20
-10 Jan-
î The sharp spike can be
attributed to low base of
April 2020 when production
had fallen 82.09 per cent as
the entire country was put
under a strict lockdown
14Petroleum î A dozen central public sector enterprises
(CPSEs) in the oil and gas sector reported a
capex of `5,610 crore in April. This is 25 per
CPSes' CaPex cent more than `4,480 crore spent in the
same period a year ago
î The 12 firms have a FY22 spending target
uP 25% in aPril of over `1 lakh crore. April capex was 5.4 per
cent of that
IOC Numbers for top
HPCL 460 five oil PSUs;
Source: Company
114 997 Filings
1,411 BPCL
ONGC 30
2,769 340
1,893
Apr-20 Apr-21 OIL
231
300
16The Point
Serum (Astra)
Expected Companywise
Share in Indian COVID
Projected to
Vaccine Market in FY22
VALUE% VOLUME%
Dominate Covid 2
6
Cadila 3
5
Vaccine Market
Novavax
5 Pfizer 3
î According to Investec Securities 6 J&J 5
estimates, Serum (Astra) will be the
top seller of Covid-19 vaccine in India Sputnik
14 V 10
in FY22
î J&J, Pfizer, Novavax and Cadila Bharat
24 Bio 27
are expected to have low single digit
market share Serum
43 (Astra) 46
Source: Investec Securities estimates
Government India 3rd in
Extends Tax Renewable
Timelines Energy
î The Ministry of Finance has extended
Attractiveness
timelines for several compliances under
the Income-Tax Act in view of the surge
in Covid-19 infections
Index
î India has been ranked third in EY’s
î The due date for furnishing of income Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness
tax returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year Index. Last year, it was ranked 4th
(AY) 2021-22 for individuals has been
extended by two months to September î Installed solar PV capacity in India is now
2021 39 GW. India committed to setting up 450
GW of renewable energy power capacity
î The ministry has also extended the (installed) by 2030 at a recent climate
due date of ITR filing for companies summit hosted by the US
for Assessment Year 2021-2022 from
October 31, 2021, to November 30, 2021
Global rEnEwablE EnErGy
attractivEnEss indEx
Particulars ExtEndEd to
1 United States
Return of
30th Sep., 2021
Income (Individuals) AY 21 2 China
Report of Audit 3 india
31st Oct., 2021
Year 2020-21 4 United Kingdom
Report from an 5 France
30th Nov., 2021
Accountant
6 Australia
Return of Income (firms) 7 Germany
31st Dec., 2021
AY 21
8 Japan
Belated/revised Return
31st Jan., 2022 9 Netherlands
of Income AY 21
Source: PIB
10 Spain Source: EY
27 June 2021 Business Today 17Technology Special Lead essay
IT For A
New World How tHe InformatIon
tecHnology Industry Is lookIng
to servIce a world wItH new
rules, HabIts and beHavIour
By RUKMINI RAO
IllUstRAtION By RAj veRMA
$4
billion
60
Per cent
$6
trillion
India’s expected Indian organisations The cost to the global
spending on exceeded their 2020 economy due to cybercrime
public Cloud in Cloud budgets by 5-15%, in 2021, double the 2015
2021, up 25 per says IDC’s CloudPulse number, according to the
cent year-on-year Q4 2020 survey annual Cybercrime report
20 Business Today 27 June 202127 June 2021 Business Today 21
Technology Special lead essay
ogy (IT) companies are adopting new ways to help their cli-
ents manage these technological changes.
On Cloud Nine
The massive surge in adoption of Cloud services after the
pandemic struck is making IT companies adopt an inte-
grated Cloud-first strategy to meet demands of their con-
sumers. A survey by global market intelligence firm IDC
for Q4 of 2020 shows that 60 per cent Indian organisations
exceeded their 2020 Cloud budgets by 5-15 per cent. The
number one reason they cited was Covid-19.
From transforming business models to hiring experts
in AI, ML and analytics, IT companies are doing everything
possible to tap into the demand for Cloud services. They
have, for example, helped healthcare companies run simu-
lations on Cloud for formulations and drug discovery.
RPA, too, has become an important tool for raising em-
ployee productivity, streamlining processes and improving
ince April 2020, Cisco’s collaboration platform, process quality and designs in order to improve customer
WebEx, has on an average clocked 25 billion meeting min- experience. For instance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s
utes a month. Outside the United States, India has been the virtual assistant, LiGo, uses IBM Watson AI to interact
second-highest user, recording 40 per cent year-on-year in- with policyholders, address queries, provide personalised
crease in March 2021. Does this mean in-person meetings account-specific information by applying NLP (natural
will become history? Probably not. However, most changes language processing) and recognise the meaning behind
at the workplace triggered by the pandemic are here to stay. the queries through deep learning techniques.
This is not surprising. Adoption of digital technol- As governments, enterprises and startups shift to the
ogy has seen a decade's growth in the past 12-15 months as Cloud, India’s spending on public Cloud is expected to be
companies shifted to the distributed remote work model. $4 billion-plus in 2021, up 25 per cent year on year. The re-
This meant increased demand for Cloud service providers. cent ‘Cloud Radar 2021’ survey conducted by the Infosys
Companies also adopted digital tools to make operations Knowledge Institute among enterprises from six regions
more efficient. These included Artificial Intelligence (AI), showed that effective Cloud adoption can help companies
Machine Learning (ML) and Robotic Process Automation earn nearly $414 billion in net profits. According to the
(RPA), which involves automating repetitive tasks. As digi- report, the performance of top businesses (annual profit
tal became big, cyber attacks also rose and security became a growth) was linked to how they used the Cloud for faster
concern. product development, finding solutions, expanding pro-
As these trends unfold over time, information technol- cessing capacity, collaboration and unlocking value from
DATA EVERYWHERE
Between 2019 Data being The core is where
and 2024, stored (uti- the world's data is
installed stor- lised storage) progressively being
age capacity expected to stored. The core will
is estimated grow to 8.9 hold a 60% share of
to grow at a zettabytes the StorageSphere
compounded (ZB) by 2024 installed base in
annual growth from 6.6 ZB 2024 (up from 40
rate of 17.8% in 2020 per cent in 2019)
compared to edge
Source: IDC's Global StorageSphere Forecast and endpoint
22 Business Today 27 June 2021SAAS TO TAKE A
over 7,000 doctors through an easy-to-use
interface on web and mobile. Even Cisco,
LION’S SHARE whose teams worked with several large ITeS,
financial services/insurance and public sec-
tor companies in India to enable their work-
Worldwide Public Cloud Services End-User force to work from home due to the pandem-
Spending Forecast ($ million) ic, was backed by its Cloud-enabled security
and technology tools such as Cisco AnyCon-
Cloud 1,02,798 nect VPN. Anand Patil, Director, Systems
Application Engineering, Cisco, India and SAARC, says
1,22,633
Services while the pandemic has impacted industries
(SaaS) 1,45,377
in different ways, customers are looking for
easy-to-use, easy-to-pay technology solu-
tions. The demand for simplified, secure,
enterprise-grade, Cloud-delivered technol-
Cloud ogies is rising, he says.
Application 46,335
Infrastructure
For IT service providers, mature markets
59,451
Services like the US, Europe and Australia are leading
71,525
(PaaS) spends in digital transformation and Cloud
adoption. According to Naveen Mishra, Se-
nior Director Analyst, Gartner, solutions
SaaS: Software around analytics, business intelligence, AI,
Cloud as a service; ML and IoT are some of the biggest sources
Business 46,131 PaaS: Platform-
as-a-service;
of revenue for IT companies (for most, these
Process 50,165
BPaaS: Busi- account for nearly half their revenues). For
Services 53,121 ness Process instance, Damen Shipyards Group has got
(BPaaS) as a Service
TCS to develop an IoT platform for its ves-
sels. It plans to use 10,000-15,000 sensors in
vessels to enable predictive maintenance, re-
Cloud
mote servicing and savings in fuel consump-
14,323 2020
Management tion. Bengaluru-based Wipro has also seen
16,029 2021 a rise in demand for Cloud, AI/ML, IoT ser-
and Security
Services 18,006 2022 vices from several industries, including re-
Source: Gartner Forecast tail, healthcare, ecommerce, manufacturing
and telecom. It is offering catalogue-based
services such as strategy, planning, design
and Cloud implementation.
data via AI. That is why IT service providers are asking cli- Process Automation
ents to treat Cloud not as an end in itself but a launch pad A recent survey by UiPath, a global software company,
for innovation. Microsoft’s growth in quarter ended March among Indian workers showed they waste 4.5 hours a week
2021 was driven by its Azure Cloud platform’s 50 per cent on tasks they feel can be automated. These include sending
revenue growth (server products and Cloud services grew emails, scheduling calls/meetings, keying in data and creat-
26 per cent). ing datasets. A total of 40 per cent global respondents said
“We are accelerating innovation to meet customers their employers have increased investment in automation
where they are,” says Rajiv Sodhi, Chief Operating Officer, in 2021. “Much of the migration to Cloud in the past 12-18
Microsoft India. The Azure Stack HCI (Hyper Converged months has been spurred by adoption of AI and intelligent
Infrastructure) provides security, performance and fea- automation,” says Subram Natarajan, CTO and Director,
ture updates. It helps companies deploy Windows and Technical Sales, IBM Technology Sales, India/South Asia.
Linux virtual machines using their existing tools, process- Though RPA has been around for a while, its integration
es and skill sets. with AI has gained momentum of late, he adds.
Apollo Hospital’s new omni-channel healthcare plat- Wipro is combining RPA with AI and smart analytics.
form, Apollo 24|7, too, uses Azure to connect patients with Customers, say experts, expect value-added services such
27 June 2021 Business Today 23Technology Special lead essay
as alerts, promotions, intelligence and reviews for faster have had a reactive approach to re-skilling their workforce,
decision making. Automation provides Wipro instant feed- say experts. “They anticipate an uptick of automation tech-
back, helping clients understand customers better and im- nologies and work out the impact and do their reskilling,”
prove services. says Arup Roy, VP Analyst, Gartner. But predicting tech-
“RPA is important to increase employee productivity, nology trends way ahead of their implementation is not an
streamline processes, improve process quality and designs easy task.
and, thereby, provide enhanced customer experience,” says
Rishu Sharma, Principal Analyst, Cloud & Artificial Intel- Data and Security
ligence, IDC India. With digital becoming all pervasive, cyber attacks, too,
Companies want to use data as a strategic asset, auto- are getting deadlier and more frequent. Recently, in the
mate processes and innovate with new operating models. United States, Colonial Pipeline had to pay a ransom of
Mahesh Zurale, Senior Managing Director, Lead - Accen- $4.4 million to regain control of its systems from hackers.
ture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India, sees need The pandemic has made data and security a top concern for
for more intelligent automation solutions. “According enterprises across the globe. IBM’s Security report released
to a recent Accenture survey of 4,300 executives, 60 per earlier this year pointed out that India is the second-most
cent of leaders have accelerated investments in RPA and attacked country in the Asia-Pacific, accounting for 7 per
cent of all cyber attacks in Asia. Ransomware accounted
for nearly 40 per cent of these attacks. Manufacturing and
energy were the most attacked industries in 2020, second
only to finance and insurance.
For IT firms, mature That is why large enterprises are now cre-
ating board-level cybersecurity commit-
markets like US, tees for risk management. “In 2020, Gart-
Europe and Australia
ner’s Board of Directors Survey detailed
cybersecurity-related risk to be the sec-
are leading spends in ond-highest source of risk for enterpris-
es,” says Rajpreet Kaur, Sr Principal Ana-
digital transformation lyst, Gartner. The primary reason is the cost and loss of
trust among customers. Research firms and experts have
cautioned that the attacks will increase in 2021 in all sec-
tors. According to the annual Cybercrime report by Cyber-
securities Venture, cybercrimes are estimated to cost the
global economy $6 trillion in 2021, double the 2015 number.
All this makes data security all the more important.
AI,” he says. Investing in automation is no longer just a “Newer models of data storage on private Cloud are emerg-
cost issue. Gone are the days when companies adopted an ing, which can act as a good measure to deal with cyber
intelligent automation platform and waited 18 months for threats,” says Atul Gupta, Partner, IT Advisory and Cyber
results, says Subram. “Today companies take a process- Security Leader, KPMG in India. The key factors deciding
centric approach, create an immediate business impact companies' approach towards data storage include avail-
and move on the next area of automation rather than ability of data at all times, ease of access across channels,
establishing a platform and then talking about automa- adequate controls, protection from cyber threats and regu-
tion,” he says. latory requirements. Anand of Cisco says they are enhanc-
As automation and intelligent RPA have had a direct im- ing Cloud-based application security products – Cisco
pact on the kind of talent needed, IT service providers are Tetration, Stealthwatch Cloud, Duo Beyond, AppDynam-
making huge investments to reskill their workforce. TCS ics – to enable visibility, performance agility, monitoring,
has over 3.7 lakh people trained in new technologies and 4.5 real-time response and actionable insights.
lakh in Agile, a TCS proprietary methodology that enables As the spread of digital technology has increased sharp-
enterprise-wide agile transformations without the con- ly globally over the last 16 months, the world is witnessing
straint of location. Also, over 2.4 lakh Infosys employees an entirely new set of rules and behaviour. And that will
use Lex, a learning solution to help organisations accelerate surely impact lives across the board.
their talent transformation journey. It is a Cloud-first and
mobile-first solution. However, till now, service providers @rukminirao
24 Business Today 27 June 2021Technology Special fintechs
Marriage of
Convenience
From disrupters to partners, the
Fintech-bank relationship has come
a long way. what is the next level oF
this partnership?
By AnAnd AdhikAri
illustrAtion rAj vermA
decade ago, the entry of Fintechs in the fast-
growing financial services space was a shocker for
traditional banks. bankers were worried that at
some stage in the future, Fintechs would eat their
lunch. be it payments, software as a service, or lend-
ing, the new age start-ups in the financial services
space went all out with innovative models in under-
banked and unbanked areas to woo customers. but
banks, too, followed with their digitisation drives,
pushing Fintechs back. regulators also stepped in
to fill the gaps and encourage innovations. For in-
stance, the unified payment interface-based plat-
2627
Technology Special fintechs
form hit mobile wallet players hard. On the other side, est bank, SBI, for example, is using Fintech services for
the entry of Techfins such as Google Pay, Amazon Pay real-time KYC (Know Your Customer) verification,
and WhatsApp started changing the rules of the games. underwriting small and medium enterprises (SMEs),
While the tug of war still continues, the jury is still out gamification for employee engagement, machine-based
on the future of traditional banks. learning model, and data analytics. Today, Fintechs have
become a crucial link for banks to provide better and
A Win-win For Both faster services.
A partnership model has been evolving steadily between Bank-Fintech partnerships have also extended to ag-
Fintechs and banks in the past few years. Fintechs bring ritech (the application of technology to make the farming
in the perspective from the customer standpoint, which process more efficient) space. A number of agritechs are
sometimes banks may not be able to because of multiple offering information services. “These partnerships are
functions. now taking the shape of co-branded products. Banks are
“Fintechs need banks as much as banks need Fin- ready to pay for the information, which they were not pay-
techs. We look at it as a collaborative partnership. We ing earlier,” says Yogesh Patil, CEO at Skymet. The private
work in conjunction with Fintechs to deliver superior forecaster has tied up with Bank of Baroda for information,
customer experience,” says Shalini Warrier, Executive including weather forecast, crop advisory services etc.
Director at Aluva, Kerala-headquartered Federal Bank. “Banks and Fintechs share a symbiotic relationship.
Meghna Suryakumar, Founder and CEO, Credi- Fintechs bring in the idea and banks provide maturity.
watch, a Fintech that deals with digital onboarding, The idea and the maturity together offer a superior cus-
credit assessment and risk management, says there are tomer experience,” says Ravindra Pandey, Chief Digital
always going to be challengers and partners. “A major- Officer, SBI.
ity of Fintechs end up partnering with banks,” she adds. Traditional bankers agree that the ostrich approach
Banks need strategic technology tie-ups to focus on ex- will not work in the current environment. Post pandem-
isting customers, whereas Fintechs bring technology, ic, many banks, which were reluctant earlier, are now en-
innovative products, and also a bet-
ter understanding of risks by using
databases. ”The need of the banking
sector is to use Fintechs to create an EMERGING
elephant called the bank,” says a pub-
lic sector banker.
TRENDS
Banks are tying up
Services On Offer with Fintechs
Banks currently engage with Fintechs
and tech firms for
for value-added services or software
super apps
as a service, which help them influ-
ence customer experience through
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine They are also
Learning (ML) and other digital tools. exploring the
In fact, Fintechs are coming up with marketplace model
smart solutions for traditional banks to offer products of
to plug and play. Banks only need to other banks
open up their core banking solutions
and Application Programming Inter-
face (API) for Fintech players. Payment Fintechs
“A lot of automation and tech used are getting into the
in traditional banks is being pushed by lending business
Fintechs. The journey of digitisation
in the banking sector has started,” Techfins like Google
says Satyam Kumar, CEO and Co- Pay and Amazon
founder at LoanTap, which offers per- Pay are also eyeing
sonal and business loans. the lending space
Today, banks have hundreds of
Fintech tie-ups. The country's larg-
28 Business Today 27 June 2021Fintechs also need
banks as much as banks
need Fintechs. We look
at it as a collaborative
partnership. We work in
conjunction with Fintechs
to deliver superior
customer experience”
Shalini Warrier, Executive Director
& COO, Federal Bank
gaging with Fintechs. keeping players away from the payments business.
In the payments space, banks have taken a lead, al- “Payment Fintechs have to morph. The money is not
though Fintechs started as disrupters. Regulatory inter- in providing banking services, but in the lending busi-
ventions and the launch of UPI gave banks a big leg-up. ness,” says Raj N., Founder of Fintech start-up Zaggle.
The interoperability in the transfer of funds under the BharatPe, for instance, is giving the QR code and POS
UPI system has made the wallet business unviable. machine free to merchants, but is building a lending
“There is an expectation that payments are free. Cus- model on top of it from the data collected. Many Fintechs
tomers don’t want to pay for payments,” says a Fintech in the payments space are now reworking their business
player. Traditional banks with diversified and large op- models to foray into the lending business.
erations are in a better position to fight Fintechs in the
payments space since they can easily subsidise their learly, the lending model is showing the
offerings by crossing a loan and investment product. potential for Fintechs to grow in the long
In fact, banks have taken big steps by launching super term. There is a huge underserved and
apps and through the addition of new features such as underbanked population not covered by
card-less withdrawals. “In terms of technology, banks both banks and traditional non-banking
are ready to deploy more capabilities in the payments financial companies (NBFCs). Fintechs
space,” says a private banker. He admits banks are a bit are making big inroads into small-ticket
slow on the merchant side, but well placed for person-to- size loan segments like loans to security guards, maids,
person payments post the UPI launch. and tea sellers. Similarly, Fintechs have designed cash
The QR code for merchant payments has served as flow lending to micro-entrepreneurs. Some Fintechs are
a booster dose for Fintechs. Most Fintech innovations innovating ‘buy now and pay later’ models by analysing
are now happening on the merchant payment side. The extensive customer data for crediworthiness.
scrapping of merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI Ru- “The relation between banks and Fintechs is a very
Pay payments from January 2020 came as a big jolt for symbiotic relationship. There are areas where collabo-
Fintechs, who are now looking beyond payments. Cur- ration is not only the desired way, but the only way for-
rently, no fee is collected from the merchant or the cus- ward,” says Krishnan Vishwanathan, Founder at Onemi
tomer in a digital transaction. The MDR money, shared Technologies (Kissht). The balance sheet and cost of
between POS (point of sale) issuing bank, card-issuing funds are very critical in the lending business, he says,
bank, and payment network (Visa or MasterCard), is adding, Fintechs will always require the support of
27 June 2021 Business Today 29Technology Special fintechs
banks because of the cost of funds arbitrage. For lending, tomer for loans. Platforms have to issue a loan sanctioning
one has to reduce the cost of lending. letter on the letterhead of the bank or NBFC.
“The model that is prevalent is the risk-backed model.
Banks are willing to take 100 percent exposure on their Growing Ambitions
balance sheet. They do it because of the risk comfort Fintechs are looking to tap a large segment that doesn't
from the partnership,” says Krishnan of Kissht. Under have access to credit or can’t access credit at a good interest
the agreement, the Fintech bears the first 10 per cent of rate. Given the boundary that banks operate within, Fin-
the loss, or if the loans go bad beyond a specific time, it techs are filling the gap by innovating and using multiple
buys it from the bank. data points to lend. “Fintechs backed by a different set of
“Fintechs have the connection, but not the capital to capital are filling the gaps as they are taking the risks,” says
lend. Banks have both money and capital. So, they will Krishnan of Kissht.
coexist. The pie is very large and in absolute terms, both There is a likelihood of some Fintechs making it big in
will grow,” says Pandey of SBI. the next 5-10 years. Bajaj Finance, for instance, has come
up with a differentiated lending model by successfully
year ago, lending tie-ups had come under creating a tech-based consumer durable loan market.
the scanner for unhealthy practices and Many banks are now working on a Bajaj Finance kind
customer-protection issues. In June last of model to create a consumer durable portfolio. The
year, the RBI came out with guidelines on market potential in many loan segments is huge. Also,
co-lending. The central bank has asked not all banks will be able to exploit the digital potential.
banks and NBFCs to disclose names of Besides, there may be some Fintechs already operating
digital lending platforms engaged as with a marketplace model. BankBazaar is an example
agents or distributors. The RBI has also directed such where multiple banks offer retail products.
lending platforms to disclose the name of the bank or the Some banks are also responding to the new threat from
NBFC on whose behalf they are interacting with the cus- Fintechs and Techfins through apps. Traditional banking
A lot of automation
and tech used in
traditional banks
is being pushed
by Fintechs.
The journey of
digitisation in the
banking sector
has started”
Satyam Kumar, CEO & Co-
founder, LoanTap
30 Business Today 27 June 2021Banks currently
engage with Fintechs
for value-added
services or software
as a service, which
help them influence
customer experience
through AI, ML and
other digital tools
is moving towards Neobanking, a nimble, agile kind of of inefficiencies,” says a banking consultant. Ultimately,
experience. SBI has plans to make its YONO app a mar- banks have to know their customers well.
ketplace for other banks. “It is not surprising at all. Banks “If you know your customer well, your ability to assess
will come to the forefront,” says Krishnan of Kissht. Here the customer’s lifetime value will be much better,” he adds.
again, the partnership model is emerging between Tech- This will also help banks offer customers better products.
fins and banks. Federal is one of the four banks that offers “If a bank knows the intrinsic value of a customer from the
personal loans on Google Pay. The latter had announced products used by him/her, the bank can easily calculate the
its partnership with private banks to facilitate pre-ap- lifetime value of the customer. The cost of servicing a cus-
proved loans instantly for Google Pay customers. Other tomer also comes down,” says another consultant.
banks on Google Pay include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Some predict a deeper partnership between banks
and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Google Pay customers can get and Fintechs going forward. “Fintechs will offer end-to-
hassle-free loans via the app. The money gets credited di- end services, from lead generation to collection. Banks
rectly into their accounts. will follow regulations, compliance, etc,” says Suryaku-
“More competition is welcome… The payments in- mar of Crediwatch. But the space is still open for new
dustry is getting revolutionised with new players and kinds of licences in the future. In the last decade, the RBI
new modes of payments,” says Federal Bank’s Warrier. issued differentiated banking licences like Payments
But, there are bankers who still look at Fintechs with Banks and Small Finance Banks. “There is a space for
skepticism.“Fintechs are like parasites using the bank- digital banking. Globally, there are licensed Neobanks
ing system and gaining valuations,” says a banker. like Monzo, 86400, N26, Revolut, etc,” says Raj of Zaggle.
Today, Fintechs without banking licences, are enjoy- Clearly, the field is wide open for disruption and new
ing billion-dollar valuations. These asset-light players models in the near future.
are riding on the network of banks. In the past, banks
embraced Fintechs and created silos. “This brought a lot @anandadhikari
27 June 2021 Business Today 31The
5G
Dilemma
32 Business Today 27 June 2021Technology Special 5G
The pandemic has opened a fresh
debaTe around The fuTure of 5G in
india. infrasTrucTure requiremenTs
could furTher delay iTs launch
By Manu KaushiK
vandalised and doT issued an official statement
to allay concerns. “it has come to the notice of
the doT that several misleading messages are
being circulated on various social media plat-
forms claiming the second wave of coronavirus
has been caused by the testing of 5G mobile tow-
ers...these messages are false and absolutely not
correct...the general public is hereby informed
that there is no link between 5G technology and
spread of covid-19...moreover, it is informed
that testing of the 5G network has not yet started
anywhere in india,” according to the statement.
The anti-5G lobby got greater prominence
here are still believers of the flat earth theo- when bollywood actor Juhi chawla recently
ry,” says s.p. Kochhar, director-General, cel- filed a petition in the delhi high court against
lular operators association of india (coai), a the roll-out of 5G in the country. Though the
lobby body representing indian telecom opera- court dismissed her petition and fined her `20
tors. “The doubting community will always be lakh for “abusing the process of law”, the matter
there. it’s not black and white. enough studies is unlikely to die down soon. Why?
have been done already,” he says on the issue of a telecom consultant says the reasons are
fresh concerns over possible links between 5G two-fold: malicious intent of some people, and
technology and the spread of coronavirus. lack of information about the effects of radio
over the past couple of months, telcos and waves on living beings. “There are two types of
the department of Telecommunications (doT) people behind it. Those who have a vested inter-
officials have been fighting a perception battle est, and have an axe to grind. The second type
against a group of people who believe that 5G is sitting on the fence, but if someone creates
could harm humans. last month, telecom tow- a doubt in their minds, they start to believe in
ers in certain parts of haryana and punjab were the worst,” he says, adding, people who spread
27 June 2021 Business Today 33Technology Special 5G
rumours mask pertinent details. “No-
body wants to go into the depth of it.
THE RED
The government should step in to take FLAGS
action against people with bad intent.
As for fence-sitters, the industry needs In May this year, people
to spread awareness,” he says. in Haryana and Punjab
attacked mobile towers
Truth vs Hype over Covid-19 fears
The race for 5G in India began early
this year when Sunil Mittal-led Bharti
Telcos argue that concerns
Airtel became the first telecom opera-
tor to demonstrate live 5G services over
were also raised with 2G,
a commercial network in Hyderabad. 3G, 4G, but none was
Last year, Reliance Industries Chair- proved
man Mukesh Ambani indicated that
Reliance Jio would launch 5G services According to the DoT, there
in the second half of 2021. That seems is no link between 5G and
unlikely, given that its 5G test runs have Covid-19
just started, and the government is yet
to auction 5G spectrum (3,300-3,600
megahertz or MHz). The DoT’s prescribed norms
Some experts are apprehensive of for exposure limit for base
the launch of 5G services even next year stations are 10 times more
since telcos will need to put up more stringent than the safe
towers and small cell sites, an area they limits prescribed by WHO levels of mobile towers. If users have an
are likely to face resistance from public, issue with any particular tower, they
and RWAs (resident welfare associa- can call for a re-check. Similarly, the
Telcos are currently testing
tions) in particular. “5G works on high- DoT has prescribed norms for exposure
5G across urban, semi-urban
er frequencies, and by design, it would limit for base station emissions, which
require street furniture (installing
and rural areas. The trials are are 10 times more stringent than safe
small cells over billboards, light poles, likely to last for six months limits prescribed by the International
park benches, utility poles, traffic sig- Commission on Non-Ionizing Radia-
nals, etc.) for propagation, especially tion Protection (ICNIRP) and recom-
in dense urban locations. This requirement could delay the mended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
launch since health concerns have heightened due to the But, experts say the government needs to do more than
pandemic,” says an industry expert. just relying on the findings of WHO or the ICNIRP (a pri-
Initially, telcos are expected to launch 5G in Delhi, vate industry body) since the anti-5G lobby has evidence to
Mumbai and Hyderabad, before heading to rural areas show. A two-year study commissioned by the US Food and
where setting up street furniture might not be required. Drugs Administration (FDA) proves cancer in male rats
“Smaller towers need less power to function, and hence, and some in female rats when exposed to the kinds of radia-
they emit less radiation compared to large ones. Higher fre- tion emitted from 2G and 3G phones.
quencies cannot even warm up the body, forget penetrating Then, in September 2017, over 180 scientists and doc-
it. I cannot do future gazing, but I don’t see any roadblocks tors from 35 countries recommended a moratorium on the
for 5G launch as of now,” says COAI’s Kochhar. Typically, roll-out of 5G until potential hazards for humans and the
a small cell tower covers a radius of less than a kilometre, environment are fully investigated by scientists.
compared to 3-3.5 kilometres for existing ones. “India needs to discuss a 5G radiation strategy to
safeguard environment, human and living beings. The
Rules in Place main argument in defence is that there is no concrete
The Centre has been proactive in addressing radiation evidence to show any negative impact of the technology
concerns from mobile towers. Part of the reason being that on living organisms. That is also the official stand of the
the issue keeps cropping up after every few years as it had government. Nobody has done any research or study to
with 2G, 3G and 4G. In 2017, for instance, the DoT launched assess the impact. Everybody just relies on the ICNIRP
Tarang Sanchar portal, which gives easy access to radiation report of 1998 when 4G and 5G were non-existent,” says
34 Business Today 27 June 2021Technology Special 5G
N.K. Goyal, Chairman Emeritus, Telecom Equipment says the telecom consultant quoted above.
Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA). TEMA Consultancy firm Deloitte says the power transmitted
says it supports the government’s view, which is based from mobile telephony, including 5G, is far lower than that
on ICNIRP/WHO studies. from light bulbs, television, radio towers, or even sunlight
Last year, the ICNIRP released guidelines to protect on an overcast day. “The quantity of this power is measured
people from adverse health effects of radio frequencies in in watts, and a single watt is a tiny quantity of energy. The
the range of 100 kHz (kilohertz) to 300 GHz (gigahertz), power transmitted by mobile phones used in 2021 and into
such as 5G. The guidelines ensure mobile radiation does not the foreseeable future can reach up to two watts, depend-
result in excessive temperature rise due to brief exposure. ing on the age of the phone; it can be as low as 0.001 watt,
However, some leading physicists have raised questions on with the vast majority of devices in use this year peaking
these guidelines, stating that they do not differ much from at 1 watt. By comparison, the power transmitted by CB
the 1998 guidelines, and therefore offer no protection. (citizens band) radios, which have been in use for decades,
“Some scientists have done research and informed reaches up to four watts,” says a recent Deloitte report.
about the risks. They were shot down by standard argu- The report also says a person less than half a meter away
ments that their sample size is small, that they have ulterior from a 25-watt bulb is exposed to thousand time more ra-
motives and that the results were not concrete evidences,” diation than the one standing 10 meters away from a high-
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
Radiation levels According A person less The ICNIRP
of mobile towers to Deloitte, than half a metre regulations
are available the power from a 25-watt ensure future
on the Tarang transmitted by bulb is exposed technologies
Sanchar portal. cellphones can to 1,000 times with frequencies
If users have an be as low as 0.001 more radiation above 6 GHz like
issue with any watt vis-a-vis up than someone 5G will not result
particular tower, to four watts by standing 10 in excessive
they can call for CB (citizens band) metres from a 5G temperature rise
re-check radios base station due to exposure
powered 5G base station. “People absorb five times more
radio frequency exposure from FM radio and TV broad-
casts than from mobile network base stations,” it adds.
The biggest argument in favour of 5G is that there have
been no incidents of health hazards in countries where 5G
networks are commercially live for more than a year. Ac-
cording to Internet speed monitoring firm Ookla, there
are over 65,000 live 5G deployments across the world with
a majority of them in the US, Germany, and China. “When
a technology is being developed just now, how can we have
concrete evidences in its support?” asks TEMA’s Goyal.
The large-scale launch of 5G is still some time away, but
arguments against the technology are showing no signs of
slowing down. For the sector, the next few months will be
crucial to work on raising awareness while dispelling ru-
mours with hard facts.
@manukaushik
36 Business Today 27 June 2021Technology Special EVs
The
Future is
Electric
The pandemic has
noT impacTed The
elecTric vehicle
sTory adversely.
in facT, iT may
have acceleraTed
The shifT
By sumant Banerji
40he pandemic may have come as a rude shock for doubt-
ing Thomases who believed that the future of mobility
is something else. While sale of conventional passenger
vehicles and two-wheelers in the country declined over 9
per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, in fy21, electric two-
and four-wheelers bucked the trend and posted impressive
growth.
sales of electric two-wheelers surged over 64 per cent,
while four-wheelers grew over 68 per cent. yes, this is on
a small base, but encouraging. in a year where nearly two
months were lost due to lockdown, it is the clearest indica-
tion yet that after sputtering for years, the electric mobil-
ity story is on track towards an inflection point when it will
$206 billion
The market
opportunity
for EVs in
India by
FY2030.
Cumulative
sales may top
100 million
by then
27 June 2021 Business Today 41Technology Special EVs
become mainstream.
“Covid did us a favour as sustainability and people’s
preference for greener vehicles increased, as did the slant
towards private mobility. We believe the industry is just
getting started and there are exciting times ahead of us,”
says Nagesh Basavanahalli, Group CEO and Managing Di-
rector, Greaves Cotton, which acquired electric two-wheel-
er company Ampere Vehicles in 2018. “We are beginning
to see traction. We surpassed the full-year performance of
FY2020 in just nine months of FY2021 despite Covid.”
PhotograPh by bandeeP singh
India is moving ahead
towards making electric
vehicles. In due course, we
will be the number
one EV maker in the he strong growth for the segment prompt-
world. E-mobility will be ed Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of
Road Transport and Highways and one of
an important tool the earliest advocates of electric mobility
in the country, to say India would become
to develop pollution-free the global leader in this technology. “India
transport” is moving ahead towards making electric
vehicles (EVs). In due course, we will be the number one EV
Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road maker in the world. All reputed brands are present in India,”
Transport, Highways and MSMEs
Gadkari said while addressing the Amazon Smbhav sum-
mit on April 18. “We have tremendous capability for making
green power. Within six months, I am confident we will be
THE EV MATHEMATICS
$180 billiON
158
GiGawatt
`18,100 crOre
$6
billiON
hOur
Investment Allocation by government Investment
needed in vehicle Annual battery under the Production needed to set
production and capacity Linked Incentive up at least 5
charging required. $6.1 Scheme for advanced million charging
infrastructure billion investment cell chemistry battery stations across
needed for 50% storage the country
localisation
42 Business Today 27 June 2021in a position to make 100 per cent lithi-
um-ion battery in India. E-mobility will
be an important tool to develop pollu-
tion-free transport.”
One-stop Solution
EVs are touted as a one-stop solution to
many problems in India. These include
those related to air pollution and steep
oil import bill that depletes our foreign
exchange reserves. India consumes
29.4 per cent of the world's oil and crude
oil accounts for more than a quarter of
its imports. It spent over $100 billion
on oil imports in FY20. According to a
report by Niti Aayog and Rocky Moun-
tain Institute, a reduction of 156 million
tonnes of oil equivalent worth `3.9 lakh
PhotograPh by yasir iQbaL
crore is possible by 2030 if EVs account
for 40 per cent two-wheelers, cars and
SUVs and 100 per cent commercial ve-
hicles and three-wheelers.
India is also the world's third-larg-
est emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2)
at two million kilotons behind the US
and China. In the national capital of
Delhi, pollution due to particulate mat-
ter regularly exceeds the World Health
Organization’s limits by a factor of 7-12.
More EVs means less carbon emissions.
“It is a no-brainer that EVs are the future. I think that
is well-established now,” says Chetan Maini, Co-Founder
and Vice Chairman, Sun Mobility who built India’s first
electric car, Reva, back in the 1990s. At Sun Mobility, Maini
For the world and for us, is working to establish a network of battery swapping infra-
the way forward is electri- structure across the country. “An EV is even more suitable
in high congestion cities and stop-go traffic conditions like
fication. All our planning we have in India,” he says.
and strategy are based on However, any new technology at the start comes at a
price. EVs, too, cost more than their petrol and diesel coun-
our vision for the future of terparts. But with more EVs being produced, the cost of
mobility. The future is all lithium-ion batteries that account for nearly 50 per cent
cost of an EV is falling fast — over the last decade, prices
about partnerships and have dipped from $1,000 per MW Hour to just over $150 per
MWH. They are tipped to fall below $100 by 2023, making
collaborations. We have EVs as cheap as internal combustion engine vehicles.
set big targets for On top of this, culmination of a number of local fac-
tors has provided a major tailwind for EVs in India. Till
ourselves internally” such time that EVs become affordable, the government
Pawan Munjal, Chairman and Managing has stepped in with a host of incentives under the umbrella
Director, Hero MotoCorp FAME 2 Scheme. The level of incentives now on offer for
EVs in India are the highest ever — up to `32,000 for elec-
tric two-wheelers, `3 lakh for electric cars and `35-55 lakh
27 June 2021 Business Today 43You can also read
