FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

Trending Updates Tamil | Apr 03, 2020

Many airlines, on the verge of bankruptcy, need government support: the industry

Industry body FICCI on Wednesday recommended a number of measures to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to help the airlines as the airline's cash reserves are "running fast" as planes land amid the coronavirus epidemic.

In its letter, the FICCI stated that the government should provide appropriate instructions to the Reserve Bank of India to ensure the operation of “credit letters, other foreign guarantees and bank guarantees” issued by the Indian airline operators or their banks. “Effective immediately for 90 days.

In a letter to both ministers, he said airport operators should be entitled to a waiver of benefits, penalties, late fees and wages, and then airport operators can get enough support from the government to cover the gap.

“One of the biggest challenges facing the airline industry is that the cash reserves are running fast, with the fleet landing and aircraft not operating in the last few days. Many airlines are almost on the verge of bankruptcy, ”said Anand Stanley, president of FICCI Airlines Group.

Anand Stanley is the Chairman and Managing Director of Airbus India and South Asia.

If the "interest-free unsecured credit period" for oil marketing companies to pay fuel bills is increased from the current 21 days to 180 days, the liquidity position of all airlines will benefit, Stanley noted.

The government has imposed a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of the Corona virus, and domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended during this period. Many countries that have been infected with the virus have taken similar measures.

However, cargo planes, marine helicopter operations, medical evacuation planes, and aircraft regulatory specialties to the DGCA are permitted to operate during the flight.

“Flight cancellations are more than any new ticket; Thus airlines have negative sales during COVID-19. As a result, airline GST refunds are higher than GST. It is recommended for the Government of India to consider postponing the payment of GST to the airline industry, ”Mr Stanley said.

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) can be brought to the GST limit for any airline in India, with ATF costing 40 per cent of total operating cost.

“Currently the ATF draws the excise tax of 11% and the VAT (which varies from state to state) up to 30%. Airlines may be allowed to take the input credit of the GST paid on the ATF, resulting in a cost reduction function, ”Stanley suggested.

In a letter to both ministers, Mr Stanley recommended discounting of parking and landing fees and royalties paid by airlines to airports.

“The government can take some policy action to contribute at least 20 per cent to the total salary bill of Rs 30,000 or less per month. The list of employees should be on the payroll for the month of February 2020, “This move will help airline companies keep their employees current,” he said.

So far, 1,600 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus virus, resulting in 38 deaths in India, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Tribune | Apr 03, 2020

NGOs, philanthropists mobilise large-scale relief efforts in Amritsar

To overcome the urgent requirements of essential food items for the most vulnerable and poor families of the city, affected by the sudden outbreak of pandemic and lockdown, distribution of food and other relief material to the needy is being carried out now on a large scale in city as several NGOs and corporates have come forward with funds and resources. The Punjab Rice Exports Association and FICCI Flo have already handed over 4,000 food ration packets to the district administration for distribution in several parts of the city and in the suburbs. Packets containing atta (5 kg), rice (2 kg), dal (2 kg) and a salt packet were distributed.

“Members of both organisations are daily getting frantic calls from the outskirts of the city for immediate relief. We have reached out to stranded students from Manipur, north-east, migrant labour and slum dwellers who are in desperate need for food,” said Aarushi Verma, chairperson, FICCI FLO. She added that philanthropists from Delhi too are contributing to relief efforts.

Brij Kakar, another good Samaritan from Delhi, has donated urgent medical supplies including 10,000 surgical masks, over 100 N95 masks, 500 bottles of hand sanitisers and vital personal protective equipment for doctors worth over Rs 3.5 lakh. The entire consignment was handed over to the president, Indian Medical Association, Dr RS Sethi, who gave it to the Principal of Government Medical College and to doctors of civil hospitals. Advance India Project, another NGO, has adopted 16 families of the daily wagers working different odd jobs at Celebration Mall. As malls have been shut since lockdown was announced, the families have lost their income and are getting relief material through voluntary efforts.

Voice of Amritsar, a non-profit and one of the first organisations to begin with relief work in the city, has been distributing ration to 100 families since March 27, covering the most vulnerable population. The district administration too is distributing 1,000 food kits including dry ration (10 kg flour, rice, sugar, tea, butter, etc) to needy families.

The administration has roped in voluntary services of Radha Swami Satsang Beas, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Youth Clubs of various villages to reach out the needy families. The district control room is serving as a call centre with distress calls being received for food supplies. Each sub-SS Division related SDM, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar, BD/ IPO has been directed to stay alert and make sure relief material reaches every needy household.

Contributing to the District Red Cross Society, the Madad Charitable Foundation has been providing 1,500 packets of meals daily to the Police Lines staff who have been working on ground and food kits to the villages where daily wagers need help. They have also providing them hand sanitisers and gloves.

“We have set up teams of volunteers for each campaign to deliver food kits and packed meals. Also, we are identifying and helping to take care of senior citizens in need with food, medicines and healthcare. We aim to provide over 50,000 cooked meals to the police personnel on ground,” informed Suneet Kocchar, Director, Khanna Papers and Managing Trustee, Madad Charitable Foundation.

The Economic Times | Apr 03, 2020

PM-CARES fund to have up to 13 eminent experts

The PM-CARES Fund can have up to 13 eminent experts, working pro bono, and can undertake relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other emergency, including the creation and upgradation of healthcare facilities, ET has learnt.

The registered trust deed, dated March 27, of PM-CARES Fund states that the prime minister as chairperson of the Trust will have the power to nominate three people to the board of trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy. The board of trustees also include the defence minister, home minister and finance minister in ex-officio capacity.

There is also a provision to set up an advisory board of not more than 10 persons — selected by the trustees from among the medical practitioners, healthcare professionals, academicians, economists and lawyers.

“The responsibility of the trustees in PM-CARES has been defined, unlike in the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The latter has no provision of an advisory board. PMNRF has the PM, deputy PM, finance minister, Congress president and a representative of the Tata Trusts and industry representative chosen by FICCI, as members of the trust,” a senior official told ET.

A senior BJP functionary said Congress was objecting to PM-CARES because the Congress president had not found a place in it unlike in the PMNRF. “The idea is not to make the PM-CARES fund political in any sense. There is no BJP representation on the PM-CARES fund – people will be on the trust based on their positions in government,” the functionary said.

“PM-CARES’s objectives include undertaking and supporting relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress either man-made or natural, including the creation or upgradation of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research or any other type of support.

PM-CARES will also render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take any such other steps deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees to the affected population,” as per the deed. Both PM-CARES and PMNRF offer 100% income-tax exemption on donations and will accept them from individuals and organisations abroad too.

ET Healthworld | Apr 03, 2020

COVID- 19 proves fatal for the Medical Tourism Industry

Foundation of Healthcare & Wellness Promotion had a meeting to discuss the amidst the travel breakdown in the world and with no foreseen resolution to COVID 19 fears, the Medical Travel Industry of India comes to a standstill, at least for next few months. Medical Value Travel, which includes Patients Traveling to India for Treatment both in Modern Medicine and AYUSH sector, is estimated to be USD 3 bn market for India. Thought leaders of the industry were part of the meeting like Shinon Global, eExpedise Healthcare, Magnus Medi and HBG Medical Assistance to name a few.

Dalip Chopra, President of Foundation of Healthcare and Promotion, India, said, “There are many medical tourism players who have brought India to top of the world medical tourism map, unfortunately, today they stare at dark future”.

Amit Sharma, Fonder and CEO of eExpedise Healthcare said, “The fiscal damage to the MVT industry due to the novel Corona is estimated at almost 2.5 billion dollars if the corona conditions persist across the world for 6 months. This is equivalent to the revenue we would have generated over eight months if our business had progressed at the usual pace, without the unusual disruption caused by COVID-19. Most of this amount would have gone towards salaries and maintenance of our international offices, that generate patient flow to India”.

In view of the above dismal scenario, we urge the Govt. to take necessary steps to streamline the industry in the view of this pandemic.

Recognise MVT companies as an independent industry
The MVT Industry, driven purely by MVT companies, needs immediate financial stimulus and support. In absence of this, the industry not survive, resulting in immense foreseen and unforeseen forex losses, losses on account of widespread jobs and losses of multi-billion USD inflow opportunities in the near future.
Involve COVID impact council along with FICCI to support the MVT industry, which brings in so much forex to the country.
Reduce restrictions on international patients coming to India as soon as possible, with adequate measures to ensure such patients don't spread COVID-19

Asia’s largest event which goes with the name Advantage Healthcare India and invites delegates from over 50 countries to showcase Indian Healthcare. The industry today is waiting to hear words of assurance from such esteemed bodies and hopes that the plea of the industry players will be taken up in right spirits. The importance of the service is such that Niti Ayog and Ministry of Commerce have included, Medical Travel Industry in one of the 12 champion sectors they wish to promote under services promotion council. FICCI too plays heavily on the industry and organizes

Hindustan Times | Apr 03, 2020

Government may borrow Rs 40k crore as cash-strapped states seek funds

The government may borrow about Rs 40,000 crore to compensate cash-strapped states for their revenue shortfall under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, and push its departments and public sector firms to clear their vendors’ dues , to rescue them from an acute liquidity crunch caused by the 21-day coronavirus lockdown, three officials aware of the developments said. Apart from states, government departments also owe money to companies across sectors for products bought, services rendered, or such things as subsidies.

In a meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi though video conference on Thursday, several state chief ministers demanded that the Centre pay their GST compensation, immediately release the wages of workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and sought help in Coronavirus relief efforts. The government is considering their proposals, the three officials said.

The cabinet secretariat and the department of expenditure are continuously monitoring the situation so that the states do not face a funding crunch in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and companies, particularly micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), receive their dues in time to tide over the crisis, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Several states have cited a funding crunch and announced salary cuts for their employees for March.Industry, particularly the MSME sector, has asked for the speedy release of outstanding payments by government agencies.

“The expenditure secretary has told all ministries and CPSEs (central public sector enterprises) not to sit on vendors’ money and clear their dues expeditiously,” one of the officials with direct knowledge of the matter said.

An official in the West Bengal government said the Centre must pay the entire compensation amount due to the states at this crucial juncture to meet their Covid-19 expenses. Punjab has asked for the release of Rs 6,752.83 crore in GST arrears immediately; the payment has been pending since October , 2019.

A recent report on Covid-19 prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) also asked the Centre provide liquidity to states by increasing the overdraft facility available to them from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and pay pending GST compensation immediately.

According to the Union government officials mentioned above, the total compensation payout ito the states n 2019-20 is expected to be over Rs 1.20 lakh crore while total collection from GST compensation cess was less than Rs 80,000 crore. “The government will put up a proposal to the GST Council to borrow from the market to pay compensation to states,” the second official said.

The GST law assures the states a 14% increase in their revenue for five years and the Centre is committed to meeting any shortfall in revenue through the cess levied on luxury goods and sin products such as liquor, cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Most of the states asked the Centre to relax their borrowing limits,and demanded an additional grant in the aftermath of Covid-19 and advance wage payments to MGNREGS workers. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar requested the Union government to consider raising the fiscal deficit limit for the state to tide over the emergency. A similar demand also came from the Punjab and Rajasthan governments.The states’ current fiscal deficit limit stands at 3 % of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

West Bengal has demanded a grant of Rs 25,000 crore to fight the Coronavirus disease pandemic, besides kits to fight the virus, such as face masks, gloves, sanitizers and protective suits for medical staff. It also demanded that the Centre release Rs 36,000 crore under different accounts that had not been released earlier.

“...to uphold the spirit of cooperative federalism, we need this minimum help from the central government to cope with the unprecedented impasse at this hour to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday. She did not take part in the video conference with PM Modi on Thursday.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray sought the release of GST compensation worth Rs 16,000 crore. The state government also sought help with procurement and manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and N-95 masks, a government statement said.

Punjab also demanded payment of 15 days’ unemployment allowance per month for three months to mitigate rural distress on account of the national lockdown, suggesting a 90:10 centre-state sharing for these. It asked for a special insurance package for fronline workers such as the police and sanitary workers.

Rajasthan demanded Rs 1 lakh crore from the Centre to fight Covid-19. In a statement after the video conference with the PM, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said he had requested for a relief package and asked for an enhancement of the state’s borrowing limit.

Gehlot requested an inter-state supply chain protocol for essential items, medicines and medical equipment, advance payment of wages to registered and active MNREGS workers and demanded cancellation of payment of interest to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other central financial institutions. Some CMs including Thackeray also demanded immediate distribution of Coronavirus safety equipment and testing kits.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik did not present any wish-list in the video conference with PM Modi, but he wrote to him earlier this week demanding unemployment allowance to 3.61 million active MGNREGS workers in the state for the lockdown period of 21 days. He requested the Centre to allow the state government to utilise Rs 380.39 crore from the MNREGS fund to provide the unemployment allowance for 21 days.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in a letter to PM Modi on Wednesday demanded the allocation of a special relief package for labourers under MGNREGS. He also requested a support of Rs 750 per month to all Jan-Dhan account holders for the next three months. Under a relief package announced last week, the government will pay Rs 500 a month for three months to women who hold Jan Dhan accounts.

The Union government has also received industry requests to release payments that are due to private sector units.

According to an industry estimate, the outstanding payments to companies run into lakhs of crores. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) estimated payments owed by state distribution companies to power generation units at Rs 90,000 crore. In the delayed payments monitoring portal MSME Samadhaan, only 14% of the Rs 3,774.36 crore (against 11,619 claims) filed by MSMEs have been settled so far, it said.

Assocham president Niranjan Hiranandani said the payment delays had created a massive liquidity crunch in two ways: “One, government is taking over all the cheap borrowing in the system (though inadequate), and two, they do not release cash flow to vendors – so the liquidity crisis has exacerbated. MSMEs struggle to cover the financial shortfall created by delayed payments, owing to the high cost of borrowing and this often creates viability issues.”

Saur Energy | Apr 03, 2020

MNRE asks states to not halt payments for RE Generators

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has asked states to continue to buy power from renewable energy producers and clear their dues “on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown”. The MNRE on April 1, 2020, wrote to all states and electricity distribution companies (Discoms) after renewable energy producers complained that some states were curtailing purchase and payment for electricity generated from sources such as solar energy.

In the letter, the ministry said the power ministry has recently issued instructions providing for a moratorium to Discoms for making payments to electricity generating companies in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak and the following nationwide lockdown. Some state Discoms, however, used that order to start curtailing renewable energy power terming the prevailing situation a ‘force majeure’ condition.

The ministry, according to the letter, has directed the discoms to accept invoices and billing through emails and make payments to renewable energy generators as per their power purchasing agreements (PPAs).

“Renewable energy generating stations have been granted ‘must-run’ status and this status of ‘must-run’ remains unchanged during the period of lockdown,” it said. Solar and wind electricity generating stations have been granted a place in the “essentials” list exempted from the lockdown, and they will be allowed to continue to function during the lockdown period.

“Since Discoms have already been given sufficient relief and as electricity from renewable energy (RE) comprises only a minor portion of the total electricity generation in the country, the payments to RE generators be done on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown,” it said.

The direction from the Centre followed Indian Renewable Energy Alliance writing to the ministry saying the generators need a continuous flow of cash to ensure they stay afloat, keep plants running, repair any failures, buy spare parts and continue to employ workforce.

“Now despite there being no mention of a moratorium on the payments to be made by the discoms (to renewable energy generators), some discoms are purposely misconstruing the intent to deny payments to RE generators,” it had written on March 31.

It said the RE industry was already grappling with payment issues from state discoms and was still in a long ongoing legal battle with Andhra Pradesh discoms. “On top of that, if generation payments abruptly stop from the discoms who are buying our energy, there will be hugely negative consequences for the entire RE industry,” the letter said warning of the industry’s ability to operate and maintain the power plants, pay solar park charges and land lease charges.

Also, in the absence of the payments, they may not be able to service a large pool of overseas debt. “All of this will lead to a loss of jobs for labour and contractors at the site, income for small owners, and damaging all the future investments in the solar sector,” it had written.

Industry chamber FICCI also wrote to Power and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh on March 30 stating if generation payments abruptly stop from all discoms, who are buying their energy, there will be huge negative consequences for the entire RE industry, impacting their ability to operate and maintain the power plants. “This will lead to loss of jobs,” it said.

The Economic Times | Apr 03, 2020

Aditya Birla group contributes Rs 500 crore to fight Covid-19 pandemic

The Aditya Birla Group pledged a sum of Rs 500 crore towards the nation’s effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic with plans of making a donation to the PM-Cares fund and supplying ventilators and masks.

Rs 400 crore were earmarked for donation to the PM-Cares fund while Rs 50 crore will be granted to FICCI-Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, according to a press statement released on Friday.

To supply one million N95 masks and 280,000 personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as ventilators, Rs 50 crore were allocated. The group had already commenced the production of one million triple layer surgical masks and 100,000 coverall garments with the support of the Textiles Ministry.

“Given the severity of the disruption, there is a compelling need for a multi-pronged response that includes financial and material support, healthcare assistance, and community responsibility” said Rajashree Birla, chairperson at Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development.

The plan also included setting up a 100-bed Covid-19 facility at the Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. This initiative was being overseen by Neerja Birla.

Moreover, a cumulative capacity of about 200 beds was being set up Covid-19 patients across locations including Ujjain, Pune, Hazaribagh, Rayagada, Solapur, and Kharach, as per the statement.

Animation Xpress | Apr 02, 2020

How COVID 19 is impacting the esports business in India?

Though currently emerging, esports in India is witnessing levels of interest and excitement which is similar to other markets around the world. Today a huge millennial fanbase, coupled with the adequate streaming opportunities and improved internet bandwidth can be noticed and these are the favourable factors that are driving this growth. Last year professional esports teams grew 8x and professional esports players grew 4x in 2019 and there were more than 10 prominent esports game titles according to FICCI EY report.

But recently Covid 19 pandemic has made a huge difference in the market. The market depends on favourable factors but the outbreak has disrupted every business possible with a dip in FDI, and global lockdown. Surprisingly for the gaming and esports industry it was the time for them to rise by practicing a different approach to face the market.

What is that different approach?

Initially when the pandemic spread was increasing it affected the industry the same way as gaming and esports events were shutting down. That includes postponement of Game Developer Conference (GDC), suspension of LCS and LES events, Overwatch League’s cancellation for all matches in February and March and many more. The industry figured out that if the physical lockdown continues it will affect the global gaming and esports industry drastically. Acknowledging the idea that ‘the show must go on’, the industry took a different approach to deal with it- they all went completely digital. From conferences like GDC to esports events like Overwatch League all aimed to host digital events to proceed. This approach was aimed to keep the industry unaffected from the pandemic spread, unlike other industries.

In conversation with AnimationXpress LXG director, Esports and Broadcasting, Kiran Noojibail emphasized, “The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has changed up the game for most of the esports businesses. Certain large scale events requiring an offline presence, which includes participants, viewers, large production crew and so on, have been postponed. LAN events are also not possible until the lockdown concludes. Therefore the focus for all brands/tournament organisers has now shifted to engaging gamers purely online through smaller events and I see that being the case for at least the near future.”

Understanding the need of the hour where physical esports events are not possible “LXG is looking at providing ample opportunities for gamers to play online events while providing an excellent viewing experience to the esports audiences, from our home studios,” he added.

How phygital esports events were impacted?

On the other hand, NODWIN Gaming co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee said offline events lined up for global TOs like ESL and Dreamhack and even for Nodwin gaming, things have been difficult for the big spectacle, finale event. The booked venue, flight, and vendor contracts had to be canceled because of the pandemic spread.

“Since we haven’t started our India Premiership season as of now and the fact that the initial two months will be the online phase, I hope that we are still good to go with our schedule. Adequate manpower, expertise, and tech to take our production online and we can see the result in our current broadcasts! Post COVID, events will gather steam with a vengeance! We look forward to catching up on all the spectacular events that are currently postponed,” he added.

This definitely has affected the regular schedule of the esports season all around the world. On the brighter side, he believes that the lockdown and social distancing has given rise to innovative ways to carry out a tournament remotely, like in ESL Pro League Season 11. As they have witnessed live player interviews on a video call and everyone can observe the reactions and excitement through their webcams while they all, at the comfort of their homes, have played through a major league. He found it quite fascinating and they are planning to incorporate such options in their leagues as well.

As per the current scenario, Nodwin Gaming is looking forward to “the PUBG MOBILE Pro League South Asia, lined up for us and then our own India Premiership kicks off! We are also looking forward to the kickoff of Dew Arena, The Taiwan Cup and others soon. Our first tournament in South Africa, the Umzansi Esports League will go live too. Tough but exciting times,” he added.

How esports organisations are dealing with it?

Unlike traditional sports, esports is not reliant solely on LAN tournaments and venues where players and fans need to be physically present. Since most tournaments/ events have postponed their dates or have shifted to an online platform, the organisations and the teams remain unaffected. Taking the example of Global esports is a professional esports organization which own teams have witnessed that “with the day to day, our work has actually increased and the entire esports and gaming industry has seen almost a 30 per cent increase. With more and more people being confined to their homes during lockdown there has been a sudden spike in the amount of time and resources spent on gaming,” said Global Esports founders Dr. Rushindra Sinha and Mohit Israney in conversation with AnimationXpress.

They have closed down HQ and Bootcamps by mid of March before the lockdown orders came in, staff members have been strictly instructed to work from home and provided with necessary sanitary products, have been sent home safely where they can be with their families and continue practicing for tournaments. However, they said that they are “In constant communication with all the entire team across the globe. As gamers, we’re used to working online and have been operating remotely in various parts of the world since inception. Everything has been running smoothly so far. Being an esports organisation, we are used to such practice. As we joke around internally ‘What people are now calling social distancing is something gamers have been practicing all their life.’”Also since everyone is at home to keep everyone busy and engaged they are hosting games online which is an initiative to organise custom games in PUBG and CODM which have been received well.

GE is preparing for all of the major tournaments which includes – PMPL for PUBG: Mobile, ESL India Premiership for CSGO, including multiple tournaments coming in for India and their international teams are prepping for their local as well as online tournaments which will continue to run through the year regardless of the situation in the regions.

The Times of India | Apr 02, 2020

Telangana government working to increase import of PPE from China

The state and central government are working to increase procurement of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) from China. “Unless cargo flights and ships are permitted into India from China, we will face challenges for some time...We are working for an increase in the frequency of these flights and to destinations like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai,” Telangana industries principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan said on Wednesday.

Ranjan, who was addressing a webinar jointly organised by FTCCI and FICCI, said that on the pharma front although the sector is a major exporter from the region, the first priority is the domestic market. “At this point I am not sure when we can allow the usual exports of pharma given the circumstances, unless there is a global emergency for our products. We have decentralised the entire operation. Respective district collectors and police officials have been authorised to make necessary assessment and give permissions for manufacturing and movement of goods and people,” Ranjan said.

Financial Express | Apr 02, 2020

Air India suspends contract of 200 pilots as coronavirus continues its blows over aviation

National carrier Air India has temporarily suspended the contracts of around 200 pilots as the coronavirus outbreak continues to take toll on the aviation industry. The 200 pilots were re-employed after retirement and their contracts were suspended because the country has put restrictions on all domestic and international commercial passenger flights till 14 April to curb the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official said, PTI reported. The same has dealt a massive blow to the revenues of airlines. Other domestic airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have also been taking measures to cut costs.

Earlier, budget carrier SpiceJet returned five of its wet-leased Boeing 737 aircraft to Turkey’s Corendon Airlines. The airline attributed cost-cutting for the move. Others such as GoAir have announced pay cuts for its employees. “Under the current conditions, we find ourselves in we are left with no choice but to extend salary cuts for all of us for the month of March. We will ensure that the lowest pay grades suffer the least,” Vinay Dube, CEO, GoAir, said recently. The airline had also retrenched its expat employees. India’s biggest airline by passengers carried - IndiGo - had also announced salary cuts for its top management with CEO Ronojoy Dutta bearing a 25% cut in the salary.

Aviation is one of the worst hit industries in the country as the government put travel bans. According to a report, two of India’s major airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet alone are staring at losses to the tune of $1.25-1.50 billion across Q4FY20 to Q1FY21 due to outbreak, aviation consultancy firm CAPA said, adding that the impact could be “so severe that even the stronger carriers may not be immune.” Another report had said that the aviation industry is one of the worst hit sectors in the country, according to a recent FICCI report. However, other sectors such as retail, hospitality and tourism are also expecting major revenue losses.

Bloomberg Quint | Apr 02, 2020

Government asks states not to stop payments to Renewable Energy Producers

The central government has asked states to continue to buy power from renewable energy producers and clear their dues "on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown".

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on April 1 wrote to all states and electricity distribution companies after renewable energy producers complained that some states were curtailing purchase and payment for electricity generated from sources such as solar energy.

In the letter, the ministry said the power ministry has recently issued instructions providing for a moratorium to distribution companies or discoms for making payments to electricity generating companies in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak and the following nationwide lockdown.

Some state discoms, however, used that order to start curtailing renewable energy power terming the prevailing situation a 'force majeure' condition. The ministry, according to the letter reviewed by PTI, directed the discoms to accept invoices and billing through emails and make payments to renewable energy generators as per their power purchasing agreements.

"Renewable energy generating stations have been granted 'must-run' status and this status of 'must-run' remains unchanged during the period of lockdown," it said. Solar and wind electricity generating stations have been granted a place in the "essentials" list exempted from the lockdown, and they will be allowed to continue to function during the lockdown period.

"Since discoms have already been given sufficient relief and as electricity from renewable energy comprises only a minor portion of the total electricity generation in the country, the payments to RE generators be done on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown," it said.

The direction from the government followed Indian Renewable Energy Alliance writing to the ministry saying the generators need a continuous flow of cash to ensure they stay afloat, keep plants running, repair any failures, buy spare parts and continue to employ workforce. "Now despite there being no mention of a moratorium on the payments to be made by the discoms (to renewable energy generators), some discoms are purposely misconstruing the intent to deny payments to RE generators," it had written on March 31.

It said the renewable energy industry was already grappling with payment issues from state discoms and was still in a long ongoing legal battle with Andhra Pradesh discoms. "On top of that, if generation payments abruptly stop from the discoms who are buying our energy, there will be hugely negative consequences for the entire RE industry," the letter said warning of the industry's ability to operate and maintain the power plants, pay solar park charges and land lease charges.

Also, in the absence of the payments, they may not be able to service a large pool of overseas debt. "All of this will lead to a loss of jobs for labour and contractors at the site, income for small owners, and damaging all the future investments in the solar sector," it wrote. Industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry also wrote to Power and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh on March 30 stating if generation payments abruptly stop from all discoms, who are buying their energy, there will be huge negative consequences for the entire RE industry, impacting their ability to operate and maintain the power plants.

"This will lead to loss of jobs," it said. FICCI said while the three-month loan moratorium advisory announced by the Reserve Bank of India is a positive step, it may not be sufficient to sustain RE generators. "RE sector will still need to service the significant international debt exposure in the form of ECB and green bonds," it wrote.

Stating that RE generation industry needs a continuous flow of cash to ensure they stay afloat, FICCI said considering the gravity and extent of the pandemic, it is vital that liquidity in the sector is not impacted.

Pharma Biz | Apr 02, 2020

FICCI launches training courses for healthcare workers on COVID-19

FICCI, on behalf of NITI Aayog, has launched a training course on COVID-19, with a focus on infection control and clinical management of positive cases. This also covers more than 15 important aspects on preparedness against the outbreak.

The course provides information on the outbreak, transmission, symptoms, hospitals' preparedness, screening and triaging of patients, standard precautions, correct and rational use of PPEs and bio-medical waste management for COVID-19.

The content has been referred from credible sources such as guidelines from Union health ministry, WHO, CDC- USA and best practices from Indian hospitals.

Co-created by experts from diverse fields of healthcare, the course has been launched by FICCI on an accessible for all platform developed with the help of Medvarsity. Healthcare workers can access the content free of cost. (https://healthedu.co.in/courses/training-of-hcws-on-covid-19/)

Further, FICCI is also working on courses for specific cadres of healthcare workforce and translating the courses to common Indian languages.

Regular training of the healthcare workforce must be undertaken for the better health of patients and medical staff as a key factor in any outbreak response.

Protecting healthcare workers at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 must be seen as a national priority. Some of the key tenets to prepare our healthcare workforce to combat the outbreak include, adequate supply of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and other requisite medical supplies, training on Infection Control and Prevention and management of the disease, financial and social protection as well as psychological support.

Finance minister's announcement of a health insurance for Rs 50 lakh per healthcare worker for 3 months due to coronavirus is a very prudent step towards financial protection for about 22 lakh health workers handling the COVID-19 crisis across India.

Last week, the PM's call to the nation to applaud and express gratitude to the healthcare workers combating the pandemic, received an overwhelming response.

Edex Live.com | Apr 02, 2020

How FICCI FLO is helping Bhubaneswar's migrant workers amidst lockdown

It was on March 28 that FICCI FLO Bhubaneswar Chapter decided to help all migrant workers and slum dwellers during the lockdown brought on by the spread of Coronavirus. Dharitri Patnaik, Chairperson Designate of FICCI FLO Bhubaneswar Chapter, and other members decided to provide the poor and needy in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack with two hot meals a day.

After lockdown, they enlisted the help of a catering agency and with help from Arpita Pattnaik, Executive Director, Humara Bachpan Trust (HBT), started distributing meals in Bhubaneswar. "We were also getting several calls from our circles saying many migrant workers have nowhere to go. They have their ration cards but those are either lost or are back in their native place, thus, they are unable to avail help from the government either. That's why we decided to step in," she shares. With the help of their volunteers, they are distributing hot meals in areas like Ramakrushna Leprosy Colony, Rickshaw Colony, Pradhan Sahi, Behera Sahi, Panda Park and many others. They even received calls about 60 migrant labourers stranded near Bhubaneswar railway station, so they are distributing there as well. The officials of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation have given them their permission and support.

Other areas

Since April 1, HBT has been distributing hot meals in Cuttack as well, thanks to funds from Netaji Subhas Memorial City College and the cooperation of Cuttack Municipal Corporation and Cuttack police, Arpita informs us. Khichdi, dal chawal and other food is distributed keeping in mind nutritional value, social distancing and hygiene.

Another interesting way that FICCI FLO Bhubaneswar Chapter and HBT are helping in these testing times is through ASHA, a helpline for those going through mental stress and trauma. It is run by those certified and experienced psycho-social counsellors who even helped during the 1999 Odisha cyclone. Counselling is done in Odia, Hindi and English.

Madras Courier | Apr 02, 2020

What the Modi Government must do in this hour of crisis

The Economic Times | Apr 02, 2020

Centre asks states not to stop payment of renewable energy generators

The central government has asked states to continue to buy power from renewable energy producers and clear their dues "on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown". The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on April 1 wrote to all states and electricity distribution companies after renewable energy producers complained that some states were curtailing purchase and payment for electricity generated from sources such as solar energy.

In the letter, the ministry said the power ministry has recently issued instructions providing for a moratorium to distribution companies or discoms for making payments to electricity generating companies in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak and the following nationwide lockdown.

Some state discoms, however, used that order to start curtailing renewable energy power terming the prevailing situation a 'force majeure' condition.

The ministry, according to the letter reviewed by , directed the discoms to accept invoices and billing through emails and make payments to renewable energy generators as per their power purchasing agreements (PPAs).

"Renewable energy generating stations have been granted 'must-run' status and this status of 'must-run' remains unchanged during the period of lockdown," it said.

Solar and wind electricity generating stations have been granted a place in the "essentials" list exempted from the lockdown, and they will be allowed to continue to function during the lockdown period.

"Since discoms have already been given sufficient relief and as electricity from renewable energy (RE) comprises only a minor portion of the total electricity generation in the country, the payments to RE generators be done on a regular basis as was being done prior to the lockdown," it said.

The direction from the Centre followed Indian Renewable Energy Alliance writing to the ministry saying the generators need a continuous flow of cash to ensure they stay afloat, keep plants running, repair any failures, buy spare parts and continue to employ workforce.

"Now despite there being no mention of a moratorium on the payments to be made by the discoms (to renewable energy generators), some discoms are purposely misconstruing the intent to deny payments to RE generators," it had written on March 31.

It said RE industry was already grappling with payment issues from state discoms and was still in a long onging legal battle with Andhra Pradesh discoms.

"On top of that, if generation payments abruptly stop from the discoms who are buying our energy, there will be hugely negative consequences for the entire RE industry," the letter said warning of the industry's ability to operate and maintain the power plants, pay solar park charges and land lease charges.

Also, in the absence of the payments, they may not be able to service a large pool of overseas debt.

"All of this will lead to a loss of jobs for labour and contractors at the site, income for small owners, and damaging all the future investments in the solar sector," it wrote.

Industry chamber FICCI also wrote to Power and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh on March 30 stating if generation payments abruptly stop from all discoms, who are buying their energy, there will be huge negative consequences for the entire RE industry, impacting their ability to operate and maintain the power plants.

"This will lead to loss of jobs," it said.

FICCI said while the three-month loan moratorium advisory announced by the RBI is a positive step, it may not be sufficient to sustain RE generators.

"RE sector will still need to service the significant international debt exposure in the form of ECB and green bonds," it wrote.

Stating that RE generation industry needs a continuous flow of cash to ensure they stay afloat, FICCI said considering the gravity and extent of the pandemic, it is vital that liquidity in the sector is not impacted.

The Economic Times | Apr 02, 2020

Aviation industry lobby group seeks incentives for the sector

The Airports Council International, an industry lobby group for airport operators, and industry body FICCI have sought various incentives for the aviation sector from the government in the wake of the disruption caused by the outbreak of Covid-19.

ACI has sought suspension of all national and local aviation-specific taxes until December 31, including passenger departing taxes and revenue share payment made by private airport operators, and a moratorium on new national and local aviation-specific taxes until December 31.

“Amid an extremely challenging environment being faced, we are requesting the government to provide some relief measures to the airport operators, which will directly alleviate the financial burden for airports,” said Satyan Nayar, secretarygeneral of the Association of Private Airport Operators.

Business Journal | Apr 02, 2020

Aviation industry lobby group seeks incentives for the sector

The Airports Council International, an industry lobby group for airport operators, and industry body FICCI have sought various incentives for the aviation sector from the government in the wake of the disruption caused by the outbreak of Covid-19.

ACI has sought suspension of all national and local aviation-specific taxes until December 31, including passenger departing taxes and revenue share payment made by private airport operators, and a moratorium on new national and local aviation-specific taxes until December 31.

“Amid an extremely challenging environment being faced, we are requesting the government to provide some relief measures to the airport operators, which will directly alleviate the financial burden for airports,” said Satyan Nayar, secretarygeneral of the Association of Private Airport Operators.

The News Minute | Apr 02, 2020

Many airlines at brink of bankruptcy, need govt support: FICCI tells FM, Aviation Min

As cash reserves of aviation sector companies are "running down quickly" as planes are grounded amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry body FICCI on Wednesday recommended several measures to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to help the firms.

FICCI stated in its letter that the government needs to give appropriate directions to the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that the operation of existing "stand-by letters of credit, other foreign guarantees and bank guarantees etc. issued by Indian airlines operators or their banks" are suspended with immediate effect for a period of 90 days.

In its letter to both the ministers, the industry body stated that interests, penalties, delayed charges and accruals to airport operators should be waived for the airlines, and subsequently, airport operators could be adequately supported by the government to make up for the gap.

"One of the major challenges faced by the aviation industry is that cash reserves are running down quickly as fleets are grounded and flights are not operational in the past few days. Many airline companies are almost at the brink of bankruptcy," stated the letter written by Anand Stanley, Chairman, FICCI Aviation Committee.

Stanley is also President and Managing Director of Airbus India and South Asia.

The liquidity position of all airlines will be benefited, if the "interest-free unsecured credit period" for payment of fuel charges to oil marketing companies is enhanced to 180 days from the current 21 days, Stanley noted.

India has imposed a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, and domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this period. Many other virus-affected countries have taken similar measures.

However, cargo flights, offshore helicopter operations, medical evacuation flights and flights that have gotten special approval from aviation regulator DGCA are permitted to operate during the flight ban.

"Airline cancellations far outstrip any fresh ticketing; airlines thus have negative sales during COVID-19. This results in Airline GST refunds being higher than the GST due. It is recommended that the Indian government consider deferment of payment of GST for the airline industry," Stanley stated.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) may be brought under the ambit of GST as for any airline in India, the cost of ATF constitutes about 40% of the total operational cost, he mentioned.

“Presently, ATF attracts excise duty at the rate of 11 per cent and VAT (which varies from state to state) up to 30 per cent. Airline companies may be allowed to take input credit of GST paid on ATF resulting into reduction in the cost of operation," Stanley recommended.

In his letter to both the ministers, Stanley also recommended waiving parking and landing charges and royalties that are paid by the airlines to the airports.

"The government could undertake some policy measures for at least 20 per cent contribution towards the total salary bill of employees with a gross salary of Rs 30,000 or less per month. The list of employees should be as per the pay-out made for month of Feb 2020," Stanley said, adding that this step would help aviation sector companies retain their employees despite current headwinds.

As on April 1, around 1,600 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 38 people have died due to it in India, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Travel Biz | Apr 02, 2020

FICCI seeks government bailout for aviation industry

India’s aviation industry has urged the government to take steps for financial aid, including funds infusion into airlines and airports, as Covid-19 paralyses the sector, reports Mint.

The aviation industry needs an urgent bailout from the government, FICCI Aviation Committee Chairman Anand Stanley said in a letter on Tuesday to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

The industry body has sought tax relief, deferment of payment of goods and services tax (GST) for airlines, bringing jet fuel under GST, reduction in airport charges and overflight fees, a temporary cut in excise duty on jet fuel, as well as other financial aid.

“The government may immediately provide direct cash support to Indian carriers, so that airlines can meet their fixed costs, at least for the period where loss of revenues and liquidity is directly attributable to the government’s directive to cease operation,” Stanley said, referring to India suspending flights till 14 April amid a three-week nationwide lockdown to arrest the spread of Covid-19.

“The government could undertake some policy measures for at least 20% contribution towards the total salary bill of employees with a gross salary of INR 30,000 or less per month,” he said. These steps will help airline companies retain employees, despite the headwinds, he said.

India’s aviation industry is expected to post losses of USD 3-3.6 billion in the June quarter with airlines sharing the bulk of the hit because of the travel curbs and falling air travel demand because of covid-19, aviation consultancy CAPA India said in a report last week.

Express Healthcare | Apr 01, 2020

COVID- 19 proving fatal for medical tourism industry

Medical value travel, includes patients travelling to India for treatment both in modern medicine, AYUSH sector, is estimated to be $3 bn market for India

Foundation of Healthcare & Wellness Promotion had a meeting to discuss amidst the travel breakdown in the world and with no foreseen resolution to COVID-19 fears, the Medical Travel Industry of India comes to a standstill, at least for next few months. Medical value travel, which includes patients travelling to India for treatment both in modern medicine and AYUSH sector, is estimated to be $3 bn market for India. Thought leaders of the industry were part of the meeting like Shinon Global, eExpedise Healthcare, Magnus Medi and HBG Medical Assistance to name a few.

Dalip Chopra, President, Foundation of Healthcare and Promotion, India, said, “There are many medical tourism players who have brought India to the top of the world medical tourism map, unfortunately, today they stare at a dark future”.

Amit Sharma, Founder and CEO, eExpedise Healthcare said, “The fiscal damage to the MVT industry due to the novel Corona is estimated at almost $2.5 billion, if the corona conditions persist across the world for six months. This is equivalent to the revenue we would have generated over eight months if our business had progressed at the usual pace, without the unusual disruption caused by COVID-19. Most of this amount would have gone towards salaries and maintenance of our international offices, that generate patient flow to India.”

In view of the above dismal scenario, we urge the Govt to take necessary steps to streamline the industry in the view of this pandemic.

Recognise MVT companies as an independent industry.
The MVT industry, driven purely by MVT companies, needs immediate financial stimulus and support. In absence of this, the industry may not survive, resulting in immense foreseen and unforeseen forex losses, losses on account of widespread jobs and losses of multi-billion dollars inflow opportunities in the near future.
Involve COVID impact council along with FICCI to support the MVT industry, which brings in so much forex to the country.
Reduce restrictions on international patients coming to India as soon as possible, with adequate measures to ensure such patients don’t spread COVID-19.

The New Indian Express | Apr 01, 2020

FICCI FLO feeds needy, destitute

With thousands of poor and vulnerable people in the city going through a difficult phase due to Covid-19 lockdown, FICCI FLO, country’s only women Chamber of Commerce, has extended a helping hand by serving them cooked food.

The ladies organisation is distributing food among the elderly, single women household, differently-abled, migrant workers, daily wagers and other needy and destitute living in the city slums. The Bhubaneswar Chapter has crowdfunded to provide 6,000 cooked meals and ration to the deprived identified by BMC and Humara Bachpan Trust with the help of Bhubaneswar Smart City Ltd.

“We are trying to provide a small support to those facing food scarcity and remaining without food during this public health crisis,” said Dharitri Patnaik, Chairperson Designate of FICCI FLO, Bhubaneswar Chapter, which has more than 55 women entrepreneurs and professionals as its members.

Nyoooz | Apr 01, 2020

Medical Devices sector seeks government support in ensuring supply of essential medical equipment intact

The government has taken many proactive actions to reduce the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on India. The private healthcare sector highly appreciates these measures and has come together to support the nation in this global war against COVID-19. Industry too is closely engaging with the government and developing strategies to facilitate business focused actions towards handling COVID-19 challenges. To manage the current public health emergency, the key priority is to meet the existing demand – supply gaps of essential medical supplies across India. “FICCI has been closely monitoring the situation and working alongside the healthcare sector to help remove any bottlenecks that could impede timely delivery of screening and treatment which is extremely critical to ensure that hospitals get timely medical supplies.

Outlook Traveller | Apr 01, 2020

The world of travel has been impacted by the Covid19 pandemic. What lies ahead? Ashish Kumar, the Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel and Technology committee, shares his insights

The world of travel has been impacted by the Covid19 pandemic. What lies ahead? Ashish Kumar, the Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel and Technology committee, shares his insights.

The travel industry is constantly evolving. Whether domestic or international travel, each year the trends take a different course. And 2020 is no different. However, this year due to the global pandemic, the trends will shape up the industry differently. Ashish Kumar, Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel and Technology committee, gives us an insight into the travel industry post coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus will change the travelling word, permanently, socially.

A global novel virus that keeps us contained to our homes, maybe for months, is already re-orientating our relationship with each other and the outside world. Some changes might feel unfamiliar or unsettling. Will nations stay closed? How will people choose their holidays; their destinations; their brands? Will they shun group travel? Will they use the Net and technology to aid virtualisation? Will nations introduce visa norms for a compulsory virus-free certification (maybe on the lines of yellow fever decades ago)? Will the demographic category of over 60-65 year-olds (with underlying medical conditions) feel insecure about going on holidays, thus changing the demographics and needs of a travelling community?

However, a crisis can also present opportunities. Perhaps we will see more sophistication, and flexible use of technology, less polarisation, and a revival in appreciation of the outdoors and life's simple pleasures.

No one knows exactly what will come, but the economy, our lifestyle and demographics will impact the way we choose to travel, and decide on destinations, or review and consume holiday products.

And this may require vendors, suppliers, distributors and indeed the entire travel food chain to re-model and re-adapt to social changes. Our interactions with other people (even family members), how we study, eat, pray, shop, perceive health safety will all go through a transformation.

The current coronavirus pandemic has completely upended our lives, and one of the many questions for travel personnel is how, when humanity will get past this, will travel change. Is this a transformational moment in history that will fundamentally alter how we live? Will history now be divided between life before corona (BC) and life after (LA)? Or will it be merely a passing-though dramatic episode, like the 1918 Spanish Flu, the AIDS epidermic or 9/11? An event that changes certain patterns of our life in the short term, but eventually recedes into memory?

My opinion (and it may be debatable) is that this would usher in long-term behavioural changes. Human contact options will be re-viewed, and it may take a few years to recover from the fear of being with others.

So what may be the possible impact of this on travel?

Some destinations may be perceived (with some logic) as being safer than others. India inbound destinations may be better placed than some of the European /US destinations. Websites may just start carrying a "Safety Meter" badge to help people in choosing destinations, just like a service rating meter on, say, Trip Advisor.

The demographics of world travellers may change, with older, health-challenged people being adverse to risks of travelling. This should foster changes in products, distribution and consumption to suit a younger, fitter audience, and the way they review, search and book.

India as a holiday destination, both incoming and outgoing, will need to adapt.

Travellers may consider avoiding group travel, resulting in the rise of independent travel customised towards not just a younger audience, but to suit individual needs /safety perceptions. Cosmopolitan group tours which have a global composition may be seen as 'risky'. A case in point: some of the European coach tours.

Holidays which are based on long, confined space-sharing, be it cruises or inclusive train journeys, may face review.

New safety certificate visa regimes may come up. Each country may choose to put in its own parameters. This would make travel between some destinations, say Europe (EU), that we take for granted, to be based on border controls /individual clearances. One Schengen Visa may still be the political norm, but not necessarily the border entry norm. I am not sure how the federal structure in the US will play out regarding travel between their states.

Corporate travelling may need modifications, perhaps aided by video conferencing using VR. The MICE (Meetings, Events, and Incentives travel market) activity may see changes in terms of FIT holidays / individual travel rather than the current mode where busloads of channel partners travel together. Therefore, travel could be part of corporate gifting, to be consumed as and when needed, and based on personal choice of destination rather than in a group.

Travel suppliers, companies, airlines, hotels, tour operators and the entire chain, would have to micro analyse their existing operating process, and adopt to a digital, web and technology-driven interfacing, both with customer and internal teams. This may be for both inbound or within /outside India

Costs need to be pruned down and rationalised for servicing, distribution of product as well as for consumer consumption. For instance, airlines have to go beyond inventory management (as would hotels and resorts) and add value in every step. And this end-to-end experience has to be available to intermediaries in a simplified API /technology protocol, so that the customer touch points are well managed. Emerging technologies would have to quickly be adopted and scaled up like AI, machine learning, virtualisation and augmentation, to support information and experience.

Change is the only constant at the moment.

Ashish Kumar, Co-Chairman of FICCI Travel and Technology committee, brings with him 40 years of experience in travel, transport and hospitality. He is also a visionary who stands behind the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the travel industry.

Orissadiary.com | Apr 01, 2020

Medical Devices sector seeks government support in ensuring supply of essential medical equipment intact

For the first time, we are experiencing an unprecedented global pandemic. The Healthcare sector is at the epicentre of this challenge, and the private sector has risen to the occasion, by offering to the Government all the support it needs, be it testing support, preparing isolation beds for the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients or deploying equipment and staff in identified nodal hospitals.

The government has taken many proactive actions to reduce the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on India. The private healthcare sector highly appreciates these measures and has come together to support the nation in this global war against COVID-19. Industry too is closely engaging with the government and developing strategies to facilitate business focused actions towards handling COVID-19 challenges. To manage the current public health emergency, the key priority is to meet the existing demand – supply gaps of essential medical supplies across India.

“FICCI has been closely monitoring the situation and working alongside the healthcare sector to help remove any bottlenecks that could impede timely delivery of screening and treatment which is extremely critical to ensure that hospitals get timely medical supplies. Industry has put aside all thoughts of risk to self, staff and organisation and have risen to the occasion,” Mr Badhri Iyengar, Chair, FICCI Medical Devices Committee and Cluster Managing Director – South Asia (SAARC) & South East Asia (ASEAN), Smith & Nephew

Medical devices sectors come under essential services, and are playing a critical role in ensuring that hospitals are fully equipped on the ground, however, there have been many instances where frontline medical professionals face stiff resistance to their discharge of duties, sometimes violently by certain sections of frontline law enforcement officials.

“At a time when government and industry need to join hands and collaborate to ensure we tide over these critical times, industry too seeks equal government support by ensuring the safety of these professionals who are doing a yeoman service risking their safety to ensure that the supplies reach the last mile and demand supply gap is met,” added Mr Iyengar.

Even though the Indian Government intends to ensure seamless delivery of essential services to the people of the country, despite the lockdown situation, however, there instances continue, which is unfortunate, and therefore FICCI requests the Union Home Ministry to intervene in this matter, so that much-required medical services are rendered without disruption.

At this time when holistic participation is required for India to emerge out of the COVID-19 crisis with as minimal an impact as possible to human life, we urge the Union Home Ministry to enable medical services organisations to effectively partake of this huge responsibility facing us.

The Hindu Business Line | Apr 01, 2020

Pocket Aces' Loco upgrades product offerings, introduces game-streaming

Digital entertainment company, Pocket Aces, on Wednesday announced a product update for its gaming app Loco. The update will allow users to stream on the app, with a specific focus on gaming.

This will make Loco one of the earliest entrants in the game-streaming space in India, the company claimed in a statement.

The games that streamers on the platform are streaming include the likes of PUBG, FreeFire, Call of Duty etc, it said. The platform will continue to offer its ‘hyper-casual gaming’ and interactive trivia, where it has hosted over 2,000 quizzes with multiple branded games.

"In 2018, we launched Loco with two daily quiz shows and within a year, we expanded our services to include hyper-casual gaming. Today, users spend over 30 minutes per day on the app. As the next step in fulfilling our commitment towards building a long lasting gaming and esports ecosystem in India, we are now adding game streaming to our platform. This major update empowers gamers to entertain India and display their skills in different popular games, right from the comfort of their homes. In the coming months, we will roll-out an exciting array of new features and original gaming content,” said Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh, Founders, Pocket Aces.

Loco, in association with Fnatic will exclusively live stream #GamingForGood, a PUBG Mobile charity tournament, that will take place from April 3 to April 5 between 3 pm and 9 pm. This is an initiative taken to raise funds and help some of those affected due to the currently ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it said.

The top 20 teams from the South Asian PUBG MOBILE circuit will compete for prizes totalling to Rs 3.5 lakh, which will be donated to charities that teams pick.

According to FICCI and Ernst & Young's report titled, 'The era of consumer A.R.T', India's online gaming segment grew 40 per cent in 2019 to reach Rs 65 billion and is expected to reach Rs 187 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 43 per cent. There has been a significant increase in the number of online gamers, from 183 million in 2017 to 365 million in 2019.

Since its inception, Loco has seen more than 22 million gaming hours spent by users, 3 million cash prize winners and has rolled out more than 2,000 quizzes. Loco is currently available on Android and iOS platforms, and it has an engaged community of 2.2 lakh on Facebook, 1.9 lakh on Instagram and 60,000 on Twitter.

Media4Growth | Apr 01, 2020

In-Cinema advertising projected to reach INR 8 bn in 2020: FICCI-EY report

According to FICCI-EY ‘s Media & Entertainment 2019 report, In-Cinema advertising has grown marginally in 2019 to reach INR7.7 billion and it is estimated to touch INR 8 billion in 2020. The report states that In-cinema advertising maintained its revenues, while physical revenues continued to fall. In 2019, the duration of on-screen cinema advertising has grown to up to 17-20 minutes per show wherein aggregators have managed over 70% of screens for advertising purposes.

The report highlights that multiplexes and advertising aggregators have started signing long-term deals with brands in comparison with earlier where brands would opt for weekly deals and extend deals depending on the success of the film, but now the brands are open to entering into 12-week deals leading to higher utilization.

Further, multiplexes are developing customized solutions and on-ground activation campaigns for brands which is boosting its revenue.

However, the report also clearly mentions that predictions may vary due to the impact of Coronavirus impact on the Media & Entertainment industry.

medianews4u | Apr 01, 2020

MX Player ahead of Hotstar and Tik Tok in terms of monthly active users: FICCI 2020 report

MX Player has emerged as the #1 entertainment app in India, according to the annual FICCI Report on India’s Media and Entertainment Sector titled ‘The Era of Consumer A.R.T’. The ranking is based on apps classified under entertainment categories on iOS and Google Play. The entertainment streaming app that launched in February 2019, has dominated the market in terms of Monthly Active Users, followed by Hotstar, Tik Tok, BookMyShow, Jio TV, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, SonyLiv, Airtel TV, and Voot.

Currently, MX Player has 280 million MAUs globally and 175 million MAUs in India.

Commenting on this honour, Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player said, “We’re a young brand and I’m delighted that in this short time, we’ve emerged as the #1 entertainment app of 2019 in India. Our scale and penetration remain unparalleled and our aim is to keep innovating and experimenting with genres, stories, languages, characters to be able to cater to every palette, enhancing our product and making sure that users continue engaging with a fresh experience, every time they log into MX Player. Being an AVOD platform, we also offer our clients unparalleled reach across the length and breadth of India.”

India ranks as one of the fastest-growing app markets globally, where entertainment apps are driving significant consumer engagement.

According to the report, total downloads among M&E categories grew 7% while total sessions grew across all M&E app categories with Entertainment growing by 31%, Music by 81% and News and Magazines by 40%. Games grew by 36% and MX Player recently added a gaming section that hosts high familiarity and easy to learn Hyper Casual Games which users can enjoy even without data or internet access, and play in a competitive format.

Staying true to the promise of providing ‘Everytainment’ – the platform is emerging as the one stop shop for all things entertainment with its best in class offline video playing capabilities, critically acclaimed Original Series, a large online streaming repository of over 1,50,000 hours of premium content including live channels and catch-up TV, audio music and gaming.

Live Mint | Apr 01, 2020

FMCG firms facing production issues: Arvind Mediratta, Metro Cash & Carry India

Local arm of German retailer METRO Cash & Carry that runs 27 wholesale stores in the country selling staples, fresh produce and other packaged and household goods to small retailers, shopkeepers, businesses and restaurants, said the current three-week lockdown has disrupted movement of essential goods. Arvind Mediratta, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, who is also the chair of FICCI's committee on retail and internal trade and co-chair of food processing committee at CII, spoke with Mint about the covid-19 impact and what consumers are buying. Edited excerpts from an interview:

How has business been impacted for you?

The store footfall has dropped because of multiple reasons—customers are scared to come out of their homes or not allowed to come out, they are also not being issued passes. There is also a fear of getting harassed by the cops like our staff has been. The footfalls have dropped because of disruption in store operations. In some cities, we are allowed to open stores only until noon. In cities like Mumbai, we are allowed to operate for limited hours. We have been doing home deliveries from the beginning and continue to do so even today. For our stores in Surat, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Lucknow and Meerut, we are only given permission to do home deliveries.

What part of the broken supply chain is affecting you the most?

There are issues across the entire supply chain from - production to distribution. In the FMCG sector, a lot of factories shut down because of the lockdown, and consequently factory workers moved to their home towns. It is now difficult for them to come back, so production has been impacted for food and grocery products.

In the last one week, supplies of essential food commodities have been interrupted at various points - district, and state borders. With constant dialogue with authorities, these issues are slowly being ironed out. The Central government’s timely intervention has helped in the movement of goods at borders.

For FMCG companies, there is also a manpower challenge coupled by transportation issues. Furthermore, interpretation of the advisories at the state level is a major problem which is impacting the production for most companies.

Leading companies such as HUL and Britannia are only able to fulfil demand in Andhar Pradesh and Telangana, whereas Nestle and PepsiCo are falling short across the board.

In addition, companies such as Kellogg’s, L’Oréal, ITC, P&G are also facing issues for production.

We have close to 400 depots where suppliers send in their stock to further distribute to our stores. Out of these 400 depots only 30-35% are functional. METRO also works closely with small and mid-size companies to collect the stock of essential products from their warehouses to our stores. However, they are also facing several challenges.

Where do you think the bottlenecks lie?

Right now, what is considered as essential service is left to the discretion of the police officer and district magistrate on the ground, and they are taking calls which are different even in the same state. The biggest issue we are facing is that there is a central notification from the centre but the interpretation at the state level is very different. In UP - in Lucknow, they have one interpretation, while in Meerut and Ghaziabad they are separate.

What categories continue to be in high demand, and where are the shortages?

Metro has seen a surge in the sales of essential commodities such as rice, flour, vegetables, fruits, dal among others. We saw a big demand for personal hygiene and home hygiene products like mops, cleaning products etc. There has been a demand for kitchen products like pressure cookers, plastic containers etc as people are cooking at home.

We have voluntarily stopped selling non-essential products across all our stores.

As far food items are concerned, we will eventually witness shortage in pulses and whole spices as these items are largely transported from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh which were restricting movement of goods earlier. The demand for packaged food products like biscuits and noodles is likely to see a spike but since the production is hit, there will be a shortage.

United News of India | Apr 01, 2020

Decision making is decentralised for smooth running of business in Telangana: Jayesh Ranjan

India Education Diary | Apr 01, 2020

FICCI launches training courses for healthcare workers on COVID-19

As the whole country is in a 21-day lockdown and over a billion people stay at home to minimize transmission of COVID-19, healthcare workers have to do the opposite by reporting at work every day to care for the sick, putting themselves at high risk of infection.

FICCI, on behest of NITI Aayog, has launched a training course on COVID-19, with a focus on basic introduction to COVID-19, Infection Prevention and Control and Clinical management of positive cases, covering more than 15 important aspects on preparedness against the outbreak. The course provides information on the outbreak, transmission, symptoms, hospitals’ preparedness, screening and triaging of patients, standard precautions, correct and rational use of PPEs and bio-medical waste management for COVID-19. The content has been referred from credible sources such as guidelines from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, WHO, CDC- USA and best practices from Indian hospitals.

Co-created by experts from diverse fields of healthcare, the course has been launched by FICCI on an accessible for all platform developed with the help of Medvarsity. Healthcare workers can access the content free of cost. (https://healthedu.co.in/courses/training-of-hcws-on-covid-19/)

Further, FICCI is also working on courses for specific cadres of healthcare workforce and translating the courses to common Indian languages.

Regular training of the healthcare workforce must be undertaken for the better health of patients and medical staff as a key factor in any outbreak response.

Protecting healthcare workers at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 must be seen as a national priority. Some of the key tenets to prepare our healthcare workforce to combat the outbreak include, adequate supply of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and other requisite medical supplies, training on Infection Control and Prevention and management of the disease, financial and social protection as well as psychological support.

Finance minister’s announcement of a health insurance for Rs 50 lakh per healthcare worker for 3 months due to Coronavirus is a very prudent step towards financial protection for about 22 lakh health workers handling the COVID-19 crisis across India.

Last week, the PM’s call to the nation to applaud and express gratitude to the healthcare workers combating the pandemic, received an overwhelming response. It was truly a moment of euphoria. We need to continue to build the moment and ensure our healthcare workforce receives all the support they need to serve the nation in this critical hour of need.

Business Standard | Apr 01, 2020

Many airline companies at brink of bankruptcy, need govt support: FICCI writes to Sitharaman, Puri