- Wednesday, May 01, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Tuesday, April 9, 2024:
India’s top car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has added an assembly line at its largest factory, boosting the plant’s annual capacity to 900,000, it said on Tuesday. The assembly line at the plant in Manesar in the northern state of Haryana is capable of producing 100,000 vehicles annually, raising Maruti’s overall annual capacity to 2.35 million units. The company, which is majorly owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor, aims to manufacture four million units annually by fiscal 2031. The maker produces eight models at the Manesar plant, including some of its top-selling products, such as the Wagon R hatchback and Brezza sport utility vehicle.
The number of unicorns — companies worth over $1 billion — in India has fallen for the first time in four years to 67, a report said on Tuesday. The country, however, maintained the tag of being the third biggest hub for unicorns across the world, according to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024. Grappling with a slew of issues, edtech company Byju’s, which was valued at over $22 billion (£17.3 billion) a year back, dropped off from the list, meaning it is worth less than $1 billion (£789.4 million) at present. The drop in valuation for Byju’s made it the biggest dip across any startup in the world, as per the Hurun report. The 2008-founded Byju’s lost its coveted position as it restructured operations and cut costs after increasing losses, the report said.
Aircraft technicians of India’s state-owned AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) have called for a strike on April 23 to seek resolution for their grievances, including about promotion, salary and uniform. The All India Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Union (AIAMEU) has written to AIESL’s CEO and CHRO urging them to address the concerns. State-owned AIESL is a leading player in the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) segment. The union, which claims to have around 1,000 members, represents the Fixed Term Employment (FTE) staff. “The recent forced implementation of a new Service Level Agreement (SLA) has exposed a clear discrimination between permanent and FTE staff, with a glaring disparity in notice periods and benefits,” the letter said.
As airfares reach unprecedented heights during peak seasons such as festivals and summer vacations in India, industry leaders are calling on the government to implement measures to control the surge. The demand for regulatory intervention comes amidst concerns over escalating costs and the need to ensure affordable travel options for the general public. The chairman of the Travel and Tourism Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Subhash Goyal, has made a fervent appeal to the government to reinstate the upper ceiling on fares. He attributes the skyrocketing prices to various factors, including the recent crisis faced by Vistara and the suspension of Go First operations, all contributing to supply and demand imbalances in the aviation sector.
Ride-hailing major Ola said on Tuesday it was exiting its businesses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as the startup focuses on its home market India, where it is competing with Uber for market share. Ola Cabs, founded in 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal, was operating in the international markets for six years. Earlier this year, US asset manager Vanguard cut Ola’s valuation by 30 per cent to under $2 billion (£1.57 billion). Parent ANI Technologies was valued at $7.3 billion (£5.76 billion) in its most recent fundraise in 2021, and is yet to report a profit. According to an Ola spokesperson, the company feels there is an “immense opportunity for expansion in India” where it is in operation in hundreds of cities and offers several transportation options, including two-wheelers, the Economic Times reported.
(With agencies)
