<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48213860.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
Attempting to turnaround the fall in construction equipment industry, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/BJP-Prez-Amit-Shah-criticises-Congress-hails-BJP-one-year-on/articleshow/47427020.cms">BJP</a>-ruled states led the pack in building of national highways in 2014-15, with Rajasthan, <keyword id="6355554" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Madhya-Pradesh">Madhya Pradesh</keyword> and Chhattisgarh figuring among the top five performers on this count. BJD-ruled Odisha and Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh were the other two states. 
 
The year saw a slight pickup in construction activity, with 4,409 km of highways being built during the fiscal, up from 4,281 km in the previous year. Yet, the figure was lower than the 5,732 km achieved during 2012-13. The <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> government has cleared 1,231 projects for 37,000 km to meet its target for highways sector as part of a strategy to spur infrastructure development. 
 
The construction equipment industry , which saw a 10.8 per cent fall in demand in 2014-15, saw a turnaround in the first quarter of the current fiscal. 
 
The spurt in road construction led to a 93 per cent surge in bitumen imports in 2014-15, when 13 km of roads were built on average every day under the Modi <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-activist-in-BJP-Sudhanshu-Mittal/articleshow/46606867.cms">governmen</a>t compared to 3 km in the last days of the previous regime. 
 The <keyword id="87432" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Highways-Authority-of-India">National Highways Authority of India</keyword> (NHAI) could not award the targeted projects due to the economic downturn in 2013-14. 
 
However, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Look-for-Rahul-dont-try-digging-out-Govts-faults-Amit-Shah-slams-Cong-at-BJP-national-executive/articleshow/46794436.cms">governmen</a>t has decided to kick-start projects on the engineering, procurement and construction mode (EPC) which entails en tire funding from the Union <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Budget-2014-Signals-Achche-Din-For-Middle-Class/articleshow/38207490.cms">budget</a>. "Things have started to move in the right direction and we are seeing a bottoming out trend in demand. Increased public expenditure on infrastructure is a good sign," said equipment manu facturer JCB India's manag ing director and CEO, <keyword id="617645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vipin-Sondhi">Vipin Sondhi</keyword>. 
 
Participation of the private sector in projectsis yet to gath er pace. The road ministry is in the process of receiving bids for projects totalling 700 km and worth Rs 9,200 crore offered on BOT-toll mode in the first quarter of the current fiscal. 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes)

BJP-led construction work helping the industry regain from its downfall

New Delhi, Apr 17 () Micro, small and medium enterprises, which form the backbone of Indian industry, will need to be supported by the government to kick-start the economy after lockdown is lifted, according to Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vipin Sondhi. Measures such as easy access to working capital and liquidity through banks and NBFC's, providing interest free and collateral free loans; introduction of an incentive for MSME's to help them pay salaries and wages to their employees in these times need to be considered by the government. "It would be crucial to kick-start economic activity after this period of disruption. MSME's are the backbone of Indian industry and form the key element of the product supply chain - be it agri-processing, textiles, or auto-ancillaries," Sondhi said in a statement. Stating that MSMEs will need support from the government, he suggested measures to be considered which include "easy access to working capital and liquidity, through banks and NBFC's, providing interest free and collateral free loans; introduction of an incentive for MSME's to help them pay salaries and wages to their employees in these times". Sondhi also said the NPA recognition period must be extended for MSMEs from 90 days to 360 days and ensure that all pending payments to industry/MSME's are cleared immediately by the government departments and PSUs.Lastly, he said,"MSMEs can be incentivised to produce medical supplies, with a buy back arrangement from the government." RKL SHWSHW

Ashok Leyland seeks govt support for MSMEs post lockdown to kickstart economy

New Delhi, Apr 22 () The government may consider giving minimum wages to truck drivers, providing insurance cover and ensuring their health and safety as some of the measures to ensure disruption-free transportation of essential supplies during the lockdown, Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vipin Sondhi said on Tuesday. Also for the drivers who are transporting essentials across the country, assistance needs to be provided in the form of food, water, essentials, and service support at pit-stops along the highways, he said."Logistics and transportation are the backbone of the economy, and in these challenging times, vehicles need to be running to transport essentials," Sondhi said in a statement.He further said the truckers ensure that the supply chain of these essential supplies is not disrupted, and the communities affected by the lockdown are cared for.Suggesting steps that the government may take to help truckers during the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, he said through regulations, minimum wages must be provided to the drivers and ensure their benefits are looked after.Further, the drivers should be provided insurance and their health and safety ensured, while through cabin regulation their working conditions must be mandated, he added.Sondhi further said,"Also for the drivers who are transporting essentials across the country, assistance needs to be provided in the form of food, water, essentials, and service support at pit-stops along the highways."He said Ashok Leyland has already started initiatives on this front and look forward to partner with the government for any new initiatives on these lines. RKL ANUANU

Minimum wages, safety for truckers essential for smooth supply chain in lockdown:Ashok Leyland

New Delhi, Feb 12 () Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland on Wednesday said its consolidated net profit declined 86.68 per cent to Rs 57.11 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2019. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 428.76 crore for the December quarter of 2018-19. Revenue from operations declined to Rs 5,188.84 crore for the third quarter as compared with Rs 7,489.64 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, Ashok Leyland said in a regulatory filing. "The industry continued to witness a decline in volume (39 per cent). Ashok Leyland also witnessed a volume drop in this quarter," Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi said. The company has been seeding its range of heavy duty BS-VI vehicles in the market, well before the April 2020 deadline, he added. "Along with the roll-out of the BS-VI vehicles, we will also be introducing our unique modular business platform that will give our customers the flexibility to choose vehicles as per their requirement," Sondhi said. Ashok Leyland Whole Time Director and Chief Financial Officer Gopal Mahadevan said the company continues with its productivity and cost reduction programmes started earlier. "These initiatives have helped us achieve a sizeable reduction in costs. We are also focusing on cash flows and conserving resources for future growth initiatives," he added. Shares of Ashok Leyland on Wednesday ended 1.81 per cent down at Rs 81.35 apiece on the BSE. MSS RUJ

Ashok Leyland Q3 net down 87 pc at Rs 57 cr

New Delhi, May 3 () Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have said a well-defined and financial incentives-based scrappage policy can help create demand in the commercial vehicles (CV) segment which has come come to a grinding halt. A vehicle scrappage policy is in the works for some time now. The policy aims to put a cap on the life of vehicles in terms of years run. With sales on a continuous decline for over a year now, first due to transition to BS-VI emission norms and now with the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is hopeful that if old vehicles go out of the system, it will help reduce pollution as well as help induce demand for new vehicles. Tata Motors, which is the leader in the commercial vehicle segment, said the upcoming legislation should clearly define incentives as well as regulatory norms for disposing the old vehicles. "A well-defined and effective scrappage policy is one of the key imperatives for driving demand of cleaner BS-VI vehicles and more appropriately so, in the current shrinking demand across end-use sectors," a Tata Motors spokesperson told . Reiterating that replacement demand will remain the key driver for the sale of new vehicles, the spokesperson contended that the policy needs to have a clear definition of ELVs (end-of-life vehicles) and inclusion of financial incentives. "The government's proposed renewal of fitness certificates for vehicles older than 15 years every six months, instead of the current time frame of one year, is a welcome one," the spokesperson said. The company, however, added that the upcoming legislation needs to define tangible incentives for customers, as well as regulatory norms for enforcing the disposal. "In India, scrappage value chain is in early stages of development, and is only able to process lower double digit percentage of the total ELVs available on the road," the spokesperson noted. Two reasons for doing that is clear definition of ELVs and also absence of any financial incentives/subsidies for customers to dispose their vehicles. "Additionally, there is a need to address the criteria to define dismantlers and a mechanism to ensure adherence. India will need multiple environmental-friendly scrappage centres across the country to cater to the local needs of each region," the spokesperson added. Current setups have certain challenges such as being limited to few clusters, thereby catering to local needs and devoid of capacity to scrap total ELVs on the road, the spokesperson noted. Echoing the views, Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi said demand for commercial vehicles needs to be triggered. "Commercial vehicle sector, which was already struggling prior to the pandemic has now come to a grinding halt. As is well known, commercial vehicles are a life line to any nation's economy..it is imperative that demand for commercial vehicles be triggered," he added. A scrappage scheme with incentives in the form of a rebate in GST, road tax or registration charges would help give demand a boost, Sondhi said. Toyota Kirloskar Motor Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Naveen Soni said incentivised scrappage policy will encourage decamping of old and polluting vehicles and is an urgent need of the hour. "Given the current crisis, the policy will lead to a win-win situation for all, consumers would benefit from the scrap value, tax savings and added discounts while OEMs will gain from a much needed push to demand created by the monetarised benefits passed on to the buyers," he noted. Also, early removal of vehicles running on prehistoric emission norms will have a more sustainable impact on the environment, Soni said. "Especially in areas like NCR where studies have shown that 50 per cent of the vehicular pollution (pm 2.5) is caused by old and polluting vehicles," he added. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier this year said that scrappage policy was in the final stages of getting Cabinet approval. MSS ABMABM

Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland pitch for incentive-based scrappage policy to revive CV segment

New Delhi, May 12 () Top companies across sectors - automobile maker Maruti Suzuki, consumer electronics giant Samsung to IT giant Infosys - have reopened factories and offices as India took its first steps towards resuming economic activity after weeks under a near-total coronavirus lockdown. While the government has allowed businesses to resume under strict guidelines, companies are not rushing to achieve pre-COVID-19 run-rates and instead are calibrating staff strength as they are aware that any incident of infection can prove costly. Companies said employee safety and workplace hygiene is the prime focus. While Maruti resumed operations at its Manesar plant in Haryana on Tuesday, Infosys opened offices in some cities with up to 5 per cent staff and plans to gradually raise employee strength to 40 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has less than 1 per cent of its employees currently in India offices. Mahindra &amp; Mahindra too started operations at its factories with a limited number of workers. Flipkart, Panasonic India, Whirlpool and Dabur are among a host of companies that have put in place plans to restart operations with a small section of staff. Tata group-owned jewellery brand Tanishq has announced its plans to reopen its 328 stores across the country in a phased manner. The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25, and it has already been extended twice -- first until May 3 and then again until May 17. However, some curbs have been eased beginning April 20 with permission being given to industries in rural areas to restart. Later, production, sale and transport of goods in areas where virus cases are less severe have also been allowed. However, the process of restarting factories and businesses is likely to be protracted, with production only gradually ramping up towards operational capacity levels. IHS Markit said although the limited restart of some industries has been permitted since April 20, India will still suffer severe disruptions to its industrial output due to the protracted lockdown. "The Indian economy is facing a recession in the 2020-21 financial year for the first time since 1979-80, during the second OPEC oil crisis shock," IHS Markit said. "Consequently, IHS Markit expects the lockdown measures to result in a contraction of Indian industrial production in the 2020-21 financial year." But several companies across sectors ranging from textiles to consumer electronics and liquor to pharma have partially resumed operations after getting permission from local authorities. While Panasonic India and South Asia President &amp; CEO Manish Sharma said the company plans to start operations at its factory with 30 per cent capacity and slowly take it up to 50 per cent in a month's time, Samsung Electronics India said its Noida factory has started limited operations. The Noida factory of Dixon Technologies too has resumed operations. The firm's Tirupati and Dehradun plants too have started operations at about one-third capacity, which will be scaled up to 75-80 per cent in the next one week, said Sunil Vachani, Chairman, Dixon Technologies. Neeraj Bahl, the CEO of BSH Home Appliances -- German company which manufactures and sells under Bosch and Siemens brands in India -- said the firm is in process of starting production in its Tamil Nadu factory with limited staff. Mahendra Singhi, President, Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), said 25-30 per cent of cement production capacity in the country has resumed. JK Lakshmi Cement director Shailendra Chouksey said the firm has clearances to operate all its seven plants in five states with reduced staff strength and following government's COVID-19 guidelines for factories. "However, these measures alone shall not suffice. Unless construction is allowed rather encouraged to resume operations", the sector outlook would not be very good, he said. Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) president Kamal Nandi said slowly retail operations are opening up in green and orange zones. "Roughly industry's 30-35 per cent outlets are open throughout the country though geographically not equally distributed." "We have also got permission to open factories in green and orange zones. Most of the brands are preparing to resume operations. Some brands started last week and some would start from this week. Even more important, the supplier's plant is opening up and we are all preparing to resume operations and slowly production would start," he said. There is still no pressing need for the brands to go ahead and start mass production from day one as there is a lot of inventory in warehouses and with dealers, he added. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director-general Rajesh Menon said the auto sector lost over Rs 90,000 crore in revenue due to the lockdown. Ashok Leyland MD &amp; CEO Vipin Sondhi said these are truly unprecedented times, and the government and industry need to work closely to bring the industry back on its feet. The government is said to be working on a second fiscal package to support businesses, particularly small and mid-sized companies that account for about a third of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and employ more than 11 crore people. KRH RKL ANZ MR

Cos cautiously resume work as India begins reopening economy

New Delhi, Dec 19 () India Inc leaders, including Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, CII President Vikram Kirloskar and Assocham President Balkrishna Goenka, on Thursday asked the government to take measures to augment ease of doing business to "create more freedom for the industry to perform".
 In a pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the corporate leaders highlighted several issues, including certain income tax matters which were coming in the way of mergers and acquisitions or slowing them down and roles that need to be played by state businesses to prosper at the ground level.
 "I have come here today to discuss only one thing -- make doing business easy in the country. That was what my thrust was," Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal told reporters after the meeting.
 He said some suggestions around mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As), demerger, NCLT process, about certain sections of income tax which were coming in the way of M&amp;A or slowing them down were made.
 "The idea is to create more freedom for the industry, for them to perform. I think the finance minister received them very well with her associates and secretaries. What we look forward to this Budget is that they unleash the energy of the Indian entrepreneurs to do more," Mittal said.
 Expressing similar views, Assocham President Balkrishna Goenka said for "ease of doing business, states have to play an important role" and last mile issues are there, which need to be resolved. 
 When asked about the meeting, CII President Vikram Kirloskar said, "We talked about ease of doing business, which are the issues concerning many industries."
 RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Sanjiv Goenka said the discussions "centred around more around what can be done to stimulate growth, to facilitate the ease of doing business".
 "I think the finance minister and her team were extremely open to all suggestions," Goenka said, adding that "it is the first time I have seen this kind of response from the government".
 On the current slowdown and its impact on capacity utilisation across many industries, he said, "We all recognised that it is going to take a couple of quarters, three quarters, four quarters, before this capacity gets utilised. We understand that, and that is the reality of the situation."
 Ficci President Sandip Somany said the industry representatives gave suggestion to the FM "to reduce income tax for those who earn less than Rs 20 lakh in a year so that there is more disposable in the hands of consumers and the economy benefits".
 He further said, "We have also asked the FM to take measures about reducing EMIs, which can happen only if the banks reduce the interest rates on loans."
 Stating that while the RBI has cut 135 bps, banks have reduced only 45 bps, Somany said, "If there can be more transmission of RBI's cut to consumers, then the EMIs will be reduced and it will also improve consumption."
 A finance ministry statement said, "During the interactive session lasting over two hours, prominent industrialists spoke about improving regulatory environment to safeguard investments through ease of doing business, increasing export competitiveness, reviving private investment and kick-starting growth measures."
 In the pre-budget consultations in connection with the forthcoming General Budget 2020-21, industrialists also suggested many ways to boost the rural economy, especially to increase consumption, it added.
 Other suggestions included improvement in insolvency process in relation to NCLTs and banks; faster mergers, acquisitions and demergers processes, ways to reduce time for FDI approval; structural changes in laws for effective and stable business environment; time-bound decisions for augmenting ease of doing business both at the central and state levels.
 The industry leaders also called for new investment of capital for building infrastructure, CAPEX for infrastructure to boost the economy, preventing predatory pricing and dumping in India while facilitating R&amp;D in India to boost Make in India, the statement said.
 They also called for harnessing public-private-partnership (PPP) by leveraging social funding through a new programme and ensure liquidity for NBFCs with focus on the rural economy and ways to increase consumption in the economy, it added.
 Other industry leaders who took part in the pre-Budget consultations were GMR Group CHairman BVN Rao, Ashok Leyland MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi, Wipro Global Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal, K Raheja Corp Group Group President Ravi Raheja and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd Chairman Acharya Balkrishan, among others. RSN RKL MKJ

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