India Infrastructure Update - Operational Metro Systems ( August 2016 )

Urban transportation infrastructure in India needs big investment and a massive upgradation. It is estimated by various studies that 60% of Indians will be living in urban areas by 2050. After the success of Delhi Metro, lots of Indian cities are exploring the option to implement metro rail project across the country. As per Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), about 316 kilometres of Metro rail is under operation and more than 500 kms of Metro rail is under construction across the country. This includes metro/mono rail systems promoted by state governments and private bodies under their own arrangements. It is important to note that urban transport is a state subject. Thus, the planning, execution and development of urban transport facilities are done by the states and union territories.

Smart Cities which are under execution of MoUD are incomplete with metro rail systems. China has 20 metro rail systems under operations and additionally investing trillions of Chinese Renminbi on bullet trains and maglev. India's first mono-rail ( Phase 1 ) is operational in Mumbai and final phase is expected to be completed by December 2016. Meanwhile, MoUD and National Highways Authority of India gave final approval to Metrino Pods system in Gurugram. As India mulls innovation in public transport, transport analyst are aware of the fact that Metro is the only viable option for India looking as population and financial constraints.

Metro Systems operational in India 

Delhi Metro

Operational: 213 km | Under Construction: 136 km | Proposed: 105.93 km

Brown Line - Janakpuri West - Botanical Garden will use Hyundai Rotem Driverless train

The 65.1 km Phase 1 was completed in 2006 while the 124.93 km km Phase 2 was completed in 2011. Currently the 159.327  km Phase 3 is under construction of which 23 kms has become operational. The rest 136 km of lines will open in sections one after the other from 2016 – 2018. Phase 4’s initial new lines & extensions have been finalised and construction is expected to begin in 2018. Within the next 3 years, more routes are expected to be added to Phase 4.

Kolkata Metro

Operational: 28.14 km | Under Construction: 63.39 km  | Approved/On Hold: 32.48 km

AC variant of Kolkata Metro coach manufactured by ICF, Ministry of Railways. Kolkata Metro has also ordered 14 new trains from CNR Dalian, China. 

Construction for it started in 1972 and a small 3.40 km section between Esplanade and Netaji Bhavan opened in October 1984, making it the first metro system in the country. Between 1984 and 1995, more sections opened up bringing its total length to 16.45 km. Kolkata metro was extended by 10.94 km to New Garia station which is also known as Kavi Subhash station.

Mumbai Metro

Operational: 11.4 km | Under Construction: 0 km | Approved: 68.2 km | Proposed: 77.3 km

Western Expressway Bridge in Andheri

Operational : Versova – Andheri – Ghatkopar – 11.4 km

Executed & operated by a JV of Reliance Infra (69%), MMRDA (26%) & Veolia Transport (5%)

Approved ( Construction to begin in September/ October 2016)

- Colaba – BKC – SEEPZ –  33.5 km

To be executed & operated by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd – GOI (50%) & GoMH (50%)

- Dahisar – DN Nagar – 18.2 km

This line is part of the larger 40 km line between Dahisar & Mankhurd. To be executed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

- Dahisar (E) – Andheri (E) – 16.5 km

This line is part of the larger 24 km line between Dahisar (E) & Bandra (E). To be executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

Namma Metro ( Bengaluru )

Operational: 30.3 km | Under Construction: 27.1 km | Approved: 59.32 km | Proposed: 102 km

Cubbon Park Metro Station on Namma Metro's underground stretch

Construction for the first phase started in April 2007 following which the Baiyyappanahalli – MG Road  section of the Purple line opened in 2011. The 42.3 km Phase 1 is expected to be completed in 2017. After Phase 2 is completed in 2024 (est), the metro network will become 114.4 km long.

Rapid Metro ( Gurugram )

Operational: 5.1 km | Under Construction: 7 km

In Phase 1 of the project which opened on November 14 2013, a 5.1 km line was built to link the Delhi Metro’s Sikanderpur station (Yellow line) with the business district of DLF Cybercity. As part of Phase 2, this line is currently being extended by 7 km on Golf Course Extension Road and is expected to be completed in 2018.

Chennai Metro

Operational: 10 km | Under Construction:  35.1 km | Approved: 9 km | Proposed: 132 km

Construction for the first phase started in April 2009 following which the Koyambedu – Alandur section of the Blue line opened in June 2015. The 45.1 km Phase 1 is expected to be completed in 2019. A further extension of the Blue line as part of Phase 1 to Wimco Nagar is expected to be completed by 2020. Phase 2 of the project is currently in the proposal stage and in its latest avatar has been proposed to be 123 km long.

Jaipur Metro

Operational: 9.63 km (Phase 1A) | Under Construction: 2.35 km (Phase 1B) | Proposed: 23.099 km

Construction for its 9.63 km Pink line under Phase 1A started in 2011 and became operational in June 2015. Construction on Phase 1B, a 2.35 km extension of the Pink line, started in January 2014 and is expected to be operational in 2018. Phase 2 of the project includes a new Orange line which will connect the heart of the city with the Airport and onward to the Sitapura Industrial Area. This line is planned to be built on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and is yet to be approved.

Information Source - themetrorailguy.com

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

#UPI - India's fintech achievement

United Payments Interface ( UPI ) is unique payment solution which empowers a recipient to initiate payment request from a smartphone. UPI is India's biggest banking achievement as real time money sending and receiving at such a large scale has not been attempted anywhere in the world. UPI is the gift to #DigitalIndia by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for payments in India. NPCI has been featured in 5 brands that made in big in 2016 for their contribution to RuPay and United Payments Interface. NPCI says that UPI is now live and is available for the customers of 21 banks. State Bank of India is expected to launch their UPI app next month.

UPI offers instant, online bank payments, and is seen as a major change to the Indian financial sector. It enables banks to provide real-time payments through QR code enabled addresses and offers device fingerprinting for additional security. It also provides an option for scheduling push and pull transactions for various purposes like sharing bills among peers. One can use UPI app instead of paying cash on delivery on receipt of product from online shopping websites and can pay for miscellaneous expenses like paying utility bills, over the counter payments, barcode (scan and pay) based payments, donations, school fees and other such unique and innovative use cases.

United Payment Interface would be a big boost for fin-tech startups. Bengaluru based Ultra Cash are trying to implement a cash-less society at petrol pumps, mobile recharge centres and cafes through NFC based payments. UltraCash's team were successful in writing code to integrate their mobile payment platform with UPI. It would enable consumers to easily pay retail merchants from their phone. But their innovation does not need an internet connection. UltraCash's technology securely transfers payment data from one device to another, using sound waves with frequencies inaudible to humans.

UPI is currently available only on Android devices. To its optimum use, NPCI plans to introduce the same on other platforms including iOS, Windows and Indus OS. NPCI decided that only banks with 1,000 pilot customers, 5,000 transactions and a success rate of around 80% would be permitted to go live. It says such a threshold criteria helped the banks to refine their systems and procedure.

The inclusion of UPI with upcoming payment banks would enable cash-less society. Startups or big business would prefer digital payment over cash for accountability purposes. In future, we can use UPI for Cash on Delivery. It will be helpful for paying your Ola bills. Digital payments will bring down costs and thus we can see heavy discount on amount paid using UPI instead of cash. India has achieved what developed countries couldn't think of. With Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM), India has the most sophisticated payment system in the world.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni ( twitter.com/chai2kul )

The 5 must-have Insurance Policies for SMEs

Small Medium Enterprises play a crucial role in development of Indian economy. It employs 40% of India's work-force. According to DIPP statistics, India's SME sector manufactures over 7,000 products ranging from traditional to high-tech in both domestic and international markets. And with the surge in e-commerce business, it is slated to grow exponentially over the next five years. Despite all these promising numbers, India's MSME sector still remains the most challenging one's to operate.

Red tape, limiting regulations, dearth of finance, inadequate infrastructure, family run management and unskilled labour are the major reasons that hamper SME growth. Insurance is not just a legal mandate but a necessity for this sector. Adequate coverage can minimise internal and external risks of business enterprise. Sure, a majority of low-margin profit SMEs think of insurance as a burden but they themselves do not claim to be calamity proof.

For an SME, insurance is important because it provides protection against unforeseen eventualities; empowers the business; manages or reduce cost of unplanned risks; and enhances consistency and momentum of the business. Small businesses usually don’t have that kind of saving fund that can be diverted to resurrecting the business in case of an eventuality. This makes it all the more important for them to have an insurance plan. SMEs see a lot of business ups and downs and an insurance cover can provide them adequate financial support when the need arises.

The 5 must-have Insurance policies for SMEs

1. Employee Liability Insurance - Any employee including contractual workers are included in employee group insurance scheme. The policy covers statutory liability of an employer for death, bodily injuries or occupational diseases arising during the employment. A cover of Rs. 2 lakh rupees or more is an industry standard to cover all the hospital charges in Tier 1 cities. As a part of employee welfare, some business enterprises have tie-ups with nearby city hospitals where the family members of employees get free treatments.

2. Standard Fire and Special Perils policy - The insurance company will indemnify the insured due to loss because of fire which may be caused by natural fire, combustion, lightning, riots and natural disasters. Building, plant and machinery, furniture, business related goods are covered in these policies. Fire policy is an annual policy. The cost of fire insurance is calculated on the area of business activity. Fire exits, fire fighting drills, fire safety equipments reduce the risk of calamity and thus reduce the premium price. Fire photographs or newspaper article on fire acts as a legal proof for the claim.

3. Burglary Policy - Theft of physical products or copyrighted digital product is covered under burglary policy. Policies issued to business premises cover stock-in-trade, money in transit, goods in trust or on commission, fixtures and fittings, tools of trade such as typewriters, calculators and other similar property and cash and currency notes in locked safe against the risk of burglary and house-breaking. Burglary insurance can be essential for technology based startups as cyber crimes such as hacking, skimming and cloning can be covered in cyber security insurance.

4. Machinery breakdown policy - When the production of a factory grinds to a halt because of breakdown, it can result in huge losses. Especially when delivery schedules are tight and the penalties are strict. The policy broadly covers loss due to all kinds of accidental, electrical and mechanical breakdowns as a result of internal and external causes. Loss in freight charges due to mechanical breakdown is also covered.

5. Special Contingency Policy - This is an add-on insurance which covers against floods, earthquake, tsunami etc. Special contingency provides cover against external as well as internal risks. Loss to business due to strike, riots is add-on. The rate of premium varies from 1% to 2% of property to be covered.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni ( twitter.com/chai2kul )

iNVESTSHIELD - Fight the uncertainity of life

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce have recently launched a new ULIP plan 'iNVESTSHIELD' that is designed to protect the needs of today and tomorrow. A Unit Linked Insurance Plan is basically a combination of insurance and investment. The investments you do will be divided into two parts, a part of insurance and other one is mutual funds which consists of equity, debt and money market schemes.

iNVESTSHIELD is an exclusive online linked plan designed for customers  who wants things done at ease on their mobile phones or laptops. Online exclusive plans give hassle free buying experience and are inexpensive as they exclude the cost incurred by the agent. iNVESTSHIELD is a feature rich plan with USP being 'Premium Funding' option. In case of unfortunate event, premium funding option entitles immediate payout higher than sum assured or 105% of premium paid. The insurance company will fund the remaining premium for the remaining policy and the fund value will be paid on maturity.

iNVESTSHIELD plan gives dual results, wealth accumulation plus protection. The customer has the choice of switching between funds which helps you to avoid the market movements and safeguards your funds as policy nears maturity. The policy is best suited for young parents as the policy premium is paid by the company till maturity in case of any unfortunate event.

TheIndianCapitalist.com has listed down the benefits of Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce iNVESTSHIELD ULIP plan.

• Flexibility to customise the plan as per one's need.
• Zero premium allocation charge throughout the premium payment term of the policy.
• Loyalty Additions for additional allocation of units to boost  the retirement fund.
• Choice of Investment Funds ranging from 0% to 100% equity exposure, to match one's risk appetite.
• Premium waiver benefit option which helps the parents to plan a secure future for their children.
• Safety Switch Option enables one to move  funds systematically to a relatively low risk Liquid Fund to avoid market movements in the last four policy years.
• Liquidity through partial withdrawals to help meet unplanned financial needs.
• Tax benefits on premium paid and benefit received during Policy term under Section 80C and Section 10(10D), as per the Income Tax Act, 1961, subject to change in amendments.

TheIndianCapitalist.com is of a view that iNVESTSHIELD plan by Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce has a lot to offer to netizens. You can buy this plan here.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

#IPO - RBL Bank plans to raise Rs. 1,200 crore

Incorporated in 1943 as a regional bank in Maharashtra, RBL Bank Ltd is a Kolhapur based private sector bank offering range of banking products and services to large corporations, SMEs, agricultural customers, retail customers and development banking & financial inclusion (low income) customers.

As of March 31, 2016, RBL had 197 branches and 362 ATMs spread across 16 Indian states serving over 1.9 million customers.Information in this paragraph is taken from chittorgarh.com, India's No. 1 IPO Investment Portal. RBL acquired certain Indian businesses of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), including the RBS's business banking, credit card and mortgage portfolio businesses, in 2014.

RBL's business segments consist of corporate and institutional banking, commercial banking, branch and business banking, agribusiness banking, development banking and financial inclusion and treasury and financial markets operations.Discuss this IPO on Chittorgarh.com, the most active IPO discussion forum.

RBL's Competitive Strengths:

• Client focused approach to business resulting in growing brand recognition 
• Robust multi-channel distribution system
• Partnerships that expand reach in rural markets
• Growing net interest and non-interest income
• Risk management and balance sheet focus
• Modern and scalable information technology systems infrastructure
• Focus on operational quality and scalability.

RBL Bank Financial

RBL has won the award for best mid-sized bank from last 4 years. It has invested heavily on new technology, manpower and office spaces. The key object of the issue is to inject capital in more branches and ATM network and comply with BASEL III and RBI norms. TheIndianCapitalist.com is of opinion that investors should subscribe looking 5 years perspective. We may see a repeat of YES Bank growth story.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

#MakeInIndia - Why Manufacturing matters the most?

India's economy has taken a significant stride in past two decade. It is now time to build on the economic gains and tackle the barriers to growth. India needs to generate more jobs for its bustling youth and create economic opportunity for all. India's GDP has seen a dominance from service sector. BFSI and IT have been the respected jobs in India. India's manufacturing contribution is low at 17% as of 2014 to GDP. To reverse the situation, India is planning to build prosperity corridors along its highways, rail lines and sea ports. Economic corridor development entails constructing world class infrastructure typically aligned to major transport system; connecting smart cities and industrial zones.

3,115 cars of General Motors and 3,093 Volkswagen cars were exported to Mexico in a single ship from Mumbai port.

The government of India announced National Manufacturing Policy with the objective of increasing Manufacturing to GDP share to 25% and creating 100 million jobs by 2022. PM Modi launched Make In India campaign in 2014 in aim of wooing global manufacturing companies. The Make In India initiative comprises of 25 industries which range from defence to small cars. Attention is being given to Ease Of Doing Business ranking. The government is successful in passing labour reforms, GST, Insurance Bill, Coal Mines and Mineral bill. Investments by FDI has been increased in all sectors except single brand retail. To spread the benefit of economic growth to 126 billion Indians, India must further develop the manufacturing sector.

10 Things to Know about Manufacturing in India

1. India is the world's third largest economy and has emerged as a global growth engine. India is also the fastest growing major economy with the GDP growth rate of 7.6% in FY16.

2. India's service sector has been the driver of country's economic growth, and is a major contributor to India's GDP. India is a major exporter of information technology, business outsourcing and software expertise, thanks to its smart engineers.

3. Services are the most dynamic aspect to Indian economy but the sector employs less than one third of India's population.

4. While services have been booming in Asia, manufacturing has lagged. India’s manufacturing makes up around 17% of gross domestic product, compared to Malaysia at 24% and Thailand at 33%.

5. India’s manufacturing sector is hamstrung by poor roads and unreliable power supplies; burdensome regulations, limited access to land and credit, and a lack of a workers skilled in high-end manufacturing.

6. To spread the benefits of economic growth to the poor, India must further develop the manufacturing sector. India is seeking to increase manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product to 25% and create 100 million jobs within a decade by simplifying regulations, improving infrastructure and providing other incentives.

7. The government is also promoting the Make in India initiative, which seeks to encourage global firms to set up manufacturing bases in India by offering tax incentives and simplified regulations.

8. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor is the world's largest infrastructure project. The governments hopes that such industrial corridor will contribute more than 25% to India's GDP. The DMIC project will have 2 power plants, 24 smart cities, 23 industrial hubs, 2 ports and six lane expressway of 1,500 km connecting Mumbai to Delhi. JICA has assured a funding of $4.5 billion.

9. The government also plans to build Mumbai - Bengaluru, Bengaluru - Chennai, Chennai - Vizag, Kolkata - Amritsar economic corridors. Work on DMIC has been started and other corridors are in executing stage.

10. A healthy manufacturing economy requires good roads, electricity and logistics facility. India plans to build 1,000 km in current year. India will also build 6 new mega ports under the Sagarmala project. The total investment in Sagarmala project is expected to be Rs 5 lakh crores.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

China's leap into Quantum Communications

In a cloud of smoke, China's QUESS satellite soared into the dark sky. Quantum Experiment at Space Scale ( QUESS ), nicknamed Micius after a Chinese philosopher, lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre near the Gobi desert. The satellite is designed to test the limits of quantum communication, an avenue of scientific endeavour that would mean hack-proof communications.

Quantum encryption is secured against any kind of computing power because information is encoded in quantum particles is changed as soon as it is measured. Making the information impossible to clone. China's QUESS satellite is a big breakthrough in the field of cyber security. In simple encryption, the message sent by one party to another can be easily hacked and read by different parties. Stealing state secrets and defence secrets from governments is the top aim of cyber hackers. The information which they decode is valuable to the enemy country which can result to competitive advantage for the country.

The satellite's two year mission will be to develop hack-proof quantum communication, allowing users to send messages securely faster than the speed of light. Technically, nothing is hacked-proof but entangled protons will change in state if they are tampered with, allowing the users to know whether it is hacked or not. The success in the mission would also mean the birth of quantum internet. Physicists expect quantum internet to be faster than Li-Fi.

Micius is an experiment to explore something unknown. It might not work at all. But if it does, it might unlock potential for something Star Trek fans have dreamed of. QUESS have the potential to enable physical teleportation. A faster than light communication would allow us to explore our universe and even other universes.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni