The Meteoric Rise
Patanjali Group's turnover rose to Rs 30,000 crore in FY21. Ruchi Soya contributed to a tune of Rs 16,318 crore in revenue. The company was acquired by Patanjali last year through an insolvency resolution process.
Ruchi Soya's revenues grew about 24 percent, while that of Patanjali grew to Rs 14,000 crore in FY21 from around Rs 11,000 crore in FY20. The group also informed that the impact of supply chain disruption was very limited on the Patanjali group as they operate through their own transportation wing.
Patanjali has made a space for itself in India's FMCG space within a very short span of time. The company continues to harbour ambitious growth plans. It includes being debt-free in the coming 3-4 years and listing of its FMCG arm even in the future, as per the company's statement.
Need for strong forex buffer
India's foreign exchange reserves have continued to swell throughout the pandemic. It has recently touched a lifetime high of $610.012 billion in the first week of July 2021.
The country's gold reserves have climbed $76 million to $36.372 billion, its Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the IMF rose by $49 million to $1.548 billion. And, the reserve position with the IMF has also increased by $139 million to $5.105 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.
Explaining the importance of having strong forex reserves, Ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan stated that it would help in handling exchange rate volatility in times of crisis.
Usually, the central banks depend on establishing swap lines with each other. It ensures the steady supply of currency to trade with the other central bank at the going exchange rate. However, the arrangements have often rendered useless in the past, and India didn't get support when it was needed the most. Hence, Dr Rajan advocated in favour of building strong forex buffers to reduce our reliance on external forces.
Maharashtra's new EV policy
The Maharashtra Government has announced a new policy to promote the usage of electric vehicles among commuters.
The scheme includes providing incentives of Rs 5,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity to buyers. And, the subsidy will be directly transferred to the beneficiary account within 30 days.
An additional early bird discount of Rs 5,000 per kilowatt-hour is also announced for buying EVs by 31 December this year. The scheme is valid till 31 March 2025.
Maharashtra government aims to convert 10 percent of all new vehicles sold in the state to be electric by 2025. With this scheme, Maharashtra has become the latest state to promote EVs in a big way. Delhi and Gujarat governments have already announced their own EV policies in June, incentivising the electric vehicles buyers.
