Business Roundup #Week47

Business
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Print Media Set To Dominate

A boost from the general and state elections and greater credibility will make the print media a dominant force in India in 2019, says a report.

It will surpass the impressive growth rate of 2018, Magna Global, a division of media agency group IPG Mediabrands, had forecast, according to the report, print media ad revenues grew 5.6% in 2018 to 22,121.8 crore rupees, and it is expected to go up to 2,424.3 crore in 2019.

Telecom Sector 5G Move By 2022

The telecom sector will move to 5G by 2022 and access to digital platform will become highly advanced in the next five years, TRAI Secretary S K Gupta said, according to a report.

He added that the use artificial intelligence and big data analytics is going to modify the behaviour of consumers. Gupta further said there have been dramatic changes in media industry landscape and adoption of new technology will be the key to success. He said that today 400 million people in India have good quality Internet access, so probability of more usage of media content through digital platform is very high.

Mega Food Park To Provide Jobs

A 634 crore rupees mega food park that is expected to provide employment to 33,400 people would be set up by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, says a report.

The Patanjali Food and Herbal Park would come up on a 172.84 acre site at Chinnaraopalli village, according to a release from the chief minister’s office. Core processing facilities including cold storage with blast freezer, grading packing facility for spices and grains and dry warehouse would come up at the park.

Maruti Suzuki To Raise Vehicle Prices

Maruti Suzuki India said it will increase prices of its vehicles across various models from next month, says a report.

This is to offset adverse impact of increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates. The company, however, did not specify by how much the prices of its vehicles would increase. At present, the company is working out the range, a company official said. “The cost of company’s vehicles has been impacted adversely due to increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates,” Maruti Suzuki India said in a regulatory filing

Zomato buys Drone Delivery Startup

Zomato has acquired a drone delivery startup TechEagle Innovations for an undisclosed amount, says a report.

This comes as it looks to enable a drone-based delivery ecosystem in India.  Lucknow-based TechEagle Innovations works exclusively on drones and will help Zomato’s ambition to create technology that will power hub to hub delivery networks powered by hybrid multi-rotor drones.

KIA To Launch New Models In India

KIA Motors is aggressively gearing up to foray into the Indian market and has some big plans to take on its competitors, says a report.

The Korean carmaker says that it will be launching one new product in the Indian market every six months for three years as the company aspires to completely utilise the 300,000 units of annual production capacity of its Anantpur plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Cleartrip Lays Off Staff

Online booking platform Cleartrip has laid off close to 100 employees across sections, says a report.

This is due to declining hotel and flight bookings in India and a lukewarm response to its listing of ‘experiences’ across the world, according to the report It is now looking to move its core functions to West Asia, the sources said. Cleartrip’s India business has been declining over the last few years, with its market share falling in both flight and hotel booking space due to increasing competition as well as the merger between bigger rival MakeMyTrip and Ibibo.

Tata Motors To Revamp Sales Network

Auto major Tata Motors is planning a large-scale overhaul of its sales network across the country over the next one year as it prepares to bring in new products, including premium SUV Harrier, a top company official said, according to a report.

The company, which plans to have all its future products on just two platforms – Omega and Alpha, currently has around 790 dealerships across the country.

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