Money Why record food-grain production failed to cheer farm input providers

Both fertilizer and agrochemical companies are highly dependent on imports for raw materials. With rupee depreciation exacerbating the rise in prices of raw materials, the profitability of the companies is expected to take a hit this year

The forecast of a record foodgrain production in the ongoing kharif season has brought no cheer to agricultural inputs stocks. Shares of Rallis India Ltd lost 3% last week. Dhanuka Agritech Ltd slumped 12%. Coromandel International Ltd lost 0.7%. The reaction reflects the challenges the industry is facing. Despite the timely onset of monsoon rains facilitating good product placements, sales did not take off in a big way, says Aditya Jhawar, an analyst at Investec Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd. “It is turning to be an OK or subdued season as below-par rains in several parts of high agriculture inputs consuming states Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka impacted sales,” he adds.

Channel checks by analysts at Antique Stock Broking Ltd reveal that the domestic agrochemicals industry is likely to grow 10-12% in the ongoing kharif season, a sub-par rate compared to expectations. “During the ongoing kharif season, agrochemical demand has been at sub-par, aided by better paddy acreage, partially impacted by erratic rain fall, low agro-commodity prices and reduced cotton sowing,” analysts at Antique said in a note released in the second week of September.

In contrast, the fertilizer industry clocked decent sales, in spite of the disruption the sector saw due to implementation of the direct benefit transfer. Urea sales are up 7% in April-August, shows data compiled by Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.

Encouragingly, sales of partially deregulated and relatively expensive complex fertilizers increased by a third. This indicates focused investments in crop nutrients by farmers, a good sign.

Investec Capital’s Jhawar says the depreciation in the rupee has made trading (importing and selling in the domestic market) difficult. This should aid domestic producers such as Coromandel International.

Even so, expectations are low. The Coromandel International stock is down 6% from a year ago. Rallis India and Dhanuka Agritech have lost much more ground, severely underperforming the BSE 500 index.

The underperformance reflects investor concerns about profitability. Both fertilizer and agrochemical companies are highly dependent on imports for raw materials. With rupee depreciation exacerbating the rise in prices of raw materials, the profitability of the companies is expected to take a hit this year. “The company (Coromandel), however, still faces gross margin pressure due to the run up in raw material prices (phosphoric acid and ammonia). We expect margins to contract by 130bps to 9.9% in FY19,” said Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. A hundred basis points equals one percentage point.

Agrochemical companies not only have to contend with subdued sales but also stretched working capital pressures. Closure of facilities in China (due to pollution norms) means the companies are forced to stock up raw materials in a rising cost environment. While translation into price hikes has been rather gradual till the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year, the challenges are making investors wary.

Source:https://www.livemint.com/Money/8MxkXXPfvLPzolH4MiidCN/Why-record-foodgrain-production-failed-to-cheer-farm-input-p.html

Xiaomi launches 7 Smarter Living devices: Mi TV with most upgrades

Xiaomi launched seven new devices today in India, spanning across categories like health and fitness, travel, security and entertainment —Mi TV, Mi Band 3, Mi Air Purifier 2S, Mi Home Security Camera 360 and Mi Luggage

It is clear that after smartphones, Xiaomi is aiming to get a grasp in the IoT market. Photo: Xiaomi

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched seven new devices today in India, spanning categories like health and fitness, travel, entertainment and security—Mi TV, Mi Band 3, Mi Air Purifier 2S, Mi Home Security Camera 360 and Mi Luggage. All devices except the Mi Luggage can be connected via Bluetooth to the Mi Home app. It is clear that after smartphones, Xiaomi is aiming to get a grasp in the IoT market.

Mi TV 4 Pro

                                                           Xiaomi Ecosystem Product Launch | #SmartLiving 

Xiaomi announced major upgrades to its Mi TV portfolio. The new TVs are called Mi TV 4 Pro and the upgrades come in both, the software and the hardware.

In the software department, the PatchWall interface has been given serious overhauls. For instance, Mi is tying up with more partners. In fact, with the new PatchWall all existing and new Mi TVs will support Amazon Prime Video soon.

Voice integration will be taken a step further in Mi TVs. Xiaomi claims “voice is the new remote” and with the new updates will try to make the interface completely reliant on voice controls. Mi TVs will now have a universal search which merges online content, via Google, and the set-top box.

This means there’s no need to change modes and waste time while, let’s say, looking for a particular film. The best result will be displayed on your screen and you are given a choice to select the mode according to your interest.

Mi TVs will also support the Android Play Store. In fact, Xiaomi announced that there are nearly 1,600 apps optimised for the Mi TVs and more are on their way.

All existing Mi TV models will receive this update.

On the hardware end, the Mi TVs will now feature a Bluetooth-enabled remote instead of the traditional infrared remotes. This means you no longer have to point the remote towards your screen.

The new TVs will be powered by Amlogic 64-bit dual-core processors with 7th generation imaging engine with support for more codecs, allowing support for more high quality content. Connectivity options on the TV include three HDMI and two USB ports along with LAN and AV ports.

The TV is now 4.9mm thick, which the Chinese manufacturer claims to be as thin as a coin. It has bezels less than 11 mm thick.

A new variant is also launched, which measures to 49-inches.

The 55-inch Mi TV 4C Pro is priced at Rs 49,999, while the 49-inch Mi TV 4A Pro is priced at Rs 29,999. There’s another smaller variant, the 32-inch Mi TV 4C Pro, is priced at Rs 14,999. The 55-inch and 49-inch Mi TVs will go on sale on October 10 via Flipkart and Mi.com while the 32-inch variant will be available from October 9.

Mi Band 3

The Mi Band 3 now comes with a touch-enabled 0.78-inch OLED screen, which is about 85% larger than the Mi Band 2’s, and has a resolution of 128x80. It allows you to receive notifications and read WhatsApp messages on the screen. It also has a recessed control button which lets you navigate the watch and even accept and decline calls. It comes with Bluetooth 4.2.

It is powered by a 110mAh Li-polymer battery which Xiaomi claims will provide 20 days of battery life. The watch is also water resistant up to 50 m.

The Mi Band 3 is priced at Rs 1,999 and will go on sale tomorrow via Mi.com and Amazon.

Mi Air Purifier 2S

The Mi Air Purifier 2S is the successor to the Mi Air Purifier 2 which features an OLED display that displays real-time air quality information and lets you toggle between modes. The Mi Air Purifier 2S comes with high-precision laser sensor which can detect particles that measure less than 0.3 microns. It also comes with a 360-degree triple layer filter with activated carbon that removes particles up to PM2.5.

The Mi Air Purifier 2S claims to purify a room of 350 sq ft in 11 minutes.

The Mi Air Purifier 2S now has greater app integration and it works with Google Assistant and Alexa.

The Mi Air Purifier 2S is priced at Rs 8,999.

Mi Luggage

Xiaomi launched two new suitcases under the Mi Luggage moniker with varying capacities. The Mi Luggage comes in two variants—Mi Luggage 20 and Mi Luggage 24. All of them feature Bayer makrolon polycarbonate coating on the outside, TSA approved locks, and 360 degree shock absorbable wheels.

The Mi Luggage 20 is priced at Rs 2,999 while the Luggage 24 is priced at Rs 4,299. These will be available from October 10 on Amazon and Mi.com

Mi Home Security Camera 360

The Mi Home Security Camera 360 comes with an AI-enabled dual motor which gives it a field of view of 360. The AI part helps it record videos in full HD that can be magnified up to 2x zoom if it detects any movement. It has a micro SD card slot. Xiaomi claims up to five days of footage can be captured on a 64GB SD card, thanks to compression algorithms.

It can be remotely accessed via the Mi Home app.

The Mi Home Security Camera 360 comes at a price of Rs 2,699.

Source:https://www.livemint.com/Technology/2fsANRw3WOAaSVWl38DvVI/Xiaomi-launches-7-Smarter-Living-devices-Mi-TV-with-most-up.html

Samsung Galaxy A7 with triple camera setup to go one sale tomorrow: Price, offers, specifications

The Samsung Galaxy A7 is priced at Rs 25,600 for the base 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage variant and comes with a triple camera setup, side fingerprint scanner and all-glass body...

The A7 has a 24MP “primary” camera with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus along with a depth-sensing 5MP secondary camera with a fixed focal length and f/2.2 aperture. Photo: Samsung

After its launch in India yesterday, Samsung Electronics is finally set to put the much awaited mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A7 (2018), on its first flash sale. The Samsung Galaxy A7 is priced at Rs 25,600 for the 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage variant, while the top-of-the-line model is priced at Rs 30,600. The phone is available online on Flipkart as well as other offline retailers.

Samsung Galaxy A7: Price and offers

Flipkart will offer a Rs 1,610 discount from the listed price of the Galaxy A7, which means the 4GB RAM/64GB ROM variant will effectively cost Rs 23,990 and the 6GB RAM/128GB ROM variant will cost Rs 28,990. HDFC Bank is offering a cashback of Rs 2,000 to its credit and debit card users. There is also a no Cost EMI option on the Samsung Galaxy A7 starting at Rs 2,666 per month.

Samsung Galaxy A7: Specifications

Galaxy A7’s front is lit by a 6-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display with a resolution of 2280x1080— which means an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. The phone is a glass sandwich with curved glass on both sides, but not to the extent of the S9 and Note9.

The smartphone is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7885 octa-core processor with a clock speed of 2.2GHz paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, expandable up to 512GB.

The phone runs Android Oreo 8.0 with Samsung’s UI running atop, and is backed by a 3,300mAh Lithium-ion battery.

Now let’s talk about the most important feature of the Galaxy A7—the triple camera setup.

The smartphone has a 24MP “primary” camera with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus along with a depth-sensing 5MP secondary camera with a fixed focal length and f/2.2 aperture. The third camera has an ultra-wide lens with a field-of-view of 120° and f/2.4 aperture. All of this is expected to be at a fraction of the price of Huawei’s P20, which also features a similar triple camera setup.

The Galaxy A7’s connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, NFC (option feature depending on the region) with Samsung Pay support, GPS, GLONASS and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Another interesting feature of the phone is the fingerprint scanner—on its power button at the right side of the phone. Samsung previously put this on the Samsung Galaxy J6+.

The phone is expected to come in four colours—black, blue, gold, pink.

Source:https://www.livemint.com/Technology/mATZJZgracZY6dgdVJYGIK/Samsung-Galaxy-A7-with-triple-camera-setup-to-go-one-sale-to.html

Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar: Constitutionally valid, doesn’t violate privacy

Justice Sikri strikes down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act permitting private entities to avail Aadhaar data. The Supreme Court judgement bars mobile phone service providers and banks to seek Aadhaar authentication from customers.

Supreme Court says Aadhaar card is mandatory for getting a PAN card, filing ITR but not for mobile phone connections and bank accounts.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today declared Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid but struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act that permitted private entities like telecom companies and banks to use Aadhaar data.

In the 40-page judgement read out by Justice A.K. Sikri, a five-membered constitution bench of the Supreme Court said there is nothing in the Aadhaar Act that violates right to privacy of individual.

■ Aadhaar is mandatory for filing of income tax returns (ITR) and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN).

■ SC says CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory. The 12-digit number is also not compulsory for school admissions.

■ SC says it is not mandatory to link Aadhaar with bank accounts.

■ Telecom service providers also cannot seek linking of Aadhaar.

■ It is better to be unique than being best; Aadhaar means unique: Supreme Court.

■ There is no possibility of obtaining a duplicate Aadhaar card: Justice Sikri.

■ The Supreme Court constitution bench comprised Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices D.Y. Chandrachud, A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar and Ashok Bhushan.

■ SC says Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than six months.

■ The constitution bench strikes down the National security exception under the Aadhaar Act.

■ There is sufficient defence mechanism for authentication in Aadhaar scheme: Justice Sikri

■ SC says no child can be denied benefits of any schemes on not being able to bring their Aadhaar number.

■ SC says nothing in Aadhaar Act that violates right to privacy of individual.

Source:  https://www.livemint.com/Politics/M5yPbMl8duh31IHVUv0lPP/Aadhaar-supreme-court-verdict-uidai-bank-account-mobile-link.html