MAM
Expectations from the government in formulating national retail trade policy in Budget 2020
India is the fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. With the budget 2020 being around the corner, there is a hope that the new policies will have a positive impact on the retail and the consumer sector. The retail sector is the most dynamic sector in recent times, there has been drastic changes and has witnessed high consumer activism, supply chain model, marketing and advertising activities and introduction of new players in the market.
A joint report by Assocham and MRRSIndia.com suggest that the retail the Indian retail / consumer market is set to cross the $1 trillion mark by 2020 due to rise in per capita income and consequent expenditure.
Below are the 8 challenges which were faced by the retail sector in 2019:
- Higher GST rates for retail players have been resulting in accumulation of non-refundable credit due to substantial spend on advertising and branding spending capacity.
- There has been multiplicity of laws and regulations governing the sector
- Restrictive conditions under the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for single-brand retail trading leading to ambiguities and hurdles for the e-commerce sector. Improvising conditions and minimalizing restrictions will further give a boost to FDI.
- Lack of clarity and understanding of regulations/guidelines governing imposed on online retail trading.
- Lack of proper physical and digital infrastructure, developed supply chain resulting in inefficiencies and higher costs.
- Growth in retail sector has resulted in a growing demand in the real estate sector thus resulting in a rise in overall real estate cost
- Lack of effective supply management. Solid infrastructure and developed supply chain will improvise the foundation and overall profitability
- Lack of incentives for the new players in the retail market.
Budget 2020 gives an opportunity to the government to address the main problems faced by the retail sector and push the economy to a higher growth. Some of the expectations from the government in Budget 2020 are listed below.
- GST slab to be simplified and successful / structured implementation of new mechanism that will help ease the process. We also look forward to the reduction of the GST which will encourage more people to spend.
- The budget may focus on simplification of the government laws will have a positive impact on the sector and will give freedom to try new techniques and introduce new trends. Also Clarifications on open issues and introduction of measures for ease of doing business would be of great help.
- The budget should consider educating the retailer and traders and clarifying regulations for retailers ensuring sound risk management practices and KYC (know your client) mechanisms.
- Promoting partnership and collaboration for accessing new channel capabilities, digital technologies and easier entry into new market may help in optimizing costs.
- A further initiative by the government by introducing laws and rules to reduce the real estate cost would prove to be of great help to common man who look forward to live in beautiful homes or for investment purposes. Stabilisation of tax policies on properties would also be beneficial since there is a constant change in rate slabs.
- Introducing new incentives and bold reforms will encourage the new-bees in the retail industry to expand their activities across various platforms.
- Supporting rural growth and expecting positive initiatives like MGNREGA, increase in the MSP for select crops, focus on electrification of villages, farmer friendly technologies, etc.
- We expect new entrants/ investors in the FMCG space with the introduction of simplified tax structures, stability in custom duty and a less aggressive tax administration.
- A special start-up growth fund to support start-ups will boost the start-up ecosystem immensely.
- We expect the budget to provide impetus for digital payments (Debit and credit cards, UPI)
With all believe in the government we expect new reforms in budget 2020 keeping in mind the betterment of the retail sector and in the best interest of retailers and common man.
(The author is retail head, Kalpataru Ltd. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)
Brands
Tessolve lands a semiconductor veteran to drive its next big push
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, who started his career at ISRO and has spent 35 years building chips and companies, joins the Bengaluru-based firm as president and chief operating officer
BENGALURU: Tessolve has never been shy about its ambitions. The Bengaluru-based engineering services firm already counts 18 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies among its clients, employs more than 3,500 engineers across 12 countries, and last year pocketed a $150m investment from TPG. Now it has hired the executive it believes can turn those assets into something bigger. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, a 35-year semiconductor veteran who once built satellite payloads for ISRO and has since scaled engineering organisations across three continents, joins as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
THE MAN AND THE MANDATE
The appointment is, by any measure, a serious hire. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu comes to Tessolve after senior leadership stints at HCL Technologies, Altran and Wipro, where he managed large profit-and-loss portfolios and oversaw cross-regional teams. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in bringing more than 1,000 new products to market across the high-tech, energy and manufacturing verticals. Before the private sector claimed him, he began his working life as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, contributing to research and development in charge-coupled device technology and satellite payloads, a foundation that shaped everything that followed.
In his new role, he will lead Tessolve’s global growth strategy: expanding its engineering capabilities, deepening customer relationships and accelerating innovation across semiconductor and high-performance computing domains. The brief is broad, but the context is specific. Tessolve operates in the $550 billion global semiconductor market, and its recent moves, the acquisition of Germany’s Dream Chip Technologies and the TPG funding round, have sharpened both its reach and its expectations.
Srini Chinamilli, co-founder and chief executive of Tessolve, is characteristically direct about why Ravi Kumar Chirugudu was the choice:
“As we scale our global semiconductor and system engineering capabilities, Ravi’s appointment marks an important step forward. As global semiconductor demand continues to accelerate across industries, it is creating significant opportunities across the semiconductor lifecycle, from design, packaging, validation and systems integration. Ravi’s deep knowledge and leadership in this ecosystem brings the right mix of industry expertise, customer connect and execution capability, which will play a key role in strengthening our position as a trusted global engineering partner and reinforcing our market leadership.”
THE NEW ARRIVAL SPEAKS
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, for his part, frames the move in terms of timing and culture, two factors that veteran executives tend to weigh as heavily as title or compensation:
“I am happy to join Tessolve at a time when the industry is rapidly evolving towards more complex, AI-driven systems. What stands out to me is its strong people-first culture and its commitment to bringing value to its customers. The strength of its global team, combined with its deep expertise in semiconductor innovation and next-generation product engineering, creates a solid foundation to build differentiated, scalable solutions. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive strategic growth and strengthen its role in shaping the global semiconductor ecosystem.”
The reference to AI-driven systems is not incidental. The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a structural reshaping, driven by the insatiable compute demands of artificial intelligence. For engineering services firms like Tessolve, which offers end-to-end capabilities from silicon design to packaged parts and invests in high-performance computing, high-speed interfaces, photonics and 5G, the moment is both an opportunity and a test. The company says it is well positioned to capture the next wave of industry growth. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu is now the person who has to prove it.
He came in from outer space, literally, and spent three decades learning how the semiconductor industry works from the inside out. Now Tessolve is betting that accumulated knowledge can help it cross the next frontier. In the $550 billion global chip market, the gap between ambition and execution is measured in engineering hours and leadership quality. Tessolve has just gone shopping for both.
