The Core’s Top Read

December 25, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Good morning. In today’s edition —the murky books of a gold manufacturer; land acquisition trouble delaying the western dedicated freight corridor; India’s aviation engineers are fleeing to international airlines opportunities; Amul attempting to bring more protein to the lives of Indians; and Himanta Biswa Sarma's ‘masterstroke’ with Tata’s chip facility in Assam. 

As we get closer to the end of 2024, this is a wrap of what you, dear readers, read the most on our website. If you haven’t read them already, here are The Core’s five top-read stories of the year. 

Programming Note: There won’t be a newsletter on Thursday, December 26 as we’re taking a break for Christmas. We will be back in your inboxes on Friday, December 27.  

Rajesh Exports, once a shining star in the gold market, became a cautionary tale of governance pitfalls. Despite its esteemed position, the company's descent from its peak market value was a glaring indicator of underlying issues. Repeated instances of incomplete disclosures revealed a pattern of withholding crucial information.

Despite the rosy outward appearance, the company’s value declined massively because of several alleged devious practices including ambiguous transactions, disclosure lapses, misleading financials, and other governance issues. In 2024, the company made news for all the wrong reasons.

In June this year, when The Core set out to report about the western side of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project, also known as the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), it still had approximately 100 kilometres of track lying unfinished.

First announced almost two decades ago in a budget speech in 2005, the dedicated freight corridors were supposed to be a boon for India’s logistics sector. The project was first announced as part of the Railway Budget in 2005. By 2008 the areas and districts through which the railway track for the freight corridor would pass were decided.

Between 2008 to 2010, initial work, including land acquisition, began and was completed by 2014-2015. Changes in land laws in 2013 also contributed to delays. Therefore, the project effectively started around 2008-2009, following the final cabinet approval.

What was behind this massive delay? 

The year 2024 was a significant one for the Indian aviation industry with big mergers and airlines like Air India and IndiGo planning to spread their wings further. New planes were ordered and refurbishment programmes were launched. But a big problem remained — that the aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry was faced with many challenges. The lack of trained engineers was the biggest. 

Industry experts pointed out a troubling trend — engineers trained in India are packing their bags and heading to Gulf countries for jobs. The reason? A better standard of living.

Amul, India's largest dairy brand and the world's largest milk cooperative, set out on a new mission in 2024, to bring more protein to Indians, a population known for being protein deficient. 

Amul spent the last two years launching a portfolio of high-protein products, starting with package lassi and buttermilk, expanding to include whey protein powder, paneer, and in May this year, a ‘super milk’ with 35g protein in a small tetra pak, nearly four times more than in regular milk.

The Core reported whether Amul could replicate its White Revolution of the 1970s and fix India’s chronic, widespread protein deficiency. 

It was announced earlier this year that the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT), a subsidiary of Tata Electronics Ltd, will set up India’s largest semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore. The fabrication unit will make 48 million chips per day for use in electric vehicles (EVs), consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones. Reportedly, even US-based EV giant Tesla may be a client.

The chip fab is expected to need five million gallons of ultrapure water (UPW) daily and is expected to draw it from the Kopili River in Hatiamukh, a tiny village about 5 km north of the site, the same spot used by the HPC paper mill.

While the Tatas got an almost-ready project site from the deal, The Core’s story follows how Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s ‘masterstroke’ got them to come to the state in the first place. 

CO:RELATION

Stockbroker's IPO

Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, a securities firm, has filed a draft prospectus with the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The company plans to list fresh shares on the stock exchange. Brokerage and margin trading facilities are two primary revenue streams. The company is a full-service brokerage in an industry where discount brokerages like Zerodha, Groww and others have nearly 80% market share. 

This is the second company from the Anand Rathi Group seeking a listing. Anand Rathi Wealth had a successful listing in 2021 and currently trades at more than eight times the price it was listed then. There is optimism about the broking business. The offer document quoted an analysis from CARE Ratings, a credit ratings agency, stating that the size of the broking industry is estimated at Rs 45,000 crore as of March 2023-24. It will likely grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 16-18% over the next three to four years. That means it could double in four years. In an era of struggling full-service brokerage companies, Anand Rathi Shares is looking to ride on a potential expansion of the industry revenue pie.

CORE NUMBER

10 million

This is the total number of air passengers that flew private air carrier IndiGo in November, marking a historic milestone as the first Indian airline to achieve this figure. Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation revealed that 9.07 million were domestic passengers, while the remainder were international travellers. This is IndiGo’s highest-ever domestic passenger count in its 18-year history, surpassing October 2024’s 8.64 million and December 2023’s 8.52 million. The new record also boosted its market share to around 63.6%, highlighting it is the dominant player in India’s aviation sector.

FROM THE PERIPHERY

—🛢️Indian state refiners, including Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum, are eyeing Middle Eastern crude as Russian spot oil supplies dwindle. According to Business Standard, Russia's output has tightened due to rising domestic demand, OPEC commitments, and a major deal with Reliance Industries. While Indian refiners may tap inventories or Middle East suppliers, securing Russian oil remains challenging. Despite no sanctions, India's refiners benefited from discounted Russian crude, though Yuan payments for these imports ceased after government advice.

—📈The mutual fund industry experienced remarkable growth in 2024, registering a net inflow of Rs 9.14 lakh crore and a notable addition of 5.6 crore investors, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Systematic investment plans emerged as a key growth driver, contributing Rs 2.4 lakh crore in investments during the year. By November-end, the industry’s assets under management (AUM) soared to Rs 68 lakh crore, reflecting a 33% increase from Rs 50.78 lakh crore in 2023. This growth significantly outpaced the previous year’s 27% rise and Rs 11 lakh crore addition in AUM.

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