Category: Business

February 12: It is for the fact that social media has become an integral part of our lives. Every other person wants to be a known personality on one or the other social media platforms. This desperation is justified by the fame that comes with being an internet sensation. Today we will learn about entrepreneur Felix Ochieng and his journey to becoming one of the great internet sensations. Popularly known by the name “The opposition”, Felix has more than 24 thousand followers on his Twitter handle. His tweets are absolutely loved by his followers because they are really funny, absurd and knowledgeable all in one. He has recently joined YouTube, where he is building his community day by day. Felix’s YouTube is all about funny videos and shorts. You can subscribe to his YouTube here.

Unlike other internet sensation entrepreneurs, Felix has seen a very poor childhood. He was born and brought up in Kenya and started his Entrepreneurial Journey to be able to earn bread and butter. With his sheer hard work, talent and unbeatable will to work, he has reached where he is now.

Entrepreneur Felix always has a very absurd and funny point of view and everything, and when he started posting those on YouTube, it was loved by the Twitter community a lot, and he used to get good responses; this way, his journey started. “To follow your dreams is one thing, and getting to know your inner calling is another ”, says Felix. He believes that it is not necessary that whatever you dream is correct for you; many times, it happens that a dream is not really just; you need to find your inner calling before you start anything. If you can realise what your inner calling is, it becomes comparatively easy for you to be successful and rich.

Rather than blindly following the Influencer’s and enjoying their content, one must learn how they actually became so successful. This not only helps us gain experience and expertise for our own endeavours but also teaches us what the new possibilities around us are. Entrepreneur Felix has been a source of inspiration for his locality and a thousand of people on the internet too.

New Delhi (India), February 12: Tiny India, a leading venture capitalist, has opened an outlet in India to expand its business activities by funding and buying profitable startups in India.

Founded by Andrew Wilkinson in Vancouver in 2007, Tiny India is the Indian subsidiary of Tiny Capital. In India, Tiny plans to continue their tried and trusted process of acquiring agencies and software as a service (SaaS) companies. Although they do have a rolling investment plan of a few million dollars that provides partial funding to promising ventures, their primary focus is on acquiring majority shares in the promising startups in India.

Mohit Mamoria, India partner, Tiny India Private Limited, said, “We buy lean and profitable companies and keep them running forever. We provide a long-term home to the businesses that founders once started with love and care.”

“In stark contrast to the average venture capital investor, Tiny allows the older founders to stay on if they so wish and maintain the original work culture of the institution. In addition, if founders choose to leave, Tiny hires a CEO to oversee the operations and streamline the functioning process through a centralised organization.”

Tiny India is currently in talks with three agencies, and their erstwhile portfolio boasts successful web-based companies like Dribbble, Metalab, and Girlboss.

Tiny India aims to buy lean, profitable, and growth-oriented businesses, which could be in e-commerces, plugins, apps, and agencies. Till now, Tiny India, under the leadership of Mohit Mamoria, has invested in over 200 companies.

Tiny not only has plans to invest in such pre-existing businesses and help them flourish but also start to brand new businesses with ambitious and talented collaborators. The organization has plans to launch at least half a dozen minimum viable SaaS products by the end of this year alone,” said Mohit.

Find out more here:  https://twitter.com/mohitmamoria/status/1481675368679411714

Hyderabad, February 11: India’s leader in electric mobility and services, ETO Motors added another feather-in-the-cap, when they deployed their State-of-the-art Trilux range of three-wheeler EVs’ at the high-profile inauguration of Saint Ramanuja’s ‘Statue of Equality’ by Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiin Hyderabad for the mobility of passengers in and around the beautiful campus.

The Statue of Equality being unveiled to commemorate the 1000^th birth anniversary of the revered Vaishnava philosopher and Saint and celebrate his efforts to reform the social practices that were being followed at that time. The Prime Minister, on his visit to Hyderabad dedicated the 216-foot-tall statue to the nation to signify equality for all. ETO Motors will further deploy several electric vehicles, which will be used to ferry the VIPs’ and key dignitaries to the event.

“ETO Motors thrives on its 3E Principles of Environment, Employment and Empowerment, which finds synergies with the teachings of Saint Ramanuja, who appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water, and soil, apart from being an advocate of social equality.The Company is looking at a horizon of 5 years to set up over 10,000 EV Charging points in the region. ETO Motors has set up over 30 MWs of EV charging infrastructure across the country and has associated with BSES and Tata Power DDL in the National Capital Region (NCR) to provide smart and affordable charging solutions to help India overcome its charging infrastructure challenges. We have also deployed over 50 vehicles in Kevadia (Gujarat) contributing towards making the city, India’s first 100% EV city. The company is committed to contributing towards India’s goal of Net Zero emissions by 2070”, said Rajeev YSR, Vice President-Business Development of ETO Motors. 

ETO Motors describe themselves as an ecologically conscious and sustainable business aiming to revolutionize the automobile sector in India. The goal is to the change the way the world would approach logistics and passenger travel without compromising on quality and ensuring that our precious environment is protected at the same time. ETO also works towards reducing carbon footprint with its electric vehicles, provides employment and empowerment opportunities, especially to women.

One of the greatest contributions of the Saint was the propagation of the concept of “VasudhaivaKutumbakam”, which translates to “all the universe is one family” which is again shared enthusiastically by ETO Motors in their endeavor to make the world a better place to live in. ETO Motors believe that they are a good move for the planet and its people, and a good move for tomorrow.

About ETO

ETO Motors is a 360-degree electric mobility solutions provider. ETO Motors is an electric vehicle manufacturer, fleet operator and charging infrastructure provider. ETO Motors is right now operational across the country in cities such as Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Noida, Nagpur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam serving both the passenger and cargo last mile needs.

February 11: Rentio Toor Dal is a popular name in Indian households. Its 85-year-old history makes it the oldest dal manufacturer in India.

It is the only Toor Dal processed without water using a unique dry process devised by Rentio.  As a result, it retains its original rich taste, colour and flavour.

The Rentio process does not use hybrid or imported seeds but only Desi seeds, mainly grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or insecticides and all of Rentio’s Dals are genuinely unpolished so the unique Desi flavour and its natural nutrients remain intact.

The word Rentio means Charkha or Spinning Wheel.

The family adopted this name for the brand as they were actively involved in the national freedom struggle during the 1930s. All the family members spun cotton yarn on the charkha (Rentio) every day as a part of the struggle routine.

The raw material while processing and the finished product, both are stringently tested at the in-house laboratory. Processed with the help of modern machines, the quality meets all the high standards expected by consumers.

The third generation of the family running Rentio is taking all measures to keep the original quality, packing and distribution intact while adapting to modern times.

Rentio’s products include Rentio Premium Desi Oiled Toor Dal, Rentio Super Desi Toor Dal, and R-Proto Toor Dal. Rentio has also ventured into the ready-to-eat category with ‘Heat n Eat’ a range of instant, authentic Indian recipes.

Rentio expects to remain a leader in processing and marketing Dals for many years to come.

February 11: Hero Campus Challenge, a case study competition, is designed to make future leaders navigate real-life scenarios so that they can get a feel of the ground reality and make real-time decisions.

After witnessing the continued success of 6 seasons, Hero Campus Challenge Season 7 was launched on October 6, 2021. With 53,946 (a raise of more than 50% as compared to last year with 35,633 registrations) and 4,74,014 website impressions, Hero Campus Challenge Season 7 left an indelible mark on the engineering and MBA students with its multiple fascinating and challenging case studies.

Four-pronged framework to challenge the best minds

With an aim to understand diverse perspectives and approaches toward scenario building/problem-solving from some of the brilliant minds of the country Hero Campus Challenge Season 7 was divided into a number of rounds:

Round 1: Quiz – Online Assessment (9566 teams)

Round 2: Idea Elevator Pitch Submission (488 teams)

Round 3: Virtual Presentation (54 teams)

Round 4: Grand Finale (10 teams)

The competition unfurled with an online treasure hunt to trigger engagement which was followed by the Round 1 of Quiz assessment. In this round, all the registered individuals attempted the 36-minute quiz with 24 questions.

54 teams got a chance to present their solutions to the Senior Leadership team. In the final round, the top 10 teams competed for the Winner’s Title at the Grand Finale of Hero Campus Challenge Season 7.

Meet the esteemed judges and the global finalists

The judge’s table was shared by eminent senior leadership from Hero MotoCorp Limited. They drew on their expertise to reasonably assess the team’s efforts in the various components of the competition.

For the E-School track, the panel consisted of Avinash Joshi, Head, Project Engineering; Susheel Sinha, Head of Program Management Office (PMO); Dr. Anirban Chakraborti, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology, BML Munjal University; and Dr. Vijay Desai, Professor, and Dean, NIT Surathkal.

The B-School finalists were judged by the esteemed panel consisting of Ravi Avalur, Head, Premium Segment; Apurva Gupta, head, Transformation; Prof. Davinder Singh, CEO incubation & Associate Professor, School of Management, BML Munjal University; and Dr. Harsh V Verma, Professor (Marketing), FMS University of Delhi.

The teams that bagged the title of global finalists after presenting their feasible and actionable solutions for four problem statements are Team Bike-O-Venters from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai; Team Differential from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Raipur; Team EquipoUAO1 from Universidad Autonoma de Occidente, Cali, Colombia; Team Excelsior from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore; Team Full Throttle from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad; Team NOR-P from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras; Team Snap-Action from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee; Team Outliers from Jadavpur University (JU), Kolkata; Team The Heroes from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode; and Team Trifecta from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi, New Delhi.

And the best of the best are…

All 10 teams stepped into the Grand Finale with the roaring determination to win the converted title of the winner. From the B-School track, Team Trifecta from FMS Delhi comprising Sourav Manni, Abhishek Tyagi, and Aditi Aggarwal bagged the trophy of the Winner. The position of Runner Up was grabbed by Team EquipoUAO1 from Universidad Autonoma de Occidente, Cali, Colombia, comprising Daniela Salas, Alberio Alejandro, and Alejandra Farnandez.

From the E-School track, Team Outliers from JU Kolkata consisting of Sagnik, Srinjoy, and Hritajit shined bright as the Winners of Hero Campus Challenge Season 7. Whereas, Team NOR-P consisting of Anchit, Abhinav, and Saket from IIT Madras secured the position of Runner Up.

Drawing the curtains, the Grand Finale of Hero Campus Challenge Season 7 came to a close with the felicitation of the winners and a vote of thanks. Also as declared earlier, the winners and runners-up from both the tracks were awarded prize money of INR 2,00,000 and INR 1,00,000 respectively along with PPIs.

A big congratulations to everyone associated with season 7 of Hero Campus Challenge!

New Delhi (India), February 11: Creative First has launched a campaign ‘Your IP Your Future’ to spread awareness about the importance of copyright as intellectual property in the media and entertainment industry.

The nationwide campaign by Creative First has been launched in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the Producers Guild of India and the knowledge partners are International Legal Alliance (ILA) and IPTSE Academy.

The Indian film, television, and online video services industries contribute a gross output of Rs 3,49,000 crores and it employs over 2.6 million people. The media and entertainment sector grew at a higher rate than the economy (7.8%) in 2019. India has consistently improved its ranking on the WIPO Global Innovation Index (46th in 2021 from 52nd in 2019).

Creative industries not only entertain and create employment opportunities but also help promote India’s creative and cultural industries across the world. The creative sector has the potential to build innovative and new experiences and reflect India’s soft power. Therefore, creating intellectual property awareness among the youth of the country becomes imperative.

The campaign ‘Your IP Your Future’ targets independent creatives, content producers, independent studios, and media and entertainment enthusiasts to help them understand the business of media and entertainment and protect their Intellectual Property Rights (IP rights).

The campaign features resource materials and conversations with industry and legal experts such as Siddharth Roy Kapur, founder and managing director of  Roy Kapur Films, Vivek Krishnani, managing director of Sony Pictures Films India, Anjum Rajabal, veteran screenwriter, Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO of Reliance Entertainment, Jamshed Mistry, founder of the International Legal Alliance – a virtual global network of lawyers.

Tara Deshpande, actor and author, and National Award-winning actress Divya Dutta among others.

Mr. Arun Chawla, Director General, FICCI said, “Across the world, and in India in particular, small, and medium businesses are thriving and driving innovation. But creativity needs to be protected which is where ‘Your IP Your Future’ comes in”. “Intellectual property law is crucial for the media and entertainment industry. It plays an important role in copyright and trademarking the thinking and writing of the creative society. In today’s digital age, the communication of online content has increased due to which piracy and copyright disputes are rising. There is a need to control its misuse and secure the work of writers and artists.”

Mr. NitinTej Ahuja, CEO, Producers Guild of India, said, “The legal sanctity of IP – and more particularly, copyright in the case of content producers is the very foundation on which our business is built. A thorough and updated understanding of the ever-evolving nuances of the various facets of IP is therefore critical to anyone involved or aspiring to be involved, in the entertainment business. Your IP Your Future is a very valuable and comprehensive resource towards that end.”

Mr. Jamshed Mistry, Founder, International Legal Alliance (ILA), said, “Quite often than not a creative person’s only asset is his IPR!! It is in the best interest of all concerned in the industry to educate them on IPR!! Creative First is the perfect platform to create this awareness!!  -Unsuited.”

Mr. Sourabh Sachdeva, Director, IPTSE Academy, said, “India has emerged as the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world, after the US and China. But without strong IPR protection, creators won’t be able to reap the rewards of their hard work.”

To know more about Your IP Your Future, please visit: https://creativefirst.film/your-ip-your-future/

New Delhi (India), February 10: Budget 2022, announced on 1st February 2022, focused significantly on urbanization and sustainability. The driving factor for reforms in the budget, as per Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of India, was the idea of creating a blueprint of India’s economy for the Amrit Kaal.

Speaking about the true impact of the Union Budget 2022-23, Clicbrics CEO, Rohit Malik says, “Indian budget is once again focused on the affordable housing segment. This segment is the driver for housing demand in India and it’s aimed at first time home buyers. The Indian Government focus is “Housing for all” for the Indian consumer. The affordable housing sector contributed to nearly 40% of new launches pre covid, and we believe pent up demand from first time home buyers will take it back to around 30-40%. Covid had hurt home sales in 2020-21 but with affordability at a multi-decade high, we believe we will be in the best real estate market going forward not seen since 2003.”

To elaborate on the most crucial amendment missing from the budget, Malik added, “There was no relief provided to consumers who are stuck in delayed projects which the consumers were hoping for. To enable the Indian Consumer to make an an intelligent decision to buy their first home, Clicbrics provides intelligence on details like last transacted prices, whether approved by RERA or not, absorption of units since launch and timelines on construction and respective milestones.

Proptech startups like Clicbrics are at the forefront of providing affordable housing to the Indian consumer, with data and intelligence, a first in India, so that the consumer gets what they pay for, at a fair and transparent price. The focus is on digitizing Indian real estate for the consumer, where property transactions and land records with price transparency do not exist and there is no unified MLS (Multiple Listing Service) in India.

Clicbrics is at the forefront of “One Nation, One Registration Software”, and we believe we will fundamentally change the behavior of the Indian home buyer and seller so that they can make intelligent decisions before buying or selling their home in the most transparent manner possible.”

Union Budget 2022 Initiatives in the Real Estate Sector 

The following provisions were announced for the real estate sector under Budget 2022-23.

1. In a move to facilitate the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Finance Minister announced that INR 48,000 Crore will be allocated to the construction of 80 Lakh residential units across the country.

2. In her announcement, Sitharaman pointed out that efficient use of land resources was critical. She added that the government will urge all the states to adopt Unique Land Parcel Identification Number for IT-based record management.

The focus on affordable housing will be the driver for the real estate sector in India for the next decade. Real estate contribution to India’s GDP is expected to grow from $200 Bn a year to $500 Bn by 2025. This contributes to around 12-15% of India’s GDP and will be largest employer in India. As the Indian consumer population goes more online every year and more transactions move online, we believe proptech’s/online real estate startups like Clicbrics will play a huge role in contributing to this growth in real estate.

https://www.clicbrics.com/

https://www.clicbrics.com/property-in-india

Ruchir Gupta receiving International Fame Award from Mr Sonu Sood

February 10: Young and passionate, Ruchir Gupta has been related to the Stock Markets for over 16 years now. He is an MBA graduate with a specialization in Finance. He started his career as a Research Analyst for prominent MNCs and later on moved towards Stock Market Research. Although an excellent professional, over time, he realized that his typical 9 to 5 job is not giving him enough space and time to conduct personal level research to gain an improved mindset.

With that thought, he quit his job and entered the training profession in the year 2014. He had a spark in his heart that he wanted to utilize and bring about a transformation in the Trading World. He followed that instinct and established an entity under the name ‘Ruchir Gupta Training Academy.’

While most Traders focus just on price, he began to emphasize Market Timing. With the use of his Market Timing Techniques, Ruchir has been consistently forecasting numerous stocks each month with high percentage returns. He is more knowledgeable than many other trainers. As a result of the feedback, he discovered that his Methods create immediate Returns and Profits. While improving the Method over the Period his Students Learning Journey got shortened from one month to one or lesser. Financial Market Traders even said that they could not have made such a large profit utilizing any other Trading or Technical Trading Courses available on the market.

Awards

Awarded “Best Stock Market Trading and Investing Online Course Provider” by International Fame Awards by International Fame Awards (Received from Mr Sonu Sood)

Awarded “Best Stock Market Course Provider in India” by National Achievers Awards (Received from Hina Khan)

• STOCK TRADING & INVESTING

Ruchir’s Methods are equally effective for both trading and investing. Both trading and investing aim to make money in the stock market, but they go about it in different ways. He guides the traders to leap in and out of equities in Months, weeks, days, and even minutes in the hopes of making quick money. In this case, he frequently concentrates on the Direction and Entry Timing along with technical aspects of a stock rather than the strategic and long prospects as traders are interested in knowing which way the stock will go next and how they might profit from it. His Gann Cycle Decoder Method can help to make swift returns not only in delivery based Trading and Investing but also in Stock Options, Expiry Options, Nifty, Bank Nifty, MCX Commodities, Currencies. The method can be applied in any Script or Market Manually, However, to reduce the time of research he also provides Scanners for India, Currency and MCX, while he also has Global Presence with Scanners for NYSE (USA), Australia and Thailand Markets.

On the other hand, he also guides the investors efficiently to help them analyze the long-term returns. It will help the investor to think in terms of months and years and frequently hold equities through ups and downs in the marketplace. 

• FOREIGN MARKETS

Ruchir’s methods are applicable not just to equities but also to currency (Forex) and commodity markets. His pupils come from all over the world, including some well-known nations such as the United States, Europe, Australia, and Thailand. He possesses high-end knowledge in a variety of asset classes.

What makes him a popular name?

To date, Ruchir has delivered about 1200 coaching hours to 30,000+ Students via his Webinars and Seminars and Course. He has Traders, Investors, Newbies who started, while Traders with experience of more than 40 Years, Time Crunched Professionals, Housewives Brokers, Analysts, Call Providers every kind of person with even even a slightest interest for markets gets associated with him. He has over 6000 happy and satisfied clients bringing in about 750 success stories, Join Telegram Group to get associated with Ruchir making him an outstanding guide and mentor in the world of trading and market. He conducts Free Webinar on Sundays and you can register for the upcoming webinar from this link in which you come to learn a lot more than any other paid courses out there.

Ruchir has definitely established himself as an authority on a number of the WD Gann Trading Methods, and he is now researching more. Ruchir admits that he really does not know all of the WD Gann Trading Methods, and he contests the notion that anyone can claim to know all of Gann’s secrets. He also gently adds that while there are many people teaching Gann, each person had their own experience and learned various things along the way. As a result, students should not evaluate educators primarily on Gann, but rather on the potential of the approaches that they will learn. He adds that his Gann Cycle Decoder (GCD) method is fairly simple that any one including a 8th Standard kid can understand, and this is what is important for him that even a layman is able to quickly learn the method without any complications and start getting results and earning profit quickly.

Recovering the Course fees is simple, but making Huge Profits such as 10 Lacks by multiple students is a big achievement and makes him proud of what he teaches.

GCD (Gann Cycle Decoder) Community Support

Ever since he came to the Trading World he saw that no matter what the size of the Trading industry is becoming, there is a lack of learning guidance and proper mentorship support, students buy the course , no matter from whom there is no community support as such and hence thinking that in mind he Established GCD Facebook Group and GCD Telegram Discussion Group, where students can interact and quickly learn.

Live Question and Answer Support

Adding the icing on the cake, he started giving weekly Question and Answer sessions to quickly help the students and Speed up their learning just after joining the course. Ruchir was right in his thinking and his students started getting the results even faster because of consistent guidance.

To take its overall employee count to 1200 +by March 2022

Hiring across verticals to support its expansion plans of over 100+ stores across the existing markets by march 2022

  Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 10: Fipola Retail India, India’s leading omnichannel meat D2C (Direct to consumer) start-up today announced that it will hire 400+ employees by March 2022. The hiring spree is strategically planned to add another 2100+ employees to support the start-up’s expansion plans of launching over 275 retail stores across India by 2023. The start-up recently announced an investment of INR 40 crores to launch over 40 retail outlets by March 2022.

Speaking on this employment expansion, Mr. Sushil Kanugolu, Founder & CEO, Fipola Retail India said,“Currently our employee strength stands at  850 + and we intend to increase our employee count by 1200+ by March 2022. The meat and seafood industry has grown at a healthy rate of 400% in the last 2 years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the rapid growth in the industry, we have set a target of reaching 275+ stores by 2023 and we are building a strong base of employees to help us reach there. We have healthy revenue of INR 110 crores and a retargeting to reach a revenue of INR 460 crores by 2023.” Fipola currently has operations across 3key states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana and going forward, the company has plans to expand its operations across India.

Mr. Sushil Kanugolu – Founder & CEO further added, “Fipola is on its way to becoming the largest D2C omnichannel meat brand wherein we would not only be focussing on our online presence but also on our offline stores. Our focus is to strengthen our technology team along with our distribution channel to give our customers a seamless experience. We deploy the best in class, fresh and premium meat to our customers. We strongly focus on hygiene and store maintenance and that is how we have a dedicated team of employees who take care of pre-cleaning, processing, packaging and delivering goods to our customers.”

Currently, Fipola has a healthy customer base of more than 10 lakh customers. Apart from meat delivery, Fipola is also consistently focussing on its other 2 verticals –  ‘Fipola Grill House’ and ‘Fipola on Wheels’. Fipola on Wheels is manifesting the concept of “bringing the store to your doorsteps”  while ‘Fipola Grill House’ serves restaurant-style grilled chicken and shawarmas and provide takeaways that are “ready to eat”. Customers can also buy Fipola’s premium quality meat products from their Retail outlets, or get the freshly cut meat & seafood, home delivered by ordering using Fipola’s Website/ Mobile App (Android and IOS), and through their merchant platforms like Swiggy, Zomato & Dunzo.

About Fipola Retail India:

Fipola Retail India Pvt Ltd, is a South India based, omnichannel D2C meat and seafood retail brand founded by Mr. Sushil Kanugolu in December 2016. The brand since then has successfully redefined meat retailing in the country by delivering premium products and best in class customer service within a hygienic and convenient shopping environment. Fipola also recently diversified its services under the same umbrella, with Fipola Grill House being one of the largest with 8 outlets in Tamil Nadu and in almost all stores in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. A brand extension that caters to restaurant-style grilled chicken and shawarmas takeaways that are ready to eat. Fipola on Wheels is another diversification, manifesting the concept of ‘bringing the store to your doorsteps’ by the brand. This international concept of Mobile Retail Stores has its presence in the metros – Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

The trade body says SECL is supplying more coal outside Chhattisgarh to the detriment of industries within the state

New Delhi (India), February 10: Increasing share of supply of coal produced in Chhattisgarh to industries in other states is adversely impacting power projects and industries in the state, according to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), which has demanded that priority should be given to local industries in coal supplies.

Chhattisgarh has coal reserves of an estimated 56 billion tonnes and accounts for 18% of the national coal reserves, but is facing an unprecedented coal crisis. The South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) produces over 165 million tonnes of coal annually, which is supplied to industries in Chhattisgarh as well as outside.

More than 250 industries in Chhattisgarh have set up captive power projects to meet their power needs. These units produce around 4,000 MW of electricity and require around 32 million tonnes of coal a year, which is 19% of SECL’s overall production. SECL is failing to supply an adequate quantity of coal to these units in breach of existing agreements. Even Independent Power Producers in the state are struggling to ensure 15-20 days of buffer coal reserve because of the crisis, even as coal supplies continue outside the state.

“For the past one year, SECL has increased the share of coal supplies to power projects and industries outside the state at the cost of industries in Chhattisgarh. Even though the coal is mined in Chhattisgarh, the share of coal supplied locally is shrinking, leading to a coal crisis and huge financial losses to industries in the state,” said Sanjay Singh, National General Secretary of INTUC.

Mr. Singh, who is also President of INTUC’s Chhattisgarh unit, has written to the Prime Minister, Coal Minister, Labour Minister, Coal India’s CMD, SECL’s CMD, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, and others demanding immediate remedial attention to ensure coal demands of industrial units in the state are met on a priority basis.

The INTUC official warned that the coal crisis can lead to the closure of industrial units in the state, creating unemployment which could lead to social unrest. He said the central government is responsible for creating the crisis in non-BJP ruled states. He also warned that INTUC would launch an agitation and block the movement of coal vehicles to other states if adequate coal supplies are not ensured to Chhattisgarh.