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Shubhanshu Shukla has become only the second Indian to experience the phenomenon – in space, that is. The Indian Air Force group captain created history this week as he travelled to space, 41 years after wing commander Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to do so in 1984.
Shukla is also the first Indian ever to set foot on the International Space Station (ISS). He is part of a four-member Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission led by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson. The crew also included Poland’s Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, who are also the first from their countries to travel to space after more than four decades.
The mission is a collaboration between the US space agency NASA, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the European Space Agency and SpaceX. The Ax-4 itself is a commercial flight, operated by Houston-based Axiom Space, and ISRO paid Rs 500 crore to secure a seat for Shukla on Ax-4 and his training.
The crew took off in Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft docked on the ISS on Thursday. They will spend two weeks on the ISS and conduct 60 scientific experiments.
“What a ride!,” said Shukla, who piloted the spacecraft. “I’m enjoying the view, the experience and learning anew, like a baby, how to walk, to control yourself and to eat and read.”
Needless to say, the mission is important for India. ISRO has previously said it wants to launch India’s first-ever human space flight in 2027, set up a space station by 2035 and send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040. Shukla’s experience will definitely help India in its future quests.
Cut The Flab, Literally
It’s simple, if it jiggles, it’s fat – Arnold Schwarzenegger
What was simple for Schwarzenegger—the world’s best-known bodybuilder, the Mr Universe, the Terminator, the Kindergarten Cop, and the former California governor—is one of the most difficult things for a common person.
Yes, you guessed it right. We are indeed talking about that extra layer of comfort that jiggles above our 18-inch biceps and eight-pack abs. Okay, sorry for exaggerating—the biceps are just 16 inches and the abs show only a six-pack.
Okay, okay, now we are truly sorry and will now get serious. So, what are we really talking about?
Well, we are talking about the struggles of millions of people to stay fit and live a healthy life. More specifically, we are talking about the people who are overweight or obese and who are at greater risk of diseases such as diabetes—and especially those who may not have fully benefitted from other options such as a balanced diet or regular exercise.
So, if you are one of those people, or know someone who is, here’s some good news.
Two of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies have launched their blockbuster weight-loss drugs in India. Denmark’s Novo Nordisk this week launched its Wegovy drug while American firm Eli Lilly, which began marketing Mounjaro here three months ago, said it had received regulatory approval to launch pre-filled injector pens of the drug.
Novo said Wegovy will be available in five dose strengths starting from 0.25 mg to up to 2.4 mg and that it can be taken with an “easy-to-use” pen device, instead of conventional vials and syringes. Mounjaro will come in six dosages.
Globally, demand for both Mounjaro and Wegovy, which are weekly injections, has soared in recent years and some countries such as the US have even faced shortages. Now, both the companies are looking to tap into growing demand for weight-loss treatments in the world’s most populous country, where obesity and diabetes rates are said to be rising.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5, conducted between 2019 and 2021, 22.9% men and 24% women in the 18-69 age group were either overweight or obese. The survey also showed that obesity is more common in urban areas–29.8% in men versus 19.3% in rural India—and in some states such as Delhi-NCR and Tamil Nadu. In Delhi, 38% men and 41.3% women were obese; in Tamil Nadu, 37% men and 40.4% women fell in this category.
Do these drugs really work? Well, Novo says Wegovy has helped people lose 15% of their weight on average, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise. Mounjaro claims a weight loss of almost 23%.
To be sure, these are not over-the-counter drugs and must be taken, if at all, only in consultation with a qualified doctor and after carefully considering several factors including their possible side-effects.
Another important factor to be considered is the cost. A month’s supply of Wegovy will cost between Rs 17,345 and Rs 26,015. Mounjaro carries a similar price tag. This makes it out of reach of millions of people in India.
But there is hope on that count, too. Indian generic drugmakers, such as Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddy’s Labs, could enter the market next year once Wegovy’s active ingredient semaglutide goes off patent. These generics could be up to 90% cheaper. That may help a lot more people jiggle—jiggle with joy, we mean!
Nuclear Option
Moving on from space to another high-tech area, state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is seeking proposals from companies to set up small nuclear reactors with a capacity of up to 220 megawatt-electric (MWe). The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to involve the private sector in nuclear power generation.
NPCIL said this week industrial users can now submit their proposals by Sept. 30, instead of the previous June 30 deadline, to set up Bharat Small Reactors. The extension comes at a time when interest among companies to seek cleaner energy sources is growing, as is evident in the boom in the solar and wind energy sectors in recent years.
NPCIL, the sole operator of nuclear power plants in India, said that many industrial houses have signed non-disclosure agreements and started work on the BSR model while some others have sought more time to prepare their proposals.
This is part of a move announced in December which proposed that NPCIL would operate such plants while industrial users would provide land, cover the capital and operating expenses, and use the power generated.
The government has been looking to change laws that govern nuclear energy in an attempt to attract more private investment and allow foreign companies to hold up to 49% stake. Currently, India has 25 nuclear power plants with a capacity of about 8.8 GW. These plants contribute only 3% of India’s total electricity generation. Clearly, greater private-sector participation is essential for India to meet its target of expanding nuclear capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047.
Paint Wars
Switching to corporate developments that caught our eye this week, JSW Paints finally announced a deal to acquire the Indian unit of Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel.
The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group company, which entered the paints business only in 2019, will buy the Dutch firm’s entire 74.76% stake in Akzo Nobel for Rs 8,986 crore ($1.05 billion).
The deal also includes a contingent payment of up to Rs 447 crore. In addition, JSW has made an offer to buy 25.24% from public shares for a total of Rs 3,929 crore.
A deal for the Dulux owner’s India unit will help JSW Paints boost its market share and meet its target of Rs 5,000 crore for the current fiscal year from about Rs 2,000 crore in 2023-24, as we first pointed out in our newsletter last month.
This also means greater competition for market leader Asian Paints, the No.2 Berger Paints as well as for Birla Opus, the paints brand of Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim which entered the paints sector in February 2024 and has been expanding at a quick pace.
IPO Window
Moving on to the capital markets, a number of companies were in the news this week for activities related to their initial public offerings. As many as six IPOs hit the market this week and some other companies moved forward with their plans as stock markets return to near-record highs. Meanwhile, one company took the opposite road and decided to go slow.
First up, HDB Financial Services Ltd’s IPO—the biggest this week—was fully covered on the second day of bidding on Thursday while real estate developer Kalpataru’s Rs 1,590-crore IPO was covered more than twice.
HDB is the non-bank lending arm of HDFC Bank. India’s private-sector bank, which holds a 94% stake in the unit, is selling shares worth up to Rs 10,000 crore while HDB is issuing new shares to raise Rs 2,500 crore. HDFC Bank also plans to sell shares worth Rs 1,050 crore in Credila Financial, an education loan provider. Credila was previously a unit of HDFC Bank but it sold most of its stake to a consortium of private equity firms EQT and ChrysCapital. Credila’s IPO consists of a fresh issue of shares to raise Rs 3,000 crore while HDFC Bank and its new owners will sell shares worth Rs 2,000 crore.
Another company that filed its draft red herring prospectus is Pine Labs. The digital payments company will issue new shares to raise Rs 2,600 crore while its existing shareholders, which include PayPal and Mastercard, will sell up to 14.78 crore shares. Overall, the IPO size could be around $1 billion, or about Rs 8,600 crore.
Two of Pine Labs’ peers were also in news this week. Walmart-owned PhonePe—the biggest UPI-based payment service provider—is moving forward with an IPO that could be worth about $1.5 billion but PayU, a digital payments company that is owned by Dutch technology investor Prosus, has deferred its IPO plan to focus on improving its operations.
Another big company that is moving towards an IPO is the National Stock Exchange. According to media reports, NSE offered to pay markets regulator SEBI Rs 1,388 crore to settle a dispute so it can proceed with its IPO.
NSE has been trying to go public since 2016, a year before its main rival BSE floated an IPO. But it has been involved in a dispute with SEBI since 2019 when the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 1,100 crore for providing preferential access to some trading members. If the settlement does go through, NSE could launch its IPO within a year. This would provide some of its investors, including the Life Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India and Morgan Stanley an exit window.
Market Wrap
India’s stock market benchmarks firmed up this week, clocking four consecutive days of gains through Friday, thanks to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and optimism around a US-China trade deal.
The Sensex and the Nifty climbed 2% each this week. They are now only 2.5% below their record highs hit on September 27, 2024. The mid-cap index jumped about 2.4% while the small-caps surged 4.3%.
Among sectoral indices, 11 of the 13 rose this week. The metals index was the biggest gainer, rising 4.8%. Financials rose 2.6%, led by a gain in index heavyweight HDFC Bank. Market breadth was positive with 42 of the 50 Nifty stocks and 26 of the 30 Sensex companies ending in the green this week.
Among Nifty stocks, Jio Financial was the top gainer. It soared almost 10% after its stock broking unit received regulatory approval. Its parent and index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 3.4%.
Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Hindalco, UltraTech Grasim and Tata Steel ended more than 5% higher each this week. Shriram Finance, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Titan and Nestle were the other winners.
IT stocks were among the biggest losers with Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys and Wipro ending lower. State-run ONGC fell the most among Nifty stocks as crude oil prices eased.
Other Headlines
- JSW Steel files plea in Supreme Court to review rejection of Bhushan Power deal.
- Vedanta Resources secures up to $600 million loan from foreign banks to refinance debt.
- Adani-owned Mumbai Airport signs deal to raise up to $1 billion in debt from investor group.
- Nobody from Adani Group charged under US bribery law, says Gautam Adani.
- Indian economy remains resilient despite global uncertainty, says RBI bulletin.
- Bharat Biotech, GSK to cut malaria vaccine price by more than half by 2028.
- SEBI asks BSE, NSE to check if trading houses, brokers took corrective actions after inspections.
- SEBI plans to limit powers of stock exchange chiefs, increase board oversight of key functions.
- Aviation regulator DGCA finds multiple defects reappearing on aircraft at Mumbai, Delhi airports.
- Tata Motors says EV launches on track, no panic on rare earth curbs by China.
- India’s crude oil imports rise nearly 10% in May vs April, touch record high.
- India records current account surplus in Q4; FY25 CAD narrows to 0.6% of GDP.
That’s all for this week. Until next week, happy investing.
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