🚚 Delhivery turns profitable in Q3; India’s pilots are running on fumes

The most interesting news selected specially for you! 04 February 2024 [View in Browser]( Hello, Now, startups and enterprises can enhance their brand engagement by partnering with YourStory and advertising on our YS Buzz and Weekly Wrap newsletters. [Click here]( to know more. In today's newsletter, we will talk about: - Delhivery turns profitable in Q3 - India’s pilots are running on fumes - Inside Pidilite’s corporate VC arm - Climate-tech sector’s asks from Budget - Investors seek clarity on regulations Here’s your trivia for today: How old is the world's oldest piece of chewing gum? --------------------------------------------------------------- Logistics Delhivery turns profitable in Q3 Ecommerce logistics player Delhivery posted Rs 11.7 crore in profit in the October-December 2023 quarter as compared with a Rs 196 crore loss incurred in the same quarter a year ago. The Gurugram-based unicorn's expenses shot up slightly to Rs 2,290 crore as compared with Rs 2,125 crore it spent in Q3 FY23. Green: - In Q2 of the current financial year, the company had incurred a loss of nearly Rs 103 crore. - The company booked Rs 2,194 crore in revenue in Q3 FY24 from contracts with customers, as compared with Rs 1,832 crore it earned in the same quarter last year. - Delhivery, which is a delivery logistics platform that provides last-mile delivery, third-party, and transit warehousing, among other services, was listed on Indian bourses in 2022. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable “Worse than being drunk”: Inside India’s terrifying pilot fatigue problem On January 8, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued revised regulations for flight duty time limitations (FDTL) for flight crew. Meant to keep a check on fatigue levels in pilots, airlines must comply with the updated rules by June 1. Among the key revisions are an increase in weekly rest periods for flight crew to 48 hours from the current 36 hours, stricter restrictions on maximum flight duty durations at night, a reduction in maximum landings during night operations, as well as a change in the definition of night flying period. The revised rules come on the heels of reports of multiple pilot deaths over the past year.These deaths coincide with the Indian aviation industry witnessing a massive post-pandemic recovery—with a record [152 million]( domestic flyers last year. This unprecedented volume has left airlines struggling to keep up with demand. At the end of the day, though, the weight of all this falls on the shoulders of pilots. Key takeaways: - The DGCA recently released revised rules on duty time limitations for flight crew to address fatigue among pilots. - As Indian carriers cater to the surge in air travel, safety experts and pilots say flight crew are often pushed to the brink of flying time limits. - Moreover, other rules meant to avoid frequent changes in schedules and publishing of rosters in advance are ambiguous and often not complied with. - Despite higher operational costs for the airlines, better management of fatigue and addressing long-running issues are key to the healthy growth of India’s aviation industry. [Continue Reading]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Investor Inside Pidilite’s corporate VC arm manufacturer Pidilite Industries' corporate venture capital arm, Pidilite Ventures, has been investing in startups for the last three years. To date, it has invested $35 million in 10 startups in the home segment providing products and services such as furniture, interior design, building construction, and painting. “This is a good vehicle to access innovation in the startup ecosystem and focus on areas where we are traditionally involved,” says Sanket Parekh, Director, Pidilite Ventures. Investment thesis: - Pidilite Ventures has partnered with 100X.VC, which provides the investment framework while the decision-making rests with Pidilite. - Through the early-stage VC firm, startups get exposure to the best practices of the industry while Pidilite stands to gain considerable knowledge on customer preferences and other trends. - It has not set aside any funding amount for investment purposes and draws upon the balance sheet of the parent company to put money into any startup. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Union Budget Climate-tech sector’s asks from Budget growth was one of the ‘Saptarishi’ or seven guiding principles of Budget 2023. It focused on areas such as fuel, energy, mobility, equipment, and power usage, and was hopeful of providing “large-scale green job opportunities”. This year, the climate-tech industry is hoping for government support and incentives from today’s Budget. Green push: - Given that green hydrogen is central to the government’s vision to reach net zero emissions by 2070, the industry is hoping for some tax breaks on importing equipment needed for production, especially solar photovoltaic modules which currently attract 40% duty. - Budget 2024 needs to look at LPG as a necessary alternative to oil and gas, as well as electricity in the automotive industry, say experts. - More tax breaks, especially on imported technology that help combat climate change and make processes more eco-friendly have been an industry-wide ask from the government. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Union Budget PE/VC investors seek clarity on regulations the startup funding winter comes to a head, both companies and investors are bracing for some tough times ahead. Apart from uniform taxation across the ecosystem, venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) players hope the interim Budget will bring some clarity to recent circulars issued by regulatory bodies. Key takeaways: - SEBI has been pushing for regulatory compliance and transparency for AIFs, which form the basis of private investment vehicles in India. - Industry body Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association anticipates potential rule changes and clarification on circulars to address concerns of the industry. - As part of a circular issued in December 2023, the RBI prohibited regulated entities such as banks and NBFCs from making investments in AIFs that have downstream investments in a company that has taken debt from the particular regulated entity. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [National security:]( The US State Department has approved the potential sale of 31 armed drones, missiles and other equipment to India for nearly $4 billion. It includes the sale of 31 armed MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones, 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles and 310 laser small diameter bombs. - [New support:]( A state-backed property project in China has received the first development loan under a so-called whitelist mechanism and two more major cities have eased home-buying curbs, state media reported, as concerns mount about the liquidation of Evergrande. - [AI assistant:]( Stellantis' Peugeot brand plans to use ChatGPT to improve the voice assistant in its cars and vans, joining rivals such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz in tapping the popular AI chatbot. Peugeot will launch a pilot version of the ChatGPT service, which will be able to connect to vehicle controls and answer many general or navigation-related questions. Did you know? How old is the world's oldest piece of chewing gum? Answer: 5,700 years old. It was made from birch bark tar. We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com. If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, [sign up here](. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our [Daily Capsule page here](. [Feedback]( [Unsubscribe]( [Newsletters](