TMS Ep45: Aviation sector, rise of quick-commerce, markets and decoding AQI

The aviation sector in India is seeing a build-up of momentum – from a new entrant placing orders for aircraft to the Tata’s return to business. But, the question that remains is after being battered by two successive waves of Covid-19, is the sector headed for clear skies and a smooth flight? 
 
Well, as with everything else, in the immediate term, the pace of vaccination and managing the spread of Covid-19 will have the greatest impact on airlines. In the long term, hopefully, passenger confidence will keep growing and international travel will also pick up so that the aviation industry can fly high.
After a sector badly hit by Covid, we now talk about another that actually got a boost. Online delivery of groceries became a necessity during the pandemic as people refrained from stepping out of their homes. And now, Indian tech startups are leading the race in taking online delivery to the next level. They are targeting a rising class of ambitious buyers in big cities with the promise of delivering their groceries within 10 to 30 minutes. It is being called quick-commerce or q-commerce. 
 
Speed, sure, is the catchword among technology and consumer internet startups in India. And in their race for capital, IPOs are a flavour of the season. While the rallying stock market has spurred multiple tech unicorns to raise funds by going public, market watchdog Sebi has proposed to tighten rules around the use of IPO proceeds, as well as the lock-in period for anchor investors. Now, this comes amid a record Rs 1-trillion-plus mop-up through initial share sales this year.
Separately, global rating agency Fitch Ratings has retained India’s ratings at the lowest investment grade with a negative outlook.

The grim investment outlook also seems to have found a reflection on the Delhi-NCR skyline. As the sky turned grey and the air started smelling of soot last week, all schools in Delhi were shut and the industrial activities were suspended. We were told that the Air Quality Index levels had gone past the dangerous level. 

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