Nachiket Kelkar covers major corporate news across sectors. He loves photography and travelling to off-beat destinations
Articles by Nachiket Kelkar
We are raising localisation for more profitability: BMW India chief
Once a leader in India’s luxury car market, BMW India sold 6,812 units in 2014, compared to over 10,000 each by Audi and Mercedes.
Updated on Oct 02, 2015 10:57 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Alibaba-backed Paytm in Rs 1,000-cr push for mobile commerce biz
Mobile payment and commerce company Paytm, backed by the world’s largest e-tailer, Alibaba Group, will invest Rs 900 to 1,000 crore over the next 6-8 months, to boost margins in a sector dominated by the likes of Flipkart and Amazon.
Updated on Jul 21, 2015 12:27 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Is Heineken’s UBL stake buy beginning of end of Mallya’s hold?
It was the last remaining jewel in Vijay Mallya’s crown, but with Dutch beer maker Heineken slowly raising its stake in United Breweries Ltd (UBL), that, too, seems to be slowly slipping away.
Updated on Jul 10, 2015 03:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Ratan Tata 2.0: Start-up mentor and angel investor
Last week, when Ratan Tata flagged off a joint initiative with Google and Intel and Tata Trusts to increase Internet usage for rural women, the 77-year old Tata Sons chairman emeritus had added yet another achievement to his list of accomplishments, since he
Updated on Jul 06, 2015 10:57 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar and Ramsurya Mamidenna, Mumbai
Skoda India pauses launches, to focus on after-sales
Skoda will now concentrate on customer experience, cost-cutting to boost profitability, says Skoda India Chairman & Managing Director.
Updated on Jun 09, 2015 01:19 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Maggi row hits Nestle revenue
Maggi noodles contribute 25% of the company’s total revenues and enjoy 50%-plus market share. Company says, the noodles are produced in-house; nothing, not even the tastemaker, is outsourced.
Updated on Jun 04, 2015 12:40 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Mutual funds investors look to ‘balance’ funds as stock markets yo-yo
The recent volatality in the stock market gives the investor the benefits of growth of equity and relative stability of debt.
Updated on Jun 01, 2015 11:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Mahindra to milk dairy business, connects with farmers
M&M is already a strong player in the agro-business with its tractors and farming equipment, while Mahindra Shubhlabh is the largest grapes exporter. The conglomerate now aims at grabbing a slice of the Rs 3-lakh-crore dairy industry.
Updated on Jun 01, 2015 12:29 AM IST
None | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Indian companies to export cheese to Russia soon
Russia will soon get to taste Indian cheese.
Updated on May 26, 2015 12:12 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Mutual funds lining up to offer pension plans
Mutual funds are queuing up to foray into the pension fund market by offering retirement benefits for private sector employees and self-help groups who don’t formally have such facilities like those employed in the public sector.
Updated on May 19, 2015 11:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Innovations to add $1.1 billion a year to Tatas’ turnover
The Tata Group is scaling up innovations across the $100-billion salt-to-software conglomerate and hopes to double its patent base to over 4,000 in the next three years. The group’s top 60 projects under the innovations category are expected to deliver a financial benefit of $1.1 billion (Rs 7,040 crore) annually.
Updated on May 14, 2015 02:23 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Volkswagen to take on Dzire with made-for-India car
Reviving the iconic Beetle and the executive sedan Passat, and foraying into the fiercely competitive compact sedan and SUV segments are part of German giant Volkswagen’s strategy to jumpstart its sedate India presence.
Updated on May 05, 2015 11:32 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Debt-ridden Indian Hotels to cut costs, rejig operations
Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs the iconic Taj Group of hotels, is restructuring its operations to reign in high debt, while continuing to expand its presence in India and abroad.
Updated on Apr 20, 2015 11:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Renault to double India foothold
French car maker Renault is looking to more than double its India market share to 5% from the current 2% in two years with new launches and capacity expansion.
Updated on Apr 07, 2015 11:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
US, Europe slowdown, currency blues to hit software scorecards
Hit by a volatile currency and a slowdown in key markets including the US and Europe, top software services exporters in India are expected to report disappointing earnings in the January-March quarter.
Updated on Apr 06, 2015 11:16 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Global financial centre hopes ride on tax incentives, infra facilities
The government may be going all out to promote Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT) as a financial services hub on the lines of Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and London, but an immediate migration of business — initially estimated to be $50 billion annually — away from these established centres would hinge on clear tax incentives, world-class facilities and sharp prospects of growing trade potential.
Updated on Mar 28, 2015 01:51 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Ramsurya Mamidenna and Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Gen Next pads up: Akshay Dhoot takes over Videocon’s tech wing
Videocon, one of the country’s oldest consumer durables company, is planning to rejig its product portfolio and take the battle straight to its Japanese and Korean rivals.
Updated on Mar 24, 2015 11:45 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Brick-and-mortar chains gird for battle with e-tailers
While high-profile e-commerce stars such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and global rival Amazon slug it out to woo India’s retail shoppers online by dangling the carrot of huge discounts and bargain hunting, the traditional brick-and-mortar chains are a concerned lot. But they are not resting.
Updated on Mar 15, 2015 11:30 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
ITC raises cigarette prices by average 15% across brands
Diversified conglomerate ITC has raised cigarette prices by an average 15% across brands on the back of a sharp rise in excise duty on tobacco products in the budget 2015-16, analysts said.
Updated on Mar 13, 2015 12:12 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
India’s young e-commerce firms head for reality check
India's largest e-commerce company, Flipkart, is counted among the world's top five "billion-dollar"startups in the world. Its valuation, estimated at by industry trackers like Dow Jones, is around $11 billion — nearly Rs 70,000 crore — ahead of corporate giants like giants like BHEL, Sesa Sterlite and Dr Reddy's Labs.
Updated on Mar 09, 2015 06:27 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Manu Toms and M Rajendran, Mumbai/bangalore/new Delhi
TaxiForSure to raise $80 mn for expansion
TaxiForSure to raise $80 mn for expansion
Updated on Feb 04, 2015 11:03 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Asset management cos woo investors with safer funds
As India’s equity markets march from peak to peak, asset management companies are trying to woo conservative investors with a new set of hybrid funds called equity income funds that are being billed as safe but tax efficient.
Updated on Dec 01, 2014 12:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Xiaomi plans to set up e-com platform in India
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plans to set up its own e-commerce platform in India to sell its devices and accessories and is also looking at possibilities to assemble phones here in the future.
Updated on Nov 27, 2014 10:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Cos using neuroscience to map response to advertisements
Fast-moving consumer goods major Godrej Group launched a new consumer connect initiative Masterbrand 2.0, under which the company will launch a series of ads showcasing new products.
Updated on Nov 26, 2014 01:17 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
India can be one of our biggest markets in Asia: Burger King
US fast-food giant Burger King may be late to India’s fast food scene, but it still sees a big opportunity here, so much so that it feels the operations could in future become the largest in Asia along with China.
Updated on Nov 21, 2014 10:33 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Cash-rich Ola set to expand in 100 cities by 2016, eyes small towns
Taxi service aggregator Ola (formerly Olacabs), which recently raised $210 million (Rs 1,309 crore) funding from Japan’s SoftBank Corp and existing investors, plans to scale up operations to 100 cities from the current 19.
Updated on Nov 01, 2014 09:46 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
E-grocer LocalBanya to raise Rs 300 cr, expand ops beyond Mumbai
Today we can’t stock everything in our stores. With the help of technology, we will be able to cater to the customer in a better way — Kishore Biyani, CEO of Future Group.
Updated on Oct 03, 2014 11:28 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Club Mahindra Resorts to add 500 rooms @ Rs 500 cr
Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, a vacation ownership company part of the Mahindra Group, plans to spend up to Rs 500 crore over the next 18 months towards capacity expansion.
Updated on Sep 29, 2014 02:09 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Mansion House makers eye Rs 825-cr stake sale
Tilaknagar Industries (TI), the maker of Mansion House Brandy, is planning to sell stakes worth around `825 crore to pare its debt, according to a top company official.
Updated on Jul 30, 2014 12:47 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai
Tata Group shedding non-coreassets to cut debt, raise funds
The diversified Tata Group, which has been on an expansion and acquisition drive over the past decade, seems to have embarked on a strategy of selling non-core assets to streamline operations under chairman Cyrus Mistry.
Updated on Jul 29, 2014 02:08 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Nachiket Kelkar, Mumbai