HFCL starts commercial production of

HFCL starts commercial production of FTTH Cables
from new Facility in Hyderabad

 Becomes largest manufacturer of FTTH cables in India with capacity
of 6 lakh kms/annum

HFCL’s new Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) Cable manufacturing Facility at Hyderabad, Telangana has commenced commercial production of Optical Fiber Cables for Fiber to Home Applications, w.e.f. 16^th December, 2020. With the start of this new Facility at Hyderabad, HFCL together with its subsidiary company, viz. HTL Limited, has become the largest manufacturer of FTTH cables in India with a capacity of 6 lakh kms per annum.

The Company had earlier invested Rs.260 crores in Hyderabad Plant for the manufacturing of Optical Fiber that was commissioned in January, 2020. This new state-of-the-art, automated high-speed FTTH cable Facility has come up with a fresh outlay of Rs.40 crores to ensure high throughput, economies of scale and highest quality standards. Thus far, Rs.300 crores have been invested in Hyderabad Facility as part of the Company’s expansion roadmap.

Speaking on this development, Mr. Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director, HFCL said, “Our latest Facility in Hyderabad makes HFCL the largest FTTH player in the Country. India is seeing buoyant FTTH activity driven by private telcos and Government’s thrust on rural network deployment. Expanding FTTH rollouts will not only boost our Country’s 4G connectivity but it will also enhance our readiness for 5G. The momentum in penetration of high-speed internet, increasing investment in digital networks and growing demand for affordable access makes us excited to serve the next generation communication needs of customers in India and across the globe.”

The FTTH cable Plant has backward integration for supplies of major raw materials like Optical Fiber and ARP rods from the Company’s existing manufacturing Facilities, further strengthening the supply chain.

Apart from supplying FTTH cables to telecom service providers in India, HFCL will also be exporting them to more than 30 countries where the Company is already having its presence. The Company will be marketing the FTTH Cables under its brand name of HFCL.

The Company’s R&D facilities are developing different variants of new cables which will also be manufactured from the newly set up Facility at Hyderabad.   

Autodesk-IDC report charts digital transformation roadmap

Autodesk-IDC report charts digital transformation roadmap
for Indian construction sector

• 66% of construction companies say digital transformation is a key priority to drive much needed changes to processes, business models and ecosystems
• Digital transformation to address the top industry challenge of completing projects on time and on budget

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced the publication of an International Data Corporation (IDC) InfoBrief, “Digital Transformation: The Future of Connected Construction.”

Sponsored by Autodesk, the IDC InfoBrief – a survey of 835 construction professionals from large construction companies in countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific – assesses the construction industry’s digital transformation (DX) maturity and challenges.

In India, only 3% are further along in their DX journeys, with most companies (72%) in the early stages of digital maturity.

Overall, Europe and the Americas score higher than the Asia Pacific region in terms of digital maturity. In Asia Pacific, Japan is the most digitally mature country, while China and India are the least mature.

Construction Companies in India are Prioritizing Digital Transformation

According to the survey, 66% of construction companies in India are prioritizing digital transformation.  While the majority of the country’s construction companies are at the early stages of digitalization, the industry anticipates acceleration in digital transformation (DX). To respond to local demand, India construction companies are quickly learning best practices from their peers in more developed markets, which includes knowledge of technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its benefits.

Almost one-fifth of India’s construction companies cited completing projects on time and on budget as a top industry concern, followed by workforce safety and effectively managing risk. As a result, project management, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and client relationship management (CRM) have been identified as the top planned software investments.

“Completing projects on time and on budget remains one of the biggest challenges of the Indian construction sector. Digitisation of construction can not only help in efficient project management, but in the process also boost profits and lead to more sustainable outcomes,” said Sunil MK, Head of Architecture, Engineering and Construction business at Autodesk India & SAARC.

“In India, prominent organisations such as Airport Authority of India, Delhi Metro, ITC, Oberoi Realty, Bangalore International Airport Limited, CPWD among others have already mandated digital technologies such as BIM for their projects. Digital transformation of the construction sector can be further accelerated by a proactive recommendation from the government to use 3D digital construction solutions. Many governments worldwide have already advocated BIM and in India too the government can evaluate the benefits of digital construction and advocate its use for signature projects in the country.”

Unlocking “Digital Deadlocks” Can Help Achieve Competitive Advantage

Construction companies in India are still struggling to unlock the full potential of digitization, and cited the following as their top three ‘digital deadlocks’ on their journey to DX maturity:

1. Development of digital capabilities and skills across the organization – almost half (47%) of all construction companies in India indicated this was their top DX challenge.
2. Creation of a strategic roadmap for digital investments. Nearly 42% of Indian companies highlighted the challenge of creating a single enterprise-wide technology roadmap to prioritise industry use cases and investments.
3. Building the right organizational structure – 41% of companies find it challenging to build the right organisation structure embedding digital in the business.

Unlocking these “digital deadlocks” can help organizations mature and progress along their DX journey, moving past the early and mid-level stages into the most mature stages, where digitization is central to the way the company works and delivers a competitive advantage in the market.

Indian bio similar market to be worth $40

 Indian bio similar market to be worth $40 billion by 2030

Active engagement in Indian industry with about 70 approved bio similars - Urgent need to expand markets & de-clog RoW market access to actualize potential for global leadership 

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) & Sathguru Management Consultants released a position paper on Indian Biosimilars Industry – “Indian Biosimilars Industry: Roadmap to Actualize Global Leadership” at the 2nd National Biotechnology Conclave 2018 - Driving Inclusive Growth for Indian Bio-economy Vision- 2025 organised by CII in Delhi.

Biosimilars present a very attractive opportunity for Indian pharma companies going beyond small molecule generics ridden with intense competition and price pressures.  Based on analysis of currently approved biologic drugs and global pipeline, in the most optimistic scenario, we estimate that the global biosimilar market will be worth of $240 Billion and Indian biosimilars market will be worth of $40 billion by 2030.  Growth is being driven by increasing market maturity in Europe, more recent forthcoming environment for regulatory approvals in US and high unmet clinical need across RoW markets.  

With record number of domestic approvals, active engagement in semi-regulated markets and growing footprint in regulated markets, the Indian biosimilar industry is poised at the cusp of growth. There are more than 70 biosimilars approved in the country today.  The revised Indian guidelines released in 2016 have not only resulted in a rigorous framework for approvals in India, but have also paved the way for leaner bridging effort to enter global markets. At this juncture, it is imperative to nurture the vibrant industry landscape and support the industry in value realization.  Major challenges to combat to secure a sustainable future for Indian-made biosimilars and key recommendations are:

1.    Expanding markets in domestic landscape:  Biosimilars as a means to overcoming affordability barriers is a promise that is a promise that is yet to be translated to reality in several countries including India.  Though substantial level of price erosion has been breached, overall market size is currently unattractive as volume penetration remains significantly low.  For instance, one of the more mature assets in India, Trastuzumab biosimilar had overall sales of about Rs. 286 crores in 2017 translating to less than 10% penetration when assessed on the basis of overall clinical need. Price control has had insignificant impact on expanding access as overall cost of care in indications such as oncology still remains out of reach for majority of the population.  Hence, is it is important to consider other models of aggregated and negotiated buying for public health so that blanket price control can be avoided.  It is critical that affordable biologics are included in national coverage programs to expand access, especially at a time when landmark public health programs such as Ayushman Bharat PMJAY are rolled out.  Finally, as done in certain European countries with high success in biosimilars adoption, a multi-stakeholder approach has to be engaged to drive greater awareness, clinical adoption and market expansion. 

2.    Strengthening upstream technology backbone: Sustainable success in the segment will hinge on production economics, especially as prices erode and unit cost and enhanced capex recovery become critical.  There is urgent need to strengthen industry's backbone in upstream technology development, especially in areas such as high yielding clones and industry-academia platforms should be explored.  For near term impact, globally benchmarkable non-dilutive funding and fiscal incentives for technology acquisition should be considered. 

3.    Paving the way for sustainable leadership in global markets: As regulated markets embrace biosimilars and move towards higher market maturity, it is optimal time for the industry to expand thrust on regulated markets, that will constitute majority of the near term global markets by value.  However, given the significant level of binary risk per asset (clinical development investments of about $100 to $150 million per asset), key to defraying risk and expanding investment appetite will lie in more aggressively pursuing strategic partnerships with global as well as domestic counterparts. The Biocon-Mylan partnership is a great testimony to strategic value of such partnerships and has resulted in Indian developed biosimilars being among the first wave of approved assets in regulated markets.  For RoW markets, the WHO PQ presents great promise as a mechanism that can provide aggregated access to multiple markets that are relatively less mature.  India should encourage fast tracking of the WHO PQ pilot while pursuing regulatory reciprocity in select markets until such aggregated possibility is a tangible reality.  Finally, as done through bodies such as PHARMEXIL in small molecule drugs, a multi-stakeholder approach to enhance global reputation and support global market access will greatly accelerate market expansion in the fragmented RoW markets. 

                About Sathguru Management Consultants:

                Sathguru Management Consultants is a 30 year old firm with market leading presence across all segment of Lifesciences – human health, agribusiness, food and animal health.

                Over the last 30 years, Sathguru has evolved a unique approach to consulting. Our combination of business advisory (strategy, operations & commercial), corporate finance & M&A, innovation advisory differentiates us and provides us a techno-commercial perspective. 

                Sathguru’s holistic view stems from engaging with clients across the ecosystem – market leading large companies, young ventures, research institutions, funders and policy makers. Sathguru also known for industry depth and pragmatic approach that stems from an integrated team engaging across strategy as well as key execution areas such as M&A, innovation advancement and strategic partnership. Sathguru has a team of about 200 professionals and has offices in India, USA, Africa, Bangladesh and Nepal.