NEW DELHI, MuMBAI, BENGALuRu, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HyDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, puNE*, LuCkNOw* VOL. 18 NO.

99

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Decoding India’s Best foot

soaring demand forward
As India strives for more locally
for air travel made stuff, here’s one more
thing that could join the list: a
shoe size system. Christened
BY ANU SHARMA Bha, it has been developed by
On 21 April, 470,751 passengers flew, setting a record for Indian air researchers at the Council of
traffic by beating the previous record registered a year ago. Record Scientific and Industrial
demand this summer has implications for both aviation companies Research–Central Leather
and passengers. Mint sets out the scenario: Research Institute (CSIR–
CLRI), which works under the
ministry of commerce, after a
pan-India survey of 101,880
individuals that involved taking
3D scans of their feet to study
how Indian feet are typically
shaped. They were found to be
wider than Western ones. To
replace a size system we inher-
ited from the British Raj, Bha
proposes eight footwear sizes,
covering infants to adults. The
British system has 10 sizes, but
is wasn’t made with the rest of
the world’s feet in mind. Foot-
wear designed for Indians based
on Bha can be expected to offer
What exactly is driving Has supply kept up greater comfort. This is part of
1 the demand?
India is currently the third largest
2 with the demand?
The supply in terms of capacity
the pitch for a switchover by
India’s footwear industry. CSIR-
aviation market in the world, after deployed has increased on-year, CLRI has submitted its recom-
the US and China. It is also the albeit at a slow pace due to a mendations to the Department
fastest growing air travel market in shortage of new and old aircraft as of Promotion of Industry and
the world. The domestic air traffic well as engines. Latest data from Internal Trade, also under the
has grown over 147% in the past 10 the Airports Authority of India ministry of commerce, which
years to reach 152 million shows that while the number of
has reportedly forwarded them
passengers in 2023. Industry flights increased by 2.7% on-year
experts attribute the growth in air in the domestic segment and 11.6% to the Bureau of Indian Stan-
travel demand to rising income on-year for the international dards for approval. Shoppers, of
levels, unrealized potential of first- segment in March, the course, would be curious to see
time flyers (currently, the corresponding growth in what difference it makes.
penetration in domestic air travel passenger traffic has been higher.
is just 10%), a competitive The international passenger traffic
environment in air fares, and a at Indian airports for March grew
multifold increase in the number 15% on-year to 6.1 million
of operational airports to over 140
as compared to around 70 nearly a
passengers and by 4.7% on-year to
26.9 million passengers in the
MINT METRIC
decade ago. domestic category. by Bibek Debroy
MINT

Dhani Ram Mittal finally died,

3 What is the implication for
air fares?
Air fares are impacted by the price of
His exploits all logic defied.
aviation turbine fuel and market forces of
Fake station master, genuine car thief,
supply and demand. The April-June Fake judge granting criminals relief.
quarter is typically the strongest in a year
and as the supply chain issues persist, air
His own case he managed to decide.
fares in the peak travel season have risen
25% on several routes. Jet fuel prices are at
₹1,00,893.63 per kl in Delhi, 3% higher on-
year and 54% higher than in FY20.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Rather than tapering off, the
4 What is the impact on
aviation companies? 5 What can impact the
demand? global EV revolution appears to be
A strong and sustained demand is A shortage of capacity, resulting in gearing up for a new phase of
expected to result in tailwinds for higher air fares, can hurt demand.
Indian airlines. As per ratings However, airlines are resorting to growth... The wave of investment
agency Icra, the pace of recovery is inducting aircraft on lease in order in battery manufacturing suggests
likely to be gradual due to the high to prevent this situation. For the EV supply chain is
fixed-costs. The industry reported example, IndiGo, India’s largest
a net loss of ₹17,000-17,500 crore airline with over 60% market advancing to meet
in FY2023 but this is expected to share, has more than 70 of its fleet automakers’ ambitious
narrow to ₹3,000-4,000 crore in of 360 aircraft grounded. It is
FY24 and FY25, as airlines expected to induct nearly 20 plans for expansion...
continue to witness healthy aircraft on lease from April to
passenger traffic growth and make up for this shortage in
maintain price discipline, Icra said. capacity. Similarly, Tata Group-
However, airlines’ ability to raise backed Air India will also induct
profit margins proportionate to 20 leased Airbus A320neo aircraft FATIH BIROL
their input costs will be crucial. by August of this year. IEA DIRECTOR

mint Election Bites

PARTIES WITH THE HIGHEST

STRIKE RATE IN 2019
LOK SABHA POLLS
Party name (seats contested) Seats won as a share of seats contested (in %)

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (24) 100.0

YSR Congress Party (25) 88.0

Bharatiya Janata Party (436) 69.5

Janata Dal (United) (25) 64.0

Biju Janata Dal (21) 57.1
All India Trinamool Congress (62) 35.5

Shiv Sena (98) 18.4

Indian National Congress (421) 12.4

Excludes parties that won fewer than 10 seats For more election-based charts and historical analysis, visit the infographics section on the Mint app.
Data: Shuja Asrar, Design: Sarvesh Kumar Sharma Source: Election Commission of India, Mint calculations
 PLAIN FACTS

ElEcTioNS 2024 STATES iN NUmbErS

This is the fifth part of our ready reckoner series on India’s 36 states and
Union territories (UTs)—their economies, politics, and hot issues—as they
vote at the ongoing general elections. Today we look at four more states,
including two of India’s most populous ones.

UTTAR PRADESH POLLING 26 Apr 7 May 13 May 20 May 25 May 1 Jun

Party standings in DATE (8 seats) (10 seats) (13 seats) (14 seats) (14 seats) (13 seats)
2019 elections Already voted: 8 seats
Contribution to India's GSDP average growth,
BJP INC GDP (share in %) FY14 to FY23 (%, CAGR)
SP BSP 8.5
Uttar Pradesh 5.7
AD(S)
8.38 India 5.6
8.4

CPI inflation rate, 2023-24 (in %)

8.3
Uttar Pradesh 5.8
8.2 India 5.4
On the poll trail Unemployment rate (in %),
 Development issues 8.1 age 15+ (CWS), 2022-23
 Communal faultlines
Uttar Pradesh 3.7
 Job creation 8.0
2013-14 2022-23 India 5.1

Double-engine tracker Share (in %) of population living in multidimensional

Parties in power since 2014 BJP/allies Other parties poverty, 2019-21
Uttar Pradesh 22.9
26 May 2016 2018 2020 2022 31 Mar
2014 2024 India 15

GOA POLLING
DATE
Double-engine tracker 7 May
(2 seats)
Parties in power since 2014 BJP/allies Other parties

26 May 2016 2018 2020 2022 31 Mar

2014 2024 Party standings in
2019 elections
Contribution to India's GSDP average growth, BJP INC
GDP (share in %) FY14 to FY23 (%, CAGR)
0.45 On the poll trail
Goa 7.4
 Protecting Goan
India 5.6 identity and land
0.40  Environmental
CPI inflation rate, 2023-24 (in %)
concerns
Goa 3.1  Coal pollution
0.35
India 5.4
0.35

0.30 Unemployment rate (in %), Share (in %) of population living in multidimensional
age 15+ (CWS), 2022-23 poverty, 2019-21
Goa 10.8 Goa 0.8
0.25
India 5.1 India 15
2013-14 2022-23

GUJARAT POLLING
DATE
Party standings in 2019 elections 7 May *Gujarat has 26 seats but one (Surat) will not vote
(25 seats*) as its BJP candidate was elected unopposed.
BJP

Contribution to India's GSDP average growth,

GDP (share in %) FY14 to FY23 (%, CAGR)
8.50
Gujarat 8.1
8.28
8.25 India 5.6

8.00
CPI inflation rate, 2023-24 (in %)
7.75 Gujarat 5.7
India 5.4
7.50

7.25 Unemployment rate (in %),

On the poll trail age 15+ (CWS), 2022-23
 Inflation impact 7.00 Gujarat 2.6
 Healthcare facilities 2013-14 2022-23
 Caste-based India 5.1
faultlines
Share (in %) of population living in multidimensional
Double-engine tracker poverty, 2019-21
Parties in power since 2014 BJP/allies Other parties
Gujarat 11.7
26 May 2016 2018 2020 2022 31 Mar India 15
2014 2024

BIHAR
POLLING 26 Apr 7 May 13 May 20 May 25 May 1 Jun
DATE (5 seats) (5 seats) (5 seats) (5 seats) (8 seats) (8 seats)
Already voted: 4 seats
Double-engine tracker Party standings in 2019 elections
Parties in power since 2014 BJP/allies Other parties
BJP INC JD(U) LJP

26 May 2016 2018 2020 2022 31 Mar

2014 2024 On the poll trail
Contribution to India's GSDP average growth,  Poverty and
GDP (share in %) FY14 to FY23 (%, CAGR) development issues
2.90  Anti-incumbency
Bihar 5.7
 Outward
2.85 India 5.6 migration

2.80 2.79 CPI inflation rate, 2023-24 (in %)

Bihar 5.8
2.75
India 5.4
2.70
Unemployment rate (in %), Share (in %) of population living in multidimensional
age 15+ (CWS), 2022-23 poverty, 2019-21
2.65
Bihar 4.7 Bihar 33.8
2.60 India 5.1 India 15
2013-14 2022-23
AD(S): Apna Dal (Soneylal), BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party, BSP: Bahujan Samaj Party, INC: Indian National Congress, JD(U): Janata Dal (United);
LJP: Lok Janshakti Party, SP: Samajwadi Party
CWS: current weekly status; GSDP: gross state domestic product; CAGR: compounded annual growth rate; CPI: consumer price index
Double-engine tracker: BJP uses the term "double-engine" to describe a common alliance in power in both the Centre and the state, which it claims is good for the
state's progress;
On the poll trail: The issues are selected based on news reports on what politicians and voters are discussing, and may not reflect the biggest ground-level issues.
Sources: Election Commission of India, ministry of statistics and programme implementation, Periodic Labour Force Survey, Niti Aayog, Mint research and calculations
COMPILED BY NITI KIRAN AND MANJUL PAUL; DESIGN BY PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCkNOW* VOL. 18 NO. 99 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 18 PAGES

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The rise and rise of Adani’s How new KYC norms have
livemint.com realty play uP10 impacted MF investors uP11

SENSEX 73,738.44 89.82 NIFTY 22,368.00 31.6 DOLLAR ₹83.34 ₹0.03 EURO ₹88.83 ₹0.04 OIL $86.51 $0.17 POUND ₹103.01 ₹0.09

FMCG under SC lens after Cold start

A Mint analysis of 25 eligible scrips on both NSE and BSE
shows negligible levels of shares traded.
Volume of T+0 settled securities since 28 March through 19 April
NSE BSE
DON’T MISS
MINT

misleading Patanjali ads State Bank of India

NMDC

Bank of Baroda
8
23

114
27

12

12
SC asks ministries to be parties to case; calls for steps taken so far against errant cos Ambuja Cements 5 4

Vedanta
Biz activity grew at its fastest in
208 1
Suneera Tandon & Varuni Khosla extending the scope of the cover- 14 years in April: HSBC survey
NEW DELHI NoT So FAST age of its order to other defaulting
advertisers. The Drug & Magic
Source: NSE, BSE
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
The HSBC Flash India Composite Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P

T Few takers for T+0

he Supreme Court on Remedies Act and other related Global, climbed to 62.2 in April from a
Tuesday turned the provisions have been misused and revised reading of 61.8 in March, the fastest
glare on fast-moving abused for long, most times with rate of increase in aggregate business
activity since June 2010. >P2
consumer goods
(FMCG) companies that
may be issuing misleading adver-
the government looking the other
way,” said Sandeep Goyal, chair-
man and managing director,
settlements after Reliance, ACME, JSW among 7
tisements, asking the Centre to advertising agency Rediffusion.
explain the steps taken against
such companies since 2018.
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli
The Advertising Standards
Council of India (ASCI), an indus-
try watchdog, routinely pulls up
14 days of trading bidders for 10 GWh ACC PLI
Seven companies, including Reliance
Industries (RIL), ACME Cleantech Solutions
and A. Amanullah also ordered the companies for misleading adver- Ram Sahgal & Mayur Bhalerao this period. Pvt Ltd, JSW Neo Energy Ltd and Waaree
ministries of consumer affairs, tisements, ensuring that adver- MUMBAI For instance, Ashok Leyland Energies, have placed their bids in, a second
information and broadcasting and tisements conform to its self-regu- Ltd saw 502 shares traded on round, for manufacturing advanced
chemistry cells (ACC). >P2

T
IT to examine potential violations latory code, staying legal, decent, he same-day settlement 28 March and one share on 2
of the Drugs and Magic Remedies honest and truthful. The ASCI of stock market trades, or April on BSE , after which no
Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act and declined to comment on the issue. T+0, hasn’t found too trades took place on the
the Consumer Protection Act, and “This will definitely further the many takers in 14 trading days exchange under T+0. M&M Finance spots ₹150 crore
directed them to become parties awareness among brands to adver- since its launch. This is despite Similarly, State Bank of India fraud, delays Q4 results
in the ongoing case against Patan- tise responsibly. The claims have the markets hitting successive (SBI) saw only 23 shares being Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services has
jali founder Baba Ramdev, initi- HEALTH TIPS to be proven. A self-regulatory highs over the period. traded during the period on deferred its board meeting scheduled for 23
ated by the Indian Medical Associ- THE SC noted that IT said the case’s THE apex court body such as the ASCI has been However, analysts expect NSE. Bank of Baroda witnessed April after a fraud involving ₹150 crore was
ation (IMA). many FMCG firms scope should extend adjourned the case doing a good job to bring responsi- more investors to hop on to the just 114 shares traded on 28 detected at one of its branches in the
IMA had urged action against issue misleading ads beyond one firm till 30 April bility in advertising. The court’s new optional settlement sys- March and none thereafter. country’s North-East region. The board
Patanjali for advertisements pro- statement will impact even other tem once trade timings are To give context, total traded meeting will now take place on 30 May. >P7
moting the Ayush treatment sys- category advertising,” said Krish- extended and more scrips quantity of SBI on the extant
tem while allegedly undermining beyond Patanjali. consumer goods makers that narao Buddha, senior category included in the new series. T+1 series of NSE was 188.7 mil-
modern, evidence-based medi- “Now, we are looking at every- account for the largest chunk of head at Parle Products. A Mint analysis of data from lion shares and for Bank of Bar- Microsoft’s new AI models
cine. While hearing the plea, the thing… we are looking at children, advertising in India. The move will In 2023, FMCG companies 28 March through 19 April for oda, 172.6 million shares from to work in offline mode too
bench noted that FMCG firms babies, women and no one can be help curb false advertisements and spent roughly ₹31,428 crore in 25 eligible scrips on both the 28 March to 19 April.
Microsoft Corp.’s new family of AI models
were publishing misleading ads, taken for a ride and the Union gov- ensure consumers make well-in- advertising, making it the largest National Stock Exchange (NSE) In other cases, no trades have unveiled on Tuesday is targeted at finding
affecting the public, especially ernment must wake up to this,” the formed decisions, industry execu- category to advertise, according to and BSE shows negligible lev- happened at all. In software use in devices such as smartphones and
children and the elderly. This, it bench said. tives said. a 2024 report by Dentsu and els of shares traded. The total company Coforge Ltd, no trade other consumer-end applications,
said, was a case of public interest Those in the advertising and “I think the Supreme Court Exchange4Media. FMCG firms number of trades under T+0 is happened on either NSE or including in situations where users are
and, hence, the scope should be consumer goods industry said the needs to be applauded for not only 3,461 so far, compared to 5.8 offline. >P3
expanded to all FMCG companies move may set a precedent for large taking Patanjali to task but also TURN TO PAGE 6 billion overall trades during TURN TO PAGE 4

After Europe’s CBAM, Germany Some Indian cars falter in

props up fresh hurdles for firms latest global crash tests
Rhik Kundu ing India, China and Vietnam Alisha Sachdev short in standardizing critical
[email protected] will have to comply with Ger- [email protected] safety features, raising con-
NEW DELHI many’s new regulation as well NEW DELHI cerns about the preservation
as with the European Union’s of human life on Indian roads.

I A
ndian firms directly or indi- Carbon Border Adjustment re cars safe in India? The BNCAP, an indigenous,
rectly in business with Euro- Mechanism (CBAM) to do busi- Many are, going by past voluntary programme devel-
pean firms face a twin hurdle ness in the continent, said Bis- crash-test results, but oped by the Centre in collabo-
as Germany tightens its screws wajit Dhar, a professor at the some others continue to fall ration with its testing agencies
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Toyota Kirloskar Motors favour lower on a new law aimed at ensuring Centre for Economic Studies short of safety standards under and other stakeholders, was
cess for hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles. MINT fair labour standards and envi- and Planning at Delhi’s Jawa- global protocols. The latest launched last August. BNCAP
ronmental requirements. harlal Nehru University. “Mar- round of test results from protocols are defined along

Hybrid cars may For Indian businesses

already subject to Europe’s car-
bon tax, Germany’s supply- Germany’s new Act requires that
ket access for Indian compa-
nies can be impacted if they
don’t follow strict labour stan-
Global New Car Assessment
Programme (GNCAP) has
found serious safety shortcom- The report prompted calls for
the lines of GNCAP, with the
advantage that the cars can be
tested by Indian agencies

bear the cess

chain rules would mean addi- labour standards are maintained dards laid out by Germany, ings in some car models, action to prioritize occupant within the country, and at
tional compliance and report- across supply chains. MINT which is likely to become a prompting calls for industry- and vehicle safety. ISTOCKPHOTO lower cost. Cars such as Tata
ing costs, apart from fines and model for supply chains across wide action to prioritize occu- Harrier and Safari secured five
loss of business opportunities prevent and remedy any poten- the European Union (EU).” pant and vehicle safety. Carens showed improve- stars in the BNCAP on both

load for longer for any violations, industry

experts told Mint.
Germany’s Supply Chain
tial human rights and environ-
mental violations, even if indi-
rectly, across their operations
According to the Consulate
General of India (Germany),
Indian companies operate in
The GNCAP test report,
released on Tuesday,
announced crash-test results
ment in a retest, achieving
three stars for adult safety and
an impressive five stars for
adult and child safety parame-
ters. Other manufacturers
such as Maruti Suzuki and
Alisha Sachdev Pvt. Ltd that favour lower cess Due Diligence Act (SCDDA) is and supply chains. Germany across sectors like for two variants of Kia Carens, child occupants. But concerns Hyundai Motor India have
[email protected] for hybrids and flex-fuel vehi- aimed at ensuring that labour Companies must also pro- information technology, auto- Honda Amaze and Mahindra & linger over its driver neck per- announced plans to put some
NEW DELHI cles, and Tata Motors Ltd and and contractual requirements vide ways for workers to file motive, pharmaceuticals, bio- Mahindra’s Bolero Neo. formance despite standard of their cars through this test.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd are maintained across supply complaints about labour or tech and manufacturing. Honda Amaze and Bolero Neo inclusion of six airbags, a Despite the profusion of

H
ybrid cars in India may want the benefits solely for EVs. chains for businesses operating environmental violations, even Spokespersons for the com- disappointed with dismal release by the GNCAP said. tests and increasing public
remain pricey for a EV makers have also resisted a in the country. if these workers are employed merce ministry, and the Ger- safety ratings of two and one Despite initiatives like glare on their results, some
while, with a top panel proposal to lower GST on flex- The Act, which was tight- with suppliers with whom the man embassy didn’t respond to star, respectively, for adult GNCAP and the country’s own cars continue to remain
tasked to review taxes on them fuel vehicles which can run on ened in early 2024 after it was businesses don’t have a direct emailed queries. occupant safety, and zero and Bharat New Car Assessment “unsafe”. Piyush Tewari,
yet to formally meet even once, ethanol-blended fuel of up to enforced last year, requires commercial relationship. one star, respectively, for child Programme (BNCAP), some
in the backdrop of a divided 85%, a committee member said companies to identify, assess, All exporting nations includ- TURN TO PAGE 6 occupant safety. car manufacturers have fallen TURN TO PAGE 6
auto industry. Besides, any on the condition of anonymity.
change in automobile taxes is Any attempt to lower hybrid
unlikely without a comprehen- taxes will confuse the industry,
sive overhaul in the goods and
services tax (GST) framework,
two people aware of the devel-
a Tata Motors executive said
in January.
“Even on flex fuels, the same
Disney, Ford, Microsoft and the age of the quasi-merger
opment said. companies who want rationali-
On 11 January, the Union zation on taxes for hybrids are stalled in 2023, the number of in an $8.5bn deal. not own a stake in the project.
heavy industries ministry the ones advocating for incen- joint ventures (JVs) and part- Many recent constructs are If America manages to force
formed a panel of vehicle test- tives for this technology; the nerships jumped by 40%, fuzzier. Microsoft has forged TikTok’s Chinese owner,
ing agencies, petroleum minis- rest aren’t. The reason is, if according to Ankura, a con- partnerships with the world’s ByteDance, to sell the social-
try officials and auto industry companies are making invest- sultancy. They are especially hottest makers of AI models: media app under pain of a ban

N
bodies to study whether ments on EVs, a sector that o firm is an island. All popular in areas of rapid tech- OpenAI of San Francisco, Mis- in America, it would probably
hybrids should have lower demands hefty capital for very strike contracts and nological change and in places tral of Paris and, this month, end up in the hands of a con-
compensation cess. The cess, low returns in the near future, compete with others. given to protectionism, which G42 of Abu Dhabi. Invest- sortium of American firms.
levied on top of GST, depends they would want that technol- Conversely, when bosses these days afflicts rich and ments by the world’s most val- Quasi-mergers are not new.
on vehicle type, engine size and ogy to be promoted. If GST is decide a particular relation- poor countries alike. As barri- uable company will give it Firms have long teamed up to
fuel. Generally, small cars lowered on both, there is high ship would be better governed ers to commerce rise, high minority stakes in Mistral and manage project costs, new
attract a cess of 1-3%, while possibility that hybrids and flex by fiat, one firm may acquire interest rates continue to bite G42. After backing OpenAI to technologies and manufactur-
sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and fuel vehicles will sell more at another. Between these poles and regulators bridle at take- the tune of $13bn, it holds a ing-obsessed governments.
luxury cars bear 15-22%. For the cost of EVs,” said a top exec- are plenty of ways for firms to overs, such liaisons are non-controlling interest in the This year Renault of France
hybrids, the cess for current utive at an automaker who is a combine capital, knowledge or becoming the go-to ways to In India, Disney is joining forces with Reliance Industries Ltd, one ChatGPT-maker’s for-profit and Nissan of Japan are cele-
models is 15%, taking the total member of committee. other resources, without fully enlarge a business empire, as of the country’s biggest conglomerates, in an $8.5bn deal.. AP subsidiary. Last February brating a quarter-century of
tax levied on them to 43%. Bat- The committee was formed tying the knot. the recent actions of firms Ford, an American carmaker, the sector’s biggest alliance,
tery electric vehicles (EVs) face after the commerce ministry’s Such in-between arrange- including Disney, Ford and separate entity through a JV. entertainment rivals, Fox and announced a partnership with which Mitsubishi, another
5% GST, and no cess. department for promotion of ments are winning favour Microsoft illustrate. Call it the In February Disney Warner Bros Discovery. CATL, a Chinese battery giant, Japanese firm, joined in 2016.
Meanwhile, the industry is industry and internal trade across the economy, from tech age of the quasi-merger. announced a new sports- Weeks later it announced a to build a $3.5bn battery fac- CFM International, which is
divided between companies (DPIIT) sought the industry and artificial intelligence (AI) When the scope of co-oper- streaming service bringing similar move in India, joining tory in Michigan. The Chinese jointly owned by GE Aero-
such as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to carmaking and energy. ation is clear, firms often together its own ESPN net- forces with Reliance, one of firm would provide the know-
and Toyota Kirloskar Motors TURN TO PAGE 6 While corporate takeovers choose to share ownership of a work with the content of two India’s biggest conglomerates, how via a licensing deal, but TURN TO PAGE 6
02 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM

Biz activity grew at

its fastest in 14 yrs in
East, South India likely to see
April: HSBC survey severe heatwaves this week
Rhik Kundu
[email protected]
NEW DELHI
IMD warning comes days ahead of the second phase of elections across 13 states on Friday
T
he Indian economy A total of 50 GWh capacity
made a robust start to was to be allocated under the
the new fiscal year, with Puja Das conditions with day maximum temper- PLI scheme. ISTOCKPHOTO
private-sector business activ- [email protected] ature exceeding 40°C from Thursday to
ity expanding faster during
April than it did in March amid
NEW DELHI Saturday,” IMD added. High night tem-
peratures are considered dangerous RIL, ACME,

T
a pick-up in sales growth. he intense heatwave scorch- because the body doesn’t get the chance
The HSBC Flash India Com-
posite Purchasing Managers'
ing large parts of east and
south India may continue for
to cool down. A severe heat wave is
declared if the departure from normal
JSW among
Index (PMI) output index,
compiled by S&P Global,
climbed to 62.2 in April from a
HSBC Flash India Composite
PMI output index climbed to
62.2 in April. REUTERS
another five days, the India
Meteorological Department
(IMD) warned on Tuesday, days ahead of
temperature exceeds 6.4 notches.
Meanwhile, a fresh western disturb-
ance is likely to affect north-west India
7 bidders
revised reading of 61.8 in
March, the fastest growth in fastest-growing major econo-
the second phase of polling on Friday in
89 constituencies across 13 states,
from Friday, causing isolated to scat-
tered light-to-moderate rainfall or for 10 GWh
aggregate business activity mies. “Strong performance in including six eastern and southern snowfall accompanied by thunder-
since June 2010, HSBC said in
a survey released on Tuesday.
both the manufacturing and
service sectors, led by
states.
West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Karna-
storms over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh,
Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Hima-
ACC PLI
A PMI reading of 50 separates increased new orders, resulted taka, Kerala, and Bihar are going to polls chal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
expansion from contraction. in the highest composite out- in this phase of Lok Sabha elections. Isolated rainfall accompanied by Rituraj Baruah
The seasonally adjusted put index since June 2010. In IMD warned at the beginning of the thunderstorm, lightning and gusty [email protected]
index measures the month- particular, services growth month of a harsh and arid summer over IMD had warned of a harsh and arid summer over most regions in April-June, with a winds (30-40kmph) is likely over Pun- NEW DELHI
on-month change in the com- accelerated further in April as most regions of the country in April- high probability of heatwave episodes lasting up to 10-20 days. GETTY jab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi on

S
bined output of India’s manu- new orders in both domestic June, with a high probability of heat- Friday and Saturday, in East Rajasthan even companies, includ-
facturing and service sectors and international markets wave episodes lasting up to 10-20 days. ditions are likely to prevail in some Pradesh and Telangana, northern Odi- on Friday. ing Reliance Industries
based on a survey of 400 man- rose,” said Pranjul Bhandari, The IMD, along with the nation’s disas- pockets of Gangetic West Bengal and sha, Gangetic West Bengal and Rayalas- Light rainfall accompanied by thun- (RIL), ACME Cleantech
ufacturers and 400 service chief India economist at ter management authority and various isolated pockets over Odisha for the next eema. derstorm, lightning and gusty winds Solutions Pvt Ltd, JSW Neo
providers. HSBC. ministries, has readied an action plan to five days, while isolated pockets of inte- “Hot and humid weather is expected (30-50 kmph) may occur over Madhya Energy Ltd and Waaree Ener-
“Survey participants over- “Meanwhile, composite ensure seamless polling for the rior Karnataka, Rayalaseema, to prevail over Kerala & Mahe, Maharashtra and Marathwada gies, have placed their bids—in
whelmingly attributed the input and output prices mod- seven-phase general elec- Sub-Himalayan West Bengal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & until Thursday. a second round—for manufac-
expansion to buoyant demand erated in April, although they tions that began on 19 April. and Sikkim may face heat Karaikal, Coastal Karnataka Another cyclonic circu- turing advanced chemistry
from domestic and external
clients,” HSBC said. While
remained robust. Manufactur-
ing margins improved in April
The weather depart-
ment has issued an C 43° wave until Saturday; Tamil till Saturday; Konkan &
Nadu till Wednesday; Goa, Assam, Meghalaya
lation, which lies over
kmph north-east Assam at lower 30-50 cells (ACC) with a capacity of
10 gigawatt hours under the
growth remained broad-based as firms were able to pass on orange alert for Odisha, Temperatures seen Jharkhand, Bihar, Telan- and Tripura until Friday, Likely wind speeds tropospheric levels may government’s production
across the manufacturing and higher prices to customers due Bihar and Gangetic West in parts of TN, AP, gana, East Uttar Pradesh Coastal Andhra Pradesh & due to a western cause widespread light to linked incentive scheme.
service sectors, manufacturing to strong demand conditions,” Bengal—denoting the etc. on Monday during between Wednes- Yanam and Rayalaseema disturbance moderate rainfall or snow- The last date for filing appli-
saw an increase in April, albeit Bhandari added. The economy possibility of moderate day and Saturday and West for the next two days and fall accompanied by thun- cations was 22 April and the
softer than in March, while grew by a robust 8.4% in the health concerns for infants, Uttar Pradesh, Coastal Andhra Bihar today.” High humidity derstorm, lightning and gusty technical bids opened on
services rose to a three-month third quarter on the back of the elderly, and people with Pradesh & Yanam from Thursday could add to people’s inconven- winds (30-40kmph) in Arunachal Tuesday. The three other bid-
high during the month, the increased government spend- chronic diseases. This vulnerable popu- to Saturday,” IMD said. ience in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Pradesh, and isolated to scattered rain- ders are Amara Raja Advanced
survey added. ing and a strong performance lation has been advised to avoid heat On Monday, temperatures went as Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Goa, fall over Assam, Meghalaya and Naga- Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd,
The data underscores in manufacturing, mining, exposure and to keep hydrated. high as 43 degrees Celsius over many Kerala, West Bengal and Bihar, it said. land, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura Anvi Power Industries Pvt. Ltd
India’s position as one of the construction and services. “Heat wave to severe heat wave con- parts of northern Tamil Nadu, Andhra “Odisha is likely to see warm night until Monday. and Lucas TVS Ltd.
Each of the seven compa-
nies filed a bid for a capacity of
10 GWh.

Health insurance may cover all over 70 Centre looks at ways to increase “Ministry of heavy indus-
tries (MHI) has received bids
from seven bidders under
Gireesh Chandra Prasad &
Somrita Ghosh
equity investments in MSMEs bottom 40% of the Indian pop-
ulation.
global tender for the rebidding
of Production Linked Incen-
tives (PLI) for 10 GWh
Surgeries such as knee advanced chemistry cell (ACC)
NEW DELHI replacements, hip replace- Rituraj Baruah registered as a Category-II manufacturing announced on
ments, and congenital heart [email protected] Alternative Investment Fund 24 January 2024,” an official

T
he government has diseases are in demand under NEW DELHI (AIF) in 2021. statement said.
started work on extend- the scheme. The Union health The departments also dis- A total of 50 GWh capacity

T
ing its health insurance ministry is also planning to he Union government is cussed the need for new credit was to be allocated under the
scheme for the poor, the expand the scope of the looking at ways to guarantee schemes along with PLI scheme with an outlay of
Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan scheme, covering more increase equity invest- standardizing procedures in ₹18,100 crore.
Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana expensive cancer and trans- ments in micro, small, and current guarantee schemes. However, after initial alloca-
(AB-PMJAY), to cover every- plant-related surgeries and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Credit guarantee schemes tion of the 50 GWh capacity,
one over 70 years of age irre- treatments. and raise financing opportuni- have been a way to ensure one of the selected applicants
spective of their income level An official at the National ties for such small businesses, liquidity for these small busi- in the first round, Hyundai
—not just the poor. Health Authority said the particularly in the informal nesses, which were the worst Global withdrew as the South
The scheme could make it agency is preparing to issue sector. hit by the pandemic and Korean automobile major
to the full-year budget for The scheme could make it to the full-year budget for FY25 as a health cards to everybody In a meeting on Monday, the demonetization. In 2020, the Hyundai Motor Company and
FY25 as a poll promise by the poll promise by the Bharatiya Janata Party. MINT above the age of 70 years. The Union ministry of MSMEs, the government also launched an its Indian arm Hyundai Motor
Bharatiya Janata Party, two official declined to comment department of financial servi- Govt wants to raise financing emergency credit line guaran- India Ltd clarified that they
persons informed about dis- could cost the exchequer an manifesto and stuck to the on the union budget for FY25. ces under the finance ministry opportunities for MSMEs. MINT tee scheme to help stressed had nothing to do with the
cussions in the government additional ₹15,000 crore– path of fiscal prudence, “Since many aged people and industry bodies repre- businesses access more loans company. This left 20 GWh
said. ₹20,000 crore a year as per improving access to quality find it difficult to buy health senting MSMEs discussed in 2020 with a provision for a backed by a sovereign guaran- capacity unallocated.
The interim budget for preliminary estimates, said healthcare, especially for the insurance policies, govern- these issues. ₹50,000 crore corpus, of tee. On 24 January 2024, the
FY25 allocated ₹7,500 crore one of the persons quoted middle class, is a key element ment seeking to ensure their “The meeting discussed on which ₹10,006 crore would Now the government is ministry sought Requests for
for the scheme, a more than above. of the party’s wel- healthcare coverage is a wel- deepening the equity financ- come from the Centre and the looking at the need for a new Proposal for short-listing bid-
10% increase over the amount While the fig- The Union health fare agenda. come decision,” said Dr Rajeev ing of MSMEs through the SRI rest from private capital or credit guarantee for the ders for setting up of ACC
spent in the just-concluded ure for over-70s ministry is also AB-PMJAY, Jayadevan, a public health Fund (Self Reliant India) and venture capital funds. The scheme and also to standard- manufacturing units with a
financial year. was not immedi- planning to rolled out in 2018, expert. increasing the financing of ministry of MSMEs last month ize the process across these total capacity of 10 GWh with a
The scheme in its current ately available, expand the scope is the largest “Many people in this age businesses in unorganized tweeted saying that about different schemes. budgetary outlay of up to
form gives beneficiaries an the UN state of health assurance group find medical insurance sectors,” said an official aware ₹7,593 crore investment has In its recommendations to ₹3,620 crore.
of the scheme,
insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh world population scheme in the expensive, many people are of the developments, adding been ploughed into 425 the ministry, the Federation of The heavy industries minis-
person per year on a means- report of 2023 covering more world. It seeks to made to pay extra or denied that investments from the SRI MSMEs in the past three years. Indian Micro and Small & try plans to allocate the
tested basis—to qualify, the says 7% of India’s expensive care provide a health treatment. Since the public Fund has not been as high as In addition, 51 daughter funds Medium Enterprises (FISME) remaining 10 GWh capacity
individual's annual income over 1.4 billion cover of ₹5 lakh a hospitals are always over- anticipated. —an alternative investment said that specific credit guar- for utility-scale battery manu-
must not exceed ₹2.4 lakh. people are aged year for second- crowded, septuagenarians and Queries sent to the minis- fund—have been empanelled antees could be promoted to facturing or battery energy
Expanding the coverage of 65 years or above. ary and tertiary care hospitali- older people can avail of the tries of MSME and finance under the NSIC Venture Capi- cushion the risk perception of storage systems. The govern-
the scheme to include every- Although the BJP has thus zation to over 120 million poor facilities in private hospitals,” remained unanswered till tal Funds (NVCFL). lenders based on gender, ment came up with the PLI
one above 70 years of age by far steered clear of announc- families—or the 550 million he said. press time. NVCFL, which operates as social, regional, class, age, and scheme to lower the import
removing the income cap ing populist measures in its individuals who make up the [email protected] The SRI Fund was launched Mother Fund in SRI Fund, was education biases. dependence on China.

Centre rejigs bureaucracy; 17

m MINT SHORTS graphic dividend, the Indian economy must grow at
8-10% annually over the next decade, the latest Reserve
Bank of India bulletin released on Tuesday said. In an
PSBs can’t issue look out
circulars on defaulters: HC raised to joint-secretary level WIKIPEDIA
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
article titled ‘State of the Economy’, RBI said conditions HT New Delhi: Seventeen offi- Mint welcomes comments,
Agriculture exports fall ~9% to are shaping up for a sustained increase in real GDP cers have been appointed as suggestions or complaints
growth, which has averaged over 8% between 2021 and joint secretaries or at equiva- about errors.
$43.7 bn in Apr-Feb of FY24 2024. GOPIKA GOPAKUMAR & NIKITA PRASAD lent posts in different central
Readers can alert the
New Delhi: India’s agriculture exports fell by 8.8% to government departments
newsroom to any errors in the
$43.7 billion during April-February period of FY24 due and organizations, as part of a paper by emailing us, with your
PTI to factors such as the Red Sea India’s sugar demand surges in bureaucratic rejig effected on full name and address to
crisis, Russia-Ukraine war, Tuesday. Among other post-
and domestic curbs on critical
heatwave and election season ings, Rajeev Kumar, a 2000-batch Indian Ordnance Fac-
[email protected].

items such as rice, wheat, Mumbai: India’s sugar consumption this year is poised tories Service officer, has been appointed as joint secre- It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
sugar and onion. According to hit a record high as demand during the peak summer tary, ministry of home affairs. PTI
Readers dissatisfied with the
to data from the commerce season gets a boost from heatwaves and the mobilization response or concerned about
ministry, exports stood at of millions for elections in the scorching temperatures. Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday Mint’s journalistic integrity may
₹47.9 billion in April-Febru- BLOOMBERG Higher consumption would ruled that public sector banks (PSBs) do not have Govt gets ₹3,443 crore special write directly to the editor by
ary 2022-23. lift local prices and boost the power in law to issue look out circulars (LOCs) sending an email to
PTI
margins of sugar producers on default borrowers. A division bench of justices
dividend from TCIL [email protected]
such as Balrampur Chini and Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar held as uncon- New Delhi: The Centre has received ₹3,443 crore as Mint’s journalistic Code of
8-10% growth vital to reap Dwarikesh Sugar and help stitutional the clause of an office memorandum special dividend from Telecommunications Consultants Conduct that governs our
them in making cane pay- issued by the Centre empowering chairpersons of India Ltd (TCIL), a public sector enterprise under the
demographic dividend: RBI ments on time to farmers. PSBs to issue LOCs against default borrowers.PTI ministry of telecom. The government has budgeted for
newsroom is available at
www.livemint.com
Mumbai: To harness the full potential of its demo- REUTERS ₹48,000 crore as dividend from CPSEs in FY25. PTI

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LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi 03

m MINT SHORTS
Boba Bhai secures pre-Series A
Offline ready: Microsoft Meta opens
Quest OS to
funding from Titan Capital
Bengaluru: Quick service restaurant chain Boba Bhai has raised
$1.5 million (₹12.5 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by
Titan Capital and Global Growth Capital UK. The round also saw
debuts Phi-3 Mini AI model rival device
makers
participation from Arjun Vaidya, Marsshot VC, DEVC, Warm up
Ventures, Asit Oberoi, 1947 Rise Fund, Peercheque, Varun Alagh Reuters
(Mamaearth), Prabhraj (Simba Beer), FinFirst, Abhinav Sinha [email protected]
(OYO), among others. K. AMOGHAVARSHA The move comes less than a week after rival Meta unveiled its new generation small AI model
M
eta Platforms is shar-
ing its Quest headset’s
Adobe to bring full AI image Shouvik Das operating system with
[email protected] rival device-makers, including
generation to Photoshop New DelhI Microsoft, for the first time, it
MINT
said on Monday, as it works to

M
icrosoft Corp.’s new fam- extend its influence over the
ily of AI models unveiled emerging virtual and mixed
on Tuesday is targeted at reality industry.
finding use in devices The move will allow partner
such as smartphones and companies to build their head-
other consumer-end applications, sets using Meta Horizon OS, a
including in situations where users are rebranded operating system
offline. that brings capabilities like ges-
The new AI models will find usage ture recognition, passthrough,
“for resource constrained environments scene understanding and spa-
and offline environments where local tial anchors to the devices that
inference may be needed”, said Sebast- run on it, the company said in a
Adobe said on Tuesday it plans to place a tool for full AI ien Bubeck, senior vice-president of blog post.
image generation in its Photoshop software later this year. Microsoft Generative AI, in an interview The social media company
Adobe’s image and video editing tools are widely used by with Mint. said partners Asus and Lenovo
creative professionals, but it faces competition from start- With the first of the new AI models, would use the operating system
ups like OpenAI, Midjourney and Stability AI, all of which called Phi-3 Mini, Microsoft will look to to build devices tailored for
offer services that can generate images from text prompts. find usage in devices such as smart- particular activities.
Adobe is developing its own image-generation AI system phones, Bubeck said. Microsoft intro- Meta is also using it to make a
called Firefly, which is trained on data that Adobe has duced its new AI models less than a week limited edition version of the
rights to. REUTERS after rival Meta Platforms unveiled its With the first of the new AI models, Microsoft will look to find usage in devices such as smartphones. AP Quest headset “inspired by”
own new generation of a small AI Microsoft’s Xbox gaming con-
model. Bubeck did not specify if the models will billion data parameters. models that would run locally on devi- sole, according to the com-
Spacetech startup Dhruva Space The launch of the Phi-3 Mini comes become available in any consumer-fac- The latest version, GPT-4, is stated to ces to bring monetizable generative AI pany’s statement.
amid an influx of small AI models that ing interfaces as yet. have nearly 3 trillion data points in its services to more users—which Micro- The move underscores Meta
secures Series A2 funding consume fewer resources to run on con- “We do a lot of work to make our training database. soft now hopes to tap with the Phi-3 CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambi-
Bengaluru: Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space has raised $9.3 mil- sumer-end devices, thereby making models available to consumers, but we Such large models, however, are Mini. tion to own the computational
lion (₹78 crore) in a Series A2 funding round, led by existing inves- them viable for common use cases such cannot divulge any details on this just extremely difficult to run locally on “We are looking to make it easier for platform that powers virtual
tors Indian Angel Network’s IAN Alpha Fund. It is a spacetech as photo and video editing, creative developers to deploy AI models,” reality (VR) and mixed reality
startup that has completed four space missions, including the Thy- illustrations, note-taking, voice KNOw THE PHI-3 MINI Bubeck said. “With Azure AI, we’re (MR) devices, similar to the way
bolt satellites mission in November 2022 and the LEAP-TD mis- transcription and more. bringing a selection of high-per- Alphabet’s Google became a
sion on 1 January 2024. K. AMOGHAVARSHA On 18 April, Mark Zuckerberg THE new models will MODElS are viable PHI-3 Mini model THE smallest model forming open and frontier models key player in the smartphone
unveiled the Llama-3, in which the be used in resource- for common use like has 3.8 billion data
constrained environ- photo or video editi- parametres, and can
on Microsoft platfo-
rm will be available
to enterprise customers to help market by making its mobile
smallest model has 8 billion data ments where local ng,illustrations, note- outperform compet- from Azure cloud & them create responsible, cost-effi- OS Android open source.
Deeptech startup Nabhdrishti parametres. inference is needed taking, transcription ing AI models third-party sources cient, multimodal generative AI Meta’s VR business is one of
Microsoft’s Phi-3 Mini has 3.8 bil- solutions that benefit people and the beneficiaries of that Google
Aerospace bags pre-seed funding lion data parametres. Citing internal organizations.” However, the model strategy, as Meta Horizon OS is
Bengaluru: Nabhdrishti Aerospace raised $360,012 (₹3 crore) in benchmarks and tests, Bubeck said the yet,” he said. devices. Even on the cloud, usage of will not quite be ready for usage with itself Android-based.
a pre-seed funding round from IIMA Ventures. The fund will aid Phi-3 model can outperform competing The case for small AI models such models is expensive, and thus not India-specific regional language mod- VR and MR headsets have so
the development of a fuel flex combustor prototype via testing on AI models that are twice as large as it. OpenAI’s generative pre-trained viable for commercial operations els. “Phi-3 Mini was predominantly far seen limited adoption,
the fuel injector and combustor, enabling the company to show- At the moment, the smallest model on transformer, the GPT-3 AI model, among enterprises and consumers alike. trained and optimized for English. Its mostly from the gaming com-
case the proprietary fuel flex technology. The firm designs and Microsoft’s platform will be available for which popularized the generative AI, or In September, Mint reported that capabilities in other languages are lim- munity and select enterprises
develops gas turbine engines for aviation and power generation enterprises from its own Azure cloud GenAI, industry and began a rat-race for 2024 would be the year when large tech ited, meaning it could understand but that use them for training or
use cases. K. AMOGHAVARSHA platform as well as third-party sources. AI adoption around the world, had 175 vendors will begin offering smaller AI will not be as fluent as English,” he said. remote conferencing.

Orders for Piper Serica targets Smart fusion: AI, CAs reshape consulting dynamics
first Xiaomi
electric car
a larger, ₹500 cr AIF Gireesh Chandra Prasad
[email protected]
and generative AI, or GenAI, is utives, tax functions typically
a primary area of expansion, involve analysing mountains of
New DelhI with nearly half of its profes- documents and data related to
Priyal Mahtta India (SEBI) soon. Piper Serica sionals having expertise in law, rules, court rulings, con-
top 70,000
C
[email protected] will primarily target institu- onsulting firms have engineering and technology. tracts, and financial informa-
BeNgAluru tional limited partners for the begun practising what He, however, said that it goes tion—a time-consuming pro-
AIF to raise the target corpus, they have been preach- hand-in-hand with the firm’s cess which can be made more
Reuters

M
umbai-headquar- he added. ing: bet on artificial intelligence upskilling efforts for its staff to efficient and expedited by lev-
[email protected] tered asset manager As and when the asset man- to rein in costs. For employees, handle emerging technologies. eraging GenAI,
Piper Serica Advisors ager decides to tap the green- though, particularly the junior “We acknowledge trans- According to Pratik Jain, a

C
hina’s Xiaomi has Pvt. Ltd is set to launch a larger shoe option, it may also reach ranked professionals, it’s been formative impact of AI on job partner at PwC India, tasks
secured locked-in closed-end investment vehicle out to family offices, high-net- at their cost. dynamics, while such as document
orders for more than than initially planned. It has worth investor, as well as ultra- Consulting firms are invest- believing in irre- As firms embrace search, summari-
70,000 of its SU7 electric cars also doubled the capital raised high-net-worth individuals. ing more on AI as they seek to placeable value of AI, employees sation or analysis
as of Saturday, and the com- for its angel fund, founder and With a bigger target corpus, speed up and diversify services, human expertise. handling tasks can be done
pany intends to keep its auto- director Abhay Agarwal said. it is targeting cheque sizes ran- gradually weaning off the prac- Accordingly, we that can be seamlessly using
motive business “100% In January, the ging ₹25 crore and tice of increasing headcount to are also prioritis-
Firms are relying on AI to speed up services, gradually weaning
assigned to tech GenAI, that helps
focused” on the Chinese mar- asset manager ₹75 crore, and aims drive businesses, especially for off the practice of increasing headcount. ISTOCKPHOTO ing investments in bring efficiency
ket for the next three years, planned to launch a to invest in startups routine tasks which can be han- reskilling and will need to be and enables users
founder Lei Jun said on Tues- ₹250-crore catego- at the Series A to pre- dled by emerging technologies. Uniqus, said. It offers consult- upskill themselves. upskilling initia- upskilled to focus on value-
day. ry-II alternative investment Series B stages, Agarwal said. For instance, Uniqus Con- ing services for environment, Uniqus offers a free AI assist- tives to equip our addition. “Tax
The smartphone maker is fund by mid-2024, VCCircle Piper Serica, which raised sultech is raising $10 million social and governance (ESG), ant for financial reporting and people for the advisors are
targeting more than 100,000 had reported. Now, it is con- around ₹160 crore for its cate- from its partners to support its and financial reporting. “That’s ESG functions to its clients and evolving landscape,” said Kini. increasingly looking at GenAI
deliveries for the SU7 in 2024, sidering a larger fund with a gory-I fund in July 2023, has diversification into technology the beauty of our model, and the public. The greenhouse gas The tax function of consult- for some of these functions. For
he said in comments at an target corpus of about ₹500 informed the regulator about consulting. “The way we meas- we want it to be tech-led and accounting platform also uses ancies makes for a fit use-case example, to draft a reply to a tax
investor conference. crore, along with greenshoe raising additional capital for ure our business is not necessa- not necessarily people-led.” AI, Khatri said. in employing AI, said experts. notice based on a robust data-
Locked-in orders refer to option of ₹250 crore. the vehicle following positive rily based on the increase in the However, as consulting firms Global consultancy Deloitte While the audit teams typically base of case laws, notifica-
those where buyers have opted According to Agarwal, Piper investor sentiment and strong number of partners and direct- embrace artificial intelligence too is harnessing AI to drive comprise chartered account- tions?,” said Jain. “Likewise,
for non-refundable deposits. ‘ is currently drafting its private dealmaking pace. So far, it has ors, but how fast we are able to for routine functions, employ- productivity and ensure regu- ants, professionals with tech the industry can also use GenAI
Xiaomi launched its car, placement memorandum and raised about ₹350 for the angel scale up our revenues without ees, especially those who han- latory compliance. Nitin Kini, backgrounds are increasingly for internal analysis of position
which draws styling cues from is expected to file it with Secu- fund, and does not plan to raise increasing headcount,” Jamil dle tasks that can be assigned to chief operating officer, Deloitte being roped in, they added. papers, or for standard operat-
Porsche, late last month. It rities and Exchange Board of further capital for this vehicle. Khatri, co-founder and CEO of emerging technologies, should South Asia, said embracing AI According to industry exec- ing procedures.
enters a crowded China EV
market with an attention-grab-
bing price tag - under $30,000
for the base model, which is
$4,000 cheaper than the base
model of Tesla’s Model 3 in
SBCDC acquires Interra for $7.5 million
China.
The company has said it Debjyoti Roy tier platform that offers high- India’s information technol-
expects to lose money on the [email protected] end services to businesses in ogy sector has been a favourite
SU7. Lei noted on Tuesday that New DelhI the automobile and healthcare hunting ground for PE firms in
most of its suppliers also sup- sectors. Interra garners a bulk recent years. American buyout

S
plied the likes of Mercedes takeboat Capital-backed of its revenue from these sec- giants Blackstone and Carlyle,
Benz, BMW and Audi. IT services firm SBCDC tors, positioning it as a favour- along with the UK’s Apax Part-
“With such expensive sup- Software Pvt. Ltd, which able investment. We belive the ners and homegrown True
pliers and such expensive parts, specializes in niche IT services firm can deliver high double- North, are among several that
the gross profit margin will not segments as well as engineer- digit margin on a steady state have invested in IT companies.
be very high,” he said. ing design, has completed its basis,” he added. Last October, True North
“I estimate that the gross first strategic acquisition, said With a workforce of around had picked up a minority stake
profit margin will be around people in the know. 350 employees, Interra offers in iLink Digital for $75 million.
5-10%,” he said, adding that SBCDC picked up a majority product engineering, applica- In June 2023, growth-stage
Xiaomi was discussing increas- stake in automobile- tion development, Stakeboat has been trying to investor A91 Partners backed
ing production capacity and focussed IT services and infrastructure strengthen its core businesses Chennai-based Kaar Tech.
further cost support from sup- firm Interra IT, the management solu- via strategic acquisitions. According to the Stakeboat
pliers. Better known for mak- people said. The deal tions, catering to management, the seven-year-
ing affordable smartphones is likely worth $7.5 million, automobile, healthcare, and third investment from its sec- old PE firm has evaluated over
and home appliances, Xiaomi said one of the people seeking retail sectors. Its has a pres- ond fund. Other investments 800 companies before making
intends to invest another 11-12 anonymity. ence in the US, the UK, and include Chennai-based e-pub- five investments from its first
billion yuan this year in new Since its investment in Ben- Australia. lishing services firm, Newgen fund, including Leixir Resour-
businesses, including the auto- galuru-based SBCDC, the mid The firm had posted consol- DigitalWorks Pvt. Ltd, and ces, Sankalp Semiconductor,
motive unit and the operating market private equity firm had idated net sales of ₹40 crore in healthcare startup Sukino LeadSquared, Ozonetel Com-
mobile system for its phones, been trying to strengthen the FY22, compared to ₹26 crore a Healthcare Solutions. munications and Dvara KGFS.
Lei said. firm’s core businesses via stra- year ago. Interra also turned According to people track- Stakeboat exited Sankalp
Ultimately, his goal was for tegic acquisitions. profitable in FY22, according ing the development, SBCDC and Leixir in 2019 and 2021,
Xiaomi to become one of the A Stakeboat spokesperson to VCCEdge, the data intelli- is likely to make 2-3 acquisi- respectively, and sold a major-
top five automakers globally in confirmed the development. gence platform of VCCircle. tions, each with a ticket size of ity stake in LeadSquared the
15-20 years, he said. “Our vision was to build a top- SBCDC marks Stakeboat’s up to ₹100 crore. following year.
04 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi MARK TO MARKET LIVEMINT.COM

S&P BSE Sensex Nifty 50 Nifty 500 Nifty Next 50 Nifty 100 S&P BSE Mid-cap S&P BSE Small Cap
CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE CLOSE PERCENT CHANGE

73,738.45 0.12 22,368.00 0.14 20,652.65 0.38 62,798.55 0.18 23,116.00 0.16 40,584.17 0.52 46,492.21 1.05
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

73,648.62 74,048.94 22,336.40 22,447.05 20,574.85 20,687.90 62,683.65 63,068.90 23,078.90 23,200.45 40,374.85 40,627.54 46,008.20 46,310.27
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

74,059.89 73,688.31 22,447.55 22,349.45 20,689.75 20,621.55 63,068.90 62,703.40 23,200.70 23,098.95 40,671.10 40,453.35 46,527.84 46,492.21

m MINT SHORTS
Copper at risk of pullback as
Can retail, Jio put RIL in fast lane?
buying in China stalls after rally Manish Joshi
Gains from transformation beyond five years to yield meaningful rochemicals, has maintained a consist-
Copper’s powerful rally close to $10,000 a tonne is facing [email protected]
For Reliance Industries, retail and telecom are emerging as more sustainable
returns. ent feedstock throughput of around 80
a test as buyers in China, the world’s biggest market, balk growth drivers On the other hand, the telecom verti- million tonnes each year from FY22 to

S
at prices near their highest in two years. The metal has hares of Reliance Industries cal Jio is being valued in line with Bharti FY24, with an Ebitda per tonne ranging
Petrochemicals Refining and marketing Oil and gas Organized retail Digital services
surged in the recent weeks on investor optimism over a Ltd (RIL) fell by more than 1% Airtel Ltd at a one-year forward EV/ from $100 to $120. O2C, along with the
Others Segment-wise break-up of consolidated Ebitda (in  crore)
recovery in global manufacturing and the prospect of on Tuesday, a day when the Ebitda of 10x-11x, but it has good poten- energy production business, continues
tightening mine supplies. But skeptics have pointed to Nifty 50 index closed slightly 180,000 tial as far as generation of free cash flow to be the cash cow for standalone RIL,
weakness in China—including what they say is a growing higher. The company conclu- 160,000 is concerned. Jio has already completed generating an Ebitda of ₹82,584 crore
reluctance among the country’s copper fabricators to ded FY24 on a softer note, with the 140,000
major capex on 5G and 6G is not on the for FY24.
accept higher levels. Fabricators have struggled to pass March quarter results (Q4FY24) not horizon any time soon. Although these older ene-
120,000
on higher costs to their customers, forcing them to rein providing any significant triggers for the A 20% hike in telecom GROWTH rgy sectors are not expected
in purchases since March, Wang Wei, general manager stock. 100,000 tariffs is widely expected LEVERS to drive growth, they are
at major copper trader Shanghai Wooray Metals Group Understandably, growth has moder- 80,000 after the general elections projected to generate suffi-
Co., said at an industry conference in Hangzhou on Tues- ated in RIL’s retail business, a significant and analysts have baked in RIL’S retail biz, crucial cient cash to support the
day. Fabricators buy refined copper and turn it into more variable from a valuation perspective 60,000
growth in Arpu, or average from valuation
perspective, saw
capital expenditures of RIL’s
specialized products, and they are typically very price- forming a large part of the company’s 40,000 revenue per user, on the sequential drop in emerging new energy busi-
sensitive—especially at times of uncertain demand. Pri- sum-of-the parts. Gross retail revenues 20,000 back of that along with revenue in Q4 ness. The company plans to
ces are due a pullback, Wang said. BLOOMBERG fell sequentially in Q4, following the fes- 0
higher data consumption. develop 20 GW of solar cap-
tival season led bump in Q3. But FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 An Arpu of ₹250 per month THE primary acity and venture into green
-20,000 catalysts for RIL stock
sequential performance may not be a from almost 500 million will likely be the hydrogen, energy storage,
fair comparison. Year-on-year, retail Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization; Petrochemicals and refining & subscribers with 50% Ebitda consumer-facing etc., with a total investment
marketing are included in RIL's oil to chemicals segment
put up a good show, clocking an Ebitda margin would translate into businesses estimated at ₹1.5 trillion.
Source: Company, Kotak Institutional Equities estimates
growth of 18%. Ebitda of ₹75,000 crore per As RIL’s new energy busi-
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
The concern isn’t solely the financial year from mobile subscrib- ness continues to develop,
performance of the retail business but DMart’s Ebitda more than doubled in ages for FY25 or FY26 projections. ers alone excluding home broadband the primary catalysts for its stock are
rather the rich valuations that many FY23 compared to FY21, reaching However, assuming an EV/Ebitda of 20 and enterprise services. Now, with no likely to be the consumer-facing busi-
retailers enjoy. A case in point is Avenue ₹3,637 crore, indicating that the valua- times after five years of 20% CAGR inorganic growth opportunities in nesses. The shares have risen by 36%
Supermarts Ltd, which operates the tion multiple has come off. Of course, growth, the returns for investors pur- India, it remains to be seen if Jio follows over the past year. With telecom tariff
DMart supermarket chain. Avenue’s one can argue that DMart’s valuations chasing today would be barely in double Airtel that acquired telecom companies hikes already factored into analyst esti-
shares hit a lifetime high of ₹ 5,900 each were expensive to start with. digits. Therefore, either the growth rate in Africa. mates, investors will closely follow news
in October 2021 but have since dropped Reliance Retail is valued at a mini- must exceed expectations, or the pre- RIL’s oil-to-chemicals (O2C) seg- flow on the listing of the retail and tele-
nearly 20%. This has happened even as mum EV/Ebitda of 30x by most broker- mium valuation of 30x must continue ment, which includes refining and pet- com businesses.

Real estate exposure has been showing cracks leading to

concerns about shadow loans to the sector. BLOOMBERG Hindustan Zinc needs strong prices to show its mettle in FY25
South Korea’s shadow banking Ashish Agrawal company. The current public growth in demand for steel (zinc FY24, cash & cash equivalents
Bogged down
sector under scrutiny [email protected] holding is just about 2% and the Hindustan Zinc's profitability has taken a beating over the past
is used as a coating for stainless stood at ₹10,186 crore against
South Korea is emerging as a closely watched weak link sale could substantially boost two years steel). Moreover, zinc prices debt of ₹8,455 crore. For per-

H
in the $63 trillion world of shadow banking. Real estate industan Zinc Ltd’s market liquidity. Ebitda (in  crore) Ebitda margin (in %) (right-hand scale)
could rise in 2024 owing to a spective, at the end of FY22,
exposure has been showing cracks at home and abroad (HZL) revenue fell by HZL produces three metals, 6,000 60
marginal deficit in supplies, total cash & cash equivalents
after interest rates rose, prompting financial firms 11% year-on-year to zinc, lead and silver. Its profits against a surplus in 2023. stood at over ₹20,000 crore,
including T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and Nomura Hold- ₹7,550 crore in the March quar- rely most heavily on zinc, which 55 Prices have already risen to while debt was much lower at
4,000
ings Inc. to express concern about stress in shadow loans ter (Q4FY24) thanks to lower contributed almost two-thirds almost $2,800 a tonne from a ₹2,823 crore. The change in the
50
to the sector. Delinquency rates at one key group of realization and subdued volume of revenue in Q4FY24. A fall of low of $2,400 near the end of cash position is due to a large
2,000
Korean lenders nearly doubled to 6.55% last year, while growth. The decline in Ebitda nearly 25% in average zinc pri- 45 March. Continued strength in dividend payout of ₹32,000
economists at Citigroup Inc. estimate 111 trillion won ($80 was steeper at 14%. ces to about $2,500 a tonne in demand and a potential upturn crore in FY23.
billion) of project-finance debt is “troubled.” Korean The stock has gained almost FY24 took a toll on HZL, pulling 0
Q1FY23 Q4FY24
40 in zinc prices could help HZL In FY25, HZL expects capex
shadow-bank financing to the real estate sector rose to a 40% since 28 March, possibly in Ebitda down 22%. While zinc reap rich rewards. Nuvama to be about ₹2,500 crore and
Note: Ebitda is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
record 926 trillion won last year, over four times a decade anticipation of a better FY25. prices were a drag, the company Source: Company, Motilal Oswal Financial Services
Institutional Equities expects more than ₹3,000 crore after
ago, data from the Korea Capital Market Institute show. However, the run up in the reduced its cost of production the company's Ebitda to that. The company is also look-
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
Policymakers stemmed contagion risks by expanding share price doesn’t leave much by 11% year-on-year in FY24, increase by 20% for FY25 and ing to ramp up its mining capac-
certain loan guarantees, but a shock restructuring upside. The stock also faces helped by production of better gin contracted to 47% in FY24 growth in consumption in FY26. Its cash position has ity over the next five years.
announcement late last year by builder Taeyoung Engi- uncertainty around the even- grades, higher availability of from 51% in FY23. FY24, the company said in the weakened in recent years, but While the cash position doesn’t
neering & Construction Co. underscored the threat of tual exit of the government, low-cost coal, and softer com- The domestic zinc market earnings call. This is expected to HZL should still be able to meet pose an imminent threat, inves-
flareups. BLOOMBERG which holds about 30% in the modity prices. Still, Ebitda mar- remained strong, with 20% continue thanks to robust its capex needs. At the end of tors should keep an eye on it.

Mark to Market writers do not have positions in the companies they have discussed here

Gold falls again after Cold start for T+0 settlement Shares inch up as risk appetite
biggest daily slump improves, volatility eases
FROM PAGE 1 extended,” said Rajesh Palviya,
senior vice president (techni-
In phase one, the time will be
extended to 3:30pm and in
BSE. The same was the case for cals & derivatives) at Axis Secu- phase 2 , which will be deter-
in almost two years MRF Ltd, Birlasoft Ltd and
JSW Steel Ltd.
Describing the launch as a
rities. “It’s in testing phase, so
let’s see if more stocks are added
and timing is extended. We will
mined by regulator, instanta-
neous settlement will happen.
Foreign portfolio investors
Reuters
[email protected]
BenGALURU
closing low from 28 July
2023.
Besides the tempering of
Bloomberg bold move, analysts said more keep our fingers crossed.” (FPIs) and certain institutional Mid-East tensions, in-line

I
[email protected] investors would hop on to the “Sebi (Securities and clients coming through custo- ndian shares rose for a third company earnings are also
bandwagon when the number Exchange Board of India) is a dians are excluded from phase 1 straight session on Tuesday supporting gains and draining

G
old extended losses of stocks under T+0 settle- proactive regulator which tries for the time being, while other and volatility plunged to volatility, said Kranti Bathini,
after its biggest daily ment increases and trade tim- different market developmen- clients can do same-day trades. within a whisker of its record equity strategist at Wealth-
decline in almost two ing is extended to normal mar- tal ideas... not all expected to be “...traders and investors will closing low as worries over a Mills Securities.
years, as investors focused on ket timings. a roaring success on Day 1,” said experience much improved major escalation in the Middle The top Nifty 50 gainers
easing Middle East tensions Currently, the same-day set- Uttam Bagri, promoter liquidity as the funds will be dis- East conflict abated. included Nestle India, Hindu-
and signs the Federal Reserve tlement stocks are traded from director, BCB Brokerage bursed on the day of the trade,” The NSE Nifty 50 settled stan Unilever and HCL Tech,
will keep rates higher for 9:15am to 1:30pm, while the Pvt. Ltd. “Anyway, T+0 said brokerage firm ICICI 0.14% higher at 22,368, while The NSE Nifty 50 settled 0.14% all due to report quarterly
longer. normal market runs from is merely a beta (testing) ver- Direct in a note. “But, on the flip the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.12% higher at 22,368. HT results later this week, which
After climbing to a record 9:15am to 3:30pm. sion, and we are looking for- side, periods of high trading to 73,738.45. They have gained 0.9%-2%.
earlier this month, the precious However , market analysts ward to the announced instan- activity could result in creating gained about 1.7% each over volatility index plunged in its Mahindra & Mahindra
metal fell below $2,300 an said investor traction would taneous settlement.” higher market volatility.” the past three sessions. steepest one-day decline since Financial Services dropped
ounce. Bullion slumped 2.7% Gold fell below $2,300 an increase as time progressed Under the same-day settle- The existing T+1 system will Asian markets advanced 23 May 2019, when the ruling 5.52% after uncovering com-
on Monday as concerns the ounce. AP and more stocks get added. ment, trades made until 1:30pm continue along with the T+0 set- 0.8% as investors scaled back Bharatiya Janata Party was pany funds were embezzled by
conflict between Israel and Iran “It’s a bold experiment and are settled by 4:30pm. In the tlement. Sebi implemented T+1 safe-haven bets on easing wor- re-elected for a second term, forging some documents for
would escalate faded. Tehran their attention to US economic will gather pace when the uni- extant T+1, settlement happens settlement in January 2023. ries of a wider Mideast conflict. and settled just a few percent- retail vehicle loans at one of its
played down the impact and data due this week, including verse of eligible stocks is a day after the trade is done. [email protected] The Indian stock market’s age points shy of its record branches.
significance of Tel Aviv’s recent the Fed’s preferred measure of
strike, saying that Israel has inflation, which may give more
received the “necessary clues on the path for monetary
response at this stage.” policy. Policymakers have
“There is likely to have been turned increasingly hawkish
some tactical short-selling, on the outlook for rates in
BSE SME IPO index recovers to scale new highs in April
given the recent recent weeks fol-
surge in gold pri- Bullion slumped lowing a series of Mayur Bhalerao Market experts warned that exceptionally well with com- April comes after a volatile
Buoyant again
ces,” Richard 2.7% on Monday strong inflation [email protected] investors should not get The rise marked a significant resurgence from the slump in Mar panies being able to raise start to the year. In March, the
Grace, a senior as concerns faded reports. MUMBAI caught up in the exuberance of BSE SME IPO Index
money and some interesting index had fallen from
currency analyst about an With markets the stock market. business models coming in 59,395.21 points to 52,725.41.
67,000

T
and international continuing to he BSE SME IPO index “Considering high volatility, with listings and It has, how-
escalation in the 65,046.28
economist at ITC temper expecta- scaled a record intraday investors should book profits attracting capi- Sebi chairperson ever, staged a
Markets, said in a conflict between tions for mone- high of 65,148.53 points at regular intervals and ensure tal,” said Sharma. remarkable
61,000 59,395.22 had raised
note. Israel and Iran tary easing this on Tuesday, lifting its market that they are not caught up in “We see invest- recovery in April,
concerns
Bullion is still year, a higher-for- capitalization to ₹1.55 trillion the valuation froth,” said ment opportuni- regarding the surging 19% and
55,000
up about 15% longer rate envi- and marking a significant Divam Sharma, founder and ties in the space reaching an all-
valuations of
since the middle of February, ronment may weigh on non-in- resurgence from the slump fund manager at Green Portfo- but the investors time high, sug-
with gains supported by geopo- terest bearing gold. witnessed in March. lio. have to be very small- and gesting that
49,000
litical risks, central bank buy- Spot gold dropped 1.2% to The BSE SME IPO index had Bondada Engineering Ltd 1 Mar 2024 23 Apr 2024 specific and mid-cap stocks investor confi-
Source: Bloomberg
ing and demand from Chinese $2,298.67 an ounce at 11:10 a.m. plunged 11.2% after Madhabi was the biggest contributor to choosy," he cau- dence in the SME
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
consumers. The precious metal in London. The Bloomberg Puri Buch, chairperson of the the latest rally in the BSE SME tioned. “Com- sector is return-
has risen despite advances in Dollar Spot Index was flat. Securities and Exchange IPO index, accounting for an neering (12.4%), Insolation (5%), PNGS Gargi Fashion pany fundamentals, business ing.
the dollar and Treasury yields Silver declined, after tum- Board of India (Sebi), raised impressive 22.8% of the rise so Energy (8%), Meson Valves Jewellery (4.9%), Amic Forg- models, corporate govern- On Tuesday, the wider
on signs the Fed will delay its bling 5.2% in the previous ses- concerns regarding the far this year. India (7.5%), Cosmic Crf ing (4.8%), and Veefin Solu- ance, etc., have to be carefully benchmark Sensex index
much-anticipated pivot. sion. Palladium and platinum stretched valuations of small- Other significant contribu- (5.6%), CFF Fluid Control tions Ltd (4.2%). evaluated.” The BSE SME IPO closed at 73,738.44, up 89.82
Traders are now turning also dropped. cap and mid-cap stocks. tors include KP Green Engi- (5.3%) Khazanchi Jewellers “SME index has overall done index’s strong performance in points.
LIVEMINT.COM
WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi 05
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NeW Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

Germany props up Centre sets up task force to

fresh hurdles for
Indian companies MINT
accelerate India’s EV drive
FROM PAGE 1

Germany’s supply chain Act

requires firms to obtain con- Ficci, India Battery Swapping Association, USAID, others to focus on EV-related aspects
tractual assurances from direct
suppliers that they will comply India saw 168,000 deaths from
with the standards defined Naman Suri & Nehal Chaliawala (USAID) will be responsible for power road accidents in 2022.BLOOMBERG
under the law, including con- NEW DELHI/MUMBAI electronics, devices, and motors.
trol mechanisms for their The India Energy Storage Alliance
Latest
T
enforcement, said P.S. Easwa- o promote the country’s (IESA) is assigned to advanced chemis-
ran, partner and supply chain electric vehicle (EV) ecosys- try cell (ACC) technologies. Primus
leader at Deloitte South Asia.
“Hence, even if an existing
tem in line with its vision of
Viksit Bharat, the Centre is in
Partners will explore the development
of rare earth magnets. Climate Trends
global crash
supplier from India may already
be compliant, the cost to for-
malise the deployment of Violations may incur fines of up
the process of establishing a
task force to create a roadmap for the
industry, per a letter sent by the minis-
will liaise with testing agencies to
ensure compliance and standards, and
TERI is tasked with skilling and work-
tests show
SCDDA-specific standards and
reporting will increase,” he said.
to ₹7 cr or up to 2% of a firm’s
average annual global turnover.
try of heavy industries (MHI) to auto-
makers that Mint has seen. MHI will
force development to support the bur-
geoning EV sector. some Indian
“It will also impact the viabil- finalise the setup of the task force in The Centre had announced that it
ity of the Indian supply chain to
Germany because of the need
up with a new regulation, as
some countries (like Germany)
collaboration with Ficci (Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and
will not extend the faster adoption and
manufacturing of electric vehicles II
cars falter
(for a German company) to are coming up with their regu- Industry) and other agencies. (FAME II) scheme, which was intro-
ensure that it has conducted a lations,” said Arpita Mukherjee, “The EV task force has been set up to duced in 2019 for three years ending 31 FROM PAGE 1
risk analysis and implemented professor at the Indian Council engage with stakeholders through March 2024. In its place, a new scheme
preventive and remedial meas- for Research on International workshops and stakeholder meetings was announced called Electric Mobility founder of SaveLife Founda-
ures for its indirect suppliers,” Economic Relations. “The to gather their insights and recommen- Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024 with tion, emphasized the impor-
Easwaran added. third-party assessment is diffi- dations on various aspects of EV adop- an outlay of ₹500 crore on 1 April 2024. tance of addressing passenger
Possible consequences for cult, especially for Indian tion and infrastructure development,” Another policy, the New Electric compartment intrusion, a
violations include fines of up to MSMEs. It may increase their read the letter. The task force is being established with the objective of promoting the country’s Vehicle Policy 2024, was announced to leading cause of fatalities or
€800,000 (about ₹7 crore) or cost of doing business.” Different agencies have been asked electric vehicle ecosystem in line with its vision of Viksit Bharat. promote India as a manufacturing hub severe injuries in car crashes.
up to 2% of a company’s aver- European countries are for inputs on 11 topics to build an action for EVs, capping the number of “As part of forensic investi-
age annual global turnover, as increasingly looking at labour plan for EV adoption. cede any further action,” he added, on centrate on two- and three-wheelers. imported EVs at 8,000 per year at a gation of crashes we under-
well as exclusion from public and environmental standards “The agencies involved with the whether the task force has already The Indian Battery Swapping Associ- lower customs duty of 15%. Companies take, we see that in six out of 10
contracts in Germany for up to across their supply chain, foundation of the EV task force have started approaching OEMs. “Involving ation (IBSA) will look at battery swap- that take this benefit will have to set up cases, passenger compartment
three years. which is evident from measures already started approaching original all stakeholders is crucial, but equally ping. The International Council on manufacturing facilities in India within intrusion is the major cause of
German companies with such as Germany’s SCDDA and equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to important is ensuring that the right Clean Transportation (ICCT) will han- three years and attain a localization death or disability,” said
more than 1,000 employees, or the EU’s CBAM. proceed on the project of automotive individuals represent them.” dle matters related to electric trucks, level of 50% within five years. Tewari. “We find in many
German-registered branches of As things stand, India is yet to vision plan for Viksit Bharat 2047,” “The government’s efforts to fos- cases that happens at relatively
foreign companies with more ratify two fundamental Inter- said one person aware of the matter MAkING INDIA E-MObILITy PIONEER ter electric vehicle adoption are evi- low speeds, which tells us that
than 1,000 employees, have to national Labour Organisation on condition of anonymity. dent through their new policy, vehicular safety aspects
comply with the SCDDA. Last (ILO) conventions—the Right MHI and Ficci didn’t respond to AGENCIES have WORk has started THE task force will I.V. RAO, a which has enticed global manufac- remain fairly weak in large
year, this regulation applied to Organise Convention, 1948, queries sent by Mint till press time. been asked for on laying the engage with
inputs on 11 topics to cornerstone to make stakeholders
distinguished fellow
at TERI, one of the
turers and incentivized consum- parts of the country.”
only to firms with more than and the Right to Organisation I.V. Rao, distinguished fellow at build an action plan India an e-mobility through workshops agencies, confirmed ers,” said Gaurav Vangaal, associate India saw 168,000 deaths
3,000 employees. and Collective Bargaining Con- TERI, one of the agencies in the for EV adoption transition pioneer and meetings MHI’s move director , S&P Global Mobility. from road accidents in 2022, a
Germany’s new supply chain vention, 1949. task force, confirmed the ministry’s “This is complemented by states jump from 155,000 fatalities
regulations are closely followed The reason for India not rati- move. “While TERI supports other that are offering benefits to encour- reported in 2021, according to
by the EU, which is negotiating fying the conventions is that agencies, our primary focus is on iden- GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Inter- and the World Bank (WB) will oversee age EV acquisition. However, the data released by the ministry
a free-trade agreement (FTA) these would involve allowing tifying and addressing skill gaps in the nationale Zusammenarbeit), a German the subject matter of electric buses. absence of direct promotion necessi- of road transport and high-
with India. government staff to conduct industry,” said Rao. “We have been government and European Union (EU) Additionally, WRI India (World tates collaboration among stakeholders. ways (MoRTH).
“The EU wants its trade part- strikes and openly criticise state separately working with heavy duty agency, and Ficci will focus on charging Resources Institute)/Ficci will look into Bringing them together to amplify the Alejandro Furas, GNCAP
ners to make commitments in policies, which are prohibited trucks for a different project, but com- infrastructure, while the Retail Motor electric four-wheelers, and the US cause reflects an optimistic strategy.” secretary general, expressed
labour standards. It is coming under Indian statutory rules. prehensive mapping and analysis pre- Industry Organisation (RMI) will con- Agency of International Development [email protected] disappointment with the
Bolero Neo’s safety rating. “The
Bolero Neo offers side seating
benches, which pose a signifi-

Hybrid cars may bear cess load for longer FMCG companies under SC lens cant risk for all occupants.
Mahindra falls disappointingly
short of the GNCAP’s safety

FROM PAGE 1
after misleading Patanjali ads Worldwide too, hybrids have
extended their lead over EVs,
proportionate to their emis-
sions, which would mean tech-
expectations with the contin-
ued use of this type of seating,”
he said in a statement.
ministry’s recommendations on Wall Street Journal reported on nologies like CNG and hybrids In response to the GNCAP
the matter. Recently, transport 15 April. Mercedes-Benz, attract taxes higher than those FROM PAGE 1 ratings, Mahindra said it is pri-
minister Nitin Gadkari had said BMW, Ford, General Motors levied on EVs, but lower than oritizing customer safety,
a proposal to reduce GST on and Stellantis have reported fuel-burning vehicles. account for a third of all adver- highlighting the safety ratings
hybrid vehicles to 5% and 12% robust growth in hybrid sales, “Despite EV price reductions, tising spends in India. of other models such as Thar,
for flex engines has been sent to driven by factors such as min- pace of electrification has slowed “It is directionally very good Scorpio N and XUV700 that
the finance ministry, which is eral supply chain challenges, in the recent quarters. At the because the Supreme Court is received high ratings from the
considering the request. inadequate charging infra- same time, strong hybrid sales looking at a larger ambit now. GNCAP. “The Bolero Neo is
The Society of Indian Auto- structure, and consumer are picking pace led by recent There are so many companies the trusted utility vehicle of
mobile Manufacturers (Siam), affordability concerns. launches from MSIL and Toyota. that have made big claims and choice in India, owing to its
the country’s apex auto indus- “Concerns linger about Penetration of Strong Hybrid oftentimes, they tend to go robust build, highly dependa-
try body, has been unable to whether EVs will continue to cars at 2.3% surpassed 2% for unregulated. The bigger com- ble nature, and its innate capa-
take a stand on the matter, with Tata Motors and M&M want the enjoy tax benefits at higher BEV cars during 4QCY23 owing panies generally respect the The top court also sought the examination of potential bility to handle a variety of
leading members on opposite benefits solely for EVs. MINT adoption levels, in terms of to affordability issue and lack of ASCI guidelines much more, violations of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, Drugs and usage conditions,” the com-
extremes. Maruti Suzuki Grand raising questions about their adequate charging infra. On the but a lot of the homegrown Cosmetics Act and the Consumer Protection Act. PTI pany said in a statement.
Vitara, Toyota Innova Hycross “Today, the EV two-wheeler long-term viability in the other hand, despite unfavoura- companies have gotten by “The South Africa spec 2nd
and Honda City are some of the penetration is 4-5%. I think Indian market given the global ble taxation, Hybrid cars offer with fairly exaggerated claims, adhere to the laws of the land had warned Patanjali that a Generation Amaze has already
India-made vehicles that come once it is in double digits, the narrative at present, in which better value with higher mileage like skin whitening creams or and are signatories of ASCI fine of ₹1 crore could be been tested as 4-star by the
with hybrid variants. industry shouldn’t need subsi- EVs have seen a slow phase of and no charging hassle,” a report health supplements, or things code of conduct. “As long as imposed if it did not stop circu- GNCAP in 2019,” Honda Cars
Automakers also worry if dies,” said Aggarwal, growth even with significant by brokerage firm JM Financial that can cure you of incurable FMCG and healthcare compa- lating misleading claims and India said in a statement. “The
EVs will continue to enjoy tax co-founder of Ola Electric, price cuts”, a top executive at a said, adding that a potential diseases. All this will have to nies adhere to good practices advertisements against mod- latest test basis new protocol
breaks as their market share which has taken an early lead in leading automotive firm said, reduction on taxes of hybrid change now,” said Lloyd and the advertising laws, they ern medicine. Patanjali issued shows that the total score is of
reaches 5-10%, from the cur- the electric scooter space. declining to be identified. vehicles to 12% can reduce the Mathias, a business and mar- should not be worried about a media statement the follow- 5-star level. However, mainly
rent 2%. In December 2022, Meanwhile, hybrid sales Companies such as Maruti TCO (total cost of ownership) of keting strategist. the SC. But if they violate the ing day, denying any mislead- due to the requirement of cer-
Ola Electric founder Bhavish overshadowed electric cars in Suzuki and Toyota Kirloskar a Strong Hybrid Grand Vitara (by Meanwhile, Ambi Parames- laws, ignore warnings repeat- ing claims about its products. tain equipment like electronic
Aggarwal had said EVs will not India in 2023 as more custom- Motors have advocated a Maruti Suzuki) by 13% and bring waran, former CEO of adver- edly, then they should be [email protected] stability control and side cur-
need such incentives once their ers worry over EVs’ range, Mint “graded” tax policy, where it at par with a long-range com- tising firm DraftFCB Ulka said hauled up,” he said. With inputs from Krishna tain airbags, it resulted in
market share rises. reported on 29 February. vehicles are taxed in a manner pact electric SUV. most FMCG companies On 21 November, the court Yadav and Shivangini lower rating.”

Disney, Ford, Microsoft and the age of the quasi-merger BLOOMBERG

FROM PAGE 1 formed by the merger in 2021 South Korean battery firm reportedly being compensated ticular, tread a narrow path. actually agreed to.
of Fiat Chrysler and PSA part-owned by the electronics by an unusual licensing agree- Teaming up in emerging econ- No wonder disputes are ten
space, an American industrial Group, owner of Peugeot and giant of the same name. Stel- ment. (One of Inflection’s omies has always needed care- a penny. In March an Ameri-
firm, and Safran, a French one, Citroën, announced the pur- lantis is also part of IONNA, a founders sits on the board of ful management, lest politi- can judge ruled that Walmart
has been making aircraft chase of 20% of Leapmotor JV among seven carmakers The Economist’s corporate cally connected local firms turn could end its partnership with
engines since the 1970s. In the and the establishment of a JV that plans to build 30,000 parent.) Microsoft’s $1.5bn on their foreign partners or an Capital One after the super-
1990s, notes Melissa Schilling to build and sell the Chinese charging stations in America. G42 transaction is half part- entire jurisdiction becomes market and credit-card pro-
of New York University, com- EV-maker’s cars abroad. (Stel- Titans of digital technology nership and half high-stakes uninvestable. The turn away vider fell out over the terms of
panies scrambled to form new lantis’s biggest shareholder are building similarly intricate diplomacy—the deal came from free markets in the West their agreement. A fraught
partnerships in order to capi- also part-owns The Econo- webs of co-operation. In con- with hope of closer co-opera- has, to some extent, globalised game of linguistic chess has
talise on the new technology of mist’s parent company.) The trast to arrangements between tion on AI between the Ameri- this political uncertainty. The the oil industry on the edge of
the day—the internet. Devel- next month Renault and Nis- lumbering carmakers, where can and Emirati governments. flexibility inherent in a part- its seat. ExxonMobil is warring
oping countries, including san ratified a new, looser pact the main rationale of limited The success of the quasi- nership or JV but absent from a with Hess, a smaller rival, over
China, have long obliged for- with more equal cross-share- co-operation is to spread costs, merger wave is hard to predict. full-on takeover could make what should happen to their
eign firms looking to take holdings. In March Nissan and the AI deals have more to do Although alliances pass the such structures more politi- JV in Guyana should Hess sell
advantage of cheap labour and Honda, another Japanese with antitrust authorities’ con- desks of regulators and politi- cally acceptable. But even itself to Chevron, Exxon’s rival
vast markets to hand over rival, said they were exploring viction that big tech is already Microsoft has partnered with the world’s hottest AI-model makers: cians more easily than take- transactions crafted to avoid American supermajor.
technology through JVs with a strategic partnership to too big. In March Amazon said OpenAI of San Francisco, Mistral of Paris and G42 of Abu Dhabi. overs, they can still come tripping wires can come under A global slowdown in EV
local partners. develop EVs. it had invested $4bn in unstuck. Last year American scrutiny. Although CATL’s sales will put stress on carmak-
Many of the new carmaking Anthropic, securing access to zard, a video-game developer, begun to spread its bets. Airlines and JetBlue, another partnership with Ford does not ers’ new corporate constructs
Bye bye, tie-ups. Hello, ventures are not about making its Claude 3 model for its cus- took nearly two years to com- The $16m investment in carrier, ended their alliance on involve an equity investment (Ford has already scaled back
team-ups cars—at least not directly. Last tomers and crowning itself the plete and was nearly derailed Mistral, announced in Febru- America’s east coast after by the Chinese firm, that hasn’t plans for its battery plant in
Today’s more complicated year Stellantis bought nearly model-maker’s “primary cloud by trustbusters. The software ary, may be tiny but helps being sued by the Department stopped American lawmakers Michigan). Being a novel tech-
world is leading to more com- 20% of McEwen Copper, a provider for mission-critical behemoth first began working bring France’s best shot at of Justice. Disney’s new sports from calling for close scrutiny nology, AI raises novel ques-
plicated arrangements. One small miner, as part of a deal workloads”. Alphabet has with OpenAI in 2016; $13bn becoming an AI superpower venture is getting a close look of the deal. tions about matters such as
hotspot is, once again, car- (which also involves Rio Tinto, promised Anthropic up to $2bn later and it is integrating into Microsoft’s orbit. Even from antitrust referees. Earlier Perhaps the biggest threat safety or copyright that do not
making. The industry is being a giant one) to extract the red and also crowed that the startup OpenAI’s models into its con- more creatively, in March Mic- this year the Federal Trade to the new-fangled partner- necessarily lend themselves to
remade by the shift from com- metal in Argentina. That cop- uses its cloud infrastructure. sumer and enterprise prod- rosoft stunned the tech world Commission, another Ameri- ships is the partners. Aligning shared decision-making. Qua-
bustion engines to electric per may eventually make its Microsoft, AI’s most ambi- ucts. In the shadow of turbu- with a “no-deal” deal whereby can antitrust cop, opened an firms’ incentives is notoriously si-mergers are here to stay.
vehicles (EVs)—and by fears of way to Kokomo, Indiana, tious dealmaker, is well aware lence at the startup, which in senior employees at Inflection inquiry into the AI deals. Euro- tricky. The crucial fine print of Many may prove only quasi-
deindustrialisation as Chinese where Stellantis owns 49% of of the dangers posed by stick- November led to the swift fir- AI, another model-maker, pean and British regulators are quasi-mergers is kept secret, successful.
carmakers dominate the mar- two battery factories being ier red tape. Its full-blown ing and re-hiring of its boss, decamped to Microsoft. The making similar noises. giving shareholders little © 2024, THE ECONOMIST NEWS-
ket. Last October Stellantis, built with Samsung SDI, a acquisition of Activision Bliz- Sam Altman, Microsoft has startup’s other investors are Cross-border deals, in par- insight into what bosses have PAPER LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi 07

Expenses
Coming in FY25: Tariff hikes, M&M Finance finds
drag TCPL ₹150 crore fraud,
net down
27% in Q4
5G monetization, Vi 2.0 delays Q4 results
Gopika Gopakumar
PTI [email protected]
[email protected] MuMbaI
NEW DELHI A tariff hike is near certain after Reliance Jio reported flat Arpu for two straight quarters.
M
ahindra & Mahindra

T
ata Consumer Products Financial Services has
Ltd (TCPL) on Tuesday Gulveen Aulakh ₹208 as of December 2023. deferred its board
reported a 26.69% [email protected] Arpus are expected to rise at 10% meeting scheduled for 23 April
decline in consolidated net NEW DELHI CAGR over FY23-28 given the industry after a fraud involving ₹150
profit at ₹212.26 crore for the structure, future investment needs, crore was detected at one of its

T
quarter ended 31 March, elecom majors Reliance Jio and the need to avoid a duopoly mar- branches in the country’s
impacted by exceptional items and Bharti Airtel, that have ket, said analysts at JM Financial. North-East region.
related to the cost of amalga- been responsible for the “With the Vodafone Idea FPO being The board meeting to con-
mations, acquisitions, asset world’s fastest 5G rollouts, successful, chances of an industry-wide sider earnings for the January-
write-downs and fair value loss are likely to begin monetiza- tariff hike in H2CY24 have increased— March quarter will now take Board meeting on earnings for
on financial instruments. tion of the networks even as they, along which should help improve the returns place on 30 May, it said in an the January-March quarter will
The company had posted a with Vodafone Idea (Vi) raise headline profile of telecom companies,” said exchange filing late Monday. be held on 30 May. BLOOMBERG
consolidated net profit of tariffs by as much as 20% soon after the analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equi- The fraud pertained to retail
₹289.56 crore in the same general elections, said analysts and ties. vehicle loans disbursed by the of the non-bank lender in the
period a year ago, TCPL said in brokerages. Vodafone Idea’s ₹18,000 crore fol- company, and involved forgery Hazaribagh district of Jhark-
a regulatory filing. A rise in tariff levels has become low-on public offer was subscribed of KYC documents leading to hand. The restrictions were
Consolidated revenue from almost a certainty after Reliance Jio, nearly seven times led by qualified embezzlement of company lifted four months later follow-
operations stood at ₹3,926.94 the country’s largest telecom services institutional buyers and anchor inves- funds. ing submissions by M&M
crore in the quarter under provider by subscribers, reported flat tors that together bid for over ₹88,000 M&M Finance detected the Finance and its pledge to
review against ₹3,618.73 crore average revenue per user (Arpu) for two crore, Mint reported on Tuesday. The fraud during the January- strengthen recovery practices
in the year-ago period, it consecutive quarters on Monday. Arpu No. 3 carrier will spend a large chunk of March quarter. It was followed and outsourcing arrange-
added. is a critical metric of profitability for tel- the FPO proceeds towards improving by the arrest of the people ments. In April 2023, however,
During the quarter, TCPL’s cos. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have been responsible for the world’s fastest 5G 4G coverage and setting up 5G net- involved. The company said the regulator imposed a mone-
said it incurred exceptional “We do expect both Jio and Bharti to rollouts. REUTERS works during the year. that investigations are at an tary penalty of ₹6.77 crore for
items of ₹215.8 crore. “Excep- start monetizing 5G in the coming Analysts at Goldman Sachs said they advanced stage. The necessary non-compliance with norms
tional item for the current quarters, which along with tariff hikes increases in the next three years (with showing the full effect of 5G since the expect a 15% tariff hike between July corrective action, identified by related to disclosure of interest
quarter represents costs relat- should help expand Arpu,” said ana- the first one imminent after the elec- service was being offered free of and March, of similar magnitude as the company, is in rates to borrowers
ing to scheme of arrangement lysts at Axis Capital in a note. “As 5G tions). This would help shore up Jio’s charge, indicating that chargeable 5G previous hikes. Carriers raised head- various stages of The fraud at the time of
of ₹91 crore, costs related to starts getting monetized—we expect return ratios in the run-up to the likely services would contribute to Arpu line tariffs by 20-40% in December implementation. pertained to retail sanction of loans.
acquisitions of ₹10 crore, asset should happen in the next 3-6 IPO preparation of Jio Platforms,” said uptick. 2019, the first time after Jio launched The board was vehicle loans Foreign bro-
write-down of ₹62 crore and months—this pressure is likely to alle- analysts at IIFL Securities in a note. Airtel’s chief executive Gopal Vittal, its services in 2016 and made voice a likely to consider disbursed by the kerage firm Mac-
fair value loss on financial viate and reflect in organic Arpu They added that blended Arpu, includ- on the other hand, has maintained that free service. This was followed by proposals such as quarie expects
instruments of ₹53 crores,”
firm and involved M&M Finance to
increase. This, too, would help ing mobile and fibre to the it will not charge a premium for another hike, this time of 20%, increasing the
TCPL said in the filing. increase Arpu (along with home, estimates for FY25 5G services, but has backed in December 2021. aggregate bor- forgery of KYC see a 15% profit
The company said its India the likely tariff hike),” they and FY26 were ₹200 and the need for Arpus to rise “We also see the possi- rowing limit and documents before tax decline
packaged beverages business
delivered 2% revenue growth
added.
Jio said on Monday 37% ₹224, far higher than ₹181 for adequate returns on
in FY24. capital employed, espe- ₹18,000 bility of another round of
cr tariff hike in FY26, as raising funds
through the issue
to their fourth-
quarter estimates.
while the foods business grew during its results for the of total data “5G monetization in cially after pumping in Vi’s FPO was Vodafone Idea requires of NCDs in Tuesday’s meeting. “Changing a business model
20%, continuing its double- March quarter that 5G consumed on Jio’s the mobile segment billions of dollars to set subscribed nearly to make payment for On Tuesday, shares of M&M is not easy. And what is now of
digit growth trajectory. Reve- data was currently 37% of network is 5G could support Arpu tra- up the 5G networks that seven times AGR/spectrum dues from Finance closed 5.47% lower at immediate priority is govern-
nue from its international the total data consumed on jectory for Bharti Airtel as includes high-priced 5G H2FY26 once the morato- ₹263.60 apiece on the BSE. ance and compliance structure.
business grew 7%. its network. Sector watchers well,” said analysts at Jeffer- spectrum. rium ends,” said analysts at In September 2022, the Such kind of incidents destroy
For the fiscal year ended 31 said that this too was leading to ies. “Given that 5G is being offered Emkay Securities. Reserve Bank of India had investor confidence. And to
March, TCPL’s consolidated near-term pressure on Arpu. Currently, Jio and Airtel do not for free, Arpus have limited room to Vodafone Idea is saddled with ₹2.1 directed M&M Finance to deliver RoA of 2.5% next year
net profit stood at ₹1,215.4 “Tariff hikes, Jio pushing its 5G fixed charge users a separate or higher tariff expand without tariff hikes. We raise trillion debt, of which ₹1.9 trillion is immediately stop carrying out amidst slowing growth, mar-
crore, compared with wireless and Vodafone Idea beginning for using 5G services and have been our Arpu estimates by 1-2% and expect owed to the government in the form of any recovery through outsour- gins and such kind of episodes
₹1,320.14 crore the previous its 5G deployments, were the key levying the same tariffs as existing 4G Arpus to grow by 9% CAGR over revenue share under AGR and spec- cing agents. This came after a and volatility inherent in the
year. Consolidated revenue developments expected in the coming tariffs since the launch of their services FY24-27 to ₹235 by FY27 led by a 20% trum bought from the government. pregnant woman in Jharkhand business model is a tall ask,”
from operations rose to quarters,” said Rohan Dhamija, manag- last year. Anshuman Thakur, senior tariff hike in 2QFY25 (July-September) Currently under a moratorium since died after she was allegedly said Suresh Ganapathy, head of
₹15,205.85 crore from ing partner at Analysys Mason. vice president at Jio Platforms Ltd has and 10% in 2QFY27,” it added, giving early 2022, the payments are due from mowed down under the wheels financial services research,
₹13,783.16 crore in FY23. “We expect two rounds of tariff said previously that Arpus were not estimates for Jio. Airtel’s Arpu stood at FY26. of a tractor by a recovery agent Macquarie Capital.

Dish TV to boost efficiency with lower capex

Gaurav Laghate tainment experience that inte- Disney+Hotstar.
[email protected] grates traditional linear televi- Despite facing challenges at
MuMbaI sion with the burgeoning world the promoter level due to
of OTT content.” invoked pledged shares, Dish

D
ish TV India, the coun- Dobhal elaborated on the TV remains resolute in its oper-
try’s first direct-to- financial rationale driving this ational focus. Dobhal assured
home (DTH) service innovation, emphasising the stakeholders that business
provider, has embarked on an potential for enhanced cus- operations continue unabated,
ambitious journey to stream- tomer retention and organic with strategic steps taken to
line its business operations, growth. reduce capex,
focusing on reducing capital “Our industry The DTH service particularly on
expenditure, enhancing cus- has been witness- provider also set-top boxes.
tomer retention, and minimis- ing customer seeks enhanced “Our business
ing customer acquisition costs, attrition. How- customer continues to be
its top executive said. ever, we have strong, and we are
retention and
The DTH operator, boasting The DTH operator boasts over observed that taking steps to cut
over 11 million active subscrib- 11 mn active subscribers. MINT adding layers of lower acquisition capex on the set-
ers, on Monday announced its service enhances costs top-boxes, which
new initiative, Dish TV Smart+, are not novel in the market, retention rates is around ₹400
which will provide built-in with competitors like Tata Play significantly,” crore at present,”
over-the-top (OTT) services and Airtel Digital TV offering Dobhal stated. “Even a modest he said.
alongside linear TV subscrip- Tata Play Binge and Airtel improvement in retention, say Looking ahead, Dish TV
tions to all its customers at no Xstream, respectively, custom- by 0.5% per month, could India envisions a future with-
additional cost. ers have to incur extra charges translate into a substantial gain out traditional set-top-boxes,
Dish TV Smart+ enables both for OTT bundles on these plat- of around 1 million customers signalling a fundamental shift
new and existing subscribers of forms. annually.” in its operational paradigm. “In
Dish TV and sister brand d2h to “We wanted to do something As of now, there are 20+ OTT the next year or so, you will see
stream OTT apps seamlessly disruptive,” said Manoj Dobhal, apps available to select from, us moving away completely
across devices. CEO of Dish TV India. “Our aim including regional as well as top from set-top-boxes,” Dobhal
While OTT aggregator apps is to provide a seamless enter- apps like Sony LIV, Zee5 and revealed.

Ex-TechM CEO, IndiGo MD in AI deal

Shouvik Das dedicated AI firms, as well as
[email protected] hyperscalers such as Amazon
NEW DELHI and Microsoft, and are also
writing our own LLM by set-

F
ormer Tech Mahindra ting up a dedicated foundry
CEO CP Gurnani and service for the clients,” Gur-
IndiGo’s group managing nani said, adding that develop-
director Rahul Bhatia on ment of Aionos’ LLMs catering
Tuesday launched a joint ven- to the hospitality and logistics
ture that will offer AI services, industry is being done out of a
including generative AI, to cli- development hub in Noida,
ents in the travel, transport, Uttar Pradesh. “In the near
logistics and hospitality term, we’ll expand it to Hyder-
(TTLH) industry. abad and Chennai,” he added.
While the exact investment The launch of Aionos comes
ratio was not disclosed, the Former Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani. MINT at a time top IT services firms,
new firm, Aionos, is majority- which typically lead capability
owned by IndiGo’s parent that aircraft are at the cutting as CEO and MD of India’s fifth- building, training and out-
firm, InterGlobe Enterprises. edge of technology, but what largest IT services firm Tech sourcing projects across
The announcement comes at a goes to get the aircraft to fly is Mahindra on 19 December last India’s technology industry,
time software firms have been still very archaic. Technology year, said that the company is have made large claims about
claiming a growing revenue is the bedrock of an aviation working with the likes of Ama- rising business from AI opera-
from their artificial intelli- business, and if we can make a zon and Microsoft to source tions. K. Krithivasan, CEO of
gence operations. large change in this, the value their large language models Tata Consultancy Services,
“We’re plagued by several it brings to our company is (LLMs) for AI operations in the India’s largest IT firm, said on
issues (in the aviation indus- enormous. That’s why we TTLH industry. At the same 12 April that the company has
try), and we need change in wanted to get into this space,” time, the company is also earned $900 million in reve-
how we deal with data and Bhatia told Mint. developing its own LLM. nue from AI deals, a figure that
internal systems. It’s ironic Gurnani, who stepped down “We’re talking to smaller, is expected to grow.
08 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi NEWS WRAP LIVEMINT.COM

NEWS
$12 bn
THE COST of Brightline West, a high-
157.4 mn
THE NUMBER of Indians who went to the
$200 mn
THE AMOUNT raised by HR software
6
THE NUMBER of years Meta’s Andy
80
THE NUMBER of earthquakes that hit
IN speed rail project in the US, connecting cinema at least once in 2023, up 29% from startup Rippling in a funding round led by Stone has been sentenced to prison by Taiwan’s east coast on Monday and
NUMBERS Las Vegas to Southern California, which
was inaugurated on Monday
the previous year, and up 8% from the
pre-pandemic levels, according to Ormax
investment firm Coatue, valuing it at $13.5
billion, up 20% from last year’s valuation
Russia for “justifying terrorism” in a remark
in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine
Tuesday, with the strongest recording a
magnitude of 6.3. No fatalities recorded

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

PayU gets payment BAPTISM BY FIRE IIFL Finance’s

aggregator nod special audit starts

P I
rosus-backed PayU Payments on Tuesday IFL Finance said a special audit directed by
said it had received the Reserve Bank of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) started on
India’s (RBI) in-principle approval to Tuesday, about one-and-a half month after
operate as a payment aggregator and onboard the central bank barred the non-bank finance
new merchants onto its platform. company (NBFC) from disbursing gold loans.
The approval comes days after the RBI took In early March, the RBI ordered IIFL Finance
steps to tighten scrutiny of the payments sector, to stop sanctioning, disbursing and selling gold
asking online payment firms to monitor loans, citing “material supervisory concerns” in
transactions-related activities of merchants on its gold loan portfolio, raising liquidity concerns
their platforms and ensure they meet fresh among its investors and lenders.
guidelines. Gold loans accounted for nearly a third of the
The banking regulator’s approval is “a company’s total loan assets as of 2023-end.
testament to our relentless focus on compliance Since the order, IIFL has lost nearly 30% in
and corporate governance,” PayU chief market value. The RBI said in March that the
executive officer Anirban Mukherjee said in a restrictions will be reviewed after completion of
statement. a special audit and the company’s rectification of
PayU is a payment gateway that also offers the audit findings. “We are committed to
services including buy-now-pay-later, and extending full cooperation to the special audit
competes with the likes of Tiger Global-backed team to ensure a comprehensive and thorough
Razorpay and Walmart-owned PhonePe. audit,” IIFL said on Tuesday. PTI
. REUTERS

Aspirants wait in a queue before appearing for the armed forces’ Agniveer recruitment exam in Patna on Tuesday. PTI

Investors have alleged that Byju’s has misused the

Punjab to leverage Brazil’s Reliance and its partner bp Plc currently produce
about 30% of India’s gas output
funds.

NCLT adjourns
REUTERS

expertise in livestock health Extra investment for

KG-D6 approved
Byju’s case to 6 Jun
R
eliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has got

T
he injunction on the use of rights issue government approval for making
funds by Byju’s will continue as a Plan involves monitoring diseases, their prevention and possibly developing vaccines additional investments in developing gas
company law court in Bengaluru reserves in its KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal
adjourned the matter to 6 June after hearing that can add 4 to 5 million standard cubic metres
investors as well as the management. Puja Das & Shashank Mattoo private university in the state). We are planning discussed during a meeting with the Lovely Profes- per day (mscmd) to the production, a company
In its order earlier this year, the National NeW deLHI some scientific cooperation with them. We are sional University, precisely with the department of official said. RIL and its partner bp Plc currently
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru thinking of a joint research project with them. It’s Ayurvedic medicines for animals. An Indian com- produce around 30 mmscmd or about 30% of

T
Bench, said the funds received by the he Punjab government is discussing sci- not a technical cooperation. We are going to discuss pany has already started to discuss development of India’s gas production, from the KG-D6 block.
company with respect to the rights issue entific cooperation with Brazil, known a joint research project in the field of monitoring some products. India is in touch with some Brazil- At an investors’ call announcing the fourth
should be kept in a separate escrow account for its expertise in animal health, to curb the occurrences of animal diseases, to prevent out- ian companies. There is a long way ahead to quarter earnings, Sanjay Roy, senior vice-
and not be withdrawn till the disposal of the livestock ailments that can cause farm- breaks and develop develop ayurvedic president for exploration and production at
matter. income losses and worsen rural distress. some strategies to products for veteri- Reliance, said the development plan for
While investors have alleged that Byju’s has India saw an outbreak of the lumpy skin disease cope with outbreaks Apart from vaccines, Brazil and narian treatments. incremental production has been approved by
misused the funds and levelled charges against (LSD) in 2022 that has so far killed more than if they arise,” Angelo Punjab government could also This is one thing that the government.
it over non-compliance with the court’s past 200,000 cows, hurting milk output. de Queiroz Mauri- we are going to Reliance-bp produces some 30 mmscmd of
order, the embattled edtech firm on Tuesday The plan involves monitoring occurrence of ani- cio, agricultural atta- explore developing Ayurvedic explore,” Mauricio gas from three sets of discoveries in the deep-sea
stated it has completely followed the NCLT mal diseases, their prevention and management of ché at the Brazil medicines for animal diseases added. KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 block, the last - MJ oil
directions. outbreaks, with the possibility of jointly develop- embassy in New Queries sent to and gas field - being put into production in May
The matter has now been listed for the next ing vaccines and other medicines, a Brazilian dip- Delhi told Mint. The the deans and 2023. PTI
hearing on 6 June. lomat said. two sides could also explore developing Ayurvedic spokespersons of Punjab Agricultural University,
Byju’s has been accused by four investors of “We had a meeting with the chief minister of medicines for animal diseases. Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences
violating the tribunal order and utilising some Punjab. We also got in touch with three big univer- “There is going to be another working group University, and the chief executive officer and the
of the funds raised during the rights issue. The
edtech company, however, firmly refuted
sities —Punjab Agricultural University, GADVASU
(Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences
dealing with the possibilities for cooperation Secretary of Investment Promotion Punjab
between universities and research institutes. The remained unanswered till press time.
Air India, All Nippon
these charges during the proceedings. PTI University) and Lovely Professional University (a possibility of developing vaccines together were [email protected]
ink codeshare deal

A
ir India has entered into a codeshare
ICICI Prudential partnership with Japan’s All Nippon
Kids to be seated with parents: DGCA Airways (ANA).
posts lower margin With the codeshare, effective for travel from
23 May, Air India and All Nippon Airways
backdrop of instances of children below passengers can fly to their desired destination

I
CICI Prudential Life Insurance Company the age of 12 years not being seated along by combining those flights between India and
reported a lower new business margin on with their parents or guardians during Japan with a single ticket.
Tuesday, hurt by persistent decline in flights. Air India will add its ‘AI’ designator code on
demand for high-value policies and as customer “Airlines shall ensure that children up to ANA’s flights between Tokyo Haneda and
preference shifted towards low-margin the age of 12 years are allocated seats with Delhi as well as Tokyo Narita and Mumbai.
products. at least one of their parents/guardians, who ANA will add its ‘NH’ designator code on Air
Value for new business (VNB), the expected are travelling on the same PNR and a India’s flight between Tokyo Narita and Delhi,
profit from new policies, fell 19.5% to ₹2,227 record of the same shall be maintained,” a release said on Tuesday.
crore for the year ended 31 March, dragging the the DGCA said in a statement on Tuesday. Both airlines are considering further
VNB margin to 24.6% from 32% a year earlier. In this regard, the regulator has revised expanding their cooperation on additional
Life insurers have seen a rising share of low- the Air Transport Circular titled, Staff protested against “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 bn routes. Now, Tata Group-owned Air India,
margin unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) ‘unbundle of services and fees by deal Google and Amazon signed in 2021. REUTERS which is expanding its presence, has codeshare
amid a strong domestic equity market. The NSE Aviation watchdog DGCA has revised the Air scheduled airlines’. partnerships with 15 airlines, including All
Nifty 50 Index rose 2.7% in the January-March
period, logging its fourth straight quarterly gain
Transport Circular. ISTOCKPHOTO As per the norms, some services like zero
baggage, preferential seating, meals/
Google sacks 20 Nippon Airways. PTI

A more over protests

and scaling record highs. viation watchdog DGCA snack/ drink charges and charges for
Continued weak demand for high-value (Directorate General of Civil carriage of musical instruments are
policies post-tax implementation changes is also Aviation ) has asked airlines to permitted.
Brickwork Ratings
G
weighing heavily on their VNB margins, analysts ensure that children up to the age of 12 The DGCA said that such unbundled oogle fired at least 20 more workers in the
said. The decline in VNB margin is primarily on
account of the shift in the underlying product
years are allocated seats with at least one of
their parents or guardians in a flight.
services are provided on an “opt-in” basis
by airlines and are not mandatory in
aftermath of protests over technology the
company is supplying the Israeli expands board
mix towards unit-linked business, the company The directive comes against the nature. PTI government amid the Gaza war, bringing the total

B
said in an exchange filing. REUTERS number of terminated staff to more than 50, a rickwork Ratings on Tuesday appointed
group representing the workers said. Santosh B. Nayar as its chairman,
It’s the latest sign of internal turmoil at the tech complying with an order of markets
giant centered on “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion regulator Sebi to broad-base its board.
India fourth-largest military spender globally in 2023: Report contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to
provide the Israeli government with cloud
The markets regulator had ordered
Brickwork Ratings to not onboard clients for six
computing and artificial intelligence services. months or until these conditions were met.

I
ndia was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023 with an Workers held sit-in protests last week at Google Nayar has a career spanning over 40 years across
expenditure of $83.6 billion, behind the US, China and Russia, according to offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. The sectors including investment, retail,
a report by an independent international think-tank. company responded by calling the police, who international banking, project finance, and life
The report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) made arrests.The group organizing the protests, insurance. Currently, he also serves as the
shared on its website in April also said the “rise” in global military spending No Tech For Apartheid, said the company fired 30 chairman of Reliance Nipppon Life Insurance.
last year can be attributed “primarily to the ongoing war in Ukraine and workers last week — higher than the initial 28 they The Sebi had in September issued an order
escalating geopolitical tensions in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East”. had announced.Then, on Tuesday night, Google requiring Brickwork Ratings to onboard more
The military expenditure went up in all five geographical regions, with fired “over 20” more staffers, “including non- members to its board. It had also stated that the
major spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the participating bystanders during last week’s firm had to ensure that no more than a quarter of
Middle East, it said. The report comes amid ongoing conflicts in various parts protests,” said Jane Chung, a spokeswoman for No the members of the new board were related to
of the world such as the ones involving Israel-Hamas, Iran-Israel, Russian- Tech For Apartheid, without providing a more the founders and present management. The
Ukraine besides volatility in the Red Sea region. specific number. “Google’s aims are clear: the board’s independent directors now include
“World military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year in corporation is attempting to quash dissent, silence Santosh B. Nayar, M.R. Hegde, S. Sadagopan,
2023, reaching a total of $2443 billion. The 6.8% increase in 2023 was the its workers, and reassert its power over them,” T.Y. Prabhu, Chandru Badrinarayanan, and
steepest year-on-year rise since 2009,” according to the report. PTI India is behind the US, China and Russia. AFP Chung said in a press release. AP Sudha Ravi. PRIYANKA GAWANDE
LIVEMINT.COM GLOBAL WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi 09

m MINT SHORTS
Pfizer vs Moderna battle over
Levi Strauss is stretching
beyond wholesale in its
covid vaccine patents begins in UK
London: Pfizer and BioNTech asked a London court to revoke
rival Moderna’s patents over technology key to the development
of vaccines for covid-19, as the latest leg of a global legal battle
began on Tuesday. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech sued

search for new customers

Moderna at London’s High Court in September 2022, seeking to
revoke patents held by Moderna, which hit back days later alleg-
ing its patents had been infringed. REUTERS

PepsiCo’s Q1 results beat forecast

as global demand drives growth
PepsiCo beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue Levi’s is focused on selling directly to consumers to show off its expanded offerings, react more quickly to trends
and profit on Tuesday as demand for its sodas and snacks like
Cheetos and Doritos in international markets drove growth even
as it witnessed a slowdown in US. PepsiCo’s international busi- Jennifer Williams updating existing stores and opening
ness accounted for about 40% of its total fiscal 2023 revenue, [email protected] new ones, with a goal to open at least
while its North America businesses accounted for the remaining. 100 net doors in fiscal 2024. It is also

L
PepsiCo also maintained its fiscal 2024 forecasts of organic sales evi Strauss is leaning into its devoting capital to its online business
growth of 4% and core profit of $8.15 per share. REUTERS stand-alone stores to glean and the rewards program for loyal cus-
insight into shifting con- tomers. The company invests between
sumer tastes, its latest effort 3.5% to 4.5% of revenue on changes
Spotify’s monthly user numbers to expand beyond its image that will boost the direct-to-consumer
as a jeans maker. business, such as store innovations
fall due to lower promotions The plan is working, with nearly and openings. That range will remain,
REUTERS
half of the company’s sales now com- but as that side of the business grows
ing from selling directly to shoppers. at a faster clip, Singh said the invest-
Now, Levi Strauss is working to ment dollars will increase.
keep the momentum going. Levi Strauss is also improving its
For the 170-year-old brand, the response to trends, according to the
shifts are significant and are altering CFO. Historically, the time from
the way Levi Strauss spends money forming a product idea to it being
and looks to connect with its custom- available for sale has been around 15
ers. Levi Strauss plans to boost invest- or 16 months, he said. Selling directly
ment to give it clues on the next fash- to consumers means quicker access
ion craze, while trimming the range to indications of what shoppers want,
of products and colors it stocks. allowing the company to shave that
The San Francisco-based company timing down to between nine and 12
Stockholm: Spotify on Tuesday reported quarterly is also looking to speed up new prod- In 2022, Levi Strauss unveiled plans for the direct-to-consumer business to account for more than 55% of revenue by 2027. months.
monthly active users (MAU) below its own estimates, as the uct delivery, cutting by as much as Levi’s additionally is paring down
Swedish music streaming company chose to boost profit half the current runway needed to tainty as wholesale customers, mainly its stores and are now expanding into gled out on Beyoncé’s new country inventory to make room for new prod-
instead of spending more on marketing activities to draw bring products to consumers. department stores such as Macy’s and wholesalers in the U.S. and poten- album in a song titled “Levii’s Jeans.” ucts, or variations of existing ones.
in more listeners. First-quarter MAUs rose 19%, but missed “It’s about rewiring the company,” Kohl’s , have suffered from sluggish tially globally. The move from Levi Singh said the Beyoncé name drop Like most brands, it hasn’t done a good
Spotify’s own guidance and a median of analysts’ forecasts Chief Financial and Growth Officer sales and declining foot traffic in Strauss makes sense, analysts said. was organic, but he expects it will job of cutting out products that aren’t
of 618 million. Shares of the company were down 1.6% in Harmit Singh said. recent years. While Levi’s overall sales dropped or boost sales. Levi Strauss has seen the working, the CFO said. He described a
premarket trading. REUTERS Part of the recast for Levi Strauss is For Levi’s, best known for its were flat in three of the last four quar- effect before, after the pop star wore recent exercise showing the board of
an ongoing evolution into a brand denim jackets and classic 501 and 511 ters, the direct-to-consumer business the brand’s shorts a handful of years directors its classic 511 jeans in several
that primarily sells goods directly to jeans, it is also a way to show off new has been a bright spot, up 8% for the ago while performing at the Coache- different shades of black.
Trump set to receive another consumers instead of through whole- items as the brand expands its apparel three-month period ended Feb. 25. It lla music festival. Shorts purchases “As a consumer, if you look at those
sale customers. The brand, which his- lineup. The stores enable Levi’s to comes as other retailers, such as “took off” after, so while “it’s early colors, you can’t tell the difference,” he
$1.3 bn in shares he can’t sell yet torically has been propped up by sales show a head-to-toe look and offer a Ralph Lauren, Canada days,” Singh said he said. “So we said, ‘OK, we’ll reduce it.’”
The blank-check deal that brought Donald Trump’s media through wholesalers, in 2022 more experiential shopping trip, Goose and Hoka seller Its stores have expects a similar impact Already, the company has elimi-
startup public is set to give him another $1.3 billion in stock after unveiled plans for the direct-to-con- where buyers can customize their Deckers Outdoor , are allowed Levi’s to from the new song. nated around 15% of its unique product
meeting certain targets to his present windfall from the merger, sumer business to account for more jeans by adding options such as prioritizing selling reach younger Levi Strauss is at the offerings; Levi Strauss doesn’t disclose
yet he remains unable to cash any of it in. Trump Media is one of than 55% of reve- patches and paint, directly to consumers. customers as well same time undergoing this count, but Singh said “it’s a big
the most expensive in the market to short with investors facing nue by 2027. At Singh said. The The approach is a several additional number.” The figure could rise to as
as women, who
annual financing costs of some 200%, according to data from S3 48% for the quar- result for Levi’s, tradeoff, said Oliver changes. Like other high as 25%, the finance chief said. This
Partners. One driver of the lofty fees is the difficulty of borrowing ter ended Feb. 25, which for years Chen , head of global now make up a retailers , it is slashing will help with inventory management,
shares to sell them, on account of there being a small pool of the company is close, but that time- primarily sold denim to men, is retail and luxury at TD third of shoppers costs, cutting 10% to 15% because the company doesn’t have to
shares available to trade. BLOOMBERG line has been pushed out, likely by a reaching younger customers as well Cowen. Retailers take on of its global workforce as buy as much, he said. It will also likely
couple of years, because of a slow- as women, who now make up a third additional inventory risk part of a turnaround plan improve margins by cutting out those
down last year on denim spending, of the brand’s global shoppers. The and sink more capital into building expected to generate around $100 items that don’t sell as quickly, and so
General Motors beats quarterly Singh said. Revenue for the three- company doesn’t disclose the figure and renting stores, but the upsides million in cost savings in fiscal 2024. It may require markdowns.
month period, at $1.56 billion, was for younger shoppers. include potentially stronger margins, has also been working to find the right Even as Levi Strauss is adding new
results targets, raises forecast down roughly 8% from a year earlier, Moreover, selling goods directly to a closer connection to shoppers and product mix beyond jeans, acquiring products to its lineup, like skirts and
Detroit: General Motors on Tuesday posted quarterly results primarily on a shift last year in whole- shoppers offers a way to test products more control over the brand, he said. Beyond Yoga in 2021 while getting out dresses, the company is going to stay
that topped Wall Street targets and raised its annual forecast, cit- sale orders. before the successful ones end up Moreover, it’s an approach that works of brands that aren’t working, such as disciplined on inventory, Singh said.
ing stable pricing and demand for its gas-engine vehicles, send- The focus on selling directly to with a wholesaler, Singh said. This best when brands are culturally rele- its lower-priced Denizen brand and “The mindset is: when you introduce
ing shares up 5%. The automaker upped its adjusted pre-tax shoppers provides better insights on was the case for Levi’s performance vant first, according to Chen. Levi’s is footwear business. something new, look at something
profit projection for the year to $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion, from what they want, like casual wear and tech products, for instance, which among that level of brands, Chen said, To keep shoppers interested in its you can take out.”
its previous range of $12 billion to $14 billion. REUTERS baggier jeans, and cuts out uncer- were initially primarily introduced in noting as an example that it was sin- products, Levi Strauss is investing in ©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.

How Chinese networks clean dirty money on a vast scale

their proceeds swiftly and at under way in South-East Asia’s gators to spot. The sums are $2bn held in bank accounts or caught by police or scammed.
very low cost. “underground banking archi- often broken up into smaller as assets such as luxury prop- In December Europol
In a paper published in 2021 tecture”, involving everything amounts that do not draw the erties, cars and gold. This announced it had identified
by the American Intelligence from casinos to cryptocur- attention of China’s enforcers, month a court in Singapore nearly 11,000 mules and 500
Journal, Virginia Kent of the rency. The details it provided either. The yuan in China may sentenced two of ten Chinese recruiters in 26 countries, lead-

I
t is rare these days for Amer- State Department and Robert suggested that Chinese gangs then be used there to buy citizens (some of them holding ing to the arrest of more than
ica and China to co-operate Gay of the National Intelli- were at the forefront. goods that are shipped to Mex- other passports as well) who 1,000 people around the world.
on anything. During a three- gence University in Maryland China’s anxiety is evident, ico and sold for pesos that are were arrested in connection In 2022 China’s police
day visit to Beijing and Shang- wrote of a “bloodless coup” by too. It worries about the con- handed over to the cartels. So with the case. The pair have launched a three-year cam-
hai, beginning on April 24th, Chinese money-handling duit provided by underground efficient is the process that been given terms of 13 months paign against money-launder-
America’s secretary of state, organisations, noting how, in banks for evading the coun- delivery of the pesos follows and 14 months in prison. One ing that has so far brought
Antony Blinken, will press his recent years, they have largely try’s strict foreign-exchange nearly instantly after the forfeited assets worth more more than 2,300 people to
hosts to stop sending weap- displaced home-grown ones in controls (capital flight, even by receipt of the dirty dollars. than $120m. court. One case, announced in
ons-related materials to Rus- Mexico that were previously legitimate means, is a persist- Traffickers in Europe are The UNODC says organised December, involved the arrest
sia’s defence industries. He used for this purpose. The ent headache). Mainland Chi- picking up on this idea, too. In crime in the region has flour- of 74 people in 17 provincial-
will be lucky to get much more authors (expressing their per- nese are not allowed to send October police in Italy ished thanks to “record levels” level administrations sus-
than a polite smile. So it is sonal views) called these Chi- more than $50,000 a year out arrested 33 people for alleged of the production of synthetic pected of handling nearly 16bn
noteworthy that the two coun- nese operators “a new and of the country. For many rich involvement in laundering drugs in the “Golden Triangle” yuan ($2.1bn) in feiqian-style
tries have recently decided to more challenging money- Chinese, that is far from more than €50m ($53m) for of Laos, Myanmar and Thai- deals. They allegedly moved
boost mutual support in laundering foe”. enough. It is easy to hook up with Chinese brokers. Offers of their services drug traffickers including the land. They have been served money through more than
another domain: the fight The American government Chinese often turn to illicit abound on social media such as Facebook and WeChat. ISTOCKPHOTO ‘Ndrangheta, an Italian mafia by fast-growing underground 1,000 bank accounts, each
against money-laundering. has been sounding the alarm. financiers not to launder cash, gang that controls much of banking networks that use with an average daily turnover
This month they launched a In its “National Money Laun- but to move some of their evolution of a centuries-old The epidemic in America of Europe’s multi-billion-dollar casinos, online betting plat- of 3m yuan. This is the tip of
new bilateral forum to discuss dering Risk Assessment” of wealth abroad. Such demand culture of informal banking opioid addiction has given it a cocaine business. Among forms and cryptocurrencies to the iceberg, America says
the problem. Unlike Russia, it 2022, America’s Treasury is only likely to grow as China’s based on what is often known further boost. Some of the bil- those detained were seven launder the traffickers’ money. more than $150bn in illicit
is a big one for both of them. Department highlighted the economy falters. Some of them as the feiqian (“flying money”) lions of dollars in cash gener- Chinese citizens. An Italian China’s efforts to prevent its proceeds moves through
The menace has grown in involvement of Chinese illicit are criminals, including cor- system. Its origins have noth- ated by drug demand is smug- officer in charge of the opera- citizens’ access to all of these China annually.
recent years, fuelled by finance, saying that drug traf- rupt officials who want to park ing to do with crime. It began gled back, at considerable risk, tion suggested to Reuters, a (warning, for example, that China’s agreement with
underground Chinese net- fickers were making increas- their ill-gotten gains some- as a way for traders to settle to the cartels in Mexico. Some is news agency, that the amount visiting casinos abroad may be America to boost co-operation
works equipped with new ing use of it. The latest such where beyond the reach of accounts without the need to handed over to Mexican mon- handled by the alleged laun- considered illegal by Chinese in the fight against money-
technologies that can enable report, published in February, China’s police. They have rea- carry cash over long distances. ey-launderers, who charge derers was probably far police) have not ended the laundering was announced by
dirty money to be washed said that Chinese money-laun- son to be nervous: China’s Like the hawala system that is high commissions: usually greater than the police had problem. “It has never been America’s Treasury secretary,
clean in minutes. For transna- dering organisations had since leader, Xi Jinping, has been popular in the Middle East and between 8% and 12%, according managed to detect. Also that easier to set up an online Janet Yellen, during a visit to
tional criminal gangs across become “more prevalent” and waging a ferocious war against South Asia, feiqian depends to the paper by Ms Kent and Mr month, police in Italy and casino operation with limited Beijing earlier this month. Her
the world, these shadowy were now “one of the key graft. In 2022 China’s chief on trust: a sum of money Gay. Chinese launderers pro- Spain arrested 78 people for technical expertise and over- country, she said, “cannot do it
“banks” are becoming the fin- actors laundering money pro- prosecutor’s office said anti- exchanged between two par- vide a much cheaper option, alleged participation in a can- head capital, irrespective of alone”. She said weaknesses in
anciers of choice. Suppressing fessionally in the United States money-laundering efforts ties in one location is matched even virtually free. nabis-trafficking network. gambling laws within a given financial regulatory regimes in
them requires the two great and around the globe”. were part of “a major national by an equivalent transaction This is made possible both Europol said the syndicate had jurisdiction,” the UNODC said. China and other countries
powers to talk. On that, at Other authorities have been strategy for maintaining the in another. by the feiqian system and the involved people of several It is also easy to hook up with were helping criminal gangs
least, they agree. chiming in, too. In 2019 Euro- country’s political and finan- In China, especially among huge needs of Chinese want- nationalities, including Alba- the Chinese brokers. Offers of involved in everything from
In America the threat is a pol, the European Union’s cial security”. According to businesses along the coast, feiq- ing access to more dollars than nians and Moroccans. Pay- their services abound on social human trafficking to fraud.
matter of life and death. In the police agency, said money- state media, China is working ian has remained in common their government allows. The ments for drug shipments media such as Facebook and But even with the best will in
12 months to November 2023 laundering by Asian criminal on the biggest changes to its use as a way of getting interna- Chinese money-launderers were handled by Chinese feiq- WeChat. Underground bank- the world it would be hard to
more than 105,000 Americans groups, particularly Chinese anti-money-laundering law tional deals done quickly, with- take the drug money and sell it ian bankers. ers (often referred to online as control a global problem so
were killed by overdosing on ones, presented a “growing since it came into force in out the encumbrance of for yuan at a high profit: feiq- In South-East Asia, govern- chedui, or motorcades) use large, complex and easily hid-
drugs, mainly fentanyl and threat to Europe”. It called the 2007. These are likely to bureaucratic banks. Chinese ian enables a buyer in America ments face “unprecedented such internet platforms to den as professional money-
other synthetic opioids smug- Chinese gangs “extremely include new provisions relat- workers abroad often use such to send the specified equiva- challenges” from transna- recruit people as “money laundering has become. For
gled into the country from flexible”, saying they were ing to cryptocurrencies, the methods to send remittances lent in yuan from their bank tional organised crime, mules”, as those who allow officials in two mutually wary
Mexico. That is twice as many handling “substantial pro- trading of which was com- home. The near-universal use account in China to one or according to the UNODC. Ask their bank accounts to be used countries that have little expe-
fatalities as in the year to ceeds” from a variety of crimi- pletely banned in China three among Chinese globally of more accounts in China con- Singapore, which has been for laundering are known. rience of joint law enforce-
November 2015. Chinese nal activity on the continent. years ago. WeChat, a messaging app that trolled by the launderers. With rocked in recent months by its They often target Chinese stu- ment, it will be harder still.
underground banks play a cru- In January the UN Office on Several forces are making is often linked to people’s bank no money crossing borders, biggest money-laundering dents abroad, who may be ©2024 THE ECONOMIST NEWS-
cial role in this by enabling the Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the problem much harder to accounts, has turbocharged the this kind of swap is extremely scandal. It has involved the sei- attracted by commissions and PAPER LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS
Mexican cartels to launder reported on a “revolution” deal with. First is the rapid feiqian system. difficult for America’s investi- zure or freezing of more than unaware of the risks of being RESERVED.
10 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

U.S. takes aim at Chinese banks

aiding the Russian war effort
Washington says Beijing’s dual-use trade has helped Moscow rebuild its war machine
Ian Talley & Alan Cullison nations in Capri, Italy. The Chinese don’t provide them lawful rights and interests of Chi-
[email protected] But this time as he heads to with anything that looks like a nese companies,” the ministry’s
China, officials are counting on the weapon,” said a senior European spokesman told reporters in a

T
he U.S. is drafting sanc- threat of Chinese banks losing diplomat based in Washington. recent press conference.
tions that threaten to cut access to the dollar and the risk of “The components we are talking Washington’s European allies
some Chinese banks off roiling trade ties with Europe per- about—chips, machinery, tools— have shown even more reticence to
from the global financial suading Beijing to change tack. The these are components you put into apply punitive measures against a
system, arming Wash- banks serve as key intermediaries a weapon.” major trade partner and financier,
ington’s top envoy with diplomatic for the commercial exports to Rus- Part of the challenge the U.S. sanctioning only a fraction of the
leverage that officials hope will stop sia, handling payments and provid- faces is that the trade isn’t just a scores of firms put on U.S. rosters.
Beijing’s commercial support of ing client companies credit for strategic investment for Putin, but Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Ger-
Russia’s military production, trade transactions. also for Xi, the diplomat said. The many, acknowledged China’s
according to people familiar with “China can’t have it both ways,” two men, who have met dozens of refusal to sell weapons to Russia
the matter. Blinken said in Capri. “It can’t pur- times, spent years laying the during his meetings in Beijing last
But as Secretary of State Antony port to want to have positive groundwork for closer trade ties week. Germany and some other key
Blinken heads to Beijing on Tues- friendly relations with countries in before the invasion of Ukraine, European allies had been satisfied
day, the question is whether even Europe, and at the same time be including by fostering more trade with that no-arms policy as enough.
the threat of the U.S. using one of its fueling the biggest threat to Euro- in ruble and yuan as a way to insu- “Now there’s an effort to adjust
most potent tools of financial coer- pean security since the end of the late their economies from Western that in part because of the scale of
cion can put a dent in complex and Cold War.” sanctions, the official said. Chinese support,” a former senior
burgeoning trade between Beijing U.S. officials say targeting banks “I don’t think Putin would have U.S. national security official said.
and Moscow that has allowed the with sanctions is an escalatory had the courage to start the war “The hope is that we get the Euro-
Kremlin to rebuild a military badly option in case the diplomatic over- without understand- peans to read China
mauled by more than two years of tures fail to persuade Beijing to ing that the Chinese Trade in the most the riot act.”
fighting in Ukraine. curb its exports. U.S. officials have would support him critical dual-use Scholz hinted at a
China has ramped up pres- Cutting banks off from access to the U.S. dollar—the denomination of most of global trade—has much broader technologically,” the goods for Russia’s change in policy after
heeded West- sure on Beijing implications than normal sanctions targeting individuals and firms. BLOOMBERG diplomat said. The military surged his meetings, though
ern warnings in recent weeks Chinese shipments to
after Xi’s meeting when pressed by
not to send arms in private meet- trade—has much broader implica- said Alexandra Prokopenko, a fel- think tank. CSIS said the number of Russia have been criti- reporters, he declined
to Russia since the beginning of the ings and calls, warning that Wash- tions than normal sanctions target- low at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia shipments of key dual-use goods, cal to reassembling with Putin in to elaborate.
war, but since Blinken’s trip to Bei- ington is ready to take action ing individuals and firms, and so are Center think tank and a former including helicopter parts, naviga- parts of the Russian March last year “The question of
jing last year, China’s exports of against Chinese financial institu- often reserved as a last resort. Such employee of Russia’s central bank. tional equipment and the machines military broken and dual-use should not
commercial goods that also have tions handling trade in such dual- sanctions often force banks into But, she said, those banks have used to craft precision parts for destroyed by the first be ignored either,” he
military uses have surged. With use goods. failure, affecting their entire cus- gradually been replaced by more weapons and aircraft jumped from disastrous year of its invasion in said. The U.S. believes that
China now the primary supplier of “Any banks that facilitate signifi- tomer and client base, and repre- obscure regional Chinese banks just a few thousand a month to 2022, say officials and analysts. The Europe’s financial and trade ties
circuitry, aircraft parts, machines cant transactions that channel mili- sent a particular risk for China as with little work in the dollar-de- nearly 30,000 a month. trade has also helped mitigate a with China means it has more dip-
and machine tools, U.S. officials say tary or dual-use goods to Russia’s the country grapples with growing nominated economy, and hence “This has ultimately enabled the labor shortage Western officials lomatic sway than Washington over
Beijing’s aid has allowed Moscow to defense industrial base expose credit problems. less to fear from U.S. sanctions. Kremlin to speed up its weapons had hoped would cause the econ- Beijing.
rebuild its military industrial themselves to the risk of U.S. sanc- In the past, however, the mere “Payment chains are slowly being production, including armor, artil- omy to buckle. But the Chinese “There is underused leverage by
capacity. tions,” said Treasury Secretary threat to target banks have had rebuilt,” Prokopenko said. “Both lery, missiles, and drones, and put supply lines will also be important the West, especially given the dol-
The West now worries Russia Janet Yellen earlier this month short-lived results. In December, Russians and Chinese are con- up an effective defense against to the resilience of Russia’s military lar and euro dominance in the
could win against Ukraine in a war amid meetings with counterparts in President Biden signed an execu- stantly adapting to the new condi- Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive,” production in the coming years as it financial system,” said Maria Sne-
of attrition, particularly if allies Beijing. tive order that gave the Treasury tions.” said Max Bergmann, a senior fellow launches offensives to take new govaya, a senior fellow at CSIS and
don’t mobilize their own industries Officials say they hope the com- Department authority to sanction Trade in some of the most critical at CSIS. Ukraine territory. China’s foreign one of the chief authors of its recent
to match Russian production. bined Western diplomatic pressure banks that aid Russia’s military-in- dual-use goods for Russia’s military At the outset of the war, Xi ministry calls the sanctions against report. “That could be one promis-
Blinken and other top cabinet will avert the need to take an action dustrial complex. surged after Xi’s meeting with appeared sensitive to calls from the its firms, including for dual-use ing avenue to deal with the prob-
officials have been sounding the that could break a fragile detente That created bottlenecks in Chi- Putin in March last year, according West to refrain from shipping mili- shipments, “economic coercion, lem.”
alarm among Western allies, between the two powers. Cutting na-Russia trade transactions as to a recent analysis published by the tary equipment to Russia, but since unilateralism and bullying.” Lingling Wei contributed to this
including last week at a meeting of banks off from access to the dollar— major Chinese banks backed out of Center for Strategic and Interna- then the Chinese have found work- “China will continue to do what is article.
the Group of Seven industrialized the denomination of most of global any roles in facilitating the deals, tional Studies, a Washington-based arounds. necessary to firmly safeguard the ©2024 DOW JONES & CO. INC.

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REQ. PGT phy Chem, Bio, A/c, TGT all unts Audit, prep of Balancesheet, Supermart Market, DLF Phase -4,
sub A/T, coordinators, NTT. Pioneer can file ITRS, Good Knowledge of REQUIRED STAFF For Khatu Shyam Sector 27, Gurugram, Apply on or
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SOUTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA DLF − SUSHANT LOK DLF − SUSHANT LOK DLF − SUSHANT LOK BAHADURGARH GURUGRAM
PROPERTY
OWNER
OWNER SELLING: Green Park 500 Yds, SHANTI NIKETAN 400 Yds, Ground Flr DLF - Prime Location Plot, Corner WAREHOUSE SPACE available for rent
Park/ N-East fac., Vastu Compliance with Half Terrace 3 BHK, Front Lawn, / Wide Road. Only Genuine Buyers approx 2 lakh sqft Bilaspur to tauru
B'mnt+G.Flr/ 1st/ 2nd Flr 4 BHK, SQ, Car Garage & Reserved Parking,Wide call: PLF - 9811078877 road Gurugram haryana. Contact :
Lift, Stilt 2 Car Park each Wide Road, Road, Well Maintained, Reasonable Ravinder yadav : 9899757505
Reasonable Price. Jain 9810-727257 Price. call: Varun Chugh 98111-58677
NORTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI

VASANT VIHAR / West End - Park

facing 4 Beds Luxurious Floor,
CLINIC DENTAL /medical space
Available for Lease/Sale/Collobration
1400 Sq.ft .13 years old clinical
FOR SALE Dera Main Road Fully
Developed One Acre Farm House
Elegant Kothi With Pool. Contact PLOT FOR Sale, Sector-44, Noida, SUSHANT LOK-1 A-block 418yd near
8016262551 OFFICE AVAILABLE for Lease: Main
Golf Course Extn Road, 30,000 Sq.ft.
Plate ready to Move & 25,000 Sq.ft.
Also 3rd Floor +Terrace / Ground 9999944414, 9999381848 SUPER LUXURY builder floors for Sale park 270,300,502yd plots, B-blk BAHADURGARH PLOT 1515 yds Bare Shell Build to Suit. Contact
practice near Max hospital Main Plot Size-450 meter, Prime on Bahadurgarh-Balour Main Rd
+Base. PLF - 9811078877 (Lokesh) Road Saket. Contact at 9873436000 Location, On 24 meter road. Sushant Lok 2- 450yd 4 BHK Corner 300y East, North, 502yd Plots. 215 to Owner 9910045276, 7703930355
Park facing/500yd 4BHK Lift stilt 1022y More deals also avail prime 1/2 kms from Govt Degree College &
Contact Owner-99999-67463 SDM Courts # 8016262551 (Owner)
peaceful Location best price. locations 9958492130
VASANT VIHAR ( 1000 ) Bungalow., SHANTI NIKETAN ( 600 ) second & Saudagar Properties 8279676861
9810030231 third floor with terrace., FOR SALE: Prime location Kisan
9810030231 Quota plots of size 90, 120, 130, PLOTS UPPAL Southend 750yd Pair
ROHINI SALE/ Purchase Plots Alloted 230, 450, 500 mtrs of Greater 24 Mtr Road @nominal price/Chq, COMMERCIAL
by DDA Sector-1 to 38. Liaison/ Noida & Yamuna Authority. Also Greenwood City 1000 Corner Builtup, PREMISES
Collaboration/ New Allotment available agricultural land near SL-3 240 facing Golf Course Extn
Investment. 8448552918 Jewar & Vrindavan. # 8810376695 Road. Call for details 9810112870
CR PARK Corner 3 side Bungalow,Park COMMERCIAL PROPERTY For sale at
facing Terrace, 200 sq.yd. 8000+ sq GREATER KAILASH- Corner Ground, Delhi 6 total 500 sqft at attractive
ft. lift, 10 car prkg.swimpool,centrly Basement, First, Second, Third Floor price Call # 9810026571
AC,high class, CC & all premissions.
owner going abroad # 8587095020
Terrace, 4 Beds, D/D. Ready
Possession. S. Kumar 98110-31558
FARIDABAD DLF-1 ASHOK Cresent /Paschim Marg
502 sq.yds Plot on 24 meter wide
Road., 502sq.yds Kothi @ plot rate.
CR PARK 160 Sq Yds, North-East facing BEST TIME TO BUY INVEST IN Authority approved Call- 9810026076, 9910026336,
G.Flr 3 Beds attach Baths, D/D, S,Qtr, residential plots near international GOA
SOUTH EXTN-2 Kothi for Sale 200 syd
Demolishable freehold N/W, Park
Lift, Separate Gate Stilt Car Parking, PLOTS FLATS SHOPS airport inv. Starts from 11 lacs
PRIME LOCATION flat for Sale
160YD BRAND New Kothi & floors facing Peaceful location clean title.
Well Maintained, Max Cheque@ 2.50.
RK Associates 98188-00764 Ravi
Commercial Spaces channel partners welcome
in super luxury Godrej aristocrat
Hdsn Lan & West Mukrg ngr/ 1250 for info: Sanjay Malik 9810039071 AGM REALTORS Sector 49 Gurgaon, 4th floor
kothi & 282yd 3rd+ terr Model Twn Visit: www.malikestateagents.com green facing, 30% payment done,
Foor/Villa 400-4000y Civiline / FOR SALE: Jor Bagh Lane 123 Sq.Yards
98100 31431 93126 00800 Contact @ 8826545478
Gujrwala/ BD-Estate 9873255806 Second Flr, 3Bedrooms, 2Bathrooms GREENFLD LAKEWOOD Charmwood
Attached, Balcony with Terrace on Plots. G.Fld Flats 2BR (Cash) 26 to 31
ANAND NKTN Booking 400/275/200y Top with Servant Quarter. Call: 3BR (cash) 35 to 46,3Br S/U 82 to 90, MATHURA/
All Floor Avlb; Shanti Nktn 400y all Owner 7840033441 4BR 115 to 150L (loan & lift)Indl. land VRINDAVAN
Floor Avlb; Vasant Vihar 800y B/G Mohla.Best for polln related industry
Indp D'way; Booking 1000/800/600/ REQUIRED 1 Acre Residential Zone GOA 3-5BHK Villa Ready / Booking
400/260y All Floor # 9899755500 QUTUB GREEN Apts., Dada Badi,
Mehrauli for SALE, renovated, 4th Land in Vrindaban, Location easily Near Beach / Land 1000yd - 100 acre
SCO 145 Sqyd Sector-31 Basement approachable Banke Bihari Mandir Asagao / Parra / Dhargal / Calangute NEW CONSTRUCTED Showroom Space
floor, lift, 2 BR, 2 Bath, 1 Balcony, avbl. for lease in Main Market WBD
Atrium view, 1150 sqft, Natural light. /G.Floor/ 1st Floor/ 2nd Floor with and meets the Requirements of CLU / 100 rooms Hotels & more option in
KOTHIES /FLOOR 375yd- 1250y Roof available For Sale. We do Narinder Dhameja # 9811042045 near area around 9873255806 Sec-52, Gurugram. Built-up area GF-
Bank Loan. Owner 9810695080 5000 sft., FF-9000 sft., Basement-
Golflink / Jorbg / Malcha mrg / Collaborations & Turnkey Projects.
HIG (1100 sqft) 100 sqmt Drawing + Banglow 2000 / 3800yd / 1 & 3.8 Tinu Babber # +91 95-99-400-200 8000 sft. Cont. Owner: 9811274926.
acre Prithvi Raj rd & Aurangzeb rd /

TO-LET
3Bed + 2Toilet Lift + Parking 12 Mtr
Road, H.No.92 Pkt-16 Sec-20, Rohini Ur requirement Lutiyen 9873255806 CENTRAL DELHI
85L-UGF, 82L-FF, 80L-SF, 95L-TF AVAILABLE FOR lease Office no 423
with loan 9811134984, 9650045100 GHAZIABAD 4th floor Spaze Platinum.743 sqft
EXCLUSIVE CORNER Plots For Sale sector 47. Gurgaon fully furnished
DLF Phase 1- 1100 Yds Green Belt 4th floor Call # 9810026571
BASEMENT SALE 1/2 of 500y like GF Facing / 500 Yds duplex kothi, Best
5 ACRE Land Piece for Sale in
EAST DELHI GK-1 / Kothi & Floor 500 & 1000yd
GK / 280-2000y Vasant vihar/Anand Pilkhuwa, Hapur District. Price. Saudagar Properties Pvt. Ltd. NORTH DELHI SOUTH DELHI
Boundary done, Road on Two 9718511207
Lok / Neeti bagh / Def-col / NFC & ON LEASE/ Rent, Ground+4 Floor
Sides, Located on NH-9. Contact -
9910000257
areas around Neelam 9873255806 Non Residential building in Noble
READY- TO- Move And Under 9810539893, 8800838311 DDA L Corner Shop, G.F, F.F., S.F, FOR RENT E Block GK-1, 220 Yds, Enclave, Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road,
Construction Floors available from 300sq.ft Each Floor, in B-Block, Fully Furnished, 3 BHK+ Pujaroom, 9660sqft Carpet Area, Lift.
Preet Vihar to Vivek Vihar.Wanted G.K.-III (MASJID Moth) 250 Yds, Park Prashant Vihar Opp. CRPF School 3rd Floor, with Lift & Stilt Parking, Contact: Vikram, 9810900109
Available Kothi/Plots. We do WANTED KOTHI in Defence Colony 114 SQ.YDS Freehold Commercial cum main Road, 700sq.ft Open Front S/Q, pics Available Rent 1 Lakh +
facing Newly Built Floor 4 Beds, D/D,
Collaborations & Turnkey Projects. 217yds – 400yds Buyer is end user
S.Qtr, Lift, Stilt Parking also 217 Yds,
Residential Three Storey Building GURUGRAM Area. 9313077839, 8766398831 5K Maintenance. RK, 9953693066
Tinu Babber # +91 95-99-400-200 and immediate payment. Call - Two Sides Open, Frontage 48 Foot,
9910000257 Booking 3 BR Floors, Best Location, on Main New Rohtak Road. 6 Vacant SECTOR 47 Spaze Platinum Sona Road
Wide Road. contact: 98111-91901 Shops. Mobile. 98102 88091 WANTED AGRICULTURE Land 1 to 10 MGF THE Vilas 360yd Villa 5BHK+SQ
756 Sq ft Double Height 1st floor
acres around Gurgaon Farukh Nagar, GULMOHAR PARK FF-300 yds, fully furnished, cabin suitable for call
PLOT 500 Sqyd Aram Park,Master FOR SALE 3BHK Duplex (L.G.F+U.G.F) Patodi Sohana NH.8 Bilashpur
7500ft area with 3car parking. Gated WEST DELHI Hauz Khas GF-250 yds/FF- 500 yds center, Mktg firm,law firm,CA ..25
Plan Rd, 475 Sqyd Bhola Nath Ngr 314 Sq yards in Green Park Main FOR SALE plot Bhimtal 240 ,300 community,power backup,clubhouse,
Teliwara, Shahdara(Full or Partly), Dharuhera Contact Hariram Yadav DLF -1, Plots-200/500y 12/ 18 mtrs Stilt; Anand Lok GF- 400 yds & person seating capacity. 9811662223
100 Sqyd Basement & GF nr Laxmi
(with 3 Reserve Parking, Storage gaz@8000 per Sq yrd, Barsana plot NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA 9810408343, 9810308343 road, 1000y Shahtoot, Kachnar Marg
vastu compliant. All inclusive @15.50
cr onwards. Call now! 9871177425
Vasant Vihar SF-500 yds, Stilt.More
Area and Servant Quarter). Contact @7650 per Sq yrd in 12 months A 25 year runny clinic for available for option. NS Asso.# 8447451004
Ngr Metro Stn.+91-95-99-400-200 payment. Sec 81 Fridabad 2BHK @ best price,. SL-1 , 418y 5B/R fully
Owner: 8130553388 furnished duplx bunglow wide road rent in a very suitable spot in Rohini
@ 25 lac. Super Prop.9717445161. FOR SALE 700 sqft at Spaze sector 2 market, suitable for clinic,
@ lucrative price.
Business Park Shop NO G66 Dental, physiotherapist, dress
I.P. EXTENSION Society Flat. 3 Bed- Ground Floor sector -66 designer, beautician etc, with COMMERCIAL SPACE Near Indian Oil
room, 2 Bathroom, Drawing cum VASANT KUNJ, D 3, First Floor, 4 Gurgaon Call # 98100 26571 attached bath, toilet, kitchen & Bhawan Yusuf Sarai Ground floor
Dining, Kitchen, Second Floor, Ample Bedroom D/D fully renovated & store Call: 98116 80903 1000 sq ft Suitable for retail outlet
Parking, Excellent Location, Near I.P. equipped with ac's for Sale. Raman : First Floor 1200 Sqft Seperate entry
Metro Station. # Gujral 9654410009. 9810062871 Amit 9810063891 DLF PH-1 B'ful top floor with terrace Ample parking. Contact: 98730
4BHK 270 Gaj @4.25cr DSS Sec 46 SHIVAJI MARG Opp. Tagore Market, 83247
Top location Double storey Shop 1st Floor 2000 Sq.ft, AC Fully
BRAND NEW Kothi 200sq.mts, Sec-40 @7.50cr 90Gaj Heavy footfall. Neeraj
WEST DELHI Park facing, 300mtr Sec-39 Plots, Garg # 9811098193, 9509594949
Furnished. Renovated 80 to 100
450mtr - 300mtr & 250mtr, Sec-15A, Seats Call Centre or others. Contact: GREEN PARK, Park Facing, 3 Beds, 3
FARMLAND 2.5 Acre Prime Location 9760487522.
in also Houses North Facing Plan 26, 30, 36, 39, 40, 44, 47, 50, 51 & DLF-1000/ 800 /500 Yds Super Baths, D/D, Modular Loaded Kitchen,

PIYUSH
SALE. MAYAPURI Ind.AR.Ph-2 indept sanctioned available for sale . 99 Call:9818077228 PLOTS DLF ph-IV, 360yd North facing, Luxurious 4/5 Bedrooms N/Facing Car Prkng, Power Back-up, Lift,
building,92sqyrds,50kva load,Gf,Ff, S. Kumar 98110-31558 500yd South DLF Ph-III, 500yd, Entire Floors Independent Stilts Security.Prefd.Foreigners/MNC/Dctrs
sf,covered roof.9810922208 18mtr Road, 500yd North, 12mtr Parking Sq. Details 9811072035 Embassy, Ext. Call : 7827390350 HARIDWAR PRIME location Printing,

JAIN
Packaging, Corrugation Running
SECTOR-52 NOIDA 200sq.mtr Road, Suncity-360yd Corner, 12mtr
Road -9811196843
SOUTH DELHI Unit 1 lakh sqft RCC, Main Road
C- BLOCK GK-I, Park Facing 340 Yds Beautiful Duplex House It is Park Available for Profit Sharing

9811320391
Second Floor 4 BHK, Also 500 Yds facing house North East facing it has FOR LAW Office Sr Lawyer Sunder Ngr Rent/Lease # 9205525530
PUNJABI BAGH (West) Club Road Ground Floor 4 BHK under good connectivity Avail for Sale 867 sqy FF4 BHK+ terrace, Jor Bagh
Commercial Space Available for sale GREEN PARK East Facing 200 Yds GREATER KAILASH-1, Second floor
Construction for Immediate sale 9999011116 Spacious 3 BHK Renovated flat with 375 sqy TF+Terrace Lajpat 3 GF
Prime Location, Parking, Lower Ground Floor. Value for Money.
Contact Deepak Kumra 9811310467 Green Park 311 Sq Yds Amazing 5 AC, S/q, Parking without Lift Plot 6000sqf. #9910000307
Ground Floor 1350 Sq. Ft., Ground FOR SALE M3M Fairway West Tower
Floor 600 Sq. Ft. Cont:- 9971671104. Location & Reasonable price. Many area 350 yds on Lease Contact Varun MATRIMONIALS
SALE/ PURCHASE Greater Noida / 9 A unit, Middle Floor fully done Sharma 9540896707
more options available.9810877429 Yamuna Expressway, Residential/ up flat Fully furnished Excellent
Industrial Plots, All Sectors, All interiors. Piyush Jain 9811320391
FOR SALE/ Rent Excellent Sizes. Contact: Swami Associates - NEHRU PLACE First Floor space
approved commercial location, WEST END ( 500 ) second & third floor 9899705199 LAJPAT NAGAR-1, Fully Furnished
with terrace., 9810030231 VERY PRIME Location Plot 150gaj 2 BR, Drawing Dining, 2nd Floor, for Rent. 91 Bhandari House, GROOMS WANTED
First floor, 3750 sq ft. facing Main Area 724 sq.ft, Fully Furnished,
Najafgarh Rd, Next to Moti Ngr Me- @1.30lac Palm Meadows Sector 78 PREMIUM PLOTS for Sale DLF Phase 2 Available for Rent . Demand 42000/-
DLF PHASE-3, Plots & Builder Floors - 400 yds Park Facing Two Side Open 6 Cabins, Washroom, Pantry.
tro stn 9927080546, 9654029666 CORNER & Park Facing Duplex Kothi Gurgaon Next to DLF Privana 215 Yds, 316 Yds , 402 Yds, 502 Yds & per month. Contact Owner:
450 Mt, Sec-51, Brand New Duplex/ Opposite M3M Antalya Hills Neeraj / 400yd Akashneem Marg, Best 9999278751 Contact: 9811220075
1022 Yds North- East Facing / Park Price. Saudagar Properties Pvt. Ltd.
Simplex Kothi 200 Mt Park Fac, Sec- Garg # 9811098193 , 9509594949 Fac. Corner Options Also Available.
BUNGALOW : Anand Nktn 280/ 265/ 40. New Simplex Kothi, Lift 9 BHK, Ganga Properties. 99999-70994
9718511207 AGARWAL
SOUTH DELHI 200yd; 400yd Full Bldg; Vasant Vhr Sec-47. Collection Realty:8860004733
FOR SALE Pillarless office at Spaze C-101 GREATER Kailash-1,
PRIME RETAIL Location GF Saket
2000/1200/800/600/400y; Westend GK-1 Shivalik & Ofiice Space First
Business Park Mix Flora pvt ltd, Adjoining Park Facing(300yd)First Floor & Second Floor Saket Fully
1200/ 500y; Shanti Nktn 1200/600y; Floor 3 Bedrooms D/D Attach Bath SM4 BISA Agrwl good looking Cultured
Tower, B4 1019 Area 1002 sqft call Furnished/Unfurnished Saket Girl. Sonipat HR. Mar'92/5'6." MTech.
SJ 450y; H.Khas 300; # 9899755500 9810026571 Parking ready to move. for Rent. Cont - 9711134000 Wrkg MNC Bangalore/ 30LPA+.
9910003307
Sharma 9810166637-9910166637
Mother rtd Prof. Brother Mgr MNC.
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE 250 Sq. Yds. , 9996886661/[email protected]
3-Side Corner/ Park facing Luxurious DLF − SUSHANT LOK OKHLA PHASE-2 Lease Available.
KOTHI FOR Sale in Uday Park 217yds First Floor (2750 sq.ft). On freehold
3 BHK, Study, S.Qtr, Lift, Sept. 2 Car Park View and Peaceful Location 4 BEDROOMS attached bathrooms
Park, Well Maintained,Best Location. drawing dining kitchen staff 600 sq.yds plot. Near C.Lal Chowk.
also 400yds Built all 4 floors with
call: Silver Stone 98110-97555 Ajay Stilt and lift on Wide Road. Call- rooms. Greater Kailash -1, New Contact 9810899361 BRAHMIN
9910003307 NOIDA RESIDENTIAL Plot/ Kothi WANTED/ AVAILABLE Plots & Builder Delhi. Contact- 93197 20527
DEFENCE COLONY 325 yd, 2nd flr 3BR, EXCLUSIVE MANDATE Kothi for Sale
new @ 9.50, 3rd Terr.stilt @ 9cr, FF Sector-44, 300 Mtr 18 Mtr Road, Floors Golf Course Extn Rd Ireo City
VASANT VIHAR ( 800 ) first & Sector-30, 300 Mtr 12 Mtr Road, Adani Anantraj Estate Emerald Hills DLF phase 2- 200yd Two Side Open GOVT. BANKING/CIVIL Services
3BR, Stilt @ 8.50, Gr. Flr 3BR @ 8cr, second floor., 9810030231 Floorwise Building /215yd Duplex CENTRAL DELHI
217yd GR/FF Stilt lift new 3 BR 5.50/ Sector-46, 162 Mtr 18 Mtr Road. Ansal Esencia/Versalia Alameda 200- DEFENCE COLONY 400 Sq Yd, for Rent match for a fair, well-educated
Contact: 9990179288, 9752975454 300-400-500-700-1000y9711776151 Kothi. Also at Best Price.Saudagar 3-Side Corner, North fac., Brand New Brahmin girl, 5'3", 07-10-1991, MBA.
more optn 9810173551, 9266600627 Properties 9990556669 B'mnt+G.Flr, F.Flr & 3rd+Terrace each Working as Govt. Probationary
4 BHK +S.Qtr, Best Location, Brokers Officer in Faridabad. 9416020966,
GEETANJALI ENCL 340 Yd, Newly Built Excuse. Rishabh Estates 9873036780 [email protected]
B'ment+G.Flr Duplex, Exclusive Lift & ULTRA LUXURY Floors available
Entry also F.Flr each 4 BHK, SQ, Stilt, for Sale in DLF-1/2/4, Malibu Town,
Non Market Deal,Possession within a Sushant Lok 1/2/3, South City 1 & 2,
Nirvana Country. All Sizes. Best
Month. call:Rajan Bhatia 9811461198
GK 1, W Block, 500 yds, East facing, Prices. Contact : 9873039929 DIVORCEE/WIDOW
vastu prft. 4 sided, exceptionally
KALKAJI, 200 sq yards, Luxurious beautiful suites, GR+Bsmt, Triplex,
4 bhk, ser qtr, personal lift, 7 cars BEAUTIFUL FLOORS /Houses available B'FUL PUNJABI Girl, Div - 21-06-1984 /
Ground Floor, 3 Bedroom D/D, YEIDA PLOTS Sale/ Buy, Sector 18 & Rent/ Buy in R-Block New Rajinder 5'3", issueless, own business. Pref:
Parking in Stilt. Raman : 9810062871 prkng. # 98188 09100, 99999 23949 270 SQ.YDS Plot available for Sale
VASANT VIHAR FF Nearing Completion 20, Yamuna Expressway, Size 300, Nagar. Also Joint Venture available. business man,well edu., Issueless,
Amit 9810063891 4 Bedrooms, park/North facing see 500, 1000, 2000 sqm, Call WhatsApp in Ansal Versalia, 2 Side Open, only Delhi NCR. No Cast Bar. Call:
Park facing on 12 Mtr Wide Road. Funds Available. Contact -
to believe . details 9811072035 9717452701 ULTRA LUXURY Floors Sushant Lok 1 - 9899786871 Whatsapp - 9811778678 9810002649
For more details Contact : 300yd 4 BHK, 418yd 4 BHK Lift stilt COMMERCIAL OFFICE Available for
9999070007 Park facing Floors Best Price. Rental Shops/ Offices in South Delhi,
OWNER GOING Abroad, Second Floor SECTOR-15A NOIDA Luxurious Saudagar Properties Pvt. Ltd. Swami Nagar, Greater Kailash,
& Third Floor Duplex Kailash Colony, 200sq.mtr Duplex house with Lift 9718511207 Kotla, Okhla. Contact - 9810070190
Front Portion, Walking distance from on18mtr wide road Ready to Shift LUXURY FLRS Nirvana Country 500y Whatsapp - 9667935163
Kailash Colony Metro Station. Call : Prime Sector of Noida Avail for Sale @6.25cr [email protected] [email protected]
9899369782 .9999011116 Malibu Town [email protected] 800y@
7.85cr [email protected] [email protected] GREATER KAILASH New construction,
DEFENCE COLONY -3rd Flr+Full Terrace [email protected]@2.55cr9810652416 4 beds attach baths drawing/ dining BRAHMIN
FOR SALE Commercial Basement 333 Yds, D-Block, Brand New, Ready 1000MTR INDUSTRIAL Building/Plot lobby mod kitchen lift servant bath,
Kalkaji 1000 Sq.ft. with 4 Cabins, to move, Vastu Perfect, 3 BHK, S.Qtr, For Sale Sec- Hausiery complex sep gate 2 Car parking Ready to shift
Toilet, Pantry, Parking Metro Station GREATER KAILASH-2, 1000 Yds Ready Noida And 1000mtr Plot in Ecotech RETAIL SHOP Sector - 65 For Sale
Sept. Driveway for 3 Cars, All Modern Ground Floor 1040 sqft. Main Road M: 9811654291 Rajender Tanwar WANTED BRIDE Wanted a well
one Km, Price Best offer. Contact to Move in, Third floor with terrace Amenities, Rich Specs.# 98111-58677 11 Company transfer More option
13.5 Ft Ceiling height, 10 Car Parking, Plz call Mohit Gupta 9810413888 Facing, Low Maintenance Market. cultured, qualified, tall girl For
Owner 9871174016 1022 SQ.YDS Prime Plots available fair, smart, handsome Brahmin boy,
top line const. reputed builder. For Elegance : 9810980800 for Sale at Arjun Marg & Kachnar
more details & visit Call: 9971110380 FOR RENT King's Court, Queens Court Bhardwaj Gotra, non-mangalik,
Marg. Marvellous Locations. For 1993 born, Height 6.3 , B.Com,
ALAKNANDA DDA Nilgiri FF & SF 3 B/R GR. NOIDA Buy/Sell Chi - Phi, Alpha, more details please contact: GK 2, GK 1, Panchsheel Park/ Enclave
Lift, Gangotri & Narmada SF 2 BR lift Beta,Gama,Delta, S.Nagri, P3, Mu, FOR SALE / lease Exclusive mendate SDA, Jor Bagh, Neeti Bagh, Vasant Govt Job-Karkkardooma Court from
9990660129 a reputed family in Delhi. Email to :
1.75, Narmada GF 3 B/R 2/ Gangotri MANDAKINI ENCLAVE, Alaknanda Xu, Omicron, Sec-2, 3, Sigma, Eta, & LIVEABLE KOTHIS :SL-1 (418syd@12cr deals for independent floors in DLF, Vihar for Indian, Expatriate & MNC'S.
TF 2 BR, Reno, Mangla GF 3 BR Reno, All Industrial Noida/Gr.Noida, Punjab South City, Shushant Lok.Top Line Cont : 9811007159, 8826101717 [email protected], contact -
Owner Selling 4 BHK, 3 BR, 2nd Floor / 300syd@8cr park facing/380syd, 9871081285
Uppal 9910712365, 9650485053 Duplex, Corner With Study Room And Prop. 9891008515, 0120 - 4248129 [email protected]/[email protected])::South Finishing, Best Location, Vastu
Car garage, Prime Location, Fully city-1( [email protected],[email protected], Complaint, Reputed Builders.
Renovated. Contact- 9818181387. 500syd@15cr) #9999555874 FOR RENT- Fully Furnished, Ground COMMERCIAL BUILDING for Rent at
Floor, New Office Spaces, 2600 Punchkuian Road near CP, 4 Floors
ANAND NIK 400yd Corner New TF&Ter Sq.Ft., only 400 meters from approx Area-1800 sq.feet each, Few RAJPUT
FOR SALE E-Block, East of Kailash @14:5; SDA 525yd TF&TR@11 & 1000 DLF PH-4 24mtr.rd built-up 270yd Saket Metro Station, Immediately steps from RK Ashram Metro Station.
125yd Fully Renovated Third+Terrace yd B+GF Prk Fac;Def Col 325y BGF @ & 270yd 15mtr. rd also DLF-1 built- available. Call: 9891083140 Contact: 9810591918, 9810797007
Right Built-up 3Beds, D/D, Freehold, 10 & TF stilt @8,GK1 500yd TF+T New up 200yd & DLF Garden City Sec- PQM FOR 5’11”, May ‘91 born, south
East Facing, Reasonable Price. Call: @10;SDA &GK 300yd GF GK300 Kothi 91,92 (A-Blk) 502yd East fac 12mtr Delhi based well educated Rajput boy
Owner Ajay - 9810371892 rd # My Real Home-9810302735 EXCLUSIVE MANDATE Premium Plot RENT- FLAT NO 409 (486 Sq.ft) with well settled business. Preferred
REQD. 20 to 70 Rooms/ Studios/ - working girl from Delhi NCR. Send
for Sale DLF Phase 2- 320 Yds 18 Mtr Service Apartment & 1/2/3 BHK for a Fully Furnished Naurang House,
Road East facing Near Market, K G Marg, Connaught Place. bio data [email protected]
GREATER KAILASH Part 2, 300 sq YAMUNA EXPRESSWAY Plots Sale/ large MNC on rent in various
yards, Second Floor, East Facing, Purchase Sector 18 & 20, Size 300, Metro, NH-8 Highway Best Price. New Delhi. Guglani: 9312255553,
Saudagar Properties 9718511207 locations prefd. whole building / Bhoginder: 9810659256.
Luxurious 4 Bedroom D/D with 2 500, 1000, 2000,4000 sqm, Guest House / Arora 98100 60513
dedicated Car parking in stilt. Raman Contact-Singhal-Associates - EXCLUSIVE PLOTS for Sale in Sushant
: 9810062871 Amit 9810063891 9999917703,9899150012 Lok 1- 300yd East facing / DLF SIKH
Phase 1 - 200yd Duplex Kothi, best
Price Saudagar Properties FARIDABAD
9718511207 GOLF LINKS /Sunder Nagar -Zoo facing SUITABLE MATCH for Gursikh khatri
Bungalow -G.Flr 3 Beds, Large Living boy , Nov 1996, 5' 8" , BTECH CSE,
NICELY BUILT-UP 5.5 acre Farm & Software Developer, handsome
Land 1 / 2.5 acre Westend Green/ RESIDENCY GREENS Sector-46 Dining, Garden,1st+2nd Floor 5 Beds, SERVICED APARTMENT at Surajkund
Living Dining, +Terrace.Full House or Atrium earlier known as Hillview for income, PR New Zealand. Sister
1 acre Vasant Kunj/1 acre DLF/Ansal Size 630 yards Park Facing & Corner married and settled in Canada.
/ mother Teresa / Built Dera Mandi & Flexible Payment Terms. Floorwise. call: Lokesh - 9811078877 sale / rent 9810025287
Contact 8847489748
area around Neelam 9873255806 Indo Scottish # 9990009777
7838871114 EXCLUSIVE PREMIUM Mandate Kothi
COMM SPACE Hauz Khas E-Blk Mrkt GF
Pair for Sale DLF Phase 2- 500yd + CHARMWOOD VILLAGE Surajkund SM W'STD unmarried G'Sikh 45/5'7"
BUNGALOW FOR Sale, Panchsheel PLOTS HI Plots Yamuna Ex-way 500yd Pair 18 Mtr Road Best Price 1800 Sq.Ft & South Extn -I, D-Block
Residential & Industrial Authority Mrkt GF 3600 Sq.Ft Suits For Banks/ Royal Retreat -1 large 5BHK from reptd family wrkg & sttld in UK
Park, Area 800yds, NRI Selling, Saudagar Properties Pvt.Ltd. as Director/ VP RBS 75 Lakh PA Call
Call Only Genuine Buyers, Call Commercial Land, Corporate Plot Retail/ Big Brands/MNC's Etc. Call: apartment fully furnished for
9718511207 rent on 9th floor 9810025287 9911924871/ 9813095809 Email:
7838871114 Sec-17, 18, 20, 22D, 29, 32, 33 Owner 9999944414, 9999381848
Call : 9911714666, 9582156604 [email protected]
ACRE SALE full cheque Two side open
@ 400 Sq. yds. DLF Chhattarpur Call: 502 SQ.YDS East facing Kothi for
9899369782 Sale in DLF-1 on 12 Mtr Wide Road. FOR RENT C Block EOK-UGF 4 B/R,
PACHAURI
Very well maintained. Peaceful AC in all rooms, SQ, Modular GURUGRAM
BOOKING FOR Luxury Triplex and Top
Location. For more details kitchen, Huge Balcony Parking, NRI
VASANT VIHAR Entire First Floor Park Contact: 9990660129 Lift on 300 sq yds, ph 9811657710
PROPERTIES
Facing, 4 Bedrooms, D/D, Ready with Roof Floor DLF Phase 2- 500yd
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE Possession. S. Kumar 98110-31558 Exclusive Mandate Floorwise 11AM-7PM
SM W'STD unmarried G'Sikh 45/5'7"
& Adj Areas of South Delhi Building for Sale Saudagar

9891238004
Properties Pvt.Ltd. 9990556669 from reptd family wrkg & sttld in UK
CONFIRM KOTHIES as Director/ VP RBS 75 Lakh PA Call
9911924871/ 9813095809 Email:
SARVODAYA ENCLAVE House For 200/ 300/ 400/ 500/ 800 Yds [email protected]
Sale 500 Yds , SDA 600 Sq. Yds , Corner, Vastu Perfect, Livable FOR SALE/ Lease new kothis/plots 180 SOUTH CITY-1 : 360 Sq Yd
Gulmohar Park 200 Yds. mtr PF sec-41 7CR,250mtr 18 mtr sec Beautiful Kothi GF+FF+SF (Floor-
Residential / Commercial -50 7.5CR, 360mtr 11CR,450 mtr cr PF wise) With Basement, 8/9 Years
S. Kumar 98110-31558
DELUXE FLOORS sec-47 20CR, factory/Shed, 770mtr
CR 24mtr sec-67 15 cr, 9311065838
Old Appx Cheque Flexible Circle
to Max. Call : 9315131048 COSMOPOLITAN
200/ 300/ 500 Yds
GREATER KAILASH- 640 yds Bsmt.+
GF Triplex - 5 BHK & F.F 4 BHK also Corner, Park fac, Vastu Perfect
B+GF Triplex/FF/SF/3rd+Ter MAHARANI BAGH 800 B+GF 4BR @16, BUY/SELL YAMUNA Exp. Residential DLF PH-3 confirm & Mandate Deals DLF CITY Phase-4, Gurgaon (300) Yds WORLD TRADE Centre - Nauroji Nagar, GOOD LOOKING & good family
3rd Floor 5 BHK with Terrace Garden 500y SF, 4BR,Park @10, FF 4BR,Lift, Plots Sec-18, 20, Gr. Noida Res./Ind. Plots & kothis size 163, 316,400, 500 frihold, 2 side open, rectangular Plot Ring Road near Bhikaji Cama Metro, background Bride needed for Rajput,
& New Friends Colony 500 Yds F.F 4 Wanted Houses/ Collaboration stilt@ 9.50, NFC 500y, TF+T, lift, stilt Plots Alpha, Beta, Gama, Delta, P-3, Moulsari Avenue, Siris Rd, Nathupur in well developed gated colony, east Area 3,000 to 90,000 SqFt, Premium 31/5'6" , Amazon Executive, 56000
BHK 3 Car Pkg. Sunder 9810280980 VERMA ESTATES PVT. LTD. @ 9.50, SF 4BR @ 9 FF@ 4.75, B+GF Swarn Ngari, Sec-2, 3. Ghar Sansar Road at reasonable prices. Sumindra facing, close to huge park, back side Office/ Retail Space on Lease/ Rent, p.m, Caste No Bar # 9205780667,
9910020141, 9810020141 4Br @7.50, 9810173551, 9266600627 Properties-9818659738 9873731820 Properties 9810165528, 9810165532 green area at very reasonable price Ready for Fit out. call @98100-69114 Email: [email protected]
12 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

THE RISE AND RISE OF

ADAnI’S reAlty plAy
Adani Properties is fast becoming a key mover and shaker in India’s booming real estate market

Madhurima Nandy
[email protected]
BengAluru

“M
umbai is my second
home,” billionaire
businessman
Gautam Adani said
in a statement, a day
after the much-awaited Dharavi redevel-
opment survey began on 18 March. “Dhar-
avi is not just a business model. I feel proud
and privileged to have the opportunity to
lead the redevelopment of Dharavi. Of all
the work our group does, Dharavi is closest
to my heart,” Adani further added.
In November 2022, Adani Properties
Pvt. Ltd won the mandate to execute the
redevelopment of Dharavi, one of the
world’s largest slum clusters that sprawls
over 600 acres in the heart of Mumbai,
with a bid of ₹5,069 crore.
The revamp involves the daunting task
of resettling an estimated million people.
The ongoing survey, based on which home
eligibility for the slum dwellers will be
decided, is critical for the project’s future,
and for that, the support of Dharavikars is
key. Gautam Adani, the chairman of the
ports-to-power conglomerate Adani
Group, was seeking that support through
his statement.
If successfully executed, the project will
give Adani Properties access to prime land in
the heart of Mumbai, which property con-
sultants said is equivalent to developing over
150 real estate projects. And it would establish
the company as a key mover and shaker in
India’s booming real estate market.
Adani Group’s realty play is fairly new—
just 14 years old. Until 2013, the real estate
business was part of Adani Enterprises Ltd,
Adani Group’s flagship company. Then it
came to be housed under Adani Properties,
which is held by the promoters and operates
under the brand name Adani Realty.
Over the last four years, the brand has
started scaling up faster, coinciding with
the housing boom and consolidation in the
market. Apart from the Mumbai Metropoli-
tan Region (MMR), today, it has real estate
projects in Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi-
national capital region (NCR). The project
portfolio totals 200 million sq. ft, of which File photo of Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum, in Mumbai. The redevelopment of the slum involves the daunting task of resettling an estimated million people. MINT
around 23 million sq. ft is developed, a per-
son familiar with the company’s plans
informed. He didn’t want to be identified.
Over 40 million sq. ft is under development ket as a big opportunity to strengthen its both to acquire them and execute. mint ity, near the Indira Gandhi International
and around 130 million sq. ft is earmarked residential business, particularly large Stressed projects, though, are not the
THE PECKING ORDER Airport in New Delhi.
SHORT
for potential future development. developments. Adani Realty’s launch pipe- only ones Adani is after. In February, Adani STORY DLF is India’s largest real estate The Adani group operates airports in
Separately, Adani Group firms are also line, for instance, includes an 800 acre Realty outbid L&T Realty Ltd to emerge as company today Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Manga-
acquiring land for its fairly new data centre township in MMR. On execution, the com- the highest bidder for the redevelopment Revenue from operations, FY23 (in  cr) luru, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvanantha-
business, and has undertaken commercial pany is looking to reduce the time cycle of a 24-acre sea-facing plot in Mumbai’s WhAt DLF*
puram. The Navi Mumbai airport, which is
development on land parcels around the between project planning and launch to Bandra Reclamation area, a real estate hot- expected to be operational by March 2025,
airports it owns. capitalize on the sales momentum. spot. The proposed project has a gross Adani Group’s real estate 11,114 alone has 200 acres of commercial devel-
“The projects they have acquired, the “There is a clear shift in homebuyers’ development value of ₹30,000 crore, with business is fairly new—just 14 Macrotech Developers opment potential.
ability to take large bets and their keenness trust towards large, branded developers. a potential development area of over 4 mil- years old. Over the last four 9,470 “These land parcels will include inte-
for special projects differentiate them from What sets Adani Realty apart from other lion sq. ft. years, the business has scaled Prestige Group grated retail, hotels, airline offices, food
other developers. In the coming years, the corporate developers is their ability to take The bids were invited by the Maharash- fast, coinciding with India’s 8,315 and beverage outlets among other things
company has the potential to become the on large scale and complicated projects,” tra State Road Development Corporation housing boom. Adani Properties that are permitted,” said Arun Bansal, CEO
largest developer in the country,” said Pan- said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock (MSRDC), a public limited company owned 4,948 of AAHL. “Our ambition is to make unique
kaj Kapoor, founder and managing director Group, a property advisory. by the government of Maharashtra. It is Godrej Properties developments, with different concepts for
of Liases Foras Real Estate & Research. expected to announce a final decision after And 2,255 different city airports. We have appointed
In 2022-23, Adani Properties generated THE MUMBAI CHAPTER the Lok Sabha elections, said a person a CEO specifically for these city-side devel-

E Dharavi and Bandra—two of *DLF includes DLF residential and DLF Cyber City
revenue of ₹4,948 crore, according to data very developer wants a larger share of familiar with the development. He didn’t Developers Ltd (commercial) opments,” he added.
sourced from Tofler. In that year’s pecking Mumbai, which accounts for over 40% want to be identified. the largest redevelopment Source: Mint research and Tofler AAHL, in February, appointed Amit
order, the company came fourth after DLF of home sales among the top cities. It is here Dharavi and Bandra—two of the largest projects in Mumbai—would Grover as CEO-city side development, air-
give Adani a significant foothold Key people: Adani Realty
and DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (₹11,114 Adani has fast gained scale, picking up real estate projects in Mumbai—would give port business. Grover worked with India’s
crore), Macrotech Developers (₹9,470 complex projects. Adani a significant foothold in India’s most in India’s most expensive Gautam Adani largest developer DLF for nearly two dec-
crore) and the Prestige Group (₹8,315 While in other markets, the company expensive property market. The two pro- property market. (Chairman) ades before joining AAHL.
crore). has largely developed greenfield projects, jects underline the company’s financial Rajesh Adani Karan Adani, managing director of
While the company is ambitious and has in Mumbai, where clean land is a rarity, it strength as well. For the Bandra project (Managing director) Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone
the financial muscle, the has taken on distressed bids, for instance, the bidder’s net worth But Pranav Adani
Ltd, recently said that nearly half of the
real test would be in exe- ones. For instance, in criteria was stringent—₹15,000 crore as on (Managing director) ₹60,000 crore, to be invested in expanding
cution and delivery of Dharavi is Adani’s biggest real 2021, Adani Realty 31 March 2023. This kept many developers While the conglomerate is the seven existing airports over the next
these projects, several estate challenge yet. Slum acquired developer out of the race. ambitious and has the financial Jackbastian K. Nazareth decade, will be earmarked for city-side
(CEO)
people Mint spoke to said. Radius Estates’ stake in a In a close fight, Adani was named highest muscle to implement complex developments.
redevelopment is risky, tardy luxury residential bidder because it offered a higher percent- projects, the real test would be in Anil Sardana Yet another new revenue stream in real
execution and delivery, industry (CEO—Dharavi project,
HOUSING-LED and often messy because of project, ‘Ten BKC’, in age of revenue share, at 23.15%, compared to Adani Properties )
estate is data centres. AdaniConneX, a joint

I n 2010, in Ahmedabad,
Gautam Adani’s home-
town, the group launched
policy paralysis, political
Bandra east, through the L&T’s 18%, a MSRDC spokesperson had said
National Company Law after the bidding process closed.
Tribunal (NCLT). Radius “In a city like Mumbai, it is a developer’s
experts said.
SATISH KUMAR/MINT
venture with global data centre provider
EdgeConneX Inc., is developing hyper-
scale data centres across cities.
a 600-acre mixed-use interference and litigation. went into insolvency. dream to secure a large, clean land parcel projects, meanwhile, have had a chequered the company in-charge of the Dharavi The Adani Group, therefore, has its
development township Adani is currently devel- like this. Developers struggle to get small but history in India. Several developers in the project, said that it would provide 350 sq. ft hands full for the next decade or so. The
project, Shantigram. This was the starting oping the project with DB Realty Ltd. high-value society redevelopment projects national capital region, like Jaypee Group flats, 17% bigger than regular slum rehab headwinds, though, could be in terms of
point of Adani’s real estate journey. The Adani evaluates a wide format of associa- in Bandra. This project gives Adani a unique and Amrapali Group, couldn’t deliver on projects, to eligible dwellers. But like peo- the property market slowing down because
project quickly became the city’s biggest real tions like joint ventures, joint develop- opportunity and can potentially determine such projects. Besides upfront investments ple familiar with the developments men- of an economic shock or a liquidity crisis in
estate development back then with an esti- ments and land purchase for higher scala- residential pricing of the area in the future,” in land acquisition, the gestation period for tioned earlier, execution will be the key. the market. There is probably a lesson to
mated ₹5,000 crore invested. bility. “The company evaluates and part- said a Mumbai-based developer who didn’t the projects to fructify is long. Project costs DRPPL is a joint venture between the learn from the Evergrande crisis in China.
Since then, the group has launched resi- ners with projects that it thinks it can turn wish to be named. often rise every year, leading to more heart- Maharashtra government and Adani Prop- The developer expanded aggressively, bor-
dential, office, retail and social club pro- around,” said the person quoted above. Meanwhile, the Adani Group also oper- burn. In 2024, construction costs in India erties; the latter holds 80% stake. rowing more than $300 billion. But in
jects across the cities it operates in. In recent years, Adani has also taken over ates the Mumbai airport and is building the are expected to increase by an average of “Dharavi is a starting point. Once imple- 2021, many of its projects halted because of
“The company has a healthy pipeline of slum redevelopment projects from Hous- Navi Mumbai International Airport. 6%, advisory firm JLL India stated in a mented, it can showcase how slums in cities overdue payments.
project launches,” said the person familiar ing Development and Infrastructure Ltd report. can be eradicated and affordable housing “A lot would depend on how the property
with the company, quoted above. “Future (HDIL), via NCLT, including the Bharat A LITMUS TEST? However, the rewards can be alluring, can be provided,” said Hafeez Contractor, market plays out, going forward, but in the
launches may include serviced apartments, Nagar slum project in Bandra, and part-
branded residences, hotels, high-street nered with developers who were stuck with
retail and built-to-suit commercial build- high-value projects.
“S hantigram (a township built by Ada- too. Of the roughly 90-100 million sq. ft an architect who has been onboarded for
nis) in the middle of Ahmedabad is area in Dharavi, approximately 60% is the the project.
an amazing urban oasis. Now that Adanis ‘free sale’ component. In a slum project,
current situation, there is huge scope for
good developers to grow,” Gulam Zia, exec-
utive director at Knight Frank India, a prop-
ings. The company may do plotted devel- “The residential market has witnessed are developing Dharavi in Mumbai, we are free sale means an area that can be sold at SOUL OF A STARTUP erty advisory firm, said. “Given its infra-
opment given the growing demand for sec- significant consolidation and the availabil- hopeful for a similar beautiful township,” market prices.
ond homes,” he added. ity of stressed real estate portfolios of banks RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka said
The ongoing housing sales boom has led and asset reconstruction companies, has in a tweet on 7 December last year.
“Dharavi is like a mini city. Adani is likely O
utside the core real estate business,
Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL),
to begin with residential development first. the airport subsidiary of Adani Group, has
structure expertise and ability to raise capi-
tal, Adani is in an enviable position as a real
estate developer,” he added.
to large developers crossing higher sales provided significant opportunity for devel- Hopes aside, Dharavi is Adani’s biggest Once the project takes off, and prices rise, around 600 acres among its seven existing Adani Realty, on its part, thinks of itself
peaks every year. The top four develop- opers who have strong balance sheets,” said real estate challenge yet. they will launch more premium inventory; airports and the upcoming Navi Mumbai as a large company in a mature sector but
ers—DLF Ltd, Prestige Group, Godrej Piyush Gupta, MD, capital markets & Slum redevelopment is risky, tardy and develop hotels, offices, retail,” said a person International Airport. These land parcels, with the soul of a startup. It wants to be
Properties Ltd and Macrotech Developers investment services, Colliers India. The often messy because of policy paralysis, familiar with the plans who didn’t want to embracing the airports, will be developed adaptive and agile to embrace change, one
Ltd—have been fast gaining market share company is a property advisory. Nonethe- political interference, litigations and be identified either. The residential com- into ‘city-side developments’. In other of the executives quoted above said.
and are expected to cross a new sales mile- less, while acquiring stressed projects in liquidity issues. Opposition parties have ponent will constitute at least 60% of the words, these developments would kick off Adani Realty did not respond to clarifica-
stone of ₹14,000 crore each in 2023-24. Mumbai is a key route to gain scale, there is already staged protests against Adani win- project. In January this year, the Dharavi new revenue streams for the group. The tions sought by Mint on the company’s
Adani Realty also sees the current mar- a flip side. Projects can take much longer— ning the Dharavi project. Large township Redevelopment Project Pvt. Ltd (DRPPL), concept is similar to that of GMR’s Aeroc- strategy and portfolio.
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi 13

How new KYC norms have Compare your bank FD rates

B ank fixed deposits (FDs) continue to be popular investment products not just
among senior citizens, who are looking for guaranteed income, but also among

impacted MF investors investors who can’t stomach risk. But overexposure to FDs is not good, and you need
to assess your asset allocation and goals to decide how much money you should
park in them. For instance, saving for your child’s
higher education that’s 15 years away through FDs
may not be effective as the post-tax interest rate
of an FD may not give you a real return (return
that’s above the rate of inflation). But if you plan to
take a holiday in two years, an FD can help. Before
choosing an FD, you should compare the interest
Most fund houses have stopped transactions for mutual fund accounts without updated KYC rates on offer. Here is a list of banks that offer the
highest FD rates for deposits up to ₹1 crore over
various tenures.
Sashind Ningthoukhongjam
[email protected]
Why KYC has become an issue Interest rates (%) for fixed deposits up to ₹1 crore

T
he recent Linkedin post by Mutual fund investors were caught off guard by the introduction of a new KYC 6 months 1 to < 2 2 to < 3 3 to < 5 5 years
Himanshu Pandya, a regis-
tered investment adviser, said rule which resulted in investments being declined by fund houses. to < 1 year years years years and above
it all. He wrote, “Happy to Type of documents Status Implications What to do?
From DCB Bank 6.25-7.25 7.15-7.85 7.55-8.00 7.40-7.90 7.25-7.65
inform you that I have suc-
If Aadhaar was Validated No change. Can invest Nothing 30 April
cessfully updated my KYC for the 18th Axis Bank 5.75-6.00 6.70-7.20 7.10 7.10 7.00
submitted freely
time in my rather short adult life.” The Name & date
latest KYC (know your client) update OVD other than Registered Can transact in AMCs Do re-KYC for each new AMC or of birth must HDFC Bank 4.50-6.00 6.60-7.25 7.00-7.15 7.00-7.20 7.00
that Pandya highlighted pertains to his Aadhaar was used with existing investments. use Aadhaar to get 'validated' match PAN
IndusInd Bank 5.00-6.50 7.75 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.00-7.25
mutual fund account. Mutual funds Non-OVD submitted/ On-hold All transactions Submit an OVD. Verify card
have been asking investors to update mobile or email not blocked phone/email using KRA/AMC IDFC First Bank 4.50-5.75 6.50-7.75 7.25-7.75 7.00-7.25 7.00
their KYC with officially valid docu- verified website
ments (OVDs), mainly Aadhaar, by 1 *Client will not get 'validated' if Aadhaar could not be verified with UIDAI. RBL Bank 4.75-6.05 7.50-8.10 7.50-8.10 7.10-7.50 7.00-7.10
UIDAI: Unique Identification Authority of India
April to meet regulatory requirements.
And, those unaware of the new KYC YES Bank 5.00-6.35 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.25 7.00-7.25
Status of MFU clients
norms are being denied their upcoming 70% clients can't invest in another ICICI Bank 4.75-6.00 6.70-7.20 7.00-7.20 7.00 6.90-7.00
investments. AMC unless they do a re-KYC
Industry insiders say that some funds Canara Bank 6.15-6.25 6.85-7.25 6.85 6.80 6.70
have already stopped accepting fresh On-hold
investments till the KYC norms are met. 2 Registered Dhanlaxmi Bank 6.50 6.75-7.25 6.50-6.75 6.50-6.60 6.60
28
Experts say that investments worth sev- in % 70 Data as on
Validated 22 April, 10 am Federal Bank 5.00-6.00 6.80-7.40 7.05 7.00 6.60
eral crores of rupees have been stuck MFU: Mutual
since 1 April and the number of transac- fund utilities Bank of Baroda 5.60-7.10 6.85-7.15 7.25 6.50-7.25 6.50
tions being rejected are on the rise. Fund
houses, they said, are having a hard time Problems faced by the investors List of OVDs Indian Overseas Bank 5.75 6.90-7.30 6.80 6.50 6.50
explaining to distributors why their Many Aadhaar National population
Most DIY investors are Online re-KYC has Punjab National Bank 6.00-7.05 6.75-7.25 6.80-7.00 6.50-7.00 6.50
investments are not going through. NRIs Driving license registry
not aware of the change. a high failure rate.
The controversy surrounding the don't Passport Other documents State Bank of India 5.75-6.00 6.80-7.10 7.00 6.75 6.50
current KYC drive started after two reg- have notified by central
NRIs struggle to obtain No online re-KYC Aadhaar. Voter card government Union Bank of India 4.90-5.75 6.50-7.25 6.50 6.50 6.50
istrar and transfer agencies (RTAs) sent address proof. Bank facility available Hence,
out email notifications to distributors in Job card by
statements and utility for NRIs. Difficult can't get OVDs: Officially valid
Jammu & Kashmir Bank 4.75- 6.00 7.05 7.00 6.50 6.50
NREGA documents
early March warning that accounts bills no longer taken. to invest in new AMCs. 'validated'
wherein KYC was done using proofs KYC: Know your client; DIY: Do-it-yourself; AMC: Asset management company; NRI: Non-resident Indian; NREGA: National Rural Employment Gurantee Act
Data taken from respective bank's website as on 18 April 2024; Only main entity of the merged banks are taken. Banks which merged
with its main entity are removed from the table; The list of 15 banks is based on highest fixed deposit rates available for 5 years and above
other than OVDs would be put on hold Source: www.Bankbazaar.com
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
from 1 April. The seven OVDs are Aad-
haar, driving license, passport, voter account with a different AMC, till such systems in place for updating KYC Interestingly, data from the Mutual
card, job card issued by NREGA, time that they used Aadhaar to get the online. Fund Utilities (MFU) platform showed
national population register, and any ‘validated’ tag. Five KRAs are responsible for validat- that only 28% of its users were ‘vali-
document notified by the central gov-
ernment. Investors have to update their
KYC using only these OVDs in cases
Investor complaints have been pour- ing the KYC of investors. They are CDSL
ing in ever since. Many said the online Ventures Limited (CVL), Computer Age
process of KYC updates does not work. Management Services (CAMS), NSDL,
dated’. A bulk of them (70%) had the
registered status and the remaining 2%
of users were put on hold, as per data
UBS dials back China fund plans
where it was earlier done using docu-
ments such as bank statements or utility
bills.
Netizens have taken to social media with KFintech, and NSE (formerly Dotex).
screenshots of failed attempts at redoing There is also no concept of interopera-
KYC online. bility with KRAs, meaning that if you
available on the platform till 10 am on
Monday. This means that 70% of inves-
tors cannot invest in AMCs other than
on high costs, grim outlook
As the 1 April deadline drew closer, Some of them got mes- have done KYC using the ones they have already invested in BLOOMBERG

the RTAs modified their notification by sages about database error CAMS, then you can only unless they update their KYC. MFU is Bloomberg private fund management
introducing certain tags, such as ‘vali- at KRA (KYC registration Experts update the KYC with them. a platform run by all AMCs under the [email protected] businesses targeting institu-
dated’ and ‘registered’. So, if an investor agency), and failure to gen- say that “KYC update needs to aegis of the Association of Mutual tional and wealthy clients.

U
had used Aadhaar for their KYC, their erate e-signed PDF. Others investments be done in the physical for- Funds in India (Amfi), which has more BS Group AG is post- UBS will use ICBC Credit
account would be tagged as validated said that the KYC was not worth several mat,” said the operations than 1.4 million active users. poning plans to build its Suisse Asset Management Co.
from 1 April. The validated tag ensured validated even after Aad-
crores of rupees head of an AMC who did Fisdom, a mutual fund platform, said own mutual fund busi- as a beachhead for expansion.
there was no restrictions on their invest- haar submission, or not want to be named. it tried reaching out to RTAs and KRAs ness in mainland China due to The ICBC venture posted a
ments. It also allowed investors to shift received messages that have been stuck “The intent here was right as it felt the constant need to update high costs and a dim profit out- profit of 1.9 billion yuan last
freely to other asset management com- KYC had been done with a since 1 April but the infrastructure KYC would make its business unviable. look, people familiar with the year, overseeing 1.7 trillion
panies (AMCs) without the need for different KRA, or that Aad- wasn’t ready for the It’s now planning to write a letter to mar- matter said. yuan in assets as of the end of
redoing their KYC. To be sure, Aadhaar haar was not eligible for change.” ket regulator Sebi on this issue. The Swiss bank will instead December. The SDIC business
is the only OVD that can get investors online KYC and they they had to submit What happens when the attempt to Zerodha’s Coin, the largest fintech rely on existing joint ventures generated 346 million yuan in
the validated tag. a hard copy. update KYC fails. The accounts are put MF platform. said it is not facing any to expand in China’s mutual net income, managing 348.6
The ‘registered’ tag was attached to Some investors claimed that there ‘on hold’ and all transactions pertaining issues as it had made Aadhaar a prereq- fund industry following the billion yuan. Separately, UBS is
accounts of investors who had done was no change in KYC status despite to such accounts get blocked. The uisite for investors to open an account. acquisition of Credit Suisse last revamping its private fund
their KYC using any OVD other than completing the update online. Some ‘on-hold’ status also applies if the KRAs Kuvera declined to comment saying year, the people said, request- management platform by clos-
Aadhaar. This tag allowed them to invest also reported failure on account of are not able to validate the account they are awaiting clarity from RTAs and ing not to be identified because ing the majority of the 11 out-
or redeem from their existing accounts. upper case and lower case mismatches holder’s email or mobile number or if Amfi. the matter is private. maintain better control, while standing equity and bond funds
However, investors would need to redo in the name of their state. investors had submitted documents (For an extended version of this story, Establishing a wholly-owned BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity that were launched in China
their KYC if they wanted to open an Some KRAs do not have necessary other than OVDs. go to livemint.com) fund management firm would International chose to build a since 2016, according to one of
require large capital commit- new wholly-owned business the people. Clients affected by
ments, while the chances of from scratch. At the same time, the downsizing can invest in
turning a profit in the near term global asset managers are offerings provided by other

How to build a ₹3 crore corpus to start a business? remain low, the people said.
The bank had been contem-
plating a stand-alone fund plat-
increasingly emphasizing the
need for profitability in China
as many struggle to build mar-
platforms.
UBS will let go about 15 of the
50 people on the asset manage-
form after China lifted foreign ket share against the nation’s ment team over the next few
Harshad Chetanwala ASK MINT invest is ₹60,000 per month investments every year by 20% cap Fund (15%); 360 One ownership restrictions in domestic banking giants. UBS months as part of the restruc-
m INVESTMENT and if you keep investing the to reach the desired goal Focused Equity Fund (15%); 2020. has also been consolidating turing, the person said. The rest
I am a 35-year old profes- same amount every month for amount. In such a case, you Kotak Emerging Equity Fund A media representative for functions and operations fol- of the workforce will focus on
sional with a monthly the coming 10 years, you will need not compromise on your (15%); and Nippon India Small the bank declined to comment. lowing the acquisition of Credit the fund of hedge funds busi-
income of ₹1.6 lakh and The corpus amount of ₹3 be able to build a corpus of ₹1.2 savings or expenses and get Cap Fund (10%) With the shift, UBS is taking Suisse last year. ness or a program known as the
expenses of nearly ₹1 lakh. crore will ask for a much crore at 10% p.a. and ₹1.33 the opportunity to increase Harshad Chetanwala is a more conservative approach UBS already owns 49% of a qualified domestic limited
My wife is a homemaker higher investment. If we crore at 12% p.a. the investment as you grow in co-founder at MyWealth- compared with other Wall joint venture with State Devel- partnership, the person added.
and our son is 3 years old. I assign your present portfolio You need a monthly invest- your career in the coming Growth.com Street firms that have invested opment & Investment Corp., a Reuters earlier reported the
have close to ₹14 lakh in of ₹14 lakh for this goal at 10% ment of ₹1.15 lakh to reach years. Here are some funds more money and resources to government-backed money fund closures.
mutual funds right now. Is per annum (p.a.) growth, it has your goal of ₹3 crore. While it that you can consider invest- Do you have a personal win a bigger slice of the 27 tril- manager. The firm also holds a The Swiss bank will also take
it possible to build a corpus the potential to reach approxi- is not easy to reduce your ing in. finance query? Send in your lion yuan ($3.73 trillion) mar- 20% stake that Credit Suisse over Credit Suisse’s $400 mil-
of ₹3 crore in 10 years so mately ₹36 lakh at the end of expenses from ₹1 lakh to UTI Nifty Index Fund (15%); queries at ket. Morgan Stanley and held in a tie-up with Industrial lion quota to invest Chinese cli-
that I can start my consult- 10 years. If we assume a 12%p.a. ₹45,000 per month, you can ICICI Prudential Bluechip [email protected] JPMorgan Chase & Co. have & Commercial Bank of China ents’ money overseas under the
and get them answered by
ancy then. returns it can be ₹43.5 lakh. At consider another strategy. You Fund (15%); Parag Parikh Flex- taken 100% ownership of their Ltd, the nation’s biggest bank QDLP program, according to
industry experts.
—Name withheld on request present, your potential to can increase the monthly icap Fund (15%); HDFC Flexi- mutual fund joint ventures to by assets. In addition, UBS has people familiar.

HERE’S A DUMMIES GUIDE TO CONTROLLING DERIVATIVES TRADING IN INDIA

Two, boost income streams for bodies that conduct examina- those who fall for the quick profits idea.
tions required as part of various regulations. We think, if the Fourth, hedging positions should be allowed. This was meant
POWER exam is mandatory, then first, it needs to go way beyond theory,
and second, perhaps, it needs to be free. With investor protection
to be the main purpose of futures and options (F&O) trading! I am
sure we can find the right technology solutions to make this
POINT fund coffers overflowing, this is a no-brainer. Either way, despite seamless. We can land a rocket on the moon, so we can definitely
all the examinations for markets participants, we have still ended write code to make all this happen real time.
RAHUL GOEL up where we have, i.e. the stock market has become a gambler’s Our fifth and final idea revolves
den. The way around the retail investor. I think it’s
We welcome your views and comments at It’s time to think out of the box when it comes to regulation. investor tough to beat the appeal of quick prof-
[email protected] Here are some top ideas for putting an end to this mindless gam- its that F&O trading offers. However,
bling. education is we should not lose hope completely.
done needs to
O
n 18 April, Mint reported: Want to trade in derivatives? First, intra-day futures and options (F&O) trading should be Investor education efforts should be
Take an exam. Also, prove your net worth is high enough taxed punitively. Second, brokers already decide who can trade, be completely encouraged. Perhaps an “F&O Sahi
to stomach the risks. That, in essence, is what a possible and to what extent. Since they are closest to the customer, you re-though Nahi Hai” campaign. Since the sister
entry barrier to derivatives trading could look like as regulatory want them to carry all the liability (which they already do I guess) mutual fund campaign has worked so
MINT
concerns continue to play out over the risks of retail investors trad- and more responsibility. So, if a broker is pushing the idea of trad- well that people have decided to keep
ing in futures and options contracts. ing, and say encouraging leverage beyond reasonable limits (by the way they go about it is what matters. The easiest way to do this sip-ping, even if they are bloated with the large number of mutual
Whenever we see ideas for regulating rampant speculation whatever means), it needs to be held responsible. The Reserve is to make trading easier. I am not talking about speed of execu- fund schemes they own, perhaps this too will have an impact.
such as these, we wonder if history has taught us any lessons. In Bank of India, which sets the guardrails for banks and non-bank- tion here. I am referring to efforts to increase volumes by lower- On a more serious note, the way investor education is done,
my opinion, what all these new regulations do is either of these… ing financial companies, always steps in when it sees that there ing the hurdles to trading (lower contract sizes), or perhaps even, especially related to trading, needs to be completely re-thought.
One, increase mindless online disclosures that are done as part is deviation or even a trend that does not seem to be headed in the lowering the cost of trading. If I had a say, and had to make a Now, I am not going to offer any impromptu ideas. But we are up
of the process. Like, every few months the broker asks us to con- right direction. Perhaps, the stock market regulator needs to choice, this is where one needs to start to put an end to all the against quick money, so we need to aim high. Maybe get everyone
firm our net worth…and like robots we do check and confirm! I adopt the same approach. mindless gambling. to stand before a movie starts and swear they will not gamble in
wonder if that helps the regulator achieve its purpose, or the bro- Third, the stock exchanges, which are listed or will be soon, are In case of both the brokers and the stock exchange, it’s the laser F&O. Or something like that!
ker…or even us! aiming to maximize profits. There’s nothing wrong with that. But sharp focus on profits that can get us all in trouble. Especially Rahul Goel is the former CEO of Equitymaster.
14 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW THEIR VIEW

MINT

Ukraine has got another lifeline

but it may be clutching at straws
A new US aid package for Kyiv can’t mask the fact that its American support has been wearing out

Russia, Iran and China. But in so doing, resources.It lacks consistent support,
he challenged the dominant strain of so the resultant limits on its access to
foreign policy thinking in today’s modern equipment and supplies are
Republican Party that doesn’t view also a constraint. Without robust US
support for Ukraine as a vital national support, Ukraine has found itself
interest of the United States. increasingly isolated, which has
There is no doubt that fatigue is set- emboldened Russia to escalate its mili-
ting in within the US electorate over tary actions, leading to further loss of
the Ukraine war and a sharp ideological Ukrainian territory.
HarsH V. Pant divide has been emerging. Recent US But there are costs for the US as well,
is professor of international relations, opinion polls have shown that Republi- since its global credibility is under
King’s College London, and vice president can voters are increasingly resistant to threat. Insufficiently strong American
for studies at Observer Research sending any additional aid to Ukraine, support has the potential to undermine
Foundation, New Delhi. even as Democrats and independents the The North Atlantic Treaty Organi-

Reliance should lead a

are more favourably inclined. zation’s (Nato) credibility and cohe-
Former US president and presump- sion. Ukraine’s desire for closer ties

F
inally, the United States’ polity tive Republican presidential nominee with the West has been a point of con-
has found the resolve to pass a Donald Trump has also been a vocal tention between Nato and Russia, and
much-delayed aid package for critic of continuing aid to Ukraine. wavering support from the US could

dividend payout boom Ukraine after wrangling over it for

months, even as the situation for
Ukraine has been going from bad to
worse on the battlefield against Russia.
But in recent days, he has signalled
that he is open to considering a loan to
Ukraine, and that also may have helped
Johnson in going for broke. However,
weaken Nato’s ability to deter further
Russian aggression in eastern Europe.
Central and east European nations
have been the most vocal supporters of
This much-needed $61 billion package, for many Republicans, the US-Mexico Ukraine and the need for the US to do
which includes air defence systems, border crisis is of greater concern than most of the heavy lifting. A diminished
The company’s size achievements stand out but its small dividends are a reminder of the low mid- to long-range missiles and artil- the Ukrainians being shelled by Rus- US commitment to Ukraine could
lery shells, along with more than $9 sian forces. strain relations between the US and its
yields of Indian equity in general. Could India’s biggest business help effect a big reversal? billion of economic assistance, got the It has been clear for months that European allies that have also provided
approval of the US House of Represent- Ukraine, which is heavily dependent support to Ukraine and view Russian
atives last week by 311 votes to 112. on Western armaments, urgently aggression in eastern Europe as a
Though this support looks strong, it requires assistance as it faces a formi- threat to regional stability.

T
he quarterly results of Reliance financial performance. From here onwards, its obscures a bitter divide within the dable Russian power that has been Domestic politics in America, how-
Industries Ltd have made news for a prospects look stable. While oil volatility tends Republican party. gaining consistently in recent weeks. ever, is rapidly evolving and the inter-
American President Joe Biden The Ukrainian military has lately nationalist segment of the Republican
bottom-line dip, although its top- to impact a huge chunk of its finances, with commended the bipartisan effort to been warning that its situation on the Party is increasingly finding itself in a
line rose. Its net profit for the final input cost spikes often offset by gains in output “answer history’s call” and asked the eastern front has been getting worse, minority. On the ascendant, it would
quarter of 2023-24 fell 1.8% from a value, both its retail and telecom operations Senate to approve it quickly, “so that I with Russian assaults increasing in seem, is a ‘Make America Great Again’
year earlier to ₹18,951 crore, while look steady. As for capital allocations, investors can sign it into law and we can quickly intensity and potency. Ukraine’s Presi- (MAGA) foreign policy, promoted by
revenues saw an 11% increase to over ₹2.4 tril- have been tracking its energy-storage and send weapons and equipment to dent Volodymyr Zelensky has been Donald Trump during his presidency
Ukraine to meet their urgent battle- repeatedly underscoring the urgency and which prioritized an ‘America first’
lion. Its core oil-to-chemicals business faced a green hydrogen ambitions, where it aims for a field needs.” But the Republican oppo- of US aid, arguing that swift provision approach.
few headwinds downstream, while a surge in cost breakthrough, as well as its recent moves sition to the legislation is striking, as of appropriate weaponry could signifi- The latest effort by the US Congress
offshore-gas output shored up hydrocarbons in the media space, where its assets are set to more Republicans voted by 112 to 101 cantly alter the dynamics on the front- to channel billions of dollars in new aid
upstream, where oil was subject to global flux, merge with Disney’s in India, giving the new against the bill than in its support. line. Other Western nations have not to Ukrainian war efforts may be ade-
even as Reliance Retail and telecom under Jio combine an edge in the TV broadcast arena. As Republican House Speaker Mike John- been able to fill the void left by the quate for the immediate future, but a
son managed to push the bill, but now American inability to make adequate change of guard in the White House
fared fairly well, turning in double- or near- such new projects could secure a sustainable it is his survival as speaker that’s at provisions to sustain Ukrainian war or a Republican majority in the US
double-digit growth on both counts. As far as future for Reliance by reducing its dependence stake with several members of his party efforts. Congress in upcoming elections would
numbers go, the annual results drew wider on hard-to-abate industries in a carbon context, calling for his ouster. Johnson argued Ukraine’s challenges on the battle- make the continuance of US support
attention—as usual, for a whole new proportion they will surely hog resources. that a failure to secure the aid lifeline to field are not only a function of Russia’s unlikely. Both Ukraine and the wider
of operations achieved over the year. In fiscal Reliance’s investors, however, cannot be Ukraine would bolster the emerging de superior military capabilities, includ- West will need to prepare for that
facto axis of totalitarianism between ing advanced weaponry and extensive eventuality as well.
2023-24, India’s single largest company took its faulted for wondering why its annual dividends
revenues past the ₹10 trillion level and pre-tax remain relatively low. On Monday, it proposed a
profit above the ₹1 trillion mark. As no Indian payout of ₹10 per share, adding to the ₹9 it paid
enterprise has recorded so many digits ever in August. Together, they spell a dividend yield
before, this deserves applause in its own right. of less than 1% (on a stock that closed above
The rise of our economy has begun to show ₹2,919 on Tuesday). In general, firms that aren’t
more prominently than ever in the magnitude in mature markets are not expected to award www.livemint.com
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh*, Pune* Thursday, April 24, 2014 Vol.8 No.97 `4.00 in Delhi­NCR/`5.00 outside Delhi­NCR 24 PAGES

of our top businesses, with trillions starting to too big a slice of profits to shareholders, as they
WSJ: Fed looks likely to
stick to policy path >20
MARKETS: IFC says RBI approves of
rupee bond plan >3

take the place of billions. Even in India, we can can put the retained portion to good use. Yet,
TECH@WORK: Indian IT firms look to
build intellectual property assets >19
CONTENT PARTNER
LAST WORD: A Google for the
underground Internet >24

look at the top league’s corporate sales as a slice Indian blue chips are generally seen to pay less
SENSEX 22,876.54 Æ 118.17 NIFTY 6,840.80 Æ 25.45 DOLLAR `61.09 Æ `0.32 EURO `84.48 æ `0.56 GOLD `29,858 Æ `228 OIL $108.87 æ $0.40

MANGALORE CHEMICALS LOK SABHA ELECTIONS: Infra loans QUICK EDIT

Takeover battle THE NEXT ROUND

More than 180.5 million people in 117 constituencies across India will be eligible to
emerge as the
biggest stress
Broken

of national output: Reliance’s figure is about than those in markets where shareholder pres-
cast their votes in the sixth phase of polling on Thursday. Eleven states, including
Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and the Union pivot
looms over point for banks
territory of Puducherry, will elect representatives to the 16th Lok Sabha on Thursday.

PHASE-6
TOTAL
C risis management is
the signature theme
1 SEATS 117 B Y D INESH U NNIKRISHNAN of Barack Obama’s

Mallya firm
[email protected] presidency. In 2008 he
Jammu and ························· had to tackle an
Kashmir MUMBAI
6 economic storm that

3.4% of our nominal GDP. sure plays a bigger role. More generous payouts T he asset quality of bank threatened the world. In
12 Assam
loans to infrastructure de- 2014, he is facing a Russia
5 Uttar 7 velopers is deteriorating at a intent on absorbing a
Deepak Fertilisers ices Ltd, a broking firm, to buy Rajasthan
Pradesh
Bihar faster pace than that of loans neighbour.
makes unsolicited bid up to two million shares of Man-
galore Chemicals for a maxi-
10 advanced to any other sector,
underlining the challenge the
Russian echoes could
be clearly heard as he

Only the dead have seen

for firm, while Zuari mum price of `63 each. Madhya
Pradesh
next government will face in began his tour of Asia. He
Fertilisers is expected On assumption that these reviving investment and kick- has assured a jittery Japan
shares would be secured, which 7 6 starting stalled projects. that its claims on the

The story of Reliance has been one of relent- would remind investors of the basic rationale of
to make a counterbid would increase its stake in Man- Chhattisgarh As of 31 March, banks had Senkaku Islands—eyed
galore Chemicals to 26.1%, West Bengal restructured `50,239 crore of greedily by China—will be
B Y P .R . S ANJAI & Deepak Fertilisers further an- 19 4 loans they had given to the in- protected under a defence
M ANISH B ASU nounced that it was making an Maharashtra Jharkhand frastructure sector—21% of all cooperation agreement.
························· open offer to acquire through its loans they recast in the last fis- There are other items on
MUMBAI/KOLKATA
subsidiary 26% more in the 1 cal year under the so-called his agenda but these have

T he stage seems to be set

for an intense takeover
company in compliance with
Indian takeover laws. Puducherry
corporate debt restructuring
(CDR) mechanism.
been overshadowed by
security fears of Asian

the end of war.

battle between Deepak Deepak Fertilisers has initial- 39 Restructured loans to public countries, fanned by an

less growth, with large sums invested over time investing—to get a part of enlarging profits. A
Fertilisers and Petrochemicals ly priced its open offer for 30.8 works projects swelled from aggressive China.
Tamil Nadu
Corp. Ltd and Zuari Fertilisers million shares at `61.75 apiece, `21,912 crore (9.57% of the to- After announcing an
and Chemicals Ltd for Manga- but it may have to raise it de- tal) in the previous year and ambitious plan to be a
lore Chemicals and Fertilizers pending on the price it pays for KEY SEATS AND CONTESTANTS `16,774 crore (11.14%) in the pivot to Asia to counter
Ltd. the proposed purchase of two year before that. China, the US buried it
On Tuesday, capping months million shares. The firm, valued Total loans restructured by quietly. It was a mistake.
of negotiations over a potential at `1,103 crore at its current banks via CDR, on a cumula- Now that plan may have
stake sale, Deepak Fertilisers market price, has held 24.5% in tive basis, rose to `3.3 trillion to be re-forged when it is
sprang a surprise on liquor bar- Mangalore Chemicals since last as of 31 March, from `2.3 tril- preoccupied with Russia,

in diversification. From synthetics, it went in for dividend boom across India Inc would not only
on Vijay Mallya with an unsolic- July. Mulayam Sushma Swaraj Mohammad Milind Deora A. Raja lion a year ago. Worryingly, the making the task doubly
ited bid to acquire a 26% stake Shares of both Mangalore Singh Yadav (Bharatiya Janata Party) Azharuddin (Congress) (Dravida Munnetra figure does not reflect the total difficult. It is another
in Mangalore Chemicals and Chemicals and Deepak Fertilis- (Samajwadi Party) Vidisha (Congress) Mumbai South Kazhagam) amount of restructured loans reminder that the leader
Mainpuri (Madhya Pradesh) Tonk-Sawai (Maharashtra) Nilgiris
Fertilizers, controlled by his ers jumped on Tuesday on the (Uttar Pradesh) Madhopur (Tamil Nadu)
in the banking system because of the Great Power pack
group, through an open offer for back of heavy buying. In a flat (Rajasthan) banks also recast loans on a bi- cannot afford to harbour
`190 crore. market, Mangalore Chemicals’ an isolationist outlook.
Mallya, whose UB Group shares rose 6.6% to close at Source: Election Commission TURN TO PAGE 2®
AHMED RAZA KHAN/MINT
holds a 22% stake in Mangalore `66.05, while those of Deepak
Chemicals, could lose manage- Fertilisers moved up 4% to

vertical integration upwards into oil-and-gas enthuse more Indians, it can also amplify a key
ment control if the Pune-based `125.15 on the BSE. The bench-
firm’s offer is fully subscribed to mark Sensex gained 0.5% to
Finmin officials IN THE MIX

P L ATO
by minority shareholders. The close at 22,876.54 points.
target company, which produc-
es farm inputs and posted
`2,790 crore in revenue in fiscal
“We will study the offer, re-
view our options and respond
accordingly,” said a spokesper-
to visit Cyprus On the fringes of politics
2013, is valued at `782 crore at
its current market price.
son for the UB Group.
Kolkata-based Poddar was
to negotiate B Y A NUJA party gives them the freedom request can be made to the EC
A full-blown takeover battle also taken by surprise by Tues-
tax agreement to pursue their own ideals and in a set format within a month

and downwards into polymers, while its hori- message: As stock ownership is open to all,
[email protected]
could ensue, as another suitor day’s development, but he is ························· goals. They also add that not of forming a party, together
NEW DELHI
for the company, Kolkata-based happy that the stalemate is now all of the fringe parties actually with a demand draft of `10,000
industrialist Saroj Poddar,
could make a counterbid, ac-
cording to people familiar with
going to end, said a person
close to him. A little over a year
ago, Poddar started acquiring
B Y R EMYA N AIR &
E LIZABETH R OCHE
·························
T he Religion of Man Revolv-
ing Political Party of India.
Baffling indeed, yet it is the
contest polls—in 2009, for in-
stance, only a third of the 322
contested the general election
and some other registration re-
quirements.
NEW DELHI
his plans. Poddar, who also shares of Mangalore Chemicals name of a political party from according to EC data. To each their own
owns a substantial stake in
Mangalore Chemicals, is ex-
pected to firm up his plans over
and currently owns 16.43% of
the firm’s shares through Zuari
Fertilizers.
I ndia and Cyprus moved a
step closer to settling a tax
dispute that led to the Medi-
24 Parganas in West Bengal.
While most media attention on
the general election is being
“Such parties cannot fulfil
the classic role of the political
party as an aggregator of policy
Many of these smaller un-
recognized registered political
parties are individual-centric,

zontal extensions addressed the retail and tele- wealth creation has a sharing mechanism that
the next few days in consulta- In an interview a year ago, terranean island nation being soaked up by the antics of na- preferences. Consolidation of issue-based outfits that are
tion with Mallya. Poddar had said he wanted to blacklisted by New Delhi. tional parties like the Congress political parties around policy aligned to a particular social
Shortly after the markets take over Mangalore Chemicals The two countries will, in and Bharatiya Janata Party issues is desirable, so long as identity or simply a syndicate
opened, Deepak Fertilisers said but wouldn’t launch a hostile the next few weeks, finalize (BJP), there are a host of fringe the diverse segments of society of individuals or associations
in a regulatory filing that a whol- bid to wrest control of the com- changes to their double taxa- political players who are more are also properly represented,” who want to pursue a common
ly-owned subsidiary, SCM Soil- pany from his “friend” Mallya. tion avoidance agreement than just adding to the cacoph- said Niraja Jayal, professor at political agenda.
fert Ltd, had on Tuesday placed The UB Group chairman, too, (DTAA), including a conten- ony and colour of India’s elec- the Centre for the Study of Law One such political party
an order with JM Financial Serv- had at that time, welcomed tious information disclosure tion jamboree. and Governance, Ja- which registered it-
Poddar as an investor in Man- clause in it. According to the Election waharlal Nehru Uni- 20 NEW self in 2008 was the

com sectors, the latter setting the stage for a big everyone is welcome to join. Those who buy
14
galore Chemicals, fuelling spec-
ulation that he had been
Cyprus’s failure to disclose
information on investments
Commission (EC), no fewer
than 1,593 unrecognized polit-
versity.
“They would create INDIA Nav Bharat Demo-
cratic Party head-
brought in as a white knight to routed through it to India had ical parties have registered more fragmenta- quartered in Pune,
stave off potential takeover led to it being blacklisted. with it—there were only 322 at tion—but that is only if they Maharashtra. Earlier called the
bids. “Since the visit of the Cypri- the end of 2009. are plausible competitors. Professional Party of India, it is
In the past year, Mallya has ot team to India in November There is a serious side to Otherwise, they might be not contesting the Lok Sabha elec-
pared his holding in almost all last year, the Cypriot side has them. very different from independ- tions in states like Uttar
UB Group companies and isn’t been forthcoming in sharing With growing fragmentation ent candidates,” she added. Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and
the single largest shareholder in information with its India of the polity, these fringe par- Any association can contest Delhi.

digital play, even as it began investing heavily in into this idea shouldn’t need to offload shares
any, except UB Engineering Ltd. counterpart. A team from our ties, some of whom are active an election without being regis- “Nav Bharat is a political
For almost a year, Poddar, ministry of finance is expected in the current elections, can be tered with the EC; however, do- platform to identify, help field
too, tried to engage Mallya in to visit Cyprus in the coming of more than just mere nui- ing so comes with its own and elect credible people of
discussions over a change in days for carrying forward ne- sance value. Like many inde- risks—a registered political par- the society. We go out and seek
control but no deal material- gotiations for finalizing the re- pendent (non-party) contest- ty can accept “any amount of people who are potential can-
ized. vised DTAA between the two ants, they can also be hired by contribution voluntarily offered” didates and they are mostly in-
Poddar, however, still re- countries,” said Ravi Bangar, political parties to make things by any person or non-govern- dividuals out of the political
mains interested in Mangalore Indian high commissioner to difficult for rivals. mental company and is given system,” R. K. Misra, national
Cyprus.

clean energy. Impressively, its strategic pursuit to reap its rewards. As India’s largest company,
Chemicals and would consider To be sure, those associated preference for election symbols. executive member of the party,
making a counterbid if Mallya “The matter is being fol- with these smaller political Applying to the EC is con- said.
Mint is also available for R8 with parties believe that not being venient and hassle-free—one
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only TURN TO PAGE 2® TURN TO PAGE 2® part of a mainstream political reason why many register. A TURN TO PAGE 7®

of expansion has rarely got in the way of its Reliance is best placed to lead such a campaign.

THEIR VIEW

Our space sector ambitions: Market forces are with us

In the Indian context, the necessity for Traditionally, the space industry has con- startup sector has witnessed substantial vative business models. Moreover, there is a
SRINATH SRIDHARAN adept geopolitical strategies and astute centrated on establishing systems and infra- funding, propelled by growing demand for pressing need to bridge the gap between
management of space-tech investments and structure meant for exploration. Historically space-based solutions and efficient satellite space technology and practical applications.
innovation arises from an acknowledgment dominated by affluent nations and wealthy production, coupled with lower launch We also need to acknowledge the strategic
of the space economy as a pivotal industrial entrepreneurs, the post-launch space econ- expenses and advancements in complemen- significance of dual-use capabilities that
frontier for the 21st century. omy is now undergoing reinvention, offer- tary technologies like AI and 3D printing. require a judicious balance of their commer-

T
he Indian startup ecosystem within Beyond scientific exploration, space tech- ing opportunities for wide participation. Public-private partnerships are playing a cial potential with their implications for our
the space sector stands out as a nology increasingly underpins economic The sector is expected to pivotal role in boosting national security.
remarkable success story, where tech- competitiveness and national security grow at a remarkable com- growth within the space The Indian space technology industry
nology innovators harness their expertise to through satellite communications, naviga- pounded annual rate of India’s opening sector. Government poli- offers Indian companies an opportunity to
craft solutions aimed at not only fostering tion systems and remote sensing capabili- 48% in the next five years, cies, including its encour- excel on the global stage. However, as they
self-sufficiency, but also positioning India as ties. Hence, the judicious steering of space reaching a substantial up of this sector agement of startups and venture into the international arena, they
a global front-runner. From ambitious ven- investments is vital to capitalize on opportu- value of $50 billion within GST-exemption offers, would become vulnerable to geopolitics and
tures to celestial bodies like the Moon and nities while deftly addressing geopolitical the country.
places it on a have further incentivized market fluctuations. In a world character-

is a policy researcher and

Mars, and even to an observation post for the
Sun, India’s space endeavours have renewed
challenges to safeguard India’s interests and
underscore its standing as a significant
In recent years, the
Indian private sector,
trajectory of private space ventures.
However, limited investor
ized by the convergence of technology and
geopolitics, with international sanctions,
corporate advisor. @ssmumbai enthusiasm among aspiring spacefarers.
With notable achievements like the Chan-
player in the global space sector.
Despite having only modest resources at
including space-tech start-
ups, has been granted
commercial enthusiasm for later devel-
opment stages is a concern.
trade disputes and diplomatic tensions
refusing to ease, India’s space endeavours
drayaan-3 mission, India has consolidated its disposal, the Indian Space Research access to Isro facilities and success as well Government reforms in must not end up susceptible to adversities
its status as a major space explorer. Organisation (Isro) has meticulously crafted other strategic assets, this sector include a relaxa- brought on by the broader geopolitical land-
India, now recognized globally as an eco- a well-rounded space programme ecosys- enhancing their capabili- as strategic tion of foreign direct scape. As a space gold rush gets underway,
nomic powerhouse, is poised to reap sub- tem. Over the past six decades, India’s space ties significantly. This has investment (FDI) regula- countries will focus on their own interests.
stantial rewards from the space technology efforts have played an impressive role in fostered innovation in a tions. The Centre has per- Sustained government emphasis, coupled
industry. With the sector’s value projected tackling pressing challenges. Even Indian sector previously deemed shut for many, mitted FDI under the automatic route in the with enhanced geopolitical influence, would
to exceed $360 billion by 2025, its scope has welfare programmes draw upon our space generating employment opportunities and space sector up to 74% for satellite making, bolster the Indian space economy. India has
expanded far beyond space exploration, capabilities, whether it’s the need to dissem- facilitating skill enhancement. The goal for 49% for launch vehicles and 100% for manu- the potential to not only elevate its standing,
encompassing satellite communication, inate crucial information to farmers on opti- India’s space startups is integration with the facturing components and systems. These but also contribute significantly to the
earth observation and an array of innovative mal farming practices aligned with climatic global space ecosystem by harnessing a vast relaxed rules will empower Indian space advancement of the global space economy.
applications. India currently commands just conditions, or implementing measures for pool of Indian engineering talent. startups to tap global capital. Consequently, There’s no better way to foster collaboration
about 2% ($7 billion) of this lucrative market. disaster relief and prediction. In the last three years, the Indian space Indian space startups can now explore inno- on an international scale.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS WEDNEsDAy, 24 April 2024
NEW DElhi 15

THEIR VIEW M I N T C U R AT O R

State-level school boards ought A century of bad choices could

haunt Earth for 100 millennia
to prioritize educational equity The role of humanity justifies calling this ‘the Anthropocene era’

Aligning standards with the National Curriculum Framework under NEP 2020 will help bridge gaps in learning outcomes

ISTOCKPHOTO

FAyE D. FLAM
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
science.

BIBEK DEBROy, SAnjAy KuMAR &

ADItyA SInhA
are, respectively, chairman of the EAC-PM,
secretary of the department of school
education & literacy at the ministry of education,
and officer on special duty at EAC-PM.

O
ne of the many things to appreci-
ate about our home planet is that
buried in its layers of rock is a kind

M
ission drift, a phenomenon of time machine. These strata tell us about We must recognize the mark left by our
wherein an organization starts our tumultuous history of glaciers, volca- species on the planet ISTOCKPHOTO
focusing on activities that do not noes and asteroid impacts, as well as the
align with its foundational mis- plants and animals that lived, evolved and The recency of that date seemed to be a
sion, has severe consequences for died over aeons. There’s no doubt that sticking point for the scientists who
organizations. In his book Good to future scientists will find much to study in rejected the Anthropocene concept. Some
Great, Jim Collins highlights how companies can the layer being laid down right now— also argued that what we’re calling the
falter by straying from their core values and mis- weird materials from plastic to plutonium Anthropocene is not so much an epoch as
sions, a concept linked to Aristotle’s idea of “telos,” and dramatic changes in the nature of fos- an event—a rapid environmental change
or an entity’s ultimate purpose. Aristotle believed silized plants and animals. And yet, a group that might or might not kick off a new
that losing sight of this purpose leads to dysfunc- of scientists rejected a proposal to give this epoch. Some also thought it sounded too
tion and unrealized potential, mirroring the effects epoch a new name: the Anthropocene, negative. Stephen Lezak, a professor at
of mission drift seen in modern organizations. derived from the Greek word for human. Cambridge and Oxford, argues that the
This issue is notably problematic within public That’s too bad. It’s a fitting name but seems name sends a pessimistic message that
sector institutions such as state-level school boards to have been dismissed over technicalities. we’re defining the era by “human-caused
in India. Established initially to set educational The approach of dividing deep time into environmental disaster” and that “we won’t
standards, develop curricula and oversee school segments began before we knew how old be getting out of this mess any time soon.”
administration, these boards have increasingly our planet was. Geologists in the late 1700s But our influence doesn’t have to be seen
focused on conducting examinations. Such a nar- and early 1800s saw layers of rock with dif- as purely destructive. It’s downright opti-
row focus can overshadow broader educational creates disparities in student performance within national average. The value is significantly lower ferent materials and fossils. These some- mistic to expect someone doing science
goals like encouraging critical thinking, creativity the same state. Each board has its own focus and for boards such as MP (39.4%), Tripura (36.3%), UP times changed at abrupt boundaries. They millennia in the future looking to study
and holistic development, relegating the original priorities, which directly influence the teaching (35.7%), Uttarakhand (35.6%) and Chhattisgarh began to consider that the Earth might be what we left behind. A future scientist
mission of enhancing the educational experience methodologies and experiences offered in their (34.6%). This systemic discrepancy effectively millions of years old, but it wasn’t until the could be someone like Richard Alley, a pro-
to a secondary role. schools. This divergence affects educational con- penalizes students from state boards, not based on 1950s that researchers established that our fessor at Penn State University and author
Ironically, this examination-centric approach sistency and the quality of education that students merit or aptitude, but because of the curriculum planet’s age is around 4.5 billion years. of The Two Mile Time Machine, about drill-
dates back to colonial times, stemming from the receive, leading to varied academic outcomes they are taught, which is out of step with the By the early 1800s, we had time frames. ing into Earth’s ice caps to understand the
Sadler Commission report of 1919, which advo- within the same state. national benchmark. This is relevant in the context The biggest units were aeons, within which planet’s past. Alley says that since the
cated a board of secondary and intermediate Third, significant variability in curriculum stan- of educational equity. Diverse standards across were eras, periods and epochs. Thanks to Anthropocene just got started and repre-
education to manage and conduct examinations. dards and educational approaches across different boards create an uneven playing field. our love of dinosaur movies, some people sents only a sliver on the Earth’s top crust,
While the Commission also emphasized the need boards makes it challenging for students to move Sixth, the pressure from these competitive are familiar with the Jurassic and Creta- geologists don’t need it for mapping pur-
to oversee educational quality, over the years, mis- seamlessly between them. Such barriers impede exams, which often determine the trajectory of a ceous periods, each spanning tens of mil- poses. But if you appreciate that the lines
sion drift has led many state boards to primarily educational progression, force students to repeat student’s academic and professional future, makes lions of years, the latter ending with a cata- the early geologists drew through different
function as exam holders in practice, moving away or miss critical coursework, and ultimately com- many turn to supplementary education to bridge strophic asteroid impact. Our current eras represented upheavals, then what’s
from their foundational educational objectives. promise their academic and career opportunities. gaps left by their formal schooling. This is worsened period is called the Quaternary, and within going on easily qualifies. “The Anthropo-
This drift impacts the overall quality of education, Fourth, significant disparities exist in pass rates by the varying quality of educational resources that are two epochs—the Pleistocene, cene very clearly is another one,” he said.
reducing its scope to standardized testing. across various boards: For secondary education, across boards and an urban-rural divide in educa- which started 2.5 million years ago, and is Barring some spectacular technological
There used to be 50 boards in the country, Assam has a low of 59%, while Kerala achieves 100%. tional infrastructure, pushing even more students known for periodic ice ages, and the Holo- intervention, the carbon dioxide that’s
including the Central Board of Secondary Educa- Other states like Manipur, Karnataka, West Bengal, towards shadow education, especially those who cene, which started just 11,700 years ago come from burning fossil fuels could take
tion (CBSE) in 2012. This has now increased to 60. Andhra Pradesh (AP), Telangana, and Odisha range are studying under state boards. and is known as a relatively stable and mild 100,000 to 500,000 years to be re-ab-
New additions include the Kerala Board of Voca- from 76% to 98%. In higher secondary education, To effectively address these disparities, state period that let humanity go global. sorbed by Earth, said Alley. In the mean-
tional Higher Secondary, Sanskrit boards in Bihar, the variation continues, with Assam at 85%, while boards need to prioritize updating their curricu- Many of the previous periods are named time, the resulting glacier loss and sea level
Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttarakhand and Delhi, Ali- states like Manipur, Karnataka, West Bengal and lums, enhancing teacher training and focusing on after geographic locations where rock for- rise will affect people for thousands of
garh Muslim University Board of Secondary and Kerala show rates of 75% to 95%. Punjab, Tripura capacity building to improve the quality of educa- mations or fossils were identified. The years. So however long our species lasts,
Higher Secondary Education, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra have higher pass rates of up to tion in their affiliated schools. name Anthropocene was proposed in the influence of recent decades will rever-
Dayalbagh Education Institute, Open Board for 98%, illustrating regional differences in outcomes Rather than standardizing the syllabus across 2000 by chemist Paul Crutzen, who won a berate through time.
Punjab and Hyderabad and Veda Board Ujjain. that highlight systemic inequities in need of resolu- all boards nationally, a feasible approach would Nobel Prize for his part in the discovery Historically, people have had trouble
While the diversity of educational boards across tion for nationwide educational equity. involve establishing a consensus on foundational that human activities were threatening believing we could change something as
India may seem beneficial, celebrating a variety of Fifth, diverse curriculums and standards lead to standards. The National Curriculum Framework Earth’s protective ozone layer. In 2009, a powerful and vast as Earth’s climate. And
approaches and specializations, it unfortunately a competitive imbalance at national-level exami- (NCF) developed under the aegis of the National team of known as the Anthropocene human beings couldn’t have known, at
poses major challenges. nations. India does not have a national-level school Education Policy, 2020, provides an excellent Working Group set out to pick a date when first, that they were changing the planet’s
First, as these boards lack a uniform timeline and exit exam. If one looks at the proportion of stu- starting point. State-level curriculums should the Holocene ended and the Anthropo- atmosphere. Of course, we now know that
syllabus, students do not get a level playing field, dents who appeared to pass national-level exams align with the NCF while incorporating state- cene began. Should it start with the lead humanity is leaving a big mark in the strata.
which poses significant barriers at the national such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test specific elements, ensuring that all students pollution of the Roman Empire, captured What we don’t know is how future scien-
level. Students from different boards find them- (NEET) 2023, this imbalance is starkly visible. receive a robust educational foundation that in ice sheets? The colonization of the tists will judge us. Naming this era the
selves at varying stages of preparedness, leading to 69.3% of all CBSE students who appeared for satisfies national standards and suits local con- Americas and Australia, which changed Anthropocene could be seen as a positive
stark disparities in the average learning outcomes NEET passed. The national average is 54.9%. Only texts. This strategy would bridge the gaps in edu- those continents’ biota? They settled on statement about our species—that we had
achieved in similar grades. CBSE and Council for Indian School Certificate cational outcomes and foster a more cohesive 1952, when humanity added plutonium the foresight and self-awareness to recog-
Second, the existence of separate boards for sec- Examination (CISCE) students and those of the educational system. and other detectable by-products of atomic nize our growing impact on our vast but
ondary and higher secondary levels in eight states Gujarat, AP and Telangana boards are above the These are the authors’ personal views. bomb testing to our planet’s surface. limited Earth. ©BLOOMBERG

MY VIEW | Ex MACHinA

Asset tokenization can revolutionize financial systems

cial transactions have grown more complex, estate assets, for example —can be managed and obligations can be embedded directly much harder to operationalize for real world
RAHUL MATTHAN the inefficiencies in its original design have and exchanged. The unified ledger is not a into financial asset. Since they are composa- assets (like a piece of jewellery).
slowed down operations, increased costs single centralized system, but rather an ble, it is possible for multiple transactions to In the first place, we will need to find an
and restricted competition and innovation. interoperability framework that is capable of be bundled into a single executable package. effective way to tokenize such assets so that
The Finternet seeks to address these short- connecting all digital ledgers that conform Streamlined in this manner, financial they cannot be sold simultaneously on the
comings using protocols and technologies to the unified inter-ledger protocol. This transactions will become cheaper, faster and unified ledger as well as in traditional offline

L
ast week, the Bank for International similar to those that underpin the modern would ensure the integrity of transactions safer. Complex financial agreements can be markets for cash. Unless we find a way to
Settlements published a paper that pro- internet to connect these different ecosys- and consistency across dif- automated and executed solve this, the unified ledger will fail to ade-
posed the establishment of ‘the Finter- tems to each other. Rather than relying on ferent ledgers, providing directly without intermedi- quately address the double-spending prob-
net’—a brand new digital framework that traditional clearing systems and messaging finality through strong Imagine a aries. Atomic settlement lem that blockchain technology was partly
uses modern technology protocols to re-im- chains, it proposes the tokenization of finan- technical guarantees. A will allow different legs of a designed to address.
agine how the financial system might work. cial assets, allowing them to transact seam- transaction completed common ledger complex transaction to set- Where the law requires transfers to be
If implemented, this will change the global lessly over digital ledgers that are designed anywhere on the unified tle simultaneously with no registered, this is easy enough to do. All it
financial system in ways the world has not so that they unify these different domains. ledger would become irre-
for all assets counterparty risk. This will will take is a statutory amendment to con-

is a partner at Trilegal and also

witnessed since the Medicis of Europe.
All commercial transactions—the buying
At the core of the proposal is the notion of
tokenisation—the representation of finan-
versible everywhere.
Since users could open
that embeds allow for the development
of a range of new financial
vert government registers (such as those that
need to be maintained in relation to real
has a podcast by the name Ex
Machina. His Twitter handle is
and selling of goods and services, making of
investments, taking of loans, etc—operate
cial and real assets in a digital form. A token-
ized asset contains not just information per-
accounts on one ledger
and perform transactions
the rules and instruments (cross-border
trades and multi-party
estate transactions) into tokenized ledgers.
All transactions, whether completed online
@matthan within distinct regulatory environments taining to that financial asset, but also the on another, tokens could assures us high asset swaps) as well as new or offline, will thereafter have to be recorded
that clearly specify what can and cannot be rules that define what transactions can be be traded directly among investment products on that ledger, ensuring that it remains the
done in relation to those transactions. These performed on it and how. By unifying the holders without the mes- system integrity (tokenized portfolios and single source of truth in respect of the title to
environs are distinct from each other, over- asset and its governance rules, the Finternet saging systems and inter- fractional ownership rights and interest in that property.
lapping only when a payment needs to be would enable a range of transactions that mediary institutions that in real estate). What is that much harder to do, however,
made or a transaction recorded. In almost were not previously possible. are currently required. This opens up new That said, various challenges remain to be is to make this system work for movable
every instance, they are designed so that the Tokenized asset transactions are expected settlement possibilities with reduced coun- overcome. While it is easy to see how this assets. Consider priceless works of art and
financial assets they regulate (the land title to take place on a unified ledger, a shared ter-party risk and no collateral require- sort of system will work in the case of easily other such tangible moveable property for
registries, the record of customer deposits programmable system on which various dif- ments. As a result, registered assets can be dematerializable financial assets, such as which no public registries exist. Compre-
with a bank, etc) remain distinct from the ferent financial asset markets—central bank immediately transferred with little or no money (central bank currency and private hensive tokenization will be hard to imple-
rules that govern them. While this system money, commercial bank deposits, com- reliance on external verification processes. bank deposits) and shares (which we already ment, but we have to make every effort to
has served us well for centuries, as commer- pany shares, government bonds and real Since tokens are programmable, operations transact in dematerialized form), it will be make it work.
16 WeDNesDAy, 24 April 2024
NeW Delhi BUSINESS OF LIFE SPORTS LIVEMINT.COM

India’s badminton stars

seek Thomas Cup encore
Two years after one
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS GETTY IMAGES

of the most brilliant

wins in Indian sporting
history, the Thomas
Cup holders get ready
to defend their title
Deepti Patwardhan
[email protected]

O
f all the incredible
moments that India
scripted at the 2022
Thomas Cup, the one that
became definitive of the
odds-defying, history-making team, was
of the players bouncing up and down, arm
in arm on the podium. Joyous, victorious.
Team celebrations can generate that
kind of hopped-up energy on the podium
that individual triumphs lack. Away from
the fiercely individual pursuits on the
tour, the Thomas Cup had given the play-
ers a cocoon of camaraderie—of common
goals and collective ambition. India’s bad-
minton stars had channelled it perfectly to first-round exits in the six tournaments
clinch the Cup, known as the men’s world played this year. A semi-final finish at the
championship, for the first time.
On 27 April, when India begin their
THE CUP India Open in January is his best perform-
ance of 2024 so far.
title defence in Chengdu, China, they will
be hoping to recreate that team magic SCHEDULE In Chendgu, Prannoy will be India’s
top-ranked player and will be entrusted
yet again. The team WhatsApp group, with giving India a strong start. With the
which was formed ahead of the THOMAS CUP SQUAD up-and-coming Rajawat in the reserves,
last edition of Thomas Cup, is (Singles) H.S. Prannoy, Lakshya India might be tempted to shuffle the
full of chatter again. Meetings Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyan- line-up and test the bench strength, at
and team dinners are being shu Rajawat and Kiran George; least in the group stages. They have been
scheduled. (Doubles) Satwiksairaj Rankir- drawn in Group C along with Thailand,
“During the Thomas Cup, we also want eddy, Chirag Shetty, M.R. Arjun, England and Indonesia.
to go out there and have fun, enjoy the Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek
whole process of being with the team,” A SURE THING
says H.S. Prannoy, who is India’s No. 1 sin- WHEN TO WATCH IT Not so long ago, India’s tennis teams used
gles player going into this Thomas Cup. It serious talent in singles reserves. M.R. Clockwise from above: Kidambi India defeated Malaysia in the quarter- 27 APRIL, SATURDAY to assume a 1-0 advantage at tournaments
was seniors Prannoy and Kidambi Sri- Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will be the team’s Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy final and got the better of a star-studded India vs Thailand, 3:30 PM because Leander Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi
kanth who had stressed upon, and helped second doubles pair, with Sai Pratheek as and Chirag Shetty, and Lakshya Sen Denmark (including World No. 1 Viktor were guaranteed to win a point in dou-
create, a thriving team atmosphere at the the reserve. Axelsen) in the semi-final. In the final, 29 APRIL, MONDAY bles—and they did so for more than a dec-
last edition. A Thomas Cup tie consists of five they clinched the tie against 14-time India vs England, 7:00 AM ade. In Satwik-Chirag, the Indian badmin-
“Unfortunately, we don’t have anything matches–three singles and two doubles champions Indonesia in the first three ton team has a similar bankable doubles
like a team camp. We don’t have that cul- against ranking counterparts (No. 1 vs No. rubbers. Sen set the tone with a battling 1 MAY, WEDNESDAY pair who can turn the tie in their favour.
ture like some at places like Indonesia or 1 and so on) of the rival team. “I think win- three-game win over Anthony Sinisuka India vs Indonesia, 5:00 PM India’s biggest title threat at the elite
China. Here the players have to take initia- ning the Thomas Cup was one of the big- Ginting. Satwik-Chirag saved four match 16-team event may still come from one of
tive and make sure that we at least spend gest achievements in Indian badminton,” points to defeat Mohammad Ahsan and China, Denmark, and Indonesia (the most
little bit of time together before we go for says Sen. “As a kid I used to watch China or Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21 23-21 Indian team that won a silver at the 2022 successful team in tournament history).
these tournaments,” says Prannoy. Indonesia lift the trophy. When I played 21-19, before Srikanth wrapped up the tie Asian Games—the country’s best per- The tournament may also act as a spring-
“When it comes to a normal tour event, my first Thomas Cup (2018) against China, by beating Asian Games gold medallist formance at the continental event. He is board for young talent like Indonesia’s
you have your dinner, you go back to the just to see their men’s singles line-up was Jonatan Christie in straight games. now ranked No. 9 in the world and, at 31, Alwi Farhan, the junior world champion,
room, you are all by yourself and sleep a bit shocking to me—there was Chen has secured Olympic qualification for the Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul of Thailand
according to your match schedule. But in Long (reigning world champion), Shi Yuqi LEADING FROM THE FRONT first time. and Magnus Johannesen of Denmark.
a team event, you have to spend that extra (All England champion at the time) and Prannoy, who had won the deciders “These kind of team wins give you that Meanwhile, it will be the swansong for
hour or so with your teammates, be it hav- the third singles was Lin Dan (five-time against Malaysia and Denmark, wasn’t extra happiness, that extra confidence former world No. 1 Kento Momota, whose
ing dinner with them or doing some team world champion, two-time Olympic needed to repeat the heroics on the also,” he says. “If you are able to play well career never fully recovered after a car
activity. I am really excited about it.” champion). At that time, I hardly ever final day. But the Thomas Cup tri- in that particular tournament, you can do accident in 2020.
The Indian players will have to believe imagined that we can have such a umph sparked a career revival for well in individual tournaments as well. “There are way too many strong teams
in the collective now more than ever. They strong team and win the event.” him. Ranked No. 23 during the 2023 was one of the best seasons on the out there this time for Thomas Cup,” says
were merely the dark horses the last time India had never won a medal last edition, he was thrown into tour for me, not just because of the medals Prannoy. “Whenever you get into the first
around; they now go in as the defending at the event before 2022, the high-pressure, deciding but also a lot of consistent performances, tie, there is a bit of tension around. It is
champions. didn’t have the serial fifth matches in 2022. But a lot of quarterfinals, a lot of semi-finals important for us to get that first round,
winners that China since then, Prannoy has and a couple of finals as well.” first day match to be getting into the right
READY TO SERVE possessed in their won a World Champi- Prannoy will be hoping that a good per- space of mind, getting some good wins
The core of the team remains the same: golden age, but onship bronze (2023), formance in the Thomas Cup can get him under the belt. It’s not going to be easy at
Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Srikanth are t her e wa s an Asian Games going in 2024 as well. Having played all, but I think we have the belief that the
the leading singles players, while Satwik- enough tal- men’s singles through a back injury at the Asian Games, team which has done that in the past and
sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will ent—and bronze and he missed a few weeks in 2023 to recover is equally motivated to go out there and do
be the No. 1 doubles team. In Priyanshu belief in each was also and recuperate. But Prannoy hasn’t put it again.” Indian badminton’s dream team
Rajawat and Kiran George give them some other—to pull off the heist. part of the his best foot forward yet—he suffered four is chasing an encore.

How Gukesh D. announced himself to the chess world

The 17-year-old Indian nament and only the second Indian after entire tournament,” Gukesh told report- week of December.
Viswanathan Anand to do so. The win ers, laughing. “Even the way he got in—FIDE circuit,
Grandmaster is now just allows him to challenge Ding Liren of He tried to follow the Caruana-Nepom- London classic—that was tough for him.
one win away from China for the world title later this year. niachtchi game on commentary but could He hustled and made it in the last minute.
Should the Indian triumph there as well, not. He then went for a walk with Gajew- What he showed (in Toronto) exceeded
becoming the world’s he would be the sport’s youngest ever ski, before his father Rajnikanth, a doctor, any expectation,” says Sachdev, referring
youngest chess champion world champion.
Gukesh’s title came after 14 gruelling
came running over to them to announce
that it was over. “The walk was (emotion-
to the fact that Gukesh won the Candi-
dates without any prior major interna-
rounds of chess over 18 days between ally) the turning point,” Gukesh said later. tional titles.
Arun Janardhan eight top contenders in the open category, “In this tournament, what set him apart “Champion Ding Liren has not had a
[email protected] which included two other Indians, R. was his nerves. He had so much compo- great year and could falter in the title
Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi, mak- sure, maturity in his play, in practical deci- match later this year,” believes Aaron.

W
hen Dommaraju Gukesh lost to ing this the best Candidates tournament sions,” says Sachdev over a call. “This performance by Gukesh is signifi-
Alireza Firouzja in the seventh from an Indian perspective. “This stellar show reconfirms that his cant as Anand became world champion in
round of the FIDE Candidates “It was unbelievable—what he did and (Gukesh’s) 2022 Chennai Olympiad per- 2000 at age 31. In a generation that is
2024 chess less than two weeks ago, he how he did it. I don’t think anyone formance was no fluke and that he is pro- achieving success earlier than before,
started to believe that he could win the thought (he would win), especially since gressing to the next level,” says Arvind Gukesh’s success is coming more
tournament. The irony is not lost on Gukesh is the youngest and the others Aaron, who runs the Aaron Chess Acad- quickly.”
Gukesh, of how a defeat could inflate con- have so much experience… But it was con- emy in Chennai, over email. The Candidates tournament is a state-
fidence instead of having the opposite sistency. He was never worse off in any of Gukesh’s title win comes as an unex- ment on India’s prowess in the sport. The
effect. The day after that loss was a rest day the games. He was the best player in pected outcome with all the trappings of field of eight had three Indians, two of
and Gukesh woke up with “energy and Toronto,” says Woman Grandmaster an underdog’s story. The Chennai resi- them under the age of 18. And it didn’t
positivity, fully fired up”. (WGM) and commentator Tania Sachdev. dent became the highest ranked Indian even include the highest rated current
“If I had to pinpoint where I felt this “I thought that throughout the tourna- Gukesh D. at the Candidates tournament. COURTESY FIDE player, dethroning Anand after 37 years at player, 21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi, who is
could be my moment, it was probably ment he looked comfortable,” says grand- the top, last year. He was expected to be ninth in FIDE’s published world rating list
after the seventh game, after I lost to Fir- master Dibyendu Barua, who runs the razor’s edge going into the last round on winner would take on Gukesh in a tie- the leader of the young, upcoming Indian for April. Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi
ouzja,” the champion said at a press con- Dhanuka Dhunseri Dibyendu Barua Sunday with four players shooting for the breaker on Monday. But they drew, leav- brigade, but through several twists of fate, finished fifth and sixth respectively.
ference in Toronto on Sunday. “I was Chess Academy in Kolkata. “He lost one top spot. Gukesh, ranked 16th in the ing Gukesh alone at the top on the table. looked in the danger of missing the Candi- Six years ago, when a 11-year-old
upset after that but during the rest day I game, which was an upset because he was world, needed to not lose to world Mo. 3 The whole situation left Gukesh so dates. Praggnanandhaa and Gujrathi qual- Gukesh was asked what he wanted to be
felt so good. Maybe this loss gave me so not in a losing position. He made a mistake Hikaru Nakamura, which he did. But the frazzled that he went back to his hotel ified before him and Gukesh just about when he grew up, and he’d said with com-
much motivation…” and he came back, which is fantastic and Indian was distracted by another match, with coach and second, Polish grandmas- squeezed in, by retaining his International plete confidence: I want to become the
The 17-year-old Gukesh topped the shows his temperament. For me, he was which was to impact his fate. ter Grzegorz Gajewski, while the other Chess Federation (FIDE) circuit lead after youngest world chess champion.
table with nine points, becoming the always the favourite among the Indians.” World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana and No. 7 match was still on. “Those 15 minutes the World Rapid and Blitz Championships He is one contest short of achieving
youngest ever to win the Candidates tour- The tournament result was poised on a Ian Nepomniachtchi needed wins, as the were probably the most stressful of the in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in the final that.