New DeLhi, mumbAi, beNGALuru, kOLkAtA, cHeNNAi, AHmedAbAd, HyderAbAd, cHANdiGArH*, PuNe*, LuckNOw* VOL. 17 NO.

284

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Aster divests Gulf business PCBL to buy Aquapharm for

livemint.com for $1 billion uP1 ₹3,800 crore uP1

7th
edition

Bridging the
HEALTHCARE Healthcare Divide:
e
SUMMIT 2023 Towards
Sustainable
29 th November | New Delhi
Solutions

The 7th Mint Healthcare Summit will bring together policymakers, healthcare leaders, pharma bigwigs, industry captains, start-ups,
leading doctors, scientists, medical experts, and health ecosystem stakeholders from across the country. We will delve into key topics
such as health insurance's penetration challenge, Indian Healthcare's Policy Vision, healthtech's cost-cutting and scaling-up imperatives,
and so on through panel discussions, keynote addresses, and special addresses.

Keynote Address

Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya

Minister of Health and Family
Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers

High tech with scale: The Super speciality hospitals:

The next pandemic. Are we ready?
future of healthcare Challenges and the way forward

Dr. Kaushal K Verma Vishal Bali Dr. Upasana Arora

Dean (Research), Executive Chairman, CEO and Managing Director,
AIIMS AH Holdings Yashoda Super Speciality
Hospitals

Insuring the uninsured: Health insurance's penetration challenge

Mayank Gupta Dr. Bhabatosh Mishra Shilpa Arora Rishi Mathur

COO & Co-Founder, Director- Product, Co-Founder & Chief Distribution Officer
Zopper Underwriting & Claims, COO, Insurance - Alternate Channels and
Niva Bupa Health Samadhan Chief Strategy Officer,
Insurance Canara HSBC Life
Insurance

Healthtech's cost-cutting and scaling-up imperatives

Ashish Shashank ND Prashant Tandon Gautam Chopra

Venkataramani Co-Founder and CEO, Founder & CEO, Co-Founder and CEO,
Partner, Eight Roads Practo Tata 1mg BeatO
Ventures

Indian Healthcare: Challenges and opportunities of the future

Dr. Mahipal S Vivek Dr. Om Aryaman Prof. Tanuja

Sachdev Srivastava Manchanda Tandon Manoj Nesari
Chairman and Co-Founder & Managing Managing Partner Director, All India
Managing Director, CEO, HCAH Director, and Co-Founder, Institute of
Centre For Sight India Dr Lal PathLabs Praxis Global Ayurveda
Alliance

Associate Watch the live

#MintHealthcareSummit
Partners event here
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 NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HyDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, pUNE*, LUCkNOw* VOL. 17 NO. 284

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Think Ahead. Think Growth.

mint primer QUICK EDIT

Racing pulses: All out for

why aren’t dal no loss
The collective sigh of relief that
prices dropping? swept India was almost palpable
as news broke of the rescue of 41
workers who got trapped in a
BY SAYANTAN BERA tunnel blocked by a cave-in on
After vegetables and cereals, it’s the turn of pulses now. Prices of 12 November while it was being
commonly used dals are soaring. But unlike other food crops, taming bored. Swings of hope and
pulse prices is harder, as India is both the largest producer and despair ended in jubilation as
consumer. Mint explains the background and lists the options: the last obstacle was cleared and
a horizontal passage finally
Dearer staple opened to the chamber where
Except for lentils, the y-o-y price rise in other varieties they survived on piped supplies
of pulses ranged from 19% for gram to 41% for tur. and a national pledge to extract
All India average retail price (in ₹/kg) them safely. Out they rolled,
Year-on-year increase (in %)
one after another. Not only did
Tur 157.0 41.1 we owe it to them (it was a pub-
lic works project), the extraction
Urad 124.5 17.6 also upheld our prestige as a
country that can mobilize
Moong 117.3 15.9
resources for challenges full of
Masur 94.8 1.3 uncertainty. While we exult in
the nation’s triumph, the hard
Gram 83.9 18.5 questions raised by the ordeal
Note: Data as on 27 November 2023 must not get lost. Why was
Source: Department of consumer affairs there no escape route? Given
SATISH KUMAR/MINT the fragility of Uttarakhand’s
How have retail prices Why are prices rising hilly terrain, was proper envi-
1 moved?
Consumers in India use a whole
2 sharply?
Data from the agriculture ministry
ronmental clearance sought
before this project got under-
variety of pulses, including tur shows that the area under rain-fed way? As doubts have been aired,
(pigeon pea), masoor (lentils), kharif pulses this year was 11.5% a probe could help clear the air.
chana (gram), urad (black gram), less than the five-year average. Second, apart from easing road
and moong (green gram) as a This means production is likely to access to pilgrimage spots, mili-
staple. The most recent data from drop to 7.12 million tonnes as per tary needs reportedly drove this
the consumer affairs department the first advance estimates
road-expansion plan. Could
shows that except for lentils, the released late last month, compared
year-on-year price rise in other with 8.16 million tonnes last year, these twin benefits have unduly
varieties ranges from 19% for gram and the previous best of 9.6 million tilted the decision against what
to 41% for tur. In some major cities tonnes in 2016-17. Production was an even-handed assessment of
the price rise is more pronounced. also impacted by below-normal risks would recommend?
For instance, retail tur prices in rains in major growing states such
Delhi have shot up by about 50% as Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and
to ₹173 per kg now compared with Maharashtra. Worryingly, planting
₹118 last year. The price rise is of winter grown pulses is also
worrying as pulses are an
important source of protein for
lagging year-on-year—by as much
as 12% for gram—as of 24
MINT METRIC
many families. November. by Bibek Debroy
BLOOMBERG

UK visa office in Karachi

3 Why aren’t farmers growing
more pulses?
Pulses are mostly grown on marginal land,
Chose to cater to every debauchee.
with little or no access to irrigation. Some
Adult videos the norm
varieties like tur are low-yielding, long While filling the application form.
duration crops. As access to irrigation
improved, farmers switched to high-
Or were the Brits simply botchy?
yielding cereals that come with
guaranteed price support. An open import
policy which kept prices low in the past
also led to farmers losing interest.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
There is clearly an asset bubble
4 Can retail prices be
tamed via imports?
Unlike in oilseeds, where India
5 What can we do to
boost production?
A peculiarity of Indian diets is that
going on in private credit.
meets its domestic shortfall with one pulse variety cannot be
There are many other asset
imports of cheap palm oil, global replaced by another, leading to bubbles building. What it needs
supplies of pulses are limited. With inelastic demand. Tur used in
an annual production of 27-28 South Indian kitchens to make
is just one thing to trigger a
million tonnes, India is the largest sambar cannot be replaced by fiduciary crisis.
producer. It meets some of the moong or lentils. That means India
supply gap through imports from must boost production of all
Australia, Canada, Mozambique, varieties (other than gram where it
Malawi, and Myanmar. But usually, is self-sufficient). Faced with high
the import volumes are less than 3 prices, the Centre is considering a COLM KELLEHER
million tonnes annually. To boost new scheme to boost production— CHAIRMAN, UBS
domestic supplies, India is now purchase assurance at a
reportedly exploring production guaranteed price. Beyond this,
opportunities in countries such as India will need a technological
Brazil, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. breakthrough to improve yields.

MINT NEWSLETTERS

TOP OF THE MORNING TWICH+ SATURDAY FEELING

A daily guide to Mint’s best offerings, By VARUN SOOD By SHALINI UMACHANDRAN
‘Top of the Morning’ is a power A newsletter on India’s top five IT Work and life need balance. ‘Saturday
breakfast for your services compa- Feeling’ helps the
mind. Start the day nies—TCS, Wipro, well-heeled, con-
with nutritious Infosys, Cognizant scious business
insights and a clear and HCL Technolo- leader unwind over
overview of the gies—and more. the weekend. Com-
world of business, ‘TWICH+’ is your piled by Shalini
markets, investing weekly guide to Umachandran, the
and finance. A weekday newsletter understanding the industry that editor of Mint Lounge, this newsletter
produced for the curious business put India on the global technology is your weekly guide to an intelligent
leader in you. map. lifestyle.
 PLAIN FACTS

Q2 GDP growth likely

at 6.8%: What it means
BY PrAGYA SrivASTAvA AND MANjUl PAUl

A
t a time when worries over global economic slowdown are far from over, high inflation is still a risk, and extreme
weather conditions have hurt farm output, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to have grown 6.8% in the
September quarter, according to a Mint poll of 18 economists, who put the growth in the range of 6.4-7.2%. The data
is set for release on Thursday.
The prediction is higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) 6.5% forecast—but both indicate a moderation from the
June quarter’s 7.8% growth, primarily because the favourable base effect is fading out. Sequentially, economic activity is
likely to have remained strong despite the risks, economists said. The resilience in growth will likely be “underpinned by
domestic consumption, high levels of capex, and strong growth in the utilities sectors”, Barclays said in a report last week.
Even as second quarter growth is expected to outpace RBI’s projection, economists’ median estimate for the full year
(FY24) at 6.2% is slightly lower than the central bank’s prediction of 6.5% given last month. A back-of-the-envelope calcula-
tion suggests RBI expects GDP growth to be an average of 5.9% in the second half of the year, while economists’ prediction
puts it at 5.1-5.2%.
According to Icra, the impact of uneven monsoon rainfall, narrowing difference with year-ago commodity prices, possible
slowdown in capex ahead of elections, weak external demand, and the cumulative impact of monetary tightening could result
in slower growth in the second half.

Despite a decline in y-o-y pace, GDP growth RBI's last October prediction for full-year
in Q2 likely remained strong GDP growth was somewhat accurate
Year-on-year GDP growth (in %) Year-on-year GDP growth (in %)
14 RBI's October* projection Official estimate**
9.5
12 8.7
7.4 6.8 7 7.2
6.1
10
4.2
8
6.8
FY21
6 FY19 FY20 FY22 FY23
5.2
4

2
-7.3
-9.5
0
Q3 FY22 Q2 FY24* *The projections given by RBI in its October policy meeting ahead of Q2 data
release have been taken into account for each year. **Provisional estimates
*Q2 figure based on estimates of 18 economists polled by Mint. for each year by MoSPI have been used.
Source: CMIE, Mint poll Source: RBI, MoSPI, Mint calculations

At Country’s ‘Service’
WHILE MINING, manufacturing, electricity generation and construction are expected to see better growth in the
second quarter, services sector may see a moderation. But despite the moderation, it is likely to remain the biggest
contributor to GDP growth, according to Barclays estimates, which expects services sector growth to be around 7.7%.
In the June quarter, services grew 10.3%, outpacing growth of 4.7% in manufacturing and 7.9% in construction. Strong
growth is also expected from construction, mainly due to robust capex by both central and state governments and
lesser disruption in the monsoon months due to low rainfall compared to past years.
On the other hand, the rural economy, especially the farm sector, may see a setback as weather vagaries resulted in
delay in sowing activity. “We expect agriculture growth to have remained subdued at 1.5% given the fall in crop
production,” said Kanika Pasricha, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

Private consumption tends to slow

after general elections
Election Euphoria
Year-on-year growth in private final consumption WITH ELECTIONS approaching, the government has made
expenditure (in %) efforts to not only boost the economy through capex but also to
Before elections* After elections** boost consumption through cuts in LPG gas prices and the
6.5 extension of the free food grain programme. As such, private
1999 consumption often gets a boost before elections.
6.1
“Real private consumption growth going into the general
5.9 elections has been mixed, with the growth rate generally rising
2004
5.2 a year before elections but falling subsequently as we
4.5 approached the election date,” Goldman Sachs noted in a
2009
5 report last week.
Past data indeed shows an opposite trend in the run-up to polls
7.3 and after. This could partly be because of disruptions caused by
2014
6.4 the elections itself, with the elected government starting to work
7.1 in full swing with the presentation of the full Budget in July.
2019
5.2 While consumption growth and domestic demand are likely to
*Before election denotes 12 months ended March of that year. remain strong, if the previous trends are anything to go by, they
**After election denotes 12 months starting April of that year. may show signs of slowdown in the next fiscal.
Source: CMIE
pragya.s@livemint.com

DATA REWIND
Data Rewind is an occasional Plain Facts feature that brings you interesting statistics and charts from the yesteryears.
The 1980 Economic Census classified employment into 12 major Share of non-farm workers employed in
sectors, each drilled down into several sub-segments. The public administration in states and UTs
"manufacturing and repair services" sector was the biggest
HIGHEST (in %)
employer outside of farm jobs, but the biggest sub-segment lay in
another domain. The most popular employer was public Arunachal Pradesh 43.5
administration—part of the "community, social and personal
services" grouping—which employed 16.1% of the Indians in Chandigarh 39.5
non-agricultural jobs. In Arunachal Pradesh, nearly 44% of the
workers outside agriculture were part of the public administration
Mizoram 36.7
system. The share was less than 13% in Maharashtra, West Bengal
and Tamil Nadu.
Meghalaya 32.5
Largest employers outside agriculture in 1980 LOWEST
(in %)
Maharashtra 12.1

Tamil Nadu 11.9

37.1 33.7 11.3
4.4 3.8 West Bengal 10.7
Manufacturing Community, Wholesale Financing, Restaurants Goa, Daman and Diu
and repair social and and retail insurance, real and hotels
5.6
services personal services* trade estate and
business services
Based on activity classification into 12 major groups. The census did not cover Assam, Bihar, Kerala and Lakshadweep.
*Includes public administration (16.1%) and educational services (10.3%). Source: Economic Census 1980, Mint calculations
Compiled by Shuja Asrar

PARAS JAIN/MINT

PEANUTS by Charles M. Schulz

 NEw DElHI, MUMBAI, BENGALURU, kOLkATA, CHENNAI, AHMEDABAD, HYDERABAD, CHANDIGARH*, PUNE*, LUCkNOw* VOL. 17 NO. 284 Rs. 10.00 . Price with Hindustan Times Rs. 15.50 20 PAGES

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Can Uber navigate the bumpy All 41 workers trapped in

livemint.com road ahead? uP10 Uttarkashi tunnel rescued uP9

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Aster divests Gulf RP-Sanjiv Goenka’s PCBL to DON’T MISS

Adani Group m-cap (₹ tn)
buy Aquapharm for ₹3,800 cr 30
24 Jan

business for $1 bn
Hindenburg Research
19.4 releases its Adani report
20
Ranjani Raghavan arrange the sale.
ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com Mint also identified PCBL as
11.3
10
MUMBAI one of the suitors in a 17 Octo-
Fajr Cap consortium to hold 65%, Moopen 35% in Gulf entity ber report that said Dorf Ketal

R
P-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s was raising ₹3,800 crore in 0
2 Jan 28 Nov
PCBL Ltd has agreed to non-convertible debentures to Source: Capitalmarket (10 listed Adani stocks)
Ranjani Raghavan acquire 100% stake in fund the acquisition.
ranjani.raghavan@livemint.com PARTING wAys Pune-based Aquapharm PCBL reported net revenue Adani Group stocks add $1 tn,
most since Hindenburg report
MUMBAI Chemicals Pvt. Ltd for ₹3,800 of ₹5,873.9 crore for 2022-23,
Aster DM Healthcare says the move to separate its GCC business will
crore, beating rivals Dorf Ketal and a profit after tax of Adani Group firms witnessed their biggest
unlock shareholder value and attract more institutional investors.

L
eading hospital chain Aster and Tata Chemicals Ltd. ₹444.09 crore. increase in market capitalization of over ₹1
DM Healthcare Ltd on Tues-
day said it will separate its $ 2 bn THE current m-cap of the combined India
and Gulf business
The acquisition will give
PCBL, among the largest man- A picture of Aquapharm’s US
A major portion of PCBL’s
revenue comes from the sale of
trillion for the first time since the
Hindenburg report, days after the apex
mainstay Gulf business and $1 bn: The amount for which Aster DM Healthcare ufacturers of carbon black plant. The deal may conclude carbon black to tyre manufac- court reserved judgement on PILs seeking a
sell it to its Indian promoters (Moo- will sell its Gulf business material in India, a crucial foot- in two to three months. turers, CareEdge Ratings said court-monitored probe of the group. >P4
pen family) and a Dubai consortium $903 mn $98.8 mn hold in the specialty segments in a 14 September report.
for $1.001 billion, in a move it said THE amount payable MILESTONE-based payment if the GCC of water treatment chemicals pleted in two to three months. “The demand for specialty
to Aster DM Healthcare business hits Ebitda targets in FY24 Raymond promoters should step
will unlock shareholder value and and oil and gas chemicals. PCBL will acquire Aqua- black has also been witnessing
attract more institutional investors. The transaction values THE GULF PIE PCBL, earlier known as pharm shares from the com- an increase. The supply dis- aside amid charges: Proxy firm
the Gulf business at
A consortium led by United Arab  65%: To be owned by a Phillips Carbon Black Ltd, pany’s founders Vimal and ruptions from China and Rus- The independent directors of Raymond
Emirates (UAE) government- $1.7 bn $1 bn consortium led by Fajr Capital expects to finance the deal Dharmesh Mangwani and sia have benefitted the domes- should request the promoters to step aside,
backed Fajr Capital will own 65% of ENTERPRISE EQUITY  35%: To be owned by Aster's through a mix of internal Nitin Desai, of Desai Brothers tic manufacturers,” CareEdge following the serious accusations against
promoter Azad Moopen CMD Gautam Singhania, according to
the Gulf entity, while Azad Moopen, value value accruals and external fundrais- Ltd, the owners of Mother’s said in another report dated 21
the promoter of Aster, will own 35%, ing, the company told stock Recipe pickles brand. September. Institutional Investor Advisory Services
once the transaction is concluded. exchanges after the share-pur- Mint reported the impend- The acquisition is expected India Ltd (IiAS), a proxy advisory firm. >P5
Aster’s business in the GCC (Gulf These two markets are different; chase agreement was signed ing sale of Aquapharm first on 2 to improve PCBL’s revenue
Cooperation Council) countries is we have to have a separate set of on 28 November. The acquisi- April 2023, after the company
housed under Alpha GCC Holdings investors as well as a separate set of tion is expected to be com- hired investment bank Stifel to TURN TO PAGE 6 First-ever critical mineral blocks
Ltd, a wholly owned material sub- strategies and management teams. auction to commence today
sidiary of Aster DM Healthcare. The government will launch its first-ever
The current market cap of the DR. AZAD MOOPEN, founder, chairman and
auction of critical and strategic mineral

Independent directors’ salaries

combined India and GCC business
stands at $2 billion. The transaction
values the GCC business at an
enterprise value of $1.7 billion
(₹13,540 crore) and an equity value
of $1.001 billion (₹8,215 crore), the
MD, Aster DM Healthcare.
blocks today as it seeks to boost
exploration and development of these
lower margins, founder Azad Moo- While Fajr Capital will fetch the minerals. In the first tranche, 20 blocks
pen said in an interview.
“The India market was not giving
the value for the GCC business,”
bulk of the money for the deal, the
Moopen family will fund its share of
the transaction through dividends
double in 5 yrs as demand soars spread across the country are on offer. >P2

company said. The deal will help
erase the Gulf company’s debt.
Of the $1.001 billion, $903 mil-
lion will be paid to Aster DM
Healthcare. The bulk of the pro-
Moopen said.
“Our investors told us that these
two geographies have got their own
destiny. We also realized that these
two markets are different, we have
secured from the listed India busi-
ness. The company said that it is
“desirous” of declaring dividends to
the shareholders of Aster DM
Healthcare from the proceeds of the
Devina Sengupta ors on the boards of life scien-
devina.sengupta@livemint.com ces companies reaped the big-
MUMBAI gest hikes, although those with
IT services firms got paid the
Independent Director Remu-
neration in India–Beyond the
headlines. “The average inde-
pendent director remunera-
India faces fodder shortage;
milk prices set to rise further
India is facing a major shortage of dry
fodder, which could further inflate milk
prices. The shortage is put down to the

ceeds will be issued as dividends to
Aster DM Healthcare investors, the
company said, subject to board
approval. The rest will be paid out
subsequent to certain ‘contingent
events’, including an earnout of up
to $70 million based on Ebitda
(earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization)
achieved by the GCC business in
FY24, the company said.
The Gulf business generates 70%
of Aster’s revenues, but it was a drag
on the India business because of
to have a separate set of investors as
well as a separate set of strategies
and management teams for both
strategies,” he added.
Moopen will continue in his role
as founder and chairman, and will
oversee both India and GCC busi-
nesses, while his daughter Alisha
Moopen will be promoted to the
position of managing director and
Group CEO of the GCC business
(currently, she is deputy managing
director). Nitish Shetty will con-
tinue as CEO of the India business.
I
sale, subject to approvals required
under law.
“We have some resources here,
but we are the largest shareholders
owning 42% in Aster DM Health-
care. The money that comes in
(through dividends), we hope that
we can fund using that,” Moopen
said. In the listed entity, the pro-
moters’ 42% stake is pledged
against a debt of $80 million, which
will be retired, he said.
TURN TO PAGE 6
ndependent directors are in
huge demand and compa-
nies are rewarding them
handsomely with hefty pay
hikes to be on their boards.
At an average annual
increase of 15%, the compensa-
tion of independent directors
of 50 stock bellwethers dou-
bled over the last five fiscal
years, shows a Deloitte study
shared exclusively with Mint.
Between 2017-18 and
2022-23, independent direct-
most, exceeding ₹1 crore in
annual compensation.
Overall, four out of 10 inde-
pendent directors now earn sal-
aries beyond ₹1 crore, compared
with just one out of 10 five years
earlier, according to Deloitte.
“Independent director
remuneration increased 15%
CAGR (compounded annual
growth rate) over the last 5
years to ₹58 lakh in FY23 in
Nifty-50 companies,” the audit
firm said in its study titled
tion is the lowest in financial
services, while it is highest in
(the) IT services sector.”
Compensation for inde-
pendent directors has surged
over the past few years as com-
panies scramble to recruit
niche and skilled individuals
to their boards, particularly as
senior industry executives
typically prefer joining “brag
value boards”, or boards of
TURN TO PAGE 6
increased cattle population, low availability
of grassland, stubble burning, and the use of
paddy straw for ethanol production. >P6
Treat MFN clause under Vienna
Convention: MNC review pleas
European multinational companies facing
hefty tax demands in India have filed review
petitions urging the Supreme Court to
follow the Vienna Convention in
interpreting the most-favoured nation
clause in tax treaties. >P6

Ad contract ban Mandaviya, top execs to speak at

for UPSC winners Mint Healthcare Summit today
Dhirendra Kumar declaration of results, according Alokesh Bhattacharyya and fireside chats.
dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com to a communication from the alokesh.b@livemint.com The summit will see a wide
NEw DELHI Central Consumer Protection NEw DELHI variety of subjects being delib-
Authority (CCPA) to the depart- erated, and several top-notch

S U
uccessful candidates of
India’s civil services
examinations will no
longer enjoy unfettered,
round-the-year advertising
revenue from institutes that
coach them and use these ads to
attract future students.
All successful candidates,
including toppers, of Union
Public Service Commission
(UPSC) examinations will now
have to terminate their contracts
with such institutes after signing
the joining letter following the
ment of personnel and training
(DoPT), the cadre-controlling
authority of all officers selected
through various competitive
exams conducted by UPSC.
This comes after a CCPA
inquiry concluded that the way
coaching institutes use photos of
IAS (Indian Administrative Ser-
vice) toppers in their ads falls
under the ‘misleading advertise-
ment’ and ‘unfair trade prac-
tices’ clauses of the Consumer
TURN TO PAGE 6
nion health minister
Mansukh L. Mandav-
iya will lead a galaxy of
thought leaders, healthcare
HEALTHCARE
SUMMIT 2023
honchos, investors and inde-
pendent experts at Wednes-
day’s Mint Healthcare Sum-
mit, the seventh edition in
the series. While the cabinet
Union health minister
Mansukh L. Mandaviya.
minister will deliver the key-
note address, the rest of the
day will be packed with
brainstorming sessions,
including panel discussions
speakers from different arms
of the industry laying out their
challenges and growth strate-
gies for the sector that has
been growing at a swift pace
despite challenges.
Technology being a critical
component in the modern
healthcare system, the event
will see industry stalwart Vis-
hal Bali, executive chairman of
AH Holdings, hold forth on
how advanced technology can
TURN TO PAGE 6

Cost of doing biz with China: A $40,000 dinner

AP
Lingling Wei nies. Intel’s planned acquisition all its conditions, according to trip.
feedback@livemint.com of Israeli firm Tower Semicon- people familiar with the matter. During the session, Tan, an
ductor, for more than $5 bil- Broadcom executives, how- ethnic Chinese businessman

B
roadcom Chief Execu-
tive Hock Tan shelled
out $40,000 to sit at Xi
Jinping’s table for the Chinese
leader’s recent dinner in San
Francisco with the heads of
American businesses. Tan had
a lot more at stake—a $69 bil-
lion deal he was waiting on
China to approve.
For months, Chinese regula-
tors wouldn’t clear the U.S.
chipmaker’s bid to buy enter-
prise software developer
VMware, leading Broadcom to
put off its date for completion
of the deal—first announced in
May 2022—three times. Bei-
jing had held up previous
mergers involving U.S. compa-
lion, was scuttled in August
after Chinese regulators failed
to approve it.
A few days after the dinner,
China signed off on Broad-
com’s deal. Beijing also gave a
long-awaited green light to
New York-based payments
processor Mastercard to issue
yuan-denominated cards bear-
ing its brand in the country.
Some observers saw the
moves as olive branches to
American corporations as firms
grow wary of doing business in
China. The moves also show
how companies can become
pawns in the intensifying geo-
political competition between
Washington and Beijing.
Xi Jinping, President of China.
As recently as October, offi-
cials at China’s antitrust regula-
tor, the State Administration
for Market Regulation, indi-
cated to Broadcom that they
were ready to sign off on the
deal as long as the company met
ever, extended the deal dead-
line after getting indications
from Chinese officials that it
wouldn’t be a simple business
decision. China’s Foreign Min-
istry would have a say as well,
the people said.
With that
in mind,
Broad-
com’s Tan
sought and succeeded in secur-
ing a spot in a meeting with
Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi in late October, the
people said. Wang, who was in
Washington to pave the way for
Xi’s November visit, held a
meeting with U.S. business
leaders on the sidelines of his
born in Malaysia who is now an
American citizen, raised the
Broadcom-VMware deal.
Wang responded by saying
Beijing continued to welcome
foreign investment, without
giving any clues to China’s pos-
s i b l e
actions, the
people said.
Broad-
com declined to comment.
Mastercard didn’t respond to
questions. China’s foreign min-
istry referred The Journal to
the official statement released
on Nov. 21 approving the
Broadcom deal.
TURN TO PAGE 6
02 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi
Petroleum export
earnings decline as
crude prices fall
Rhik Kundu
rhik.kundu@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
I
ndia, having expanded the
export markets for refined
petroleum products, saw a
steep fall in earnings from
petroleum shipments in the
April-October period this year
due to declining crude oil pri-
ces, global economic slow-
down, a rise in domestic con-
sumption, and shrinking dis-
counts on Russian oil.
According to data from the
government’s Niryat portal,
the export value of petroleum
products stood at $45.56 bil-
lion in April-October 2023,
down 17.84% from $55.45 bil-
lion in the year-ago period.
Petroleum exports to South
America, Africa, South Asia,
West Asia-North Africa
(WANA) and South-east Asia
saw a decline in value terms.
However, earnings from
exports to Europe, North
America and CIS rose.
The price of Brent crude has
declined 3% in the last year.
A commerce ministry
spokesperson didn’t respond
to emailed queries.
Interestingly, India imports
most of its petroleum require-
ments despite being a key
refining hub in Asia, with an
annual installed capacity of
250 million tonnes across 23
refineries.
Since early 2022, India’s oil
imports have been boosted by
sanctions-hit Russia, which
sold oil at a discount.
Indian astronaut to join ISS crew in ’24 Removal of defunct firms gains
Shouvik Das & Gulveen Aulakh
NEW DELHI
pace under centralized facility
I
ndian and US space agencies
will collaborate to put an
Indian astronaut on the
International Space Station by
the end of the next year—
marking a watershed moment
in India’s growing space ambi-
tions.
The collaboration between
the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (Nasa)
and the Indian Space Research
Organisation (Isro) was
announced on Tuesday by US
senator Bill Nelson, who also
serves as the administrator of
Nasa.
Nelson said he had met Jit-
endra Singh, union minister of
state (MoS) for space, to urge
him to speed up the human
mission on a private space
launch.
“The details are being
worked out, and Isro is pres-
ently working on it,” Nelson
said during a visit—his first— to
India.
The visit followed last year’s
signing of the Initiative on Crit-
ical and Emerging Technolo-
gies (iCET) treaty by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
US President Joe Biden—
expanding collaboration on
emerging space technologies.
m MINT SHORTS
Govt may bring in safeguards
for healthcare workers
New Delhi: The government may consider introducing
legal safeguards for health-
MINT care workers, who at times
face violence from relatives or
attendants of patients, a par-
liamentary panel said.The
Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Home Affairs
headed by BJP member Brij
Lal, discussed a memoranda
submitted by various medical associations.
Govt to consider proposal for
2nd aircraft carrier for Navy
New Delhi: The government is set to positively consider
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Steep fall
Earnings from India’s petro exports
fell 17.84% y-o-y in Apr-Oct 2023
Value (in $ billion)
Apr-Oct 2022 Apr-Oct 2023
North America
South America
Europe
Africa
WANA (West Asia
Northen Africa)
North East Asia
South Asia
ASEAN
Oceania
0 5
Source: Bloomberg data
According to Reuters, the
share of Russian oil in India’s
overall imports rose to about
two-fifths during the first half
of the current financial year,
consolidating Moscow’s posi-
tion as the top supplier as
Indian refiners curbed pur-
chase from the West Asia.
India imported on average
1.76 million barrels per day
(bpd) of Russian oil from April
to September 2023, more than
double the 780,000 bpd in the
year-ago period.
However, due to narrowing
of discounts by Russian sup-
pliers, India’s import of Rus-
sian oil has slowed down.
Data from Kpler and Vor-
texa showed a 12% and 8%
decline in India’s monthly
intake of Russian oil in Octo-
ber from the previous month.
US senator Bill Nelson.
Nelson added that the two
national space agencies have
formed a joint working group
on human spaceflight collabo-
ration, which will work on
upcoming human space mis-
sions, as well as other space
research projects.
The India-US space collabo-
ration will also work on a major
satellite—the Nasa-Isro Syn-
thetic Aperture Radar (Nisar).
Calling the satellite a “great
observatory”, Nelson said,
“There is so much that India
and the US can do together.
We’re already doing a lot of sci-
ence together—a good example
of that is that in Q1 2024, in a
joint venture, India will launch
Nisar. This is a part of great
PTI
ECONOMY & POLICY LIVEMINT.COM
India faces fodder shortage;
milk prices set to rise further
Gap due to rise in cattle population, less grassland area, stubble burning, ethanol production
The initiative supports the
Dhirendra Kumar & Puja Das million hectares the gross cropped clean energy switch. BLOOMBERG
NEW DELHI area. Additionally, erratic fodder sup-
ply during the summer months or a
First-ever
I
ndia is facing a major shortage of drought-like situation widens the gap
dry fodder, according to two scien- in the supply chain.
tists at the Indian Grassland and
Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI),
The recently estimated deficit in
green fodder is 11.24%, and 23.4% in the
auction of
pointing to a supply gap that could
further inflate milk prices.
The shortage of between 25% and
case of dry fodder.
“The shortage is regional and sea-
sonal as well. During monsoon, pro-
critical
90% of the critical livestock input is put
down to increased cattle population,
duction increases while in summer, it
reduces to a minimum level. The grass- minerals
low availability of grassland area, stub- land area is declining. We are demand-
10
15
ble burning and use of paddy straw—
that would otherwise become fodder—
ing for creation of national grassland
authority with the mandate to identify
today
for ethanol production. all grassland areas available in the
The 25% shortage in dry fodder is in country and work on its sustainable Subhash Narayan
mainland regions, but it’s much more use,” the second scientist said. subhash.narayan@livemint.com
pronounced in northeastern states and The 25% shortage in dry fodder is in mainland regions, but it’s more pronounced in Queries sent to the animal hus- NEW DELHI
Himachal Pradesh, where it is up to the northeastern states and Himachal Pradesh, where it is up to 90%. MINT bandry and dairying department, agri-
T
90%, according to one of the scientists culture department and IGFRI he government will
at the Jhansi-based research institute. The second scientist said the short- culture has also impacted the natural remained unanswered at press time. launch its first-ever auc-
Both scientists spoke anonymously age of dry fodder is mainly because of sources of dry fodder, such as the crop India ranks fourth in global feed pro- tion of critical and strate-
to Mint. the diversion of paddy straw to industry residue generated from husking of duction with 43.3 million tonnes. The gic mineral blocks today as it
The development assumes signifi- for ethanol production, shrinking paddy, wheat, pulses, and oil meal global animal feed market was $501.9 seeks to boost exploration and
cance because retail milk prices grassland and an exponential cakes, the second person said, billion in 2022 and is expected development of these minerals.
have shot up year-on-year, rise in livestock population. adding that 40% of crop resi- to grow to $606.3 billion by This auction follows amend-
as fodder, a key feed ingre- India’s cattle popula- due is utilized for livestock 2028, according to the ments to mining legislation this
dient for livestock, has
become more expensive. 70%
of cost of livestock
tion has gone up from 40 feed.
million at Independence Currently, India is mn
cattle population
International Feed Indus-
try Federation. 527 year to allow the private sector
in exploration and mining of
On Sunday, the all-India to 527 million now, as dealing with a fodder cri- As per the Food and these important minerals.
average retail milk price management per the 20th Livestock sis with the daunting now; it was 40 mn Agriculture Organiza- In the first tranche of auc-
stood at ₹57.52 a litre comprises fodder Census, released by the challenge of producing at Independence tion, the world has to pro- tions, the mines ministry is
against ₹54.9 during the ministry of fisheries, ani- enough feed and fodder duce 60% more food by offering 20 blocks spread
corresponding period last mal husbandry and dairying from an already shrinking 2050 to feed a total popula- across the country.
year. in June. land resource. tion that is expected to rise to 9.3 The “landmark initiative”
Fodder makes 70% of the cost of live- However, the area described a grass- As per the Land Use Statistics billion. This also has implications for will boost the economy,
stock management, with the remaining land has remained nearly the same as at 2018-19, out of India’s landmass of animal-based protein production, enhance national security and
30% going on breeding and healthcare, Independence. 328.7 million hectares, 139.3 million which has to increase. support the clean energy
this person said. The growing mechanization of agri- hectares is the net sown area and 197.3 dhirendra.kumar@livemint.com switch, the mines ministry said.
The lack of availability of
these minerals or the concen-
tration of their extraction or
processing in the hands of a
small number of countries may
lead to supply chain vulnerabil-
observatories. Four such The first unmanned pilot of the
observatories, combined with Gaganyaan mission is expected
ities.
The future global economy
will be underpinned by tech-
25 spacecrafts looking at the to be conducted early next year. nologies that depend on miner-
Gireesh Chandra Prasad
earth, is a combination that will Nelson’s visit is a sign of tion. Although the authorities als such as lithium, graphite,
help us precisely determine increasing collaboration gireesh.p@livemint.com make provisions for the com- cobalt, titanium and rare earth
what’s happening to our planet between international entities NEW DELHI pany to realize all dues and pay elements. India has committed
and its climate.” with India’s space sector, which off its liabilities before closure, to achieving 50% of cumulative
T
The satellite combines two was liberalized in 2020. Since he removal of defunct any liability of shareholders, electric power installed capac-
spectrum bands—one each for then, over 150 private space companies from official and managers and directors ity from non-fossil sources by
Isro and Nasa—which will startups have been launched in records has gained pace who wield management pow- 2030.
expand its capability of analyz- India, the more prominent of under a new centralized facil- ers will be enforced even after The energy transition plan is
ing terrestrial, atmospheric and which have also now begun ity the government set up in the company is removed from set to drive the demand for
weather anomalies. Integration attracting international invest- April, boosting a massive the records. electric cars, wind and solar
of the satellite’s capability was ments. clean-up drive. According to The accelerated exit facility energy projects and battery
conducted at Nasa’s Jet Propul- However, both the invest- official data, there are more brings relief to entrepreneurs, storage systems thereby
sion Laboratory ment quantum, as than 2.4 million registered given that almost 150,000 increasing the demand for
(JPL) in Califor- The Indo-US well as the active companies in India but only companies are formed every these critical minerals.
nia, while testing space pact client base of about 1.5 million of them are year and some never take off Critical and strategic mineral
is currently includes work on India’s private active. As per official data, only about for various reasons. Experts supplies are usually met by
underway at the a satellite, the space entities, Data from the ministry of 1.5 mn companies out of over say ‘ease of exit’ is a factor that imports, catering to sectors like
U.R. Rao Satellite remain limited in corporate affairs showed that 2.4 mn are active. MINT weighs on investment deci- renewable energy, defence,
Nasa-Isro
Centre in Benga- comparison to in November alone, more than sions, too. agriculture, pharmaceutical,
luru. Synthetic private US space 1,170 companies were panies, in which the regula- For the authorities, remov- high-tech electronics, tele-
Nisar is Aperture Radar firms such as Spa- removed from official records, tor’s approval is sought after ing defunct businesses from communications, transport
expected to be ceX, Boeing, after more than 1,730 in Sep- clearing all liabilities. official records makes the cor- and gigafactories.
launched into Lockheed Martin tember and more than 1,140 in This function was, until porate registry more manage- The government amended
orbit aboard a mission of the and others. Nelson added dur- August. No companies were April, exercised by the appro- able and improves regulatory the MMDR Act in August to
Geosynchronous Satellite ing a media roundtable that the removed in October as the priate Registrar of Companies oversight. notify 24 minerals as critical
Launch Vehicle—India’s heavi- present discussions did not process is not conducted every (RoC). That month the gov- Separately, the government and strategic.
est capacity rocket—some time include enabling private sector month.These companies are ernment rolled out the Centre has allowed the incorporation Revenue generated from
next year. collaborations—stating that dissolved under a provision in for Processing Accelerated of companies and limited lia- these auctions shall accrue to
To be sure, the manned any onus of this will lie with the Companies Act, either for Corporate Exit (CPACE) to bility partnerships (LLPs) state governments.
space mission to carry an Isro.A press statement added not starting operations within make the process centralized under its national single-win- The auction shall be held
Indian astronaut to the ISS is that Isro is presently in discus- a year of incorporation or for and uniform. dow system (NSWS), which online through a transparent
different from Gaganyaan— sions with private US space not carrying out any economic Under the new system, busi- offers various central and state two-stage process. The eligible
India’s own manned space mis- firms to explore collaborations activity in the preceding two nesses that wish to discon- approvals in one place, in addi- bidder shall be selected based
sion that aims to launch an for India’s commercial space years. tinue operations can secure tion to the incorporation facil- on the highest percentage of
astronaut from home soil, and firms. This provision also covers dormant status upon request ity available under the minis- the value of mineral des-
carry them to the lunar surface. shouvik.das@livemint.com the voluntary closure of com- while retaining their registra- try’s MCA21 portal. patched quoted by them.
Meeting held on cyber
the Indian Navy’s proposal for construction of a second
aircraft carrier at a cost of around ₹40,000 crore, in a
major move that comes against the backdrop of rising
India to step up purchases
of coking coal from Russia security in financial sector ISTOCKPHOTO
CORRECTIONS AND
CLARIFICATIONS
concerns over China’s increasing forays into the Indian BLOOMBERG New Delhi: The Secretary, Mint welcomes comments,
Ocean region. PTI Department of Financial suggestions or complaints
Services (DFS), chaired a about errors.
meeting to discuss issues
Stage-III curbs lifted in Delhi- related to cyber security in Readers can alert the
newsroom to any errors in the
the financial services sector.
NCR after air quality improves The meeting was also
paper by emailing us, with your
full name and address to
New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday ordered the revoca- attended by Secretary, Tele- feedback@livemint.com.
tion of restrictions under Stage-III of GRAP across the com and senior officials of
national capital region (NCR) with immediate effect, fol- the DFS, department of eco- It is our policy to promptly
respond to all complaints.
lowing an improvement in air quality. The Commission nomic affairs, department of revenue, ministry of elec- Readers dissatisfied with the
for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region tronics and information technology, department of tel- response or concerned about
and Adjoining Areas, a statutory body responsible for for- New Delhi: India will step up imports of coking coal, ecom, Reserve Bank of India, Telecom Regulatory Mint’s journalistic integrity may
HT mulating strategies to combat a key material in steel manufacturing, from Russia, Authority of India, Unique Identification Authority of write directly to the editor by
pollution, met on Tuesday in as cargoes from top supplier Australia drop and steel India, Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Centre, sending an email to
view of a significant improve- mills struggle with rising prices, three government National Payments Corporation of India and several asktheeditor@livemint.com
ment in the air quality of Del- sources and an industry executive said. Steel mills in private and public sector banks and payment gateways. Mint’s journalistic Code of
hi-NCR. The Centre’s pollu- India. the world’s second-biggest crude steel pro- The Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Centre, minis- Conduct that governs our
tion control panel had ducer, have struggled with patchy supplies of coking try of home affairs, made a presentation on digital pay-
invoked the Stage III restric- coal from Australia. REUTERS ment frauds as reported in the National Cyber Crime
newsroom is available at
www.livemint.com
tions on 2 November. PTI Reporting portal. SUBHASH NARAYAN
LIVEMINT.COM DEALS, TECH & STARTUPS WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 03

m MINT SHORTS
HempStreet secures $1 mn funding
Ant Group’s Alipay to exit Zomato
from existing, new investors
Bengaluru: HempStreet has raised $1 million (₹8.3 crore) in a
pre-Series A funding round led by existing investor Carl Waahlin. Alipay’s proposed share sale follows the sale of 1.1% stake for ₹1,200 crore by Softbank Group last month
Other investors in this round include existing investor Andre
Rodrigues and a clutch of undisclosed high-net-worth individu- Sneha Shah & Ranjani Raghavan a 1.17% stake in Zomato for ₹940 crore ₹36 crore for the July-September
als (HNIs) from Southeast Asia along with Abhishek Mohan. The mumbAi ($114 million) . quarter sequentially compared to ₹2
startup will use the funding to expand its activities around clinical On 28 August, Tiger Global -backed crore in the April-June quarter and a

A
trials for proprietary formulations and undertake research and nt Group’s payments
development (R&D) activities to develop its Ayurveda-based platform Alipay is set to
products further. K AMOGHAVARSHA offload shares of Zomato
Ltd in a $395 million
block deal on Wednes-
WEH Ventures, others back day, according to a termsheet
reviewed by Mint.
investment platform SustVest Alipay’s share sale follows a partial
ISTOCKPHOTO
stake sale by Softbank Group last
month where the Japanese investor
sold 1.1% stake for ₹1,200 crore.
Zomato shares have risen around 80%
over the last one year. Alipay is selling
296 million shares and expects to raise
₹3,290 crore or ($395 million) on
Wednesday. With this Alipay will exit,
but Ant Group will continue to own
stake through another entity.
Shares will be offered at ₹111.28
apiece—a 2.2% discount to the last
close price. Zomato shares closed at
Bengaluru: SustVest has raised $250,000 (₹2.08 crore) in ₹113.80 apiece on Tuesday.
a funding round led by WEH Ventures. The round also saw Bank of America Securities India
participation from Asav Partners and a host of undisclosed Ltd and Morgan Stanley are arranging
angel investors. The Gurugram-based startup will use the the trade.
funds to expand its user base and targets to increase its Over the past year, Deepinder Goy-
assets under management to ₹100 crore in the next twelve al-founded Zomato’s price has gone
months. SustVest has earlier raised $160,000 and was up by 80% to ₹113.8 from ₹62.05,
accelerated by Gruhas Proptech, DLF Family office and according to the exchanges.
Anthill Ventures. It has also received ₹30 lakh in a grant Alipay invested $360 million in
from the ministry of electronics and IT under its Techno-
logical Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs
(TIDE) 2.0 scale-up programme. K AMOGHAVARSHA
Zomato shares closed at ₹113.80 apiece on Tuesday.
2018, according to an Inc42 report.
Alibaba Group has also separately
invested through Ant Financial in
Zomato.
Alipay currently owns 3.44% stake
(or 296 million shares) in Zomato
while Antfin Singapore Holdings Pte,
MINT
another Ant Group entity, owns 6.39%
stake in the company.
Other VC investors have steadily
sold their stakes in the open markets in
Zomato.
On 30 August 2023, SoftBank’s Svf
Growth (Singapore) Pte. Ltd had sold
Internet Fund III Pte Ltd had sold loss of ₹251 crore in the corresponding
123.5 million shares, or 1.44% in quarter last year. The online food
Zomato at an average price of ₹91.01 delivery platform’s revenue from
apiece via bulk deal on the BSE. operations in the second quarter of the
Between 25 July last year and 2 current fiscal came in at ₹2,848 crore,
August, the New York-based hedge registering a growth of 72%, compared
fund sold over 184 million to ₹1,661 crore in the year-
shares, or 2.34%, of MAKING ago period, Mint reported
Zomato in the open mar- AN EXIT earlier.
ket. On 29 August, DST The gross order value
Global, via its investment ALIPAY is selling (GOV)—the total value of
firm Apoletto Asia, too, 296 million shares
and expects to
all food delivery orders
had monetized around 32 raise ₹3,290 crore placed—across its B2C
million Zomato shares at on Wednesday businesses (food delivery
₹90.10 apiece. with quick commerce and
During the aforemen- SHARES will be going-out) rose 47% year-
offered at ₹111.28
tioned stake sales by off- apiece—a 2.2% on-year (y-o-y) to ₹11,422
shore investors, compa- discount to the crore. The company’s total
nies including Axis Mutual last close price expenses were ₹3,039
Fund, SBI Life Insurance crore in the quarter under
Co., ICICI Prudential Life review, compared to
Insurance, Founders Collective Fund, ₹2,092 crore in the year-ago period.
Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, and The current financial year has seen
Societe Generale picked up the shares unprecedented deal flow in the bulk
of the food delivery company. and block deals space, especially from
Earlier this month, Zomato financial sponsors who have taken
reported a second straight quarter of advantage of favourable markets and
profit for the three months period liquidity situation to take some money
ended September 2023. The SoftBank off the table.
backed company booked a profit of sneha.shah@livemint.com

Global regulators to assess if

more crypto safeguards needed
London: More measures may be needed to stop blow-ups at com-
plex crypto firms like FTX from destabilising the wider financial
system, the global Financial Stability Board (FSB) said on Tuesday.
The FSB said turmoil in crypto markets last year when FTX col-
lapsed highlighted how “multifunction” crypto firms, that com-
bine trading and other activities, can exacerbate vulnerabilities.
The vulnerabilities are similar to those found in traditional
finance, including leverage, liquidity mismatches, technology and
operational vulnerabilities, the FSB said in a report. “These vul-
nerabilities are further amplified by a lack of effective controls and
operational transparency, poor or no disclosures, and conflicts of
interest,” it said. REUTERS

Madhu Lunawat, co-founder, Pantomath Financial Services and

chief investment officer, India Inflection Opportunity Fund.

Pantomath marks
final close of IIOF
at $60 million
Aman Rawat Madhu Lunawat, chief invest-
aman.rawat@livemint.com ment officer, India Inflection
neW delhi Opportunity Fund.
Lunawat is a chartered

P
antomath Financial Ser-
vices Group, on Tues-
day, said it has made the
final close of its maiden close-
ended series of India Inflection
Opportunity Fund (IIOF) at
₹500 crore (around $60
million).
IIOF, a Category II Alternate
Investment Fund (AIF)
launched in April last year,
intends to invest primarily at a
pre-IPO stage in Indian
growth stage businesses. The
investment vehicle has
received investment from
domestic sovereign
funds, global and
domestic family offi-
ces, marquee anchor
investors and high net-worth
investors.
Pantomath said IIOF clo-
sure comes at a time when
India’s economic resilience
and its attractiveness as an
investment hub are causing a
strong flow of IPOs, with a
robust pipeline of over $9 bil-
lion expected in H2 2024.
“India Inflection Opportu-
nity Fund is focused on under-
researched family-owned
businesses which are on a rap-
id-growth trajectory. We
would like to focus on huge
addressable market opportu-
nities avoiding ventures with
negative cash flows and bleed-
ing balance sheets,” said
accountant and has over two
decades of experience span-
ning investment management,
corporate finance, asset
reconstruction, M&A, due dili-
gence and treasury operations.
“Our fund follows an active
management approach
wherein we provide growth
capital as well as strategic sup-
port to promising businesses
that are significantly making a
difference to society and the
environment,” Lunawat said.
The fund aims to invest in
opportunities in three broad
themes: make in
India, rural con-
sumption and impact
investing. Its invest-
ment strategy involves peri-
odic payouts to investors,
besides targeting healthy ter-
minal returns. Deloitte is the
statutory auditor of the fund.
With this fundraise, the
group now has approximately
₹2,500 crore of total corpus
under supervision. Besides the
AIF, the group provides port-
folio management services,
global advisory and basket
investing. It claims that all the
investment products clock the
highest level of returns con-
sistently.
Pantomath Financial Servi-
ces Group was founded by
Madhu Lunawat and Mahavir
Lunawat.
04 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
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

66174.20 0.31 19889.70 0.48 17741.80 0.56 47161.95 1.19 19938.40 0.64 33711.15 0.30 39831.66 0.06
PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN PREVIOUS CLOSE OPEN

65970.04 66063.72 19794.70 19844.65 17643.50 17701.05 46607.75 46793.30 19812.10 19867.75 33610.39 33710.00 39807.29 39995.43
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW

66256.20 65906.65 19916.85 19800.00 17760.00 17665.65 47216.25 46718.60 19964.95 19832.50 33732.71 33577.37 40069.26 39810.05

m MINT SHORTS
EU’s once crisis-torn periphery
Capital goods cos eye Can the Himalayan
help Royal Enfield race
turns bond market darling
A remarkable role reversal is underway across the euro
area just over a decade since a series of fiscal crises almost
broke the single currency. Back then it was the so-called
steady road for H2 to a bigger mkt share?
periphery countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Dipti Sharma Vineetha Sampath
Decent show Bogged down
Spain drawing the ire of investors after running up massive dipti.sharma@livemint.com vineetha.s@livemint.com
A slew of capital goods companies Shares of Eicher Motors have
debts. Now it’s the core nations of Germany and France
saw double-digit growth in order lagged the Nifty Auto index in the

M T
which are having to increasingly explain themselves amid ost capital goods, engi- book as of September-end quarter
he launch of Himalayan past one year
budget crises and fiscal plans that are running up against neering, and infrastruc- 452cc by Eicher Motors Ltd,
Eicher Motors Nifty Auto
European Union limits. While a repeat of the 2012 turmoil ture companies have seen 40 the listed parent of Royal
isn’t in the cards, the new fiscal landscape has already a sharp rise in their share Enfield (RE), is captivating every- 140
Order book as of September-end 2023
shifted investor behaviour. They’ve been leaning into the prices in 2023. The S&P (Year-on-year growth in %) one. The vehicle is a significant 131.96
bloc’s peripheral government bonds over traditionally BSE Capital Goods index has surged 46% 30
upgrade from the old version with 130
safer notes, counting on better returns as situations switch. so far this year. better features, attractive design,
JPMorgan Asset Management has loaded up on Spanish The increased focus on government- and improved performance. As
debt alongside Neuberger Berman. The shift has slipped backed capital expenditure, primarily such, the strong initial response for 120
somewhat under the radar amid the broader ructions in directed towards sectors like railways, 20 the vehicle is encouraging.
111.20
global bond markets. BLOOMBERG power, and defence, has spurred investor Given that the automobile
interest and fuelled optimism in these industry is currently seeing good 110
industries. demand in the premium segment,
Not surprising that foreign portfolio 10 Eicher could well capitalize on the
100
investors (FPIs) have also shown a keen trend with the launch of Himala-
interest in capital goods companies amid yan. The new Himalayan comes in
the current scenario. As per the data on 0
three variants—Base, Pass and 90
institutional flows in October, foreign BHEL KEC ABB Summit. The pricing starts at ₹2.69
International India
portfolio investors have bought more Thermax L&T BEL lakh (ex-showroom); and the top-
shares of industrials, while there was a New project announcements in Oct were Source: Company, Nuvama Research
end model is tagged ₹2.84 lakh. 80
28 Nov 2022 28 Nov 2023
significant selling in shares of financials, down 37%. to ₹87,300 crore. BLOOMBERG This is an introductory pricing,
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT Note: Values rebased to 100; Eicher Motors
according to a note by ICICI Securities on valid till 31 December. is the listed parent of Royal Enfield
22 November. product companies), possibly even seeing Broking, project tendering activities from These prices are at a premium to
Source: Bloomberg
Capital goods companies are expected slight improvements in the future due to April to October were flat year-on-year some other vehicles in the above-
PRANAY BHARDWAJ/MINT
to maintain stable revenue growth in the sustained demand and a decrease in com- at ₹7.3 trillion. New project announce- 250cc segment. The price of the
second half of FY24 due to successful modity inflation,” said Parikshit Kandpal, ments in October were down 37% to Harley-Davidson X440, which was Nomura estimates RE’s market
order backlog execution, while steady analyst at HDFC Securities. “However, a ₹87,300 crore. launched in collaboration with share in the above-250cc segment
commodity prices may boost earnings. key consideration is whether companies Also, NHAI’s awarding activity has Hero MotoCorp Ltd, starts at about to drop to 82% in FY24 from 88% in
Earlier this month, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index had Sector bellwether Larsen & Toubro can successfully pass on price increases to been slow in the first half of FY24. Against ₹2.4 lakh and goes up to about ₹2.8 FY23.
its worst week since July. REUTERS Ltd (L&T) received orders worth ₹89,153 customers or roll back those hikes.” this backdrop, KNR Constructions has lakh, ex-showroom. Royal Enfield’s new launch
crore in the September quarter Some companies may face challenges cut its order inflow guidance in FY24 to “With about 25% higher pricing would aid an uptick in vol-
(Q2FY24), up 72% year-on-year. L&T’s in exporting due to a potential decrease in ₹3,000-4,000 crore from ₹4,000–5,000 than the old Himalayan, the focus umes.The old Himalayan had
Hedge fund $ bulls hold fast order prospects pipeline as of September capital expenditure by customers amid a crore earlier. At the same time, PNC (of RE) seems to be to retain exclu- clocked roughly 3,000 units per
though US currency cut gains 2023 also looks strong at Infratech has retained its sivity rather than sell in large num- month in FY23. Eicher’s earnings
Hedge funds piled into bullish dollar bets this month ₹8.8 trillion. The engineer- PATH AHEAD FY24 order inflow growth bers,” said analysts at could get a boost if the
despite the currency’s slide on softening US economic data ing, procurement and con- guidance of 10-15%. Nomura Financial Royal Enfield’s mon-thly average dou-
and increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve’s struction major expects to AS per the data on SOME companies FOR infra firms, “On account of healthy Advisory and Securi- new Himalayan bles.
most aggressive rate-hiking cycle in a generation is near surpass its order inflow tar- institutional flows
in October, FPIs
may face challenges
on the export front
tendering for road
projects has been
execution in the absence of ties (India) in a 27 would add to Also, Royal Enfield
an end. A metric of leveraged funds’ net longs on the get of 10-12% and revenue have bought more given global weak, with awarding new orders meant the book- November report. volumes but it is expected to launch
greenback against eight currencies rose to its highest level growth forecast of 12-15% shares of industrials to-bill visibility declined to So far, so good. But
recession concerns pushed to H2 FY24
may not lead to a its recently unveiled
since February 2022 as of 21 November, according to data for FY24. 2.8 times during the quarter the new Himalayan Shotgun 650 model
from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission aggre- Some analysts believe vs 3 times at end-Q1FY24,” may do little to shield major rise in next year. For now,
gated by Bloomberg. It stood at net long 103,042 contracts, around 60% of L&T’s order book is yet to global recession and geopolitical ten- said Elara Securities, commenting on the the company from market share investors are capturing
just above a previous year-to-date high seen in April, after reach the margin threshold stage, which sions. Besides, volatility in raw material September quarter performance of infra- market share loss the optimism ade-
bottoming around a net short position of around 72,000 means improvement in profitability costs and the upcoming general elections structure companies. given the competitive quately, with the
contracts in March. The surge in bullish dollar bets comes could be gradual. in India could disrupt the supply chain, It is expected that awarding activity intensity. Besides Hero MotoCorp, shares of Eicher Motors flirting
as a Bloomberg gauge of the US currency is on pace for its During Q2, ABB India, Cummins, and and hinder the current pace of order will improve in the second half of FY24. Bajaj Auto Ltd also launched a pre- with their 52-week highs of ₹3,920
worst month since last November, when the greenback’s Thermax saw an increase in operating placement, especially in the near term. To ensure revenue visibility beyond mium vehicle earlier this year, in apiece on Friday.
sudden slide similarly caught investors wrong-footed after margin due to premium product mix, For infrastructure companies, tender- FY25, it is crucial for road construction collaboration with Triumph However, due to concerns about
a months-long advance. Earlier this month, the Bloom- operating leverage, and normalized com- ing for road projects has remained weak, companies to secure new projects Motorcycles. Both the companies competition, the one-year per-
berg Dollar Spot Index had its worst week since July, eras- modity prices. with awarding pushed to the second half in the medium term, along with better plan to scale up their respective formance of the stock lags the Nifty
ing its year-to-date gains. BLOOMBERG “Higher margins should sustain (for of the year. According to Antique Stock execution. launches in the coming months. Auto index by a wide margin.

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

Sebi to relax norms TCS buyback to open on 1 Dec Mcap of BSE-listed companies
for passive funds hits record high of ₹331 trillion
PTI
feedback@livemint.com
ments less than ₹2 lakh, the the buyback will not impact the
entitlement ratio has been growth opportunities of the
new delHI fixed at 1 share for every 6 company,” it added.
Reuters shares held on the record date Tata Sons Private Ltd, which PTI “After last week’s range-

T
feedback@livemint.com he ₹17,000 crore-share of 25 November. holds 264.5 million of 72.27% of feedback@livemint.com bound trend, markets regis-
MuMbaI buyback programme of For other qualifying share- TCS, intends to tender 29.6 new delHI tered gains led by uptick in
India’s top software ser- holders, the entitlement ratio is million equity shares. Tata power, metal and auto stocks as

T T
he markets regulator
plans to lower capital and
disclosure requirements
for fund houses that run passive
investment schemes, accord-
ing to three people with direct
knowledge of the matter.
The proposed new rules
would also allow existing fund
houses to hive off their passive
investment schemes into sepa-
rate entities to take advantage
of the looser regulation, these
people said. The Securities and
Exchange Board of India (Sebi)
will seek public comments on
the proposals before finalising
the rules, the people said,
declining to be identified as
they are not authorised to
speak to the media.
Sebi did not respond to an
email from Reuters.
The regulator first flagged
the prospect of lighter regula-
tions for passive funds in its
annual report in August. The
details of those proposals have
not been previously reported.
AUM of passive funds surged
sevenfold between July 2019
and September 2023. MINT
Instead of the current
requirement of providing port-
folio disclosures every two
weeks or every month, passive
only fund houses will need to
declare that they are following
a particular index every six
months, two of the three peo-
ple said. Rules around main-
taining call records of fund
managers, currently required
for all fund houses, may also be
eased for passive only funds.
“With the lighter touch reg-
ulations, global players such as
Vanguard, State Street SPDRs,
vices exporter Tata Consult-
ancy Services (TCS) will open
on 1 December.
The buyback, where inves-
tors can sell to the company
their shares at an offer price of
₹4,150 apiece, will close on 7
December, TCS said in a regu-
latory filing on Tuesday.
The information technology
bellwether is aiming to repur-
chase up to 40.9 million shares
(1.12% of the total equity share
capital) at ₹4,150 apiece in a
buyback valued at ₹17,000
crore.
For small shareholders, as
defined by those with invest-
Adani group m-cap posts biggest rise since Hindenburg report
Ram Sahgal
ram.sahgal@livemint.com
MuMbaI
set at 2 shares for every 209 Investment Corp. Ltd intends he combined market hopes of strong growth
shares held. to tender 11,358 capitalisation of BSE- momentum going ahead and
“The company The IT bellwether shares out of listed firms hit an all-time receding worries of rate
believes that the is aiming to 1,014,172 shares it high of ₹331 trillion on Tuesday hikes in the US strengthened
buyback is not repurchase up to holds in the com- and is just shy of entering the the mood,” said Prashanth
likely to cause any 40.9 mn shares at pany. landmark $4-trillion club. Tapse, senior vice president
material impact The total buy- At the end of trade, the mar- (research) at Mehta Equities
₹4,150 apiece in a
on the profitabil- back size is ket capitalisation of BSE-listed Ltd.
ity or earnings of buyback valued 40,963,855 firms reached ₹3,31,05,425.71 It is just shy of entering the “FIIs turning net buyers of
the company at ₹17,000 crore shares. crore, which translates to $3.97 landmark $4-trillion club. HT local equities in the last few ses-
except to the Assuming the trillion at the current exchange sions too has brought some
extent of reduc- response to the rate of 83.34, thanks to a fag- While the BSE benchmark cheer to the market, even as
tion in the amount available for buyback is to the extent of end recovery in the equity mar- Sensex has rallied 5,333.46 caution could prevail in the
investment, which the com- 100% from all the shareholders ket after a highly volatile trade. points, or 8.76%, so far this year, next few sessions ahead of the
pany could have otherwise up to their entitlement, the On 24 May 2021, the market the market capitalisation monthly F&O expiry and exit
deployed towards generating aggregate shareholding of the capitalisation of all listed com- (mcap) of all listed firms at its poll results of five state elec-
investment income,” TCS said. promoters will increase to panies on the BSE touched the platform has jumped ₹48.67 tions later this week,” Tapse
“The company believes that 72.41% as against 72.3% now. $3-trillion mark. trillion. said.
closed for the Guru Nanak Jay- “The SC sees no reason to An indication of heightened
anti holiday on Monday,
Adani Group m-cap (₹ tn) supersede Sebi and investigate investor interest was apparent
reacted to the conclusion of 30 matters through an SIT (spe- in delivery-based buying
the SC hearing on Friday as Hindenburg Research releases cial investigation team),” said despite traded volumes sur-

Assets under management of
passive funds surged sevenfold
to ₹7.9 trillion between July
2019 and September 2023 and
now account for 17% of the total
industry. Passive funds repli-
cate indexes, leaving less dis-
cretion for fund managers.
Sebi plans to reduce the capi-
tal requirement for passive only
fund houses to about ₹10 crore
from ₹50 crore currently, the
people said.
The regulator will also pre-
scribe more liberal disclosure
rules for such fund houses.
and others who have a core
focus and expertise only in pas-
sive funds, can become more
keen to set up business in India
and launch a passive only fund
houses under this proposed
light touch regulations,” said
Anil Ghelani, head of passive
investments and products at
DSP Asset Managers, an Indian
asset management firm.
In July, Blackrock tied up
with Jio Financial Services to
launch a fund house in India
but others like Vanguard are
yet to enter Indian market.
T
he Adani Group of
stocks showed its big-
gest increase in market
capitalization of over a trillion
rupees for the first time since
the Hindenburg report sur-
faced, days after the Supreme
Court reserved its judgement
on a bunch of public interest
litigations pleading for a court-
monitored investigation into
allegations of corporate mal-
feasance and manipulation
against the ports to renewa-
bles conglomerate.
The market, which was
investors interpreted some of
the SC’s observations as its
having confidence in Sebi’s
investigation pertaining to the
Hindenburg report that was
released on 24 January.
This led to short-covering
and fresh buying in group
counters causing a total ₹1.04
trillion rise in the market cap
of all 10 listed group compa-
nies. The charge was led by
flagship Adani Enterprises, the
group flagship, whose 8.9%
rise contributed ₹22,578 crore
to the group level market cap.
its Adani report
19.4 Rajesh Baheti, MD, Crosseas passing their six-month avera-
20 Capital. “There could be fur- ges. For instance, the traded
ther rounds of sentimental volume on Adani Enterprises
11.3 buying in the group counters.” at 1. 2 crore shares was almost
10 According to Rajesh Palviya, three times the six-month
SVP (technical & derivatives) average traded volume of 42
at Axis Securities, the latest SC lakh shares. Yet, delivery of 16
0 ruling had “eased the negative lakh shares happened.
2 Jan 28 Nov
hangover on prices as the In the case of Adani Green,
Source: Capitalmarket (10 listed Adani stocks)
court effectively put paid to the second-largest contributor
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
questions around Sebi’s credi- to the group m-cap, Tuesday’s
Also, there was heavy inves- between 5% and 19%. bility to probe the Hindenburg traded volume at 1.16 was
tor interest in Adani Power, Market analysts expect the fallout.” almost five times that of the
Adani Green, Adani Energy positive investor sentiment to Palviya also expects the six-month average volume.
Solutions, Adani Total Gas and continue for a few more ses- upside momentum to persist This was accompanied by
Adani Ports, which rose sions. on “sentimental buying.” delivery of 19.7 lakh shares.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 05

Lenders bank on campus recruitment Auto sales rose 19%

in festive time: Fada
Reuters
Private banks are hiring in large numbers from campuses since recruiting from the market is more expensive feedback@livemint.com
BeNgAluru

Devina Sengupta & Shayan Ghosh

V
the long term, this can potentially those hired without any pre-training ehicle sales in India rose
MuMBAi impact the quality of the talent pool process straight from colleges that 19% during a 42-day fes-
within the organization, its growth could include larger B-schools and tive season, boosted

P
rivate banks are aiming to
hire at least 50,000 individ-
uals, including fresh gradu-
ates, for entry-level posi-
tions over the next year to
address the challenge of high attrition,
according to bankers and recruitment
experts.
The banks are grappling with what
they term as “infant mortality”, refer-
ring to the trend of new hires opting
for logistics and delivery services, and
leaving their jobs within the first one
to three months.
The decision to hire from campuses
is driven by the cost-effectiveness
compared to recruiting from the open
market. “Banks will be hiring around
50,000 in junior positions, including
campuses over the next one year,” said
Upasana Agarwal, partner for profes-
sional and financial services at ABC
Consultants, an executive search and
talent advisory firm.
“Attrition at the junior-most levels
can be as high as 50-60% and campus
hiring enables a firm to be talent-
ready. These models help hiring in
bulk rather than bringing talent in a
In FY23, attrition was 34.15% in HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender,
51% in IndusInd Bank, and 30.9% in ICICI Bank.
fragmented manner,” Agarwal told
Mint in an interview.
Attrition has been somewhat secu-
larly spread across the private sector
lenders, experts said.
In FY23, attrition was at 34.15% for
HDFC Bank, India’s largest private
sector lender, 51% in IndusInd Bank,
and 30.9% in ICICI Bank. For most
MINT
banks, the biggest hit came from talent
at the junior levels in the non-supervi-
sory segments.
Experts said the impact of attrition
is more potent in the long term than in
the short term.
“While it is difficult to dissect the
impact of such things on the short
term performance of an institution, in
and profitability prospects,” said Anil engineering colleges. mainly by strong demand for
Gupta, senior vice-president and In the last financial year, lenders two-wheelers in rural areas, an
co-group head, Icra Ltd. witnessed a sharp rise in attrition auto dealers’ body said on
“Axis Bank will hire about 12,000 demand surged for young workforce Tuesday.
from campuses from the batch of in sales, marketing with digital skills in Indians generally make big-
2024—four times more than last year; insurance, retail and among fintech ticket purchases such as vehi-
this is across tier-I, -II, -III institutions. companies. The uptick in campus cles in the festive season, which
For every skill we have a campus hires will also help banks cushion the kicked off in mid-October and PV sales climbed about 10% to
feeder programme,” said Raj- talent loss. ran till 25 November. 547,246 units in October. MINT
kamal Vempati, president “A large number of these Two-wheeler sales surged
and head of human new hires are for replace- about 21% in the period to 2.9 Sales of three-wheelers rose
resources, Axis Bank.
The bank had hired 12,000
People Axis Bank
ment positions. Today,
the lenders are facing
million units, data from the
Federation of Automobile
41%, while that of passenger
vehicles (PVs) climbed about
about 3,300 from cam- stiff competition from Dealers Associations (Fada) 10% to 547,246 units, Fada
pus and academic pro- plans to hire from fintech firms, which is showed. added. “Tractors, which saw an
grammes last year (batch the batch of 2024 pushing them to pene- “Record-breaking sales were 8.3% fall in sales during Nav-
of 2023) and that the spike trate deeper into market reported in several categories, ratri, made a remarkable recov-
this time around will be in places for personal loans, with rural areas contributing to ery, ending the festive period
sections such as lending, corpo- credit cards, etc.,” said Kartik Nar- the surge in two-wheeler pur- with only a 0.5% dip,” Fada said.
rate and branch banking as well as ayan, CEO, staffing, Teamlease Services. chases,” Fada, which provides Tractor sales, a key indicator
roles in information technology (IT) According to banking recruiters, monthly data on dealer sales, of rural economy, slipped 0.4%
and analytics. banks are offering about ₹5 lakh in said in a statement. following a 10% fall in Septem-
Academic programmes refer to tier-II and -III colleges, which can go Two-wheeler makers’ sales ber. Caution remains around
training sessions which last about up to ₹8 lakh if they have digital skills. to dealers inched closer to pre- PV inventories as OEMs con-
three months when students are still The salaries in premier B-schools can pandemic volumes in October tinue to push further dispatch,
studying and the bank gets them range between ₹20 lakh and ₹30 lakh due to strong festive demand keeping inventory rate at near
industry-ready before onboarding and about ₹15 lakh–₹20 lakh for the and discounts on entry-level all-time highs, Fada said, add-
when they graduate. better-known engineering colleges. models, data showed earlier ing that SUVs were the most-
The direct campus recruits will be devina.sengupta@livemint.com this month. demanded.

Proxy advisory wants

Raymond promoters
to exit amid charges
Naman Suri
naman.suri@livemint.com
New Delhi

T
he independent direct-
ors of Raymond should
request the promoters to
step aside, following the serious
accusations against chairman
and managing director Gautam
Singhania, according to Insti-
tutional Investor Advisory Ser-
vices India Ltd (IiAS), a proxy
advisory firm.
In an open letter to the com-
pany’s independent directors,
IiAS urged them to assuage the
concerns of investors as well as
other stakeholders and initiate
an investigation into the allega-
tions against the promoters to
protect the firm. “Despite seri-
ous and heinous accusations by
one board member against
another, you are silent...Your
silence can be misconstrued—
surely you don’t want stake-
holders to think these accusa-
tions are to be tolerated. At the
very least, as independent
directors, you must communi-
cate with investors and other
stakeholders—assuage their
concerns and articulate a
course of action that you have
taken following these public
allegations,” IiAS added.
Calling for an impartial
investigation into allegations of
both assault and CEO excesses,
the letter stated: “For the dura-
tion of this investigation, you
must consider asking both
Nawaz Modi and Gautam Sin-
Gautam Singhania, CMD,
Raymond.
ghania to take time off from
their responsibilities as board
members. We recognize that
asking promoters to step aside
is not easy, but as independent
directors, you have a fiduciary
responsibility towards minor-
ity investors, employees, and a
larger set of company’s stake-
holders. You must separate
ownership from management
dispassionately,” it said.
Earlier this month, Singha-
nia announced separation from
his partner of 32 years, Nawaz
Modi Singhania, also a board
member. Nawaz is seeking 75%
of his $1.4 billion net worth as a
settlement. She also accused
him of assaulting and verbal
abusing her and their daughter,
and alleged he was using com-
pany funds for personal gains
and that she was acting as a
whistle-blower of sorts.

Jubilant set to buy

out DP Eurasia
Suneera Tandon London Stock Exchange PLC.
suneera.t@htlive.com The firm, along with its sub-
New Delhi sidiaries, offers pizza delivery,
takeaway and eat-in facilities

J
ubilant Foodworks Neth-
erlands BV (JFN), a wholly
owned subsidiary of food
services company, Jubilant
FoodWorks Ltd, will acquire
the remaining 51.16% of DP
Eurasia that operates as exclu-
sive master franchisee of
Domino’s Pizza in Turkey,
Georgia, and Azerbaijan for
€73.36 million.
Jubilant Foodworks Neth-
erlands owns 48.84% ordinary
shares of DP Eurasia. JFN pro-
poses to acquire up to 51.16%
ordinary shares of DP Eurasia
from its existing shareholders.
JFN will be using a combina-
tion of existing term loan facil-
ity availed from HSBC (backed
by corporate guarantee issued
by the JFN) to fund the acqui-
sition, Jubilant said in a filing
to the exchanges on Tuesday.
DP Eurasia is listed with the
across 694 stores, and is the
largest pizza delivery firm in
Turkey. In addition to this, it
has its own coffee brand,
COFFY, having 67 outlets,
with 78% of the stores fran-
chised. “It will be able to lever-
age its experience as largest
foodservice firm in India to
assist DP Eurasia with growth
plans to achieve its potential.
The proposed acquisition will
enable JFN to benefit from a
greater share of future value
upside,” Jubilant added. JFN
proposes to acquire the shares
for up to 85 pence apiece, or at
a premium of 24.1% the closing
price of 68.5 on 27 November.
The promoters of HT Media
Ltd, which publishes Mint, and
Jubilant Foodworks are closely
related. There are, however, no
promoter cross-holdings.
06 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi CORPORATE LIVEMINT.COM

SC plea in MFN case to Independent directors’ pay doubles in 5 yrs

FROM PAGE 1
Salary bump pandemic years but have

use Vienna Convention established companies.

Demand for them has become
urgent now, with more than
2,000 independent directors
Four out of 10 independent directors now earn salaries beyond
₹1 crore, compared with just one out of 10 five years ago.
Average remuneration of independent directors of Nifty-50
companies (including banks and insurance, excluding PSUs)
(in ₹ crore)
started doing so since 2021,
according to Deloitte. The
consulting firm did not dis-
close individual company data.
An independent director’s
2018 0.3
set to complete their tenures 2022 0.5
remuneration is largely
by April 2024. 2023 0.6
dependent on a mix of fees for
Firms are especially seeking attending board meetings,
Court had said govt needs to notify MFN tax rate for its applicability non-independent directors Independent directors’ average remuneration by sectors over last 5 years called sitting fees, and commis-
with niche talent in digital and sions linked to a company’s
1.5 (in ₹ crore)
consumer behaviour, and an 1.4
performance. While sitting fees
Pavan Burugula understanding of generative
2018 2022 2023
are capped at ₹1 lakh, commis-
pavan.burugula@livemint.com artificial intelligence. 1.0 sions are expected to increase.
NEw DElhI IT firms end up offering “We expect that the pay mix
0.8 0.8
higher remuneration on aver- 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.6 will become more skewed

E
uropean multinational companies age to their independent 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 towards commission in the
0.4
facing hefty tax demands in India directors chiefly because they 0.3
0.4
0.2
coming years as more firms hit
have filed a review petition urging have four times more interna- the sitting fee cap,” said Pawan.
the Supreme Court to follow the tional hires than firms in other Currently, about 84% of a
IT Services Other Manufacturing Life Sciences Consumer Financial Services
Vienna Convention in interpret- sectors. Compensation for Services director’s remuneration is in
Source: Deloitte
ing the most-favoured nation (MFN) clause these directors increased from the form of commissions, with
SARVESH KUMAR SHARMA/MINT
in tax treaties, two people familiar with the ₹1.04 crore in FY18 to ₹1.52 sitting fees accounting for the
matter said. crore in the fiscal year gone by. services sector have had no largely a promoter-led sector, rest; excluding banks and
Ruling on a batch of five petitions, a But it is the life sciences such luck. Limits on remuner- witnessed the highest growth insurance companies, the com-
landmark 19 October Supreme Court ver- industry that has registered the ation (in addition to fees and in independent director com- missions average about 89%.
dict had backed the tax department in the sharpest spikes with companies expenses related to attending pensation as two firms intro- The sitting fees are depend-
matter, effectively doubling the withhold- keen to retain their independ- meetings) for non-executive duced the component of com- ent on whether a director
ing tax outgo of these companies, and ent directors. Average compen- directors at banks and insur- mission in their remuneration attends a regular board meeting
potentially opening up more companies to sation for independent direct- ance companies is capped by structure compared to 2018,” or an audit/nomination/remu-
similar tax demands. Vienna Convention says treaties in force obligate the parties to comply in good faith and ors in the sector increased from the Reserve Bank of India at said Dinkar Pawan, director, neration committee meeting.
The aggrieved companies soon filed that not all of them necessitate a notification for the MFN clause to be operational. MINT about ₹30 lakh in FY18 to ₹64.8 ₹20 lakh. Independent direct- human capital, at Deloitte. Per Deloitte’s study, the median
review petitions; among them, Steria India lakh in FY22 and ₹70 lakh in ors fall under the subset of Those two companies did sitting fees for board meetings
challenged a tax ruling pertaining to the The apex court is expected to allot a However, the apex court held that MFN the following year. non-executive directors. not pay commissions to inde- increased from ₹50,000 in
India-France tax treaty. Concentrix Servi- bench to hear the review petitions soon, tax provisions don’t automatically apply, Directors in the financial “Life Sciences, which is pendent directors before the FY18 to ₹1 lakh in FY23.
ces BV and Optum Global Solutions chal- the people cited above added. Vienna Con- and that the Indian government would
lenged a tax ruling interpreting the India- vention acts as a guiding framework for have to notify the lower tax rate and since
Netherlands treaty; and Nestlé’s appeal was various international treaties. India didn’t notify, Dutch entities will be
about India-Switzerland tax treaty. While “The petition seeks the court to recon- subject to 10% tax rate. However, the appel-
each of the cases vastly differed from each sider the judgment, drawing upon the prin- lants are of the view that Indian law may
other, the common question of law ciples of the Vienna Convention on the Law require notification, but the same practice
Bar on advertising deals for UPSC winners
involved the MFN clause. of Treaties,” said Suresh Swamy, partner, may not be existent in the other country
For example, dividends earned by Dutch Price Waterhouse & Co LLP. “As per the which has signed a DTAA with India. FROM PAGE 1 Delhi is considered the hub for take any employment. Citing rao & Reddy Institute claimed
companies in India are subject In its verdict, the apex court civil-services-exam coaching. CCPA’s report, the letter high- that 617 students from their cen-
to a withholding tax of 10%, ThE puShbACk cited the example of the Chic- Protection Act, 2019. The CCPA In the letter, which Mint has lighted that important infor- tre cleared the UPSC exams
under the Double Tax Avoid- ago Convention, which gov- report, which Mint has seen, said also seen, CCPA suggested that mation, such as the course cho- 2022. In its reply to CCPA, it said
ance Agreement (DTAA) IN a 19 October AggrIEVED firms, ThE Supreme Court erns charter air services. The coaching centres resorted to DoPT enforce the Central Civil sen by successful candidates, is all of them are from the inter-
between the two countries. verdict, the Supreme including Steria India is expected to allot a
Court had backed and Concentrix bench to hear the
court observed that under this misleading and exaggerated Services (Con- deliberately con- view guidance programme,
However, under the treaty’s the tax department Services, soon filed review petitions convention, a charter airline claims to lure aspirants. Section duct) Rules, 1964, All successful cealed from con- meaning none were enrolled in
MFN clause, if India has a in the matter review petitions soon doesn’t need to obtain permis- 2(28) of the Consumer Protec- for all candidates candidates of sumers in adver- “costly” foundation courses.
lower withholding tax rate sion from the country it is tion Act defines a ‘misleading who continue to UPSC exams will tisements. UPSC civil service exams are
with any other country, divi- landing in, if it doesn’t pick up advertisement’ as one that feature in ads for now have to CCPA has conducted in three phases. The
dends will be taxed at the lower rate, not the convention, treaties in force obligate the or collect cargo/passengers. However, it is falsely describes a product or coaching classes issued notices to first is a preliminary screening
terminate their
treaty rate of 10%. Since India has a lower parties to comply in good faith. It’s note- a matter of practice that in reality, all char- service, or gives a false guarantee and as their brand 20 IAS coaching test, the marks for which are
withholding tax rate of 5% with some other worthy that while some Indian tax treaties tered flights obtain landing permission at to mislead consumers by con- ambassadors for contracts with institutes, includ- not counted in the next two
countries, the Dutch companies calculated necessitate a notification for the MFN every airport they land—irrespective of cealing important information. the whole year. such institutes ing Vajirao & phases—the mains and the per-
tax at that rate, which was rejected by the clause to be operational, others may be whether they are picking up passengers or The coaching industry in India The conduct rules Reddy Institute, sonality test.
tax department on the grounds that the inherently effective. This aspect merits not. The court similarly held even with the is worth ₹58,088 crore, of which clearly state that Sriram’s IAS and Queries sent to DoPT, CCPA,
government had not specifically notified it. careful consideration to ensure that treaty existence of MFN clause, subsequent prac- civil-services-exam coaching no government servant will Drishti IAS, for misleading con- Vajirao & Reddy Institute, Sri-
The Supreme Court backed the tax depart- obligations are honoured appropriately,” tice of notifying rules must be taken into contributes ₹3,000 crore, engage directly or indirectly in sumers by concealing important ram’s IAS and Drishti IAS were
ment in these cases. Swamy added. consideration. according to the CCPA report. any trade or business or under- information. For instance, Vaji- not immediately answered.

RP-Sanjiv Mandaviya, top execs at Mint summit Aster DM Healthcare divests

Goenka co
PCBL to buy
Aquapharm
for ₹3.8K cr
FROM PAGE 1
diversification mix.
According to CareEdge,
PCBL’s liquidity is supported
by unutilized lines of working
capital limit, where average
utilization stood at 41% for
sanctioned fund-based limits
of ₹750 crore in the year to
April end.
“Apart from the secured
working capital limits of
₹3,000 crore, PCBL has access
to unsecured limits of ₹1,800
crore at standalone level from
various lenders,” it said.
Shares of PCBL fell 2.90% to
close at ₹254.30 on BSE on
Tuesday, while the benchmark
Sensex closed 0.31% higher.
The transaction was
announced after market hours.
PCBL last raised ₹400 crore
through a qualified
institutional placement in
October 2021.
Aquapharm reported sales
of ₹2,008.8 crore in 2022-23,
PCBL said. It makes a variety of
specialty chemicals used in
water treatment (desalination
and reverse osmosis), deter-
gents and oil fields.
Stifel was the exclusive
financial adviser to Aqua-
pharm’s shareholders. Khaitan
& Co. was the legal adviser to
PCBL, along with EY, which
acted as financial and tax dili-
gence adviser. Dentons Link
Legal served as legal adviser to
Aquapharm’s shareholders
and Deloitte as the due dili-
gence provider.
According to a March 2022
Crisil report, Aquapharm
derives a major portion of its
revenue from exports to
Europe, North America and
other regions. “In fiscal 2018,
the company acquired
US-based Aquapharm Chemi-
cals Llc, which has a facility to
manufacture specialty chemi-
cals mainly for the oil and gas
sector,” the Crisil report added.
FROM PAGE 1
be leveraged to scale for the
benefit of patients and other
stakeholders in the larger
healthcare ecosystem. Also
taking ahead the technology
aspect will be a panel of
healthtech founders and chief
executives (CEOs) who will
discuss cost-cutting and scal-
ing-up imperatives. Even as
healthtech companies have
reached some degree of scale
and reach, they have funding
issues emblematic of what the
larger startup ecosystem is fac-
ing. Their sustenance and
growth to enable greater reach
is critical for India’s healthcare
infrastructure.
Insurance is a key element
of any modern healthcare
ecosystem; in India, it is not as
widespread as it should be,
and out-of-pocket expenses
are high. Debating the insur-
ance challenges, and how
technology and digitalization
are the way forward for the
industry, would be top repre-
sentatives of companies,
including Niva Bupa Health
Insurance, Canara HSBC Life
Insurance and Insurance
What’s the cost of doing business with China? American CXOs find out
FROM PAGE 1
The approvals for Mastercard
and Broadcom are isolated suc-
cessful cases and must be viewed
in the context of the bilateral
relationship, said Eric Zheng,
the president of the American
Chamber of Commerce in
Shanghai, whose members have
cited uncertain U.S.-China ties
as their biggest concern operat-
ing in the country. “These
should be standard business
practices, based on established
laws and regulations,” Zheng
said in an interview. “Foreign
businesses want such events not
to be politicized.”
China has long used access to
its huge consumer market as a
tool to eke out geopolitical and
business concessions. More
recently, it has leveraged its
access to raw materials such as
Samadhan. Providing a tive of India, the challenges the two years of the covid-19 Gulf business for $1 billion
tech-startup angle will be they face, and how they could
Mayank Gupta, a co-founder be more efficient, will be the
of Zopper. focus of a panel discussion of
pandemic, especially during
the first two waves,
before vaccines were ready. A FROM PAGE 1 ganically as well as organically
Another key session will be CEOs later in the day. A fire-
a chat with Dr. Kaushal K. side chat with Dr. Upasana
shortage of beds, doctors,
nurses and oxygen crippled “There is a structural issue
by investing in India. As we
speak, we hope that we’ll be
Verma, dean (research), Arora, CEO and managing the system. because of which we had to adding 1,500 beds in the next
AIIMS, on how well the insti- director, Yashoda Super Spe-
tution, and India as a country, ciality Hospital, will add to the
The battle took a toll not
only on patients but also on
pledge all of our shares. But
after this transaction is over,
two or three years, which will
take our total bed count to
are prepared to deal with exi- specialization flavour. doctors and nurses, and man- we hope to get out of this 6,000 beds (in India) through
gencies such as the covid-19 India’s healthcare industry agers of India’s hospitals. Since structural issue and repay the organic growth,” he said. The
pandemic. There has been expand- then, things have improved, loan,” Moopen said. The future expansion for Aster DM
were many les- A panel of ing at a fast rate, at and India handled the third transaction is with a related Healthcare will be funded by
sons that the healthtech an estimated and fourth waves of covid-19 party and done at arm’s length, internal accruals, but the com-
black swan event founders and compounded very well, with the vaccination the Aster statement clarified. pany may also sell stakes to
taught t h e CEOs will discuss annual growth programme proving effective. The company said it had private equity partners, Moo-
healthcare fra-
cost-cutting and rate (CAGR) of Several challenges remain. received requests from bidders pen said.
ternity, and how between 16% and A population of 1.4 billion, a for continued promoter par- The Gulf business generates According to Moopen, Aster
well those les- scaling-up 22%. The market’s large chunk of whom are poor ticipation in the GCC business. 70% of Aster’s revenues. DM was struggling to find PE
sons have been imperatives valuation has and cannot afford to pay for “As previously disclosed vide partners earlier since it was
imbibed and more than quad- healthcare or even medical the disclosure made on July tive for a smaller population, not happy with the company’s
translated into rupled from $86 insurance, is at the crux of the 24, 2023, the company had while the India market is still Ebitda growth, but after decid-
best practices will be the focus billion in 2016 to over $350 problem. received requests from bidders underserved, he said. The GCC ing to sell the business, many
of this discussion. billion in 2023. By 2025, it is A well-meaning but over- during the bidding process for compounded annual growth PE investors have shown
Specialized healthcare expected to cross $600 billion whelmed public healthcare continued promoter participa- rate (CAGR) of the past five interest and the company’s
chains, focused on key thera- in size. infrastructure, not only in vil- tion in the GCC business to years for Aster DM was around stock rose significantly in the
peutic areas, are a relatively The industry also provides lages and small towns, but ensure its sustainability fol- 5.19%, while for India, it was past one year. “We have now
recent phenomenon in India. millions of jobs—4.7 million as even in large cities and metros, lowing the restructuring,” the around 16.2%, he said. Accord- become a sought-after bride in
From eyecare to home per a Niti Aayog estimate— has made healthcare access on Aster statement said. ing to Moopen, the GCC sale the Indian ecosystem.”
healthcare and critical illness making it the fifth-largest time difficult. Technology, Moopen said the split will will unlock the Indian entity’s The Fajr Capital consortium
therapies such as for cancer, employer in India. The indus- and tech-enabled startups, aid the listed entity since the potential for growth, which also includes Emirates Invest-
India has seen a surge in insti- try is expected to add more have begun to make a differ- Gulf business had lower mar- should see this business con- ment Authority, Al Dhow
tutions catering to these. Just than 500,000 jobs every year. ence, but much more is gins. Profitability of the Gulf tinue to grow at over 25-30%. Holding Co., Hana Investment
how such therapeutic chains Healthcare in India took on a needed in terms of invest- business was lower because the “What we hope is that we Co., and Wafra International
fit into the healthcare narra- decidedly ugly face during ments and infra build-up. GCC region is hyper-competi- will also be able to grow inor- Investment Co.
REUTERS
critical minerals and used anti- A poll released by New York- decrease in capital investments country. Raids on foreign due
trust approvals to hit back at based think tank the Conference and almost as many forecast a diligence and consulting firms,
trade actions it views as unfa- Board on Thursday shows chief reduction in head count over including the detention of staff,
vorable. Chinese officials also executives of multinational the next six months, up from just and exit bans on executives
feel frustrated by U.S. actions companies are becoming less 9% in the first half of the year. have also made companies
that Beijing views as unfairly confident about China as eco- Overseas firms withdrew nervous about their presence
punishing Chinese companies. nomic woes in the more than $160 there. Also, doing business
Broadcom, Mastercard and country persist. While Mastercard billion in total there can draw scrutiny from
Boeing were among the under- The survey of was granted earnings from officials and lawmakers in
writers of the dinner for Xi 35 China-based access it had been China in the six Washington.
hosted by American business CEOs of mostly seeking for years, successive quar- “It is a carrots and sticks oper-
groups. U.S. and Euro-
U.S. plane maker ters through the ating environment, and we
While Mastercard was pean companies, end of September, appear to be in the carrots
granted access it had been Broadcom CEO spent $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinping’s table for the conducted before Boeing is still Chinese data mode,” James Zimmerman, a
seeking for years, U.S. plane Chinese leader’s dinner with the heads of American businesses. the recent frozen out show, an unusu- partner at Perkins Coie LLP,
maker Boeing is still frozen out. approvals, shows ally sustained run who counsels foreign compa-
China hasn’t bought passen- investors after Xi’s cordial sum- over the lack of talk about trade. that a measure of of profit outflows nies on corporate and regula-
ger planes from Boeing since mit with Biden that helped take Boeing declined to comment. their confidence in China illustrating the decline in the tory issues in China, said. “China
2017, amid trade tensions the heat out of rising tensions Many business executives dropped from 72 six months country’s appeal for overseas is an operating environment
between the two nations and between the world’s two big- caution that recent approvals ago to 54 in the second half of capital. where every license, permit and
two fatal crashes of Boeing’s gest economies. Xi’s dinner are unlikely to open the invest- the year. A reading of below 50 Several challenges facing approval is a process that can
737 Max passenger jet. No with American leaders— ment floodgates into China, points reflects more negative American businesses in China become highly politicized, and
resumption had been including Merit Janow, chair of and Beijing has much to do to rather than positive responses. remain from opaque data local- more so when U.S.-China rela-
announced as of Monday, Mastercard’s board of direct- convince multinationals that The think tank also found ization laws to shrinking access tions go south,” he said.
despite the hopes of some ors—left many disappointed they are welcome there. that 40% of CEOs expected a to information within the © 2023 DOW JONES & CO. INC.
LIVEMINT.COM CORPORATE WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 07

ZEE5 launches South Asian This winter, more Indians set

to flock visa-free destinations
add-ons for US subscribers Varuni Khosla
varuni.k@livemint.com
NEW DELHI
grow to 80 million by 2040.
Thomas Cook is witnessing
early indications of increased
inquiries for the destinations

I
ndians, typically known for across all customer segments,
finalizing their travel plans and its consumer data reveals
The video streaming platform will have a single window for multiple entertainment apps very late, might contribute a strong demand among Indi-
an additional 20-30% to the ans for “mini-cations”, partic-
recently-introduced, visa-free ularly closer-to-home and easy
Lata Jha such as Prime Video Channels, Tata Play, destinations such as Malaysia, visa destinations. Indians of all
lata.j@htlive.com JioFiber and Airtel XStream Premium. Thailand and Sri Lanka. demographics, especially ones
NEW DELHI Aggregators offer smaller platforms bet- This presents a significant wanting to utilize the year-end
ter reach and a larger subscriber base. opportunity for travel compa- leave, extended weekends and

Z
EE5 Global, the video
streaming platform owned
by Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd operating in
over 190 countries, has
launched its services as an aggregator in
the US, offering subscription video-on-
demand (SVoD) services of south Asian
origin within its app.
The ZEE5 Global Add-ons feature
positions itself as a single window for US
audiences to explore South Asian enter-
tainment platforms, including Simply
South (all South Indian languages), Oho
Gujarati, Chaupal (Punjabi, Bhojpuri,
Haryanvi), Namma Flix (Kannada),
istream (Malayalam) and EPIC ON
(Hindi). The add-ons come with prices
starting from $1.49. Six more platforms
are likely to be onboarded. However,
users will need a ZEE5 subscription to
purchase the add-on packs, and the bill-
ing process will consolidate all charges
into a single bill at the end of the cycle,
along the lines of Amazon’s Prime Video
Channels launched in India in 2021,
offering other streaming services on the
app and the website.
“ZEE5 makes programming available
Many over-the-top (OTT) platforms said
they were focusing on content as aggre-
gators take care of user experience and
product. Aggregation also helps both
reach out to a wider audience, and into
new markets, besides increasing reve-
nue and engagement, said experts.
Neeraj Sharma, managing director for
communications, media and technol-
ogy at Accenture India, in a recent inter-
view had said the aggregation trend will
grow due to changing consumer prefer-
ences and tough economics. “For con-
sumers, bundling makes content dis-
ZEE5 Global Add-ons will be available at prices lower than what the customer covery simpler, as they get more recom-
would have to pay if they were to directly subscribe for the services. ISTOCK mendations from platforms on a single
service. As incremental cost of customer
in 12 languages, and we have data insight Global Add-ons will be available at prices acquisition is rising, aggregators pro-
and an understanding of consumer pref- lower than what the customer would vide OTT platforms a faster monetiza-
erences that give us the ability to cross- have to pay if they were to directly sub- tion opportunity, and at scale. Aggrega-
sell and up-sell content. It’s a challenging scribe for the services already operating tors will emerge and grow more promi-
market for a niche player. In this case, we in the US, she said. In fact, some plat- nent as they are crucial to resolving
do the heavylifting with technology and forms will stop direct services and only customer frustration around the broken
distribution,” said Archana Anand, chief be available as part of ZEE5 Global’s viewing experience, and helping realize
business officer, ZEE5 Global. Add-on packs. Anand said the customer payoff on the cord cutting vision.“
According to Anand, the global acquisition cost for south Asian OTTs in Amit Goenka, president, digital busi-
streaming business is under stress, with the US is $90, but did not say whether the nesses and platforms, ZEE Entertain-
the cost of content creation and cus- aggregator service will be in India. . ment, said accessibility and affordability
tomer acquisition hitting the roof. ZEE5 India is home to aggregator platforms will be key.
nies like Thomas Cook, Ease-
MyTrip, among others, partic-
ularly during the winter travel
season. The challenges of low
entry barriers and visa com-
plexities have been a signifi-
cant concern for Indians, espe-
cially in post-covid era, with a
few visa operators dominating
the market akin to a monop-
oly, said experts.
Thomas Cook India and its
subsidiary SOTC are seeing at
least 20% growth in bookings
for October-December 2023,
from a year ago for these desti-
nations, with their customers
favouring either no-visa desti-
nations or those offering easy
terms or those granting visas
on arrival. Thailand is already
seeing 30% growth for the
upcoming holiday season over
November 2022 and January
2023. It waived visa require-
ments for Indians, allowing 30
days stay from 10 November to
10 May. Sri Lanka, too, intro-
duced visa-free entry for visi-
Indians may add up to 20-30%
more business to visa-free
destinations, such as Malaysia,
Thailand and Sri Lanka. HT
tors from India and six other
countries, effective until 31
March. Malaysia announced
on Monday that it will offer
visa-free entry to citizens of
India and China for stays of up
to 30 days beginning 1 Decem-
ber to boost tourism. Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim told
the media that this decision is
similar to the initiatives by the
other two countries.
Around 70% Indians opt for
nearby destinations, accord-
ing to a report by McKinsey &
Co. Prior to covid, India’s out-
bound tourism was among the
fastest-growing in Asia, it said.
It has already recovered 61% of
pre-pandemic market, with 13
million outbound tourists in
2022. The report said it could
public holidays are planning
mini-cations to easy visa short-
haul destinations, it said.
“Clients, especially those in
the luxury segment find it eas-
ier when they are not bound by
visas. Visas are more of a mon-
etary decision for mid-market
customers, where it makes a
difference in terms of budgets.
But, we see an increase in lux-
ury customers planning trips
to Thailand,” Radhika Khan-
ijo, chief executive of luxury
travel firm Welgrow Travels,
said. Nishant Pitti, chief execu-
tive and co-founder EaseMyT-
rip, said: “Thailand leads the
list, experiencing a substantial
influx of Indians. Other coun-
tries benefiting from increased
Indian tourism due to on-ar-
rival visas also include the Mal-
dives, Myanmar, Indonesia.
The spike in outbound travel
to these countries ranges from
20-30%. However, in the case
of Malaysia, it is still early to
predict the surge.”

HSBC hires UBS’s Anand for role serving India’s rich diaspora
Bloomberg Gautam Anand was hub as part of our ambition to bank earlier this year also from tions thrown up by the Swiss are seeking to boost financial
feedback@livemint.com appointed Global Coordinator be Asia’s leading wealth man- UBS. A HSBC spokesman in lender’s takeover of Credit services for the rich given its
for Global India, the Middle ager,” Tommy Leung, the Hong Kong confirmed the Suisse. Before UBS, he was a rapid economic growth. The

H
SBC Holdings Plc hired
a senior private bank-
ing executive from UBS
Group AG where he ran a team
serving wealthy Indians who
live overseas.
East, North Africa and Europe
from 1 December, according to
an internal memo seen by
Bloomberg .
“Our strategy is grow Singa-
pore as an international wealth
bank’s head of private banking
for South Asia, said in the
memo. Anand’s appointment
will support the bank’s ability
to serve clients across markets,
said Leung, who joined the
memo’s contents.
Anand joined UBS in Janu-
ary and left shortly after at the
end of August, according to the
Monetary Authority of Singa-
pore’s records, amid disrup-
team head for non-resident
Indians at Credit Suisse and
was there for almost a decade.
India has attracted interest
from global and regional firms
including HSBC and UBS that
country’s growing wealth man-
agement industry could be
worth $5.5 trillion by 2025,
according to Bloomberg Intel-
ligence analyst Sarah Jane
Mahmud.

Dept. of E, IT & Bt

Innovation from India. Impact for the World.

Shri Siddaramaiah Shri D.K. Shivakumar

Hon’ble Chief Minister, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister,
Government of Karnataka Government of Karnataka
INAUGURATION TO A AT A
GUESTS OF HONOUR

r r
Hon’ble Minister of Science Hon’ble Minister of Digital Affairs Executive Vice President & Executive Chairman,
& Culture of Finland & Transport of Germany Wipro
Chief Technology Officer, AMD

• Multi-Track Conference • International Exhibition • STPI IT Export Awards

• Global Innovation Alliance • Chandrayaan Mission Dome • Asst. Tech, Smart Bio Awards
• India USA - Tech Conclave • Startup Pavilion • Bio Posters & Bio Quiz
• Product Launches & B2B • R&D - Lab2market • National Rural IT Quiz

Co-Host
GLOBAL INNOVATION ALLIANCE PARTNERS

@blrtechsummit

www.bengalurutechsummit.com
08 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi GLOBAL LIVEMINT.COM

COP28: WORLD LEADERS FACE THE HEAT

ome Thursday, Dubai will welcome global leaders at COP28, the annual climate ON THE AGENDA
change conference. Once again, the 198 parties to the United Nations Framework
The “Global Stocktake” Energy transition Climate finance gap Also: Parties are
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will discuss—and bicker over—how to Governments will assess The phase-out of Crucial, especially with progress on expected to prioritize
stop the Earth from heating beyond redemption. They are likely to discuss how they are placed to fossil fuels will the "loss and damage fund". More climate adaptation
methane (an often overlooked greenhouse gas), climate finance (especially meet the promises of the again be in the poor and vulnerable nations need this and resilience in
following the recently set-up “loss and damage fund”), and the pace of phasing out fossil fuels 2015 Paris deal, and will spotlight. money desperately as they face the low-income countries
accordingly chart the music from the climate change largely in order to combat
(which no one quite wants to, or can, let go of, yet). Effective communication of the climate change.
actions for the next phase. brought upon them by the rich world.
tricky—and contentious—science of climate again poses a challenge. Can the UN, with its
enormous scientific knowledge, generate political will and consensus?
COP THROUGH THE YEARS
By Manjul Paul The US and China, the world's two biggest emitters, have never hosted the annual
manjul.paul@livemint.com
conference. Germany has been the most frequent host, by virtue of having the seat of the
secretariat in Bonn and, hence, the default host if no member comes forward.
Number of times a country has hosted the climate summit
1 2 3 4
THE LATEST ON CLIMATE
The 2015 Paris deal foresaw global warming "well below" 2°C, with
an aim for 1.5°C (the extent of “warming” is measured as the
increase over levels seen before the world’s industrialization) in the
long run. But the mercury has already breached that aim often this Poland
year, with record temperatures since July. Countries’ individual pledges for now Germany
(1995, 1999, (2008, 2013, 2018)
fall so short that a 2.5-2.9°C warming is on the cards by 2100 unless they show
greater will, a new UN report suggests. That’s the context going into COP28. 2000*, 2017)
Japan
Annual global surface temperature, difference with 1951–1980 average* (°C) (1997)
1.2 Egypt
(2022) UAE
(2023)
1
*COP6 of 2000 was
held in two parts: in the
0.8 Netherlands
(November 2000) and South Africa
Germany (July 2001). (2011)
0.6

COP3, Kyoto Protocol (1997) COP21, Paris agreement (2015)

0.4 Treaty requires 37 mainly developed UNFCCC members agree to limit warming
nations and the EU to take the lead to 2°C, preferably 1.5°C. This requires
in reducing emissions as a reflection halving global emissions by 2030 and
0.2 of their historical damage reaching net zero by 2050. Introduction of
a five-year plan called Nationally
COP7 (2001) Determined Contributions by countries.
0 The US, under the Bush administra-
tion, withdraws from the Kyoto COP25 (2019)
-0.2
Protocol following COP6 The US, under the Trump administration,
withdraws from the Paris agreement
COP15 (2009) (rejoined in 2021)
-0.4 Developed countries make a pledge
to mobilize $100 bn/year to help COP27 (2022)
developing countries combat Breakthrough agreement on new “loss and
-0.6 climate change damage” fund for vulnerable countries.
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2022
Source: Mint research
Source: Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), NASA COP19 (2013)
Series of walkouts by poor
Projected annual carbon emissions and global warming* countries as advanced nations insist
Global warming* (°C) if on postponing discussion on who
countries continue to 1.05 1.27 1.51 1.75 1.97 2.19 2.39 2.59
abide by Paris deal 2.78 should pay for climate action.

Carbon emissions (2005=base 100)

300 in various scenarios
No policy
250 Low commitment to Paris deal
Continued commitment THE THREE PILLARS OF CLIMATE ACTION
to Paris deal $63 billion
200
Increased ambition Climate action and governance revolves around the following three pillars, which focus on not just
to Paris deal prevention and cure, but also adjusting better to the grim reality. Annual adaptation finance
150 during 2021-2022, an
MITIGATION ADAPTATION all-time high, but still short

1 2
100
This involves reducing or preventing emissions While mitigation involves reducing of the $212 billion a year
through new technologies, renewable energy sources, harmful impact to the planet’s needed by 2030 for
50
making older equipment more energy-efficient, or climate, adaptation is about adjusting developing countries
changing consumer behaviour. better to actual or expected changes alone.
0
2005 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2100 2090 How much emissions we are set to produce in climatic conditions. (Climate Policy Initiative)
2005 emissions: 31,899 metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent. Projections based on the Global Change Assessment (gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) Total adaptation-specific public
Model maintained by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. *Rise in temperatures as compared to finance towards developing 38.4
pre-industrial level. Source: Climate Watch, World Resources Institute
This is what we're planning to do*
countries (in $ billion) $37 billion
This is how much we can reduce it to if we abide by: That’s the approximate
Stated climate policies Announced climate pledges**
THE CULPRITS, THEN AND NOW What's needed to keep warming <2°C
amount the Annex II
25.2
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that heat the globe set a new record of 57.4 gigatonnes of What's needed to keep warming <1.5°C (mostly industrialized)
21.3
CO2-equivalent in 2022. According to a new UN report, by 2030, GHG emissions could rise a 50 19.2 countries have deposited
further 3%, instead of decreasing. Rich countries are responsible for the majority of the rise in 14.9 14.8 towards climate finance,
global temperatures as fossil fuels led much of their industrialization. 40
$5 billion short of what
Current and historical contribution to climate change (shares in %) 30 they pledged.
100 20 (Climate Funds Update)
Least developed
countries 10
2017 2021 2025*
Rest of world 0 *Figures used indicate promises by developed countries
80 2020 2021 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 (doubling from 2019 level).
*Based on plans and projections by governments globally for production of Data excludes finance for measures that could cut across both
Rest of G20* oil, gas, coal, etc. **As of September 2022. mitigation and adaptation.
Source: Production Gap Report 2023, UN Environment Programme Source: Adaptation Gap Report 2023,UN Environment Programme
60
Russia
India 0.57°C:

3
EU27 That’s how much LOSS & DAMAGE (L&D)
40 Annex I countries THE AIM is to address the impact of warming on developing and less affluent nations,
US especially those highly vulnerable to the effects that cannot be avoided despite mitigation
(industrialized countries
that have committed to and adaptation efforts.
20 targets) have contribut-
THE CONCEPT dates back to 1991, four years before COP1. Vanuatu, representing the
China ed to global tempera- Alliance of Small Island States, proposed an international insurance pool to address the
ture rise through fossil 100.5 mm repercussions of sea level rise. But it took two decades for the issue to resurface: at COP27,
0
Historical Contribution Greenhouse fuels during 1851–2021. That’s the rise in sea-level countries finally agreed on a fund to compensate vulnerable nations.
CO2 emissions to warming gas emissions That’s a 54% share. since 1993 levels.
(1850-2021) (1850-2021) (2021) (Grassi et al., 2023, Scientific (NASA) WHAT’S THE LATEST? On 4 November, a panel set up at COP27 came up with a draft
*G20 countries other than US, EU27, China, Russia and India. Data journal) framework for funding that will be sent to leaders for adoption at COP28.
Source: Emissions Gap Report 2023, UN Environment Programme

FUELLING A DISASTER HOT TALK: FROM COP27

Power generation contributes the most to human-led emissions. Share (%) of energy consumption in G20 countries in 2022, by source
Despite calls for a phase-out, investments in fossil fuels far exceed
"We all know that the People's Republic of China,
Oil Natural gas Coal
those in renewable energy. Fifteen G20 nations still meet three-quarters Saudi Arabia India - they're major polluters, and the polluter
of their energy needs from fossil fuels, showed a Mint analysis. Mexico must pay. I don't think that there's any free pass for any
Renewable energy vs. fossil fuel: total annual investment Indonesia
by all actors (public + private) globally (in $ billion)
country and I don't say this with any acrimony."
India —Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda
1,400 Russia
110%
The surplus fossil 1,200
Fossil fuel
Australia "Everybody was flexible for the cause of loss and
fuel production Argentina damage and the disasters and people dying and
1,000
expected globally Japan
800 Italy the economy being lost. I thank all the parties...who were
in 2030, as
compared to what 600 South Korea not flexible initially but who were flexible now."
should be the case China —Kunal Satyarthi, India negotiator on loss and damage
400
if the 1.5°C warming Turkey
200 Renewable energy US "In the face of impending catastrophe, whose
goal is to be met.
(UNEP) 0 Germany warning signs are already unbearably disastrous,
2015 2022 UK weak action is unwise. No action is dangerous."
This covers only direct investments, and could exclude expenses on subsidies for fossil fuels. Canada —William Ruto, President of Kenya
Source: Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023, Climate Policy Initiative France
GRAPHIC: PARAS JAIN/MINT
Brazil
0 20 40 60 80 100
Source: Statistical Review of World Energy 2023, BP
LIVEMINT.COM NEWS Wrap WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 09

NEWS
3,500
THE NUMBER of jobs that will be lost as
₹100 cr
THE AMOUNT of debt that Spencer
$100 mn
THE AMOUNT SpiceJet plans to raise
$4.8 bn
THE COST of the aircraft carrier that the
4
THE NUMBER of hours within which the
IN ArcelorMittal South Africa plans to close Retail’s subsidiary Nature’s Basket is from global credit funds to infuse fresh Indian navy plans to add to its fleet to first transaction above ₹2,000 can be
NUMBERS its long steel unit due to weak demand
and persistent infrastructure problems.
expected to slash through a combination
of loan restructuring and repayment.
equity in the cash-strapped airline and to
refinance a part of the promoter debt.
counter China’s naval presence in
the Indian Ocean region.
reversed for a digital payment to combat
fraud, according to a new proposal.

HOWINDIALIVES.COM

Sydney IDI, Bharat RESCUED Adani Total blends

Biotech sign MoU green hydrogen

B A
harat Biotech and the University of
Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute on
Tuesday announced a memorandum of
understanding between them to advance
vaccine research initiatives, strengthen
academic-industry partnerships and augment
global efforts to combat infectious diseases.
The agreement aims to build strong sectoral
and cross-organizational collaborations to
design novel methodologies to tackle future
epidemics and infectious diseases, Bharat
Biotech said. It also aims at leveraging
academia-industry strengths to advance the
science of vaccines and biotherapeutics, it
added. India’s capabilities in manufacturing
vaccines came to the fore during the covid-19
pandemic where companies such as Bharat
Biotech were able to provide vaccines that met
over 60% of the world’s demand and supplied
over 2.4 billion doses of covid-19 vaccines, the
statement said.
dani Total Gas Ltd, the city gas joint
venture of billionaire Gautam Adani’s
group and French energy giant
TotalEnergies, has started blending green
hydrogen in natural gas they sell to households
for cooking purposes and industries as fuel in
Ahmedabad.
The percentage of green hydrogen, produced
by splitting water using renewable electricity, to
be blended in gas will gradually be increased to
8%, the company said in a statement. “As part of
the project, ATGL will employ the latest
technologies to blend green hydrogen (GH2)
with natural gas for over 4,000 residential and
commercial customers at Ahmedabad, Gujarat,”
it said. GH2 is produced using electrolysis of
water with electricity generated by renewable
energy. Hydrogen blending is less carbon
intensive than burning gas but has the same
heating capabilities. PTI
PTI

Ambulances carrying rescued miners leave the entrance of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district on Tuesday night. All 41 workers who
were trapped in the tunnel for 17 days were brought out safely after a group of rat-hole miners dug through the rubble to reach them. PTI

During the pilot phase of the programme, Oyo

Byju’s says it’s in talks with BCCI BharatPe said the milestone was attributed to
consistent growth across all biz lines. BLOOMBERG
has partnered with 30 realtors.

Oyo restarts self

MINT

to settle pending insolvency issue BharatPe turns

Ebitda positive
operated hotels
F
intech unicorn BharatPe on Tuesday

H
ospitality tech platform Oyo on
Tuesday said it has restarted self
operated hotels tagged as ‘Managed by
Oyo’ through the company’s app and website
and is seeking partnerships with real estate
developers to identify properties for these
hotels.
“As part of the program, Oyo will secure
announced that it has turned Ebitda
BCCI filed a case in NCLT against Byju’s parent for default in payment of ₹160 cr dues positive in October with annualized
revenue crossing ₹1,500 crore. Without giving
out the actual number, BharatPe in a statement
Priyanka Gawande & Sneha Shah It was on 15 November that the bankruptcy tri- pounding as it scrambles to raise funds, Mint said the financial milestone was attributed to
priyanka.gawande@livemint.com bunal registered the matter for further hearing, reported earlier this month. The company’s consistent growth across all business lines.
MUMBAI according to the latest details available on their former employees that were part of the layoff Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
website. cycle are yet to get their full and final (F&F) settle- and amortization is a measure of core

annual to long-term management contracts
on the revenue share basis of 200 premium
hotels across Indian metros and give its top
hotel operators an opportunity to leverage
their expertise in maintaining operational
excellence and high customer satisfaction,”
the company said.
Oyo closed its self-operated hotel model in
2020, just before the start of the first wave of
covid-19, and is restarting after three years.
During the pilot phase of the programme,
Oyo has partnered with 30 realtors and
started operations in more than 35 hotels.
These hotels are spread across key cities
such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, Goa, Jaipur, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune,
Pudicherry and Vadodara.
B
yju’s, the ed-tech firm on Tuesday said
it is in talks with the Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI) to settle a
pending insolvency matter filed
against it in Bengaluru National Com-
pany Law Tribunal (NCLT).
“We are in discussions with Board of Control
for Cricket in India to settle the matter and we
hope to achieve that soon,” said the ed-tech firm’s
spokesperson without divulging any further
details.
The BCCI in September filed an application
before the Bengaluru bench of NCLT against
Think & Learn Pvt Ltd that operates Byju’s for
defaulting on dues of close to ₹160 crore. The case
pertains to the dispute around sponsorship rights
PTI of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys.
To be sure, the ed-tech firm has been a partner ments, highlighting the depth of the cash corporate profitability. The fintech, which
of the Indian cricket team since 2019, with its strapped company’s troubles. allows merchants to accept payments from any
branding featured The company is of the several apps popular among consumers,
on the front of the in the process of “has turned ebitda positive in October 2023”,
team’s jersey. Byju’s is selling its US-based online selling its US-based the statement said, adding its annualized
In June last year, book reading platform Epic for more online book reading revenue has surged past ₹1,500 crore,
Byju’s extended its platform Epic for a registering a growth of 31% from FY23 (April
sponsorship rights than $400 million, a move that is consideration of 2022 to March 2023 fiscal year). “The company
with the BCCI till likely to ease its capital constraints. more than $400 has also significantly cut down its ebitda burn
November 2023. million, a move that —which was averaging at ₹60 crore per month
The ed-tech firm is likely to ease its in FY23—to attain ebitda positivity,” it said. PTI
had asked the board to encash ₹140 crore bank capital constraints.
guarantee, while the remaining ₹160 crore was to “Once there is some liquidity from asset sales,
be paid in installments. the company is likely to repay BCCI. Currently
A BCCI source confirmed the development, but the priority is F&F payments to ex-employees,” a
added that they have not arrived at any solution. person with knowledge of the company’s plans
DB Realty sells 3%
The problem for the ed-tech decacorn is com- said.
company stake

P
romoters of DB Realty have sold nearly
IPO nod to DOMS 3% stake in the company for ₹301 crore
Xi urges stronger rule of law overseas and infused back a substantial amount in
Industries, others the real estate firm for reduction of debt.
In a regulatory filing, Mumbai-based DB
powerful political bureau, said to protect Realty informed that “the Promoter Group has

F
ive firms, including affordable housing
finance company India Shelter Finance,
pencil maker DOMS Industries and lender
Jana Small Finance Bank, have received the
capital markets regulator Sebi’s go-ahead to
raise funds via initial public offerings (IPOs).
The other two firms that obtained the
regulator’s nod to float maiden public issues
are—Vadodara-based Shiva Pharmachem and
FMCG firm Onest Ltd.
These five firms, which filed preliminary IPO
papers with the regulator between July and
August, obtained observation letters from 7 to
16 November, an update with the Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed on
Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was vital
to raise compliance awareness. AFP
its overseas citizens and interests, it was
necessary to deepen international
cooperation on law enforcement,
strengthen consular protection and
assistance, and build strong rule of law.
China’s private companies have run
into legal challenges abroad in recent
years, from US accusations on counterfeit
and pirated goods sold on online
platforms owned by Tencent Holdings
and Alibaba Group, to steps to ban the
TikTok video app, owned by Chinese tech
firm ByteDance, in Nepal. Xi said in the
Monday speech it was necessary to raise
compliance awareness and guide the
There are 10 offices of Commission of Railway
Safety, apart from the Lucknow headquarters.
Railways fills up all
sold 14.6 million shares of the company
reflecting a 2.91% stake in the company and
have raised ₹301 crore by sale of the said
shares.” The promoter group has infused back
a substantial portion of the proceeds (net of tax)
into the company as repayment of related party
transactions and unsecured interest free loan,
it added. “The funds so infused has enabled the
company to retire its entire debt and therefore
the company on a standalone basis shall be
debt free on a standalone basis on or before 30
HT November 2023,” DB Realty said.
The company said it has been reducing debt
for the last few years. PTI

safety officer posts

P
Tuesday.
In Sebi’s parlance, obtaining observation
letters means its go-ahead to launch the IPO.
Going by the draft papers, the ₹1,800-crore
proposed IPO of India Shelter Finance
comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth
₹1,000 crore and an offer for sale of ₹800 crore
resident Xi Jinping has called for
stronger rule of law related to
foreign affairs given “external risks
and challenges” as China opens up to the
outside world, state media reported on
Tuesday. Xi, speaking during a study
session of the Communist’s Party’s
public and enterprises to abide by laws,
regulations and customs in the process of
“going global”. To facilitate economic and
trade exchanges, authorities say Chinese
law firms have set up 180 overseas offices
in 35 countries and regions, an increase of
nearly 50% since 2018. REUTERS
Largest global design
T
he Railway Board has appointed three new
commissioners of railway safety (CRS) to fill
vacant posts in the Commission of Railway
centre in B’luru: AMD
Safety, which deals with the safety aspects of rail

by investor shareholders.
Meta loses bid to push US FTC into court on privacy deal
U
PTI travel and train operations while playing
statutory inspectorial, investigatory and advisory
functions.
The appointment orders were issued after
the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
approved four senior railway officers’ names
for the posts of CRS on 18 October.
S chipmaker AMD on Tuesday
inaugurated its largest global design
centre in Bengaluru, expanding its
research, development, and engineering
operations in India.
The state-of-the-art campus plans to host
approximately 3,000 AMD engineers in the

T
he US Federal Trade Commission can move forward with revisions to Sources in the Indian Railways said the coming years, and is focused on the design
Meta Platforms Inc.’s 2020 privacy settlement after a judge denied the fourth appointment is in the process too. There and development of semiconductor
social network’s bid to force the agency into court. are 10 offices of the Commission of Railway technology, including 3D stacking, artificial
US district judge Timothy Kelly in Washington ruled on Monday that the Safety across the country, besides its intelligence and machine learning, the
federal court didn’t have jurisdiction over the FTC settlement with the parent headquarters in Lucknow where the chief company said in a press release.
company of Facebook and Instagram. Meta shares fell as much as 1.2% to commissioner of railway safety sits. Union minister for telecommunications,
$334.35 on the news. The company said it was considering legal options and Of these 10 offices, four—Northern Circle, electronics and information technology
opposes the FTC’s efforts to amend the deal. “Today’s decision does not South Central Circle, Northeast Frontier Circle Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the facility.
address the substance of the FTC’s allegations, which are without merit,” Meta and South Eastern Circle—did not have “India’s semiconductor programme lays
spokesperson Christopher Sgro said. “We will continue to invest in our privacy commissioners for a while and the CRS from strong emphasis on supporting the design
program and remain focused on protecting people’s privacy.” The FTC other circles were holding additional charges and talent ecosystem for semiconductors,”
declined to comment. Under the 2020 deal, Meta agreed to pay a $5 billion fine to look after their functions. he was quoted as saying in the release. “AMD
—the largest ever imposed for a privacy violation—and make changes to its The three officers who have been appointed as setting up its largest design centre in
internal privacy checks, including increased responsibility for the company’s Meta agreed to pay a $5 billion fine—the largest ever imposed for a CRS are Dinesh Chand Deshwal, Madhavi and Bengaluru is a testament to the confidence
board and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to protect user data. BLOOMBERG privacy violation, under the 2020 deal. AP Brajesh Kumar Mishra. PTI global companies have in India,” he added. PTI
10 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi LONG STORY LIVEMINT.COM

CAN UBER NAVIGATE THE

bUmpY rOaD ahEaD?
The ride hailing firm once again leads the cab segment in India but regulatory hurdles, new entrants pose challenges

Sumant Banerji myriad regulatory challenges the industry new entrants. Which is where the likes of threat of regulatory disruptions is higher.
BOUNCE BACK OR mint
sumant.banerji@livemint.com faces can upend the business at any time. SHORT BluSmart, Envi, Evera, Shoffr, Lithium According to Redseer, a market
NeW DelHI STAGNATION? STORY Urban Technologies and Snap E cabs have research and consulting firm, the number
RegulAtoRy heAdwiNds Ride hailing services in India bounced stepped in over the last few years. of ride-hailing bookings in 2022, at 1.2 bil-

I A
n the sweltering heat of July, Prabhjeet s the first movers in the ride-hailing back after the pandemic but growth The leader of this pack is BluSmart, lion, topped the pre-covid 2019 level of
Singh, a man normally used to spend- business, Uber and Ola have had a over 2019 levels is marginal WHAT which already has a fleet of over 5,000 1.16 billion. But the industry that went into
ing his days in a plush office, was strug- number of run-ins with the authorities. cars and operates in Delhi-NCR and Ben- the pandemic isn’t the same as the one
gling to navigate the byzantine lanes of Many of those run-ins have to do with tax Booking Uber has recovered from the galuru. Snap E is a relatively smaller player that emerged from it. In 2019, cabs
volumes (in bn)
Shiv Durga Vihar, Faridabad. The litigation. One case that Uber is still fight- pandemic faster than others in the with 600 cars concentrated around Kolk- accounted for 65% of rides, while autor-
1.16 cab business. It has also doubled
president of Uber India and South Asia ing pertains to an investigation by the (2019) ata. It has plans to ramp up to 5,000 cars ickshaws and two-wheelers accounted for
wanted to experience the business end of Director General of GST Intelligence 0.55 down on the autorickshaw and by 2025-26 and focus on underpenetrated 23% and 12%, respectively. Last year, the
things and had turned taxi driver for the (DGGI), wherein there is a goods and servi- (2020) motorbike taxi segments, which tier II and III cities. share of cabs had shrunk to just 38% fol-
day. Singh, now in his ninth year at Uber, ces tax (GST) liability of ₹800 crore on the are growing at a faster pace. “Our cost of charging is between ₹1.75 lowed closely by autorickshaws at 36%,
goes on such fact-finding trips every company for driver incentives. Another and ₹2 per km whereas for a CNG vehicle and motorbikes at 25%.
month to get to grips with the ground real- case relates to an outstanding demand of 0.77 it is ₹4.5 to ₹5 and diesel anywhere There are multiple reasons for the
(2021)
ities his driver-partners face and the ₹114 crore by the income tax department.
1.20
(2022) BUT between ₹9 and ₹10 a km. Therefore, in growth of bike taxis. The two-wheeler
expectations their passengers have. Other disputes with the authorities the long run, we have a huge advantage in market is much bigger than cars, so availa-
On this occasion, the middle-aged lady include a notice by the Central Consumer Central and state governments the running cost,” says Mayank Bindal, bility is much higher, which is critical in
who had booked his cab wanted to be Protection Authority in 2022 accusing have been moving to regulate the founder and CEO, Snap E Cabs. smaller cities and towns. Also, they are at
picked up right outside her door, in a nar- Uber of violating consumer rights. ride-hailing space more, curb The business model of these companies is least four times more fuel efficient, so the
New segments like auto and bike taxis
row alley. Somehow Singh managed to get “We are a public company scrutinized by are growing faster than cabs (% share
surge pricing, cap commissions also different. Uber and its biggest rival in fares are significantly lower.
to her through the maze of alleys but the regulators across the world and have some of bookings) from drivers and appease irate India, Ola, are aggregators who provide a The online ride hailing market reached
delay had made her irate. of the highest standards of governance com- Cab Auto Motorbike
auto and taxi unions. platform to individual cab drivers and do not approximately 1.3 times its pre-covid level
“I got a reality check—I got a 1-star rat- pliance across the board. So, we are pretty 100 themselves own vehicles. The electric vehi- in October in terms of gross booking value,
ing for factors beyond my control and lost confident about all the fronts that may be cle (EV) players own or lease the cars and said Saurav Chachan, associate partner,
my coveted 5-star rating open. None of them make
80
AND employ drivers in shifts. Redseer. “The industry
average that day,” he me worry in any material This gives them an edge has witnessed democra-
rued during an interac- During Uber’s latest earnings sense,” Singh said. Some state governments want when it comes to manag- The steps that Uber has tization with the increas-
tion with Mint in his call on 7 November, CEO The open fronts may cab aggregators to have electric ing service standards and taken to improve unit ing adoption of the
60
Bengaluru office. not be the end of it as vehicles as part of their fleet. driver behaviour but can 3-wheeler and
On another trip, the Dara Khosrowshahi said the more may open. The cab While this is tough for existing also be risky as the resid- economics, such as reducing 2-wheeler category
rider cancelled his book- aggregation business has 40 players, it has also sparked the ual value of an EV is post-covid, which is
company’s autorickshaw entry of new rivals. incentives to drivers
ing at the last moment as always faced resistance uncertain, and remains on reflected in roughly two-
he had gotten a cab from segment accounted for 40% from the traditional local their books. The high cap- and hiking fares, have three times growth for
20
a rival app. “That was my taxi lobby, with some local ital cost of EVs also means these categories com-
second lesson that day of all trips in Q3 of 2023. bodies having considera- falls in a grey area from a policy perspective. scaling up is tougher. narrowed its losses in FY22. pared to pre-covid lev-
on ‘opportunity cost’. ble clout with politicians. 0 All of these can potentially alter the “It’s going to be a long- els,” he added.
2019 2020 2021 2022
This rider habitually hailed cars from mul- Innovations such as motorbike taxis have landscape for business and upset the haul gameplan for us. The idea of owning This is both good and bad news for Uber.
tiple apps and then cancels whichever only aggravated matters. Under pressure Uber has regained its lead in the ride math. Does it make Uber nervous? cars slows down our scalability in compar- Despite its relatively thinner spread—125
takes longer. That is terrible economics from local autorickshaw unions for example, hailing market (booking share in %) “It is important for regulatory predicta- ison to Ola and Uber,” admitted Bindal. cities in India against Ola’s 200-plus cities,
for us as both cars have spent time and fuel states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra Uber Ola Rapido
bility for companies like us to make for- Uber has its own plans for electric vehi- Redseer says Uber regained its lead over
driving towards him,” Singh said. have moved to curb this segment. 100
ward looking investments. We do seek cles, with a vision to go fully carbon neutral Ola in the first quarter of 2021 and has con-
The company now informs drivers of This is bad news for Uber, which is that,” Singh said. by 2040. But overhauling the existing busi- solidated its position since then (see chart).
the destination beforehand and compen- eager to expand from four-wheeled cabs ness will not be easy. Over the next three In the cab segment, the gap has widened
sates them for the distance travelled to to three- and two-wheelers. New ChAlleNgeRs years, the company plans to induct 25,000 over the last four quarters. In the second

W
80
pick up the customer prior to the trip. At Further, there are ongoing deliberations hat makes things more compli- electric cars in its fleet. By then, BluSmart quarter of 2021, Uber had a lead of about
the same time, it has beefed up its feedback within the government on capping the cated is that transport is a concur- aims to have a fleet four times that size. five million cab bookings over Ola. In the
mechanism for customers, making it more extent to which platforms can use surge rent subject in the Constitution, which last quarter of 2022, even as both bounced
interactive, safer and transparent. Anecdo- pricing, wherein platforms raise fares sub- 60 means both the centre and states get to Auto, bike tAxis Rise back, Uber witnessed over 20 million more
tally, service standards have improved and stantially in case there is a significant
over a dozen riders and drivers that Mint demand-supply mismatch. This is
spoke to in Delhi and Bengaluru said they also a key component of the
formulate policies. So, rules and regula-
tions can differ widely from one state to
the next, making it harder for large com-
I n the company’s latest earnings call on bookings than Ola.
7 November, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
clubbed India along with the US, the UK ChAsiNg pRofitAbility
40
preferred Uber over other players. “We business that bolsters the
have given the drivers a seat at the table. bottom lines of these com-
That has been key,” said Singh. panies. Another pro-
panies like Uber to adapt.
This has become particularly evident
with the advent of electrification. State gov-
and Canada as markets where Uber has
strengthened its position. Since the end of W hile the market may have recov-
ered, the path to profitability is still
the pandemic, Uber has recovered faster hazy. Uber’s revenue from operations in
20
It shows in the company’s performance posed legislation refers ernments, like in Delhi, Karnataka and than others in the four-wheeler cab busi- India slumped during the pandemic to
in the post-pandemic phase, as well. to a cap of 20% that Maharashtra, want cab aggregators to shift ness, while it has doubled down on the ₹370.5 crore in 2020-21 from ₹719.06
While the industry, as a whole, has recov- companies such as Uber to electric much faster. They also prefer three-wheeled autorickshaw and two- crore in 2019-20 (the numbers are not
ered, Uber has regained its lead over oth- can charge from drivers. 0
Q1 Q4
bike taxis to be completely electric. wheeled motorbike taxi segments which strictly comparable as fiscal year 2020
ers (see chart) and built on it. Shared mobility is 2021 2022 While this poses a challenge for existing are growing at a faster pace. included revenue from Uber Eats, which
But Uber is not out another flashpoint as it Note: Ride hailing includes cabs, players, it also presents an opportunity for Khosrowshahi said during the earnings was bought by Zomato in 2020). Uber
autos and bike taxis
of the woods yet. Source: Redseer call that the autorickshaw segment incurred a loss of ₹333.9 crore in 2020-21.
Profitability—a key accounted for 40% of all trips in Q3 of 2023. The steps that Uber has taken to improve
aspiration—is still out “Today we do more trips on two- and unit economics, such as reducing incentives
of reach. New three-wheelers than on cars, our to drivers and hiking fares, have had an
entrants are ever flagship product,” Singh said. impact on its bottom line. In fiscal year
eager to disrupt and On the flip side though, 2021-22, revenue grew to ₹397 crore while
nibble into the gains these are also seg- losses fell to ₹216 crore. Still, they are signifi-
made by incum- ments with lower cant. Uber is yet to file earnings for 2022-23
bents, and the margins and with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, but
where the the numbers are expected to be better.
“We are on a steady path to profitability
and feel good about the economics of our
business today,” said Singh. “There are
parts of the business that are profita-
ble, others where we are investing,
and some where we are at an
early stage of establishing a
product market fit.”

Prabhjeet Singh, president of Uber

India and South Asia. On a monthly
basis, the company is adding more
drivers and riders than ever before,
he said. SAMPATH KUMAR G P/MINT
LIVEMINT.COM MINT MONEY WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 11

How Unifi Capital is set to 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

navigate the MF universe 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
The relatively unknown Chennai-based firm has seen huge success for its PMS, AIF schemes rates on offer. Here is a list of banks that offer the
highest FD rates for deposits up to ₹1 crore over
Sashind Ningthoukhongjam various tenures.
sashindnj@livemint.com
Unifi Capital: The little-known PMS eyeing the MF pie Interest rates (%) for fixed deposits up to ₹1 crore

T
he investment landscape in Industry insiders wonder how Unifi will differentiate itself in a crowded MF market and break its publicity-shy
image to communicate with unitholders.
6 months 1 to < 2 2 to < 3 3 to < 5 5 years
the country is loaded with a
Returns (in %) Inception to < 1 year years years years and above
bevy of mutual funds, but
there is always space for PMS Investment thesis Since inception Benchmark date
DCB Bank 6.25-7.25 7.15- 7.75 7.55-7.90 7.40-7.90 7.25-7.65
more. And, many asset man- Shift from unorganized to 15.9
BCAD April 2018
agement companies (AMCs) are lining organized sector 12.5 Axis Bank 5.75-6.00 6.70-7.10 7.10 7.10 7.00
up to launch more funds, albeit with Added a few more sectors 15.0
different investment strategies and BCAD (Breakout 20) January 2022 HDFC Bank 4.50-6.00 6.60-7.10 7.00-7.15 7.00-7.20 7.00
under the BCAD 5.1
themes. The latest to join the band- Invest where promoters buy 15.4
wagon is Chennai headquartered Unifi Insider Shadow May 2010 IndusInd Bank 5.00-6.35 7.50-7.85 7.25-7.50 7.25 7.00-7.25
more shares at market price. 12.2
Capital. That is not a name many inves- Find holding cos trading below 21.2
HoldCo May 2014 IDFC First Bank 4.50-5.75 6.50-7.75 7.25-7.75 7.00-7.25 7.00
tors are familiar with. The AMC, intrinsic value 13.4
though, is one of the biggest players in Pick from 7 promising sectors 22.6 RBL Bank 4.75-6.05 7.00-7.80 7.50 7.10 7.00-7.10
the portfolio management service APJ 20 September 2015
based on Abdul Kalam's book. 13.8
(PMS) space but has shied away from Cheery picks stocks from 21.0 YES Bank 5.00-6.35 7.25-7.75 7.25 7.25 7.00-7.25
the limelight so far. Blended Rangoli Jun 2017
themes that they manage 12.8
Unifi received an in-principle ICICI Bank 4.75-6.00 6.70-7.10 7.00-7.10 7.00 6.90-7.00
AIF
approval from market regulator Sebi
Capture the migration from Canara Bank 6.15-6.25 6.85-7.25 6.85 6.80 6.70
last week to start its mutual fund opera- BCAD* 9.9 Aug 2022
unorganized to organized sector
tions. Founded in 2001 by a clutch of Union Bank of India 4.40-5.25 6.30-7.00 6.30 6.50-6.70 6.70
Umbrella Bend Cheery picks stocks from themes 14.7
investment professionals, the company Jun 2021
Fund 2* that they manage
has an impressive ₹20,000 crore assets Dhanlaxmi Bank 6.75 6.75-7.25 6.50-6.75 6.50-6.60 6.60
Performance Updated as on 31 October 2023; *Post expense & tax; BSE S&P 500 taken as benchmark Source: Unifi Capital website & PMS Bazzar
under management. For the first 10
years of its existence, the company was Federal Bank 5.00-6.00 6.80-7.40 7.05 7.00 6.60
focused only on south India, where it
built its reputation, mostly by word of Journey so far How they are
Bank of Baroda 5.00-6.25 6.75-7.15 7.25 6.50-7.25 6.50
mouth. 2001 2002 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 different from other Indian Overseas Bank 4.95-5.35 6.80-7.10 6.80 6.50 6.50
Twelve years later, in 2013, it opened fund houses
an office in Mumbai and then started Unifi is Registed Insider Foray AIF HoldCo APJ 20 Punjab National Bank 6.00-6.25 6.75-7.25 6.80-7.00 6.50-7.00 6.50
exploring the rest of the country. At founded with Sebi Shadow into Launched and Headquatered in Chennai
Fund Mumbai SpinOff They say staying away State Bank of India 5.25-5.75 6.80-7.10 7.00 6.50 6.50
that time, the fund house had less than
₹300 crore in assets under manage- makes them think
independently of the street. Jammu & Kashmir Bank 4.75-6.60 7.10-7.50 7.00 6.50 6.50
ment. Subsequently, it entered Delhi in
2023 2022 2019 2018 2017 2016 Data taken from respective bank's website as on 23 November 2023; Only main entity of the merged banks are taken.
2016 and now have clients in 22 states. Media-shy Banks which merged with its main entity are removed from the table; The list of 15 banks is based on highest fixed deposit
The company’s success can be Mutual Fund BCAD-2 ISF BCAD Blended Foray into Don't like talking about rates available for 5 years and above
gauged by the fact that many registered (in-principal approval) Relaunch Fund Rangaloi Delhi stocks openly as they keep PARAS JAIN/MINT Source: www.Bankbazaar.com

investment advisers (RIAs) have been changing views

recommending its portfolios to their
customers. One among them is Sau-
rabh Mittal, RIA and founder director
of Circle Wealth advisory. “I wanted my
clients to have a differentiated portfolio
from the traditional mutual funds that
they were investing in. I saw that it
(Unifi) ran a focused strategy of 10-15
stocks and had low overlap with mutual
funds. It picked stocks that were largely
unknown to the markets,” said Mittal,
who was among the first advisors in
Mumbai to recommend its portfolio in
2013.
The company’s executives, includ-
ing founder and chief investment offi-
cer K Sarath Reddy did not respond to
any queries from Mint.
A few other RIAs told Mint that Unifi
Capital has one of the best client com-
munications in the market, making it
comfortable to work with the firm.
“When we want any support, the
company is quick to respond and some-
times its representatives even come
down to our office to discuss a client’s
portfolio. They also do quarterly
research, half-yearly, and annual
reviews. This amount of effort they take
to communicate is why Unifi appeals to
me,” said Rohit Shah, RIA and principal
officer at ‘Getting You Rich’
That brings us to the question: How
has its PMS performed so far?
Unifi Capital has nine equity strate-
gies in its PMS structure and one high-
yield strategy in the debt segment. It
follows the traditional long-term value
investing style and stays away from
new-age strategies like momentum,
quant-based strategies, or algos.
Many RIAs and distributors told Mint
that Unifi Capital is not accepting new
investments in any of its portfolios since
1 November although existing clients
are allowed to top up their investments.
The AMC follows theme-based
investments based on niche Indian sce-
narios. It would first find themes that
Concentrated portfolios
Key people AUM growth (in  cr) Has 15-20 stocks in a single
K SARATH REDDY
Founder and CIO
As CIO, he looks closely
20,000
20,316 portfolio.
Structural theme based
investing
How is property leased out with
at fund management and
a leave and licence agreement?
15,000 Make portfolios based on
research team niche themes available in
10,000
Indian capital markets.
MARAN GOVINDASAMY
Executive Director
Best in-class
communication
Manages key client 5,000
with clients
Aradhana Bhansali
relations and is the one Advisors say their support
who talks about strategies staff is best in the industry.
0 My father has been
to advisors and clients 2014 2023 Oct
2023 approached by several
public sector undertakings
PARAS JAIN/MINT
(PSUs) for leasing the prop-
could see a structural shift in the next This portfolio has delivered a return of “Looking at the large drawdowns erty that he owns in New
3-year to 5-year horizon and then choose 15.4% compared to the BSE S&P 500 that time, some people panicked and Mumbai. How is leasing dif-
fundamentally strong stocks from it. 12.24% since its launch in 2020. even exited Unifi’s PMS,” said Mittal, ferent from that of a leave
One of its portfolios ‘BCAD’, which Then there is the APJ 20 fund, which who says some of his initial clients even and licence agreement ?
stands for ‘Business Consolidation was inspired by late scientist and Presi- made 8-10x returns over 10 years in Additionally, is it necessary
After Disruption’, tries to capture the dent APJ Abdul Kalam’s book India Unifi’s PMS products. to register these docu-
consolidation of businesses from the 2020’ This theme seeks to invest in a The reasoning that the company ments with the PSU?
unorganized to the organized sector. basket of stocks that will benefit from gave to its clients at that point of time —Name withheld on request
This is based on the thesis that the India’s growth. The investable universe was that the setback had happened ASK MINT terms and conditions as may
informal sector currently accounts for includes sectors like agriculture, spe- largely due to the change in mutual Before your father enters m LEGAL be mutually agreed upon by
about 35% of the country’s cialty chemicals, mining, fund classification. In 2018, Sebi said any documentation, he must the parties.
GDP but certain regula- Unifi received an high-tech manufacturing, that large-caps funds of any asset man- bear in mind a few vital differ- In Maharashtra, a ‘leave and
tory, taxes, scale, and legal in-principle and infrastructure. It has agement firm had to put in at least 80% ences pertaining to the con- upon execution of an agree- licence’ agreement is to be
challenges over the years approval from delivered a return of of its investments in the top 100 com- cept of lease and a leave & ment and such other terms compulsorily registered as
will lead to the unorgan- market regulator 22.6% compared to the panies based on market capitalization. license from a legal point of and conditions the party may provided by the provisions of
ized players losing market
Sebi last week to benchmark return of This led to a lot of mutual funds selling view though certain contrac- mutually agree upon. Maharashtra Rent Control Act,
share in the hands of big 13.75% since its launch in their stakes in mid- and small-size com- tual requirements may be sim- A ‘license’ is governed by 1999. Irrespective of it being a
players. This portfolio start its mutual 2015. panies and hence the underperform- ilar. the provisions of Easement lease or ‘leave and license’
delivered 15.91% returns, fund operations The AMC also has a ance compared to the benchmark. A lease is governed by the Act, 1882. The term license agreement, both are required
compared to the bench- flagship fund called “If you look at the 2018 calendar provisions of Transfer of Prop- means a personal right to be stamped and registered
mark return of 12.46%, ‘blended rangoli’, which return, you will see that the Nifty 50 erty Act, 1882, and the interest granted to a licensee or other as per the applicable provi-
since its launch in 2018. All of Unifi cherry picks the best stocks across the and Nifty small cap 250 index showed in the subject property is definite persons and is exclu- sions of the Maharashtra
Capital’s portfolios are benchmarked seven themes running in separate port- a negative correlation,” said Mittal. transferred by the transferor, sive to the licensee unless oth- Stamp Act and Registration
against the S&P BSE 500. folios. It has delivered a return of 21% After 2020, Unifi’s portfolio has had therein called the lessor, to the erwise agreed under the Act.
The ‘Insider Shadow’ fund seeks to compared to the benchmark return of a great run and those who stuck with it transferee, therein referred to agreement between the trans- Aradhana Bhansali is part-
put money where promoters have 12.84% since its launch in 2017. saw a recovery soon after, he added. the lessee. This transfer of feror, therein referred to as the ner, Rajani Associates.
acquired or have repurchased their Although none of the strategies have The question that most investors are interest in favour of the lessee licensor and the transferee,
own shares at the market price. The lost money, the going has not always likely to ask now is will the fund house in fact gives the lessee a right therein the licensee. Under Do you have a personal
premise here is that promoters know been rosy for Unifi’s investors. In 2018, be able to replicate the success of its to enjoy the subject property license, the licensee does not finance query? Send in your
more about their companies than their when the small-cap and mid-cap sec- PMS and alternative investment fund with possession for a specified get interest or possession of queries at
shareholders and if they are buying tors took a huge beating, its portfolio (AIF) in its mutual fund venture. period (term) in lieu or the subject property but only a mintmoney@livemint.com
and get them answered by
more shares at current prices, then it is also saw a huge drawdown since it had (For an extended version of this story, exchange of monetary consid- bare permission to use and
industry experts.
a sign that the shares are undervalued. invested mostly in these companies. go to livemint.com) eration payable periodically occupy the property on certain

WHAT INVESTORS NEED TO DO TO ENHANCE THEIR BASIC FIXED INCOME RETURNS

POWER
POINT
JOYDEEP SEN
We welcome your views and comments at
mintmoney@livemint.com
T
he most basic, and safe, returns on investments are those
derived from liquid funds, or returns from fixed income
funds that are of good credit quality. While asset classes
such as equities provide better returns, there are ways that con-
servative investors can enhance their basic returns without tak-
ing too much of the incremental risk.
The current corporate credit environment is relatively better
than earlier. There are now more credit rating upgrades by rating
agencies than downgrades. Corporate balance sheets, too, are
less leveraged; most companies did a good job of deleveraging
during the covid pandemic. There are bonds and debentures
rated lower than AAA, say AA or A, but are of somewhat good
quality. One way to invest in these is through credit risk funds of
mutual funds. However, the expenses charged for credit risk
funds are usually higher, which would take away from the higher
returns that one gets from the papers that are rated AA or lower.
If your investment ticket size is ₹50 lakh or higher, you can opt
for the fixed income strategies offered by portfolio management
services (PMS) of asset management companies with a proven
track record. Do make sure that the recurring expenses are rea-
sonable. If your investment ticket size is lower, you can purchase
bonds directly from the primary or secondary market. You can
get into secondary market bond deals as the client of a bond deal-
ing house or buy through online bond provider platforms
(OBPPs). However, the issuing entity should be reliable where the
bonds are rated lower than AAA, since you are taking a credit risk.
It is advisable to have a proper allocation to equity, fixed
income and other asset categories. If you are a conservative inves-
tor, depending on your investment time horizon, you can have
a limited equity exposure, say up to 25%. There are conservative
hybrid funds of mutual funds with 10-25% of the portfolio being
invested in equities. This would ensure discipline on the equity
exposure, as it would be within the defined range and is managed
by the fund manager. However, being classified as debt funds,
these are taxed as short-term capital gains, at your marginal slab
rate, irrespective of the holding period. If you invest the 20-25%
in pure play equity funds, it would be taxed at 10% for holding
period of one year and longer, for gains beyond ₹1 lakh per finan-
cial year. You can also decide which category of stocks you prefer,
e.g. large-caps, small-caps, etc.
In times of geo-political tensions, and generally as a portfolio
Arbitrage funds are defined as equity funds. However, there is
no directional call on equities, i.e. returns from arbitrage funds
do not depend on equity stock prices going up. The spread
between the cash or spot segment of the equity market and the
stock futures market is captured through these funds. The spread
between buy position in cash market, and contra position in stock
futures market, is locked in, one
Corporate month at a time. From this perspective,
bonds, SGBs it is comparable to fixed income funds.
Up to 35% of the fund should be kept in
and arbitrage money market or debt instruments.
funds hold the
The advantage of arbitrage funds from
promise of the investors’ perspective is taxation.
better rewards In the growth option of the fund, for a
holding period of more than one year,
the tax rate is 10%. The differential in
diversifier, gold comes handy. While there are multiple ways of net-of-tax returns with debt funds has become even more pro-
investing in gold, sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) offer certain nounced, since the indexation benefit has been taken away from
advantages. There is an interest of 2.5% per year, over and above debt funds with effect from 1 April. You can earn higher net-of-tax
gold price appreciation, provided you hold it till maturity, SGBs return from a fund category that is comparable to fixed income,
are free of tax as well. Liquidity of SGB is something you have to depending on your tax bracket.
take care of. Allocation to gold should be, say, 10-15% of your port- Your portfolio construct is a function of your investment
folio, and not a major chunk, as it is more of a portfolio diversifier objectives and risk appetite. This is for conservative investors
and not a staple investment asset. Hence, the lack of liquidity in looking for a notch higher than plain vanilla fixed income.
SGBs, which forms a small part of the portfolio, should not be an Joydeep Sen is a corporate trainer (financial markets) and an
issue; it is advisable to hold this till maturity. author.
12 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi
PROPERTY
NORTH DELHI
ROHINI SALE / Purchase Plots Alloted
by DDA Sector-1 to 38. Liaison /
Collaboration / New Allotment
Investment. 9873409999
ROSHANARA ROAD Delhi-7 Freehold
Property 2895 Sq. Yds, 211 Ft Front,
2 Side Open. Part Commercial - 21
Shops. Regd, Clear Title, Chain Since
1940. Fully Occupied By Old Tenants.
Call: Owner 9810373912, 9953743533
RENTED TO Reputed Brand 1850 Sq.
Ft. G.F. Rent @ 4.15/- Lease 9 Years
for Sale. Main Club Road, Punjabi
Bagh # Owner - 9810327243
HIG (1100 sqft) 100 sqmt Drawing +
3Bed + 2Toilet Lift + Parking 12 Mtr
Road, H.No.92 Pkt-16 Sec-20, Rohini
85L-UGF, 82L-FF, 80L-SF, 95L-TF
with loan 9811134984, 9650045100
FOR SALE LIG DDA Flat, 2 Rooms
Extended+2 Toilets, Park Facing, 2nd
Floor, Pocket-C,Block-2,Sec-17,Rohini
Near Samaypur Badli & Rithala
metro station, (Mob.) 8375895854
SEC 23, Rohini 2350 Sq.Ft UGF, L-Type
Corner, 4 BHK, 3 Toilet Bath, 2
Balcony, Park Face, Lift & Parking,
Demand 2.40Cr # 9811134984,
9650045100
BEST INVESTMENT Option Sec 34,
35, 36, 37, 38 Availability of Plots
in Rohini. DDA Liaison Freehold of
Plots. 8826452499, 8447259739
WEST DELHI
RESIDENTIAL
PLOT
FOR SALE
422 sq yard in
D Block,
Rajouri Garden
CONTACT
9810100020
SOUTH DELHI
NEW HEIGHT floors Safdrjng Encl 250y
3BHK Corner, 300yd 4bhk Prime Loc,
400-500y TF+Terr Garden,Excl Const
Green Prk 311y 4bhk Crnr/Best Loc
Soami Nagar 300y Tf+Terr Garden
FARMHOUSES 1000 & 5600 yds /
5acre Vasant Kunj / 1100yd - 5.5 acre
Westend Green / 1000yd -2.5acr
Radhe Mohan Drive / Aansal / Dera
& More option Neelam 9873255806
FOR RENT newly constructed
basement 2300 sq ft with power
back up & fitted A/c's in Vasant
Vihar New Delhi 110057. Please
contact Karan Chopra: 9811585964
DEFENCE COLONY 325 Yds, Third
Floor+Terrace, Basement+Ground
Floor; Anandlok Park fac 400 Yds,
800 Yd, Basement+Ground, Third+
Terrace Gagan Gujral 9650516999
SOUTH DELHI
RAJESH
KATHURIA
981020-9711
VASANT VIHAR -400- Park facing
Basement / Ground Duplex, sept Lift
& D'way also Third with Exclusive
Terrace specious 4 Beds D/D @
Attractive prices Rajesh 9810209711
COLONEL
COLONEL
SPECIAL
SPECIAL .COM
.COM
AMAN BAJAJ
AMAN BAJAJ
98100 81588
81588
98100
WESTEND GREENS 1000 Sq Yds
Livable Bungalow price @ 18 CR.
Asola 2.65 Acres Farm @ 30 CR
Anand Nktn 400yd House @ 40cr
Gulmohar 300 yd House @ 33 CR
G.K.-II 300Y New B+GF Triplex, Sept.
Lift; Kailash Col. 311y New GF/FF/SF
each 4 BR; Pamposh Encl 200y GF (5
yr old)3BR @3.50; GK-II 250y nr Park
GF @3.50 & 200-1000y Floor/ Kothis
AMBICA PROP (Regd)
98101-20612
89206-30362
BUNGALOWS : Westend 1200yd P/Fac
Vasant Vihar/ Shanti Niketan 1200yd
Hauz Khas Enclave 1350y Wide Road
Maharani Bagh 1150/800yds Corner
GK/South Ext-II, 1000y. 98101-20612
VASANT VIHAR RAJESH
400 Sq. Yds
PARK FACING
FIRST FLOOR
4 Beds D/D, Freehold
North/East Facing
Ready to Occupy
9811333425
GREATER KAILASH-1 & 2 Ground,
Basement, Third Floor with Terrace
4 Beds, D/D Lounge Separate Drive
Nicely Built Plot Size 550 Yds.
Onwards. S. Kumar 98110-31558
SAINIK FARMS - Sainik Farms : Buy-
Sell All type of Plots/ Bungalows,
Clear Title, And Also Kothi's For
Rent. Please Call (Shyam)
9810946840
ALAKNANDA MANDAKINI Enclave,
Corner Second & Third Floor Duplex
with Car Garage 3 BR, D/D, 2 Baths,
Woodwork, Freehold, Good Location.
Raj Estate 9810282280 Raj Khattar
ANAND NIKETAN 400 yds, Newly Built,
1st Flr, 4 Bedrooms, D/Dining, S.Q,
Car parking, Peaceful Location for
immediate Sale @ 9.50 Cr. Cont.
Siddiqui Estate : 9810265671
VASANT KUNJ Ground Floor, Three
Bedrooms, Drawing Dining, Peaceful
location, SFS Scheme for for imm.
Sale. Only Genuine Buyers contact
Siddiqui Estate 9810265671
VASANT VHR 600y TF+T New Sep.
lift, Hauz K Encl 1000y S.F P/fac
Sep lift @ 20 Cr and 800y TF+T @
16 Cr; Jor Bagh 375y TF+T P/facing
PPS 9818881000, 9599808726
GK-II 250Y near Park G.Flr 3 Beds, D/D
S.Qtr, Inside Parking @ 3.75 & 300y
near Park F.Flr 4 Beds, D/D, Lounge,
S.Qtr, Lift, Stilt 2 Car Parking @ 5.50.
Rajesh 98114-60015, 81759-47682
VASANT VIHAR 400 / 600 / 1000
Bungalows., kapoor 9810030231
DEFENCE COLONY ready corner
400 yds 4 bedrooms FF, Ground +
Basement Triplex Pvt Lift Luxurious
Construction Details 9811072035
SHOP FOR Sale : Ground Floor Corner,
2 Side Open, East & North Facing,
Area 9.6ft x15ft in Gupta Colony,
Khirki Extn Main Road, Malviya
Nagar. Call Owner # 9871279557
THIRD+ TERRACE Defence Colony
325yds, Sarvodaya Enclave & GK-II,
300yds, Safd Enclave 400yds D/D,
4Beds, Stilt Parking, Srvt Qtr. Grover
Associates 9810173911, 47094595
ANAND NIKETAN, 264 sq yards North
Facing, 4 Storied Building on Stilt
with Basement for immediate sale.
Raman: 9810062871 Amit
9810063891
DEFENCE COLONY, 217 Sq Yards,
Basement, 100% coverage,
1800 Sq Yards, 2 entries, Woodwork
done, @ 2.50 Cr. Contact
9650163666, 9818242540
SARITA VIHAR 1st/2nd duplex, 3+1
BHK, 3 Toilet, corner, Tile flooring
complete woodwork & 3rd floor 2
BHK fully furnished. Reliance Prop.
9873066888, 9873837478
SAINIK FARMS, Central drive 600mtr
away from M.B.Road 4bhk builtup
kothi with super structure Basement
ground first floor Beautiful garden
vastu perfect 1100sq.yd 8766216998
WANTED IMMD Land or Build-up
Bungalow in South Delhi Near Vasant
Kunj Area Size 300 to 2000 Sq.Yds
with Registry Genuine Seller Call
Dogra 9811087358/ 9811083836
SOUTH DELHI
GREATER KAILASH 2 , 300 Sq yd.
4 Beds D/D 2nd Floor Park Facing
Flat Available. Old and New. With
Independent Parking. Purri Realtors
9811015635.
KOTHI & Floors 825yds Lajpat Nagar
Ring Road / 200-2000yd GK /NFC/
Vasant vihar (Require GF+Bsmnt /
3rd+terace 600yds / 400yds 2nd+
tarc/ Golflnk /Jorbg 9873255806
VASANT VIHAR 800Y/ 600Y/ 400Y
Basement and Ground/ First Floor
Independent Driveway 600Y Second
/Third Floor with Terrace, C-18, FF
Vasant Vihar, Market 9899755500
GREEN PARK for sale Rare Deal 2nd
Floor+Entire roof corner 290yd 4bhk
+1SQ peaceful location @ reasonable
price. Call: Sanjay Malik 9810039071
Visit: www.malikestateagents.com
KATHURIA
981020-9711
SAFDARJUNG ENCLAVE -500- Third
with Terrace Garden specious 4
Bedrooms D/D, family Lounge Lift
& stilt Parking @ Attractive Price
Rajesh Kathuria 9810209711
BUNGALOW : Vasant Vhr 2000/ 1200/
800/600/400y; Westend 1200/ 500y
Anand Nktn 717/ 400/ 265y; Shanti
Nktn 1200 / 600y; Safdarjung 450y;
H.Khas 300; NFC 500 # 9899755500
C-9/3, VASANT Vihar 420 Yds, Ground
+ Basement also Third Floor + Entire
Terrace, Park facing, Vastu Perfect.
call: Siddharth Sethi 98999-22266
(C-25 Main Market, Vasant Vihar)
VASANT VIHAR, 400 sq yards Park
Facing, First Floor, 4 Bedroom Living
cum Dining, 2 Car Parking space in
Stilt. Immediate Sale. Raman :
9810062871 Amit 9810063891
CHITTARANJAN PARK, H-1498, (233
sq.yds) First Floor, 3 Beds, D/D,
S. Qtr, Lift, Stilt Parking, Separate
Gate, Vaastu Perfect. Contact:
Owner # 9873696010
COLONEL
COLONEL
SPECIAL
SPECIAL .COM
.COM
AMAN BAJAJ
AMAN BAJAJ
98100 81588
81588
98100
RE-SALE APARTMENTS Best location
Def.Col 400yd GF/1st 4bhk @7-10cr
Panchsheel 800yd 3rd+Terr @19cr
Maharani Bagh 2400 ft lawn @5.5cr
Westend 500yd 3rd+Terr @17cr
GREATER KAILASH- 640 yds Bsmt.+
G+F Triplex - 5 BHK & F.F 5 BHK Also
3rd Floor 5 BHK with Terrace Garden
& Maharani Bagh 800 Yds F.F 4 BHK
5 Car Parking. Contact: 9810280980
ANAND LOK Top floor with terrace &
second floor (can be sold separately
also) on 400sqyd, park facing, 4BHK
with lift & driveway parking. 2010
Uppal’s Construction. 9810060315.
B-3/17 VASANT Vihar 400 Yd, Booking
Second & Third Floor + Full Terrace,
Separate Lift & Parking, Wide Road.
call: Siddharth Sethi 98999-22266
(C-25 Main Market, Vasant Vihar)
RENTED PROPERTY for Sale, Fresh
Lease. Rent Rs.1,72,305/-pm,
Tenant - Japanese MNC at Vasant
Square Mall, Indp. Lockable Unit
1641 sq.ft, ROI 6%. # 9891700500
SOUTH DELHI
FOR SALE 1233 sq.yd. Bungalow,
Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri,
CLC Bharat Singh -9971336771.
GULMOHAR PARK 3OO New Ready
Ground + Basement / First Floor
4 Bedroom - Lift - Parking - CC Third
floor with terrace also available
SDR : 9999785858, 9560672632
VASANT KUNJ Ground Floor, 3 BHK,
Sun Facing, Freehold DDA Flat, Good
Location,Corner & Park Facing, Ideal
for Professionals, Ample Parking.
Immediate Sale. Owner: 9873861234
160YD NEW Kothi & flor Hdsn Line /
850 / 3700 yds Civil Line / 1600yd
BD-Estate / 225yd - 2222yd Kothi/
Floor Model Town/ 100yd comm mall
road Neelam 9873255806
CENTRAL DELHI
SHOP SALE Main Ajmal Khan Road
Karol Bagh 200 sq ft Expected
Rent 2.5 Lakh PM Price 6.5 Cr
Negotiable, Vacant, Registry
Contact Owner 09910290676
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
PLOTS HI Plots Yamuna Ex-way
Residential & Industrial Auth.
Builder Plots, Gaur City, NRI SDS,
Green Bay, Supertech. Call :
9911714666
SECTOR-44 NOIDA, 350sq.mtr, Duplex
house, East facing On 12mtr wide
road In a good location Noida sector
44 Avail for sale, Posh Area.
9999011116
YAMUNA EXPRESSWAY : Gaur City:
Rqd: 80/100 Sqy Plot For Self Use :
Spot Pmt : Also 2BHK Flat At JP Wish
Town / Plot Wave City: J C Gupta
9810005013/ Vikas 9811175185
KOTHI NE Jain Mandir Sec 26 173 mtr
GF 1 BR bath powder room D/D
Lobby Kit FF 3 BR D/D SF 1 room
Lobby Lift Upto terrace collection
realty Pvt Ltd 8860004733
FOR SALE 300 mtr CC in C Block, sector
72, Noida . SW, park facing, Gated
Colony, near metro station. Kohli
Real Estate - 9810827087
RESI PLOT/ Kothi 450&300mtr Sec-44
450 & 300 Sec-47 & Sec-105 & 108
450 & 300 Sec-93B & 92, 36, 39, 30
450 & 220 Sec-15A Noida. Call: Raj
Assotech 9871146434/ 9810997402
FACTORY AVAILABLE for sale in
Noida Sector 3 67, Size 1000 mtr
corner on wide road very prime
location. Contact- 7011764629,
Broker excuse
250M CORNER Sec-92, (300m Pair
Park fac. Sec-44) (300m Sec-36)
(450 & 300m Sec-93B) (Kothies-
450m Sec-44), (450 & 300m Sec-93B)
(300m Corner Sec-39) (390m Corner
Sec-40) Mr Saini 9330933039
TO SELL 200/250 sqmtr plot 18 mtr
road sector 92 &100 east facing
Kothi 112.5/167 sqmtr sector 40
&105 call Basant 9999637369
OWNER SELLING 2 CORNER Atrium
Facing shops in NX One Mall Noida
Extn; GF 416 sqft @1.10cr, LGF 239
sqft @60Lacs. Opp Major Brands,
Possession soon. 95603 20940
YEIDA PLOTS Sale/ Buy, Sector 18 &
20, Yamuna Expressway, Size 300,
500, 1000, 2000 sqm, Call WhatsApp
9717452701
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
SECTOR-47 NOIDA, 450sq.mtr,Indepe-
ndent Duplex House with Basement
&Lift,Well Maintained Ready to Move
house sec 47 Avail for sale. Posh
sector,Good Location, .9999011116
BUY/SELL YAMUNA Exp. Residential
Plots Sec-18, 20, Gr. Noida Res./Ind.
Plots Alpha, Beta, Gama, Delta, P-3,
Swarn Ngari, Sec-2, 3. Ghar Sansar
Properties 9873731820, 9818659738
FARIDABAD
FOR SALE in Sec-37 on 421 Syds, North
facing GF 4 BHK + LGF 8 BHK, 4 Car
Parking, lift, corner plot on 80' Rd,
adjacent mkt,New Construction Suits
to Drs., Lawyers, Guesthouse, Owner
going Abroad. 3.75cr. M: 9810367512
GHAZIABAD
3 BHK 3 toilets with Puja room, semi-
furnished, 2nd floor with terrace
rights top rated gated society, next
to Delhi in Kaushambi. WhatsApp:
8860082351
GURUGRAM
RENTED TO Singapore based Bank in
the most prestigious building in
Gurgaon. Area : 5000 sq.ft. Rent :
88/- sq.ft. 9years Fresh lease,
4years Lock-in. Contact 9717050553
9999973766
DLF1 BUILDER Floor 500 Syd. 4Bhk+
Sr Luxury Brand New 12mtr.Road.
Call for More Info #9999973766
9999973766
M.G ROAD & Golf Course Rd. Luxury
Comm. Office Space 1000-10000sqft
F'frnshed office for lease, WS cabins
conference room Pantry, Washroom
Call for More Info #9999973766
FOR SALE 402 sq.yd. Villa DLF -3,
For Sale Farm Land 1500 sq.yd.
Onwards. 10 minutes drive from
Golf Course Road. CLC Bharat Singh-
9971336771
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
SABHARWAL
ASSOCIATES
9810652416
NEW FLOORS Suncity 502y@5.50cr,
276y@ 3.50cr, 250y@ 3.25cr, DLF III
502y @ 4.80cr, 402y@ 4cr, 316y
@ 3.10 cr, 215y@2.25 cr. Sabharwal
Associates 9810652416
DISTRESS DLF new 500 4bhk+sq@5.25,
500 wide rd 4Bhk+SQ @5.50, 400
4Bhk+SQ @4.10, 300 Park 4Bhk+SQ
@3,Old 300 Gr+B'mt @3, 400 SF+Ter
@3.25,300 SF+Ter@2.25. 9871177425
DLF CITY -2 Plot. 300 yds East facing.
(K-M-J block),400 yds 18 Mtr. (ANM),
500 Yds M-block (M -1). 215 Yds East
facing J block. Contact 9999404040
HUDA PLOT For Sale - Gurugram ,
Plot 406, Sec-50, (265 Sq.yds)@4.50
Plot 108, Sec-41, (283 Sq.yds)@6.25
Plot 2363,Sec-46, (173 Sq.yds)@4.00
Contact Owner: 9810053457.
TIME TOWER, MG Road office
Space Atrium Facing area 2810
Sq ft with 4 car parking available
for sale. Contact : 9811715530
PARK FACING Kothi 500yd
(5 BR) For Sale in Greenwood City
Block-A. Well maintained Lavish
Bungalow. Gated Locality & 100%
PB. NSS Realtor 98100 47003
FOR SALE Land 1.20 Acres on MG
Road(Old Gurgaon), School &
Dispensary Sites in DLF, Luxury
Builder Floors 500-1000 sq.yds.
Genuine Buyers: 93111 15119
DLF-1 500SYD New Builder Floor
Lift/ Stilt Parking, Power-backup,
Top location @4.90Cr.,DLF-2 300
syd 4BHK New flr lift/stilt prkng @
3Cr. Call 8800784380/9891116168
READY TO MOVE FLOORS DLF 4
360 syd Top w. terrace @3.35cr
SUNCITY 500 syd F.F @3.50cr
O.C Realtors #9810677191
GOLF COURSE Extn. Road Gurgaon,
fir sale, pre leased Studio Flat Rent:
30k, Fresh 9 years Lease,
5 Years Lock In. For details Call
8368841512, 9205622514
FOR SALE 300 Sq.Yd Three Side
Open Plot Sushant Lok-1, C-Block
and For Rent C-25 (30 Mtr Road)
Sushant Lok-3, 1150 Built up in
418 Sq.yd. Contact 9891190547.
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
400 SQ.YDS Builder Floor Available
for sale, Wide Road, DLF Phase 2,
Gurgaon VRV, Luxury interior, Newly
Built-up , Very Attractive Price Call
Raheja Asso. 9310162114.
FOR SALE Luxurious Floors in DLF
Ph-3, 500 Sq Yards, Park facing,
Gated, Top South Delhi Builder
Possession in 3 Months. Contact:
Neudoor 7838237171 (Armaan)
SUSHANT LOK-2 Cloudnine/
Navkirti road 500YD Plots for sale
on 18MTR (60ft) wide road having
Direct Entry from the Golf Course
Road. NSS Realtor 98100 47003
SABHARWAL
ASSOCIATES
9811196843
PLOTS DLF Phase -III 400yd @10.25cr
W-Block, 500yd @10.50cr , 500yd
@11cr Siris Road, 600yd Corner
@14.5cr, Sabharwal Associates
9811196843
DLF PHASE -1,Shop for sale,900
sqft,Ground floor,DLF Shopping mall
market,Arjun Marg. Call TRIUMPH
ESTATES 9311773375, 9999036127
DLF CITY - Prime Location Plot, Corner
/Wide Road / Peaceful surroundings.
Sushant Lok-I Commercial Location,
Plot -500 Yds, on Main Sector Road.
PLF – 9811078877
DWARKA EXPRESSWAY For sale Main
road sector 104, Puri Emerald Bay,
Ready Possession, 2 BHK apartment.
Perfect Estate Agency 8076764079
DLF PHASE-3, Plots & Builder Floors
215 Yds, 316 Yds , 402 Yds, 502 Yds &
1022 Yds North- East Facing / Park
Fac. Corner Options Also Available.
Ganga Properties. 99999-70994
MAIN ROAD Commercial Location Plots
for Sale in Gurgaon Size :- 342 sqyrd
to 2100 sqyrd On 30 metre,
84 metre Road, Confirm Deal. Call
Raheja Associates 8076813613
DLF CITY -1 ,2 & 3 Plots 500 (C-2 & 10)
BVM 316, L-2, 402, Siris Road 500,
SL-1 Sector Road 500 South City -1
Jora 360+360 18 Mts. Details
9811072035
EXCLUSIVE MANDATE Premium Plot
for Sale DLF Phase 2- 320 Sq. Yards
18 Mtr Road East facing Near Market,
Metro, NH8 Highway at Best Price.
Saudagar Prop 9718511207
RENTED
Air India 51,000
Intellismart 87,000
Care Health 94,000
Mckinsey 1,11,000
Blue Stone 1,14,000
MR. DIY 1,18,000
VLCC 2,36,000
HDFC Bank 2,50,000
9958681717
FOR SALE
SUSANT LOK-1
C2 , 37
New Luxury
Building
416 S.Yard.
Stilt + 4, 4BHK
On Each Floor
Owner:-
9818068888
SALE RENTED Office Space Sushant
Lok- 1 Vipul Square Rent 68000/ PM,
768 sft@6%, Sohna Road Platinum
Tower 60000/ PM, 1000 sft@7%
both good Co.# 9810198166.
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
AVAILABLE
ONLY
BANKS
3Cr./ 6Cr./ 10Cr.
ROCKVILLE
(Since 2001)
98100-31392
BUILDER FLOOR - Sushant Lok-1,
4BHK 418 Sq.yd. 1st, 3rd Floor,
Top + Terrace, Modern Architecture,
Lavish Interiors, Gated Lane.
Cont : 9810500912.
EXCLUSIVE MANDATE builtup for sale
DLF 2- 400yd 18mtr Wide Road well
Maintained Guesthouse, Lift, best
approachable NH-8, MG Road, Best
Price Saudagar Prop 9718511207
DLF PHASE- 1, prime loc, 500 yds Kothi
duplex 5 bedroom with home theatre
& lift on 18mtrs rd,N/F. More options
available. DLF-1&2, Plots- 250 / 300 /
500 Sqyds on 12 mtrs & 18 mtrs road
EXCLUSIVE BRAND New Luxury
Builder Floor DLF Phase 2- 330 yard
4 BHK with Lift stilt Two Side open
Front and Back Best Location Best
Price Saudagar Prop 9718511207
SUSHANT LOK-1, 1000Yds (2side open)
813 yds East , 500 yds Corner, 270
yds (24 mtr. road.(East fac.)(A block)
300 yds B block, North, 418 yds
park fac./ North # 9999404040
EXCLUSIVE BRAND New Ultra Luxury
Builder Floor Sushant Lok 1- 418
yard 4 BHK vastu Compliant with Lift
stilt Peaceful Location, Best Price
Saudagar Prop. 9718511207
JCM- DLF-2, North East Facing,
18 Mtr. Road, 400 Sq. Yards,
Reasonable Priced, Circle Cheque.
9873881919
SUSHANT LOK -1, A blk 300y, East
Facing.B-Blk 300y, 502yd plots.
A-blk 813yd built-up kothi. more 215
to 1022y deals are also avail on
prime locations 9958492130
DLF PHASE-2 200 sq.yds. Plot size
Park facing and Vastu Compliant
old built up High value deal at
lowest price. Call Seven Yards
999-000-11-66
DLF FLATS 3/4 BHK Apptts in Park
Place, Bellaire, Summit, Pinnacle
on Golf Course Rd. Also Original
booking by DLF on Golf Course
Extn Rd. Deepak Arora 9990305533
HERITAGE CITY, MG Road, Duplex Flat
For Sale 3 B/R+ Study (2220 sqft) &
M3M Skywalk (Sect 74) 3B/R + Study
2018 sqft. Contact: 9810940556
DLF − SUSHANT LOK
SABHARWAL
ASSOCIATES
9910026336
9810026076
DLF PHASE-1,2., 502yds 24Meter
502yds North/East Park facing
12meter 300yds 12meter Sabharwal
Asso. 9810026076, 9910026336.
SHIMLA
2&3 BHK flats & Bed & Break hotel for
sale in Shimla near Kasumpti M C
Area non Himachali can Registry
there name. Loan available
DEHRADUN
SALE DEHRADUN- corner East facing
299sqyds plot in ATS heavenly foot
hills gated colony, sahashtadhara
Rd, Dehradun Mandate sale Business
Associates 9810039040
PUNJAB
DWARKA
DWARKA FLAT For Sale, 2BHK DDA,
1st floor, Semi Furnished, Park & Sun
Facing, 3AC+ 4Gysers + Inverter,
Sec-6, Pkt-2. Need max white.
For Price - Call 9871435556
DWARKA EXPRESSWAY for Sale - Play
School, Land area 978 sq.yds. Raheja
Project in Sector - 109. Contact
Owner : 9818303248, 9717037272
ACCOMMODATION
WANTED
REQD FOR Embassies Furnished/
Unfurnished Floors/Studio Apts
/Service Apts/ Co. Guest House on
rent in South Delhi/GGN/Noida Arora
98100 60513
TOLET
NORTH DELHI
INDUSTRIAL SPACE 2000 sq.ft.
approx. available on Rent, Ground
Floor in Wazirpur Industrial Area,
very near to Ring Road. Contact :
Rajeev - 9810443823
WEST DELHI
SHOP FOR rent Ground Floor, near
Naraina Metro Station Gate No 1,
L.S.C, A-Block Naraina Vihar-28.
Area 460 sq. ft. height 15 feet.
Contact: 9811000678
SHIVAJI MARG Main Road, 1st Floor
2000Sq. ft. furnished. Available for
Rent- Call centres & other offices
etc. Contact Owner: 9810052222.
SOUTH DELHI
KAILASH COLONY, Main Road,
Commercial, Ground Floor, 2000
sq.ft, Near Metro Station, Excellent
Location for Office use @ 2.5 L.
Contact - 9910101323
FOR RENT 2 BHK W-151, 2nd Flr, Ktchn,
Prime Location, 2 side balcony fully
frnshd, Automatic W/m, Wash Basin
with sensor, GK-1, New Delhi-48.
#+91 9113451290, +91 9910721191
52 PASCHIMI Marg Vasant Vhr 820yd
SF 5 BHK 4000sqft comprising of
Lift, Stilt parking & backup Suits
Diplomats, MNC's Rent:4.5L pm
(nego) Sterling 98100-81588
NAVJEEVAN VIHAR 300 Yds Exclusive
First floor Brand New specious
3 Bedrooms D/D with Lift & stilt
parking Company / Personal Lease
welcome Yash Chaddha 9818407601
FOR RENT Chittaranjan Park 320 yards
4 BHK Brand new first entry 2nd
Floor Semi Furnished Separate.
Parking & Servant Qtr. Owner free.
Raja Singh M- 9911111885
GROUND & Basement, for lease near
Fortis Escorts Hospital, NFC for
Doctors/Wellness Centre/Diagnostic
Centre/IVF centre. With Lift & Stilt
Parking. Call 9810444545 (Owner).
OFFICE SPACE/ Showroom’s All Sizes :
Furnished/Unfurnished: Defence Col
/GK /Green Park /Vasant Vhr/Bhikaji
Cama & Central Delhi also. @ Rs. 90
Sft onwards. Bhardwaj 98110-44417
PANCHSHILA PARK Three Bed Rooms
Also Four Bed Rooms, Drawing/Din-
ing, Lobby, Servant Quarter, Parking.
Contact Anil Makhijani 9811047035,
Kajal 9811647035, 011- 45151664
OKHLA PHASE-1 space available at 1st
& 2nd floor, total area 13500 sq ft
@35/-, goods lift, ample parking,
good connectivity interested party
contact 9810083369
LIVEMINT.COM
SOUTH DELHI EMPLOYMENT
KOTHI IN Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj,
SDA, Jor Bagh, GK, Panchsheel Park,
ACADEMIC
NFC & Farms: Chattarpur, Ansal,
Vasant Kunj, Sainik Farm. Call:
RK Sharma 9310051666
MAYFAIR GARDENS 400 Yds, Park fac
Brand New G.Flr & S.Flr each 3 Beds,
D/D,Fully Loaded Kitchen, S.Qtr, Stilt
2 Car Park. Suits MNC’s/ Foreigners.
Jagdish 98-1111-4642, 98-100-99966
FOR RENT 2 Acre Farmhouse,
6 Bedroom in Jonapur, South Delhi.
CLC Bharat Singh -9971336771.
JASSOLA POCKET-1, semi furnished
3bhk attached bathroom, D/D
modular kitchen 3rd floor with lift 1
car parking (New). Contact
9717718658
FOR RENT- Fully Furnished, First
Floor, Thapar House, 70 Mts.
from Green Park Metro Station,
39 Seater Private Office, Available
Immediately. Call: 9810662054
AVAIL COMMERCIAL Property on
Lease B-81, FF, Defence Colony,
N D-24. Prime Location on Road,
Manohar Lal Sarraf & Sons P. Ltd.
9873075990 SALES & MARKETING
ASIAD VILLAGE Complex- Avlbl 3 BHK,
Newly renovated Dplx,B'ful Loc,Amp
Pkg, Pollution Free, Surrounded by
Green Belt. Lease/Rent. Brok Exc. Ms
Pooja: 9625854043 Asian Realtors.
VASANT KUNJ First Flr 3Beds, 4Baths,
N-East, Park Facing,Back Park Green
Top Notch Construction Ample Prkg
C to Believe Prefer good Limited
Company. # Owner 9810060323
CENTRAL DELHI
FOR RENT Connaught Place fully
furnished office 222 sq.Ft & 400 sq.ft
onwards upto 9000 sq.ft call-
9560040074, 9899869329, Email:-
swarajenterprisescp@gmail.com
MEDICAL
COMMERCIAL FOR Rent, Carpet
Area 1000 sqft., G.F., in Rajendra
Bhawan, suitable for Shop, Office
etc. Contact Owner Mr. P.N. Chawla
# 9810980660
PRIME RETAIL Cum Office Space
Opposite Domino Pizza: Jhandewalan
Extension, 2E/26, 3000 Sq.Ft.
Ground Floor, Adjoining
Jhandewalan Metro Station. Contact
Mr.Anil Kumar - 7042896767 Or
Mr.Shivesh Kumar - 7042896766.
NOIDA/GREATER NOIDA
GENERAL MULTIPLE
VACANCIES
FURNISHED/ UNFURNISHED Space
Available for long lease/rent in
Sec-10,nr. DND Road, Noida, Bsmt-
1250 sq.ft, GF-1250 sq.ft, SF-1550
sq.ft, TF-1550 sq.ft. Call 9811142911.
RENT. INDEPENDENT Lavish Villa. JP
Sect-128 Noida. 5BHK, 6 bath,2 Serv-
ant Rooms. Semi-furnished with AC,
Geyser, Wood work. Pref MNC/Co.
Lease. Cont Owner # 9312997707.
FARIDABAD
SPACE AVAILABLE for Lease at
1. Sikri Pyala Road 1.0 Lakh sqft
2. Agwanpur Palwal - 90000 Sqft
3. NIT Hardware chowk - 15000 sqft,
for more details Call:9718606060
and 8750867004
FACTORY AVAILABLE for rent, area
2500 sq.yds. Plot No. 130C, behind
Somwati Dharam Kanta in Gurukul
Industrial Area, Faridabad. Cont:
9873415252, 9999994777
GURUGRAM
FACTORY FOR Rent - 2.5 Acres,
2 Sheds, approx 4000 Office Area,
75’ Road, CLU Pass, 900 mtr
from KMP Road, Vill. Sultanpur,
Gurgaon. Owner : 9810373082.
MATRIMONIALS
FOR RENT Independent Building
20000 - 100000sq.ft.,For Rent
FarmLand/Plots for godown/cafe/
sports activity, 10 minutes drive
from Golf Curs. Rd. CLC -9971336771 GROOMS WANTED
UDYOG VIHAR 9000 ft for lease,
brand new interiors, NH-8 facing,
Signage available. Other tenants
HINDU
MNC. Next to Radisson Hotel.
Covered car parks. # 9871098146
ASSO. VP (B. Tech) Gupta (Vaishya/
FOR LEASE Udyog Vihar Phase 5, Near
Oberoi Hotel 3500 to 6000 sqft New Agrahari) boy Sep 89/5’5 wkg for
US bank 40 LPA. Based at Hyderabad
Fully Furnished with AC & Power
(owns House). Business family
Backup Contact Owner: 9990530441
with strong moral values from UP
& all siblings high professional
SHOP/OFFICE RENT at Delhi/NCR. Seeks Edu prof.
qualified M.Sc./PhD/ working
DLF AVENUE, Saket, 6th Floor, Corner
girl (teaching/Research) from a
humble family. Adv for wider/better
1571ft. Plush furnished office, Facing selection. Caste no bar & No
Citywalk, 5 Cabins, 12 workstations, Dowry. Mob: 8884646555; BHP to
Conf. room, Reception, 2 Toilet, nirshubhmatri@gmail.com
Pantry # 9811155195, 9810943939.
 

  
  
NRI

 
   
SEEKING A life partner for a
Smart USA PR Boy, born October '86,
5'8 tall, working as an IT consultant
in Boston. Family hails from
Punjab. Seeking a compatible
match Contact: +1-781-330-6675,
+91-8421100090, Email:
kaplish@gmail.com
LIVEMINT.COM
WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 13

FACTS WITHOUT
FILTER,
NEWS WITHOUT
BIAS
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14 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi VIEWS LIVEMINT.COM

OUR VIEW MY VIEW | On THE OTHER HAnD

AFP

There’s a reason politicians sell

hope instead of actual progress
Genuine national gains can take decades to achieve while hopeful targets are politically expedient

lion, $10 trillion, $30 trillion and so on?
These are figures which India will even-
tually cross at some point of time. More-
over, why is there so little talk about the
genuine progress that has been made?
Let’s take two very important data
points: the country’s infant mortality
rate (IMR) and total fertility rate (TRF).
IMR is the number of deaths of children
VIVEK KAUL under one year of age, expressed per
is the author of Bad Money. 1,000 live births. Data from the United
Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child
Mortality Estimation suggests that
India’s IMR in 2021 stood at around 25.
tal level and that these take time. As
Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling and Anna
Rosling Rönnlund write in Factfulness:
“Many things (including people, coun-
tries, religions, and cultures) appear to
be constant just because the change is
happening slowly.”
A slow change over an extended
period of time can really add up to a lot,
even though it might go unnoticed from
one year to another, making it difficult
for politicians to talk about it in order
to market themselves to voters and for
voters to get excited about it. As Morgan

Indian aviation: A mass

In 1953, it was at 181. So, between then Housel writes in Same As Ever: Timeless
and now, the IMR has fallen at the rate Lessons on Risk, Opportunity and Living

O
n 19 November, a few hours of 2.8% per year on average. While there a Good Life: “People don’t remember
before India was supposed to is scope for further improvement, it is the world when they were born. They
play Australia in this year’s clear that fewer children are dying in remember the last few months, when

takeoff would suit us all cricket World Cup final, a screenshot

suggesting that India’s gross domestic
product (GDP) had crossed $4 trillion
went viral. GDP is an estimate of the
India before attaining the age of one
than used to be the case earlier.
Now, let’s look at the TFR, which is
the average number of children that are
progress is always invisible.”
Also, societal-level changes that lead
to overall social and economic progress
take decades to play out, whereas politi-
economic size of a country in a particu- born to a woman over her lifetime. Data cians need to get themselves re-elected
lar period. Soon, this screenshot was all from World Populations Prospects 2022, every few years. Which is why it is prob-
An expected flying boom and the government’s effort to make India an aviation hub give over social media. Mixed with the belief published by the UN, suggests that ably difficult for them to sell genuine
that India would beat Australia in the India’s TFR in 2021 stood at 2.03, progress, forcing them to sell hope in its
global aircraft and service suppliers an indirect stake in a smooth mass-market takeoff match, it made for a marketable nation- implying that on average 100 women place: The hope of the Indian economy
alistic message. Of course, by the end of had 203 children. In 1951, our TFR crossing $4 trillion, $5 trillion, $10 tril-
the day, India had lost the cricket final. stood at 5.77, meaning that on average lion and $30 trillion, for example. Or
Nonetheless, by then it had travelled 100 women had 577 children, which run campaigns like “garibi hatao”

L
ast week, civil aviation authorities
issued Indian airlines an alert on GPS
spoofing, which refers to unautho-
rized agents intercepting satellite
signals to send airborne aircraft fake
instructions. Though a worldwide
problem, instances of such hacking have risen
over West Asia lately, and the risk it poses can-
not be taken lightly. Flights have even ventured
without permission into Iranian airspace as a
result of being misled. If spurious messages can
send commercial aircraft off-course, they could
be mistaken for enemy intrusions and shot
down. It could also interfere with onboard flight
management systems or distort gauges for fuel,
altitude, speed and other readings—with grave
consequences. A solution by way of a technical
fix to fend off flight hackers could take time. In
the meantime, pilots must not just be cautioned
but also trained to detect spoofing attempts. It is
this sector’s misfortune that such a worry has
arisen at a time of high flux. Domestic demand
for flying has revived after the covid pandemic,
but global supply chain snarls and other factors
markets like the US and Europe with similar far and wide, thanks to politicians, cor- was well above the replacement level (remove poverty), “India shining” and
snags appeared to get priority, for obvious porate boss-men and you and I actively of 100 women on average having 210 “Acche din aane waale hain”—happy
sharing it on social media. Few users children. Over a period of time, a TFR at days are about to come, which was sup-
commercial reasons, while Indian carriers have bothered to find out whether Indian the replacement level of 2.1 keeps the posedly inspired by Franklin D. Roosev-
had to wait, like others in less developed parts of GDP had actually crossed $4 trillion. population stable. elt’s 1932 US presidential campaign
the world. In the case of Go First’s grounded As per the World Economic Outlook So, over a span of seven decades, song, Happy Days are Here Again.
fleet, attempts by lessors to reclaim their leased published by the International Mone- India’s TFR has fallen from 5.77 to 2.03, Now Roosevelt wasn’t the only Amer-
planes encountered a legal haze that the Centre tary Fund, Indian GDP in current prices and this is largely without government ican presidential candidate who sold
is expected to touch $4.1 trillion in coercion. This implies that average hope. Ronald Reagan’s slogan for his
recently moved to clear up. Its stuck aircraft 2024. Now, if we look at World Bank incomes have gone up and that women 1980 presidential campaign was, “Let’s
number just 54, though, while CAPA expects data, Indian GDP (in constant 2015 US on the whole are more educated now make America great again.” This slogan
market leader Indigo to have 90 odd aircraft dollars) in 2022 stood at $2.95 trillion. than before—two factors that signifi- was copied in the 2016 campaign for the
idle on the tarmac by end-March; Air India and So, there is still some time before India cantly push couples to have fewer chil- White House by Donald Trump as
SpiceJet could have 25-30 each. reaches a $4 trillion GDP in constant dren. Women having fewer kids has led “Make America Great Again.”
terms adjusted for inflation. to slower population growth as well, Of course, the advantage of selling
Capacity left unused is costly for a market set Of course, mass market messaging although this change has come at a very the hope of a country’s GDP crossing a
for a boom in demand. Rising prosperity means and nuance really don’t go together. slow pace over the decades, with the certain figure measured in trillions of
millions of more people will take to the skies, But this raises a bigger question: Why country’s TFR falling annually by very dollars is that politicians can keep
even as new airports being opened mean a more are we—politicians, corporates and little (1.5% per year on average). upping the figure once that number has
expansive air-map. While our aviation market is everybody else—so obsessed with What this tells us is that genuine been crossed, provided that voters
India’s GDP crossing $4 trillion, $5 tril- progress demands changes at the socie- remain excited about it.
still small in comparison with America’s and
China’s, a takeoff point is reckoned to be close,
after which a sharp incline in flier numbers is
likely to push it into catch-up mode. The jumbo
orders for new aircraft placed by IndiGo and
Air India this year are aimed at serving a vastly
enlarged base of air travellers. This prospect www.livemint.com
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have left capacity constraints in place. A major also lends weight to New Delhi’s effort to make Q&A:India next logical step,
says CPPIB’s Wiseman >8
ECONOMY: Centre likely to propose financial
package for sugar industries >6

problem of Indian aviation at this juncture is a India a global aviation hub by attracting plane- CONTENT PARTNER
CORPORATE: Microsoft board said to lean to
Nadella, Mulally for new CEO >8
VIEWS: India should stand its ground at Bali >23

high proportion of grounded aircraft. makers and their partners to set up full service SENSEX 20,534.91 Æ 114.65

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QUICK EDIT

SEB bailout Tight race, but BJP holds edge A win in

According to aviation consultancy CAPA centres, supply chains and other operations Nepal
PRADEEP GAUR/MINT

Public trust is a vital

B Y G YAN V ARMA

extended to
gyan.v@livemint.com
·························
BHARATPUR/TONK/UDAIPUR
T he Nepalese people
have firmly rejected

T he Congress party is up
against a historical fact in its
attempt to win the 1 December
the Maoist option in the
just concluded counting of
votes from the constituent

India, the country’s tally of such planes could here. What is of concern, however, is the level of three states
elections to the Rajasthan as- assembly election. The
sembly: no party has won back- centrist Nepali Congress
to-back terms in the desert state and the more moderate
in the 20 years since 1993. Communist Party of

condition for artificial

This electoral quirk is likely to Nepal, led by Jhalanath
endure this time around as well, Khanal, have bagged a
and the main opposition majority of the directly
Government clears Accordingly, the cutoff date Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contested 240 seats. The
special package for for determining the eligible set to displace the Congress, if Maoists, the biggest party

reach 200 by the end of 2023-24. This would be domestic rivalry left. Jet Airways, which went
amount of short-term liabili- opinion polls and people across in the last constituent
electricity distribution ties for issuance of bonds or rural and urban Rajasthan inter- assembly, won just 26 of
firms in Jharkhand, rescheduling of loans with viewed by Mint are proven cor- these seats.
lenders has now been fixed as rect. What undid the Maoists,
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar 31 March 2013 for these states; It’s not just a fact of recent led by the mercurial
earlier it was 31 March 2012. electoral history that goes Prachanda, was their

intelligence to be used
B Y E LIZABETH R OCHE & PTI With this, Jharkhand, Bihar against the Congress. The party inability to accept the
························· and Andhra Pradesh come on- has also to contend with a per- rules by which democracy
NEW DELHI board a scheme that already ceived double anti-incumbency functions. Their slogan

every fourth aircraft with Indian carriers, whose bust in 2019, is yet to return to the skies. Go E xtending its ambitious
plan to bail out belea-
guered state electricity
distribution companies (dis-
coms), the government on
Thursday cleared a special
package for three more
states—Jharkhand, Bihar and
covers Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, wave in a state where the popu- was simple: “Us and no
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and lar mood has swung against the one else.” That could have
Himachal Pradesh. state government as much as it worked in the erstwhile
According to the restructur- has against the Congress-led totalitarian regimes of the
ing package, states will enter a United Progressive Alliance 20th century, but not in
tripartite agreement wherein (UPA) at the Centre, especially the newfound spirit of
they will, in return for recast- for its inability to control prices, democracy that pervades
ing of debt, promise to revise they say. Nepal now.

productively.
Andhra Pradesh. tariffs regularly in step with the That’s a potentially fatal set- The leaders of the new

total fleet size is projected at 790 by then. The First is short of bidders. Sure, the entry of Akasa
The move to reduce the debt escalation of costs, besides re- back for the incumbent in a state constituent assembly
overhang of `2 trillion owed by ducing power theft and trans- should quickly start their
all discoms in the country is mission and billing losses. TURN TO PAGE 4® work and give the
likely to benefit private power The three states have until 31 Nepalese people a
producers as the discoms will December to sign up for the Turnaround prospects: A BJP rally in Jodhpur. The presence of Narendra ALSO SEE Constitution for which
now be able to procure elec- package, which is not manda- Modi, the party’s prime ministerial candidate, has helped contain they have waited for so
tricity to meet additional de- tory. dissidence in the BJP; infighting contributed to the party’s loss in the >Special coverage of the Rajasthan long.
mand. At present, power pro- Shubhranshu Patnaik, sen- assembly elections >Pages 4,5
last election.

current count of planes kept idle till they can fly Air ups competition, but not by enough to miti-
ducers are unwilling to supply
them power as they fear they
will not be paid.
At the same time, it will pro-
vide comfort to lenders as the
state government will take
over the debt burden and also
provide guarantees. It would
unlock resources for fresh
ior director at Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd, said
the expansion of the scheme to
three more states was a wel-
come move. “More states in- Skills improve,
cluded mean they will be
bound by the conditionalities
put under the scheme, which
but job outlook
is good. This will also help ad- looks bleak

again is over 160. Some of this is on account of gate a near-duopoly under Indigo and Tata
lending. Indian banks’ loans
outstanding to the power sec-
tor rose to `3.4 trillion as of
July 2012 from `2.9 trillion in
dress the liabilities outstand-
ing with the banks,” he said.
Separately, the cabinet on B Y P RASHANT K . N ANDA
Thursday approved a proposal prashant.n@livemint.com

MA R K WA L P ORT
July 2011, up 17.2%, according for extending the validity of the ·························
to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Central Order, which enables NEW DELHI

data.
The cabinet committee on
economic affairs (CCEA) on
state governments to take ef-
fective measures against de-
hoarding operations under the
I ndia’s employment outlook
next year remains bleak, al-
though the skill levels have im-

servicing delays, as seen in the case of GoAir carriers (after the group snapped up Air India).
Thursday approved amend-
ments to the scheme for Finan-
cial Restructuring of State Dis-
tribution Companies approved
by it on 24 September 2012 to
enable the financial turna-
round of the state distribution
companies for their long-term
viability.
Essential Commodities Act,
1955, by fixing stock limits and
licensing requirements for rice
and paddy.
“This is expected to help in
the efforts being taken to tack-
le the problem of rising prices
and also improve the availabil-
ity of these commodities for
proved among new entrants to
the job market, according to
the findings of a new survey.
Only a slight increase of
about 1.4% in overall hiring
numbers was predicted by the
India Skills Report 2014 com-
piled by PeopleStrong, a hu-
man resource company, and

(renamed Go First), which suspended flights in Even so, what’s more evident are fast-rising air-
the general public, especially
the vulnerable sections,” a
government statement said.
The cabinet took a strong
stance on the food security is-
sue that could scuttle a multi-
lateral trade deal at the World
Trade Organization (WTO)
meeting in Bali.
skill assessment firm Wheebox
that conducted the survey in
association with the Confeder-
ation of Indian Industry (CII).
The report said the outlook
for jobs is far from bullish in
the year ahead. While sectors
such as engineering, hospitality
and travel expect their hiring to

May and said it had to file for insolvency as Pratt travel aspirations in a fast-emerging economy.
The cabinet mandated the
commerce ministry to negoti-
ate a trade deal with a four-
year “peace clause” under
which no country will sue In-
dia if it breaches the WTO-
mandated food subsidy limit
for the duration the clause is in
effect, and will be linked to a
rise, those like banking, finan-
cial services and insurance, in-
formation technology (IT) and
IT-enabled services, and man-
ufacturing are not expecting a
major increase.
That’s bad news for new en-
trants to the job market in an
economy that’s struggling for

& Whitney had failed to repair or replace some It’s clearly in the global aircraft and servicing
permanent solution to the sub- recovery from its weakest
offer in Delhi-NCR and for 4 outside Delhi-NCR sidy issue. growth in 10 years. Gross do-
Mint is also available for R7 with
It also asked the commerce mestic product (GDP) growth
Hindustan Times in Delhi-NCR only
TURN TO PAGE 3® TURN TO PAGE 2®

of its plane’s engines in time. Airlines in mature industry’s interest to aid a smooth take-off.

MY VIEW | EX MAcHInA

The OpenAI saga puts tech governance in the spotlight

gies they were creating could be dangerous
RAHUL MATTHAN and no one would be any wiser. It was to
ensure that AI development proceeds in a
safe and responsible manner that OpenAI
was set up as a non-profit organization with
the objective of making sure “… artificial
made. It was obliged to let nothing—neither was necessary to set things back on track, been less than candid with the information
the commercial interests of investors nor the they were well within their rights to show he had provided them. If this was indeed the
hubris of the person at the helm of affairs— him the door. case, the board was right to sack him. But
come in the way of ensuring that the AI that This, as we all know, was not how things what was the point of such a decision if all it
was being built was safe. The moment it ended. In the face of vociferous protests would take to reverse it was a weekend’s
believed that a line was about to be crossed, from employees, pressure from its largest worth of protests? Is this really our protec-

A
ll anyone was talking about last week
was OpenAI. Over the course of five
short days, its chief executive officer
Sam Altman was fired by the board, hired by
Microsoft and reinstated as the head of
OpenAI. But, while the events of last week
were reported from the perspective of the
700 odd employees who threatened to walk
intelligence benefits humanity regardless of it was empowered to take extreme measures investor and a clamorous response from tion against a Skynet future?
profit.” Its original founders—Sam Altman to prevent that. just about everyone in the Whenever the responsibility of establish-
and Elon Musk—committed up to $1 billion This was the board that tech community, Altman ing governance frameworks for matters of
of their own money to a not-for-profit entity fired Sam Altman. It is still Corporate was reinstated as CEO five societal importance is left to private enter-
that had been established for that purpose. not clear, at the time of days after he was sacked. prise, the systems set up by the latter inevita-
Despite the generous initial commitment, writing, what the exact entities are The board was also recon- bly fall short. Corporate entities, even those
it soon became clear that building a large reasons for his termina- stituted with a group of that are governed by not-for-profit boards,
language model was far more expensive tion were. All that the
incapable of individuals who, presuma- are driven by narrow commercial incentives.

is a partner at Trilegal and the

author of ‘The Third Way:
India’s Revolutionary Approach
to Data Governance’. His X
(formerly Twitter) handle is
@matthan.
out if their CEO was not reinstated, the tech
giant whose $13 billion commitment to a
company over whose board it had little con-
trol was imprudent to say the least, and also
of the 37-year-old CEO who remains the
undisputed face of today’s Generative Artifi-
cial Intelligence (AI) revolution, despite the
drama, the long-term effects of the week’s
events will be most deeply felt by the gov-
ernance community, whose attempt at con-
trolling the most transformative technology
in over a century has truly failed.
OpenAI was born out of a fear that com-
mercially funded AI research labs—like
Google’s DeepMind—were hidden from
public gaze, which meant that the technolo-
than they had originally imagined. OpenAI
was going to need far more capital than a
non-profit would ordinarily be able to
access. To marry the twin objectives of rais-
ing private capital while prioritizing safety,
OpenAI gave itself a somewhat unusual cor-
porate structure in 2019—with a for-profit
unit housed within an entity that was super-
vised by a not-for-profit board.
The not-for-profit board was vested with
extraordinary powers in order to ensure that
AI development proceeded safely. It was
allowed to pull the plug if it believed that the
company was going down a path that was
harmful to society—even if that came at the
cost of investments its shareholders had
board’s official statement
said was that Altman had
balancing bly, were less likely to
depose him in the future.
They are incapable of finding a balance
between their financial imperatives and the
not been “consistently
candid in his communica-
commercial And with these changes,
everyone seemed to relax,
larger societal interest.
As I have often said in this column and in
tions with the board.” imperatives and relieved that things had my other writing, we need a different
What exactly was commu- returned to what they approach to technology governance—one
nicated or why the board public interest should have been. that is capable of withstanding the pres-
believed he was not candid But surely, even those sures that OpenAI’s board clearly was not.
is still anyone’s guess—the who are happy with the This will require us to free AI from the con-
board was under no obligation to provide outcome must realize that the safety net we trol of a single organization that seems to be
reasons. Its singular mandate was to assure thought we had put in place to protect us consolidating its grip over it. Maybe it is also
themselves that the path along which the from malevolent AI lies well and truly time to check if key elements of the techno-
company was currently proceeding contin- breached. Let us, for a moment, assume that legal approach to data governance that we
ued to be of benefit to humanity. If directors Altman was working on technologies that have perfected in relation to digital public
believed for any reason that this was not the were a threat to humanity, and, knowing infrastructure (DPI) can be usefully applied
case, and that removing Sam Altman as CEO that the board would shut these down, had to AI governance.
LIVEMINT.COM VIEWS WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi 15

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

India’s patent path must diverge Climate inequality is real: We

should avoid regressive action
from China’s to spur innovation The ‘polluter pays’ principle ought to guide the burdens we bear

We must avoid the ‘patent paradox’ suffered by China—where policy has spawned a patent-filing frenzy of very little value

ISTOCKPHOTO

LARA WILLIAMS
is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering
climate change.

ADITYA SINHA
is an officer on special duty (research) in the
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime
Minister.

P
opulist politicians are turning the cli-
mate crisis into a wedge issue, sacri-
ficing the environment to the culture

T
he eternal tussle between quantity and
quality has been a subject of debate in
various fields, including philosophy,
art and innovation. This dichotomy is
particularly relevant in the context of
innovation, especially when consider-
ing the role of patents. Patents are commonly seen
as a measure of a country’s innovative capacity.
However, the sheer number of patents filed
does not necessarily reflect true innovation. The
number of filed patents and approvals by a country
is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end.
The ultimate goal is for the nation to foster a
culture of innovation.
China has led the world in the count of patent
filings since 2011. According to the World Intellec-
tual Property Indicators (WIPO) 2023 report,
China’s global share of patents has almost doubled,
from 24.4% in 2011 to 46.6% in 2021. Further, the
highest numbers of patents in force have also been
recorded in China. There are two reasons for such
a spike in its number of patents.
First, MNCs and even small international busi-
nesses are now patenting in China as a bulwark
against a tide of counterfeits, with China noted as
the source of 80% of seized counterfeit goods glo-
bally, according to OECD data. The aim is to halt
the production of fakes within China.
Second, China’s push for innovation led to a
flood of patents, but quantity overshadowed qual-
ity, leading to an abundance of ‘junk patents’ with
scant innovation. Despite hefty investments in
research and development (R&D), meaningful
innovation has lagged, with experts pointing out
that large government subsidies have resulted in a
glut of low-value patents.
According to the WIPO, 90.4% of total patents in
China were filed by residents. In contrast, the total
number of patents filed by residents in India is
50%, and in the case of the US, only 42.5% of patent
applications were filed by its residents (as opposed
to non-residents). Chinese ‘inventors’ predomi-
nantly seek domestic patents, as it is difficult for
these ‘inventions’ to meet the stringent norms of a
triadic filing across the major tech markets of
Japan, the US and Europe, which is seen as the gold
standard. In 2020, China registered 5,897 triadic
patents, trailing the US’s 13,040 and Japan’s 17,469.
The Chinese government’s focus on favouring
volume has ironically undermined its own goal of
becoming an innovation leader. According to a
2019 report by China National Intellectual Prop-
erty Administration, a quarter of China’s patents
were held by universities, yet these had low rates of
industrial use and licensing—3.7% and 2.9%,
respectively. Patents by research institutions had
an 18.3% industrialization rate and a 2% licensing
rate. China’s National Audit Office in 2020 found
that just 8.4% of academic patents were used com-
mercially, contrasting with 40-50% in the US. This
is because the state’s policies are focused on direct
financial perks, such as subsidies and tax benefits,
and social advantages, all tied to patent registra-
tion. This top-down strategy gave rise to a side
industry of patent agencies more interested in
chasing subsidies—which sometimes outpace the
cost of patent filing—than in securing genuine
innovations. This subsidy chase led to a spike in
patent filings, many of which barely pushed the
envelope or were simply rehashed old ideas. In rec-
ognition of these issues, China’s State Council has
released a ‘Special Action Plan for Patent Commer-
cialization and Application (2023-2025),’ aimed at
enhancing the market orientation of patents as
well as the commercialization of innovations.
The Chinese patent approach has lessons for
India. We must ensure the quality of our patents
does not get compromised. In recent years, India
has implemented significant process reforms in its
patenting system. Getting patents in India was dif-
ficult. It was not because quality was put to exces-
sive scrutiny, but simply a capacity constraint. The
patent office was understaffed and underfunded to
deal with applications, a problem the government
has now fixed. In 2016-17, India recorded 45,444
patent applications with only 9,847 grants. In
2022-23, numbers have impressively increased to
82,805 and 34,153, respectively.
However, as the country progresses in its ability
to grant patents efficiently, a quality challenge
might emerge. The focus should now shift towards
ensuring that each patent granted represents a
genuine and significant innovation. This shift from
quantity to quality is essential in fostering a truly
innovative ecosystem that can contribute signifi-
cantly to global advancements. India should carry
out a post-facto analysis of patent quality, possibly
under the aegis of the Office of Principal Scientific
Adviser. It could assess a patent’s value by the vol-
ume of subsequent citations it receives. This
method is grounded in the rationale that a patent,
like an influential academic paper, tends to accrue
more citations if it pioneers a successful technolog-
ical pathway. However, there are also studies
which suggest “ex-post patent quality outcome
metrics are generally not in agreement as to which
are the ‘highest-quality’ patents.” One can come up
with better indicators.
Further, we should also focus on making our
Intellectual Property Rights regime even more
robust, which in turn will incentivize more firms
and research institutions to file high-quality pat-
ents. We should also ensure that in our quest for
patents, we do not put in place an incentive struc-
ture, especially for educational institutions, that
attracts low-quality patents. We need the opposite.
The prevalence of low-quality patents perpetu-
ates a cycle under which patentees are incentivized
to continue filing low-quality patents. This trend,
termed the “patent paradox” by Gideon Parcho-
movosky, suggests that firms engage in high-
volume, low-quality patenting strategies to maxi-
mize potential benefits or minimize losses from the
patent system despite the negative cash value of
most patents. It’s critical for India to ensure that
this does not happen in the country.
These are the author’s personal views.
wars. If there’s one pervasive problem
that’s allowed them to do that, it’s inequal-
ity. The unequal dynamic that may first
come to mind is international relations
between developed and developing
nations. As the UN’s CoP-28 climate sum-
mit draws near, discussions have grown
urgent on how to distribute finances from
wealthy countries, which have been
responsible for the vast majority of carbon
emissions, to vulnerable nations that are
bearing the brunt of their impact.
Although those negotiations will be vital
for a just transition to a decarbonized
global economy, socioeconomic inequali-
ties within borders should receive equal
attention. A recent report from Oxfam and
the Stockholm Environment Institute
explored the idea of carbon inequality, and
came up with the figure that the richest 1%
of the global population pollutes just as
much as the poorest 66%. It also found that
most of the inequality in emissions is now
due to differences within countries rather
than between them.
Oxfam’s figures have been criticized for
relying on imperfect assumptions: The
authors allocate national consumption
emissions to individuals within each coun-
try based on a functional relationship
between income and emissions, rather
than actual consumption. But whether or
not the exact numbers are right, the basic
premise is backed by multiple studies that
have linked higher expenditure (which
tends to increase with income) with more
direct emissions (such as more flights and
bigger cars) and indirect emissions (those
embedded in goods). Unless a billionaire is
lives self-sufficiently in an off-grid hut and
refuses to fly, you can bet she has a higher
carbon footprint than people on the bread-
line. I’d argue it almost doesn’t matter what
our relative footprints look like—though
they do help make the argument that the
very wealthy should pay their dues, which
I believe they should—because a key prob-
lem is that climate change is regressive,
affecting the poorest the most.
Disadvantaged groups are more exposed
to climate effects and less able to recover
from damages. Take flooding: Less well-off
populations often live in areas more prone
to it, in homes more susceptible to water
damage, and may not have been able to
afford insurance, leaving them to cover
costs themselves. It’s not hard to see how
this becomes a vicious cycle as extreme
weather intensifies, ultimately widening
The rich caused the crisis whose brunt will
be borne by the poor GETTYIMAGES
the gap between the haves and have-nots
even more.
Unfortunately, we’re also at an awkward
point where climate policies are some-
times designed in a regressive way—mean-
ing that costs for low-income earners rep-
resent a bigger chunk of their income than
that of high-income earners—leaving
openings for backlashes globally against
climate action. If allowed to continue,
another vicious cycle may commence in
which mitigation stagnates, temperatures
rise and extreme weather becomes more
hazardous, pushing more into financial
distress while the wealthy get by.
The most famous example to date, of
course, is the 2018 gilets jaunes protests in
France, which sprung up against a fuel-tax
increase accused of disproportionately
burdening rural working and middle-class
households who have no choice but to
drive, while exempting carbon-intensive
companies. Backlashes against the Ultra
Low Emission Zone expansion in London
and gas boiler phase-out in Germany fit the
same pattern. The upfront cost of heat
pumps, energy-efficiency measures and
electric vehicles do promise to come down;
but they’re still out of reach for many.
It’s fair to be worried about dispropor-
tionate financial burdens, but it’s infuriat-
ing to see politicians—like UK Prime Min-
ister Rishi Sunak—using these concerns as
excuses to delay or avoid action, doing
nothing to solve the root issue, rather than
redesigning policies to better aid those in
need. It’s particularly exasperating as many
measures could actually alleviate financial
pressures on poorer households.
French economist Thomas Piketty sug-
gested to The Guardian the use of a pro-
gressive carbon tax by which activities
beyond an emissions allowance—such as
frequent holiday flights, large houses or
large vehicles—would be subject to a
higher rate. Though the enforcement of
such a measure might be difficult, there are
other policies that could raise revenue and
make it more expensive to pollute, such as
frequent-flier levies and windfall taxes on
oil and gas companies.
Taking from the polluter elite and giving
to the poor will help speed climate action,
improve countless lives and create a fairer,
safer world. Such a policy seems like a
no-brainer to me. ©BLOOMBERG

THEIR VIEW

Don’t over-interpret China’s reset of ties with the world

tude. With a geo-strategic focus on the Indo-
HarsH V. Pant Pacific galvanizing global politics, China has
had to contend with significant powers
showcasing their desire to shape the
regional strategic landscape. The very con-
cept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ became a zone of
years recently, focusing on Northeast Asian
stability.
As a signal moment for a watching world,
there was the highly anticipated summit
between the US President Joe Biden and Xi
Jinping that led to the two leaders agreeing
media, therefore, went overboard in
describing the outcome of the Xi-Biden
summit as “historic” and the dialogue as
“new starting point” in bilateral ties. This,
despite the fact that Biden once again
described the Chinese leader as a “dictator”
the British Prime Minister. He has acknowl-
edged that “China has become much more
aggressive, much more assertive, over the
Uighurs, over Hong Kong, the ‘wolf warrior’
diplomacy.” This means that London will
have “to align more carefully with our allies

I
f recent diplomatic activities are to be
believed, China is bouncing back from the
wilderness as more and more major actors
on the world stage try to reset their engage-
ment with Beijing. It has been a disastrous
few years for Chinese diplomacy and most of
it has been of its own making. The arrogance
displayed at the strategic level, coupled with
contestation with China resisting the rest of
the world’s attempt to frame this broad
region as central to the effort of opposing
Beijing’s hegemony.
Today, however, a gradual easing of that
contestation might be visible. Britain’s new
foreign secretary, David Cameron, has sug-
gested that though he supported the Rishi
to open a presidential hotline, resume mili-
tary-to-military communi-
cation, and work together
to combat the flow of fen- Isolation has
tanyl and the ingredients
of this addictive drug into meant Beijing is
the US, which is facing a
domestic addiction crisis.
keener than its
and pointedly underlined America’s backing
for a free and open Indo-
Pacific.
The same is true of other
such recent engagements,
where despite all the
excitement, things have
quickly fallen back to old
to make sure we can counter any malign
threats coming from China.”
For all the hype around the new global
outreach towards China, it is Beijing that is
more keen on this renewed engagement. It
wants to woo capital from its key economic
partners and is keen to signal a thaw in its
bilateral ties with them. But the world too

is professor of international
relations, King’s College
London, and vice president for
studies at Observer Research
Foundation, New Delhi.
its ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy of recent times,
almost destroyed the narrative of China’s
peaceful rise. As Chinese President Xi Jin-
ping centralized power and shunned the
sagacity of his predecessors on playing it
lightly on the global stage, he emerged in
much of the world as a global villain, even
beating his close follower, the North Korean
dictator, Kim Jong-un.
The world pushed back against Chinese
assertiveness, especially as the covid out-
break and its aftermath also shattered the
myth of the much-vaunted Chinese model
of governance. The US, Europe and key
players in the Indo-Pacific found their voice
in challenging Beijing’s domineering atti-
Sunak government’s current “realistic,
hard-headed policy” towards China, it is still
right to “engage” with Beijing as China is key
to solving big issues like climate change.
Earlier this month, Anthony Albanese
became the first Australian prime minister
to visit China in seven years. Japanese Prime
Minister Fumio Kishida met the Chinese
President along the sidelines of the Asia-Pa-
cific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
in San Francisco, where they tried to “focus
on common interests” and reaffirm a “strate-
gic relationship of mutual benefit and give it
new meaning.” And then, the foreign minis-
ters of Japan, China and South Korea held
their first in-person talks in more than four
Bilateral ties between the
two powers had fallen so
put-off partners
low that the summit was an
attempt to bring a sem-
to achieve some
blance of normalcy to the normalcy in
Washington-Beijing rela-
tionship. The summit, in relations
more ways than one, was
therefore symbolic, and
symbols matter in great power diplomacy.
This reset is important for Xi Jinping as
China’s economic challenges show no sign
of abating and Xi’s own reputation as an
effective manager has gone for a toss, with a
post-pandemic economic recovery still just
a mirage at this stage. The Chinese state
despondency. Japan-China
summitry has also failed to
achieve much, with Tokyo
reiterating its call for peace
and stability in the Taiwan
Strait as well as a scientific
reassessment by Beijing of
its ongoing ban on Japa-
nese seafood.
Last week, Australia accused a Chinese
warship of “unsafe and unprofessional”
actions after it emitted dangerous sonar
pulses in international waters, thereby risk-
ing the safety of Australian divers. In the UK,
David Cameron recognizes that this is not
the China that he was used to dealing with as
has learnt its lessons and is now drawing new
red lines for Chinese behaviour.
If trust-based partnerships are the new
norm, globally, then China continues to
remain an outlier, and it is unlikely that a few
highly publicized summits will rebuild that
much-needed political trust. New Delhi, too,
has drawn its red lines vis-à-vis China after
the Galwan crisis in 2020, and in some ways
has shown the world an effective template of
how to manage an aggressive China. Given
India’s own rise in the global hierarchy,
while carefully assessing shifts in the global
order and locating opportunities therein,
New Delhi will have to set its own terms of
engagement with Beijing.
16 WeDNesDay, 29 November 2023
NeW Delhi
Pro Kabaddi:The improbable
league that captured hearts
As Season 10 of the
Pro Kabaddi League
is about to begin, Mint
looks back at the
league’s phenomenal
popularity
Deepti Patwardhan
feedback@livemint.com
B
efore Pro Kabaddi hit the
television screens in 2014,
Kailash Kandpal, CEO of
Insurekot Sports, which
owns one of the founding
teams, Puneri Paltan, recalls the endeav-
our being regarded with a level of ridicule.
The early 2010s was indeed the golden
period for sporting leagues in India. The
Indian Premier League (IPL), launched in
2008, had unpacked a host of possibilities
for other sports and new leagues in
hockey, tennis, wrestling—even futsal—
had cropped up.
“Back in 2014, when I used to tell people
we have a kabaddi team, people used to
wonder,” Kandpal tells Mint. Insurekot
Sports was just dipping its feet into the
world of sports, and the Pune kabaddi
franchise was their first venture. “They
would say anything happens in India; any
league comes up. But the opening which
it got, from the fans in the stands, back
home people watching it on TV, that set
the tone.”
On July 26, 2014, curtains were raised
on the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), in front
of packed crowds in Mumbai. Rishank
Devadiga, a Mumbai boy, playing for the
city franchise U Mumba, remembers the
wall of noise that met him as he entered
the darkened NSCI Dome, lit up by sweep-
ing spotlights.
“My school friends, locality friends,
everyone had come to watch the match. I
could hear those screams from my
friends,” he says. “It was something new
for us. On the first day, we were told there
will be a lot of crowd; celebrities will be
coming to watch the match. All the
kabaddi players were pumped up. The
game was already very popular in the rural
areas. Wherever we used to go to play local
matches or departmental matches, hun-
dreds and thousands used to come and
How star archer Deepika Kumari is plotting a comeback
For over a decade,
Deepika Kumari has
been setting new records
in archery. She talks to
Mint about wanting more
Shail Desai
feedback@livemint.com
A
bout a year ago, archer Deepika
Kumari had to put her bow away,
as she awaited the start of another
beautiful journey. In December 2022, the
Olympian’s life changed with the arrival of
her daughter, Vedika.
The two-time World Championships
silver medallist had her hands full. But
just three weeks after Vedika’s birth, she
was back on the ground taking aim to
make the cut for the Indian team. “That
time was unlike how things are today. My
body reacted very differently after deliv-
ery. It wasn’t like I was trailing by a big
margin during the trials, but I was out of
the team due to a single mistake,” Kumari,
29, recalls.
Over the last few months, it’s been a
gradual rebuilding effort for Kumari. And
she realised things were on track after
regaining her touch at the first major com-
BUSINESS OF LIFE
COURTESY MASHAL SPORTS
watch it. Kabaddi just needed that oppor-
tunity to be on the big screen, that’s what
PKL provided.”
Pro Kabaddi yanked India’s rural sport
into the 21st century, from mud to mat;
from the sidelines into the spotlight.
While other leagues have come and
gone, Pro Kabaddi has become a perma-
nent fixture on the Indian sporting cal-
endar. Wowed by the athleticism and
pace of the game, the audience has kept
coming back for more. 2 December
marks the start of the tenth season of a
league that remains Indian sport’s most
improbable success story.
KEEPING PACE
An ancient Indian sport, kabaddi didn’t
really need an introduction to the audi-
ence in the country. But the League,
founded by Mashal Sports and televised
by Star Sports, brought the sport into liv-
ing rooms in high-definition. But it was
still the recognisable contact sport of the
villages and small towns, re-imagined as
a sport that was also quick and fast
paced. A 30-second time limit was
slapped on each raid and every third raid
was made a do-or-die attempt, to add
more jeopardy.
“Since the advent of Pro Kabaddi, the
game has become very fast and strategic,”
says Jeeva Kumar, a star PKL defender and
now the defensive coach of U Mumba.
“Because of the third raid (do-or-die),
teams have to think tactically whom to
send in first raid, second and third raid.
The method has changed completely.
Earlier strength and power were impor-
tant, now it is about speed and technical
and tactical awareness. Now you can’t be
predictable, you have to keep upgrading,
adding to skills every year.”
For Iranian superstar Fazel Atrachali,
who has been playing the League since
season 2, kabaddi has undergone a mas-
sive change. “Now kabaddi is totally dif-
ferent,” he says. “For example, 10 years
ago dubki skill was not there. It was more
about power. Before all players were like
80kg-90kg, but now they are all between
70 and 75kg, they have more speed. It has
become more about mind, rather than
just power.”
UPWARD CURVE
In the player auction for the inaugural edi-
tion of the PKL, teams were given a mod-
est purse of ₹60 Lakh. Former India cap-
tain Rakesh Kumar was the most expen-
petition this year. At the National Games
in Goa in November, she picked up three
medals in all: gold in the individual and
mixed team, while silver in the women’s
team event.
“The National Games was big for me
since I was competing after really long.
Right before this event, I had gone for the
selection trials of the Asian Archery
Championships where I finished fifth. I
faced a few problems there, so my main
goal was to iron them out while looking at
long term goals,” she says. “More than the
medals, I was happy with how I fared. I was
able to overcome quite a few things, both
mentally and with respect to my tech-
nique,” she adds.
Though she was back at training just a
few days after her daughter was born, it
took a while for Kumari to take on a full
training load. At the Sports Authority of
India (SAI) facility in Kolkata, she worked
with coach Mim Bahadur Gurung to find
the form that won her gold at the World
Cup in Guatemala City in 2021, at the time
her last major medal. She also had her hus-
band, Olympian Atanu Das’ company,
whenever he had time off from the
national camp.
“There was no way I could work on my
physical fitness after delivery. Archery is
an outdoor sport that needs power, so a lot
of things changed because of the lack of
With the Pro Kabaddi League, the game has become faster, with less reliance on strength; and below: the Gujarat Giants team.
PKL’S BIG
HITS
MOST RAID POINTS
1568 by Pardeep Narwal
MOST TACKLE POINTS
424 by Fazel Atrachali
MOST EXPENSIVE PLAYER
₹2.605 crore for Pawan Sehrawat
MOST TITLES
3 by Patna Pirates
sive buy at ₹12.8 lakhs. Eight teams com-
peted in season 1, which lasted just over a
month and 60 matches.
Since then, the League has gone from
strength to strength. The number of
teams was increased to 12 in season 5 in
2017—no other Indian league has as many
teams, even IPL has 10. It also transitioned
from a one-month jamboree to more seri-
ous three-month league the same year.
The tenth edition of Pro Kabaddi will have
132 league-stage matches spread over
three months.
At the player auction, the ₹1-crore mark
was breached in style in season 6. Six play-
ers went under the hammer for a crore or
more in 2018, as raider Monu Goyat was
picked up by Haryana Steelers for ₹1.51
crores, making him the most expensive
buy of the year.
The total team purse was increased
Deepika Kumari at the Tolyo Olympics.
strength. For instance, trials go on for six
days and there is no rest in between. So, to
continuously put in the performances and
last all those days was tough. It took me
seven months before I could take on a full
training load and shoot 350-400 arrows
each day. I had to be really patient and
allow my body to recover,” she says.
The mental rebuilding, the most critical
SPORTS
ahead of this season’s auction to ₹5 crore.
The most expensive player, for a second
season running, was Pawan Sehrawat,
who was signed on by Telugu Titans for a
hefty sum of ₹2.605 crore. Irani defender
Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh was
snapped up by Pune for ₹2.31 crore, mak-
ing him the most expensive overseas
player in the PKL’s history.
While players would earlier depend on
public sector jobs for their livelihood, they
now get paid as top-tier professional ath-
GETTY IMAGES
aspect of archery according to Kumari,
took much longer.
“Almost 95% of this game is mental.
During those 5-6 seconds when you lift
the bow, there are so many things that run
in your head. Then, there are times when
there is nothing in the head. And you have
to deal with both situations,” she says.
Plenty of her training sessions revolved
ANI
letes. “It is not just about Iran, but all over
the world people want to play Pro
Kabaddi,” adds Atrachali. “I have a friend
in Poland, in Pakistan, in Sri Lanka, they
all want to play in Pro Kabaddi. Because in
PKL, you are on TV for 3-4 months, every-
body likes that. Here you have money,
everybody likes that. Here you are more
famous, everybody likes that. PKL
changed the life of a lot of players and now
some players have a better car, a better
house.”
around breathing exercises, yoga and
positive reinforcement based on different
situations she was likely to find herself in.
“When it comes to the mental aspect of
archery, every single day and every single
match is different, as are the individual
and team events. If you don’t know how to
deal with pressure, it is going to tire you.
Archery is such that you have to think of
the right things and at the right time to
put in the performance and get results,”
she says.
Kumari feels that there’s still a lot of
work that she still needs to put in,
including preparing for any problem
that may arise. “We take into account
every situation during practice, well
aware that you will never feel the same
during competition. But we try to visual-
ise the same things and the subconscious
mind knows what needs to be done,
reacting as if it were just another train-
ing session,” she says.
Kumari looks back fondly at the care-
free times when she could get home
from practice and simply put her feet up
and rest. After embracing motherhood,
she’s become more particular when it
comes to planning out the entire day. “I
used to be very careless - theek hai, ho
jayega, kar lenge (It’s alright, I’ll get
down to finishing it soon). But that has
changed now,” she says.
LIVEMINT.COM
GETTY IMAGES
CHANGING LIFESTYLES
Pro Kabaddi has not just changed players
lives, but also their lifestyle. “Before the
League there was no real understanding
of fitness,” says Kumar. “We used to run
for fitness, jog a few rounds before a
match as warm up. Now everything is
planned, scheduled accordingly. What
are we doing each day. What is to be
done in the morning session, evening
session. Now they are told what to eat,
what not to eat, how much to eat. Even
players have understood that they need
to follow this.”
The fact that the League now lasts for
more than three months has put added
emphasis on fitness. Add to it the travel
fatigue, the weight limit (85 kg) and the
higher impact on mat vs. mud, and players
can’t afford to slack off. “The intensity is
the same from the first match to the last,”
says Devadiga. “It has now become a game
of survival of the fittest.”
To ensure that players last the season,
teams have also started taking a more sci-
entific approach. “In Puneri Paltan, now
the support staff is almost equal to the
number of players we have,” says Kandpal.
“We have coaches, team managers, phys-
ios, analysts, masseurs, photographer,
videographer etc. The entire eco-system
has grown.” Teams have also started
investing heavily in youth programs to
make sure they keep the conveyor belt of
talent running.
And all this has happened because the
enterprise, built on that one opportunity
to strike it big, is showing no signs of slow-
ing down. As Pro Kabaddi enters its tenth
season, it remains in a league of its own.
These days, her mornings start early.
Kumari likes to plan training, rest and
chores around her very active baby, who
loves playing and always keeps her on the
toes. “There’s always something to attend
to at home. I’m glad my in-laws have been
supportive, which has helped me train
well. But there’s always that thought in the
head— what’s going on at home and that
there’s a little baby who needs your time.
I’m gradually trying to balance every-
thing,” she says.
In the time ahead, Kumari wants to tar-
get the National Championship, followed
by the trials for the Paris Olympics in Jan-
uary. The Indian women’s recurve team
has experienced a slump of late, returning
empty-handed from the Asian Games. At
the Asian Archery Championships, the
team won bronze but failed to secure a
quota for the Paris Olympics. But Kumari
is up to the challenge, starting with
reclaiming her spot on the national team.
“I was always confident that pregnancy
was not the end of my career. Atanu and I
knew that we had to go through this situa-
tion sooner or later. And that I would land
up losing over a year until I found my
touch again. So I asked him to focus on his
career, while I had the baby. I wanted to go
through it on a good note and return con-
fident of making a comeback on the
Indian team again,” she says.